我们和疫情后第一批比利时交换生聊了聊…Interview with Students from Ghent University

你为什么决定学习中文？你对中国最感兴趣的是什么？

Why did you decide tolearn Chinese? What interests you most about China? 

每次旅行时，我都会尝试学习所到国家的语言，在2018年我第一次去中国时就是如此。那一刻，我爱上了这种语言——它的书写方式、词汇和语法。汉语是我决定主修中国研究的原因，我对汉语的热情也是我坚持下去的原因。

I often try to learn a bit of the language of the country I'm visiting whenever I travel, and I did precisely that when I first visited China in 2018. That was the moment I fell in love with the language – its writing system, vocabulary, and grammar. Mandarin Chinese was why I decided to major in Chinese Studies, and my passion for it is still why I keep going.

我之所以选择在本科学习中文，主要是因为我对亚洲文化非常着迷。在我成长的过程中，我碰见过许多关于亚洲的刻板印象，但这也激发了年轻的我对亚洲的浓厚兴趣。我意识到，如果不尝试学习中文和中国文化，我会后悔的。直到今天，我从未后悔过这个决定！

My choice to study Chinese at the university mostly originated from my fascination with Asian cultures. Growing up, I faced many stereotypes about Asia, but it also sparked a lot of interest in the younger me. I realized I would regret it if I didn't try studying Chinese and Chinese culture. Up until today, I have never regretted that decision!

我的父母把我送到根特的一所中文学校学习中文，在此期间我对中国文化产生了浓厚的兴趣。因为我希望将来的工作与中文有关，所以选择了中文专业。我对中国大学的校园生活非常感兴趣，所以能到辽宁大学留学让我真切地感受到了校园生活的乐趣。

My parents sent me to a Chinese school in Ghent to study Chinese, during which I became more interested in Chinese culture. Because I hope that my future work will be related to Chinese, I chose Chinese studies as my major. I am very interested in the campus life of Chinese Universities, so being able to study abroad at Liaoning University made me fully feel the pleasure of campus life.

校园生活是怎么样的？

How was campus life like?

每个平日我们都有中文课，从8:30到12:30，有的时候内容以语言学习为主，有些则以历史或文学为主题。还有一些文化课，比如太极拳或书法。因为我们的课程是与根特大学一起设置的，所以我只和同一课程的其他比利时学生一起上课。但在我们参加的文化旅行中有很多与当地学生交流的机会——当然还有课外。

Every weekday we had classes in Chinese from 8:30 until 12:30, with some subjects purely focused on language learning and others focused on history or literature. There were also optional cultural classes to learn tai chi or calligraphy. Because our program was set with my home university, I only took classes with other Belgian students from the same program. But there was plenty of opportunity to interact with local students on the cultural trips we went on - as well as opportunities outside of class, of course.

在最初的几周里，使用微信支付和支付宝是一个相当大的挑战。我们需要中国的银行卡、电话号码等，才能成功安装这些在中国使用的便捷支付方式。幸运的是，学校的工作人员和其他同学帮我们解决了困难，并在新的难题出现时，随时为我们提供帮助。

In the first few weeks, arranging things like WeChat Pay and Ali Pay was quite a challenge. We needed a Chinese bank card, phone number, etc., to successfully install the convenient ways of payment used in China. Luckily the university staff and other students helped us with these difficulties and were always open to help us when new difficulties arose.

你们作为三年疫情后第一批来华留学的学生，体验如何？

What was it like to be the first group of international students to study in China after three years of pandemic? 

当我们到达辽宁大学时，安排我们交换项目的工作人员非常热情地欢迎我们。第一周，学校甚至组织了一个开学典礼来正式欢迎我们。在仪式上，该校的院长对我们与根特大学的交流项目在时隔三年之后终于再次启动表达感谢。总的来说，在我们三个月的交流过程中，我们毫无疑问地能感觉到，已经很久没有交换生在校园里了。

When we arrived at Liaoning University, we got a very warm welcome from the organising staff who arranged our exchange. In the first week, the university even organized an opening ceremony to officially welcome us. During this ceremony, the university's dean expressed his gratitude that the exchange program with Ghent University was finally on the rails again after three long years. In general, throughout our exchange of three months, we undoubtedly felt that it had been a long time since any exchange students had been on campus.

