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Waste No Time to Pursue Our Dreams——my Teaching Experiences at Confucius Classroom at Rome ConvittoNazionala Vittorio Emanuele Ⅱ of italy
2019年3月18日，古老的羅马城阳光灿烂。课间休息的时候，我打开微信，几十条未读信息刷爆了朋友圈，一条新闻跟意大利有关，跟我任教的罗马国立住读学校有关，跟“我的孩子们”有关。
在中国国家主席习近平即将对意大利进行国事访问之际，罗马国立住读学校校长雷亚莱和该校8名高中学生致信习主席，表达了对他访意的热切期盼和从事中意友好事业的良好意愿。习主席亲切地回复了这封信，勉励他们做新时代的马可.波罗，成为中意文化交流的使者。习主席在信中说，青春总是与梦想相伴而行。你们即将高中毕业，迈入大学校园。愿你们青春正好、不负韶华，都能成就梦想。欢迎你们来华学习和工作，希望中国也能成为你们的圆梦之地。
孩子们收到信，惊喜又开心。校长表示，我们的学生们始终努力而勤奋，这封回信是对他们最大的奖励。而看到孩子们的笑容和成长，也是我在这里和他们朝夕相处七年来，每天都收获的奖励。
我毕业于北京外国语大学意大利语专业。记得上中学的时候，学习世界历史，很多关于战争的历史，让我十分反感。某天打开一章，眼前一亮，灿烂的艺术、文学、思想……魅力勃发、引人入胜，那一章叫作：“文艺复兴”，那是我第一次对意大利这个国家及它的文化有了认知。一直到现在，每当有人问我为什么选择学习意大利语，我都会讲起那节课，记得那时课本上的插图，也记得那时渴望学习未知文化、了解多元世界的心愿。于是选择大学的时候，我选择了北京外国语大学，主修意大利语言与文学专业。
意大利语是一门富有音乐感的优美语言，更是一门文化底蕴极为深厚的语言，从但丁到卡尔维诺，从意大利文学记录了西方文化的重要篇章，从奥勒留到艾柯，穿越千年的思想家们也常常和中国的历代先哲不谋而合。音乐、建筑、设计、美食，意大利文化的多彩也丰富了我的大学生活。在北外的四年学习，让我不出国门，已经对意大利的历史文化风土人情有了充分的了解，我第一次踏上意大利的土地时，并未感到陌生，反而像是回到故乡。罗马的出租车司机跟北京的哥一样健谈，罗马某个街角小广场的树影，也常常让我想到雍和宫冬日的阳光。从文化遗产到家庭观念，中意文化中，其实有诸多相似点。在意大利留学的经历，也让我对此有了更深的体会。意大利人民热情好客，尊重文化、热爱艺术，对大自然的重视与保护，都跟中国人的文化传统深度契合。两个文明古国的悠久历史与灿烂文明，像两条平行流淌又终将相遇的河流，每一次对话都碰撞出新的水花，滋养了我的精神生活。
毕业后，我有机会来到罗马大学孔子学院从事汉语教学工作，在下设罗马国立住读学校孔子课堂负责汉语教学、文化活动与国际交流项目。我还记得第一次来到学校的那天，我走过“民族复兴”桥，经过美丽的台伯河，来到对岸河边的学校。从那天起，我从曾经的追梦者，变成了孩子们梦想的守护者。
罗马国立住读学校下设中文国际理科高中部，汉语是必修课并作为第一外语和毕业考试科目，教学比重超过意大利语和英语，构成该校的核心课程。在罗马大学孔子学院的指导下，经过意大利和中国老师的不断融合，积极探索，如今已发展成为意大利中学汉语教学的典范。
“我的孩子们”是一群正值青春的年轻人，他们的眼里总是有光，里面充满对陌生文化的好奇、对知识的渴望和对未来的期待。就像当年我在北外的老师努力让我们爱上意大利语一样，我也不遗余力地让“我的孩子们”爱上汉语，爱上中国。从中国到意大利，从在国内学习意大利语到前往意大利教汉语，一来一往之间，交换的并不仅仅是语言，更是语言背后两个千年文明古国的文化传承与沉淀。学习一门新的语言，也是一个打破重组的过程，打破固有认知和刻板印象，重新发现一种观察世界的角度，重新组合表达自我的方式。从语言学习到跨文化对话，汉语国际教育这条路上的每一步不仅见证了我个人的成长，更为我和我的学生们提供了一种探索世界的方式。
