After my last min bachelorette improvisation at Residence Inn last night, I still had an order of untouched soup dumplings, an order of beef broth mai fun, 7 icecream mochis, and a box of cheese and crackers. I was counting on my guests to bring the left over home last night, but we had too much fun and forgot about all that. People who know me well understand my attitudes to food waste. I hate to waste anything, and I end up having boxes of untouched good stuff. (Joe's Shanghai or Joe's Ginger... I can't remember now.) I felt so bad while packing this morning. All of a sudden, I came up with an idea. I wrapped everything from the fridge. When I checked out, I asked the lady at the reception about the closest soup kitchen. She suggested me to check out grand central since it's only a few blocks away.
昨晚, 我在Residence Inn辦了個很隨意的小型告別單身聚會. 訂了太多食物, 玩得太開心, 結果沒人記得把剩下完全沒動過的幾道菜帶回家(小籠湯包, 牛肉米粉湯, 麻糬冰淇淋, 起士塊與餅乾...). 夠認識我的人會理解我對於浪費食物有多麼痛恨, 結果我在吃不完又帶不走的狀況下剩下這麼多好料(鹿鳴春的好料!) 睡醒後仍覺得心煩, 突然想到個辦法. 我打包冰箱裡所有好料, 到旅館大廳, 問服務人員最近的Soup Kitchen在哪. 服務小姐查詢後說最近的Soup Kitchen有點遠, 但幾條街近的中央車站常有可能用得上這些食物的人們.
So, I walked with a bag of food into Grand Central. I saw no signs of people in need on the ground level and went to the lower level around the food court. It was a little embarrassing because I couldn't really tell if that is someone who would appreciate left-overs. I was afraid that I may offend someone by the stereotyped judgement from the way he/she looked. After standing in the middle of the food court with my bag of food for 30 more seconds, I walked to a very nice gentleman who was working there by cleaning the tables. I said, "Excuse me, I know this question may sound strange, but by any chance you know anyone here who would appreciate untouched leftovers from a pretty good restaurant?" He looked a little bit puzzled, but he did point at a lady and told me that she would know if anyone around here could use some food.
於是, 我提著一袋食物走進中央車站. 在大廳晃晃, 卻找不著可能用得上這些食物的人. 到了地下樓的飲食區看看, 又怕自己因為穿著典型先入為主卻可能問錯人而讓人覺得侮辱丟臉. 躊躇了三十秒後, 走向一個看起來還挺友善的清潔人員, 開口問他：「抱歉打擾了! 我的問題可能有點奇怪, 但我想請問你知不知道這裡可能有誰會需要我點太多而吃不完的好料?」他看來有點狐疑, 但仍指著牆邊一位女士, 跟我說她會知道誰有需要食物.
Slowly, I approached her table. Her ensemble was actually very colorful. She wore a greyish coat with a matching hat that were accented with tiny pinkish threads. Next to her seemed to be her bags of goods. (Now I think of this, I can't recollect what exactly was next to her.) On her table were a few cookies. "Excuse me!" She buried herself in a book without raising her head. I must have said "Excuse me" over three times with some crescendo, and she finally noticed me. There was her look of question and hesitation. Maybe she was afraid that she could be asked to leave or anything.
緩緩地, 我向那位女士靠近. 她的穿著其實還蠻鮮豔的, 大衣與帽子皆為灰色系加上粉紅線條點綴. 她身旁似乎堆疊一些袋子, (說到這, 我對於她身旁那疊東西到底是甚麼毫無印象) 她的桌上有一些小餅乾. 「打擾了!」 她仍然專注於手中的書, 但我也記不得她當時正讀何物! 配合漸強的音量, 大概說了至少三次"打擾了", 她才抬頭看我一眼. 她看來面帶疑問與防備, 也許她擔心被趕走或驅離.
Before she said anything, I continued, "Excuse me for interrupting. I have some untouched leftover food. It's Chinese! There are some dumplings, noodles... I asked the gentleman over there if he knew anyone here would appreciate these, and he told me that I should come talk to you!" Her face softened, and she told me that she had not had real food for a while. Just like that, I felt the warmth in my eyes, and I had to do something to ease myself. I started to take the goodies out from the bag and said, "sorry that they're cold because I had to put them in the fridge". And then I said, "Oh! But this one will be perfect. This is a box of mochis. There is icecream inside! Definitely, start with this first!" She saw the excitement in my face introducing icecream. (Well, who doesn't get excited about icecream?) She gave me a big smile and told me that she appreciated the effort very much. We shook hands, and I learned about her name as Monalisa. ;) Beautiful! We hugged, and I said "Thank you for taking care of the food, and feel free to share it!". "Sure! I can't finish all these on my own. I was only counting on cheese and crackers..." There was no stopping of my tears. I excused myself quickly and started to sob on the way out. All kinds of emotions hit me.
在她開口前, 我緊接：「不好意思打擾了! 我有一些完全沒碰過的食物, 中國菜! 包括湯包, 麵啊有的沒的. 我問了那個好心的先生, 他說你可能知道誰會樂意享用這些食物!」 她的表請軟化了些, 告訴我她好些時候沒有正餐果腹了. 聽她一說我馬上眼紅, 為了轉移注意力, 我打開袋子一樣一樣介紹餐點：「抱歉因為怕食物壞掉只好放冰箱, 所以菜有點冷...」馬上接著又說：「喔! 不過麻糬這時候吃剛剛好! 裡面有冰淇淋!」她目睹我描述冰淇淋的興奮, (有誰聽到冰淇淋不會興奮!?)她的臉上浮現了笑容, 跟我說她非常感謝我費心思. 我們握手, 自我介紹, 那時我才知道原來她自稱蒙娜麗莎!? 多美的名字! 我們擁抱, 我接著說：「感謝你幫我處理這些食物, 歡迎你自由分享!」
她說：「那當然! 我一個人吃不了這麼多, 我原本只打算靠餅乾起士而已...」 她的話逼出了我的眼淚, 我很快地向她道別. 離開車站的路上, 我忍不住抽蓄著哭, 百感交集.
We don't need a government, a politician, an organization, or a law to stop food waste. We ourselves can do a lot by paying a little bit attention to the surroundings or just by simply asking someone who knows the place very well. It's shocking and saddening to learn that things we throw out could become someone else's treasure. Individuals seem little and insignificant, but one is enough to start the change for a better outcome.
我們不需要政府, 不需要政治人物, 不需要機構, 也不需要法律才能解決浪費食物的行為. 我們自己就能辦到很多, 比如說多觀察周遭環境, 或是開口問周遭可能更認識環境的人. 知道自己要丟棄的任何東西可能會成為某個人的寶藏, 常讓我感到驚訝又痛心. 我們常常覺得一個人的力量很渺小, 但"一"已經足夠成為任何不凡的起源了!
