作者：Violeta Nadurille
翻译：潘泽彬、Luz
校对：Luz、Zuzana、Joanne
There is, in Chinese, a concept called yuánfèn (缘分). It refers to the belief that there are facts that come together for something to happen, a kind of predestination in relationships or even affinities. Something like “fate” or “destiny”, but none of these words is, in my opinion, true enough to what yuánfèn represents. This is what I base my relationship with China: A series of unexpected events that led me to get close to the language, the culture, and finally the people of this incredible country.
中文有一个词叫做“缘分”，指的是相信事情会接踵而至，也指命中注定会建立的关系，甚至发展成亲缘关系，类似于英文的 “fate”（命运）或 “destiny”（天命）。但在我看来，这些词都不足以表达“缘分”的真正含义。“缘分”就是我与中国的关系的基石。一系列意想不到的事情让我有机会与这个了不起的国家亲密接触，了解它的语言、文化和人民。
I am Violeta, a Swiss-Mexican Spanish teacher in Shenzhen, and this story is a brief recount of the happenings that have led me to where I am today.
我叫 Violeta（中文名：姚紫兰），瑞士裔墨西哥人，目前在深圳当西班牙语老师。这个故事讲的是我如何走到今天的。
Growing up in a bi-cultural family, my curiosity and sensitivity toward languages were never lacking. However, I never imagined studying Chinese. My Chinese journey began rather sporadically and was born, really, out of a sudden impulse on a lazy afternoon. Looking back on all the things that could have linked me to this mystical country, I attribute it to yuánfèn. I could trace my connection to Chinese back to my childhood, when every birthday I would ask my parents to take me to the only Chinese restaurant in town to celebrate. Or when I pasted the image of my Chinese Zodiac (龍) in my high school yearbook. But I cannot attribute any real merit to these fortuitous events, a reflection of the power of yuánfèn. It wasn’t until college, though, that I learned about China. On a random afternoon, I came across the university’s language course schedule posted on a bulletin board. By process of elimination, because Italian and Portuguese seemed too “simple”, I ended up enrolling in a Chinese course.
我在两种文化的熏陶下长大，对语言充满好奇心和敏感性。然而，我从未想过学习中文。我的中国之旅开始得相当随意，是在一个慵懒的下午，一时冲动萌生的想法。回顾过去的一切，有一个词能将我同这个神秘的国家联系起来，那就是“缘分”。童年开始，我就与中国产生了千丝万缕的联系，那时我每年生日，都会嚷嚷着让父母带我去镇上唯一的中餐厅庆祝。高中时我会把中国生肖“龍”的形象贴在年鉴上。这些看似偶然的事情之所以会发生，并不是谁的功劳，而是“缘分”的力量。大学时，我才学到关于中国的知识。一天下午，我看到了公告栏上张贴着大学语言课程表。意大利语和葡萄牙语似乎太“简单”了，通过排除法，我最终报名了中文课程。
Two hours a day, five days a week, our amazing Shanghainese teacher Xu Yiwen sowed the seed of my love for China, its language, and its culture. Towards the end of that year, an amazing opportunity knocked on our doors. An agreement with the Beijing International Studies University (BISU) had been signed and, two students would be selected for a one-year academic exchange. I remember the moment the teacher shared the news with us as if it were yesterday. I can clearly recall how I sprung off my seat and bolted out of the classroom to call my parents and ask them to keep their fingers crossed for me. Out of the blue, a possibility arose that I would never have considered in my wildest dreams: Traveling to China! After a couple of weeks, the excitement wore off and I began to doubt the chances of getting the scholarship. I had no connections (yes, guanxi is a thing in Mexico too). Hence, by the end of the semester, I had given up all hope. I didn’t even submit the paperwork. But yuánfèn did its job. Our lovely teacher applied for me, and I was informed on Valentine’s Day 2009 that I had been awarded the scholarship. I was to travel on March 8th!
