双城记与三个世界 A tale of two cities and three worlds

初到墨尔本的两个半星期，我生活在两座城市和三个不同的世界里，有渐行渐远却念念不忘的香港，那是一个充满回忆的世界；有触手可及却又新奇陌生的墨尔本，这是一个真实、现实也写实的世界。还有一个世界就是笼罩在生活各个角落的虚拟空间，这里有电邮通讯，斯盖普视频，和脸书社交网站。这一“空间”游离于前两个世界之间，满是自我的，隐私的与公共分享的碎片化生活轨迹。

The first two and a half weeks in Melbourne was a time when I was living in three worlds: a nostalgic world of Hong Kong, which was moving behind me but still impacting me; a reality world of Melbourne, touchable, fresh but unfamiliar, a real, realistic and impressionistic world. Another world that surrounded me was a virtual world of Hotmail, Skype, and Facebook. This world mediated itself between the first two worlds, full of my own personal, private, and publically ‘shared’ and fragmented traces of life.

香港对于我来说是一座充满记忆和故事的城市。那里的五年，是我的人生旅途不可或缺的。回首香港岁月，有许多生活片断和场景依然历历在目。我记得我第一次走在教院的校园里，觉得一切都那么神奇，如同梦境；我记得在那里见到的新同事，亲切自然，如同弟兄姊妹。我还记得第一次走进自己的办公室，新奇却有几分归属感。还有我历尽周折租到的第一所小公寓，以及我买的第一件家具运到公寓里自己组装的记忆。在香港的故事里，还有一位“主角”就是我的女儿。她从西澳珀斯跟我来到香港的时候，刚上了小学一年级。在最初的几个月里，我帮她办理香港赛马会小学的入学手续，一波三折，从报名到女儿参加入学考试。一直比较忐忑。最后终于获得通知，女儿可以入学了。穿上了新校服，女儿高兴，我也为她自豪。入学以后，我帮女儿学习中文，跟她一起做作业，每天都有不同科目的作业，一科一科地完成，虽艰难耗时，但也小有成就感。帮女儿找babysitters也颇费一番周折，我平时上班，先把女儿放在同事家，由同事的夫人照看。再后来，我就雇佣几位大学生轮班在她放学以后和我下班之前的这一两个小时带她去学校的图书馆看书。小学假期的时候，我就请人到家里来陪着女儿，我去上班。等到我也放假的时候，我就带着女儿到不同的地方去旅行。第一次去南丫岛，我们徒步很远，那里有海，在海边我们是最快乐的。在香港的这几年，女儿在学校里参加过不少比赛，其中得到最大的奖项是全港小学生摄影比赛三年级组唯一的一等奖。这次比赛是由香港电视台TVB组办的，有一定的影响和新闻效应。颁奖礼由著名主持人主持。女儿获奖的场面还上了电视节目。关于香港，我还有很多记忆，有大大小小的家人团聚；与朋友和同事的无数次聚餐；还有许许多多的海外国际会议旅行。在香港期间，我备课，上课，做讲座，与学生共同学习和进步；每周都与朋友和同事打壁球，羽毛球，网球，或者去游泳。还有很多美好的记忆是我的父母和哥哥姐姐来香港，我们一起旅行。我还记得，在香港的时候，我很喜欢独自徒步旅行，背个双肩背带上瓶水，在山野间穿行。我最喜欢的活动之一就是骑自行车到大埔海滨公园，然后与朋友在那里跑步，踢毽子，聊天分享生活的点点滴滴。当然我的香港记忆还包括我初到香港的头两年参加英语系的同事专门为香港教育学院师生编导的莎士比亚的《仲夏夜之梦》和《暴风雨》英语话剧的排练和演出。从父亲到情人，再到伯爵，我在戏里戏外，古今中外之间穿越，与导演和“演员”们的交流，乃至成为生活中的好朋友。除此之外，我曾经有一段骑自行车上下班的经历。快到学校的那段露屏路是有一点陡的坡路。夏天的时候，我汗流浃背，推车前行。下班则一路下坡，骑在车上， 轻快酣畅自由。一路回家的心情，轻松喜悦。 香港是一个很神奇的地方，周围有很多大大小小的岛屿，可以乘船去旅行，我尤其喜欢南丫岛和长洲岛，也乘船一两个小时到过更远的岛上领略更奇特的风景。在市区，则可以用“八达通”，选择乘坐H1和H2旅游客车线路，选个上层敞篷的座位，伴随客车在香港市区穿梭，在高楼大厦之间，感受钢筋混凝土的森林奇境。从香港还可以乘船到澳门，去体验另一中美景，美食和文化。在香港整整五年，等我恋恋不舍地离开香港的时候，这一切一切的难忘记忆，就变成了一部老电影，一本爱不释手的书，和一个旅居者的故事。

