“去万达吧。”这是我六周前刚到泰州时,当地朋友给我的建议。他们推荐我说“万达里面应有尽有”。这里很少有人知道我曾在上海生活过,早已对喧嚣繁华的购物中心司空见惯。当然,作为绅士的英国人,我还是礼貌回谢,选择在热闹的周六兴致勃勃地去了传说中的万达。但是我只在万达逗留了十几分钟便空手而归,因为我没有在“应有尽有”的万达里面寻到我想要的东西。

　　接下来做些什么好呢?我告诉自己,是时候去探索一番了。一个外国人来到一个全新的城市,最大的好处就是不畏冒险。此前我已经游历过9000英里,所以游遍这座城市对我而言轻而易举。骑着满格的电动车,我开始了旅程。其实沿着主干道走最容易不过,但是这对年轻人来说不免沉闷乏味。我决定不借助网络宣传,不参考城市宣传册,尤其是像万达之类的推荐,而是亲身去体会了解这座城市。

　　没骑多久就到了附近的乡村。我下车一边检查了电动车,一边慢慢感受着中国的乡村。不一会儿,路过一个河流的转弯,我感觉这里很适合家庭聚餐,而对摩拳擦掌的垂钓者来说,这里则是他们大展身手的最佳场所。有一群老人在河边站着,时不时地轻声交谈几句,并不深聊,深怕自己的高谈阔论会打破平静的水面,吓跑要上钩的鱼儿。他们其中多数手中都把玩着个大茶杯,茶水反射出翠绿色。看着烟不离口的他们吞云吐雾,仿佛欣赏到一场“魔术表演”,令我不禁看得出神。我顿觉自己对泰州的了解还远远不够,还需要更深入田间小巷,发掘我想要看到的景致。

　　事实上,接下来我看到了一种从未见过的多叶绿植,唯一能肯定的是蔬菜的一种,但又和我往常见到的绿叶菜大不一样。对这种神秘植物的兴趣还未持续很久,我却反倒被工人们的辛劳深深打动。他们猫着腰,专注着脚下的土地。他们进行作业时没有依赖现代机械,而是纯粹依靠沾满泥土的双手进行。在这一望无际的绿色植物中,工人们俯下身子又再次起身,收获应得的回报,整理好为下一个阶段做着准备。这一幕就像灌木丛中起伏的舞姿,异常壮观,我的敬畏之感油然而生。就在此刻,我意识到是否这就是泰州精神——勤劳、坚定、不畏艰难。这场景深深刻在我的记忆中,挥之不去。

　　我不想让你觉得我单纯天真。当我尽情抒发描述我发掘到的泰州的乡村美景时,我同样也意识到这座城市时尚元素的魅力,尽管这并非我所爱。泰州的基础设施完备,生活便利,能满足一切生活需求。正是这点将我从乡村美景拉回现实文明世界,置身于无线网络覆盖的大都市。当我等待与家里视频通话时,不禁回想起自己曾辞去美国一家知名公司的职位,身为职员可以免费在星巴克长坐,享受无线网络和热腾腾的拿铁咖啡,还被人礼貌称为“先生”。谢天谢地我未回忆太久就收到妈妈的信息,“你准备好了吗?”实话说,我还无法忽视总为我拍照的女学生,还有身为“外国人”带来的持久热烈的回应。妈妈和我闲话家常,爸爸在旁微笑点头,不时插几句话进来。妈妈问了我一个问题,令我陷入了沉思,品味着咖啡,慢慢思索着答案。她问我:“在泰州生活得如何?”

　　我好不容易才忍住不笑妈妈用曼彻斯特口音说出的“泰州”,但我也在真正寻找一个答案,一个令我足够诠释在这座城市度过时间的答案。初来乍到,这里一切充满未知,需要充分的时间了解。可以这样说,我已充分敏锐地捕捉到对这个城市的第一印象。但同样坦白讲,在这里的生活还刚刚开始。六周时间足够我结交一些新朋友,探寻到这个城市的某些地方,适应新工作、新家、新环境。然而,更为重要的问题是我能在这里好好生活吗?答案显而易见是肯定的。这里充分融合了古典和新潮,自然绿地和现代建筑,核心传统和重大发展。如果我遵章守纪,凡事讲道理,泰州人民回馈我的也是友好真诚,表里如一。我在泰州还不知会待多久,这里真让我有置身家中的感觉。

　　“好像置身家中”这点可不算是好想法。妈妈在听到我这样说后,脸色暗淡下来,因为她26岁的宝贝儿子在泰州生活的时间都比在曼彻斯特家中沙发上呆的时间还要久。刚好和妈妈结束通话时我又接到了另一个电话。大概一周前,我在一条街的小酒吧里结识了一个新朋友,正好约出来愉快地再喝几杯。他问我约在哪里见面,这个问题太过于简单,以致于我都被自己不假思索地回答惊讶到哑口失笑,就像先前对羞涩女学生投来的好奇目光做出的回应一样,我只脱口而出一个词,“万达?”

