从彼乡到此乡的人生收获

文/夏文彬 武宣妤

雅尼担任艺术指导的杭州一幼儿园参加六一儿童节演出。Yani plays the piano on the Children’s Day at a kindergarten in Hangzhou.

眼前这位身材纤细、气质出众的年轻妈妈，来自白俄罗斯。她说着一口流利且字正腔圆的中国话，还有个很好听的中文名叫“蔡雅尼”。

雅尼有两个孩子，其母语是汉语和俄语，因为语言环境的关系，汉语对他们来说更加熟悉，大的孩子已经在杭州上小学了。当被问到对孩子的未来有什么期待时，雅尼说：“希望他们在学业之外，能找到一个属于自己的兴趣爱好，并且在任何情况下都保持耐心。这种耐心，是做人做事的一种态度，期望他们能不断地去探索和发现一件事究竟能做到何种程度。”

而当笔者和雅尼一起耐心地梳理过往的点滴回忆后，也得到了一个意外收获。我们惊喜地发现，原来“耐心”不仅是雅尼教育孩子的关键词，更是她从幼时开始练习钢琴到大学学习汉语，再到为爱奔赴选择杭州定居一路走来的最好注脚。

无论是在年少时期坚持艺术和语言学习的成长之路上，还是成年成家后来到异国他乡面对生活琐碎时，丰富多彩的人生经历和跨文化交流经验既锻造了她的性格特质—耐心，又使其始终保持着开放、包容、平和的心态，去守护她爱的和爱她的人们，去发现身边的美好，去热爱共同给予自己充盈人生的两个国度—白俄罗斯和中国。

与艺术、语言打交道，要耐心

白俄罗斯拥有丰富而独特的艺术文化遗产，白俄罗斯民族创作出了许多优秀的文学艺术作品。

雅尼的家乡—维捷布斯克州首府维捷布斯克市，是位于白俄罗斯东北部、西德维纳河河港的大型铁路枢纽城市。维捷布斯克州自然资源丰富，保有白俄罗斯全国最大的森林分布。维捷布斯克市至今仍保留着12世纪的古建筑遗迹，城市中遍布着历史博物馆和数所高等院校，是白俄罗斯的艺术首府。

雅尼出生于一个艺术世家，受母亲的熏陶和影响，她从7岁起开始学习钢琴。青春期时，她曾想放弃钢琴学习而转投其他兴趣，但母亲当初的一句话至今仍令她印象深刻—“你应该学经典的东西”。钢琴，是母亲心中最为经典的一门艺术，而经典的东西都特别需要耐心。于是，雅尼将它坚持了下来，直到现在。

2005年，她来到位于圣彼得堡的俄罗斯国立师范大学音乐学院留学。在雅尼看来，作为世界著名的艺术之都，圣彼得堡虽然城市规模庞大，但却充满浓厚的历史感，还有许多城市公园，绿地人均占有率较高，建筑与自然和谐相融。

而与汉语、与丈夫、与杭州、与中国缘分的种子，就从她走进大学校园之日起便被深深地种下了。当时学校里有许多中国留学生，同样作为外籍学生群体，他们时常有机会一起交流和学习，那也是雅尼第一次了解到汉字的奇妙，从此打开了通向中文学习殿堂的一扇窗。

大三时，为了更好地学习中文，雅尼打听了各种渠道，最终报名了圣彼得堡国立大学东方语言系孔子学院。因为各个大学、各个学院分布在城市的不同区域，那些日子里，雅尼常常奔波于去学中文和去上其他课的路上，但用她自己的话说，“坐地铁的途中，刚好有了足够的时间复习中文”。因为对中文有浓厚的兴趣与自身不懈的坚持，雅尼的汉语水平进步得很快，加之留学中国的浪潮正在兴起，让她萌发了去汉字的发源地走一走、看一看的想法。对于这个不断发展繁荣的东方大国，她充满着好奇与期待。