Hong Kong to me was a city full of stories and fond memories. The five years in Hong Kong has become so much of my life journey that it has shaped me. Recalling my life in Hong Kong, many experiences and scenes become alive again: the first time I set foot on the HKIEd campus, feeling magical, like a dream; the first colleagues I met there, warm and natural, like brothers and sisters; the first time I entered my own office, amazed, with a sense of belonging; the first flat I rented, not without difficulties; the first piece of furniture I purchased and assembled. In my stories of Hong Kong, another ‘protagonist’ is my daughter. When she first came to Hong Kong with me from Perth of Western Australia, she was a Primary school first grade student. During the first couple of months in Hong Kong,  I tried my best to help her enroll in the local Jockey Club Primary School (JCPS), overcoming so many hurdles in terms of registering for the school, her sitting in the enrollment tests. Many times we had butterflies. When she eventually got admitted to the school, I bought her brand new school uniforms. She was so happy, and I was proud.  During her school days, I helped her with her Chinese/Cantonese learning, and dealing with her mounting homework. She had homework for all of her different subjects on a daily basis. She managed to complete them one after another, time-consuming as it were, we also had a shared sense of fulfilment. In addition, it was not easy to find babysitters for her, as I would work during day time. At first, I took her to a colleague’s house and asked his wife to look after her. Later, I ‘employed’ a few university students to take care of her mostly spending time with her reading in the university library during the one or two hours’ time between she would finish school and I finish work.  When primary schools have their holidays, I would hire someone to stay at my home so that my dauther has some company in its legal sense, although she doesn’t really need looking after, so that I can go to work. When I also have my own holidays from the university, I’d take Mary to different places in Hong Kong for short trips. The Lamma Island was one of the first places we visited, and we absolutely enjoyed it, walking around the Island, up and down the hills and along be beaches. We were naturally the happiest. During the few years in Hong Kong, Mary participated in a number of competitions organized by and through her school. One of the biggest prizes Mary won was the exclusive first Prize in photography for the Primary Grade 3 category across schools of Hong Kong. It was organized by Hong Kong television TVB, and it was full of media impact and effect. The Prizes were presented by well-known TV hosts, and it was all recorded and broadcast on TV. There were also many other fond memories about Hong Kong, including the many happy family reunions, long or short; the meal gatherings with colleagues and friends; the many conference trips overseas. When I was in Hong Kong, I would prepare for lessons, go to classes, and have lectures and tutorials, so that I would learn and make progress with the students. I would also play squash, badminton, tennis or go swimming with friends and colleagues. There are also many other fond memories of the times when my parents and siblings came to Hong Kong to visit me, and we travelled together. I also remember, when I was in Hong Kong, I enjoyed hiking trips by myself, with a backpack and a bottle of water, walking in the hills and fields. One of my favorite activities was to cycle to the Waterfront Park, and then jog with my friend and colleague. We could also play a sport of named ‘ti jiazi’ or shuttlecock kicking, and sometimes also share life and work experiences. Of course, my Hong Kong memories also include the many rehearsals and the performances of the ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and the ‘Tempest’, which were directed by my colleague, for students and staff of the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd). I was playing the roles of a ‘father’ and then a ‘duke’, experiencing lives in and outside drama, travelling in time and space, while in the meantime, communicating with other ‘actors and actresses’, becoming good friends in life. I also recall those days, weeks and months when I would cycle to work, particularly up the hills along the Lo Ping road leading up to the HKIEd. During the Summer, I’d sweat while pushing my bike uphill. However, when I finished work and cycled home, it was almost downhill all the way. I felt much contented with a joyful heart. Hong Kong is a place of magic and miracle. There are many islands of various sizes. People can have boat trips to get to the Islands. I’d particularly enjoy the trips to Lamma Island and Cheung Chau Island.  I could also make a longer boat trip in about one or two hours to islands that are further away to go sightseeing for even more unique landscapes. Inside the city, I could use my ‘Octopus’ card, and hop on the H1 and H2 Rickshaw Tour Buses, sitting on the roofless upper deck, travelling among the ‘jungles’ of cement and concrete skyscrappers around the Central. I could also travel to Macao by ferry to experience another type of landscape, gourmet food and exotic cultures. Being in Hong Kong for five entire years, by the time I would eventually depart from the HK International Airport with much reluctance, all of these fond memories seem to have been turned into an old movie, a favorite book, and a sojourner’s tale.

来到墨尔本，便从记忆进入了一个真实的世界里。六月底的香港温热宜人，色彩纷呈，而墨尔本则是阴凉的，色调也是清冷的，与旅居者的心情相吻合。下了飞机，步入墨尔本机场，最先映入眼帘的便是中英文版的“墨尔本欢迎您”，匆匆走过，环顾周围，都是陌生的面孔；然后是乘坐出租车从机场到蒙纳士大学校园；学校提供临时住处，是北岛街68号的一座三室一厅的房子，老旧却也十分整洁，后面还有一个不大不小的院子，在那里一住就是两个半星期。初到墨尔本的前两天，我没有报到，属于大学里非正式员工，所以我就每天带着自己的苹果笔记本电脑到校园中心的一个公共电脑机房，浏览网页，与外面的世界联络。衣食住行，处处需要打理安排。有朋友告诉我买东西可以坐公共汽车到克莱顿购物中心。那里很大，有商场、超市，也后大大小小的食肆和杂货店，还有一个不小的香港超市，里面卖各种亚洲食品。我一下子买了很多东西，然后回到住处，给自己煲汤，煮面，有了可口的饭菜，才找到一点归宿和归属感。然后正式报到，与老板和同事见面；来到自己的办公室，才是工作。工作之余的生活简简单单，约一位老相识的澳洲朋友，也是新同事，一起喝茶吃饭；还有新朋老友相约一起去打羽毛球。再后来，生活有了起色，节奏也快了起来。租房子，家人团聚，找到了一家教会，参与教会生活，跟新结识的朋友一起去湖山滑雪。。。墨尔本的乐章与世界在不知不觉中，已经慢慢地有了音符，色彩和故事。

