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今年7月,我带着浙江大学的15名学生,远赴加拿大埃德蒙顿阿尔伯塔大学进行暑期文化交流。在那里我们度过了难忘的23天。
国王式训练
陪学生上课是轻松有趣的。每天,任课老师米歇尔都会满面笑容地感谢大家准时前来,然后握手、拥抱。教室宽敞空旷,没有课桌,墙沿放着两排折叠椅,多数情况下,我们就像幼儿园小朋友一样,围成一圈,席地而坐。这种教学形式拉近了学生和教师的距离。
人到中年的米歇尔,嗓音低沉悦耳,肢体语言丰富。学生们的专业都不是英语,词汇量一般,听力一般,米歇尔总是耐心地倾听,不时纠正语法和发音的错误,并且手把手地教大家如何在发言时辅以恰到好处的重音、手势,增强感染力。
主题讨论后,我们跟着米歇尔做瑜珈,使身体和大脑获得放松。她还带领我们做游戏,教我们含着木塞念英语绕口令,用不同的语气朗诵同一首情诗以表达质问、疑惑、愤怒、幽怨等不同情感。在不时爆发的笑声中,同学们对英语的敏感度飞速提升,词汇量、听力、发音都有了很大的进步。
后来,在去麦克默里堡的车上,我们观看了电影《国王的演讲》,主人公莱昆纳尔治疗乔治五世的方式,竟有许多和米歇尔教给我们的方法相似,大家相对微笑:我们接受的可是国王式的训练呢。
除了必修的语言课程,阿尔伯塔大学还给大家安排了全方位接触加拿大多元文化、深入当地生活的机会,如参观博物馆、艺术馆以及省立法院、市政大厦、堡垒公园等。夜晚,我们在露天剧场里观看莎士比亚戏剧;午后,我们汗如雨下地挥动着船桨,行进在北萨斯喀彻温河上,齐声高唱着浙大校歌;体育馆内,我们学习冰壶运动的规则和技巧。每次参观和活动都是一场新奇的知识之旅,在探索、对抗、合作中,加深了对埃德蒙顿—阿尔伯塔—加拿大历史文化的理解。
共有的家园
夏天是加拿大人盼望已久的日子,人们多半不会呆在家里,而是去欧洲、夏威夷、地中海度假,再不济也要到班夫的温泉里躺一躺。
驱车前往班夫的高速公路上很热闹,顶着小船、拉着野营帐篷的汽车穿梭不停,偶尔飘过音乐震天响的巨大房车。忽然司机放慢了车速,提醒大家,一头黑熊正在右边的树林边活动。
班夫坐落在狂野而壮丽的落基山脉中,是加拿大第一个国家公园,湖泊、山峦、原野,无一不由冰川创造。最美的路易斯湖曾被《国家地理杂志》介绍为51个“一生中必须看一次”的旅游胜地之一。它四面环山,北面的山坳间矗立着一座海拔3400多米的雪山—维多利亚女王山,山上是维多利亚冰原。路易斯湖就是维多利亚冰原融雪形成的。泥泞的土路是狼、驯鹿、黑熊、人类一起踩出来的……
班夫的美是大自然鬼斧神工的极致之美,而麦克默里堡之行则让我们进一步体会到这种美丽的来之不易。
Suncor是一家石化公司,然而,烟囱林立、管道密布的厂区静悄悄的,黄泥碎石铺成的路面很窄,仅容一车行驶,整洁干净,到处盛开着油菜花、蒲公英,粗壮的狗尾巴草随风摇曳。出厂区,十分钟车程就到了宁静的天鹅湖自然保护区。自然保护区和石油公司毗邻而居,真是令人不可思议。
所见所闻,使我们深深感动于加拿大人对环境保护的重视。1988年,加拿大通过了修订后的国家公园法,将生态环境的保护放在第一优先级,随即产生了第一批国家公园以及相应的法规和管理措施。依山傍水风景秀丽的班夫小镇严格控制常住人口数量,即使是百万富翁或达官显贵,也休想在这里购买一寸房宅。
流行中国话
加拿大是个典型的移民国家,华人尤其多。温哥华机场入关处,黑头发黑眼睛黄皮肤的工作人员一边挥手,一边用生硬的普通话说“游客走这边,加拿大本国居民走那边”,指挥着人流各自去向该去的地方。环顾前后左右,长长的队伍中90%以上都是华人。
中国文化的影响无处不在。在西埃德蒙顿购物街上有大统华超市,国内超市里有的商品,这里几乎都能买到,比如食品,从油腻腻的卤鸡爪到香喷喷的荠菜包,以及各种各样的调味料,应有尽有。
还记得只有一个人表演的国际街头表演艺人节,那位女士先模仿LADYGAGA唱了首歌,然后就拿出了会伸缩的宝剑,开始表演中国传统杂技“口吞宝剑”。看着金发碧眼的纯老外表演中国人的江湖手艺,还是比较拙劣的那种假功夫,真说不上心里头的滋味。参观阿尔伯塔省立法院时,我们更为惊奇,立法院大厅内的圆形喷泉池底部居然沉淀着不少硬币。捐款?许愿?这可是在立法院,不是神殿或者寺庙。解说员笑眯眯地说:为了许愿呀。
诸如此类的中西合璧,让我们既吃惊又好笑,隐隐还有些失望。交流发现,许多人都到过中国,对中国文化有浓厚的兴趣,可是,他们对中国的了解很少很肤浅,他们感兴趣的是中国的政治体制转型、中国的城市化进程、中国的贫富差距……这种关注,明显带有先入为主的偏见。多么希望,在中国不断扩大对外交流的今天,我们能够更全面地向西方展示出一个立体的、丰满的、有血有肉的中国形象。
于是,我手持硬币,站在立法院大厅的圆形喷泉前,默默许愿:希望有一天,孔夫子的话在越来越国际化的同时,孔夫子的精神也能得到全世界的理解和敬意。
No!我要米饭
