Nice to have you / 有你真好

楷維繪 / drawn by Kyle 

聖誕夜，楷維用充滿決心的口氣和我說：「今天晚上我一定要睜大眼睛，爸爸說聖誕老人是一道紅光，一下子就過去了！」

On Christmas Eve, Kyle says to me with determination in his voice, "Tonight, I will open my eyes wide. Daddy said that Santa is a ray of red light. He flashes by in a sec." 

        聖誕節的臉書上記錄著各家小朋友有多麼期待得到聖誕禮物，宥宥在床上打滾三個小時才入睡，小心心從澳洲傳簡訊問奶奶聖誕老人有沒有送禮物到家裡，楷維起床發現聖誕老人把禮物送到另一個家去了。

     On Christmas, Facebook records many children's anticipation of Santa's visit. Yoyo tosses and turns for three hours before falling asleep the night before. Shin sends a text message to Granny from Australia wondering if Santa has successfully delivered her gift. Kyle wakes up to find that Santa has left his gift in the other apartment. 

        大人用可笑的口吻說，小孩子怎麼這麼好騙呢？這世界上怎麼會有聖誕老人呢？

     I hear many adults remark with a teasing tone, "Children are so gullible. How come they believe in the existence of Santa without a doubt?" 

        我說：有什麼關係呢？生活太真實，我們總是得有些天真可笑的信仰。

     I can't help retorting, "Why does it matter? Life is too real. We need some innocent and even ridiculous beliefs to make life easier." 

        本來我最怕大肆慶祝的節日，不過換了個角度想，孩子們和大人們只是需要有一天，吃吃糖、拆禮物、沒理由地胡鬧一下，看到一線紅光，結果我在這一天裡，也感受到濃濃的愛意。

     I tend to shun away from highly promoted holidays. However, I manage to change my point of view. Kids and children just need a day when they can eat candy and unwrap gifts, have fun for no reason, and see a ray of red light. Then, miraculously, I end up feeling sweet love where I didn't expect. 

        有聖誕老公公真好！

     Nice to have Santa! 

the gift I can give / 給得起的禮物

這星期學校簡直被巧克力和糖果淹沒了，加上要上六天的課，聖誕節似乎長無止盡，還好同事愛密莉介紹了一個很不錯的活動，讓同學選一件意義非凡的二手禮物，和大家分享故事背後的故事，然後為它找個新主人。

This past week the school was literally inundated with chocolates and sweets. The fact that we had six school days this week made Christmas endless. Luckily, my colleague Emily introduced an extremely meaningful activity--everyone brings a secondhand object with them to school, shares its story and trades it with another person. 

        我有兩個班級，剛開始宣布這個活動時，我的班很強烈地表達，如果是自己珍惜的物品，會捨不得送出去，不如把活動改成故事分享就好，可是我很想試試大家的極限。真班也有類似的反映，可是意見沒有那麼大聲。

      I have two classes. When I first announced the activity, my class voiced their opinions strongly. They argued that if it's an object they cherish, they won't be able to give it away. It'd be preferable if we changed it to "Show and Tell." However, I really wanted to see how far everyone could go, so I insisted on the exchange part. The girls in the other class also shared similar ideas, but they didn't protest so vehemently.  

        到了送禮物的當天，真班一上場的同學多半說：這個物品提醒我不好的回憶，所以我想送出去。原本是要送出祝福的，變成了很多人的療傷園地。不過我也因次聽到了一些可能永遠不會知道的故事，怎麼說都很慶幸讓大家有這個機會分享。

     On the gift-giving day, a lot of girls in the other class started their stories this way: The object reminds me of something really negative, so I don't want to keep it. I had explained that the activity is to give best wishes. Instead, this turned out to be a healing camp for many traumatized kids. Still, I am glad because I go to hear many stories I wouldn't have known. 

