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.

【紅霞譯文】

        無論與朋友相聚或是闔家團圓，感恩節堪稱全美普天同慶的日子，啃火雞、侃大山、玩遊戲、看球賽、狂歡夜，海吃山喝非撐得肚歪不可，所有這些活動無不成為一年一度傳統頌讚的重要組成。今年感恩節我如約來到朋友家，將與各路群英共享舌尖上的美味盛餐。

        我並不愛吃烤火雞，除非蘸過滷味肉汁或者做成三明治方才勾起食慾。不過此次聚會上精心烹飪的其它菜餚甭提有多饞人，宮保雞丁煸炒辣椒的刺激和爆炸花生的油香足以叫你口水直流，而土豆泥在燈光的映照下顯得格外搶眼。我攛掇了滿盤食物，順手抄起一隻碗裝上薯片，徑直奔向餐廳與同伴一起大塊朵頤。吃罷晚宴，我心裡不免對剛才狼吞虎咽的吃相後悔不已。

        即使挨過當天，我仍然無法消化僅用十分鐘便餮饕下肚的積食，暫且不算茶餘飯後的甜點小吃，子安還特意用花生餅乾與一毛錢硬幣大小的巧克力“好時之吻”打造成橡子果來招待大家。我對當晚播放的動畫片興趣不大，反倒情願循規蹈矩去欣賞一場橄欖球比賽，最好是具有一定水平的較量，而不是費城老鷹隊如何被底特律雄獅隊涮着玩的表演。我想說在那場球賽中費城隊回天乏術，四分衛馬克·桑切斯打得極臭，跑衛德馬科·穆雷表現不錯，看來德馬科很快就會跳槽。說來真好笑，年初時人們竟口出狂言，斷定老鷹隊有望角逐“超級碗”全美年度冠軍賽，是呵，聽起來一點都不靠譜。

        很晚的時候，正當小夥伴們全心全意投入電子遊戲之際，我開始反胃鬧起肚子，其實根本不怪食物，而是我胃腸道對蘇打水特別敏感，體內極易積累氣體。我清楚自己不該喝這類飲料，可既然過節又何苦較真。謝天謝地，肚子裡的氣體朝上漂移而非往下排放，可只要我一打飽嗝，氣味準保直衝鼻孔，好像嚼過脆生洋蔥吞下日本芥末，眼淚奪眶而出，如果沒有尷尬可言，那麼坐在我身邊的人偶爾也會領悟雪碧“透心涼心飛揚”的精到之處。

        我喜愛感恩節，因為可以堂而皇之地想吃什麼就吃什麼，與朋友共同發揚幾百年前英國清教徒與土著印第安人所創建的光榮傳統，搓上一頓火雞聊發情懷，蒯來一盤土豆泥打打牙祭，陶醉一場橄欖球賽實況轉播，再火拼一把“任天堂·明星大亂鬥”視頻遊戲。