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2. 散漫在英国的日子之酷男子 A Cool Guy in the British Empire——Scotty

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        在英国读书的时候，我是班里为数不多的能跟英国"鬼子"混到一起的中国学生。我喜欢叫他们"鬼子"，这样既满足了自己的"民族自尊"，还自觉有几分平易近人的味道。当然，他们未尝明白我的意思，我也没有讲过。其中有个"鬼子"酷得要死，脸部轮廓清晰、五官分明、长发披肩、身材魁梧，肩膀有我一个半那么宽，上课时从来都自己坐在后面，很少回答问题、很少参与小组讨论，每到下课，就骑着辆很大的摩托消失。有时自己也很好奇这类人的生活，不知道每天都在忙活些什么事情，也从来没想过能够和这个酷酷的"鬼子"打什么交道。当然，这个"鬼子"也有名有姓，叫做"Charlie"。
 
        临近万圣节的一周，也快到了期末考试的日子，大家基本上都在互相借笔记突击、复印课本上的重点章节。校园里有面湖水，中午的时候我常坐在湖边的草地上啃两个自己做的三明治，顺便掰下两块面包喂喂野鸭。只感觉有人重重的拍了一下我的肩膀，别过头去，发现是Charlie。他对我说要办一个万圣节的party，地点就是他家，欢迎我到时候也过去玩，之后微微一笑，拍拍我的肩就走了；依旧很酷，但并非拒人千里之外的酷。

        第一次受英国"鬼子"邀请去家里做客，而且还赶上了万圣节这个日子，一下子可犯了难。原来只知道万圣节party大家一起装神弄鬼，但装什么神、扮什么鬼却一点主意也没有。想来想去，最后想到了去万圣节道具专卖店找灵感。转了一大圈，发现实在买不起诸如"超人"、"蝙蝠侠"之类的整体服装道具，就西拼东凑了一副青面獠牙的面具、一双夜明的骷髅手套，心想自己还有件黑色的风衣，靠这些东西装个大半夜出来找食吃的饿鬼总够了吧。

        万圣节的晚上月黑风高，9点整，"饿鬼"出门觅食，约莫20分钟，到了Charlie家门口。推门进去，摇滚音乐的声音震耳欲聋，满满一屋子人，大约有三四十位，打扮成什么的都有，"超人"、"Jason"、"猫女"、"SM男"像极了美国恐怖片联盟，旁边一个硕大的盆，盛着从超市买回来的散装葡萄酒，所有人都一手端着酒杯、随着音乐的节奏跳动——原来Charlie把自己家改成酒吧了！由于我戴着面具，所以谁也没认出来我是谁。好不容易从人群里找到Charlie，我脱下面具，Charlie才突然反应过来："真高兴你能够来！嗯，你的道具也很不错啊！快去自己拿酒喝吧！"之后又陷入了一种浑然忘我的状态。我自知这身行头有点不伦不类，但能够听到这样的肯定，心头也不免小小满足了一下；于是乎，那天不知喝了多少酒、也不知怎么找回到家。

When I was studying in England, I was one of the few Chinese students who was able to fit in with the English devils.  I like to call them devils—it's at once a lighthearted jest, while satisfying my ethnic self-esteem.  Of course, they didn't know what I was talking about, nor did I tell them.  There was one devil who was extremely cool, with hard, distinct features, long hair down to his shoulders, and a sturdy build, with shoulders broader than mine by half.  In class, he always sat alone in the back, and rarely answered questions or participated in group discussion.  After class, he would vanish on the back of a big motorcycle.  Sometimes I'd get very curious about the life of a person like this, wondering what kind of things he would do every day, but had never imagined myself interacting with this super cool "devil"  Of course, this "devil" had a name.  His name was "Charlie."

The week before Halloween was also close to finals, and almost everybody was busy cramming, sharing notes, and photocopying key chapters from textbooks.  There was a lake on campus where I often came at noon, to sit on the grass by the water and munch on a couple of sandwiches I'd made, breaking off a few pieces of bread to feed the wild ducks.  I felt a hand land heavily on my shoulder, and twisted my head around to see Charlie.  He said he was going to hold a Halloween party at his house, and invited me to come.  With a slight grin, he patted my shoulder again and left, cool as always, but not so terribly unapproachable as before.

