一位年轻的美国女性谈论美国的文化

Alissa Johnson
I am a young American female and I truly love America. I am well-traveled and educated. I have lived in Germany. Traveled in Europe, Central, and South America. After traveling, reading books, building relationships with people from all over the world - I have come to realize that America is a very special place. Based on my personal experience, my friendships with people from all over (Norway, South Africa, Germany, UK, Australia, Uruguay, etc etc), and observation - these are the reasons why I love this place.
Maggie Thatcher says Europe was created by history but America by philosophy. It's that philosophy that I love.
 
我是一名年轻的美国女性，我深深地爱着美国。我游历过很多地方，受过良好的教育，曾在德国生活过，也游历过欧洲、中美洲和南美洲。在旅行、阅读和与世界各地的人们建立友谊的过程中，我逐渐认识到美国是一个特别的地方。基于我个人的经历，与来自挪威、南非、德国、英国、澳大利亚、乌拉圭等国家的朋友们的交往，以及我的观察，我总结出了我热爱这片土地的原因。
玛格丽特·撒切尔曾经说过，欧洲是由历史塑造的，而美国是由哲学塑造的。正是这种哲学精神让我深爱着美国。
 
1) The Freedom to be who you want to be. It's so freeing. In Portland, there is a large Russian Orthodox Evangelical Christian community. They came to America to practice their religion as Russia did not allow that. They have that freedom here. You wanna be Amish? Go be Amish then. You wanna ride around on a double-decker bike? Go for it. You have the freedom to be who you are. Also, we are a very individualistic country so we value being different. Differences are celebrated not looked upon with disdain. You eat shishkabob for lunch instead of a salad? That's awesome! Cool! (It's not considered weird to have other traditions and ways of doing things)
 
成为自己想成为的人的自由。这让人感到非常自在。在波特兰，有一个庞大的俄罗斯东正教福音派基督教社群。他们来到美国是为了自由地实践他们的宗教信仰，因为在俄罗斯这是不被允许的。在这里，他们享有这样的自由。如果你想成为阿米什人？那就去吧。想骑双人自行车兜风？那就去做。你有权利成为真正的自己。此外，我们是一个非常注重个体的国家，我们珍视个性和差异。不同被看作是值得庆祝的，而不是被轻视。你午餐选择吃烤肉而不是沙拉？那太棒了！很酷！（拥有不同的传统和做事方式并不被视为怪异）
 
2) It's gorgeous here. I've been to about 15 countries and I do enjoy other cultures buuut this is far and away the prettiest country I have ever been to. We have every landscape available - tropics, fjords, prairies, mountains, desert, beach, canyons, weird rock formations, you name it… America values nature and we have preserved our National Parks. The area of our national parks is roughly the size of Germany. We have wilderness and wildlife and we as a society have chosen to treasure and preserve it. They are preserved for people to enjoy and experience the healing power of nature. It's awesome.
 
这里的风景美得令人窒息。我去过大约15个国家，虽然我也欣赏其他文化，但这是我见过的最美丽的国家。我们拥有各种地貌——热带地区、峡湾、草原、山脉、沙漠、海滩、峡谷、奇特的岩石构造，应有尽有……美国重视自然，我们保护了国家公园。国家公园的总面积大约相当于德国的大小。我们拥有荒野和野生动物，我们作为一个社会选择了珍惜和保护它们。这些公园被保留下来，让人们享受和体验自然的治愈力量，这真是太棒了。
 
3) Americans with Disabilities Act. You can't just build a public building - it has to meet code so people with disabilities can access it. That is why we have wide sidewalks, huge bathrooms in Starbucks, wheelchair ramps, elevators, and escalators. Prior to the 1970's when we didn't have this law passed - things were different. We even have laws about how long an elevator door has to be open should someone with a wheelchair need extra time to board. I love that we have restructured our whole infrastructure for the disabled. Try getting around in Europe in a wheelchair.
 
