结缘孔院我已完全爱上这里，并迫不及待地想回到中国

　　如果让我把这一整年在中国的经历和所见所闻浓缩成一篇千字左右的文章是不现实的。
　　就像当我站在黄山的最高峰，鸟瞰远处山间瞬息万变的云海时，不知道该用哪些优美生动的词汇来形容自己的心情；
　　当我徒步旅行至超凡脱俗的张家界，那里层林密布，不知道用什么样的图片能表达这种宁静、和平的感觉；
　　当我品尝正宗川菜，即使是视频也无法准确描述那种被辣椒辣得舌头麻木而又奇怪的享受。
　　尽管如此，我还是会尽最大的努力，为你讲述我眼中的中国。
　　我与中国的奇妙情缘
　　我叫Patrick Lee，是爱尔兰科克大学世界语言专业的大四学生。2017年9月，我获得孔子学院奖学金赴上海大学度过了两个学期的美好时光。
　　还记得在我16岁的时候，我曾跟随科克大学的一个项目去过一次上海。当时我和其他几名爱尔兰学生得到了在上海大学参加为期两周的中国语言和文化课程的绝佳机会。回想起来，这两周对我产生了巨大的影响，并让我当场决定，要再次回到上海。
　　对于要到中国住一年，我几乎没有什么顾虑。首先，我很幸运以前去过那里一次，虽然时间很短。此外，我与中国还有另一种更为奇特的联系。
　　在我父亲25岁的时候，刚刚取得行医资格的他，决定去北京学习6个月的针灸。学成之后才回到家乡爱尔兰。
　　在我成长的过程中，妈妈告诉我很多关于爱尔兰的故事和经典童话，而我的父亲则给我讲了一些中国的传统故事，例如：＂年＂的故事、嫦娥和后羿、孙悟空等。这也让我对父亲讲述的故事中那个神秘而又神奇的国度产生了极大的热情和好奇心。
　　到达美丽的彩云之南
　　西方媒体描述的中国，听起来一点也不像我父亲讲的那个地方。在这里，我想和大家分享我在中国的亲身经历。
　　旅行是我一直以来最大的爱好。在中国学习的这一年里，我利用黄金周和周末，探访了北京、苏州、南京、凤凰、成都、乐山和其他几个美丽的中国城市。
　　去过这些地方后，我对这个国家和人民有了不一样的感觉。这其中令我印象最深刻的地方，则是云南。
　　去年寒假，我和一个朋友从上海坐上了飞往云南丽江的飞机，开始了为期两周的旅行。一到那里，我们就意识到我们来到了与上海截然不同的城市。
　　这里没有拼音标识，也没有人说英语，对于那里的许多人来说，我们可能是他们在现实生活中见到的为数不多的外国人。
　　我在上海遇到的中国人都很友好，但像大多数生活在大城市的人一样，他们总让人有一些距离感。但在云南，我遇到了我见过最善良的人。
　　当我们向住在丽江饭店的一位客人询问晚餐推荐时，他把我们带到附近的一家餐馆，点了美味佳肴并宴请了我们。
　　当我们出发去寻找丽江古城附近的黑龙潭时。亲切的路人不仅告诉我们该怎么去，还一路陪着我们，确保我们不会迷路。
　　虽然这一路我们遇到的大多数人并不是特别富有，但他们仍然愿意与我们分享他们所拥有的东西，这一点也让我难以忘怀。
　　游览完黑龙潭，我们去了蓝月谷。我想我永远都不会忘记那一刻所看到的画面。湛蓝的湖水顺着山涧流下，在我面前闪闪发光。我们花了几个小时在美丽的山谷里徒步旅行，骑着牦牛过河，我们还遇到了一对正在拍婚纱照的新人，并被邀请一起合影。时至今日，蓝月谷仍是我所去过的最令人惊叹的地方，它也向我展示了中国非凡的自然美景。
　　当天晚上我们坐上了开往大理的火车，继续我们的旅行。火车车程要四小时。我们在一个隔间里。如果是在欧洲，这个隔间仅可以容纳4个人，但此时已经有8个人挤在里面了，加上我们一共10个人。前半个小时很安静，几个人睡着了，我正在看书。
　　过了一阵，坐在我对面的那个男人开始慢慢地把头靠向我，想看我的书，当我递给他时，他突然大笑起来，用蹩脚的英语问我有关这本书的事。
　　而当我用有点蹩脚的中文回答时，整个车厢都活跃起来。人们开始争相跟我说话，问我来自哪里，到这里做什么等等。
　　车厢里的人们来自各行各业，学生、农民、年轻人、老年人，他们都非常友好。我与他们用中文聊了近4个小时，到目前为止，这都是我中文学习中最大的里程碑。我可以毫不羞愧地说，我为此而自豪！
　　深深爱上这个国度
　　像这样的故事还有很多，从这些故事中，我对中国和中国人有了新的认识。很多人对中国的政治、历史和文化都有自己的看法。然而，在这其中的许多人甚至可能从未踏足过这个国家。
　　我知道我对中国的看法可能看起来很天真或有偏见，但这仍然不能改变我对它的热爱。我在中国已经住了一年多了。也游历过很多城市，我见过很多的人。我已完全爱上了这个国家，并迫不及待地想再回到这里。
　　China through my eyes
　　It is simply impossible to condense an entire years worth of experiences into a one thousand word essay. No matter how vividly I describe what it felt like standing atop the highest peak of Huangshan 黄山, looking down at the distant mountain caps peaking above the sea of ever-shifting clouds, there is no way I can truly convey it with words. Nor is it possible with pictures to explain the serene sense of peace I experienced while hiking through the otherworldly national park of Zhangjiajie 张家界, where trees of stone and wood alike populate. Even videos cannot do justice to the sensation of eating an authentic Sichuan dish, the simultaneously terrifying yet bizarrely enjoyable numbing of your tongue by the regional pepper. Nevertheless, I will try my best to convey some of the experiences I had of China through my eyes.
