Name : Aziz Sipho Matthews

姓名：Aziz Sipho Matthews

Country of Origin : South Africa

国籍：南非

Occupation : English Teacher and Trainer

职业：英语培训教师

Years in China : 5 years

在华居住时间：5年

Greetings to anyone who might be reading this. It’s been a while since I’ve written anything meaningful so let me start off by telling you a little bit about myself. I first came to China roughly five years ago which was 1 year after I had finished university. Uncertain of what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, one thing I was certain of was that a change was needed. I began looking into various opportunities abroad and stumbled upon the option of teaching English in China. Having travelled to most parts of the world, I thought: “What could be more different than China, right?”

正在阅读这篇文章的朋友，你们好。我已经有段时间没写过特别有意思的东西了，所以让我先简单介绍一下自己。我第一次来到中国是五年前，那时我刚大学毕业一年。当时我不确定未来想做什么，但有一件事是确定的，那就是我需要改变。我开始在国外寻找各种机会，偶然间我发现可以去中国教英语。我走遍了世界上的大部分地方，心想：“还有什么地方比中国更与众不同呢？”

After doing some research, I discovered the city of Xiamen. The pictures were mesmerizing and it was probably as close to the sea as one could get. I have a deep connection to the ocean so everything seemed ideal. Next thing I knew my bags were packed and I landed in Beijing Daxing International Airport. Immediately the culture shock of living in China hit me. The sense of mass confusion was overwhelming at first but there was always someone to help out in some way or form until eventually I made it to Xiamen. I moved into my “one-bedroom” apartment and began to become acclimatized to the people of China, my students and job, and of course, the weather. Shortly after I experienced my first typhoon and it was definitely super! Meranti was massive and seeing Mother Nature in all its destructive glory was an eye opener like none other. This began my journey in China.

经过一番研究，我发现了厦门这座城市。那里的风景令人着迷，它离大海很近。我与海洋有着很深的联系，所以一切似乎都很理想。接下来我收拾行囊出发，飞抵北京大兴国际机场。不过一开始，我就立刻遭受到了文化冲击，我感到非常迷茫，但一路上总有人以各种方式帮助我，直到我抵达厦门。我搬进“一居室”公寓，开始适应当地人、我的学生和工作，当然还有天气。不久之后，我经历了第一次台风，那绝对称得上是超级台风。台风莫兰蒂来势凶猛，大自然毁灭性的伤害令人瞠目。自此，我的中国之旅正式开始。

It’s difficult to put into words what I love most about Xiamen but one thing I’ve come to love over the past 5 years is definitely its people. The food, the culture, the interaction between what is considered local and foreign, have all created an experience that has been remarkable to say the least. The city itself seems to expand and change at an unimaginable rate which almost forces one to stay on their toes. I came to China for change after all and I can see that change in Xiamen on almost every block. I can’t wait to explore more of this gorgeous city and look forward eagerly to what might change next.

我很难用语言表达最喜欢厦门的什么，但在过去 5 年中，我无疑非常喜欢厦门人。这里的食物、文化以及当地与外国的交流，都创造了一种非凡的体验。这座城市本身似乎在以一种难以想象的速度扩张和改变，让人们保持警觉。毕竟我来中国是为了改变，在厦门的每个街区都能看到改变。我迫不及待的想探寻这座城市的芳华，热切期待接下来可能发生的变化。

I think there is nothing particularly unique about my experience in China. There have been good times and bad times. I’ve fallen in and out of love and had a chance to meet people from all over the world. Those experiences both good and bad are cherished nonetheless and I guess that’s what makes my experience of China and Xiamen unique. One thing I can say though is that I have developed a love, whether fortunate or unfortunate is yet to be seen, for baijiu. Niu Lan Shan in particular has become somewhat of a staple and those that know me personally can attest to that. In Xiamen, there seems to be a bit of a drinking culture amongst both locals and foreigners which is something I can relate to coming from Cape Town, South Africa.

我在中国的经历没有什么特别的，有美好的时光，也有难熬的日子。我曾恋爱，也曾失恋，也有机会结识来自世界各地的人。这些经历，无论好坏，都值得珍惜，它们让我在中国和厦门的体验变得独特。但我想说，我已经爱上了白酒，不知道这是好事还是坏事。牛栏山已经成为我的日常饮品，认识我的人可以证明这一点。在厦门，当地人和外国人似乎都有饮酒文化，这与我在南非开普敦的感受相同。

South Africa is often fondly referred to as “the Rainbow Nation”. This is largely due to the fact that South Africans come in all shapes, sizes and colors. My hometown, Cape Town, is great example of this. “The Mother City”, as we sometimes call it, was historically established as a refreshment station for the Dutch, British, Spanish and Portuguese, in their search for spices from “the East”. Along the way many sailors, slaves, and indentured laborers decided to stay and mix with the local population and so Cape Town was born. The city began to thrive and people moved into the hinterland forming the country we now know as South Africa. This mixing of people and therefore culture, for better or for worse, has been what I have come to truly appreciate in life so I’d like to thank Master Translations for this opportunity to share a little bit of my story with you. I hope you enjoyed it.

南非的昵称是“彩虹之国”。这主要是因为南非人有各种肤色，体格不一。我的家乡开普敦就是一个很好的例子。我们有时称开普敦为“母亲之城”，历史上曾是荷兰人、英国人、西班牙人和葡萄牙人寻找“东方”香料的驿站。一路上，许多水手、奴隶和契约劳工决定留在这里，与当地人居住，于是开普敦就诞生了。这座城市开始繁荣，人们开始移居内陆，建立了如今的南非。这种人与文化的融合，无论好坏，都是我生命中真正欣赏的东西。最后我要感谢精艺达给我这个机会与你们分享我的故事，希望你们喜欢。

作者：Aziz 翻译：潘泽彬

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