学习汉语的五年也是他们青春岁月中最重要的五年。而了解中国、发现中国的过程，也正是他们了解自己、发现自己的过程。七年来，我见证了汉语与中国文化如何陪伴了孩子们的青春与梦想，见过他们第一次登上长城的兴奋，见过他们在东方明珠的雀跃，见过他们第一次用筷子吃烤鸭的小小狼狈，也惊讶于他们敏锐辨别不同茶香的味蕾。零零后的他们一秒钟学会用移动支付叫外卖，骑共享单车，也懂得静下来欣赏乌镇的小桥流水，西湖的落日余晖。
很多人现在来采访我的学生，总是问起他们跟中国的之间的关系。有时候，其实他们自己也说不出来，但我知道，那是因为他们跟中国已经融为了一个整体，他们已经成为中国的一部分，中国也成为了他们生活中不可分割的一部分，也许今天的他们，还并不清楚自己的梦想究竟是什么，但无论如何，都与中意两国间的友好交流相关。与曾经的汉语学习者不同，这一代年轻人有更多元化的专业背景与职业发展路径。我常常鼓励学生，主动思考他们未来的专业学习、职业选择，以及如何发挥他们的优势，在其专业领域内，为未来两国行业合作搭建桥梁。我希望他们每个人都能真正看到自己的潜力与价值，看到未来的愿景，并以主人公的心态去积极实现梦想、开拓未来的无限可能。我会鼓励学医的学生，学习中医理论与针灸，中西医结合学习，学习经济的学生，收集中国创新经济模式的案例，去思考他们将来从事的领域，如何寻找新的合作契机。
时至今日，我常常鼓励新老师，不断思考我们工作的本质。每个人对工作的认知，决定了他工作的广度与深度。如果我们只把自己定位为一名汉语老师，你会尽心教授语言知识，如果你认为自己是文化使者，传播文化会成为你的首要责任。而我认为，作为跨文化教育工作者，我们的工作应该不仅仅停留在汉语与文化的层面，更重要的是如何将汉语教学转变成为汉语教育，将语言教学与全人教育理念相结合，培养面对未来全球化挑战的世界公民。 我帶着孩子们连续三年获得意大利“汉语桥”中学生中文比赛总冠军，并代表意大利赴华参加全球总决赛。别人只看到荣誉和台上的高光瞬间，但让我最欣慰的从来都不是成绩和荣誉，而是通过这个过程，见证孩子们不断突破自己，持续获得成长。很多人也来问我获胜的诀窍，其实没有任何秘密，我对孩子们的要求非常简单：忘记竞争，享受过程，超越自己就是胜利。合作、信任、友谊、视野，跟来自全球的同龄人对话，走出自己的舒适圈，挑战自我，放眼世界，这是学习汉语带给他们的宝贵的可持续发展价值，我坚信，这些价值在课堂之外，在比赛之外，会陪伴他们走得更远。
为了让学生有亲身感受中国的机会，罗马大学孔子学院与北京外国语大学合作，连续九年在北京为他们举办为期三周的夏令营。带着孩子们回到我熟悉、热爱的母校，让他们近距离接触北外这个中国“外交官的摇篮”，100多个语种，多元文化交汇，在这里，孩子们有机会和中国同龄人交流，他们看到许许多多像他们一样怀抱梦想的年轻人，在为实现跨文化交流与沟通，奉献青春。他们看到了中国年轻人，走向世界，拥抱世界的强烈愿望。 不同文化之间的对话可以形成，是因为心灵可以真正相通，“教育就是一个灵魂去唤醒另一个灵魂”，我相信我和学生之间就是彼此唤醒的这样的一个过程，共同成长，互相成就，成为更好的自己。
On March 18， 2019， the ancientcity Rome was bathed in sun-shine. During the class break， Ichecked my WeChat and founda deluge of unread messages in WeChat Mo-ments. One of them was a news item relatedto my students at Rome Convitto Nazion-ale Vittorio Emanuele II where I have beenteaching Chinese.
