美語情景對話 第1161期:Missing Home 想家

Aimee: So Gilda, we're both teachers, and we both live and work abroad, right, from our home countries.

艾米：吉爾達，我們都是老師，我們都在國外生活工作，遠離家園。

Gilda: Yes.

吉爾達：對。

Aimee: I'm from Scotland and you're from Venezuela. So, I'm sure we both have to deal with homesickness because we're so far from our home. How do you deal with home sickness?

艾米：我來自蘇格蘭，你來自委內瑞拉。我確定我們兩個人都要應對思鄉之情，因爲我們都遠離家鄉。你想家時怎麼辦？

Gilda: It's very difficult because as you said I'm so far from my country.

吉爾達：這非常難，因爲如你所說，我們都遠離家鄉。

Aimee: Yeah.

艾米：對。

Gilda: And like special seasons like Christmas or during the Holy Week – it is something that we celebrate a lot, I feel really homesick especially because of the food we have.

吉爾達：在聖誕節或聖周等我們經常慶祝的特殊節日期間，因爲我們所吃的食物，我會感覺尤爲想家。

Aimee: Yeah.

艾米：對。

Gilda: Yeah, a particular food and also meeting with your friends, hanging out with them, going to the beach. So all those things that I don't have here is, – yeah, it really makes feel homesick. But one thing I do is I always try to go for things in the country where I'm living. So what do the locals do? Is there any interesting – and it's a sort of like an adventure because you're doing something new so you're kind of replacing something that you used to do by something new. So in a way, it's nice dealing with homesickness.

吉爾達：特別的節日食物，和朋友見面，一起外出，去海灘。現在在這裏，這些事情我都做不了，這讓我更想家。不過我會做一件事，那就是儘量按照我所生活的那個國家的習慣去做。當地人會做什麼？有沒有什麼有意思的事情？這就像冒險一樣，因爲你在嘗試新鮮事物，你在用新的事物代替你所習慣的事情。從某種程度上來說，這是應對鄉愁的好方法。

Aimee: Yeah.

艾米：好。

Gilda: What about you?

吉爾達：你呢？

Aimee: Well, that's kind of what I was going to say. You said replacing, I was going to say just distract yourself with other activities. Obviously, we've met new people living here and, you know, I've made some new and wonderful friends. And it's not the same as your life back home but it's a good distraction, I think. You mentioned activities, so yeah, just exploring the new culture that we're in. And if feeling homesickness in regards to food, you know, there's a lot of delicious foods here in Japan. Delicious foods, so we can distract our needs, I guess.

艾米：那正是我要說的。你剛說了代替，我要說的是，我會去做其他的事情來轉移自己的注意力。我們在這裏認識了新的朋友，我交了新朋友，這些朋友非常不錯。雖然這和在家鄉的生活不一樣，但是我認爲這是轉移注意力的好方法。你剛提到了各種活動，沒錯，我們可以在我們生活的地方去探索新文化。如果想念家鄉的食物，日本有很多美食，我們可以去品嚐。我想，美食可以轉移我們的需求。

Gilda: Yeah. That's one of the good things of being in Japan is the fact that you get to know people from all over the world and try so many different things. So yeah, it's a distraction. It's a good distraction. Yeah.

吉爾達：對。這是在日本生活的一大好處，你可以在這裏認識世界各地的人，嘗試不同的事物。的確，這可以轉移注意力，這是轉移注意力的好方法。

Aimee: One, I guess, one strategy I have as well for homesickness is whenever someone comes to visit, which is very rare but it does happen, I send them a list of things that they can fill their suitcase with to bring over for me. Foods from home and just tea bags from the local supermarket and, you know, some cosmetics or toiletries that I cannot buy here, particular brands that I like. And it's little things like that that help me, I think, deal with not having them. Basically, having them helps me deal with not having them.

艾米：我認爲，我應對想家的另一個方法是，有人從家鄉來看我時，雖然這種情況很少，不過的確會有人來看我，我會給他們列一份清單，列出我需要他們帶給我的東西，這些東西可以填滿他們的行李箱。比如家鄉的食物、當地超市的茶包，還有我在這裏買不到的化妝品和洗漱用品，因爲我有喜歡的特定品牌。這些小東西會幫助我解決沒有它們的煩惱。基本上來說，這些東西會幫助我解決問題。

Gilda: I also do that sometimes like my family try to visit me once a year so their suitcase packed of stuff Venezuela, which is very important to me. And also I try to find those supermarkets from South America like Brazilian supermarkets...

吉爾達：我有時也這樣做，我家人儘量一年來看我一次，他們來的時候行李箱裝滿了來自委內瑞拉的東西，這對我來說非常重要。另外，我也儘量尋找來自南美的超市，比如巴西超市等。

Aimee: Right. Yeah.

艾米：對，沒錯。

Gilda: Or sometimes the Filipino supermarkets, they have stuff that we have in Venezuela, so yeah, it's very nice.

吉爾達：有時菲律賓超市有委內瑞拉超市賣的東西，這非常不錯。

Aimee: I actually used to live out in a different part of Japan where there was quite a large Brazilian population, and there were many like Brazilian convenient store. Wonderful breads, the meat was good, too. Yeah, lots of really good products. So I guess a shop like that would help you in particular.

艾米：我以前在日本其他地方生活，那裏的巴西人非常多，所以那裏有很多巴西便利店。當然也有非常棒的麪包和肉類。有很多很好的食物。我想那種超市肯定能幫到你。

Gilda: Yes, I guess Brazilians, they don't have the same issue that we have with homesickness because they can get a lot of stuff from Brazil here in Japan.

吉爾達：對，我想巴西人不像我們這樣想家，因爲日本有很多來自巴西的產品。

Aimee: That's true. Yeah. Well, of course, you know, there are international stores around. I'm lucky enough to – even in a small city like this, I have an international store that's reasonably close. So there are a few products that you can – I feel happy about, I guess. Maybe I wouldn't even buy them at home but when I see them in the shop here, I feel like, oh I can't get other things so I'm going to buy these biscuits.

艾米：沒錯。當然，附近有國際商店。我想我足夠幸運，即使在這樣一座小城市，我住的地方附近也有一家國際商店。那裏有許多可以讓我感到開心的產品。可能我在家的時候不會買那些產品，可是當我在這裏看到它們的時候，我會感覺，哦我找不到其他東西，所以我要買這些餅乾。

Gilda: Likewise, something that you can read.

吉爾達：同樣地，還有那些包裝上有你可以看懂的文字的產品。

Aimee: Yeah. Well, yeah, that too. Just peel the language stick off the top and read the English below.

艾米：對，沒錯。揭掉頂層的那些說明，看下面的英語。

Gilda: Yes.

吉爾達：對。

Aimee: Yeah. There are different ways to cope with it, I think.

艾米：嗯。我認爲有很多種應對鄉愁的方法。

Gilda: Yes.

吉爾達：對。

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重點講解：
1. hang out with 閒逛，逗留；
例句：I hang out with my friends and I took lots of photos.
我與朋友一起玩耍並照了許多相片。
2. in a way (用於緩和語氣)在某種程度上，在某些方面；
例句：In a way I think we both won: I the game but cousin Ed my respect.
在一定程度上，我認爲我們都贏了，我贏得了這次比賽，伊德表弟贏得了我的尊重。
3. peel off 剝掉；剝落；
例句：It took me two days to peel off the labels.
我花了兩天時間才揭下這些標籤。
4. cope with (成功地)處理，應付，對付；
例句：I'm sure she'll cope with the changes very well; she's very adaptable.
我肯定她會非常妥善地對付各種變化，她是個適應性非常強的人。