中国留守儿童来到纽约移民学校(下)

But Mary Chu, the school’s parent coordinator, seems to know them all.

但该校家长协调人玛丽•朱(Mary Chu)似乎认识每一个学生。

She spends her days darting in and out of a windowless office just off the main lobby, sometimes with a phone on each ear, holding one conversation in English and another in Mandarin.

她每天都会冲进或冲出学校大厅一个没有窗户的办公室，有时会在两只耳朵旁各放一部电话，跟一方讲英语，跟另一方讲普通话。

She also speaks Cantonese and a little Toisanese.

她还会说广东话和一点点台山话。

She said her Fujianese needs work.

她说她的福建话还有待提高。

As with many schools in New York City, an overwhelming majority of the students at P.S. 160 are poor; the entire school qualifies for free lunch.

像纽约市的很多学校一样，第160公立学校的绝大多数学生都不富裕：全校的学生都有资格得到免费午餐。

So the administration tries to pile on cultural activities, like violin lessons or dance classes, that students would otherwise miss.

因此校方会尽力组织许多学生们本来没机会参与的文化活动，比如开设小提琴课或者舞蹈班。

Other challenges are more singular: Each year, hundreds of students enroll who not only are new to the school and the country, but also are unfamiliar with their parents.

该校面临的其他一些挑战则较为特别：每年都有数百名不仅刚刚来到这所学校和这个国家，而且连跟自己的父母都不熟的学生入学。

Ms Chu said that most of their students who were born to recent Chinese immigrants were sent back to China as babies, spending a few years living with family so their parents could work.

朱说，出身于中国新移民家庭的学生，大多在婴儿时期曾被送回中国，跟亲属同住若干年，这样他们的父母就能出门赚钱了。

While their children are gone, the parents, many of whom were in debt from their journey to the United States, work grueling hours, often traveling around the country from one job to the next.

趁着孩子不在身边，父母们——其中很多人是借债来美国的——会拼命打工，常常因为工作变动奔走于美国各地。

When the children are old enough to start school, their parents bring them back.

孩子到了上学的年龄，会被父母接回美国。

It’s not uncommon for our population here, said Patrick So, the school’s social worker.

这种情况在我们这里并不鲜见，该校社工帕特里克•苏(Patrick So)表示。

He said that he asked a mother at the school recently, In six years, how many times did you see your kids?

他说他最近在学校里问过一位母亲：六年里你见过孩子几次？

She said, ‘Maybe a few months,’ Dr So said.

她回答，‘可能一起待过几个月吧，’苏说。

The school offers workshops in subjects like music and art, so parents can spend time with their children and bond without being distracted by work or things that might be going on at home.

学校开办了音乐、艺术等科目的培训班，使得家长既可以陪伴孩子，又不会因为工作或者待在家里时可能发生的一些事情而分心。

Dr So also hosts workshops for parents on how to discipline children, how to talk to them.

苏还为家长办过培训班，教他们如何管束孩子，如何跟孩子交谈。

This is a risk-free place, and they can spend time here together, Ms Russo said.

这是一个无忧无虑的地方，他们可以在这里共度时光，鲁索说。

They don’t know each other, and we want to foster that relationship.

他们不了解彼此，我们想让他们之间的关系变得更加亲密。

Wenming Chen, a president of the parents’ association at P.S. 160, said that when her son was less than a year old, she and her husband sent him to China to live with her in-laws.

第160公立学校家长协会会长陈雯明（音）说，她和丈夫在儿子还不到一岁的时候将他送回了中国，跟她的公婆一起生活。

She worked in Ohio; Michigan; Richmond, Va.; and Chicago before settling in New York City, as she chipped away at her debt from her trip to America.

定居纽约市前，她在俄亥俄州、密歇根、弗吉尼亚州里士满以及芝加哥工作过，还清了为来美国而欠下的债务。

When her son returned from China, Ms Chen said, he was not O.K.

陈雯明说，儿子从中国回来的时候，情况很不好。

He had been exposed to dangerous levels of lead while in China, she said, and he still struggles with learning disabilities as a result.

她说，在中国生活期间，他接触了达到危险水平的铅，结果至今饱受学习障碍的困扰。

The first time I saw him, there was nothing in his eyes, Ms Chen said.

我第一次看见他时，他的双眼是空洞的，陈雯明说。

She and her husband also have a daughter, who is now in prekindergarten nearby.

她和丈夫还有一个女儿，目前在附近上幼儿园。

After the experience with her son, she refused to send her daughter to China.

有了儿子的前车之鉴，她拒绝把女儿送回中国。

Ms Russo and her staff try hard to build bridges to the families.

鲁索及其员工正竭力搭建与学生的家庭之间的桥梁。

In August, Ms Russo, Ms Chu and several other teachers and administrators took a trip to China, organized by Ms Chu, hoping to gain a better understanding of their school’s community.

今年8月，朱组织了一项活动：她和鲁索以及另外几名老师去了一趟中国，希望借此机会更好地理解学校的社区。

Students and their parents seemed to find it validating, Ms Russo said, that school staff members took time to learn about their country and their culture.

鲁索说，学校教职员工花时间去了解他们的祖国和文化的举动，似乎得到了家长和学生的认同。

It also gave those who went on the trip more perspective on the experience of their charges.

中国行也让参与其中的几个人得以用不同的视角来看待孩子们的经历。

You don’t speak the language, and you have to rely on people and you have to figure things out, said Debra Fox, a fifth-grade teacher.

你不会说当地的语言，你必须依靠他人，得去想办法，教五年级的黛布拉•福克斯(Debra Fox)说。

You realize how difficult it must be.

你意识到他们一定很不容易。

I always knew that, we always knew, but to experience it for yourself.

我一直知道这一点，我们一直都知道的，但你还是得亲身体验一下。

To go into a store and just kind of smile.

走进一家商店，只需要露出微笑。

It makes you realize, she added, how hard these little guys have it.

这会让你意识到，她继续说道，这些小家伙有多么不容易。