高學歷人羣迴流美國三角洲貧困區

If you are from around here, you know Doug Friedlander is not.

如果你來自這附近，你就會知道道格·弗裏德蘭德(Doug Friedlander)並不是本地人。

Born in New York City and reared on Long Island, Mr. Friedlander is Jewish and vegetarian and has a physics degree from Duke.

身爲猶太裔的弗裏德蘭德在紐約出生並在長島長大，他是一位素食主義者，並從杜克大學(Duke)拿到了一個物理學的學位。

But here he is, at 37, living in a roomy white house in this hard-luck Delta town of 12,000. Mr. Friedlander and his wife, Anna Skorupa, are part of a gradual flow of young, university-trained outsiders into the Delta's shrinking communities, many of whom arrived through Teach for America and stayed beyond their two-year commitment.

但是37歲的他如今在這裏，居住在這個擁有1.2萬名居民的三角洲地區（指密西西比河穿越美洲大陸沖刷出的三角洲地區，位於密西西比州、阿肯色州和路易斯安那州之間——譯註）不起眼小鎮上一棟寬敞的白色房子裏。在三角洲地區日漸萎縮的社區中，有一羣接受過大學教育的年輕外地人正逐漸補充進來，弗裏德蘭德和他的妻子安娜·斯科魯帕(Anna Skorupa)便均是其中一員。他們中的許多人都是通過“爲美國而教”(Teach for America)計劃來到這裏，並且在兩年的服務期過後選擇繼續留下。

Mr. Friedlander is now the ambitious director of the county's Chamber of Commerce. He frets over the kudzu that is devouring abandoned buildings. He attends Rotary Club meetings, where he sidesteps the lunch offerings for carnivores. He organizes workshops to modernize small businesses and pushes tourism and the development of a decimated downtown along the banks of the Mississippi.

現在，胸懷大志的弗裏德蘭德是這個縣裏商會的主管。他爲佔據了廢棄建築的野葛而煩惱不已。他參加扶輪社(Rotary Club)的會議時，會避開供應肉食的午餐。他還組織幫助小型企業現代化、推動旅遊業以及這個位於密西西比河沿岸的衰落商業區整體發展的研討會。

The mechanization of agriculture, lost manufacturing and a legacy of poverty and racism have taken their toll on the Delta, but Mr. Friedlander is thrilled to be here. He left his job at a software company in North Carolina's Research Triangle nine years ago, taking a two-thirds pay cut, to "make a bigger difference."

農業的機械化、衰敗的製造業以及歷史遺留下來的貧窮與種族歧視問題曾讓三角洲地區一蹶不振，但弗裏德蘭德卻很高興能留在這裏。九年前，他離開了北卡羅來納州三角研究園(Research Triangle)的一家軟件公司，拿着只相當於過去三分之一的薪水，想要“過不一樣的生活”。

To that end, "this is the most fertile soil on earth," Mr. Friedlander said. "If I were in New York, I would be a leaf at the end of a branch at the end of a tree — in a forest."

懷着那個想法直到如今，“這是地球上最肥沃的土地，”弗裏德蘭德說。“如果我在紐約，我只不過是一片森林裏某棵樹頂上某一根樹枝末梢的一片葉子而已。”

Mr. Friedlander arrived in 2004 to teach science at Central High School in Helena. He was one of 71 corps members in the Delta; currently, about 300 of them fan across the region's classrooms each year, mostly in Arkansas and Mississippi.

弗裏德蘭德於2004年來到這裏，在海倫娜的中央高中(Central High School)教授科學。他是當時來到三角洲地區的71名隊員之一。現在，每年都有300位新成員加入到這個地區的課堂教學之中，大部分在阿肯色州和密西西比州。

Here, in towns like Helena, a former agricultural hub and river port, they find some of the most devastating poverty in the country: shacks on cinder blocks, schools with nearly all students on subsidized lunch programs.

這裏，在像海倫娜這樣曾是農業中心以及河流港口的鎮子，他們發現了一些在這個國家稱得上最嚴重的貧困現象：用煤渣空心磚砌成的簡易棚屋，幾乎學校裏所有的學生都參加了午餐資助計劃。

Segregation is a fact of life. Private "white-flight academies," as some locals call them, are common, leaving public schools to serve an overwhelmingly poor, black student body.