Upon Chinese President Xi Jinping'supcoming state visit to Italy， Paolo M. Reale，President of Rome Convitto Nazionale Vit-torio Emanuele Ⅱ and eight students wroteto President Xi Jinping， expressing their eageranticipation of President Xi Jinping's visit andthe good will to make efforts to promote Chi-na-ltaly friendly relations. In a warm reply tothe Italian teachers and students， President XiJinping encouraged them to become modern-day Marco Polos， serving as cultural ambas-sadors between China and Italy. President XiJinping said in his letter that youth alwaysgoes hand in hand with dreams. As studentsare going to graduate from high school andembark on college life， he hopes students cangive full play to their youth and realize theirdreams. He also welcomes students to studyand work in China and hopes that China willbe the place where their dreams can cometrue.
The children were both excited and sur-prised when receiving the letter. In his re-sponse， the president of the school said thatthe students have always been hard-workingand diligent， and this letter is the greatestreward for them. Also， seeing the children'ssmiles and growth is the reward I have re-ceived every day during the seven years Ispent there.
I graduated as an Italian language ma-jor from Beijing Foreign Studies University（BFSU）. I remember when I was in middleschool， I had to study world history， whichcontains a lot of wars and thus made me feeluncomfortable. One day I opened a chapterin the book and was surprised to discoverthe brilliant art， literature， thought and soon. It was fascinating and intriguing. Thechapter was entided "The Renaissance ，and it was the first time that I had beenintroduced to Italy and its culture. Un-til now， when asked why I had chosen tostudy Italian， I will talk about that lesson，recalling the illustrations in the textbookand my desire to learn about the unknownculture and the pluralistic world. That'swhy I decided to major in Italian languageand literature in BFSU. Italian is not only a beautiful and mu-sical language， but also a language withprofound cultural elements. From Danteto Calvino， Italians literature has left animportant chapter in Western culture. Ideasof Italian thinkers， ranging from Aureliusto Eco， coincided with those of ancientChinese philosophers. The colorfulness ofItalian culture， which lies in music， archi-tecture， designing and cuisine， has alsoenriched my college life. During the fouryears of study in BFSU， I have had a thor-ough knowledge of Italian history， cultureand customs though I had never been toItaly. So when I first set foot in the country，I didn't feel it alien to me， but felt that Ihad returned to my hometown. The taxidrivers in Rome were as talkative as thosein Beijing. Also， the shadow of trees in thesmall square on a street corner often re-minded me of the winter sunshine pouringdown on the Lama Temple in Beijing. Ac-tually， similarities abound between Chineseand Italian culture， including aspects vary-ing from cultural heritage to the concept offamily life. When I studied in Italy， I hada deeper understanding of those similari-ties. The Italian people's hospitality， respectfor culture， love of art and tender care fornature are deeply in line with Chinesecultural traditions. The two ancient civiliza-tions， with their long histories and splendidcultures， are like two rivers running paral-lel but destined to meet. Each time theycommunicate with each other， there willbe fresh inspirations which nourish myspiritual world.
After graduation， I had the oppor-tunity to teach Chinese language at theConfucius Institute at the University ofRomeLa Sapienza. I was responsible forteaching Chinese， organizing culturalactivities and administering internationalexchange programs at the ConfuciusClassroom at Rome Convitto Nazion-ale Vittorio Emanuele II. The scene ofmy very first day in this school is stillfresh in mind. I walked across the PonteRisorgimento， walked past the beautifulTiber River and then to the school onthe opposite bank of the river. From thatday on， I， once a dream chaser， became aguardian of the children's dreams instead.
The Chinese language internationalscientific high school， opened by RomeConvitto Nazionale Vittorio EmanueleII， included the Chinese as a compul-sory course and a subject in graduationexam. As the first foreign language in theschool， Chinese， the teaching of which evenoutweighs that of Italian and English， hasbecome one of the core courses. Under theguidance of the Confucius Institute at theUniversity of RomeLa Sapienza， the Italianteachers and Chinese teachers in the schoolhave made coordinated and unremitting ef-forts to conduct trials， making the Chinesecourse a model of Chinese language teach-ing for other Italian middle schools. "My children" is a group of youngpeople in their prime. Their eyes are alwaysbright， overflowing with curiosity about theunfamiliar culture， the desire for knowl-edge and the expectation of the future.Just like my teachers in BFSU， who hadtried to arouse our enthusiasm for Italian，I spare no effort to make "my children" fallin love with Chinese language and China.From learning Italian at home to teachingChinese in Italy， the experience is not onlyabout language exchange， but also the cul-tural exchange between the two ancient civ-ilizations. Learning a new language is also aprocess of deconstruction and reconstruc-tion. It means that you have to abandonyour deep-rooted perceptions and stere-otypes， find a new perspective to observethe world and reconstruct ways to expressyourself. From language learning to cross-cultural dialogue， each step forward on thepath of international education of Chineselanguage not only symbolized my personalgrowth， but also provided a way for me andmy students to explore the world.
