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Have you ever wondered what brings foreigners to China and what do they do while they are here?
你是否曾經(jīng)好奇過(guò)究竟是什么風(fēng)把老外吹到中國(guó)來(lái)的？他們來(lái)中國(guó)都干些啥？
On the streets and lanes of China, we see increasing numbers of foreigners. Speaking various foreign languages or strangely-toned Chinese, they have become part of our life. It is now quite common to see blond hair on the people walking along the street. The sight of a foreign face is no longer a novelty.
如今越來(lái)越多的外國(guó)人游走在中國(guó)的大街小巷。他們說(shuō)著各種各樣的語(yǔ)言，有時(shí)也帶著奇怪的口音說(shuō)說(shuō)中文，慢慢地這些人就成了我們生活的一部分。如果在大街上看到一個(gè)金發(fā)老外，已不足為奇。人們對(duì)那一張張洋化的臉龐也已司空見(jiàn)慣。
But foreigners remain a tiny minority in China. Few people know them well. Many ask themselves: What brings foreigners to China, and what do they do while they are here?
但老外仍然是中國(guó)的少數(shù)群體。國(guó)人對(duì)他們知之甚少，然后就會(huì)好奇：到底是什么風(fēng)把他們吹到中國(guó)來(lái)的，他們?cè)谥袊?guó)又干些啥？
Xia Yuan, a beautiful girl from Ukraine, works in the Beijing Emirates Town Office. She is in charge of the marketing department and she now lives in Beijing. She studied Chinese for two years before she came to China, and she now speaks fluent Mandarin. Unless you can see her in person, you might not even realize that this is a foreigner speaking Chinese. She wants to find a handsome Chinese boy as a boyfriend. She is currently studying Chinese.
夏園是一位美麗的烏克蘭女孩，目前就職于北京阿聯(lián)酋工作室，主要負(fù)責(zé)市場(chǎng)部，現(xiàn)居北京。在來(lái)中國(guó)之前，她已經(jīng)學(xué)了兩年的中文，現(xiàn)在說(shuō)得一口流利的普通話。除非你是親眼見(jiàn)了，否則你一定不會(huì)相信竟會(huì)有老外把中文說(shuō)得這么順溜。夏園渴望邂逅一個(gè)英俊的中國(guó)男友?，F(xiàn)在她還從未停止中文的學(xué)習(xí)。
Ding Luo, Italian, is the general manager of Alcatel in China. Some years ago he lived in Chengdu, and he often accompanied us to the poorer areas of Sichuan to help the kids, donating computers, clothes and bags to them. He sometimes drove his Mercedes, and ate with us at street stalls. In those days there were fewer foreigners, and the stall owners made him very welcome.
丁諾，意大利人，現(xiàn)任阿爾卡特中國(guó)地區(qū)總裁。幾年前他居住于成都，那時(shí)他常常隨我們?nèi)ニ拇ㄘ毨У貐^(qū)救濟(jì)兒童，給他們捐贈(zèng)電腦、衣物和書(shū)包。有時(shí)他也會(huì)開(kāi)著他的梅賽德斯和我們?cè)诮诌厱筹嬮_(kāi)懷。那時(shí)，老外在國(guó)內(nèi)還是稀有物種，小攤點(diǎn)的老板特別歡迎他。
Whenever he encountered a problem, he would say "I don't understand Chinese" and take out a card carrying his name and work place, and his secretary's phone number, all written in Chinese.
丁諾每每陷入交流困境的時(shí)候，他便會(huì)說(shuō)：“我不會(huì)中文，”接著就會(huì)把印有他的名字、工作地址、秘書(shū)電話的中文名片遞給對(duì)方。
Certainly, among these foreigners in China, many are consular officers who work in embassies or consulates. Countries with diplomatic ties with China regularly dispatch representatives to China.
當(dāng)然，這些老外中也不乏在大使館或領(lǐng)事館工作的領(lǐng)事官員。畢竟與中國(guó)建立外交關(guān)系的國(guó)家會(huì)定期派遣代表到中國(guó)來(lái)。
Foreigners have all sorts of jobs in China: foreign students, volunteers who work in the poorest areas in China, ordinary workers, bosses… some are hired just to make their employer look good! But it seems that it's not easy for a foreigner to become a Chinese citizen or get a Chinese Green Card.
