家外之家徵文故事2｜MELODY:THE FABULOUS “SWEET” DESTINY

作者：Melody Pace

翻譯：Ouattara Nanfro （fr_en）、何羽婷（fr_zh）

Melody with her husband | credit： Melody

I have always been fascinated by China， the country of the panda， since I was a little girl！ A fascinating and intriguing country at the same time。 Flashback to when I was getting ready to join a new school， I heard about a high school where Chinese was taught， something rather rare for the year 2003 in France。 For me it was obvious， for my family and friends not so… “Chinese？ Is that a joke？” or “But it’s impossible to learn this language” were their main reactions。

從很小的時候起，我一直為中國所著迷，那可是大熊貓的國度！ 這是一個既迷人又讓人好奇的國家。回顧當初入學準備的階段，我聽說有一家高中有教授中文，這對於2003年的法國來說還是一件稀罕事。對我而言，我的選擇顯而易見，然而對於我的家人和朋友來說有點勉強…… 大部分人的反應：“中文？你在開玩笑吧？”或者，更有甚者：“中文不可能拿來當語言學習”。

Strangely enough， these kinds of remarks had the opposite effect on me and I was more than motivated to start this adventure。 Very quickly I made great progress and I went for the first time to China at the age of 16。 This trip only confirmed my love for this country。

說來奇怪，這類言論對我具有反作用，我更加積極地投入到這項冒險之中。很快，我取得了很大的進步，在十六歲的時候我首次出發踏足中國，這趟旅程堅定了我對這片土地的熱愛。

All along my journey I jumped on every opportunity that came my way to understand this culture better， to learn even more， and to have the chance to go to China for the longest time。

在旅程當中，我抓住眼前的一切機會，以便更加了解中國文化，更加深入學習，並且儘可能抓住機會，以便有更多時間前往中國訪問。

So at the age of 19 I decided to go and teach French in Nanjing for 2 years… 。I can still see the skepticism in my family’s eyes but they finally accepted my choice。

於是，在十九歲的那一年，我決定前往南京教授法語兩年……我依然從我家人眼裡讀懂了他們的不理解，但是他們最終還是接受了我的選擇。

A year at Suzhou University also allowed me to discover this beautiful city and its friendly people。

然後在蘇州大學的一年裡，我得以發現這座優美的城市以及它的熱情的居民。

Back in France， I continued my studies， finished my master’s degree in Chinese and I only thought of one thing， to return to China。 My family and friends were no longer surprised。

回到法國，我繼續我的學業，獲授中文碩士，我只想做一件事，就是再出發到中國。我的家人和朋友現在已不再訝異了。

2013， contract signed with a French company， here I was as a Brand Ambassador based in China， Shanghai。 This is how I started my new life。 Gourmet that I am， what a chance I have to represent the Gastronomy department of my company。 （Chance or danger to keep fit … ！）

2013年，我和一家法國企業簽署了合同，然後我成為了他們中國上海公司的品牌的形象大使。我就這樣開始了新的生活。作為一個愛好美食者，代表公司美食部門向大家介紹美食，於我而言是個絕佳機會。（對於體重來說既是機遇又是風險…… ！ ）

So I started to make my first business trips all over China， I organized events by inviting French chefs， and I understood little by little the market。 This job is perfect for me， thanks to my passion for China and gastronomy。 This allows me to understand this country even better and to discover new regions。 Each region has its own customs， its own specialties， I love the feeling of always learning more about this country。

我開始在中國全境開展首輪商業旅行，我邀請法國大廚和組織各類活動，逐漸理解了市場。這個工作很適合我，對中國和美食的熱愛在我心中交織著。這使我更加理解這個國家，並發現探索新的地域。每個地域都有自己的風俗和特色，我喜歡不斷了解這個國家的感覺。

Changsha， October 2015， we invited a French chef to do a training for our customers。 There were a lot of people at this event but among this crowd I could only see him！ I met this talented chef who quickly became my client and eventually my husband。 It turned out that he loves France very much， what he loves most of all is French pastry。 Since he was a little boy， he helped his parents in their pastry shop and quickly made it his passion。 He shared with me his ambitions， his dreams “One day I will open my own pastry shop that will have your name on it！”

2015年10月，長沙。我們邀請了一名法國大廚來為我們的客戶提供培訓。活動當中，人頭攢動，但我在人群中只看到了他！ 我遇見了一位有才華的大廚，他迅即成為我的客戶，併成為我的丈夫。他十分喜愛法國，最喜歡法式甜點。從很小的時候，他就在自家的法式甜品店幫忙，做甜品很快地成為了他的愛好。他同我分享他的雄心和夢想：“總有一天，我會以你之名，開一家甜品店！”

My Chinese wedding | credit： Melody

On October 2017， we got married。 we had a very happy wedding， my family and friends were able to come。 I was very touched… When I announced to my family that my fiancé was Chinese， it came as no surprise！ My mother added： “the opposite would have surprised me”。