　　01
　　My Peculiar Connections with China
　　By way of introduction, my name is Patrick Lee and I am a final year BA World Languages student in UCC. This August I returned from my year abroad, where I studied in Shanghai University for two semesters. I had previously been to Shanghai once before when I was 16 years old in conjunction with a Transition Year programme organised by UCC. Myself and several other Irish students were given the amazing opportunity to attend Chinese language and culture classes for two weeks in Shanghai University. These two weeks had a huge impact on my life, deciding for me then and there that I was returning to Shanghai. And that is exactly what I did last year.
　　I had very little apprehension about moving to China for a year. Firstly, I had already been lucky enough to go there once before, albeit briefly. Moreover, I also had another, perhaps more peculiar connection to China. When my father was 25 years old and a newly qualified doctor, he decided to move to Beijing for 6 months to learn acupuncture. Afterward, he returned home to Ireland and has remained there since. Growing up, I was told stories about Ireland by my mother, classic fairy tales by Disney, and stories of 年, of 嫦娥和后羿, of 孙悟空 and many more by my father. This left me with a great passion for and curiosity about the mysterious and magical land from my father’s stories.
　　02
　　The Magical Land and its People
　　From the outside looking in, China is not always shown in the best light by Western media. It sounded nothing like the place from my father’s stories. In this short text, I want to share how my own experiences turned out.
　　Travelling has been a life-long passion of mine. As far back as I can remember I’ve never been content to sit still in one place for too long, so I’ve learnt to always go for the opportunities to travel when they arise. During the academic year in China, I had a few such opportunities, particularly during Golden Week and the weekends. I used these to visit Beijing 北京, Suzhou 苏州, Nanjing 南京, Fenghuang 凤凰, Chengdu 成都, Leshan 乐山 and several other gorgeous cities in China. These places really gave me a feel for the country and its people. However, during my time off between semesters in January and February, I spent two weeks in some of the most breathtaking and memorable places I’ve ever been in my life.
