Location: Grimethorpe 

It is a big village near Sheffield, whose name is a mixture of Anglo-Saxon and Viking, meaning a hamlet owned by a Viking named Grimey. And The village was rooted in coal mining industry in 20th Century. The reason why I put it in the first episode of my column Go to 365 cities for dating with 365 people is the place is where I started my adventure in the UK and connected the important people in my life.

坐标：Grimethorpe 

这是谢菲尔德附近一个大镇，据说名字是盎格鲁撒克逊和维京语的混合体，意思是一个叫Grimey维京人拥有的村庄，还真是霸道。这座镇在20世纪大部分时期经济都是靠煤矿业支撑起来的。一个没有太多鲜明特色的镇，我却把它放在我的《去365座城遇见365个人》文集的第一篇，原因是因为我在英国的冒险之旅就是从这座不起眼的镇开始的，而在这座镇上，我遇见了生命中重要的两个人。

Many of you may wonder why I begin to write my story in both English and Chinese, what a poser! Definitely not, actually it is quite a big challenge and risk to do so. If I cannot do it well or I am unable to stick to it, I may be laughed at by the audience. Whatever, I take the challenge and use this way to show my gratitude for my beloved family (Andy and Eliza) in the UK. Yes, my first English version story is our story.

很多人好奇，干嘛我费这么多力气开始用中英双语写我的文集故事，是矫情吗？当然不是，之所以突然决定如此，是因为我的这两位非华人朋友居然有一天告诉我，他们会用谷歌翻译追看我写的东西，虽然不那么准确，但是能大概了解我写的，而且感觉我言之有物，期望有一天能看我的英文版文章，虽然只是聊天中偶然提及，却被我记在了心里，不得不承认，这是一个很大挑战，因为一旦没做好，可能会被话笑柄。 但我从今天开始，接受了战书，也以此第一篇中英文集来表达我对我挚爱的英国亲人（Andy和Eliza夫妇）的感恩。是的，我的第一篇英文故事讲的就是我们的故事。

Three years ago, it is exactly the same season when I visited you as a guest from Couchsurfing. That was my first adventure in my life. Incredibly, since that time, we have become a family. In the past three years, we enjoyed our time together, and very often missed each other. I would say it is quite lucky to be missed by others.

三年前，恰是同样的季节，我第一次以沙发客的身份进入你们的生活中，那也是我生命中第一次冒险。难以相信，从那时候起，我们就结下不浅的缘分，如今，我们早已是一家人。过去的三年中，我们享受每一刻在一起的时光，也时常互相思念。不得不说，被人思念是一件非常幸运的事情。

I like the quote from the film Forrest Gump: Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. Who knows I could find my bosom friends with a lot in common in a strange country! And we come together from such a long distance (it may be 4868 miles from China to Poland), we speak different languages and have different colours of skin and hair, and we are from totally different cultural background and different generations. However, all the differences never block our friendship and our kinship.

我非常喜欢《阿甘正传》里的那句台词：“生活就像一盒巧克力，你永远不知道下一刻你会得到什么。” 是啊，谁知道我可以在异国他乡遇知音！我们是那么的不同，讲着不一样的语言，拥有不一样的肤色和发色，来自全然不同的文化背景和代际，曾生活在不同国度，中国离波兰4868英里，然而这一切的不同丝毫没法阻挡我们跨越千山万水来到英国遇见，这是冥冥中注定的缘分，不是吗？

Like friends, we tried different styles of films,  documentary, drama, action, romance, comedy...with some beautiful wine and snacks, or walked in the woods nearby just for chilling out; like a family, we worked together to cook our super good dinner, or took care of each other  when someone is in a bad situation; like classmates, we discussed diverse topics  recklessly, such as history, geography, news, culture, art, etc, and we learned from each other, and even argued with red face and ears. 

我们像朋友，一起边喝着红酒就着小零食边尝试不同风格的电影，纪录片，戏剧，动作片，浪漫片，喜剧。。。。。。一起暴走小树林就只为了开心；我们像家人，一起分工动手煮一顿可口的晚餐，在对方遇到困难的时候互相照顾；我们像同学，一起肆无忌惮探讨各种话题，历史，地理，新闻，文化，宗教，艺术等等，我们互相学习，又甚至为了一个观点争得面红耳赤。

Sometimes, you are like my parents, and very open-minded ones. You shared your life philosophies with me, showed me how to build loving relationships in the couple, explained a better way to deal with the kitchen staff, taught me how to get along well with pets and friends by observation, analysed my situation and guided me patiently when I was at sea, and inspired me to keep trying new things. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't learn gardening, making pancakes, shooting, and identifying different plants in the woods; if it weren't for you, I wouldn't experience the real people and real daily life in the western family; if it weren't for you, I wouldn't survive so well in a strange country with full of warm and love from the family. And all of these are the rich nutrition to make me grow so fast here!

有时候，你们就像我的父母，非常开明的父母。你们会与我分享自己的人生活法，告诉我如何经营好婚姻生活关系，跟我解释厨房用具生活常识，教我如何学会用观察法去跟宠物和朋友相处，当我迷茫时候，你们会耐心的帮我分析，引导我，也总是鼓励我去尝试新事物，保持一颗好奇心。如果不是你们，我也不会学园艺，烤馅饼，射击，不会知道森林里居然有那么多不起眼但有趣的植物；如果不是你们，我也没有机会这么近距离去体验西方家庭里喜怒哀乐；如果不是你们，在异国他乡，我的生活不会如此被爱，关注和家的温暖包围。而这一切，都是我成长如此之快的养分。

If you remember, the season we met the first time is when Heather was in blossom. Heather, a kind of purple flowers growing in the field in the UK, especially in the summer, they spread all over the mountains. Actually, the language of Heather means lonely. Fortunately, I have never been feeling lonely any more since I met you, who would like to open your heart and build the companionship with a girl from the other side of the world and who would like to join my adventures in the life.

你们是否还记得，我们相遇的季节是Heather开得正旺的季节。Heather，是生长在英国田野里的紫色小花，尤其是在夏季，漫山遍野都是这些花儿的身影。事实上，Heather的花语是孤独。幸运的是，自打遇见你们，我在这里的生活从不觉得孤单，也是你们，愿意敞开心扉，陪伴来自世界另一边的一个女孩度过人生这段美好旅程，也愿意加入到我的人生冒险之旅。

After three years, eventually I no longer say "foreigners" and “Chinese", and no longer distinguish people I meet by nationalities and races. And I increasingly realise that all people are the same at the level of human beings, and the differences come from the individuals instead of nationalities or races. Maybe this kind of thoughts is the best state of mind after experiencing the life in a place far away from home.

时隔三年，我终于不再说“外国人”和“中国人”，也不再以国籍和人种来区分我遇见的人。而且我越来越意识到在“人类”的层面，所有人都是一样的。人与人之间的差别，不在国家和民族，而在于个体。或许，这种观念是一个生活在别处的人最好的心境。