上海市欧美同学会举办“外国友人看上海”系列

2022年10月22日，上海市欧美同学会举办“外国友人看上海”系列之五——“走进上海市政协”活动。此次活动由上海市欧美同学会主办，上海市欧美同学会留美分会承办，并得到了市政协外事部门的大力支持。上海温哥华电影学院执行院长蒋为民，副院长Dean Burns作为受邀嘉宾，和政商学界人士及在沪留学生共同参加此次民间外交活动。
 
I recently attended a conference on international educational cooperation hosted by Shanghai University. Speakers from around the world all said the same thing in a variety of different ways. But put simply, international cooperation benefits all  particularly  students attending overseas universities because  one gains a broader world view as well as greater appreciation of one’s own country.
我最近参加了上海大学主办的国际教育合作会议。来自世界各地的演讲者都以各自不同的方式表达了自己的观点。简而言之，国际合作使所有在海外大学就读的学生受益，因为一个人可以获得更广阔的世界观，并对自己的国家有更大的了解。
 
It struck me at that time that there were similarities to SHANGHAI VANCOUVER FILM SCHOOL in this but rather than a student going abroad, our entire school went abroad to china 8 years ago as well as myself as an individual.
这让我突然想到上海温哥华电影学院，但不是关于我们的学生出国学习，而是在8年前，我与我当时所任教的加拿大温哥华电影学院的其他教师来到中国的经历。
 
Now. If someone had told me in 2014, that I would be addressing the Shanghai Federation of Overseas Students  regarding my experiences living and working in china eight years later, I would not have believed them. Why? Because when the school opened in 2014, I only had a two month contract to teach writing and I expected to be back in Canada for Christmas. 8 years have passed since then, and I still have not got back to Canada for Christmas.  
如果有人在2014年跟我说，我2022年能够在上海市留学人员之家谈论我在中国生活8年的经历，我并不会相信他们。为什么？因为，当我们学院在2014年开张时，我只签署了两个月的劳动合同。如今8年已经过去，而我直到现在还没有回去加拿大过圣诞。
 
So what happened? A country that was very unfamiliar became very familiar, but more importantly I found a home in Shanghai. 
所以，到底发生了什么事？我已经熟悉了中国这个曾经让我感到陌生的国度。更重要的是，我在上海找到了自己的家。
 
When I arrived the school was still under construction and it was a race against time as Students from across China were coming to Shanghai. The classrooms still had to be wired for computers, the theatre lacked a screen and the Chinese and foreign faculty did not know one another. Adversity brings people together, and working together we managed to have the school ready on schedule.
我最初刚到学校时，教学楼还在施工，那时还得爬过一垒垒砖块才能进入教学楼内。当时距离开学日也不远了，来自全国的学生都来到上海准备入学，而教室甚至还没装好电脑，放映室还没装上荧幕，学校的中方与外方教师也还不认识彼此。种种困难把大家团结在一起，我们也靠着团结成功地准时完成筹备任务，顺利开学。
 
But our school faced a big learning curve that we didn’t realize it at the time. The purpose of SHVFS  was to bring North American film making   to China, and we arrived believing we would simply teach what we had in north America. We quickly learned… okay slowly learned, that you don’t change China, China changes you so we adapted our curriculum to fit the needs of our students and local industry, as well as collaborating with local schools such as Xingwei college.
当时我们学院的教职员工需要花很多精力学习未知的东西，而我们一开始还没有意识到这一点。上海温哥华电影学院的教学宗旨是将北美电影制作教学模式带到中国，当时我们以为只需要照搬在北美上课的教学内容，可是我们慢慢发现……你不能光想着让中国人来适应外国的事物，而是要适应这里的实践来进行教学，所以我们调整了课程，以适应我们的学生和本地行业的需求；我们也会与包括兴伟学院等其他本地院校展开合作。
 
And we now boast of how our shanghai-north american curriculum is superior to the North American curriculum we arrived with.  But before any of this occurred, I faced my own learning curve.
现在我们可以自负地说，我们在上海提供的北美课程比我们以前的北美课程还要更加优秀。这事让我回想起当初，我刚来到上海时，也要在自己的个人生活中学习接受许多事物。
 
Looking back, everything was a challenge for me. For ten years I had been living in a cocoon of routine in Vancouver which is small, quiet and framed by the mountains and sea, while Shanghai is the largest city in the world and framed by more Shanghai and more Shanghai and more Shanghai.
回首过去，所有事情都是一个挑战。来到上海前的十年，我生活在温哥华，那里地方小且安静，依山傍水，一切井然有序。相比之下，上海则是全世界最大的都市之一，而且还被其他各种大城市所包围。
 
The sheer size of Shanghai was overwhelming. Vancouver has two metro lines, Shanghai has sixteen.  And even after 8 years here, there is much left to explore.   
光是上海本身的面积就很吓人。温哥华有两条地铁线，而上海则有十六条。我已经来到这里七年了，而这座城市还是有很多还没探索的地方。
 
My first step in learning was  culture. Normally, this suggests literature, art, and film, but I choose television. I was not used to TV series like Story of Yanxi Palace and Nirvana in Fire with seventy episodes. Other shows were shorter and less daunting as I watched Bad Kids, Nothing but Thirty, and The Longest Night .
我学习的第一步是探索文化。一般人会选择接触文学、艺术和电影，而我则选择看电视剧。我不太习惯《延禧攻略》、《琅琊榜》等七十集单季的电视剧。我看了《欢乐颂》、《长安十二时辰》、《隐秘的角落》、《三十而已》、《沉默的真相》和《无证之罪》，这些剧长度更短，也就没有那么令人生畏了。
 
