#头条创作挑战赛 #
This is the story of the 748th real person we tell
I am Ani@ Yang Mei Ni from Armenia, Chinese name is Yang Mei Ni, 32 years old this year, from Armenia.
When I was a child, I learned about China through a pair of chopsticks and was full of yearning for it. After graduation, I was looking for opportunities to go to China.
The first time, when I got a visa, bought a plane ticket, and was preparing to "take off", I was torn down by my parents.
The second time, I only stayed in Hainan, China for two months. After returning, I immediately began to look for long-term job opportunities, and this time I got my wish, staying for 3 years.
In addition to my mother tongue, I was fluent in English, Russian and Spanish, but now my Chinese have also achieved some success.
What is even more touching is that I have gained a sincere girlfriend in China. Now he has also "abducted" her to Armenia, and then set out from here to explore the beauty of the world with her.
(Taken before coming to China in 2018)
I was born in 1990 in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. Armenia is a landlocked country at the junction of Asia and Europe and was formerly a member of the Soviet Union. Although it has an area of only 29,800 square kilometers, it has a history of 3,500 years.
It was the world's first Christian country, but it had a Christmas like no other. Because we are celebrating the holidays on January 6th, Christmas dinner is stained eggs and rice with raisins added.
Dad was engaged in trade between China and Armenia, and when he was a child, he often listened to him tell Chinese stories, and the most impressive thing was the Chinese Spring Festival.
According to Dad, the Spring Festival is a big day for Chinese reunion, and on that day family members have to get together. Therefore, during the Spring Festival in China, we can see the spectacular scene of the "Great Migration" of more than one billion people.
It was too hard for me to understand, much more unimaginable. But I know that it is a mysterious and ancient country with a very long history.
(Lebanon by the sea)
Dad's story made me yearn for China very much. I secretly decided that I would definitely go to China to see it in the future and personally feel the essence of Chinese culture.
Another impressive thing dad said was that chopsticks were used to eat. Going to China is still a distant dream for me, but chopsticks can be learned to use first.
So, I ran to the supermarket, saw the only four pairs of chopsticks left, and bought them all. I quickly learned to use chopsticks and even skillfully pick up peanut rice.
Maybe it was the chopsticks that exercised the flexibility of the fingers, which promoted brain development, and I did very good academically, especially in my language skills.
When I went to college, I chose to major in linguistics, but unfortunately there was no Chinese course in our country at that time.
With talent and hard work, when I graduated from university in 2012, I was proficient in English and Russian in addition to my native Armenian language, and I also learned a little Spanish.
(with family)
I'm proud that my English is pretty good, just like my native speaker. After graduating, I worked as a translator and switched between several languages. The work process also promoted language learning and made my language skills more outstanding.
At that time, I was working as a translator and applying for a job online, eager to realize my childhood dream of going to Work in China. It turned out to be a smooth job in China.
I got my visa, booked my ticket, and waited with great excitement for the day I flew to China. However, when my parents found out, they firmly opposed it, thinking that I was young, did not understand Chinese, and it was too unconsiderate to go to such a distant place alone.
There is a saying in China: poor parents in the world. In fact, parents all over the world are like this, I don't want my parents to be sad, so I have to reluctantly refund the ticket.
(My 30th birthday, a cake from a friend)
Years of wishing to come true, but finally failing, made me very disappointed and depressed for a long time. Since then, I have been able to commute to work and work in peace and live the most normal life.
It wasn't until the New Year of 2017, a trip to Egypt, that ignited my dream of going to China.
In Armenia, January 1 is an important festival, like the Chinese New Year. We usually visit the door after 12 o'clock in the evening to send blessings, and many families choose to travel in the New Year to celebrate the holiday together.
That year, our family decided to go to Egypt. It was a very meaningful trip, and the carvings, reliefs, paintings and other works of art left by the ancient Egyptians made me linger.
I thought that China is also one of the four ancient civilizations, and the world there must be more exciting. My inner dream rose again: I must go to China again, and no one can stop me this time!
(Drink tea by the river and enjoy life)
After returning from Egypt, I looked online for opportunities to travel to China. Luck struck again, and soon found a volunteer job to teach English for free in Baisha County, Hainan Province.
At that time, it was impossible to know where Hainan was, and Baisha County was even more unknown. But I think as long as I can come to China, no matter where it is, it is the greatest luck to be able to come.
My parents didn't stop me this time, perhaps because they were touched by my sincerity, or maybe they felt that I had grown up, or maybe it was because the trip was only two months long. All in all, I got their support.
This time I finally embarked on the long-dream journey, but I did not expect an unexpected episode that almost made me go back home and lose touch with China again.
When I landed at the Shanghai airport, this bustling metropolis surprised me. But I was soon dumbfounded, standing dumbfounded, looking at the empty turntable at a loss, because my luggage was missing.
