又中又英｜A lump in my throat

It is time to pack my bags again. I will soon fly back to the US after a brief stay in Taipei to see Hong Kong friends who have small businesses there. This is my third visit to Hong Kong since I left for the US in 2021. Every time I leave Hong Kong, I have a lump in my throat. The idiom “a lump in your throat” is used when you feel very sad or want to cry. I was born in Hong Kong. That is why I have the blues whenever I leave.

To have the blues means to feel depressed or sad. I have a whale of a time whenever I return for short visits. If you have a whale of a time, it means you enjoy yourself very much. Every time I return, I have dinners with Hong Kong relatives, reunions with classmates, catch up with media friends, and see current and former government officials. This time, I also made a side trip to Penang to visit friends.

A big decision awaits me in the US. I had been staying with relatives in different US cities since I left Hong Kong in 2021. I enjoyed staying at my younger brother’s vacant Manhattan apartment for six months rent-free! But New York is too expensive to rent my own apartment. Winters are too cold. I lived in Washington DC and Seattle for many years in the 1990s but no longer have relatives there. I want to find an affordable city that is close to relatives and does not have very cold winters or very hot summers. It is almost Mission Impossible!

又是時候收拾我的行裝了。我很快便會飛回美國，在這之前將短暫停留台北，探望在那兒搞小生意的香港朋友。這是自從我二零二一年離港赴美以來，第三次到訪香港。每次離開香港，我都有 a lump in my throat——成語“a lump in your throat”是當你感到悲傷、哽咽的時候用到的。我在香港出生，因此每當我離開時，我都 have the blues。 

To have the blues是指感到沮喪或憂傷。每次我回港短遊，我都有 a whale of a time——若你有 a whale of a time，意即你過得非常愉快。每次我回港，我都會跟在港的親戚吃晚飯，跟舊同學重聚，與傳媒朋友聊聊近況，以及見見現任和前政府官員。這一次，我也順道到檳城旅行，探望朋友。

在美國，有一個重大的決定在等着我。自二零二一年離港後，我便暫居美國不同城市親戚的家中。我很享受在我弟弟位於曼哈頓空置的單位中，不用交租住了六個月！然而，在紐約要租住自己的單位實在太昂貴了，冬天亦太冷。我一九九零年代在華盛頓特區和西雅圖住過許多年，但已經沒有親戚在那些地方了。我很想找一個就近親戚、價錢負擔得起、冬天不會太冷、夏天不會太熱的城市——這差不多是不可能的任務！
 
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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