Chinese · Episode 41
Packing for Earth
Spoken by 晓星
Packing one bag for a term of heavy air: which shoes, which spare parts, and the garden smell she hides in a pocket.
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明天去上海，我今天坐在床边收拾包。 Tomorrow I'm going to Shanghai, so today I'm sitting by the bed packing my bag.
一个学期的东西，得装进这一个包里。 A whole semester's stuff has to fit in this one bag.
妈妈让我少带一点，说到了地球， Mom told me to pack light, saying that on Earth,
背起来可比在月亮上重多了。 it'll feel way heavier than on the Moon.
鞋子我留了两双，一双平时穿，另一双底硬一点， I kept two pairs of shoes—one for everyday, the other with harder soles,
走远路的时候换着穿。 to switch to on long walks.
陈师傅说地球上走多了脚疼，我问他去过没有， Master Chen said walking a lot on Earth makes your feet hurt. I asked if he'd been there,
他说也是听人讲的。 and he said he'd only heard it from others.
妈妈还给了我一个小盒子， Mom also gave me a small box,
里面装着备用的小零件，又让我带上一双手套。 with spare little parts inside, and told me to bring a pair of gloves too.
我的身体有些地方可能要用到这些， Some parts of my body might need these,
她让我放到包的最里面，别随手拿出来弄丢了。 She told me to put them deep in the bag so I wouldn't casually pull them out and lose them.
小美坐在旁边，看我放了又拿， Xiaomei sat beside me, watching me pack and unpack,
问这么一点东西真的够吗。 asking if this little bit was really enough.
我说：“不够到了再想办法，包已经快装不下了。 I said, "If it's not enough, I'll figure it out when I get there. The bag's almost full already.
” "
她又问：“那你给我带的海，回来放哪儿？” She asked again, "Then where will you put the ocean you bring back for me?"
我说海装不进去，她就碰了碰我的腿， I said the ocean won't fit, so she tapped my leg,
让我至少把味道记住。 telling me to at least remember the smell.
哥哥还在外面干活，今天回不来， My brother is still out working and won't be back today,
我把收好的包拍给他看。 so I sent him a photo of my packed bag.
快收完的时候，妈妈又从花园拿来一片小叶子， When I was nearly done, Mom brought a small leaf from the garden,
让我放进口袋里。 and told me to put it in my pocket.
我问带这个干什么， I asked what for,
她说：“想家的时候拿出来闻闻。” and she said, "When you miss home, take it out and smell it."
我放进左边的口袋， I put it in my left pocket,
低头就闻到了一点花园的味道。 and looking down I caught a bit of the garden's scent.
这回没再拿出来。包里装得满满的， This time I didn't take it out again. The bag was packed full,
口袋里这一片倒一点也不重。 but this leaf in my pocket wasn't heavy at all.