#001 vegging out/耍廢中
a group of sheep were vegging out early in the morning/綿羊一早閉著眼睛耍廢中
Lately, the temperature drops. It feels like that the summer is almost coming to an end, and the autumn is approaching. This summer, I went to a lovely island on the Wadden Sea, which is located in the north of the Netherlands. The island is called Terschelling. The Dutch, German and Dannish parts of the Wadden Sea are on the UNESCO ’s World Heritage List becasue of thier unique natural phenomena.
最近天氣轉涼了，夏天感覺就要結束了，秋意伺機而動。今年夏天我去荷蘭北邊瓦登海上的一個小島玩，這個可愛的小島叫泰爾斯海靈島。瓦登海荷蘭、德國和丹麥的部分因爲獨特的自然現象而被UNESCO（聯合國文教組織）列入世界遺產。
This is such a beautiful island. The people there were hospitable and friendly. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Originally, I did not have any plan to go on a vacation this summer, but after being asked about what my holiday plan was for more than ten times (typical frequently asked questions in the Netherlands), I finally took some action. Especially being asked after about five times by the owner of my favourite fish store, I started to think that it might be a good idea to make use of a week or two to get away and relax. Then I asked him which place in the Netherlands he found the most beautiful (though his sons standing next to him had different ideas). He first asked me what I like, forest or beach. I replied, “Both!” He then found that Terschelling a perfect place for me, and it’s also his personal favourite place.
這個島很美，也超好玩！島上的人也都非常熱情親切。所有的人看起來都心情很好。本來我今年夏天沒什麼特別的計劃， 不過因爲被問了大概十次我度假的計劃是什麼以後（在荷蘭典型常見問題），我終於有了具體的行動。尤其是我常去的魚攤老闆問了我大概五次一樣的問題後，我覺得也許可以好好利用一兩個星期的時間離開熟悉的環境，好好放鬆一下。 我便問他荷蘭最美的地方是哪裡（雖然站在他一旁的兩個兒子心裡想著其他地方）他先問了我我喜歡森林還是海邊，我說了「都喜歡！」，他便推薦了他個人的最愛，泰爾斯海靈島。
During the past 18 months, I’ve been spending most of my time in front of the computer and overused my eyes due to the outbreak of pandemic. A trip to an island could certainly restore and let my my eyes and body fully rest when being in the nature. Coincidentally, after booking this trip, my colleague gave me a Dutch poetry book, “Bij eb is je eiland groter”, the literal translation of the title means, “At low tide, your island is bigger”. What a perfect gift!
過去這一年半以來，因為疫情的關係，幾乎都是坐在電腦前面，過度使用眼睛。來個海島之旅可以讓眼睛和身體都可以從大自然裡獲得養分和充分的休息。而且很巧的是，訂好住宿和船票後，我的同事送了我一本荷蘭詩集，詩集的名字是《Bij eb is je eiland groter》, 直接翻成中文的意思是，「潮退時你的島更大」。這個禮物來得恰恰好！
While being on this island, I did nothing but cycling and walking the whole day each day, witnessing the magical tidal changes of the Wadden Sea. In the early morning, the sunlight sprinkeled on the shallow sea. At low tide, all sorts of sea birds had a feast of crabs. In the afternoon, as I cycle along the dike, the tide ceded again. The gleaming shallow sea in the morning became muddy wetland with the common sea vegetable and animals in this area, such as seaweeds, mussels, and crabs.
在這個小島上，我每天除了騎腳踏車就是走路，一整天都在外面，見證了瓦登海退潮漲潮的美。清晨時，陽光灑在淺海上，退潮時各種海鳥大啖螃蟹。下午騎車經過時，又退潮了，早上波光粼粼的淺海，望眼過去是一片濕地和裸露出來的海帶、淡菜、螃蟹等這一帶常見的海生動植物。
The Wadden Sea lives up to its name to be inscribed on the UNESCO ’s World Heritage List. If you cycle along the dike, you can sea the dramatic tidal changes of the Wadden Sea within one day. I also enjoyed standing at the beach, feeling the water washing toward my feet from all direction, gently and slowly, at high tide in the darkness. It was magical!
瓦登海被列入世界文化遺產果然名不虛傳，沿著堤防騎車，你可以看到瓦登海漲潮退潮的戲劇性變化，一天好幾次。我也喜歡晚上的時候在海邊站著，感受漲潮時那潮水從四面八方輕緩地湧向腳底的感覺，好奇妙！
At low tide, you can also walk from one island to the other. Of course, you will need a professional guide for a trekking trip like this. I joined a lovely culinary walk. A local chef showed us the rich ecological system in the Wadden Sea. His family have been living on this island for many generations. As he walked us through the wetland with interesting stories and in-depth knowledge about the Wadden Sea, I could feel his love for his island. We picked up the ingredients for our dinner together: seaweeds, oysters, mussels, and sea snails. Afterwards, we cycled back to the restaurant and learned how to prepare and cook them. Super “gezellig”! It was enjoyable and tasty! I also canoed for the first time in my life. The sea water was quite shallow there, and I kept on being washed toward shoal by the strong waves caused by the big boats afar. It was so much fun!
