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With a bachelor's degree in actuarial science, Anxin's life could have followed a predicable course since graduation last year: Secure a post in a bank or an insurance company, deal with figures and charts and earn a handsome salary.
去年畢業并取得精算學學士學位后，安芯（化名）本可過上按部就班的生活：在一家銀行或保險公司中找份工作，整日與數字、圖表打交道，拿一份不錯的薪水。
Or, in common with one-third of her classmates, she could have continued her studies in the United States or Britain in the hope of securing a good job and a high salary.
或者，就像班上三分之一的同學那樣，她可以選擇到美國或英國繼續求學深造，以便日后畢業能夠找份高薪的好差事。
However, while most of her schoolmates have become regular 9-to-5ers or are studying for master's degrees, the 23-year-old chose a path much less traveled and volunteered to work overseas.
然而，當大部分同學或成為普通“朝九晚五族”，或開始讀研時，23歲的安芯卻選擇了一條少有人走的道路，她選擇到國外去做志愿者。
In Kolkata, India, she cared for seriously ill men at Kalighat, a hospice for the sick, destitute and the dying established by Mother Teresa. At the Father Ray Foundation in Pattaya, Thailand, she taught English to poverty-stricken kids and worked with autistic children.
在印度加爾各答，安芯來到特蕾莎修女為疾病纏身、窮困潦倒和病危之人所創辦的收容所“靜心之家”（Kalighat），在那里照顧重病患者。她還在泰國芭堤雅的雷神父基金會教授貧困兒童英語，并參與自閉癥兒童的治療工作。
What initially led to her yearlong journey was "gap year", a term she learned from a German friend in 2010 during an exchange program at San Diego State University in the US. The practice, which is thought to have originated in the UK in the 1960s, involves students primarily, traveling, engaging in volunteer work overseas or undertaking a working holiday abroad.
正是“間隔年”令她開始了長達一年的旅行。2010年時，她在參加美國圣迭戈州立大學的一個交換項目時，從一位德國朋友那里聽說了這個詞。人們認為“間隔年”這一做法起源于20世紀60年代的英國，本來是指一些學生前往海外旅行、參加志愿者工作或是選擇邊打工邊度假。
"I found it very interesting. I though 'a lot of Europeans are doing it, so why shouldn't I?'" said Anxin.
“我發現這很有意思。很多歐洲人都在這么做，為何不試試呢？”安芯說。
Well-established in the West, the idea of the sabbatical was introduced to China just a few years ago. However, it has become increasingly popular among young people as they try to learn more about the world in general and themselves in particular after 16 years of exam-oriented education, before they enter a fast-changing society with an increasing emphasis on speed.
在西方已被廣泛接受的“間隔年”休假理念直到幾年前才傳入中國。盡管如此，在年輕人中，這一做法越來越流行。這些年輕人在接受了16年的應試教育之后，努力想對整個世界、尤其是對自身有一個更深入的了解，然后再踏入這個瞬息萬變的快節奏社會。
Anxin, who hails from the southwestern municipality of Chongqing, said she chose the actuarial science course because her father studied mathematics. Although she showed talent, she wasn't really interested in the subject. "I didn't want to do something I have no passion for. I felt confused and lost. I wanted to learn more about myself on the road," she said recently, when sharing her experiences with around 150 students in Beijing.
來自重慶的安芯說，她之所以選擇精算學專業，是因為她父親曾研究過數學。雖然她在這方面很有天賦，但她對精算并不是很感冒。“我不想做一些自己毫無激情的事情。我感到困惑和迷惘。我想在旅行的路上多了解自己一些，”近日她與150名來北京的學生分享個人經歷時這樣說。
However, she admitted that it wasn't easy to get the idea across to her parents: "My father asked, 'Are you crazy? It's not easy to find a good job today, yet you are going to be a volunteer overseas?'"