During the most important five yearsin their young days， they learned Chineseand witnessed China's development. Whiletrying to know more about China， theyalso found more out about themselves.Over the past seven years， I have witnessedhow Chinese language and Chinese culturecame to become their companions in theirpursuit of dreams. I remember how excitedthey were when they set foot on the GreatWall for the first time， how delighted theywere when they saw the Oriental PearlTower and how awkward and funny whenthey used chopsticks for the first time toeat roast duck. I was also surprised to findthat they had such acute sense of tastes asto distinguish between different flavors oftea. Those children， born after year 2000，managed to in a blink of eyes use mobilepayment to order takeaway and to experi-ence bicycle-sharing service. They couldalso quiet down and appreciate the sceneryof water flowing beneath a little bridge inWuzhen as well as the sunset over the WestLake.
When interviewing my students， manypeople now will ask about their relationshipwith China. Sometimes， my students findit hard to describe. I know thar's becausethey have become assimilated into Chinaand the country has become an inseparablepart in their lives. Perhaps they haven't gota clue what their dreams are， but anyway，they must be concerned with China-Italyfriendly exchanges. Unlike previous Chi-nese language learners， this generation ofyoung people has more diversified profes-sional backgrounds and career developmentchoices. I often encourage my studentsro think about their future study， careerchoice， and how they're going to give fullplay to their advantages so as to buildbridges in their own fields for future indus-try cooperation between the two countries.I hope that each of them can discover theirpotential and value， look into the bright fu-ture， be their own masters and realize theirdreams and the infinite possibilities of thefuture. I will encourage medical students tostudy Traditional Chinese Medicine theoryand acupuncture， and western medicine aswell. Also， I will encourage students major-ing in economics to collect cases of China'sinnovative economic model and considerhow to find new opportunities for coopera-tion in their future careers. Up to this day， I often encourage newteachers to keep reflecting on the nature ofour work. Our perception of our job de-termines how we're going to engage in it.If we regard ourselves as merely languageteachers， we'll devote ourselves to teach-ing language. But if we regard ourselves ascultural ambassadors， promoting culturewill become our top priority. In my opin-ion， as cross-cultural educators， we shouldnot confine ourselves to merely teachinglanguage and promoting culture. Moreimportantly， we should transform Chineselanguage teaching into Chinese languageeducation and integrate language teachingwith the philosophy of holisyic educayion soas to train world citizens who can brave thechallenges of globalization in the future. Under my guidance， my students havewon three times in the "Chinese Bridge"Chinese Proficiency Competition for Sec-ondary School Students in Italy， and beenappointed to participate in the final com-petition in China. Others only focus onthe glory and honor. But for me， the mostgratifying thing is that during the process，the students have made constant progressand achieved continuous personal develop-ment. Many people came to ask me aboutthe secret of success. And I told them therewas no secret. My message for my studentsis very simple： forget about the com-petition， enjoy the process and surpassyourselves. Cooperation， trust， friend-ship， vision， communicating with peersfrom all over the world， stepping out ofthe comfort zone， surpassing themselvesand seeing the vastness of the world-all those invaluable harvests they havereaped from learning Chinese languagewill facilitate their sustainable develop-ment. I believe that those harvests willhelp them make greater achievementsoutside the classroom and the competi-tion.
To enable students to have a closerlook at China， the Confucius Instituteat the University of RomeLa Sapienzahas cooperated with BFSU to organize athree-week summer camp in Beijing fornine consecutive years. I took my stu-denrs to my familiar and beloved AlmaMater， the cradle of Chinese diplomats，which boasts diversified cultures andmore than 100 languages. There， thesrudenrs had the opportunity to commu-nicate with their Chinese peers.They alsomet many aspiring young people whodedicated themselves to cross-culturalcommunication. And they felt the strongdesire among the Chinese youth to em-brace the world.
Dialogues between different culturesare possible because people from variouscultures have a close affnity with eachother. It is said that the nature of educa-tion is one soul awakening another soul.I believe the relationship between mystudents and me is as such. We inspireeach other， make progress together and inthe process become better selves.
