xiaoshitou 的个人资料Life Is Beautiful照片日志列表更多  |  工具 帮助 |
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10月31日 妹妹 今天决定加入一旅行团，游温哥华岛。一大早等着上轮船的时候买了热巧克力和banana bread, 心情很好，回到旅游团的车里，刚坐下，发现前面一个大约4岁的小孩盯着我看。我不知道他什么意思，就回看了他一眼。不料，他伸出手来指着我，大叫： “妹妹！” 全车的人都把目光投向我，小孩的父母也转过来看，之后赶快把小朋友的手压下去。 郁闷！ ＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊ 下了轮船，来到了著名的宝翠花园(Buchart Garden)。因为季节过了，游人稀少，而游人中又 有 百分之 八十是中国人，都是跟团而来。有的长的肥得流油的样子，好象人群中也经常有个李总、冯总之类的。 这些人当中，还真有挺恶心的。在公园里大声喧哗不说，还有的在不该上的地方 爬上爬下的。更有甚者，索性在圆中点根烟抽上，害得附近的游客皱着鼻子，尽量躲着他们。。 这些人见了 牌子就大声郎读，有一个女的还指着 一个写着“100％ smoke free area"的牌子大声说， ”百分之百随便吸烟区。“ 10月29日 胜利大"逃荒"I hate travelers with a lot of luggage.
There are those who carry HUGE backpacks onto the plane and somehow always end up squeezing their way in front of me, making me feel that I'd be hit by their bags any time they turn to talk to their fellow travelers, who happen to be carrying equally big backpacks. There are also those who have multiple bags for their carry-on luggage, which often includes a slightly-torn paper gift bag, bulging plastic bags and sometimes humongous purses.
"Are they bringing their coffee machines when they vacation?" I often make snide remarks like that to myself when running into one of those travelers. After all, I usually have just one medium-sized backpack as a carry-on and no checked luggage at all, even if I'm on the road for two weeks. If I don't have three outfits a day, so be it.
But for the past few weeks, I've been one of these burdened travelers. I had decided to travel a little bit before moving back to China, so after purchasing a series of one-way tickets, I set out with two suitcases that each weighed at least 50 pounds (50 pounds is the limit) and two heavy carry-on bags. In them were all of my print photos from the past nine years, diaries, paper documents, my laptop, the various chargers and wires for the few electronic devices I own, and some winter clothes, which I need to wear as I would be traveling up north. I just felt more comfortable taking my photos and diaries with me than mailing them back to China.
Having an overweight bag on a journey with multiple flight plans is potentially expensive, but I'm lucky enough not to pay a single fine. First I flew from New York to Reno, and I decided to pay a few dollars to use the curbside check-in. The man handling the baggage was not even using a scale. He lifted the heavier bag of the two, which was overweight, then the 50-pound bag, and then the overweight bag again, and decided that both bags were OK. When I flew from Reno to Salt Lake City, the cab driver wouldn't stop complaining about my heavy bags. I looked at him and said, "You are late," (which he was) and he shut up after that. The ticketing agent was kind enough not to charge me anything for the bag that weighed 56 pounds. He just put a tag specifying the weight on it. And before my flight from Salt Lake City to Vancouver, I decided not to take any chances and tossed whatever I could -- sunscreens, soap, one or two pieces of clothing, etc.
Even then, I'm embarrassed with my two heavy carry-on bags. I'm embarrassed when other passengers had to wait five seconds as I dragged my bags through the isle.
Next time I fly, I'm taking one bag. :)
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Even though it's a pain to travel with a lot of luggage, I'm glad I got to see places I've always wanted to see before moving back. In the past, I've only traveled when I was on vacation or when I moved from one job to another. But never have I thought I'd enjoy traveling when I'm not working and have no potential work in sight. I never thought I'd be entitled to have any time off if I'm not working.
These past two weeks has been wonderful. I saw friends in Reno and Idaho falls, and toured the Grand Teton, Yellowstone and Glacier national parks. Almost everyone who knew of my plan said this is a bad time of the year to go see those parks, as snow might shut down roads in the mountains. We did experience quite a bit of snow in Grand Teton and Yellowstone, but I'm glad to report snow gives these parks a special beauty. I'm really glad I got to see these parks in the winter.
Traveling also provided a slow way of exiting the United States and gave me time to process my thoughts and feelings. Just a month ago, I was having all kinds of emotions in me about my decision to leave the country I lived in for nine years. I practically spent all my spare time thinking about those nine years. Now I feel calm and excited about the move back home.
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And what better transition to have than going to Vancouver. :) My friends here enjoy a few Chinese TV channels, use Chinese grocery stores and took me to dim sum this morning. I see Chinese faces everywhere. I think I'm going to be used to a Chinese life. heehee. (And I'll probably be writing the next blog entry in Chinese. ;-) 10月19日 Homecoming to RenoThe university I left more than six years ago looks and feels the same.
As I walk on campus, all my senses are brought back to life here years ago. Even the distinct smell in the library hasn't changed. There are more computers in the main library's open space, and on the wall, photos featuring people from around the world (one of them looked so much like my late grandmother that I would go to the library when I missed her) have been replaced by photos showing updates of the construction progress of a "knowledge center" on campus. The computer lab that I wrote about for my first published newspaper story is still there, but it's got a new neighbor now -- a closed-up area that's labeled "training lab."
