作者：陳開文 ／ 翻譯：紅花
http://blog.sina.com.cn/lvyehonghuamei
2013年暑假，我經曆了一次奇妙的旅行。我去了位於美國中西部的科羅拉多州，並在那裏生活了一個月。最初萌生去山區當農民的想法，完全來自於與教會朋友的一次簡短談話。他的名字叫布萊德·克萊恩。他告訴我，這個暑假，他打算去哥斯達黎加的一個農場體驗生活。這對我來說簡直難以置信。
我是一個亞裔美國人，布萊德·克萊恩則是美國白人。
在我生活的北加州灣區，我還從未聽說過哪個亞裔美國人敢於有過真正意義上的冒險行動。我經曆過的戶外活動，最多不過是教會主辦、為期一周的森林夏令營活動。這對我遠遠不足，But I wanted more。
五月份時，我想好了，決定到美國農村，去體驗一種全新的生活模式。所謂全新的生活模式，就是用雙手勞動，就好像幾千年的原始勞作那樣，完全摒棄當下年輕人在激烈競爭的環境下成為被規範塑造成機器模型的生活樣式。我問布萊德如何去做，他給了一個網絡名稱叫“WWOOF”的機構。這是一個有機農場的世界組織。
WWOOF 是World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms的縮寫。是1972年在英國率先成立的一個世界範圍的組織。它的用意就是讓都市人體驗農村生活的“以工換食宿”的工作方法。
WWOOF農場的影響力，類似於Craigslist廣告網頁的操作模式。會員隻需繳納30美元的年費，就可以把自己的農場放到WWOOF網站上，提供給感興趣的人，也歡迎有興趣“以工換食宿”的愛好者參與他們的活動。
我先後在網上瀏覽了愛達荷州，蒙大納州，還有加州等地區的農場，大致了解了一些基本情況之後，決定選擇位於科羅拉多州西南地區一個小型農場。它的地理位置比較封閉，四周被其他內陸州包圍，就好比是城中之城。
心動不如行動。我開始廣發郵件與相關人士聯係，希望能找到願意接收我的人和家庭。在尋找過程中，我必須做到謹小慎微，因為大家素未平生，誰都想找到一個看著順眼，容易相處，有理性的正常人，誰都不想倒黴碰上一個動輒拿出斧頭就狂喊殺人的喪心病狂的無賴吧。
我選中了一個名叫凱利的農場主。這個人給我的最初感覺很不舒服，具體我也說不清楚，總之有些言行怪異，但還不至於嚇退我的信心。比如，凱利敲打鍵盤的時 候，喜歡隨心所欲斷句和停頓，行雲流水。這點讓我很不習慣，但是來回交流次數多了，我也就慢慢接受了他的風格。我想，也許上了些年紀的人大都如此。
通了幾次郵件後，我和凱利彼此感覺都還不錯。我決定訂票去科羅拉多。為了與別的暑期計劃不發生衝突，我選擇的登機時間為7月6號。
（未完待續。。。）
My Adventure in Colorado
Written By K.C
In July of 2013, I embarked on the most adventurous trip I have ever experience. I went to Colorado, the idea of which came from a brief conversation with an old church friend, Brody Klein. I had overheard that he was going to Costa Rica over the summer to work on a farm. This was incredibly new to me.
I am Asian American. He is not. Asian Americans in the Bay Area are not known to go on adventures to places for an extended period of time. The most outdoorsy experience would probably be a weeklong church retreat in the woods. But I wanted more. I had decided to myself in May that I wanted to experience the countryside, work with my hands, and live like how people had lived for the thousands of years before the commonplace academic training and cut throat corporate competition seen in today’s young adults. So I asked Brody how he was able to find a program to go farming and he directed me to a program called WWOOF, World Wide Organization of Organic Farms.
WWOOF operates like a Craigslist for farms. Men and women that own farms and burgeoning homesteads post their farms on WWOOF and, for a $30 annual subscription fee, browsers can view farms, their owners, and the activities that they can expect to do while on that farm. I looked in multiple areas like Idaho, Montana, areas of California, but I eventually decided on a small homestead in Southwest Colorado, near the Four Corners Region.
I emailed the host and began the interview process. We both made sure that we were not axe-murderers, sane, and likable. My host, Kelly D, struck me as quirky and a little awkward, but no red flags went off for me. He would end his sentences with multiple periods, which I thought was strange, but apparently other older folks do that over email and text messages. The interview process went smoothly and I was able to confirm and buy tickets. The date was set and I was committed. July 6th would be my departure date.
（To be continued...)
