我們叫他“李爸爸”
〔寮國〕何宋 江蘇資訊職業技術學院
我來自寮國，到中國學習生活兩年了。
我生活的校園裏，有春花秋月的浪漫，山水江南的柔婉，抬頭可以看到花開，轉角可以遇到微笑；我生活的校園裏有雄偉壯觀卻不失溫馨與美麗的教學樓，有奔波上課卻不忘微笑的同學們；我生活的校園裏還有一群佩戴紅藍胸牌看似嚴肅卻不乏可愛的人群，見到他們我們會主動打招呼問好，當然了，遇到問題我們也可以第一時間求助他們，他們是我們的老師，也是我們的家人。這些人中有一個人，我們叫他“李爸爸”。
第一次見他還是在我第一次來中國的時候，那時從寮國到無錫，我坐的是火車。30多個小時的車程，不能洗澡，不能刷牙。我的頭髮變長了，鬍子也變長了，我不敢跟任何人説話。正當我擔心怎麼去找學校的時候，我的名牌出現在了車站門口長長的隊伍中，一個年輕的中國男人舉著它。我走向它的過程很彆扭，男人看到了，走過來問我：“你是何宋吧？”我沒敢看他，只是點了點頭。他看起來很高興，“歡迎來到中國，以後我就是你的李老師，你到家了”。那時，我漢語只會一點點，英語也説不太明白，但“家”這個字我聽明白了，只是有些不理解。難道這個“家”和寮國語裏的家不一樣嗎？
後來見到“李爸爸”的次數就像每日三餐那麼頻繁：他陪我們去食堂吃飯，去宿舍整理東西，去超市買生活用品，去銀行辦理銀行卡……他帶我們參加各種文化活動，幫我們排遣思鄉之情，讓我們儘快適應校園生活。
2019年12月，一種不明原因病毒性肺炎如鬼魅般突襲而來，發燒、咳嗽、嚴重肺部感染……一個接一個。病毒從哪兒來，病毒怎麼傳播，病毒怎麼治療……沒有人知道答案。緊接著，商店關門、高速封路、飛機停航、武漢封城……很快，我們的外出許可權被禁止，新年晚會取消，文化活動暫停……學校裏的人越來越少。手機裏的各種消息此起彼伏，遠在寮國的家人也勸我趕快回國，那時的我們恐慌、無助、忐忑不安。
江蘇資訊職業技術學院 ／ 何宋提供
中國除夕夜的那天，李老師沒有回家，和其他老師一起陪我們吃了一頓年夜飯，李老師告訴我們，中國的年夜飯都是和家人一起吃的，讓我們別擔心，在學校，他們就是我們的家人。可是快到12點的時候，一個女同學突然發燒了，外面下著雪，天很黑，恐慌又一次籠罩著熟悉的一切，沒有人知道怎麼辦。李老師知道消息後馬上趕回學校，叫來了120，醫生們幫助女同學穿上了防護服，李老師陪著女同學跟著120一起去了醫院檢查。沒有人見過這種架勢，我們的心又懸了起來。大家整晚守在宿舍，沒有睡覺，一直等到大年初一的淩晨，李老師拖著疲憊的身軀回來了，他眼角佈滿紅血絲，但聲音洪亮，幸好同學只是感冒，我們懸著的心慢慢放了下來。
江蘇資訊職業技術學院食堂 ／ 何宋提供
從那天開始，李老師每天都會在班級群裏統計我們的物資需求，然後拎著大包小包來宿舍看望我們，幫我們測量體溫，陪我們吃飯，聽我們七嘴八舌地嘮叨，然後小心地安撫我們，幫我們打氣……慢慢地，我們開始沒大沒小地跟他開起了玩笑，笑稱他是我們的“外賣小哥”。他聽到了並沒有生氣，反倒挺開心。
有一次，我問他：“李老師，你不害怕嗎？每天來看我們，給我們送東西，陪我們去醫院。”他説得很誠實：“我當然害怕，可是現在你們在中國，蘇信就是你們的家，我是你們的‘外賣小哥’，也是你們的‘爸爸’，有‘爸爸’陪著，你們就不會害怕了。守護你們平安，是我的責任”。
“李爸爸”很年輕，面對我們這一群特殊的大孩子，他笑得很靦腆。現在我們已經習慣叫他“李爸爸”了。他讓遠在異國他鄉的我們有了家的感覺，他讓我們即使身陷險地也不再孤單、不再害怕，我想這就是爸爸該有的感覺吧。其實，我的身邊還有很多個“李爸爸”，因為有他們，我們才感動，才眷念；因為有他們，中國才溫馨，才可愛。
所以，“李爸爸”們，謝謝你們，還有我愛你們！
We Call Him “Papa Li”
〔Laos〕 Laeni Housok， Jiangsu Vocational College of Information Technology
I am He Song from Laos and I have been studied in China for two years．
On the campus I live in， there is romance of the seasons and gracefulness of the sceneries in southern China． You can appreciate flowers everywhere and come across friendly smiling faces． The teaching buildings are beautiful， magnificent and cozy． I can see students busy on their way to classrooms， smiles on their faces． There are seriously looking but amiable people with red and blue badges， to whom we say “hello” whenever we meet． They are the ones who give us “first aids” when we encounter problems． They are our teachers and they are also like our family members． “Papa Li” is one of them．
I met him when I first arrived in China． It took me more than 30 hours from Laos to Wuxi by train， where I was not able to take a shower or brush my teeth． I looked slovenly and was afraid to talk to anyone． When I was standing in the train station and worrying about how to find my way to school， I saw the placard with my name holding by a young Chinese man in the big crowd at the exit of the station． I went towards him with hesitation． He noticed me， came over and asked， “Are you He Song？” I nodded without looking at him． He looked happy． “Welcome to China！” he said． “I’m Li． You are home．” Although neither my Chinese nor my English was good enough at that time， I understood the word “home”， but with confusion： Is the “home” he said different from that in Lao？
