Hangzhou, March 3 (ZHANG Yuhuan) "This is a very magical fate. My fascination with the Chinese language began when I was in college, and learning piano helped me get in touch with Chinese culture more quickly, because people who study art share a common language. Now I hope to continue to be a 'messenger' of cultural exchange, so that more Belarusians can understand China and fall in love with China." ”

From an international student in China to a "Chinese daughter-in-law", more than ten years of living in China have made Yanni from Belarus speak in a Chinese with a straight voice. Yanni, who now lives in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, has two cute mixed-race babies, and she recalled to reporters the journey "from falling in love with Chinese to falling in love with China".

Born into a family of artists, Yanni was exposed to Chinese culture from an early age and developed a keen interest in it.

"I remember when I was in elementary school, my father used to bring back small goods made in China such as scissors on a business trip, and I felt that the quality was very good. Later, I began to study piano, and I learned that there are many parts of the works of pianist Debussy that are related to Chinese culture, and it also opened a window to understand Chinese culture. Yanni said.

With a yearning for art, in 2005, Yanni went to study at the Conservatory of the Russian State Pedagogical University in St. Petersburg. At that time, there were many Chinese students in the school, and they studied together, attended classes, and cooked Chinese food together, and they became Yanni's "second window" to understand China.

"In 2007, my classmates invited me to come to China to play, and this was the first time I set foot on Chinese soil. When I went to Beijing and Shanghai, my first impression was 'it's so modern,' I used to live in cities that were hundreds of years old, but I didn't expect that in China, the old and the modern could blend so perfectly. Yanni said.

A seed of learning Chinese germinated in her heart. In his junior year, Yanni, fascinated by Chinese culture, began studying at the Confucius Institute at St. Petersburg State University's Department of Oriental Languages.

"At that time, I studied Chinese whenever I had free time, and I wrote Chinese characters whenever I had time, like I had just enough time to review my homework on the way to the subway." Yanni recalls, "When I was studying Chinese, I felt like I was studying ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, which was very magical. ”

Yanni graduated from the Confucius Institute. Photo courtesy of the interviewee

In 2009, Yanni, who applied for a scholarship, set foot on Chinese soil again, came to Harbin Normal University to continue her language studies, participated in various Chinese competitions during her studies, and also worked as a foreign host and translator.

"There is an interesting phenomenon in the Chinese language competition, international students from different countries have different English levels, so people often use Chinese to communicate. At that time, everyone had a common goal, which was to stay in China and develop. Yanni said.

Yanni, who strives for excellence, always feels that his Chinese pronunciation is not standard enough. So she found a Chinese friend who studied broadcasting and corrected her tone word by word. Considering the future development in China, Yanni was also determined to further his studies and applied for a doctorate from Communication University of China.

"The so-called 'endless learning', I think this sentence is most appropriate." Yanni said, "At that time, the Chinese Embassy in Belarus also invited me to work, but I felt that my Chinese level still had a lot of room for improvement." So I decided to study for a PhD in China, learn calligraphy, Chinese painting, and learn more about Chinese culture. ”

Immersed in Chinese art and culture, Yanni also met her current husband. After getting married, she chose to settle with her husband in Hangzhou to continue her "cultural journey" in a "poetic" city.

In an interview by the West Lake, Yanni couldn't help but show his love for this landscape. "You see, the green trees by the West Lake, walking along the Tiger Run Road, you can see tea gardens one after another, which is really beautiful." Yanni said that unlike the Chinese cities she has visited before, Hangzhou's cultural heritage and convenience make her feel more cordial and she has made many good friends here.

"And life in Hangzhou is very convenient and comfortable, wherever you go, you can take the subway and buy things as long as you bring a mobile phone." It is also becoming more and more international, and there are many 'foreign mothers' like me, and we often communicate together. Yanni said.

Today, Yanni is still fascinated and loves Chinese culture. She would take her children to the theater to enjoy symphony performances and opera performances with a unique Jiangnan charm, and would also "soak" in the guqin sound of the teahouse all day.

"In the future, I hope to bring more performances with Chinese cultural characteristics to Belarus, such as Peking Opera and Yue Opera, so that people in my hometown can also learn about a different China through the window of culture." Yanni said. (End)