我與重慶的美麗邂逅

齊茉莉

7年前，當我第一次登上前往東方的飛機時，我就沉浸在想象中——想象著十幾個小時后將會見到的“美麗新世界”。在飛機上，我幻想重慶的一切，對接下來的學習生活也抱有很多期待……當飛機落地后，重慶真的出現在我眼前時，我知道我將在重慶開啟一段奇幻之旅。

When I first boarded the plane to the East seven years ago， I was lost in my imagination - imagining the "beautiful new world" I would see in a dozen hours. On the plane， I imagined everything in Chongqing and had a lot of expectations for the following study and life ...... When the plane landed and Chongqing really appeared in front of me， I knew I would start a fantasy journey in Chongqing.

不過，重慶這座城市給我的第一印象卻是“恐懼”，那是一種告別故鄉、對新生活的“恐懼”。那個時候，我眼里總是淚水朦朧，心里也總是七上八下。我感到自己忽然就被“流放”到了一個新的世界，一個與歐洲迥然不同的全新世界。最初那段時間，我的日常生活也陷入了混亂：我經常因為閱讀滿是漢字的文章而焦頭爛額，還因為水土不服鬧了很多次肚子，我時常害怕自己在重慶這座山城里迷路……隨后，我對自己說：“Margherita，這是自我挑戰，只要堅持六個月，你就會習慣。”

不久，“恐懼”的心理就被“好奇心”所代替。山城、橋都、火鍋之城，擁有眾多摩天大樓的現代都市，擁有大量供人休閑散步的公園……重慶是一座擁有千種顏色與萬種風味的城市。不僅如此，我還發現這里的食物，除了甜和咸還有麻辣味，紅色的辣椒、綠色的花椒、黑色的胡椒都給我帶來別樣的體驗。那些我以為的土豆其實是蓮藕，紅豆原來可以做成非常甜的豆沙……

我開始問自己關于中國的許多問題：為什么現代和古代完美融合？為什么匆忙和放松能夠保持平衡？為什么城市即便那么大，我也能感受到安全和受歡迎？為什么所有事物都在不斷地往前發展和更新變化？

通過在重慶大學的生活，以及聚餐時跟中國人的交流，加上在中國其他一些城市的旅行，比如北京、南京、貴陽、蘇州、杭州、上海、深圳等，我獲得了一些答案，我也漸漸了解了中國的多樣性：每個地方的食物、生活態度和語言風格都有著明顯的差異。書本讓我從知識方面了解中國，而旅行讓我驗證了我的認知。我不再用西方人的眼光來觀察中國，而是學著用中國人的眼光來看待問題。我明白，中國的新生活正在改變我，甚至讓我得到了提升。

However， my first impression of Chongqing is "fear"， a kind of "fear" of biding farewell to my hometown and starting a new life. At that time， my eyes were always hazy with tears， and I always felt nervous. I felt that I was suddenly "exiled" to a new world， a whole new world that was very different from Europe. At the beginning of that period， my daily life was also in chaos： I was often overwhelmed by reading articles full of Chinese characters， and had a lot of diarrhea because of acclimatization. I was often afraid of getting lost in the mountain city of Chongqing... Then I told myself： "Margherita， this is a self-challenge and you will get used to it as long as you stick to it for six months， ."

Soon， the psychology of "fear" was replaced by "curiosity". Mountain city， bridge capital， hot pot city， modern city with many skyscrapers， and a large number of parks for leisurely walks ...... Chongqing is a city of a thousand colors and a million flavors. Moreover， I also found that the food here is not only sweet and salty， but also spicy flavor. Red chili pepper， green pepper， black pepper all gave me a different experience. Those potatoes I thought were actually lotus roots， and red beans could be made into very sweet bean paste...

I began to ask myself many questions about China： Why do modernity and antiquity blend perfectly？ Why is it possible to maintain a balance between hurry and relaxation？ Why can I feel safe and welcome even if in such a big city ？ Why is everything constantly developing and updating？

Through my life at Chongqing University， my communication with Chinese people at dinner， and my travel to other cities in China， such as Beijing， Nanjing， Guiyang， Suzhou， Hangzhou， Shanghai and Shenzhen， I have got some answers， and I have gradually learned about China’s diversity： there are obvious differences in food， life attitude and language style in each place. Books allowed me to understand China in terms of knowledge， and travel allowed me to verify my cognition. I no longer observe China from the perspective of Westerners， but from the perspective of Chinese people. I understand that the new life in China is changing me and even lifting me up.

