Traveling in Snowy Beijing / 踏過下雪的北京

2009年夏天，我們在炎熱的西班牙一邊旅行，一邊唱著「旅行的意義」，中途覺得歌詞有些悲傷，旅行是為了要向我自己證明，那些愛我的人在我心中有多重要，而不是為了要逃避沉重的感情，於是我們在巴士上，胡亂改了歌詞，還寄了個手抄版回台灣。

In summer 2009, we sang the song “Meaning of Traveling” again and again on our three-week-long journey across Spain. Then it occurred to us that the lyrics were rather sad. To me, traveling away for a while always makes me realize how important my family and friends are. I hardly travel to get away from someone I don’t love anymore as a way to escape. Thus, we rewrote certain parts of the song. I even sent the new version back to Dee in Taiwan.

改了一些字，卻沒有更動「踏過下雪的北京」，當時完全沒有想到，在數個月之後，我居然實現了這首歌裡的歌詞，怎麼說都有種不可思議的感覺，聽到小妞們說要在大陸同學面前唱這首歌時，我整個人興奮到不行，出發的前一晚還趴在床上把歌詞從西班牙的札記本謄寫到北京的新溜溜的記事本上。

However, I didn’t change the part about “trotting through snowy Beijing.” At that time, the line didn’t mean anything to me except a romantic image. I couldn’t imagine that several months later, I would live out the words. The whole thing felt more than surreal. When I heard that the girls were about to perform the song in front of their Mainland counterparts, I got carried away by excitement. The night before the trip, I copied the lyrics from my Spain journal book to a brand-new sketchbook meant for Beijing.

待在北京的八天裡冷不哆嗦的，抵擋冷風和冰雪的最好辦法就是把隨時雙手放在口袋裡，所以帶去的札記本又原封不動地帶回來，不過旅行的魔力在於，就是當下不留任何記錄，那些情緒卻從四面八方滲透到心裡，我們像喝醉酒，每天輕飄飄的，美好的心情難以言喻。

The eight days we spent in Beijing were freezing. The best way to beat the cold was hiding my two fragile hands in the warm pockets of the goose-down overcoat. So I came home with an empty book. Nonetheless, there is a kind of magic about traveling. Even if we leave no record at the moment, the influence will seep into our hearts from all directions. We float in the air like hopeless drunkards, held up by a very beautiful and positive feeling beyond description.

旅行回來的後一天，我為沒有去北京的同學畫下腦海裡的影像，關於旅行，沒有去的人不會知道有多可惜，但去的人會說：我很高興去了這趟旅行，因為看到的世界太大太廣，紀念品和明信片只能聊表心意，因為要是自己走過的路，才算是深深切切的體驗。

On the day after we returned, I drew the vivid images that existed in my brain for those who didn’t make it to the charming capital with so much historical heritage and modern development. For those who opt not to travel, they won’t have any clue what a grand world they have missed, but for those who take the chance, they will say, “I am glad I went there.” We’ve seen too vast and too deep a city for souvenirs and postcards to depict. The only way to experience it is to travel there in person.