Tania Luna: How a penny made me feel like a millionaire

Translator: Pei Fang Ng Reviewer: Muhammad Fathi Rayyan

I'm five years old, and I am very proud.

Saya berumur 8 tahun dan saya sangat bangga.

My father has just built the best outhouse

Ayah saya telah membina rumah luar terbaik

in our little village in Ukraine.

di kampung kami di Ukraine.

Inside, it's a smelly, gaping hole in the ground,

Di dalam, tanah berbau dan lubang merekah,

but outside, it's pearly white formica

tapi di luar, ia berfomika putih

and it literally gleams in the sun.

dan ia berkilat di bawah sinaran matahari.

This makes me feel so proud, so important,

Ini membuat saya berasa sangat bangga dan penting

that I appoint myself the leader of my little group of friends

sehingga saya melantik diri sendiri sebagai ketua dalam kalangan kawan-kawan saya

and I devise missions for us.

dan saya memikirkan misi-misi untuk kami.

So we prowl from house to house

Kami merayau-rayau dari rumah ke rumah

looking for flies captured in spider webs

mencari lalat yang tertangkap di sarang labah-labah

and we set them free.

dan kami membebaskannya.

Four years earlier, when I was one,

4 tahun lalu, semasa saya berusia 1 tahun,

after the Chernobyl accident,

setelah kejadian Chernobly, air hujan berwarna hitam,

the rain came down black,

setelah kejadian Chernobly, air hujan berwarna hitam,

and my sister's hair fell out in clumps,

rambut adik saya gugur secara bergumpal,

and I spent nine months in the hospital.

saya berada di hospital selama 9 bulan.

There were no visitors allowed,

Tiada pelawat dibenarkan,

so my mother bribed a hospital worker.

jadi mak saya merasuah seorang pekerja hospital.

She acquired a nurse's uniform,

Dia dapat uniform jururawat,

and she snuck in every night to sit by my side.

dia menyelinap masuk setiap malam dan duduk di sisi saya.

Five years later, an unexpected silver lining.

5 tahun kemudian, sesuatu yang tidak terjangka berlaku.

Thanks to Chernobyl, we get asylum in the U.S.

Sebab kejadian Chernobyl, kami diberikan perlindungan di A.S.

I am six years old, and I don't cry when we leave home

Saya berumur 6 tahun, saya tak menangis semasa kami meninggalkan kampung

and we come to America,

untuk datang ke Amerika,

because I expect it to be a place filled with rare

kerana saya menjangkakannya sebuah tempat yang dipenuhi

and wonderful things like bananas and chocolate

benda yang jarang ditemui seperti pisang, coklat,

and Bazooka bubble gum,

dan gam kunyah Bazooka,

Bazooka bubble gum with the little cartoon wrappers inside,

gam kunyah Bazooka yang ada pembalut kartun di dalam,

Bazooka that we'd get once a year in Ukraine

Bazooka yang kami dapat sekali setahun di Ukraine

and we'd have to chew one piece for an entire week.

dan kami mengunyah sekeping selama seminggu.

So the first day we get to New York,

Pada hari pertama kami di New York,

my grandmother and I find a penny

nenek saya dan saya terjumpa satu sen

in the floor of the homeless shelter that my family's staying in.

di atas lantai di sebuah rumah perlindungan yang keluarga saya diami.

Only, we don't know that it's a homeless shelter.

Kami tidak tahu ia untuk orang yang tidak berumah.

We think that it's a hotel, a hotel with lots of rats.

Kami ingat ia sebuah hotel, hotel yang dipenuhi tikus.

So we find this penny kind of fossilized in the floor,

Satu sen ini seperti telah memfosil di lantai,

and we think that a very wealthy man must have left it there

kami ingat seseorang yang kaya telah meninggalkannya di situ

because regular people don't just lose money.

kerana orang biasa tidak akan kehilangan wang begitu saja.

And I hold this penny in the palm of my hand,

Saya meletakkan satu sen ini di tapak tangan saya.

and it's sticky and rusty,

Ia melekit dan berkarat,

but it feels like I'm holding a fortune.

tapi saya berasa sangat kaya.

I decide that I'm going to get my very own piece

Saya putuskan bahawa saya akan mendapatkan

gam kunyah Bazooka untuk diri sendiri.

of Bazooka bubble gum.

And in that moment, I feel like a millionaire.

Pada saat itu, saya berasa seperti seorang jutawan.

About a year later, I get to feel that way again

Kira-kira setahun kemudian, saya mempunyai perasaan yang sama

apabila kami terjumpa sebuah beg yang dipenuhi patung haiwan di dalam tong sampah.

when we find a bag full of stuffed animals in the trash,

and suddenly I have more toys

Tiba-tiba, saya mempunyai mainan

than I've ever had in my whole life.

yang paling banyak sepanjang hidup saya.

And again, I get that feeling when we get a knock

Saya mempunyai perasaan yang sama lagi apabila

on the door of our apartment in Brooklyn,

pintu rumah kami di Brooklyn diketuk,

and my sister and I find a deliveryman

adik saya dan saya nampak seorang penghantar

with a box of pizza that we didn't order.

bersama sekotak piza yang kami tidak pesan.

