從印度搬到美國(guó)是什么感覺(jué)?
What is it like to move from India to the US?
譯文簡(jiǎn)介
網(wǎng)友：我從泰米爾納德邦的奧羅維爾搬到了美國(guó)，之前我在印度生活了近十年，學(xué)習(xí)了印地語(yǔ)和泰米爾語(yǔ)。為了成為一名專(zhuān)業(yè)的家具制作師，我離開(kāi)了印度，來(lái)到美國(guó)西北部的一所頂尖木工學(xué)校深造。印度目前還沒(méi)有這樣高水平的木工學(xué)校。當(dāng)我在西雅圖降落時(shí)，我注意到的第一件事是平坦......
正文翻譯
What is it like to move from India to the US?
從印度搬到美國(guó)是什么感覺(jué)?
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I moved to the US from Auroville in Tamil Nadu after having lived in India for the better part of a decade and learning both Hindi and Tamil. I wanted to become a professional furniture maker and I found a great woodworking school in the Pacific Northwest. India doesn’t currently have a good woodworking school.
The first thing I noticed when I landed in Seattle was a kind of flatness. In India there was always something interesting happening: temple music or some raucous festival; cows sprawled on the side of the road; oil lamps outside of everyone’s houses at night; a snake or scorpion found in the backyard; a sadhu with a navel-long silver beard dressed in ochre; pounding monsoon rains that forced you to stay at home; men and women by the sides of the road selling fresh produce from their backyard; coconut stands in the street. Oh and mangos. Succulent, golden-fleshed mangos.
我從泰米爾納德邦的奧羅維爾搬到了美國(guó)，之前我在印度生活了近十年，學(xué)習(xí)了印地語(yǔ)和泰米爾語(yǔ)。為了成為一名專(zhuān)業(yè)的家具制作師，我離開(kāi)了印度，來(lái)到美國(guó)西北部的一所頂尖木工學(xué)校深造。印度目前還沒(méi)有這樣高水平的木工學(xué)校。
當(dāng)我在西雅圖降落時(shí)，我注意到的第一件事是平坦。在印度，總有一些有趣的事情發(fā)生:寺廟音樂(lè)或一些喧鬧的節(jié)日、路邊悠閑的牛群、家家戶(hù)戶(hù)夜晚點(diǎn)亮的油燈、后院偶爾出現(xiàn)的蛇或蝎子、身著赭色長(zhǎng)袍、留著長(zhǎng)至肚臍銀胡子的苦行僧、季風(fēng)季節(jié)的傾盆大雨、路邊叫賣(mài)的新鮮農(nóng)產(chǎn)品、街頭的椰子攤，還有那些多汁的、金黃色果肉的芒果。
I had a lump in my throat as I drove out from the airport, wide quiet roads where everyone obeyed traffic, spindly-green conifers stretching to the horizon. It was beautiful, but I felt like I missed something. I missed the liveliness of India. I doubted myself. Did I make the right decision? Was this worth it?
除了這些，空氣中還彌漫著一種令人振奮、噼啪作響的感覺(jué)，一種難以名狀的魔力，它像電場(chǎng)一樣，給周?chē)囊磺凶⑷肓四Я推孥E。
當(dāng)我開(kāi)車(chē)離開(kāi)機(jī)場(chǎng)時(shí)，我的喉嚨哽咽了，寬闊安靜的道路上，每個(gè)人都服從交通，細(xì)長(zhǎng)的綠色針葉樹(shù)延伸到地平線(xiàn)上。景色雖美，但我心中卻有一種失落感。我懷念印度的熱鬧和活力。我開(kāi)始質(zhì)疑自己的選擇：我真的做出了正確的決定嗎？這一切犧牲是否值得？
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網(wǎng) http://top-shui.cn 轉(zhuǎn)載請(qǐng)注明出處
After a while something began to settle. The school was professional and teachers intelligent; I was learning what I had wanted to learn. I had tried apprenticing with local woodworkers in India, but their level had been disappointing, crude and unrefined.
