Stay Fine and Safe in China
文/Amiri Hashmatullah（阿智明，阿富汗籍） 译/吴璇
我叫阿智明，是一名阿富汗籍留学生。我就读于中国兰州交通大学交通运输学院。自从来中国留学的那一天起，我在兰州度过了一段非常愉快的时光。
工程师的摇篮
首先，我想谈谈我是如何来到中国留学的。我于2016年大学毕业，那时我的梦想是在世界一流的国家继续我的学业。中国成为我的首选，因为中国的工业和制造业非常发达，是工程师的摇篮。于是，在朋友的帮助下，我申请了兰州交通大学的中国政府奖学金项目，希望可以去中国留学。最终，我非常幸运地获得了赴中国留学的奖学金资格。但在当时，我完全无法想象能够如此的幸运。还记得那时候，我正在一家位于我家乡最遥远的一个村庄的小公司做工程师。我工作的地方常常会发生网络中断，那次，网络又中断了，我没有办法工作，只能垂头丧气地回家了。就在我百无聊赖、很沮丧的时候，我收到了一条来自脸书（Facebook）的消息，发消息的是一位来自兰州交通大学的同学，他祝贺我获得了兰州交通大学的奖学金留学资格。兰州交通大学的老师让他帮助我办理来华留学的相关事宜。我真的太高兴了，等了很久终于如愿以偿，我觉得自己是世界上最幸运的人。我非常感谢兰州交通大学的老师们辗转找到我，猜到我可能会有困难，就让好心的同学帮助我。幸亏他们的帮助，一切都很顺利，我在三天内就拿到了签证。2018年8月10日，我收拾好行装，告别家人，踏上了让我又激动又有点忐忑不安的留学之路。
放下忐忑与不安
2018年，阿智明在兰州交通大学开始了他的留学生活
2018年8月12日，我顺利抵达中国。在我去学校报到的第一天，老师给我起了一个中文名字叫阿智明，是聪明的意思，这是我收到的第一份来自中国的礼物。第一天报到，很疲惫也很紧张，但是这里的老师首先给我安排了温暖的房间，然后很亲切地跟我说：“欢迎来到中国，欢迎来到兰州交通大学！”在那一天，我卸下了行囊，放下了所有的忐忑和不安，感到了轻松和喜悦。
我记得第一次去餐厅吃饭，因为我完全不懂中文，所以不知道怎幺点餐，只是照着图片比画。结果服务员在我的桌子上放了一个很大的碗，满满一碗饭，很辣，我还没有吃完，就狼狈地逃出了餐厅。
还有一次，我和另外一位留学生出去玩，回学校的时候却迷路了。我们在街上问了一位女士，看得出来她会一点英语。但让我们没想到的是，在得知我们是留学生后，她很热情地帮助我们，因为害怕我们走错路就直接送我们回到学校才离开。这让我觉得中国人对外国人是很热情友好的。
慢慢地，我对兰州这个城市有了了解，喜欢上了这里的牛肉面和火锅。没有课的时候，我喜欢去甘肃省博物馆、黄河铁桥、白塔山、正宁路夜市、兰州水车公园等地方看看黄河水，看看这个城市，看看这里的人。我还去了中国其他的一些城市，比如上海、西安、合肥。每个城市都有自己独特的美。比如上海，繁华而现代，我觉得是世界上最美丽的城市。如果你想来中国，我建议你一定要去上海看看。
时光飞逝，就这样，我在美好中度过了两年的留学生活。
我选择，我坚信
2020年，注定是不平凡的一年。年初，暴发了新冠肺炎疫情。它就像一场风暴迅速席卷了全世界。中国特别是武汉，经历了这场病毒大流行带来的艰难时期。我们每天都紧张关切着事态的发展，看到中国国家主席习近平第一时间发表讲话，亲自指挥部署疫情防控工作。他向中国人民传达了这样一个信息：中国政府和中国人民是站在一起的，中国政府将不遗余力地保护人民的生命安全，中国人民携手努力一定会战胜疫情。作为一名留学生，疫情暴发时，我很害怕。但是我看到中国的很多医生，离开自己的孩子和家人，第一时间奔赴医院去救治病人。中国在很短时间内就建造了许多方舱医院，专门救治和帮助那些需要帮助的人。我看到兰州交通大学的老师们第一时间站在我们的身边，24小时值班，给我们发放防疫物品和食物，普及防疫知识。学校的书记和校长也多次来探望我们，给我们带来关心和问候。我不再害怕了。最后，疫情被控制住了，我们全部166名留学生和工作人员零感染。在这段艰难的日子里，我们体会了来自学校和老师们的关爱，亲眼看见了中国人是如何团结一致共同战胜疫情的。中国医生的大爱无疆让我深受感动，中国政府卓越的领导和协调能力也让我非常敬佩。
在疫情期间，我的祖国阿富汗也始终相信阿富汗在中国的留学生或者工作人员一定会是安全的，因为我们的政府始终相信在中国的阿富汗人可以拥有比在阿富汗更好、更完善的医疗设施。我也对此深信不疑。是的，我们在这里很好，很安全。
现在，一切都恢复了正常，校园里像往常一样充满欢声笑语。我选择了这里，我很享受这里快乐的留学时光。谢谢热情好客、乐于助人的中国人，谢谢我的大学和老师，我一定会更加努力，未来成为一个优秀的人。
新冠肺炎疫情期间，阿智明选择留在学校学习
My name is Amiri Hashmatullah, an Afghan student. I am a master’s degree student majoring in transportation planning and management at the traffic and transportation school in Lanzhou Jiaotong University, China. Since I came to China, I had a pleasant time here.
