聲音
在台北，我最熟悉的聲音是手機鈴聲。誰的手機響了，誰用什麼手機鈴聲似乎是我耳朵最關心的事。
旅程開始了整整一個月。一開始，當Rob問我：「咦？那是什麼聲音」我幾乎渾然不覺，什麼都聽不到，甚至連Rob描述給我聽，我仍然一頭霧水的說：「在哪裡？」。隨著時間增加，我的耳朵似乎也逐漸恢復應有功能。
首先，是大自然的各種聲音。啄木鳥在樹枝鑿洞的聲音像極了機關槍。海鷗的叫聲像是在菜市場扯開破鑼嗓一樣，無論是獨奏或合鳴，我都覺得像似了吵架。Rob說海鷗的聲音讓人覺得他們好像很命苦，總是在抱怨。白頭鷹的叫聲悠遠響亮，每每聽到我總拿起望遠鏡循聲找尋他們或遨翔或霸居枝頭的漂亮姿態。調皮的海獅或海豚浮出海面換氣的噴水聲總讓我感覺充滿生命力而最令我著迷，怎麼聽都不厭煩。
然後，我開始辨識我們的船發出的各種聲音所代表的訊息。在航行時，船尾拖曳的小船划過水面激起的水聲，就可以讓我們判別船行的速度。常常我在航行，Rob在船艙內煮飯聽到小船航行逐漸有氣沒力，他就會探頭大叫：「把我的風還我！」在船艙內，由於淡水是儲存在座位下的二個大水箱，用腳踩幫浦出水的，出水時空氣聲音的多寡就代表水箱的剩水量。
睡覺時，要聽的聲音可多了。由於我們大部分都是在天然海灣中下錨，我們的船能安然無恙的停留在原地才是一夜好眠的保證。「噹、噹、噹」是船帆索因風敲打船桅桿的聲音，頻率越急就表示風越大，得起床察看船錨是否仍紮實扣住水底泥巴。悶悶的「恐～」一聲是小舟撞到船緣，代表風轉向了。我們的床上方是船首的艙門，下雨時就會有雨滴「咚咚」的落在艙門的聲音，即使在夢中我也會暗自竊喜：明天早上大概不用一早起床趕路航行了吧！
我和Rob總是說若有錄音機真該錄下這一些聲音，這些我不可能在原來生活中出現的聲音。然後，我突然發現，我記不起我手機的鈴聲了！
[translation]
The most familiar sound in Taipei is the ringing of cell phones. My ear always picks up who uses what ringtone.
We've been traveling for a month. When we first started, when Rob asked me “Hey! What's that sound?” most of the time I couln't even hear it. Even after he would describe the sound to me, I would ask him, “Where? What sound?” But with time my ears have regained the sensitivity that they were meant to have.
The first things that made it in were the sounds of nature. The staccato machine gun sounds of woodpeckers. The sounds of the gulls came through like the hoarse dickering of a Taiwanese street market. Whether alone or in groups, the gulls always sound like they're arguing. Rob says they sound like their life is really tough. When he hears them call he says it sounds like the gulls are complaining. The call of the bald eagles is sharp and clear over long distances. Every time I hear them I pick pu the binoculars to search for them soaring or ruling over the top of a tree with their regal bearing. The playful seals come up for breath with a sound full of life which completely fascinates me. I never tire of hearing it.
After nature found its way in I started to hear the sounds of our boat more clearly. I began to know what each sound meant. While under sail, the dinghy that we tow behind us cuts the water with a distinct sound. We can make an accurate estimate of our boat speed just from hearing the sound of the dinghy moving through the water. Often, when Rob is down below cooking and hears the dinghy sound lose a bit of its forcefulness he'll poke his head out of the hatch and tell me “Hey, put the wind back in the sails!” Within the cabin I can tell how much water is left in our water tanks by the sound the foot pump makes when I pump water.
At night when it's time to sleep, there are so many sounds to hear. Since we mostly drop our anchor in some small natural harbor we can safely get a peaceful night's sleep. “Dong, dong dong” is the sound of our halyards banging against the mast. If the sound becomes insistent it means the wind has picked up. It's time to get up and mak sure that the anchor is still holding. A muted “Kong” sound is the sound of our dinghy hitting the back of our boat. It means the wind has changed direction. Above our bed is the forward hatch. When the run falls, the drops on the hatch pitter patter their way into my dreams, and I doze with the joyful knowledge that I won't have to get up early to get the boat moving.
Rob and I have several times wished for a microphone to record a few of these sounds. These are sounds that I never could have imagined in my life before boarding this boat.
I find I've completely forgotten what the sound of my cell phone ringer is.
