3527 公里外的春與冬
〔馬來西亞〕林巧薇 哈爾濱工業大學
中國對於我來説是一個既熟悉又陌生的國家。中華文化在我的成長過程中扮演著非常重要的角色，中國豐厚的文化底蘊在馬來西亞被一代接一代地傳承下來並延續至今。從兒童時期必背的《弟子規》，到青少年時期的古詩文，再到校園裏學習的八德——孝、悌、忠、信、禮、義、廉、恥。在校外，中華傳統節日時亦能看見許許多多華社在準備活動，比如端午節包粽子以及檳城的國際龍舟賽。雖然由於受到疫情影響，龍舟賽事、中秋晚會以及清明掃墓祭祖這類聚集活動無法進行，但我仍堅信，疫情過去後，這些中華傳統文化活動終將回歸，也會再次展現出中華文化的魅力。
哈爾濱工業大學 ／ 林巧薇提供
第一次踏入中國是在我16歲的時候，飛機從檳城起航，我內心的激動在飛機直衝雲霄時達到了頂點，經過了4小時的飛行後順利抵達廣州白雲機場。還記得剛下飛機時天空還算晴朗，抬頭望去，陽光透過雲的縫隙灑在身上，春天的陽光比起夏天的更為柔和，曬在身上暖洋洋的。但在坐巴士前往清遠市的途中天氣忽然轉陰，看著烏雲慢慢遮住了天，雨開始滴滴答答地落在窗外，窗內的氣氛似乎也受到了天氣的影響，乘客們不發一言，或玩手機或補眠，整個巴士裏似乎只有我躁動的心在期待著接下來的旅程。春雨來得快，去得也快，到了酒店放下行李后，雨也恰好停了。我獨自在酒店附近溜達，碰巧趕上當地小學放學時間，我看著他們在一個衚同裏進進出出，出來的時候手裏都拿著一些小玩意兒，我也好奇地跟了進去。那是一個人間煙火味極濃的衚同，衚同口的大樹枝葉茂密，陽光透過葉的縫隙照在身上也不感到熱，恰好能給在衚同裏行走的人們遮陰。從大樹旁望去，映入眼簾的是一家家肉鋪、腸粉鋪、麻將館以及小賣鋪，因為還沒到飯點，各個舖子裏的人都不是那麼多。我看著麻將館裏幾位大爺邊喝茶邊打麻將，看著腸粉鋪老闆製作著跟馬來西亞豬腸粉完全不一樣的窩仔腸粉，後邊兒的老闆娘一手收拾著碗筷，一手拿著抹布擦著桌子。但最吸引我的還是門前聚集著一群小學生的小賣鋪，湊近一看，小朋友在挑選辣條以及各種小零食，也有一些小朋友籌錢買了份大包裝的辣條，在回家的路上一邊吃辣條一邊跟好友嬉戲，無一例外的是他們臉上都洋溢著笑容。我進入小賣鋪後也買了一些小零食，老闆娘親切地跟我交談了幾句後就説我是外地來的，粵語口音跟本地的不一樣，知道我不是本地人後便開始給我介紹來到清遠市該吃什麼和玩什麼，甚至連會踩雷的店舖都一一告訴我。之後我也經常往她舖子跑，聽她説故事，陪她聊聊天。在聊天時我跟阿姨透露馬來西亞沒辣條，等回國後估計只能買超貴的進口辣條了，結果阿姨知道我要回國時還送了我好多辣條呢。那一趟旅途留給我最深的印象不是美食以及美景，而是中國人的人情味以及真誠善良。我到如今都記得，風吹過衚同裏的大樹，樹葉的沙沙聲跟小朋友的嬉戲聲結合在一起的聲音，阿姨笑著在門口説：“來啦靚妹，快進來坐。”
哈爾濱工業大學 ／ 林巧薇提供
回到馬來西亞後我對中國唸唸不忘，不論是這個國家環境帶給我的感覺，還是中國人熱情好客的個性和生活上的便利，都讓我想更接近中國一些。高中畢業後，我知道我的機會來了，到中國上學、生活的機會來了。但同時疫情席捲全球的情況打斷了我的念想。那是2019年末，我看到新聞上播報著中國出現疫情，武漢進入封城狀態，卻又無能為力，無法提供實質性的幫助。當時各個社交媒體上假消息滿天飛，人們都陷入恐慌及無助，但是隨著方艙醫院的建立，中國人民齊抗疫以及在援鄂醫療隊的共同努力下，中國疫情逐漸平穩可控，中國經濟復蘇，大小企業都恢復運作，年前積壓的訂單以及新訂單接連湧來，雖然忙，但也説明中國正式恢復至疫情前的模樣，我想大家都是忙並快樂著的吧。因疫情管控我無法回到中國，我就會想這場雨是不是跟我從白雲機場到清遠途中的那場雨一樣，是不是也能感受到雨後略帶寒意的風吹到身上涼颼颼的感覺。在預科結束後，我遺憾的是無法親自到杭州體驗杭州人的日常生活，吃杭幫菜以及感受“上有天堂，下有蘇杭”的美景帶給我的震撼。
哈爾濱工業大學 ／ 林巧薇提供
預科結束後我順利被哈爾濱工業大學錄取，依舊採用線上教學。10月份的時候哈爾濱下雪了，聽別人説2020年的雪比之前來得早一些，這場雪是我在入學前就期待能親眼看見的那場雪，在入學前我甚至都想好我要跟朋友們一起喝著熱水迎接著初雪的到來。但現實卻是我只能看著微信以及QQ上一張張的雪人以及雪景，想像著雪是什麼樣子的，是不是真的像動畫片一樣是帶有花紋的六角形，待在雪地裏是不是跟待在結霜的冰箱裏一樣，睫毛跟頭髮在踏入戶外後真的會結冰嗎？帶著這樣的疑惑，我覺得返校後第一次體驗冬天的我應該會超級興奮以及感動吧。返校後，除了完成學業以外，我也想體驗在春季的時候哈工大校園裏盛開的紫丁花香，夏季的時候跟三五好友早上逛早市，晚上吹著夏風擼串，秋季的時候看五花山色，看看秋風為群山披上各色新衣的模樣，冬季擁有下雪初體驗，滑雪、溜冰一樣不落，順便看看結冰的松花江是什麼樣的，將我的大學時光活成以後回想起來都會帶著笑的樣子。
九江 ／ 林巧薇提供
經歷了1年的網課學習，我發現我對中國的喜愛不減反增，對於抵達中國後的生活越發翹首以待，感受南北差異帶來的趣事，同時也想念著中國美食的滋味。只希望全球疫情能夠儘快穩定下來，世界和平，早日返校吧！
Spring and Winter 3，527 Kilometers Away
〔Malaysia〕 Lim Qiao Wei， Harbin Institute of Technology
China is a country that is both familiar and unfamiliar to me． Chinese culture has played a very important role in my upbringing， whose rich heritage has been passed down from generation to generation in Malaysia until this day， including from the compulsory recitation ofthe Disciples’ Rules as a child， to the ancient poems as a teenager， and to the eight virtues learned on campus – namely filial piety， fraternity， loyalty， trust， propriety， righteousness， integrity and shame． Outside of school， many Chinese communities prepare for traditional Chinese festivals， such as making zongzi on the Dragon Boat Festival and holding international dragon boat races in Penang． Although due to the epidemic such gathering activities as dragon boat races， Mid－Autumn Festival parties， and ancestor worshipping at Qingming are not possible， I am confident that when the epidemic is over， these traditional Chinese cultural activities will return and will once again show the charm of Chinese culture．
