两个星期以前我去北京工作，帮我以前的同时组织美国《商业周刊》第九届CEO年会。 这次会议开得非常顺利，有700多位生意人来参加， 还有200多位记者来采访报道。 通过这次经理让我明白两个很有意思的方面， 一是在学校里学习普通话和在世纪中的差别，二是看看我和以前同事的关系变成什么样子。
A couple of weeks ago I spent some time working in Beijing, helping my former colleagues to organise BusinessWeek's 9th Annual CEO Forum. The forum went very well, with over 700 business executives participating, as well as over 200 media present. From this experience I discovered two interesting things: the first is the difference between studying Chinese in the school and using it in a work situation, and the second was seeing how the relationship with my former colleagues has changed.
首先，我发现在工作情况下使用普通话有些不同。 一来，写记者（我在北京负责处理媒体的事情）没有老师们的耐心，所以我的压力比较大。二来，有些中国人普通话说得不太标准， 所以有时候想明白他们的意思不太容易。总的来说， 我觉得学习中文在学校里是有限的，为了有更大地进步我将来得再实际情况下学习。现在我明白明年从新开始工作时， 也是很好的学习机会，这让我更加激动。
Firstly, I discovered that there are a few differences between studying Chinese and using it in a work situation. Firstly, the journalists (in Beijing I was working on the media aspect of the conference) are no where near as patient as my teachers, so the pressure is obviously a lot higher. The second is that not everybody in China speaks standard Mandarin Chinese, so at times it was hard to understand what people were saying. To sum it up, I think that in order to continue improving quickly I need to get off campus and start using Chinese in a work situation. That's okay though, now I can look at work as a another great study opportunity, I'm even more enthusiastic about starting it again.
其次，我认为和以前同事的关系变成更深，更真了。从两个星期以前的体会来看，这些例子是最有意思的。 有一天在北京， 以为以前的同时说：“高飞， 请你继续用普通话交流，因为我觉得你说汉语的时候好像更有礼貌！”因为我来中国的目的包括了解中国文化和人们的习惯（不仅仅是学习中文）， 所以他说这句话时让我十分感动。
The second thing was seeing the relationships with former colleagues change for the better. Based on what happened in Beijing, I would cite these examples as the most intereting. One day, a fomer colleague said: "Paul, can you please keep speaking Mandarin? You seem more polite when you do!" Because my goal for coming to China including getting to know polite Chinese society and the habits of the people here, I was quite moved by what he said.
还有，虽然我以前的同时都是香港人，但他们都会说比较流利的普通话。这样，他们也有可能利用这次在北京工作的机会来莲子说国语。说不定这是为什么我和另外一位以前的同事用一个半小时进行普通话交流，我们讨论工作，旅行等等。气是无论是什么原因，这是我们最长的对话（包括我住在香港的时间），而且是很有意思的。
Secondly, although my former colleagues are all from Hong Kong (and thus their mother language is Cantonese), they all speak reasonably fluent Mandarin. Because of this, they may also have looked at this time working in Beijing as a chance to brush up on their Mandarin. Perhaps this was why I spent about an hour and a half one day happily chatting away to another former coleague in Mandarin, talking about work, holidays etc. Actually, whatever the reason, this was the longest converstion we had ever had (including my time working in Hong Kong), and it was a great chance to get to know each other a little better.
最后，虽然香港人的生活受到西方很大的影响，他们还是汉族人，都遵守传统的习惯和规矩。 在我以前的同时中， 我一直认为一位以前同事叫Terence是最传统的。这次在北京（在会议结束之后）我们所有的DNMstrategies公司员工和我们从北京来的灯光音响师（三位男人）一起吃饭。 这个晚会是为了联系DNMstrategies公司和那些男人的关系。 在我们吃饭的时候，我坐在Terence的旁边，边听边看他和我们灯光音响师的互相恭维。 因为我终于听得懂他们的对话和明白他们的行为， 这个体会时特别有意思的。
Finally, although the lives of Hong Kong people receive a fairly large western influence, they are still fundamentally Chinese people, and therefore still follow traditional Chinese habits and customs. In the time I worked in Hong Kong, I was always of the opinion that a former colleague by the name of Terence was the most traditional. This time in Beijing (after the conclusion of the conference), the staff from DNMstrategies went out for dinner together with our lighting and effects crew (3 men, all local professionals sourced in Beijing). The purpose of the dinner was to deepen the relationship between DNMstrategies and these professionals. During dinner, I was lucky enough to be sitting next to Terence, so I could quite easily listen to and watch his interaction with the three men. Now that I can finally understand everything that is being said, as well as the importance of all the mannerisms, gestures and mutual praise, this experience was especially interesting.
在刚来中国的时候我没想到学习别国的文化和语言有这么多好处。 无论在未来我干什么，这次在北京的体会让我觉得今年的努力学习是非常值得的。
At the time I arrived in China, I really had no idea that studying a foreign language would have so many benefits. I'm pretty sure that no matter what happens next, this experience in Beijing has made this year of study very much worth it!
