作者简介：Kathryn Cannady,毕业于美国西北大学，梅迪尔新闻学院新闻学学士、历史学学士和艺术历史学学士。日落杂志研究助理，知名电视剧《圣诞丘比特》制片助理（美国迪斯尼集团），成功辅导学员录取：西北大学（综合12名）、卡内基梅隆大学（综合23名）、维克森林大学（综合23名）、加州大学洛杉矶分校（综合23名）、南加州大学（综合23名）等美国名校。
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翻译：Ben
From the minute you get off the plane in Shanghai - and perhaps even from the time you board in America - it is incredibly clear that you’re no longer in your comfort zone. You’re surrounded by 100s of people who don’t look like you, don’t speak your language, and have a bizarre habit of leaving “inedible” parts of animals in every dish. At first, its horribly overwhelming, but eventually you learn to accept – or even enjoy - the idiosyncrasies that make your adopted home so unlike your own.
从你在上海下飞机的那一刻开始——亦或是从在美国登机时开始——一个清楚无比的事实：你再也不会生活在那个令你感到舒适的区域。你被成百上千个长相不同，语言不同，并且习惯于在每一道餐品中加入“不可食入”动物部分的人所包围。起初，这极度的令人畏惧和害怕，但最终你学会接受——或者甚至是享受——这不同于你自己却被你视为家的特性。
When I came to China, I thought I was fully aware of how different everything was going to be – that’s why I chose to come. I was expecting the food to be different, I knew I’d be around people who didn’t look at me, and I hoped that I’d be confronted with a culture I could learn from and learn about. However, within two weeks, I had realized that I could have never anticipated the differences between American and Chinese culture.
当我来到中国，我认为我已经全面的意识到每一件事情有多么的不同——而这也是我为何要来。我期待不同的食物，我知道我会被不同于我的人包围，我也希望我能够从面前的文化中学到些知识。但是，在两周内，我意识到我从来都不可能预知到中美间的文化差异。
One of the biggest shocks, and probably one I should have been most prepared for, was the lack of diversity present (visually) in China.Even with the various ethnic groups, China is an overwhelmingly homogenous-looking country. This is difficult when you grow up in a country where no one looks alike. As an American, regardless of where you grow up, you become accustomed to seeing difference everywhere. China’s homogeneity means that any foreigner automatically stands out – meaning that you are constantly stared at, pointed at, or even yelled at by Chinese. In the beginning, the attention is flattering, but after a while, it can become draining for many foreigners. However, once you’ve been in China for few months, you learn to appreciate the attention as a chance to get to know random strangers, and it is nice to have so many people be so friendly. Perhaps the most important part of this is remembering that the same diversity we miss as Americans when moving to China must be similarly overwhelming to Chinese who eventually choose to go to the United States.
巨大冲突中的一个，或许是我曾经准备最充分的，是中国的单一性（视觉上）。即使是拥有诸多不同的种族，中国是一个压倒性地单一样式的国度。这对于在一个没有任何人相像的地方成长的人来说是困难的。作为一个美国人，无论在哪里长大，都会学会习惯于不同。中国的单一性意味着任何一个外国人都会自然而然地独立在外——意味着你会被时不时地注视，指点，甚至被人用中文叫喊。起初谄媚的关注不久对于大多数外国人来说都会消失。但是，一旦你在中国呆过几个月，你会感谢这样的关注，当作一个随机认识陌生人的机会，而且周围有那么多友好的人也是极好的。也许这其中最重要的部分是记住对于来到中国的美国人来说的单一性对于来到美国的中国人来说也是同样的令人畏惧。
Another point of learning, where I went through different stages of shock, frustration to acceptance, was the point of “manners” in China. As a southern girl, I had always been taught the importance of table manners– no elbows on the table, no chewing with your mouth full, no slurping, no shoveling, and if nothing else, NO spitting. As a young girl, if I did any of the above my mother would smack me and remind me of how important my manners were. So coming to China, not only was I shocked at the different levels acceptability in eating habits, but I found it hard to find my own place in it. The problem wasn’t the way the Chinese ate, but that I had no idea how to fit in. Growing up in a household where manners were paramount, I felt that I couldn’t step out of these rules and eat like a “normal” person. Although it was more of a personal issue, China taught me to observe others and adopt their habits, so that if I wasn’t following my mama’s manners, I at least felt like I was following the customs of my hosts.
