從萬象到山東，用心感受中國

文/Keomalaisack Athit（老撾）

作者參加合唱比賽合影

1989年10月23日，我出生于老撾沙耶布里省博爾坦區，2009年我搬到了老撾的首都萬象接受教育。當我拿到學士學位后，我就開始做生意養家糊口。在做生意的這5年里，我遇到了許多在老撾投資的中國商人，了解到中國有為那些尋求高等教育的外國學生提供獎學金的機會。我花了一段時間思考，最終說服了自己申請中國的政府獎學金。2016年8月，當我收到來自山東大學的錄取通知書時，我的中國留學夢夢想成真了。

2016年8月28日，我從一個小國家（老撾）遠道而來，來到一個文化繁榮、科學技術先進的大國進行學習。2016年9月3日，新學期開始了，這是我第一次到國外學習，為此我感到非常興奮，并且能夠有機會結識來自不同國家的留學生，我們都是學習金融專業的。雖然本專業是用英語授課的，但我開始意識到我在講漢語這方面處于劣勢，因為我從來沒有在老撾學過漢語，也沒有在中國上過漢語預備班。因此，在那段時間里，我特別緊張，因為我不會說中文，甚至一個字也不會說。每當我去菜市場買菜，都不知道如何與菜販溝通的時候，那簡直就是一場噩夢，因為當我跟他們用英語表達時，他們都聽不懂我在說什么。那個時候我覺得在中國很孤獨，只能通過Facebook和老撾的朋友聯系，告訴他們我在中國所遇到的困難。他們問我：“你為什么會選擇在中國學習，為什么不去母語是英語的國家留學？”我告訴我的老撾朋友們，當我還是個孩子的時候，非常喜歡看中國電影，并且被電影中歌曲的美妙旋律所吸引。這也讓我在幼年時期就對這個有著5000多年歷史的神秘東方國度有了一定的遐想。

Born in Sayabury Province of Lao P.D.R in Bortand district on 23rd October 1989, I moved to the Capital of Lao in 2009 for further education. Once I graduated with my bachelor’s degree, I started to do business to support my family. During those 5 years, I met many Chinese men investing in Laos and learned that China is offering scholarships to foreign students seeking higher education. It took me a while to decide but I talked to myself into applying for the government scholarship eventually. It was a dream came true when I received an offer from Shandong University in August 2016.

On August 28th 2016, I traveled far from a small country through the mountains and river to study in a major country with prosperous culture and advance technology. On the 3rd of September 2016, the new semester started, I was very excited to study outside of the country for the first time, and to have the opportunity to meet student from a variety of countries enrolling for the same major, Finance. Though it was taught in English, I started to realize my disadvantage in speaking Chinese since I had never studied Chinese in Laos, nor had I attended the Chinese preparatory class,not even one word. It was a nightmare whenever I had to go to the vegetable Market while not knowing how to communicate with vegetable retailers because none of them could understand me when I spoke English. It made me feel very much lonely at that time, I could only contact my friends in Laos through Facebook. Telling them about the difficulties I encountered in China. They asked me: “Why did you choose to study in China, why don’t go to an English speaking country?” I answered my friends that when I was a child, I liked watching Chinese movies very much and was fascinated by the melody of the Chinese songs in the movies. Moreover, I felt specially bond with this mysterious country with a long history of more than 5,000 years.

剛到濟南開始留學生活的時候，我對這里許多奇妙的事物都很感興趣。在這個繁華的都市里，道路非常干凈寬敞，交通井然有序，并且人們也都很有禮貌，這與我在之前所聽到的情況截然相反。當時，每個人都說，中國的環境很臟很混亂，人們在公共場所都隨地吐痰。自從我親身體驗過以后才知道中國是一個如此令人向往的國家，正如中國有句俗語說的那樣：“百聞不如一見”。同時，這也激發了我開始認真學習漢語的熱情，通過與當地人的交流，更能夠加深我對齊魯大地文化的了解。2017年1月，寒假來臨，很多留學生都回家了，但對我來說，這也是我開始學習漢語的第一天，用了博雅初級漢語教材。當時的校園環境非常安靜，是我專心學習漢語的好時光。除了語言課，我還試著和同學、保安、宿管、出租車司機或市場的菜販等等進行漢語交流。并且只要有國際學生參加的活動，我都會踴躍報名參加。