美国残疾人法案要求公共建筑必须满足特定的无障碍标准，以确保残疾人能够方便地使用。这就是为什么我们的人行道很宽敞，星巴克里有足够大的洗手间，还有轮椅坡道、电梯和自动扶梯等设施。在这项法律于1970年代通过之前，情况并非如此。我们甚至有规定电梯门必须保持开启足够时间，以便轮椅使用者能够有足够的时间进入电梯。我非常赞赏我们为残疾人士重新构建了整个基础设施的做法。相比之下，在欧洲坐轮椅出行可能会遇到更多困难。
 
4) Our Entrepreneurial Spirit. I wanted to start a therapy company. So, I bought liability insurance ($100/year), made a website, purchased a business license for a few bucks, and that was basically it. A friend of mine started her own law firm with just a few hundred bucks. It wasn't hard. We have the fewest barriers to entry regarding starting businesses than any other country I've ever been to. You don't have to take special classes or past tests to start your own business. If you want to start a coffee shop, just go get a business loan and start it. If you fail, it's up to you to pick your life up. Sure you might wreck your credit and have a rough life for awhile - but go ahead and try!
 
我们的创业精神非常强烈。我想开办一家治疗公司，于是买了责任险（每年100美元），制作了一个网站，花了一些钱办理了营业执照，基本上就这么简单。我的一个朋友仅用几百美元就开设了自己的律师事务所。在美国，创业的门槛比我去过的任何其他国家都要低。你不需要参加特别的课程或通过考试就能开始自己的生意。如果你想开咖啡店，只需去申请商业贷款,然后就可以开业。如果失败了，你得自己重新站起来。当然，你可能会损害自己的信用记录，生活可能会暂时变得艰难，但还是要勇敢尝试！
 
5) Also, we embrace failure. It's okay to fail. Better that you tried and failed than never having tried at all.
6) People are overall relaxed. You can talk to strangers on a ski lift, on the bus, or in line at the grocery store. When I've traveled to Europe - I think I weirded people out by my friendliness and smiling at people whom I don’t know.
 
我们接受失败,失败是可以接受的。尝试过然后失败，总比从未尝试过要好。
人们总体上是放松的。你可以在滑雪缆车上、公共汽车上或在杂货店排队时与陌生人交谈。当我去欧洲旅行时，我觉得“我的友好举动”和“对不认识的人微笑的举动”可能让人觉得我有点古怪。
 
7) It's diverse. I work in a school and it was "multicultural day" - I looked out onto the playground and there were all kinds of kids. Kids dressed up in traditional clothing from Mexico, Japan, China, India, etc. We invite you to bring your culture to America. We think your culture is interesting. ?If you have an accent, we're gonna be curious and say "Hey, where are you from?!"? We think diversity is interesting - we like it.
 
美国非常多元化。我在一所学校工作，那天是“多元文化日”。我望向操场，看到孩子们穿着来自世界各地的传统服装，有墨西哥、日本、中国、印度等等。我们欢迎你把你们的文化带到美国。我们对你的文化感到好奇。如果你有口音，我们可能会好奇地问：“嘿，你从哪里来？”我们认为多样性非常有趣——我们喜欢这种多元文化的氛围。
 
8) The least classed society I'm aware of. We don't have a caste system. We don't have last names that have some sort of prefix (e.g. "von" something in German indicates special status). ?Rich and poor are often mixed (although not always). We don't have distinct accents that indicate that you're more posh than other people. We do have some classism but compared to the places I've been - it's the least. We're pretty down to earth - overall.
 
我认为美国是我知道的最不阶级化的社会。我们没有种姓制度，没有带有特殊前缀的姓氏（比如德语中的“冯”表示特殊身份）。富人和穷人经常混居在一起（虽然并不总是这样）。我们没有明显的口音来区分谁比谁更高贵。虽然我们也有一些阶级观念，但与我去过的地方相比，美国是最不阶级化的。我们总体上很接地气。
 
9) American Public Education makes Americans well-rounded. In high school, we have access to track fields, basketball courts, stadiums, chess club, volunteer clubs, student council, business club, debate club, etc. Therefore, we don't focus only on academics. There are multiple aspects of being human beyond academics and our education system values that. You can learn how to sew, do woodworking, or theater in your publicly-funded local high school. Lots of extracurriculars to pick from.
 
