人生沒有用不到的經歷

 
https://camphorpress.com/books/barbarian-at-the-gate/
美國華爾街用「Barbarians at the Gate (門口的野蠻人)」來稱呼商場中居心叵測的併購者。「Barbarians at the Gate」也是一部經典的商場併購電影，描寫爾虞我詐的金融交易。

「Barbarian at the Gate : From the American Suburbs to the Taiwanese Army」作者T.C. Locke (羅克) 學了一年中文之後想成為台灣人。要在台灣生活容易，最好的方式便是擁有中華民國國籍，為此，羅克深陷可怕的入籍夢饜。經過美台兩處申請國籍的官僚作業，他一度成為無國籍的流浪漢，在香港停留半年後終於取得中華民國國籍。結果，他收到兵單！

羅克用華爾街的商業術語「Barbarians at the Gate」，自喻為居心叵測的野蠻人，描寫併入台灣成為台灣人，入營當兵的故事。他為何要刻意使用「Barbarian at the Gate」作為書名？有一本書「WestPoint (西點商學院)」是美國人對軍校與軍隊的看法。
http://www.books.com.tw/products/0010413435
隨便給我一個人，我都可以讓他成為最偉大的領導者！
責任、榮譽、國家——西點的秘密武器。
作者不是讀了西點，而是入籍台灣意外服了兵役，他用美國人對軍人的看法，從軍隊到商場，以書名暗喻一個國家中兩個密切相關的野蠻活動。如同許多當過兵的人一樣，他也有同樣的感受：「I wouldn’t do it again. But I did learn a lot, and I don’t regret it. (我不想再當一次兵，但我確實從當兵學到許多東西，而我不後悔在台灣當了一次兵。)」相信軍旅是有用的經歷。

原本生長在美國鄉村，對台灣軍隊而言，Locke (羅克)是個意想不到、不折不扣的外來者。個性內向，說話輕聲細語的他，收到兵單進入軍隊服役，對他而言是個十分驚駭的挑戰。羅克去入伍，結訓後分發至苗栗山地的營區服役兩年。

「Barbarian at the Gate」以極致誠懇，親身經歷，貼近事實的筆觸來描述台灣軍隊。這是羅克個人的軍旅故事，從認同與掙扎的探索中，他因服役而被台灣同化。羅克描述當兵前緊張的抽籤作業，部隊中精實的訓練，下部隊之後擔任軍官俱樂部中的卡拉OK小弟，服役期間曾被派去屠殺病豬，然而從這些軍旅的種種，他也體會到同袍間的革命情感。在台灣軍隊中，出乎他原本意料之外，羅克對台灣有了更深的歸屬與接受。

此書以前所未有的角度，貼切描寫台灣生活中一個重要的部分。軍旅對台灣男人是個難以忘懷的生命紀錄，也是一個通往男子漢的艱辛儀式，從入伍前的懼怕到退伍後的懷念，台灣男人有的，羅克也有。

P.S.
I wouldn’t do it again. But I did learn a lot, and I don’t regret it.
英文很有趣，「I wouldn’t do it again.」與「I won’t do it again.」兩句截然不同，作者用了前者。
I wouldn’t do it again.「我不想再當一次兵。」，但我也沒機會再當一次了。有一點回味軍旅的成分。
I won’t do it again. 「我是不會再想當一次兵的。」有一點「夠了」的味道。
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Barbarian at the Gate: From the American Suburbs to the Taiwanese Army is the unique account of a white American doing military service in the ROC (Republic of China) army.

Locke fell in love with Taiwan during a year of language study and decided to make the island his home. Acquiring Taiwanese citizenship as a way to make life easier proved anything but. The bureaucratic nightmare found him trapped and stateless in Hong Kong for six long months, and after settling into life in Taiwan he received a surprise call-up for military service.

It was a daunting challenge for the perennial outsider, the softly-spoken introvert needing to conform to military life in a setting where — as the only westerner – he was the ultimate odd-man-out. After basic training at the country’s toughest boot camp he served the rest of his two years’ at a mountain base in Miaoli County.

Barbarian at the Gate is a detailed and brutally honest insider’s look at Taiwan’s military, and also the personal story of the search for identity and the struggle to assimilate. Locke describes the nerve-wracking lottery system, the rigors of training, his assignments ranging from running a karaoke bar for officers to slaughtering diseased pigs, the camaraderie of the barracks, and how – unexpectedly – he developed a deeper sense of belonging and acceptance than he ever had before.

The book is an intimate portrait of an important part of Taiwanese life that has never been written about before. Military service is for many Taiwanese males the most memorable experience of their lives, a difficult rite of passage into manhood that is remembered with dread and nostalgia, and so it was for Locke.