| Ying's profile弱水三千PhotosBlogLists |  Tools  Help |
|
|
November 26 大选日记事 终于要说一说美国这场热热闹闹的大选了。希望还不至于太过气。
早在大选前的几个星期，乃至几个月，各种媒体报道就铺天盖地，大家成天没事就看Obama和McCain怎么掐架。许多人对这次大选异常兴奋，认为是美国何去何从的十字路口。另外一些人则神神叨叨，一个同事的男朋友就振振有词地在那里跟我分析说，认为Obama无论当选与否，新奥尔良都是很可能要发生暴乱的--本地居民要么太过兴奋要么太过失望（新奥尔良有将近70%以上的黑人人口），劝我当天躲起来不要出门。以前一直听说美国人是很忌讳问人政治倾向的，我却是正好讨了个便宜--反正是个不了解情况的外加好奇的老外嘛。所以每次只要本小姐睁大无辜的黑眼睛，眨巴，眨巴：“你们的大选好热闹呀，那么，你决定投谁的票了吗？”--就会有人详细地给我讲讲他的政见。
基本上我问到的大部分人都是支持Obama的，被Bush搞得一团糟的经济是很大的原因。当然，这也是因为受过高等教育的人群往往倾向于投票给自由派。而那些支持保守派的“老农民”则很少能遇到。听到过的最强悍的投给Obama的理由是：两个总统候选人都很容易猝死--McCain老迈随时可能出状况，Obama易被种族分子刺杀。如果McCain死了，他的搭档Palin小姐是没有办法胜任总统的，而如果Obama死了，他的副总统Biden则有足够的能力和经验接任。所以应该投给民主党。
而一直令人迷惑不清的“选举人团”制度也有了新的解说。为什么不是全民投票，而要费个周折选出那些个代表选民的“选举人”呢？教美国历史的老师讲：“这么说吧，两百多年以前，大家都住在农村，消息不灵，也没什么文化。比方说我是个老农民，总统选举我哪里晓得投给谁好。而你比较有文化，是个读书人，我就和你说，‘俺们村就属你有文化了，要不你去替俺们投票选个总统好了？’这，就是美国‘选举人团’之由来。”也算得是此项制度来由的一个歪解吧。
说了那么多，该描绘一下当天的“盛况”了。投票日持续一整天，到当天晚上唱票出结果。因为怕下班以后去投票的人太多，许多人说他们早上五点就起床赶过去排队。（不知为什么，想到了上海三百六十五天看得到的“鲜肉月饼”采购队伍。）又有不少老师趁没有课的空挡开个小差跑出去把票投了。到傍晚的时候，气氛已经兴奋得不得了。Kristine, 那个我帮她baby-sitting的同事，非常好心地在下班以后特意带我过去看一看美国的投票站是什么样的。这一路上都插满了竞选宣传牌。我们去的投票站设在一个教堂里面，门口贴一告示：“距投票站600英尺内禁止拉票。”进去以后里面是一个大厅，厅里放着几张工作人员的桌椅，桌椅背后是四五架投票机。一般都要求你预先在网上注册，然后就可以直接进去投票了。由于不允许拍照，所以就听我来描述这个投票机长什么样好了：这是一个一人多高的机器，外面有个帘子，掀开帘子进去，是一个电脑屏幕。想象不出来吗？这么说吧，跟拍大头贴的机器差不多。掀了帘子进去，做个鬼脸，就可以了：）
看完了投票站，天色已经晚了，结果也快出来了。Kristine很着急：她想看现场直播唱票，可是家里没有电视--准确地说是没有有线电视，只有一个超大屏幕的豪华Apple TV, 和苹果电脑连接着，但基本是看电影用的。一般来说，教育程度越高的家庭，看电视就越少，而她老公是个博士，所以。。。最后我们去了一个叫做“小东京”的寿司店，里面有一个大的电视屏幕播放着选举的新闻。所以，大选日的晚上，我就和他们一家子外加一个他们的朋友一起，在一个日本餐厅，看唱票看得起劲。最妙的是她老公也是个没有选举权的外国人，我们就两人成虎地对这个国家评头论足。唱票是从东海岸唱到西海岸，根据各地的不同时差，一个州一个州地“开奖”。东海岸“蓝色州”（民主党）居多，走到中间“红色州”（共和党）多了起来，再到西海岸“蓝色”又卷土重来了。电视屏幕上一直播放着Obama支持者的欣喜若狂。看来许多媒体的liberal倾向还是很明显的。
等到宣布Obama胜出的时候，已经是中部时间差不多晚上十点了。一半的美国人乐疯了。在电视报道中看到，许多大城市里人们涌上街头。唱歌跳舞，喜极而泣，开香槟，拥抱。知道的晓得是总统大选，不知道的还以为又世界杯了。
