在我讀高二時(shí)，父親建議我選漢語(yǔ)作為第三外語(yǔ)，因?yàn)閷W(xué)習(xí)中文可以進(jìn)入聲譽(yù)更好的學(xué)校。我還記得他總是對(duì)我說(shuō)：“你學(xué)一年的中文就行了。”我有時(shí)會(huì)和學(xué)生講起這個(gè)故事，希望他們能盡早根據(jù)自己的興趣和學(xué)習(xí)動(dòng)機(jī)選擇要學(xué)的外語(yǔ)。

During my second year of high school， myfather suggested that I choose Chinese as my thirdforeign language， believing that it would improve mychances of gaining entry to a prestigious university;I remember his constant saying： “You only need tostudy Chinese for one year.” Today， I often share thisstory with my students， hoping that they are ableto choose a foreign language based on their owninterests and motivations as early as possible.

事實(shí)上，中文是偶然走進(jìn)我的生活的。那時(shí)我讀了很多書(shū)，學(xué)習(xí)外語(yǔ)是為了讓自己實(shí)現(xiàn)去遠(yuǎn)方旅行的夢(mèng)想。如果有機(jī)會(huì)，我可能會(huì)學(xué)習(xí)俄語(yǔ)或一門亞洲語(yǔ)言，只要與法語(yǔ)區(qū)別大就行。

In fact， it was coincidence which brought Chineseinto my life. At that time I was an avid reader，and I studied foreign languages to fulfill my dream oftraveling far and wide. When given the opportunityto learn a third foreign language， I hoped to studyRussian or any Asian language， provided that it wasdifferent to my mother tongue of French.

當(dāng)時(shí)沒(méi)有互聯(lián)網(wǎng)，我們能夠接觸到的中國(guó)的信息和圖片非常有限，主要是我的老師拍攝的一些照片和帶到課堂上的雜志。她為我們講述了在這樣一個(gè)廣闊且完全不同的國(guó)度里發(fā)生的各種冒險(xiǎn)故事，讓我們感到既神奇又愉快。因此我在高三那年，還是繼續(xù)選擇學(xué)中文。對(duì)于我的人生來(lái)說(shuō)，真正的轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)是在高考口語(yǔ)考試那天，一走出考場(chǎng)，我突然覺(jué)得沒(méi)有中文的生活是不可想象的，盡管我原本打算學(xué)習(xí)意大利語(yǔ)。于是，我考入普羅旺斯大學(xué)的中國(guó)語(yǔ)言、文學(xué)和文化系，先后獲得了語(yǔ)言碩士和比較文學(xué)碩士文憑。我多次來(lái)到中國(guó)，先前是學(xué)習(xí)（主要在北京），后來(lái)是工作（先后在新華社和中國(guó)國(guó)際廣播電臺(tái)從事口譯和筆譯，在云南大學(xué)教授法語(yǔ)）。沒(méi)想到，40年后，我成為一名中文教師，這看起來(lái)更像是我對(duì)學(xué)習(xí)一門語(yǔ)言和文化的投入所自然結(jié)出的果實(shí)。

It was the pre-Internet era， and there was verylimited access to information and images of Chinaother than the photos my teacher had taken and somemagazines she brought to class. Yet， with these limitedresources， she captivated us with adventure stories froma vast and entirely different country， both delighting andmesmerizing us. It was therefore no surprise that I continuedto study Chinese in my third year of high school，although the real turning point in my life came on theday of the oral examination for our college entranceexamination. The moment I left the examination room，I realized that life without Chinese was unimaginable，even though I had initially intended to study Italian.I later enrolled in the Chinese Language， Literature，and Culture program at the University of Provence，where I obtained a Master’s degree in language and aMaster’s degree in comparative literature. I have visitedChina many times， initially for study in Beijing andsubsequently for work， undertaking interpretation andtranslation tasks at Xinhua News Agency and ChinaRadio International， and teaching French at YunnanUniversity. Who could have imagined that， four decadesinto my journey with the Chinese language， I wouldbecome a teacher of Chinese？ This is indeed the resultof my dedication to learning the Chinese language andits underlying culture.

對(duì)于熱愛(ài)學(xué)習(xí)的我來(lái)說(shuō)，我從未對(duì)學(xué)中文感到厭倦，因?yàn)檫@是我一生的事業(yè)，是對(duì)一種完全不同的書(shū)寫(xiě)系統(tǒng)的迷戀，并能讓我長(zhǎng)時(shí)間保持努力。進(jìn)入中國(guó)文化的氛圍后，我逐漸改變了一些思維方式，會(huì)以不同的視角看待世界。來(lái)到中國(guó)后，我先是在首都北京生活了兩年，后來(lái)又因?yàn)楣ぷ鱽?lái)到云南省，發(fā)現(xiàn)這里不僅有如畫(huà)的自然景觀，還有更為顯著的多元文化（因?yàn)樵颇鲜∮性S多少數(shù)民族）。不同的少數(shù)民族有著完全不同的生活方式，與北京相比，這里有更加多樣的傳統(tǒng)習(xí)俗。這里很多人會(huì)坐在門口，輕松地和路人聊天，他們的服裝色彩斑斕。人們總是面帶微笑，不管做什么都很從容。晚上，我最喜歡的活動(dòng)是去市中心的小湖邊享受清涼，或者聽(tīng)古箏演奏家演繹自己喜愛(ài)的音樂(lè)，他們還能通過(guò)這樣的方式增加收入。我深切地感受到這里的獨(dú)特魅力，作為法國(guó)的南方人，我立刻喜歡上了這里。云南省全年氣候宜人，其省會(huì)昆明因四季如春而被稱為“春城”。雖然我出生在法國(guó)的馬賽，但我真正感到賓至如歸的地方，是這片“彩云之南”，它是我一生的摯愛(ài)。

I am a passionate learner， and I have never tiredof learning Chinese. I am fascinated by the writingsystem of the language， which is so different fromours， and I am motivated to pursue it as a lifelongcareer. Moreover， Chinese culture has transformedmy ways of thinking， enabling me to view the worldfrom a different perspective. I spent my first twoyears in China in Beijing， later relocating to YunnanProvince for work. What attracted me to Yunnan wasnot only its picturesque natural scenery， but also thearea’s diverse cultural environment. Compared toBeijing， Yunnan is home to more ethnic groups， eachwith rich and varied lifestyles， traditions， and customs.Many locals sit on their doorsteps， dressed in colorfulclothing and wearing warm smiles， chatting leisurelywith passersby; they are always at ease， regardless ofwhat they are doing. My favorite evening pastime isto enjoy the cool breeze by the small lake in the citycenter， or to listen to guzheng musicians perform theirfavorite melodies， which helps them to earn extraincome. I am deeply moved by the distinctive charmof Yunnan; as a native of southern France， I rapidly fellin love with this southern Chinese province. Its climateis pleasant all year round， and its capital， Kunming， isknown as the “Spring City” for its perpetual springlikewarmth. Although I was born in Marseille， France，the place where I truly feel at home is Yunnan， a land“South of the Clouds， ” which is the love of my life.