那是我第一次俯瞰上海

By Lisa Stitt 译/张佳艺

本文作者Lisa Stitt（左）

飞机下面的海面看上去坚硬结实。倘若我扔下一个球，说不定几分钟后便会弹回到我的手中。从地平线上看，海水共长天一色，蔚蓝与蔚蓝无缝衔接。注视着阳光下的波光粼粼，我不禁好奇数千英里下的水域里遨游着哪些生物？

The water below the plane appeared solid enough that I could bounce a ball off of its surface and have it returned to my grasp in a matter of minutes. The blue of the water met with the blue of the sky at the horizon in an almost indistinguishable line. As the water shimmered in the sunlight, I wondered what creature was swimming amidst those waters so many thousands of miles below.

阿拉斯加如幻景一般，满山遍野的皑皑白雪绘满机窗，将下方的西沃德掩盖。正当我断定海洋浩瀚无边界时，陆地的出现令我十分震惊。飞越阿拉斯加时，我目不转睛欣赏窗外风景；飞越日本时，我彻底沦陷于窗外美色。

And then- Alaska! Like a vision, mountains laden with snow filled my window and the city of Seward lay directly below. I was shocked to see land when I had been convinced the water extended forever. I was glued to the window as we flew over Alaska, but I was fused to the window as we flew over Japan.

飞机临着陆时，那是我第一次俯瞰上海。身下的上海仿佛一座玩偶之城，河流贯穿山丘，加之微型房屋和树木交叉，活脱脱一架错综复杂的三维模型。来华第一天，我们便享用了美味的午餐和美妙的巴士环城之旅。虽然闷热潮湿，但上海却是一个生机勃勃、惹人喜爱的地方。我们在中国的这个“安生教育”（AYC）团队约40人，成员分别来自英国、印度、南非、加拿大和美国等。我们花费一周的时间在上海接受对外英语培训，同时在被送至各自寄宿学校之前享受着这段难得的团队合作时光。

As the plane prepared for landing, I had my first look at Shanghai - from a height that made it appear to be a city for dolls. The miniature houses and trees were intricate three-dimensional models, complete with rivers running through the hills. On our first day in China, we enjoyed a delicious lunch and a bus tour of the city. Although it’s muggy, Shanghai is quite a green, lovely place. Our Ameson Year in China (AYC) cohort is a diverse group of about 40 people from many countries around the world including the United Kingdom, India, South Africa,Canada, and America. We spent the week in Shanghai for Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) training,and enjoyed the time we had to spend as a group before being transferred to our individual host schools.

I have been placed at the Yunhe Experimental Primary School in China’s Zhejiang province. Yunhe (pronounced“Yuween-Huh”) is a county in the southwest of the province, about an hour drive from the city of Lishui.Yunhe is famous for its beautiful rice terraces and for producing wooden toys. By Chinese standards, Yunhe is a “small” city of about 125,000 people (which is still five times larger than my hometown).

我被指派到中国浙江省云和县实验小学授课。云和县位于浙江省西南部，距丽水市约一个小时车程。云和县以其美丽的梯田和木制玩具生产而闻名。按照中国标准，云和县是一座拥有约12.5万人口的“小”县城（尽管如此，它却仍足有我家乡的5倍大）。

AYC团队中的Klara被分配到云和县的一所中学任教。美国同胞本就为数不多，而今能携手工作，我们深感愉悦。为陪我们一道去云和县，Ano和Sissy在我们出发前一天抵达上海。一起用过午餐后，我们四人搭出租车到火车站。这是我第一次在中国坐汽车。穿梭在拥挤的道路上，不断躲闪来往行人，昔日印度之行的感受重回眼前。到达车站后，我询问Ano车站是否与机场相连，她轻描淡写地笑笑说：“不，车站如此之大，只是因为人口众多。”

Klara, an AYC cohort, has been assigned to teach at a middle school in Yunhe county and we have happily banded together as fellow Americans. To accompany us to Yunhe,arrived in Shanghai a day prior to our departure (their English names respectively are Ano and Sissy, whose use they kindly respond to). After enjoying lunch with the two of them, all four of us took a taxi to the train station. That was my first car ride in China and as we weaved and dodged through many pedestrians on the crowded roads, I experienced a strong reminiscence of India. When we reached the station I asked Ano if it was connected to an airport. She smiled and said, “No, it is this big because we have a lot of people.” What an understatement.

然而走在上海街道上，却并不似我想象中那般拥挤。一座容纳2500万人口之多的城市，仍能给人以神清气爽之感，这实在让人大为惊叹。路上行人都悠闲地踱着步，我一想到以为自己会像沙丁鱼罐头一样挤在人行道上，便更觉讶异。孩子们玩着滑板车，父母牵着他们的手。整座城市安静祥和，仿佛这里的人们都在度假。

Although, while walking around the streets of Shanghai,it did not feel as crowded as I imagined it would. It’s amazing that in a city of more than 25 million people, it can still feel so spacious. I was surprised to see everyone walking at such a leisurely pace, especially since I expected to be packed into the sidewalks like a tin of sardines.Mothers and fathers held the hands of their children who were often riding along on small scooters. The whole city seemed as calm as though they were all on holiday.

火车以300公里的时速疾驰，就好像在新铺设的路面上开车一样顺畅。一座座建筑，一片片田地，一排排庄稼，皆似以一种将与地面脱离的速度飞驰而过。穿过隧道后，眼前改天换地。顷刻间漫山树丛骤现，苍翠欲滴的枝叶分外美丽。夏天，白日里有热带森林般的空气，夜间则是弥漫着冰冷雾气的树林。随着翡翠般的树林越发靠近火车，大气透视将远处山丘折射为青灰色，呼之欲出。

The train speeding along at 300 kilometers per hour felt as smooth as driving a car on the most recently paved road you can think of. Building after building, field after field, and row after row of crops sped by at a pace never experienced in a vehicle that still remained on the ground.After we rode through a tunnel, everything changed.Suddenly there were hills filled with trees whose leaves were so deep a green, there appeared nothing more beautiful in sight. They had the air of a tropical forest by summer day, and foggy cold wood by night. The atmospheric perspective turned the distant hills blue and grey as the emerald trees creeping closer to our train became ever more vivid.

最后我们抵达丽水，Ano开车送我们到云和县。夜幕笼罩着整座县城，即便如此，能被指派到这里已实属幸运。躺下歇息时，我已经预感到如若离别之日到来，我将和这里有多难分难舍。时光荏苒，白驹过隙。虽然在飞机上我有背井离乡之感，但我希望在接下来的10个月里，视中国为第二个家，享受生活中的每时每刻。（Lisa Stitt，安生教育AYC项目教育大使）

Eventually we arrived in Lishui and Ano drove us the remaining distance to Yunhe in her car. Night covered the city, but, even so, it wasn’t hard to see that we were lucky to be placed in this area. As I laid down to sleep I could already tell that when the time comes it will be difficult to leave. The thing about time is that it tends to run out quickly, and though I felt far from home on the plane here,I am eager to make China my home for the next 10 months and enjoy every moment I am given. (Lisa Stitt, one of the Educational Ambassadors of AYC)