2014-07-14

【Aiden in English】

        When I arrived at the summer camp at Guanghua Chinese School in PA, my first impression was: "Oh boy!" There were books and books and more books. Last time I checked, the school will start in two months.

        As I sat down, a teacher handed me a Chinese book to read. She said I should read the first four chapters to catch up since I wasn't here for the first session. The chapters were long, and I wasn't the fastest reader in Chinese.

        An hour later, I was still struggling to catch up. When I finished, the teacher started the math class. This wasn't the summer camp I expected. When the class finally did something with movement, let's say that the younger kids loved it more than I did.

        Soon, I couldn't take it anymore. Unlike the sports camp at LCHS, we haven't gone outside yet. So, Richard, one of the assistants, took me and another boy my age to the tennis court. That was a bad idea because neither of us was good.

        Just as we got back, everyone was ready to go outside. Talk about perfect timing. When all the kids came out, the little princesses who populated 90% of the camp had a ridiculous game of Simon Says. I thought it became the most remarkable game ever since, once or twice, a girl shouted, "Simon Says Slap Aiden!" Ouch!

        In fact, the camp was not as bad as I thought earlier on. The only thing is that it should cut off the learning and add more playtimes, probably having games for older kids like me. The other girls are also annoying, but what can I do about it? They are just them, so I perhaps should begin to respect them a bit.

【紅霞譯】

        我來到賓州光華中文學校夏令營的第一印象就是，哦，我的媽呀﹗書、書、書，書海茫茫。記得我最近一次查證時間，距離返校開學之日還有兩個月之久。

        我剛坐定下來，老師便遞給我一本中文書籍，並告誡我說， 因為我未參加上期夏令營，所以應該了解已經教過的前四篇故事，迎頭趕上落下的知識。這四章文章篇幅很長，而我確實不是那種能夠以最快速度瀏覽中文的讀者。

        一個鐘頭過後，我仍在苦苦追趕。等我念完規定故事，老師又開始灌輸算術，這可讓我始料不及。好不容易挨到伸胳膊撂撩腿活動筋骨時，我才發覺怎麼也無法調節情緒像小不點們那樣歡蹦亂跳。

        不久，我憋得透不過氣來，跟自個在蘭斯代爾天主教高中參加的運動夏令營大相徑庭，這裡戶外活動尚未實施。隨後，助手理查德帶我和另一位與本人年齡相仿的男孩一起去打網球，這主意也不咋的，因為我倆的球技半斤八兩，一概臭不可聞。

        我們剛從網球場回來，大家已做好出外活動的準備，趕得早不如趕得巧。等全體營員芸集操場，占據夏令營90%人口的公主小姐們開始玩起叫人哭笑不得的“我說你做”遊戲，我認為這是空前絕後最令敝人抓狂的鬧劇，一位黃毛丫頭竟不止一次地厲聲叫囂﹕“我說你來扇兒歌的耳光﹗”哎喲，欺我太甚﹗

        實際上，光華中文學校夏令營並不像我開始擔心的那樣，唯一需要改進的是，應該減少學習時間，增加娛樂份量，安排一些適合像我這樣大兒童玩的遊戲。有些女孩子們過於矯情，我能有何法子﹖既然非得正視她們，我或許應該大度寬容才是。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2013: 費城開心觸摸博物館(Please Touch Museum, Philadelphia)

2012: Drama Rehearsal(戲劇排練)

Chinese Chess (中國象棋 07-14-2014)

Outdoor Activity (戶外活動 07-14-2014)

Crosslink(相關博文):

5th Grade(小學五年級)