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233.A volunteer's crucial vote
第233课 一位志愿者关键性的决定
The lessons I learned as a volunteer in Africa could fill volumes.
我在非洲做志愿者所学到的东西可以写成几卷书。
Before I embarked upon my voluntary voyage, I felt a huge void in my life.
在我踏上志愿者行程之前，我感到生活无比空虚。
When I look back upon it, there was a certain vulgarity to my existence.
当我回首过去，觉得生活中有种庸俗。
I had not done anything meaningful in my twenties at all,
二十几岁这个阶段我没有做过任何有意义的事情，
unless you count getting a second-rate college degree an accomplishment.
除非把获得一个次等的大学学位也算做一种成就。
As my twenties waned and my thirties approached, I began to consider life more seriously.
随着这个年龄段的行将结束，而立之年的临近，我开始更为认真地看待生活。
I felt maybe as if the warranty on my life was about to expire.
我感到好像生活的保证即将终止。
The vulgar life of wine, women, and food, which only left me with an expanded waist and a vulnerable ego,
酒水、女人、饭菜这种庸俗的生活只给我留下了变宽的腰身和脆弱的自我，
was giving way to a voracious appetite for meaning.
这种生活正让位于对生活意义如饥似渴的兴趣。
Sometimes it was as if my mind was a volcano erupting with a desire to figure out why I was put on this earth.
有时好像我的头脑是座火山，爆发出要弄懂我到世上所为何事的渴望。
This desire would sometimes calm for days at a time,
这种渴望有时会平静数日，
but before long, the volcanic explosions in my head would begin again.
但不久之后，头脑中再次开始火山一样的情感爆发。
It was exciting yet also frightening, the way I imagine a chemist must feel when he is experimenting with potentially volatile chemicals.
这种爆发使人激动，然而又令人恐惧，我想就像化学家在试验有潜在挥发性的化学物质时的感觉。
I had to do something before the voltage in my brain became too high and something crazy happened.
我必须赶在头脑中的激情过于高涨，并发生疯狂的事情之前采取行动。
Overnight, I voted to break up with my girlfriend, quit my job, and devote my life totally to others.
一夜之间，我决定和女友分手，辞去工作，将自己的生命完全献给他人。
When I told my girlfriend, she could hardly utter even a vowel sound.
当我告诉女友的时候，她几乎一声不吭。
After the initial effect wore off, I couldn't get her to stop wagging her finger in my face.
在最初的影响渐渐消退之后，我无法阻止她用手指在我脸上比划来比划去的。
Let's just say that she didn't quite agree with this voter's decision.
让我们假定她不太同意我这“投票人”的决定。
I also had the matter of my job. I wanted to give them a two-week notice,
我还有工作的问题。我想提前两周通知他们，
but they reacted very unpleasantly after I told them my decision.
但当我告诉他们我的决定之后，他们反应令人不快。
My two-week notice became an immediate walkout. I even waived my right to my last month's salary.
栽提前两周的通知导致了立刻卷铺盖的结果。我甚至放弃了得到上月薪水的权利。
I also quit drinking, hopping back on the wagon after many years as a dedicated beer drinker.
同时，我戒了酒，而且是在嗜喝啤酒多年之后再次戒酒。
I saw a web site advertising for volunteers in Africa.
我看到一家网站征求去非洲的志愿者。
Two weeks later, I waddled off the plane and into the African heat, a bit tired and jetlagged.
两周后，我摇摇晃晃地走下飞机，置身于非洲的高温之中，身体有些疲惫，感到有些时差反应。
In the next two years, I found meaning in life and peace for my soul.
在接下来的两年之中，我找到了生活中的意义，为灵魂寻找到安宁。
In my homeland, I had been wading through life. Now what I do is akin to Olympic swimming.
过去在我的国家，我一直在生活中费力跋涉。现在我所做的有如奥运会赛场的游泳。
