第一次一个人去旅行以前，我很担心：迷路了怎么办？生病了怎么办？
Before my first trip alone, I was very worried: what if I got lost? What if I got sick?
朋友们也说，一个女孩子独自出门不安全。
My friends also said it wasn't safe for a girl to go off on her own.
但是我还是买了火车票，去了南方的一个小城市。
But I bought a train ticket anyway and went to a small city in the south.
独自旅行的时候，没有人帮你做决定，去哪儿、吃什么、住哪儿，都要自己想办法。
When you travel alone, no one makes decisions for you — where to go, what to eat, where to stay, you have to figure it all out yourself.
我有时候迷路，有时候坐错车，可是每次都有热情的人帮助我。
Sometimes I got lost and sometimes I took the wrong bus, but every single time warm-hearted people helped me.
一个人的时候，你会更注意路上的风景，也更容易和陌生人说话。
When you are on your own, you notice the scenery along the way more, and you talk to strangers more easily.
旅行结束的时候我发现，我不但认识了一个新地方，而且认识了一个新的自己。
When the trip ended, I discovered that I had gotten to know not only a new place, but also a new me.
原来，我比自己想的更勇敢。
It turns out I am braver than I thought.
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Key words 生词
独自dúzìalone; by oneself
迷路mílùto get lost
陌生人mòshēngrénstranger
风景fēngjǐngscenery
热情rèqíngwarm-hearted; enthusiastic
勇敢yǒnggǎnbrave
Grammar note 语法点
不但……而且……
"Not only A, but also B" — the second part adds something stronger: 我不但认识了一个新地方，而且认识了一个新的自己。
她不但会开车，而且开得很好。— She can not only drive, but drives very well.
原来 (sudden realization)
原来 introduces something you have just realized was true all along: 原来，我比自己想的更勇敢。
原来你们早就认识了！— So you two knew each other all along!
Check yourself 小测验
1. What did the author's friends say before the trip?
2. What happened whenever the author got lost or took the wrong bus?
3. What did the author discover at the end of the trip?
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