而许多美国人之所以会对这次大选这么倾情投入，一个是因为Obama的黑人血统，这对非洲裔美国人来说当然是big deal 。而另外一些人则高兴于美国终于证明了这到底是一个多元和宽容的地方，可以选出一个父亲是外国人的非洲裔做总统，种族主义的“Bradley现象”没有重演。（1982年黑人政客Tom Bradley竞选加州州长，在民意调查一路领先的情况下，却在实际选举中输给白人竞争对手--对此现象的解读是，一些人在民意调查的时候害怕被人知道自己有种族主义偏见，就谎称不介意乃至支持黑人当选，结果转身又投给白人，“Bradley现象”由此得名）。 另外一方面，很多人也的确是对Bush的经济无能和战争热情大倒胃口，认为美国的确需要一个转变，“Change we can believe in”-- Obama 的这个竞选词实在是写得太讨巧了。尤其是那些在Bush执政时期满腹怨气的自由派，终于长出了一口憋了八年的气，这些人大概是最欣喜的一群了。Kristine的朋友激动地和我讲：“美国社会曾一度那么自由开放，但是从里根，尼克松，到大小布什这帮人上台执政，整个国家就走上了保守主义的道路，越走越远，到小布什手里已经是一团糟。现在Obama上台，这个国家终于有机会重新恢复到自由宽容了。”忽然想到了在伯明翰时候遇到的那个老教授，就是说他对选举“scared to death”的那位，想必现在也是笑得嘴都合不拢了吧。
也有人好奇地问我，你怎么看这个选举呢？本来，作为一个外国人，其实这些热闹并不关我什么事。可是我知道，那一个宽容开放的，尊重人自由选择的，带着些理想主义色彩的美国，才是那个曾经给过我inspiration的国度。对于这样一个美国的可能的回归，I share your joy!
 投票站内部November 23 遭窃记 事情的经过是这样的： 万圣节的晚上，和朋友跑去了新奥尔良著名的bourbon大街，为得是想看看那些奇装异服的人群。后来才知道这条街实在是“名声在外”。 October 17 该干嘛干嘛到新奥尔良两个多月，初来的谨慎已经消退的差不多了。（不过我反正本来也不是什么谨慎的人）。说的英语愈发支离破碎。不是因为英语水平退步了，而是因为以前总是在开口之前想好要说的话，总归不大会出错。想想当初的英语课堂或者英语角，十几个围着一个老外练，轮到自己开口的时候打腹稿打得都差不多能编一部小说了。现在呢叫做病急乱投医，那么多人拿各种颜色的迷惑的眼睛瞪着你，只好逮着谁是谁爱说啥说啥吧，谁管得了句型啊语法啊这些个乱七八糟的。而且说话越来越不经大脑了。这里的人说话都嘴不上锁，我也懒得小心。能想啥说啥真好。只是有时候会得罪人。前天有个老师叫我看一本书，说是学校里的孩子在阅读。讲得是一个柬埔寨的女孩来美国，遇到很多文化的不同，学校里最受欢迎的男孩子约她出去她也不肯，因为传统观念太重云云。希望我能介绍一下亚洲文化的不同点和西方文化的冲击。我看看这本书的出版日期，70年代的，我都还没生呢。就告诉她，这个故事的情况不能解释现在的，这本书过时了。结果她拿眼睛瞪我半天。 视力是越来越好了。原先看人就只有一种：“老外”。看到一个，老外。又看到一个，还是老外。后来慢慢开始认人了。看到一个，大叔。看到一个，大婶。再看到一个，小屁孩儿。再后来，看到的情形又不一样了：这个是隔壁笑眯眯很好讲话的大叔，那个是对门总板着脸对一切食物过敏的大妈，另一个是喜欢运动超级注意保养身体的MM。再有就是。。。帅哥。。。这种人我大概是细分不出来了的。一看到脑子就不灵光了。小黛说我最关心的是她那里的帅哥分布状况。那是因为我这里稀缺啊。中小学老师嘛，哪里都一样，女人一统天下的地方。而且大多数人都和我还不是一个年龄段的，拖家带口忙得要命，下了班的活动就是接孩子，做饭，吃饭，睡觉。当然我的情况更糟，下了班就只有吃饭，睡觉。连做饭都懒得。因为住在市郊，而且还暂时没有车，去哪里都不方便。远在匈牙利的小黛好歹是在大学啊，至少还有年龄相近的玩伴吧？（虽然学校厕所要上锁还真是闻所未闻）。不像我，过着suburban house wife般的生活--除了没有老公没有小孩没有钱没有车还语言障碍以外。不过等我考出驾照有车了，哼哼，小样儿，看我怎么把新奥尔良城给掀了。 另外，话说差不多两个礼拜之前去参加了一个自行车旅行，第一天骑了差不多100公里，一路跑到了旁边的密西西比州。早晨9点钟出发的，到那里是下午5点了。8个小时的山路，骑得我这辈子都不想碰自行车了。我们队有一对情侣，穿着设计成燕尾礼服和婚纱式样的运动装，一路狂飙到目的地的森林公园，然后就这么结婚了。但是我骑得太慢，等我赶到的时候，人家连蛋糕都撤了。可惜。想起中国人的婚礼，宾客单子一大串，什么十年前街拐角遇到过的表叔的同事的丈母娘都是要记得的。
