13個(gè)小時(shí)的時(shí)差，卻是漫漫回家路

文、譯/Abigail Hope Roy

走在回家的路上，傍晚的微風(fēng)輕拂過(guò)我的臉龐。夕陽(yáng)的余暉里，天空好像被粉玫瑰和鮮蜜桃浸潤(rùn)過(guò)一般。

I step out for the walk home, the evening breeze cool against my face. Above,the sunset sky is shades of pink rose and fresh peaches.

東北飯館——我的心頭好

路邊的小販們推著車一字排開(kāi)，各自忙活著做著最后的準(zhǔn)備。馬上，本地學(xué)校的高中生們就要放學(xué)了，他們會(huì)在這些小攤前駐足停留，品嘗美食。這平靜的街道在接下來(lái)的半小時(shí)里將會(huì)人聲鼎沸。

小商販們像平常一樣跟我打招呼，我也對(duì)他們點(diǎn)頭并報(bào)以微笑，然后繼續(xù)前行。有時(shí)，我會(huì)在這些不知名的小攤點(diǎn)吃早飯，因?yàn)槲野l(fā)現(xiàn)了一個(gè)有趣的現(xiàn)象——美味往往隱藏在犄角旮旯里。我最喜歡的早餐是“卷餅”，在熱平底鍋上鋪上雞蛋和面粉混合而成的液體并攤成餅皮，添上生菜、脆薄餅、一小撮胡蘿卜，再加上秘制醬料和紅辣椒，真是人間美味！

但是今晚，我不在這兒吃，我和朋友約好去最愛(ài)的飯館吃晚飯。這是一家東北飯館，也是我的心頭好。當(dāng)你品嘗東北菜時(shí)，會(huì)體驗(yàn)到它獨(dú)一無(wú)二的接地氣感。它既不像沿海地區(qū)的菜肴那樣充滿海鮮味，也不像四川菜那樣滿嘴跑辣。它，剛剛好。而且，中國(guó)讓我愛(ài)上了蔬菜，這里有千變?nèi)f化的蔬菜烹飪方式。茄子燒豆角是我的新寵。我學(xué)過(guò)一些中式菜，這樣，當(dāng)我回美國(guó)探親時(shí)，就可把最愛(ài)的味道分享給家人。

Dongbei restaurant, my favorite

Food sellers are pushing their carts out to the sidewalk, arranging bowls of chopped ingredients. Soon the local high school will let out for the day, and the students will all stop to eat on their way home, which will make this street very busy in the next half an hour.

I smile and nod as the vendors call out to me, but I keep walking. Sometimes I stop for breakfast at the little carts—they have wonderful food; these are one of the most fun things I’ve discovered since moving to China—and my favorite is a breakfast “wrap,” with the shell made of batter and eggs, cooked on a circular hot plate, and fi lled with lettuce, a crispy-fried dough stick, a sprinkle of radish, a mysterious brown sauce, and hot red pepper sauce. It’s amazing!

But not for tonight. Tonight, a friend is meeting me for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.

The restaurant serves dongbei food, from the northeast of China, and it’s my absolute favorite. The tastes of dongbei food come alive in your mouth in a way that I haven’t found anywhere else. There’s not as much seafood as on the coast, and it’s not as mouth-melting spicy as the fl avors of Sichuan province. It’s just right.

Also: the vegetables! China has taught me to love vegetables, opening my eyes to the many new ways they can be cooked—eggplant and green beans are my new favorites. I’ve even learned a few recipes, because I want to be able to take the fl avors back to the US when I visit and share them with my family.

飯館老板認(rèn)識(shí)我和朋友，因?yàn)槲覀?/p>

The restaurant owner knows my friend and I—we are here so often that he recognizes us easily. My friend’s Chinese is much better than mine, so she asks about his family before we order. He smiles widely and says that they are doing fi ne, then asks about her parents, and afterwards invites his eightyear-old daughter over to say “hello” and practice her few words of English.Although we don’t always understand each other, these moments of cultural exchange are sweet.是這里的?？?。朋友的中文比我好太多，點(diǎn)菜前她跟老板寒暄了幾句，老板笑容滿面地和她互問(wèn)家人好，然后叫她八歲的女兒過(guò)來(lái)跟我們打招呼并練英語(yǔ)。雖然有時(shí)我們不能明白對(duì)方在說(shuō)什么，但我很享受這文化交流的時(shí)刻。

