A Journey to France which Relays Love: Story of Zhang Shuai and Jin Huizi

As a charity developing in the direction of a social enterprise, SYB hires its own graduates as teachers to enhance the sustainability of the program. This month, another two graduates, Zhang Shuai and Jin Huizi, will go to France to pursue their studies of French Bakery and Pastry at EFBPA. They will become bakery teachers at Shanghai Young Bakers after their graduation.

Jin Huizi, from Henan, got to know Shanghai Young Bakers through her friend who graduated from the 3rd promotion of Shanghai Young Bakers and has found a promising job in Hangzhou. She recommended Shanghai Young Bakers to Jin Huizi. “I had worked in a factory for a long time and my boss intended to promote me. I changed my mind when I heard of SYB. There was always a voice in my heart telling me that it’s not the way I wanted to live, so I handed in my resignation and joined SYB.” Jin Huizi said. For her, the most memorable experience was the class where she learnt to decorate a French wedding cake with caramel. Making caramel ribbon was the most challenging part because the sugar was heated to 160 ℃. She said that the sample was glittering and translucent and as beautiful as a dream though her fingers were scalded twice during this process.

Huizi, still unsatisfied with the baguette she made, said “It’s the biggest challenge I confronted in SYB. A perfect baguette should not only have a good appearance but also a nice internal texture. Sometimes I felt frustrated because the internal texture of baguette I made didn’t live up to my expectation. I hope that I can improve my skills during the training in France.”

Actually, Huizi had already acquired a promising job in a famous bakery in Shanghai before she decided to be a teacher after the advanced study in France. “My boss promised to give me a promotion and a pay raise, as well as the opportunity to study in France.”Huizi told us that she hesitated once. “I think ‘Doing for others what you would have done for yourself” is a good saying ”. She wanted to enrich herself and acquire the essence of French bakery.

She plans to spend 3 years teaching pastry at SYB, “For me, it’s a chance to make a contribution and improve myself because teaching and learning are inseparable.”

Zhang Shuai, aged 23, is also from Henan. He got to know SYB as a student supported by Chi Heng Foundation. The most impressive occasion for him was his first class at SYB. It was about the preparation of a Viennese baguette. As a student who had never encountered French bread, he felt curious and excited throughout the whole class. He told us that for him the most difficult was to integrate in a group, “When I was doing my internship my chef and colleagues were all from Shanghai and they spoke Shanghainese, which was hard for me to understand.”

However, now he is getting along well with others and his colleagues talk to him in mandarin.

As the journey to France is getting closer and closer, Huizi feels that the initial excitement is gradually fading away and she starts worrying about practical problems, such as the visa application or the communication with French people. Language is also the concern of Zhang Shuai. He is afraid that his Chinese accent will make him hard for him to fit in the French bakery school, even though they have already learnt French for a long time thanks to the Alliance Française.

Huizi hopes to watch the artwork in Louvre while Zhang Shuai is longing for the Eiffel Tower and the Lovers Bridge. All these make them feel that the unknown future is full of expectations.

(感谢张科的翻译）

Scarlett, Communication Coordinator

爱心接力，启程法国：张帅和金会子的故事

作为一个正在向社会企业方向发展的公益组织，海上青焙坊雇佣曾经的毕业生作为老师来增强项目的可持续发展性。今年6月，来自海上青焙坊的另外两名毕业生—张帅和金会子将踏上赴法国奥里亚克烘焙学校进修法式烘焙的旅程，并在学习结束之后回到海上青焙坊为之后的学生当烘焙老师。

河南姑娘金会子是通过她的朋友，也是第三届海上青焙坊的学生了解到海上青焙坊的。她的朋友在毕业之后在杭州的烘焙业找到了满意的工作并向她推荐了海上青焙坊这个项目。“我之前一直在工厂打工，尽管我当时的老板有意给我升职，但是我内心却不想过这样的人生，所以我就来到了上海，来到了海上青焙坊。”对金会子来说，最难忘的一次经历是为了装饰泡芙塔时所学习的焦糖。要做糖丝非常不容易，因为温度会高达160摄氏度，金会子也承认制作过程中手指被烫出过两个泡，但是完成了之后成品却晶莹剔透非常梦幻。

金会子至今还对自己制作的法棍不是很满意，“我觉得这是我在海上青焙坊学习的过程中遇到的最大的挑战。”好的法棍不光需要良好的外观，内部组织也很重要，“我所做的法棍的内部组织一直达不到自己的要求，有的时候甚至有些气馁，希望在去法国的进修过程中能有有所提高。”

其实，在金会子决定去法国进修并回来当老师之前，她已经在上海的一家知名面包房有了工作，而且发展前景非常不错，“我的上司甚至也承诺我可以升职加薪，之后可以去法国进修。”金会子说道。对于选择回海上青焙坊当老师，金会子表示其实她也犹豫过，“我觉得有一句话说得很好，叫做‘己所欲，施于人’。”而且她也希望自己可以先学到更多的东西，学到法式烘焙的精髓。

从法国回来之后的三年她打算呆在上海好好教学生烘焙，“对我来说，这既是一种贡献，也是一种提高，因为教别人的同时也是学习的过程。”

23岁的张帅也来自河南，当年作为智行基金会资助的一名学生，张帅了解到了海上青焙坊。张帅说他在海上青焙坊最难忘的经历就是来这里上的第一堂课。那堂课教授的是维也纳法棍，作为一个当时还从未接触过法式烘焙的学生，张帅对整个过程都充满了好奇和兴奋。

说到困难，张帅觉得对他来说最大的挑战就是融入。“我在实习的时候我的师傅和同事都是上海人，他们上班的时候都只说上海话，而我却听不懂。”渐渐地张帅适应了这里的环境，周围的同事也开始照顾张帅对他说普通话。
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对于自己即将踏上去法国的旅途，金会子觉得当初的那份兴奋已经过去，取而代之的是一些对未来生活比较实际的担忧，比如签证是不是很难办，在法国和人沟通会不会有障碍。“其实现在压力还是很大的。”金会子说。金会子的担忧同样也是张帅的担忧。尽管两人都已经学习了较长时间的法语，但是张帅还是担心口音会让他们难以融入。

对于法国，金会子最大的愿望就是能去巴黎卢浮宫看艺术品。而张帅则很倾心法国埃菲尔铁塔和情侣桥。这些也让他们对未知的未来充满了期待。

王凊怡，对外联络