美国老师感慨：连特朗普都阻止不了中国学生想去美国的心！

特朗普上台了。

“仇视中国”“”……美国从来没有哪个总统有这么多令人厌恶的标签。

中国的留学生，会因特朗普的上任而却步吗？

今天给我们投稿的是一枚美国汉子。

汉子在上海的一所中美合作学校教书，学生都是以去美国留学为目标的。

然而这回，美国来了个画风魔性的总统，不少学生都担忧这会不会给他们的留学之旅带来麻烦。

但是，即使再怎么麻烦，他们要去美国读书的心依然坚定不已。

这是为什么呢？

11月时，特朗普大选获胜的第二天，我走进自己教书的班级，一时间竟不造该说啥好。对了，我所在的是上海一所中美联合学校，这里的学生都倍儿用功，以去美国读书为目标。但我知道，他们当中不少人对这个新任总统持保留态度。

In November, the day after Donald Trump was elected president of the US, I was not sure what to say when I arrived at the class I teach for a joint Chinese-American university here in Shanghai. The students there all work hard in the hopes of gaining admission to American universities, but I knew many of them had reservations about the new president-elect.

那天刚一上课，他们就问了我许多问题，但有一些我也打不出来。比如说，中国学生还能去美国嘛？会不会在美国卷土重来？？而我也只能回答说，咱们都拭目以待吧！鬼知道特朗普总统会把这个国家玩儿成什么样。

They asked me many questions at the start of class that day, but I didn't have all the answers. They wanted to know if Chinese students could still travel to the US. They wanted to know if racism had returned to the US. They wanted to know how all the expert political predictions had been so wrong. I mostly told them to wait and see how it would play out. Nobody back then knew what a Trump presidency was going to look like.

当Betsy DeVos被任命为教育部长，她之前那些充满争议的观点让我的学生心焦不已：这个新部长会影响他们顺利拿到去美国学习的签证吗？当然了，他们真正担忧的并不是美国，而是他们自己的命运。有个学生甚至把自己捯饬成了特朗普的支持者，他觉得这样或许更容易拿到visa。不过两周之后呢，他就弃疗了——为特朗普的言行洗地太心累了。

When Betsy DeVos was named the new Secretary of Education under Trump, several of my students questioned how her controversial appointment might affect their chances of obtaining a visa to study in the US. Clearly they were more worried about their own futures than America's. One student even fashioned himself into the ultimate Trump supporter, perhaps thinking he'd be guaranteed a visa, but he quit after just two weeks. He said that it was too much work defending Trump on a daily basis.

今年春，不少学生都被美国的大学录取了。他们毫不犹豫地表格上签下了名字，即使之前再对特朗普嗤之以鼻的学生，也兴冲冲地准备收拾起了行李。

This spring, after many of my students found themselves accepted into major American universities, they did not hesitate to sign on the dotted line of their acceptance forms. The same students who were visibly petrified of Trump's new America just a few months ago were now eagerly packing their bags to move there.

有学生怀疑特朗普是不是真对他的前途有巨大影响。“特朗普是个精明的商人。中国学生与美国高校间互相需要彼此，对此他再清楚不过。我想他应该会努力保持这个双赢的态势。”不过，还是有学生即使被美国高校录取了，依然很讨厌特朗普。“我感觉他挺仇视中国人的，”有个学生这样说道，“不过我觉得自己做得足够好就行，他们作妖也影响不了我。”

One student doubted that Trump would actually influence his future. "Trump is a wise businessman, he knows that Chinese students need American universities, and the universities need those students as well. I think he will be wise enough to keep it a win-win situation." Other students reacted rather strongly against Trump's message even after learning about their acceptance into American universities. "I feel his hatred of Chinese people," a student told me. "But if I am good enough, then nothing can affect me."

那么，有什么事能改变他们去美国学习的决定么？我好奇地问了学生们，却等来一片沉默。他们面面相觑，似乎在互相打气。“除非有不可抗力的因素（天灾等），”一个学生说道。“没有什么能阻挡我！”又有人表态。在他们眼中“真正的美国教育”诱惑力太大，才不会轻易为此放弃。

I asked what it would take for them to not study in the US in the first place. The question hit a wall of silence as they stared at one another for moral support. "An act of God," one said. "Nothing will stop me," another stated. For them, the promise of a "real American education" was so great that the idea of not going simply failed to register.

特朗普只是一个人而已。尽管他的言论造成了中国学生的一些恐慌，但仅仅几条刻薄的Twitter就想阻止他们去美国追求最好的教育？显然痴人说梦。更好的教育，更好的工作，更好的未来——这些闪闪发光的东西，学生们才不会轻易放弃。

Trump is only one man, and while many of his comments about China create anxiety among Chinese students, it will take more than some mean-spirited tweets to stop them from finding the best education available. They're going for the promise of a better education, a better job, a better future.

在中国，“出国留学”的念头甚至还萌发于很年幼的孩子心间。有个小学女孩，每天早晨都会边被字母表边上楼梯，上一阶背一个。有天我忍不住问她妈妈：“为什么你想把女儿送去美国读书呢？”“因为……”她说了两个字，便没有了下文。显然，对于她来说，去美国读书还需要多解释什么理由么？

The desire to study abroad starts young in China. An elementary school girl hops down the stairs in my building each morning reciting a letter of the English alphabet on each step. "Why do you want her to study in the US?" I asked her mother one day. "Because," she said. I waited for her to say something else, but nothing came. For her, maybe the answer was so obvious that it did not require an explanation. The idea of America needs no words.

原文：Ryan Thorpe

翻译：lanlan

图：Chen Xia、网络

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