So we take the pizza, our very first pizza,

Kami menerima piza itu, piza kami yang pertama.

and we devour slice after slice

Kami membaham kepingan piza

as the deliveryman stands there and stares at us from the doorway.

sementara penghantar itu berdiri dan merenung kami di muka pintu.

And he tells us to pay, but we don't speak English.

Dia meminta bayaran, tapi kami tidak pandai berbahasa Inggeris.

My mother comes out, and he asks her for money,

Mak saya keluar, penghantar itu meminta bayaran daripadanya,

but she doesn't have enough.

tapi mak saya tidak mempunyai wang yang cukup.

She walks 50 blocks to and from work every day

Setiap hari, dia pergi dan balik ke tempat kerja melalui 50 blok bangunan

just to avoid spending money on bus fare.

hanya untuk menjimatkan tambang bas.

Then our neighbor pops her head in,

Kemudian, jiran kami datang.

and she turns red with rage when she realizes

Dia marah apabila dia sedar bahawa

that those immigrants from downstairs

pendatang di tingkat bawah

have somehow gotten their hands on her pizza.

telah menerima pizanya.

Everyone's upset.

Semua orang marah.

But the pizza is delicious.

Tapi, piza itu sedap.

It doesn't hit me until years later just how little we had.

Selepas beberapa tahun barulah saya sedar bahawa kami sangat miskin.

On our 10 year anniversary of being in the U.S.,

Pada ulang tahun ke-10 kami di A.S.,

we decided to celebrate by reserving a room

kami mahu meraikannya dengan menempah sebuah bilik

at the hotel that we first stayed in when we got to the U.S.

di hotel yang kami diami semasa kami baru tiba di A.S.

The man at the front desk laughs, and he says,

Lelaki di meja depan ketawa, katanya,

"You can't reserve a room here. This is a homeless shelter."

"Ini tempat perlindungan untuk orang yang tidak berumah."

And we were shocked.

Kami terkejut.

My husband Brian was also homeless as a kid.

Suami saya, Brian, juga tidak berumah semasa dia masih kecil.

His family lost everything, and at age 11,

Keluarganya kehilangan semuanya. Pada usia 11,

he had to live in motels with his dad,

dia terpaksa tinggal di motel bersama ayahnya,

motels that would round up all of their food

motel yang tidak akan memberikan makanan

and keep it hostage until they were able to pay the bill.

sehingga mereka mampu membayar bil.

And one time, when he finally got his box

Pada suatu hari, apabila dia mendapat

of Frosted Flakes back, it was crawling with roaches.

Frosted Flakes, ia dikelilingi lipas.

But he did have one thing.

Tapi, dia mempunyai sesuatu.

He had this shoebox that he carried with him everywhere

Dia mempunyai kotak kasut yang sentiasa dibawanya

containing nine comic books,

yang mengandungi 9 buah komik:

two G.I. Joes painted to look like Spider-Man

2 G.I. Joes yang dilukis seperti Spider Man

and five Gobots. And this was his treasure.

dan 5 Gobots. Ia bernilai bagi dia.

This was his own assembly of heroes

Itu merupakan koleksi hero

that kept him from drugs and gangs

yang menjauhkannya daripada dadah dan geng

and from giving up on his dreams.

dan tidak berputus asa terhadap impian.

I'm going to tell you about one more

Saya akan menceritakan

formerly homeless member of our family.

seorang lagi ahli keluarga kami yang dahulunya tidak berumah.

This is Scarlett.

Ini Scarlet.

Once upon a time, Scarlet was used as bait in dog fights.

Dulu, Scarlet digunakan sebagai umpan dalam pertarungan anjing.

She was tied up and thrown into the ring

Scarlet diikat dan dibuang ke tempat pertarungan

for other dogs to attack so they'd get more aggressive before the fight.

untuk diserang anjing-anjing lain agar anjing-anjing ini menjadi lebih agresif sebelum pertarungan.

And now, these days, she eats organic food

Sekarang, Scarlet makan makanan organik

and she sleeps on an orthopedic bed with her name on it,

dan tidur di katil ortopedik yang tertera namanya.

but when we pour water for her in her bowl,

Apabila kami menuang air ke dalam mangkuknya,

she still looks up and she wags her tail in gratitude.

Scarlet akan melihat ke atas dan menggoyang-goyangkan ekornya sebagai tanda berterima kasih.

Sometimes Brian and I walk through the park with Scarlett,

Kadangkala, Brian dan saya berjalan-jalan di taman bersama Scarlet.

and she rolls through the grass,

Scarlet bergolek-golek di atas rumput

and we just look at her

dan kami melihatnya.

and then we look at each other

Kemudian, kami saling memandang

and we feel gratitude.

dan kami berasa bersyukur.

We forget about all of our new middle-class frustrations

Kami melupakan semuanya tentang kekecewaan baru kelas pertengahan

and disappointments,

dan kehampaan,

and we feel like millionaires.

kami berasa seperti jutawan.

Thank you.

Terima kasih.

(Applause)

(Tepukan)