老外在中国：我在中国的KFC过感恩节

When Thanksgiving came around, I decided it'd be easiest if I just ignored it. In China, this isn't difficult; unlike Christmas, which many Chinese people commemorate with decorations, music, and festivities, Thanksgiving slips past unnoticed—it's just another Thursday.
快到感恩节时，我告诉自己：只要不去想它就没啥大不了的。反正身在中国，这没什么。又不像圣诞节，中国人还会搞点装饰、音乐和活动以示庆祝。这里感恩节就像某个寻常的星期四，会悄无声息滑过。

And so it was. I walked to school, taught my classes, did some lesson planning, and came home. But as I sat on my sofa, watching the next film from the James Bond box set I bought for $12 at a local shop, I felt a sense of shame. What was I doing? It was Thanksgiving, damn it. I needed to have a proper Thanksgiving dinner.
事实也确实这样。我去学校上课、备课，然后回家。可当我坐在沙发上准备看一部花12美元在当地商店买的詹姆斯•邦德影片时，突然感到一阵羞愧：我这是在干嘛呀？今天是感恩节，靠！我怎么也得吃顿像样的感恩节晚餐吧。

There was only one problem. In Lianyungang, as in most small Chinese cities, there's no turkey. Or cranberry sauce. Or stuffing, yams, pumpkin pie, or anything else. In fact, in the entire city of 700,000 people, there was exactly one restaurant whose food even resembled, at a distance, Thanksgiving fare.
可麻烦是，跟其他中国小城市一样，在连云港根本买不到火鸡、红莓酱、馅料、洋芋、南瓜馅饼或其他食材。事实上，在这座70万人口的城市，确实也有一家卖类似食物的餐厅，并且还有感恩节特惠。

Kentucky Fried Chicken.
那就是——肯德基。

And so that's where I headed.
好吧，那就去肯德基。

Lianyungang's one KFC was located near my school, but until then I had refused, in an effort to preserve a degree of cultural authenticity, to go in. But on Thanksgiving, after I waved hello to Colonel Sanders and walked through the front door, what I found was a revelation. Unlike any of the other restaurants I had been to in town, KFC had clean floors, a functional public bathroom, and central heat. Its patrons were smartly dressed young professionals. Several people, I noticed, were even there on dates. The line behind the cash register was orderly, and within minutes of my arrival I found myself in possession of a bucket of crispy fried chicken, a tub of mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and a dubious-looking "dinner wrap" I selected from the menu.
我的学校附近就有一家肯德基连云港分店，但为了保留文化真实感，之前我一直没进去过。感恩节这天，我冲着桑德斯上校打声招呼，走进门去，顿时眼前一亮：完全不同于我去过的城里其他餐厅，肯德基的地板锃亮、盥洗室干净、暖气充足。这里的顾客都是穿着得体的上班族。我发现，有些人甚至在这里约会。收银台前的排队也井然有序，不一会儿就轮到了我：眼前是我点的一桶香酥炸鸡、土豆泥、玉米和一份差不多的套餐。

I pinched myself. Was this China?
我掐了掐自己：这是在中国吗？

I sat down and tore into my food. Every last bite was delicious. About halfway through the meal, I felt the familiar wave of nausea—tinged with self-loathing— I recognized from a lifetime of eating fast food. But I didn't care. It was Thanksgiving, and I wanted my food coma.
我坐下来大快朵颐，真是美味无比啊！吃到一半的时候，我却感到一阵反胃伴着自责涌上心头——平生第一次吃了快餐。好吧，管它呢！今天是感恩节，我只想美美撮一顿！

As I left, walking to a busy street to look for a cab, I heard footsteps and turned around: A young man wearing a suit had followed me from the restaurant and wanted to tell me something. Oh God. What did he want?
当我离开并走到繁忙大街上等出租时，突然听到后面有脚步声，转身一看：是个穿西装的年轻人从餐厅跟着我出来，好像有什么话要说。天哪，他想干嘛？

"Happy Thanksgiving!" he said. "I hope you have a good day."
“感恩节快乐！祝你今天好心情！”他说。

With that, he turned around and ran off. And my first Thanksgiving in China—there would be five more—was complete. More complete than I would have imagined it being in Lianyungang, anyway.
说完后，他掉头跑开了。这就是我在中国的第一个感恩节，相当完满，绝对比我想象中的连云港感恩节来得美好。而且，我决定后五年也在中国过了！