你也可以在退潮時通過濕地走到另一個瓦登海小島去，當然，你需要專業的導遊帶你通過濕地。我自己參加了一個瓦登海濕地美食團，當地的一個主廚帶我們去濕地上認識當地豐富的生態，他家世世代代都住在島上，當他風趣並仔細地介紹濕地生態時，我可以感受他對這個島嶼深厚的感情，我們一群人一起撿晚餐的食材，海帶、生蠔、淡菜和海螺，之後騎回餐廳一起料理。Super gezellig！又好玩又好吃。因爲這裡的海邊的水比較淺，我也第一次體驗划獨木舟，海水不深，我好幾次都被大船的浪沖倒沙洲邊。超好玩！
If you come visit one of these islands on the Wadden Sea, don’t forget to get on a rubber boat and watch the seals sunning on the shoal. Amazing experience to watch them so closely! All right, why am I talking about this island? It’s mainly because of the animals on this islands, the seals and the sheeps. They are associated the topic of today’s episode. The seals which queued up on the shoal, doing nothing but lying there to soak up the sun. As I cycled early in the morning along the dike, I saw many sheeps lying on the roads, leisurely doing nothing, and chewing something in their mouth with their eyes closed. They did not move a musle at all as I cycled by. Just chilling out on the road or on the grass. The ease, the chilling vibes of the seals and the sheeps remind me of the topic for today’s episode, “vegging out”.
要是你有機會到這些瓦登海上的小島玩，也別忘了去看在沙洲上曬太陽耍廢的海豹。近距離觀看海豹是種驚艷的經驗。好了， 為什麼提到這個小島呢？主要是這個島上的動物，海豹和綿羊跟今天要談的主題有關係。在沙洲上列成一排曬太陽耍廢的海豹，還有我一大早天剛亮時沿著堤壩騎腳踏車，看到好多綿羊就在路上趴著，閉著眼睛，嘴巴裡面咀嚼著東西，愜意地什麼都不做，而且我騎車過去時，牠們也不移動，就在路上、草地上耍廢。海豹和綿羊的那種輕鬆自在，天塌下來也無所謂的淡定讓我想到今天的主題「耍廢」這個詞。
The seals which queued up on the shoal, doing nothing but lying there to soak up the sun./在沙洲上列成一排曬太陽耍廢的海豹。
The phrase, “shuǎ fèi (耍廢)” , can be translated to “to veg out” or “to chill out”. The translation, “to veg out”, fits the essence of “shuǎ fèi(耍廢)” vividly and precisely, in my humble opinion. Vegetable doesn’t move, and grow quietly. For example, you’ve been working hard and feeling exhausted during the week days. On the weekends, you just feel like doing nothing at all. Your friends ask you out, but you just feel lazy, want to relax completely, and basically do nothing at all ( lying on the couch watching TV, looking at the phone, or playing video game is usually involved).
「耍廢」可以翻譯成英文的「to veg out」 或是「to chill out」。 Veg out這個詞我覺得用來形容耍廢的精神很傳神，因爲veg說的就是植物，植物不會移動，默默地生長著。 比方說週間工作又忙又累，到了週末的時候覺得什麼都不想做，朋友約你你也覺得懶洋洋的，只想徹底放鬆，待在家裡什麼都不做 (經常是躺在沙發上看電視、滑手機、打電動）。
The reason for the need to veg out can sometimes be regarded as an avoidant behaviour. How so? Say, you have an exam tomorrow, but you suddenly feel the urge to have an all-night binge watching Youtube clips. This sort of behaviour can be catergorize as “to veg out”. The spirit of “fèi (廢)” stands out especially under such circumstance. You can even use this expression in this way: “I wasted last night doing nothing useful at all. I should have been studying, but I ended up watching funny videos. I really need to study hard today”.
耍廢除了因爲很累以外，有時候也可能是一種逃避的行為。怎麼說呢？可能明天要考試了，但是你突然覺得好想打開Youtube熬夜看一些影片，這樣的行為也可以歸類成耍廢。在這種情況下，耍廢裡「廢」的意思就更加凸顯出來了。你可以說「我昨晚太廢了，本來應該要看書，卻一直看一些搞笑的影片。今天我要好好地看書。」
To veg out is somewhat different from being a couch potato in English. A couch potato means someone who is glued to the couch and watch TV all the time. However, the character “fèi (廢)” in “to veg out” in Chinese basically means “waste” or “useless”. For instance, I have done nothing today, and I’ve been wasting time. Or if you friends ask you out on a Friday evening, you feel exhausted and only want to relax and do nothing at all at home. You can responde, “Nope. I just want to veg out at home.”
耍廢跟英文裡的couch potato又有點不一樣， 沙發馬鈴薯特別指的是在沙發上看電視的人，而耍廢這個詞裡面有「廢」在裡面，意思基本上是沒有用或是沒做什麼有用的事情。比方說，我今天什麼都沒做，很廢。如果星期五晚上的時候，你的朋友問你你要不要出去玩，你覺得很累只想要徹底放鬆，宅在家什麼都不做，你就可以回答：「沒興趣，我只想在家裡耍廢。」
The other translation, to chiil out, has two meanings in English. This verb phrase can mean “to cool off” as well as “to relax”. The latter represents the essence of this podcast, which is pretty closed to the calm, cool-headed, relaxing feeling of the word, “Chillax (chill and relax)” vibes.
「耍廢」另外一個英文翻譯時「chill out」。這個動詞片語除了有叫人冷靜一下的意思以外，也有放鬆的意思。後面的意思是這個節目，Chiilneez的精神，也就是接近「Chillax(Chill+relax)」那種淡定放鬆的樣子啦，就像這隻可愛的兔子一樣。
The rabbit was chillaxing on a hot summer day.
淡定放鬆的小兔子在炎炎夏日裡乘涼睡午覺。