老外在中國(guó)從事的職業(yè)形形色色：有留學(xué)生，平困地區(qū)志愿者，普通職員，老板......也有一些公司招聘外國(guó)員工僅僅為了充當(dāng)門(mén)面！可要想成為中國(guó)居民或拿中國(guó)綠卡卻非易事。
When some foreigners find themselves in trouble, they even beg for money: "I love China. I want to stay in China. But I don't have enough money… please help me."
當(dāng)一些老外陷入困境的時(shí)候，他們甚至?xí)辖制蛴懀骸拔覑?ài)中國(guó)。我想留在這里。但卻身無(wú)分文......請(qǐng)幫幫我。”
Some foreigners come to China from different countries to teach English. Some come to China to experience Chinese culture; they're not looking for big money. They hold the view that they are well-off as long as their employers pay for their round-trip tickets, and they have a secure livelihood, a chance to learn Chinese, and the opportunity to travel around China during vacations and enjoy different local customs. After a few years, when they finish their travels, they move on to another country. There are also some foreigners who really fall in love with China and don't want to leave. This is especially true for foreign men who meet a beautiful Chinese girl - they want to get married and settle down in China.
也有一些老外從世界各地來(lái)，到中國(guó)教英語(yǔ)。他們有的是為了感受中方文化；并非想著來(lái)中國(guó)賺大錢(qián)。在他們認(rèn)為，只要雇主提供往返機(jī)票，保障他們的居住安全，再加上他們有機(jī)會(huì)學(xué)習(xí)中文并且在假期游遍中國(guó)，享受多彩的地方習(xí)俗，就已經(jīng)是高待遇了。數(shù)年后，當(dāng)他們完成了中國(guó)之行，就會(huì)到另一個(gè)國(guó)家繼續(xù)他們旅行。有些老外也會(huì)真正地愛(ài)上中國(guó)，不想離開(kāi)。當(dāng)外國(guó)男人愛(ài)上美麗的中國(guó)女孩時(shí)，這種情況就更是離不開(kāi)了--他們就會(huì)希望在中國(guó)結(jié)婚，安定。
Many foreigners love Chinese culture. They travel around or make short visits, taking lots of photos in China. They often speak no Chinese. But more and more foreigners in China now speak fluent Chinese and marry Chinese partners.
很多老外都喜歡中國(guó)文化。他們游遍中國(guó)，或進(jìn)行短暫拜訪，用相機(jī)盡數(shù)記錄中國(guó)的大好河山。有人對(duì)中文一竅不通，也有越來(lái)越多的人說(shuō)得一口流利中文并且找到中國(guó)伴侶。
Dashan, a foreigner who does speak Chinese with fluency and has married a Chinese girl, has been a well-known figure in social media for several years. He now acts as a bridge for cultural communication between Canada and China.
大山，一個(gè)把中文說(shuō)得轉(zhuǎn)溜，抱得中國(guó)美人歸的老外，多年來(lái)一直是社會(huì)媒體界的名人。現(xiàn)在他正扮演中加兩國(guó)的文化橋梁一角。
Some of the foreigners I know used to be overseas representatives of their companies or their countries' embassies in China. Gradually they became familiar with China, and established good contacts here, so they went on to set up their own businesses or become the chief representatives of their companies.
我就認(rèn)識(shí)那么一些外國(guó)人，最初作為公司代表或者國(guó)家大使出使中國(guó)。后來(lái)就漸漸愛(ài)上中國(guó)，在中國(guó)建立良好的人脈，最終開(kāi)創(chuàng)出自己的事業(yè)，或者成為公司的總代表。
Ouyang Fei, who once worked in the Consulate of Canada in Chongqing, later went into business. I wonder how he's doing now.
歐陽(yáng)飛，曾在加拿大駐重慶領(lǐng)事館工作，后來(lái)下海經(jīng)商。我很好奇他近況如何。
A growing number of countries are establishing trade deals with China, and the companies of these countries will send people to China to attend exhibitions or set up their offices in China.越來(lái)越多的國(guó)家與中國(guó)建立了貿(mào)易關(guān)系，各國(guó)的公司也陸續(xù)派遣人員到中國(guó)來(lái)參加展會(huì)或是成立在中國(guó)的工作室。
Gao Weiwei, a Chinese American and media worker. The views expressed herein are those of the authors.
本文作者：高偉偉，美籍華人，媒體工作者。以上僅為作者個(gè)人觀點(diǎn)。