當(dāng)我們?cè)谧鈦?lái)的房子里安頓下來(lái)時(shí)，我花了幾個(gè)月的時(shí)間才認(rèn)識(shí)了我們所有的鄰居。他們都是好人，但他們大多不跟人交往。在印度，我和鄰居們大部分時(shí)間都是開(kāi)著大門(mén)的，我們的孩子們可以自由地跑到彼此的房子里，在一起玩耍。他們甚至可以選擇在哪個(gè)家里吃午飯。在美國(guó)，9個(gè)月后我才和我隔壁的鄰居說(shuō)話(huà)。
時(shí)間慢慢流逝，我開(kāi)始適應(yīng)了新環(huán)境。這所學(xué)校非常專(zhuān)業(yè)，老師們智慧且博學(xué)，我能夠?qū)W習(xí)到我渴望掌握的知識(shí)。回想起在印度時(shí)，我曾嘗試跟隨當(dāng)?shù)氐哪竟W(xué)習(xí)，但那些經(jīng)歷讓我感到失望，它們的水平既粗糙又未經(jīng)提煉。
And I liked how manual labor was honored and not disdained like in India. Not everyone was rushing to find a job in an air-conditioned office—there was pride in being able to make or repair things with one’s hands, even if other jobs paid more.
我也很欣賞這里的遼闊：我感到自己擁有了無(wú)限的空間，一個(gè)無(wú)人能夠打擾的私人領(lǐng)域。我對(duì)這里的一切都感到滿(mǎn)意，環(huán)境的清潔、高效的生活，沒(méi)有電力中斷的煩惱，公共交通工具如渡輪般總是準(zhǔn)時(shí)運(yùn)行，我所需的一切物品也總是觸手可及。
我也欣賞這里對(duì)體力勞動(dòng)的尊重——不同于印度的輕視。不是每個(gè)人都渴望在空調(diào)辦公室工作，能夠用自己的雙手創(chuàng)造或修復(fù)東西，即使收入不如其他工作，也讓人感到自豪。
I didn’t miss the filth, the pollution or the stench; or the unreliability of everything.
I felt torn—I wanted India but with the orderliness and cleanliness of the US. Or I wanted the US but with the magic and wonder of India.
In short, I wanted something impossible.
然而，夜晚時(shí)分，我常常夢(mèng)回印度：那里的紅土地、布谷鳥(niǎo)的叫聲、孔雀的鳴叫，以及人們面對(duì)重重困難時(shí)的樂(lè)觀與希望。我夢(mèng)見(jiàn)了人們的溫暖和安逸，夢(mèng)見(jiàn)了似乎滲透到這片土地本身的精神振動(dòng)，它滋養(yǎng)了我在印度才發(fā)現(xiàn)的內(nèi)心深處。
我不懷念那里的臟亂、污染和異味，也不懷念那里的不可靠。
我感到矛盾——我想要印度的活力，同時(shí)也想要美國(guó)的秩序和清潔?；蛘?，我想要美國(guó)的便利，同時(shí)擁有印度的魔力和奇跡。
簡(jiǎn)而言之，我想要的，是一種難以實(shí)現(xiàn)的完美融合。
I’ve always had the EXACT same feelings when coming back to Europe from India. I never stayed that long, but the longest was 8 months
The all-pervading underlying spiritual vibration of India, the colourfulness of life, the beauty of its people in all shapes and forms, the proximity of kindred souls, and yes, the red soil of Auroville! On the other hand the clean environment and clean air in Europe, quiet roads, the vastness and freedom of having all the personal space one wants, the quality, efficiency and comfort of the material aspects of life...
Yes, hard or indeed impossible to reconcile.
每次從印度回到歐洲，我都體驗(yàn)到了完全相同的感覺(jué)——雖然我在印度停留的時(shí)間從未超過(guò)8個(gè)月，但那里無(wú)處不在的靈性氣息、生活的斑斕色彩、人們各式各樣的美麗形態(tài)、親近靈魂的接近，以及奧羅維爾的紅土地，都讓我難以忘懷。與此同時(shí)，歐洲的清新空氣、干凈環(huán)境、寧?kù)o的道路、廣闊的個(gè)人空間以及物質(zhì)生活方面的高質(zhì)量、高效率和舒適，同樣讓我向往。
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網(wǎng) http://top-shui.cn 轉(zhuǎn)載請(qǐng)注明出處
Yes!
確實(shí)如此！
This brought tears to my eyes. I too have lived all over the world and only someone who has left their home and culture behind and felt that loss and sense of displacement can even begin to understand how disorienting it can be at first. There are so many aspects of culture we take for granted that are unspoken and it is so easy to realize you don’t even know what you don’t know. I have nothing but the deepest admiration and respect for anyone willing to make that move and take that kind of chance to make their life better. More power to you. America is lucky to have you.