The first time I stepped onto the land of China was when I was 16 years old． The plane took off from Penang and my excitement reached its peak when the plane flew straight up into the sky． I remember when I first got off the plane， the sky looked clear， and when I looked up， the sunlight was sprinkled on my body through the gaps in the clouds． The sunlight in spring was more comfortable than in summer， and I felt pretty warm． But on the way to Qingyuan city by bus the weather suddenly turned cloudy． Dark clouds slowly covered the sky and rain began to drip outside the window． The atmosphere inside the window seemed to have been affected by the weather． The passengers did not say a word， who either played with cell phones or caught up on sleep． It seemed that I was the only one with a restless heart in full anticipation of the upcoming journey． The spring rain came and went quickly． When I arrived at the hotel and dropped off my luggage， it also stopped raining． I wandered around the hotel alone and happened to catch the local elementary school’s dismissing time． I watched the students go in and out of an alley， coming out with some trinkets in their hands． I curiously followed them in． It was a hutong with a strong human flavor． The big trees at the entrance were thickly－leaved， and the sun shone through the gaps in the leaves without making people feel hot， but just giving enough shade to the people walking in the hutong． Looking from the tree， I saw meat stores， steamed rice noodle roll stores， mahjong parlor and shops． Since it was not yet mealtime， there were not many people in each store． Several uncles in the mahjong parlor were drinking tea as they played mahjong． The boss of the steamed rice noodle roll store was making Wo Tsai rice noodle rolls， which were very different from Malaysian pig intestine rolls． What attracted me most was the shop with a group of elementary school students gathered in front of the door． Moving closer， I saw that the children were picking out spicy strips and various snacks． Some of them paid together for a large pack of spicy strips and played with their friends while eating on the way home． All of them wore smiles on their faces． I entered the shop and also bought some small snacks． The boss lady kindly chatted a few words with me and then said I must be from abroad because my Cantonese accent was different from the local’s． After knowing I was not a local， she started to introduce me what to eat and what to play in Qingyuan City and even told me the notorious stores that I should definitely avoid． Later on， I often went to her store to listen to her stories and chat with her． During the chat， I told aunt that there were no spicy strips in Malaysia， and that I could only buy super expensive imported spicy strips when I returned to Malaysia． It turned out that when she learned I was going back to my country， she gave me a lot of spicy strips for free！ The deepest impression I had from that trip was not the food and the beautiful scenery， but the kindness and sincerity of the Chinese people． I still remember the sound of the wind blowing through the trees in the hutong， the rustling of the leaves， the sound of children playing together， and the lady smiling to me at the door and saying， “Hi pretty girl， come in and sit down．”
