2016-11-20

【Aiden in English】

        Thanksgiving is a time to gather around a large table and have a good time. Whether it is with family, friends, or any other relationship, the tradition of coming together is extremely powerful. Because of skipping a grade, I switched Chinese classes at my time at Guanghua Chinese School. But the previous year never fully left my mind, lingering memories and thoughts continued to be stored throughout the years.

        Nowadays, it is hard to describe what it means to be together. Chinese culture usually saves these traditions for the Lunar New Year. Oddly, upon arriving at Easton Buffet for Thanksgiving, groups sprung up at the tables. My friend and I, both skipping levels, sat together, apart from most of the others. We just sat around, spending most of our virtual currency in a game. Obviously, the time spent not being together has grown many barriers. We did not talk much with others, as a sense of difference had grown between the groups. Not being the biggest fan of buffets, I hardly ate much at all. In fact, I’m quite sure I became sick during that dinner.

        Since this Thanksgiving is going to be quite uneventful, this piece should be the only one about Thanksgiving. I would, therefore, like to say some things I am thankful for. First come the basics everyone should be thankful for, such as fresh food, drinkable water, and a bed to sleep on. Life is never constant, and there is always a chance that in a blink of an eye, these things taken for granted can be stripped away. Even in America, jobs are a very large issue, and society is far from utopia. Everyone reading this should be thankful for the money and jobs they have, and that the income is enough to pay for whatever screen you are reading this article on. Sure, everyone thinks it is normal to have a computer and internet, but it really isn’t. There are enough people out there without these “normal” items, enough to make it seem “not normal”. This Thanksgiving, and every Thanksgiving for that matter, should dedicate some thanks to the simplicities and extra pleasures we have in life. More importantly, every living person needs to thank someone who has given him or her the necessities to live. Students can go to school because they don’t have to be worried about putting food on the table every night. But their guardians do, and so the children should be thankful. And to those who run the family, put food on the table. You always have someone to thank, and if not someone, then fortune or any religious figure because there are many problems happening to other people in which have not happened to you. So when everyone gathers around a table, he or she should have something to be thankful for.

        Happy Thanksgiving!

【红霞译文】

        感恩节既是大吃特吃的日子，又是普天同庆的佳节，无论阖家团聚，还是朋友派对，或者七大姑八大姨撺掇的各种名堂，群聚扎堆的节日传统可谓深入民心。虽说缘于跳级，在宾州光华中文学校我调换了上课班级，但往日记忆永远不会从脑海里彻底消失，即使时过境迁，许多陈年旧事依然历历在目。

        眼下，聚会所包含的寓意并非用一句话两句话就能说清楚。依照中国习俗，大家通常把这种活动锁定于农历新年，而我们偏偏选在感恩节到来之际相约伊斯顿自助餐厅，我紧挨着另一位同样有过跳级经历的朋友坐了下来，略与多数来宾留有一段距离。咱哥俩交谈甚欢玩得起劲，在一个游戏上破费了不少虚拟钞票。显然，过去几年来聚少离多已在朋友之间造成诸多隔阂，让我们再度相聚时竟找不出彼此熟悉的话题，心里难免有股局外人的感觉，再加上我本来就不感冒加肥食品，所以极少吃什么东西，实际上当晚我的胃肠道确实有点不太对劲。

        既然本年度感恩节如期而至，这篇短文当以感恩为中心议题，我想借此机会表达内心感激之情。每个人首先应该感激自己所拥有的一切，譬如：新鲜食物、可饮用水、安乐窝，我也不例外。生活本身变化无常，眨眼之间什么事情都有可能发生，习以为常的东西稍纵即逝；即使在美国，就业市场一直存有很大问题，整个社会远不及乌托邦完美无缺。如果你跟着我笔触行走到这里，就应该感激自己所拥有的财力和为家庭带来收入的那份工作，有了钱，你才能阅读阅览器上出现的这篇文章。没错，很多人认为有电脑和互联网挺正常的，其实不然，不少百姓并没有所谓的“正常”东西，没准这些全被纳入“非正常”货品之列。感恩节上话感恩，简单快乐堪称现实生活的基本元素，更重要的是每位都应感谢那些为我们生活默默奉献的人：学生得以上学，因为他们无需操心每顿晚餐所享用的饭菜；身为监护人，也应该反过来感激其子女；各家忙碌一日三餐的主厨同样不能忽视，你永远都要对帮助过自己的人心存感激。假如你实在找不出需要感激的人，那么就去感激鸿运高照蒙神赐福，因为世上没人像你这么侥幸。如此说来，今晚前来赴宴的所有来宾都应知恩图报。

        感恩节快乐！