An Intercultural Profession 

跨文化职业

 

To be better equipped to do that, we returned to the US in 1990. I worked on my MA in Chinese and Intercultural Communications, Anne adjusted to American culture and we started a family. When we came back in 1993, we brought 2-year-old and 3-month-old daughters with us to Shanghai. We thought it would be simpler for young children to adapt to a new culture. Bu t the adjustments weren’t easy for any of us, partly because Shanghai was just beginning its rapid modernization phase.

 

为更具备从事那份工作的条件，我们于1990年返回美国。我攻取汉语和跨文化交际硕士学位，安妮适应美国文化并且我们有了第一个孩子。当我们1993年回来时，我们 带了我们的两个女儿一同到了上海，当时她们分别是2岁和3个月。我们原以为小孩子适应一 种新的文化会更容易些，但适应对我们每个人都殊非易事，部分原因是缘于上海当时刚步入 高速的现代化阶段。

 

For the last few years we have heard almost constant construction noise around us. Our housing hadn’t yet been renovated, we didn’t have much heating or air conditioning, the workload was heavy at the university, the pay was low and inflation was rapid in those days. Both children were often sick with colds or more serious ailments. Yet, we somehow persevered, kept adjusting to Shanghai, tried to keep up with the fast changes, and now we have a nice apartment, our neighborhood is cleaner and more attractive and we feel more at “home”.

 

在过去的几年里，周围施工的噪音几乎总是不绝于耳。我们的住房还没有修缮好，也没有多少供暖和空调，在大学的工作量也很繁重，那些日子报酬低而通货膨胀又很快。两个孩子经常患感冒或更重的病。然而，我们设法坚持着，一直不断地适应上海，尽力去赶上飞快的变化。现在，我们住进了一套相当不错的公寓，小区更干净更漂亮，我们更有了在“家” 的感觉。

 

It was my good fortune to teach in the Overseas Training Department of Shang- hai International Studies University (SISU). In 1993, we started to train self -paying students for international business. I was able to develop a new course on Intercultural Communications to orient our students.

 

我有幸在上海外国语大学海外培训部任教。1993年，我们开始培训国际商务自费生。我得以开设了关于跨文化交际的一门新的课程来引导我们的学生。

 

Over the years, that course has grown into a curriculum that is also being offered to the Communications Department and all post-graduate students at SISU. This has been a rich opportunity to gather fresh data on Chinese culture as well as to develop this budding field. Relating to the China Association For Intercultural Communications (CAFIC), formed in 1995, has also been a stimulating professional experience.

 

多年来，这门课程已经发展为一门学科，既在交际系开设，同时又面向所有在校的研究 生。这是收集有关中国文化新资料并开发这一新兴领域的良好契机。成立于1995年的中国跨 文化交际协会，也是一次激动人心的职业经历。

 

An Intercultural Family

一个跨文化的家庭

 

As our two girls became school age, we enrolled them in a local kindergarden. We wanted them to feel comfortable both in the language and with Chinese friends. As a result, both daughters have become trilingual, though it hasn’t always been easy. Our oldest daughter, Christy, did fine the first two years, but found it quite tough in Chinese third grade. She was almost keeping up with her Chinese classmates, but her English and German were falling behind, so she changed to the International German School in Shanghai. Our youngest daughter, Amy, is still in Chinese school. When she finishes third grade this year, she’ll probably also change, though she is happy and fairly comfortable in all three contexts.

 

当我们的两个女儿到了入学年龄，我们送她们到当地的幼儿园。我们想要她们在语言和与中国朋友交往这两个方面都感到顺当称心。结果，两个女儿都能操三种语言，尽管并非总是那么容易。我们的大女儿克里斯蒂，在最初两年学得不错，但在读汉语三年级时却感到相当吃力。她几乎跟得上她那些中国的同班同学，但英语和德语却落后了，所以她转学到在上海的国际德语学校。我们的小女儿艾米，仍然在中文学校。她今年读完三年级后，大概也会变换一下，虽然她在这三个语境里都感到舒心快乐。

 

Recently Amy was working on some intercultural adjustment materials for kids. She was asked to draw a picture of her family. In the space provided, she drew a picture of me and labeled it “Dad--American” and next to Anne, “Mom - -German”. Then she drew a picture of our “Chinese Grandma” and labeled her “Ayi--Chinese”. When she drew herself and her sister in the middle, she paused.

 

最近艾米在进行一些儿童跨文化适应材料的学习。她被要求画一幅她的家庭的图画。在给她的一张白纸上，她画了我的画像并且标上了“爸爸－－美国人”，接着是安妮，标上“ 妈妈－－德国人”。然后她画上了我们的“中国阿婆”的画像，标上“阿姨－－中国人”。当她在中间画她自己和她姐姐时，她停住了。

 

She then wrote “Christy and Amy--AmGerChi.” When I asked about this unusual word, she said because all three cultural backgrounds were mixed in her, she used the first syllable from each nationality. In Chinese, she called herself a “MeiDeZhong.” It might be difficult for her to maintain that identity, but that is how she sees herself now.

 

然后她写上了“克里斯蒂和艾米－－美德中”。当我问这一怪词时，她说，因为所有这 三个文化背景都融合在她身上，她用了每个国家的第一个音节。她用汉语称她自己“美德中”。让她保持这一身份可能有难度，但现在她是这样看自己的。

 

An Intercultural Future

跨文化的未来

 

Because this is my field of study, my wife, daughters and I hope to keep learning about cultural variety and adjustments together. We don’t just want to be a cross-cultural experiment; we want to relate our experiences to our Chinese friends and students. Anne works as the Consulting Doctor for the German Consulate in Shanghai and has opportunities nearly every week to cross cultural barriers with expatriates and local hospitals. Each of us hopes to become an effective “cultural bridge” to bring understanding and cooperation to the different sides we represent.

 

因为这是我的研究领域，我妻子、女儿和我都希望一起不断地学习文化的多 样性和适应力。我们不只想成为跨文化的实验；我们想把我们的经历同我们的中国朋友和学 生结合起来。安妮在德国驻上海领事馆工作，担任顾问医生，在跟旅居海外者以及当地医院 打交道时，几乎每周都有机会跨越文化障碍。我们每个人都希望成为卓有成效的“文化桥梁”，为我们所代表的不同方面带来理解和合作。

 

Living overseas for long periods of times is never easy. There are times when we are overcome with homesickness. Sometimes we feel lost or confused in our identity. Sometimes we face new levels of culture shock or stress. But we trust that each of these experiences is enriching us, giving us a reservoir of feelings and insights that we can share with others. 

长期生活在海外从来都不容易。有时候我们思乡情切，有时对我们的身份感到失落和困惑，有时我们面临新的层次的文化冲击和压力。但我们相信所有这些经历都在丰富着我们，让我们蓄积起能与他人共享的心绪和感悟。

 

With changes due to WTO, the coming World Cup and Olympics and developments in many other arenas, China is entering an exciting and challenging phase of internationalizing. Perhaps our intercultural journey can be of help to others.

 

由于加入WTO，进入世界杯和举办奥运会，以及其他许多领域的发展带来的变化，中国正步入一个令人激动、富有挑战的“国际化”阶段。也许我们的跨文化之旅能够对他人有所裨益。