Back to School at 68,
for Something More Than Studying
Australian Grandpa Jerry Visits
a Senior University in China

When we're young, we have no idea about getting old. We believe it won't happen to us, only to others. Then suddenly, our lives have passed. That long period, the years of school, work, bringing up the kids and struggling with day to day finances, which most people have to do are suddenly over. The kids are gone, the memories are flashes, and we're old. 

年轻时，我们对变老一无所知，总以为老去是别人的事，不会落在自己头上。可转眼之间，岁月流逝。 那段漫长的岁月——求学、工作、拉扯孩子长大、为生计苦苦打拼——大多数人都会经历的岁月，倏忽而过。孩子长大离家，回忆只剩下零星的片段，而我们，已然老去。

It's very hard to describe to a young person how being old feels, because, for the most part, we don't actually believe it's happened to you. We get up from every chair with a groan; we make excuses for our creaky knees; we don't understand Bluetooth, or even know what it is; and we seem to forget what we have learnt. There's a big danger that life will become very boring, a lifetime of routine and habit, doing nothing but seeing the same people, doing the same things. And slowly, ever so slowly, we start to plan our exit because we know we can't stop the inexorable creep of aging.

很难向年轻人描述，变老是什么样的感觉，因为大多数时候，连我们自己都不肯相信，衰老当真降临在了自己身上：每一次从椅子上站起来，都要叹息一声；为膝盖咔咔作响寻找借口；弄不懂蓝牙，甚至不知它为何物；学过的东西好像总记不住。更叫人担心的是，生活会变得百无聊赖——一辈子困在惯常的轨道里，日复一日，见同样的人，做同样的事，再无波澜。然后，在某个缓慢得几乎察觉不到的进程里，我们开始悄悄为自己筹划 "退场"。因为我们心知肚明：衰老如潮水般步步逼近，我们拦不住它。

That might be true, but we can definitely slow it down, and a place I went to recently is one of the tools we can use to do so. For 22 years, since I first came to China, I've known this building existed. My very first apartment was just a few hundred metres away. I was completely floored the first morning I walked past this building, and heard the crack of a croquet mallet striking a ball. Looking through the fence, I confirmed what I thought I'd seen: there was, much to my surprise, a croquet lawn and a group of people chatting together while they played. I had no idea at that time how important a building it was that they were playing outside of, in fact, it's not one building, it's three, there are classrooms, activities and an administrative area. For over 20 years, I have thought it was a community centre for the elderly and, to an extent, I was right - but it's so much more than that.

这话不假，但衰老并非不能放慢。最近我去的一个地方，就能够“延缓”衰老。来中国二十二年，我一直知道那座建筑的存在 —— 我最初住的地方距它不过几百米。第一天早上路过这里时，我忽然听见槌球的脆响，整个人登时怔在原地。隔着栅栏望进去，我确认了自己没有看错：那里竟真的有一片槌球场，一群人边打球边闲谈。彼时我全然不知，他们打球所在的那座建筑意义非凡。事实上，那不是一栋楼，而是三栋 ——有教学区、活动区，还有办公区。二十多年里，我一直以为那不过是老年人社区活动中心；某种程度上，我的猜想没有错，但它远不止于此。

It's a university too, and September 7th was the first day of a new term here. I was lucky enough to be invited to have a tour of the facilities and, in the space of a very busy morning, I experienced several of the classes on offer, and met with many of the students participating. I took part in my first Cantonese class, which was particularly interesting to me as my entire family here in China speaks Cantonese, while I'm the only one who doesn't. Why would a university for the elders, right in the heart of Guangdong, teach Cantonese, you might ask; I certainly did. The students were all people who had moved to Zhongshan for work. There is a huge population of people throughout Guangdong who come from other provinces and regions of China and make it their home. They spend their entire working life here and when they retire, they find it's a place where they've formed relationships, purchased property; often their own family has moved from the home province to be with them. And now, because they are no longer working, they have free time. They could, if they wanted to, spend their lives speaking only Mandarin, but this course offers them an opportunity to learn something else. The course focuses on local language but using the medium of local cultures, the lesson I participated in was about Yum Cha and Dim Sum. So, this is not just an ideal way to learn the local language but to learn local customs and cultures too. 

它还是一所大学。9月7日恰逢这里新学期的第一天，我有幸受邀参观，在满满当当的一个上午，先后体验了多门课程，也结识了不少前来上课的学员。我生平第一次上粤语课。这对我而言格外有意思 —— 我在中国的家人都说粤语，唯独我不会。你或许会好奇：一所地处广东腹地的老年大学，何以要教粤语？我也曾这般疑惑过。原来，班上的很多学员都是因为工作而迁居中山的。在广东各地都有大量外省来的人，他们在此安家落户，工作了一辈子，待至退休时，才发现这座城市早已成了自己的家——人际关系在此，房产在此置办，家人也多从老家迁来与他们团聚。如今卸下工作的重担，他们终于拥有了属于自己的闲暇。他们大可以一辈子只说普通话，可这门课，却为他们打开了一扇学些新东西的窗。课程以本土文化为媒介，教授本土语言；我旁听的那节课，讲的正是“饮茶”与“点心”。可见，这不仅是学习当地语言的理想方式，更是走进当地风土人情的绝佳途径。

Having learnt all about Dim Sum in Cantonese, it's also possible to move to another part of the same building and learn how to cook them. I watched a small part of a cooking lesson where I was shown how to cook a cake in a rice cooker. I have long known this was possible but, to be honest, never seen how easy it is, we tasted the products later and it was delicious. 

