怀念在美国加州的时光

It's time to remind myself what I love about life here in California, USA, to remember what I desperately miss when I go home.

当我回到家乡，总是让我意识到我是有多么的留恋在美国，加州的生活。

Real radio

电台

In the USA there are so many radio stations that those iPod tuner things don't work at all. There is, simply, no dead air. For a while, I hated that, because my iPod wouldn't play in my car, and all the stations drove me mad with constant advertising.

在美国有很多电台，完全不是那种随身音乐播放器能比拟的，在这里电台包罗万象。有一次在美国开车，我的随身音乐播放器坏了，感觉所有的电台都在播广告，简直让人崩溃。

It took me a while to discover the USA's many public radio stations, which don't broadcast any adverts.

就是这样我才花了一些时间去研究美国的公共电台，那些电台完全没广告。

KCRW is my favourite station, for its blend of indie music and current affairs. But I also listen to KJAZZ and KPCC. But before you feel jealous - it's all online. My favourites: American Life, Snap Judgement and Henry Rollins live every Saturday night. Take a listen online for free.

KCRW是我最喜欢的电台，提供独立音乐和时事播报服务，还有KJAZZ和KPCC我也很喜欢，不用嫉妒，在网上你们也可以听得到，我最喜欢的节目有三个，美国生活，草率判断，还有每周六的Herny Rollins。网上听皆免费。

News? Well, there's not a lot of news from South Africa, and when it is, it's bad and full of fear, so I ignore it. But I care about any place I live in, and that includes the USA. And on public radio, the USA is covered in depth, from the perspective of individual stories rather than statistics.

还有新闻报道，在南非新闻报道很少，很多新闻都是负面报道听了就让人发愁，所以我一般不听。我很留意身边发生的事情，当然包括在美国发生的事情，在美国的公共电台中，新闻报道非常有深度，除了简单枯燥数据报道外，还有专家分析。

电视

Television is not cheap, or all that good a service here. But never mind, this is America. There are plenty of great alternatives for the discerning addict.

Let's focus on the legal. If you want a TV episode the same week and don't mind seeing the same adverts 24/7, you can pay for Hulu, which isn't too expensive compared to Cable.

在美国看电视很棒但不便宜，别介意，这是美国，不看电视好玩的还很多。

如果是合法电视台的话，看电视剧肯定避免不了广告，但是你可以选择Hulu，对比有线电视台也不是很贵。

And then there's Netflix... oh, . Streaming of thousands and thousands of movies and TV shows, from all over the world, legally, for $7.99 a month? This couldn't exist in South Africa, not with the slowness of our internet, or the fragmentation of our market. I guess this is what's great about first world media. Even though the USA is a hugely varied market, like South Africa, people can afford to pay for services en mass, and enough people speak English at home to buy into it.

除此之外还有Netflix，拥有超多的电视节目，几乎每个国家的节目都有，费用每月只要7块9毛9，在南非这种事情完全不可能，我们的国家网速慢，市场分散，相比之下，我觉第一世界的媒体就是棒。

美国某些方面和南非一样，是一个多元化的市场，但是几乎所有家庭都有钱付费看电视，就算是不说英语的家庭也愿意付费。

I have no doubt that some of this could exist in Zulu or Xhosa in South Africa one day, so I find America inspiring in this way. The only problem is that finding an obscure Korean film subtitled in Zulu is pretty much impossible.

我觉得南非的科萨和祖鲁也终会有一天有这种条件的，美国给了我信心。额外一提的是，想看祖鲁语字幕的韩剧在哪也是不可能的。

The festivals

节日

I'm jealously watching tweets and Facebook boasts and reviews from SXSW - seems like half the people I used to work with in SA are there, meeting Grumpy Cat and watching bands they've always wanted to see live. It's great to know that these 1000s of festivals are so close, and that one day, if film school schedule ever allows me to leave campus for more than a few days, I can go to one or two of them. I have already exchanged my much loved Ford Mustang for a bigger, less sexy car - a car spacious enough to sleep in - so that next year I can be there, not just dream of it.

每次我看推特，脸书，和SXSW的评论时都很羡慕，让我感觉我在南非时的朋友都在这里面，一起看不爽猫，看乐队表演。有近千个节日盛典好像都要临近日期举行，如果哪天，学校能给我几天假期，我肯定会参与其中一到两个。我已经把我的福特野马换成了辆空间更大的车，虽然不怎么好看，但是足够让我睡觉，所以明年返校，也切都不是梦想了。

The famous people

名人

When I go back to SA, I'm often asked if I've spotted any famous people. It's kinda awkward for me. I feel the same way about it as I feel when an American asks me if there are lions in the streets. Except yes, I have. No, not lions. I have met some famous people. I chatted to RJ Mitte from Breaking Bad outside a club in West Hollywood. Many of my professors are famous directors. The problem is, once you meet these famous people, they're just people, FFS.

每次我回到南非的时候都有人问我有没有看到什么名人，让我感到很难启齿，就好像美国人问我是否在南非是否在马路上看到过狮子一样，南非的马路上当然没有狮子。我在西好莱坞外的酒吧里见到过绝命毒师的RJ米特，而且我学校里的老师很多也是著名导演，但是，我见到的这些名人，在美国，也不过是普通人。

This feels disappointing at first, like you're missing a Jesus moment of some sort. But if you think about it, it's inspiring. What it means, is that I, little me (right now, also “just a person”) could be a famous just-a-person person one day, and get to make all the films I just dream of now.

一开始，虽然会有点失望，很失落，但是仔细想想，还是很鼓舞人心的，如果有一天我成了名人，在这里，我依然只是个普通人，可以继续拍摄我梦想中的影片。