信任和依賴助我前行

吃完晚飯，朋友和我各自回家，我走進(jìn)了超市。當(dāng)我從貨架上拿淀粉、牛奶和蔬菜時(shí)，記憶將我拉回了剛來(lái)中國(guó)的第一周。

在中國(guó)的頭幾天，可謂困難重重，那時(shí)的我非常無(wú)助。我沒(méi)有手機(jī)，沒(méi)有網(wǎng)絡(luò)，也沒(méi)有現(xiàn)金可以購(gòu)物。沒(méi)有吃的，沒(méi)有沐浴露，甚至連去哪買生活必備品也不知道。更糟的是，我無(wú)法和人交流。來(lái)中國(guó)之前，我已經(jīng)大學(xué)畢業(yè)，但是在那一周里，我覺(jué)得自己像孩子一樣無(wú)助，作為一個(gè)獨(dú)立的個(gè)體，那段時(shí)間，我的內(nèi)心真的是無(wú)比掙扎。

感恩的是，新朋友給了我?guī)椭Ｋ麄優(yōu)槲腋愣穗娫?、網(wǎng)絡(luò)和現(xiàn)金，然后帶我去便利店，給我介紹美食。漸漸地，我可以宣布我真正獨(dú)立了。

我的新朋友既有中國(guó)人也有外國(guó)同事，他們讓我感到自己并不孤獨(dú)，而我也學(xué)會(huì)了信任和依賴。友誼的美麗與力量讓我能謙卑地去尋求幫助，這是我在第一周里學(xué)到的，相信也會(huì)伴隨我未來(lái)在中國(guó)的日子。

每當(dāng)我看到外國(guó)人初來(lái)中國(guó)，常為自己不停地提問(wèn)或?yàn)槌燥?、旅行尋求翻譯而表示歉意時(shí)，就會(huì)想起往日我和朋友們互相幫襯的情形。當(dāng)我們彼此攙扶、彼此依靠、彼此支持時(shí)，其實(shí)都是在為建立更好的關(guān)系而不斷學(xué)習(xí)成長(zhǎng)。

Trust and dependency lead my way

After dinner, my friend and I go separate directions, and I walk to the supermarket. As I collect things from the shelves—corn starch, milk,oatmeal—I think back to my fi rst week in-country.

My first few days in China were difficult, because I felt helpless to do anything for myself. I didn’t have a phone or Internet or the correct money to buy anything. I had no food or shampoo and no idea where to go to fi nd these basic, simple things. Worse, I didn’t have the right words to ask about anything. Before coming to China, I had graduated from college, but that fi rst week in-country I was as lost as a child. As an independent person, that was a huge struggle early on.

Thankfully, new friends came to help. They sorted out my phone and internet and money, and then took me to the corner store and helped me to explore local restaurants. Gradually, I reclaimed my independence.

The new friends-both Chinese locals and other expats-also helped me to learn. They showed me that I was not helpless; I was simply learning to be interdependent. The beauty and strength of community, of friendships, of learning to humble myself enough to ask for help-these are the lessons built into those fi rst weeks, and they’ve carried on through my time as an expat here.

When someone new to China apologizes for asking so many questions or for needing a translation or a meal or a trip to the store, I come back around to these memories and the circle of grace offered to each other through this process. We are all learning. When we help one another, when we lean on one another for support, we all grow in community because of it, and that makes for better relationships across any cultures.

Letting go of the memories, I leave the store and visit the fresh market,stopping by dimly-lit stalls of several different vendors, picking through fruit, vegetables, eggs, and herbs to select the ones that look best. Some of the vegetables come with dirt still on them, a reminder of how recently they came from the ground, likely brought into the city on a truck that morning.

In America, the vegetables would already be clean, sometimes already cut up, and ready-to-use in shiny plastic packages. The fresh market in China is more work for me, but it’s also a simpler, more connected system. Here,I know that the produce is fresh, because of the dirt or chicken feathers still stuck to it. Here, I know the vegetables will be clean, because I’ll wash them with my own hands. Here, the lady who sells eggs knows me, and we can have a short exchange with many smiles and happy words as we communicate in a limited language exchange. Shopping becomes personal and more about doing community than about checking off a necessary errand.

