从印度搬到美国是什么感觉?

Ben A. Wise
I moved to the US from Auroville in Tamil Nadu after having lived in India for the better part of a decade and learning both Hindi and Tamil. I wanted to become a professional furniture maker and I found a great woodworking school in the Pacific Northwest. India doesn’t currently have a good woodworking school.
The first thing I noticed when I landed in Seattle was a kind of flatness. In India there was always something interesting happening: temple music or some raucous festival; cows sprawled on the side of the road; oil lamps outside of everyone’s houses at night; a snake or scorpion found in the backyard; a sadhu with a navel-long silver beard dressed in ochre; pounding monsoon rains that forced you to stay at home; men and women by the sides of the road selling fresh produce from their backyard; coconut stands in the street. Oh and mangos. Succulent, golden-fleshed mangos.
 
我从泰米尔纳德邦的奥罗维尔搬到了美国，之前我在印度生活了近十年，学习了印地语和泰米尔语。为了成为一名专业的家具制作师，我离开了印度，来到美国西北部的一所顶尖木工学校深造。印度目前还没有这样高水平的木工学校。
当我在西雅图降落时，我注意到的第一件事是平坦。在印度，总有一些有趣的事情发生:寺庙音乐或一些喧闹的节日、路边悠闲的牛群、家家户户夜晚点亮的油灯、后院偶尔出现的蛇或蝎子、身着赭色长袍、留着长至肚脐银胡子的苦行僧、季风季节的倾盆大雨、路边叫卖的新鲜农产品、街头的椰子摊，还有那些多汁的、金黄色果肉的芒果。
 
And apart from that there was something tingling and crackling in the atmosphere, some indefinable masala that infused everything with magic and wonder, like an electric field.
I had a lump in my throat as I drove out from the airport, wide quiet roads where everyone obeyed traffic, spindly-green conifers stretching to the horizon. It was beautiful, but I felt like I missed something. I missed the liveliness of India. I doubted myself. Did I make the right decision? Was this worth it?
 
除了这些，空气中还弥漫着一种令人振奋、噼啪作响的感觉，一种难以名状的魔力，它像电场一样，给周围的一切注入了魔力和奇迹。
当我开车离开机场时，我的喉咙哽咽了，宽阔安静的道路上，每个人都服从交通，细长的绿色针叶树延伸到地平线上。景色虽美，但我心中却有一种失落感。我怀念印度的热闹和活力。我开始质疑自己的选择：我真的做出了正确的决定吗？这一切牺牲是否值得？
 
When we settled in our rented house it took months until I got to know all our neighbors. They were nice people but they kept to themselves mostly. In India my neighbors and I had our front doors open most of the time, and our kids ran freely into each other’s houses and played together. They could even choose in which home to have lunch. In the US I only spoke with my next-door neighbor on one side after nine months.
After a while something began to settle. The school was professional and teachers intelligent; I was learning what I had wanted to learn. I had tried apprenticing with local woodworkers in India, but their level had been disappointing, crude and unrefined.

当我们在租来的房子里安顿下来时，我花了几个月的时间才认识了我们所有的邻居。他们都是好人，但他们大多不跟人交往。在印度，我和邻居们大部分时间都是开着大门的，我们的孩子们可以自由地跑到彼此的房子里，在一起玩耍。他们甚至可以选择在哪个家里吃午饭。在美国，9个月后我才和我隔壁的邻居说话。
时间慢慢流逝，我开始适应了新环境。这所学校非常专业，老师们智慧且博学，我能够学习到我渴望掌握的知识。回想起在印度时，我曾尝试跟随当地的木工学习，但那些经历让我感到失望，它们的水平既粗糙又未经提炼。

I also appreciated the vastness: the sense that I have all the space I could ever want and that no one could intrude it. I liked how clean everything was, how efficient; how there were no powercuts; how the ferries and any other form of public transportation ran on schedule, and how all the things I needed were always available.
And I liked how manual labor was honored and not disdained like in India. Not everyone was rushing to find a job in an air-conditioned office—there was pride in being able to make or repair things with one’s hands, even if other jobs paid more.
 
我也很欣赏这里的辽阔：我感到自己拥有了无限的空间，一个无人能够打扰的私人领域。我对这里的一切都感到满意，环境的清洁、高效的生活，没有电力中断的烦恼，公共交通工具如渡轮般总是准时运行，我所需的一切物品也总是触手可及。
我也欣赏这里对体力劳动的尊重——不同于印度的轻视。不是每个人都渴望在空调办公室工作，能够用自己的双手创造或修复东西，即使收入不如其他工作，也让人感到自豪。
 
But I dreamt about India in the nights. About the red soil, the maddening call of the common cuckoo, the honking of peacocks; about the unbridled hope of people in the face of seemingly insurmountable problems. I dreamt about the warmth and ease of people and about the spiritual vibration that seemed to permeate the land itself, that nourished a deep part of myself I had only discovered in India.
I didn’t miss the filth, the pollution or the stench; or the unreliability of everything.
I felt torn—I wanted India but with the orderliness and cleanliness of the US. Or I wanted the US but with the magic and wonder of India.
In short, I wanted something impossible.
 
