"间隔年":一场探索自我的旅行

With a bachelor's degree in actuarial science, Anxin's life could have followed a predicable course since graduation last year: Secure a post in a bank or an insurance company, deal with figures and charts and earn a handsome salary.
去年毕业并取得精算学学士学位后，安芯（化名）本可过上按部就班的生活：在一家银行或保险公司中找份工作，整日与数字、图表打交道，拿一份不错的薪水。

Or, in common with one-third of her classmates, she could have continued her studies in the United States or Britain in the hope of securing a good job and a high salary.
或者，就像班上三分之一的同学那样，她可以选择到美国或英国继续求学深造，以便日后毕业能够找份高薪的好差事。

However, while most of her schoolmates have become regular 9-to-5ers or are studying for master's degrees, the 23-year-old chose a path much less traveled and volunteered to work overseas.
然而，当大部分同学或成为普通“朝九晚五族”，或开始读研时，23岁的安芯却选择了一条少有人走的道路，她选择到国外去做志愿者。

In Kolkata, India, she cared for seriously ill men at Kalighat, a hospice for the sick, destitute and the dying established by Mother Teresa. At the Father Ray Foundation in Pattaya, Thailand, she taught English to poverty-stricken kids and worked with autistic children.
在印度加尔各答，安芯来到特蕾莎修女为疾病缠身、穷困潦倒和病危之人所创办的收容所“静心之家”（Kalighat），在那里照顾重病患者。她还在泰国芭堤雅的雷神父基金会教授贫困儿童英语，并参与自闭症儿童的治疗工作。

What initially led to her yearlong journey was "gap year", a term she learned from a German friend in 2010 during an exchange program at San Diego State University in the US. The practice, which is thought to have originated in the UK in the 1960s, involves students primarily, traveling, engaging in volunteer work overseas or undertaking a working holiday abroad.
正是“间隔年”令她开始了长达一年的旅行。2010年时，她在参加美国圣迭戈州立大学的一个交换项目时，从一位德国朋友那里听说了这个词。人们认为“间隔年”这一做法起源于20世纪60年代的英国，本来是指一些学生前往海外旅行、参加志愿者工作或是选择边打工边度假。

"I found it very interesting. I though 'a lot of Europeans are doing it, so why shouldn't I?'" said Anxin.
“我发现这很有意思。很多欧洲人都在这么做，为何不试试呢？”安芯说。

Well-established in the West, the idea of the sabbatical was introduced to China just a few years ago. However, it has become increasingly popular among young people as they try to learn more about the world in general and themselves in particular after 16 years of exam-oriented education, before they enter a fast-changing society with an increasing emphasis on speed.
在西方已被广泛接受的“间隔年”休假理念直到几年前才传入中国。尽管如此，在年轻人中，这一做法越来越流行。这些年轻人在接受了16年的应试教育之后，努力想对整个世界、尤其是对自身有一个更深入的了解，然后再踏入这个瞬息万变的快节奏社会。

Anxin, who hails from the southwestern municipality of Chongqing, said she chose the actuarial science course because her father studied mathematics. Although she showed talent, she wasn't really interested in the subject. "I didn't want to do something I have no passion for. I felt confused and lost. I wanted to learn more about myself on the road," she said recently, when sharing her experiences with around 150 students in Beijing.
来自重庆的安芯说，她之所以选择精算学专业，是因为她父亲曾研究过数学。虽然她在这方面很有天赋，但她对精算并不是很感冒。“我不想做一些自己毫无激情的事情。我感到困惑和迷惘。我想在旅行的路上多了解自己一些，”近日她与150名来北京的学生分享个人经历时这样说。

However, she admitted that it wasn't easy to get the idea across to her parents: "My father asked, 'Are you crazy? It's not easy to find a good job today, yet you are going to be a volunteer overseas?'"
但她也承认让父母理解这一想法并不容易：“我爸爸问：‘你疯了吗？如今找个好工作多不容易，你却想出国去做志愿者？’”

"And when I told him that Pattaya was one of my destinations, he asked, 'Isn't that place famous for its sex industry?'"
“而当我告诉他我要去芭堤雅时，他问道：‘那个地方的色情业不是很出名吗？’”

However, the determined senior reassured and persuaded her family by outlining a sound plan. She also translated the introductions of all the NGOs she was going to work for so they could read about the organizations for themselves.
尽管如此，那时还在上大四的安芯早已下定决心，为家人列出一份万无一失的计划，打消了他们的顾虑，最终说服了他们。她还翻译了一些她要参加的非政府组织的介绍，以便家人能够亲自了解这些组织的状况。