Interview with the 107th real person
Author: N
Narrator: Chun Luo
The sincere treatment between people has no borders, and it will not be blocked by language, skin color, and culture.
They said that the kindness and warmth that was given to me was a reward and an arrival of a wish.
When I first came to Ireland, my spoken English listening was poor. My first host family didn't communicate much with me and didn't give me food very well. After some time of depression, I met my second host family. The family of four, the husband and wife are about 50 or 60 years old, a son and a daughter are adults, the son works in Taiwan all year round, and the daughter works locally.
⊙ courtesy of respondents
Although I have been living in Ireland for a while, my spoken English listening still has not improved, I can't understand what others say, and I can't say anything myself. When they stayed at their house, they would be patient with me. When they encounter something I don't understand, they will explain it to me very patiently until I understand it. Sometimes they tell someone something and tell me it again very slowly, never showing impatience. It was in the process that I really learned a lot, and in half a year, my IELTS listening soared from five points directly to eight points.
⊙ courtesy of respondents
In life, they also take special care of me. For example, on a rest day, they drive to the park, have a party, visit relatives, or visit relatives' homes, and they will treat me like family, take me out, and introduce me to everyone. We usually eat together at night, and every day, whether we wake up in the morning, come back from school, or they come home from work, they will greet me warmly. And the money I gave them was not much, 750 euros a month, including dinner, which was only the average price here, so I was flattered by the treatment I received in this home.
⊙ courtesy of respondents
I once inexplicably expressed to them that I was just a student who didn't know you very well and paid money, why are you so good to me. They laughed and said that their daughter had also been an exchange student at Xiamen University in our country. During the exchange, the daughter was treated very warmly by the Chinese, which left her with very good memories in Xiamen. They understand very well how a person feels when they are abroad, and as parents they also want others to be good to their children. They are very grateful to Chinese for their kindness and care for their daughter, so they have always wanted to pass on this kindness. When they met me, they felt that the opportunity had come, and they wanted to pass on this love and care to me.
The sense of ceremony makes the original simple and plain life warm and loving, makes people burn expectations for life, and can also express enthusiasm for life.
⊙ courtesy of respondents
Among the international students in Ireland, I am one of those who have lived deeply with the locals. There are indeed many cultural differences between Ireland and China, and the most intuitive thing in life is that foreigners like to express themselves more than Chinese. On a very ordinary morning, the first time the landlord gets up and sees me, he will loudly and happily greet me with "good morning, how did I sleep yesterday?". Words like this, like the sun pouring from the window sill into the bedroom in the morning, make people feel good. Of course, such greetings are not only for me alone, they will also greet others in this way, and their families will also greet each other in this way. In China, people are very introverted, and words like "good morning, good night" can probably only be said between lovers.
⊙ courtesy of respondents
I am a very introverted person, especially my family. Like most families, my parents were not very articulate, and family life was sparse and rarely had that emotional heat. When I came to Ireland, I was often infected by the open, cheerful atmosphere of the locals. My emotions are often satisfied, and the vigor of life is like the rising sun in the east. Although every day is similar, there is always a steady stream of expectations. In fact, the Irish people do not have so many happy things in a day's life, everyone lives a plain life, but they can always entertain themselves, find some happiness, and always make the ordinary life more interesting. For example, the landlord may casually buy a thing I like to eat on the street, and before giving it to me, he will make me close my eyes and put my hand in front. I couldn't open my eyes until they were in my hands, and when I opened them, I had to act very surprised and then thank them again. This sense of ritual of life seems childish, but it really brings me a lot of joy.
⊙ courtesy of respondents
In Ireland, in addition to the daily ritual sense, there are also parties, birthday parties, Christmas and other days that can be used to create surprises. Whenever there is a gift-giving process, everyone sits together and opens the gift in person. You have to be very surprised to see the gift, and then thank you. Everyone present was very enthusiastic, and the atmosphere was particularly good. Foreigners seem to be born with the ability to get together and be particularly hilarious, and this ability can make ordinary days shine like magic.
From any point of view, some foreign cultures are incomprehensible to us, such as going to the grave of the ancestors of other people's families, laughing at the grave, taking photos...
⊙ courtesy of respondents
I had just arrived in Ireland at that time, and I spent a short time with my landlord's family. During the day on Christmas Eve, the landlord asked me if I wanted to go to the botanical garden. I followed them all the way and suddenly stopped in a large cemetery. I asked the landlord in amazement, isn't it going to the botanical garden? My landlord looked at the cemetery with a particularly certainty and said yes, this is it.
It is an Irish tradition to visit the grave during the day on Christmas Eve, but what puzzles me is that in China, it is a family that goes to visit the graves of their ancestors, and does not bring strangers with them. When I got to the cemetery here, I found a lot of people there, and there were a lot of flower sellers. Parents let the children run and jump on the cemetery, and everyone came to the grave happily, without any sense of solemnity, which is not a great disrespect to the ancestors.
⊙ courtesy of respondents
I came out of high school and went to school, and my parents didn't let me go to a cemetery before that, and it was my first time to go to a large cemetery. Watching the landlord sort out and sweep the grave over there, it seems that the tomb sweeping is not regarded as a heavy matter at all. After sweeping the grave, the landlord took me to visit the largest cemetery next to the park. Because I had never been to a place like this, my heart was hairy. Although the people who came to visit the grave were very happy, my heart was still very nervous and panicked. Along the way, the host introduced me to the tombs like a tour guide. Some of the more beautifully built mega necropolises, said to be of celebrities, are hundreds of years old. As I walked, there were fewer people sweeping the graves around me, and my landlord suddenly told me to take a picture, and I was shocked and finished taking the picture.
⊙ courtesy of respondents
Although this has been a long time, it still feels incredible when I think about it now. It was also interesting to laugh, visit, jump around, and take a group photo like graduation at the end of the cemetery.
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This article takes a first-person narrative perspective
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