Carol Sullivan awoke recently in Cuenca, Ecuador, excited for the day ahead. She was in the second week of her study abroad experience, and after Spanish class, she and her fellow students were going to the local market to buy dinner ingredients and practice their new language skills.

“The local women may be aghast at how little we know but are very willing to let us try,” Sullivan said. She and her husband, Terry, who is also her classmate, are in their early 70s.The Sullivans are part of a trend among adult travelers, who show a growing interest in going to class, volunteering or working abroad as part of their experience.

卡蘿．蘇利文最近在厄瓜多的昆卡市醒來，對將要展開的這一天感到興奮。這是她出國留學體驗的第二周，上完西班牙文課後，她和同學要去當地市場購買晚餐食材，並操練他們新習得的語言能力。

蘇利文說：「本地的婦女可能對我們會得如此之少目瞪口呆，但非常樂意讓我們嚐試。」 她的丈夫泰瑞是她的同班同學，兩人都70歲出頭。蘇利文夫婦代表著成年旅客一種新趨勢，他們對到國外上課、當志工或工作，讓它成為生活經驗的一部分，興趣越來越高。

Older travelers often want to continue to learn and have an impact on the world, said Andrew Gordon, who founded the company Diversity Abroad 12 years ago. “They want their travel to have meaning,” he said. Gordon’s company connects and does advocacy work for nontraditional students who want to study overseas.

Road Scholar, which organized the Sullivans’ program, began as an organization offering not-for-credit classes on university campuses for adults age 60 and over. Now it offers what it calls educational travel adventures worldwide. Travelers may focus on a particular ecosystem they are visiting, attend class on a college campus or, in a twist on the Semester at Sea concept, spend 115 days on an ocean liner circling the globe with experts delving into destinations’ histories and cultures. All adults are welcomed, but the audience typically skews older and the average age of a “road scholar” is 70.

12年前創立「海外多元文化」公司的安德魯．戈登說，年長旅行者往往希望能繼續學習，並對世界產生影響。 他說：「他們希望他們的旅行能有意義。」戈登的公司專替那些想到外國學習的非傳統學生負責中間的連繫與宣傳工作。

主辦蘇利文夫婦出國學習計畫的「道路學者」成立之初，是個提供60歲以上成人大學校園非學分制課程的組織。現在該組織提供他們所謂的全球教育性旅行冒險。旅行者可能聚焦於他們造訪的某個特定生態系統，在某個大學校園上課，或是新一種的「海上學期」概念，花115天搭乘郵輪，和專家一起繞世界一周，鑽研所到目的地的歷史與文化。所有成人都歡迎報名，不過愛好者年齡通常偏高，「道路學者」的平均年齡是70歲。

The organization is a nonprofit and offers family caregiver grants and other scholarships.

JoAnn Bell, the senior vice president of program development at Road Scholar, said that adults studying abroad, like their college-age counterparts, value the time in a foreign country’s culture as much or more than academic instruction.

“We had seen a decline in enrollment for programs heavily weighted to classroom time,” Bell said. “People want to get out and experience the country for themselves.” Stopping for a croissant and chatting with the neighborhood cafe owner every morning on the way to class was just as important as the class, she said.

該組織屬非營利性質，提供家庭照顧者獎助金和其他獎學金。

「道路學者」的體驗班開發高級副總裁喬安．貝爾說，這些到外國留學的成人，和大學生年紀的留學生一樣，對於浸淫在外國文化中的這段時間十分珍惜，程度不在接受學術教學之下，甚至猶有過之。

貝爾說：「我們看到課堂時間比例偏重的一些計畫報名人數開始下降。人們希望走出教室，自己體驗這個國家。」她說，每天早上上課途中，停下腳購買可頌麵包，和附近咖啡館的老闆聊聊天，和上課一樣重要。

There was a buzz as some two dozen concertgoers in silk scarves and sparkling jewels arrived with the help of wheelchairs, walkers and canes, and took their seats in the ornate, hardwood-floor concert hall of Milan’s Rest Home for Musicians, known as Casa Verdi, which is run by the Giuseppe Verdi Foundation.

A hush fell, as two musicians in evening dress took up their positions behind two golden harps. The room filled with shimmering music by Debussy. The audience was rapt.

一陣嘈雜，廿多位參加音樂會的來賓，披著絲質圍巾，穿戴閃亮珠寶，在輪椅、助行器和拐杖的協助下，進入米蘭「音樂家安養院」華麗、鋪設硬木地板的表演廳就坐，這間安養院俗稱「威爾第之家」，由威爾第基金會經營。

騷動漸息，兩名著晚禮服的音樂家在兩座金色豎琴後就定位，表演廳內迴盪悠揚的德布西樂聲，聽眾如癡如醉。

位於義大利米蘭的「威爾第之家」，是專門讓年長音樂家入住的安養院。 美聯社

位於義大利米蘭的「威爾第之家」，是專門讓年長音樂家入住的安養院。 美聯社

“Bravo,” murmured Luisa Mandelli, a soprano who sang with Maria Callas at La Scala in Milan. Then she cocked her head in dismay: Two seats away, a nattily-dressed tenor in a black suit and tie had begun snoring gently. “He’s 98,” whispered Mandelli, who is 95. She leaned over and slapped her former colleague’s knee.

