美版“蜗居”：杜克大学研究生为还贷款两年住货车

The Duke university graduate student who spent TWO YEARS living in his van so he could avoid more student loan debt

杜克大学研究生为避免更多学生贷款、两年来住货车

Ken Ilgunas paid off a $32,000 student loan and finished a second degree with money to spare by secretly living in his van for two years.

肯·艾古纳斯两年来悄悄住在自己的小货车里，以此节省的钱他用以还清了3万2千美金的学生贷款、还拿到了自己的第二个学位。

By braving roadside public toilets, a bean-heavy diet and mice scampering where he slept, the native New Yorker gained a masters degree at Duke University and a lifetime of incredible memories.

肯是土生土长的纽约人，这两年来他忍受了恐怖的公共厕所、吃的食物以豆子为主、睡的地方还有老鼠，但他最终拿到了杜克大学的硕士学位，也有了一段难忘的人生经历。

But one of the many downsides was that he couldn't tell other students, in case they reported him to security who would have kicked him off the campus parking lot.

所有这些不快中，最让他难过的是他不能告诉同学自己住哪儿。以防有人向学校保安报告，他就会被赶出停车场。

Ilgunas made the dramatic decision after he graduated with 'unmarketable' English and history majors in 2005 and was rejected from 25 paid internships.

肯2005年本科毕业于水牛城大学英语和历史双专业，成绩并不出彩。随后他投递的25份实习工作都被拒，他才做出了住货车的决定。

Fearing his $8-an-hour job pushing carts at Home Depot wouldn't help him pay off his $32,000 University of Buffalo undergraduate degree loan, Ilgunas became 'frantic'.

那时，他在家具超市里做运货的工作，他觉得自己无法靠这个偿还那3万2千美金的本科贷款，非常抓狂。

'That was a wake-up call,' he told Business Insider. 'I had no idea what I was getting into at the time. I didn't even know what interest was when I was 17. I just think that's awfully indicative of the incredibly poor personal finance education young people have at that time in their lives.'

“那时我意识到了问题的严重性，”他告诉记者说，“我不知道自己将面临什么，我17岁选大学专业的时候也不晓得自己喜欢什么。我只是觉得一个年轻人太穷实在不怎么好。”

Instead of asking his parents for the cash or declaring forbearance, he moved interstate, enrolled in a liberal arts graduate course at Duke University and bought a $1,500 van.

他没有问父母要钱还债，也没有沮丧，他搬到了另一个州，买了一辆1500美金的小货车，开始在杜克大学学习自由主义艺术的研究生学位。

Determined to get his degree debt-free and inspired by the frugal philosophy of Henry Thoreau, he lived out of his 1994 Ford Econoline van - fitted out like a dorm-room - on the campus parking lot.

他决定自己的研究生学位绝不能再贷款负债，同时也受到《瓦尔登湖》作者亨利梭罗的启发，他住在了自己1994年产的小货车里。把里面装饰成了宿舍的样子，平常就停在学校的停车场里。

While he saved a lot of money, van-dwelling had its drawbacks.

尽管剩下了很多钱，但住在货车里的确有诸多不便。

'Mice would move into my ceiling upholstery, washing pots and pans became so inconvenient I stopped washing them altogether, and the bathroom was a quarter-mile sprint from my parking space,'

老鼠会钻进车厢顶里，洗锅子和碗具也很不方便，我只能一个一个单独洗。厕所距离我停车的地方大概有400米（四分之一英里）

Freezing winters, hovering campus police and living in a confined space tested Ilgunas’ limits over two years.

两年来，极冷的冬天、巡逻的校警和密闭的空间都在挑战肯的极限。

He survived by cooking in a makeshift kitchen, eating simple meals of beans and cereal, and showering at the gym.

他用简易锅具煮饭、吃豆子和麦片度日、洗澡也在健身房凑合。

He kept his van-dwelling a secret from fellow students and security, and took a range of casual range of jobs.

他不敢告诉同学自己的秘密，平常就打一些零工当做家用。

But Ilgunas said his simple mission became a life-changing experience. And he got his degree, debt-free.

但肯最终将这一切变成了改变他一生的体验。他也拿到了他的硕士学位，不用再还贷款了。