出发去瑞典念书前和家人说瑞典在世界地图上的样子就像一只绷直的芭蕾舞者的脚，而自己在瑞典的目的地又恰好位于脚后跟的位置，令人想起古希腊神话中“阿喀琉斯之踵”的典故。在抵达乌普萨拉之前，本自信坚决崇尚理智的自己在情感上就如有在冥河之水中浸泡过的不死之身的阿克琉斯，坚不可摧，也最终在遇到喜欢的人之后像被射中脚后跟一般，金刚之身却溃不成军，钢筋铁骨竟一触即溃。

Before leaving for Sweden to study my master’s degree, I once told my family that Sweden’s shape on the world map resembles the extended foot of a ballet dancer, and that my destination in Sweden happened to lie right at the heel. The image inevitably evokes the Greek myth of the “Achilles’ heel.” Before arriving in Uppsala, I—confident, resolute, and devoted to logic and reason—felt emotionally invulnerable, like Achilles after being dipped in the waters of the River Styx, seemingly indestructible. Yet after meeting someone I fell for, feels like I was struck precisely at that heel: a body thought to be invincible collapsed in an instant, and what seemed like iron and steel gave way at the lightest touch.

几乎认识我的所有人都知道本人最喜欢的瑞典语电影是《简单西蒙》，在十四岁时比尔·斯卡斯加德成为自己最喜欢的电影演员后几乎每年都要把这部电影翻出来看上几遍，对剧情台词烂熟于心，在还未系统性地学习瑞典语前提里面任何一句台词我都能立马接上下一句。其中片尾比尔·斯卡斯加德出演的角色对着镜头露出的笑容一直让我铭记至今，算起来到今年已经是把他作为自己最喜欢的演员的第十四个年头了。与擅长拍摄史诗题材宏大叙事的南欧人不同，觉得北欧人拍出来的电影风格是摩登简单剧情却是温馨动人的，随便选一部都可以当作现代生活指南来看的，例如简约利落的穿搭，古怪有趣的配饰，下午茶吃何种茶点，周末逛公园时选什么休闲娱乐的活动，家居装修怎样设计搭配，甚至最流行养什么宠物，都可以从色调明艳，配乐轻快的北欧电影中获得灵感。剧情中展现出来的北欧人最擅长的冷幽默，对身心障碍者的包容关怀，以及对亲密关系相处模式的探讨思考都是值得作为现代人的我们学习甚至模仿的。

Almost everyone who knows me is aware that my favorite Swedish-language film is I rymden finns inga känslor (Simple Simon). Since Bill Skarsgård became my favorite actor at the age of fourteen, I have revisited this film several times almost every year, to the point where I know the plot and dialogue by heart. Even before I began studying Swedish in any systematic way, I could effortlessly continue to recite any lines from the film with the one that followed. The smile Bill Skarsgård’s character gives directly to the camera at the end of the film has engraved in my brain ever since. By this year, it has been fourteen years since I first chose him to be my favorite actor.

Unlike Southern Europeans, who excel at epic themes and grand narratives, I find that films made by Nordic directors tend to be modern and understated in style, yet warm and deeply caring in substance. Almost any of them can be viewed as a guide to contemporary living: from clean, minimalist fashion and quirky, interesting personal accessories, to what pastries to enjoy during fika, what leisure activities to choose when strolling in the park on weekends, how to design and coordinate home interiors, and even which pets are considered currently trendy to be kept. Inspiration for all of this can be drawn from Nordic films with their bright color palettes and light, lively soundtracks. The distinctly Nordic deadpan humor, the empathy and inclusiveness toward people with physical and mental disabilities, and the thoughtful exploration of intimacy and relationships portrayed in these stories are all qualities worth learning from—and even emulating—as modern individuals.

