我们在希腊如何生活

By Helen Popper

Just as the country lurched precariously close to economic collapse，1 we moved to Greece.

The day we arrived， expecting the first warmth of the Mediterranean spring， it was cold—the sky gray and ominous.2 On the way home from the airport， the taxi driver asked us why we were coming here when everyone else wanted to leave.

A couple of months later， when the banks stayed shut because they were running low on cash， I hurried to the supermarket to stock up on diapers and baby formula，3 but not much else. I knew it wasnt necessary—our freezer and cupboards were crammed full， as usual， thanks to the regular food parcels we were sent from the horio （village）.4

In Athens， nearly everyone seems to have a village， a place of abundant orchards and vegetable patches， dedicated matriarchs， and vast reserves of plastic food-storage containers.5

Rarely has the plenty of the village been more appreciated than during Greeces long economic crisis. For some Athenians， food sent from back home helps plug everexpanding holes in the household budget.6

作者于人心惶惶的金融危機时期来到希腊定居，却在糟糕的经济社会环境中被一阵阵温暖所感动。惊喜不断的一个个包裹，享用不完的新鲜果蔬……雅典人对食物的淳朴坚守给前景暗淡的日常生活带来了无穷无尽的惊喜。也许经济条件无法总尽如人意，但若保持一颗热爱生活的心，重重难关也定能安然度过。

For us， it vindicated7 our decision to move closer to my partners family after many years of living in South America. His mothers preparation for a food shipment is exhaustive， almost military. Once， we found a roll of bank notes buried in a tub of dried pasta. Another time she sneaked bills into a bulging bag of carefully wrapped free-range eggs from her small farm.8

First comes the phone call： So-and-so is driving to Athens（normally its her sister-in-law， but sometimes its a distant and slightly reluctant cousin）.9 What should she send？ Do we need more olive oil？ Have we run out of walnuts10， coffee？ Rabbit or chicken？ What should she cook for the baby？

It takes two people to unload11 the car.

“Your mothers gone mad，” I said， the first time I saw perhaps half a dozen shopping bags spilling their contents in our cramped hallway.12 My son and the cat investigated together. Plastic bags rustled13 and giant red tomatoes rolled across the floor.

Individual portions of pork chops and chicken arrive frozen and neatly labeled.14 Sometimes there is a homemade casserole of cuttlefish or meatballs in egg-lemon sauce.15 Occasionally， theres orange cake soaked in syrup or a bag of spicy cinnamon cookies from the familys bakery in the Peloponnese.16

When I see heaps of recently harvested oranges， zucchinis， or eggplants， I worry that we wont be able to eat them before they spoil.17 But we always do.

For better or worse， one does enjoy being independent， however， so at first I couldnt help feeling a little put out by what I saw as domestic interventions.18 In our 40s and parents ourselves， we were beyond mollycoddling19， I thought.

“How does she think we managed until now？” I asked one day， wondering if my housekeeping skills were being called into question.

Before long though， I started to look forward to the arrival of our next consignment and realized no slight was intended.20 Its common in Greece， after all.

A friend told me her mother and her boyfriends mother are locked in competition over who can send the best food parcels from their respective villages. The couple scrapes by21 on the 600 per month he earns. Its barely enough to pay the rent and the bills， but they still manage to eat well.

Im already starting to look forward to our next delivery. The bustling laiki （street market） that sets up once a week near our home is a good alternative，22 but I miss the element of surprise， never knowing what well find inside the carefully packed bags and plastic tubs.

I miss being mollycoddled， too.

1. lurch： 突然傾斜；precariously： 危险地，不安稳地；collapse： 崩溃，突然的失败。

2. Mediterranean： 地中海的；ominous： 不祥的，不吉利的。

3. diaper： 尿布；baby formula： 婴幼儿配方奶粉。

4. cupboard： 橱柜；cram： 填满，塞满；parcel： 包裹。

5. 在雅典，几乎每人似乎都有一个小村庄，那里有着产量富足的果园和菜地、勤勤恳恳的女主人，和一大片用来放置食物储存塑料箱的区域。matriarch：女族人，女家长；reserve： 专用地。

6. plug： 堵塞，封堵；ever-expanding：不断扩大的。

7. vindicate： 证明……正确（或合理）。

8. sneak： 偷偷地做，偷偷地给（拿）；bulging： 鼓起的，凸出的；freerange：（家禽）自由放养的。

9. so-and-so：〈口〉某某人；reluctant：不情愿的，勉强的。

10. walnut： 核桃（指果实），胡桃。

11. unload：（从车上或船上）卸下，取下。

12. spill： 使溢出，洒出；cramped： 狭窄的。

13. rustle： 发出沙沙声，发出轻轻的摩擦声。

14. portion：（食物的）一份；pork chop：猪排。

15. casserole： 炖锅菜；cuttlefish： 乌贼，墨鱼。

16. 偶尔，还会有裹满糖浆的橙子蛋糕，或一袋味道辛辣的肉桂曲奇，皆是在伯罗奔尼撒的家庭烘培店中新鲜出炉的。syrup： 糖浆；cinnamon： 肉桂皮，桂皮香料；Peloponnese： 伯罗奔尼撒，希腊南部的一个半岛。

17. heap： 堆，大量；zucchini： 绿皮西葫芦；spoil：（食物）变质，腐坏。

18. put out： 使不高兴；intervention：介入，干预。

19. mollycoddle： 溺爱，宠坏。

20. consignment： 运送物；slight： 冒犯，侮慢。

21. scrape by： 勉强维持，勉强度日。

22. bustling： 熙熙攘攘的，忙碌的；alternative： 供代替的选择。