外国人实在不能理解米饭对于中国人的重要意义。在加拿大,我们每天徘徊在SUB和HUB的长廊里,犹豫不决。在我看来,那么多家店,可供选择的内容都差不多,不外乎汉堡、赛百味,还有披萨!无论哪一种,最后吃到嘴里都一个味儿。
选择比较多的是A&W的汉堡,从学校给的优惠券里撕下一张,可买一送一,有两个汉堡,虽然味道不怎么样,可连带着晚饭也解决了,价格实在是实惠。
第二选择是赛百味,号称专卖为顾客量身定做的三明治。噱头十足,说穿了没什么稀奇,无非是让顾客先在5种长面包里任选一种,然后选择肉类(我们一般选择火腿、火鸡或者吞拿鱼),接着就是选择调味汁,最后选择需要的蔬菜,比如洋葱、西红柿、包心菜、黄瓜、酸黄瓜、橄榄菜,等等。这个三明治除了面包就是蔬菜,肉并不多,而且是非油炸的,被大家认为很健康,颇受欢迎。
披萨在加拿大很流行,就像国内的烧饼一样,最有名的是“PIZZA,PIZZA”,到处有它的连锁店。茱丽老师曾经提及披萨在加拿大的流行程度:有位老兄去欧洲旅行,不小心把护照、签证丢了,没法向警察证明自己的身份。他灵机一动,哼唱起了披萨的广告歌。后来,警察证实了这首歌确实是在加拿大很流行的广告,就这样,这位老兄顺利踏上了返乡之路…… 听起来很有趣古怪的故事。我们则想说:“no!我要米饭。”
人在国外,才最真切地体会到,乡愁,其实最先从胃开始。我们的暑假交流也接近尾声,准备着返回可以吃到米饭的家乡。
(本文照片由作者提供)
Twenty-Three Enjoyable Summer Days in Edmonton
By Yao Cheng
July 2012 saw me accompany a team of fifteen Zhejiang University students to take part in a summer program for cultural exchanges at University of Albert in Edmonton, the Canadian province of Alberta, Canada. The 23 days we spent there are unforgettable.
As the team leader, I sat with the 15 students in classes and went with them on tours. It was fun to watch their teacher Michelle and the students interact. The mid-aged Michelle came into classroom on time, and shook hands with and hugged everybody. We used foldable chairs arranged along the two opposite walls. However, most times, we sat on the floor in a circle, like kids in a kindergarten. This teaching and learning mode shortened the distance between teacher and students.
Michelle was an experienced English teacher. Her body language had a rich vocabulary and she spoke in a low and pleasant voice. From different majors other than English, the fifteen students did not speak English well. With a limited number of words and mediocre listening comprehension, they frequently blundered in both word usage and grammar. Michelle was patient, to explain, demonstrate, and correct.
We played games to have fun with words. We put cork in the mouth and tried to read tongue twisters. Citing an English poem, we were required to express questioning, confusion, resentment and anger respectively. We laughed and learned. The students made fast progress.
