回到拉瓦卡港
“Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“很多人會在你的生命裡來來去去，但是真正的朋友會在你心裡留下腳印。”
Last weekend, I took my wife and kids back to the little town I used to live in during the high school years. Port Lavace, Port of the cow, it’s a quiet small fishing town by the Gulf Mexico, and then a couple big chemical plants moved in. Including Alcoa, DuPont and also the infamous Formosa Plastics (according to the Netflix documentary series “Dirty Money”) my dad used to work for. They brought job opportunities and local economy, but also brought in the pollution. I will discuss the deeper issue about how technology impacts our life and environment next time. Now, I want to share about how this town changed my life.
上個周末，我帶著孩子跟太太回到我高中時期曾經待過的小鎮。拉瓦卡港，母牛港，他是一個位於墨西哥海灣裡安靜的漁港小鎮。後來許多大型化工廠進駐，包括杜邦、美國鋁業跟我老爸曾經待過的公司，台灣塑膠。他們帶來了工作機會及小鎮的經濟繁榮，但同時他們也帶來了環境汙染。我想之後有機會再深入地來探討，科技對如何我們的生活及環境帶來重大的影響。現在我想分享的是，這個小鎮如何改變了我的生命。
Because of my dad’s work at Formosa Plastics, our family moved to Port Lavaca from Taiwan during the late 80’s. I was in 9th grade and didn’t speak any English at all. The Taiwanese there are mostly my father’s colleagues. Their kids either came to the US at an early age or were born in the state. Even though all the families help each other out like a one big family, and most of them do speak Mandarin at home. But most of the kids felt embarrassed to speak Mandarin to me at school. And some of them even told the other kids at school not to talk to me because I couldn’t understand English. I didn’t really talk to anyone at school except with my sisters for a long period of time. It was really tough for me at school during that teenage period. But it also helps to build a stronger relationship with the ones who actually became my friends.
因為我老爸在台塑的工作關係，我們在八零年代末，舉家搬到了Port Lavaca這個鳥不生蛋的地方。我當時九年級(台灣的國三)，不會講任何英語。當地的台灣人大都是我老爸的同事，他們的孩子不是很早就來美國了，不然就是在美國出生。即使每個家庭宛如一個大家庭，私底下都會互相幫忙，他們在家也都說中文。但是大部分的孩子在學校時還是覺得跟我說中文很丟臉，有一些甚至要其他同學別跟我說話，因為我不會說英文。因此，我有好長的一段時間，除了自己的姊姊之外，沒有任何人可以交談。這對於在那個年紀的我，上學對我來說十分的難熬。但也因為如此，當時那些願意跟我成為朋友的，那些感情特別的深刻濃烈。
All the best and worst memories of my adolescence are all right there!! The town is so small and peaceful (I was going to say boring…) that once I left for college, I didn’t want to go back. But still… sometimes, I miss the beach, I miss the sea breeze, I miss the tight community bonded like a one big family. I never realized how much I missed it until I got older. So, many years later, when I got older, I took my family back to that small peaceful town. Enjoy the beach, sea breeze and the people I haven’t seen for a long long time.
我的年少時期最好及最糟的回憶都在那裡了！那一個偏僻平靜的漁港小鎮，當我離開去了多采多姿的大學生活後，就再也不想回去了。但是，有時候我還是會想念，那裡的海邊、海風、還有宛如一個大家庭的社區群落。我從來沒有想過我會那麼想念它。因此，多年之後，年紀大了，我帶著自己的家人回到這個偏僻平靜的漁港小鎮，享受著海灘、海風及那些我好久好久不見的人們。
That kind of strong bonding between people who are not related is what Much Love Crew is looking for and hoping to create. Family doesn’t have to be blood related. As long as we have a common goal and like-minded spirit, we can also create a community that is filled with much love. With more people involved, yes, there might be more drama, but there is also much more strength to achieve more and help more people.
那種人與人之間的羈絆與牢固的情誼，是我們在追尋的，也是未來希望能夠開創的。家人不一定就要有血緣關係。只要我們之間有相同的目標及心靈上的共識，我們也可以創造一個充滿愛的社群聚落。集結更多的人，有可能形成更多的紛爭，但是同時可以聚集更多力量來完成更多事來幫助更多的人。
If you like to know more about what you can help, or how you can join Much Love Crew. Please click HERE to fill out the form or contact us via our Facebook messenger.
如果你有興趣想要了解更多關於你可以怎麼參與或加入我們，請於 這裡 填入你的資料，或直接以臉書私訊我們。