Let’s Go Europe （I）： Gap Year1 Ahead 向著空檔年，出發！

By Christine Mc Cafferty 張凡/注

It was late at night， a school night， long after “lights out2”. I lay in my bed with my head under the covers3， but I was not asleep—far from it！ I was using a torch4 to read the book that was keeping me alive； its title： Lets Go Europe. Graduation from school was only six months away. Well at that stage six months felt like forever. I had only one thing on my mind that kept me going， day after dreary day， and I would be setting off on my trip to Europe.5 Instead of studying directly after school， I was going to take a gap year overseas.

I was going to leave that boring little town， and my boring life as a school girl， and I was going to see the countries and places of my dreams. Each night， as I read my travel guide under the covers， I imagined that Id arrived in a new city. I would turn to that page in the guide and go through each listing of the budget hotels and eateries.6 Where would I stay for a good price？ Where was the best place to pick up cheap good food？ What attractions were free， often museums and art galleries were， and what were the special sights that you had to see no matter what they cost？7 What would I see on the first day， and how many days would I need to stay to see them all. I had lived it before I even left！

In this way， I lived and breathed the dream.8 But I was not the only one because my best friend shared the same dream. Shannon and I were together going to take on the continent of Europe alright. We had a bit of a way to go； there was finishing school， final exams （passing hopefully） and then maybe two or three months of work. Wed be in different parts of the country. Her mother had organised a temporary data entry9 job at her work for her， and I had to go stay with my uncle in the capital city. There I would work day and night to save up10—if I could get a job！

School finally ended and I arrived in the city by bus. I had never met my uncle before and Ive never lived in such a big place. There were a number of mishaps11， but I soon found my way around. Step one was finding a job in a restaurant. I decided to waitress again. Id done it at school and it was probably the only job I was qualified to do， and it could pay well with tips.12 The job was in a fancy13 Italian coffee shop. I was well on my way to the start of my European experience. Before working there I hadnt ever even tasted a quality14 cup of coffee. Now I was asking patrons whether they wanted a cappuccino， a latte or an espresso.15 I was up very early every morning as I worked the breakfast shift16. I had to travel far by bus； my uncle didnt live in the best part of town. I was learning about public transport， saving every cent17 and working long hours. Sometimes I sat around for hours waiting for the next shift to start as going back home was too far to be worthwhile.18

My uncle didnt have an extra room for me so I slept with a pillow and my sleeping bag on his sofa.19 He was single and great fun—irresponsible and a little crazy. This was another lesson in “roughing it20”. I was learning to get by with just the bare basics—mums home comforts， warm meals and supply of cleaned ironed clothes were a thing of the past.21 Then I got the call from Shannon. She was going to leave ahead of me and go straight to London. Her father had paid her flight and shed saved enough money. I was more than a little jealous and of course worried that I would miss her and wed not travel together. She stayed with us the night before she flew and， as I said goodbye， gathered even more determination. From now on， not one single cent would go astray； I cut back on everything except the barest of necessities.22 I had to get there—and soon.

Soon I was ready for the next task—organising my flight. I knew nothing about flying； Id never even been on a plane. I decided to use a travel agent based at a university nearby who specialised in special prices and tickets for students.23 She helped me organise a student card which would get me discounts on many sites and places， and a Youth Hostel International24 card which would enable me to stay at many youth hostels at a reduced price. Now for the ticket； well I wanted to get to Europe in the cheapest possible way. In fact I think I would have been prepared to hang on the airplane wing or work my way on a ship just to get there. But these were not options， so I had to pay the money and fly. The cheapest ticket at that time was through Air Portugal25. This gave you a flight to Lisbon26， the capital of Portugal， and then one more flight to any other destination of your choice in Europe. What a bargain！27 How fantastic28！ My first flight would be to Lisbon， obviously， and Id spend a few days there. My second flight would be to London in England. Hopefully there I would find Shannon. I had a telephone number for her from her mother and would phone her when I got there myself. Apparently she already had a job in a pub in a small town north of London and was waiting for me.29

What Im going to share with you over the next few months is the adventures of a country bumpkin30 travelling through 17 countries， visiting some of the greatest sites and cities in Europe and learning about the history and culture of the places travelled through along the way. And of course youll share in the fun， adventures and laughs along the way.

