劉雨
說起在濟南生活的外國人,亞當或許不是最出名的。但若問誰的中文說得好,亞當定是其中之一。與亞當聊天,那一口流利的普通話,會讓人很自然地忘卻其外國人的身份。
“別看我現在說得好,剛來濟南時,我不會說中文,英文也不是很好,還發生過一個小故事呢。”亞當笑道,2012年從巴勒斯坦來濟南求學的他,一出火車站便計劃打車,正當他四處環顧時,車站附近的保安竟主動上前服務,這讓他頗感意外,“這個小細節讓我心情很愉悅”。
坐上出租車,亞當告訴司機他要去“山大”,“我當時不知道‘山大’在濟南有多個校區,司機也不知道我到底要去哪兒,他跟我對話我也不明白,但通過身體語言,我大體可以猜到司機是在詢問其他外國人。”亞當認為,如果在別的國家或別的城市,司機可能會計時收費,甚至拒載了。但這個司機并未有任何拒絕的意思,帶他找了近一個小時,后來司機通過朋友了解到外國人來濟南常去哪個“山大”校區,并最終將其安全送達。“通過這個小故事,我就決定了要留在濟南。”
在濟南,亞當一留就是十年。十年里,他順利完成山東大學國際經濟與貿易專業的本科學業,并繼續攻讀山東師范大學世界經濟專業的碩士學位,“濟南有一種獨特的魅力,讓你來了便不想再離開。當時本來計劃在‘山大’繼續讀碩士,后來得知需要離開濟南,去青島校區,思慮再三后我覺得‘山師’也是個不錯的選擇。”
除了完成學業,在濟南的10年間,亞當還做了很多事情,來不斷豐富其人生經歷。當中東大使館有團隊來濟南時,有時亞當會承接部分接待任務。2020年,新冠肺炎疫情肆虐時,看到身邊同學都在轉發信息、求購口罩后,他從做口罩生產的朋友那里自費購買了3000個口罩,捐贈給濟南各學校。
與此同時,這些年亞當還盡情地施展自己的才華和抱負,為濟南高質量發展貢獻自己的一份力量。“濟南是一座極具發展潛力和發展空間的城市,我很開心自己能在人才引進、對外交流合作中起到橋梁紐帶的作用。”
亞當喜歡濟南,不只是因為這里有熱情好客、敦厚樸實的濟南人,還因為這里有一城秀麗的山水、獨具風味的美食……“濟南和我的家鄉很像,一年四季,有山有水,生活在這里很舒服,也很親切。”
閑暇時,亞當常常漫步于曲水亭街,踩著石板路,慢慢在青瓦白墻間行走,感受“家家泉水、戶戶垂楊”的老濟南風情;也常常打卡芙蓉街、寬厚里等“網紅”街區,在這些美食聚集地,各種特色小吃時常讓他流連忘返。“我還喜歡濟南的茶文化,從剛來濟南就開始喝茶,一直到現在,紅茶、綠茶、黑茶、白茶等都很喜歡。不只是我,其實現在很多外國人都很喜歡中國的茶文化,迪拜的很多茶館現在就賣中國茶。”
采訪當天下午,亞當還計劃和朋友一起前往濟寧。“山東是有名的‘孔孟之鄉、禮儀之邦’,很多外國人對儒家文化很感興趣,有機會能去孔子、孟子的出生地走一走、看一看,我還是很期待的。”亞當笑道。
談及未來發展,亞當坦言,10年來濟南的變化太快了,不管城市建設還是經濟發展,“我希望能一直留在濟南。”
Adam may not be the best- known foreigners living in Jinan, but he must be one of them who speak such good Chinese. Speaking fluent Mandarin, Adam makes us forget he’s from another country.
Born in Palestine, Adam has lived in Jinan for more than 10 years. When talking about why lived in Jinan for over 10 years, he told a story, "When I first came to Jinan, I couldn’t speak Chinese and my English was not good either. I could only say ’Shandong University’, but I didn’t know Shandong University had multiple campuses in Jinan, and the taxi driver had no idea where I want to go." Adam believed that drivers might charge by time or even say no to him if in other countries or cities. But the driver didn’t refuse, and took Adam for nearly an hour to look for the destination. Finally, the driver learned from his friends which campus foreign students went to and took Adam there safely. "I decided to stay in Jinan after that." Adam said.
Adam has graduated with a bachelor degree of International Economics and Trade at Shandong University, and is getting his master degree of International Business at Shandong Normal University. When Covid-19 pandemic was rampant in 2020, he found students around him lacking masks, then he bought 3000 masks at his own expense from his friend who produced masks and donated them to schools in Jinan.
Adam says Jinan has sufficient magnetism to keep him from leaving it. With the exuberance of his talent and ambition, he has been vibrant in attracting personnel and promoting i n t e r n a t i o n a l e x c h a n g e a n d cooperation for Jinan. He thought that the development of Jinan’s construction as well as economy is rapid over the past decade, "I hope to stay here forever," he added.