When I arrived in the morning at the hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I did a very ’Asian” thing. I took my fine camera and went out to take pictures in the middle of the day. The weather was drizzly, so I decided to cross the street by going into the subway under the road. Evidently, I had been spotted taking tourist pictures, though by this time, I had stuffed my camera back into my shoulder bag.
当我早上到达位于阿根廷布宜诺赛勒斯市的一个旅馆时, 我做了一件很典型的亚洲人喜欢做的事情: 中午的时候,带著我的相机到外面拍照。天空下著毛毛雨,所以我决定穿过地铁通道到街的对面。显然有人留意到我这个游客正在拍照,虽然那个时候我已经把相机塞回了单肩包里。

外国人在火車站時應時刻保持警惕
Suddenly a woman with 3 small children in tow, on her right and left, approached me: “Mostaza! She pointed to my back, sure enough there was a streak of yellow mustard down the center of the back of my jacket. Very helpfully, she took out a wad of tissue paper to try to wipe off the poor tourist’s misfortune.
突然ー个妇女出现在我面前,有三个小孩跟在她左右。她指著我的后背说: “Mostaza ”,原来在我夹克后面中间的位置有一条黄色的芥末醬。她很熱心地掏出ー团纸巾,试图擦掉 这位可怜游客的不幸。
Having grown up in the big city of Hong Kong, my street smarts threw my antennae into high alert. I backed into a wall and tried to stop her. Trying to be even more helpful, the woman handed me her handbag to hold on to while she was busy cleaning my back. Presumably, this was done to confuse me a bit more. I held even more firmly to the shoulder strap of my bag, and used my free little finger to twirl around her handbag strap.
在香港这样的ー个大城市里长大的我,在街头学来的小聰明瞬间让我提高警惕。我退到ー堵墙边上并试图阻止她。而为了更方便帮我,她在擦掉我身上的芥末醬的同时,还把她的手提包给我让我拿著。这举动大概是让我更加摸不著头脑,我把单肩包的带子拉的更紧了,同时用我的小拇指勾住她的手提包。
All this happened in a few quick seconds: 2 young men jumped out of the shadows, one on each side, and each was in my trouser pocket. My wallet in the left pocket flew out and dropped on the ground.
接下来发生的事情只花了短短几秒钟: 有两个年轻人不知道从哪里跳出来,ー边ー个,两个人都把手伸进了我口袋里, 瞬间放在我左边ロ袋里的钱包飞了出来,掉在地上。
In a move which surprised myself, I suddenly made a “kung tu crouch, backed against the wall, hands angled in front of me, and shouted the classic “Hai!” as loudly as I ever could.
我的下ー个举动让我自己也吃了一惊。我突然背靠著墙蹲了一个马步,两只手交叉挡在前面,并且用尽全身力气很经典 地大喊了一声 “嘻!”

他以許多種方式露面
Presumably, all my attackers had watched many Chinese kung fu movies, since their response was dramatic. They all left instantly, and my wallet was left on the ground where it had landed. This was the first and last time I ever exercised my kung fu heritage.
可能攻击我的这几个人看过太多中国功夫电影,他们的反 应充满了戏剧性ーー马上跑掉,我掉在地上的钱包还是在原地 没动! 这是我第一次也是最后一次使出我的 “武术遗产”。
A thought: We are all affected by what we have read and seen in our lives. Each experience causes us to mold our thinking. We also develop stereotypes about others, especially those from a different cultural background. These stereotypes often cause us to react in stereotypical ways to others, which often may be totally inappropriate. Fortunately, God sees into our souls and knows exactly who and what we are!
一点感想: 我们都会被生活中所看到、所读到的影响,每个经历也会塑造我们的思维。我们对其他人常会产生一种成见, 尤其是当他们来自不同的文化背景时,更容易产生这种成见。这些成见常常导致我们用有色眼镜去看待他人,这往往是不可取的。 幸好造物主能看透我们的灵魂,知道我们的本质和心思意念!
“For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7b).
“耶和华不像人看人: 人是看外貌; 耶和华是看内心。”(撒母耳记上十六?)