種族隔離成了一種生活現實。私立“白人遷徙學院”（本地人是這樣叫它們的）非常普遍，而公立學校就成了窮苦的黑人學生的天下。

"I just knew when they left my classroom, it was an uphill battle for so many of my kids,” said Greg Claus, who is from Ohio and taught art at a public junior high school from 2008 to 2011. Now an assistant to the mayor of Greenville, Miss., he has seen the names of some former students on the police blotter. Several more are already parents.

“當他們離開我的教室的那一刻，我就知道，對我的學生中的許多人來說，接下來前方將是一場艱苦的戰役，”格雷格·克勞斯(Greg Claus)說。他來自俄亥俄州，於2008年至2011年期間在一家公立初中教授藝術。現在他是密西西比州格里維爾市的市長助理，他在警察逮捕記錄上看到過一些他過去學生的名字。有更多的學生現在則已經爲人父母。

Teach for America is fiercely competitive, drawing top graduates accustomed to success. "For most, this is the hardest challenge they've ever met," said Luke Van De Walle, a 33-year-old corps alumnus from Indiana who has settled in Helena with his wife, Jamie, and their two young children. "They put a lot of effort in, and they get chewed up by 25 third graders."

“爲美國而教”計劃的競爭十分激烈，吸引了許多習慣取勝的頂尖畢業生。“對大多數人來說，這是他們有史以來遇到的最大挑戰，”盧克·範德沃爾(Luke Van De Walle)說。33歲的他是來自印第安納的一位計劃成員，他如今與妻子傑米(Jamie)以及他們的兩個孩子在海倫娜定居了下來。“這些老師在此付出了很多努力，比如像是被25個三年級生弄得精疲力盡。”

Still, some former members say they have never felt so satisfied.

但有些前計劃成員仍然表示，他們從來沒有覺得這樣滿足過。

Michelle Johansen, 37, arrived from the University of Michigan in 1997. Since then, she has become a volunteer manager at the farmers' market in Cleveland, Miss. She works part time at Habitat for Humanity and is an adjunct instructor at Delta State University.

37歲的米歇爾·約翰森(Michelle Johansen)在1997年從密歇根大學(University of Michigan )畢業來到這裏。自那以後，她成了密西西比州克利夫蘭市農夫市集的志願者管理者。她在人類家園國際組織(Habitat for Humanity)做兼職，還是三角洲州立大學(Delta State University)的兼職指導員。

"I don't want to leave," said Ms. Johansen, who is married and has two children. "The work I've been able to do in the Delta is fulfilling."

“我不想離開這裏，”約翰森說，已婚的她有兩個孩子，“我在三角洲地區能做的事情非常令人滿足。”

She does wish there were a Target in town. And a movie theater. There is no place to get brunch. But, she said, "there's something about the Delta that's very special, and if people are open to it, they will be captivated by it."

她的確希望鎮上能有塔吉特百貨公司(Target)和電影院。這裏也沒有地方可以吃早午餐。但她說：“三角洲地區有一些非常特別的地方，如果人們向它敞開自己，他們會被它迷住的。”

Matty Bengloff, 28, is one of those people. He grew up in an apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Now he owns a three-bedroom home in Cleveland, as well as a hip new yogurt shop called Delta Dairy, with his fiancée, Suzette Matthews.

28歲的馬蒂·班洛夫(Matty Bengloff)就是被它迷住的人之一。他在曼哈頓下東城的一間公寓里長大。現在他在克利夫蘭擁有一個三居室的房子，和未婚妻蘇塞特·馬修斯(Suzette Matthews)一起經營着一家叫“三角洲奶製品”(Delta Dairy)的時興酸奶店。

"The barriers here are low," Mr. Bengloff said. "You can be really entrepreneurial. Everyone is eager to help."

“這裏的門檻很低，”班洛夫說，“你可以大膽去創業，大家都很樂意給予幫助。”

But the transition is not always easy.

