Staying with My Chinese Family During the Epidemic

On December 14,2019,I met a Chinese girl unexpectedly for the first time at a bus station.I never thought that we’d be so close,and now she has become my best friend,as well as a sister of mine in China.

We hit it off the first time we met,and we chatted happily that day.She reminded me of my childhood friend back home during high school.We shared happiness and sorrow,and everything in between with each other.She is such an optimistic and sunny girl who always wears a bright smile on her face,and she is also humorous.Before the coronavirus epidemic,she showed me around in Huangshi,an eastern city of Hubei Province,and let me try all kinds of local snacks,and she even bought me a bracelet as a present,which I wear all the time.

Her family is very nice to me.Her mom is an amicable lady.Once she helped me wash my hair,and blow-dry it afterwards.She treats me like her own daughter.

Her dad is not so talkative,but he often invites me to eat,and pours warm water for me,for fear that I might catch a cold.

She has a younger brother,younger than me.He is very shy,but I like him.I teach him English,and encourage him to keep on learning.

During the Chinese lunar New Year,I went to her home to celebrate the Spring Festival with her family,but never had I expected that the dreadful coronavirus would go viral all of a sudden.Wuhan was put under strict travel restrictions,so I had to stay quarantined at her home in Huangshi.I was so upset,and lost my appetite,as I really looked forward to leaving Huangshi and go back to Wuhan as soon as possible.

I turned to my tutor for help,asking him to get me back to Wuhan.He contacted the local community staff,but in vain,so I had to stay in Huangshi.At that time,I felt so anxious,as I didn’t want to bring trouble to her family.My tutor suggested that I stay in Huangshi,which was safer,as it was difficult and dangerous for me to return to Wuhan.

去年12月14日我和我的中國(guó)朋友在公交車(chē)站偶遇，沒(méi)想到她現(xiàn)在成了我的家人，我的中國(guó)家人。

我和她一見(jiàn)如故，聊得非常愉快。她讓我回想到高中時(shí)代與家鄉(xiāng)發(fā)小的友誼！我們無(wú)話不說(shuō)，分享快樂(lè)和煩悶。她非常樂(lè)觀愛(ài)笑，臉上總掛著笑容，幽默開(kāi)朗。疫情還沒(méi)未發(fā)生時(shí)，她帶我吃黃石有名的小吃，給我買(mǎi)了手鏈做紀(jì)念。我會(huì)一直戴著的。

她的家人都非常友善。媽媽溫和慈祥，幫我洗頭，還給我吹干頭發(fā)，噓寒問(wèn)暖。爸爸不善言辭，總是讓我吃東西，給我倒水，讓我喝熱水，怕我感冒。

我的中國(guó)朋友還有個(gè)弟弟，比我小，非常害羞。我很喜歡他，教他英語(yǔ)，不斷鼓勵(lì)他。

春節(jié)期間，我去她家，沒(méi)想到，討厭的病毒突如其來(lái)，蔓延得如此之快，離漢離鄂通道關(guān)閉后，我不得不在黃石朋友家里隔離。我心情變得沮喪，吃飯也沒(méi)有胃口，心里只想著早早離開(kāi)黃石回武漢。

我向老師求助，希望幫忙讓我回到武漢，他也聯(lián)系了社區(qū)人員，由于進(jìn)出武漢的交通已經(jīng)實(shí)行管制，我只得留在黃石家里宅著。當(dāng)時(shí)我真的很糾結(jié)，我不想給大家添麻煩。老師告訴我，我回武漢更加麻煩且危險(xiǎn)，待在黃石是最安全的。

那幾天我和家人的氣氛也不太理想。社區(qū)工作人員知道我的情況后，給我送了食物和水果，徐阿姨還加了我微信，時(shí)常晚上找我聊天，我也教她的孩子英語(yǔ)。她還送了黃石的特產(chǎn)給我。小區(qū)的人都非常善良，我的眼鏡壞了，樓下鋼材店師傅很快幫我修好了。

隨著時(shí)間推移，我沒(méi)那么想回武漢了，我盡量晚點(diǎn)起床，不想讓媽媽那么辛苦單獨(dú)給我做早點(diǎn)，大家吃什么我就跟著一起吃什么，心情也好多了。我克服了自身的一些問(wèn)題，試著做點(diǎn)家務(wù)，幫忙洗碗，和大家一起看電視，看到好笑的地方一起開(kāi)懷大笑，氣氛融洽多了。

我和我的中國(guó)家人們消除了隔閡，一起抗擊疫情，勤洗手，勤通風(fēng)，老老實(shí)實(shí)待在家里。我們一起在家里跳繩，跳到大汗淋漓，用歡聲笑語(yǔ)抗擊著疫情。

我們?cè)诩依镞€學(xué)會(huì)了一支舞蹈——《你笑起來(lái)真好看》。我們5 個(gè)一起學(xué)習(xí)動(dòng)作，跟著音樂(lè)一起律動(dòng)，所有煩惱和憂愁統(tǒng)統(tǒng)都被吹散。

In those few days,a tense atmosphere permeated the air between us.When Miss Xu,a social worker in the local community,learned about what happened to me,she immediately brought some fruit and snacks to me,and added me on WeChat.At night,she often chatted with me to comfort me,and I taught her child English in return.Later,she bought some special local products for me.Residents in their community were very nice.Once my glasses were broken,and the man working in the steel shop downstairs helped me fix it in no time.