        過去兩年裡，每次有機會和我自己的班做星空夜語活動時，不是我閃開機會就是機會閃開我。想不到這一次同學們一上場，完全不隱藏地分享關於自己的一些事情，故事裡有心碎、失望、成長過程中的自我期許和回憶，而且拿出來的禮物可能是對某位親人或朋友唯一的懷念，還是大方地給了出來。

     In the past two years, I've had some chances to have heart-baring group talks with my own students, but I kind of shunned away. To my surprise, today the girls were so frank that they didn't hesitate to share stories about their heartaches, disappointment, and growth. More importantly, the objects they offered might be the only memorabilia from an important relative or friend. Their generosity really impressed me. 

        上面的同學說得哭得語無倫次，下面的好多雙眼睛都紅了，我是個這麼在乎講話有沒有組織的人，也放鬆了。安靜的勵學樓裡，別班同學安靜地自習，我卻堅持我們在今年最後的一個週六做這件事。

     The story-tellers shed tears as they narrated their stories, while tears rolled in the listeners' eyes. I can never stop finding fault with people whenever their talks are incoherent, but I relaxed today. In the quiet building, the other classes were busy studying, but I insisted on exchanging stories on the last weekend of 2014. 

        聽到前一個同學率真地表達情感之後，還沒有發表的同學開始擔心自己的故事不夠有寫有淚，小獅居然狗急跳牆到想編出令人動容的情節，上台據實以報之後，逗得全班哄堂大笑，大家一下哭一下笑，真像在洗三溫暖。

     Having been touched by stories full of emotions, those who hadn't talked yet were worried if they could move the audience. Maggie was so anxious that she couldn't help inviting the girls that sat next to her to make up stories for her object, which made the whole class burst into laughter. We cried and laughed at the same time. 

        兩個小時的交換故事結束後，玉璽跑來對我說，今天真是很棒的兩堂課，聽到了很多故事，又知道了關於彼此的一些事，開心之餘，我想到的是這個孩子過去兩年多以來的起落，現在走到了這個點，是多麼長足的進步，這是今年多好的句點。

     After the activity, Enci came to me saying how wonderful it was. I agreed, but what came to mind was the change of this kid within two and half years. She's' come so far after all those ups and downs, which is a fantastic period to end year 2014. 

        當了十幾年的老師，每天我都還是要提醒自己要打開心，今年的聖誕禮物回應了我的努力，感謝孩子們的坦率，我常常想我說的話是不是都蒸發到空氣中了，結果證實了還是有些用處的。

     Though I've been teaching for more than a dozen years, I still have to remind myself to open my heart every day. Santa gave me a perfect gift in return--the girls' honesty. I often wondered if my words had evaporated into the air, but now I know they are of some use. 

        每天上完課有不同的情緒，我和孩子們的情緒交會有無限可能的反應，我一直以為這會是個極其勞累的星期六，想不到內心充滿如此感動，久久無法退去。

     Every day at work it is not the same because of the different chemistry between me and the girls. I'd thought this would be an extremely tiring Saturday. However, I was so moved that the rest of the day I could feel the good will. 

        我們要走入最後一學期了，回首看之前走過的路途，雖然真的很高興一起走到了這一點，但也會開始捨不得。

     We are approaching the last semester together. Looking back on the past two and half years, I am happy to have come so far, but meanwhile, I know it's not easy to let go when we say goodbye. 

後記：照片中的練習取自Keri Smith的Living Out Loud。 

P.S.: The exercise sheet is excerpted from Keri Smith's Living Out Loud. 

Tata Lake / 塔塔湖濱散記

今天布達佩斯的陽光亮麗，放著如此美好的日子不上路太可惜，卡洛提議載我們去離布城四十五分鐘車程的塔塔湖。

Today the sunshine in Budapest was so dazzling. It would be a pity to waste it staying at home. Carol offered to take us to Tata Lake, which is about a 45-minute drive away from the capital.

冬天裡高速公路旁的景色仍然綠意盎然。

In winter, the scenery along the highway is still lush. 

山丘間散布著紅白色調的小屋。

The hills are dotted with red-roofed white houses. 

卡洛說聖誕節之際，這裡應該要是白茫茫一片，但是今年冬天太溫暖了。

Carol said that it should have snowed a lot around Christmas. It seems that this winter tends to be rather warm. 

