I wake up in the morning and it takes me five minutes to get to school in my 2001 Honda Civic. In fact, I can’t imagine a better way to start my mornings than hopping in my car, turning on the stereo, and singing the latest Britney Spears single at the top of my lungs.
On the other side of the world, Wang Ting wakes up a full two hours before school begins. Daily, she treks kilometers from her home near her family’s farm to her school in the city. I wonder if she’s ever heard Britney Spears sing.
Separated by the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean and wholly different cultural values, I was first introduced to Wang Ting two summers ago by my mom and her association with ACCEF. I had recently finished my summer internship studying oncogenes at a research institute, and as I am lucky enough to have my parents provide for everything, the little money I earned was gathering dust in a bank account. My mom suggested that I use that money to support a child’s high school education in China. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that tuition cost only a hundred dollars per semester, seeing as how many of my cousins were spending extraordinary amounts to finance their education. Excited that my money would be put to good use, I transferred the money and wished the best for her high school career.
Some months later, I received a simple but meaningful email from her in English. However, one sentence caught my eye immediately: “Keeping on learning is the most important thing in one’s life.” Having been around apathetic American teenagers who could have cared less about school for most of my life, this statement was a much welcomed change. Many kids, here and elsewhere, do not treasure the opportunities that someone like Wang Ting yearns for on a daily basis. I am just as guilty as anyone else of taking these benefits for granted, but ever since I became pen-pals with her, I have been a little bit more thankful for just being able to send her emails; unlike her, I don’t have to make a special trip to an internet café. Most aren’t even as fortunate as she. Impoverished rural teenagers in China are forced to discontinue pursuing higher education because they must help their families on the farm. Otherwise, the family would go hungry. Although the basic necessities of life are the top priorities, these kids must be educated in order to escape poverty. With a high school diploma or a college degree, they can finally help bring their families out of the villages. That is why financial support is crucial; it is the extra push they need and the miraculous opportunity of which they can take advantage. This is why I decided to help Wang Ting.
She certainly wasn’t the only one who benefited. I’ve developed an amazing bond with a girl ten thousand miles away. When the earthquakes hit Sichuan, I was so worried until she emailed, assuring me that she was safe. Her admirable sense of poise when it comes to juggling school work with farm work inspires me to always do better. And whenever I think that my life is hard, she reminds me that I am much more fortunate than most kids in the world, just because I have a cell phone and an iPod.
Wang Ting passed her exams with flying colors, and I couldn’t be more proud or excited. Next year, I’ll be headed to Harvard, while she finishes her last year of high school. Though our futures couldn’t possibly be more different, I can’t help but feel they are the same: relentlessly in pursuit of learning and always trying to make our lives better, a little bit at a time.
By Zhao Zhang
每天清晨醒來,我那輛2001年產的Honda Civic 用短短的5分鍾便能將我載去學校。事實上，實在想像不出有比每天跳上車子，迫不及待的的打開音響，哼著小甜甜Britney Spears動人肺腑的歌曲更美妙的生活了。
幾乎是同一時空在地球的那頭，王婷在學校正式上課前兩小時就醒來了。日複一日，她艱苦跋涉近十公裏從她在鄉下農村的家到達她在城裏的學校。地域的閉塞不禁讓我懷疑她是否真的有聽過小甜甜優美的歌聲。
由於彼此間相隔著浩瀚的太平洋以及巨大的地域文化和價值觀的差異，我也是在兩年前的暑假才在一個偶然的機會通過我媽媽和她在ACCEF的朋友的介紹下才初識王婷的。當時我剛好在一個研究基因癌的研究機構完成暑期實習。對於我而言，我對自己父母能夠提供給我一切而感到非常幸運，自己攢的零花錢幾乎是毫無用武之地。正當我為它們被放在銀行積灰而唉聲歎息時，母親動員我拿這些錢來捐助一個家庭沒有經濟能力供其完成高中學習的中國學生。而當我得知王婷她一學期的學費隻有100美元，而不像我表兄妹們的高額學費時更是喜出望外。懷揣著自己的零用錢能夠發揮餘力的而久久不能平息的激動心情，我即刻將錢轉出了銀行賬戶，伴隨著我對她高中學習生活的的誠摯祝福，一並交給了她。
幾個月後，我收到了一封來自王婷用英文寫的電子郵件。雖然隻是短短的幾行字，但字裏行間所吐露的字符卻是意味深重。任憑光陰飛逝，信中的一句話仍然深深打動著我，“不斷學習是一個人生活中最重要的事情”。這對於我這樣一個成長於一群不知生活艱辛貪圖玩樂，而怠於勤學的美國學生的人來說，無異於是一個莫大的勉勵。大多數這裏長大的孩子，並不懂得珍惜他們現在優越的生活條件，而這恰恰是王婷她所日月企盼的。我曾經也和這裏的許多孩子一樣將我現在所擁有的父母給予我的一切看作是理所應當。但是自從我和王婷成為筆友後，我自覺負罪感日益深重，而對於我父母卻日趨感激，因為至少自己不用像王婷那樣為了回複E-mail而特地跑去網吧。與生活在中國廣袤農村地區的其他孩子相比，王婷還是相當幸運的。農村貧困地區的許多優秀學生有時不得不為了幫助自家賴以維持生計的農務而輟學。雖然維持家庭生計是家裏的每份子所應擔負的責任，但是隻有接受教育才能幫助家庭擺脫貧瘠。有了高中或大學的學位證書，那些優秀的學生才能帶著家庭走出農村擺脫貧困。這也就是為什麽經濟援助是至關重要的，它是他們創造奇跡所需要的契機。同樣，這也就是我為什麽決定向王婷伸出援手的原因。
但她絕不僅僅是唯一收益的人。對於我來說，自己奇妙地和１個遠在10000英裏以外素不相識的女孩子以這樣的方式產生了交往。當四川汶川發生5.12特大地震時，她的人身安全牽動了我的每一根神經，直至收到了她的來信，這才鬆了口氣。讓我更感欽佩的是王婷能很好地平衡在學習以及幫助家裏打理農務兩者間所投入的精力，激勵了我去不斷超越自己。每逢我感到生活困頓時，她總不忘提醒說單憑手機和i-pod，我就要比生活在同一藍天下的其他孩子要幸運的多。
王婷以優異的成績通過了本學期的考試，我為她感到由衷的驕傲和自豪。暑假過後，我開始了在哈佛的新生活，而她也將去完成高中階段最後一年的學業。我堅信彼此間的未來不再會有著不可逾越的鴻溝，兩者在某種程度上幾乎是達成一致的：那就是我們對學習孜孜不倦的追求精神，以及每次都嚐試提高自己的執著信念。
翻譯：傅濤
2009.09.
