我和桐鄉在一起

墨，32歲，來自埃及亞歷山大港，機電一體化工程師，已經在桐鄉從事工程或銷售工作9年，目前在浙江內曼格機械制造有限公司擔任產品客戶經理。

2020年的春節前夕，我回到了埃及老家，看著手機，想發條朋友圈，祝我的中國朋友們新年快樂。這個春節有些不尋常，很多人尤其是醫務工作者都因一個未知的病毒回到了工作崗位上。我當時的信息主要來自微信和微信群，所以也沒意識到事情的嚴重性。

幾天后，情況變得清楚，這是一種傳染（流行）病，所有新聞都開始談論它。我的家人看著電視，我看到他們非常擔心，然后媽媽問我：“你會回去嗎？”我停頓了幾秒鐘，說：“我不知道。”接下來，我一直關注相關新聞了解進展，也閱讀了所有微信群中的消息，按照官方新聞播報情況試圖作出決定。當時很多事情是不確定的，但當看到武漢的醫院在幾天內就建成時，我充滿了希望和信心。我弟弟告訴我：“哇，中國人真是太棒了，我認為他們能戰勝疫情。”而我看到中國在很短的時間內就實施了有效的辦法，桐鄉也采取了非常好的安全措施，便決定盡快回桐鄉，繼續我的工作。但我不知道什么時候能啟程。因為在當時，很多事情還是受到了疫情影響。我想乘坐的航班也一樣，我幾次聯系航空公司幫忙更改機票，因為當時有太多的航班取消或變更，幸運的是我最后還是成功地預訂到了機票。

當我告訴我的中國朋友要回來時，我收到了很多消息，主要是請我代購口罩，那時中國的口罩還嚴重短缺，所以我買了近1000只口罩。通常假期結束，我會帶些零食或禮物給我的朋友和同事，這一次我的包里除了換洗衣物全是口罩。19日，我出發了，媽媽像往常一樣哭了，臉上還多了擔憂的表情，我告訴他們不用擔心，我將在旅途中與他們保持聯系。

機場沒有像往常一樣擁擠，我一直坐在遠離人群的角落等待值機。我來到值機柜臺前時，工作人員問我“你現在還要去中國？ 你確定嗎？” 我說“當然”，然后他拿了我的護照去找他的上司。我聽見他們在說，“他要去中國，這可以嗎？”“有簽證？”“讓他走吧”等等，最后那位上司同意了。當我拿著登機牌慢慢走向登機口時，我對自己的決定依然充滿信心。

經過將近一整天的行程，其間我一直戴著口罩，它沒有離開過我的臉，我回到了桐鄉的家，并開始了14天的居家隔離。到達桐鄉后，我感到非常安全，感覺仍和家人在一起，每天早飯后在家工作，跟進客戶電子郵件并與同事聯系，然后下午做些運動或閱讀，晚上與我的家人進行視頻通話，告知他們我很好，一切都順利。在隔離的空閑時間里，我對過去和現在在中國的生活也有更多想法和感受。

我于2012年來到桐鄉工作，從那時起，就在不同行業工作，擔任過工程師、銷售經理。當時桐鄉還是一個外國人很少的城市，很難習慣和適應，但隨著我對這個城市的逐漸了解和深入，生活和工作變得輕松、愉悅。我目前在浙江內曼格機械制造公司擔任銷售經理，和GE、西門子、三星和許多其他大型國際公司進行著業務往來，這是充滿挑戰的工作，壓力很大。但我特別喜歡與一支出色的團隊一起工作，他們對我也很支持。有一次給客戶作報告的時候，CCTV2還來采訪了。同時，桐鄉也在逐年改善和快速發展，城市經濟越來越好，新的商業項目越來越多，還吸引了更多的企業進駐桐鄉，為桐鄉的美好建設作出了貢獻。

