Name : Rafa Fuertes

姓名：Rafa Fuertes

Country of Origin : Spain

国籍：西班牙

Occupation : Marketer

职业：市场营销员

Years in China : over 5 years

在华居住时间：5年多

I came to China by surprise and without thinking too much, after more than five years in China, coming was without a doubt a good decision, and the good memories are much more than the bad ones.

我来中国完全是一个意外，也没有多想。我已经在中国呆了五年多，这无疑是一个很棒的决定，美好的回忆远远多于糟糕的回忆。

Right now, I live in Xiamen where I have been for over two years but my first city was Putian, also in Fujian province, I arrived with a position as a Spanish and English teacher, in Putian Number 5 Middle School, my first months were not easy, maybe it is something that happens to many of us, the scenery difference is brutal, and China is a new world that is not easy to get adapted to at first.

现在，我住在厦门已经两年多了，但我居住的第一个城市是莆田，在莆田市第五中学担任西班牙语和英语老师。我来这儿的头几个月很不容易，也许这是我们很多人都会经历的过程。适应不同的环境是一个残酷的挑战，而中国就是一个刚开始不太容易适应的新世界。

My first impressions with my new students were very positive, the respect for the teacher and their desire to learn were really good and I will always remember how much fun they had when I was calling the register with my non-existent Chinese, the tones were something completely new for me and even till today I still do not master and understand them well.

我对新学生的第一印象非常好，他们尊重老师，学习欲望强烈，我永远记得，点名时我读错字，他们有多开心。汉语声调对我来说是完全新奇的东西，直到今天我仍然不能很好地掌握和理解它们。

I got along with my co-workers very well, they helped me a lot to adapt and to know my new city more, being very good people as they were, however we did not have much in common. The meeting point for foreigners was a bar, meeting new people is always good, but my plan to go out is not to be in the same bar all night, the truth was there was not much more offer.

我和同事们相处得很好，他们帮我适应和了解这座城市。他们是非常好的人，但我们没有太多共同点。酒吧里有很多外国人，在那里可以结识新朋友，这真的很棒，但我出门并不是想整晚都呆在同一个酒吧，因为能提供的东西也比较有限。

I liked Chinese food back then, now I do even more, but at that time it did not satisfy me. In short, everything was fine but I had not found anything that seemed special to me, something genuine from this unknown land, some discovery, but after a few months I found it.

那时我喜欢吃中餐，现在更喜欢了，但刚来的时候我并不喜欢。总之，虽然一切都很好，但我没有发现任何很特别的东西，这片未知土地上一些本土的东西，直到几个月后我发现了“它”。

One Saturday night, I went out to the bar, normally I was not there for long and soon I would return home, the game of pool never caught my attention and sitting in a bar is something that is done in Spain in the afternoon, at night you have to move around, it seemed boring to me, that day I did not return home and I started walking through streets that I did not yet know, that day I discovered the Chinese street barbecue (shaokao) , and it blew my mind, a Chinese secret that I was totally unaware of.

一个周六晚上，我去了酒吧，但我通常不会呆太久，很快就会回家，台球从来没有引起我的兴趣。在西班牙，我下午才会泡在酒吧，晚上就要走一走。那天我很无聊，不过我没有回家，我开始在我不熟悉的街道上走，那天我发现了中国街边烧烤，这让我大吃一惊，因为这是一个我完全不知道的中国秘密。

Apart from the food that was really good with its spicy spices which I discovered new flavors. What I loved was the atmosphere, the people in the streets, the noise, the loud talking, these things reminded me of Spain, because we also passed a lot of time in the street and we can also be described as noisy as we also speak loudly and we like to get together with our friends and to be outdoors and enjoy the night, that environment amazed me and since that day me and my new coworker Preston, since we met we became brothers, we went many times and we really enjoyed those barbecues.

我发现了香辣味的烧烤，这是不曾体验过的新口味。我更喜欢的是这里的氛围，街上的人喧闹嘈杂，大声畅谈，这些让我想起了西班牙，因为我们也喜欢上街打发时间，我们也喜欢大声说话、吵吵闹闹的气氛，我们也喜欢和朋友们聚在一起，在室外享受夜晚，那种环境让我感到惊喜。我和新同事 Preston 成为兄弟后，就一起去了很多次，我们真的很喜欢那些烧烤。

Although our Chinese was zero, Preston knew something and mine was Nihao and Duoshao, the people were always very kind and friendly, being a good host is something that is in Chinese DNA and without a doubt Chinese people are good hosts.

