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I spent a year living in an international dormitory in China, with students from all over the world. “Birds of a feather flock together”, as they say. Of all the various categorisations that could be made based on the way people formed their groups, the most obvious collections were:
我在中国住了一年留学生宿舍，那里有来自世界各地的学生。人们常说：“人以群分”，在各种小团体形成的分类方式中，最明显的分类是：
Westerners - (European and American mainly)
西方人（主要是欧美人）
East Asians - (Thailand, Korea, Japan, Vietnam)
东亚人（泰国、韩国、日本、越南）
South Asians - (India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan)
南亚人（印度、巴基斯坦、尼泊尔、不丹）
Middle-easterners/Arabic - (Iran, Yemen etc)
中东/阿拉伯人（伊朗、也门等）
Slavic/Central Asian - (Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan etc)
斯拉夫人/中亚人（俄罗斯、乌克兰、哈萨克斯坦等）
People really do gravitate into groups based on ethnic and cultural identity. At that time, I knew more than ever that I was a European. The way I as a Brit acted, thought was entirely in tune with the Europeans I spent time with.
人们进入一些交际圈真的是因为种族和文化的区别。那时我才第一次更明确地知道自己是欧洲人，作为英国人的我行为和思维方式都和身边的欧洲人一样。
I am definitely European.
当然我是欧洲人。
Before this experience, I’ll admit I wasn’t hugely aware of this.
留学之前，我承认自己没有真正意识到这一点。
As to why most Brits don’t feel European, I suspect it’s because of the rather large stretch of water that separates us from the mainland. So Brits not identifying as European is quite a standard phenomenon, I believe.
至于为什么大多数英国人都不把自己当欧洲人，我怀疑是因为在我们和大陆之间有大片水域相隔，所以我认为英国人不把自己当欧洲人是很正常的现象。
Why do the British not feel European?
为什么英国人不觉得自己是欧洲人？
I am answering the question from a purely personal view. First I regard myself as “English” not British. Secondly I do not feel European as Europe is “abroad”. I have been there, Germany, Austria, France, but not since 1961.
我要从很私人的角度来回答这个问题。首先我把自己看作是英格兰人，而非英国人。其次我不认为自己是欧洲人因为欧洲是“外国”，我去过欧洲，到过德国、奥地利、法国，但1961年以后就再没去过。
However the question! - Europe is other countries, other languages, other histories Interesting but different. I do not feel any connection with these other countries, and certainly do not feel part of any group or association of other countries.
无论怎样，欧洲就是其他国家，说其他语言，有其他有趣但和我们不同的历史。我不认为和这些“其他国家”有任何关系，当然也不觉得自己是“其他国家”任何小团体的一部分，或跟他们有任何关系。
Living a quiet life in a rural part of England, I do not have much contact with citizens of other countries. I do not dislike them or object to them, they simply do not impact on my life.
我在英格兰乡村过着安逸的生活，和其他国家的人没有多少交集。我不是不喜欢他们或反对他们，只不过他们对我的生活一点影响都没有。
It is the same with Europe, I know it’s there, know a reasonable amount about it, but have absolutely no contact with it.
对欧洲也是如此，我知道它在那儿，关于欧洲我也适当了解一点，但跟它绝对一点关系都没有。