2019年3月18日，古老的羅马城阳光灿烂。课间休息的时候，我打开微信，几十条未读信息刷爆了朋友圈，一条新闻跟意大利有关，跟我任教的罗马国立住读学校有关，跟“我的孩子们”有关。
在中国国家主席习近平即将对意大利进行国事访问之际，罗马国立住读学校校长雷亚莱和该校8名高中学生致信习主席，表达了对他访意的热切期盼和从事中意友好事业的良好意愿。习主席亲切地回复了这封信，勉励他们做新时代的马可.波罗，成为中意文化交流的使者。习主席在信中说，青春总是与梦想相伴而行。你们即将高中毕业，迈入大学校园。愿你们青春正好、不负韶华，都能成就梦想。欢迎你们来华学习和工作，希望中国也能成为你们的圆梦之地。
孩子们收到信，惊喜又开心。校长表示，我们的学生们始终努力而勤奋，这封回信是对他们最大的奖励。而看到孩子们的笑容和成长，也是我在这里和他们朝夕相处七年来，每天都收获的奖励。
我毕业于北京外国语大学意大利语专业。记得上中学的时候，学习世界历史，很多关于战争的历史，让我十分反感。某天打开一章，眼前一亮，灿烂的艺术、文学、思想……魅力勃发、引人入胜，那一章叫作：“文艺复兴”，那是我第一次对意大利这个国家及它的文化有了认知。一直到现在，每当有人问我为什么选择学习意大利语，我都会讲起那节课，记得那时课本上的插图，也记得那时渴望学习未知文化、了解多元世界的心愿。于是选择大学的时候，我选择了北京外国语大学，主修意大利语言与文学专业。
意大利语是一门富有音乐感的优美语言，更是一门文化底蕴极为深厚的语言，从但丁到卡尔维诺，从意大利文学记录了西方文化的重要篇章，从奥勒留到艾柯，穿越千年的思想家们也常常和中国的历代先哲不谋而合。音乐、建筑、设计、美食，意大利文化的多彩也丰富了我的大学生活。在北外的四年学习，让我不出国门，已经对意大利的历史文化风土人情有了充分的了解，我第一次踏上意大利的土地时，并未感到陌生，反而像是回到故乡。罗马的出租车司机跟北京的哥一样健谈，罗马某个街角小广场的树影，也常常让我想到雍和宫冬日的阳光。从文化遗产到家庭观念，中意文化中，其实有诸多相似点。在意大利留学的经历，也让我对此有了更深的体会。意大利人民热情好客，尊重文化、热爱艺术，对大自然的重视与保护，都跟中国人的文化传统深度契合。两个文明古国的悠久历史与灿烂文明，像两条平行流淌又终将相遇的河流，每一次对话都碰撞出新的水花，滋养了我的精神生活。
毕业后，我有机会来到罗马大学孔子学院从事汉语教学工作，在下设罗马国立住读学校孔子课堂负责汉语教学、文化活动与国际交流项目。我还记得第一次来到学校的那天，我走过“民族复兴”桥，经过美丽的台伯河，来到对岸河边的学校。从那天起，我从曾经的追梦者，变成了孩子们梦想的守护者。
罗马国立住读学校下设中文国际理科高中部，汉语是必修课并作为第一外语和毕业考试科目，教学比重超过意大利语和英语，构成该校的核心课程。在罗马大学孔子学院的指导下，经过意大利和中国老师的不断融合，积极探索，如今已发展成为意大利中学汉语教学的典范。
“我的孩子们”是一群正值青春的年轻人，他们的眼里总是有光，里面充满对陌生文化的好奇、对知识的渴望和对未来的期待。就像当年我在北外的老师努力让我们爱上意大利语一样，我也不遗余力地让“我的孩子们”爱上汉语，爱上中国。从中国到意大利，从在国内学习意大利语到前往意大利教汉语，一来一往之间，交换的并不仅仅是语言，更是语言背后两个千年文明古国的文化传承与沉淀。学习一门新的语言，也是一个打破重组的过程，打破固有认知和刻板印象，重新发现一种观察世界的角度，重新组合表达自我的方式。从语言学习到跨文化对话，汉语国际教育这条路上的每一步不仅见证了我个人的成长，更为我和我的学生们提供了一种探索世界的方式。
