嘉嘉的學業挑戰仍在繼續,而她的求生技能亦不斷進化。經過幾個星期的適應,她終於不再只是「I totally agree with you.」的女孩,甚至開始主動參與課堂討論。
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然而,真正的難關來了——老師宣布,所有學生都需要進行一場 五分鐘個人演講,主題是「My cultural identity and how it shapes my perspective」。
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嘉嘉一聽完,立即崩潰:「表哥,我完啦!」
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阿楓抬頭看著她:「咩事?又發生咩事?」
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「老師要我哋做五分鐘演講,講自己嘅文化背景!」嘉嘉緊張得咬住筆蓋,「五分鐘呀!五分鐘係300秒!如果我每句講五秒,我就要講60句英文!」
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阿楓無奈地笑:「咁妳準備咗啲咩?」
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「咪講自己係香港人,然後點解選擇移民加拿大囉……但問題係,我講兩句已經冇嘢講啦!」嘉嘉癱坐在沙發上,「五分鐘喎!你知唔知五分鐘有幾長?!」
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阿楓點點頭:「的確幾長……但妳可以試下加啲自己嘅感受同經歷。」
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嘉嘉愁眉苦臉:「例如?」
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「例如……妳可以講妳喺香港嘅生活同加拿大有咩唔同,妳點樣適應,仲有咩地方仲未適應?」
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嘉嘉雙眼放空:「你知唔知……我最大嘅適應問題係咩?」
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「咩?」
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「呢邊啲薯條唔夠脆!」
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阿楓:「……」
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嘉嘉一本正經地解釋:「香港啲薯條無論係麥記定茶餐廳都好,都會炸到香脆,但呢邊啲薯條成日軟趴趴,冇靈魂!」
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阿楓扶額:「妳係咪想喺演講講薯條?」
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嘉嘉正色道:「文化認同可以從食物開始!你有冇聽過 ‘You are what you eat’?」
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「……咁妳打算點講?」
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嘉嘉拿出筆記本:「我計劃咁開場:‘Hi everyone, my name is Ka Ka, and today I’m going to talk about my cultural identity. I’m from Hong Kong, a place known for its amazing food. One thing that shocked me when I moved to Canada was… the French fries!’」
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阿楓:「……」
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「然後我會詳細分析,點解香港啲薯條同加拿大啲唔同,呢個代表咗兩地文化嘅差異!例如香港人講求效率,所以快餐都要快、靚、正,而加拿大人比較 chill,所以食物都冇咁趕時間炸得咁脆!」
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阿楓忍住笑:「咁妳有冇諗過,老師可能會expect一個比較 serious 嘅文化分析,而唔係一篇『炸薯條研究報告』?」
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嘉嘉摸摸下巴:「咁……我加多少少 serious 嘅嘢囉!例如講語言轉變點影響我嘅文化適應,講我由細到大都講廣東話,忽然之間要用英文學習,覺得好有壓力。」
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阿楓點頭:「呢個方向好啲。」
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「但我依然會用炸薯條做開場,等大家有興趣聽落去!」嘉嘉堅持,「畢竟,冇人會想聽一個枯燥無味嘅文化分析嘛。」
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阿楓笑:「好,等妳練習比我聽。」
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於是,嘉嘉站在客廳中央,正式開始她的演講練習:「Hi everyone, my name is Ka Ka, and today I’m going to talk about my cultural identity. One thing that truly represents the cultural difference between Hong Kong and Canada is… French fries!」
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阿楓邊聽邊笑,但也不得不佩服嘉嘉的勇氣。
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正式上場
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第二日,嘉嘉的演講終於來到正式場合。她手心冒汗,深呼吸數次,然後踏上講台。
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「Hi everyone, my name is Ka Ka…」
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一開始她有點緊張,但當她提到炸薯條的時候,台下開始傳來笑聲,老師也露出了感興趣的表情。當她繼續講到語言轉變帶來的挑戰時,氣氛逐漸變得嚴肅起來。同學們聽得很專心,最後還給她一個熱烈的掌聲。
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她鬆了口氣,走回座位。坐下後,旁邊的同學輕聲對她說:「That was a really fun speech! I totally get what you mean about the language barrier. I struggled too when I first moved here from Korea。」
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嘉嘉驚訝地看著對方:「你都係新移民?」
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「Yeah, I moved here two years ago. English was really tough at first, but it gets better. You’re doing great!」
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嘉嘉聽到這句,頓時覺得心裡一暖。她第一次感受到,原來自己並不孤單。
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當日放學回到家,阿楓問:「點?成功咗未?」
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嘉嘉舉起手指:「五分鐘,一句都冇 NG!」
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阿楓讚賞地點點頭:「妳越嚟越進步喇。」
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嘉嘉笑了笑,這一次,她真的有種融入新環境的感覺了。
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