One day we took a long-haul coach to visit Fort McMurray and watched “The King’s Speech” on the way. We were pleased to find that the way we received the language training under the guidance of Michelle bore resemblance to the way the king received therapeutic training in the film. We smiled when we concluded that we were being treated like royals.
The summer program featured cultural diversity and fun. In addition to the language sessions, we were fully exposed to the Canadian culture. We visited Alberta Legislature, the town hall of Edmonton, the Fort Edmonton Park; we watched a Shakespeare play at an outdoor theater; we rowed a boat on the North Saskatchewan River in an early afternoon, chanting the school anthem of Zhejiang University in unison; we learned how to play curling stone in a stadium.
The most memorable tour we had during our stay in Edmonton was our trip to Banff, Canada’s first national park. Located in the Rocky Mountains, the park is a geographical miracle and beauty created and shaped by glaciers. Lake Louise in the park was described by National Geographic as one of the 51 sights one must see in lifetime. If Banff is the beauty created by nature, our visit to Fort McMurray gave us an insight into the human effort needed to preserve the natural beauty. Suncor is a chemical manufacturer located in a scenic area. The giant facility abounded with chimneys and pipes, but it was quiet. The clean dirt and gravel road traversed the luxurious grassland. We traveled through the facility for ten minutes before we reached a swan habitat under the government protection. We found the juxtaposition of the preserve and the manufacturing facility incredible.
We were deeply impressed with the way Chinese is spoken in Canada. At the Vancouver Airport where we cleared through the customs, we saw quite a few Chinese people. In the shopping center of Edmonton we found a Chinese supermarket where everything we can find back home in China was available there.
We were slightly disappointed in our exchanges with people there. Many had visited China and showed a strong in interest in Chinese culture, but we were under the impression that their knowledge of China was probably skin deep and that their focus was overly narrow. They focused on political restructuring, urbanization and gap between the rich and the poor. The focus was justifiable, but the way we heard their talk sounded more or less prejudiced.
We enjoyed food in Edmonton, but we did not have rice at all there. It seems Canadians did not understand how rice was important to us. We had few food choices during our stay in Edmonton: hamburger, pizza, and sandwich. They were tasty and great, but our Chinese stomach preferred rice. When our summer program was to end, we all yearned for rice. For this reason, we missed home so much.
国王式训练