与爱情、婚姻打交道，要耐心

2009年，申请到奖学金的她，来到哈尔滨师范大学继续深造语言。2011年，雅尼被录取为该校广播电视艺术学研究生。

雅尼的中文水平在所有留学生中都是首屈一指的，因此被选为哈尔滨市代表，参加了2012年央视举办的“汉语桥”比赛。也正是那一契机，给了雅尼在央视语言节目“快乐汉语”中担任一年外籍主持人的难得经历，并让她邂逅了她的“真命天子”，一个文质彬彬、温文尔雅的中国男人。只不过，那时的两人都还未意识到某种缘分会牵引着彼此在未来走向同一个地点。

雅尼担任白俄罗斯专家翻译协助采访。Yani translates for a Russian expert.

雅尼带孩子们来到杭州临安山区，感受与白俄罗斯一样的雪景。Yani plays in the snow with her children in the mountainous area in Lin’an district,Hangzhou city.

硕士毕业后，雅尼曾短暂地回到了圣彼得堡。当时有很多好的工作机会都找上了她，但她始终觉得，中文是她热爱的语言，中国的发展能提供个人成长更多的可能性。下定决心后，2013年，雅尼顺利地考入了中国传媒大学，开始攻读博士学位。

马克·夏加尔作品《城市上空》。Over the Town, a painting by Marc Chagall.

就在那一年，杭州的一个文化交流项目需要联系白俄罗斯国家大剧院的声乐家来演出，刚好辗转找到了雅尼。于是，她第一次踏上了杭州这片土地，命运的安排仿佛一下子把她和当时还未成为丈夫的他“绑”在了一起。

后来，因为一些项目合作的机缘，雅尼又多次来到杭州，而通过两人一次次的相处，在往返于北京与杭州的双向奔赴中，他们彼此逐渐确定了心意，坚信对方就是自己要找的那个默契之人。

雅尼与丈夫于2015年结婚，并最终选择在杭州定居。2016年，大宝顺利降生；2017年，她完成了所有课程的学习，并获得了博士学位；2019年，雅尼又生下了第二胎。其间，雅尼担任过高校的俄语特聘教授、参与过许多与俄语文化有关的合作交流项目、在幼儿园当过古典音乐课的艺术指导。如今在杭州已经扎根7年了，雅尼正享受着作为妻子、作为妈妈的那份平淡而真实的幸福。

“缘分，真是妙不可言啊。”听到笔者这样的感叹，雅尼笑了。从这样温暖的笑容中似乎能看见，无论爱情还是婚姻，都需要一些耐心，如果能一直相信有美好的结局，即使相隔万里，即使跨越不同国度，也能等到属于自己的缘分。

与生活打交道，同样需要耐心

从圣彼得堡到哈尔滨再到北京最后来到杭州，雅尼的生活足迹一路自北向南。谈到为何会选择杭州时，雅尼坦言，面对全新的环境，也曾犹豫过，甚至和丈夫商量过要不要一起去北京发展。但是，有一个画面让她至今记忆犹新，现在回想起来，好像就是因为那个细节，让她毅然放弃在另一个城市建立起的基础，勇敢地从零开始。

“还记得，当时我先生来机场接我，从高架下来后他便特地选了从北山街开去灵隐。那是个夏天，道路两旁高耸的法国梧桐树郁郁葱葱，在眼前不断掠过，而西湖的美景又近在眼前，我就在想，怎么会有一个城市这么富有诗意。”雅尼回忆说。对于去过很多城市的她来说，那些千篇一律的城市并不缺“现代化”元素，越来越多的钢筋水泥混凝土却让它们逐渐失去自身的独特性，而杭州却不同。在雅尼眼中，杭州真正做到了城市与山水的融合，带给她从未有过的关于江南文化的美妙又灵动的体验。