在我经历里不同程度的冲突后仍然失望的接受的另一点是中国的“礼节”。作为一个美国南方女孩，我经常被强调餐桌礼节的重要性——不准把胳膊肘放在桌上，不准满足食物地咀嚼，不准含糊的发音，不准胡乱塞食物，如果没有其他的话，不准吐痰。作为一个年轻女孩，如果我做了以上的任何一点，母亲会打到我认识到这些理解的重要性为止。所以来到中国，我不仅被饮食上不同程度的接受程度所震撼，而且我无法找到我自己的位置。问题不是中国人进食的方法，而是我不知道该如何融入。从一个礼节至高无上的家庭中长大，我以为我不能逾越这些规则，像一个“正常人”一样饮食。尽管这更像是一个私人问题，中国教我观察其他人并接受他们的习惯，所以如果我没有遵守母亲的礼节，我至少感觉我跟随着主人家的习俗。
Although these were things that stood out to me as being really big “shocks” – one of the hardest things to adjust to was the way I interacted with students at my job. Working with American students was a challenge, especially in terms of making students want to learn and managing a classroom – but it was something I enjoyed and worked hard at as a volunteer teacher. In China, I was so surprised (and at first, pleasantly so) that students were quiet and well behaved. However, what at first was a relief became a struggle. I was used to students, who were albeit rowdy, but always participated and didn’t worry about giving a wrong answer.
尽管这些事情对于我来说是巨大的“震惊”——诸多难以调节事情中的一项是我工作中和学生交流的方式。和美国学生交流是个挑战，特别是为了让他们想要去学习和管理班级——但是这正是我作为一名志愿者老师所喜欢的并努力去做的。在中国，我被学生们的沉默和良好表现所震惊（起初，我很高兴）。但是，最初的轻松变成了困扰。我习惯于即使吵闹但一直互动并不担心犯错的学生。
Forcing Chinese students to become engaged with the classes and materials was a challenge I hadn’t faced, and it really made me become creative in ways to get students involved and active in a classroom or one-on-one meeting. Learning to show students that I wasn’t going to be upset with wrong answers or participation was difficult, but I’ve learned to make safe environments and small group activities that let students be more open about their ideas.
强迫中国学生参与课堂和内容的互动是我从未面临过的挑战，而这也让我在让学生参与并在课堂或是一对一见面时变得积极方面变得具有创造力。学会让学生懂得我不会因他们的错误答案或是课堂参与而沮丧是困难的，但我已经学会创造让学生开放他们想法的良好环境和小组活动。
Just like everyone who travels to a foreign country, I found things that were different from what I expected or hoped that I had to work through. However, I have found that one of the best tools for overcoming, or at least accepting, culture shocks in a country where nothing is like your own is just to remain positive and remember that you’re a visitor in someone else’s home. I have worked to remember that even when things are different, that I am in someone else’s home, and therefore their customs and ideas are more “right” than mine. I think that once you learn to accept that your ideas are the minority in a new place, you can learn to move from shock to appreciation and understanding of another culture – especially one as rich and interesting as China’s.
就像每一个出国的人，我发现很多不同于我原来期望的事情并且不得不去克服。但是，我发现克服或至少是接受一个完全不同于自己国家的文化冲突诸多最佳办法中的一个是保持乐观并且记住你是一个在其他人家里的参观者。我努力记住即使事情发生的不同以往，我也是在其他人的家里，因此他们的习惯和想法会比我的要更加“正确”。我认为一旦你学会接受你的想法在一个新地方是少数，你会从冲突移到欣赏和理解一个不同的文化——特别是像中国这样多样丰富和有趣的文化。
文中生词：
bizarre：conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual奇异的
inedible：not suitable for food 不能食的
overwhelming：so strong as to be irresistible 势不可挡的
idiosyncrasies：a behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual 个性，特质
homogenous：all of the same or similar kind or nature 单一的，同样的
flattering：showing or representing to advantage奉承的，谄媚的
frustration：the feeling that accompanies an experience of being thwarted in attaining your goals 挫败，失意
slurping：eat noisily啧啧吃
shoveling：to throw or convey roughly or in a mass as if with a shovel把…胡乱塞入
smack：deliver a hard blow to 打
【智梦简介】
智梦是一家专注美国本科留学的教育咨询机构。
我们的使命：
“智梦教育团队深知留学申请关系到学生及其家长的前途和未来，我们将竭尽所能帮助每一位智梦学员发掘其潜在的特质，以开放透明的申请方式，让他们能不留遗憾的争取到自己的理想学校。与此同时，培养他们成为诚实守信、独立思考、德才兼备的国际化人才。”
我们的愿景：
“智梦教育将成为一所发掘学术兴趣，培养学术能力，塑造具有公民意识的新时代留学生的学校。”
