Traveling with MY class II / 我和二善的旅行 (二)

山和海 / Mountains and the Ocean

花蓮是怎麼樣的地方呢？

What kind of place is Hualien?

舉頭就是太平洋，轉身投入太魯閣的懷抱。

Raise your head to see the Pacific Ocean right in front of you. Turn back, and you’ll find yourself embraced by Taroko Gorge.

在山裡的第一個晚上，我們把餐廳充當學堂，請來海洋作家廖鴻基，他說：島國的人民看到海會有本能的反應。這讓我想到，二十出頭離家時，最想念的就是海洋，我不得不想，那些出生在島國、長大於島國，後來離開的人，到內陸國家生活時如何處理這個心理上的需求？

On the first evening in the mountains, we invited the ocean writer Mr. Liao to give a speech in the refectory. He said, for those born on islands, they react spontaneously when faced with the sea. I totally relate to his words because during my year away from home in my early 20s, I missed the sea terribly, inexplicably. I can’t help wondering, how do people born and brought up on an island survive after they move to inland countries?

我們常忘了自己的渺小，當我們過度自我膨脹或放大情緒時，就去海邊吧！

We often forget how tiny we are. When we are blinded by the illusion that we ourselves are the whole world, go to the seaside!

山不說話，卻有專屬的密碼，寫在石頭上，寫在樹上，太魯閣導覽員在短短的一個小時之內最常說：睜大你的眼睛，就睜大你的眼睛看著石頭！我覺得我對於所有細節都應該睜大眼睛看。然後我要像稜珺說的，像這些山，每年增加一點厚度和深度。

Mountains don’t speak, but they have a set of codes written on stones and trees. The tour guide of Taroko Gorge constantly repeated the same words within an hour of tour, “Open your eyes wide. Just stare at the stones!” It occurred to me that I should open my eyes wide to all details. One of my New Year wishes is to gain depths and insight into life, as June suggested.

在西寶村裡，沒有第四台、沒有雜貨店，只有安靜的山，隨著時間遷移，傳送訊息給認真感受的人。即使我有各式各樣的紀錄，卻仍無法包括山中的所有樣貌。

In Sibao Village, there is no cable TV nor grocery store. There are only quiet mountains. They convey various messages with time passing to those who feel with their hearts. Even though I own all kinds of visual records, some moments are too subtle to be put down.

某天傍晚背著包包去學校對面的西寶民宿洗澡，天色已漸暗，空氣中瀰漫著霧和餐廳傳來的菜香，雖然我身處山間的小鎮，卻有家的味道。

One evening I took a short walk to a lodging inn across from the school for the daily shower. The sky had darkened then. The mountains were veiled in mists. The smell of dinner from the cafeteria wafted in the cool air. I was far away from home, but it felt so much like home.