学习汉语的五年也是他们青春岁月中最重要的五年。而了解中国、发现中国的过程，也正是他们了解自己、发现自己的过程。七年来，我见证了汉语与中国文化如何陪伴了孩子们的青春与梦想，见过他们第一次登上长城的兴奋，见过他们在东方明珠的雀跃，见过他们第一次用筷子吃烤鸭的小小狼狈，也惊讶于他们敏锐辨别不同茶香的味蕾。零零后的他们一秒钟学会用移动支付叫外卖，骑共享单车，也懂得静下来欣赏乌镇的小桥流水，西湖的落日余晖。
很多人现在来采访我的学生，总是问起他们跟中国的之间的关系。有时候，其实他们自己也说不出来，但我知道，那是因为他们跟中国已经融为了一个整体，他们已经成为中国的一部分，中国也成为了他们生活中不可分割的一部分，也许今天的他们，还并不清楚自己的梦想究竟是什么，但无论如何，都与中意两国间的友好交流相关。与曾经的汉语学习者不同，这一代年轻人有更多元化的专业背景与职业发展路径。我常常鼓励学生，主动思考他们未来的专业学习、职业选择，以及如何发挥他们的优势，在其专业领域内，为未来两国行业合作搭建桥梁。我希望他们每个人都能真正看到自己的潜力与价值，看到未来的愿景，并以主人公的心态去积极实现梦想、开拓未来的无限可能。我会鼓励学医的学生，学习中医理论与针灸，中西医结合学习，学习经济的学生，收集中国创新经济模式的案例，去思考他们将来从事的领域，如何寻找新的合作契机。
时至今日，我常常鼓励新老师，不断思考我们工作的本质。每个人对工作的认知，决定了他工作的广度与深度。如果我们只把自己定位为一名汉语老师，你会尽心教授语言知识，如果你认为自己是文化使者，传播文化会成为你的首要责任。而我认为，作为跨文化教育工作者，我们的工作应该不仅仅停留在汉语与文化的层面，更重要的是如何将汉语教学转变成为汉语教育，将语言教学与全人教育理念相结合，培养面对未来全球化挑战的世界公民。 我帶着孩子们连续三年获得意大利“汉语桥”中学生中文比赛总冠军，并代表意大利赴华参加全球总决赛。别人只看到荣誉和台上的高光瞬间，但让我最欣慰的从来都不是成绩和荣誉，而是通过这个过程，见证孩子们不断突破自己，持续获得成长。很多人也来问我获胜的诀窍，其实没有任何秘密，我对孩子们的要求非常简单：忘记竞争，享受过程，超越自己就是胜利。合作、信任、友谊、视野，跟来自全球的同龄人对话，走出自己的舒适圈，挑战自我，放眼世界，这是学习汉语带给他们的宝贵的可持续发展价值，我坚信，这些价值在课堂之外，在比赛之外，会陪伴他们走得更远。
为了让学生有亲身感受中国的机会，罗马大学孔子学院与北京外国语大学合作，连续九年在北京为他们举办为期三周的夏令营。带着孩子们回到我熟悉、热爱的母校，让他们近距离接触北外这个中国“外交官的摇篮”，100多个语种，多元文化交汇，在这里，孩子们有机会和中国同龄人交流，他们看到许许多多像他们一样怀抱梦想的年轻人，在为实现跨文化交流与沟通，奉献青春。他们看到了中国年轻人，走向世界，拥抱世界的强烈愿望。 不同文化之间的对话可以形成，是因为心灵可以真正相通，“教育就是一个灵魂去唤醒另一个灵魂”，我相信我和学生之间就是彼此唤醒的这样的一个过程，共同成长，互相成就，成为更好的自己。
On March 18， 2019， the ancientcity Rome was bathed in sun-shine. During the class break， Ichecked my WeChat and founda deluge of unread messages in WeChat Mo-ments. One of them was a news item relatedto my students at Rome Convitto Nazion-ale Vittorio Emanuele II where I have beenteaching Chinese.
