Of course they're real. You know, no matter what the government says, mermaids are real. 她们当然是真的。你知道，不管政府说什么，美人鱼是真的。

My name is Lauren Freeman, and I'm a real-life mermaid. 我的名字是 Lauren Freeman，我是现实生活中的美人鱼。

I'm Erin Gallager, and I am a real-life mermaid. 我是 Erin Gallager，我是现实生活中的美人鱼。

My name is Katie Shultz, and I'm a real-life mermaid. 我的名字是 Katie Shultz，我是现实生活中的美人鱼。

I've always loved the water. I've been a swimmer for as long as I can remember. 我一直热爱着水。我从能记得以来就都在游泳。

And growing up in Florida, you went to the beach and you played mermaids. 而且在佛罗里达长大，你会去海边然后你扮演美人鱼。

So, I've done it for years as a kid. Growing up, I thought it was the greatest thing. 所以，还是孩子时我就已经做这事好多年了。长大了，我觉得这是件最棒的事。

Always loved the water. Definitely a fish growing up and have always really enjoyed it. 一直爱着水。肯定像只鱼般长大，而且一直真的很享受这样。

Oh, I remember when Lauren first came to me and asked if I wanted to help create the mermaid program here at the Florida Aquarium, 喔，我记得 Lauren 最初来找我，然后问我想不想在佛罗里达水族馆这里帮忙创立一个美人鱼节目时，

and I immediately called my mom and said, "You are not going to believe this. 我马上打给我妈说：“你一定不会相信这个。

I told you I was gonna be a mermaid when I grew up, and now I'm gonna get to be one." 我跟你说过我长大要当一只美人鱼，然后现在我就要能够成为一只美人鱼了。”

I actually have a very different story from the other girls. I was born and raised in Arizona. 我其实有一个和其他女孩们非常不同的故事。我出生然后成长于亚历桑纳州。

But I don't think, even as a kid, I ever told my parents, "I'm gonna be a mermaid." 但我不认为，即使是孩子时，都不认为我曾告诉过我的父母：“我要成为一只美人鱼。”

Should I tell? What would my mother say? So, I was telling my mom about this and she was like, 我该讲吗？我的母亲会说什么？所以当我告诉我妈这件事时，她就像是：

"Why, why do you do this?" and I said, "You know, it's something new. It's something just to try. It pays well." “为什么，为什么你要做这件事？”然后我说：“你知道，这是件新鲜事。这就只是去尝试一下的事。这工作报酬不错。”

I kind of told her about that aspect and she, "Well, that'a pretty good. And you don't even have to be a hooker." 我有点好像是告诉她那层面，然后她说：“好吧，那挺不赖的。而且你甚至不用去当应召女郎。”

So, I guess that was my family's take on it. 于是，我猜那就是我家人对这事接受的反应。

People initially are definitely a little confused. They want to know, "Well, what do you mean you're a mermaid?" 人们起先肯定有点困惑。他们想知道：“嗯，你说你是只人鱼是什么意思？”

So when I describe what I do that I literally get in the water and I am a mermaid, they have lots of questions. 所以当我形容我的工作就是真的进到水里、然后我就是只人鱼，他们有很多问题。

We are all professional divers here at the Aquarium. 我们都是水族馆这里的专业潜水员。

We do guest diving programs where we'll take guests in to do dives with our sharks. We also do a lot of the grunt work. 我们负责带着来宾们进来和鲨鱼潜水的宾客潜水节目。我们也做很多杂事。

We'll get in and clean the exhibits and that's not such a pretty mermaid task. 我们会进去清理展间，而那可不是什么漂亮人鱼任务。

But we do it anyway. 但总之我们得做。

So it's about 3:30 right now. None of us will be touching our face. 所以现在差不多是三点半了。我们之中没人会去碰我们的脸。

Being dive masters of the aquarium, no one ever sees us in makeup. 身为一个水族馆的潜水高手， 没人看过我们化妆。

So, it's really a transformation. 所以，这真是个转变。

We are definitely not the make-up pretty girls at the aquarium, 99% of the time. 我们肯定不是水族馆里化着妆的漂亮女孩，百分之九十九的时间里。

So to have our co-workers see us like this was a shocking change for them. 所以让我们的同事看到我们这样，对他们而言是个震惊的变化。

Ready? Ready! 准备好了吗？准备好了!

It does take a lot to get ready. The tails are so custom-fit that it's actually really hard to get into them. 这真的费很多心力才能准备好。这些鱼尾如此合身订制，因此实际上很难穿进去。

So, takes a good 10 minutes to actually put the tail on. 所以，得花整整十分钟才能真正把尾巴穿上。

Swimming with a tail on and having your feet bound is a lot different than wearing fins and being on scuba. 穿上鱼尾、然后让你的脚被束缚住去游泳，和穿着蛙鞋且有氧气筒有很大差异。

So, for us to learn to do it, and then on top of that, 因此，对我们而言学习这样做，然后除此以外，

try to look pretty while doing it, that was the biggest challenge. 还要试着在进行时看起来优美，那是最大的挑战。

These are the hoses that we breathe from. Just like scuba diving. 这些是我们用来呼吸的软管。就像深潜一样。

I think people think it's easy. They see the finished product. 我理解人们认为这很简单。他们看到的是最终成品。

They see us in there with our makeup done, in these gorgeous tails that we have, gracefully swimming around, 他们见到我们化好妆在那里面，穿着我们有的这些华丽的鱼尾，优雅地游来游去，

doing choreograph routines to music. 随音乐跳着编好的舞蹈。

Takes a long time to get there. 花费很长时间才做到那样的。

To look comfortable while holding your breath underwater, and not look like you're in pain or the salt water is in your eyes, 要在水中屏住你的呼吸同时看起来舒适自在、还不能看起来像你很痛苦、或有咸水在你眼里，

and there's fish everywhere. 然后还四处都是鱼。

Very difficult. 十分困难。

To be a mermaid everyday is something that I never thought I would get to do. 每天当个美人鱼是件我从没想过我能够做的事。

But to be able to come to work and do something that I've always loved, 但能够来工作并做一件我向来热爱、

I've always wanted to do with people that are my friends, is fantastic. 我向来想和是我的朋友的人们做的事，这太棒了。

It's really a dream come true. 这真的是美梦成真。