回到美國：我的臨時居所

By+Aaron+A.Vessup

昨天我親身經歷了一場停車場火災，交通堵塞了幾個小時；今天早上，我又被各種汽笛聲叫醒，好像發生了什么緊急事件；這里的公共交通方便實惠，但到處張貼著“逃票”違法的標語，公交車上都安有攝像頭，廣播也不斷提醒乘客注意可疑人員；我居住的社區大多是行動緩慢的老年人，大街小巷到處都是超重的胖子；讓人觸目驚心的違規駕駛者、長期患有精神疾病的臨時室友……回到自己的國家，我反而不適應了……

I hear loud horns and sirens blaring intermittently throughout the day.1 Morning calm is shattered2. The interruptions of natures peaceful reverie announce mans emergencies far off creeping closer.3 Possible accidents are not from people being unable to find food or places to eat. Yesterday a car was burning， plumes of black smoke choked the parking lot air of Marylands Motor Vehicle station where I had ventured.4 Motors were stalled5 for almost two hours. Traffic jams are a common sight at certain hours of the day.

I am surprised that public transportation is so efficient. The Silver Springs area where I now live， supports the needs of several posh resort looking retirement and assisted living communities.6 Boarding a METRA7 bus， I swipe my card-pass only once （$1.75）， no need to swipe when exiting. However， posted signs warn that “fare evasion8” is a criminal offense. City buses are monitored by internal police surveillance cameras9. In addition， an audio recorded voice reminds passengers to report any odd or suspicious behavior. The warning voice says， “If you see anything strange， report it immediately！”

My new community is composed mostly of seniors. They are noticeably slow， steadily walking down long quiet carpeted hallways. They sit alone watching hour after hour of televised programming. Or， gather in the large community room waiting for something or someone to pass by with words of contact. Several are car owners and shuffle hesitantly once a week， or on alternate days， to their parked vehicles before departing from this self-imposed incarceration.10 Perhaps some have part-time jobs or volunteer interests elsewhere. I have noticed there are a few regulars who pace around the outside garden and park areas surrounding the compound.11 Some even stubbornly push their walkers12 and wheelchairs on the smooth paved sidewalks to catch real fresh air and sunshine. Others， like my roommate， hibernate13 in the apartment.

Most people in this community， as well as， pedestrians14 moving about in the city are overweight. This striking fact is hard to overlook.15 In almost every direction I look， random figures of all cultures， colors， and girth， seem like obese misplaced buffalo roaming the concrete plains， in the shadows of asphalt spaces and box-like buildings instead of shrubbery.16endprint

However， this scene clearly contrasts with the thick forest area with curving17， hilly roads， I have walked along for 20 minutes in order to reach Y-2， Y-7， and Y-8 bus station with routes taking me directly into the city.

“Good afternoon！ How are you today？”

“Be careful！ There might be snakes in that tall grass！”

The small， walnut-colored woman， with short-cropped gray hair， has answered my greetings on two afternoons in a row with a similar response.18 She seems genuinely afraid that slimy vipers will slither out of the tall grass along this quiet road to make unprovoked attacks.19 I call her the snake woman. Earlier that morning I spied at least seven large black birds， vultures， feasting on the carcass of what looked like the skeletal remains of a mid-sized deer.20 Drivers and pedestrians alike， must be on the alert for the unexpected in this area.

Food variety in the region is basically an international mix of cultures. Bars and cafes dot the area ranging from Irish， Vietnamese， Mexican， Ethiopian， Indian， Chinese， Jamaican，21 Thai， and The Big Greek food place. Temptation for me to sample and eat even more， is nursed by the Dunkin Donut， Subway， and Taco Bell shops everywhere.22 McDonalds and various competing chicken franchises also clog virtually every long street or strip mall.23 I worry that sooner or later， I will become an automatic member of the American FAT SQUAD， another number added to the obese army of hypnotized citizens， waddling between Television， couch， fridge， and fast food outlets.24

