第十一章：文化节视频

The cultural festival is getting closer and closer.

Class 3 of Grade 10 decided to make a short video called "My Day." Each person says one sentence in Chinese, introducing a small thing about themselves at school.

Xiaoyu held a phone and a notebook, like a little director.

"Lin Hao, you talk about the cafeteria. Li Jia, you talk about the library. Wang Ming, you talk about the basketball court. Marco, you talk about learning Chinese in China."

Marco was putting up a poster. When he heard his name, his hand paused.

"Do I have to speak too?"

"Of course," Xiaoyu said. "You are the most special classmate in our class."

Marco knew it was a compliment, but "most special" sounded a bit dangerous.

Xiaoyu handed him a piece of paper. On it was written:

"Hello everyone, my name is Marco. I come from Italy. After coming to China, I found that Chinese is not only in textbooks, but also in the cafeteria, dormitory, taxis, and class groups. I am still learning, but I like it here very much."

Marco read it once. He knew every word. But as soon as he thought about saying it to the phone, these words suddenly became difficult.

"Can it be shorter?" he asked.

Lin Hao said nearby, "Sure. Just say: Hello everyone, my name is Marco, I speak Chinese wrong every day."

Marco looked at him. "That's too real."

Everyone was laughing. Xiaoyu shot Lin Hao a glare.

Filming started by the playground in the afternoon. Xiaoyu held up the phone and said, "Don't be nervous. Look at the camera, just like talking to a classmate."

Marco looked at the camera and thought: This classmate doesn't blink, and doesn't speak.

The first time, as soon as he finished saying "Hello everyone," he forgot the next line.

The second time, he said "chū zū chī" instead of "chū zū chē" (taxi).

Lin Hao immediately raised his hand: "That's not bad either, sounds like a car that can eat."

Everyone laughed so hard they couldn't straighten up. Xiaoyu glared at Lin Hao: "If you cause trouble again, I'll make you go on stage first."

Lin Hao quickly begged for mercy, "I won't dare, I won't dare."

Xiaoyu said to Marco, "It's okay, do it one more time. You can go slower." (Note: The text says "马克" here, but the character is "马可"; using the original text.)

The third time, Marco finally got it right. He paused, and then added, "This time there are no mistakes."

Xiaoyu watched the video once and said, "The last sentence was also recorded. I think we can keep it."

Marco immediately shook his head. "No, no. This is wrong."

"But it's very real," Xiaoyu said. "We can add a sentence after it where you correct yourself. This way everyone will see that you aren't speaking because your Chinese is good, but because you are trying to get better."

Marco looked at her. "Really, it's okay?"

Xiaoyu nodded. "The cultural festival isn't an exam. Authenticity is the most touching."

Teacher Chen happened to walk by and heard this sentence.

"Xiaoyu is right," Teacher Chen said. "Marco, would you like to keep the last sentence?"

Marco hesitated a bit. He remembered the first time he entered the class, everyone looking at him; remembered forgetting words in Chinese class; remembered the taxi driver laughing at him; remembered the "I received one" in the class group.

Those mistakes made him nervous at the time, but later they all turned into stories.

He took a deep breath.

"Okay," he said. "But I want to correct myself afterwards."

Xiaoyu smiled. "Of course."

So they shot another short segment.

In the camera, Marco first said: "I am still learning, but I like it here very much. This time there are no mistakes."

Laughter came from off-screen.

Marco also laughed, then looked at the camera and said: "Actually, I said it wrong many times before. My Chinese still has many mistakes, but these mistakes helped me make many friends."

This time, no one spoke.

Xiaoyu looked at her phone and softly said, "Very good."

Lin Hao also nodded. "Awesome."

"Really?" Marco asked.

"Really," Lin Hao said. "And this time I didn't help you write it."

Marco looked at these messages, and he wasn't as nervous as before. He even sent a sticker himself:

Received!

Then he sent another message:

"Thank you everyone. I will still speak wrong, and I will still speak."

This time, no one in the group just sent "hahaha."

Xiaoyu replied: "This sentence can be the ending of the video."

In the evening, Marco watched the video alone in the dormitory. He heard his own accent, heard himself making mistakes, and also heard everyone's laughter.

But this laughter was not distant, nor cold.

It was like the afternoon wind on the playground, blowing past him, yet leaving him among the crowd.

Marco turned off his phone and thought to himself: I am not perfect.

The one who speaks Chinese wrong is the self who is learning, the real self.