然而，夜晚时分，我常常梦回印度：那里的红土地、布谷鸟的叫声、孔雀的鸣叫，以及人们面对重重困难时的乐观与希望。我梦见了人们的温暖和安逸，梦见了似乎渗透到这片土地本身的精神振动，它滋养了我在印度才发现的内心深处。
我不怀念那里的脏乱、污染和异味，也不怀念那里的不可靠。
我感到矛盾——我想要印度的活力，同时也想要美国的秩序和清洁。或者，我想要美国的便利，同时拥有印度的魔力和奇迹。
简而言之，我想要的，是一种难以实现的完美融合。
 
Alan W
I’ve always had the EXACT same feelings when coming back to Europe from India. I never stayed that long, but the longest was 8 months
The all-pervading underlying spiritual vibration of India, the colourfulness of life, the beauty of its people in all shapes and forms, the proximity of kindred souls, and yes, the red soil of Auroville! On the other hand the clean environment and clean air in Europe, quiet roads, the vastness and freedom of having all the personal space one wants, the quality, efficiency and comfort of the material aspects of life...
Yes, hard or indeed impossible to reconcile.
 
每次从印度回到欧洲，我都体验到了完全相同的感觉——虽然我在印度停留的时间从未超过8个月，但那里无处不在的灵性气息、生活的斑斓色彩、人们各式各样的美丽形态、亲近灵魂的接近，以及奥罗维尔的红土地，都让我难以忘怀。与此同时，欧洲的清新空气、干净环境、宁静的道路、广阔的个人空间以及物质生活方面的高质量、高效率和舒适，同样让我向往。
 
Ben A. Wise
Yes!
 
确实如此！
 
Jenny Hawkins
This brought tears to my eyes. I too have lived all over the world and only someone who has left their home and culture behind and felt that loss and sense of displacement can even begin to understand how disorienting it can be at first. There are so many aspects of culture we take for granted that are unspoken and it is so easy to realize you don’t even know what you don’t know. I have nothing but the deepest admiration and respect for anyone willing to make that move and take that kind of chance to make their life better. More power to you. America is lucky to have you.
 
这段话触动了我，让我泪眼朦胧。我同样在世界各地生活过，只有那些真正离开过自己的故土和文化，感受过那份失落和流离失所的人，才能开始领会那种最初的迷茫。我们往往对文化中许多不言而喻的方面视而不见，直到意识到自己对这些未知的无知，才感到震惊。对于那些敢于迈出这一步、勇于抓住机会以求更好生活的人，我怀有无比的敬意和钦佩。愿你们获得更多的力量,美国有幸拥有你们。
 
Revathy Punithan
“I wanted India but with the orderliness and cleanliness of the US. Or I wanted the US but with the magic and wonder of India. In short, I wanted something impossible.”
You clearly defined what's running in the back of my mind ALL THE TIME. Sometimes for this very reason, I feel I am unfit to live in this world. But sometimes, I am happy cause I have seen the best of both the worlds. Thank you for speaking my mind.
 
"我想要印度的活力，同时也想要美国的秩序和清洁。或者，我想要美国的便利，同时拥有印度的魔力和奇迹;简而言之，我想要的，是一种难以实现的完美融合。"
你完美地表达了我内心深处的想法。有时，正因为这个原因，我感觉自己仿佛不适合生活在这个世界上。但有时，我又感到幸福，因为我已经体验到了两个世界最好的一面;谢谢你替我发声。
 
Ben A. Wise
Thanks for sharing, Revathy. I’m surprised so many people have been able to resonate with this answer….
 
谢谢你分享，Revathy。我很惊讶有这么多人能够与这个答案产生共鸣……
 
Vivek Parupudi
The magic in India is created from chaos of daily life and finding our way happily through the chaos. Can this be juxtaposed with a calm and laid back life, a derivative of development?
 