　　作者:泰龙(英国)

　　译文

Wonderful, not Wanda-ful

“Go to Wanda”. This was the advice I was given, by several people I must admit, when I first arrived in Taizhou six weeks ago. “Wanda has everything” they would further. Little do these people know that I used to live in Shanghai, and I have seen enough shiny shopping malls to last me a lifetime. Of course, I am English, so I thanked them politely, and set off on the busy Saturday pilgrimage to the mighty Wanda. My Wanda experience lasted roughly ten minutes. The ‘everything’ I wanted was an experience that couldn’t be found inside a mall.

So what next? Time to explore, I told myself. The good thing about being a foreigner in a new city, is that you are not afraid of adventure. I’ve already travelled over nine-thousand miles, so traversing around this city should be easy enough. With a fully charged e-bike at my disposal I set off on my travels. The easiest thing to do would be to stick to the main roads, but, that is a little tedious for someone still young at heart. So I began to learn about the city that isn’t advertised online, isn’t featured in a brochure and is definitely not, Wanda.

It wasn’t long before I’d reached some countryside, time to experience rural china whilst simultaneously test the suspension on my e-bike. After some time,I reached a wide bend in the river, an opportune spot for avid anglers to test their wits against what I assume was an unsuspecting family dinner.A cohort of elderly gentlemen decorated the river bank, patiently preying upon the naivety of the rivers’ occupants. Intermittently, the men would share a passing phrase, but never seemed to indulge in conversation, perhaps more than a flitting comment would break the spell over the water and permit the fish a wanted escape.Most of the men sported a large flask of tea, reflecting emerald off the water. The frequent puffs on cigarettes left a lingering haze of smoke above. Whilst this magic show below me left me entranced, I knew that my work as a Taizhou voyeur was incomplete, so I furthered into the myriad of lanes and fields in order to seek out further sights for my wanting eyes.

In truth, I’m still unsure on the specifics of exactly what I saw next. I’m confident it was a vegetable being plundered from the earth, but it’s leafy green appearance is one I have not seen before. My intrigue into the mystery vegetable did not last too long. Instead, I was arrested by the toil of the workers, bent-double, at one with the ground beneath them. Not dependent upon the force of modern machinery, the army of workers relied upon God-given tools, the muddied hands which lay before them. Over the vast greenery in view, a number of workers rose up and down, collecting their deserved prize and tidying it ready for the next stage in the process. This methodical choreography of rising and falling amongst the shrubbery made for an impressive spectacle. Further, I was in awe of their restless labour. At this moment I wondered whether I had struck upon the spirit of Taizhou, a hard-working and committed people not scared to embrace hardship in order to provide. This image is stamped into my mind.

I do not want you to think of me as simple. Whilst I lyricise on my findings in the more scenic parts of Taizhou, I’m well aware of the merits of the modern cosmopolitan parts of the city, even if they aren’t exactly to my liking. Taizhou has a neat infrastructure, and can offer all the essential amenities one would require. It would be this fact that would finally draw me back to civilisation, and into the metropolis of buildings which could afford one of life’s most treasured facets, a WIFI connection. I resigned myself to an armchair in one of the famous American companies who fail to pay their taxes, Starbucks, and with an established WIFI connection and a steaming hot latte politely labelled ‘Sir’ I awaited a video conversation with home. Thankfully I didn’t have to wait long before I received a message from my mother ‘are you ready?’. Indeed, I was, anything to help ignore the schoolgirls taking pictures of me and the persistent echo of the word ‘Waiguoren’ was welcome. My mother and I chatted away, dad smiled and nodded, offering the odd interjection into the conversation. Then my mother posed me a question, one which caused me to delay for a moment, drink my well-mannered latte and consider my answer. “How is life in Taizhou?” she quizzed.

It took me some seconds to get over my mother’s ludicrous Manchester pronunciation of the word ‘Taizhou’, but, I did manage to produce an answer, an answer which I believe captures my time here in this city. I’m new here, and with anything new, it takes time to fully understand. This being said, I’m perceptive enough to reach a first impression. My life in Taizhou, well, to be completely honest, it isn’t much of a life yet. Six weeks is just enough time to make a few new friends, explore some parts of the city and settle into a new job, house and environment. A more important question however, is: could I have a life here? The answer is yes. There seems to be a rich amalgamation of old and new, green earth and modern architecture, essential tradition and important advancements. If I am right, that the people of Taizhou are truly as friendly, and honest and as forward thinking as they appear, then my life in Taizhou has no expiry date, it is a place I can truly feel at home.

The bit about the ‘feeling at home’ was not a good idea. Mother’s faced dropped at the idea that her twenty-six-year-old ‘baby’ was more at home in Taizhou than on her sofa. Our conversation had only just ended before I was thrust into another, this time on my mobile phone. A week beforehand I had made a new friend in a tiny bar hidden on a back street in the city, and had arranged on this day to meet him for what was hopefully another pleasurable alcoholic beverage. His question to me was quite simple, where he should meet me. My immediate response made me shudder and laugh out loud at the same time, to the amazement of the ever gawking schoolgirls. I issued a response containing only one word … “Wanda?”.