Arriving in Melbourne, I feel like shifting from a fantasy to a world of reality. While the end of June in Hong Kong was warm and pleasant, full of colours, Melbourne was damp and cold, with even colours feeling down and out, partly coinciding with my mood. When I got off the plane at the Melbourne Airport, I saw signs, including ‘Welcome to Melbourne’ in both English and Chinese. Walking hurridly like many other passengers, and looking around, I could only see strangers. I then took a taxi to Monash University, and moved in the temporary accommodation I was provided by the university, which was a studio for the first morning upon my arrival, and a house at 68 Beddoe Ave for the first two and a half weeks. It was an old house, but well maintained, with three bedrooms and a sitting room, and decent sized front and back yards. For the first two days when I wasn’t officially a staff member yet of Monash University,  I simply took my Mac and stayed in one of the computer rooms inside the campus centre, so that I could browse websites and get connected to the ‘outside’ world. In the meantime, I would need to manage my own life. A friend told me that I could take a bus to go to Clayton for shopping. So I made a trip there, discovering something familiar and similar to Hong Kong: shops, supermarkets, restaurants and stores. I even saw a big ‘Hong Kong Supermarket’ full of Asian groceries. I bought lots of stuff, and made soup, and noodles when I got ‘home. With good food, I felt a sense of belonging. I then started my new job, meeting my boss and colleagues, and working in my office. After work, my life was pretty simple and straightforward. I had a good old Australian friend but also a ‘new’ colleague, so we arranged to meet up for a cuppa. I also had friends, old and new, so we arranged to play badminton as well.  Days in Melbourne started, and gained pace. I rented a house, got reunited with my family, found a church and also resumed my Christian life. I even made a skiing trip with my newly made friends to the Lake Mountain. The new chapter and world of Melbourne started unfolding, and without much of my own consciousness, they became full of musical notes, colours and stories.

我的第三个“世界”是虚拟的，那里有电子邮件，视频通讯和脸书社交媒体。两个半星期，基本上都是一个人的生活，空闲的时间几乎都在网上：拍些照片放在脸书上与朋友分享；跟家人或好朋友视频聊天；或者写电子邮件与亲朋好友交流沟通。就这样，我在虚拟的世界里漫游， 虽然孤独，但似乎我早已习惯了这样的孤独。旅居者的生活本来就是孤独的。直到那个周三的晚上，我的家人从西澳珀斯来到墨尔本，我们全家团聚。孤独漂泊过后，便有了安稳的家。我们在一个相对繁华的社区租了房子。这附近有商场，小餐馆，学校，电影院，有汽车火车站。有了家，就有了真实的生活，生活也就有了新的起点和转机。我们小家三口人的英文名字都是以M开头的，而墨尔本的蒙纳士也都以M开头。这是巧合还是机缘？我的一位朋友说，也许这里才是我命中注定该来的地方，或者是我人生的另一个驿站。

My ‘third’ world is a virtual world, filled with Hotmail, Skype, and Facebook interactions. Living all by myself for the first two and a half weeks in Melbourne, I was subconsciously looking for activities online to fill in my spare time: photo updates of my new experiences on Facebook; Skyping with my family and friends, and writing and receiving emails from other human beings. In the meantime, I also had daily phone conversations with families and friends. Up until my wife and daughter joined me on that Wednesday evening, I had been wandering around a world of my own, be it real or virtual. Feeling lonely, but I seem to have got used to it. A sojourner, perhaps, is meant to be lonely and on his own. However, life seems to have a new start after I have secured a house in a convenient location, close to almost everything: shopping centres, restaurants, schools, cinemas, and bus and train stations; and particularly after my family joined me. The M-M-M (first name initials of the three members of my family including me) become united again, after all these separate journeys and trips over the past several years. The M-M-M at around Monash in Melbourne! Was it a coincidence or serendipity? One of my friends reminded me, saying that perhaps Melbourne had always meant to be my destination, or one of my destinations in life.

无论我身在何地，作为旅居者，一切故事都在继续。有香港的，也有墨尔本的，两个既熟悉又陌生的城市。有过去的，有眼前的，也有虚拟的，双城记与三个世界。

Well, wherever I am, as a sojourner, my stories continue, about Hong Kong, and about Melbourne, two of the familiar but also strange cities. They are transcending the past, the present, and the virtual. And for the time being, it's a tale of two cities and three worlds.