亚当:济南,来了便不想离开
2022-05-31刘雨
刘雨
說起在济南生活的外国人,亚当或许不是最出名的。但若问谁的中文说得好,亚当定是其中之一。与亚当聊天,那一口流利的普通话,会让人很自然地忘却其外国人的身份。
“别看我现在说得好,刚来济南时,我不会说中文,英文也不是很好,还发生过一个小故事呢。”亚当笑道,2012年从巴勒斯坦来济南求学的他,一出火车站便计划打车,正当他四处环顾时,车站附近的保安竟主动上前服务,这让他颇感意外,“这个小细节让我心情很愉悦”。
坐上出租车,亚当告诉司机他要去“山大”,“我当时不知道‘山大’在济南有多个校区,司机也不知道我到底要去哪儿,他跟我对话我也不明白,但通过身体语言,我大体可以猜到司机是在询问其他外国人。”亚当认为,如果在别的国家或别的城市,司机可能会计时收费,甚至拒载了。但这个司机并未有任何拒绝的意思,带他找了近一个小时,后来司机通过朋友了解到外国人来济南常去哪个“山大”校区,并最终将其安全送达。“通过这个小故事,我就决定了要留在济南。”
在济南,亚当一留就是十年。十年里,他顺利完成山东大学国际经济与贸易专业的本科学业,并继续攻读山东师范大学世界经济专业的硕士学位,“济南有一种独特的魅力,让你来了便不想再离开。当时本来计划在‘山大’继续读硕士,后来得知需要离开济南,去青岛校区,思虑再三后我觉得‘山师’也是个不错的选择。”
除了完成学业,在济南的10年间,亚当还做了很多事情,来不断丰富其人生经历。当中东大使馆有团队来济南时,有时亚当会承接部分接待任务。2020年,新冠肺炎疫情肆虐时,看到身边同学都在转发信息、求购口罩后,他从做口罩生产的朋友那里自费购买了3000个口罩,捐赠给济南各学校。
与此同时,这些年亚当还尽情地施展自己的才华和抱负,为济南高质量发展贡献自己的一份力量。“济南是一座极具发展潜力和发展空间的城市,我很开心自己能在人才引进、对外交流合作中起到桥梁纽带的作用。”
亚当喜欢济南,不只是因为这里有热情好客、敦厚朴实的济南人,还因为这里有一城秀丽的山水、独具风味的美食……“济南和我的家乡很像,一年四季,有山有水,生活在这里很舒服,也很亲切。”
闲暇时,亚当常常漫步于曲水亭街,踩着石板路,慢慢在青瓦白墙间行走,感受“家家泉水、户户垂杨”的老济南风情;也常常打卡芙蓉街、宽厚里等“网红”街区,在这些美食聚集地,各种特色小吃时常让他流连忘返。“我还喜欢济南的茶文化,从刚来济南就开始喝茶,一直到现在,红茶、绿茶、黑茶、白茶等都很喜欢。不只是我,其实现在很多外国人都很喜欢中国的茶文化,迪拜的很多茶馆现在就卖中国茶。”
采访当天下午,亚当还计划和朋友一起前往济宁。“山东是有名的‘孔孟之乡、礼仪之邦’,很多外国人对儒家文化很感兴趣,有机会能去孔子、孟子的出生地走一走、看一看,我还是很期待的。”亚当笑道。
谈及未来发展,亚当坦言,10年来济南的变化太快了,不管城市建设还是经济发展,“我希望能一直留在济南。”
Adam may not be the best- known foreigners living in Jinan, but he must be one of them who speak such good Chinese. Speaking fluent Mandarin, Adam makes us forget he’s from another country.
Born in Palestine, Adam has lived in Jinan for more than 10 years. When talking about why lived in Jinan for over 10 years, he told a story, "When I first came to Jinan, I couldn’t speak Chinese and my English was not good either. I could only say ’Shandong University’, but I didn’t know Shandong University had multiple campuses in Jinan, and the taxi driver had no idea where I want to go." Adam believed that drivers might charge by time or even say no to him if in other countries or cities. But the driver didn’t refuse, and took Adam for nearly an hour to look for the destination. Finally, the driver learned from his friends which campus foreign students went to and took Adam there safely. "I decided to stay in Jinan after that." Adam said.
Adam has graduated with a bachelor degree of International Economics and Trade at Shandong University, and is getting his master degree of International Business at Shandong Normal University. When Covid-19 pandemic was rampant in 2020, he found students around him lacking masks, then he bought 3000 masks at his own expense from his friend who produced masks and donated them to schools in Jinan.
Adam says Jinan has sufficient magnetism to keep him from leaving it. With the exuberance of his talent and ambition, he has been vibrant in attracting personnel and promoting i n t e r n a t i o n a l e x c h a n g e a n d cooperation for Jinan. He thought that the development of Jinan’s construction as well as economy is rapid over the past decade, "I hope to stay here forever," he added.