Stacks of The New York Times and The Nevada Sagebrush, the campus newspaper, are left in the lobby. It's almost 10 a.m., but it seems that not many people have taken a copy of either paper. On the frontpage of the Sagebrush is a story that the Nevada university system's board of regents rejected one regent's proposal to allow faculty members to train on paid leave as police officers and then carry concealed weapon on campus. I guess the state remains crazy as ever. But then, which state hasn't had some wacky ideas?
Quite a few of my professors (including one of my favorite) have left the J-school, but it's nice seeing the remaining ones. After all, I couldn't even dream of getting into the journalism business without their help and support, let alone work for one of the most respected news organizations in the world.
One of the highlights of my Reno trip is seeing my friend J and his wife. I went to school with J and volunteered for his wife at a center serving people with disabilities in the summer of 2001. They are some of the kindest, smartest and coolest people I've met in the U.S. I still remember having Thanksgiving dinner with their families and hanging out at their house. I also remember learning how cool nonprofits are, how important volunteer work is and realizing that it is possible for people to make a living and live by their ideals at the same time.
Life has become ever more hectic for J and his wife, with the birth of their second daughter this year. But it's still nice to spend time with them. We looked at photos and talked about what's happened in our lives. It felt just like another weekend at their house. It felt as if I had never left Reno.
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I was disappointed, though, to find out that Into the Wild is not playing in Reno. I loved the book and really would have liked to watch the movie. 10月16日 Lazy dayI'm slowly recovering from the craziness and emotional turmoil in the past month, and enjoying some s-l-o-w time here in Reno.
Got up late and the friend I'm staying with had already gone to work. I putzed around the house and took some time to look at the fall foilage out the window. Then I went to do my laundry and checked my email between the loads. By noon, I was done with laundry and heated some leftover for lunch.
After that I called to set up some appointments to see friends and professors in the area -- I spent three lovely years in Reno for grad school but never returned in the six years since I graduated. I almost forgot how nice it is here. Yesterday, I met up with a couple of friends for coffee and had lunch with a close friend and a professor I LOVED. It was sunny, so we sat outside, with the mountains surrounding us. They were so closes, so grand and so beautiful -- something you could only have out West, I think.
My professor gave me a book of his columns. (I really admire him -- he's been practising journalism his whole life. Even though he teaches now, he writes a weekly column for one of the local papers. He's published 14 books, some collections of his columns. But his books are not like some of the books by self-absorbed wannabe writers we see on the market today. His books are the ones you want to take time to read.) And today, I actually had time to sit down and read his book. It seems that for the past few months, my reading had been limited to the rushed browsing of The New York Times articles just to have a vague idea of what's going on in the world. Now it's so nice to have time to do something I enjoy very much. ...
After reading, I took a walk. This is heaven. Why don't more people slow down?
10月13日 ...I'm finally all packed and ready to go. It's been so busy this week that I have had little time to think. Everyday, I just get up, go to work, come home, work some more, sort my stuff and go to bed. Tonight I finished working at about nine with a couple of my colleagues and several students who participated in my program. It felt like a nice way to wrap up. I got home, took a shower and tried to fit everything into two suitcases and a backpack. I had to throw away a few more things (I feel like the whole month, all I did was getting rid of stuff.). Had Jack Johnson in the background the whole time I was packing, and now that I'm done with everything and have a chance to sit down and be by myself and listen to his music, I realize it's making me a little sad. A good friend sent me all of her Jack Johnson CDs after she got all the songs onto her iPod. Just listening to them brings back so many good memories. For a moment, I couldn't believe I'm leaving -- and leaving all of this behind. Then, I was amazed at how brave I was. Then I was sad I was leaving. Then I was excited about the new possibilities, about being closer to my family, about finally doing what I've been thinking for years. ... Then, I'm too tired to think or type or sit here. :) I guess life is like a TV series. As I put a period to my life in the U.S., I'm starting a new season -- a season in China. So this is not the end; this is "To be continued." 10月9日 最近实在太累，没力气自己写了...。 虽然听不太懂千千阙歌 徐徐回望 曾属于彼此的晚上 红红仍是你 赠我的心中艳阳 如流傻泪 祈望可体恤兼见谅 明晨离别你 路也许孤单得漫长 一瞬间 太多东西要讲 可惜即将在各一方 只好深深把这刻尽凝望 来日纵使千千阙歌 飘于远方我路上 来日纵使千千晚星 亮过今晚月亮 都比不起这宵美丽 亦绝不可使我更欣赏 Ah... 因你今晚共我唱 临行临别 才顿感哀伤的漂亮 原来全是你 令我的思忆漫长 何年何月 才又可今宵一样 停留凝望里 让眼睛讲彼此立场 当某天 雨点轻敲你窗 当风声 吹乱你构想 可否抽空想这张旧模样 来日纵使千千阙歌 飘于远方我路上 来日纵使千千晚星 亮过今晚月亮 都比不起这宵美丽 都洗不清今晚我所想 因不知那天再共你唱 今天我喜欢的诗再别康桥 作者：徐志摩 轻轻的我走了，正如我轻轻的来；
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