但是過渡並不總是簡單容易的。

Residents cured Mr. Bengloff of his Yankee ways. Soon after arriving in the South with Teach for America, Mr. Bengloff was in a school speaking to a receptionist. When he could not hear the man's words, Mr. Bengloff asked, "What?" The receptionist said: "I can tell you're not from around here. When you don't understand something, you say, 'Excuse me, sir?' Or, 'Sir?' "

本地居民把班洛夫的北方人作派給矯正了過來。在跟隨“爲美國而教”計劃來到南方之後，班洛夫有一回在一所學校裏和一位接待員聊天，當他沒有聽清對方的話時，班洛夫問：“什麼？”那位接待員說：“我能看出來你不是來自本地的。如果你沒有聽懂，你應該說，'不好意思，先生？'或者'先生？'”

Mr. Bengloff took the lesson to heart. Now his habitual use of "ma'am" irritates his mother back East. He drawls, "Thanks, y'all," to customers passing through his shop.

班洛夫在心裏牢記了這個教訓。現在他對“女士”的熟練使用已經讓他遠在東部的母親有點受不了了。當顧客穿梭於他的商店時，他會拖着尾音說：“謝謝大家啦！”

Ms. Johansen and Mr. Bengloff said they were attracted to the quirks and complexity of the Delta.

約翰森和班洛夫表示，他們被三角洲地區的有趣與複雜所深深吸引。

They have found schools that are progressive and a complicated political scene. Ms. Johansen's doctor is a catfish noodler (who fishes bare-handed). Shopping online is more necessity than convenience, though a two-hour jaunt to Memphis is common. The unofficial town motto, plastered on bumper stickers, is an ironic "Keep Cleveland Boring."

他們創建了理念先進的學校，以及更多樣化的政治情境。約翰森的醫生喜歡赤手捕鮎魚。網上購物並不是爲了方便，而是着實有必要，儘管花費兩個小時去孟菲斯的短程購物之旅也是很普遍的選擇。鎮上的非官方格言被印在汽車保險槓貼紙上，略帶一些自嘲：“讓克利夫蘭繼續無聊下去吧。”

No one, residents say, is too busy for a good chat.

本地居民們都表示，他們不可能忙得連跟人暢談的時間都沒有。

"I know people who live in places with lots of things," Ms. Johansen said. "Movie theaters. A Target. And they aren't happy. I'm a happy camper."

“我知道很多住在其他地方的人都非常繁忙，”約翰森說，“電影院，塔吉特百貨，而他們並不快樂。而我是一個快樂的野營家。”

Mr. Bengloff, who is Jewish, found what locals call a "church family," led by a retired rabbi who commutes from Memphis once a month. Just as many of the temple regulars are Christian as are Jewish, just because they like the diversity of experience and, said Mr. Bengloff, "the rabbi is great."

身爲猶太人，班洛夫創建了一個被本地人叫作“教堂之家”的組織，由一位退休猶太教士領導，他每月從孟菲斯來這裏一次。猶太人對教堂的熱情與基督教徒不相上下，因爲他們喜歡這種多樣化的體驗，而且據班洛夫所說，“那位教士棒極了。”

Some longtime residents initially resented the inflow of Teach for America members with fancy degrees and backgrounds. Those troubles have largely eased over time. And the hard truth is, the Delta needs the people.

有一些在本地生活已久的居民對“爲美國而教”所帶來的高學歷背景外來人口表示過不滿。隨着時間流逝，這些問題都已經消彌。三角洲需要這些人，這是不爭的事實。

"It's good having highly educated folks coming back," said Chuck Roscopf, a lawyer in Helena. "My kids, my friends' kids — they're all gone. They're in Dallas or just about anywhere else, but they won't come back."

“高學歷人士迴歸是件好事，”海倫娜的一位律師查克·羅斯科普夫(Chuck Roscopf)說，“我的孩子，我朋友的孩子——全都在外地。他們如今在達拉斯或者什麼別的地方，但他們不會再回這裏來了。”

Teach for America entered the Delta in 1992, when it dispatched a few dozen corps members to Helena and Marianna, Ark. The numbers and geographic reach expanded steadily but exploded in 2009 because of an influx of funds from the State of Mississippi and the Walton Family Foundation.