印度的魔力来自于日常生活的混乱，以及我们在混乱中快乐地找到自己的道路。这能与平静、悠闲的生活形成对比吗，后者是发展的产物？
 
Caleb
This is very similar to my sentiments when I left Nigeria to study in England. England was peaceful scerene but incredibly lonley. Connecting with people in England was a herculian task unlike back home in Nigeria, you could not just strike a conversation with a random person making friends or more accurately aquintances takes a lot of time as the British are generally private and suspicous of new people
 
这与我离开尼日利亚去英国学习时的感受非常相似。英国的景色宁静，但非常孤独。与英国人建立联系是一项艰巨的任务，不像在尼日利亚，你可以随意与一个陌生人交谈，交朋友或更准确地说成为熟人，需要很多时间，因为英国人通常比较注重隐私，对新人持怀疑态度。
 
Ben A. Wise
Yes, very much agreed, Caleb.
 
是的，非常赞同这个观点，Caleb。
 
Rozalin Mohanty
This is so beautifully articulated. I felt overwhelmed after reading your post because it so perfectly describes the 'reverse culture shock' I always get when I return from my long annual holidays in India where I was born, to Singapore where I live. You can imagine just how much more pronounced these feelings were for me- Singapore is much more orderly and quiet than the US!

这段文字表述得太美了,读完你的分享，我深受触动，因为它如此精准地捕捉了我每次在印度度过悠长的年假后，返回新加坡时所感受到的那种“逆文化冲击”。我在新加坡生活，而印度是我的出生地。你可以想象，对于我而言，这种感觉是多么的强烈——新加坡比美国更有秩序、更安静、更干净。

Growing up I never knew how to pinpoint what exactly it was that made me so sad about leaving India in particular. For the first few days it just felt like giant arms had plucked me out of a lively party and thrown me into a silent cell. I'm not even kidding- but depression is mostly in your own head so that's how I perceived the contrast in my surroundings. And then there would be the same longing. “What if… there were a country with the X of India and the Y of Singapore?” I still hope for a better India in the years to come so that I might go and live there independently one day.
Fortunately, these negative feelings and wishful thinking vanished when I got busy with work and had no time to think about anything else.
 
从小到大，我一直不知道到底是什么让我对离开印度感到如此悲伤。在最初的几天里，我感觉就像一只巨大的手臂把我从一个热闹的聚会中拽出来，扔进了一个安静的牢房。我绝对没有开玩笑——抑郁往往源自个人的内心感受，这正是我如何体会到周围环境差异的方式。随之而来的是一种持续的渴望：“如果存在一个国家，它既有印度的活力，又有新加坡的秩序，那该多好？”我依然期待着印度未来能变得更加美好，这样我就有机会有一天能够在那里自由地生活。
幸运的是，当我忙于工作，没有时间考虑其他事情时，这些消极的感觉和一厢情愿的想法就消失了。
 
Ben A. Wise
Hi Rozalin, thank you for the comment. It’s difficult for me to imagine the contrast growing starker, i.e. with Singapore being even more orderly and quite and clean than the US.
Your descxtion of leaving and the depression is beautiful. That’s how I felt the first time I came back to Israel from India….
 
嗨，Rozalin，谢谢你的评论。我很难想象对比会更加鲜明，比如新加坡比美国更有秩序、更安静、更干净。
你对离开印度和抑郁的描述很美。这就是我第一次从印度回到以色列时的感受……
 
Tara Ramanan
Beautifully articulated!! I completely agree. When I came to the US to study, I felt the same thing. There was too much order and everything followed a very predictable routine in the US. It made it a little … um… ‘boring’. In India there was always something ‘intetesting’ going on. Even catching a bus had that little bit of a challenge to your day. Will I be able to get on the crowded bus? Will the traffic allow me to reach on time? When will the bus be here? And accomplishing small things just made the day more interesting because I can't predict them. But I don't miss the pollution and the garbage of India. I love having the convenience and efficiency of services and facilities in the US. It the US everything is ‘too convenient’ and clean. But the ‘hi how are you’ greetings seemed forced because in reality people valued privacy and their space too much. I too wish that there was a balance between both of these!!
 
描述得太美了！我完全赞同。当我来美国学习时，我也有同样的感觉。美国有太多的秩序，一切都遵循着非常可预测的例行程序。这让它有点……嗯……“无聊”。在印度，总是有“有趣”的事情在发生。即使是赶公共汽车对你的一天来说也是一个小小的挑战。我能挤上拥挤的公交车吗？交通会让我准时到达吗？公交车什么时候来？那些日常小事的完成，因为不可预测性而让生活充满了趣味。然而，我并不留恋印度的污染和杂乱。在美国，我享受着服务和设施带来的便捷和高效。美国的一切都过于便利、过于洁净。但那种“嗨，你好吗”的问候往往显得有些生硬，因为实际上，人们更加看重自己的隐私和个人空间。我同样希望，在这两种生活方式之间能找到一种均衡。
 
Ben A. Wise
Haha! Yes, I can relate!
 
哈哈！是的，我能感同身受！
 
Jay Patel
Thanks a lot for this answer! You’ve described exactly how Indian immigrants/expats feel about moving to a developed country.
 