这种体验，不单来自对异文化的喜爱，更来自对故乡、对青春的思念与怀念。雅尼说，越是生活久了，越是发现，无论从绿意盎然的自然环境、城市与自然的结合、历史文化与现代文明的融合，还是从精致的艺术创作、精细的生活服务来看，维捷布斯克、圣彼得堡以及杭州都有许多相似处和共通性，这些常常让她倍感亲切，并产生强烈的归属感。现在，她还会时不时趁着接大儿子放学的空隙，带着小儿子在西湖边逛一圈，走在北山街上，欣赏着西湖波光粼粼的湖面，感受着山水带来的深邃与平和，体会着时光的流转与四季的变化，仿佛一切烦心事都随风散去了。

能发现生活中美好的人，通常都很有耐心。

到了周末或节日假期，雅尼喜欢带着孩子们去杭州大剧院、运河大剧院欣赏芭蕾舞表演和交响乐演出，偶尔也会在茶馆一泡就是一整天，有时还会和来自俄语圈的朋友们一起聚会。说起美食，除了推荐白俄罗斯特色家常菜—红菜汤、土豆饺子和薄饼之外，雅尼还特别提到，因为是内陆国家，以前在家乡很少能吃到新鲜的海鲜，对吃海鲜也没什么兴趣，但自从嫁给了丈夫来到了杭州，由于丈夫是温州人，酷爱海鲜，雅尼的饮食习惯也随之发生了改变。东临东海的浙江，海产品资源丰富，种类繁多，舟山、宁波、台州、温州等各个地方都有不一样的特色海产品和烹饪方法，今天的她似乎已经不能想象，家里的餐桌上如果没有海鲜将会变得多么无趣。一道蒸海鲜既是她的拿手菜，也是全家的最爱，更是生活中必不可少的乐趣。

雅尼的故乡维捷布斯克是世界著名画家、先锋派代表人物马克 · 夏加尔(Marc chagall,1887—1985年)的家乡。虽然他年轻时便离开了家乡，移居到了法国巴黎，但夏加尔一生的创作都离不开维捷布斯克的风景以及在那里遇到的挚爱—贝拉（Bella）。比起夏加尔，雅尼要幸运得多，因为在她内心的风景画中，不仅有年少记忆中的维捷布斯克，也有青春纪念册中的圣彼得堡，更有如今作为理想安栖之所的杭州。从一个故乡到另一个故乡，她收获了许多宝贵的人生财富，比如独一份的跨国回忆、携手同行的伴侣、延续希望的下一代，等等。当然，其中也包括“耐心”—耐心地做好自己，从容地去适应一切变化，不断扩展自身的深度、广度和宽度，并从中发现乐趣。

Home Away from Home

By Xia Wenbin Wu Xuanyu

雅尼全家参加杭州国际家庭活动。Yani’s family takes part in an international event in Hangzhou.

The slender, attractive young mother standing right here is from Belarus. She speaks fluent Chinese and even has a beautiful Chinese name, Cai Yani.

Yani, or Tatsiana Kamarova has two kids whose mother tongues are Chinese and Russian. Because of the environment they grow up in, Chinese is more familiar to them. The elder one is already in primary school in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang province. When asked what she expects from her children in the future, Yani said: “I hope they will find a hobby outside of their studies and be patient no matter what. This kind of patience is an attitude of doing things, and I hope they can constantly explore and discover how deep and detailed something can be.”

It turns out that “patience” is not only the key word in Yani’s educating her kids, but also the best footnote in her journey from her childhood practicing piano to learning Chinese in college, and finally to her decision to settle down in Hangzhou for love.

The perseverance she showed on the path of learning art and language in her youth, the colorful life and the cross-cultural experience she has enjoyed after coming to a foreign country and establishing a family have not only forged her character —patience, but also made her always keep an open, inclusive and peaceful mind, to protect the people she loves and find the beauty around her. More importantly, they have also shaped her love for the two countries that together give her a full life — Belarus and China.

Belarus has a rich and unique art and culture heritage, and the Belarusian nation has created many excellent literary and artistic works.

Yani's hometown, Vitebsk city, the capital of Vitebsk Oblast(Region), is a large railway hub located in the northeastern part of Belarus along the Western Dvina River. Vitebsk Oblast is rich in natural resources and contains the country’s largest forests distribution. Architecture remains dating to the 12th-century can still be found in the city, which is dotted with history museums and universities. It is regarded as the “art capital” of Belarus.

