Once when he was eating his contraband ramen
有一次 他正在无照小摊旁边吃面
next to the vendor, police started chasing the vendors and all the customers
警察来了 开始驱赶小摊贩和顾客
But my father told me
但我的父亲告诉我
that as he was running, he kept eating his noodles
他一边跑一边还在吃他的面
because he knew he wouldn't be able to afford any more
因为他知道自己买不起另一碗面了
My mother was born in China near Shanghai
我的母亲出生在中国上海附近
among a small community of Korean expatriates
一个韩国侨民居住的小社区
After returning to Korea, on a day she will never forget
回到韩国后 有一天 她永远都不会忘记
my grandmother went outside to hang the laundry and she never saw here again
我的外祖母出去晾衣服就再也没有回来
she was probably either taken or killed by North Korean soldiers
她可能是被北朝鲜士兵绑架或杀害了
With the war closing in around her
随着战争的临近
at the age of 15, my mother became a refugee
我的母亲在15岁时成了难民
and literally walked, with her younger brother on her back
为了躲避战火 她背着她弟弟
for 200 miles to escape the fighting
徒步走了200英里
Luckily, she was able to resume her schooling in a tent in the southern city of Masan
幸运的是 她在南部马山市的一顶帐篷里得以继续学业
She was an excellent student and with great good luck
她是一个好学生 非常幸运地
she received a scholarship from a secret women's society in the United States
获得了美国一个秘密妇女学会提供的奖学金
and enrolled as a freshman at Scarritt College in Nashville, Tennessee
进入田纳西州纳什维尔的斯卡里特学院
Through almost unthinkably divergent and unlikely paths
通过几乎是无法想象的完全不同和不可能的路径
my parents ended up meeting in New York City at a Christmas party
我的父母最终在纽约市的一次圣诞聚会上邂逅相遇
that gathered together the few hundred Korean students
那次圣诞聚会聚集了几百名当时居住
who were living in the United States at that time
在美国的韩国学生
