天上掉下個好閨蜜

Track 6

by Julia McDaniel翻譯：Roza

天上掉下個好閨蜜

Track 6

by Julia McDaniel翻譯：Roza

I sat on the plane and wondered if I would1）end up hating Emily. That same part of me also wondered if I should have gone at all. What if I was2）stuck for three days wearing a false smile and pretending I found her3）halfway4）tolerable？ Or what if， instead， I was the one who ended up on the receiving end of the false smiles， being regarded with5）minimum tolerability？ What if we found each other so6）unbearable we would never speak again？ There were so many things that could go wrong.

First of all， she lived in an entirely different part of the country： Alabama. I had never been to a7）Bat Mitzvah before， nor had I ever visited any of the southern states. Then there was also the fact that I had never met her. In person， at least. In theory， I knew her better than anyone. We had been writing to each other as pen pals for two or three years， and we shared so many similar interests， like horseback riding and writing. Most importantly， we could tell each other everything and8）vent all of our problems without fear that we would be judged. I thought I would never meet her， so there was never any reason to hold back any thoughts that seemed crazy or dreams that seemed unreachable. After exchanging messages daily for those three years， she invited me to her Bat Mitzvah，which was three months away.

1） end up 結束，告終

2） stick ［st?k］ v. 停留，逗留

3） halfway ［hɑ?f'we?］ adv. 大致上，半路地

4） tolerable ［'t?l?r?bl］ adj. 可容忍的tolerability ［,t?l?r?'b?l?t?］ n. 容忍力

5） minimum ［'m?n?m?m］ adj. 最小量的

6） unbearable ［?n'be?r?bl］ adj. 無法忍受的

7） Bat Mitzvah 猶太女孩（12歲時的）成人禮

8） vent ［vent］ v. 發泄，吐露

Somehow， I9）convinced my parents to take me to a different city and spend three days with a family they had never met. After arriving in Alabama， we10）checked in at the hotel where most of Emily’s family was staying. We had agreed to meet at a nearby restaurant. I remember I was so thrilled that I was going to meet her， but also kind of scared， too.

When we finally met， I was able to11）spot Emily immediately in her12）trademark rain boots. At first it was like： “Whoa！ You are a real13）three-dimensional person！” To me， she was always the person who replied to my letters and spoke to me through the telephone. Somehow， I don’t think it14）sunk in that she was going to be here in all her three-dimensional15）glory. And then my thoughts slowly changed. It became， instead， “Oh my God！ You’re here！ Yay！ I’ve wanted to meet you forever！”

That weekend， I went horseback riding with Emily， stayed at her house， and attended her Bat Mitzvah ceremony， as well as her amazing party.

In other words， one of the most important events in my life was a Bat Mitzvah. It wasn’t my own， but the Bat Mitzvah of a girl I had met over the Internet who lived halfway across the country. Some people don’t understand how I could possibly have gone to visit a girl I had never met in person. But in many

ways， I know her better than the friends I see every day. She’s one of the few friends I can imagine calling when I am a little old lady living in a nursing home， or in my own house， with a walker.

9） convince ［k?n'v?ns］ v. 說服，使信服

10） check in 辦理入住手續

11） spot ［sp?t］ v. 認出

12） trademark ［'tre?dmɑ?k］ n. 顯著的特征

13） three-dimensional 三維的，立體的，真實的

14） sink in 被理解，被理會

15） glory ［'gl??r?］ n. 光輝

坐在飛機里，我懷疑自己是否最終會討厭埃米莉。我也不知道自己到底是不是真的該去。萬一我不得不在那兒待個三天，一直假笑著裝作自己還算能忍受她怎么辦？或者萬一剛好相反，我自己才是被報以虛偽笑容的人，對方還拿出最小的容忍力來對待我呢？萬一我們都覺得難以忍受對方，于是再也不說話了呢？可能出差錯的情況實在太多了。

首先，她住在我們國內一個與我家鄉完全不一樣的區域：阿拉巴馬州。我從沒參加過猶太女孩的成人儀式，也從沒去過南方的任何一個州。還有，實際上我和她從沒見過面，至少是從未親眼見過她本人。但理論上，她是我最了解的人。我們作為筆友書信來往已經有兩三年了，我們還有很多相近的興趣愛好，例如騎馬和寫作。最重要的是，我們可以將任何事情告訴對方，可以相互傾訴任何問題，且不必擔心自己會被評頭論足一番。我以為自己永遠都不會和她見面，因此沒有任何理由隱藏任何看似瘋狂的念頭或遙不可及的夢想。在那三年里，我們每天都互通信息，后來，她邀請我于三個月后去參加她的猶太女孩成人禮。

我設法說服了父母帶我去一個陌生的城市，和一個素未謀面的家庭共度三天時光。到達阿拉巴馬之后，我們入住了一家酒店，埃米莉的大部分親戚也都在這兒落腳。我們約好了在酒店附近的一家餐廳見面。記得當時我因為即將見到她而激動萬分，但心里也有些許害怕。

我們終于相見了，我一眼就根據埃米莉顯眼的雨靴認出了她。我第一時間想到的是：“天哪，你是個真實的、立體的人！”對我來說，她本來一直都只是給我寫回信、和我打電話聊天的一個人。莫名其妙地，我覺得人們沒法理解她散發著真實立體的光芒出現在我面前所帶給我的感受。但之后，我的想法就慢慢改變了，變成了：“天哪！你在這兒！耶！一直以來我都很想見到你！”

那個周末，我和埃米莉一起去騎了馬，我住在她家里，參加了她的猶太女孩成人禮，還有很棒的派對。

換句話說，這場猶太女孩成人禮是我人生中最重要的經歷之一。雖然不是我的成人禮，而是一個我在網上認識的、與我相隔半個國家之遙的女孩的成人禮。有些人不理解，我怎么可能千里迢迢地去見一個與我素未謀面的女孩。但在很多方面，我了解她的程度深于了解那些天天見面的朋友。我能設想到，當我變成一位小老太太，住在療養院里或在自家靠著助步器走路時，她是我會打電話聯系的幾位朋友之一。

My Unexpected Best Friend