2016-12-10

【Aiden in English】

        Guanghua Chinese Association is a registered non-profit organization in PA. Not long ago, it began to establish the Greater Philadelphia Chinese Cultural Center (GPCCC) in promoting rural community across cultural dynamics. It became a large project that involved house hunting, renting, and refurbishing a building, and it just recently has opened to the public. In addition to Guanghua Chinese School (GHCS), the association allows GPCCC to express the wonders of the Chinese culture, involving year-long programs and activities like table tennis, Chinese folk dancing, traditional musicals, adult entertainment, etc.

        But not only limited to these activities, but it also means that GPCCC is settled down in its own home. Therefore, the team of GHCS that got so much involved with the project hosted a holiday party over at the facility, which was so awesome. The center was initially built for an individual or family, which indicates it was simply a giant mansion. Granted, most rooms seemed like spacious offices and were set up for learning environments, but the atmosphere was really relaxing and laid back in comparison to the classrooms. As I took my first impressions, it felt as if I was at my own home. Sitting down on the sofa, the room looked like my TV room, just except without a TV. Hearing my mom’s friends begin to chat occasionally, I immediately understood how this was going to be one of those, “kids go away” parties, where the parents just randomly match up groups of children like herds of sheep, desperately wanting us gone.

        Unfortunately for me, most of the children and teens suddenly decided not to accompany their parents, and disappointingly little entertainment was available. Later on, a single high school comrade approached after being dragged along by his mother as well, but we had fun and somewhat passed time.

        As I said before, there were many activities being held. Dancing, singing, and other cultural aspects were all taking place at this center, and the objective is the spread to Chinese culture to those who may not have started or experienced in-depth with the way of life. Walking around, nearly every decoration, every sign, every room of the house, had something linked to the Chinese culture. Whether if it was the iconic colors of the walls, the beautiful picture on the table, or the artistic decoration in the display, everything smelled of Chinese, which obviously included food, since what was a party without food. Oddly enough, to every kid at the party (3 in total), the most interesting was food. Without going into much detail, I will say that the exotic food cooked in fancy styles absolutely met and surpassed expectations.

        Before coming to see the center, I have to admit that my thoughts had not even begun to imagine how expensive the cultural center became. It nearly mirrored the second school of sorts. Of course here, there is no limiting of cultures, just a pure taste of China.

【紅霞譯文】

        光華華人協會是賓州政府批準的一家非贏利性機構，不久前又宣告成立大費城華人文化中心，為的是能夠在費城鄰近地區推廣文化交流，選址租賃修繕等一系列問題隨之亟待解決，好在一切進展順利，該中心已於近期正式對外開放。與光華中文學校相同，大費城華人文化中心隸屬光華華人協會，旨在寓文化傳播於各項娛樂之中，弘揚優秀民族傳統，並長期舉辦包括乒乓球、民族歌舞、傳統樂器、老年交誼等文娛項目在內的多種活動。

        多虧大費城華人文化中心有了一個屬於自己的“家”，不僅上述活動可以如願進行，而且為之付出不懈努力的光華中文學校團隊也能合“家”歡聚共度節日，甭提有多開心。該中心所在地原本是一棟個人或私家豪宅，規模相當可觀，儘管大多數房間宛若寬敞明亮的辦公室，學習環境甚佳，但其氛圍卻比教室顯得輕鬆悠閒，乍看上去跟我的電視屋相差無幾，只不過坐在沙發上眼前並無電視可看。間或聽到媽媽朋友之間聊天后我恍然大悟，今晚團聚八成屬於那種“少兒免進”之類的派對，父母完全讓孩子放羊，恨不能叫我們閃人。

        不無遺憾的是多數同齡大的夥伴直到最後時刻突然決定不陪父母到席，再加上晚會又沒有什麼好玩的東西，難免令我頓感失落，後來幸虧有位高中生被其媽媽哄來團聚，我倆總算可以一起消遣快樂時光。

        如前所說，這裡組織的活動形式多樣，跳舞唱歌文藝體育不一而足，其目的無外乎向那些平常對中國文化並無多少接觸或者說缺乏了解的人傳播中國文化。如若進入中心隨處轉轉便不難發現，幾乎每件裝飾、每枚標誌、每個房間或多或少都充斥着中國元素，無論牆壁塗抹的油漆色調，還是桌面擺設的漂亮相片，哪怕櫥櫃陳列的藝術展品，到處散發中國氣息，其中當然少不了美味佳餚，萬事吃為先嘛。不獨有偶，聚會上每個小不點（總共有仨）對吃的東西最感興趣，獨到的烹飪技巧做出絕妙的飯菜味道，完全達到我預期指數，其它詳情在這裡毋庸贅述。

        沒來該中心之前，我承認自己無論如何也沒法想象成立這樣一個文化中心要投入多少人力財力，可以說不亞於成立另一所學校，當然話說回來，為傳播中華國粹而傾注全部心血都將在所不惜。

相關博文：

The Party of Electronics(電子遊戲聚會)