陪学生上课是轻松有趣的。每天,任课老师米歇尔都会满面笑容地感谢大家准时前来,然后握手、拥抱。教室宽敞空旷,没有课桌,墙沿放着两排折叠椅,多数情况下,我们就像幼儿园小朋友一样,围成一圈,席地而坐。这种教学形式拉近了学生和教师的距离。
人到中年的米歇尔,嗓音低沉悦耳,肢体语言丰富。学生们的专业都不是英语,词汇量一般,听力一般,米歇尔总是耐心地倾听,不时纠正语法和发音的错误,并且手把手地教大家如何在发言时辅以恰到好处的重音、手势,增强感染力。
主题讨论后,我们跟着米歇尔做瑜珈,使身体和大脑获得放松。她还带领我们做游戏,教我们含着木塞念英语绕口令,用不同的语气朗诵同一首情诗以表达质问、疑惑、愤怒、幽怨等不同情感。在不时爆发的笑声中,同学们对英语的敏感度飞速提升,词汇量、听力、发音都有了很大的进步。
后来,在去麦克默里堡的车上,我们观看了电影《国王的演讲》,主人公莱昆纳尔治疗乔治五世的方式,竟有许多和米歇尔教给我们的方法相似,大家相对微笑:我们接受的可是国王式的训练呢。
除了必修的语言课程,阿尔伯塔大学还给大家安排了全方位接触加拿大多元文化、深入当地生活的机会,如参观博物馆、艺术馆以及省立法院、市政大厦、堡垒公园等。夜晚,我们在露天剧场里观看莎士比亚戏剧;午后,我们汗如雨下地挥动着船桨,行进在北萨斯喀彻温河上,齐声高唱着浙大校歌;体育馆内,我们学习冰壶运动的规则和技巧。每次参观和活动都是一场新奇的知识之旅,在探索、对抗、合作中,加深了对埃德蒙顿—阿尔伯塔—加拿大历史文化的理解。
共有的家园
夏天是加拿大人盼望已久的日子,人们多半不会呆在家里,而是去欧洲、夏威夷、地中海度假,再不济也要到班夫的温泉里躺一躺。
驱车前往班夫的高速公路上很热闹,顶着小船、拉着野营帐篷的汽车穿梭不停,偶尔飘过音乐震天响的巨大房车。忽然司机放慢了车速,提醒大家,一头黑熊正在右边的树林边活动。
班夫坐落在狂野而壮丽的落基山脉中,是加拿大第一个国家公园,湖泊、山峦、原野,无一不由冰川创造。最美的路易斯湖曾被《国家地理杂志》介绍为51个“一生中必须看一次”的旅游胜地之一。它四面环山,北面的山坳间矗立着一座海拔3400多米的雪山—维多利亚女王山,山上是维多利亚冰原。路易斯湖就是维多利亚冰原融雪形成的。泥泞的土路是狼、驯鹿、黑熊、人类一起踩出来的……
班夫的美是大自然鬼斧神工的极致之美,而麦克默里堡之行则让我们进一步体会到这种美丽的来之不易。
Suncor是一家石化公司,然而,烟囱林立、管道密布的厂区静悄悄的,黄泥碎石铺成的路面很窄,仅容一车行驶,整洁干净,到处盛开着油菜花、蒲公英,粗壮的狗尾巴草随风摇曳。出厂区,十分钟车程就到了宁静的天鹅湖自然保护区。自然保护区和石油公司毗邻而居,真是令人不可思议。
所见所闻,使我们深深感动于加拿大人对环境保护的重视。1988年,加拿大通过了修订后的国家公园法,将生态环境的保护放在第一优先级,随即产生了第一批国家公园以及相应的法规和管理措施。依山傍水风景秀丽的班夫小镇严格控制常住人口数量,即使是百万富翁或达官显贵,也休想在这里购买一寸房宅。
流行中国话
加拿大是个典型的移民国家,华人尤其多。温哥华机场入关处,黑头发黑眼睛黄皮肤的工作人员一边挥手,一边用生硬的普通话说“游客走这边,加拿大本国居民走那边”,指挥着人流各自去向该去的地方。环顾前后左右,长长的队伍中90%以上都是华人。
中国文化的影响无处不在。在西埃德蒙顿购物街上有大统华超市,国内超市里有的商品,这里几乎都能买到,比如食品,从油腻腻的卤鸡爪到香喷喷的荠菜包,以及各种各样的调味料,应有尽有。
还记得只有一个人表演的国际街头表演艺人节,那位女士先模仿LADYGAGA唱了首歌,然后就拿出了会伸缩的宝剑,开始表演中国传统杂技“口吞宝剑”。看着金发碧眼的纯老外表演中国人的江湖手艺,还是比较拙劣的那种假功夫,真说不上心里头的滋味。参观阿尔伯塔省立法院时,我们更为惊奇,立法院大厅内的圆形喷泉池底部居然沉淀着不少硬币。捐款?许愿?这可是在立法院,不是神殿或者寺庙。解说员笑眯眯地说:为了许愿呀。
诸如此类的中西合璧,让我们既吃惊又好笑,隐隐还有些失望。交流发现,许多人都到过中国,对中国文化有浓厚的兴趣,可是,他们对中国的了解很少很肤浅,他们感兴趣的是中国的政治体制转型、中国的城市化进程、中国的贫富差距……这种关注,明显带有先入为主的偏见。多么希望,在中国不断扩大对外交流的今天,我们能够更全面地向西方展示出一个立体的、丰满的、有血有肉的中国形象。
于是,我手持硬币,站在立法院大厅的圆形喷泉前,默默许愿:希望有一天,孔夫子的话在越来越国际化的同时,孔夫子的精神也能得到全世界的理解和敬意。
No!我要米饭
外国人实在不能理解米饭对于中国人的重要意义。在加拿大,我们每天徘徊在SUB和HUB的长廊里,犹豫不决。在我看来,那么多家店,可供选择的内容都差不多,不外乎汉堡、赛百味,还有披萨!无论哪一种,最后吃到嘴里都一个味儿。
选择比较多的是A&W的汉堡,从学校给的优惠券里撕下一张,可买一送一,有两个汉堡,虽然味道不怎么样,可连带着晚饭也解决了,价格实在是实惠。
第二选择是赛百味,号称专卖为顾客量身定做的三明治。噱头十足,说穿了没什么稀奇,无非是让顾客先在5种长面包里任选一种,然后选择肉类(我们一般选择火腿、火鸡或者吞拿鱼),接着就是选择调味汁,最后选择需要的蔬菜,比如洋葱、西红柿、包心菜、黄瓜、酸黄瓜、橄榄菜,等等。这个三明治除了面包就是蔬菜,肉并不多,而且是非油炸的,被大家认为很健康,颇受欢迎。
披萨在加拿大很流行,就像国内的烧饼一样,最有名的是“PIZZA,PIZZA”,到处有它的连锁店。茱丽老师曾经提及披萨在加拿大的流行程度:有位老兄去欧洲旅行,不小心把护照、签证丢了,没法向警察证明自己的身份。他灵机一动,哼唱起了披萨的广告歌。后来,警察证实了这首歌确实是在加拿大很流行的广告,就这样,这位老兄顺利踏上了返乡之路…… 听起来很有趣古怪的故事。我们则想说:“no!我要米饭。”
人在国外,才最真切地体会到,乡愁,其实最先从胃开始。我们的暑假交流也接近尾声,准备着返回可以吃到米饭的家乡。
(本文照片由作者提供)
Twenty-Three Enjoyable Summer Days in Edmonton
By Yao Cheng
July 2012 saw me accompany a team of fifteen Zhejiang University students to take part in a summer program for cultural exchanges at University of Albert in Edmonton, the Canadian province of Alberta, Canada. The 23 days we spent there are unforgettable.