我看好桐鄉的巨大潛力，生活比上海、杭州這樣的大城市要輕松得多。桐鄉的工業很強，地理位置也很優越，一些朋友建議我搬到更大的城市，或許可以有更高的收入，但我決定在桐鄉扎根建立自己的事業和生活。

桐鄉愛我，我自愛桐鄉。

（桐鄉市人民對外友好協會供稿）

Tongxiang： A Home away from Home

By Mostafa Mourad

On the eve of the Chinese New Year， I was back home in Egypt， looking at my phone and thinking of what to post on my WeChat moments to greet my Chinese friends for the coming festival. What a strange holiday. Many， mostly hospital staff， had been called back to duty because of an unknown virus. At the time my information about China was largely from WeChat and WeChat groups， and I couldnt understand how serious it was.

A few days later it became clear： there was an epidemic and all the news outlets were talking about it. As my family sat there watching it unfold on TV， I could see how worried they were. My mom asked me， “will you go back？” I just paused for a moment and replied， “I have no idea.”

Then I started to follow the latest developments more carefully to learn more about the situation， reading every piece of useful message in all the WeChat groups I joined and trying to decide whether to return to China based on official and authoritative information. A lot was uncertain at that time， but I had always remained hopeful， particularly on that day when I saw the hospital in Wuhan built in just a few days. “Wow， the Chinese people are just amazing， and I think they can beat the virus”， my younger brother was simply awestruck.

All over China， effective control measures had been implemented and Tongxiang city was also doing a great job in protecting everyone. I quietly made up my mind to come back and continue my life and work in Tongxiang city， Zhejiang province. But with the disruption of international transportation， I simply was unsure when. Everything was a bit chaotic then and my flight had been changed and cancelled for quite a few times. Luckily， I was finally able to secure a ticket and hopped onto a reopened flight.

Once I told my Chinese friends that I was coming back， apart from sending well wishes， most of them asked me to help buy masks， which was in short supply. In total， I bought almost 1，000 masks， all stuffed into a bag that normally carried snacks or gifts.

The airport was not crowded as usual， and I sat in the corner far away from everyone until the check-in. When I went to the check-in desk， the employee asked me： “Are you going to China now？ Are you sure？” “Of course，” I said. Then he took my passport and went to his supervisor. “Going to china， is it allowed？” （the employee） “Does he have a visa？” （the supervisor）. Then， “Let him go，” I heard the supervisor say， after he checked my passport and visa. I took my boarding pass and walked slowly to my gate， fully confident that I made the right decision.

After almost a full days travel with the mask not leaving my face， I arrived home in Tongxiang and started my mandatory quarantine.

I felt very safe， and it seemed I was still with my family. In the morning I worked from home， following up on customers emails and communicating with my colleagues. In the afternoon I did some exercise or read books. Every night， I would have a video call with my family to assure them that I was fine and everything was going well.

During my free time in quarantine， I also had more time to reflect on my life in China.

I came to Tongxiang in 2012. Since then， I have been working here in different industries as an engineer and later as a sales manager. As Tongxiang is a relatively small city with not many foreigners， it was not easy at first to get accustomed to it. But with its rapid development， and as I get to know the city better， Ive gradually fallen in love with the place. Indeed， new industrial and commercial projects are being implemented and planned every year and more enterprises are being attracted to Tongxiang. A brighter future beckons.

I have always seen great potential in Tongxiang. For one thing， life is more relaxed here than those big cities like Shanghai or Hangzhou; but at the same time Tongxiang is endowed with a strong industrial base and a great location. Over the years， some friends suggested that I move to a bigger city for a higher income or to a place with more foreigners， but I have decided to build my career and my life in Tongxiang—if only because it is now my home in China.

Mostafa Mourad is a mechatronics engineer from Alexandria， Egypt. He has worked in engineering and sales in Tongxiang for nine years and is currently working as an account manager in Zhejiang Namag Equipment Manufacturing Ltd.