齐茉莉

7年前，当我第一次登上前往东方的飞机时，我就沉浸在想象中——想象着十几个小时后将会见到的“美丽新世界”。在飞机上，我幻想重庆的一切，对接下来的学习生活也抱有很多期待……当飞机落地后，重庆真的出现在我眼前时，我知道我将在重庆开启一段奇幻之旅。

When I first boarded the plane to the East seven years ago， I was lost in my imagination - imagining the "beautiful new world" I would see in a dozen hours. On the plane， I imagined everything in Chongqing and had a lot of expectations for the following study and life ...... When the plane landed and Chongqing really appeared in front of me， I knew I would start a fantasy journey in Chongqing.

不過，重庆这座城市给我的第一印象却是“恐惧”，那是一种告别故乡、对新生活的“恐惧”。那个时候，我眼里总是泪水朦胧，心里也总是七上八下。我感到自己忽然就被“流放”到了一个新的世界，一个与欧洲迥然不同的全新世界。最初那段时间，我的日常生活也陷入了混乱：我经常因为阅读满是汉字的文章而焦头烂额，还因为水土不服闹了很多次肚子，我时常害怕自己在重庆这座山城里迷路……随后，我对自己说：“Margherita，这是自我挑战，只要坚持六个月，你就会习惯。”

不久，“恐惧”的心理就被“好奇心”所代替。山城、桥都、火锅之城，拥有众多摩天大楼的现代都市，拥有大量供人休闲散步的公园……重庆是一座拥有千种颜色与万种风味的城市。不仅如此，我还发现这里的食物，除了甜和咸还有麻辣味，红色的辣椒、绿色的花椒、黑色的胡椒都给我带来别样的体验。那些我以为的土豆其实是莲藕，红豆原来可以做成非常甜的豆沙……

我开始问自己关于中国的许多问题：为什么现代和古代完美融合？为什么匆忙和放松能够保持平衡？为什么城市即便那么大，我也能感受到安全和受欢迎？为什么所有事物都在不断地往前发展和更新变化？

通过在重庆大学的生活，以及聚餐时跟中国人的交流，加上在中国其他一些城市的旅行，比如北京、南京、贵阳、苏州、杭州、上海、深圳等，我获得了一些答案，我也渐渐了解了中国的多样性：每个地方的食物、生活态度和语言风格都有着明显的差异。书本让我从知识方面了解中国，而旅行让我验证了我的认知。我不再用西方人的眼光来观察中国，而是学着用中国人的眼光来看待问题。我明白，中国的新生活正在改变我，甚至让我得到了提升。

However， my first impression of Chongqing is "fear"， a kind of "fear" of biding farewell to my hometown and starting a new life. At that time， my eyes were always hazy with tears， and I always felt nervous. I felt that I was suddenly "exiled" to a new world， a whole new world that was very different from Europe. At the beginning of that period， my daily life was also in chaos： I was often overwhelmed by reading articles full of Chinese characters， and had a lot of diarrhea because of acclimatization. I was often afraid of getting lost in the mountain city of Chongqing... Then I told myself： "Margherita， this is a self-challenge and you will get used to it as long as you stick to it for six months， ."

Soon， the psychology of "fear" was replaced by "curiosity". Mountain city， bridge capital， hot pot city， modern city with many skyscrapers， and a large number of parks for leisurely walks ...... Chongqing is a city of a thousand colors and a million flavors. Moreover， I also found that the food here is not only sweet and salty， but also spicy flavor. Red chili pepper， green pepper， black pepper all gave me a different experience. Those potatoes I thought were actually lotus roots， and red beans could be made into very sweet bean paste...

I began to ask myself many questions about China： Why do modernity and antiquity blend perfectly？ Why is it possible to maintain a balance between hurry and relaxation？ Why can I feel safe and welcome even if in such a big city ？ Why is everything constantly developing and updating？

Through my life at Chongqing University， my communication with Chinese people at dinner， and my travel to other cities in China， such as Beijing， Nanjing， Guiyang， Suzhou， Hangzhou， Shanghai and Shenzhen， I have got some answers， and I have gradually learned about China’s diversity： there are obvious differences in food， life attitude and language style in each place. Books allowed me to understand China in terms of knowledge， and travel allowed me to verify my cognition. I no longer observe China from the perspective of Westerners， but from the perspective of Chinese people. I understand that the new life in China is changing me and even lifting me up.

