I'm a retired and reformed ex-undercover KGB agent.

我是一位改邪歸正的前 KGB (蘇聯情報機構)退休特工

I'm gonna talk a little bit about

我要來談一 下

what it took to morph from a German to an American,

我如何從德國人偽裝成美國人

where I was successful and where I was not.

其中成功和失敗的地方

I spent all together about four years studying English,

我總共花了約四年的時間學習英語

perfecting to the extent possible an American accent.

盡可能地做到和美國人有一樣的口音

Practicing until I was blue in the face

我很勤奮地練習但是

to pronounce English words properly.

有些發音還是無法很道地

For instance, one of the hardest things for Germans,

例如，對一個德國人而言，最困難的事之一

one of them is the T-H, but things like

就是發 T-H ，以及像是

the difference between hot and hut.

hot 和 hut 在發音上的區別

I had learned to speak English

和其他人一樣

and write it as well as anybody,

我學會了說、寫英語

but I hadn't become an American culturally.

但是我從未在文化上成為美國人

My behavior was still very German.

我的行為舉止仍然很「德國人」

Having now learned the difference between

在了解德國和美國

the German style and the American style,

文化上的差異後

I have been trying to adjust and soften

我就一直試圖調整待人接物

the way I'm approaching things.

的方式並放軟姿態

Germans are in your face, they will tell you

德國人有話直說，即使你沒有問他的意見

what they think even if you don't ask for it,

他們也會告訴你他們的想法

and they will criticize you at any chance they get.

他們批評你是不分場合也不講情面的

And that was me.

我就是這種人

And there's still a residue of that left.

還是留有一些德國人的習性改不掉

Americans will be a little more passive,

美國人就比較保守一點

sometimes passive aggressive, and they

有時候用拐彎的方式批評你，他們

wrap everything, every piece of bad news,

很會把不好的事情包裝起來

in some kind of a velvet cloth so it doesn't hurt that much.

好像包裹在羽絨裡，使它不會造成太大的傷害

The clothes and the food, that was taken care of

關於衣、食的文化的學習，是我在一個為期三個月

by a three month practice trip to Canada.

的加拿大體驗之旅中完成的

Before I was sent to the U.S., that was I think 1977,

在我被送到美國之前，大概是 1977 年的時候

and Canada is close enough so I learned menus,

因為加拿大和美國的文化非常相似，所以我到那裏學習看菜單點菜

I learned what beer there was being drunk,

我去了解當地人喝什麼牌子的啤酒

what wine and liquor, and I bought all kinds of clothes.

葡萄酒和烈酒，我買了各式各樣的衣服

Obviously spent a lot of time wandering

當然，我花了很多時間逛百貨公司

around in stores and so forth.

並且到處看看

That was actually a good idea by the KGB

KGB 把我送去做這種旅遊學習

to send me on this kind of a training trip.

實際上是一個蠻好的主意

First night in Montreal, I go to a restaurant

在蒙特利爾的第一晚，我去一家餐館吃晚餐

to eat dinner and I have a beer.

然後點了啤酒

That place, they just gave you a bottle.

在那裡，他們只會給你整瓶的

They wouldn't pour it into a glass.

他們不會幫你把酒倒進杯子裡

So I'm looking at this bottle, I'm calling the waiter,

所以我看了看酒瓶，把服務生找過來

and say hey, can I have a bottle opener?

對他說，能不能給我一個開瓶器？

And he looked at me like huh?

他看著我，眼光好像在說「蛤」？

And then he twisted the cap off.

接著他就用手把瓶蓋轉開了

I had never worked with a bottle

我過去從未看過可以用手轉開瓶蓋

where you can twist the cap off.

的啤酒瓶

Eventually, I found out watching television,

最終，我發現看電視、

reading the newspaper, and so forth, and eventually

閱讀報紙，各方面去學習，最後除了人際溝通外

started to think, feel, and act more like an American

我的思考，感受，和行為終於可以

except for the communication style.

變得更像一個美國人

When I came to the United States, I was fundamentally,

我剛來美國時，我根本

culturally, and psychologically unprepared.

在文化上和心理上都毫無準備

I spoke the language as well as anybody,

我說的英文，就和別人一樣普通

but being an American, not at all.

但對真正的美國人而言，卻不是這麼簡單

The one thing that saved me was that in the early years

有一件事救了我，就是在最初幾年

I managed to stay away from inquisitive folks,

我都設法遠離有好奇心的人

particularly say ladies who were Americans who would

尤其是美國大媽

quickly find out there's something different about you.

因她們很快就會發現你和真正的美國人有些不一樣

What saved me from making these fundamental bad mistakes

讓我從這些糟糕的錯誤中解脫出來的關鍵

was that I started interacting with people who didn't care.

是我開始與不在乎我是誰的人進行交流

I worked for two years full time as a bike messenger.

我做了兩年全職的腳踏車送貨員

That was sort of a transient

像是個過客

kind of a crew that worked there.

就像打工的船員

You know, one day they work and the next day they're gone.

今天在這裡明天就離開了

Nobody cared a whole lot and nobody was inquisitive.

沒人會管閒事，也沒人會對他人好奇

So I listened a lot and I learned what it was like

因此我聽了很多，也學到了

to live in the country and pretend

在這個國家的人是如何過日子的

to have lived in the country for many years.

並且假裝已經住在美國很久了

Includes the sports, the movies, celebrities,

包括運動，電影，名人

and all that stuff that you cannot learn

以及你在美國以外

when you're outside of the country.

無法學到的所有東西

And so I slowly got to a point where I felt comfortable

因此，我慢慢達到了一種境界，我可以很自在的

talking and acting as if I were an American

說話和行動，就像個真正的美國人

even though I was not aware that my behavior

即使我沒有意識到我的行為

was still clearly traceable to my German roots.

仍然可以清楚地追溯到我的德國根源

If you're looking for people who pay attention to history,

如果你正在尋找關注歷史的人

if you're looking for people who are spiritual,

如果你正在尋找有靈性的人

if you're looking for people who

如果你正在

know how to appreciate good food,

尋找懂得享受美食的人

this country provides such a variety to folks who live here

這個國家為生活在這裡的人，提供了多樣化的選擇

that you can always find what you're looking for.

你總能找到你想要的

The one thing that you have here

你們擁有一樣東西

that I believe in no where else in the world

我相信在世界上任何地方都沒有的

is called freedom with a capital F.

就是「自由」，它已經成為你們的信仰

(relaxing music)

(輕鬆的音樂)