從肯尼亞到哈佛，我跨越了兩個世界的鴻溝

Each year, we post a casting call for writers and their college application essays that have something to do with money. Nearly 300 people responded this year. Below, you’ll find five that stood out for their sensitivity, depth of insight and sheer geekiness. Who would have imagined, for instance, that there was a high school student out there helping people with their tax returns — or that she could learn so much about the world by doing so?

每一年，我們都會向作者征集他們所寫的與有關(guān)金錢的大學(xué)申請作文。今年有將近300人回應(yīng)。未來幾天你會看到五篇文章因為它們的情感領(lǐng)悟、洞察能力和全然的古怪脫穎而出。比方說，誰能想到一個高中生會幫人報稅——或是她通過這一件事，能對世界有了這么多的了解?

RICHMOND, TEX.

德克薩斯州里奇蒙德

Eric Ngugi Muthondu

艾瑞克·恩古吉·穆松杜

My grandmother hovers over the stove flame, fanning it as she melodically hums Kikuyu spirituals. She kneads the dough and places it on the stove, her veins throbbing with every movement: a living masterpiece painted by a life of poverty and motherhood. The air becomes thick with smoke and I am soon forced out of the walls of the mud-brick house while she laughs.

祖母徘徊在爐子的火焰旁，一邊優(yōu)美地哼著吉庫尤人的宗教歌曲，一邊扇著火。她揉好面團(tuán)，放在爐子上。她的靜脈隨著每個動作抽動：這是一幅由貧困和生為人母的一生所繪成的活生生的杰作?？諝庵械臒熿F越來越濃，我很快就被逼出了這座泥巴磚墻房子，她哈哈大笑。

As for me, I wander down to the small stream at the ridge on the farm’s edge, remembering my father’s stories of rising up early to feed the cows and my mother’s memories of the sweat on her brow from hours of picking coffee at a local plantation.

我呢，我漫步到農(nóng)場邊緣一座山脊中的小溪，想起父親早早起身喂牛的故事，想起在母親的回憶中，她在當(dāng)?shù)匾粋€種植園里摘了數(shù)小時咖啡豆后額頭上的汗珠。

Life here juxtaposes itself profoundly against the life I live in America; the scourge of poverty and flickering prosperity that never seem to coalesce. But these are the two worlds I have inherited, and my existence in one is not possible without the other. At the stream, I recollect my other life beyond this place. In America, I watch my father come home every night, beaten yet resilient from another day of hard work on the road. He sits me and my sister down, and though weary-eyed, he manages the soft smile I know him for and asks about our day.

這里的生活與我在美國的生活有著極大的不同，貧窮的苦難與閃爍的繁榮似乎永遠(yuǎn)不會相容。但這就是我所繼承的兩個世界。而我在任何一個世界中的存在也離不開另外一個世界。在溪水旁，我回憶起我在別處的生活。在美國，我看著父親每晚回家，勞累卻又習(xí)以為常地結(jié)束了又一天辛苦奔忙的工作。盡管他的雙眼中透著疲憊，但他會讓我和妹妹坐下，努力掛上我熟悉的微笑，問我們今天過得怎樣。

My sister is quick to oblige, speaking wildly of learning and mischief. In that moment, I realize that she is too young to remember our original home: the old dust of barren apartment walls and the constant roar outside of life in the nighttime.

妹妹的回應(yīng)很快，大談特談她的學(xué)習(xí)和淘氣。這一刻，我才意識到她太小了，以至于忘了我們原來的家：家徒四壁的破舊公寓，夜晚有動物在外面不斷地嚎叫。

Soon after, I find myself lying in bed, my thoughts and the soft throb of my head the only audible things in the room. I ponder whether my parents — dregs floating across a diasporic sea before my time — would have imagined their sacrifices for us would come with sharp pains in their backs and newfound worries, tear-soaked nights and early mornings. But, it is too much to process. Instead, I dream of them and the future I will build with the tools they have given me.

不久之后，我發(fā)現(xiàn)屋內(nèi)唯一可以聽到的，只有躺在床上的我腦中的思緒和輕微悸動的聲響。我琢磨著，在我的到來之前，父母曾在離散之海上漂流，當(dāng)時他們是否想過，他們?yōu)槲覀冏鞒龅臓奚鼤殡S著后背的劇痛、每個流淚夜晚與清晨的新憂慮。但是要理解起來太過繁雜。于是，我會夢見他們，以及我用他們賦予我的工具去開創(chuàng)的未來。

Realizing I have mused far too long by the water’s edge, I begin to make my way back to the house. The climb up the ridge is taxing, so I carefully grip the soil beneath me, feeling its warmth surge between my fingers. Finally, I see my younger cousins running around barefoot endlessly and I decide to join their game of soccer, but they all laugh at the awkwardness of the ball between my feet. They play, scream and chant, fully unaware of the world beyond this village or even Nairobi, but I cannot blame them. My iPhone fascinates them and they ask to see my braces, intently questioning how many “shillings” they cost. I open my mouth to satisfy their curiosity, but my grandmother calls out, and we all rush to see what she has made.

我在水邊沉思了太久。意識到了這點，我便開始往家走。爬上山脊十分累人，于是我小心地抓牢腳下的泥土，感受著它在我指間的溫暖。后來，我看到了赤著腳跑來跑去的表弟表妹，決定加入他們的足球賽，但他們都嘲笑我?guī)蛴卸嗖粎f(xié)調(diào)。他們玩耍、叫喊、歌唱，完全不知道這個村莊之外或者內(nèi)羅畢之外的世界。我不怪他們。我的iPhone令他們著迷，他們還要看我的牙套，目不轉(zhuǎn)睛地問這花了多少“先令”。我張開嘴巴以滿足他們的好奇心，但祖母叫我了，于是我們都趕忙回去看看她做了些什么。

When I return, the chapatis are neatly stacked on one another, golden-brown disks of sweet bread that are the completion of every Kenyan meal. Before my grandmother can ridicule me in a torrent of Kikuyu, I grab a chapati and escape to find a patch of silky grass, where I take my first bite. Each mouthful is a reminder that my time here will not last forever, and that my success or failure will become a defining example for my sister and relatives.

當(dāng)我回到家時，薄煎餅已整齊地一個個摞好，金褐色盤子里盛著甜面包，這才是完整的肯尼亞餐。趁祖母還沒來得及用吉庫尤語連珠炮般地取笑我，我拿了一塊薄煎餅就逃去尋找一塊光滑的草地，在那里我才吃下了第一口。每一口都提醒著我，我在這里的時光不會是永遠(yuǎn)，而我的成功或失敗將成為我的妹妹和親戚們的決定性例證。

The rift between high school and college is wide, but it is one I must cross for those who have carried me to this point. The same hope that carried my parents over an ocean of uncertainty is now my fuel for the journey toward my future, and I go forward with the radical idea that I, too, can make it. Savoring each bite, I listen to the sound of neighbors calling out and children chasing a dog ridden with fleas, letting the cool heat cling to my skin.

高中和大學(xué)之間的鴻溝是巨大的，但是為了那些一路將我提攜至此的人們，我必須越過。這個曾帶領(lǐng)我父母跨越無常之海的希望，也是現(xiàn)在的我走向未來的動力。我將帶著一個最基本的思想前進(jìn)，那就是：我也能做到。我聽著鄰居們的呼喊和孩子們追趕著滿是跳蚤的小狗，享受著每一刻，讓那清涼附著于我的肌膚之上。