Of course my experience and adventure of growing up and becoming an adult had already started， like Im sure yours has. Even leaving would not be without a major challenge. My uncle and I went out the night before to celebrate that the great day was dawning31. He brought a girlfriend along who he then had an argument with. He left in his car to follow her， and I never heard from him again that night. Neither did I the next day！

Three hours before my flight was due32 to leave， I took my stuff and walked out into the street confused about what to do next. I did not want to spend money on a taxi， so I did what I could which was to stand in the street with my massively heavy backpack on—and hope.33 As luck or fortune would have it， one of our neighbours was pulling out and stopped to ask me what was wrong.34 I told him and he drove me straight to the airport. I barely had time to change money when they were calling for me to board the plane.35 Luckily， in those days， I was too ignorant to realise that being called by name for your flight was not the norm and a sign that you are holding up the flight and should be highly embarrassed.36 By the way， weeks later I found out that my uncle had had a car accident that night. But it was my first real lesson in thinking on my feet， doing what I could—and of course hoping for the best.37 That was going to be how the whole year of travel went.

I dont need to tell you how exciting take-off was or the thrill38 12 hours later of seeing the lights of the city of Lisbon， Portugal， in the early morning. It was indescribable I was about to touch down in Europe.39

Please join Christine in the next edition on her solo trip（獨自旅行）to Portugal where she was chased by a dwarf（小矮人）—and this time did miss a flight！ Oh and by the end of it， youll know a whole lot more about Portugal.

1. gap year： （高中畢業后與進入大學前的）間隔年，空檔年。

2. lights out： 就寢時間。

3. cover： 被子，毯子。

4. torch： 手電筒。

5. dreary： 沉悶的，枯燥無味的； set off： 啟程，出發。

6. budget： 價格低廉的；eatery： 餐館。

7. attraction： 游覽勝地；art gallery： 美術館，藝術展覽館；sights： [復] 名勝，風景。

8. 就這樣，我終日與這個夢想為伴。

9. temporary data entry： 暫存數據錄入。

10. save up： 存錢，儲蓄。

11. mishap： 小事故，小意外。

12. qualified： 具備……的知識（或技能）的，有資格的；tip： 小費。

13. fancy： 豪華的 ，昂貴的。

14. quality： 優質的，優良的。

15. patron： 顧客，常客；cappuccino： 卡布奇諾；latte： 拿鐵；espresso： 濃縮咖啡。

16. shift： 班，輪班。

17. cent： 分（美元、歐元等的貨幣單位）。

18. 有時候，我會呆坐上幾個小時，一直熬到我輪班的時間，就因為回家太遠，花那么多車錢不值。sit around： 無所事事地消磨時間，閑坐。

19. pillow： 枕頭；sleeping bag： 睡袋。

20. rough it： 暫時過艱苦的生活，度過暫時的難關。

21. get by： 設法過活，勉強應付； bare： 僅夠的，最基本的；basics： 基本設施，基本需要；comforts： [復] 舒適的設施或條件；ironed： 熨過的。

22. 從現在起，哪怕一分錢也不能濫用；我要縮減一切開支，只買那些必需品。go astray： 走錯方向，誤入歧途；cut back on： 減少，縮減。

23. agent： 代理人，經紀人；specialize in： 專門研究（或從事），專攻。

24. Youth Hostel International： 國際青年旅舍。

25. Air Portugal： 葡萄牙航空公司。

26. Lisbon： 里斯本，葡萄牙首都。

27. What a bargain： 真便宜！

28. fantastic： 極好的，了不起的。

29. apparently： 據說，聽說；pub： 酒吧。

30. bumpkin： 鄉巴佬，土包子。

31. dawn： 開始。

32. due： 預定的，預計的。

33. massively： 非常地；backpack： 背包。

34. as luck or fortune would have it： 機緣湊巧，幸運的是；pull out： 駛離路邊，駛出。

35. barely： 幾乎不，幾乎沒有； board： 上（機、船等）。

36. 所幸那時候我實在無知，竟不知道被廣播點名登機不是常態，而是意味著我拖延了飛機起飛時間，應該羞愧難當才是。ignorant：（對某事物）不了解的，無知的；norm： 常態，正常行為；hold up： 耽擱，使延遲；embarrassed： 尷尬的。

37. 不過，那是我第一次學著隨機應變、盡力而為，當然還有樂觀的態度。think on ones feet： 頭腦反應快，才思敏捷。

38. thrill： 興奮，激動。

39. indescribable： 難以形容的，無法言傳的；touch down： 降落，著陸。