As the team leader, I sat with the 15 students in classes and went with them on tours. It was fun to watch their teacher Michelle and the students interact. The mid-aged Michelle came into classroom on time, and shook hands with and hugged everybody. We used foldable chairs arranged along the two opposite walls. However, most times, we sat on the floor in a circle, like kids in a kindergarten. This teaching and learning mode shortened the distance between teacher and students.
Michelle was an experienced English teacher. Her body language had a rich vocabulary and she spoke in a low and pleasant voice. From different majors other than English, the fifteen students did not speak English well. With a limited number of words and mediocre listening comprehension, they frequently blundered in both word usage and grammar. Michelle was patient, to explain, demonstrate, and correct.
We played games to have fun with words. We put cork in the mouth and tried to read tongue twisters. Citing an English poem, we were required to express questioning, confusion, resentment and anger respectively. We laughed and learned. The students made fast progress.
One day we took a long-haul coach to visit Fort McMurray and watched “The King’s Speech” on the way. We were pleased to find that the way we received the language training under the guidance of Michelle bore resemblance to the way the king received therapeutic training in the film. We smiled when we concluded that we were being treated like royals.
The summer program featured cultural diversity and fun. In addition to the language sessions, we were fully exposed to the Canadian culture. We visited Alberta Legislature, the town hall of Edmonton, the Fort Edmonton Park; we watched a Shakespeare play at an outdoor theater; we rowed a boat on the North Saskatchewan River in an early afternoon, chanting the school anthem of Zhejiang University in unison; we learned how to play curling stone in a stadium.
The most memorable tour we had during our stay in Edmonton was our trip to Banff, Canada’s first national park. Located in the Rocky Mountains, the park is a geographical miracle and beauty created and shaped by glaciers. Lake Louise in the park was described by National Geographic as one of the 51 sights one must see in lifetime. If Banff is the beauty created by nature, our visit to Fort McMurray gave us an insight into the human effort needed to preserve the natural beauty. Suncor is a chemical manufacturer located in a scenic area. The giant facility abounded with chimneys and pipes, but it was quiet. The clean dirt and gravel road traversed the luxurious grassland. We traveled through the facility for ten minutes before we reached a swan habitat under the government protection. We found the juxtaposition of the preserve and the manufacturing facility incredible.
We were deeply impressed with the way Chinese is spoken in Canada. At the Vancouver Airport where we cleared through the customs, we saw quite a few Chinese people. In the shopping center of Edmonton we found a Chinese supermarket where everything we can find back home in China was available there.
We were slightly disappointed in our exchanges with people there. Many had visited China and showed a strong in interest in Chinese culture, but we were under the impression that their knowledge of China was probably skin deep and that their focus was overly narrow. They focused on political restructuring, urbanization and gap between the rich and the poor. The focus was justifiable, but the way we heard their talk sounded more or less prejudiced.
We enjoyed food in Edmonton, but we did not have rice at all there. It seems Canadians did not understand how rice was important to us. We had few food choices during our stay in Edmonton: hamburger, pizza, and sandwich. They were tasty and great, but our Chinese stomach preferred rice. When our summer program was to end, we all yearned for rice. For this reason, we missed home so much.