On the university campus, there is a language exchange table. It sits in the corner of the student café. A paper sign hangs above it: "Teach one word. Learn one word."
大学校园里，学生咖啡馆的角落有一张语言交换桌。桌子上方挂着一块纸牌：“教一个词，学一个词。”
Ximena sees the sign in September. She is from Mexico. She wants to practice her English. She sits down at the table with her tea.
九月，希梅娜看到了这块牌子。她来自墨西哥，想练习英语。她端着茶，在桌旁坐了下来。
A boy comes and sits across from her. He has a green notebook. "Hello," he says. "I am Yoon. I speak Korean. I want to learn Spanish."
一个男生走过来，坐在她对面。他带着一本绿色的笔记本。“你好，”他说，“我是允。我说韩语，我想学西班牙语。”
"I am Ximena," she says. "I speak Spanish. I want to learn English. Can we help each other?"
“我是希梅娜，”她说，“我说西班牙语，我想学英语。我们可以互相帮忙吗？”
"Yes," says Yoon. He smiles.
“好啊。”允笑着说。
They start slowly. Yoon points to his cup. "Coffee," he says. "In Korean, it is also coffee. But we say it a little different."
他们慢慢地开始了。允指着他的杯子。“Coffee，”他说，“韩语里也是 coffee，只是我们的发音有一点不一样。”
Ximena laughs. "In Spanish, it is café," she says.
希梅娜笑了。“西班牙语是 café。”她说。
They write the words in the notebook. They draw little pictures of cups and trees and buses. Time passes fast. After an hour, they both know ten new words.
他们把这些词写进笔记本，还画了小小的杯子、树和公交车。时间过得很快。一个小时后，他们都学会了十个新词。
"Same time on Friday?" Yoon asks.
“星期五同一时间？”允问。
"Yes," says Ximena.
“好。”希梅娜说。
They meet every Friday. Each week, they pick a theme. One week, it is food. Another week, it is family. Yoon learns "hermano" for brother and "abuela" for grandmother. Ximena learns how to say "thank you" in Korean. Her pronunciation is very bad. Yoon tries not to laugh, but his shoulders shake.
他们每个星期五都见面。每周选一个主题。有一周是食物，另一周是家人。允学会了“hermano”是哥哥或弟弟，“abuela”是奶奶或外婆。希梅娜学会了怎么用韩语说“谢谢”，可她的发音糟透了。允努力忍着不笑，肩膀却在发抖。
"Again," he says, and she says it again and again.
“再说一遍。”他说，她便一遍又一遍地重复。
After a month, they speak in simple sentences. Ximena tells him about her small town. Yoon tells her about his mother's kitchen. He also tells her about his cold-day soup.
一个月后，他们已经能用简单的句子交谈了。希梅娜给他讲自己的小镇。允给她讲他妈妈的厨房，还讲到他那碗冷天喝的汤。
One Friday in November, the café is nearly empty. Snow falls outside. Ximena arrives late, with snow on her hat.
十一月的一个星期五，咖啡馆里几乎没有人。窗外下着雪。希梅娜来晚了，帽子上落满了雪。
"I have a surprise," says Yoon. "Today, we choose one special word each."
“我有个惊喜，”允说，“今天，我们每人选一个特别的词。”
"Okay," says Ximena. "Who goes first?"
“好呀，”希梅娜说，“谁先来？”
"You," he says.
“你先。”他说。
Ximena thinks for a moment. She opens the green notebook. She writes a Spanish word in big letters. The word is "gustar." She turns the notebook around.
希梅娜想了一会儿，翻开那本绿色的笔记本，用大大的字写下一个西班牙语单词：“gustar”。她把笔记本转过去。
"It means: to like," she says. "You can like a song, a place, or a person."
“意思是‘喜欢’，”她说，“你可以喜欢一首歌、一个地方，或者一个人。”
Yoon reads the word. He repeats it quietly. His ears turn pink.
允读着这个词，轻轻地重复了一遍。他的耳朵红了。
"Now you," Ximena says.
“现在轮到你了。”希梅娜说。
Yoon takes the pen. He writes a Korean word in small letters. Then he writes it again in English letters. Now she can read it. The word is "joahae."
允拿起笔，用小小的字写下一个韩语单词，然后又用英文字母写了一遍，这下她能读出来了。这个词是“joahae”。
"It means: I like it," he says. "Or: I like you. The meaning is in the voice."
“意思是‘我喜欢’，”他说，“也可以是‘我喜欢你’。意思就藏在语气里。”
Ximena looks at the word. She looks at Yoon. For a moment, the café is very quiet. The coffee machine hums. A student laughs somewhere far away.
希梅娜看着那个词，又看看允。有那么一会儿，咖啡馆里非常安静。咖啡机嗡嗡地响着，远处有个学生在笑。
"In what voice?" she asks.
“什么语气？”她问。
"This one," he says, very softly. "Joahae."
“这样的，”他说得很轻很轻，“Joahae。”
"Me gustas," she says, just as softly. "That is the Spanish."
“Me gustas，”她同样轻声地说，“这是西班牙语。”
They smile at each other. Neither says anything for a long time.
他们相视而笑，很久都没有人说话。
Then Yoon pushes the green notebook to the middle. "Next week, a new word," he says.
然后允把绿色笔记本推到桌子中间。“下周，学一个新词。”他说。
Ximena takes the pen. She writes the date on the next page.
希梅娜拿起笔，在下一页上写下了日期。
