With a bachelor's degree in actuarial science, Anxin's life could have followed a predicable course since graduation last year: Secure a post in a bank or an insurance company, deal with figures and charts and earn a handsome salary.
去年毕业并取得精算学学士学位后，安芯（化名）本可过上按部就班的生活：在一家银行或保险公司中找份工作，整日与数字、图表打交道，拿一份不错的薪水。
Or, in common with one-third of her classmates, she could have continued her studies in the United States or Britain in the hope of securing a good job and a high salary.
或者，就像班上三分之一的同学那样，她可以选择到美国或英国继续求学深造，以便日后毕业能够找份高薪的好差事。
However, while most of her schoolmates have become regular 9-to-5ers or are studying for master's degrees, the 23-year-old chose a path much less traveled and volunteered to work overseas.
然而，当大部分同学或成为普通“朝九晚五族”，或开始读研时，23岁的安芯却选择了一条少有人走的道路，她选择到国外去做志愿者。
In Kolkata, India, she cared for seriously ill men at Kalighat, a hospice for the sick, destitute and the dying established by Mother Teresa. At the Father Ray Foundation in Pattaya, Thailand, she taught English to poverty-stricken kids and worked with autistic children.
在印度加尔各答，安芯来到特蕾莎修女为疾病缠身、穷困潦倒和病危之人所创办的收容所“静心之家”（Kalighat），在那里照顾重病患者。她还在泰国芭堤雅的雷神父基金会教授贫困儿童英语，并参与自闭症儿童的治疗工作。
What initially led to her yearlong journey was "gap year", a term she learned from a German friend in 2010 during an exchange program at San Diego State University in the US. The practice, which is thought to have originated in the UK in the 1960s, involves students primarily, traveling, engaging in volunteer work overseas or undertaking a working holiday abroad.
正是“间隔年”令她开始了长达一年的旅行。2010年时，她在参加美国圣迭戈州立大学的一个交换项目时，从一位德国朋友那里听说了这个词。人们认为“间隔年”这一做法起源于20世纪60年代的英国，本来是指一些学生前往海外旅行、参加志愿者工作或是选择边打工边度假。
"I found it very interesting. I though 'a lot of Europeans are doing it, so why shouldn't I?'" said Anxin.
“我发现这很有意思。很多欧洲人都在这么做，为何不试试呢？”安芯说。
Well-established in the West, the idea of the sabbatical was introduced to China just a few years ago. However, it has become increasingly popular among young people as they try to learn more about the world in general and themselves in particular after 16 years of exam-oriented education, before they enter a fast-changing society with an increasing emphasis on speed.
在西方已被广泛接受的“间隔年”休假理念直到几年前才传入中国。尽管如此，在年轻人中，这一做法越来越流行。这些年轻人在接受了16年的应试教育之后，努力想对整个世界、尤其是对自身有一个更深入的了解，然后再踏入这个瞬息万变的快节奏社会。
Anxin, who hails from the southwestern municipality of Chongqing, said she chose the actuarial science course because her father studied mathematics. Although she showed talent, she wasn't really interested in the subject. "I didn't want to do something I have no passion for. I felt confused and lost. I wanted to learn more about myself on the road," she said recently, when sharing her experiences with around 150 students in Beijing.
来自重庆的安芯说，她之所以选择精算学专业，是因为她父亲曾研究过数学。虽然她在这方面很有天赋，但她对精算并不是很感冒。“我不想做一些自己毫无激情的事情。我感到困惑和迷惘。我想在旅行的路上多了解自己一些，”近日她与150名来北京的学生分享个人经历时这样说。
However, she admitted that it wasn't easy to get the idea across to her parents: "My father asked, 'Are you crazy? It's not easy to find a good job today, yet you are going to be a volunteer overseas?'"
但她也承认让父母理解这一想法并不容易：“我爸爸问：‘你疯了吗？如今找个好工作多不容易，你却想出国去做志愿者？’”
"And when I told him that Pattaya was one of my destinations, he asked, 'Isn't that place famous for its sex industry?'"
“而当我告诉他我要去芭堤雅时，他问道：‘那个地方的色情业不是很出名吗？’”
However, the determined senior reassured and persuaded her family by outlining a sound plan. She also translated the introductions of all the NGOs she was going to work for so they could read about the organizations for themselves.
尽管如此，那时还在上大四的安芯早已下定决心，为家人列出一份万无一失的计划，打消了他们的顾虑，最终说服了他们。她还翻译了一些她要参加的非政府组织的介绍，以便家人能够亲自了解这些组织的状况。
Not just about fun
间隔年不仅为了玩乐
In the West, the term "gap year" usually refers to a period before college or immediately afterwards, but the current definition in China is slightly different. A lot of people didn't know about gap years during their school days or were not financially able, have chosen to make up for the missed lesson after working for a few years.
在西方，“间隔年”通常指升入大学之前或大学毕业后紧接着的一段时间，而这个词在中国的现阶段定义略有不同。大多数人在上学时并不知道“间隔年”，或者没有经济能力去付诸行动。因此他们选择在工作几年后再补上这一课。
Badao is one of those who undertook a delayed gap year. After working as a film production coordinator for three years, she traveled to New Zealand at the end of 2010 on a working holiday visa.
巴道便是这些选择迟到的“间隔年”中的一位。在做了三年的电影制片协调员之后，她于2010年年底拿到打工度假签证，前往新西兰旅行。
New Zealand has become a popular destination for Chinese gappers, because it is the only country that offers a working visa for residents of the Chinese mainland. "The scenery in New Zealand was really amazing, but the trip wasn't just about sightseeing. You have to work really hard and it can be really demanding," said the 28-year-old.
新西兰已经成为最受中国“间隔客”欢迎的国家，因为新西兰是唯一一个向中国大陆居民签发工作签证的国家。“新西兰景色迷人，但这次旅行并不仅仅是一次观光之旅。你必须非常努力工作，有时真的很吃力。”28岁的巴道这样说。
She was employed in factories that processed strawberries, apples and kiwis, working up to 14 hours a day to earn enough money to support her on her later travels. "But I found I was quite cool with it. After a year of working, travelling and thinking, I realized that our real needs are very simple. Success is not about making money and achieving a high position; but whether you can do what you want and live a healthy life."
她在一家加工草莓、苹果和奇异果的工厂里工作，为了赚够钱去支撑接下来的旅程，她每天要工作14小时。“但我发现我完全能应付自如。经过一年的工作、旅行以及思考之后，我意识到我们真正需求的非常简单。成功与赚钱和地位高低无关，而在于你是否可以做自己想做的，并选择一种健康的生活。”
"Be the change"
你可以改变
Gap years and working holidays are still relatively new concepts in China, so a lot of people tend to romanticize them before setting out.
在中国，间隔年和打工度假仍是相对新颖的理念，因此很多人在出发前容易将其理想化。
"For me, a gap year need not necessarily be a whole year; it could be just a few months or a few years. It's not a luxury trip or an escape from the real world. It's more like an expedition in which you learn about yourself," said Mao Hexin, a co-founder of Freegapper.com, China's first website to focus on gap years.
“对我而言，间隔年不一定非要是一整年时间，它可以是几个月或是几年。这不是一次奢华之旅，也不是逃避现实。它更像是一次自我发现之旅。”国内首家“间隔年”网站Freegapper.com的创建者之一，毛和新（音译）这样。
"You shouldn't expect a different world when you come back. Instead, you should 'be the change.'"
“你不应期望结束间隔年后，自己会看到一个全新的世界。相反，变化的应该是你自己。”