我參加了學校舉辦的各項活動，如山東大學國際文化節、中國改革開放40周年外賓慶典、第五屆國際學生冬至包餃子節、京劇體驗活動、海外工作講習班、“建設鐵路，成就夢想”海外工作經驗研討會等多項活動。除參加各種活動外，我還參觀了很多地方，去了淄博、濰坊等地，參加“百名國際留學生接近山東發現山東”、臨沂地區第九屆國際商貿物流博覽會等。這些經歷都將永遠銘記在腦海里。記憶最深刻的就是去山東電視臺參加了一期節目秀，我非常興奮，因為在我的人生中這是我第一次上電視節目。在節目中，我們跳了一段老撾風格的舞蹈，還玩了一些游戲，并通過這樣的形式來加深中老之間的友誼，更令人興奮的是我們贏得了這次游戲比賽環節的大獎。一個月后，我的中國同學在節目中看到了我，于是就勸我參加“合唱團歌唱比賽”。在排練的前兩天，他們讓我唱了一首中文歌，叫作“山大校歌”。我很頭疼，因為這是一首中文歌曲，對歌詞極其不熟悉。但幸運的是，我的一位名叫“趙康康”的中國朋友來幫助我，在比賽前他幾乎每天都在教我唱歌。我還記得歌詞是：

At the beginning of my stay in Jinan, I was very interested in the many Amazing things here. The roads are very clean and spacious; the traffic was orderly, and people very polite in this prosperous city, which was contrary to what I heard before I was there. At that time,everyone said that China was dirty and messy where people are spit indiscriminately in public places. Since I had seen by myself that China is a very fascinating country, It was consistent with the Chinese proverbial saying “百聞不如一見”. It was also what inspired me to be interested in study Chinese seriously to communicate with local people and get a deeper understanding of the culture of Shandong province, the hometown of Confucius, who influenced the history of the Chinese language. In January 2017 the spring vacation was come and many students were going back home.But for me it was the first day that I started learning Chinese from the Boya Chinese elementary book. The Campus environment at that time was so quiet as to be a great opportunity for me to start concentrating on my study. In addition to language class, I tried to speak with Chinese people such as classmates, the Guards, Housekeeper in the dormitory, taxi drivers and vegetable sellers in the market. Every time there were activities for international student, I was one to participate in.

I attended every exhibition that the school held such as the International Cultural Festival of Shandong University, Foreign Guests Celebration for the 40th Anniversary of the Start of China’s Reform Policy and Opening-up, 5th International Students Winter Solstice Dumping Festival, Peking Opera Experience Activity,Workshop About Overseas Working Experiencesession “Build a railway, Build your dream”, and many other activities. In addition to participating in various activities, I also went to visit various important places including Touch Shandong One Hundred International Student Discovering Shandong in Zibo and Weifang District, The 9th International Trade and Logistics Fair in Linyi District and so on. All the experience I had at that time would be kept deep in the memory of mine forever. The most unforgettable one was to go to Shandong TV Station to participate in a program show.I was very excited because it was the first time for me to be on a TV show. In the show, we danced in Lao’s style,played some games, and bridge the friendship between China and Laos. What was even more exciting was to win the big prize from this game show. One month later, my Chinese classmate saw me in that show and persuaded me to participate in “Singing Chorus Group Competition”. They let me sing a Chinese song called“SDU song” during the first 2 days of singing rehearsals.I had a lot of headaches for it was a Chinese Song with unfamiliar words. But fortunately, a Chinese friend of mine whose name is “趙康康” came to help and taught me to sing for almost every day before the competition.I still remember the lyrics:

東臨黃海 南望泰山

這是我們追求真理的樂園

天行健, 君子以自強不息

薪火傳，學子要與前賢比肩

為天下儲人才, 放眼五洲

為國家圖富強，求索萬年

要志向遠大，氣養浩然

學無止境不畏登攀！

奮斗啊，奮斗啊

為了中華民族崛起

奮斗啊，奮斗啊

為了人類好明天！

我們是崇實與求新的朝氣蓬勃的青年

我不得不對他說一句：“謝謝你能夠如此耐心地教我學習中文歌曲。”沒有他的幫助，我們不可能成為歌唱比賽的冠軍。

作者參加山東電視臺節目合影

在每個假期里，我的中文就會進步很多。因為在假期里我去了中國的許多省份，了解了各地不同的文化。我的第一個目的地是去的哈爾濱，在那里體驗了零下25℃的寒冷天氣。當時我是坐慢車過去的，火車走了將近24個小時。當火車穿過鄉村田野時，我看到了美麗的街景和風景，這是我以前從未見過的。當我到了哈爾濱以后，我以為到了俄羅斯，因為這是我第一次看到了整條河都結冰，并且在哈爾濱冰雪大世界看到了世界上最大最漂亮的冰雕。在哈爾濱游玩之后，我便去了天津，天津是中國的直轄市。我很喜歡這座城市的購物中心，因為在這里非常寬敞、干凈、漂亮，我還看到一個巨大的摩天輪，我以為只有在倫敦才能看到，沒想到在天津我也目睹到了如此大的摩天輪。之后，我去了中國最大的經濟中心城市——上海，去的時候我坐的是高鐵，這是我人生中第一次坐高鐵，它比飛機更方便更舒適。中國科技發展的速度讓我感到非常驚訝，發展的速度是如此之快，就像中國的高鐵速度一樣快。到了上海之后，我有幸參觀了上海圖書館，它就像讀者的天堂一樣，可以在知識的海洋里暢游。再后來，我去了廣州、深圳、澳門和香港，這些城市都有它們各自獨特和神奇的地方。2018年寒假期間，我也有幸去了青島和成都，我深深地被中國北部、中部和南部的差異所吸引。接下來，我未來的旅行計劃是去北京、內蒙古和西藏，我非常希望下一次的旅行可以讓我有比前一次旅行更加深刻的印象。

