何時歸期
〔馬來西亞〕陳欣斐 南京資訊工程大學
窗外的雨淅淅瀝瀝地下著，泥土的芬芳瀰漫在空氣中，讓我懷念起了南京初夏的味道。這個季節的南京應該已經進入了梅雨季節，我想念雨點滴答滴答打在宿舍窗戶上的聲音，想念校園裏的鳥叫蟬鳴，想念一年四季美如一幅幅油畫的校園風景。此時的我因為疫情原因無法返校，瀏覽著在校好友們的朋友圈，思緒良多。
我1997年出生於馬來西亞，作為一名海外華僑後裔，對中國的初印象主要源於爺爺口中的一個個故事。每每訴説中國20世紀前半葉的艱苦歲月，爺爺的眼中總是會泛起淚光，而提及70、80年代的改革開放，90年代的迅速發展，以及當今的一片欣欣向榮，喜悅而自豪的神色也會自然而然地出現在他的臉上。
還記得，那時爺爺最喜歡的詩就是余光中老先生的《鄉愁》：“小時候，鄉愁是一枚小小的郵票，我在這頭，母親在那頭。長大後，鄉愁是一張窄窄的船票，我在這頭，新娘在那頭。後來啊，鄉愁是一方矮矮的墳墓，我在外頭，母親在裏頭。而現在，鄉愁是一灣淺淺的海峽，我在這頭，大陸在那頭。”年少的我並不明白這首詩的含義，但在那時，我就許下了小小的心願，總有一天，我要前往中國，踏上爺爺曾經走過的那片土地。
南京資訊工程大學 ／ 陳欣斐提供
正所謂：只要功夫深，鐵杵也能磨成針。經過自己的不懈努力，我終於在中學畢業後，收到了來自中國大學的錄取通知書，那一刻，屋裏都是我歡呼雀躍的聲音。
踏上開學旅程的那一天，空乘用清晰的中文勾勒著飛機下的城市，我隨著空乘的介紹望向窗外，底下的城市燈火通明如繁花似錦，閃爍的塔臺信號燈似乎在向我招手錶示歡迎。伴隨著飛機的降落，我來到了爺爺曾經的故鄉，一個于我而言是陌生而又熟悉的地方。初到中國的那段日子，還是有些許的不適應。但在老師和同學們的熱情幫助下，我很快適應了緊張而又快樂的校園生活。每天清晨拎著早餐騎著小藍車奔向教室成為我的日常，課餘時間你可以看到穿梭于各大活動現場的我的身影，忙碌而又充實。
但是生活並不總是一帆風順，起起伏伏才是人生。誰曾想突如其來的疫情就這麼將寒假回到馬來西亞的我留在了馬來西亞已近兩年。
那時的我，雖然身在馬來西亞，但卻一直心繫中國。每天起床的第一件事就是通過新聞了解中國的疫情情況。當看到中國每天的新增感染人數由幾十、增加到幾百、增加到幾千時，我的心緊繃著，一直在心底為中國加油和祈禱。當看到本著人民至上、生命至上，以習近平同志為核心的黨中央統攬全局，迅速採取相應措施，投入大量人力物力財力來建造方艙醫院，全力研發疫苗，調動各方物資幫助重災區時，我由衷地為中國豎起了大拇指。當看到中國十幾億人積極配合響應政府工作，僅以短短一個月的時間就使疫情得到了有效控制，驕傲之情油然而生。我想，中國之所以是中國，不僅僅在於經濟的發展和科技的發達，更重要的是中國的民族精神：團結一致、萬眾一心。
窗外的雨依然在淅淅瀝瀝地下著，此時此刻的我，突然明白了爺爺談及中國時的驕傲眼神，以及那首《鄉愁》的意義。
現在啊，
鄉愁是一張機票，
我在這頭，
中國在那頭。
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．