每天两小时，每周五天，优秀的上海老师徐一文在我心底播下了热爱中国、中文和中国文化的种子。那年年底，一个意想不到的机会敲开了我们的大门。我们学校与北京第二外国语学院 (BISU) 签署了一项协议，将挑选两名学生进行为期一年的学术交流。老师告诉我们这个消息的那一刻，仿佛就在昨天。我清楚地记得，当时我激动得从座位上蹦起来，冲出教室，给父母打电话，请求他们为我祈祷。一种我做梦都想不到的机会突然摆在我面前：去中国！但几周后，兴奋感消失了，我开始怀疑自己是否能得到这份奖学金。我没有任何“关系”（没错，“关系”在墨西哥也十分重要）可以依赖。学期末，我已经放弃希望，甚至没有提交申请文件。但由于“缘分”的力量，我们可爱的老师替我申请了奖学金。2009 年情人节，我得知奖学金已收入囊中。3 月 8 号，我踏上了前往中国的旅途！
I remember my first impressions of the Northern Capital vividly. I landed at 10 a.m. on a much polluted Sunday morning, with temperatures well below zero. My first images of the city were of people wandering about, throwing out their trash, smoking a cigarette, having breakfast or just strolling around dressed in what looked like pajamas. What a sight! Cultural shock started sinking in little by little. Letrines, strong odors, huge crowds, curious glances, traditional hutongs alongside the much unexpected modernity… and I could go on to name a myriad of fascinating things that took me a while to understand, but which I ended up falling in love with.
我仍清楚地记得北京留给我的第一印象。那是一个周日，上午 10 点，飞机着陆在机场，那天的气温远低于零度，污染严重。我对这座城市的第一印象是人们四处闲逛，倒着垃圾，抽着烟，吃着早餐，穿着睡衣散步。满眼都是我从未见过的景象！异域文化开始一点点地冲击着我。公厕、强烈的气味、庞大的人口、好奇的目光、传统胡同和现代建筑相碰撞……还有许多神奇的事物，我需要花时间去了解，但最终我爱上了这一切。
Beijing was life-changing. Experiencing the four seasons for the first time, sharing day-to-day life with classmates from dozens of different countries, some of which I couldn’t even accurately place on a map. It seemed unreal, like a piece of fiction in the fabric of my life. I fell so deeply in love with my Beijing life that I requested and managed, against all odds, to extend my stay for a second year.
北京改变了我的人生。我第一次经历四季变换，与来自几十个国家的同学一起生活，一些国家我甚至在地图上都找不到。这一切是那么的虚幻，就像生命历程中的一段小说。我深爱在北京的生活，所以我申请延长学术交流时间一年，并获得了批准。
I returned to Mexico in 2012, but a portion of my heart stayed in China. Although busy catching up with college, I found every possible opportunity to practice my Chinese. I ate Chinese food almost every week. I spent my afternoons watching非诚勿扰, I thought about China every day. After graduating, yuánfèn knocked on my door once again. A post on social announced an International company looking for people fluent in Chinese and Spanish. My first thought was, “I am not at all fluent in Chinese”. I had no confidence in my rusty Chinese, but after hesitating for a few days I decided I had nothing to lose (other than 面子) by trying, so I sent my CV without much hope. Within two weeks I received a call. The young man who interviewed me was also a BISU graduate. What are the odds!
2012 年我回到了墨西哥，但我一部分心留在了中国。虽然忙着追赶学业进度，但我会尽可能腾出时间练习中文。我几乎每周都会吃中餐，利用下午的时间看非诚勿扰，每天都在想念中国。毕业后，“缘分”再一次敲开了我的大门。社交网站上有一个帖子，一家国际公司正招聘精通中文和西班牙语的人。我迸出的第一个想法就是“我中文一点都不流利”。我对自己蹩脚的中文没有信心，但犹豫了几天之后，我决定放手一搏，毕竟也不会损失什么（除了面子）。虽然没有抱多大希望，但我还是投了简历。不到两周，我接到了一个电话。面试我的那个年轻人也是北外的毕业生。太巧了！
I got the job at a Chinese oil drilling company in Southeast Mexico. It wasn’t my French degree that got me a job, it was my two years in Beijing. With this experience, I learned about China from a new perspective: the corporate environment.