1992年，“爲美國而教”進駐三角洲地區，把幾十位成員派到海倫娜以及阿肯色州的瑪麗安娜。之後，成員人數以及進駐地區的規模都在穩步增加，直至2009年時有了一次飛躍，當時密西西比州以及沃爾頓家族基金會(Walton Family Foundation)爲它注入了資金支持。

The organization now estimates that over those years, 250 corps members have stayed on after their two-year commitments were over. Some have remained in education; others found jobs in private industry and community organizations.

經過多年發展，據該組織估計，已經有250名成員在兩年服務期滿後選擇留在服務地區。有些人仍然在教育界，另外一些人在私營業以及社區組織中任職。

They have started education-based nonprofit groups, like Mississippi First and the Sunflower County Freedom Project. Mr. Friedlander and Ms. Skorupa, with other Teach for America alumni, were founding board members of a new Boys and Girls Club in Helena.

他們創辦了一些教育相關的非營利組織，像“密西西比爲先”(Mississippi First)和“向日葵縣自由計劃”(Sunflower County Freedom Project)。弗裏德蘭德和斯科魯帕，以及其他幾位“爲美國而教”的成員，是海倫娜一個叫“男孩與女孩俱樂部”(Boys and Girls Club)的新組織的創立理事。

Mr. Friedlander remains a hard-charging New Yorker, which has rubbed some folks the wrong way.

弗裏德蘭德仍然有紐約人性格強硬的那一面，這讓有些人對他頗有微詞。

"If he was just here to make money, they probably would have run him out of town," said Jason Rolett, the executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Phillips County. But Mr. Friedlander has won the trust of much of the community, Mr. Rolett said, "because of his heart, how much he cares."

“如果他只是來這裏賺錢的，那他們可能已經把他趕出鎮了，”賈森·羅勒特(Jason Rolett)說，他是菲利普斯縣“男孩與女孩俱樂部”的執行主管。但是弗裏德蘭德如今贏得了社區中大部分人的信任，羅勒特說：“這是因爲大家看到了他的心，因爲他對他人如此關心。”

Mr. Friedlander enjoys ripping through a PowerPoint presentation of Helena's new health center, riverboat tours, renovated historic buildings, a downtown emerging from ruin and new businesses. His pride is palpable.

弗裏德蘭德很享受用幻燈片演示海倫娜的新健康中心、渡輪旅遊、歷史建築修繕以及在新舊經濟下建立發展的市中心的過程。他的自豪之情溢於言表。

Helena even has its first director of an advertising and promotion commission, Julia Malinowski, 27, from Seattle.

海倫娜甚至還有了它的第一個廣告宣傳主管，朱利亞·馬利諾維斯基(Julia Malinowski)今年27歲，來自西雅圖。

Word is spreading beyond the Teach for America crowd.

這些消息都在“爲美國而教”的成員之中快速傳播着。

Recently, graphic designers opened a firm called Thrive in Helena after living for five years in Brooklyn, where "about 200,000 people were trying to do what I wanted to do," said a co-owner, Terrance Clark.

最近，幾位在布魯克林生活了五年的平面設計師在海倫娜創辦了一家叫“興盛”(Thrive)的公司。聯合創辦者特倫斯·克拉克(Terrance Clark)說，在布魯克林，“大概有20萬人試圖要做我想做的事。”

He has had enough work in the Delta to hire two interns from Midwestern design schools this summer. And Mr. Clark has recruited a group of friends from Indianapolis to come to Helena to work on community projects under his company's 501(c)(3) umbrella.

這個夏天，他在三角洲地區的業務已經多到需要請兩位來自中西部設計學校的實習生幫忙了。克拉克還從印第安納波利斯請來了一羣朋友，他們將來海倫娜爲他們公司享受稅收減免非營利組織條款（501[c][3]條款）的社區項目工作。

Mr. Clark, Ms. Malinowski and the rest work together in a chic business incubator downtown.

克拉克和馬利諾維斯基，以及其他人都在市中心漂亮雅緻的產業孵化器中辛勤工作着。

The space is airy and open, with interior brick and a glass conference room — sort of like what you would find in Brooklyn.

那裏的空間是自由而開闊的，內牆磚飾，還有一個以玻璃爲牆的會議室——就是你能在布魯克林找到的那種。