why does your mom say say your name weird?

「為什麼妳媽媽把你的名字念的那麼奇怪啊？」

And I was offended a little bit.

說真的我有點受傷

I was acting and singing in my first musical play.

在我的第一場音樂劇表演，我表演了演戲和唱歌

I noticed that my mom was sitting right

我發現我媽坐在第一排

in the restricted front row area.

不開放的座位區

She wasn't allowed to do that, ha.

這是不被允許的

But, I mean, I love it.

但，其實我愛死了

- I remember my teacher said that I was doing

我記得我的老師曾經說

really bad in history.

我的歷史考得很爛

And it was just very embarrassing, too,

但這其實超丟臉的

because I had to translate that to my mom.

因為我還必須翻譯給我媽聽

- There was this time that the dryer broke.

有一次家裡的吹風機壞掉了

And then my dad likes to fix everything.

我爸爸喜歡修理任何東西

But he goes to the store, comes home and he tells me,

他出門去店裡買，回家之後卻跟我說

I need a thum-o-stat.

我需要一個「很穩器。」

I'm like, dad, I don't know, there's no thum-o-stat.

我說：「爸! 我不知道什麼事很穩器。」

And he talks to the guy again and then I'm like,

我爸又再跟店員講了一次，然後我才發現

you wanted a thermostat this whole time.

原來他一直要講的是恆溫器

He was like, sometimes you just have to try

我爸就說：「有時候你就是要試著

to understand what I'm saying.

去聽懂我在說什麼。」

- The telemarketer, they'd come, and she'd say,

有一次電話推銷員打來，然後我媽就

hey, come talk to them, and I would stand on the phone.

叫我去跟他們說，然後我拿著電話

I'd find out that they were trying to convince me,

發現他們是要推銷我

like a, you know, seven to eight year old,

一個 7、8 歲的小孩

trying to sell me insurance and I don't know how

買保險!

to respond to that.

我根本不知道怎麼回答

- Every afternoon my mom would walk my brother and I

每天下午我媽媽都會帶我跟弟弟

down to the park in our community.

到樓下社區的公園裡玩

This little girl started kicking sand in my direction.

有一次一個小妹妹開始朝著我的方向踢沙

My mom, without touching her,

我媽在沒有碰到她的情況下

she puts her hand over her legs, and she just said, stop.

把手放在她的腳上方，然後說：「停！」

She ran off.

小妹妹就跑走了

There were four or five big women pushing each other

接著四、五個高大的女人爭先恐後地

out of the way, grabbing each other by the shoulders saying,

互相推擠著衝過來，一邊搶著說

let me get a piece of her, let me get a piece of her.

「讓我來給她好看！」、「讓我來給她好看！」

My mom just sort of stood there like why are you talking

我媽媽傻住了，站在那裡一副

to me, I don't know what's going on.

「你們在跟我說什麼？ 發生什麼事？」

I stood in front of her, eight year old me,

那時候我 8 歲，擋在她前面

and I just did this with my hands to protect my mom.

舉起雙手想要保護我媽

There were all these horrific things that were being said

她們對著我媽罵了好多好難聽的話

to my mom and I had to translate all of that.

我還得一一翻譯給我媽聽

I lost it.

我不知所措

Now I was crying and, you know, standing behind her

我哭了！不知道該怎麼辦，站在我媽身後

holding onto her shirt.

抓著她的衣服

Soon enough, boom.

過沒多久，碰！

Punch straight to the face.

一拳就打在我媽的臉上

- Because her priorities were always work, work, work

因為我媽媽的重心，一直是工作、工作和工作

in order to survive she had no time and energy

為了要生存，她沒有時間和精力

to dedicate to learning English.

花心思去學英文

- When it comes to shame, I feel like not only do they

那種丟臉的感覺，是我最先衝擊到我的

feel it but I get the first wave of that shame.

不是只有我爸媽感受得到而已

Having to hear things like why don't your parents

聽到別人說:

speak English?

「你爸媽怎麼不會說英文？」

You know, while your dad or your mom are here in

然後爸爸或媽媽同時在背後一邊說：

the background saying things like,

「噢 ! 那位小姐」

oh, that lady, she didn't treat us very well.

「她好像對我們不是很友善耶! 」

You know, she spoke like she was very mean.

「看她說話的樣子，好像態度很差。」

- Since I was a young child trying to help translate

從我很小的時候

for my parents people always had this idea that I didn't

開始嘗試幫我爸媽翻譯的時候

have the capabilities of understanding what the

別人都認為我沒有能力

conversation was about.

聽懂他們的對話

- And I know that when I was younger, I'd, oh God,

噢!天哪! 我小的時候，真的感到非常挫折

I'd get so frustrated asking my parents,

每次問我父母親

mom, can you help me write a sentence?

「媽，你可以教我寫一個句子嗎?」

I'm sorry, mija, I don't know how to do that.

「很抱歉，Mija，我不會！」

Go ask your dad.

「去問你爸爸。」

Okay.

「好」

Dad, can you help me write a sentence?

「爸，你可以教我寫一個句子嗎？」

I'm sorry, mija, I don't know how to do that.

「很抱歉，Mija，我不會。」

- She came home from work and she was, like,

有一次我媽媽下班回到家，看起來非常沮喪

acting very frustrated and I was like, mom, what's up?

我問: 「嗎，妳怎麼了？」

And she was like, you know Sara, you don't understand!

「Sara，妳根本不懂！」

And I was like, what do you mean, mom?

「什麼意思? 我不懂？」

And she was like, I'm stupid.

「我很笨！」

And she said, I'm slow.

「我動作很慢！」

I'm uneducated.

「我沒有受過什麼教育！」

And that's how, like, I knew, like,

我覺得…我知道…我這輩子

my biggest regret in my entire life is that

最後悔的就是，在我小的時候

I didn't teach my mom more English when I was a kid.

沒有多教我媽一些英文

- My dad was a veteran of Vietnam War.

我父親是越戰的退伍軍人

My parents had to flee the country so every time

他們必須逃離越南

I have to translate for them I think about

所以每當我需要幫他們翻譯，我都會想

why do I even have to do that and it's because

我需要做這些，都是因為他們要成就我

they sacrificed so much to be here for me.

才需要犧牲這麼多，來到這裡

- Now that I'm older I feel like they don't even

現在我長大了，我會覺得其實

need to learn English.

他們根本不需要學英文

Knowing more than I should know about my parents,

當我還小的時候，就必須比別人更了解自己的父母

as a younger kid, makes me feel much more capable

這讓我覺得，我長大後更有能力

to take care of them when they're older.

去照顧他們

- I just want to tell my parents how much I'm grateful

我只想要跟我的父母親說，我有多麼感謝他們

for them regardless of sometimes this forced

雖然我常常會有這種強迫的責任感

responsibility of having to be there and translating

會需要到現場幫他們翻譯

for them.

但這是我能為我爸媽

It's the least I can do to repay them for all

對我做的犧牲

their sacrifices.

付出得最渺小的事情

- Mommy!

媽咪！

(speaking in foreign language)

(外語)

It means I love you, mom.

意思是，媽媽！

Very much.

我真的很愛妳！

(light ethereal music)

(輕音樂)