I am Wang Tianhao, a student from Class 1601 majoring in Bilingual languages (English-Korean) at JISU. The winter holiday of 2019 is the most unforgettable memory in my college life. I attended the performance at the 2019 CCTV Spring Festival Gala (Changchun Sub-venue) with my 111 schoolmates sending New Year wishes to over 1 billion Chinese people. What’s even more remarkable is that I got a chance to do the ten-day simultaneous interpretation project in Egypt in an effort to strengthen cultural exchanges between China and Egypt.

On February 13th, 2019, at the invitation of the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Egypt, I escorted the painter Qin Bailan to Egypt for a ten-day diplomatic visit. This is the second time for me as an escort interpreter to attend activities of embassies. In June of 2017, I had the privilege of participating in the Cultural Exchange Activity and Painting Exhibition of Qin Bailan’s Portrait of a Lady held by the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Korea.

For these two activities, I did the same job of escorting and simultaneous interpretation, but in two different countries. This time, I travelled to a nation which once shone brightly in the desert area. As a student majoring in Bilingual languages (English-Korean), I know nothing about Arabic. But opportunity seldom knocks twice, so I started this journey with the thought of serving to build a bridge of friendship between two peoples in China and Egypt.

We took a flight from Beijing to Cairo which took us many hours. A feeling of fear followed when I landed at such a strange place. Language is the greatest barrier. Although English is a universally used language, I was still overwhelmed by unknowns, particularly in a country which once underwent revolution and vicissitudes. However, I noticed that although Egypt experienced revolution and changes of times, it is still a country that Egyptians love. People there are curious about Chinese people and also show their kind respect. Cairo, the capital of Egypt, boasts a long history of thousands of years nourished by the Nile. The ancient civilization of Egypt still retains its unique charm of culture after great changes and reforms.

When we got to the exhibition area, I talked directly with Egyptians in English and, to my surprise, we made it! I learned that English has always been one of the common languages in their education, so there was no need to worry about barriers of communication. Besides, I undertook almost all physical work because Ms. Bai Qinlan has difficulty in standing. I did the exhibition preparation with workers under her guidance.

Every night, I sorted out all the conference materials, translated and summarized interview outlines and reports of several media like Chinese International Channel, Cairo TV, Xinhua News Agency and Google. In order to do the more accurate translation, I interpreted simultaneously in every interview and took notes down. When I sorted out materials at night, I would proofread my translated text with my audio for a more polished one.

On February 20th, we had a judging panel, and this is the first time for me to interpret “Arab-style English.” At the meeting, I asked for translation into English and Chinese because all of the Chinese people present didn’t understand Arabic. At that time, an official from the embassy of the EU in Egypt was right next to me and he was surprised and anxious about my request. He wondered how a college student who never received professional training live up to such a big task? I made up my mind to be calm and give play to what I’ve learned to the fullest. As an outcome, I made it through that two-and-a-half-hour meeting with no preparation. After the meeting, the representative of Chinese organizations wanted to look for an interpreter. I went straight toward him and said with confidence: “Hello, I am the interpreter for this meeting, and I’m a student of JISU.”

I learned from this experience that the world is so big and there are a lot of different cultures for foreign learners to study and understand. Only by putting languages into practice, will you come to know that there is a lot to learn.

I also will remember that the cultural counsellor of the Chinese embassy in Egypt once asked me: “Your English is so good, which university do you attend?”

I answered proudly: “I am a student at JISU.”

Indeed, “Be a good foreign learner, be a good Chinese” is not only a slogan, but a goal that JISU students fight for.

When I came back to JISU, I often remembered the time I spent in Cairo. I believe that the flower of Chinese civilization will be in full blossom in the bank of the Nile when the ice melts and trees turn green.