2017-10-20

【Aiden in English】

        Washington D.C., an iconic touristic attraction, captivates the American spirit like nothing else in the USA. White, speckless monuments, wide-eyed students on field trips, and the repetitive ring of ice-cream trucks. Nothing resembles the American culture more than this snapshot. As an American, it is nearly a must to visit DC, whether it be with a summer camp or in one’s spare time. In this case, it meant an eight-hour round trip drive with the entire 9th grade.

        By no means was the ride boring. First of all, there were outlets on all seats, so the fear of a dying battery was dispelled. Furthermore, we ordered Hagey coaches, which meant comfortable seats, as well as Wi-Fi. Although the ride itself was not significant, it does sum up the trip: fun and shorter than it should have been.

        Arriving in DC, the trip accelerated rapidly. From one iconic scene to the next, my friends and I jumped around the main touristic areas of the Natl Mall. Obviously, being monitored by the school and all, there was a limit to the areas we could go. However, the most popular area in all of the city is pretty much within a five mile radius. And if you don’t know, the main attractions line up perfectly. We started with the Lincoln Memorial, had lunch at its steps, and enjoyed a very specific, meticulous statue of Lincoln sitting on a pedestal. I do think that the statue shows more symbolic meaning than just a memorial. Lincoln looks down at the capitol building three miles away and seems to be saying: I made the country the way it is now (or something like that). Or, he could be saying: Wow, you really screwed up all my work.

        Walking down towards the museum district, we visited the Washington Monument, or more popularly known as the pointy building Spider-man backflips off of. Upon reaching the base, everyone simultaneously thought Spider-man, and looked up the side of the monolith, imagining how boring the world was. At least, that’s how I felt.

        Time continued to tick as we made our way to the museum district. I wasn’t particularly excited for the museums. Besides, if the school wanted us to go to museums, they would send us to New York. Regardless, they were free, so everyone spent about five minutes in each one. I, on the other hand, argued to walk to the Capitol Hill. I’ve never really spent much time near the capitol, and I wanted to see rich, old bureaucratic dudes in dark suits. A lot of others wanted to see the building too, so as a collective group, we walked a good mile to the capitol.

        In every city, there is noise all around. However, with about one hundred feet of the US Capitol, all you can hear is silence. Buff, young guys dressed in suits and sunglasses, chatting like it was another day on the job… Even though I’m not as smart as I think, you can tell they stand with a tension, relaxed, yet ready to pounce. With them around, the mood feels different, and not in a good way. I don’t think they’re doing anyone any secret services. Otherwise, the capitol building was great. A bunch of old foreign ladies blabbered away, in disregard to the agents placed around the vicinity. We took our pictures and left, but I can’t shake the feeling of being analyzed by those agents.

        That was the final stop before heading home. I know, it seemed short. But in a city like DC, it’s hard to explore when you only have four hours to work with. At least we went around. Some people went shopping. The ride back was alright. There was a lot of down time and freedom, which is exactly what I needed to process today’s journey. 

【紅霞譯文】

        在美國，沒有比華盛頓特區這個標誌性景點更能完美體現美國人精神面貌，一座座潔白無瑕的紀念碑，一群群天真好奇的秋遊生，一輛輛頂着冰激凌蛋卷的零售車，沒有比這幅畫面更能精闢概況美國文化。無論參加夏令營也好，還是休閒度假也罷，華府幾乎是美國人必去無疑的旅遊勝地，難怪我們高一全體學生為了到此秋遊不惜來回跋涉八個鐘頭。

        途中絲毫沒有無聊之意，關鍵在於各個車座均配備好電路插銷，因此毋需擔憂電池會掉鏈子，再加上我們乘坐的是哈吉大巴，不僅座位舒適，而且還提供無線網絡。儘管交通本身沒啥特別，但一路上語笑喧闐，時間過得飛快，也算不虛此行。

        抵達華府後，秋遊節奏隨即加速，我和哥們環繞國家廣場主要遊覽區竄上竄下，從一個景點蹦到另一個景點。顯然學校掌控學生去處，我們的活動範圍因之而大受限制，不過全城著名景點基本分布在方圓五英里地內，也許你有所不知，華府重要建築群整齊地聯成一線。我們先去林肯紀念堂，席地坐在台階上吃起午飯，得以近距離觀賞底座之上這尊精工細作的林肯雕像，我認為它不失為一件具有象徵意義的紀念性作品。林肯俯視三英里以遠的國會大廈仿佛在說：我指引國家走向今天（大意如此），或者會說：哇塞，你們竟把我創下的基業搞得烏七八糟。

        朝下往博物館方向走去，我們來到華盛頓紀念碑前，也就是大眾更為熟悉的電影《蜘蛛俠》後空翻尖樓所在地。只要靠近碑基，恐怕人人都禁不住想起蜘蛛俠；抬頭仰望巨石側邊，（沒有蜘蛛俠的）世界居然如此乏味，起碼我個人這麼覺得。

        待我們決定去博物館，時間變得緊張起來。我對博物館興趣不大，再說假如學校想要我們參觀博物館，當該把學生打發到紐約市。不管怎樣講，反正這裡所有的博物館全部免費開放，結果我們每到一處頂多呆上五分鐘。話說了回來，我主張去國會山，畢竟以前從未找到機會就近轉悠，順道看看那些富態老氣身着白襯衫黑西裝的政界官僚們，不少朋友也想見識一下建築物，於是我們結伴同行，一起走過好長一段路才趕到目的地。

        每座城市都少不了噪音，然而在距離美國國會大廈一百英尺左右的地方卻萬籟俱寂，西裝革履戴着墨鏡身材魁梧的年輕人像談公務似地聊着天……雖然我沒有自己想象的聰明，但你能辨別出他們既緊張又放鬆站在那裡隨時待命，有這些便衣在場氣氛怪異，總之不太對勁，我覺得他們未必受人指使做什麼秘密工作。除此而外，國會大廈非常氣派，一幫外國太太沒把便衣當回事，扯着嗓門揚長而去。我們拍完相片方才離開，但我揮之不去受人監視的感覺。

        這是返程前最後一站，我知道逗留時間短暫，其實像華府這樣規模的城市，很難用四個小時來體察人文地貌，起碼我們出外轉了一轉，而有些人只顧逛店購物。回家的路上還算順利，經常塞車，自由支配時間很多，正巧我需要好好回味今天所到之處。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2013: 第三屆賓州光華校運會隨想(2013 GHCS Field Day)

Crosslinks(相關博文):

2015: Library of Congress, Washington DC(華盛頓特區國會圖書館)

2015: 2015 GHCS Field Trip @ Green Lane Park(光華綠蔭公園春遊日)

2014: Field Trip to Valley Forge, PA(賓州福吉谷實地見習)

USA(出遊美國)