多亏了根特教授教授们的辛勤工作，我们今年才得以踏上中国的土地。辽宁大学非常欢迎我们的到来，特意为我们举行了欢迎仪式。当地的老师从各个方面帮助我们适应新环境，当地的学生也很高兴能交到新朋友。我在19岁的年纪就踏出了到中国交流这艰难的一步之后，还能够受到当地人如此热情的欢迎和送别，真是太好了。

It’s only thanks to our professors’ hard work that we managed to land on Chinese soil this year, and I’m so grateful that it worked out. Liaoning University was overjoyed to receive us, making sure to set up a welcome ceremony. The local professors were ready to help us in every aspect of settling into this new environment, and local students were excited to make new friends. After taking the intimidating step of going on an exchange to China at only 19 years old, it was wonderful to receive such a warm welcome and goodbye from the locals.

中国给你带来了哪些惊喜？

What surprised you about China?

我很荣幸能成为疫情后第一批来到中国的留学生。当我来到中国，我对中国的现代化感到非常惊讶，非常惊喜于中国生活的便利。比如，可以扫码骑自行车、用微信支付、支付宝、美团、刷地铁乘车码等等。一切都给生活带来了极大的便利，同时也给我们带来了很多新的挑战。中国的学校生活与比利时的学习生活真的很不一样。它给了我非常不同的体验，让我大开眼界。

I feel very privileged to be amongst the first international students to come to China after the pandemic. When I came to China, I was very surprised by China's modernization and also surprised by the convenience of living in China at present. For example, code-sweeping bicycles, WeChat payments, Alipay, Meituan, subway bus codes, and so on. Everything makes life very convenient, but these also bring us many new challenges. School life in China is really different from studying in Belgium. It gave me a very different experience and opened my eyes.

最让我惊讶的是沈阳人对我们非常友好！作为交换生，我们很容易与当地学生有距离；但由于中国学生多次主动与我们联系，我们结下了深厚的友谊，这些友谊将持续一生。我还记得我买了一些明信片寄给我的家人，上面写着“愿你被沈阳温柔相待”，我不得不说这对我们来说真的很真实！

What surprised me the most was how friendly the people in Shenyang were towards us! As exchange students, it is easy to become socially isolated from the local students; but because of how many times the Chinese students reached out to us first, we were all able to make many friendships that will last a lifetime. I remember buying some cards to send to my family that said "愿你被沈阳温柔相待" (hope you have a good time in Shenyang) , and I have to say that really turned out to be real for us!

让你最难忘的时刻有哪些？

What’s your most memorable moment?

我最难忘的时刻都发生在校园的运动场上。人们走出房间锻炼身体，在晚饭后散步，或者和朋友一起躺在操场上。我的母校根特大学并不是一个集宿舍、餐厅和体育设施于一体的封闭式校园，能看到如此不同的景象让我耳目一新。我很快就从一个甚至不敢在家人面前跳舞的人变成了一个经常在操场上跳舞的人，原因很简单：大家都在那里做自己的事情！真是一个健康的生活环境。

My most memorable moments all took place on the sports field of our campus, where I was surprised by how lively it was every single day. People came out of their rooms to exercise, go on a walk after dinner or just lie on the field with their friends. My home campus is not a closed campus with dorms, restaurants, and sports facilities all in one place, and it was so refreshing to see such a different image. I quickly went from being someone who didn’t dare to even dance in front of my family to someone who regularly went dancing in the middle of a sports field, simply because everyone was there doing their own thing anyway. It was such a healthy environment to live in.

你将来会想回到中国学习或工作吗？

Would you like to come back to China to study or work in the future?

这次经历无疑为我们将来回中国学习或工作打开了一扇门。我们很快就适应了中国大学的模式，这与比利时很不一样。我们还体验到了中国的日常生活，节奏明快，充满活力。这些特点能够吸引像我们这样的年轻学生回到中国，并在中国停留更长的时间。

This experience definitely opened the door for the possibility of coming back to China to either study or work. We quickly got used to how universities in China are organised, which differs from in Belgium. We also got a taste of daily life in China, which is fast-paced and lively. These characteristics can attract young students like us to come back to China and stay there for a longer period.