As time went by,my desire to go back to Wuhan gradually faded.Sometimes I deliberately got up late,so Mom wouldn’t need to make breakfast for me.I learned to eat the same food as the family,and began to feel much better.I’ve overcome some of my own problems,and tried to help around the home,like washing plates.I also watched TV with them.When we saw something funny in a TV program,we’d laugh together.The tense atmosphere was finally relieved.

My Chinese family and I have bridged the gap,and we fight against the pandemic together.We frequently wash hands,ventilate the home,and stay indoors.Sometimes we do rope skipping at home until we’re drenched in sweat.We’ve fought against the deadly virus with laughter and cheerful voices.

We’ve learned a dance called “Your Smile Is So Sweet” during the quarantine.The five of us learned the moves,danced to the music,and drove all worries away.

Gradually,the epidemic situation has improved,and the travel restrictions was eased in many places,so our whole family went outdoors.My Chinese mom took me on a sightseeing trip to a mountain,and during the trip,she said with great sincerity,“It was fate that brought you to our family.Although there’re so many differences between us,we conquered them in the end.Different skin colors and religious beliefs are not a big deal,and they’re never barriers between us.I’ve seen you as my own daughter,and I hope you can regard me as your Chinese mom.The first time you came to our home,when I held your hands,and looked at your big eyes,I felt that you were such an adorable girl.Since you’re all alone in a foreign country,you can regard us as your own family.” Hearing her words,I was all in tears,and immediately threw myself into her arms,enjoying her gentle touch on my head.At that moment,I felt as if time had stopped,and my heart was throbbing with happiness.

I have become deeply attached to my Chinese family.When the epidemic ends,I want to invite them to Wuhan.I can’t imagine the moment when we say goodbye.I’m sure I’ll cry.

This epidemic gave me an opportunity to spend over two months in my Chinese home,and allow me to feel the warmth of the family.I love China and everyone in this great nation! They are not an affluent family,but an ordinary and small one.During the coronavirus outbreak,no one in the family could go out to work,but they were still willing to look after a foreigner who has a completely different lifestyle than them.I believe this is the real power of the nation—tolerance,broad-mindedness,and endurance.

Of course,I’ll share this story with my family and relatives back home.Lots of doctors,nurses,police officers,and social workers who have a family have sacrificed their lives in this epidemic.I’m deeply touched and inspired by their stories.Through these experiences,I’ve grown up a lot,and learned to think more of others and less of just myself.

I do love my Chinese family,and I’ll bring them to visit my own hometown one day.(Translation: Zhu Yaguang)

疫情在慢慢好轉(zhuǎn)，各地相繼解禁，一家人可以出門(mén)了。中國(guó)媽媽帶我去山上看風(fēng)景，語(yǔ)重心長(zhǎng)地和我說(shuō)了很多：“遇見(jiàn)你是緣分，盡管我們之間有很多不適應(yīng)，但是我們慢慢克服了，膚色、信仰不同不算什么，更不會(huì)阻礙什么，我把你當(dāng)作我的女兒，你就把我當(dāng)作你的中國(guó)媽媽。從你第一次來(lái)的時(shí)候，我拉著你的手，你用大大的眼睛望著我。我心里覺(jué)得你非常可愛(ài)。一個(gè)人在異國(guó)他鄉(xiāng)，身邊一個(gè)親人也沒(méi)有，就當(dāng)我們是你的家人吧?！甭?tīng)著中國(guó)媽媽的話，我眼眶濕潤(rùn)了，我投進(jìn)媽媽的懷抱，她撫摸著我的頭，那一刻仿佛時(shí)間已經(jīng)停滯，我的心幸福得飛起來(lái)了。

那一天之后，我的心已經(jīng)融入了這個(gè)黃石家庭。疫情結(jié)束時(shí)，我想把他們請(qǐng)到武漢來(lái)玩。我不敢想象與他們分別的時(shí)刻，我肯定會(huì)哭的。

這次疫情的到來(lái)，讓我在中國(guó)朋友的家里度過(guò)兩個(gè)多月，我感受到了中國(guó)家庭的溫馨幸福，感受到了家人的關(guān)愛(ài)。我愛(ài)中國(guó)，我愛(ài)這個(gè)民族的人們！一個(gè)小家庭，生活本就不富裕，人人都在家里沒(méi)有工作，還要負(fù)擔(dān)一個(gè)生活習(xí)慣完全不一樣的外國(guó)人，這也許就是一個(gè)民族真正強(qiáng)大之處，包容、寬廣和忍耐。沒(méi)有什么坎是偉大的民族過(guò)不去的。

我一定會(huì)把這段經(jīng)歷講給我的家人和我的親友聽(tīng)。許多承擔(dān)著家庭責(zé)任的醫(yī)生、護(hù)士、警察、社區(qū)工作者，在這次疫情中犧牲了，他們的事跡感動(dòng)著我、教育著我。經(jīng)歷了這次疫情，我也成熟了不少，我懂得為別人考慮，站在別人的立場(chǎng)考慮問(wèn)題。

Jennifer holding a bag of famous local snacks,a gift from Miss Xu珍珍手持徐阿姨送的黃石特產(chǎn)

我真的非常愛(ài)我的中國(guó)家人們。我要帶他們?nèi)タ纯次业募亦l(xiāng)。