Now television is at best a glossy reflection of a country, but a good story is a good story, and what had initially felt like research, became a leisure activity and now that I am familiar   with Chinese television, it is now part of the curriculum I teach, and graduates of our programs are not only hired to work on tv shows, but are also creating them.
现在的电视剧质量某种程度上可以反映一个国家的状况，而好故事就是好故事。最初我看中国电视剧只是想做一些文化研究，而现在这已经成为了我的一种休闲活动。现在我很熟悉中国电视剧，我甚至有一部分课程会使用它们来教学。
 
 I find this very gratifying as the goal of our teaching was to bring north American methods to writing in China, but for the writers to tell uniquely Chinese stories.
我发现这么做十分符合我们的教学宗旨。虽然我们在中国教授北美创作方法，但是编剧学生们所讲述的故事还是富含中国本地特色的。
 
Watching television can hardly be described a challenge, and my greatest challenge fell in another area. Before coming to Shanghai, I had never owned or used a cell phone. In China, life is impossible without a cell phone. I wish I could say I adapted quickly to using a cell phone but it took time and the patience of Chinese staff in explaining how various apps worked.  Eventually Wechat became part of my life, and though it took some time, I stopped carrying cash money out of habit, and embraced alipay, didi, baidu and an assortment of other apps.
来到上海前，我从来没有拥有或使用过手机。别人总是会对这一点感到惊讶，不知道这样子我是怎么生活的。的确，在中国，生活不可能离开手机。我当时也希望我很快就能适应使用手机，但事实是我花了很多时间来适应手机，我的中国同事也花了很多耐心来帮助我学习如何使用不同的应用软件。最终，微信成为了我生活的重要组成部分。虽然花了些时间适应，但现在我也不再带现金出门了；我也学会怎么使用支付宝、滴滴、百度和其他软件。
 
In fact, my world became a lot larger courtesy of these apps. They allowed me to book planes and trains, taking me to Chengdu, Beijing, Qingdoa, Hong Kong, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Sanya, Kunming, and of course all the surrounding cities outside of Shanghai.
多亏了这些应用软件，我的世界观也被拓宽了。我可以用这些软件来买飞机票和火车票。我去了成都、北京、青岛、香港、厦门、广州、三亚、海口、昆明游玩，也去过上海周边的城市，比如杭州、苏州和南京。
 
And by traveling in China, I discovered each province and each of these cities    had their own distinct personality.  I also discovered my travels assisted me with my job.  Not necessarily as an administrator, but as a writing instructor where my purpose is to help students tell their stories. 
通过在中国到处游玩，我发现每个省和每座城市都有自己独特的韵味，我也发现旅行帮助了我的工作。比起管理方面的工作，旅行对我更多的帮助是教学。作为一名编剧教师，我的责任是帮助学生讲述自己的故事。
 
One of life’s truths is you never stop learning, and while ‘guiding’ the education of my students they have also educated me and I I sincerely believe I have learned more from them than  they have learned from me because it is through their stories that I really discovered China.
有一个人生道理是，活到老学到老。我教给学生一些东西时，其实学生也教会了我一些道理。我真心觉得，我从他们身上学到的东西比他们在我身上学到的东西还要多。通过他们的故事，我得以真正认识中国。
 
Yes, their stories are fictional, but they draw on their own life experiences.  My students are from all over China. Some have just graduated from middle school, others have degrees, or are in business and parents.
虽然他们的故事是虚构的，但灵感也是来源于自己真实的人生体验。我的学生来自五湖四海，一些学生才刚中学毕业，还有一些人已经完成了高等教育，也有自己做生意和为人父母的。
 
Their ages are from 18 to 55, and they are from all economic classes. And through their stories I was introduced to overworked medical interns, feuding senior citizens overcoming their differences, parental expectations and gaokao, Beijing Opera backstage politics, wuxia, eating contests, middle school sports and reality show divas.
他们的年龄段涵盖了从18岁到55岁，他们的经济状况也各不相同。通过他们的故事，我了解到熬夜加班的医院实习生、发生口角的老年人如何重归于好、高考与中国父母对子女的期待、京剧艺术的台前幕后、武侠、吃东西竞赛、中学体育和真人秀节目的网红。
 
It has been my privilege to experience China through the stories my students have created.  The fears, frustrations, joys and triumphs of their characters reflect the China they live in and a country I now consider home. 
我很荣幸可以通过学生创作的这些故事来体验中国。故事中人物感受到的恐惧、受挫、喜悦和胜利都反映出他们所生活在的中国是怎么样的。现在，这里也变成了我的家。
 
It has also been my privilege to be a guest of China for the last 8 years. I could not have asked for a better host. 
我也深感荣幸，最近这8年可以在中国做客。没有能比中国待我更好的东道主。
 
活动结束后，Dean Burns副院长也和我们分享了他的参会感受：
The Shanghai Overseas returned scholars association   "Look into the political Consultative Conference" was a wonderful opportunity to hear a variety of Points of views from local as well as international speakers and gain a greater understanding of the structure of political consultancy.
上海留学人员之家举办的“外国友人看上海——走进上海市政协”活动提供了一次非常好的机会，可以听取本地以及国际演讲者的观点和想法，加深对政治协商结构的理解。