Unit 7 The Joy of Travel

Transformative Travel

Twenty-five years ago I felt like a wreck. Although I was just 23, my life already seemed over. The future appeared as much like a wasteland as the emptiness I could see while looking back to the past. I felt lost, without choices, without hope.

I was stuck in a job I hated and trapped in an engagement with a woman I didn't love. At the time, both commitments seemed like a good idea, but I suppose it was the fantasy of being a successful, married businessman that appealed to me far more than the reality.

I decided to take a class just for the entertainment value. It happened to be an introductory counseling course, one that involved personal sharing in the group. We were challenged to make commitments publicly about things we would like to change in our lives, and in a moment of pure impulsiveness, I declared that by the next class meeting I was going to quit my job and end my engagement.

A few days later I found myself unemployed and unattached, excited by the freedom, yet terrified about what to do next. I needed some kind of transition from my old life to a new one, a sort of ritual that would help me to transform myself from one person into another. So I did something just as impulsive as my previous actions: I booked a trip for a week in Aruba.

In spite of what others might have thought, I was not running away from something but to something. I wanted a clean break, and I knew I needed to get away from my usual environment and influences so as to think clearly about where I was headed.

Once settled into my room on the little island of Aruba, I began my process of self-change. I really could have been anywhere as long as nobody could reach me by phone and I had the peace and quiet to think about what I wanted to do. I spent the mornings going for long walks on the beach, the afternoons sitting under my favorite tree, reading books and listening to tapes. Probably most important of all, I forced myself to get out of my room and go to meet people. Ordinarily shy, I now decided that I was someone who was perfectly capable of having a conversation with anyone I chose. Since nobody knew the "real" me, the way I had always been, I felt free to be completely different.

It took me almost a year to pay off that trip, but I am convinced that my single week in Aruba was worth three years in therapy. That trip started a number of processes that helped me to transform myself. This is how I did it:

I created a mindset that made me ready for change. I expected that big things were

on the horizon, that a trip such as this could change my life. I believed with all my heart that I could change, if only I could find a quiet place to sort things out and experiment with new ways of thinking and acting.

I insulated myself from the usual influences in my life and the people whose approval was most important. One of the reasons that therapy often takes so long is that, once you leave the safety and support of a session, you reenter the world where familiar people elicit the familiar reactions. By separating myself from others' approval and influences, I was able to think more clearly about what I really wanted.

I structured my time in order to produce change and growth. Solitude, isolation, or new environments in themselves are not enough; you must also complete tasks that are relaxing and educational. The most important part of any therapy is not what you understand or what you talk about, but what you do. Insight without action is entertaining but not always helpful. Instead of reading novels and calling home regularly, I took the time to participate in different activities that would make me change.

I pushed myself to experiment with new ways of being. I sampled alternative lifestyles and pretended to be a different person. I acted in unfamiliar ways just to see how it felt. Whatever I would usually do in various circumstances, I forced myself to do the opposite. This reinforced the idea that anything was possible, that I could do anything I wanted.

I made public commitments of what I intended to do so it would be harder to back down. There were times when I wanted to avoid doing those things I found most frightening. Until this trip, I had never traveled to a strange place deliberately alone. Whenever I thought about taking safe routes, I imagined that I would soon have to face my classmates and that I would have to explain my actions to them.

I processed my experiences systematically. I wrote in a journal each day and spoke to people I met about what I was doing and why. When I returned, I talked to several people I trusted about what had taken place. Each of them offered a different perspective that I valued and found useful in incorporating the experience into my life.

I made changes when I returned that continued the transformation that started while I was in Aruba. It is easier to make changes when you are away from home than to maintain the changes after you return. To make sure I didn't slip back into old patterns, I immediately made new decisions about my work and my relationships that kept me moving forward.

I decided that much of my future traveling would have some transformative dimension to it. Although it is possible to make extraordinary progress in a single week,

transformative change takes place over a lifetime. I promised myself that I would make other trips from time to time in order to continue my growth.