(Photo of the ancient town)
It felt bad at that moment, and I really wanted to buy a return ticket and go home right away. After a staff member found out, he hurriedly reassured me not to worry, the luggage must be found. Also let me leave an address and said that after finding the luggage, help me to send it over.
I am glad that I did not once again ruin my trip to China because of a momentary impulse. A day later, the luggage was really delivered, and I officially began my long-awaited trip to China.
Baisha County is located in the middle of Hainan, is a Li Autonomous County, mainly agricultural, fresh air, good environment. In addition to teaching, 9 of our friends from different countries like to ride bicycles around and enjoy the beautiful exotic style.
There is a well-preserved rainforest, and there is a crater with a nice natural landscape. Because of the short time, I want to know very little about Chinese culture.
(Tasted super spicy hot pot in Chengdu)
Unexpectedly, the most uncomfortable thing for me was eating. In China, the food on the table is eaten and shared together. In Armenia, we all eat our own food.
I know that different cultures have different characteristics, and I can only follow the customs and slowly learn to accept them. Later, a friend taught us to use chopsticks and put the dishes on our own plates, which solved this embarrassment.
In a new and interesting place, time really flies by. Soon I was leaving China, but I was so reluctant that I decided to find a formal job and come to Live in China.
After returning to China, I immediately began to look for job opportunities in China. Finally, in 2018, I found a job teaching English in Suzhou.
Although I have experience living in China, I still need a Chinese friend to help me through the initial adaptation phase. So, I looked online for people who were willing to help me.
(Grocery shopping at the supermarket)
Therefore, I met Shen Yan, a Sichuan girl, and at first glance I felt that she was very kind. In fact, trust is so simple, your complex world is complex, your simple world is also simple.
She was very helpful in renting a house in Suzhou and went to the house to take a video to show me. Also helped me contact the driver, when I went to the airport to pick me up, at that time I thought this girl was doing things seriously.
I remember the day I arrived at the Shanghai airport, because the plane was late, I arrived in the middle of the night. She waited by her phone and learned that I had been delivered safely to the hotel, so she put her mind at ease and went to sleep. In fact, I was quite touched at that moment, like getting the care of my relatives.
We soon came to Suzhou, and Shen Yan first took me to the supermarket to buy daily necessities. It was the first time I'd been to such a big supermarket, and I was dizzy with the variety of goods.
(Experience TCM)
When paying, I saw Shen Yan holding the mobile phone, gently put it, and the "drip" sound was paid. I was curious about how the payment was successful, but I was embarrassed to ask. Later, I learned that this was China's high-tech.
Shen Yan also took me to visit Yi Garden, I like this small but exquisite layout of the garden, pavilions and corridors are connected, but twists and turns, as far as the eye can see, just like a series of exquisite paintings, between the small world and the earth, there is a hole in the sky.
When I came to Guanqian Street next door, soup buns, raw fried buns, sake stuffed taro and other delicacies simply opened my taste buds. However, the stinky tofu became my nightmare, because I was embarrassed to refuse, so I had to endure the discomfort and forcibly swallowed a whole piece.
This experience also made me eat a long and wise. Since then, I have tasted a little bit of food that I have not eaten, and then I will eat it. Fortunately, other Chinese snacks are my favorite.
(Taken when going out to play)
After helping me settle in, Shen Yan temporarily went to Shenzhen, and I also went to work and soon entered the working state.
Chinese children are very smart and hardworking, and their ability to learn knowledge is very strong. But when I knew that they had to take a lot of classes alone in their spare time, I felt tired for them.
In my cognition, interest is the best teacher, because of love, will persist, in order to achieve good results. This phenomenon also shows that the competitive pressure of Chinese children is still very large.
I am handy at work, but I am a little white in life. The people take food as the sky, and eating has become my problem. When I go to a restaurant, I can't read the menu, so I can only watch the dishes of the neighboring seats follow the order.
Most of the time, I live on takeaways. I have to say that China's takeaway is really super convenient and timely delivery. Unfortunately, I can only look at the picture and point out, and I don't know what to order.
(Taking photos with Shen Yan by the river)
Half a year later, Shen Yan returned to Suzhou. When she moved in with me, she cooked a lot of Sichuan dishes. Since then, I have fallen in love with spicy duck tongue, spicy crayfish, pickled pepper chicken feet, and also like to eat spicy Sichuan hot pot.
A meal that completely conquered me. I began to worship Shen Yan as a teacher and learn to cook. As a result, only vinegar was remembered for most of the day, white vinegar, rice vinegar, aged vinegar, balsamic vinegar... I was so dazzled that I had no choice but to label the bottle.
After learning to cook, I especially like to bring food to school. Because many of my other foreign colleagues were nibbling on bread, and I was eating my own dishes, accepting their envious eyes, and feeling energetic all day.
