I've managed to move most of my stuff back to our apartment in Taitung. All that's left in Fangliao is a few sets of clothes, my bike, and my laptop computer. As a result the house in Xinkai Village feels more and more like place we're renting, and less and less like "home." 我已經把大部分的東西搬回去台東的公寓，在枋寮只剩些幾件衣服、腳踏車和我的筆記型電腦。在新開村租的房子就像只是一棟建築物 ，越來越不像家了。
Going from Fangliao to Taitung is easy. If we leave Fangliao around five in the evening, we arrive in Taitung before eight. Without stops it's a 2.5 hour drive, and traffic is never a problem. Road construction on the Southern Cross-Island Highway can be irritating, but I've never encountered traffic on a Friday evening. 從枋寮回去台東很快。如果傍晚五點離開枋寮的話，我們會在八點前到台東 。 如果路上沒有停下來休息， 從枋寮到台東市只要二個半小時左右。 有時候南迴公路施工很煩，但是我從來沒在禮拜五晚上有過塞車的問題。
After we arrive at our apartment I take a shower, and if I'm not too tired I go out and have beers with a friend or two. Most often it's Family Mart or Mr. Cow, but sometimes we'll go to Texas Jo's. I was talking to a friend about Kasa the other weekend. Whatever happened to that place? 我們回到台東之後我會先去洗澡， 如果我不累的話， 我會跟朋友出去喝幾杯。 我們通常去全家或是烤大爺 ，有時候去德周小館 。 我上次跟朋友聊到Kasa ， 那個地方還在營業嗎 ?
If I'm in Taitung on a Saturday I usually get up late. After I wake up I'll either watch a movie or ride my bike around town, sometimes both. I like to watch movies in our Taitung apartment because the TV's much bigger. I like to ride my bike around town to see what's new. I also have a couple friends on the other side of the Beinan River, and I sometimes ride over to see if they're home. 在台東，我通常周六早上比較晚起床。 我起床之後不是看電影就是在市區騎單車 ，有時候這二件事都做。我們台東的電視比較大 ，看影片比較舒服 。 我喜歡騎腳踏車逛台東市，看看多了什麼新的東西。 我有兩個朋友住在卑南溪的另外一邊 ，我有時候會騎腳踏車去看他們在不在家。
For Saturday lunch we'll have something Western, mostly because there's not much Western food in central Pingtung. We'll visit Wow's and I'll talk to the owner, or we'll drive up the coast to the Tropical Low Pressure Kitchen in Donghe. At either place I order a burger and a beer. 我們星期六的午餐常吃西式料理， 因為屏東中部的西式料理不多。 我們通常去Wow's邦查Cafe吃飯 ，我會跟老闆聊天 ， 或是去東河的熱帶低氣壓廚房 。 我在這兩家餐廳都會點漢堡跟一杯啤酒 。*
Sometimes I go out on Saturday night as well, but my going out on a Saturday night depends more on other people. I used to attend poker games that day of the week, but a lot of the poker games around there have since (if you'll excuse the pun) folded. This development, however, didn't disappoint me that much. I like playing poker, but with the wrong mix of people those games can be tense. 我星期六的晚上有時候會和台東的朋友出去， 但出去做什麼就要看同伴而定。 我曾經都跟朋友玩撲克牌 ，可是後來想玩撲克牌的朋友不夠多就停了。 其實不玩撲克牌對我來說沒什麼， 因為那個遊戲很挑伴，有的人太計較就不好玩了。.
My friends over there seem to be fine. Actually, now that I think about it, there's one friend who ISN'T fine. This friend, in fact, seems to have disappeared. Theories on where this friend went range widely. Some people think he went back to his own country without telling anyone. Others think that something more sinister occurred. I'd share more details about it, but this is probably the wrong place to do that. 我台東的朋友似乎都好， 但我再仔細一想 ， 有一位朋友過得不好! 說實話 ，他完全消失了 ! 有的人覺得他沒跟任何人說就回去他的國家了 ; 有的人覺得他發生了恐怖的事情 。 我想在這裡不適合仔細討論這件事情。
On Sunday we drive back to Pingtung. The time we leave depends upon how many tourists are in town. If half of Taiwan is in Taitung we leave early, and if Taitung is relatively quiet we'll leave later. Sometimes we go to a hot spring (usually Jinluen) on the way back. 我們會在禮拜天開車回屏東 。 我們出發的時間通常是看在台東的遊客多不多，如果台東的遊客人山人海，我們會早一點離開 ；相反的，如果遊客量不多，我們就會比較晚出發。 我們偶爾會順路去金崙泡溫泉 。
Friends often ask me if I'll be living in Taitung again next year. I still don't know. Part of me wants to move back, part of me doesn't. Taitung still feels very comfortable to me - even after two years of living and working in Fangliao - but in a way it's too comfortable. I do like the idea of waking up every Saturday and Sunday morning, swimming in the Flowing Lake or riding through the East Coast National Scenic Area; I do like the idea of that being my routine again. I also like the idea of having easy access to friends that I don't see much of now. It's just that I wonder if those things that made me happy in the past are enough to make me happy in the future. 朋友常常問我下學年會不會在台東 ， 我還不知道答案。 我有時候想搬回去， 有時候不想。 在枋寮兩年之後，我仍然覺得住在台東滿舒服的， 但問題是有點太舒服了。 我想要每個周末去活水湖游泳或是在東海岸騎單車， 我也很想更接近現在比較少見到的朋友， 只是我不知道自己未來會不會滿足於以前讓我高興的事情。
And of course that feeling of comfort can easily change into a feeling of confinement. What about waking up every Saturday and Sunday morning in Kaohsiung? What about meeting new people, in a new place? What about living in a big city, and the conveniences that big cities offer? I suppose I'm kind of waiting for the universe to decide for me. Between south and east Taiwan I'm sure I'll find something, and deciding too soon seems like a mistake. 而且那種舒適感很容易會變成困住感。 如果每個周六、 日在高雄起床呢 ? 在其他地方認識新朋友呢 ? 大城市的便利呢 ? 我好像在等上天幫我決定 ， 我覺得在南臺灣和 東臺灣間，我一定會找到適合的地方， 太早決定好像是個錯誤 。
I'll be back in Taitung again soon. While I'm there I'll drink beer, see people I've known for years, and maybe even have an adventure or two. Taitung is a good place, and it's been very good to me. Like any person it's changed over the years, not always for the better, but I'm always glad to reacquaint myself with it, with the limited time at my disposal. 我很快地會再回去台東。 在那裡的時候我會喝啤酒 ，會跟老朋友見面，也可能去探險 。 台東是個好地方 ，也很善待我。 台東跟人一樣 ， 隨著歲月而有些改變 ，那些改變並不都表示比較好， 可是我總是很高興能在短短的時間內再認識它一下。
Related Entries 相關的文章:
*NOTE: Wow's is closed temporarily but will be open again June 4th. I messaged the owner to confirm this.
沒有留言:
張貼留言