为中卢共同发展而努力
［卢旺达］ 赛玲 东华大学
我在非洲一个思想开放的家庭里长大，从小就喜欢去旅行，寻求冒险和乐趣。从我20岁起，探索世界就一直是我的梦想。我经常去游览邻国的城市，在每次探索中，我都能发现这些城市比我们的先进之处。周末，我还经常参加在我们城市不同角落举办的会议。一天，当我参加世界银行举办的性别与企业发展研讨会时，我听说了中国的工业革命，得知世界上大多数的制造业都在向中国转移。这让我很兴奋，想知道更多关于这方面的信息。从那以后，我开始尝试更多地了解中国。
我联系了埃里克·哈古玛（Eric Haguma），他是我们家的一位朋友，曾毕业于上海大学，当时他正在上海的一家马来西亚信息通信技术公司工作。我告诉了他我想去中国学习的计划。他帮我联系了当时正在东华大学环境科学与工程学院学习的全日制学生弗朗西斯·鲁扎吉利扎（Francis Ruzagiliza）。接下来我和弗朗西斯的联系让我对自己的梦想有了更加明确的方向。他是上海市政府资助的学生之一，所以他也鼓励我提交申请材料，来东华大学学习。于是我提交了入学所需的所有文件，令我吃惊的是，不久我就收到了一封电子邮件，通知我获得了上海市政府颁发的在东华大学攻读中文硕士学位的奖学金，这为我提供了一次了解中国的宝贵机会，我真的开心极了。
心情稍稍平静后，我就开始好奇在离祖国千里之外的地方生活会怎样。所以我问了很多问题，也在网上浏览有关中国生活的信息。然后怀着既兴奋又忐忑的心情为我的旅行做准备。经过大约20个小时的飞行后，我终于降落在我梦想中的城市。当我到达上海时，受到一位国际交流官员的热烈欢迎，从此我开始了在中国生活的旅程。
我在东华大学的学习之旅充满了挑战和机遇，因为我是班上唯一一个来自卢旺达的学生，也没有足够的国外生活经验。另一个具有挑战性的情况是如何在学习与社交之间取得平衡，以及如何打破外国人在异国他乡留下的刻板印象。我来自一个非洲传统社区，一开始我很难理解其他背景的学生，因为有时我感到害羞，不敢与他们交流。不过，住在东华大学的外国学生宿舍是一种令人兴奋的经历，因为那里总是有丰富的交流活动，如学习小组、文化活动和各种比赛。这些多彩的校园生活让我在同一个地方结识了来自不同背景和国籍的各种人，他们拥有不同的文化和宗教信仰。当然完全融入校园生活并不是一件容易的事，我努力地在课堂上、在课下花时间倾听和学习，跟老师好好学习中文，跟同学互相交流分享。让我吃惊的是，我发现我们都是一样的，我们有很多相似之处，有着相同的价值观和信仰。
这段经历促使我成为一个思想开放、包容的学生，也帮我更加理解和尊重他人的文化。我逐渐了解和爱上了中国和中国文化。在校期间，我积极参加各种活动，如语言实践、文化节、论坛和文化体验，并因出色的表演获奖，这让我更加自信、更加喜欢在东华的留学生活。
在攻克了语言关后，我如期进入专业学院学习，这时我又迎来了我的第二次宝贵的机会，那就是为期六个月的上海世博会开始了。这时我得到了一个与索马里联邦共和国合作的机会，担任业务经理。这是一份很有挑战性的工作，因为我要努力适应中国的工作环境。一开始，由于我没有管理中国同事的经验，也没有解决工作中复杂问题的经验，所以很难处理索马里馆日益增多的询问和游客接待工作。但幸运的是，我得到了我的上司、索马里联邦共和国总专员的帮助，我与他相处融洽，我们团队合作，完成了整个项目，成功完成了使命，也锻炼了我的工作能力，为我后来的工作打下良好的基础。
东华大学 ／ 苗俊丰提供
2010—2011学年初，我开始写论文，同一时期，我受聘为卢旺达共和国驻北京大使馆工作。这份工作的到来让我很纠结，因为我不知道我是否能够一边在离我的大学千里之外的另一个城市里工作，一边完成我正在进行的毕业论文。那时有太多没有答案的问题在我脑海中反复出现：我会不会因为要去大使馆从事一个相对不确定的工作而把学业放在一边，从而使自己面临财务和安全风险？我会不会失去我的奖学金？会不会影响到我毕业？幸运的是，在咨询过东华大学国际文化交流学院的老师们之后，我得到了他们的支持，我决定接受挑战，事实证明这是我职业生涯中最好的决定。我就这样搬到了北京青年旅社。周一到周五我都必须努力工作；周五晚上到周日的晚上我必须在东华大学跟我的导师见面讨论论文。幸运的是，在导师的帮助下，最后我顺利完成了我的毕业论文，并于2012年顺利毕业，为此，我非常感谢吴小军副院长和鲍欣仁教授对我的职业生涯和职业发展的持续支持和指导。
现在我是卢旺达共和国大使馆的全职雇员，是大使的私人助理。在这里，我通过交流履行管理大使办公室的广泛职责，监督业务的所有职能，包括合作协议和项目提案，推动卢旺达基于相互利益的外交政策，保持双边和多边合作，促进人文交流。
东华大学 ／ 苗俊丰提供
我还是卢旺达—中国校友组织（RCAO）的创始人之一，这个组织由一直在中国学习的研究生组成，致力于帮助卢旺达提升健康、教育、福利和创造就业机会，这个组织募集资金支持全国的弱势群体。自成立以来，RCAO开展了很多影响当地社区的活动，如向卢旺达难民营捐赠电视机和食物，还为300多名缺少社会福利的人购买了医疗保险，还访问并现金支持种族灭绝寡妇协会等。为了回馈社会，我还积极加入了北京英联邦协会（CSB），成为他们的一员。该协会成立于1993年，由英联邦国家的女外交官和其他热心慈善事业的国民组成。今天，这个组织得到了当地的认可，并发展到200多个成员。CBS通过以下组织——中华慈善总会、中华全国妇女联合会、夏津特殊教育、山东省德州市下金村、通州关爱中心等向中国多个贫困社区捐赠了300多万元人民币。
最后，我必须说，我有幸在中国一所知名的大学接受了教育，感谢中国人民给予我的帮助和支持，我相信未来卢旺达和中国会有更多的合作机会。
Strive for the Development of China and Rwanda
［Rwanda］ Joselyne Umulisa， Donghua University
I grew up in an African family with open thoughts． I loved travelling since I was a child， and I love adventures and enjoy all kinds of fun． Exploring the world has been my dream since I turned 20． I often traveled to other countries adjacent to Rwanda and found in each trip that these cities／countries were advanced to ours in some aspects． I often attended seminars in our cities． I heard of industrial revolution of China one day when I was attending a seminar about Gender and Enterprise Development held by the World Bank． I got to know that most manufacturing industries in the world had been transferring to China． I got excited by the news and wanted to know more about that country． Since then I tried every means to know more about China．
