by Cyndi Sweeney 译/刘佳宁
Xindi Di in front of the Wong Educational Centre at Acadia University. Photo: Cyndi Sweeney
狄新迪在阿卡迪亚大学国际留学生中心。
从繁华的大都市到偏远的乡村郊区，这样大的环境差异对于大多数中国留学生而言都很难适应。
Jack Wang来自江苏徐州，今年22岁，已经在阿卡迪亚大学（Acadia University）修完两年半的商科课程，现在正在攻读金融学位。他了解到加拿大的教育系统对留学生更具包容性，而且加东沿海地区与家乡在地理上的相似让他倍感亲切。于是，他放弃了去爱尔兰的机会，选择来到加东。
哈利法克斯斯坦菲尔德国际机场与小镇沃尔夫维尔（Wolfville）之间是段长达95公里的黑暗路程。直至今天，Jack仍对第一次来到小镇的情景记忆犹新。他笑着回忆道：“离开机场后，我看到一望无尽的黑压压的树。当时是凌晨两点，周围一个人都没有，静悄悄的。我紧张地问司机要带我到什么地方。”
在接下来的时间里，Jack接触到了这个淳朴小镇美好的一面。他说：“相比大城市，这里接纳性更强，更友善。”闲暇时间，他经营着自己的小买卖。他从中国进口丝绸，卖给省内各地的批发商。他计划毕业之后在当地开一家中餐馆，招牌菜将会有他最想念的家乡小吃叉烧包。
会计专业的狄新迪（音译）于2009年来到Wolfville小镇。她回忆道：“我们凌晨两点多抵达哈利法克斯，当时还能隐约看到城市的灯光。可是沿途的路越来越黑，我开始有些担心了，幸亏当时车里还有另外两个学生。”
狄新迪的家乡辽宁锦州是中国最北端的海港，拥有310多万人口。她选择来加拿大留学的原因是这里气候宜人，也比较安全。她说：“我很喜欢阿卡迪亚的小班教学，这样会有很多和教授一对一交流的机会。”毕业以后，她希望可以留在拿省，但如果找不到稳定的工作，她会考虑去阿尔伯塔。
2011年人口普查显示，Wolfville住有4269居民，而阿卡迪亚大学的学生数量则超过了这个小镇的总居住人口。大学国际教育中心辅导员Julie Snair女士表示，大学现有4300名学生，其中166名来自中国。国际留学生总数占学生总数的11%。学校最受欢迎的科系是工商管理专业。
2005年，Claude从温哥华转学到阿卡迪亚大学攻读计算机科学。Claude表示，刚刚来小镇时因为看不到城市建筑，确实有点失望。
Chee and Claude at Acadia University. Photo: Cyndi Sweeney Chee和Claude在阿卡迪亚大学校园。
2008年完成学业后，他离开小镇，去多伦多和渥太华工作了一段时间，但是后来还是回到了这里。他说：“我喜欢这里。这里的人很友善，所以我回来继续深造硕士学位。”
Claude在校园里还遇见了自己后来的人生伴侣Chee。Chee来自深圳，毕业于心理学专业。他们在2010年举行婚礼，现育有3岁的儿子Amor。
尽管留学生们在加东小镇生活伊始都受到强烈的文化冲击，但后来都逐步融入了社区生活。在这里，他们喜欢上了参加课余活动，去农贸市场，夏天摘蓝莓，秋天摘苹果。
Chee说：“如果大家出国留学是想静下心来学习，这里是个很好的选择。”
中加两国不同的商场文化也在潜移默化中影响Jack。“每次回国，我都要重新调整心态，用一种不同的方式生活。这个时候，我会想念在Wolfville简单而美好的生活。” (完）
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University life in rural Nova Scotia has a dark side. Four students from Acadia University discovered, this is especially true when arriving on the red-eye flight from Hong Kong.
Jack Wang (22) studied business for two and half years at Acadia University and is now working on his Finance degree.
Wang is from Xuzhou on China’s east coast. He chose to study in the Maritimes, instead of Ireland, because he heard Canadian education was more accepting of foreign students and geographically, Canada’s east coast seemed familiar. The entrepreneur vividly recalls his first few hours in Nova Scotia.
“After leaving the airport all I saw was trees. I said to the driver, where are you taking me?” laughs Wang, recalling the 95 kilometre stretch of blackness between Halifax Stanfield International Airport and Wolfville.
Since his arrival, Wang has seen the brighter side of life in a small town. “I think this community is very open, very accepting and very friendly compared to city life,” says Wang. When he’s not studying, he operates his small business importing silk products from China and selling to wholesalers throughout the province.
Xindi Di, an Accounting major at Acadia, was also surprised by Wolfville’s remoteness, when she arrived in 2009. “When I landed it was 2 a.m. and I saw the lights of Halifax, but as we drove it became darker and darker. It was very scary,” laughs Xindi.
Di is from Jinzhou city of Liaoning Province, China’s northernmost seaport with a population of more than 3.1 million. Of all the English speaking countries Di could study in, she chose Canada for its pleasant climate and safety.
“I really love my class size. It’s a small university and you can talk to professors if you have questions,” says Di.
Acadia’s enrollment surpassed the number of people living in Wolfville; with the 2011 Census recording a population 4,269 residents. Julie Snair, Coordinator of International Education at the university says there are 4,300 students, including 166 Chinese students, studying at Acadia U this year. International students comprise 11-per-cent of the total student population with Business Administration being the most popular program.
Di says she plans to stay in Nova Scotia after graduation, but if work isn’t available, she’ll move west to Alberta.
Claude Pan (30) was studying Computer Science when he met his wife Chee Wan (27), a Psychology major. Pan transferred from Vancouver to Acadia University in 2005. “Honestly, when I was just landing here in Nova Scotia, I thought, there are a lot of trees. I didn’t see any buildings. I was a little disappointed,” says Pan.
After completing a Bachelor degree in 2008, Pan left to work in Toronto and Ottawa before returning to Wolfville. “I like it here. The people are nice… that’s why I returned to complete my Master’s degree,” says Pan. Pan and Wan married in 2010 and are busy raising their three-year-old son, Amor.
Despite their initial culture shock, all four urban students have found a sense of community in Wolfville. They enjoy university activities like badminton and kick-boxing and shop at local farmers markets. They blueberry pick in summer and go apple picking in September.
“If you really want to study, it’s a great place,” says Wan.
For Finance major Wang, experiencing the different nuances of conducting business in both China and Canada has given him a deeper cultural understanding. “When I go home I have to step back from myself and get used to myself for a while, because I miss Wolfville so much. Here, is a really fabulous place to be.”