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作者：Curt Edward Witt （美国外教/湖南新田一中/来源：湖南省外国专家局网站） |
| （点击这里：看中文译文↓↓） | |
There are many treasures in China. From the great wall outside of Beijing to the tropics of Hainan, but my Chinese treasure is in Yong Zhou County in the small city of Xintian. My treasure is Xintian’s people. Moving to Xintian has been an awaking and eye opening experience for me. I came here with out a lot of preconceived notions on what China would be like. In America we often hear about the business side of China and our trade agreements, but not about the Chinese people and who they are. When I first arrived in Xintian I was taken aback with the warm hospitality I received. From shop owners to school administrators, every one was wonderful and welcoming. Xintian is a rural city, but what it lacks in modernization it more then make up for in character. Xintian is a place to find peace and sit back and enjoy life. Having only lived here for a few months, I feel at home walking the streets of Xintian. Living here among the wonderful populace has inspired me and taught me life lessons that I will cherish and live by for the rest of my life.
The society of Xintian has educated me a lot. Here, the residents all look out
for one another,
while keeping themselves in a constant state of balance. We buy meat that was raised locally, we eat fruits and vegetables that were grown in the country outside of town and when we shop we shop locally. By doing this we are supporting the local economy and with that the greater good of the residents of Xintian. In America, the philosophy is; put me first and that will be better for society. In Xintian the philosophy is; put society first and it will be better for me. The passion of this philosophy being so prevalent in Xintian has made me rethink what type of citizen I want to be in what ever community I live.
My first week in Xintian I had to set up a back account, so I went to the back with a Chinese teacher whose English name is Jane. While I was filling out the necessary paperwork and old man came into the back. He walked around for a while, and then spoke to the bank representative who gave him some paperwork. Jane asked the old man if he needed help and took his papers from him. To my total surprise she started to complete the old man’s paperwork. I asked her if she knew him, thinking of course she must know him or why be bothered with a task that had nothing to do with her. She replied “ No, he is an old man so I should help him”. I didn’t think too much of it then, but after living here, that is a defining characteristic of the people in this town. To help those who need help, not because it helps you directly or immediately, but because it helps your fellow citizen and with that it helps society and because society is a better place, you are in a better place.
In America we have a saying “ don’t sweat the small stuff ”, it means do not overreact to things that are of little importance. Unfortunately, I have not always lived by this virtue. In America I often “ sweated the small stuff ”. It rarely happens, but sometimes the power goes out in town. Now, if this happened in America the residents of the outage would be on the phone to the electric company and demanding that their power be restored. Their demands would be relentless, by every one. No one would be content or happy until all is back to normal. But here in Xintian, if the electricity goes out, we continue on with our lives as if nothing is missing. Sure we can’t watch T.V. or use land line phones. But, do we really need them anyway? At night the town illuminates into a beautiful warm orange glow as those without generators light candles. The sight alone is beautiful and amazing. It reminds me of what it must have been like prior to the world having electricity; tranquil and peaceful, with out the blaze of neon lights and blaring televisions. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
In Xintian I often take a moment to enjoy the here and now. At home I was so focused on the future, always looking ahead, my next deadline at work, my next car payment or what I was going to do on my off days. But here, the pace of life inspires me to sit back and take pleasure in the moment. We have a wonderful tower here in Xintian. It was built in late 19th century by a local Xintian man f or the whole town to enjoy. Along with the tower there are many paths among the forest area around the tower. It offers stunning views of the town and out river. It is very relaxing looking out over the town with the river flowing and the mountains in the distance. Being here has allowed me to go up there only to enjoy the view. Before, I think I might have gone up there with the only intention to exercise or to say I made it to the top. But now I often enjoy a leisurely walk to the top and take a seat to feel the warmth of the sun on my face and enjoy some local fruit.
