又中又英｜ups and downs

又中又英｜ups and downs

By the time you read this I will have returned to the US. My stay in Hong Kong had ups and downs, which means a mixture of good and bad things. I was happy to be back in my birthplace and to see close relatives. But soon after I returned, I developed back pain which lasted for weeks. A close relative in the US passed away, which saddened me. It is normal to experience a mixture of good and bad things. We can only appreciate good things when bad things also happen to us.

Government officials often ask Hong Kong people and the media to tell Hong Kong\'s good stories. There is nothing wrong with blowing Hong Kong\'s trumpet. 
To blow your trumpet means to proudly tell everyone about your achievements. But some people say Hong Kong has bad stories too. To each his/their own. 
This expression means people are free to talk about different things. I want to share with you a very good Hong Kong story when I went to renew my identity card at the Immigration Tower in Wanchai. I arrived an hour earlier than my appointment. A receptionist gave me a number tag. I was prepared to wait but my number appeared right away on a TV screen. The lady in the cubicle was super polite. She took my fingerprints and picture. I then went to a different cubicle where another polite lady took my fingerprints again and my identity card. She gave me a temporary one until I got my new card. Everything took just 20 minutes. I will share this good Hong Kong story with friends and relatives in the US.

當你讀到這篇文章的時候，我已經回到美國了。我在香港逗留的日子有 ups and downs，意即有好事亦有壞事，有甘亦有苦。我很高興能回到我出生的地方，去看望近親；但在我回到香港不久以後，就患上背痛，痛了好幾個星期。一位在美國的近親離世了，令我很悲痛。經歷人生甘苦、悲喜交雜，是很正常的，只有發生過壞事，我們才懂得欣賞美好的事情。政府官員常常叫香港人和香港媒體說好香港故事。要去吹捧香港（blowing Hong Kong\'s trumpet），本身沒有甚麼問題。To blow your trumpet意即自吹自擂，四處向人吹捧自己的成就。但有些人會說，香港也有壞故事。To each his/their own——這個習語是指每人想法不一，人人也可以自由講述不同的見解。我想跟你們分享一個非常好的香港故事，是我在灣仔入境事務大樓換領身份證時發生的。我比預約時間早一小時已到了大樓，一位接待處職員給了我一個號碼牌。我準備好要等候一會，但我的號碼立刻已出現在電視熒幕上了。小隔間內的女士極之有禮，她套取了我的指紋，給我拍了個人照。然後我去了另一個小隔間，又有另一位有禮的女士再給我套取指紋和拍照。她給了我一張臨時身份證，直至我領取新的身份證。全程只用了二十分鐘。我會跟在美國的親友分享這個美好的香港故事。

[email protected]
Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