我与中国的美丽邂逅
［意大利］ 齐茉莉 重庆大学
自从我第一次登上前往东方的飞机，我就沉浸在想象之中，想象着十几个小时后将会见到的新世界——重庆，在飞机上，我对重庆充满了各种想象，对接下来的学习生活充满了各种设想和期待……我第一次到重庆的奇幻之旅，距今已经有七年了。
当飞机落地，我一睁眼就到了重庆——山城、桥都、火锅之城、棒棒城、拥有众多摩天大楼的现代都市、拥有大量供你散步的公园景观。这是一座拥有千种颜色与万种美味的城市，红色的辣椒，绿色的花椒，黑色的胡椒。这个城市给我的第一印象——“恐惧”，这种印象的冲击，强得让我眼睛泪水蒙眬，心里七上八下。我感到自己忽然被流放到了一个新的世界，一个与欧洲迥然不同的全新世界。中国，让我的日常生活陷入了混乱。随后，我对自己说：“Margherita，这是自我挑战，只要坚持六个月，你就会习惯。”那段时间，我经常因为要阅读满是汉字的文章而头疼；很多次因为食物有太多香料而肚子痛……这是一座很大的城市，而我时常害怕自己会迷路。
恐惧不久就被好奇心代替。我发现食物除了甜和咸，还有麻辣味。那些我以为的土豆其实是莲藕，红豆原来可以做成非常甜的豆沙……我开始问自己关于中国的许多问题：为什么现代和古代完美融合？为什么匆忙和放松能够保持平衡？为什么城市即便那么大，我也能感到受欢迎和保护？为什么所有事物都在不断地往前发展和更新转变？通过大学生活和聚餐时跟中国人的交谈，我获得了一些答案。另外，我在旅行中参观的很多城市（北京、南京、贵阳、苏州、杭州、上海、深圳等），使我了解了中国社会的多样性：每个地区的食物、态度、生活风格和语言都有着明显的差异。书本让我从知识方面了解中国，而旅行让我验证了我的认知。我不再用西方人的眼光来观察中国，而是学着用中国人的眼光来看待问题。我明白，在中国的新生活正在改变我，甚至使我得到提升。
好奇心很快变成了融合。我感到自己与重庆相处得非常和谐：车水马龙的噪声成为悦耳的声音，火锅刺鼻的麻辣成为最美的味道，可有可无的小碗白米饭成为饮食中必不可少的一部分，一些陌生的地点成为很熟悉的地方，无法听得懂的重庆话声调成为曲调。我的家就在那儿：一扇可以欣赏夜间高楼阴影的窗户，一张可以做梦的睡床，一个可以烹饪饺子的厨房。这些简单的生活琐事使我幸福。我想要继续留在中国的愿望与日俱增，所以六个月的留学生活变成了四年半。
齐茉莉在昆明石林
重庆俘获了我。我的笑容比以前更灿烂了，我的内心比以前更柔软了，我变得前所未有的坚强。中国的一切让我情绪高涨，恍惚间，我甚至怀疑自己不值得拥有如此美好的生活。我原有的认知由此慢慢改变，之后也收获了一些新习惯：用好喝的热茶代替了可乐，知道馒头比面包软和，筷子比叉子方便……在我坐飞机回意大利的前几天，我最后一次转了转在重庆时常会去的地方，吃了最喜欢的小吃，和我居住了四年多的家合影留念。我最害怕的是：遗忘所经历的一切。不过，我明白时间不会消除对这段经历的记忆，因为我的大脑和内心，将永远为它们保留一个非常特殊的位置。
齐茉莉在重庆大学
尽管我现在人在意大利，但我经常感觉自己手里紧紧握着一根细线，连接了我和数千公里以外的中国。我不得不承认：我与中国，有着深深的羁绊和牵挂。对别人而言，这或许是不可思议的吧！
而此刻，我一边写着这篇文章，一边喝着热水，我意识到我不仅仅是意大利的Margherita，我也是中国的茉莉。七年前的那趟去往中国重庆的航班，带我去了一个永远会改变我身份的地方——重庆。这就是我与中国重庆的美丽邂逅。
My Beautiful Encounter with China
［Italy］ Cicione Margherita， Chongqing University
Since the minute I was on board on my first flight to the East， I had been imagining how Chongqing， the new world which I would soon meet a dozen hours later， looked like． I looked forward with excitation to the life expanding before me． It has been seven years since my first amazing trip to the city Chongqing．
When I finally landed in Chongqing， I saw an amazing city with diverse charms． It was a city of mountains， a city of bridges， a city of hot pots and a city of Bangbang （long and strong sticks to help carry packages）． It was also a modern city with a great number of skyscrapers and leisure parks． It had thousands of colors and millions of delicious specialities． For example， for peppers only， there were red， green and even black peppers． The first impression Chongqing had on me was “fear”． I was worried and unsettled almost into tears， as if I was exiled to a new world， nothing similar to Europe． China made my daily life into chaos． I had a deep breath and told myself， “Margherita， this is a self challenge． Believe yourself． You will soon get used to China after only six months．” I felt headache when reading articles in Chinese and my stomach also ached when eating food with too much spices． Chongqing is a very big city and I was often fearful that I would get lost．