这些天离总统大选越来越近了，美国人都很激动，我也跟着瞎激动。美国人的政治热情真是惊人，连小孩儿都嚷嚷着要投这个那个的票。有个小朋友说：我们一定要投Obama的票。问：为什么？答：因为他看上去最最严肃了，都不笑的，说明他决心很大！还记得上次在伯明翰的时候，和人谈到过美国的两极分化的情况。我觉得美国真是一个差异很大的国家，不好概括的。政治立场是分化的一个表现。另外还可以从很多方面体现出来，比如说：体型。 好多人大腹便便，腿粗胳膊粗，走路都困难，看着真替他（她）难受。（你可以想想“瘦身男女”之类的形象，一点不夸张的！）有的人却苗条轻巧，四五十岁还是保养得很好。这些人的生活方式也是迥然不同的，前者所有的运动大概就是从房门走到车门，胃口超好。后者呢处心积虑吃得很注意，甜点不碰油炸不碰，很多是素食主义者，每天慢跑健身注意锻炼。想来中国人的身材那真是叫均匀，大多数人都差不多个子。还不乏好些乱吃东西却不长肉的孩子。我去食堂吃午餐的时候老有人跟我讲：“你个子这么小，怎么吃得那么多啊不过这里的人很容易就变超大码就对了，不知道是饮食还是别的什么关系。东西也是超大码，很多人都买的是大型的SUV(Sports Utility Vehicle)车，需要耗很多的油，但是从来不见他们运动！空调总是开得很冷，一天24个小时不间断。电灯也总是亮的。还有人告诉我教室里的电脑不要关掉，随他一直开着好了。全球资源的紧张，在这里似乎一点感受不到。那么多无所谓的浪费！改天真得给他们提提意见。另外，我还在与我的房子做不屈不挠的斗争。空调还是关不掉，我准备去屋子外面找到电源把它断了。窗户据说被油漆漆上了20几年，怎么也打不开。改天等我找个大刀子给他撬开。
 在美国的住处--红粉小屋 密西西比骑车之旅 密西西比骑车之旅 沿途乡村风景 沿途乡村风景 沿途乡村风景September 30 Which China? 这不可言传的东方式的美与洒脱（图片来自网络）
马上要开始正式教书了。中国地理，汉语，哲学，艺术，当代中国，什么都要讲一点，什么都会沾点边。
可是，在外面的世界睁大了好奇的探求的眼睛的时候，我却迷惑了。不识庐山真面目，只缘身在此山中。对于这一片广袤古老的土地，我究竟了解多少？我要讲述的，又是哪一个中国？是庄周梦蝶、陶潜归乡、太白醉酒、东坡邀月？是挥毫泼墨、听风抚琴、寄情山水、对酒当歌？我只知道，这个中国，是我爱到骨子里的。这种东方式的旷达洒脱，是令我一直着迷的。也许没有太多与人言说，可这行云流水的美，又如何可以言传？而隔着文化，隔着语言，这种与西方的go-get-it迥然不同的生活哲学，我传达得出来吗？人们感受得到吗？或者，是那个跌跌撞撞向前的中国？那个在现代世界中失了从容，在经济、文化上都犹如坐上了过山车，三年一代沟的国度？又或者，是那个礼数周全、人情世故、圆滑老辣、叫我一心想逃的社会？而在这里，我更多地是“中国人”，还是我自己？ 问题越来越多，暂且无解。
总结如下：研究自己的文化不是那么好玩的，会头痛。不如去研究别人的。
比如：今天去旁听上课的时候，教印度哲学的老师说："List three things that make people suffer." 矛头直指人类痛苦的根源。学生给出的答案是:" 1. Hurricane" (New Orleans以飓风多出名) " "2. High gas price" "3. Saints losing" (Saints是本地的橄榄球队). September 05 伯明翰假期给各位报个平安：我没有被飓风刮跑。上周末，因为飓风影响，新奥尔良全城皆兵，所有人口强制撤离。我逃到了Alabama的Birmingham，在小方同学这里蹭吃蹭住。(谢谢小方!) 来到伯明翰之前，说实话，我对这个城市并没有太多的期待。农业大州中的工业城市，安静保守的美国南部－－这个印象，大约大都是从电影当中得来的。《阿甘正传》中阿甘的家乡即是在阿拉巴马一个小镇, 相信很多人看过都还有印象。几年前还看过一部叫作〈情归阿拉巴马〉的电影，讲得是一个在纽约打拼的女孩如何“鸟飞倦而知归”，回到了波澜不惊的家乡阿拉巴马小镇。 伯明翰虽然是阿拉巴马州的最大城市，却并不给人都市的感觉。不似新奥尔良的灯红酒绿，更不比上海的繁华铺张。整个城市像一个盆子，市区盆底似的塌陷在当中，而四周青山环绕，山上是绵延的住宅区。每天人们收工，回家，上山，睡觉。留下空荡荡的城区。 可是在这沉静平淡的背后，生活却是另一番风情。山上空气清新，绿树成阴。在农贸集市上，到处是农户的卡车，新鲜的瓜果，热气腾腾的早点，配着乡村歌手的浅吟低唱。我和小方一人一个冰淇淋，四处乱窜，东张西望。还花了两天的时间呆在一个湖边。游泳，赤脚走路，一路尖叫着玩tubing（就是趴在一个大大的气垫上，然后拿快艇拉着飞驰），坐快艇兜风看湖上落日，然后在黄昏时分饥肠辘辘地回到湖边小屋狼吞虎咽。这样单纯的快乐和孩子气的放纵，很久不曾有了。谢谢。 也终于能静下心读些书了。看到了〈国家地理〉０８年５月号的中国特辑。写实的照片和文字，却隐隐透着力度，乃至是煽情。有一篇文章讲的是关于一个女孩在学校、家庭和社会中的成长经历，从四岁到十几岁：经济的发展，新兴中产阶级的焦率，孩子被压缩的童年和青春期，新和旧的撞击，个性和集体的博弈－－他者的眼睛，我们的故事。读着读着，眼睛居然有些湿。不知为什么，想起了林语堂先生一本集子的名字："With Love and Irony". 另一件有意思的事情是：这些天正是共和党侯选人McCain的竟选集会时间，电视上铺天盖地都是共和党拉选票的活动。虽然不少人警告说不要随便问外国人政治倾向，许多人会生气，可还是忍不住好奇探了探风头。