Upon Chinese President Xi Jinping'supcoming state visit to Italy， Paolo M. Reale，President of Rome Convitto Nazionale Vit-torio Emanuele Ⅱ and eight students wroteto President Xi Jinping， expressing their eageranticipation of President Xi Jinping's visit andthe good will to make efforts to promote Chi-na-ltaly friendly relations. In a warm reply tothe Italian teachers and students， President XiJinping encouraged them to become modern-day Marco Polos， serving as cultural ambas-sadors between China and Italy. President XiJinping said in his letter that youth alwaysgoes hand in hand with dreams. As studentsare going to graduate from high school andembark on college life， he hopes students cangive full play to their youth and realize theirdreams. He also welcomes students to studyand work in China and hopes that China willbe the place where their dreams can cometrue.
The children were both excited and sur-prised when receiving the letter. In his re-sponse， the president of the school said thatthe students have always been hard-workingand diligent， and this letter is the greatestreward for them. Also， seeing the children'ssmiles and growth is the reward I have re-ceived every day during the seven years Ispent there.
I graduated as an Italian language ma-jor from Beijing Foreign Studies University（BFSU）. I remember when I was in middleschool， I had to study world history， whichcontains a lot of wars and thus made me feeluncomfortable. One day I opened a chapterin the book and was surprised to discoverthe brilliant art， literature， thought and soon. It was fascinating and intriguing. Thechapter was entided "The Renaissance ，and it was the first time that I had beenintroduced to Italy and its culture. Un-til now， when asked why I had chosen tostudy Italian， I will talk about that lesson，recalling the illustrations in the textbookand my desire to learn about the unknownculture and the pluralistic world. That'swhy I decided to major in Italian languageand literature in BFSU. Italian is not only a beautiful and mu-sical language， but also a language withprofound cultural elements. From Danteto Calvino， Italians literature has left animportant chapter in Western culture. Ideasof Italian thinkers， ranging from Aureliusto Eco， coincided with those of ancientChinese philosophers. The colorfulness ofItalian culture， which lies in music， archi-tecture， designing and cuisine， has alsoenriched my college life. During the fouryears of study in BFSU， I have had a thor-ough knowledge of Italian history， cultureand customs though I had never been toItaly. So when I first set foot in the country，I didn't feel it alien to me， but felt that Ihad returned to my hometown. The taxidrivers in Rome were as talkative as thosein Beijing. Also， the shadow of trees in thesmall square on a street corner often re-minded me of the winter sunshine pouringdown on the Lama Temple in Beijing. Ac-tually， similarities abound between Chineseand Italian culture， including aspects vary-ing from cultural heritage to the concept offamily life. When I studied in Italy， I hada deeper understanding of those similari-ties. The Italian people's hospitality， respectfor culture， love of art and tender care fornature are deeply in line with Chinesecultural traditions. The two ancient civiliza-tions， with their long histories and splendidcultures， are like two rivers running paral-lel but destined to meet. Each time theycommunicate with each other， there willbe fresh inspirations which nourish myspiritual world.
After graduation， I had the oppor-tunity to teach Chinese language at theConfucius Institute at the University ofRomeLa Sapienza. I was responsible forteaching Chinese， organizing culturalactivities and administering internationalexchange programs at the ConfuciusClassroom at Rome Convitto Nazion-ale Vittorio Emanuele II. The scene ofmy very first day in this school is stillfresh in mind. I walked across the PonteRisorgimento， walked past the beautifulTiber River and then to the school onthe opposite bank of the river. From thatday on， I， once a dream chaser， became aguardian of the children's dreams instead.
The Chinese language internationalscientific high school， opened by RomeConvitto Nazionale Vittorio EmanueleII， included the Chinese as a compul-sory course and a subject in graduationexam. As the first foreign language in theschool， Chinese， the teaching of which evenoutweighs that of Italian and English， hasbecome one of the core courses. Under theguidance of the Confucius Institute at theUniversity of RomeLa Sapienza， the Italianteachers and Chinese teachers in the schoolhave made coordinated and unremitting ef-forts to conduct trials， making the Chinesecourse a model of Chinese language teach-ing for other Italian middle schools. "My children" is a group of youngpeople in their prime. Their eyes are alwaysbright， overflowing with curiosity about theunfamiliar culture， the desire for knowl-edge and the expectation of the future.Just like my teachers in BFSU， who hadtried to arouse our enthusiasm for Italian，I spare no effort to make "my children" fallin love with Chinese language and China.From learning Italian at home to teachingChinese in Italy， the experience is not onlyabout language exchange， but also the cul-tural exchange between the two ancient civ-ilizations. Learning a new language is also aprocess of deconstruction and reconstruc-tion. It means that you have to abandonyour deep-rooted perceptions and stere-otypes， find a new perspective to observethe world and reconstruct ways to expressyourself. From language learning to cross-cultural dialogue， each step forward on thepath of international education of Chineselanguage not only symbolized my personalgrowth， but also provided a way for me andmy students to explore the world.
