捷克的布拉格，是欧洲的历史文化名城，在音乐上出过许多杰出的人物，在文学上，与布拉格有关联的名作家也不少，比如卡夫卡出身在布拉格、米兰·昆德拉毕业于布拉格查理大学。布拉格的美，不仅仅在于几个著名的景点，如果你去游玩，慢慢品味，就会发现城里的大街小巷都有自己独特的味道，如果巧，你还能碰到来自浙江青田的陈金妹。

　　陈金妹最近有点忙。听说家乡浙江青田推出了“侨声赞祖国·我的中国心”全球网络拉歌活动征集令，她心里有点忐忑。对于即将到来的新中国70周年华诞，陈金妹一直想有所表示；可如果要参加全球拉歌，她又怕自己唱不好。

　　陈金妹在捷克华人圈里小有名气，她是KK EUROPE 国际进出口有限公司董事长，也是捷克华人华侨妇女联合会会长，还兼任着欧洲华人华侨联合总会常务副主席、世界传统文化研究院捷克分院院长。

　　对于拉歌这件事，陈金妹特别上心。问了一圈周遭的朋友，尤其是旅捷华人华侨妇女联合会的姐妹们，大家几乎给了她统一的意见： “不但要唱，还要唱出自己的心声，唱出自己最好的水平。即便是唱不好，多多练习也能熟能生巧。”按照陈金妹的说法，在外的华人华侨们都是吃苦过来的，相比起在异乡谋生之艰难，唱歌就是一个最小最小的考验了。

　　至于唱什么歌，陈金妹早就想好了：“就唱《我爱你，中国》！”她觉得，没有一首歌能像这首歌一样，表达海外儿女对祖国的深情热爱，表达对祖国日新月异的骄傲和自豪，也只有这首歌才能表达所有在外华人华侨对祖国美好明天的祝福。

　　于是在布拉格老城广场边上，以捷克的母亲河伏尔塔瓦河为背景，旅捷华人华侨妇女联合会的姐妹们唱响了“……我爱你青松气质，我爱你红梅品格，我爱你家乡的甜蔗，好像乳汁滋润着我的心窝……”

　　这成为青田推出“侨声赞祖国·我的中国心”全球网络拉歌活动征集令后，第一个传回家乡的视频作品。

　　一

　　温溪镇是青田县中心城区的重要组成部分，位于青田、永嘉、鹿城、瓯海四县交界处，有着“浙南明珠”的美誉。这个人口只有6万多的小镇，也是丽水唯一一个入海港口。

　　1963年8月出生的陈金妹之前在镇上的一家企业里做会计。四平八稳的工作让她每天除了和数字打交道，剩下的时间就是聚聚朋友，照顾家庭，甚是惬意。

　　20世纪90年代初，青田掀起了一股出国的热潮，众多乡邻外出创业，快30岁的陈金妹也踏上了出国路，前往人生地不熟的西欧国家——德国。在途中经历了漫长的23天，周转了3个国家，一路颠簸终于到达了德国著名城市纽伦堡。时值寒冬腊月，大雪纷飞，零下十几度，准备不足的陈金妹冷得瑟瑟发抖。“来接我的是我的同学徐丽敏，久久对望后，说出了我至今还记得的一句叹息：‘哎……’我立刻领悟到，我的艰辛生活就要开始了。”陈金妹回忆说。

　　面对一系列现实问题，陈金妹压力重重，睡不好食无味，陷入了茫然。放弃了国内的工作和生活，千辛万苦来到德国，难道就这样轻易回去？不！好强的陈金妹暗下决心，从零开始，一定要做出一番成绩。

　　到德国后，她上午在麦当劳打工，下午则在菲律宾人开的服装店当店员，晚上则要去一家土耳其餐厅做跑堂，以勤奋换生存。一天工作十多个小时，还自学德语，只用了一年，陈金妹和当地人的沟通就基本不成问题。

　　1995年，陈金妹的丈夫抵达捷克，本准备自捷克转签德国与妻子团聚，没想到，他被经济转型中的捷克市场所打动，选择留下来。被丈夫所说服，陈金妹放弃已经逐渐熟悉的环境，从德国转到捷克。“那时的捷克就像改革开放后的中国一样，市场经济发展起来，让我们很有似曾相识的感觉。”陈金妹说，当时家乡青田也正面临着巨变，1993年，温溪镇成为浙江省青田经济开发区所在地，到后来发展“临港经济”“物流经济”，与温州对接，建设保税物流仓储配送中心，“捷克这头和家乡那头的变化同样巨大”。

　　二

　　转型中的捷克，在政治、经济等各个领域都存在着大量的空间，陈金妹看中的是捷克这个东欧要地的自由贸易行业，“在捷克各地进行考察，几乎跑遍了整个捷克，最后才下定决心要在这里做自由贸易。”