有天晚上到一位教授家去做客，我问他“Are most Americans excited about the upcoming election?" "Excited??"老人家扬了扬眉毛："I'd rather use the term 'scared to death'." 众人心照不宣地大笑起来－－美国的保守派和自由派在今天已经分裂到如此的地步，一方上台便是与另一方全然不同的执政理念，以至于大选前夕双方选民都心神不安。（念国际关系的时侯学到的“两极分化的美国”，终于在今天得到实地验证了：）而原来以为在阿拉巴马，一定会有很多人是铁杆的共和党选民，但出乎意料的是，我遇到的似乎都是些自由分子，口口声声指责共和党人的好战和思想狭隘。这么看来民主党似乎胜利在望。可我又突然意识到，因为某些原因，自由派比保守派更愿意也更善于表达，媒体上那个激昂而理想主义的美国，是看得到的美国。而那个我至今还没有看到的，沉默而固执的美国，却两度把小布什送到了华盛顿。
August 18 New Kid in TownAnother week has past since I got here in New Orleans. According to the culture shock model, now I'm supposed to be in stage one, honeymoon! Yes, there're quite a few things I like about here: The food is good (will have to wait for a month before finding out weither it's fattening:). And since I'm a big fan for seafood, this is a good place to be. The weather is hot and humid, to many's dislike. But I find the semi-tropical summer beautiful. It rains a lot, but always comes quickly and goes quickly (lai de kuai, qu de kuai), sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon. One minute it's sunny, the next minute heavy shower comes down, but before you get an umbrella, it clears again, leaving everything fresh and shining under the sun. Evenings are long, sunset sky constantly changes colors．
Ok so much for the weather report, I guess I'm boring you here. I wish I could tell you about all the new and exciting, like the week before in San Francisco. But my situtaion now is a little different. I'm living in a small house close to the school campus. It's a suburb residential area close to downtown New Orleans, but not in the city. Most people living here are elder couples or families with children. It's usually very quite, makes me miss the crazy crowd we have in China！