Fear was soon replaced by curiosity． I found that there were spicy and hot delicacies besides salty and sweet food． The potatoes I found in the dishes turned out to be lotus roots and red beans could be made into sweet paste． I started to ask myself many questions about China： Why ancient and modern China can be perfectly merged？ Why people can keep perfect balance between haste and ease？ Why I feel welcomed and protected even in such a big city？ Why every thing is moving forward， changing and evolving？ I found clues to some of the questions in my university life and in talking with Chinese people during some get－togethers． I travelled to a number of cities， such as Beijing， Nanjing， Guiyang， Suzhou， Hangzhou， Shanghai and Shenzhen． I learned the diversity of Chinese cities in these trips． There were distinct differences in food， attitude， life style and language in different areas in China． I began to know more about China from books and then verified the knowledge when travelling． I stopped looking at China from a Westerner’s perspective． Instead I tried to look at China with eyes of Chinese． I knew I was being changed or even transformed by the new life in China．
Curiosity soon turned into merging． I felt at ease with Chongqing very soon． The hustle and bustle of life became pleasant music， the irritating spicy hot－pot became delicious， small－bowl rice which had previously been nothing to me now became a must， some strange places became familiar and the Chongqing tone which had been hard to understand now became pleasing tune． My home was there， with a window from which I enjoyed shadows of skyscrapers at night， a bed with sweet dreams and a kitchen where I cooked dumplings． All simple trifles in daily life made me happy． I wish I could stay in China longer． Therefore I extended my 6－month studying to four and a half years．
I became a captive of Chongqing． I smiled brighter， and I grew softer and stronger． Life in China motivated me into high spirits． Sometimes I asked myself if I was worthy of such a beautify life． My previous understanding of China slowly changed and I grew some new habits now， for example， I drank nice hot tea instead of cocola now， I loved softer Mantou （Chinese steamed bread） more than bread， and I used chopsticks easier than forks． Several days before my flight back to Italy， I visited for the last time places I frequented in Chongqing， ate my favorite specialities and took a picture with the home which I had stayed for more than four years． I feared time would blur my memories about China． However， I believed that time could never erase the memories because my mind and heart would keep a special place for those memories forever．
Now though back in Italy， I often felt I was still connected to China thousand of miles away with a thin string tight in my hands． I had to admit I was deeply attached to China． Somebody may think this was quite incredible， however it was so true to me．
Now I am writing this article while drinking hot water （a habit of Chinese people）， and I realize that I am not only Margherita in Italy， but also Moli （meaning Jasmine in Chinese） in China． The flight taking me to Chongqing seven years ago changed my identity and also transformed my life． This is my beautiful encounter with Chongqing， China．