Born into a family of art, Yani began to learn to play the piano at the age of seven, influenced by her mother. When she hit puberty, she considered giving up piano for other interests, but her mother’s words, which she still remembers today, dissuaded her:“You should study some classics.” And piano is believed by her mother to be the most classic form of art, which demands lots of patience. So Yani carried on, and still plays it now.

In 2005, she went to study at the Institute of Music, Theatre,and Choreography at the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia in St. Petersburg. To Yani, St. Petersburg is a worldrenowned art city, with a strong sense of history. There are many urban parks in the city, boasting a high per capita share of green space, where architecture and nature exist in harmony.

The seeds of her love for the Chinese language, for her husband, and for Hangzhou and China were planted from the day she entered the university. There were many Chinese students on campus at that time, and as a group of foreign students, they often went out and learned together. It was then that Yani had known the magic of Chinese characters.

In her junior year, to better learn Chinese, Yani enrolled in the Confucius Institute at the Institute of Oriental Studies of St.Petersburg State University. As her college and the institute sit in different parts of the city, Yani had to shuttle between studying Chinese and attending classes in those days, but, as she puts it,“there's just enough time on the subway to review my Chinese”.Yani's Chinese proficiency improved rapidly, and since many foreign students began to pursue their studies in China, she also developed the idea of visiting the birthplace of Chinese characters and having a look.

In 2009, she was admitted to Harbin Normal University to further her language studies and two years later she became a graduate student of the Broadcast & TV Arts program at the university.

Thanks to her top-notch Chinese language skills among foreign students, Yani was chosen to represent the city of Harbin and participate in the Chinese Bridge competition, a contest for foreign students to demonstrate their mastery of Chinese language and culture. It was because of the experience that Yani worked as a foreign anchor for CCTV, China’s national broadcaster, and met her future husband.

Yani returned to St. Petersburg and stayed there briefly.Although she had many good job offers, to Yani, Chinese is the language she loves and she believed China would be provide more possibilities for her personal growth. After careful consideration and preparation, in 2013, she successfully enrolled in the Communication University of China as a PhD student.

In that year, a cultural exchange project in Hangzhou needed to contact a vocalist from the Belarusian National Center for the Performing Arts, and Yani happened to be the link. So she set foot on the land of Hangzhou for the first time, and fate would have it that she and her future husband would be “tied” together from now on.

They got married in 2015 and eventually settled in Hangzhou.In 2016, their first child was born. In 2017, she received her doctoral degree. In 2019, Yani gave birth to the second child.During the period, Yani served as an adjunct professor of the Russian language in universities, participated in many cooperation and exchange programs related to Russian culture, and worked as the art director of classical music class in kindergarten. Now seven years into her stay in Hangzhou, she is enjoying being a wife and a mother.

In fact, Yani admitted that she had hesitated in the face of the new environment and even discussed with her husband whether to go to Beijing together. But one episode has made her determined to stay in Hangzhou. “I still remember that one time when my husband came to pick me up at the airport. He specially chose to drive to the Lingyin Temple via the Beishan Street. It was a summer day, and with the tall plane trees on both sides of the road passing by and the beautiful view of the West Lake in front of me,I wondered how a city could be so poetic,” Yani recalled.

The longer she stays in Hangzhou, the more she found that it has many similarities with Vitebsk and St. Petersburg,with the lush green environment, the combination of urban landscape with nature, the integration of history and culture with modern civilization, as well as the exquisite artistic creation and sophisticated life services. On weekends and holidays, Yani likes to take her children to ballet and symphony performances at the Hangzhou Grand Theater and Canal Grand Theater. Occasionally,she spends the whole day at a teahouse, hanging out with friends from the Russian-speaking community. Now, living in a coastal area, she has even fallen for seafood.

From Vitebsk to St. Petersburg, from St. Petersburg to Hangzhou, Yani lives in one hometown after another. She is also patiently staying true to herself and adapting to all changes with ease, finding joy in the process.