我和桐乡在一起

墨，32歲，来自埃及亚历山大港，机电一体化工程师，已经在桐乡从事工程或销售工作9年，目前在浙江内曼格机械制造有限公司担任产品客户经理。

2020年的春节前夕，我回到了埃及老家，看着手机，想发条朋友圈，祝我的中国朋友们新年快乐。这个春节有些不寻常，很多人尤其是医务工作者都因一个未知的病毒回到了工作岗位上。我当时的信息主要来自微信和微信群，所以也没意识到事情的严重性。

几天后，情况变得清楚，这是一种传染（流行）病，所有新闻都开始谈论它。我的家人看着电视，我看到他们非常担心，然后妈妈问我：“你会回去吗？”我停顿了几秒钟，说：“我不知道。”接下来，我一直关注相关新闻了解进展，也阅读了所有微信群中的消息，按照官方新闻播报情况试图作出决定。当时很多事情是不确定的，但当看到武汉的医院在几天内就建成时，我充满了希望和信心。我弟弟告诉我：“哇，中国人真是太棒了，我认为他们能战胜疫情。”而我看到中国在很短的时间内就实施了有效的办法，桐乡也采取了非常好的安全措施，便决定尽快回桐乡，继续我的工作。但我不知道什么时候能启程。因为在当时，很多事情还是受到了疫情影响。我想乘坐的航班也一样，我几次联系航空公司帮忙更改机票，因为当时有太多的航班取消或变更，幸运的是我最后还是成功地预订到了机票。

当我告诉我的中国朋友要回来时，我收到了很多消息，主要是请我代购口罩，那时中国的口罩还严重短缺，所以我买了近1000只口罩。通常假期结束，我会带些零食或礼物给我的朋友和同事，这一次我的包里除了换洗衣物全是口罩。19日，我出发了，妈妈像往常一样哭了，脸上还多了担忧的表情，我告诉他们不用担心，我将在旅途中与他们保持联系。

机场没有像往常一样拥挤，我一直坐在远离人群的角落等待值机。我来到值机柜台前时，工作人员问我“你现在还要去中国？ 你确定吗？” 我说“当然”，然后他拿了我的护照去找他的上司。我听见他们在说，“他要去中国，这可以吗？”“有签证？”“让他走吧”等等，最后那位上司同意了。当我拿着登机牌慢慢走向登机口时，我对自己的决定依然充满信心。

经过将近一整天的行程，其间我一直戴着口罩，它没有离开过我的脸，我回到了桐乡的家，并开始了14天的居家隔离。到达桐乡后，我感到非常安全，感觉仍和家人在一起，每天早饭后在家工作，跟进客户电子邮件并与同事联系，然后下午做些运动或阅读，晚上与我的家人进行视频通话，告知他们我很好，一切都顺利。在隔离的空闲时间里，我对过去和现在在中国的生活也有更多想法和感受。

我于2012年来到桐乡工作，从那时起，就在不同行业工作，担任过工程师、销售经理。当时桐乡还是一个外国人很少的城市，很难习惯和适应，但随着我对这个城市的逐渐了解和深入，生活和工作变得轻松、愉悦。我目前在浙江内曼格机械制造公司担任销售经理，和GE、西门子、三星和许多其他大型国际公司进行着业务往来，这是充满挑战的工作，压力很大。但我特别喜欢与一支出色的团队一起工作，他们对我也很支持。有一次给客户作报告的时候，CCTV2还来采访了。同时，桐乡也在逐年改善和快速发展，城市经济越来越好，新的商业项目越来越多，还吸引了更多的企业进驻桐乡，为桐乡的美好建设作出了贡献。

我看好桐乡的巨大潜力，生活比上海、杭州这样的大城市要轻松得多。桐乡的工业很强，地理位置也很优越，一些朋友建议我搬到更大的城市，或许可以有更高的收入，但我决定在桐乡扎根建立自己的事业和生活。

桐乡爱我，我自爱桐乡。

（桐乡市人民对外友好协会供稿）

Tongxiang： A Home away from Home

By Mostafa Mourad

On the eve of the Chinese New Year， I was back home in Egypt， looking at my phone and thinking of what to post on my WeChat moments to greet my Chinese friends for the coming festival. What a strange holiday. Many， mostly hospital staff， had been called back to duty because of an unknown virus. At the time my information about China was largely from WeChat and WeChat groups， and I couldnt understand how serious it was.

A few days later it became clear： there was an epidemic and all the news outlets were talking about it. As my family sat there watching it unfold on TV， I could see how worried they were. My mom asked me， “will you go back？” I just paused for a moment and replied， “I have no idea.”

Then I started to follow the latest developments more carefully to learn more about the situation， reading every piece of useful message in all the WeChat groups I joined and trying to decide whether to return to China based on official and authoritative information. A lot was uncertain at that time， but I had always remained hopeful， particularly on that day when I saw the hospital in Wuhan built in just a few days. “Wow， the Chinese people are just amazing， and I think they can beat the virus”， my younger brother was simply awestruck.

All over China， effective control measures had been implemented and Tongxiang city was also doing a great job in protecting everyone. I quietly made up my mind to come back and continue my life and work in Tongxiang city， Zhejiang province. But with the disruption of international transportation， I simply was unsure when. Everything was a bit chaotic then and my flight had been changed and cancelled for quite a few times. Luckily， I was finally able to secure a ticket and hopped onto a reopened flight.

Once I told my Chinese friends that I was coming back， apart from sending well wishes， most of them asked me to help buy masks， which was in short supply. In total， I bought almost 1，000 masks， all stuffed into a bag that normally carried snacks or gifts.

The airport was not crowded as usual， and I sat in the corner far away from everyone until the check-in. When I went to the check-in desk， the employee asked me： “Are you going to China now？ Are you sure？” “Of course，” I said. Then he took my passport and went to his supervisor. “Going to china， is it allowed？” （the employee） “Does he have a visa？” （the supervisor）. Then， “Let him go，” I heard the supervisor say， after he checked my passport and visa. I took my boarding pass and walked slowly to my gate， fully confident that I made the right decision.

After almost a full days travel with the mask not leaving my face， I arrived home in Tongxiang and started my mandatory quarantine.

I felt very safe， and it seemed I was still with my family. In the morning I worked from home， following up on customers emails and communicating with my colleagues. In the afternoon I did some exercise or read books. Every night， I would have a video call with my family to assure them that I was fine and everything was going well.

During my free time in quarantine， I also had more time to reflect on my life in China.

I came to Tongxiang in 2012. Since then， I have been working here in different industries as an engineer and later as a sales manager. As Tongxiang is a relatively small city with not many foreigners， it was not easy at first to get accustomed to it. But with its rapid development， and as I get to know the city better， Ive gradually fallen in love with the place. Indeed， new industrial and commercial projects are being implemented and planned every year and more enterprises are being attracted to Tongxiang. A brighter future beckons.

I have always seen great potential in Tongxiang. For one thing， life is more relaxed here than those big cities like Shanghai or Hangzhou; but at the same time Tongxiang is endowed with a strong industrial base and a great location. Over the years， some friends suggested that I move to a bigger city for a higher income or to a place with more foreigners， but I have decided to build my career and my life in Tongxiang—if only because it is now my home in China.

Mostafa Mourad is a mechatronics engineer from Alexandria， Egypt. He has worked in engineering and sales in Tongxiang for nine years and is currently working as an account manager in Zhejiang Namag Equipment Manufacturing Ltd.