I don't have a car for now so can't really go anywhere except for sometimes colleagues giving me a ride. A little stuck here, will have to try to find my way out. But except for not hearing neighbours singing or snoring, it's good to be in my little house (and it's PINK). I never had this much space to my own, nor got the chance to search the refrigerator for food in the middle of the night. Great. People here are friendly, hospitable, and...curious, especially with the olympics are on and China is getting all the attention. I've got some quite interesting questions coming, and I'm sure there will be more. It's easy to get defensive sometimes, but I'll have to try to remind myself that, in most cases, it's just curiousity that makes people ask whatever's on top of their heads. We used to have a college teacher who's originally from Iran, and I remember myself asking all kinds of questions:"Do women really all cover their hair? How about faces? How many wives can a man have? " Now I'm in a pretty similar situation. But I think that's part of the reasons why I'm here--to answer questions, to tell stories, and to clarify some of the myths, hopefully. And I know I came here with my own misconceptions and the myths we have about the other side of the world, and this experience will be my remedy, too.  Hello New Olreans! oak trees of the old south! Getting close to French Quarter french quarter       St louis cathedral   Oh Big Easy! cafe du monde Beignet--the true New Orleans dessert!August 13 Passing through San FranciscoHi nimen hao! It's been 10 days since I got over here. Time to update a little bit before anybody reporting a missing person's file! I'm sorry that this is all in English. For some reason, my new computer has been rejecting the Chinese input system that I tried to install, so I can't really type in Chinese for now. I'm hoping to get this problem solved soon and I'll put more Chinese. But before that, let's all take some pain in reading/writing some (broken) English. I spent most of the last week in San Francisco. It was the first stop for the nine of us from this international teachers' program, before we all got on our seperate ways. San Francisco, how should I describe you? There are so many sides to the city that I'm feeling over-ambitious trying to talk about it with just one week's glimpse.
