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!

又是时候收拾我的行装了。我很快便会飞回美国，在这之前将短暂停留台北，探望在那儿搞小生意的香港朋友。这是自从我二零二一年离港赴美以来，第三次到访香港。每次离开香港，我都有 a lump in my throat——成语“a lump in your throat”是当你感到悲伤、哽咽的时候用到的。我在香港出生，因此每当我离开时，我都 have the blues。 

To have the blues是指感到沮丧或忧伤。每次我回港短游，我都有 a whale of a time——若你有 a whale of a time，意即你过得非常愉快。每次我回港，我都会跟在港的亲戚吃晚饭，跟旧同学重聚，与传媒朋友聊聊近况，以及见见现任和前政府官员。这一次，我也顺道到槟城旅行，探望朋友。

在美国，有一个重大的决定在等着我。自二零二一年离港后，我便暂居美国不同城市亲戚的家中。我很享受在我弟弟位于曼哈顿空置的单位中，不用交租住了六个月！然而，在纽约要租住自己的单位实在太昂贵了，冬天亦太冷。我一九九零年代在华盛顿特区和西雅图住过许多年，但已经没有亲戚在那些地方了。我很想找一个就近亲戚、价钱负担得起、冬天不会太冷、夏天不会太热的城市——这差不多是不可能的任务！
 
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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