2015-11-26

【Aiden in English】

        Thanksgiving is a time to get together no matter whether it goes with friends or family in the US. Eat turkey, talk, have fun, watch NFL, stay up, and burp, all of which are an essential part of the annual tradition. This Thanksgiving, I was traveling to a friend’s house, where we were going to give our stomachs a real workout.

        I’m not the largest fan of roasted turkey. The only way I like it is smothered in gravy or in a sandwich. Everything else at the party was amazing. Dishes of spicy chicken and peanuts gave off a mouth-watering scent, while plates of mashed potatoes gleamed under the light. I piled food onto my plate, grabbed a bowl, and poured in a serving as chips as well. Sitting with the other kids in the dining room, I dove into a choice I would regret after I finished.

        Even a day later, my stomach had not overcome the mountain of food stuffed into it in a matter of ten minutes. Nor did it account for the other trinkets and snacks afterward the feast. Andrew made acorns with peanut butter cookies the size of dime topped with Hershey Kisses. The night went on with a cartoon movie, but really I wasn’t paying attention. The one tradition that this party did not cover was football. I wanted to watch a good game, not the Philadelphia Eagles being destroyed by the Detroit Lions. I mean, the game was quite disastrous for any Philadelphian. The quarterback Mark Sanchez played like poop, and the running back Demarco Murray had been seen better days. Not that he’ll spend any more of those days here in Philadelphia. You know what’s funny, people said at the beginning of the year how the Eagles were a Super Bowl contender. Yeah, it didn’t sound so much.

        As the night winded down, and the kids turned to videogames for entertainment, the real pain of the food kicked in. It wasn’t all the food’s fault either. My body is extremely sensitive to soda, as in a gassy way. I know, I shouldn’t drink any, but it’s Thanksgiving. Whenever I burped (thank god the air passed up-wards, not the other way), the air rushed through my nose like eating raw onions with wasabi. It got really bad to a point where my eyes would tear up. Sometimes, people around me could even smell the Sprite I had. Talk about being embarrassed.

        I love Thanksgiving, simply because it is an excuse for food. Gathering around like what pilgrims and Native Americans did hundreds of years ago, eating turkey and mashed potatoes, watching football, and playing Super Smash Bros on the Wii.

【红霞译文】

        无论与朋友相聚或是阖家团圆，感恩节堪称全美普天同庆的日子，啃火鸡、侃大山、玩游戏、看球赛、狂欢夜，海吃山喝非撑得肚歪不可，所有这些活动无不成为一年一度传统颂赞的重要组成。今年感恩节我如约来到朋友家，将与各路群英共享舌尖上的美味盛餐。

        我并不爱吃烤火鸡，除非蘸过卤味肉汁或者做成三明治方才勾起食欲。不过此次聚会上精心烹饪的其它菜肴甭提有多馋人，宫保鸡丁煸炒辣椒的刺激和爆炸花生的油香足以叫你口水直流，而土豆泥在灯光的映照下显得格外抢眼。我撺掇了满盘食物，顺手抄起一只碗装上薯片，径直奔向餐厅与同伴一起大块朵颐。吃罢晚宴，我心里不免对刚才狼吞虎咽的吃相后悔不已。

        即使挨过当天，我仍然无法消化仅用十分钟便餮饕下肚的积食，暂且不算茶余饭后的甜点小吃，子安还特意用花生饼干与一毛钱硬币大小的巧克力“好时之吻”打造成橡子果来招待大家。我对当晚播放的动画片兴趣不大，反倒情愿循规蹈矩去欣赏一场橄榄球比赛，最好是具有一定水平的较量，而不是费城老鹰队如何被底特律雄狮队涮着玩的表演。我想说在那场球赛中费城队回天乏术，四分卫马克·桑切斯打得极臭，跑卫德马科·穆雷表现不错，看来德马科很快就会跳槽。说来真好笑，年初时人们竟口出狂言，断定老鹰队有望角逐“超级碗”全美年度冠军赛，是呵，听起来一点都不靠谱。

        很晚的时候，正当小伙伴们全心全意投入电子游戏之际，我开始反胃闹起肚子，其实根本不怪食物，而是我胃肠道对苏打水特别敏感，体内极易积累气体。我清楚自己不该喝这类饮料，可既然过节又何苦较真。谢天谢地，肚子里的气体朝上漂移而非往下排放，可只要我一打饱嗝，气味准保直冲鼻孔，好像嚼过脆生洋葱吞下日本芥末，眼泪夺眶而出，如果没有尴尬可言，那么坐在我身边的人偶尔也会领悟雪碧“透心凉心飞扬”的精到之处。

        我喜爱感恩节，因为可以堂而皇之地想吃什么就吃什么，与朋友共同发扬几百年前英国清教徒与土著印第安人所创建的光荣传统，搓上一顿火鸡聊发情怀，蒯来一盘土豆泥打打牙祭，陶醉一场橄榄球赛实况转播，再火拼一把“任天堂·明星大乱斗”视频游戏。