在台北，我最熟悉的聲音是手機鈴聲。誰的手機響了，誰用什麼手機鈴聲似乎是我耳朵最關心的事。
旅程開始了整整一個月。一開始，當Rob問我：「咦？那是什麼聲音」我幾乎渾然不覺，什麼都聽不到，甚至連Rob描述給我聽，我仍然一頭霧水的說：「在哪裡？」。隨著時間增加，我的耳朵似乎也逐漸恢復應有功能。
首先，是大自然的各種聲音。啄木鳥在樹枝鑿洞的聲音像極了機關槍。海鷗的叫聲像是在菜市場扯開破鑼嗓一樣，無論是獨奏或合鳴，我都覺得像似了吵架。Rob說海鷗的聲音讓人覺得他們好像很命苦，總是在抱怨。白頭鷹的叫聲悠遠響亮，每每聽到我總拿起望遠鏡循聲找尋他們或遨翔或霸居枝頭的漂亮姿態。調皮的海獅或海豚浮出海面換氣的噴水聲總讓我感覺充滿生命力而最令我著迷，怎麼聽都不厭煩。
然後，我開始辨識我們的船發出的各種聲音所代表的訊息。在航行時，船尾拖曳的小船划過水面激起的水聲，就可以讓我們判別船行的速度。常常我在航行，Rob在船艙內煮飯聽到小船航行逐漸有氣沒力，他就會探頭大叫：「把我的風還我！」在船艙內，由於淡水是儲存在座位下的二個大水箱，用腳踩幫浦出水的，出水時空氣聲音的多寡就代表水箱的剩水量。
睡覺時，要聽的聲音可多了。由於我們大部分都是在天然海灣中下錨，我們的船能安然無恙的停留在原地才是一夜好眠的保證。「噹、噹、噹」是船帆索因風敲打船桅桿的聲音，頻率越急就表示風越大，得起床察看船錨是否仍紮實扣住水底泥巴。悶悶的「恐～」一聲是小舟撞到船緣，代表風轉向了。我們的床上方是船首的艙門，下雨時就會有雨滴「咚咚」的落在艙門的聲音，即使在夢中我也會暗自竊喜：明天早上大概不用一早起床趕路航行了吧！
我和Rob總是說若有錄音機真該錄下這一些聲音，這些我不可能在原來生活中出現的聲音。然後，我突然發現，我記不起我手機的鈴聲了！
[translation]
The most familiar sound in Taipei is the ringing of cell phones. My ear always picks up who uses what ringtone.
We've been traveling for a month. When we first started, when Rob asked me “Hey! What's that sound?” most of the time I couln't even hear it. Even after he would describe the sound to me, I would ask him, “Where? What sound?” But with time my ears have regained the sensitivity that they were meant to have.
The first things that made it in were the sounds of nature. The staccato machine gun sounds of woodpeckers. The sounds of the gulls came through like the hoarse dickering of a Taiwanese street market. Whether alone or in groups, the gulls always sound like they're arguing. Rob says they sound like their life is really tough. When he hears them call he says it sounds like the gulls are complaining. The call of the bald eagles is sharp and clear over long distances. Every time I hear them I pick pu the binoculars to search for them soaring or ruling over the top of a tree with their regal bearing. The playful seals come up for breath with a sound full of life which completely fascinates me. I never tire of hearing it.
After nature found its way in I started to hear the sounds of our boat more clearly. I began to know what each sound meant. While under sail, the dinghy that we tow behind us cuts the water with a distinct sound. We can make an accurate estimate of our boat speed just from hearing the sound of the dinghy moving through the water. Often, when Rob is down below cooking and hears the dinghy sound lose a bit of its forcefulness he'll poke his head out of the hatch and tell me “Hey, put the wind back in the sails!” Within the cabin I can tell how much water is left in our water tanks by the sound the foot pump makes when I pump water.
At night when it's time to sleep, there are so many sounds to hear. Since we mostly drop our anchor in some small natural harbor we can safely get a peaceful night's sleep. “Dong, dong dong” is the sound of our halyards banging against the mast. If the sound becomes insistent it means the wind has picked up. It's time to get up and mak sure that the anchor is still holding. A muted “Kong” sound is the sound of our dinghy hitting the back of our boat. It means the wind has changed direction. Above our bed is the forward hatch. When the run falls, the drops on the hatch pitter patter their way into my dreams, and I doze with the joyful knowledge that I won't have to get up early to get the boat moving.
Rob and I have several times wished for a microphone to record a few of these sounds. These are sounds that I never could have imagined in my life before boarding this boat.
I find I've completely forgotten what the sound of my cell phone ringer is.