Our driving teacher lectures and shows short videos of drivers violating Maryland state laws. Drivers texting carelessly on mobile phones， reading messages， or speeding in traffic pose25 immediate dangers. I am clearly the older， senior citizen， in this groups of young people ranging from 18—27 years of age. Our teacher， an attractive， dark skinned woman from the Dominican Republic26， is humorous and dynamic. Her husband is a light skinned Puerto Rican27 from New York City， and they have two sons in mid-twenties. This is a family-run business. The Silver Spring Driving School has been in operation since 2005， providing excellent preparation for people intent on passing rigorous written and behind-thewheel state mandated driving tests.28 The teacher has a great sense of cultural anxieties held by foreign students， so none are bored by stories she shares. Most of these students hail from29 other countries， or are of mixed cultural heritages. It is comforting to hear our teacher talk about her own personal frustrations dealing with the American culture. She empathizes with first-timers unfamiliar with rules of the road and cultural customs.30 Our teacher is emphatic that students understand the serious responsibilities attached to the privilege of driving on U.S. highway system.31 Careless， distracted drivers， risk losing the privilege of sharing the roads with civic-minded32 citizens.endprint

The absence of feeling safe on the public roads is also reflected in the fact that today， many American people are increasingly ill-at-ease interacting with other culture group representatives.33 News of escalating violence between White and other racial individuals， the rise in negative policecommunity relations， and the frequent abrasive rhetoric and policies espoused by the new American administration， contributes to the climate that seems dread-laden.34 The lack of positive energy or tension， does not stop at stiff smiles， stern expressions or evasive masks of stares.35 Even saying “Good Mornings” entering ， or “Thank Yous” when exiting public transits vehicles， are friendly salutations often not reciprocated even by Black male or female drivers to Black male or female passengers.36 Generally， unless a visitor， people noticeably seem to have turned off their feelings of grace and social acceptance.37

Hence， yesterday， I was surprised by a White male car driver who offered me a ride while walking the long country stretch38 in the rain toward home from the bus stop. I declined because I sorely need to exercise and compensate for so much eating.39 While I appreciate the strangers gesture of what I assume to be good will， in the back of my mind I am still leery40. I have heard many stories of misdeeds in the USA cloaked in the guise of “Goodwill”.41

My current living arrangement is also problematic. My new roommate， a childhood acquaintance of 60 years ago， is proving to harbor42 personal problems that exceed my patience and coping abilities. She is two years older than I， but behaves as if much older. Strangely， her voice still has that unforgettable pig-squeal43 quality when she becomes emotional. However， now she is hard of hearing， a terribly dangerous driver suggesting failing vision， overweight， and prone to lash out verbal assaults laden with paranoia and accusations.44 She rarely leaves the apartment. Her daily routines involve eating， watching television， sleeping， talking on the telephone， and watching more television. She has not hid her irritation45 at my needing to buy weekend newspapers. Her squeaky sounding voice grates my ears.46

“There you go with that newspaper again. You should know that the world has not changed. All I need is to read my Bible and the same things happening today have happened long ago. I dont need to read current news to know what man has done or will do.”endprint

I hold my tongue. I know that nothing I can say to this person who admits to “hating” High School， and never studying， will make an impact. But for me， reading The Washington Post and USA Today， are juicy47 mental treats to enjoy after days of traffic classes and evenings of computer apartment searching. This ritual is predictable like a mechanical clock. Any variance48 disturbing long-held habits causes her great stress. The residential gym down the hallway is only a few steps from her door， but she confesses to have not ever used it. And taking daily walks is simply not on her list of priorities. This could be a micro reflection of Americans in general.

Although this living arrangement is a temporary fix until my belongings from overseas arrive， I am likely to be experiencing more cultural shock in the days and weeks to come. I am holding my breath while yearning to be settling down in Las Vegas， a long held dream. Despite the green forest that nestles my current residence， or the prevalence of English being spoken everywhere， it is an understatement to say that I miss being in China.49 I just hope that passing the drivers tests will not be a problem. After all， this is a nation of independence and mobility.

1. horn：（汽車等的）喇叭；siren： 警報器，汽笛；blare： 發出響亮刺耳的聲音；intermittently： 間歇地，斷續地。

2. shatter： 打碎。

3. 大自然寧靜的夢想被打破，意味著有緊急情況發生，危機正從遠處慢慢靠近。reverie：幻想，白日夢；creep： 漸漸蔓延，悄無聲息地緩慢移動。

4. 昨天，一輛汽車著火了，一股股黑煙充斥著整個馬里蘭州機動車停車場，我親身經歷了這場險事。plume： 一縷（煙霧、塵土等）；choke： 塞滿，堵塞；venture： 冒著……的危險。