非常感谢这个答案！你准确地描述了印度移民/外籍人士搬到发达国家的感受。
 
Ben A. Wise
Thanks for the comment! I’m surprised it seemed to capture a somewhat universal sentiment…
 
谢谢你的评论！我很惊讶它似乎捕捉到了某种普遍的情绪……
 
Jay Reeves
Well written, honest and unbiased. I lived in Tamil Nadu for 5 years though I am from Kerala.
I am now based in London; at least for the next few years I will be staying here.
This is not America but I do share your concluding notes. I want an India which is clean, which honours craftsmanship and manual labour, more clean and less smelly, a reliable transportation system, and a little bit more order in the chaos.
I miss everything about India. Sometime I sit back and reflect on our culture a lot. I love my country and its culture more than anything now. More than love I have grown to live with more awareness about it.
I get more comfort here. I get things done quicker, faster and effectively. With due respect to my current host, what I miss cannot the found here.
 
这帖子写得非常真诚，中肯且没有偏见。虽然我是喀拉拉邦人，但在泰米尔纳德邦生活了五年。
目前我居住在伦敦，预计至少未来几年都会留在这里。
虽然这里不是美国，但我赞同文章中的一些结论性看法。我期望的印度是一个干净、尊重手艺和体力劳动的地方，空气清新，交通系统可靠，混乱中也有一定的秩序。
我对印度的一切充满怀念。有时我会静坐反思我们的文化，我如今对祖国和它的文化怀有深深的热爱，这份爱超越了单纯的情感，我学会了更加自觉地去感受和体验它。
在这里，我得到了更多的舒适，事情也能更迅速、高效地完成。尽管对我现在居住的国家表示尊敬，但我怀念的东西在这里是找不到的。
 
Ben A. Wise
Hi Jagadeesh, yes, I can completely relate to what you’re saying. And I especially miss the vibration that is found in Pondicherry
 
嗨，Jagadeesh，是的，我完全能理解你所说的。我特别怀念在本地治里感受到的那种氛围。
 
Shaju Edamana
Feels so nostalgic after going through your read….you definitely got a passion for writing, even can start a blog, if you do not own already….salute your positivity for not to project the poverty, malnutrition as well as corruption….you are a great human to find such a comparison which can be difficult to find even by the natives…
 
阅读了你的文字后，我感到非常怀旧……你对写作充满热情，或许可以开设自己的博客……我钦佩你的积极态度，没有将贫困、营养不良和腐败展现出来……你真是个了不起的人，能够捕捉到连本地人都难以察觉的细微比较……
 
Ben A. Wise
Thank you, Shaju, although I also write about the disturbing things I’ve seen in India…
 
谢谢你，Shaju，不过我也写了一些在印度看到的令人不安的事情……
 
Zzzzzz
I can never live in a super quiet place with no one to talk to except at the work place. And discovering my neighbours after 9 months. I would rather live in my exciting chaotic unpredictable India though I hv to sacrifice the cleanliness aspect and noisy unpredictable daily life.
Btw my neighbours kids eat more of the biscuits at my house than I do. Lol.
 
我无法想象自己能生活在一个极其安静、除了工作场所外无人可谈的地方，甚至在九个月后才认识邻居。我更愿意生活在充满活力、混乱且不可预测的印度，尽管这意味着我必须放弃对清洁度的追求和应对喧闹且不可预测的日常生活。
顺便一提，我邻居的孩子在我家吃的饼干比我吃的还要多，哈哈。
 
Manjiri Kulkarni Gadekar
Wow!Your answer left me without words.I wish I could express myself so beautifully! When I came to Charlotte,USA from my home in Pune,India,the one thought that haunted me was “why did I live such a full life and come here in this soltitude?”But gradually I came to terms to the American way of life.The one thing I admire the most over here is that there is a sense of fairness in most of the people over here which is kind of missing back home.
 
哇，你的回答让我感动得说不出话来。我真希望自己也能如此优雅地表达自己的想法。我从印度普纳的温馨家园搬到美国夏洛特时，心中一直萦绕着一个问题：“我为何要放弃那里充实的生活，来到这个孤独的地方？”但随着时间的推移，我逐渐适应并接受了美国的生活方式。在这里，我最钦佩的是人们普遍具有的公平意识，这在我的家乡是相当罕见的。
 
Ben A. Wise
Hi Manjiri, I’m glad you could relate to my experience. And yes, I agree with you, there is, in certain facets, more of an evenness and quality in the US.
 
嗨，Manjiri，很高兴你能与我的经历产生共鸣。确实，我赞同你的观点，在很多方面，美国确实更为平等和更具素质。a