“好奇心”也很快變成了“融合”。我感到自己与重庆相处得非常和谐。车水马龙的噪音成了悦耳的声音，火锅的辛辣成了最美的味道，小碗白米饭成了饮食中必不可少的一部分，一些陌生的地点成了很熟悉的地方，无法听懂的重庆话声调成了好听的曲调。不仅如此，我在重庆的家也让我感到幸福：一扇可以欣赏夜间高楼阴影的窗户，一张可以做梦的睡床，一个可以烹饪饺子的厨房。这些简单的生活琐事使我幸福、安心，我想要继续留在中国的愿望与日俱增，所以六个月的留学生活变成了四年半。

重庆俘获了我，我的笑容比以前更灿烂了，我的内心比以前更柔软了，我变得前所未有的坚强。在重庆乃至中国其他一些城市的见闻，让我情绪高涨，恍惚间，我甚至怀疑自己不值得拥有如此美好的生活。我原有的认知由此慢慢改变，之后也收获了一些新的习惯：用好喝的热茶代替可乐，知道馒头比面包软和，筷子比叉子方便……

在我回意大利的前几天，我最后一次逛了逛在重庆时常会去的地方，吃了最喜欢的小吃，和我居住了4年多的家合影留念。我害怕遗忘所经历的这一切。不过，我明白时间不会消除这段经历的记忆，因为我的大脑和内心，将永远为重庆保留一个非常特殊的位置。

如今，尽管我身在意大利，但我经常感觉自己手里紧紧握着一根细线，连接了我和数千公里以外的重庆。我不得不承认，我与重庆有着深深的羁绊。对别人而言，这或许是不可思议的，但事实就是这样，我在中国、在重庆遇到的每一个人都是那么真实，在我的生命留下了那么多鲜活生动的故事。

此刻，我一边写着这篇文章，一边喝着热水，我意识到我不仅仅是意大利的Margherita，我也是中国的茉莉。中文里的茉莉，馨香给人安静，浓烈又给人以热情，这种双重认同感很契合我。七年前那趟去往中国重庆的航班，带我来到了一个改变我身份，又给我以心灵安静和生活热情的地方。

这就是我与中国重庆美丽邂逅的故事。

"Curiosity" quickly turned into "integration". I feel that I get along very well with Chongqing. The traffic noise has become a pleasant sound， the spicy taste of hot pot has become the most beautiful taste， small bowls of white rice have become an indispensable part of diet， some strange places have become very familiar places， and the tone of Chongqing dialect that cannot be understood has become a good tune. Not only that， my home in Chongqing also made me happy： a window to enjoy the shadow of high-rise buildings at night， a bed to have dream， and a kitchen to cook dumplings. These simple things made me happy and lived at ease. My desire to stay in China was increasing day by day， so the six-month study abroad life turned into four and a half years.

I was captured by Chongqing.My smile is brighter than ever， my heart is softer than ever， and I am stronger than ever as well. What I saw and heard in Chongqing and other cities in China made me feel high，while in a trance，I even doubted that I didn’t deserve such a beautiful life. My original perceptions slowly changed and I gained some new habits afterwards： drinking delicious hot tea instead of cola， knowing that buns are softer than bread and chopsticks are more convenient than forks ......

A few days before I returned to Italy， I took the last stroll around the places I used to visit in Chongqing， ate my favorite snacks and took pictures with the home I had lived for more than 4 years. I’m afraid to forget what I’ve been through. However， I understand that time will not erase the memory of this experience， because my brain and heart will always reserve a very special place for Chongqing.

Although I am in Italy now， I often feel like I am holding a thin thread that connects me to Chongqing，where is thousands of kilometers away. I have to admit that I have had a deep bond with Chongqing. It may be unbelievable to others， but it is. Everyone I met in China and in Chongqing was so real and left so many vivid stories in my life.

At the moment， while I was writing this article with drinking hot water， I realized that I was not only Margherita of Italy， but also Moli of China. Moli is Jasmine in Chinese.Its fragrance gives people quietness， and the intensity deliveries passion. This double identity fits me very well. Seven years ago， the flight to Chongqing， China， took me to a place that has changed my identity and given me peace of mind and enthusiasm for life.

This is the story of my beautiful encounter with Chongqing， China.