The Cradle of Engineers
First, I would like to talk about how I came to China. I graduated from university in 2016, and my dream is to continue my studies in a world-class country. China is my first choice. China’s industry and manufacturing are very developed, which is the cradle of engineers. Therefore, driven by the dream to study in China and with my friends’ help, I applied for the Chinese government scholarship program of Lanzhou Jiaotong University. Fortunately, I was selected to study in China and became a student of Lanzhou Jiaotong University. I did not imagine that I was so lucky enough at that time. Before coming to China, I worked as an engineer at a small company in one of the most remote villages in my hometown. The Internet always did not work in the place where I worked. I remembered one day the network was interrupted again. I had no way to work, so I went home dejectedly. When I was upset and bored, I received a message from my Facebook. A student from Lanzhou Jiaotong University sent it. He said that he congratulated me on winning the Lanzhou Jiaotong University scholarship qualification, and the teachers asked him to help me deal with matters related to studying abroad. My joy was overflowing.I have been waiting for a long time to get what I wanted. I thought that I was the luckiest person in the world. At the same time, I was very grateful to the teachers of Lanzhou Jiaotong University. They tried to contact me and asked another international student to help me. They perceived that I needed help. With their assistance, everything went well. I got my visa in three days. On August 10, 2018, I packed my bags, said goodbye to my family, and then embarked on the road to study abroad, which made me excited and uneasy.
Putting Down Worries and Anxieties
I arrived in China on August 12, 2018. On the first day, whenI went to school for registration, my teacher gave me my Chinese name, “A Zhiming,” which means smart. It was the first gift I received in China. On the first day, I was exhausted and nervous, but the teachers arranged a warm room for me and then talked to me kindly, “Welcome to China, and welcome to Lanzhou Jiaotong University.” On that day, I unloaded my luggage, put down all my worries and anxieties,and felt relaxed and happy.
I remembered the first time I went to the restaurant for dinner. Because I didn’t know how to speak Chinese at all,I could not order. I just followed the pictures and used my hands to explain what I needed. Finally, the waiter put a big bowl on my table, full of rice, meat, and vegetables. Moreover,it was very spicy. Before I finished my dinner, I ran out of the dining hall in a mess.
I also remembered that I went out with another international student one day, but we got lost when we were back at school.We asked a lady on the street for help, and she tried to tell us the way in English. We didn’t expect that after knowing that we were international students, she directly sent us back to school, for she was afraid that we would get lost. I felt that the Chinese people are very friendly to us foreigners.
Gradually, I got to know the city of Lanzhou. I like the beef noodles and hot pot here. When there is no class, I want to go to Gansu Provincial Museum, Zhongshan Iron Bridge, White Pagoda Park, Zhengning road night market, and Waterwheel Garden. I would also go to other places to see the Yellow River, the city, and its people. I also went to some other cities in China, such as Shanghai, Xi’an, and Hefei. In China, every city has its beauty. For example, Shanghai is prosperous and modern, and in my eyes, it is the most beautiful city in the world. If you want to come to China, Shanghai is worth seeing.
Time flies, and in this way, I spent two years studying in China.
Firmly Believing to Choose Here
The year 2020 is destined to be a great year. The outbreak of COVID-19 occurred at the beginning of the year. It was like a storm that swept the world. China, especially Wuhan, has experienced a difficult period due to the virus pandemic. We are concerned about the development of the situation every day. Chinese President Xi Jinping has made many televised speeches and personally directed the deployment of epidemic prevention. He conveyed the message to all the Chinese people that the Chinese government and the Chinese people are standing together. The Chinese government will spare no effort to ensure the safety of the people’s lives. Chinese people will join hands in fighting the epidemic. Whenthe epidemic broke out, I was terrified as an international student, but I saw many Chinese doctors left their children and families and rushed to the hospital to work. In a short time, China had built many mobile cabin hospitals to treat and help those patients. And the teachers of Lanzhou Jiaotong University stood beside us for the first time, took 24-hour duty, distributed epidemic prevention materials and food, popularized epidemic prevention knowledge, and took care of us. The secretary and the university principal have come to visit us many times to deliver their care. I was no longer afraid of the virus. Finally, the epidemic was under control, and all 166 international students and staff were free of infection. As an international student from a foreign country, we received a lot of help and care from our teachers and school. We witnessed Chinese people united together to defeat the epidemic. It touched me to see the boundless love of Chinese medical workers. I also admire the excellent leadership and coordination ability of the Chinese government.
During the epidemic period, my motherland, Afghanistan,always believed that Afghan students or staff in China would be safe because our government firmly believed that Afghans in China could have better medical facilities than those in Afghanistan. I also passionately believe that. We are fine and safe.
Now, everything is normal again. The campus is full of laughter as usual. I choose here, enjoy the happy time of studying abroad. I want to express my gratitude to the Chinese people who are hospitable and helpful. I want to express my gratitude to my university and teachers. Their kindness and care for me will drive me to try my best to be an excellent person in the future.
