2017-11-24

【Aiden in English】

        You know, one doesn’t really appreciate holiday breaks until they’re almost over. Take Thanksgiving, for example. It’s already the weekend after Black Friday, and I have to prepare for school again. Fortunately, this is one of the rare weekends all year where I’m not strangling myself over Chinese school.

        Another holiday, another family tradition. The night of Black Friday always means attending a service at church. Being a rather Asian family, I can’t say we celebrate Thanksgiving all that much. I watch football, and that’s about it. Nevertheless, this service is the lone standout of a Thanksgiving celebration that our family participates at China Grace Christian Church, PA.

        Obviously, I cover this topic every year, and to be honest, change is a rarity. Therefore, I want to point out some things I am thankful for.

        First of all, I am thankful for the school district about how they have built a viable and durable means of transportation from the high school every day. Furthermore, most of my teachers are fantastic, which is always beneficial.

        Secondly, I am also thankful for the Philadelphia Eagles and their season so far. As of November’17, they have yet to combust and implode. In the meanwhile, I am thankful for Auburn Tigers and their achievement of stopping Alabama Crimson Tide’s rampage of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). These events in sports really do give a bit of light in the dark, gloomy domain of high school.

        As usual, I am thankful for a house and food, and clothes. These necessities are taken for granted, and I am thankful that they are. 

        Not going to lie, not having a phone in the twenty-first century is downright near torture, so when mom bought me an updated version of the iPhone half a year ago, I was ecstatic. Thus, I am also thankful for a phone and social media, games, sporting apps, streaming platforms, fantasy sports, and so on, which comes with it.

        I am also thankful for the iPhone 7’s connector or dongle. It really looks stylish.

        And finally, I’m thankful that we have Thanksgiving. It’s the very holiday that many people can reflect on what they have. It’s difficult to judge what one should be thankful for, as somethings are deserved. Truthfully, people should be grateful for all they know and understand. Your life one way or another could be a lot worse. Although it’s quite a pessimistic view, the “it could be worse” phrase does fit the Thanksgiving theme well. 

        I guess one last thing I’m thankful for is this blog. Can’t say I enjoy documenting minor details of life, but what can I say? It could be worse.

【紅霞譯文】

        你曉得，幾近節日結束人們方才真正感悟休假的美好，感恩節便是例證。眼下不覺已到黑色星期五後的周末，我不得不為返校複課而做準備，好在這個周末恰是一年當中為數不多毋需強迫自己前往中文學校學習的日子。

        又一個佳節，另一出習俗，黑色星期五之夜總歸要出席教堂活動，既然來自道地的亞洲家庭，我說不準感恩節有何特別，充其量多觀摩幾場美式橄欖球賽而已。不管怎樣，今年賓州神州基督教堂感恩節慶典成了吾家老少參加的唯一聚會。

        顯然，每年我少不了報道慶典盛況，坦率地說，“縱橫不出方圓，萬變不離其宗”，在此我想藉機抒發一些個人感激之情。

        首先，我感激學區每天無畏麻煩為保障本人高中學習提供行之有效的交通工具，而且多數任課老師教學有方，學生從中獲益匪淺。

        其次，我也感激費城老鷹隊及其目前戰績，截至二〇一七年十一月為止，他們士氣不減，一直奮力拼搏。與此同時，我還要感激美國大學東南聯盟中奧本大學老虎隊成功阻斷阿拉巴馬大學紅潮隊強勁攻勢，這些體育賽事真給黑暗沉悶的高中生活帶來一絲光明。

        如同往常一樣，我感激家居飲食衣物，這些日常用品被看成理所當然的東西，但我對它們依舊心懷謝意。

        我不想說假話，時處廿一世紀的今天假如沒有手機簡直備受折磨，半年前當媽媽給我買了新款蘋果智能手機時，我欣喜若狂，所以我要一併感謝由此衍生出來的手機社交媒體、網絡遊戲、體育應用程序、流動媒體平台、夢幻體育、等等。

        再者，我感激第七款蘋果智能手機連接器也就是加密狗，它非常時尚。

        最後，我感激感恩節，大家能夠藉助這個節日來反思自己所得到的恩施及運氣。判斷一個人感恩的對象很難，畢竟有些東西是應得的。實際上，人們應該感激看得見摸得着的一切，人生有時際遇甚慘，儘管帶有極強的悲觀意識，但“可能更糟”這句話確實符合感恩節主題思想。

        我想末了本人要感激這個博客，且莫妄言自己喜歡記錄生活中雞毛蒜皮的瑣事，不過我又能說些什麼呢？沒準兒更糟。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2011: Narrative─Thanksgiving Turkey(記敘文─感恩節火雞)

Crosslinks(相關博文):

2016 Thanksgiving @ CGCC(2016年神州基督教會感恩節)

2015 Thanksgiving @ CGCC(2015年神州基督教會感恩節)

2014: A Snowy Walk on A Snowy Thanksgiving(漫步於白色感恩節)

2012: 年輕的魅力(Beauty in Age)

2010: 歌舞昇平(Thankful Holiday)

2009: 感恩(Gratitude)