我得到了这份工作，这是一家中国石油钻探公司，位于墨西哥东南部。我的竞争优势并不是我学法语，而是我在北京两年的学习经历。这段工作经历让我从一个全新的角度了解中国，那就是企业环境角度。
I always wanted to pursue a master’s degree, and I always wanted to return to China. What I didn’t know is that I would do both at the same time. I started looking into scholarships. By March 2016, I had sent in my application. Without waiting for the outcome of the university’s selection process, I bought a one-way flight to Beijing and submitted my resignation. My acceptance letter from Nankai University came in two weeks after leaving the company. I was accepted on a full scholarship for three years.
我一直想攻读硕士学位，也一直想回到中国，但没想到这两件事能同时实现。我开始研究如何申请奖学金。2016 年 3 月，我提交了申请。没等录取结果出来，我就买了一张飞往北京的单程机票，并提交了辞呈。离职两周后，我收到了南开大学的录取通知书，获得了三年的全额奖学金。
In August 2016 I landed at the BIA and as I stepped off the plane, it felt like coming home. It is a difficult feeling to describe with words, as if I was escaping one reality to land in another, in an alternate world, a dream that I never stopped dreaming. My arrival in Tianjin felt more like a simple move to a new house than like a transition to a completely different reality on the other side of the planet.
2016 年 8 月，我搭乘的飞机着落于北京国际机场。走下飞机的时候，我感觉就像回到了家。这种感受难以言表，仿佛我逃离现实世界，降落在另一个世界，又仿佛在做一个永远不会醒来的梦。我来到天津，感觉就像搬家一样简单，尽管我是来到地球的另一端，一个完全不同的世界。
This move marked the beginning of the rest of my life. I met my husband online. I never believed in online dating, but was bored and wanted to make new friends. Yuánfèn was working hard, again. We fell for each other pretty quickly. By 2019 we had signed our “little red book” and organized a full-on traditional wedding in rural Hebei. Our marriage has been a trip through the mountains. Moving forward slowly, up and down the hills, but enjoying the marvelous scenery along the way. We are learning from each other day after day, merging our cultures and broadening each other’s understanding of the world.
搬到天津是我人生的转折点。我在网上认识了我现在的丈夫。以前我从不相信网恋，但无聊的我想结交新朋友，于是“缘分”又开始发挥作用。我们很快相爱了。2019 年，我们一起领了“小红本”，在河北农村举办了一场传统婚礼。我们的婚姻是一场翻山越岭的旅行，携手徐行，起起伏伏，一路上欣赏着绝妙的风景。我们每天都相互学习，融合彼此的文化，拓宽彼此的世界观。
We are living in Shenzhen since 2020, with two cats and a fish tank. And while we are enjoying life in the hustle and bustle of this ultra-modern city, we look forward to a future back in Mexico. Although we don’t know when, we know that at some point it’s going to be his turn to immerse into my culture and discover where I come from: a tiny little town on the coast of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico. We see ourselves strolling on the beach every sunrise with a dog chasing the waves, maybe a couple of toddlers playing in the sand, and our memories of China always present in our morning conversations. Some day, if yuánfèn permits.
2020 年我们搬到深圳生活，养了两只猫和一缸鱼。我们在这个喧嚣的超现代城市中享受生活的同时，期盼着未来能回到墨西哥。虽然我们不知道这一天什么时候会到来，但我们确信未来一定会轮到他沉浸于我家乡的文化，了解我的故乡墨西哥南部瓦哈卡海岸的一个小城。到那时，日出时分，我们会在海滩上漫步，狗狗追逐海浪，也许还有几个蹒跚学步的孩童在沙地上玩耍，而我们则谈论着在中国的记忆。未来，如果“缘分”允许的话。
你相信人可以重获新生吗？我相信。我叫 Julian Quander（杰酷）。2010年，我获得了一个千载难逢的机会，将改变我的人生……
我一直对融合菜和混合菜情有独钟：味道的融合或者多种材料的混合，我感觉自己一直局限在民族文化的小小角落里。因此，为了在我比利时生活的焦糖里面加少许盐，我有了到“别处”游历的想法。
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