Later I contacted Eric Haguma， who was a friend of our family and graduated from Shanghai University． He was then working in a Malaysian information and technology company in Shanghai． I told him that I wanted to study in China． He helped me get in touch with a full－enlisted student of Environmental Science and Engineering College in Donghua University in Shanghai， Francis Ruzagiliza． My communication with Francis helped me see the direction of my dream much clearer． He was one of the students funded by Shanghai municipal government and he encouraged me to apply for the scholarship and come to study in Donghua University． I submitted all the documents required for applying for the university． I was surprised when I got an email very soon， which said that I won a scholarship for pursuing a master degree of Chinese language in Donghua University funded by Shanghai municipal government． This was a valuable opportunity for me to know more about China． I was more than happy．
When my excitement of getting the scholarship subdued a bit， I became curious about how it would be living thousands of miles away from my home country． I asked lots of questions and began browsing on the internet about life in China． I prepared for my trip to China， excited and nervous． After about 20－hour flight， I finally landed my dream city， Shanghai． When I arrived at Shanghai， I was warmly welcomed by an official of international exchange． My study in China officially started．
My study in Donghua University was full of challenges and opportunities． I was the only one from Rwanda in my class and had no experience living abroad． I was also trying my best to balance between study and social life and to break the stereotyped image foreigner students had been imposed on． I came from a traditional African community and it was hard for me to understand students from other backgrounds at the beginning． I was shy sometimes and was afraid of communicating with others． However， living in the foreigner student apartment in the university was an exciting experience， because there were always diversified activities such as study groups， culture activities and various competitions． In the diversified campus activities， I met across various people from different backgrounds and nationalities． They came from different culture and religious belief． It was not easy to fit in the campus life here at first． However， I tried my best to listen and learn in and after classes． I followed courses to learn Chinese and I exchanged and shared experience with my classmates． To my surprise I found that there was more similarities than differences and we shared the same value and belief．
This study experience enabled me grow into an open and inclusive people and helped me better understand and respect other cultures more． I began to know more and fall in love with China and Chinese culture． I actively participated in campus activities， such as language practice， culture festivals， seminars and culture experience． I won prizes for outstanding performance， which gave me more confidence and fondness of my life in the university．
After passing the language test， I was officially enrolled into a college to study my major courses． My second precious chance came， that is， the 6－month Shanghai EXPO was held． I got a cooperation chance with the Federal Republic of Somalia as a business manager． This was a challenging position， and I tried my utmost to get adapted to the working environment in China． At the beginning， due to lack of managing Chinese colleagues and lack of experience in handling complicated tasks， I was exhausted in dealing with the ever－increasing inquiries and reception of visitors in the Hall of Somalia during Shanghai EXPO． Fortunately， I got lots of help from my boss， the general ambassador of the Federal Republic of Somalia． With united teamwork， we worked as a team and successfully completed the project and achieved our mission． This experience has improved my work capability and laid a solid foundation for my later work．
