Over My Dead Body
2021/09/07 04:13:53 網誌分類: 生活
Being quarantined in a small hotel room with no fresh air is worse than being in prison. Prisoners are allowed to exercise, breathe fresh air, and eat meals with other inmates (prisoners). Prolonged quarantine is like being in solitary confinement. The expression “solitary confinement” refers to prisoners who are locked in a small prison cell with no natural light or fresh air. They eat by themselves and have no contact with other people. In some developed countries such prisoners are allowed once in a while to breathe fresh air or exercise in a tiny area. Solitary confinement is mostly used to punish violent prisoners who threaten others.
During my three weeks in the US I have been to Los Angeles, San Diego, Austin in Texas, and am now in Atlanta in Georgia where my siblings, their spouses, and I are having a family reunion. I last lived in the US many years ago and am now getting used to life here and rediscovering places I went to before. While in Austin my younger brother took me to Lake Travis with a multi-level outside restaurant overlooking the lake. I’ve been there before. We had margaritas, nachos with salsa, and Tex-Mex food. The expression “Tex-Mex” means a blend of Texas and Mexican food. The drinks were great but as usual in the US, the food portions were too large. I will further explain Tex-Mex food in my next column.
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我離開香港前往美國已經三個星期了。我訂了十月中回程的機票，但除非政府改變它極度愚蠢（inane）又不科學的隔離檢疫措施，否則我死也不會（over my dead body）回港。當你反對某事，會竭盡所能阻止其發生時，就可以用上習語“over your dead body”。即使我已接種了兩劑疫苗，亦做了測試證明我有高的抗體水平，但政府仍堅持我回港時必須隔離檢疫三周，這實在愚蠢透頂（inane）。
在一間狹小、沒有新鮮空氣的酒店房間內接受隔離，比坐牢還惡劣。監獄也容許囚犯去做運動，呼吸新鮮空氣，以及跟其他囚友（inmates）進膳。延長的隔離期就像單獨囚禁（solitary confinement）。習語 solitary confinement是指囚犯被拘禁於狹小的囚室，沒有陽光也沒有新鮮空氣；他們單獨進膳，不能跟其他人接觸。在一些已發展國家，會容許這些囚犯偶爾在細小的範圍內呼吸新鮮空氣和健身。單獨囚禁（solitary confinement）多是用來懲罰那些有暴力行為、會威脅到其他人的囚犯。
我在美國這三個星期，到了洛杉磯、聖地牙哥、德州的奧斯汀，現在則身處喬治亞州的亞特蘭大，與我的兄弟姊妹及其配偶享受家庭重聚。我上次住在美國已是許多年前，現已漸漸習慣這兒的生活，也重新發現那些我以前去過的地方。在奧斯汀的時候，我弟弟帶了我去崔維斯湖，那兒有一間多層戶外餐廳，可飽覽整個湖的景致。我以前也曾去到訪過。我們享用瑪格麗塔酒、點莎莎醬的墨西哥粟米片，以及德墨（Tex-Mex）料理。習語“Tex-Mex”即德州跟墨西哥混合的菜式。飲品都很棒，但一如美國慣常的情況，食物份量都太大了。我會在下一篇文章中，進一步講解德墨（Tex-Mex）菜。mickchug@gmail.com
中譯：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
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