　　At the start of January, a friend and I flew from Shanghai 上海 to Lijiang 丽江 to begin our two week trip around the Yunnan Province. Almost immediately upon arrival, we realised that we had entered a very different part of China to Shanghai. Here there were no signs in Pinyin, absolutely nobody spoke English and to many people there, we were the first foreigners they had ever seen in real life. As a Westerner living in Shanghai, I had grown accustomed to the occasional few people staring at me. However, I was completely unprepared for the reaction we received in Lijiang.
　　The Chinese people I had met in Shanghai up to that point were friendly enough, but like most people who live in big cities, they kept a certain distance. Nothing but the opposite could be said for the Chinese people we met during our time in Yunnan 云南. They were some of the kindest people I’ve ever met. For example, when we asked a guest in the hotel we stayed in Lijiang for dinner recommendations, he brought us to a nearby restaurant, ordered dish after dish of amazing food and then refused to let us pay for it. All the while he asked us questions about our experiences in Shanghai and China. The next morning as we set out to find the famous Black Dragon Lagoon 黑龙潭near the Lijiang Old Town. We stopped a passing stranger on the street for directions who not only told us exactly how to get there, he also accompanied us for the journey to make sure that we didn’t get lost. I could go on and on about the kindness people showed us during this trip, but that would take up the entire essay. Suffice to say the majority of people we met were not particularly wealthy, yet they still offered to share what they had with us, something I will not be quick to forget.
　　After visiting the Oldtown and the picturesque Black Dragon Lagoon, we made our way up the mountains to Blue Moon Valley 蓝月谷. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the moment when our Didi pulled up to let us out and I looked out the window and saw the valley. The bluest water sparkled up at me as it cascaded down the mountain. We spent hours hiking up the gorgeous valley, crossing the stream on yaks, stumbling upon a wedding photo shoot and subsequently being asked to pose with the bride and groom. To this day, Blue Moon Valley is the most breathtaking place I have ever been to and really showcased the extraordinary natural beauty of China to me, which is something that the country is perhaps not particularly well known for outside of China.
　　From there we caught a night train to Dali 大理, a mere four hours away. When we saw our seats we had to laugh. We were in a compartment which might be expected to house 4 people if we were in Europe, so naturally, there were already 8 people squeezed into it, and with us that made 10. The first half hour was silent enough, a few people slept, I was reading a book. At one point, the man sitting across from me started to slowly inch his head towards me until his hair was almost up my nose. He wanted to see my book and when I handed it to him he burst out laughing and asked me about it in broken English. When I replied in somewhat broken Chinese, it was as if the entire compartment had risen from the dead. They all started fighting to talk to me, asking me all about what I was doing in the middle of nowhere in Southern China and who I was and so on. The people were from all walks of life, students, farmers, young, old, yet all were incredibly friendly. One old man in particular refused to let me check my phone for translations, instead insisting on explaining to me any word I didn’t understand. The conversation lasted just shy of 4 hours and to date is the biggest milestone I’ve come to with my Chinese, something I’m not ashamed to say I’m proud of!
　　03
　　Having Fallen in Love with China
　　There are so many stories I could mention which taught me new things about China or its people, or even stories which didn’t teach me anything at all, but merely reflect my experiences exploring the mysterious, magical land from my father’s stories. A great many people have very opinionated attitudes towards China, about its politics, its history, its culture. However, many of these people have never even set foot in the country. I know that my view of China may seem naive or biased, but that still doesn’t change it. I have lived in China for over one year. I have traveled the country. I have met its people. This text describes China as I lived it through my own eyes. It is a country I have utterly and completely fallen in love with, and I cannot wait to go back.
　　作者简介
　　Patrick Lee，爱尔兰科克大学World Languages 专业在读学生，曾获得孔子学院奖学金于2017年9月前往上海大学交换学习一年。