英玛古拉达・孔萨雷斯・布依(Inmaculada González Puy)，50岁，生于巴塞罗那，是北京塞万提斯学院(Instituto Cervantes in Beijing)院长。作为最早研究中国艺术与文化的西班牙专家之一，她于1979年来中国学习汉语，之后为西班牙大使馆工作，并在大使馆待了20年。2006年，她成为西班牙文化中心主任。她与丈夫住在北京的郊外。
以下是她的自述：
我对中国的兴趣早在西班牙就开始了。我阅读了赛珍珠(Pearl S Buck)有关中国的书籍，关于佛教的书籍，以及“垮掉的一代”的作品，如杰克・凯鲁亚克(Jack Kerouac )的《达摩流浪者》(Dharma Bums)，该书深受东方文化的影响。这一切深刻影响了我的童年。
后来，我开始在巴塞罗那学习汉语，那里是我的出生地。当时，西班牙几乎没有人教授汉语，因为它似乎遥不可及。不过，我有一些中国朋友，我每周去他们家里学习。之后他们在大学里教授汉语课，而我则去那里学习。
1977年，我去台湾学习。两年后我去了北京。我家里人对此很不高兴，因为我是家中唯一的孩子，不过，我的朋友们认为我这么年轻就独自去中国是非常令人着迷的。开始这一点也不难。我认为生活在这里是一次历险——甚至是一种特殊的荣耀。回想当初，我是第一批来这里学习汉语的外国学生之一。
我来到这里是因为人民共和国刚刚对外开放。人们是如此渴求信息。他们想知道外界发生的事情，他们想结识外国人。这里充满了对外界的好奇。当时不像现在有互联网，每个人都可以到处旅行。中国封闭了许多年，巨龙才刚刚觉醒。在此期间，我为西班牙大使馆工作，开始是作为新闻专员，之后是文化专员。我在那里工作了20年。
那是一段激动人心的时光，因为有那么多新兴的文学、诗歌、应用美术和电影等艺术形态。所有的事情都在巨变。能够见证这样一个富于戏剧性的时刻是一种特殊的荣耀。
2003年，我不得不回到西班牙，因为我的父亲病了。一个偶然的机会，刚刚开张的巴塞罗那亚洲之家(Casa Asia)文化中心有一个空缺职位，他们正在寻找会说亚洲语言的人。因此，我向大使馆请求暂借。我任塞万提斯学院院长之职，发生在亚太地区——特别是中国——成为学院和西班牙的首要关注对象之后。外交部希望该中心马上开放，而我希望回到中国，因为我的父亲已经过世，我和我的中国丈夫已准备好回中国。我参加了两国政府建立中心的谈判。我们进行了多次会谈，找到一栋建筑，于是塞万提斯学院在2006年开幕。
万事开头难，由于在北京已经开设了很多类似学院。要想吸引人们的注意是一个挑战。其它文化学院已经存在了很长一段时间，并且更为深入人心。另一个挑战在于我们必须使西班牙语有足够的群众性。回想过去，只有区区几所大学教授这门语言。对我们来说，要迎头赶上任重而道远，不过在过去的岁月里，对西班牙语的需求经历了令人眩晕的增长。我们找到了一个好地方，也就是我们现在所处的地方，因为有很多人经过，看到我们并认识我们。学生的数量每年都在翻番。在国家关系中，文化有它自己的作用。仅有贸易和经济联系是不可能的。人们不能把这些相互割裂开来。它们有着同样的重要性。
在学院，我总是在楼梯上跑上跑下，从一个办公室到另一个办公室。每天都是会议、电话和来访。因为每天就是有那么多事要做，所以日子过得像飞一样。但我的工作给了我极大的满足感，因为我目睹了中心的成长。我看到越来越多的学生来到这里，看到人们对这里的活动感到津津有味。
很多初到北京的外国人觉得忐忑不安，认为中国人不够热情。但我认为他们非常友好，这点很像西班牙人。当然他们说着不同的语言，有他们自己的价值和行为准则，但我不同意把他们看成是冷漠的人。一个人只是必须通过努力才能实现沟通，而绝不要武断。
中国有没有改变我的为人之道呢？噢，我都记不得我曾经是个怎么样的人，因为那时我是那么年轻，而30年是一段很长的时间。但我认为，我来这里见识了许多事情。我从中国人身上学到了百折不挠和不遗余力地工作。我被这些精神感染了。但我也学会了事物的相对性：凡事没有绝对的好坏。此外，是的，等待的价值，还有把握机遇的意义。我学到了很多但我还将继续学习。
尽管我在这里很长时间了，我不想说我具有两种身份，一个西班牙人和一个中国人。本质上讲我是西班牙人，因为我在巴塞罗那出生成长。我在这里只是作为一个旁观者。而我认为这样很好。不是作为一个不知自己确切身份的人，而是一个具有参与感的人。尽管我的确相信一个外国人有可能变成中国人，因为中国具有一种强大的力量。但我不认为我曾一度成为中国人，我只能说，我能够理解怎样才算是中国人。
译者/功文
http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001031594
Barcelona-born Inmaculada González Puy, 50, is director of Instituto Cervantes in Beijing. One of the foremost Spanish experts on Chinese art and culture, she moved to the country in 1979 to study the Chinese language before working for the Spanish embassy, where she stayed for two decades. In 2006 she became chief of the Spanish cultural centre. She lives with her husband outside the Chinese capital.