美国公共教育使美国人全面发展。在高中，我们可以使用田径场、篮球场、体育场、国际象棋俱乐部、志愿者俱乐部、学生会、商业俱乐部、辩论俱乐部等。因此，我们不仅仅关注学术。我们的教育体系重视人类除了学术之外的多个方面。你可以在公立高中学习缝纫、木工或戏剧。有很多课外活动可供选择。
 
10) Relaxed Fashion. Nope, you don't see a ton of three-piece suits or women in high heels. We dress in fleece, jeans, and a pair of Converse shoes. Just because we don't dress fancy doesn't mean we're not successful. You really have no idea who someone is based on how they dress. The guy in a dingy t-shirt and jeans might have invented WhatsApp and is a bazillionaire.
 
随性的装扮。不，你在这里不会经常看到人们穿三件套西装或者女性穿高跟鞋。我们更喜欢穿抓绒、牛仔裤和匡威鞋。不穿得正式并不意味着我们不成功。你真的不能仅凭穿着来判断一个人。那个穿着旧T恤和牛仔裤的家伙，可能已经发明了WhatsApp，是个亿万富翁。
 
11) The Outdoors! I know I already mentioned it. But, lots of us like to put a huge backpack on and fill it up with tents, sleeping bags, freeze-dried food, etc and then go live in the wilderness for awhile. It's awesome to climb mountains, fish in our streams, and build fires out in the wilderness. Our outdoors are amazing. Alaska, Colorado, Washington, Hawaii, California, Oregon, Tennessee... Sigh... Amazing! And the great outdoors are available and accessible to be used and enjoyed. You just have to pay a few bucks for a permit and you're off!
 
户外探险！我提到过这点，但是值得再次强调。我们很多人喜欢背上重重的背包，装上帐篷、睡袋、冻干食品等等，然后去荒野中生活一段时间。攀登山峰、在溪流中垂钓、在野外生火——这些体验都非常棒。我们的自然风光令人叹为观止：阿拉斯加、科罗拉多、华盛顿、夏威夷、加利福尼亚、俄勒冈、田纳西……太神奇了！而且，这些壮丽的户外空间都是可以接触和享受的。你只需要支付一些费用获得许可证，就可以出发去探险了！
 
12) Our salaries are high. Look it up. I’m always surprised at how little people are paid in other countries.
 
我们的工资水平很高。查查就知道了，我总是对其他国家人们的工资之低感到惊讶。
 
13) Volunteerism and Generosity. I know people make a big stink about our homeless population. But that is a complex issue with history behind it. Our mental institutions were closed in the 70's with the idea of integrating mentally ill people into society and putting them in group homes. Yeah, well that didn't work. Big disaster there. The mentally ill just got lost in society. But, we have a ton of non-profits helping these people.
 
志愿服务和慷慨大方。我了解人们对于无家可归者问题有很多批评。但这是一个背后有复杂历史的问题。我们的精神病医院在70年代关闭，当时的意图是将精神病患者融入社会，并让他们住在集体之家。不过那个办法没奏效，结果造成了巨大的灾难。精神病患者就这样在社会中迷失了。但是，我们有许多非营利组织正在协助这些人群。
 
These organizations are there to help get people back on their feet. These ARE NOT government organizations. They are started by private generous Americans who want to help. Restaurants donate their leftovers to feed the homeless. Normal Americans volunteer their time in the evening and give their financial resources to help these people. I love how it's done by your average American and we're not relying on the government to help (that said, many of the programs are government subsidized, but not all).
 
这些组织致力于帮助人们重新站稳脚跟。这些并不是政府机构，而是由富有爱心的美国私人发起的。他们想要伸出援手。餐馆会捐出剩余的食物来帮助无家可归的人。普通的美国人会在晚上抽出时间做志愿者，并且捐出自己的钱财来援助这些人。我喜欢这种由普通美国人自发进行的援助方式，我们并不是完全依赖政府的帮助（尽管如此，很多这样的项目还是得到了政府的补贴，但并非全部都是）。
 
14) Variety! You go to the store and you will be overwhelmed. There are literally 100 different coffees to pick from when buying coffee. There are hundreds of different types of potato chips. A huge sextion of cheese. And, at places like Whole Foods - there is delicious hot ethnic food beckoning to be eaten!
 
