Miriam came to Zhejiang Normal University in 2018 to broaden her horizons. Before coming to Jinhua, Miriam worked at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, where she learned that China is a very developed country and a good place to live. She later decided to further her studies at Zhejiang Normal University.

2018年，为了学习更多的新文化知识，米里亚姆来到浙江师范大学求学。在来金华之前，她曾在位于美国纽约的联合国总部工作。在那里，她时常见到中国人，了解到中国很发达，是个好地方。

Miriam finds that life in Jinhua is considerably slower than New York. She also enjoys the weather which is "neither too hot nor too cold".

到金华以后，米里亚姆觉得金华跟之前想象不一样，在美国工作时，她过惯了快节奏的生活，到金华以后，生活一下子慢了下来，“而且天气不冷不热，很舒服。”

Miriam finds Jinhua locals very friendly, and feels at ease living in this city. One of the reasons why she chose Jinhua is its favorable location - close to Yiwu, Shanghai, and Hangzhou.

米里亚姆觉得金华人很友好，在金华生活很舒适。当年之所以选择来金华，还因为米里亚姆觉得金华地理位置好，离义乌、上海、杭州都很近。

As the local food is completely different from that of her hometown, Miriam had to go through a period of adaptation. "Even so, I'm happy to accept such new cultures, and I remind myself to try to overcome the challenges," Miriam said. 

金华的食物跟家乡的完全不一样，也有过一段适应期。“虽然如此，但我很愿意接受这些新文化，我会提醒自己努力去克服。”

Miriam likes to eat all kinds of noodles, as well as meat-stuffed dumplings and hot pot. She explained that noodles in Tanzania are very different and that there is a larger variety of noodles in Jinhua. 

米里亚姆喜欢吃各种各样的宽窄面条，还喜欢吃肉馅的饺子，喜欢吃火锅。她说坦桑尼亚的面跟金华的面很不一样，金华的面花样更多一些。

In Jinhua, Miriam has learned about Confucian principles, including the importance of being a good person, and has participated in many events organized by the school. During these three years, Miriam has also learned how to interact with locals and to do business.

在金华，米里亚姆学到了儒家思想，学会“先做人后做事”，她还积极参加学校举办的各种活动。3年间，米里亚姆还学会了怎么跟中国人沟通、交流，还在这里学会了做生意。

Tanzania is predominantly an agricultural country that grows mainly rice and maize. "In Tanzania, we often make corn rice, grinding corn into a powder, adding vegetables, and making it into a veggie dish." 

坦桑尼亚是以农业为主的国家，主要种植大米和玉米，以玉米为多。“我们那里时常会做玉米饭。就是将玉米磨成粉以后，加入其他蔬菜，做成菜饭。”

Miriam‘s family runs a big farm in Tanzania, and her mother raises chickens in addition to growing corn. Despite being a large farm, the mechanization level of cultivation is not high, and thus the work on the field still largely depends on manual labor. 

米里亚姆在坦桑尼亚的家里有一个很大的农场，她妈妈除了种很多的玉米，还养了很多的鸡。虽然农场大，但种植没有机械化，农忙时节，大家都是人工种植、收割。

In Jinhua, Miriam had the chance to visit Yiwu several times. "At various exhibitions, I saw tractors, which would be convenient for farming," said Miriam. She believes that if Tanzanians had access to agricultural machinery, the overall efficiency could improve greatly.

到金华后，米里亚姆多次到义乌，“在一些展会上，我看到了拖拉机，用来耕种会很方便。”米里亚姆说，要是坦桑尼亚人都能用上这些农业机械就好了，产量和效率肯定会提高很多。

Miriam is the president of the Jinhua-Yiwu Tanzanian Association of the Tanzanian Embassy in China and is a person of reference for any of her compatriots who encounter difficulties in China.

米里亚姆是坦桑尼亚联合共和国驻华大使馆金华、义乌坦桑尼亚协会的会长，大家遇到什么困难都会来找她帮忙。

At ZJNU, Miriam has classmates from Tanzania. Every time she attends an event, she is in charge of connecting people and helps build a bridge between Tanzanian students and the school.

在浙江师范大学，米里亚姆还有一些来自坦桑尼亚的同学，每次参加活动，米里亚姆都负责对接相关事宜，她也努力在坦桑尼亚学生与学校之间搭起一座桥梁。

Since moving to Jinhua, Miriam has yet to return to Tanzania. "I'm used to being here, and it probably has something to do with how independent I've been since I was a child," she said. 

Miriam added that Jinhua feels like her second home and that the friends she met in Jinhua are like family to her. "I don't feel like a stranger here; I feel right at home," she said.

到金华以后，米里亚姆一直没有回过坦桑尼亚。“我已经习惯了，这也许跟我从小就很独立有关。”她说金华就是她的第二个家，在金华遇到的朋友也像她的家人。“没感觉到陌生，一切都很温暖。”

Miriam is graduating next year and is planning to further her studies as a master's student. She has yet to consider where to study next, but Miriam knows that she will stay in Jinhua if the right opportunity presents itself. 

明年，米里亚姆就要毕业了，接下来，她还准备读研。虽然现在还没考虑好在哪里读研，但是米里亚姆笑说，如果有机会，她还是愿意待在金华，“我会永远珍爱金华。”

(Text and photo by Wu Yueyue, translated by Marco Lovisetto, edited by Kendra Fiddler)