My summer? It was OK. Sometimes I got tired of all the planes, trains and automobiles, sometimes I got tired of moving things from one place to another, but once the dust finally settled and I found myself in Taitung again I felt pretty good about both my summer vacation and the choices I've made during the past few months. There was some drama at the end of last semester, but that's all behind me now. 我的夏天 ? 過得還好 。 我有時候覺得搭飛機、火車或汽機車跑那麼多地方很累 ; 有時候覺得從一個地方把東西搬到另一個地方一樣累 ， 最後搬回去台東以後，我覺得暑假很開心，我在過去幾個月中做的決定是對的 。 我上學期末時有點煩惱 ，但現在那種感覺消失了 。
Summer vacation? Well, after moving our things from the rental house in Hengchun to our apartment in Taitung, my family of four got on a flight bound for Incheon, South Korea, where we spent a few hours before boarding another flight bound for Seattle, Washington, USA. 暑假呢 ? 我們從恆春把東西搬回到台東的公寓以後 ， 我們全家四個人坐飛機到韓國的仁川 轉機往美國西雅圖。
From Seattle we took a bus to Port Angeles, where my parents live. Port Angeles is on the other side of Olympic National Park, within sight of Canada. We spent about a month in Port Angeles, occasionally driving to scenic areas and eating at restaurants in town. I ate A LOT of hamburgers on this trip, even though I didn't eat as much pizza or drink as much beer as I normally do. 我們在西雅圖轉換公車往奧林匹克國家公園靠近加拿大的安吉利斯港 。 我父母住在那裏 ， 我們在那邊住了一個月。 我們有時候開車到附近的景點 ， 有時候在安吉利斯港市區吃飯 。 我這一次沒吃那麼多披薩 ，也沒喝那麼多啤酒 ， 可是我真的吃很多漢堡。
During the same time period my younger daughter and I also visited my sister's family in Las Vegas. Las Vegas is fun, but it's really hot and really expensive. I ate a lot of good food while I was there, but my checking account was hurting after we came back. I think that next time we go to Vegas I'll need to plan the trip better. That town is designed to make people poor. 那個月我帶小女兒去拉斯維加斯 ， 因為我妹妹的家在那邊 。 拉斯維加斯很好玩 ， 可是天氣超熱又很貴 ， 我們在那邊吃很多美食， 可是也花了很多錢 。 我想下次去拉斯維加斯以前要先把那裏的生活費算好 ，那個城市會讓人變窮 。
After another week in Port Angeles we visited Seattle. We strolled the waterfront, climbed the hill through the Pike Place Market, and then boarded the Light Rail at University Street Station. Reddit and the local news often make downtown Seattle sound like an urban version of Fury Road, but honestly it's not that bad. Sure, there are crazies around, and sure, the effects of meth on the homeless population are obvious, but for the most part downtown Seattle was fine. 回到安吉利斯港一個禮拜後我們去西雅圖市區 。 我們逛了waterfront， 之後去Pike Place Market， 最後在大學站上西雅圖的輕軌 。 Reddit跟當地新聞討論西雅圖市區的時候聽起來很恐怖 ， 雖然那邊街頭上有些精神狀況不佳的人 ， 還有毒品跟無家的人， 但是我還是覺得在西雅圖市區逛街滿有趣的 。
After Seattle we spent about a day in Incheon, passing the night at a hotel there between flights. I'd visited South Korea once before, in 2002 or 2003, and I have to say that I enjoyed that country a lot more this time. The food was good and walks around our hotel were interesting. 在西雅圖之後，我們在仁川一天的時間等轉機， 所以在那邊的旅館過一晚。 我2002或2003年的時候去過南韓一次 ，我覺得這一次韓國給我的感覺好很多 ， 料理很好吃 ， 逛街也有趣 。
After Incheon we boarded a flight to Taipei, then a train to Taitung, then a taxi to our apartment, and then we were all asleep, exhausted from all the buses, ferries, taxis, planes, trains and automobiles. That was two weeks ago, and now I'm sitting in our apartment, typing this blog entry prior to eating my dinner. 我們從仁川回到桃園， 接著從台北搭火車回台東，再坐計程車回公寓。 旅行很累沒錯! 我已經回到台東兩個禮拜了， 在台東的公寓裡寫這篇文章 。
Oh, and after coming back from the States we also spent a few days in Kaohsiung. We bought curtains for our apartment over there. That was a few days ago. 對 ! 我們回來台灣之後去了高雄幾天 ，在那邊買高雄公寓用的窗簾 ，這是幾天前的事了。
Our travels now over, soon it'll be time to start work at at Hot Spring Elementary School in Beinan Township, Taitung County. Here's hoping that this school year will be better than the last one. I'm pretty sure it will be. 暑假的旅行結束了， 我要開始擔任台東縣卑南鄉溫泉國小的外籍英語教師了， 希望這學年的工作比上學年的好 ， 我的新學校已經開始給我這個好的感覺了。
Sometimes it feels weird to be back in Taitung after four years in Pingtung, sometimes it feels normal. In some respects moving back here feels like "snapping back" into a life I lived four years ago, but then again there've been some changes in this county since I was last a resident. Some places have been "developed," some businesses have folded, some friends have moved away and other friends have changed jobs. 在屏東四年之後 ， 搬回來台東的感覺有時候很奇怪 ， 有時候很正常 。 我有時候覺得好像彈指間回到自己四年前的生活方式 。我知道這四年間台東慢慢改變了些 : 有的地方被 "發展" 過了 ； 有的商店和餐廳停止營業 ； 有的朋友搬走了 ； 有的朋友換工作 。
And you? What are you up to these days? Where are you living? What are you doing? Maybe you'll let me know in your own good time. Maybe I already know. 你呢 ? 你最近在忙什麼 ? 你住在哪裡 ? 這時候在做什麼 ? 你會隨時告訴我吧 ? 可能我已經知道了。
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