多样性丰富！当你走进商店，选择多到让人应接不暇。比如买咖啡时，有足足100种不同的咖啡供你挑选。薯片有数百种不同的口味。奶酪的种类也是多到惊人。而且，在Whole Foods这样的商店里，还有各种美味的热腾腾的异国美食在吸引你去尝试！
 
15) Capitalism. That is why we have a huge variety of goods. That is why are goods are cheaper. It's due to are beautiful capitalistic economy.
 
资本主义。这就是我们商品种类繁多、价格低廉的原因。这一切都归功于我们出色的资本主义经济体系。
 
16) Honesty. We're mostly an honest bunch. You go to a place like Costa Rica and the taxi driver is going to take advantage of you, since they can. They will drive in circles around the city to drive up the cost of the taxi ride. In America, we just don't have that. We don't charge higher prices to tourists (e.g. charging $2 for a piece of pizza to a local and then charging $7 to a tourist for the same exact pizza) just because we can. It just doesn't occur to us to take advantage of others simply because we can.
 
诚实。我们大体上是一群诚实的人。你去像哥斯达黎加这样的地方，出租车司机可能会占你的便宜，因为他们有机会这么做，比如故意绕路来增加车费。但在美国，我们不会这样做。我们不会因为能够这么做就对游客收更高的价格（比如向当地人收2美元卖一块披萨，然后向游客收7美元卖同样的披萨）。我们不会仅仅因为我们有能力这么做，就去利用他人。
 
17) Guns. What's so shocking about guns? Seriously? Many of my friends/family have guns and believe it or not - nobody has EVER shot anybody. EVER! Not even once! (*gasp!*) If you're responsible enough to have a gun. Then, have a gun. Go hunting. Go do target practice. Shoot at clay pigeons. Defend yourself if you encounter a grizzly in the wilderness. Whatever. However, gun laws should be regulated so that guns are not in the hands of the mentally ill. We're working on that here guys. Check out Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly's Gun Control Campaign.
 
枪支。关于枪支有什么好惊讶的？说真的，我的很多朋友和家人都有枪，不管你信不信——从来没有人用枪伤害过别人，一次也没有！（震惊吧！）如果你足够负责任，可以拥有枪支，那就拥有吧。去打猎，去做射击练习，去打飞碟，或者在野外遇到灰熊时保护自己。怎样都行。然而，枪支法律应该有所管制，以确保枪支不会落入精神病患者手中。我们在这方面正在努力，伙计们。可以关注一下加比·吉福德斯和马克·凯利的枪支控制运动。
 
18) You can return things to a store if you don't like it. Buy a pair of shoes and not feeling it? Give them back to the store for a full refund! This is something several non-Americans told me really surprised them about America.
 
如果你对购买的商品不满意，可以将其退回商店。比如买了一双鞋，但后来觉得不合适？没关系，你可以把它们退回商店，获得全额退款！这是我从一些非美国人口里听到的，他们对美国的这一做法感到非常惊讶。‘
 
19) The Foooood!!! Ethiopian, Italian, Greek, French, Thai, Indian, Malaysian, BBQ, Chinese, Brazilian, Cuban, Jewish delis in NYC - whatever you want - we have it. And it's good! We have the best food from all over the world. Brought here by our awesome hard-working immigrants. We are grateful for the opportunity to indulge in such delicious food.
 
美食！埃塞俄比亚、意大利、希腊、法国、泰国、印度、马来西亚、烧烤、中国、巴西、古巴、纽约的犹太熟食店——无论你想要什么——我们都有，而且味道很棒！我们拥有来自世界各地的最佳美食，由我们勤劳的移民带来。我们感激有机会享受如此美味的食物。
 
20) You don't have to start out life rich in order to get rich. We have access to credit. You can get a loan to pay for college. You can get a loan to start a business. You can get a loan to buy a house (and then sell the house and reap an investment). We have credit available to give people a leg up. You don't have to be born into money to have access to money. Therefore the playing field is leveled out a bit. Access to money does not equal the same outcome however. Play your cards cleverly.
 
