间隔年

A gap year is a constructive timeout. It can be anywhere， anytime， doing anything. You could be building a school in Chile， doing some work experience， basking on a beach in Fiji or simply working for a year to save enough money for university or a new house， or even taking time-out to change your career. It is about living life to the full and realising that there is a world of opportunity out there just waiting to be explored...

In the UK a gap year was traditionally viewed as the activity of taking timeout before university. The word on the street was that it involved travel for the wealthy few and pretty much nothing for the rest of us. Nowadays， however， all sorts of people are taking “gaps”， doing a thousand different things.

“间隔年”是一个很有建设性意义的旅行休息。你可以在任何时候，前往任何地方，去做任何你想做的事。你可以去智利建造一所学校，积累一些工作的经验；也可以在斐济的沙滩上晒晒太阳，或者只是去工作一年，为上大学或盖一所新房子存下足够的钱，甚至是花时间去改变你的职业生涯。活出一个完满的生活，去发现、去探索这个充满机会的世界……

在英国，“间隔年”传统意义上被视作大学前的旅行。从前，“间隔年”被看作是少数富人的旅行，很少与我们有关。但今天，不同的人都在进行着他们的“间隔年”活动，做着各种不同的事。

Life is a series of “gaps”

生活由一个又一个“间隔”衔接而成

Pre-university gaps， during and post-university gaps， careergaps， pre and post-baby gaps， post-wedding gaps， pre-retirement gaps—the list goes on. From the age of 18， people will now become “serial gappers” as they head through each life stage， taking a “gap” to prepare themselves for the transition ahead. The result will be a change in the mentality of society， away from the “live to work， work to live” routine of a slow climb up a career ladder to a more exciting life path which simply involves doing what they enjoy in life and achieving that dream.

Gap years and working holidays are still relatively new concepts in China， so a lot of people tend to romanticize them before setting out.

A gap year need not necessarily be a whole year； it could be just a few months or a few years. Its not a luxury trip or an escape from the real world. Its more like an expedition in which you learn about yourself.

You shouldnt expect a different world when you come back. Instead， you should be the change.

进行“间隔年”的时间有很多，步入大学之前、在校期间或是毕业之后、工作间隙、生宝宝之前或是生完以后、婚后旅行又或者是退休前的旅行。“间隔年”的选择正在不断地增加着。从18岁起，人们开始跨越人生舞台中一个个的间隔，用一个间隔的时间来为前方的转变做好准备。结果将会是社会心态的改变，远离“活着是为了工作，工作是为了活着”这样一个常态。从在职业生涯的梯子上慢慢往上爬，改为走上一条更为激动人心的生活道路，做自己想做的，去实现自己的梦想。

在中国，“间隔年”和“打工度假”仍是相对新的理念，因此很多人在出发前容易将其理想化。

“间隔年”不一定非要是一整年时间，它可以是几个月或几年。这不是一次奢华之旅，也不是逃避现实，它更像是一次自我发现之旅。

你不应期望结束“间隔年”后，自己会看到一个全新的世界。相反，变化的应该是你自己。