I am particularly proud that I learned to make bullfrogs, and my taste was praised by Chef Shen. Sometimes I can't help but think that when I return to my hometown, I will open a Sichuan restaurant and be my own boss and chef. However, I, the chef, will most likely steal food.
(Watching TV dramas to learn Chinese)
In the day and night with Shen Yan, I not only made great progress in my cooking skills, but also improved my Chinese level rapidly. Originally planned to be able to use Chinese for daily dialogue in two years, the goal was reached in only one and a half years.
He also learned to use idioms, but sometimes he would say the opposite, such as "people and mountains", which is easy to make jokes. Under the influence of Shen Yan, he often unconsciously came up with a few Words of Sichuan dialect: Bashi, Brain Shell, Chicken Foot and so on.
Now I have not only learned to speak Chinese, but also know a lot of Chinese characters. As long as you can say it, you can basically write it. Since learning Chinese, I have a deeper understanding of Chinese culture and found that the content of the previous English translation is really too superficial and superficial.
Later, he also followed Shen Yan into contact with mahjong. Although I know the cards and the rules, once I need to read and guess the cards, I have to obediently give up, it is too difficult.
(Learn to play mahjong)
Chinese culture is really broad and profound, and all kinds of novel traditional cultures are waiting for me to try. Mahjong was undecided, and I went to learn calligraphy and landscape painting, but unfortunately I couldn't do it.
Although it was not very successful, it did not prevent me from living happily in China. Outside of work, Shen Yan and I like to travel together, and have been to Xi'an, Chengdu, Macao and so on. Now we have long become a pair of inseparable good girlfriends.
In the blink of an eye, I had been away from home for three years and missed my parents and loved ones so much that I decided to go home and have a look.
That is, last year, I invited Shen Yan to go with me. We are all single, just in time for a pure girlfriend trip, and intend to record it in the form of a video.
When we got home, we carried nearly 60 pounds of luggage, brought gifts for everyone in the family, and specially brought my favorite Sichuan peppers.
(Take Shen Yan to feel the customs and customs of Armenia)
Coming to Armenia, my parents warmly welcomed Shen Yan, who came from afar. And I actively acted as a guide, taking Shen Yan to see the world's oldest Cathedral of Christ and also looking at the Cross Stone. There are more than 50,000 cross stones in Armenia, each with a different pattern and pattern.
We also participated in a series of festivals such as the Red Wine Festival, Songkran Festival, and Color Festival, and accompanied Shen Yan to spend a grand Chinese New Year in a foreign country.
Armenians call their country "Hayastan", which means "hospitable nation". We are particularly friendly to Chinese people, and Chinese citizens can directly and exempt visas as long as they have entered the country for no more than 90 days.
If you stay for a longer period of time, you can leave the country once and re-enter the country as long as it is close to three months. After the end of the epidemic, welcome Chinese friends to visit Armenia and experience different ethnic customs.
(Tasting at a friend's house in Iran)
This year, we decided to travel around the world at the right time. The first stop went to Iran and was warmly received by an Iranian girl.
We met online, but she took us around and invited us to our homes, not at all like a friend we had just met.
When chatting, I learned that the per capita wage in Iran is so low, only 100-150 US dollars, but the oil price is also low, only 3 cents a liter, and there are discounts, January can be free to add 60 liters.
The trip to Iran was especially interesting because of the company of friends. Because of the time relationship, we finally said goodbye, took each other's blessings and went on the road again, and the next stop came to Lebanon.
In this way, an Oriental girl and a Western girl, all the way to shoot, all the way to sing and laugh all the way, experience the beauty of this world. This road is a symbol of my friendship with Shen Yan, and it is also the best embodiment of Central Asian friendship.
(Explain the human history of Armenia)
I was fortunate to meet the kind and beautiful Shen Yan in the vast sea of people, which made me appreciate the beauty of China. Fortunately, we are like-minded, know each other, care about each other, and like relatives, we help each other all the way and move forward.
Now we are in Georgia, to testify for the Chinese guy and the Armenian girl. But such a solemn moment was amused by a sentence from the Chinese guy. He said: "How can getting married be more crowded than going to the supermarket?" There are too many people. ”
And this just shows that no matter how the world changes, love is an eternal and unchanging topic in this world, and I am grateful for all the beauty encountered in life.
After the epidemic is over, I want to return to China, and this time I hope to bring my parents with me to see for themselves, this ancient and friendly country.
(Me and my favorite girlfriend)
I love China, I like its cuisine, its culture, and so much beauty that makes me want to explore.
Because of China, my ordinary life has become wonderful, and Shen Yan's girlfriend journey has also made my life full of touch and surprise.
I love you, China! I will definitely come back again!
【Dictation: Ani】
【Editor: Willow in August】
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