你并不需要生来就富有才能变得富有。我们能够获得信贷。你可以贷款去读大学，可以贷款创业，也可以贷款买房（然后卖掉房子赚取投资收益）。我们有信贷资源可以帮助人们获得一个良好的起点。你不必出生于富裕之家就能获得资金。因此，竞争环境在某种程度上变得更加公平。不过，能够获得资金并不意味着结果就会相同。所以，你需要巧妙地运用这些资源。
 
21) Health Food and Vitamin Culture. Sorry, this might just be downright weird to some but I like it. I like seeing Americans in work-out clothes with some green smoothie drink. I like the vast sextion of vitamins in your average grocery store. Everyone hikes and does yoga. Kale salads, quinoa salads, tempeh - bring it on the life giving sustenance!
 
健康食品和维生素文化。或许这对某些人来说有点奇怪，但我却很喜欢。我喜欢看美国人穿着运动装，手里拿着绿色蔬果汁。我也喜欢在普通超市里看到种类繁多的维生素产品。大家都去远足和做瑜伽。羽衣甘蓝沙拉、藜麦沙拉、印尼豆豉——这些赋予生命能量的食物，尽管来吧！
 
22) Relatively Safe. When I was in Central America, I couldn't go on a little 3-mile hike unless I hired a guard with a large gun. Sure, we have our violence, but overall I feel pretty safe to walk down a dark alley alone at night (I'm female).
 
相对安全。当我在中美洲时，我不能独自进行3英里的小徒步旅行，除非我雇了一个带枪的警卫。当然，我们也有暴力事件，但总体上，我晚上独自走在黑暗的小巷里感觉很安全（我是女性）。
 
23) We Give Second Chances. This might be my favorite thing about America because I needed a second chance. You can always try again. You screwed off in high school? Did drugs? Made some bad financial decisions? Got bad grades? Dropped out of high school? You can get your life on track relatively easily. Go to community college, take your life seriously for a bit, and you will be fine. You can go on to became a vascular surgeon despite mess-ups.
 
我们给予重新开始的机会。这可能是我最喜欢美国的原因之一，因为我自己就曾需要这样的机会。你可以不断尝试。你在高中时不务正业？吸毒？做出了一些糟糕的财务决策？成绩不好？甚至高中就辍学了？你仍然可以相对容易地让自己的生活重回正轨。去社区大学学习，开始认真对待生活，你就会好起来的。你可以继续前进，甚至成为一名血管外科医生，尽管曾经犯过错误。
 
23) Societal Acceptability about Mental Health. I know people in therapy. I myself have been to therapy. (Many, Most?) Americans view therapy, and medicines for depression, as a means of taking care of one’s self. It doesn’t mean a person is crazy or unstable. There isn’t a ton of social stigma attached to taking care of one’s mental health.
 
关于心理健康的社会接受度。我认识一些正在接受心理治疗的人，我自己也曾经接受过治疗。（许多、或者说大多数？）美国人把心理治疗和抗抑郁药物看作是自我照顾的一种手段。这并不意味着一个人疯了或者不稳定。在照顾自己的心理健康方面，并没有太多的社会偏见。
 
I’ve had relative strangers tell me they’re in therapy for anxiety and they’re not ashamed at all. Due to this, people are just happier are have a growth mindset. It’s not often that I meet cranky people who say “that’s just my personality!” Americans have this idea that we can be better than we were yesterday. Now, this isn’t true for all of America - but it’s true on the West Coast (where I live).
 
我甚至有些相对陌生的人告诉我他们正在接受焦虑治疗，而且他们对此毫不羞愧。因此，人们更加快乐，拥有成长型心态。我不太遇到那些说“这就是我的个性！”的坏脾气的人。美国人有一种观念，那就是我们可以比昨天的自己变得更好。当然，这并不是全美国的情况——但至少在我居住的西海岸是这样的。
 
24) Kombucha. Aaaah, yum! Give me those probiotics!
 
康普茶。啊，美味！给我那些益生菌！