在瓦努阿图的时光 ——读 when in Vanuatu

    一部关注“随行夫人”群体生活状态的小说，故事设定在20世纪80年代末至90年代初七年间的菲律宾马尼拉和瓦努阿图维拉港。虽然她们大多都接受过良好的教育，本身富有才华，丈夫的身居高职令她们拥有了优渥的物质条件和当地人无法企及的佣人服务，但生活也并没有想象中的美好幸福。毕竟放弃自己原本的事业和才能，全心全力支持追随丈夫异国他乡的工作，也让她们失去了自己的个人身份，从此只是附属于丈夫的家属。主角Diana年近35岁，面临已婚却迟迟不孕的焦虑，丈夫Jay得到了梦寐以求的亚太发展信托基金任职的机会，于是她放弃了安定的工作，跟随丈夫来到马尼拉，通过看医生、练瑜伽、冥想、养金鱼等方式放松自己一心备孕。也是通过她的视角，讲述了同样生活在陌生国度的随行夫人的众生相，以及20世纪90年代的菲律宾的动荡和瓦努阿图天堂般的风土人情。她们在享受美景美食岛屿热情的同时，也面临着巨大的情感挑战和现实压力。

    初次看到作者名Nicki Chen，以为是一名华裔作家。查了作者生平后，发现是土生土长的美国人，嫁给了中国丈夫后改随夫姓。在致谢部分，作者也提到书中大部分内容都提取自她当年在菲律宾政变未遂期间和在瓦努阿图生活的日记和观察细节。因此，现实中作者本身也曾是一名“随行夫人”，有着长达20余年的旅居异国他乡经历。文笔平实细腻，除了一些专有名词需要查阅外，整体生动易读。

    整理读书笔记时发现通过这本书了解到许多菲律宾和瓦努阿图的知识，远超预期，仿佛真的搭乘这本书去了一趟燥热潮湿的马尼拉和惬意多彩的维拉港。

 

                               

一些印象深刻的段落：

动荡的马尼拉

Chapter 8

People here lived on political drama. They knew the actors and followed their opinions and their rise and fall from power. Expats who’d lived in the Philippines longer than Jay and Diana said that everyone had been starved for news, gossip, and drama during the fourteen-year dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. When he was chased out of the country and democracy restored, they couldn’t get enough.

People who’d lived through that upheaval always seemed to be expecting something almost as big to happen again. Revolutions, demonstrations, and coups were entertainment, all the more stimulating and fun because they were real and just a little bit dangerous.

这里的人们以政治剧为生。他们了解演员，关注他们的观点和权力兴衰。在菲律宾生活得比Jay和Diana更久的外国人说，在Ferdinand Marcos14年的统治期间，每个人都对新闻、八卦和戏剧感到饥渴。当他被赶出国门，恢复民主时，他们还意犹未尽。

经历过那场动荡的人们似乎总在期待着同样大的事情再次发生。革命、示威和政变是一种娱乐，因为它们是真实的，而且有一点危险，所以更加刺激和有趣。

Chapter 13

Makati had been back to normal for more than a week now. On the fifth day of the occupation, the government negotiated the departure by bus of 818 foreigners who’d been stranded in hotels and condos. The following day, December seventh, the rebels marched back to their barracks in Fort Bonifacio, and Abby, Saudur, and the boys returned to their house. The occupation of Makati had left ninety-nine people dead, fifty of them civilians. Now, a week after Makati’s return to normal, no one knew whether the rebels would be punished. Most of the officers had slipped away.

Makati恢复正常已经有一个多星期了。占领的第五天，政府协商让滞留在酒店和公寓里的818名外国人乘车离开。第二天，12月7日，叛军开回了他们在Port Bonifacio的军营，Abby、Saudur和男孩们回到了他们的房子。攻占Makati造成99人死亡，其中50人是平民。现在，在Makati恢复正常的一周后，没有人知道叛军是否会受到惩罚。大多数官员只是溜走了。

新赫布里底群岛英法共管地

Chapter 19

Vanuatu’s quirky history.

“Back in the days of exploration and colonization . . .” He popped a bite of flan de caramelo into his mouth. “. . . the British, French, and Germans were picking off islands in the South Pacific.” He licked the corner of his mouth and continued. “Fiji became a British colony; the French took Tahiti and New Caledonia; and Germany set its sights on Samoa. But who would get the New Hebrides?” He turned to Liza. “That’s the old name for Vanuatu. Anyway, the Germans were coming up fast, and the Brits and the French didn’t want Germany to get it, so, for the first time in their history, they decided to share. And that’s how the New Hebrides became a French-English condominium.”

“I kid you not. That’s why today in Vanuatu you can speak English in the morning and practice your French in the afternoon. And,” he said, “that’s why, even now, I have freshly baked French bread delivered to my doorstep every morning. I tell you—” he turned to Jay “—Vanuatu is an island paradise. You should come and see for yourself.”