就和本人最喜欢的法语电影《天使爱美丽》一样，个人觉得《简单西蒙》虽然没有宏大的历史背景和叙事，但两部电影对电影里角色的介绍方式都是类似的，由他们的喜恶，平日里个人的小兴趣入手，而不是将他们片面地脸谱化，这种蒙太奇的介绍方式将两部电影里的各个人物塑造得鲜活有趣细节丰富，而剧情本身就像Videoclub的那首VHS里面的那句歌词一样，两部电影也都是有关“Jolie fille au garçon bizarre”的普通人的爱情故事。

Much like my personal favorite French film, Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, I feel that Simple Simon (I rymden finns inga känslor) takes a similar approach to introducing its characters, despite the absence of epic themes and grand narratives. Both films introduce their characters through their likes and dislikes, their everyday routines, and the little things they take pleasure in, along with their pet peeves, rather than reducing them to one-dimensional caricatures. This montage-like approach brings each character to life, making them feel vivid, endearing, and richly detailed. And at both’s films’ plot’s core, it is much like the lyric from Videoclub’s song “VHS” —“Jolie fille au garçon bizarre” — both films tell ordinary love stories about a common yet ordinary couple.

巴黎是失而复得的爱，是命运悄然归还给我的心动。她是我以为生命中再也见不到的温柔，是多年未敢奢望却终于重逢的梦。她汇聚了我一生中曾为之悸动的一切特质：浪漫、自由、优雅、灵魂深处的悸动。她既是亲人，也是知己，是我独自穿越千山万水之后，在异乡突然体会到的那份令人安心的归属感。她是我反复在心中描绘过的理想生活，是我无数次祈愿过的不期而遇。而如今，在真正与她会面后，发现她比我想象的还多一些，比我期待的还胜三分。她是我梦寐以求的一切，仿佛命运将我许过的每一个愿望都听见了，也终于在某一天，悄然如约而至。

Paris is a love long lost but finally found, a heartbeat quietly returned to me by fate. She is the tenderness I thought I would never see again in my life, a dream I hadn’t dared to hope for in years but finally reunited with. She gathers all the qualities that have ever made my heart flutter throughout my life: romance, freedom, elegance, and a deep stirring of the soul.

She is both family and confidante—a comforting sense of belonging I suddenly felt in a foreign land after traveling across countless mountains and rivers alone. She is the ideal life I have repeatedly painted in my mind, the unexpected encounter I have wished for countless times.

And now, having truly met her, I find she is even more than I imagined, surpassing my hopes by far. She is everything I have ever dreamed of and more, as if fate heard every wish I whispered and finally, one day, quietly arrived as promised.

因为社会福利高，贫富差距小，北欧五国一直是从出生就开始内卷的东亚年轻人心目中的精神故乡。之前在美国待久了，相比美国人大大咧咧比较情绪化的外放性格，好像在北欧人偏内敛稳重的脾性上更能让我找到共通点， 而自己一直想要去瑞典，又因为各种原因未能成行，所以2023年春寒料峭时候终于来到了朝思暮想已久的精神故乡斯德哥尔摩。在国内朝九晚五两点一线的生活让我逐渐变得精神麻木，陷入了一种被框在格子间里只会做形式主义工作的困局，第一次在斯德哥尔摩度过的两三天却让我有难得的机会静下心来，坐游船，吹海风，喂海鸥，逛公园，赏春花，看展览，搭电车，摄街景，被工作拉得紧绷的神经得到充分放松，大脑也可以空下来，去思考作为现代社会的一份子， 如何更好地参与和实现在摩登生活中人的居住空间与自然环境的可持续性发展之间的平衡一类的现代化问题。

Due to their generous social welfare systems and relatively small wealth gaps, the five Nordic countries have long been seen as a spiritual homeland by East Asian young people, who have been caught up in intense competition since birth. Having spent quite some time in the U.S., I found that, compared to the more emotional, outspoken and extroverted nature of Americans, I connected more with the Nordic temperament—reserved, quiet and composed. I had always wanted to go to Sweden but couldn’t make the trip to happen due to various circumstances. So, in the chilly early spring of 2023, I finally came to Stockholm, my spiritual hometown that I had longed for.