新生之旅

25年前我感觉自己成了废物。尽管那时我只有23岁，但我的生活似乎到了尽头。我的未来看起来好似荒漠，就像回顾过去时，看到的是一片空虚。我感到迷茫，毫无选择余地，毫无希望可言。

我当时被困在两件事中：做着一份我憎恨的工作，并与一个我并不爱的女人订有婚约。当初，两个承诺都好像是不错的主意，但是我想吸引我的只是成为一个成功的已婚商人的幻想，而远非现实。

我决定进修一门课程，仅仅为了好玩而已。这刚好是一门咨询入门课程，需要个人参与到集体中去。（这门课程）要求我们对生活中要进行的变动做出公开承诺。出于一时冲动，我宣布在下次上课之前，我会辞去工作并解除婚约。

几天后，我失业了，也解除了婚约，为获得的自由而兴奋，但又因为不知道下一步做什么而惶恐。我需要某种从旧生活到新生活的转变，一种有助于我从一种人转型为另一种人的（必不可少的）程序。于是我做了一件与我前面的行为同样冲动的事情：我预定了到阿鲁巴岛为期一周的旅行。

不管别人会有什么样的想法，但是我并不是在逃避现实，而是在追求未来。我想有一个彻底的决裂，而且我知道我需要离开自己熟悉的环境，摆脱原来的影响，以便考虑清楚自己将何去何从。

在阿鲁巴小岛上的房间里一安顿下来，我就开始了自我改变的进程。其实只要没人能打电话找到我没让我能平静安宁地思考我想做的事，我到哪里去都可以。上午我在海滩上长时间地散步，下午则坐在我喜爱的树下看书，听录音磁带。最重要的也许是我强迫自己走出房间去与别人交往。平常我很腼腆，但这时我确信自己是一个完全能和任何人交谈的人。因为没人了解“真实的”我，知道我过去的样子，所以，我感到自己可以自由自在，一改常态。

我用了将近一年的时间才付清那趟旅行的费用，但是我相信在阿鲁巴岛上仅仅一周的效果就相当于三年的治疗。那次旅行启动了一系列有助于自我转变的过程。以下是我具体的做法：

我让自己在精神状态上做好了转变的准备。我期待重大的事情将会来临，期待这样的旅行会改变我的生活。我真心实意地相信我会转变，只要我能找一个安静的地方来理清头绪，来尝试新的思维和行事方法。

我使自己摆脱了那些常常对我生活会用影响的事，远离那些非要得到其首肯的人。治疗之所以往往需要很长的时间，原因之一是，一旦给予你安全感和帮助的一个疗程结束后，你重新又回到了原来的世界，那儿你的熟人会诱使你重蹈覆辙。通过把自己置身于别人的肯定和影响之外，我能对自己真正想要的东西有更加清楚的认识。

我把时间安排好，以便使自己开始转变并取得进展。仅仅依靠独居、隔绝或者全新的环境是不够的；你还必须完成那些轻松而又能使自己受教育的任务。任何一种疗法的关键不在于你领悟到什么或谈论了什么，而在于你做了什么。未付诸行动的认识固然可喜，但往往无助于事。我没有把时间花在看小说和定期给家里打电话上面，而是花在能促使我自己转变的种种活动之中。

我敦促自己尝试新的生存方式。我体验不同的生活方式，佯装自己是另一个人。我采用有别于从前的行为方式来体验自己的感受。同时，在各种情况下，不管我通常会怎样做，我总是迫使自己反其道而行之。这进一步坚定了我的想法：世上无难事，只要我想要做的事，我都能够做到。

我就自己想做的事情做公开的承诺，这样我就没有退缩的余地了。对于那些让我非常害怕的事情，我有过想回避不干的念头。在这次旅行之前，我从没有特地一个人外出旅行过。每当我想走保险棋的时候，我就会想到马上不能不面对我的同学，要对自己的行为做出解释。

我系统地分析我的经历。我每天写日记，并且告诉我遇到的人自己正在做什么以及为什么这样做。旅行归来之后，我和几个我信任的人谈论所发生的事情。他们中的每个人都有独到的见解，这些见解都弥足珍贵，而且我发现他们的见解有助于我把这种经历融入到我生活中去。

我回来后做了一些改变，使我能够把在阿鲁巴岛上开始的自我改造继续下去。当你离家在外时做些改变比较容易，而回来后要保持这些变化就难了。为了保证自己不重新回到老路上去，回来后我马上对自己的工作和与他人的关系做出了新的决定，这些决定会继续推动我前进。

我决定我将来的很多旅行将会具有自我改造的意义。尽管在短短的一星期之内也可能取得惊人的进展，但是自我改造的过程将贯穿于一生之中。我向自己保证我将不时地去旅行，以便不断地取得进步。

The Romance of Train Travel

If there is one main characteristic of the modern world that makes our lives different from our grandparents, it is probably speed. We are always on the move, and we don't have much patience with slow systems of transportation. We want to get there, and we want to do it fast! Carmakers, airline owners, and the planners of mass transit systems all share a common goal. They are all trying to provide us with faster and faster ways to reach our destinations.