During the most important five yearsin their young days， they learned Chineseand witnessed China's development. Whiletrying to know more about China， theyalso found more out about themselves.Over the past seven years， I have witnessedhow Chinese language and Chinese culturecame to become their companions in theirpursuit of dreams. I remember how excitedthey were when they set foot on the GreatWall for the first time， how delighted theywere when they saw the Oriental PearlTower and how awkward and funny whenthey used chopsticks for the first time toeat roast duck. I was also surprised to findthat they had such acute sense of tastes asto distinguish between different flavors oftea. Those children， born after year 2000，managed to in a blink of eyes use mobilepayment to order takeaway and to experi-ence bicycle-sharing service. They couldalso quiet down and appreciate the sceneryof water flowing beneath a little bridge inWuzhen as well as the sunset over the WestLake.
When interviewing my students， manypeople now will ask about their relationshipwith China. Sometimes， my students findit hard to describe. I know thar's becausethey have become assimilated into Chinaand the country has become an inseparablepart in their lives. Perhaps they haven't gota clue what their dreams are， but anyway，they must be concerned with China-Italyfriendly exchanges. Unlike previous Chi-nese language learners， this generation ofyoung people has more diversified profes-sional backgrounds and career developmentchoices. I often encourage my studentsro think about their future study， careerchoice， and how they're going to give fullplay to their advantages so as to buildbridges in their own fields for future indus-try cooperation between the two countries.I hope that each of them can discover theirpotential and value， look into the bright fu-ture， be their own masters and realize theirdreams and the infinite possibilities of thefuture. I will encourage medical students tostudy Traditional Chinese Medicine theoryand acupuncture， and western medicine aswell. Also， I will encourage students major-ing in economics to collect cases of China'sinnovative economic model and considerhow to find new opportunities for coopera-tion in their future careers. Up to this day， I often encourage newteachers to keep reflecting on the nature ofour work. Our perception of our job de-termines how we're going to engage in it.If we regard ourselves as merely languageteachers， we'll devote ourselves to teach-ing language. But if we regard ourselves ascultural ambassadors， promoting culturewill become our top priority. In my opin-ion， as cross-cultural educators， we shouldnot confine ourselves to merely teachinglanguage and promoting culture. Moreimportantly， we should transform Chineselanguage teaching into Chinese languageeducation and integrate language teachingwith the philosophy of holisyic educayion soas to train world citizens who can brave thechallenges of globalization in the future. Under my guidance， my students havewon three times in the "Chinese Bridge"Chinese Proficiency Competition for Sec-ondary School Students in Italy， and beenappointed to participate in the final com-petition in China. Others only focus onthe glory and honor. But for me， the mostgratifying thing is that during the process，the students have made constant progressand achieved continuous personal develop-ment. Many people came to ask me aboutthe secret of success. And I told them therewas no secret. My message for my studentsis very simple： forget about the com-petition， enjoy the process and surpassyourselves. Cooperation， trust， friend-ship， vision， communicating with peersfrom all over the world， stepping out ofthe comfort zone， surpassing themselvesand seeing the vastness of the world-all those invaluable harvests they havereaped from learning Chinese languagewill facilitate their sustainable develop-ment. I believe that those harvests willhelp them make greater achievementsoutside the classroom and the competi-tion.
To enable students to have a closerlook at China， the Confucius Instituteat the University of RomeLa Sapienzahas cooperated with BFSU to organize athree-week summer camp in Beijing fornine consecutive years. I took my stu-denrs to my familiar and beloved AlmaMater， the cradle of Chinese diplomats，which boasts diversified cultures andmore than 100 languages. There， thesrudenrs had the opportunity to commu-nicate with their Chinese peers.They alsomet many aspiring young people whodedicated themselves to cross-culturalcommunication. And they felt the strongdesire among the Chinese youth to em-brace the world.
Dialogues between different culturesare possible because people from variouscultures have a close affnity with eachother. It is said that the nature of educa-tion is one soul awakening another soul.I believe the relationship between mystudents and me is as such. We inspireeach other， make progress together and inthe process become better selves.