I got a chance to actually meet an online friend in real life when I went on vacation to San Francisco. I‘d left a note in my live Journal telling everyone where I’d be going. When I went online at the hotel, I found a comment from my friend Kim telling me that she lived nearby in Palo Alto, and asking if I wanted to get together.
After checking with my parents, I rushed back to the computer to let her know that I cloud meet her on my way back too Los Angeles. We exchanged cell phone numbers and set up a meeting place and time. After hanging up, though, I began to get nervous. I had known her for a few months, but meeting someone in person is a lot different than chatting over the internet, and I was worried it wouldn’t turn out well.
We both brought people with us for safety reasons—I brought my parents and she brought a friend—and met in front of a bookstore. I got there a few minutes early, and instructed my parents to please try not to embarrass me. I didn’t see her at first, but after a few minutes, we both recognized each other.
Even though I’d never met her before, I felt like I knew her from all the times we’d talked online. We talked about graphic design, the classes we were taking, clubs we were in and college, which we were both stressed out about since California schools are so competitive and it’s becoming harder to get accepted into good universities. My parents seemed to have a good time too—my dad got into some incredibly involved science conversation with Kim’s friend Derrick.
The meeting lasted less than an hour, since I had to get home. At the end, we hurried outside to take photos with each other, them said goodbye. Even though the meeting was short, it was a lot of fun, and we made plans to get together again if I came up north or she visited near Los Angeles. Now, we talk online several times a week. Before we had only a few conversations a month.
Meeting Kim helped my parents and I get more used to the idea of online and offline life intersecting. I’m glad to have found friends whom I never would have discovered otherwise.
参考译文:
在去旧金山度假的途中,我得以有机会在现实生活中与每一位网友见面。我在网络日记里告诉大家我要去哪。在旅馆上网的时候看到了我的朋友金的留言,她说她住在附近的Palo Alto,问我想不想聚聚。
在征得父母同意之后,我跑回电脑旁边告诉她我可以在回洛杉矶的时候见她。我们交换了手机号码,并且约好了见面的地点和时间。然而在下线之后我开始紧张了。我认识她几个月了,但是见面和在网上聊天是很不一样的,我担心见面之后会感觉不好。
由于安全问题,我们都自带了人过去——我带着父母,她带着一个朋友,我们在书店门口见的面。我早到了几分钟,我对爸爸妈妈说不要让我难堪。开始我没看见她,但是过了一会儿我们都认出对方了。
虽然我们从末见过面,但是我感觉从我们开始在网上聊天起我就认识她了。我们聊了图画设计,各自的班级,参加的俱乐部以及大学,在谈到大学的时候我们都说压力很大,因为加利福尼亚的学校竞争激烈,申请好大学越来越困难了。我爸爸妈妈看上去也很愉快——爸爸正跟金的朋友德瑞克聊科学聊得起劲。
我们见面的时间不到一个小时,因为我要回家了。在最后,我们抓紧时间跑出去照了个合影,然后就说再见了。虽然这次见面时间很短,但是却很开心,我们说好如果我来北部或者她去洛杉矶附近的话再见面。现在,我们一周在网上聊几次,而以前,我们一个月才聊几次。
与金的见面使我和我父母对网上世界和现实世界的交合更加习惯了。我很高兴通过这种方式结识新朋友,如果没有网络,也许我们永远都不可能认识。
n. 细胞,电池,小组,小房间,单人牢房,(蜂房的)巢室