Cambios de estructura y longitud
When I was a teenager, I had a friend named Vladik. We were about the same age. During the summer, we used to go to a lake near our development in the suburbs to fish for pike. It would take us a couple of days to prepare for our fishing trips. Vladik had a small rubber boat, which his parents bought him, and we used to take it out on the lake to go fishing.
Cuando éramos adolescente, mi amigo Vladik y yo pasábamos los veranos yendo a pescar lucio al lago que había cerca de nuestra urbanización en la periferia. Tardábamos un par de días en prepararnos para nuestras excursiones. Vladik tenía una pequeña barca de goma que sus padres le habían comprado y que solíamos usar.
During the second year that we lived in the countryside, I remember a time when I went to get milk at our friends’ house. I put on a few layers of clothing to protect myself from mosquitoes, grabbed a big glass jar and walked into the forest. I also brought Ingul, my German sheepdog with me. He was big and strong and actually looked like a wolf. When he was with me, I wasn’t afraid of anything and I didn’t need to sing any songs of bravery while walking through the forest. Ingul, in turn, was thrilled to be able to run around in the countryside with me.
Una de esas veces que fui a por leche a casa de nuestros amigos, durante el segundo año que vivimos en el campo, me puse varias capas de ropa para protegerme de los mosquitos, cogí una jarra grande de cristal y me adentré en el bosque con Ingul, mi pastor alemán, que era grande y fuerte como un lobo. Cuando él venía conmigo, no me asustaba caminar por el bosque y no necesitaba cantar canciones de valentía. Además, Inglu estaba encantado de poder correr por el campo junto a mí.
I hooked my dog's spiked leash to the platform. It took a bit of time to make sure the leash was securely attached. I ended up tying it really tight around several planks. By the time I’d finished, everyone was already in the water. I ran to the end of the platform, jumped into the water, and started swimming away from the shore. I swam really quickly, enjoying the cold water. When I stopped to take a breath, I heard someone shouting from the platform, “Leo, come back!” But, it was too late.
Até la correa de mi perro a la plataforma y me tomé mi tiempo para asegurarme de que estaba bien sujeta a varias tablas. Cuando terminé, todo el mundo estaba ya en el agua. Corrí hacia el final de la plataforma y salté, disfrutando el agua fría mientras nadaba, alejándome rápidamente de la orilla. Al parar para respirar, escuché a alguien gritar desde la plataforma:
–¡Leo! ¡Vuelve!
Pero era demasiado tarde.
“This place looks completely unfamiliar,” said Philip. I said, “I want to go back home.” We went over to the old man who was sitting on our bench. He was toothless and slowly trying to chew on a boiled egg. We asked him, “Do you know when our train stop is?” “It should be very soon. Maybe in an hour. The train is going slowly because of the snow,” he told us. The warmth of the vodka began to wear off, but we decided to hold off on drinking more. We started talking. We tried to catch each other up on our experiences since high school and laughed about the old days… how we used to study for exams together, in a park on hot summer days…
–Este lugar me es totalmente desconocido –dijo Philip.
–Quiero volver a casa –contesté.
Me giré hacia un hombre que estaba sentado en nuestro banco, intentando masticar un huevo cocido sin dientes, y le pregunté:
»¿Sabe cuál es nuestra parada?
–Debe estar cerca. Quizás en una hora. El tren va muy lento por culpa de la nieve –nos dijo.
Ya se nos estaba pasando el calor del vodka, así que decidimos seguir bebiendo mientras charlábamos y reíamos, intentando ponernos al día con nuestras experiencias tras el instituto y recordando cómo solíamos estudiar juntos para los exámenes, ir al parque durante los calurosos días de verano...
As it began to get colder, I found I was constantly lighting the firewood for heat. It was mostly in the evening in order to heat the house, the food on the stove, and the well water so I could wash dishes. Then, every morning, the first thing I did was light the stove to warm up.
Durante los meses más fríos, nada más levantarme, encendía la estufa, tras lo cual, le echaba leña al fuego de forma constante, sobre todo por la tarde. Así calentaba la casa, la comida y el agua para fregar los platos.