Nevertheless, many of us actually want to slow down. Although we complain when our plane isn't on schedule or when we have to wait in a traffic jam, we also complain about always being in a hurry. Every once in a while, we hear the sound of a train

whistle—clear and high in the night air—and we feel sad. There is a strong sense of nostalgia for other places and other times, when life was slower and, perhaps, better.

Why does a train whistle bring on a feeling of nostalgia? Perhaps it's because many of us remember a favorite novel or movie that took place on a train, and the story told of danger and excitement. There's a sense of romance about a train that simply doesn't exist on a modern jet plane. Several railroad companies are taking advantage of the nostalgia for train travel: They are offering unique tours for travelers who aren't in a hurry and who enjoy the romance of the past.

For almost a hundred years, the famous Orient Express carried royalty, the rich, spies, and dangerous international criminals. It was the scene of mystery, crime, and often history. But after World War II, when air travel became popular, it never got back its old sense of romance, and it finally went out of business in 1977. Soon after that, however, an American businessman began to buy the old Orient Express cars and fix them up. He restored the train to its former condition, and since 1982, the train has run twice a week from London to Venice and back. Although the twenty-four-hour trip doesn't offer the danger and excitement—the adventure—of the past, it offers luxury: rich dark wood, fresh flowers, champagne, very special food, and live entertainment in a bar car with a piano.

Another famous excursion by train is the Trans-Siberian Special, which makes just three trips each summer from Mongolia to Moscow. As passengers board the train at the beginning of their trip, they toast one another with Russian vodka at a welcoming party. For the next week they cross the former Soviet Union with occasional stops for sightseeing in big cities and small villages. In addition, there is a bonus on this trip; this extra advantage is a daily lecture on board the train in which an expert explains Russian history and culture to the passengers.

If you are looking for fun and adventure, you might want to try the "Mystery Express", which runs from New York to Montreal, Canada. This trip interests people who have always wanted to play a role in an Agatha Christie play or a Sherlock Holmes detective novel. A typical journey on the Mystery Express offers the opportunity to solve a challenging murder mystery right there on the train. In the middle of the night, for instance, there might be a gunshot; soon, the passengers learn that there has been a "murder" on board. For the rest of the trip, everyone on board participates in solving this mystery by exchanging information and opinions about the crime. By the time the train has pulled into Montreal, the traveling "detectives" will have figured it out and caught the "criminal." Of course, no real crime takes place. The "murderer"—as well as several other

passengers—are actually actors. The trip is a safe, entertaining, and very creative weekend game.

If you're looking for variety and beauty on a train journey, you might want to try the trains of India. The Indian government offers several special tours. One, a fifty-mile trip on the famous "Toy Train," takes seven hours one way. The train travels through rich, luxurious forests with flowers, trees, and more than six hundred varieties of birds. Before it reaches its destination, it makes several stops so that passengers can take photographs or have picnics if they want to.

Another tour, "Palace on Wheels," is for travelers with more time and money. Each of the luxurious cars on this train used to belong to an Indian prince. For seven days, passengers go sightseeing to palaces and cities where musicians, camels, and women with flowers meet them.

Perhaps the most unusual Indian train is "The Great Indian Rover," for travelers who are interested in religion. On this six-day tour from Calcutta, passengers travel to a town in Nepal, where Buddha was born, and also to the place where Prince Gautama sat under the bodhi tree and became Buddha.

浪漫的火车旅行

如果说现代世界有一个重要特点能使我们的生活与祖辈的生活不同，那可能就是速度。我们总是在不停地奔波，我们没有耐心忍受速度慢的交通工具。我们想去一个地方，就得快点儿到那儿。汽车制造商、航空公司老板以及大运力公共交通系统都有一个共同的目标。他们总是想方设法让我们越来越快地到达目的地。

然而，我们当中也有很多人实际上想慢下来。尽管飞机不准点我们抱怨，交通受阻我们抱怨，但我们也抱怨自己总是来去匆匆。有时，当我们在夜晚听到清晰而高亢的火车汽笛声时，总会感到忧伤。心中有一种强烈的怀旧感，怀念往事、他乡，那时日子过得比现在慢，也许是更美好。

为什么火车的汽笛声会引起怀旧感呢？也许是因为我们中间有许多人记得自己最喜爱的小说或电影的背景是在火车上，故事里有危险和令人兴奋的情景。有一种关于火车的浪漫情愫是在现代喷气式飞机上根本不存在的。有好几家铁路公司正在利用人们对火车旅行的怀旧心理：为那些不急着赶时间又喜欢过去那种浪漫的人提供独特的旅游观光。