Since then， we meet “Papa Li” as frequently as we have three meals a day． He is often with us – when we go to the canteens， when we buy daily necessities at supermarkets， when we apply for our bank cards．．． He takes us to various cultural activities， helping us to dispel our homesickness and adapt to campus life as soon as possible．
On December， 2019， an unexplained viral pneumonia broke out and spread like a ghost – fever， cough， severe lung infection… one after another． Where did the virus come from？ How did it spread？ How to treat it？ No one knew． Soon after， there came shop closure， highway closure， suspension of flights， lockdown of Wuhan… At school， we were not permitted to leave the campus， the New Year’s party was cancelled， the cultural activities were suspended… There were fewer and fewer people in school． Various messages popped up in my phone everyday like sea wave． My family in Laos suggested me to go back． We， at that time， were panic， helpless and anxious．
On the evening of the Chinese New Year， Teacher Li did not go home but accompanied us to have the big dinner． Together were some other teachers． He told me that it was a tradition in China to have New Year Eve’s dinner with one’s family， and that we did not need to be worried because in school they were our families． Unexpectedly， a female classmate got a sudden fever when it was almost midnight． Great panic appeared at that gloomy and snowy night． No one knew what to do． Li hurried back to school timely and called ambulance． The sick girl was helped put on a protective suit and taken by the ambulance for hospital， Li accompanied her all the time． Anxieties were never eased among us because no one had ever had such an experience before． We stayed awake the whole night in the dormitories． It was not until the early morning that Li returned， whacked with bloodshot eyes， but his voice was still resonant． It was lucky that my female classmate just got a common cold． Our anxieties diminished gradually．
From that day on， Li gathered our needs in the class group chat every day and came to our dormitories with bags of necessities． He helped us take temperatures， ate with us， listened to our chatters， comforted us， cheered us up…We gradually felt close to him and started joking with him． We called him our “deliveryman，” which he accepted happily．
“Mr Li， aren’t you afraid？ You come to see us every day， bring us necessities and accompany us to the hospital，” I asked him． He answered honestly， “Of course I’m afraid． But now you are in China， so the college is your home． I’m your ‘deliveryman’ and your ‘papa’． You won’t be afraid if you have your ‘papa’ with you． It’s my responsibility to keep you safe．”
“Papa Li” is very young， and he often smiles shyly before us， the special “grown－up children．” Now we are used to calling him our “Papa Li．” It is he who makes us feel at home though in a foreign country and helps us get rid of afraid or lonely even in an unsafe environment． This is how a dad should be like， I believe． In fact， there are many other “Papas Li” around us． It is because of them that we feel touched and attached． It is because of them that China is warmer and more lovely．
So， “Papa Li”， thank you！ And， I love you！
