As my Chinese improved, my connection to China, its people, and its culture grew stronger. The language barrier was soon gone, and being able to talk to absolutely anyone was incredibly liberating. I used to love chatting to people in shops, putting the world to rights with taxi drivers, and showing off my new-found skills when friends came to visit. And as I learned to read Chinese, I was able to engage with Chinese culture on a more advanced level and have more sophisticated conversations.

随着我的汉语水平提高，我与中国人民和中国文化的联系越来越紧密。克服了语言障碍，我能够和任何人自由自在地交谈。我曾经很喜欢在商店里和别人聊天，和出租车司机谈天论地，还会跟来访的朋友炫耀我的新技能。学会阅读汉字之后，我更加融入中国文化，可以进行更复杂的交流。

At that time China had such an amazing positive energy. In fact, it still does. People worked hard – incredibly hard – and they were optimistic about the future. Cities were being built from the ground up. The streets were clean and safe at all hours. Xiameners were proud of their city yet modest and welcoming to outsiders. You could just tell that China was going somewhere, and it was exciting to experience that first-hand and to really be a part of it. I suppose that’s the main reason I chose to stay on after my gap year ended. There was just so much more to experience and discover.

那时候的中国充满能量，当然，现在依然如此。人们拼命工作——非常努力——而且他们对未来充满乐观。一座座城市拔地而起，街道在任何时候都一尘不染，安全感满满。厦门人对自己的城市充满骄傲，又谦逊地欢迎各方宾朋。中国正在走向光明的未来，能够亲身体验这个过程，出一份力，真是令人兴奋。我想这也是“间隔年”结束后，我依然选择留下来的主要原因。中国还有很多东西等待发现和体验。

That was quite a while ago now. China has changed vastly, but the things that made me fall in love with this country have endured. Work has since taken me to other cities in China, first Beijing and now Shanghai. I love these cities too, but Xiamen is the place I hold most dear, and I return to the city whenever I have the chance. Though it’s been years since I’ve lived there, my face still lights up every time I hear its name, and I never fail to sing its praises to people I meet. For that reason, I’d definitely call Xiamen my home away from home.

那是很久之前的事了。中国已经发生了巨大的变化，但让我爱上这个国家的东西一直存在。由于工作原因，我去过中国的其他城市，先是北京，现在是上海。我也爱这些城市，但厦门依旧是我最爱的城市，只要有机会，我就会回到这里。虽然我已经在那里生活了很多年，但每次听到“厦门”两字，我的脸上依然会焕发光彩，我还会毫不吝啬地给每个人夸耀这座城市。所以，厦门毫无疑问是我的家外之家。

作者：朱义豪 翻译：潘泽彬

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