2014-11-02

【Aiden in English】

        I've been around the world multiple times, seeing things most peers only dream to see, and experiencing things most friends won't even understand. Yet through my travels, I have ever paid much attention to the wonders right under my nose. Literally, I have never really thought of taking a trip to Mexico because I really don't put USA's neighboring country on my priority list. Oh, why can't I be any stupider?

        My family was having a four-day getaway to Cancun, Mexico because of National Election Day. When Mom unraveled the plans for the trip on the plane ride, I realized that these 4 days were gonna be packed. I was extremely jealous that my sister and grandma got to chill all days in a five-star resort called the Beloved Hotel of Playa Mujeres while Mom and I were dehydrating in a Yucatan desert in the middle of absolutely no where. On the bright side, I am technically learning and so I'll be excused from school for Fall break.

        I was so anxious to see what the five-star resort had to offer. But all I got was an hour wait at the reception because of the wrong information that Expedia had generated. I had to walk around the fancy entrance and watched my sis wander about, while Mom got all serious and seemed as if "you pay or I sue" kind of thing. After a while, Grandma and I switched the position and I finally took a break from babysitting. By the time, Mom had already spoken with Expedia's manager. Apparently, Mom had entered my sis and my age on the website. Expedia's data system made an error, saying that both of us were infants at the age of two. If that were the case, I would be probably the smartest infant the world had ever seen. That little mistake changed the price by a whole lot. And when I meant a whole lot, I meant at least $400 bucks in difference from the same room. Mom was making sure that those bucks weren't coming out of her pocket. It was definitely not the way to start off this getaway.

【红霞译文】

        我一直马不停蹄地浪迹天涯，见识了许多同伴梦寐以求的东西，尝试过广大朋友无法体会的经历。然而，我坚持放眼世界，却偏偏没有将视线聚焦在眼皮底下的美景奇观。坦率地说，我尚未把邻国墨西哥纳入本人出行计划上来。哦真够傻的，咱何苦舍近求远呢？

        借助十一月初美国中期选举日之秋风，我家老少三代南下墨西哥直捣坎昆，开始为期四天观光渡假。飞行途中，当妈妈部署行程方案，我意识到这四天所肩负的任务艰巨使命光荣责任重大，禁不住妒嫉身边的小妹，打心里羡慕同行的外婆，她俩随意赋闲五星级度假村──女士海滩的宠儿酒店吃香的喝辣的玩欢的，悠然自得；而我却汗流浃背，跟着妈妈在前不着村后不着店的尤卡坦荒漠上来回奔波。当然，从乐观的角度来看，我尽可开拓眼界，为欢度秋假找出翘课逃学的理由。

        我巴不得赶紧想见识一下这个五星级酒店，但出乎意料地，我反被卡在登记接待处，白白耗掉了个把钟头。原来妈妈使用的E龙(Expedia)在线旅游网站系统出现了故障，结果害得我陪着妹妹在酒店大厅里东游西荡，而妈妈不得不进行交涉，气氛十分严肃，大有“要么你承担后果，要么我找你算账”之势。过了一会儿，多亏外婆前来接班，我才暂时卸掉做保姆的差事。就在此时，妈妈已跟E龙主管经理交流了意见。预定酒店时，她肯定输入了我和妹妹的实际年龄﹔然而，E龙数据库却显示兄妹俩同为两岁。如果真是那样，恐怕我将成为全球最聪颖的婴孩。因为年龄不同，酒店的收费区别很大。这里我所说的“大”意指惊人数字，同样的房间，两者差额至少超过四百美金，妈妈希望确保这笔费用不该由我们支付。以这种方式拉开逍遥游序幕，完全不是我们所期待的。