途中遇見匈牙利的紅白身火車。

We came across the red-and-white Hungarian train on our way. 

聖誕節時，所有商家都關門了，小鎮格外寧靜。

On Christmas, all the stores were closed. The small town felt especially serene. 

到了美麗的塔塔湖。

We arrived at the beautiful Tata Lake. 

琴怡夫婦和卡洛到水邊觀看湖面是否結冰。

Chinyi, Carlos, and Carol checked if the lake had frozen by the shore. 

答案在這裡。

Here is the answer. 

假期間來湖邊散心的遊客不少。

There were some tourists that came to the lake for a visit during the holidays. 

接下來我們就開始環湖散步之旅。

Then we started our walking tour along the lake. 

住在湖邊的人家很有當地風味的木雕門。

This is the wooden gate with the local carving style to a house surrounding the lake.

這個黃色很匈牙利。

I call this the Hungarian yellow. 

可以從湖邊走進更裡面的住宅區。

From the lakeside, we could see the residential areas further down the village. 

在陽光下速寫非常溫暖，無法和前幾天的風寒相比擬。

It was extremely warm to sketch under the sun. I could feel the strong contrast between  the warmth and the cold I was exposed to a few days ago. 

小鴨們和天鵝不怕冷。

The ducks and the swan were not afraid of the cold weather. 

小房子有純樸的吸引力。

The houses have a primitive charm. 

黑白照同樣動人。

The black and white shot is equally fascinating. 

琴怡和卡洛的姐妹照。

The shot of the two sisters--Chinyi and Carol. 

湖邊居然也有座博物館，爸爸和孩子在玩捉迷藏。

It was a surprise for us to find a museum by the lake. A father was playing hide-and-seek with his child. 

我喜歡枯枝映著藍天。

I love images of the tree branches against the blue sky. 

我們決定走進小鎮去冒險。

We decided to go on an adventure in the town. 

躲在屋頂上的羊。

A goat hides on the roof. 

藥局的營業時間告示牌。

The business-time sign of a local pharmacy. 

琴怡忙著追逐黑貓拍照。

Chinyi was busy chasing a black cat for a photo shot. 

小鎮的色調很溫柔。

The small town has a soft palette. 

隱藏在樹林間的學校有座小操場和皇宮般的校舍。

The school that hides in the forest has a small playground and palatial school buildings. 

私人的房舍和騎馬場。

Private houses and estate for horse-riding. 

回家路上有夕陽相伴。

We were accompanied by the sunset on our way home. 

晚上卡洛招待我們聽了一場很有匈牙利風格的音樂會，就在家隔壁的社區中心，當地人認真地盛裝出席，而且座無虛席，我們還是靠匈牙利友人的幫忙才買到站票。台上的四名音樂家都略有年歲，但是對於表演非常投入，沒有花俏的視覺效果，演奏者輪流用各式各樣的樂器吟唱，台下的觀眾也如癡如醉，中間還穿插詩人朗頌，觀眾也和音樂家合唱好幾首歌，台上台下融成一片，當下感覺很神奇，因為那歌聲很美。卡洛說匈牙利人對於藝術的花費不手軟，孩子們也都帶來參加音樂盛會，我還看到許多濃情蜜意的愛侶，這真是很幸福的一天啊！

In the evening Carol treated us all to a Hungarian concert, which was held in the community center right next to her apartment. The locals dressed up for the occasion, and the auditorium was fully packed. It was with the help of Carol's local friend that we got the standing tickets. The musicians on the stage looked rather senior, but they showed as much passion for their performance as possible. There was no astounding visual effects. The performers used different musical instruments alternately to accompany their beautiful singing. The audience got carried away by the sincere and touching performance. A poet was also invited to recite his works. Besides, the audience were invited to sing along several times. Being part of the music, it felt really magical because the atmosphere was very harmonious and peaceful. Carol said that Hungarians do not hesitate to spend money on art, and we saw many parents take their kids along to the concert. There were many sweet lovers as well. For us, this was a truly lovely day!