苇草集 2022 Reeds in the Wind 2022 第 12 篇 Section 12
十二月 我是爱玩的苏州人 December: I Am a Playful Suzhou Native
返回 苇草集 2022 Back to Reeds in the Wind 2022上大学以后，我常常和别人聊天的时候自我调侃：“苏州人就是会玩嘛！”其实内心里，我一直觉得会玩是一种能力，不然就知道刷题打游戏刷视频的生活真的挺枯燥的。
Ever since entering university, I often poke fun at myself in conversation: “Suzhou people just know how to have fun!” Deep down, however, I have always believed that knowing how to play is a capability in its own right; otherwise, an existence confined merely to doing problem sets, gaming, and scrolling through short videos is truly dreadfully dull.
对我而言，所谓“爱玩”，莫过于提供一种体验世界的角度，广义地讲，谈恋爱也是一种特殊的认识异性、认识世界的“玩”，当然，这很严肃。
To me, so-called “loving to play” provides nothing less than an angle from which to experience the world. Broadly speaking, romance is also a unique form of “play” through which one learns to understand the opposite sex and comprehend the world—and an entirely serious one, to be sure.
今天看到上半场阿根廷的糟糕站位和锋线表现的时候，突然意识到身边居然没有可以大声聊球的兄弟，突然发现自己以前六年所喜爱的东西，几乎都没有可以交流的对象了……
Today, upon seeing Argentina’s dismal positioning and forward-line showing in the first half, I suddenly realized there wasn’t a single brother beside me with whom I could passionately talk football. I suddenly discovered that nearly all the passions I had cultivated over the past six years no longer had anyone with whom I could share them…
足球，羽毛球，骑行，攀岩，健身，斯诺克，围棋，国象，狼人杀，三国杀，剧本杀，审美，化妆，穿搭，摄影，写作，读书，音乐，唱歌，追剧，综艺，追星……
Football, badminton, cycling, rock climbing, fitness, snooker, Go, chess, Werewolf, Legends of the Three Kingdoms (SanGuoSha), scripted murder-mystery games, aesthetics, makeup, styling, photography, creative writing, literature, music, singing, binge-watching dramas, variety shows, following idols…
身边也没有人会和我滔滔不绝讲阿富汗战争，没有人会对我骄傲地秀口语，没有人会和我讲上一个晚上他几乎走遍中国每个省的见闻，没有人会和我聊手机性能、相机和摄影，没有人会因为买哪双鞋哪个球星打得好而争论半天……
There is no longer anyone beside me who will talk incessantly about the war in Afghanistan; no one who will proudly show off their spoken English; no one who will spend an entire evening recounting their adventures traversing almost every province in China; no one who will debate smartphone hardware specs, cameras, and photography; no one who will argue for hours over which sneakers to buy or which star played better…
没有人会对自己的家乡感到自豪，而我却不得不小声说我是苏州人，怕被别人嫉妒。身边也没有人能够组局，高三下的周六的晚上，四个人在一个宿舍里，各自聊着自己过去的学校，自己的前女友，聊几句年级里的八卦，叹一声世事无常……
No one feels proud of their hometown, while I am forced to whisper that I come from Suzhou, for fear of incurring envy. Nor is there anyone around capable of organizing a gathering: four people in a dormitory on a Saturday evening during the second semester of senior year, each reminiscing about their former schools, their ex-girlfriends, gossiping about rumors in the grade, and sighing together over the impermanence of the world…
初一上就像现在这样没有什么知心朋友，高一上倒是第一学期就认识了三四个至今关系很好的朋友，这也是我至今怀念高中的一个原因吧，同调众多……
The first semester of seventh grade was just like now, lacking intimate confidants; yet the first semester of tenth grade saw me befriending three or four close friends with whom I remain dear to this day. This is probably one of the reasons I still reminisce so deeply about high school: there were so many kindred spirits…
现在看很多大学同学，他们的世界看起来是那么单调！（或者单纯的生活也不错？）世界的参差之大令我惊叹，心中充满了对在苏州六年中学生活的感激。
Looking at many university classmates now, their worlds appear so starkly monotonous! (Or is a simple life also a blessing?) The immense disparity across this world astonishes me, filling my heart with boundless gratitude for my six years of secondary school life in Suzhou.
想你们了。
I miss you all.