Mandelli is one of 60 older musicians living in Casa Verdi, a sumptuous neo-Gothic mansion built in central Milan by Verdi. Completed in 1899, the building was created as a sanctuary for musicians who found themselves poverty-stricken in old age, “Old singers not favored by fortune, or who, when they were young, did not possess the virtue of saving,” as Verdi wrote in a letter at the time.

曾是女高音的路易莎．曼德利小聲說著：「太棒了！」她曾和瑪麗亞．卡拉絲在米蘭的史卡拉歌劇院同台演出。接著她失望地轉過頭，隔著兩個座位，一名整齊穿著黑色西裝、打領帶的男高音已微微發出鼾聲。95歲的曼德利悄聲說：「他已經98歲了。」她靠過去，拍了拍這位前同事的膝頭。

威爾第在米蘭市中心打造了這棟華麗的哥德復興式建築「威爾第之家」，曼德利是居住於此的60位年長音樂家之一。這棟建築完工於1899年，為年老時受貧困所苦的音樂家提供一個棲身之所。當時威爾第在一封信中寫道：「不受命運眷顧的年老歌手，或是年輕時沒有儲蓄美德的那些人。」

Nowadays, pensions and social security have reduced the economic necessity of a refuge like this, said Roberto Ruozi, president of the Giuseppe Verdi Foundation, which uses investments made with the royalties from the composer’s operas to fund the rest home. Residents pay on a sliding scale, according to their means.

Nonetheless, Casa Verdi is inundated each year with applications from composers, conductors, singers, orchestral players, music teachers and anyone else who has “exercised the art of music as a profession,” as the foundation’s website puts it. Once applicants establish their professional bona fides, Casa Verdi’s board makes choices based on who they think will be a good fit.

威爾第基金會會長羅貝多．羅濟說，時至今日，退休金和社會安全制度已使這類庇護所經濟上的必要性減少，基金會運用威爾第歌劇作品的版稅收入投資，以提供安養院資金。入住者依財力強弱支付各不相同的費用。

不過，基金會的網站顯示，威爾第之家每年都收到蜂擁而來的申請，包括作曲家、指揮、歌手、管弦樂手、音樂教師和任何「以音樂藝術為職業的人」。申請者提出可信的專業資歷後，威爾第之家的董事會便會做出決定，接納他們認為適合的人。

The successful applicants get to spend their last years in a place where, in addition to room, board and medical treatment, they have access to concerts, music rooms, 15 pianos, a large organ, harps, drum sets and the company of their peers.

“Now, the majority of our clients are not in very bad economic condition, but wish to continue to play, and be involved with, music,” Ruozi said. Casa Verdi’s talented clientele have the same needs as other old people, with some exceptions, he added: “First, they need music. Second, they want to be treated not as common guests, but as special guests — as a star.” Ruozi sighed. “We have 60 old musicians and 60 stars.”

申請成功者可以在此度過人生最後時光，除了食宿和醫療照護，他們還能參加音樂會，使用音樂室、15架鋼琴、一架大管風琴、豎琴和爵士鼓，再加上同儕的陪伴。

羅濟說：「現在，我們大多數客戶經濟狀況都不算太差，但希望能繼續演奏並接觸音樂。」威爾第之家才華洋溢的客戶們和其他長者有一樣的需求，但也有些特別之處。他補充道：「首先，他們需要音樂。第二，他們不想被當作普通客人對待，而是特別的客人－如同明星一般。」羅濟嘆道：「我們有60位年長音樂家和60位明星。」

※說文解字看新聞

本文介紹義大利米蘭一家專收年長音樂家的安養院，文中有多個詞彙源自義大利語和拉丁語。

casa是義大利文，意為house，即指「房屋」，因此文中的Casa Verdi就譯為「威爾第之家」，這個字如今也當作英語來使用。

觀賞音樂會時，我們常聽到觀眾喊「bravo」，這也是義大利語，意為well done（太棒了），表達喝采之意。因為許多歌劇都是用義大利語寫的，文中提到的威爾第正是寫出「茶花女」、「阿依達」的義大利知名作曲家，所以觀眾用bravo喝采也就成為流行。

soprano（女高音）和tenor（男高音）字源皆是拉丁語。soprano源自supra，意為above/high（在...之上／高）之意，ano是名詞字尾，合起來就是「能唱高音的人」。tenor源自tenere，意為to hold（維持），引申為「能唱特定音域的人」。

bona fides本身就是拉丁語，意為good faith（善意），形容詞為bona fide（真正的、善意的）。這個字在法律方面，例如簽訂合約時，表示當事人會誠實地對待彼此的一種信念。在本文，這個字意指，年長的音樂家為了申請進入養老院，要真誠表達出身為音樂家的專業形象，也就是提出「資歷證明」。