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 ZT: 老外的非常体验：我在中国农村教孩子们学英语 |
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TTFan
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作者：TTFan 在 海归茶馆 发贴, 来自【海归网】 http://www.haiguinet.com
老外的非常体验：我在中国农村教孩子们学英语 青年参考
老外的非常体验：我在中国农村教孩子们学英语
作者：Michael Magid(加拿大) 尉迟皎皎/编译
我还记得1997年7月的那天，当我和在加拿大蒙特利尔的一个朋友聊天时，她问我，为什么决定加入海外志愿者服务组织，做一名中国乡村的英语教师。我告诉她，我想帮助中国学生改善英语，希望他们因此而得到更多工作机会。换言之，我想给他们一些，他们可能本来得不到的东西。我的朋友这样回答，也许我在中国遇到的人们，也将带给我一些，我可能没有的东西。她说的话在我到了广西后得到了印证，我在那里得到了一种荣辱与共的团队精神，和坚忍不拔的意志力，这是我从未感受过的。
我在国庆节的时候第一次去了阳朔。在那里我找到了一种从未体验过的平静。我租了一辆自行车，然后坐船沿丽江而下，到了兴坪村。当我坐在船上时，喀斯特地貌的山峦映入眼帘。那些郁郁葱葱的山脉围住了我，一刹那间我有一种回家的感觉。在离家如此之远的地方，在一个找不到和加拿大有任何共同点的地方，我却找到了一种家的感觉，这多奇怪啊！
太棒了！当我骑车从兴坪返回阳朔时，暖风轻拂。空气中浸淫着丝丝甜味，山峦在远处招手。在正午的阳光下，山峦被笼上了一层紫色的光晕，看起来就像是云朵的一部分，以至于群山与天边连成一线，难以辨别。
我的一个学生马克，和我建立了兄弟一般的友情，他让我在全新的环境中感到舒服，他甚至邀请我去他家过春节。在他家，我遇到了都是当地中学教师的他的父母。我很难过地发现，农村学生没有现代的英语课本。我记得，当孩子们跑跳着进入教室时，楼梯上飞扬的厚厚尘土。我记得，教室里只有一盏灯，圆形的灯泡被一根长长的绳子牵着，晃晃悠悠地连在天花板上。能将海外自愿组织提供的英语书捐给这些孩子，让我觉得很满足。
我亲眼看见学生成为羽翼丰满的教师，这让我觉得这份工作很值得。一个学生自愿成为广西东村(音译)志愿者。他几乎没有薪水，他和其他老师种了蔬菜，当每个月300元人民币的薪水不能按时发放时，他们借此渡过艰难的时期。这里没有一条通向高速公路的平整马路，村里的农民很难卖出辛苦种植的谷物。这里大部分的人都生活在贫困线以下。我知道，中国的很多农村同样如此。
当我学习毛笔字时，我像着了魔似的爱上了汉字的魅力。每个字本身就是一幅画，因此我也逐渐爱上了中文。这是让我了解中国文化，并促使我和所遇到的中国人有更深层次的联系的一座桥梁。
有一次，我在春节时坐火车去成都。车厢里塞满了人。一些人在地上睡觉，一个女人睡在门口，当有人走出去踩着她时，她不断地发出尖叫。两个商人坐在我的对面，我们用中文交谈着，他们对我说了一句话，我将永远记住，“看看我们这些人，活得太累了，连笑的力气都没有。”
然而，大部分时间当我和穷人聊天时，他们都努力地笑着。他们总是擦去前额的汗珠，挤出一个大大的笑容。他们会用自己辛苦挣来的钱尽可能地款待我，我在想，有多少居住在城市里的人能有这样的心肠？
作为志愿者，我遇到过形形色色的人们。而最近我在北京遇到的人，和我在上海教书时遇到的人，都是一些身份高贵的律师、政府官员和他们的孩子。我在广西遇到的都是农民和他们的孩子。他们贫穷、诚实、善良、辛勤劳作，占中国人口的大多数。尽管和做志愿者时相比，我赚钱更多了，但我没有从前快乐。这是真的，因为有些东西你用钱买不到，比如新鲜空气、爱、一种同呼吸共命运的感觉，还有满足感。
每天我坐地铁去北京五道口，我总是看到车厢里的乞讨者。大部分的人都是行动不方便的老人，和一些残疾儿童。他们提醒我，作为一个世界公民，我非常幸运，在我的成长过程中，从未有过饥饿的威胁，我有责任去帮助那些生活困苦的人们。
我不能将脸别过去不看他们，并在闲暇时自我放纵。这是一种不负责任的态度。因此，我继续为希望工程做着志愿者的工作。让我们对那些需要帮助的人们都伸出手来吧！我们的生活将会因此而彼此丰富。贫困和环境问题看上去无法抵抗，但我认为，如果我们能联起手来共同努力，我们就能改变世界！
(本文作者31岁，现在北京清华大学教授雅思考试的口语部分，在加拿大、中国、日本教英语超过10年)
On Being a Volunteer in China
by Michael Magid
I still remember that day in July 1997 when I was chatting with my friend in a in Montreal and she asked me why I had decided to join Volunteer Service Overseas as an English teacher in the Chinese countryside. I told her that I wanted to help my future students in China to improve their English. I hoped that this would give them more job opportunities.In other words, I wanted to give them something that they would not otherwise have. My friend replied that perhaps the people I would meet in China would give me something that I did not have. The words that she had spoken could not have been more true for the people that I met in Guangxi province gave me a sense of community and purpose that I had never felt before.