My interest in China began in Spain a long time ago. I read stories about China by Pearl S Buck, books on Buddhism as well as those by the Beat generation, such as Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums, which were influenced by the east. All of them shaped my childhood.
I then started learning Chinese in Barcelona, where I was born. At that time Chinese was hardly taught in Spain because it seemed so far away but I had Chinese friends and once a week I'd go to their houses and learn from them. Later they taught it at the university and I took it there.
In 1977 I went to Taiwan to study. Two years later I moved to Beijing. My family felt bad about it because I am the only child but my friends thought it was fascinating that I'd be going to China alone and so young. It was not difficult at all in the beginning. I thought it was an adventure – even a privilege – to live here. I was one of the first foreign students who came to study Chinese back then.
I came over here because the People's Republic was just opening up. People were hungry for information. They wanted to know what was happening outside. They wanted get to know foreigners. There was a lot of curiosity. It is not like right now when there's the internet and everybody gets to travel. China had been closed for many years and the dragon was just beginning to wake up. During this time I worked at the Spanish embassy, first as a press attaché and then later for culture. I was there for 20 years.
It was an exciting time because there was so much emergent literature, poetry, applied arts and film. Everything was starting to shake up. It was a privilege to be a witness to that dramatic time.
In 2003 I had to go back to Spain because my father became ill. By chance there was an opening at the Casa Asia cultural centre in Barcelona, which had just opened, and they were looking for people who spoke Asian languages. So I asked for a secondment from the embassy. My post as director of the Instituto Cervantes came about after the Asia-Pacific region, especially China, became a priority for the institute and Spain. The foreign ministry wanted to open the centre right away and I wanted to go back because my father had already died and my Chinese husband and I were ready to return. I took part in the negotiations with the authorities to establish the centre. We had the talks, found a building and opened it in 2006.
It was difficult at the start because in Beijing a lot was already happening. It was a challenge to get noticed. Other cultural institutes had been here for a longer time and were more rooted. It was also a challenge because we had to make Spanish sufficiently popular. Back then there were only a handful of universities that taught the language. It was a long way for us to catch up but in the past years demand for Spanish has experienced vertiginous growth. It is good we found the place where we are right now because a lot of people pass by, see us and get to know us. The number of students has doubled every year. In the relationships among nations, culture has a role to play. It cannot just be trade or economic ties. One cannot separate these from each other. They are of equal importance.
At the institute I am always running up and down the stairs, from one office to the other. There are meetings, phone calls, visits. Days just fly by because there is simply a lot that needs to be done. But my job gives me a lot of satisfaction because I see the centre grow. I see more and more students come in and that people enjoy the activities.
A lot of the foreigners who come to Beijing arrive with anxiety, thinking that the Chinese are distant. But I think they are very affable, much like the Spanish. Sure, they speak a different language, have their own values and codes of behaviour but I do not agree with the view that they are very stand-offish. One just has to make an effort to connect and never prejudge.
Has China changed me as a person? Well, I wouldn't remember how I was before because I was so young and 30 years is a long time. But I suppose coming here opened my eyes to a lot of things. From the Chinese I learnt to persevere and to have no limits for effort and work. I've been infected by that. But I also learnt the relativity of things: nothing is completely and absolutely good and nothing is completely and absolutely bad. And, yes, the value of waiting, but also the sense of jumping towards opportunity. I learned a lot of things but I continue to learn.
Even though I've been here for a long time I would not say I have two identities, a Spanish one and a Chinese one. Naturally I am Spanish because I was born and raised in Barcelona. I am here only as an observer. And I think it is good to be as such. Not as one who does not know where his rightful place is but one who is involved. I do, however, believe one can become Chinese because China has a strong force. But I do not think I'd ever become Chinese. I can only say that I can arrive at understanding of what it is to be Chinese.
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