I started my graduation papers from end of 2010 and beginning of 2011． I also got an offer working for the Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda in Beijing． I was at a loss， not sure if I could be capable of working for the embassy in Beijing while at the meanwhile finishing my graduation papers． Waves of questions with no answers kept popping into my mind then： Will I put myself into financial and security risks if I go to work for the embassy leaving my study aside； will I lose my scholarship or will my graduation be delayed？ Lucky enough， after consulting my teachers in International Culture Exchange college in Donghua University， I got their full support and finally accepted the challenge． It proved to be the best decision in my career life． I then moved to Beijing Youth Hotel． I worked hard from Monday to Friday and I discussed my graduation papers with my tutor in Donghua University from Friday night to Monday night． Fortunately with the help of my tutor， I completed my graduation papers successfully and graduated in 2012． I dedicated my heartfelt gratitude to our vice chancellor Wu Xiaojun and my tutor Professor Bao Xinren， who had provided continuous support and guidance to my career development．
Now I am a full employee of Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda and the personal assistant of the ambassador． I manage the ambassador office through cultural exchange， supervise all business functions such as cooperation agreements and business proposals， promote mutual beneficial diplomatic policies of Rwanda， maintain mutual and multi－lateral cooperation and promote cultural and talent exchange．
I am also one of the founders of Rwanda－China Alumni Organization， which has been run by graduates studying in China． It aims to help Rwanda promote health， education and welfare and create employment opportunities． It raises funds to help disadvantaged people nationwide． Since its founding， it has held lots of activities influencing local communities， for example， donate TVs and food for Rwanda Refugee Camps， buy medical insurance for more than 300 people lacking social welfare， and visit and support in cash Association of Genocide Widows Agahozo （AVEGA）． To better benefit the society， I become a member of The Commonwealth Society of Beijing （CSB）． The CSB was founded in 1993 by female diplomats from the commonwealth countries and other people devoted to charity causes． It has been widely acknowledged today and has more than 200 members． The CSB has donated more than 3 million yuan to multiple poor communities in China through the following organizations： China Charity Federation， All－China Women’s Federation， Xiajin Special Education， Xiajin Village of Dezhou in Shandong Province and Tongzhou Care Center．
Finally， but not least， I must tell the world that I am so lucky to receive my education in a well－known university in China． I am much thankful to the help and support Chinese people have given me and I believe that there will be more cooperation opportunities between Rwanda and China in the future．