在粤语课了解点心相关知识之后，还可以移步同一栋楼的另一侧，学习点心制作。我驻足旁观了一小段烹饪课——如何用电饭煲做蛋糕。我早就听过这种做法，但说实话，这是第一次亲眼看见，没想到如此简单。课后我们品尝了成品，滋味极佳。

I looked in on an English class and chatted with a retired doctor in my own language, that was nice, she explained to me that she's very happy to be retired now, she keeps in contact with her old friends and colleagues but makes many more in the University, while at the same time, keeping her brain active but it isn't all about the brain. 

我顺道旁听了一堂英语课，还用英语与一位退休医生攀谈了几句，感觉十分愉快。她告诉我，退休后的日子十分快乐—— 既与老友旧识保持着联系，又在这所大学里结识了更多新朋友。英语课可以让她的头脑保持活跃，但意义不止于此。

I had my first ever Tai Chi lesson and learnt that there is no need for creaking bones to feel like they do when we age. Tai Chi provides a huge gateway to better flexibility, better health, better condition and, of course, a better body shape. Now, there's no more excuses! If you're feeling more energetic and want something a little more lively than croquet or Tai Chi, then consider the Ping Pong classes, one of the coaches was formerly a coach to a world champion, I saw the quality of the players and opted not to join in, they all looked like world champions to me!

我还上了人生第一堂太极拳课，由此明白：人上了年纪，骨头也未必非得嘎吱作响。太极是一扇大门，通向更柔韧的身体、更健康的体魄、更佳的状态——当然，还有更匀称的身形。这下，可再也没有偷懒的借口了！若你精力充沛，想找点比槌球、太极更热闹的运动，不妨看看乒乓球课——其中一位教练，曾教过世界冠军。我见识过学员们的水平之后，便打消了上场的念头；在我眼里，他们一个个都像世界冠军！

There are plenty of other courses, one of the most popular was the Cantonese Opera. In a country known for huge classes in its schools, as China is, I was really surprised to see how large the Cantonese Opera class was. There were at least 60 or 70 students and all singing along with a coach and live music.

这里还有很多别的课程，粤剧是最受欢迎的课程之一。中国学校向来以大班教学著称，即便如此，乍见粤剧班的那一刻，我还是吃了一惊——教室里足有六七十名学生，正跟着教练与现场伴奏齐声歌唱。

A country can be judged by many things but one of the most important, especially as I've now reached that "certain age" is how it deals with its elderly. Zhongshan Senior University is an example of how well this city does it: former graduates from this site are all over Zhongshan teaching, coaching, training and mentoring others in campuses dotted around the city. And the amazing thing is, this is a system that is replicated in many parts of Guangdong.

衡量一个国家的标准或许有很多，但其中至为重要的一条——尤其对我这种已到 "那个年纪" 的人来说——是这个国家如何对待长者。中山市老干部大学，便是中山这座城市交出的漂亮答卷：从这里走出去的学员，将所学知识传递给更多人，发挥余热、服务社会。最令人惊叹的是，这套体系在广东多地推行。

Universities are there to teach us and spending just half a day there I've learnt a lot from this one. Over my own lifetime, I've had to learn a lot of different things, but where circumstances or experiences change things I've had to unlearn a lot too. One of the things I need to unlearn is that getting old doesn't mean getting lonely, getting frail, getting bored, getting into a routine or a rut, and it most certainly doesn't always mean getting ready for the end - I've learnt, at the age of 68 that this could be the new beginning of something. And that's exactly what a university should teach us.

大学的使命是传道授业。在这所大学里，我不过待了半日，却获益良多。回望此生，我不断学习各种新知；可当日月流转、境遇变迁，我也需要摒弃许多固有的想法。其中一样便是这样一种念头：以为变老便意味着孤独、衰弱、百无聊赖，陷入一成不变或循规蹈矩的生活，更意味着该为生命尽头做好准备。而我在68岁这年终于领悟——老去，或许正是一段崭新人生的开端。而这，正是一所大学应当教会我们的东西。

出品：中山国际传播中心
统筹：廖薇
编导：见习记者 周欢
摄制：记者 易承乐
出镜/文稿：Jerry
封面：陈思理
翻译：见习记者 周欢 实习生 蒋臻童
英文二审：曾嘉慧
英文三审：廖薇 饶梅芳