東臨黃海 南望泰山

這是我們追求真理的樂園

天行健, 君子以自強不息

薪火傳，學子要與前賢比肩

為天下儲人才, 放眼五洲

為國家圖富強，求索萬年

要志向遠大，氣養浩然

學無止境不畏登攀！

奮斗啊，奮斗啊

為了中華民族崛起

奮斗啊，奮斗啊

為了人類好明天！

我們是崇實與求新的朝氣蓬勃的青年

I have to say thank you to him for his patience. We could not have been the Champions of the singing contest without his help.

With each holiday, my Chinese language was getting better and better. I went to travel to many provinces of China to learn about different cultures in each locality.My first destination was Harbin to experience the cold weather under -25 degrees. I went by a slow train and the journey took 24 hours. As the train passed through country-sides, I sighted a very beautiful street-side view that I had never seen before. When I finally got there,I thought I had reached Russia. It was the first time that I saw a whole river frozen, and also the largest ice sculpture in the world. After that, I traveled down to Tianjin. It is governed as one of the four municipalities under the direct administration of central government of the PRC. I really like the shopping centers of this city because they were vast, clean and beautiful. And I saw a large Ferris wheel I thought I could only see in a city like London. After that, I went to travel to Shanghai,the economic center of China. And it was the first time that I was able to ride a high-speed train. It was fast and more comfortable than a flight. I was impressed the speed of China's science and technology development.It is so fast, just like China's high-speed railway. I was also thrilled to have had the opportunity to visit the Shanghai Library. It was like the readers’ paradise. Later on, I went to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Macau and Hong Kong. Those cities are unique and magical in their own way. And during last spring semester vacation, I had the opportunity to travel to Qingdao, and then Chengdu. I was encountered by the charm of the difference among the north, middle, and south of China. And my future trip plan is to go to Beijing, Inner Mongolia and Tibet. I am very hopeful that the next trip would be even more impressive than the previous ones.

作者（右）在國際文化節上跳老撾舞蹈

直到2019年1月12日，漢語水平等級考試的日子就要到了，很多中國朋友都給我發了祝福短信鼓勵我，讓我瞬間覺得自己充滿了力量，準備好了面對考試。最后，我以高分通過了HSK四級考試。由于我過去的經歷對我有了很大的幫助，所以現在我的中文水平每天都在進步，現在我可以很容易地和我的中國朋友交流了。正如中國古語所說的那樣：“功夫不負有心人”，成功是留給有準備的人的。這也是我的中國朋友教給我的，我把這些話永遠銘記在心里。在過去兩年的中國學習中，我有過許多美好而溫暖的回憶，回顧過去的經歷，讓我心懷感恩我在中國度過的美好的時光，并能轉化成為我人生中最重要的一部分。拿破侖曾經說過：中國是頭沉睡的獅子。讓她睡吧，因為當她醒來時，她將撼動全世界。事實上，中國不僅在經濟上發生快速的變化，而且在社會層面也發生著巨大的變化，因為它正在改變著每一個中國人的心。現在我很高興地說，當我從中國畢業時，我會讓像我一樣的老撾人去了解中國，我會不停地學習中國文化，如果有機會，我希望我能繼續在中國攻讀博士學位，因為中國是目前我最愛的地方。

Until January 12th, 2019. The exam date for the Test of Chinese Language Ability was coming; many Chinese friends sent me a blessing message to encourage me,which made me feel powerful and ready to face the exam. In the end, I passed the HSK Level 4 with a high score. All of my past experience really helped me a lot, so that my Chinese level could have made great progress every day. Now I can communicate with my Chinese friends easily. Just like a Chinese ancient saying “功夫不負有心人”, success is reserved for those who are prepared. That is also what my Chinese friends have taught me. I've kept it in my heart forever. In the past two years of studying in China, I have had many wonderful and warm memories. Going back through the archives of memories has made me reflect and appreciate the two wonderful years that I spent in China and being a part of the rapid changes. Napoleon once said, “China is a sleeping Lion. Let her sleep, for when she wakes she will move the world.” Indeed China is moving the world, not only economically but also socially. It’s changing lives one heart at a time.Now I can gladly say, when I graduate from China, I will let many Laos know about China as I did. And I will continue to study Chinese culture without a day stopping. If there have a chance, I hope that I can continue to study Doctoral degree in China, because China is the place I have fallen in love with.