這段話(huà)觸動(dòng)了我，讓我淚眼朦朧。我同樣在世界各地生活過(guò)，只有那些真正離開(kāi)過(guò)自己的故土和文化，感受過(guò)那份失落和流離失所的人，才能開(kāi)始領(lǐng)會(huì)那種最初的迷茫。我們往往對(duì)文化中許多不言而喻的方面視而不見(jiàn)，直到意識(shí)到自己對(duì)這些未知的無(wú)知，才感到震驚。對(duì)于那些敢于邁出這一步、勇于抓住機(jī)會(huì)以求更好生活的人，我懷有無(wú)比的敬意和欽佩。愿你們獲得更多的力量,美國(guó)有幸擁有你們。
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網(wǎng) http://top-shui.cn 轉(zhuǎn)載請(qǐng)注明出處
“I wanted India but with the orderliness and cleanliness of the US. Or I wanted the US but with the magic and wonder of India. In short, I wanted something impossible.”
You clearly defined what's running in the back of my mind ALL THE TIME. Sometimes for this very reason, I feel I am unfit to live in this world. But sometimes, I am happy cause I have seen the best of both the worlds. Thank you for speaking my mind.
"我想要印度的活力，同時(shí)也想要美國(guó)的秩序和清潔。或者，我想要美國(guó)的便利，同時(shí)擁有印度的魔力和奇跡;簡(jiǎn)而言之，我想要的，是一種難以實(shí)現(xiàn)的完美融合。"
你完美地表達(dá)了我內(nèi)心深處的想法。有時(shí)，正因?yàn)檫@個(gè)原因，我感覺(jué)自己仿佛不適合生活在這個(gè)世界上。但有時(shí)，我又感到幸福，因?yàn)槲乙呀?jīng)體驗(yàn)到了兩個(gè)世界最好的一面;謝謝你替我發(fā)聲。
Thanks for sharing, Revathy. I’m surprised so many people have been able to resonate with this answer….
謝謝你分享，Revathy。我很驚訝有這么多人能夠與這個(gè)答案產(chǎn)生共鳴……
The magic in India is created from chaos of daily life and finding our way happily through the chaos. Can this be juxtaposed with a calm and laid back life, a derivative of development?
印度的魔力來(lái)自于日常生活的混亂，以及我們?cè)诨靵y中快樂(lè)地找到自己的道路。這能與平靜、悠閑的生活形成對(duì)比嗎，后者是發(fā)展的產(chǎn)物？
This is very similar to my sentiments when I left Nigeria to study in England. England was peaceful scerene but incredibly lonley. Connecting with people in England was a herculian task unlike back home in Nigeria, you could not just strike a conversation with a random person making friends or more accurately aquintances takes a lot of time as the British are generally private and suspicous of new people
這與我離開(kāi)尼日利亞去英國(guó)學(xué)習(xí)時(shí)的感受非常相似。英國(guó)的景色寧?kù)o，但非常孤獨(dú)。與英國(guó)人建立聯(lián)系是一項(xiàng)艱巨的任務(wù)，不像在尼日利亞，你可以隨意與一個(gè)陌生人交談，交朋友或更準(zhǔn)確地說(shuō)成為熟人，需要很多時(shí)間，因?yàn)橛?guó)人通常比較注重隱私，對(duì)新人持懷疑態(tài)度。
Yes, very much agreed, Caleb.
是的，非常贊同這個(gè)觀點(diǎn)，Caleb。
This is so beautifully articulated. I felt overwhelmed after reading your post because it so perfectly describes the 'reverse culture shock' I always get when I return from my long annual holidays in India where I was born, to Singapore where I live. You can imagine just how much more pronounced these feelings were for me- Singapore is much more orderly and quiet than the US!
這段文字表述得太美了,讀完你的分享，我深受觸動(dòng)，因?yàn)樗绱司珳?zhǔn)地捕捉了我每次在印度度過(guò)悠長(zhǎng)的年假后，返回新加坡時(shí)所感受到的那種“逆文化沖擊”。我在新加坡生活，而印度是我的出生地。你可以想象，對(duì)于我而言，這種感覺(jué)是多么的強(qiáng)烈——新加坡比美國(guó)更有秩序、更安靜、更干凈。
Fortunately, these negative feelings and wishful thinking vanished when I got busy with work and had no time to think about anything else.