離開(kāi)超市，我去了菜場(chǎng)。在黃昏的光暈中，為了挑選到更好的水果、蔬菜和雞蛋，我在幾個(gè)攤子前轉(zhuǎn)來(lái)轉(zhuǎn)去。有些蔬菜沾上了泥土，仿佛在提醒我，它們是今早才被采摘運(yùn)送過(guò)來(lái)的。

在美國(guó)，我們買到的都是凈菜，有些已經(jīng)切好包好，隨時(shí)可用。中國(guó)的菜場(chǎng)雖然不那么“高大上”，但有更多交流的機(jī)會(huì)，所以更對(duì)我的胃口。在這里，我可以從一坨泥或一根雞毛上知道菜有多新鮮，并且親手把它們洗得干干凈凈。這里賣雞蛋的小販認(rèn)識(shí)我，雖然我們語(yǔ)言不通，但可以從彼此滿面的笑容和開(kāi)心的表情中讀懂對(duì)方。購(gòu)物對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)不再是冷冰冰的挑選與付款，而是人與人之間的互動(dòng)與交流。

在孩子的嬉鬧中 我看到了生活

走出菜場(chǎng)，我進(jìn)了小區(qū)。來(lái)中國(guó)以前，我從沒(méi)住過(guò)高于兩層樓的房子，但在這里，我住在一座34層樓的中間，視野開(kāi)闊，朝陽(yáng)絢麗。

夜幕降臨，一群中年婦女跟著歡快的音樂(lè)跳起了廣場(chǎng)舞。而在清晨，她們總是安靜而堅(jiān)定地打太極，隨著復(fù)雜的動(dòng)作而緩緩移動(dòng)，這對(duì)控制力有著極高的要求?，F(xiàn)在，我看到了她們有力而優(yōu)雅的一面，我不禁暗想，要是有勇氣加入她們?cè)摱嗪冒。?/p>

擦身而過(guò)的，還有一群牽著孫子的爺爺奶奶們，孩子們的帽子上都有動(dòng)物耳朵，非?？蓯?ài)。有時(shí)候，他們會(huì)為了要東西而跟大人哭鬧，雖然很難聽(tīng)懂他們咿咿呀呀的在說(shuō)什么，但這畫面實(shí)在有趣。其實(shí)，有些事情是不需要說(shuō)得太清楚的，對(duì)吧？

代際交流在中國(guó)有著廣泛而深刻的意義。父母會(huì)帶孩子們出門，但更多時(shí)候，是爺爺奶奶們陪伴孫輩們。因?yàn)榇笕艘习?，?shí)在沒(méi)時(shí)間。我很樂(lè)于見(jiàn)到以這種方式將家人聯(lián)結(jié)在一起。

大點(diǎn)兒的孩子們結(jié)伴玩耍，他們攀爬小區(qū)里的大石頭。當(dāng)我經(jīng)過(guò)他們身邊時(shí)，他們大聲地同我打招呼。

I see life in children’s frolic

From the fresh market, I head back to my apartment complex. Before China,I had never lived in a house taller than two stories, but the buildings here are thirty-four stories, and I’m halfway up, with a whole new view of the world.The sunrise over a city can be surprisingly beautiful.

In the gathering dusk, a group of women are dancing in unison to cheerful music. In the early mornings, I have seen some of them doing tai chi with swords, fi erce and silent, slowly moving through complex moves that require the utmost control. As the women dance now, I marvel at how strong and graceful they seem, and secretly wish that I had the courage to join them.

Farther on, babies and toddlers in jackets with animal ears (and occasionally tails) wander about, minded by a grandparent or another relative. Some of the little ones are screeching in attempts to get something they want. Most are babbling to one another or their caretakers in baby-talk-unintelligible,but adorable all the same. Some things require no translation.

Generational interconnection seems to hold greater meaning in China. There are mothers or fathers out with their children, but more often grandparents will be leading or trailing after the youngest members of the family. It’s common for grandparents to care for the children of a family while mum and dad are off working, and it’s lovely to see the family bonds that form because of this.

