【一带一路故事】安德鲁：中国人使我获得了声誉

编者按：卡马加拉•安德鲁（KAMAGARA ANDREW）是一位阳光帅气的乌干达青年，在中国水电卡鲁玛项目部技术部工作。他凭借舞蹈天份并通过水电八局的宣传平台，使他与伙伴们的抖音视频获得超过6000万的点击率，后来更是通过中央电视台的报道迅速被中国人和当地人所熟知。在这次中国驻乌干达大使馆举办的征文活动中，安德鲁一举获得了去中国旅游的大奖，当地报纸《未来报》刊登了这篇征文。

My relationship and work experience with the Chinese got me both a name and fame. My Chinese name is Chen Xiao. It all started at Karuma Hydropower Project, my workplace. This is one of the

Key projects in Uganda, funded by one of the world's most powerful and influential states- China. It is while working here that I encountered and engaged with the Chinese people, their way of life, culture and the richness of their language.

Getting the job

In August 2017, I was offered a job as an engineer at the Karuma Hydropower Project. With the little knowledge I gathered about the Chinese, I visualized a bumpy ride. However, having been recommended by a close acquaintance, I took courage and went for the scheduled interview.

During the interview, a one Peng, who was a member of the panel and the first Chinese I ever interacted with, somewhat confirmed my misconception about his kind from the hard-hitting glance he gave when I stole a couple of moments to peek.

Discovering the Chinese

Well, I passed the interview and got the job. Having learnt that the Chinese are hardworking, I focused on my job, I worked hard even when things were intense, mostly to get myself on the good side of my employer. A few months later, I discovered the actual conduct of the Chinese people, including Peng, who turned out to be the friendliest of them at the site.

The dance and fame

During my course of work, two Chinese walked into my life Leila Lang and her beau, Iian Fei - an endearing duo who opened a world of possibilities for me. Through them, I got to fully interact with the Chinese people and understand them. It all started out with Leila requesting me to participate in a dance in the Chinese festivities at Karuma, We prepared for weeks to ensure the dance was perfect. Later, l was assigned the 'role of choreographer for a dance known as the Dura.

It is a graceful dance. When passed as perfect, we shot a video and uploaded it to an app called Douyin, which when translated to English, is Tik-Tok. With little or no knowledge of what would happen thereafter, I was shocked to find that the video became an instant hit trending in China. Astonishingly, it attracted many views in a few days. This made me a celebrity at work.

Ah~Then CCTV a popular Chinese TV channel, came to interview me. I knew I had earned fame from the dance.

Around the same period, I was recognized as the best employee of the year 2018. Since then. I was baptized Andelu, the Chinese equivalent of my first name Andrew.

Learning Chinese

Later, we were introduced to educators Li and Feng from the Makerere University Confucius Institute to teach us the Chinese language and Tai Chi. These were superb characters with amazing

Personalities, who pushed us hard and encouraged us never to give up even when the odds were not in our favor.

It was during their sessions that we got ourselves awesome names in the Chinese dialect, mine being Chen xiao. These two later became part of our Karuma Hydropower Project Dance Group, which had started performing-at several gatherings, such as the Spring Festival, the Confucius Day and the Chinese New Year, which were celebrated in some places in Kampala.

Life friends

Attending events like this was incomparable, educative and brought merry and entertainment to all who were present.

I made several Chinese friends. It was saddening when my Chinese companions travelled back to further their studies and careers. I still reminisce about the memorable times we shared with them in dance, at work, in class, our meals together and the photographs taken. However, with an advancement in technology, I am still in touch with them.

Even so, I look forward to that time when a similar opportunity will come up for deeper insight into the Chinese culture and, most important of all for me, Chinese engineering, which has taken the world and Africa in particular by storm.

（译文）我和中国人的来往和工作经验使得我的名字被很多人知晓。我的中文名字叫陈晓。而这一切都是从我工作的卡鲁玛水电工程开始的，这个工程由世界上最强大和最有影响力的国家之一的中国资助，也是乌干达最大的项目之一。正是因为在这里工作，我遇到了很多中国人，接触到了他们的生活方式、文化和丰富的语言。

就职

在一个好朋友的支持下，我鼓起勇气去参加了卡鲁玛水电工程的面试。由于我对中国人的了解不多，我在脑海里想象了这一段旅程的坎坷。幸运的是，我在2017年8月获得了卡鲁玛水电工程工程师的职位。

在面试过程中，我们小组的面试官彭先生，也是我接触到的第一个中国人。他发现我在偷瞄他之后，友善的朝我笑了笑。那一刻，他的笑容打破了我心底里对于中国人的刻板印象。

初识

我顺利通过面试，得到了那份工作。我知道中国人都很勤奋，所以我把大部分精力都放在了工作上，即使在工作很紧张的时候我也告诉自己不能懈怠。毕竟换位思考，雇主肯定也希望我们能精神饱满的工作。几个月的时间，包括彭先生在内的中国人用他们的实际行为，让我感受到他们对我们的友好。

舞蹈和名誉

在我工作的过程中，有两个中国人走进了我的生活，李浪以及她的男朋友黄建飞。这个可爱的二人组为我打开了一个充满着无限可能的世界。通过他们，我与中国人有了充分的接触和了解。这一切都始于李浪邀请我在卡鲁玛的中国庆祝活动上表演舞蹈。

我被指派为一种名为Dura的舞蹈的编舞。这是一种十分优美的舞蹈。我们准备了好几个星期，以确保舞蹈是完美的。于是我们拍摄了一段视频，并将其上传到了抖音APP上。我完全没想到这段视频竟然在中国迅速走红，几天内就吸引了许多人的观看和点赞。这件事也让我在工作中成了名人。

后来中央电视台——一个非常受欢迎的中国电视频道采访了我。那一刻，我知道我从舞蹈中赢得了名誉。

大约在同一时期，我被评为2018年最佳员工。从那时起。我受洗的Andelu有了一个中文发音——安德鲁。

汉语

后来，项目和麦克雷雷大学孔子学院合作开设了汉语课堂，由李老师和冯老师教我们汉语以及太极。就是这些有着坚韧品质的出色的人儿，他们一直支持、鼓励着我们，哪怕在困境中的也永不言弃。

在汉语课堂上，我们选汉字给自己取了很棒的名字，我的中文名字是陈晓。这两个老师也加入了我们卡鲁玛水电项目舞蹈团。我们这个舞蹈团在庆祝春节、孔子节等活动上演绎了很多段舞蹈。

友谊

参加这种活动的体验是精彩绝伦的，因为这不仅具有教育意义，还能给在场的所有人带来笑容和欢乐。

我交了很多中国朋友。当我的中国朋友们离开乌干达，回国继续他们的学业和事业时，我感到难过的同时也替他们开心。我常常会想起我们一起跳舞、一起工作、一起学习汉语、一起吃饭以及一起拍照的那些难忘又绚丽的时光。幸好，随着科学技术的发展，哪怕距离如此之遥远，我仍能与他们保持着联系。

即便如此，我还是期待着有一个机会，能让我更深入地了解中国的文化。更重要的是，我觉得中国的工程技术已经席卷了全世界，尤其是非洲。