将近有一百年的时间，著名的“东方快车”运载过王室成员、富人阔佬、间谍分子以及危险的国际罪犯。这里是疑案和罪行发生的现场，也是经常见证历史的地方。但在二战以后，当飞机旅行变得流行起来时，它再也没有了那种老式的浪漫，最终在1977年倒闭。然而没过多久，一个美国商人着手购买并整修了老“东方快车”的车厢。他把火车修复成原来的样子。从1982年起，火车每周在伦敦和威尼斯之间开两个来回。尽管这24小时的旅程并

无过去的那种危险和激动，或者说历险，但它极尽奢华：深艳色的木制装潢、鲜花、香槟、非常独特的伙食、酒吧车厢里有钢琴伴奏的现场表演。

另一个著名的短途火车旅游项目是“跨西伯利亚专列”，每年夏天从蒙古到莫斯科仅开三趟。当登上列车开始旅行时，旅客们就有一个欢迎会，互相祝酒畅饮俄罗斯伏特加。在接下来的一周里，他们穿过前苏联，不时在大城市和小村庄停下观光。除此之外，这趟旅行还有一个意外收获，就是车上每天有讲座，由译为专家向旅客讲解俄罗斯历史和文化。

如果你想找乐子。冒险，你也许会要乘一下“神秘特快”，该车从纽约开往加拿大的蒙特利尔。那些总想在阿加莎·克里斯蒂的剧本里伙食在夏洛克·福尔摩斯侦探小说中扮演一个角色的人们对这趟旅行特别感兴趣。典型的“神秘特快”之旅会给乘客们提供机会，让他们侦破一起发生在这列火车上的难解的谋杀谜案。比如，午夜时分枪声响起，很快乘客们知道车上发生了“谋杀案”。在本次旅行的其余时间里，车上的每个人都来参与侦破这个案子，相互交换与此案有关的信息和意见。当火车进入蒙特利尔站时，这些在旅行的“侦探们”会侦破“案子”，抓到“罪犯”。当然并没有真正的罪案发生，“凶手”以及好几个其他乘客实际上都是演员。这种旅行安全、娱乐性很强，是一种极富创意的周末游戏。

如果你想追求火车旅行丰富多彩的生活和美不胜收的景色，你也许可以坐坐印度的火车。印度政府提供了好几种特别旅程。著名的“休闲火车”之旅，全程50英里，单程要花7个小时。这趟列车穿过有鲜花、树木以及600多种鸟类的茂盛森林。在到达目的地前，它还会停靠好几个站，以便乘客们拍照或是野炊。

另一种叫做“车轮上的宫殿”的旅行是为有更多时间和金钱的旅客提供的。该列出的每个豪华车厢过去都属于某位印度王子。在7天的时间里，乘客们会去宫殿、城市观光，那儿有乐师、骆驼以及手捧鲜花的女子迎接他们。

也许最不寻常的印度列车是“伟大的印度漫游者”号，它是给那些对宗教感兴趣的人准备的。在这趟从加尔各答出发为期6天的旅行中，旅客们会去尼泊尔的一个小镇，那里是佛陀的出生之地，还会去乔达摩王子在菩提树下修炼成佛的地方。

Aruba

"The greatness of our people is their great cordiality" is a line from the national anthem of Aruba, and from the moment one sets foot on this beautiful island in the center of the blue Caribbean Sea, this will be found to be true. The Arubans, descended from native Arawak Indians and Spanish and Dutch settlers, offer a warm welcome at any time of the year, but they show unusual hospitality and special happiness during the New Year's holiday, when the island's many gambling casinos and night clubs as well as other types of entertainment places celebrate the New Year with great festivity and warmth. A spectacular midnight fireworks display will add to the celebration and musicians will

walk from house to house singing good-luck greetings for the New Year.

But before putting on a party dress (dressing up is expected at Aruba's night clubs) one should see the island's many spectacular daytime attractions. Sunbathers and swimmers can stretch out on seven miles of beautiful sunny beaches. They can also head to the northern coast with its uncrowded beaches and snow-white sand dunes. Divers will marvel at one of the Caribbean's largest shipwrecks, a 400-foot World War II German freighter that was abandoned by its crew and later sank off one of the famous beaches. Experienced divers will want to explore the notorious CALIFORNIA, the only ship that received the sinking TITANIC's distress signals in that Atlantic Ocean tragedy. Unfortunately, the CALIFORNIA failed to respond, thus it will be known forever as the "notorious" CALIFORNIA. Experienced windsurfers can ride the fast-moving waves off the island, but beginners will want to try the calmer, shallower water near the shore, and divers will find many reefs full of colorful undersea life including coral, marine worms, and fish of unbelievable variety in color, shape and size. Aruba also has many sports facilities for sailing, deep-sea fishing, water-skiing, golf, tennis, horseback riding, and less demanding activities like shuffle-board, table tennis, and countless board and card games

