Fall Field Trip to Washington D.C.(华府秋游)-儿歌荟萃-万维博客-万维读者网（电脑版）

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		Fall Field Trip to Washington D.C.(华府秋游)	2020-07-05 08:21:23

2017-10-20

【Aiden in English】

Washington D.C., an iconic tourist attraction, captivates the American spirit like nothing else in the USA. White, speckless monuments, wide-eyed students on field trips, and the repetitive ring of ice-cream trucks. Nothing resembles American culture more than this snapshot. As an American, it is nearly a must to visit DC, whether it be with a summer camp or in one's spare time. In this case, it meant an eight-hour round-trip drive with the entire 9^th grade.

By no means was the ride boring. First of all, there were outlets on all seats, so the fear of a dying battery was dispelled. Furthermore, we ordered Hagey coaches, which meant comfortable seats, as well as Wi-Fi. Although the ride itself was not significant, it does sum up the trip: fun and shorter than it should have been.

Arriving in DC, the trip accelerated rapidly. From one iconic scene to the next, my friends and I jumped around the main tourist areas of the Natl Mall. Obviously, being monitored by the school and all, there was a limit to the areas we could go to. However, the most popular area in all of the city is pretty much within a five-mile radius. And if you don't know, the main attractions line up perfectly. We started with the Lincoln Memorial, had lunch at its steps, and enjoyed a very specific, meticulous statue of Lincoln sitting on a pedestal. I do think that the statue shows more symbolic meaning than just a memorial. Lincoln looks down at the capitol building three miles away and seems to be saying: I made the country the way it is now (or something like that). Or, he could be saying: Wow, you really screwed up all my work.

Walking down towards the museum district, we visited the Washington Monument, more popularly known as the pointy building Spider-man backflips off of. Upon reaching the base, everyone simultaneously thought of Spider-man and looked up at the side of the monolith, imagining how boring the world was. At least, that’s how I felt.

Time continued to tick as we made our way to the museum district. I wasn't particularly excited about the museums. Besides, if the school wanted us to go to museums, they would send us to New York. Regardless, they were free, so everyone spent about five minutes on each one. I, on the other hand, argued to walk to Capitol Hill. I've never really spent much time near the capitol, and I wanted to see rich, old bureaucratic dudes in dark suits. A lot of others wanted to see the building too, so as a collective group, we walked a good mile to the capital.

In every city, there is noise all around. However, at about one hundred feet from the US Capitol, all you can hear is silence. Buff, young guys dressed in suits and sunglasses, chatting like it was another day on the job… Even though I'm not as smart as I think, you can tell they stand with tension, relaxed, yet ready to pounce. With them around, the mood feels different, and not in a good way. I don’t think they're doing anyone any secret services. Otherwise, the capital building was great. A bunch of old foreign ladies blabbered away, in disregard of the agents placed around the vicinity. We took our pictures and left, but I couldn't shake the feeling of being analyzed by those agents.

That was the final stop before heading home. I know, it seemed short. But in a city like DC, it's hard to explore when you only have four hours to work with. At least we went around. Some people went shopping. The ride back was alright. There was a lot of downtime and freedom, which is exactly what I needed to process today's journey.

【红霞译文】

在美国，没有比华盛顿特区这个标志性景点更能完美体现美国人精神面貌，一座座洁白无瑕的纪念碑，一群群天真好奇的秋游生，一辆辆顶着冰激凌蛋卷的零售车，没有比这幅画面更能精辟概况美国文化。无论参加夏令营也好，还是休闲度假也罢，华府几乎是美国人必去无疑的旅游胜地，难怪我们高一全体学生为了到此秋游不惜来回跋涉八个钟头。

途中丝毫没有无聊之意，关键在于各个车座均配备好电路插销，因此毋需担忧电池会掉链子，再加上我们乘坐的是哈吉大巴，不仅座位舒适，而且还提供无线网络。尽管交通本身没啥特别，但一路上语笑喧阗，时间过得飞快，也算不虚此行。

抵达华府后，秋游节奏随即加速，我和哥们环绕国家广场主要游览区窜上窜下，从一个景点蹦到另一个景点。显然学校掌控学生去处，我们的活动范围因之而大受限制，不过全城著名景点基本分布在方圆五英里地内，也许你有所不知，华府重要建筑群整齐地联成一线。我们先去林肯纪念堂，席地坐在台阶上吃起午饭，得以近距离观赏底座之上这尊精工细作的林肯雕像，我认为它不失为一件具有象征意义的纪念性作品。林肯俯视三英里以远的国会大厦仿佛在说：我指引国家走向今天（大意如此），或者会说：哇塞，你们竟把我创下的基业搞得乌七八糟。

朝下往博物馆方向走去，我们来到华盛顿纪念碑前，也就是大众更为熟悉的电影《蜘蛛侠》后空翻尖楼所在地。只要靠近碑基，恐怕人人都禁不住想起蜘蛛侠；抬头仰望巨石侧边，（没有蜘蛛侠的）世界居然如此乏味，起码我个人这么觉得。

待我们决定去博物馆，时间变得紧张起来。我对博物馆兴趣不大，再说假如学校想要我们参观博物馆，当该把学生打发到纽约市。不管怎样讲，反正这里所有的博物馆全部免费开放，结果我们每到一处顶多呆上五分钟。话说了回来，我主张去国会山，毕竟以前从未找到机会就近转悠，顺道看看那些富态老气身着白衬衫黑西装的政界官僚们，不少朋友也想见识一下建筑物，于是我们结伴同行，一起走过好长一段路才赶到目的地。

每座城市都少不了噪音，然而在距离美国国会大厦一百英尺左右的地方却万籁俱寂，西装革履戴着墨镜身材魁梧的年轻人像谈公务似地聊着天……虽然我没有自己想象的聪明，但你能辨别出他们既紧张又放松站在那里随时待命，有这些便衣在场气氛怪异，总之不太对劲，我觉得他们未必受人指使做什么秘密工作。除此而外，国会大厦非常气派，一帮外国太太没把便衣当回事，扯着嗓门扬长而去。我们拍完相片方才离开，但我挥之不去受人监视的感觉。

这是返程前最后一站，我知道逗留时间短暂，其实像华府这样规模的城市，很难用四个小时来体察人文地貌，起码我们出外转了一转，而有些人只顾逛店购物。回家的路上还算顺利，经常塞车，自由支配时间很多，正巧我需要好好回味今天所到之处。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2013: 第三届宾州光华校运会随想(2013 GHCS Field Day)