After I returned to Malaysia I couldn’t forget China． Whether the feeling from the country’s environment or the hospitality of the Chinese people and the convenience of living in China， all made me want to get closer to China． After graduating from high school， I knew my chance to go to study and live in China had come． But at the same time the epidemic which was sweeping the world interrupted my wishes． It was the end of 2019． I saw on the news that epidemic had broken out in various Chinese provinces and cities and that Wuhan was in lockdown． But I was not able to do anything to provide any substantial help． At that time， fake news flew on social media and people were in panic and helplessness． But with the establishment of the mobile cabin hospitals， Chinese people’s concerted efforts to fight the epidemic and the joint efforts of the medical teams assisting Hubei， China gradually had the epidemic under control． Chinese economy has recovered， businesses of all sizes have resumed operations， and business orders old and new keep coming in． Although people are busy， it also proves that China has officially come back to the way it was before the epidemic． I guess people must be busy and happy． I can’t return to China due to the epidemic control． I wonder if the rain is the same as the one I experienced on my way from Baiyun Airport to Qingyuan， and if I can also feel the slightly chilly wind blowing on my body after the rain． After the preparatory education， I regretted that I couldn’t go to Hangzhou to experience the daily life of Hangzhou people， to eat Hangzhou cuisine and to experience the amazing beauty of “There is Paradise in heaven and Suzhou and Hangzhou on the earth．”
I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology after the preparatory education， and I am still taught online． The first snow came in Harbin in October． I heard from others that the snow in 2020 came earlier than before， and this snow was the one I had been looking forward to seeing with my own eyes before I enrolled． I had even thought I would drink hot water with my friends to welcome the arrival of the first snow． But the reality is that I could only look at the snowmen and snow scenes on WeChat and QQ， imagining what snow looks like， and whether it is really a patterned hexagon like in cartoons． Are they the same feeling staying in the snow and staying in a frosted refrigerator？ Will eyelashes and hair really freeze when stepping outdoors？ With such doubts， I think I would be super excited and moved to experience the first winter after returning to school． After I return to school， besides completing my studies， I would like to experience the fragrance of lilacs in spring on the campus of Harbin Institute of Technology， go to the morning market with several friends in summer， eat barbecue in evening summer breeze， watch the colors of the mountains in autumn and see how the autumn breeze has dressed the mountains in colorful clothes， and own the experience of the first snow in winter with skiing and skating and drop by the frozen Songhua River． I will live my college life in such a way that I will look back on it with a smile．
After a year of online studying， I find that my love for China has grown rather than diminished． I am looking forward to my life in China， to experience the interesting things that come from the differences between the north and the south． I also miss the taste of Chinese food． I just hope that the global epidemic will decrease soon， the world will be at peace， and I will be able to return to college soon！