Eating is a center piece of any culture. But I have never put so much thought into what I put into my body until I moved to Xintian. In America it was often what was quickest is what I ate. Always being on the go with my fast paced life style did not allow me to really sit down and enjoy a good meal. Here in Xintian I enjoy local food, especially the famous dish “blood duck”, a personal favorite of mine. When I go out to eat in Xintian, I know the food is local.
Whether I am eating fruit, vegetables or meat I know it is most likely from Xintian. And that inspires me to take time to relax and enjoy a good meal. It doesn’t seem to do justice to the farmers who spent there time and labor providing me this food to not take the time to enjoy it.
Even when I leave Xintian I will take these inspirations with me. Because of my time here I will be able to remember that I am part of a society and my contributions to that society are as important as what I do for myself. Don’t sweat the small stuff were only words before coming here, now it is a motto to live by. The most important thing about Xintian is that being here has taught me to take in the moment at every moment. The past is the past and the future will come, but nothing is more important the moment that is right now. The people of Xintian have taken me in as one of their own. I will always be a foreigner in a foreign land, but Xintian will always have a special place in my heart and will forever be remembered as my first home in China. ■
Curt Edward Witt
United States of America
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| 新田一中: 中外教师和谐相处 | Mr.Curt 获奖 | 市政府颁发的“九嶷友谊奖” |
【汉 语 译 文】
在中国有许多珍宝。从长城以外的北京到热带的海南。但对我而言，我的中国宝是在湖南永州的一个小县城——新田。确切地说，我的中国宝是那里的人民。
来到新田对我而言，是一次可以令我觉悟的、使我的眼界更开阔的经历。我来到这里之前并没有很多关于中国将会是什么样子的概念。在美国，我们经常听到关于中国的商务和贸易协定的消息，但并不了解中国人民是谁，他们是怎样的。当我第一次来到新田，我很惊讶于新田人民的热情好客。从小卖部老板到学校行政人员，都是那么多善良和友好。新田是一个农村城市，而正是它缺少现代化构成了它的特点。这是一个你可以静静地躺下来享受生活寻找宁静的地方。在这里只住了几个月，走在大街上我便觉得仿佛是在自己的家乡那样自在了。与这里的老百姓一起的日子激发了我，教会了我生活的经验。而这些，我将在剩下的时间里永远珍存并记取。
