2017-07-30 【Aiden in English】
My current experience with debates has been uneventful, unsuccessful, and tedious. Best of all, none of it was my fault. The only way to completely… feel the atmosphere, competitive attitude, and torturous, hair-pulling, nail-biting stress was to enter a camp: a sleepover, ten days of nothing but debate, and some stress-relieving activities. I will say that preparing for this camp has already greyed some imaginary hair on my scalp. From scrambling for items to pack to cramming my Latin II course into twenty days, I don’t think this camp is worth the rush, hassle, and three thousand dollars. The camp itself is situated at Rider University near Princeton, NJ. The college sounds great when its location is compared to that of other prestigious colleges. I also firmly believe that Rider University was the cheaper campus hosting area. If the surroundings weren’t enough, the number of different camps using the college was very discouraging. Regardless, the first day usually involves a stroll to learn about the environment, but it is also the moment of decisive action: making friends. Luckily, I joined an increasingly diverse group of teens from many cultures, which led me to explore the topic of race at this camp. The debate is an enormous program in the eyes of Asians, generally speaking, Indians, and Chinese. Therefore, it isn’t surprising to see that this camp is dominated not only by these cultures but also by other cultures. Furthermore, the white race among the campers was non-existent. I found this a bit shocking, as the debate is not strictly unpopular within the white culture. However, many Chinese appeared at the camp. I discovered that one was a traveler from Shanghai, which was cool. What was interesting was his English, which was quite fluent and had a little accent. We quickly became friends with a much larger group of Chinese people. It was only the beginning. Being a debate camp, I have much to learn. I feel that setting a goal now is quite essential. So, by the end of the camp, I want to create a strong case for any debate without issue. I understand this goal requires more of my skill than what is taught at camp, but I hope the instructors can hurry me along the process. 【紅霞譯】
我現有辯論經歷平平，毫無成功體驗，因此聊不出啥玩藝，幸虧所有一切並非我之錯，不過要想充分感受辯論氛圍增加競爭意識，乃至飽嘗心理磨難、揪頭髮、咬指甲等各項壓力，唯一的方法就是參加夏令營，十天寄宿生涯中除了辯論及適當放鬆活動而外別無它求。
說句大實話，光是準備這個夏令營足以叫腦袋瓜上原本帶有一定想象力的頭髮變得蒼白起來，從匆匆打理出門行頭，到基本上僅用廿天功夫突擊完成一門中級拉丁語，我切身感到犯不上豪擲三千大洋來這個夏令營自討苦吃。
夏令營設在新澤西普林斯頓“王子城”附近的萊德“騎手”大學，你知道這所大學好像挺牛，常被用來確認別的名校地理位置。我敢說瑞德營條件比較簡陋，假如周圍環境不很提氣，那麼大批借用瑞德大學校舍的夏令營肯定非常失望。
不管怎樣，第一天要熟悉環境，一般都輕鬆閒在，但這也是結交朋友付諸行動的時刻，幸虧我所參加的小組青少年兼有多元性文化背景，以至於我能在夏令營里談論種族話題。
在亞裔人（一般指印度人和中國人）看來，辯論可謂宏大項目，因此也就沒啥奇怪該夏令營起主導作用的遠不止這兩種文化。此外，夏令營罕見白人，委實讓我跌破眼鏡，畢竟在白人文化里辯論並不是絕對不受歡迎的。
不過夏令營有很多華裔子弟，其中一位竟然來自上海，好酷咧。有趣的是他講英語十分流利，況且沒帶什麼口音。在華人圈裡，我倆很快結成朋友。 今天過後才是夏令營開始，既然走近辯論擂台，我有不少東西要學，當務之急就是要制定一個目標，這樣一旦夏令營結束，自己會在任何辯論場合做到辯護有據說服有力。我明白這個目標的實現主要取決於個人技巧發揮而非夏令營灌輸的東西，但還是希望輔導員能幫我速成。 Today in History(歷史上的今天): 2015: 76ers Overnight Camp─Playoff(七六人隊籃球寄宿營─決賽) 2014: YMCA Camp─Stuck @ Home Day-2(基督教青年會營─第二天病休在家)  Camp Site of Rider Univ (萊德大學·營地)
 Rider Broncs (萊德野馬體育隊)
 Gill Memorial Chapel, Rider Univ
(萊德大學·吉爾“快樂”紀念禮拜堂)  Promenade Boulevard, Rider Univ (萊德大學·校園大道)
Crosslink(相關博文): 8th Grade(初中三年級) |