從小到大，我一直不知道到底是什么讓我對(duì)離開(kāi)印度感到如此悲傷。在最初的幾天里，我感覺(jué)就像一只巨大的手臂把我從一個(gè)熱鬧的聚會(huì)中拽出來(lái)，扔進(jìn)了一個(gè)安靜的牢房。我絕對(duì)沒(méi)有開(kāi)玩笑——抑郁往往源自個(gè)人的內(nèi)心感受，這正是我如何體會(huì)到周?chē)h(huán)境差異的方式。隨之而來(lái)的是一種持續(xù)的渴望：“如果存在一個(gè)國(guó)家，它既有印度的活力，又有新加坡的秩序，那該多好？”我依然期待著印度未來(lái)能變得更加美好，這樣我就有機(jī)會(huì)有一天能夠在那里自由地生活。
幸運(yùn)的是，當(dāng)我忙于工作，沒(méi)有時(shí)間考慮其他事情時(shí)，這些消極的感覺(jué)和一廂情愿的想法就消失了。
Hi Rozalin, thank you for the comment. It’s difficult for me to imagine the contrast growing starker, i.e. with Singapore being even more orderly and quite and clean than the US.
Your descxtion of leaving and the depression is beautiful. That’s how I felt the first time I came back to Israel from India….
嗨，Rozalin，謝謝你的評(píng)論。我很難想象對(duì)比會(huì)更加鮮明，比如新加坡比美國(guó)更有秩序、更安靜、更干凈。
你對(duì)離開(kāi)印度和抑郁的描述很美。這就是我第一次從印度回到以色列時(shí)的感受……
Beautifully articulated!! I completely agree. When I came to the US to study, I felt the same thing. There was too much order and everything followed a very predictable routine in the US. It made it a little … um… ‘boring’. In India there was always something ‘intetesting’ going on. Even catching a bus had that little bit of a challenge to your day. Will I be able to get on the crowded bus? Will the traffic allow me to reach on time? When will the bus be here? And accomplishing small things just made the day more interesting because I can't predict them. But I don't miss the pollution and the garbage of India. I love having the convenience and efficiency of services and facilities in the US. It the US everything is ‘too convenient’ and clean. But the ‘hi how are you’ greetings seemed forced because in reality people valued privacy and their space too much. I too wish that there was a balance between both of these!!
描述得太美了！我完全贊同。當(dāng)我來(lái)美國(guó)學(xué)習(xí)時(shí)，我也有同樣的感覺(jué)。美國(guó)有太多的秩序，一切都遵循著非常可預(yù)測(cè)的例行程序。這讓它有點(diǎn)……嗯……“無(wú)聊”。在印度，總是有“有趣”的事情在發(fā)生。即使是趕公共汽車(chē)對(duì)你的一天來(lái)說(shuō)也是一個(gè)小小的挑戰(zhàn)。我能擠上擁擠的公交車(chē)嗎？交通會(huì)讓我準(zhǔn)時(shí)到達(dá)嗎？公交車(chē)什么時(shí)候來(lái)？那些日常小事的完成，因?yàn)椴豢深A(yù)測(cè)性而讓生活充滿(mǎn)了趣味。然而，我并不留戀印度的污染和雜亂。在美國(guó)，我享受著服務(wù)和設(shè)施帶來(lái)的便捷和高效。美國(guó)的一切都過(guò)于便利、過(guò)于潔凈。但那種“嗨，你好嗎”的問(wèn)候往往顯得有些生硬，因?yàn)閷?shí)際上，人們更加看重自己的隱私和個(gè)人空間。我同樣希望，在這兩種生活方式之間能找到一種均衡。
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網(wǎng) http://top-shui.cn 轉(zhuǎn)載請(qǐng)注明出處
Haha! Yes, I can relate!
哈哈！是的，我能感同身受！
Thanks a lot for this answer! You’ve described exactly how Indian immigrants/expats feel about moving to a developed country.
非常感謝這個(gè)答案！你準(zhǔn)確地描述了印度移民/外籍人士搬到發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家的感受。
Thanks for the comment! I’m surprised it seemed to capture a somewhat universal sentiment…
謝謝你的評(píng)論！我很驚訝它似乎捕捉到了某種普遍的情緒……
Well written, honest and unbiased. I lived in Tamil Nadu for 5 years though I am from Kerala.
I am now based in London; at least for the next few years I will be staying here.
This is not America but I do share your concluding notes. I want an India which is clean, which honours craftsmanship and manual labour, more clean and less smelly, a reliable transportation system, and a little bit more order in the chaos.
I miss everything about India. Sometime I sit back and reflect on our culture a lot. I love my country and its culture more than anything now. More than love I have grown to live with more awareness about it.
I get more comfort here. I get things done quicker, faster and effectively. With due respect to my current host, what I miss cannot the found here.