2017年10月，我們結婚了。這是一場非常幸福的婚禮，我的家人、朋友都到場為我慶賀。我很感動……當我向我的家人宣佈我的未婚夫是中國人的時候，他們沒有一絲驚訝！我的母親對我說：“如果你不是嫁給中國人，我才驚訝呢。”

For our wedding my husband， Luo had prepared everything with such precision。 He absolutely wanted to make our wedding cake and buffet himself。 I think it was the most exhausting day for both of us because a Chinese wedding is a lot of preparation and customs。 Get up at 5am for makeup， change dresses 3 times。 There is a whole tradition where I must first be “stolen” from my family and brought back to his parents， eating hard-boiled tea eggs in the morning paired with good rice alcohol （at least it wokes us up！）。 The wedding itself was like a show with a presenter， very different from weddings in my country。 But in the end it was still very touching， the decoration Luo chose looked so much like me…Plum tree flowers， which reminds me of my Chinese name Meiluo。 （Meiluo， “mei” means “plum”）。

我的丈夫，羅，精心準備了婚禮的一切。他自己製作婚禮蛋糕和婚禮自助餐。於我們而言，這是最讓人精疲力竭的一天，因為中式婚禮有很繁瑣的準備工作和習俗。早上五點起床上妝，換了三次禮服。傳統儀式感滿滿，他們需要首先從我的家人那裡把我“接”過來，然後帶到他的父母面前，早上就著米酒吃茶葉蛋（這至少讓人清醒！）。中式婚禮像一場演出，還有主持人，和法國明顯不同。最後，也是最讓我感動的是，羅所選擇的梅花作為裝飾……這讓我想起了我的中文名字：梅洛。

Mama Luo gave me a big pajama | credit： Melody

I love my in-laws from Hunan。 I have a great complicity with my mother-in-law， she keeps telling me that I am her daughter and that she wants me to feel at home。

我極其喜愛我的湖南婆家。我與婆婆十分默契，她不斷告訴我，我是她的女兒，讓我像在家裡一樣。

For 5 years we have been living in Xiamen。 Whenever we have a vacation， we go back to our family’s home in the countryside of Anhua， a small village in Hunan。 What I love most of all is to accompany my mother-in-law in her fields and grow vegetables with her。 It teaches me a lot， I love this beautiful nature， this fresh air， this simplicity。 The vegetables are excellent！

我們在廈門生活五年了。只要我們一有假期，就會回到湖南婆家度假，婆家在湖南省的一個小村莊（安華村）。我最喜歡做的事情就是陪我婆婆到田裡，和她一起種菜。她教會我很多，我喜愛這裡美麗的自然、清新的空氣和單純的生活。這裡的蔬菜是“永遠的神”！

This year my Chinese mother even taught me how to make our own tofu！ We harvest bamboo shoots and lit fire together with the grandmother。

今年，我的中國母親教會我自己做豆腐！我們一起出去採集竹筍，然後和祖母一起生火做飯。

Mama Luo gave me a big set of pajamas， not to sleep in， but to wear over my clothes during the day and we would go out in the fields to get harvest vegetables！ It is very common， especially in this region of Hunan， to find people dressed in pyjamas in the street。 A French woman in pyjamas in the Hunan countryside？ A little less common haha！ But after all I am a real “HUNAN XIFU” = “Hunan woman”。

羅媽媽給了我一件大睡衣，不是睡覺用的，是套在白天穿著的衣服上的，我們就這樣出去田裡摘菜！這很常見，尤其是在湖南的小山村，你常常可以在街頭髮現穿著睡衣的居民。但是在湖南田野裡發現一個穿著睡衣的法國女人！這可稀罕了哈哈！無論如何我是一名真正的“湖南媳婦”=“湖南夫人”。

Maybe it’ll become the “dernier cri” in Paris， who knows？

說不準這將成為巴黎最新時尚，誰知道？

April 8， 2022， the construction of my husband Luo’s store is finished！ I am so proud of him， his dream is coming true， today he finally has his own bakery-pastry shop！ The name of the store？ Melody Luo Bakery Welcome all food lovers！

2022年4月8日，我的丈夫羅店鋪的裝修完工了！ 我為他感到驕傲，他的夢想成真了！如今，他終於擁有了屬於自己的烘焙店！店鋪的名字：羅梅洛烘焙店，歡迎所有的吃貨前來品嚐。

I come from a small village called Chailly-en-Bière， in the suburbs of Paris。 My village is surrounded by the forest， many people like to practice climbing。 You can also find a lot of horses， small farms…… I grew up around nature and animals。

我來自一個名叫沙伊昂比耶爾的小村莊，在巴黎的郊區。我成長的小村莊為森林所環繞，很多朋友在那裡嘗試攀巖。人們還可以在那裡看見很多馬匹和小農莊。我是在自然和動物的環抱中長大的。