Go Ahead Gallivant 去和陌生人说话
—By Linda Ellerbee
"Go on over there, Linda." My mother pointed to a group of kids playing tug of war." Tell them who you are." Aw, Mama. Who am I? I’m a shy little girl who doesn’t want to ask a bunch of ferocious-looking strangers to let me play with them. They won’t like me, and I won’t like them, so please couldn’t I just go and sit under a tree and read something?No, I can’t. Mama gave me a small shove.Unwillingly, I introduced myself and asked to join in whatever they were doing. They accepted me and for the rest of the summer I played with them. Often, I wouldn’t return to my family until forced by dark or dinnertime.
我的妈妈指着一群正在玩拔河游戏的小孩对我说：“琳达，去和他们一块玩，告诉他们你是谁。”嘿，妈妈。我是谁？我是一个害羞的小女孩，我不想和一帮长相凶恶的陌生人一块玩。他们不喜欢我，我也不喜欢他们，所以请让我坐在树下读会儿书，好不好？这完全不可能，妈妈已经把我推了出来。我极不情愿地介绍了一下自己，然后请求和他们一块玩。他们接受了我，那个夏天剩下的日子，我都跟他们一块玩，而且是通常玩到天黑或者是吃晚饭的时间才不得不回家。
I think about that childhood experience every time an American tells me he’s afraid to travel abroad since the events of 9/11, and that people out there don’t like Americans anymore. But I have been "out there" often in the last four years, and I’ve found that, although some people may disagree with our government’s policies, they rarely transfer that to me.
经常听人讲，9·11恐怖事件之后，不敢到其他国家去旅行，而且其他国家的人也不再喜欢美国人，每当这个时候我就会想起那次童年时代的旅行。最近这四年我一直在国外旅行，而且我感觉虽然一些人对美国政府当局的政策不满意，但是他们很少迁怒于我。
Last April, in Alexandria, Egypt, our group, all Americans, was told to stay together, to travel only in the specially arranged bus, the one with the armored car escort. The "or else" was implied. Another journalist and I ignored the warnings and struck out on our own, on foot, to get up close and personal with the old city by the old sea, and its citizens.We wandered markets, buying and eating freshly made bread. We went into stores. We sat in street cafes and drank coffee that tasted(to me) like mud, but, hey, it was Egyptian mud, so call it an adventure.
去年四月，我跟随旅游团到埃及的亚历山大去旅游。导游劝告团里的每一个美国人：大家要呆在一起，出行时要乘坐一辆有装甲车护送的特别为美国人安排的大巴。言外之意是说，否则一切后果将由自己负责。我和另外一个记者无视警告，我行我素，我们徒步走访了这座屹立在古老的地中海沿岸的历史悠久的城市和生活在那里的人们。我们逛着集市，吃着刚出炉的面包。我们逛商场。我们坐在街边的咖啡店里喝咖啡，埃及的咖啡与众不同，喝起来有一种泥巴的味道，但即使是泥巴也是埃及泥巴，这也可以称得上是一次奇特的经历.
And then, walking down a crowded street, we heard behind us the sound of pounding feet and somebody yelling at us. We turned to see what was going on. A man was chasing us. We looked at each other. Had we made a mistake? Would now be a good time to start running? Before we could decide, the man caught up with us and grabbed my arm. Panting and wild-eyed, he paused to catch his breath, then smiled and handed me the half-empty plastic bottle of water I’d accidentally left in his store (where I’d bought nothing). He’d run six blocks to return it.I thanked him, and then inquired where he and his family went to eat the freshest fish in town. He smiled again and told us where to go, even what to order, apologizing because he could not leave his store long enough to join us.He was right about the restaurant, which was good and filled with other Egyptians who seemed happy to see us —or at least not offended by our presence.
当我们沿着一条拥挤的街道向前走的时候，我们听到后面有急促的脚步声和喊叫声。我们转过身看到有人在追赶我们。我们彼此对视，心想我们犯了什么错吗？我们是否应该马上跑？在我们还没有做出决定的时候，那个人已经追上了我们，并一把抓住我的胳膊。他跑得气喘吁吁，两眼发直；停下来喘了口气之后，他微笑着把我不小心落在他店里的半塑料瓶水递给我（我在他那儿什么也没买）。他追了六个街区送还给我。我向他表示感谢，然后咨询他和家人常去的镇上能吃到最新鲜的鱼的地方。他又一次向我们微笑，然后告诉我们该怎么走，甚至还告诉我们点什么菜，并因为他不能离开他的店铺太久去和我们一同品尝而表示歉意。他指点的饭店很棒，而且在这里就餐的埃及人看起来对我们也很友好——至少是不讨厌我们。
If we do go elsewhere, if we meet people from other cultures, if we break bread with them or simply taste their bread, which is, presumably, different from our own, we cannot help but discover that essentially we are all more alike than we are different; it’s only that our differences are so much easier to define.
当我们来到不同的地方，当我们遇到有着不同文化背景的人的时候，如果我们能拿出面包与他们分享或者只是品尝一下他们的面包——我们总是想当然地认为那面包与美国的面包不同，我们就会禁不住发现，实质上我们与他们之间的相同之处大于不同之处，只是因为不同之处是那么显而易见。
My parents were right to push me all those years ago. So now I’m pushing you.Go on out there. Tell them who you are. Ask who they are. Listen to the answers.
I know we can’t all play together, but perhaps if we begin to get to know one another, we can get past our mutual fears and learn how to be, if not friends, at least better strangers to one another.
多年以前我的父母是对的，他们把我带出了那个小圈子。今天我也要把你们带出那个小圈子。走出去吧，告诉他们你是谁，问问他们是谁，倾听不一样的声音。我清楚我们不可能和所有人成为
朋友，但是如果我们开始去了解别人，就能消除我们与其他人之间的戒心，即使不做朋友，至少彼此也不很陌生。
Notes:
1. gallivant v.游荡,闲逛
2. ferocious-looking 看起来凶巴巴的
3. strike out独力闯新路,开辟(道路等)
4. pounding feet沉重的脚步声
作者简介：
Linda Ellerbee (born August 15, 1944) is a journalist who is most known for several jobs at NBC News, including Washington (DC) correspondent, host of the Nickelodeon network's Nick News, and reporter and co-anchor of NBC News Overnight, which was recognized by the duPont Columbia Awards as "the best written and most intelligent news program ever."