何时归期
［马来西亚］陈欣斐 南京信息工程大学
窗外的雨淅淅沥沥地下着，泥土的芬芳弥漫在空气中，让我怀念起了南京初夏的味道。这个季节的南京应该已经进入了梅雨季节，我想念雨点滴答滴答打在宿舍窗户上的声音，想念校园里的鸟叫蝉鸣，想念一年四季美如一幅幅油画的校园风景。此时的我因为疫情原因无法返校，浏览着在校好友们的朋友圈，思绪良多。
我1997年出生于马来西亚，作为一名海外华侨后裔，对中国的初印象主要源于爷爷口中的一个个故事。每每诉说中国20世纪前半叶的艰苦岁月，爷爷的眼中总是会泛起泪光，而提及70、80年代的改革开放，90年代的迅速发展，以及当今的一片欣欣向荣，喜悦而自豪的神色也会自然而然地出现在他的脸上。
还记得，那时爷爷最喜欢的诗就是余光中老先生的《乡愁》：“小时候，乡愁是一枚小小的邮票，我在这头，母亲在那头。长大后，乡愁是一张窄窄的船票，我在这头，新娘在那头。后来啊，乡愁是一方矮矮的坟墓，我在外头，母亲在里头。而现在，乡愁是一湾浅浅的海峡，我在这头，大陆在那头。”年少的我并不明白这首诗的含义，但在那时，我就许下了小小的心愿，总有一天，我要前往中国，踏上爷爷曾经走过的那片土地。
南京信息工程大学 ／ 陈欣斐提供
正所谓：只要功夫深，铁杵也能磨成针。经过自己的不懈努力，我终于在中学毕业后，收到了来自中国大学的录取通知书，那一刻，屋里都是我欢呼雀跃的声音。
踏上开学旅程的那一天，空乘用清晰的中文勾勒着飞机下的城市，我随着空乘的介绍望向窗外，底下的城市灯火通明如繁花似锦，闪烁的塔台信号灯似乎在向我招手表示欢迎。伴随着飞机的降落，我来到了爷爷曾经的故乡，一个于我而言是陌生而又熟悉的地方。初到中国的那段日子，还是有些许的不适应。但在老师和同学们的热情帮助下，我很快适应了紧张而又快乐的校园生活。每天清晨拎着早餐骑着小蓝车奔向教室成为我的日常，课余时间你可以看到穿梭于各大活动现场的我的身影，忙碌而又充实。
但是生活并不总是一帆风顺，起起伏伏才是人生。谁曾想突如其来的疫情就这么将寒假回到马来西亚的我留在了马来西亚已近两年。
那时的我，虽然身在马来西亚，但却一直心系中国。每天起床的第一件事就是通过新闻了解中国的疫情情况。当看到中国每天的新增感染人数由几十、增加到几百、增加到几千时，我的心紧绷着，一直在心底为中国加油和祈祷。当看到本着人民至上、生命至上，以习近平同志为核心的党中央统揽全局，迅速采取相应措施，投入大量人力物力财力来建造方舱医院，全力研发疫苗，调动各方物资帮助重灾区时，我由衷地为中国竖起了大拇指。当看到中国十几亿人积极配合响应政府工作，仅以短短一个月的时间就使疫情得到了有效控制，骄傲之情油然而生。我想，中国之所以是中国，不仅仅在于经济的发展和科技的发达，更重要的是中国的民族精神：团结一致、万众一心。
窗外的雨依然在淅淅沥沥地下着，此时此刻的我，突然明白了爷爷谈及中国时的骄傲眼神，以及那首《乡愁》的意义。
现在啊，
乡愁是一张机票，
我在这头，
中国在那头。
When to Return
［Malaysia］ Ting Xian Fei， Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology
The rain is drizzling outside the window and the fragrance of the earth fills the air， making me recollect the taste of early summer in Nanjing， capital of Jiangsu Province． Nanjing must have entered the rainy season by now． I miss the sound of raindrops hitting the dormitory windows， the chirping of birds and the chorus of cicadas on campus， and the campus scenery which is as beautiful as oil paintings all year round． I can’t go back to college at this time because of the epidemic． I browse through the WeChat Moments of my friends at college and am letting my thoughts fly．
I was born in Malaysia in 1997， and as a descendant of overseas Chinese， my first impressions of China were mainly from the stories told by my grandfather． Whenever he talked about the hard times in the first half of the 20th century， he would always have tears in his eyes． When he mentioned the reform and opening up in the 70s and 80s， the rapid development in the 90s， and the prosperity today， joy and pride would naturally appear on his face．
I still remember that my grandfather’s favorite poem at that time was Yu Guangzhong’sNostalgia： “When I was a child／ Nostalgia was a tiny stamp／I am hither／ And mother was thither／ When I became an adult／ Nostalgia was a slip of ship ticket／ I am hither／ And bride was thither／ Later on／ nostalgia was a low tomb／ I am without／ And mother was within／ But now／ nostalgia is a shallow strait／ I am hither／ And the mainland is thither．” As a young girl， I did not understand the meaning of this poem， but at that time， I made a small wish that one day I would go to China and set foot on the land that my grandfather had walked on．
As the saying goes， if you work hard enough， an iron pestle can be sharpened into a needle． Through my own unremitting efforts， I finally received an admission letter from a Chinese university after graduating from high school， and at that moment， the room was filled with the sound of my cheering．
On the day when I began my journey to university， the flight attendant outlined the city under the plane in clear Chinese， and I followed the flight attendant’s introduction and looked out of the window． The city underneath was brightly lit up like a flower， and the flashing lights of airport tower seemed to be waving welcome me． As the plane landed， I arrived at my grandfather’s former hometown， a place that was both strange and familiar to me． During the first days after I arrived in China， I was still a little unaccustomed to it． But with the enthusiastic help of teachers and classmates， I quickly adapted to the tense but happy campus life． Every morning， it became my daily routine to rush to class holding my breakfast on a little blue bike． After school， you could see me shuttling through all big activities， busy and full．
However， life is not always smooth， but full of ups and downs． Who would have thought that the epidemic has left me in Malaysia for almost two years after returning for winter break？
At the time of the outbreak， although I was in Malaysia， I was always thinking about China． The first thing I did every day when I woke up was to turn on the news and check the epidemic situation in China． When I saw that the number of new infections in China increased from tens to hundreds and thousands every day， my heart was tightened and I kept cheering and praying for China in my heart． When I saw that the Central Committee of CPC， with General Secretary Xi Jinping as the core， taking the overall situation into account， quickly took corresponding measures， invested a lot of human and material resources to build mobile cabin hospitals， made every effort to develop the vaccines， and mobilized all kinds of materials to help the hardest hit areas， I gave a thumbs－up for China from the bottom of my heart． When I saw that more than one billion people in China actively cooperated with the government and had the epidemic effectively under control in as short as one month， pride naturally grew in my heart． I think the reason why China is China lies not only in its economic development and advanced technology， but， more importantly， in its national spirit： unity and solidarity．
The rain is still drizzling outside the window． At this moment I suddenly understand the proud look in my grandfather’s eyes when he talked about China， and the meaning of that poem， “Nostalgia”．
At this moment
Nostalgia is a plane ticket
I am hither
And China is thither．