這帖子寫(xiě)得非常真誠(chéng)，中肯且沒(méi)有偏見(jiàn)。雖然我是喀拉拉邦人，但在泰米爾納德邦生活了五年。
目前我居住在倫敦，預(yù)計(jì)至少未來(lái)幾年都會(huì)留在這里。
雖然這里不是美國(guó)，但我贊同文章中的一些結(jié)論性看法。我期望的印度是一個(gè)干凈、尊重手藝和體力勞動(dòng)的地方，空氣清新，交通系統(tǒng)可靠，混亂中也有一定的秩序。
我對(duì)印度的一切充滿(mǎn)懷念。有時(shí)我會(huì)靜坐反思我們的文化，我如今對(duì)祖國(guó)和它的文化懷有深深的熱愛(ài)，這份愛(ài)超越了單純的情感，我學(xué)會(huì)了更加自覺(jué)地去感受和體驗(yàn)它。
在這里，我得到了更多的舒適，事情也能更迅速、高效地完成。盡管對(duì)我現(xiàn)在居住的國(guó)家表示尊敬，但我懷念的東西在這里是找不到的。
Hi Jagadeesh, yes, I can completely relate to what you’re saying. And I especially miss the vibration that is found in Pondicherry
嗨，Jagadeesh，是的，我完全能理解你所說(shuō)的。我特別懷念在本地治里感受到的那種氛圍。
Feels so nostalgic after going through your read….you definitely got a passion for writing, even can start a blog, if you do not own already….salute your positivity for not to project the poverty, malnutrition as well as corruption….you are a great human to find such a comparison which can be difficult to find even by the natives…
閱讀了你的文字后，我感到非常懷舊……你對(duì)寫(xiě)作充滿(mǎn)熱情，或許可以開(kāi)設(shè)自己的博客……我欽佩你的積極態(tài)度，沒(méi)有將貧困、營(yíng)養(yǎng)不良和腐敗展現(xiàn)出來(lái)……你真是個(gè)了不起的人，能夠捕捉到連本地人都難以察覺(jué)的細(xì)微比較……
Thank you, Shaju, although I also write about the disturbing things I’ve seen in India…
謝謝你，Shaju，不過(guò)我也寫(xiě)了一些在印度看到的令人不安的事情……
I can never live in a super quiet place with no one to talk to except at the work place. And discovering my neighbours after 9 months. I would rather live in my exciting chaotic unpredictable India though I hv to sacrifice the cleanliness aspect and noisy unpredictable daily life.
Btw my neighbours kids eat more of the biscuits at my house than I do. Lol.
我無(wú)法想象自己能生活在一個(gè)極其安靜、除了工作場(chǎng)所外無(wú)人可談的地方，甚至在九個(gè)月后才認(rèn)識(shí)鄰居。我更愿意生活在充滿(mǎn)活力、混亂且不可預(yù)測(cè)的印度，盡管這意味著我必須放棄對(duì)清潔度的追求和應(yīng)對(duì)喧鬧且不可預(yù)測(cè)的日常生活。
順便一提，我鄰居的孩子在我家吃的餅干比我吃的還要多，哈哈。
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網(wǎng) http://top-shui.cn 轉(zhuǎn)載請(qǐng)注明出處
Wow!Your answer left me without words.I wish I could express myself so beautifully! When I came to Charlotte,USA from my home in Pune,India,the one thought that haunted me was “why did I live such a full life and come here in this soltitude?”But gradually I came to terms to the American way of life.The one thing I admire the most over here is that there is a sense of fairness in most of the people over here which is kind of missing back home.
哇，你的回答讓我感動(dòng)得說(shuō)不出話(huà)來(lái)。我真希望自己也能如此優(yōu)雅地表達(dá)自己的想法。我從印度普納的溫馨家園搬到美國(guó)夏洛特時(shí)，心中一直縈繞著一個(gè)問(wèn)題：“我為何要放棄那里充實(shí)的生活，來(lái)到這個(gè)孤獨(dú)的地方？”但隨著時(shí)間的推移，我逐漸適應(yīng)并接受了美國(guó)的生活方式。在這里，我最欽佩的是人們普遍具有的公平意識(shí)，這在我的家鄉(xiāng)是相當(dāng)罕見(jiàn)的。
Hi Manjiri, I’m glad you could relate to my experience. And yes, I agree with you, there is, in certain facets, more of an evenness and quality in the US.
嗨，Manjiri，很高興你能與我的經(jīng)歷產(chǎn)生共鳴。確實(shí)，我贊同你的觀點(diǎn)，在很多方面，美國(guó)確實(shí)更為平等和更具素質(zhì)。a