Of course, there's more to Aruba than sunny beaches and nightclubs. The island boasts a fascinating history and has many historic sites to show for it. These range from the Stone Age cave-wall drawings at the National Park to the marvelous 20th-century Dutch architecture in the capital city. For natural wonders, there are the back roads of the northern coast where strange looking trees and rock formations can be seen. The Natural Bridge, a dramatic coral structure 100 feet long and rising 25 feet above sea level, is also a favorite scene along the northern coast road. And if a woman forgets to bring her beautiful dress for New Year's, there is no big worry—Aruba is a shopper's paradise. There are wonderful boutiques and duty-free stores throughout the capital and in the more than a dozen shopping malls and many luxury hotels. If one is dressed for an elegant evening of entertainment, the casinos are places where one can place bets and hope to win a fortune. Win or lose, a person is always lucky while visiting the fantastic island of Aruba!

Caribbean beaches are famous, but the cordiality experienced in Aruba makes it a true jewel in the crown of Caribbean islands.

阿鲁巴岛

“我们人民的伟大之处在于他们非常热情友好”是阿鲁巴岛国歌中的一句。阿鲁巴岛位于蓝色的加勒比海中部，从人们一踏上这座美好的岛屿开始，就感到这句话确实名副其实。

阿鲁巴人系当地阿拉瓦克印第安人、西班牙以及荷兰定居者的后裔。他们无论何时都会热情地欢迎游客，但在新年时他们显得格外地好客和非同寻常地快乐。届时，岛上的许多赌场、夜总会和其它娱乐场所都用盛大的庆典活动和空前的热情欢庆新年。壮观的物业烟花表演也增添了庆典的气氛。音乐家们还会走家串户，唱贺新年好运。

但在穿上晚礼服（去夜总会）之前（阿鲁巴的夜总会要求参加者盛装出席），人们应该先在白天看看岛上众多壮丽的景观。美丽的海滩阳光充足，长达7英里，日光浴者和游泳者可以在这里躺下了放松休息。他们也可以去北部海岸，那儿的沙滩人少，还有雪白的沙丘。那儿还有一艘加勒比海最大的失事船，会让潜水者们感到惊诧不已；这艘二战时期的德国货船长400英尺，被船员们遗弃后在一个著名的海滩附近沉默。有经验的潜水者还会想探查以下臭名昭著的加利福尼亚号。在那次大西洋海难悲剧中，它是唯一收到正在沉默的泰坦尼克号求救信号的船只。不幸的是，加利福尼亚号没作出反应，因此它将永远被作为“臭名昭著的”加利福尼亚号而闻名。有经验的冲浪者还能乘风破浪离开阿鲁巴岛，而初学者可以在相对平静的靠近海岸一带的较浅水域一试身手。潜水者还会发现很多礁石，那里满是五颜六色的水下生物：有珊瑚、海虫以及色彩各异、大大小小、奇形怪状的鱼类。阿鲁巴岛上还有许多运动设施，可进行帆船、深海钓鱼、滑水、高尔夫、网球、骑马等运动，还可以进行不太剧烈的运动，如打圆盘游戏、乒乓球以及数不清的棋牌类游戏等。

当然，阿鲁巴岛不仅有阳光海滩和夜总会。她还拥有自己引以自豪的迷人历史并拥有许多可展现历史的古迹：从位于国家公园的石器时代的洞内壁画直到位于首府的20实际无与伦比的荷兰建筑。要看自然景观，可以去北海岸的小路，那儿随处可见奇形怪状的树木和岩石造型。“天然桥”长100英尺，高出海平面25公尺，由神奇的珊瑚构成，是北海岸上大家喜欢的风景之一。如果某位女士忘了带自己美丽的新年服装，不必担心——阿鲁巴岛是购物者的天堂，在其首府、十多个购物中心以及许多豪华旅馆里，都有几号的时装精品店和免税商店。如果你精心打扮想去度过一个高雅的娱乐之夜，赌场是你可以下赌注并抱有赢钱希望的地方。无论输赢，在浏览迷人的阿鲁巴岛时人们永远是非常幸运的。

加勒比海的海滩是很有名的，但是在阿鲁巴岛所感受的友好热情使该岛成为加勒比海岛屿王冠上名副其实的明珠。