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我不记得从什么时候开始喜欢中国，好像是某一天突然间对中国发生了浓厚的兴趣。我相信这种感觉一定会保持很久。
当时我刚刚开始使用ＩＣＱ，渐渐地对上网聊天入迷了。很快好奇心和求知欲把我带出了国界――能够从网络上探寻异国文化的奥秘真是很奇妙，只要在键盘上敲敲字就可以和世界各地的人交朋友。至今我不知道为什么会选择中国人作为我的第一个网友。也许是从他身上我发现了中国人的友善、好奇，并且对了解中国人产生了浓厚的兴趣。我觉得中国和意大利非常相似，就好像是我的“第二故乡”一样。很快，我的中国网友越来越多了。
我的中国情缘始于３年前，此时当我正在广州写下这些文字时，真是让我感觉很奇妙。这已经是我第二次来中国了，第一次是２００４年的夏天，那次我去了上海，上海的美丽和迷人可以和巴黎媲美。不过３个星期的时间真是太短了，我只走马观花地看了中国一眼。
一个多月以前，我再次来到了中国，这次是广州。就像我刚才说过，中国人很好奇，而且往往带着一种友好的谨慎。我发现当一个中国人面对面地同一个外国人相处时，他们多少会感到有些不安。
好奇，但又很谨慎，这大概是一般中国人对外国人的态度。不过情况也并非总是如此，特别是当你能够吸引他们注意力的时候。比如，上周我坐在公交车上翻我的中文课本――还有什么能比一个老外在公众场合学中文，更能引起别人的兴趣呢？
很快我发现旁边坐着的男孩对我越来越有兴趣。他一开始小心地看着我的课本，终于他有勇气和我说话了。刚开始是用中文，后来在我一连串迷惑的眼神下开始改用英文。他问我为什么要学习他的语言？想听听我对中文的感觉吗？
幸亏中文只有４种声调，但就是这４种我也总是搞混。我的女朋友敏（音译），是个很漂亮的汕头女孩。每当我分不清２声和３声；４声和１声；或者根本发不出任何声调的时候，她都会嘲笑我。
终于有一天，有人能够听懂我说的中文了，我感到很兴奋，这对我而言真是一种胜利。在中国最让我遗憾的就是语言障碍。我的女朋友不得不随时做我的私人翻译。当我和她的朋友们交往时，她们虽然都很想和我交流，但她们的英语实在有限，而且又不好意思拿出来练习。所以她们只是在万不得已的时候才和我讲上一两句英语。
除了语言障碍，中国非常迷人。即便偶尔被人抢劫，只要后果不是太坏，也是一种很有意思的经历。我就遇到过这么一回：那天我大概忘记了广州有数以千计的，让广州市民生活在“兴奋和紧张”中的小偷。我独自一人走在街头，突然有人抱住了我的腿，当我转身去看发生了什么事情时，我感到裤子兜里的相机被人拿走了。当时，一种出于本能的哆嗦从后背传到了肩膀上，给了我足够的时间，让我在小偷把相机放进口袋前认准了他。终于，我抓住了那个小偷，当他带着心碎的表情交出我心爱的相机时，居然还想挤出一个笑容。当然，我还给他的是冷冷的一瞥。
我还没说完中国的迷人之处呢。几天前我在一个超市里找意大利面的时候，看到一个女人坐在购物车里，而她的丈夫居然在推车。这真是太有趣了，我以前只见过婴儿坐在购物车里。后来当我在同样的场合见到另一对夫妇时，我不禁大笑起来。
我在中国很快乐。中国人喜欢唱歌，我也很喜欢听他们唱歌，即便有时候一个人跑调儿的声音，甚至比其他人的歌声更响亮。每当他们听到电台中播放Ｂｅｙｏｎｄ的歌时都会很兴奋，我也会很兴奋。我心中有无穷无尽的话，可是此时我找不出一句来形容这个国家每一天中给我的特殊感觉，我只能很羡慕地把这种感觉永远藏在心中。
一天晚上，我和敏在天河城（广州的一个购物中心）附近散步，突然我感到周围注意我的人少多了，就好像我已经和其他人没什么不同。于是，我停下来问她为什么。“因为你现在看上去更像中国人了。”
我笑了，她的回答让我想到了一个词：兄弟。在周围的人群中，我看到了许多兄弟姐妹们在为生活奔忙着，就像一个大家庭一样。我很自豪我是其中的一员。中国，我很爱你！
（本文作者现居广州，来中国后去过很多地方旅行）
Life in China through an Italian’s eyes
By Stefano Amenta
I don’t remember exactly the day when I felt in love with China for the
first time, just it happened suddenly and I understood this feeling was
predicted to last for long…
Everything started when I tried to use one of the dozen tools for instant
messaging that internet offers us, in this case ICQ. I have never been used to
communicate in this way before and little by little I became addicted to it.
Quickly my curiosity and desire of knowledge carried me out of Italy’s borders:
I found quite amazing to explore cultures different from mine, simply typing
words on my keyboard to persons located in the most various places of the world
and still I don’t know why I chose as my first net-friend a Chinese person.
