比利時不思議

by Leah Budk

Life is comprised of change. Beginning a life abroad can be described almost entirely through that word “change”. There are big changes； stepping outside of the 1）confines of what is familiar can lead to a whole different perspective on life. Ive experienced a lot of big changes， but Ive also been noticing that Ive experienced smaller changes， as well.

a “nieuwe fiets”

The first time I came to 2）Ghent it was clearly evident that I would need to pull my twelve-year-old bike-riding skills out of the depths of my knowledge base， gain some courage and do as the locals do. It was night as we stepped out of the train station and onto the streets of Ghent for the first time together and I immediately found myself among a sea of bikes. My friend Christophe had been preparing for me to visit and bought a bike for me from a second-hand website. A couple of days after arriving we decided it was time to give the bike riding a go. The first matter of business was to lower the seat of the bike to 3）accommodate my lack of leg length. Now， you see， even with the seat as low as possible my feet only barely reached the pedals. I was 4）adamant that this would not be a problem for the days that I was there， so off we went.

That is until we came upon the 5）Gravensteen. Its a beautiful castle and it draws a lot of tourist activity， it also is a big 6）intersection for the 7）tram system. Christophe had instructed me to use caution while going across the tram track with the bike and I was trying to follow his advice. Unfortunately， I didnt do this well enough and the tram track 8）snatched up my bike tire and rendered me helplessly suspended for a few seconds until I executed what one might not deem the most graceful dismount ever. It certainly won the attention of all the passersby that happened to be enjoying the Gravensteen at that time. I picked myself up， picked my bike up， and then tried to gather all the bits of pride that remained. After that experience I was motivated to be more careful when crossing the tram tracks but apparently even the most delicate caution might not be enough. A few days later， I found myself in a similar situation in nearly the exact same location complete with all the onlookers and 9）embarrassment that came with the first experience. This is when I decided that the bike is simply too big or that perhaps I am simply just too small. Whichever way it is， a nieuwe fiets （new bike） is needed.

生活是由變化構成的。在國外開啟一段新生活幾乎完全可以用“變化”這個詞來形容。有些變化是巨大的；邁離自己所熟悉的疆界可能會帶來整個人生觀的改變。我曾經歷過很多重大改變，但我同樣注意到自己也曾經歷了一些較小的改變。

“騎車”記

當我第一次來到根特市時，顯而易見的是，我必須從個人知識庫深處將自己在12歲時學到的騎自行車的技能拽出來，拿出一些勇氣，然后像當地人那樣騎車出行。當我們步出火車站并第一次一起在根特市的大街小巷里穿行時，已是夜晚時分，而我一下子便發現自己陷入了一片自行車的海洋。我的朋友克里斯托弗已經為我的到訪做好了準備，在一個二手網站上為我買了一輛自行車。到達后過了兩天，我們決定是時候試一把騎車出行了。第一件要做的事就是要降低自行車的座椅，以遷就我腿長不足的問題。現在，你瞧，即便把座椅盡可能地降到最低，我的腳還是只能勉強夠到踏板。但我堅定地認為，在我待在那兒的這段時間里，這將不會造成問題，于是，我們出發了。

直到我們來到了格拉文斯丁城堡。這是一座美麗的城堡，不僅吸引了眾多旅游活動，而且還是有軌電車軌道系統的一個大交匯點。克里斯托弗已經教過我，當騎自行車穿過有軌電車的軌道時要格外小心，而我也努力聽從他的建議。不幸的是，我做得還不夠好，有軌電車的軌道卡住了我的車輪，讓我束手無策地懸停了好幾秒，直到我以應該不是史上最優雅的姿態摔下車來。……