新田的社会教会了我很多东西。在这里的每一个人都会相互照顾，尽量的让自己处于一种平衡的心态。在新田，我们去买当地人自己饲养的猪肉，我们也吃县城郊区的农民种地水果，而一旦购物，我们都会选择去本地购物。通过这样，我们尽量地支持当地的经济并帮助当地的人们。在美国，人们做人的哲学是把“我”放在第一位，然后才是考虑是否对社会有利。而在新田，人们的哲学是把社会放在第一位，然后才是社会对自己的发展有更好的帮助。这种普遍流行的为人哲学让我不得不重新考虑在我自己所居住的这样一个社会里，自己到底想要成为怎样的一个人。
我来新田的第一个星期要去办一张银行卡，所以我跟着一个英语名字叫Jane的中国老师一起去了。当我在填写一些必要的表格时，一位老人进来了。在银行的大厅徘徊了一阵后，这个老人跟前台的工作人员说了几句什么之后，那个工作人员给了他一些表格。让我非常惊讶的是，Jane主动问这个老人是否需要帮忙并把老人的表格接了过来帮他填写。我问她是否认识这个老人，心想Jane肯定是认识他或者怎么的否则她干嘛要没事找事做呢？她回答说“我不认识他啊！我帮他只是因为他是个老人。”当时，我并没有去想很多，但是在这住久了后，才发现，这是这座小城的人们一种最朴实的特点而已。他们去帮助那些需要帮助的人，并不是因为他们直接地或者是马上就能看到为你自己带来的好处，而仅仅是因为可以帮助其他的公民，而通过帮助他人可以帮助社会进步，这样社会会变得更美好，而你自己也将处在一个更美好的社会。
在美国，有一种说法“不要为小事而烦恼”，意思就是不要对那些并不重要的事情作出过度的反应。不幸的是，我似乎总是不能依照这种美德行事。在美国，我总是“为了那些小事情而斤斤计较”。在美国停电是很少发生的，但是在这座小镇上有时候却会。现在，如果这个事情发生在美国，人们一定会非常生气，大家都会马上打电话给电力公司，气愤地要求他们马上过来维修，直到所有的一切都恢复正常，否则会一直郁闷。而在这里，如果停电了，我们的生活仍然在继续，好像什么也没有失去。当然啦，我们不能看电视也不能用电话。但是，不管怎么样，我们都是需要电的，难道不是吗？夜幕降临的时候，整座城市笼罩在一片美丽的桔黄色的灯光下，仿佛是点燃了许许多多不需要发动机的蜡烛一样。而这种景象只会让人觉得美丽与惊讶。它让我想起了在人类世界在没有电之前是怎样的，也让我想起了在没有霓虹灯的闪烁与电视的刺耳声前的安静与宁静。所以，不要为了小事而烦恼。
在新田，我总是会不时地花时间闲逛。以前在美国的时候，我总是把注意力集中在未来和明天，总是在向前看，看我的工作中的下一个截止日期是什么时候，想我的下一次汽车还款日是什么时候，也会去想放假了我要去做什么。而在这里，生活的节奏会让我轻松地做下来静静地享受当前。
在新田，有一座非常棒的小塔。这座塔始建于19世纪，是新田当地的一个人为供全城的人欣赏而建的。除了有塔之外，在塔周围还有很多丛林间的小道。在山顶，你可以欣赏到整座城市的美景和城边的一条河流。当俯瞰整座城市，看着山脚下的河流静静流过以及远处的小山时，那真是很放松很惬意的。站在那里，你唯一能做的就是欣赏美景！以前，我以为自己去爬那座山只是纯粹地为了锻炼身体这一个目的。可是，现在我更多觉得是想去享受一下散步时的悠闲而爬到山顶。到山顶后，我会找个座位坐下来静静地享受温暖的阳光照耀在自己身上，惬意地品尝带去的当地的特色水果。
饮食是一个文化的中心。但是在我到新田之前，我都从来没有想过这么多关于吃的问题。在美国，经常是什么最快我就吃什么。一直处于这样的忙碌的生活方式使得我的生活一直都是紧张的状态，也让我根本就没有时间真正的能坐下来好好地吃一顿饭。然而在新田，我非常喜欢吃当地地菜，尤其是这里的名菜——血鸭。这是我个人最喜欢吃的菜。在新田，当我去外边吃饭的时候，我可以判断这个菜是不是当地的菜。不管我是在吃水果、蔬菜还是肉，我都知道这很可能是当地产的。这样也一次可以激励我每次都能有时间放松下来好好地享受每一顿饭。如果我不花时间好好享受它，似乎很对那些在这些食物上花了很多时间和劳力的农民太不公平了。
即使当我离开新田的时候，我也会带着这些启示。因为我在这里的时间能让我想起我是这个社会的一部分。我对这个社会的贡献将与我为自己所做的一样重要。“不要为了小事而烦恼”这种观点在我来新田之前只是停留在口头上，现在已经成了我生活的座右铭。在这里，我学到的最重要的事情就是认真去享受每一刻！昨日已成过去，明日是未知的，此刻才是最重要的。新田的人们已经把我当成了他们中的一员。我在这片异国的土地上也许永远都是外国人，但是新田人民在我心中永远都会有一个特殊的位置，并且我将永远地把她当做我在中国的第一个故乡！ ■
作者姓名：Curt Edward Witt
国 籍：美国
聘请单位：湖南新田一中
来自湖南澧县职业学校的外教事迹报道：“Natty 妈妈，您的女儿们爱您！”
图片：湖南新田一中喜迎巴克兰外教 | ▲ 回获奖征文目录页
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