>But I'll try to, and I'll start with the familiar: the Chinese side to the city. The large Asian population there definitely helped calm me down a little from the excitment and anxiety of being a "laowai". There were quite a few Chinese resturants close to the motel we stayed in. We went there everyday. I know we should have been more adventous. But everybody was worried that they wouldn't be having Chinese food for a long time to come and decided to have their share of the year in San Francisco. One thing that looked quite amusing to me was the instruction of how to use chopsticks. I never knew it took three steps before you successfully pick up a pair of chopsticks! And as you may probably know, San Francisco is also famous for being gay-friendly. Commercials for gay-datings were everywhere, even on public transportations. (So should I assume they share the same desperation of single office ladies in Shanghai? ) And since California voters will vote in November on whether to end gay marriage, there were quite a lot signs along the street, urging people to "vow to vote NO on the marriage ban". I actually got to visit Castro, the world-famous gay neighborhood, quite amazed by how artistically-designed and beautifully-decorated their houses were. On the way back, we walked by a nice little beauty salon called "femina potens", which means "powerful women" in Latin. I could have walked in--if it was not ALL men in there doing their faces and nails!
But I found out later that I really didn't have to take the trouble traveling to Castro to see all that. Right on our motel there was a rainbow flag--the symbol of "gay-pride" . And across the street was "THE center"--short for "the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center". I was walking around that area, a Latina woman came by and we started to chat. I didn't quite get her since she spoke English with a heavy accent and I was no native speaker either. In the end, I finally successfully captured one word: ESCORT. Yes I know this word. It said in our English textbook that it means "to accompany others for protection, guidance, restraint, or as a mark of honour". "Thank you so much!" I said to her. It was too nice of her. I was new to this country that's true, but shouldn't have problem taking a walk by myself. Later that day, I saw the familiar word "escort" in a newspaper, printed in a large size, on an advertisement picture of a good-looking half-naked woman. The moment of enlightment suddenly came to me. I finally got the updated meaning of that word, as well as what that woman was asking about. Then I remembered that I got a "fortune-telling note" the other day from the Chinese restaruant. It said "You will have a surpring encounter of an interesting kind." So, was it that they were REALLY good or was it because it's San Francisco? And there's Haight-Ashbury.
By the time when we got to the ex-hippie district, it was getting dark. The streets looked a little unreal under the decreasing daylight, made me wander how it looked like back in time. The 1960s. I guessed I had to leave this all to imagination. People no more had flowers, resturaunts and shops were open for business, travellers took pictures(oh sorry that's us), and homeless people wandered around. But standing on the street, looking at the mixed colors of the houses, and seeing people in all kinds of dresses passing by, I felt that there was part of The Haight that was't quite letting go of its past, longing still for that idealism, youth, love, and heartache. On the first day we arrived in San Francisco, Megan, our program coordinator, talked with us about how different the city was. And we surely discovered that: streets going up and down all the way, officeman in his suit and tie riding a bike during traffic hour, people wearing costumes when doing glossary shopping, professionals going to work with pink or purple hair. I couldn't really tell, but there was something about this city. Open, relaxed, dreamy yet so real. I'll come back and visit, that's for sure.
Now it was time to get on our seperate ways. For me, New Orleans waited ahead. As I said goodbyes to friends and Megan at the airport, I realized the real journey began. What was in store for each and every of us, from this group and in a larger sense? I remembered the night before I left San Francisco, I stayed up late talking with my new roommate, Jing. She used to be a journalist, running all over to get stories. And then came to the States at the age of 32, because 1980s' Beijing wasn't the best time and place for reporters. Now she's a mom of two teenage girls. "Don't try too hard to give an answer to life, life will answer you." She said to me, as if she knew me for long. I wasn't quite sure about what she said, but I would remember this nice talk, knowing that down the road, I would be on my own, but not alone.
|
|
|