其中一個(gè)孩子常滔滔不絕地跟我侃大山，盡管我用有限的中文跟她說(shuō)了幾個(gè)月“不好意思，我聽(tīng)不懂”，但她絲毫沒(méi)有放棄的念頭，可能她覺(jué)得只要堅(jiān)持，終有一天我會(huì)奇跡般地聽(tīng)懂。

這個(gè)女孩又說(shuō)了些中文，并慢慢重復(fù)了一遍，然后期盼地看著我。我鸚鵡學(xué)舌般地跟讀了一遍，她對(duì)我笑了笑。其他的孩子們也都跑了過(guò)來(lái)，似乎發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個(gè)新游戲：他們指著樹(shù)、石頭和嬰兒，告訴我中文怎么說(shuō)，然后等著我重復(fù)。我說(shuō)對(duì)了！一個(gè)滿臉嚴(yán)肅的男孩毫不吝嗇地夸獎(jiǎng)了我。但更多時(shí)候，情況剛好相反，我失誤連連，狀況百出。不一會(huì)兒，孩子們就因?yàn)槲以愀獾陌l(fā)音哈哈大笑，他們的笑聲感染了我，我也情不自禁地和他們一起笑起來(lái)。

我們互相揮手道別，孩子們繼續(xù)玩著他們的攀石游戲。一個(gè)男孩爬到了最高處，他激情澎湃地將手伸到空中大聲喊，“山大王！”

我邊走邊回頭張望，記得小時(shí)候我和哥哥姐姐們也玩過(guò)類似的游戲——用巖石當(dāng)高山，泥坑當(dāng)海洋。想到這里，我突然決定要給家人打個(gè)電話，雖然此時(shí)此刻我們有13個(gè)小時(shí)的時(shí)差。

Older children are also out playing together, unsupervised, scrambling over the large rocks that decorate the inner spaces of our complex. They shout greetings when I start to pass by.

One of the children chatters a stream of Chinese at me. Despite nearly three months of repeatedly telling her “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand Chinese” in my halting, limited Mandarin, the girl continues to speak whole paragraphs of Chinese at me, perhaps thinking that if she keeps trying,eventually I’ll give in and somehow magically begin to understand her.

The girl says something in Mandarin, then repeats it more slowly, and looks at me expectantly. I parrot the words back to her; she laughs at my attempt.The other children run over, sensing a new game. They all begin pointing at objects-a tree, a rock, a baby-saying the Mandarin words and waiting for me to repeat after them. One solemn boy tells me “good” after I repeat his word correctly, and I dip my head respectfully to him. But mostly it’s a terrible series of me saying things wrongly. Within minutes, the children are all howling with laughter because I’ve mixed up all of the sounds, and their amusement is so contagious, I can’t help but laugh along with them.

I wave goodbye-something we all understand-and they return the wave,running off to continue their game on the rocks. One boy scrambles to the top of the highest rock and shouts, punching his arm into the air with enthusiasm. “King of the mountain. ”

Walking away, I look back a few times to watch the children playing, smiling as I remember similar adventures with my brothers and sisters-we, too,would pretend to make mountains from rocks and oceans from puddles.This makes me decide to call my family, just as soon as we can schedule it around the thirteen time zones separating us.

我人生的前28年都是在美國(guó)度過(guò)的，而后幾年則住在中國(guó)。這兩個(gè)國(guó)家有著明顯的文化差異。記得初來(lái)乍到時(shí)，我總是因?yàn)椴荒苋豚l(xiāng)隨俗而沮喪。但是隨著時(shí)間的推移，我逐漸懂得了一些亙古不變的道理：食物是連接人與人之間的紐帶；孩子們通過(guò)想象的方式玩游戲；家人很重要，優(yōu)于一切。即使在地球的兩端，有著文化的鴻溝，但在這幾點(diǎn)上，人們還是能達(dá)成共識(shí)的。而且從事物的相似性中，我學(xué)到了我們需要有更多的耐心來(lái)對(duì)待差異，要適時(shí)地停下來(lái)看看為什么事情會(huì)這樣，并且始終保持一顆敬畏的心去聆聽(tīng)，去審時(shí)度勢(shì)。

太陽(yáng)的余暉散落在這座城市的高樓大廈間，散發(fā)出似玫瑰又似火焰的光芒，我也終于回到了家。

In China-where I’ve only lived a few years-and the USA-where I was born and spent the first twenty-eight years of my life-the cultures can often be very different. I remember when I first arrived, spending time being frustrated because I didn’t understand why things were happening in a certain way. But over time I’ve learned that some things don’t change: Food brings connection and community between people. Children make games with their imagination and anything around them. Family is important;family comes first. It’s reassuring to know that, even across very different cultures on opposite sides of the Earth, some things stay the same. And in seeing the similarities, I’ve learned to have more patience with the differences, to pause and look for why things are happening, to listen and pay more attention and respect.

The sun sets behind the towering skyscrapers of this Chinese city, glowing across the sky with hues of rose and fi re, and I fi nish walking home.