5. stall：（發動機）熄火。

6. 我目前居住的銀泉地區有幾家豪華度假村般的養老院和輔助生活社區，滿足了一定的社會需求。Silver Springs：銀泉，美國馬里蘭州蒙哥馬利縣的重要城市之一；posh： 豪華的。

7. METRA： 馬里蘭州當地的一個交通運輸公司。

8. fare evasion： 逃票。

9. surveillance camera： 監控攝像頭。

10. 幾個有車的老人，每周或者每隔一天會拖著慢吞吞的腳步挪到自己的車前，開車暫離這個自我“封閉圈”。shuffle： 拖著腳走；incarceration：/

/ 監禁。

11. regular： 常客；compound： 有特定用途的圍地。

12. walker： 助行架。

13. hibernate：（動物）冬眠。

14. pedestrian： 行人。

15. striking： 顯著的；overlook： 忽視。

16. 放眼望去，滿眼都是不同文化、膚色、腰圍的人，他們像是被錯放到混凝土路上的大胖水牛，在柏油路和方形建筑間的陰影里游蕩，而不是在灌木叢中。girth： 腰圍；obese：（過度）肥胖的；buffalo： 水牛；roam： 漫步；concrete： 混凝土的；asphalt： // 用柏油鋪成的；shrubbery： 灌木叢。

17. curving： 彎曲的。

18. walnut： 胡桃；short-cropped： 剪短的；in a row： 連續地。

19. slimy： 分泌黏液的；viper： 毒蛇；slither： 滑行；unprovoked： 無緣無故的。

20. spy： 發現，注意到；vulture： 禿鷲；carcass：// 動物尸體；skeletal remains： 骨骼殘骸。

21. Ethiopian： 埃塞俄比亞的；Jamaican： 牙買加的。

22. temptation： 誘惑；sample： 品嘗；DunkinDonut： 鄧肯甜甜圈；Subway： 賽百味，起源于美國的跨國快餐連鎖店，主要販售三明治和沙拉；Taco Bell： 塔可鐘，世界上規模最大的提供墨西哥式食品的連鎖餐飲品牌。endprint

23. franchise： 特許經營權，專賣店；clog：（使）堵塞；strip mall： 指路邊由一排商店組成的小型購物中心（通常前面有大的停車場）。

24. squad： 小隊；hypnotized： 被催眠的；waddle： 蹣跚；outlet： 商店。

25. pose： 造成。

26. Dominican Republic： 多米尼加共和國，北美洲加勒比海國家。

27. Puerto Rican： 波多黎各人。

28. intent on doing sth.： 下定決心做某事；rigorous： 嚴格的；behind-the-wheel： 坐在駕駛位的（指路考）；state mandated： 各州指定的。

29. hail from： 出生在，來自（某地）。

30. empathize： 同情，產生共鳴；first-timer：新手。

31. emphatic： 強調的；privilege： 特權。

32. civic-minded： 講公德的。

33. ill-at-ease： 局促不安的；interact with：與……交流，互動。

34. 白人和其他種族之間的暴力不斷升級、不良的警民關系日趨緊張、新美國政府屢出傷人的浮夸言辭和政策，這都讓氣氛變得十分可怕。escalating： 加劇的；abrasive：傷人感情的，生硬粗暴的；rhetoric： 虛華辭藻；espouse： 支持；dread： 恐懼；laden：（用于構成形容詞）充滿……的，裝載……的。

35. stiff： 僵硬的；stern： 嚴厲的；evasive： 閃避的，含糊其辭的。

36. salutation： 打招呼的話；reciprocate：// 交換，互給。

37. 一般來說，除非是對游客，人們似乎明顯地收起了他們的禮貌和接納。

38. stretch： 一段距離（或路程）。

39. sorely： 強烈地；compensate： 抵消。

40. leery： 提防的。

41. misdeed： 惡行；cloak： 偽裝；in the guise of： 假借，以……為幌子。

42. harbor： v. 長期懷有。

43. squeal： 長而尖的聲音。

44. prone to： 傾向于；lash out：責罵；assault： 攻擊，抨擊；paranoia： 妄想狂，多疑癥。

45. irritation： 惱怒。

46. squeaky： 發出尖利聲音的；grate： 使惱火。

47. juicy： 有吸引力的，令人滿足的。

48. variance： 變化。

49. nestle： 位處，坐落（于安全、隱蔽之處）；prevalence： 流行，普遍；understatement：保守的說法，不充分的敘述。endprint