虽然我们的中文水平基本为零，但 Preston 多少懂得一点中文，我只会说“你好”和“多少”。人们总是非常友好，热情好客已经刻入中国人的基因。毫无疑问，中国人很懂得尽地主之谊。

There are countless toasts and people who came to take pictures with us, also the wechats that they exchanged, the only bad thing and I suppose that happens to many of us is the frustration due to the language barrier, Chinese is a very difficult language, and even having studied it for years I don’t think I will ever master it. Soon more friends joined us and our BBQ meetings were more large and lasted longer, I have very good memories of those nights and without a doubt they are one of the highlights of my life in China.

我参加了数不清的烧烤局，和很多人合影、交换微信，唯一不好的事情就是会因为语言障碍而感到沮丧，中文是一门非常难的语言，即使已经学习了多年，我还是掌握不了。很快，更多人加入了我们的烧烤聚会，规模更大，时间更长。那些夜晚有我美好的回忆，毫无疑问，这为我的中国生活留下了浓墨重彩的一笔。

Since I moved to Xiamen I have not found such a place, I have found out that in Putian there are no longer BBQ in those streets, I understand that the neighbors have the right to rest in silence and that they are a source of contamination, in Jimei, where I live , there are very good quality BBQ near Jimei school village, I still go from time to time and enjoy the food and the company, but the atmosphere is not the same, however I think that Chinese BBQ is one of the best kept secrets and that I will recommend to anyone who comes here for the first time.

搬到厦门后，我一直没有发现类似莆田烧烤的地方。街上已经没有烧烤了，我明白这会影响附近居民休息，也会造成污染。在我住的集美学村附近，有非常好吃的烧烤店，我还是会时不时去聚会和享受美味，但气氛不一样。我认为中式烧烤是中国的神秘之一，我会推荐给第一次来这里的人。

A little background on his hometown：

介绍一下 Rafa 的家乡：

I am from the province of Valencia, eastern Spain, a land next to the Mediterranean Sea. I grew up in Benetuser, suburbs of Valencia city, but I was born in the town of Oliva, my mother’s town in the south of the province, where I have spent my summers, Christmas and Easter.

我来自西班牙东部的巴伦西亚省，靠近地中海。我在巴伦西亚市郊区的贝内图塞尔长大，但我出生于巴伦西亚省南部小镇奥利瓦镇，那是我母亲的故乡。我在那里度过了许多夏天、圣诞节和复活节。

The province of Valencia has a large gulf, the Gulf of Valencia, so it is quite flat, except where the gulf ends, and there the mountain and the sea meet, that’s Oliva location, we have sea and mountain, so you can have it all, just a few kilometers away, Oliva is famous for its beaches and beach bars, there were around 20 in the 90s, unfortunately now it is quieter, there are few but still good places to relax during the day and have fun at night.

巴伦西亚省有一个很大的海湾，叫巴伦西亚湾。它很平坦，一直延伸到海湾的尽头，山海交汇处便是奥利瓦镇。我们那里有海有山，驱车数公里就可以享受这美景。奥利瓦以其海滩和海滩酒吧而闻名，90 年代大约有 20 家，现在安静多了，但仍是白天放松、晚上玩乐的好去处。

The local festivities “The Moors and Christians” are in July, 4 days of eating, drinking and partying, the most popular drink is “the Burret”, little donkey in English, which is a coffee liquor mix with coke, so you can imagine that it keeps you up day and night, the bad will be when your stomach complain about it the next day.

七月会举行“摩尔人和基督徒节”，4天的时间吃喝玩乐。最受欢迎的饮料是“Burret”，意思是“小毛驴”，融合了咖啡酒和可乐。它能让你一整天保持亢奋，但第二天你的胃就会“咕哝抱怨”。

Oliva is bilingual, as it is Valencia Province where we speak Valencian and Spanish, but Valencian is much more used than Spanish and people from Oliva has a recognizable accent for other Valencian people. As a historical site, we have a castle that dates from the Arabic period, over 1000 years ago, and that still stands and can be visited, honestly it is small but in a decent state so it is worth a visit.

在奥利瓦可以讲两种语言，因为它位于巴伦西亚省，在那里，人们讲巴伦西亚语和西班牙语，但巴伦西亚语的使用频率比西班牙语要多得多。来自巴伦西亚省其他地方的人很容易认出奥利瓦人的口音。被称为“历史遗迹”，我们有阿拉伯时期建造的城堡，拥有1000多年的历史，仍然屹立不倒，人们可以尽情参观。老实说，这座城堡虽小，但保存得还不错，因此值得一游。

作者：Rafa 翻译：潘泽彬

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