　　经过十多年的发展，她的公司在捷克境内建立了30 多个批发站，为100 多个连锁超市提供商品，在东欧华人贸易界享有较高美誉度。“每个国家、每个时代都蕴藏着成功的机遇，而我们女子并不输于男子，只要肯拼搏、肯思考、不怕苦，我们女同胞也能在异国他乡走出一条成功的坦途。”

　　客居异乡多年，在陈金妹的心中，家逐渐化为一个熟悉又陌生、遥远又亲切的身影。“外面再好，也是想家的。”陈金妹说，自己即便辗转搭乘多次航班，只要能回到温溪住上几天，心中就会有一种美好的感觉。可这种感觉在返程前又会变得沉重起来，有一个声音会在耳边响起——我能为家乡做一点什么？

　　2005年，陈金妹和丈夫决心回国投资创业。“当年出国，坐在飞机上忐忑不安，心里想这一去不知什么时候才能重回家乡，想着想着，我的眼泪就出来了。出去时，是抱着破釜沉舟的决心的，以为再难回中国。可没想到，经过十多年奋斗，我又回来了——回家的感觉真好。”

　　三

　　2019年中央广播电视总台春节联欢晚会现场，有这样一群特殊的观众，他们是中央广播电视总台邀请的三个海外华人观众家庭代表，分别来自美国、菲律宾和捷克。来自捷克的就是陈金妹家庭。在海外生活多年，这是他们第一次在春晚现场和家人度过除夕夜。

　　陈金妹在捷克是个红人。

　　她为很多女同胞提供服务与帮助，不但关爱弱势群体，还乐善好施，在当地华人心中有很高的声誉。2011年10月8日，在捷克华侨华人妇女联合会换届时，陈金妹全票当选为第三届会长。

　　旅捷华人华侨妇女联合会成立于2004年7月28日，是在捷克内务部正式注册获批准的第二个旅捷华侨华人侨团。在伏尔塔瓦河畔唱响《我爱你，中国》的女士们，就都来自这个联合会。她们积极参加布拉格各国使节举办的每年一次的圣诞慈善义卖活动，组织人员到当地老人院、孤儿院、华文学校、华人幼儿园、中华武术学校进行慰问与捐赠，忙得不亦乐乎。陈金妹认为，华侨像联通海内外的一座桥、一条路，华侨们可以通过民间文化交流、联谊，促进国与国之间的民间交流与沟通。

Chen Jinmei now lives in Prague, Czech. She is a native of Qingtian, a rural county in southern Zhejiang. People from Qingtian are a major part of some Chinese communities in Europe. In fact, Qingtian natives are now in 120 countries and territories across the world. In July 2019, Qingtian launched a campaign asking overseas Qingtian natives to sing songs in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The county gave a list of 13 well-known songs. Participants could sing one of the songs and send the video back home. The organizers would decide who would be winners.

Chen is a prominent figure in the Chinese community in Prague. She operates an international trade business and plays a key part in the overseas Chinese community affairs in Prague and across Europe.

After learning about the singing event, she made an inquiry among her friends in general and among the members of the Overseas Chinese Women Federation of Czech. They all wanted to have a go at singing of their motherland. They picked  from the list.

None of them had known much about singing, but they practiced hard, wishing to do their best, firmly believing that singing of their motherland was the best way to express their pride of China’s successful modernization and express their wish for a better tomorrow. They got their singing videoed on a public square by the Vltava River in old downtown of Prague. It turned out that the video they sent back to Qingtian was the first contribution the organizers received after the singing competition was announced in July.

Born in 1963 and brought up in Wenxi Town with a population of 60,000, Chen worked as an accountant for a business in her younger years. In the early 1990s, people in Qingtian began to go abroad on a large scale. The 29-year-old Chen went alone to Germany where she worked in restaurants. In 1995, her husband came from China to join her. He stopped in Czech on his way to Germany. It was Czech that attracted his attention. He saw business opportunities in the Eastern European country where economy was undergoing restructuring. Chen came over to Czech to join her husband. “I saw familiarities in Czech I had experienced back home in our hometown. Market economy was taking off just like in China.” Chen and her husband did a thorough field study across Czech and made up their mind. In 1997, the couple set up KK Europe, a company engaged in international trade. Over a period of 10 plus years, the company set up 30 wholesale outlets across Czech, making itself into a major supplier to franchised 100 supermarkets.

Chen is a high-profile leader in the Chinese community in Czech. Since 2011, she has been serving as president of the Overseas Chinese Women Federation of Czech. The federation encourages Chinese women to merge into Czech society and love Czech meanwhile encourages them to love China, work hard and contribute to local economic and social development. The federation also helps women protect their legal rights and interests. Chen was instrumental in setting up an international school in Prague and setting up , a Chinese newspaper that serves the local Chinese community. She and her husband have invested in Qingtian since 2005. She is also an overseas ambassador of culture for Qingtian, promoting the Belt & Road Initiative and enhancing ties between Prague and Qingtian.