I went to the village of Yangshuo for the first time during the national holiday. It is there that I found a kind of peace that I had never known before. I rented a bicycle in Yangshuo and took a boat down the Li River to the village of Xing Ping. As I was sitting on the boat, the Karst mountain scenery came into view. Those lush green mountains enveloped me and suddenly I felt like I had come home. How strange to feel at home so far away from home and in a place which was nothing like my Canadian home! How wonderful! As I cycled from Xing Ping back to Yangshuo, the warm wind whispered in my ears. The aroma in the air was sweet and the mountains beckoned. They acquired a purple tint under the radiance of the midday sun and seemed to become a part of the clouds so that the two were indistinguishable. Smiling children ran out to greet me and shouted, “Hello! Hello!” I was in the most beautiful place on earth!
One of my students, Mark, became like a brother to me and helped me to feel comfortable in my new environment. He even invited me to his hometown during the Spring Festival! It was there that I met his parents who were both teachers at the local middle school. I was sad to see that the students in the countryside did not have modern English textbooks. I remember the dust rising from the steps as children ran to their classrooms. I remember the one light bulb in the classroom that hung from a long cord attached precariously to the ceiling. It was fulfilling to be able to donate books to these students with the grant that VSO had provided.
It was rewarding to be able to witness my students becoming full-fledged teachers. One chose to volunteer in the countryside in a Dong Village. When I visited him, I learned that he rarely got paid, so he and the other teachers grew vegetables to get themselves through the times when their 300 yuan monthly salary did not arrive. There wasn’t a good road leading out to the highway, so farmers in the village had a difficult time selling their crops. Most were living below the poverty line. This is true of so many villages in China.
When I studied Chinese brush writing, I was mesmerized by the beauty of the Chinese characters. Each character was a painting in itself and so I came to love the Chinese language. It was the bridge to the Chinese culture and helped me to forge a deeper connection with the people I met. I remember taking the train during the Spring Festival to Chengdu. The carriages were packed with people. Many were sleeping on the floor and one lady who was sleeping near the door kept screaming as people stepped on her on their way out. Two salesman sitting across from me were making their weekly trip to the capital. We started talking in Chinese and they said something to me that I will always remember. “Look at all of us”, they said. “We are too tired to smile now.” However, most of the time when I spoke to poor people, they would make the effort to smile. They would wipe the sweat of their forehead and bear a wide grin. They would spend their hard-earned wages to treat me to a meal. How many people do that in the city, I wonder?
The people I met as a volunteer were very different from the kinds of people who I usually meet these days in Beijing or the people I met when I was teaching in Shanghai –high powered lawyers, government officials, and their children. The people I met in Guangxi were farmers and their kids. They were the poor, honest, kind, hard-working people who still make up the majority of people in China. Although I make more money now than I did as a volunteer, I can’t say that I am happier. It’s true that there are some things that money cannot buy like fresh air, love, a sense of community, and fulfillment. As I take the subway to Wudaokou every day, I look at the beggars on the train. Many of them are old men and women who can barely walk and disabled children. They remind me that as a citizen of this world who has been lucky enough to grow up without ever feeling hungry, it is my duty to help those less fortunate than me. I cannot simply look away and indulge myself in my spare time. That would be irresponsible. Therefore, I continue to do some volunteer work for the Hope Project. Let’s all reach out to the people in need! Our lives will be mutually enriched. Poverty and environmental problems do seem overwhelming, but I think that if we tackle them together, we can make a difference!
作者：TTFan 在 海归茶馆 发贴, 来自【海归网】 http://www.haiguinet.com
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 ZT: 老外的非常体验：我在中国农村教孩子们学英语 -- TTFan - (7013 Byte) 2005-12-14 周三, 16:13 (1255 reads)
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