Not only was this my first time to be invited to the home of an English devil, it was Halloween, and I was at bit of a loss what to do.  I knew that people were supposed to dress up like ghouls and ghosts for Halloween parties, but as to exactly what ghoul or ghost I was going to be, I had no idea.  Eventually I decided to go to a Halloween costume shop for a bit of inspiration.  I looked all around the shop, and found that I couldn't afford any of the full body costumes like Superman or Batman, so I threw together an ogre mask and a pair of glow-in-the-dark skeleton gloves, and figured that together with a black windbreaker of my own, I'd have a decent enough costume to pass as a hungry devil trick-or-treating in the middle of the night.

The night of Halloween was dark and windy.  At 9 o'clock, this hungry devil set off foraging, and arrived at Charlie's door in about 20 minutes.  Pushing open the door, a deafening blast of rock music assailed my ears.  The room was packed with 30 to 40 people, dressed up in every kind of costume.  There was Superman, Jason, Catwoman, not to mention a guy decked out in leather bondage-wear, and all sorts costumes straight out of American horror films.  On the side was a huge bowl filled with wine bought in bulk from the supermarket, and everyone held a glass in their hands, dancing to the beat of the music.  Charlie had transformed his house into a bar!  With my mask on, nobody recognized me.  I managed to find Charlie in the crowd, and when I pulled off my mask, Charlie immediately responded, "Great you could come!  Nice costume!  Go grab yourself a drink," after which he promptly turned back and forgot about me altogether.  I knew my costume was a bit of a joke, but I couldn't help but feel a little relieved by his assurance.  I don't know how much I drank that night, and I have no idea how I found my way home.

 

       万圣节之后，Charlie还是一向的我行我素，但在我看来，似乎又多了几分可爱。除了见面的问候之外，偶尔也开个玩笑，人群中相遇时还会冲你挤挤眼睛，很是俏皮。我本也想学学"挤眼"一招，以便不失时机地向小姑娘"放电"，但终被人评价为"有严重的挤眉弄眼之嫌"，遂放弃。回国后也再没有机会回英国去找Charlie讨教一下"挤眼"的技巧要领。

        英国人给人的第一感觉是绅士、保守且傲慢：几十年来无论衣着服饰、还是生活习惯，都一成不变；又不失时机地流露出作为日耳曼人后代的自豪；但是素有绅士风度之称的他们又不能冷落或怠慢了别人。于是，在这种复杂且矛盾的价值观下，英国人一边用高素质的友好方式否定着自己高傲，一边又无可奈何的固步自封。骨子里的东西是很难改变的，就好像家庭观念对于中国人的约束，即使再另类的90后也无法摆脱。如果有机会和英国人过招，不要太在意他们一时的不苟言笑，给他们一些空间和自由，给他们一点理解和尊重，他们一定会"绅士"般的放下架子，进行平等对话。这是不是算是用人之矛，克人之盾呢？

After Halloween, Charlie was still his same old self, but seemed to me to be a little more likable than before.  Aside from saying hi when we'd run into each other, he would also crack a joke now and then, and give a cynical wink when we'd meet in a crowd.  I had once hoped to master the wink like he had, with which I might send sparks flying at women, but I was eventually criticized of "making looks," and promptly gave it up.  Since coming home, I never did have the opportunity to go back to England and seek Charlie's advice in mastering the art of the wink.

My first impression of the British is that they are gentlemanly, conservative and prideful.  Decades go by and the British refuse to change their fashions or habits, nor do they ever miss an opportunity to reveal their pride as the descendents of Germanic peoples.  But the British, known for their gentlemanly manners, can neither slight nor isolate others.  Given these complicated and contradictory sets of values, the British use a genteel and friendly manner to negate their haughtiness, while remaining incurably stubborn and refusing change.  It's tough to change what's ingrained in your bones, just like how old concepts of family bind the Chinese, something even the most alternative 90s kids can't quite shake.  If you happen to run into the British, don't let it bother you too much if they seem stodgy at first.  Just give them some space and freedom, understanding and respect, and they will gracefully drop their airs and converse with you as an equal.  This is to pierce a man's shield with his own spear, is it not?

 

本文转载自Scotty的个人空间，要阅读更多作者文章，请移步作者个人空间 http://i.myechinese.com/index.php?s=/space/1251 。




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