“在探险和殖民时期......” 他往嘴里塞了一口焦糖馅饼。“......英国人、法国人和德国人在南太平洋上挑选岛屿。” 他舔了舔嘴角，继续说道。“斐济成为英国的殖民地；法国人拿下了Tahiti和New Caledonia；德国把目光投向Samoa。但谁会得到新赫布里底群岛呢？” 他转向Liza。“那是瓦努阿图的旧称。总之，德国人很快就来了，英国和法国不想让德国得到它，所以，史上第一次，他们决定共享。这就是新赫布里底群岛成为英法共管区的原因。”

“我不骗你。这是为什么今天在瓦努阿图，你可以上午说英语，下午练法语。而且，”他说，“这也是为什么，即使是现在，每天早上都有新鲜出炉的法国面包送到我家门口。我告诉你--” 他转向Jay，“瓦努阿图是一个岛屿天堂。你应该自己来看看。”

Blackbirding 黑鸟行动

19 世纪中叶以来，blackbirding 或 blackbird catching 指的是强制招募南太平洋岛民工作。 来自南太平洋西部的美拉尼西亚人和密克罗尼西亚人在澳大利亚、斐济和萨摩亚的种植园中受到青睐。 来自南太平洋东部的波利尼西亚人大多被带到秘鲁和夏威夷王国。 此外，大量岛民被带到欧洲船只上从事捕鱼和海军服务。 招募过程中常常会使用欺骗、威胁和暴力。黑鸟被英国传教士协会和皇家海军怀疑是奴隶贸易（参考维基百科）。

Chapter 25

“I figured they were Gurkha soldiers recruited by the British. And they were. What I wanted to know was where they were going. They said they’ll be on our plane to Fiji. From there, they’ll head into the island’s interior for a month and a half of jungle training. Then they’ll fly back to HK.” “Gurkhas are the fiercest fighters on the planet,” he said.

“我猜他们是英国人招募的廓尔喀士兵。他们确实是。我想知道的是他们要去哪里。他们说他们将乘坐我们的飞机前往斐济。从那里，他们将进入该岛的内陆地区，进行为期一个半月的丛林训练。然后他们将飞回香港。” “廓尔喀人是地球上最凶猛的战士”他说。

瓦努阿图的民族构成

Chapter 26

the various factions in the country—the ni-Vanuatu from Tanna and Santo, the ranchers and plantation owners and shopkeepers, the French-speaking Vietnamese, and the rich Chinese, some of whom spoke English and some French.

这个国家的各个派别--来自塔纳和桑托的瓦努阿图人、牧场主、种植园主和店主、讲法语的越南人，以及富有的中国人，其中一些人讲英语，一些人讲法语。

！！瓦努阿图人的英文竟然是ni-Vanuatu!!

瓦努阿图人的语言：比斯拉马语

Chapter 32

Bislama.

从 1863 年开始，岛民招募（blackbirding）成为欧洲商人的一项主要活动。 贸易商招募岛民（通常违背他们的意愿）在澳大利亚东北部的斐济和昆士兰的甘蔗田、新喀里多尼亚的镍矿和西萨摩亚的椰子种植园工作。 由于无法用自己的语言与其他工人交流，被招募或被俘的工人使用一种简单的英语沟通，到本世纪初整个太平洋地区的水手们都在使用。 多年后，当工人们返回家乡（通常被送回错误的岛屿）时，他们继续使用这种英语，并开始演变成自己的语言，一种他们称之为Bislama的克里奥尔语。

火山和巫医

Chapter 41

“They have witchdoctors in Vanuatu,” she said. “In the villages.”

“What made you think about witchdoctors?”

“This morning Lourdes told me about a woman who hired one to put a spell on her husband’s mistress. The poor girl developed a disgusting rash that no one was able to cure.” Abby shivered. “Lourdes says the best witchdoctors are from Ambrim. Clevas, they call them. Their power comes from fire and brimstone. The island of Ambrim has more than its share of Vanuatu’s active volcanoes.” She laughed and tossed her head as though to dismiss the craziness of witchdoctors and spells.

“在瓦努阿图有巫医，”她说。“在村里。”

“你怎么想到了巫医？”

“今天早上，Lourdes告诉我一个女人雇了一个巫医给她丈夫的情妇下咒。那个可怜的女孩长了恶心的皮疹，没人能治愈。”Abby打了个寒颤。“Lourdes说最好的巫医来自Ambrim，被称为Clevas。他们的力量来自于火和硫磺石。在瓦努阿图的活火山中，Ambrim岛所占比例较高。”她笑了笑，甩了甩头，仿佛在否定巫医和法术的疯狂。

最后用书中的“随行夫人守则”对全书情节做个概括吧：

They all had their ups and downs, their complaints and struggles. But when they were together in a group, they tried not to talk about them. It was like an unspoken creed, the “expat-wife rule”: smile, share the small good things, joke about the problems, even if your jokes are sarcastic and mean. And if you must complain, let it be to your husband or best friend. Everyone knew that unhappiness could spread like an infestation of lice.   --chapter 24

她们都有自己的酸甜苦辣，抱怨挣扎。但是当她们在一起时，她们尽量不谈论这些。这就像一个不言而喻的信条，即 “随行夫人守则”：微笑，分享细微美好，问题一笑置之，哪怕你的笑话刻薄讽刺。如果你一定要抱怨，就向你的丈夫或最好的朋友抱怨吧。每个人都知道，不开心会像虱子一样传播。