Probably because I discovered how friendly, curious and greedy for learning the
Chinese people are, and this aspect, more than every other, is what makes China
and Italy so similar, giving me a feeling of “second homeland”. Soon the number
of my Chinese net-friends increased considerably.
All this began almost three years ago and in this precise moment I feel
bewitched writing these lines from Guangzhou. I back to China for the second
time already: in the summer of 2004 I went to Shanghai (whose beauty and charm
can be easily compared to Paris), where I only had a preview of China,
considering I stayed there just 3 weeks.
When I arrived in Guangzhou more than 1 month ago, I could perceive a
multitude of eyes on me, everywhere and always, even more than in Shanghai.
I confess this didn't make me 不舒服 at all, especially because most of the
times I am an ironic and humorous man.
“See, I’m like a pop-star here, everyone love me!” I said jokingly to my
girlfriend Min (珉), a pretty girl from Shantou. You can imagine her sigh of
resignation caused by my witticism.
As I said, Chinese people are very curious and, I add, also politely
discreet. I think sometimes there is a kind of conflict in every Chinese when
they are face to face with a reality from another country:
“To be curious, but discreet?”
or
“To be curious, setting aside the discretion for a while and trying a
contact with the foreigner?”
Mainly it’s the first case to be prevailing, but I discovered it’s not
always like that, especially if you are able enough to arouse their attention.
For example, last week I was on the bus flipping my Chinese learning book:
what’s more interesting than a foreigner who is studying, in public, a so
difficult language like Chinese?
Soon I could feel the growing curiosity of the nice boy sitting near me. He
kept looking at my book carefully and finally he dared to speak to me, first in
Chinese and later, after he got my puzzled face as result, in English, asking me
what I think of his language.
What do I think?
I think luckily there are only four tones in the pronunciation and I have
already a lot of troubles to memorize them: Min enjoys kidding me every time I
misunderstand the second with the third, the fourth with the first… or even I
don't give out any tone sometimes.
Then when someone can understand me finally, I feel excited, pleased and
surprised: it’s a conquest indeed. Since I’m in China what I miss more is the
communication, hampered by the language barrier. It’s a big problem and it makes
me uneasy; my girlfriend must be my personal interpreter and whenever I make
friendship with her friends, they aren’t less willing than me to communicate and
thou they could have a little knowledge of English, often they feel shy to
practice it, using it only if strictly necessary. At last, the problem is
reciprocal.
Beyond this, China is very amazing.
Also to be robbed by a thief can be amazing if the consequence isn’t too
bad.
It happened to me… I know it’s not very safe to walk through Guangzhou’s
streets with something precious in the back of the trousers, but you must know I
come from a town that counts 5,000 residents (against the over 10,000,000 of
Guangzhou!), all we trust each other and we don't need to hug tightly our
belongings.
Maybe that day I forgot the thousand of thieves who daily make Gz citizens’
lives more “exciting and lively” and when I suddenly noticed someone grabbing my
leg, I quickly turned to check what was wrong.
In the same time, I felt my photo camera, saved in my back pocket, to be
picked up by a furtive hand. At that point, an instinctive thrill (very cold, I
should say) crossed my back till the shoulders, giving me the right time to
recognize the thief with my camera almost in his own pocket. Finally it was my
turn to grab him and I can’t forget his heartbroken expression when he had to
give me back my beloved camera.
He tried to smile at me; in return, I froze him with a disappointed
glance.
Anyway, it’s not this episode to impress me so much, because after all
thieves are everywhere. What I really consider a treasure is some habits of the
Chinese people, those aspects that at Chinese’s eyes are considered too ordinary
or banal, for me it’s an incredible source of interest because not familiar with
my culture.
Even a simple gesture like the way of sitting with the buttocks close to
the ground is extraordinary. I see the people sitting like that when they are
waiting for a bus or reading a newspaper or just talking. Well, I tried to sit
in this way too but, believe me, I don't succeed, I fall down, I cannot find the
balance; usually we foreigners (or at least me) keep the buttocks upper, forcing
more on the knees and I think it is longer 舒服.
And the amazing isn’t finished… a few days ago I was in the supermarket for
buying some food. While I wandered searching for pasta somewhere, I saw a woman
inside the shopping cart carried by her husband.
Funny.
I thought only little children were carried in this way and when I saw
another couple in the same situation I really couldn't help laughing.
I am happy in China, I can’t hide it.
Chineses love singing, it’s incredibly true, and I love to listen to them,
no matter if sometimes a note out of tune strums louder than the others.
They get excited every time a song by Beyond, the famous band from Hong
Kong, is played on the radio and I get excited too, I can’t help, I’m
“intoxicated” with it.
I could have millions, billions or trillions of words available and still I
can’t find one to express the special human feelings this country is giving to
me for every day I spend here.
I can only save them in my heart forever. Jealously.
One evening Min and I were walking near the Tee Mall, a popular shopping
centre. Suddenly I felt less eyes on me than before, as if I became totally
ordinary. I stopped asking her the reason.
“That’s because now you are more Chinese” she answered and I smiled.
Brotherhood… Her reply let me think of this.
I looked around me and I saw many brothers and sisters busy with their
everyday life, like a big family.
And I’m proud to be one of it.中国。。。 我很爱你 ！！！
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