“好奇心”也很快變成了“融合”。我感到自己與重慶相處得非常和諧。車水馬龍的噪音成了悅耳的聲音，火鍋的辛辣成了最美的味道，小碗白米飯成了飲食中必不可少的一部分，一些陌生的地點成了很熟悉的地方，無法聽懂的重慶話聲調成了好聽的曲調。不僅如此，我在重慶的家也讓我感到幸福：一扇可以欣賞夜間高樓陰影的窗戶，一張可以做夢的睡床，一個可以烹飪餃子的廚房。這些簡單的生活瑣事使我幸福、安心，我想要繼續留在中國的愿望與日俱增，所以六個月的留學生活變成了四年半。

重慶俘獲了我，我的笑容比以前更燦爛了，我的內心比以前更柔軟了，我變得前所未有的堅強。在重慶乃至中國其他一些城市的見聞，讓我情緒高漲，恍惚間，我甚至懷疑自己不值得擁有如此美好的生活。我原有的認知由此慢慢改變，之后也收獲了一些新的習慣：用好喝的熱茶代替可樂，知道饅頭比面包軟和，筷子比叉子方便……

在我回意大利的前幾天，我最后一次逛了逛在重慶時常會去的地方，吃了最喜歡的小吃，和我居住了4年多的家合影留念。我害怕遺忘所經歷的這一切。不過，我明白時間不會消除這段經歷的記憶，因為我的大腦和內心，將永遠為重慶保留一個非常特殊的位置。

如今，盡管我身在意大利，但我經常感覺自己手里緊緊握著一根細線，連接了我和數千公里以外的重慶。我不得不承認，我與重慶有著深深的羈絆。對別人而言，這或許是不可思議的，但事實就是這樣，我在中國、在重慶遇到的每一個人都是那么真實，在我的生命留下了那么多鮮活生動的故事。

此刻，我一邊寫著這篇文章，一邊喝著熱水，我意識到我不僅僅是意大利的Margherita，我也是中國的茉莉。中文里的茉莉，馨香給人安靜，濃烈又給人以熱情，這種雙重認同感很契合我。七年前那趟去往中國重慶的航班，帶我來到了一個改變我身份，又給我以心靈安靜和生活熱情的地方。

這就是我與中國重慶美麗邂逅的故事。

"Curiosity" quickly turned into "integration". I feel that I get along very well with Chongqing. The traffic noise has become a pleasant sound， the spicy taste of hot pot has become the most beautiful taste， small bowls of white rice have become an indispensable part of diet， some strange places have become very familiar places， and the tone of Chongqing dialect that cannot be understood has become a good tune. Not only that， my home in Chongqing also made me happy： a window to enjoy the shadow of high-rise buildings at night， a bed to have dream， and a kitchen to cook dumplings. These simple things made me happy and lived at ease. My desire to stay in China was increasing day by day， so the six-month study abroad life turned into four and a half years.

I was captured by Chongqing.My smile is brighter than ever， my heart is softer than ever， and I am stronger than ever as well. What I saw and heard in Chongqing and other cities in China made me feel high，while in a trance，I even doubted that I didn’t deserve such a beautiful life. My original perceptions slowly changed and I gained some new habits afterwards： drinking delicious hot tea instead of cola， knowing that buns are softer than bread and chopsticks are more convenient than forks ......

A few days before I returned to Italy， I took the last stroll around the places I used to visit in Chongqing， ate my favorite snacks and took pictures with the home I had lived for more than 4 years. I’m afraid to forget what I’ve been through. However， I understand that time will not erase the memory of this experience， because my brain and heart will always reserve a very special place for Chongqing.

Although I am in Italy now， I often feel like I am holding a thin thread that connects me to Chongqing，where is thousands of kilometers away. I have to admit that I have had a deep bond with Chongqing. It may be unbelievable to others， but it is. Everyone I met in China and in Chongqing was so real and left so many vivid stories in my life.

At the moment， while I was writing this article with drinking hot water， I realized that I was not only Margherita of Italy， but also Moli of China. Moli is Jasmine in Chinese.Its fragrance gives people quietness， and the intensity deliveries passion. This double identity fits me very well. Seven years ago， the flight to Chongqing， China， took me to a place that has changed my identity and given me peace of mind and enthusiasm for life.

This is the story of my beautiful encounter with Chongqing， China.