但她也承認讓父母理解這一想法并不容易：“我爸爸問：‘你瘋了嗎？如今找個好工作多不容易，你卻想出國去做志愿者？’”
"And when I told him that Pattaya was one of my destinations, he asked, 'Isn't that place famous for its sex industry?'"
“而當我告訴他我要去芭堤雅時，他問道：‘那個地方的色情業不是很出名嗎？’”
However, the determined senior reassured and persuaded her family by outlining a sound plan. She also translated the introductions of all the NGOs she was going to work for so they could read about the organizations for themselves.
盡管如此，那時還在上大四的安芯早已下定決心，為家人列出一份萬無一失的計劃，打消了他們的顧慮，最終說服了他們。她還翻譯了一些她要參加的非政府組織的介紹，以便家人能夠親自了解這些組織的狀況。
Not just about fun
間隔年不僅為了玩樂
In the West, the term "gap year" usually refers to a period before college or immediately afterwards, but the current definition in China is slightly different. A lot of people didn't know about gap years during their school days or were not financially able, have chosen to make up for the missed lesson after working for a few years.
在西方，“間隔年”通常指升入大學之前或大學畢業后緊接著的一段時間，而這個詞在中國的現階段定義略有不同。大多數人在上學時并不知道“間隔年”，或者沒有經濟能力去付諸行動。因此他們選擇在工作幾年后再補上這一課。
Badao is one of those who undertook a delayed gap year. After working as a film production coordinator for three years, she traveled to New Zealand at the end of 2010 on a working holiday visa.
巴道便是這些選擇遲到的“間隔年”中的一位。在做了三年的電影制片協調員之后，她于2010年年底拿到打工度假簽證，前往新西蘭旅行。
New Zealand has become a popular destination for Chinese gappers, because it is the only country that offers a working visa for residents of the Chinese mainland. "The scenery in New Zealand was really amazing, but the trip wasn't just about sightseeing. You have to work really hard and it can be really demanding," said the 28-year-old.
新西蘭已經成為最受中國“間隔客”歡迎的國家，因為新西蘭是唯一一個向中國大陸居民簽發工作簽證的國家。“新西蘭景色迷人，但這次旅行并不僅僅是一次觀光之旅。你必須非常努力工作，有時真的很吃力。”28歲的巴道這樣說。
She was employed in factories that processed strawberries, apples and kiwis, working up to 14 hours a day to earn enough money to support her on her later travels. "But I found I was quite cool with it. After a year of working, travelling and thinking, I realized that our real needs are very simple. Success is not about making money and achieving a high position; but whether you can do what you want and live a healthy life."
她在一家加工草莓、蘋果和奇異果的工廠里工作，為了賺夠錢去支撐接下來的旅程，她每天要工作14小時。“但我發現我完全能應付自如。經過一年的工作、旅行以及思考之后，我意識到我們真正需求的非常簡單。成功與賺錢和地位高低無關，而在于你是否可以做自己想做的，并選擇一種健康的生活。”
"Be the change"
你可以改變
Gap years and working holidays are still relatively new concepts in China, so a lot of people tend to romanticize them before setting out.
在中國，間隔年和打工度假仍是相對新穎的理念，因此很多人在出發前容易將其理想化。
"For me, a gap year need not necessarily be a whole year; it could be just a few months or a few years. It's not a luxury trip or an escape from the real world. It's more like an expedition in which you learn about yourself," said Mao Hexin, a co-founder of Freegapper.com, China's first website to focus on gap years.
“對我而言，間隔年不一定非要是一整年時間，它可以是幾個月或是幾年。這不是一次奢華之旅，也不是逃避現實。它更像是一次自我發現之旅。”國內首家“間隔年”網站Freegapper.com的創建者之一，毛和新（音譯）這樣。
"You shouldn't expect a different world when you come back. Instead, you should 'be the change.'"
“你不應期望結束間隔年后，自己會看到一個全新的世界。相反，變化的應該是你自己。”
