il Giardino Romantico

Generally speaking, a lot of people probably don't know much about Hall's Croft.  Neither did we, and we were Shakespearean academics... This, is actually the house of Shakespeare's daughter, Susanna, and her husband John Hall. It contains a small collection of 16th and 17th century paintings and furniture.  Because John was a doctor, the house also exhibits a wide range of medical equipments used in those days.

別說一般人了，就連專攻莎士比亞領域的我們，其實對這間屋子也很陌生。事實上，他原是屬於莎士比亞女兒Susanna和女婿John Hall所有。這間屋子的展示品，包含了十六以及十七世紀的藝術品以及傢具。不過比較特別一點的，應該算是當時身為醫生的John Hall所會用上的一些醫療工具。

I wouldn't necessarily call this visit 'worth the while'.  It was, afterall, very small, and there was a limited amount of things that could be displayed.  To compound, the exhibit had very little to do with Shakespeare himself.  But since we had purchased ourselves five-house tickets, it seemed reasonable to include this in our itinerary.  I think, and my friend would probably agree, too, the most interesting aspect of the whole house was the beds.  I recall noticing from previous blog-browsing experience how small European beds used to be back in those days.

攝於卡地夫中央車站
Cardiff Central Station

來到威爾斯，像是來到一個新的國家。所有的標示，除了英文以外，還會附上威爾斯語。這點讓我覺得挺特別的。雖然大家都說北威的風景比較美，建議我若是要去威爾斯，一定要去北邊瞧瞧。不過我在那沒有朋友，所以要去北威的話，除了交通，還得安排住宿。因此我就偷懶，選擇了南邊的威爾斯首都 - 卡地夫。

Arriving at Wales, felt like arriving at a new country.  All the signs were bilingual - English and Welsh.  I thought this was rather interesting.  Although everyone's been telling me how beautiful northern Wales is, seeing that I have to arrange my own accommodation if I go, I took the easier way.  I went to southern Wales, the capital city - Cardiff, instead.

Take a good look at the azure blue sky in thesse photos.  I remember having already taken photos of the Three Graces, but then felt compelled into going back on this bright sunny day, because I knew they would turn out to be amazing! 

好好的看看這篇文章所附上的圖片中，那藍到不行的天空！記得我在出門拍這系列照片之前，我其實早就拍了一組。不過這天看到天藍成這個樣子，就所幸再出門重拍一組回來。不然就白白浪費的這樣的好天氣！

The Three Graces are three historical buildings at the site of the Pier Head.  These three buildings, namely, are Port of Liverpool Building, Cunard Building, and Royal Liver Building.

已經忘了這是我第幾次報名參加了。因為前面幾年連初審都沒過，所以原本今年也沒有抱著很大的期待。或許咱們做人就是該這樣吧！平常心看待所有事情，到最後得到的收穫也就更出乎預料。部落格對我來說，是一個很好的分享以及交友平台。從無名開始寫起。當時只有兩三個人知道我的blog的存在。一直到現在，每天平均都會有三百人的瀏覽率。[本站最高記錄有一日湧進七百人]雖然對許多大站來說，這幾百人根本就不算什麼。但對我來說，已經很足夠了。

I can't remember how many times I've joined this award.  But I'd never even made it to the first round.  When I joined this year, I didn't think my blog stood a chance.  I guess that's the way life goes, though.  Whenever you don't expect too much, you always get more than you ask for.  For me, blogging is a great way to share things with people, and a great medium for making friends.  I first started my blog at Wretch.  Back then, only a few people knew its existance. Now, on average, there is about a three-hundred daily viewer readership.  (the highest readership record for this blog is around 700)  Although to a lot of larger sites, this number means nothing.  For me, however, this is more than enough.

許多格友從2006年開始追蹤我的留學申請過程。一路走來，大家陪我一起緊張、氣怒、感動、開心。其實說實在的，現在出國留學的人這麼多，會差我一個人的經驗嗎？可是不知道為什麼，我的留學過程就是這麼的難走。如果沒有寫部落格的習慣，我真的不知道我要怎麼一路走過來。

Pascal, the owner of the guest house where we stayed, gave us too many ideas of places to dine for us to handle at the time.  I do remember him recommending 'the best fish and chips' place, but I have to admit, I'm not certain if this is the one to which he was referring. 

We came here after we had our drinks because we were both starving.  We had saved so much money by bringing our own food, but by this time, we both ran out and craved for a full meal.  What could two skints students have?  What better choice is there other than the national dish - fish and chips?  (Actually, I insisted on having fish and chips... )

我們居住的B&B老闆Pascal向我們推薦太多好吃的餐廳了。我們根本就記不住。不過對於fish and chips情有獨鍾的我，卻清楚的記得他提到一家全鎮最好吃的。不過由於他真的推薦的太多了，所以我到最後還是不知道這間到底是不是他推薦的。

或許，這就是你對東海的印象。不過相信生活在東海過的人，對於這個環境會有更多充滿了各種回憶的地方。不知道是否所有曾經身為東海人的朋友們都像天仙一樣，懷念著這個美麗的校園？

This is probably the image that most people have in mind when Tunghai comes to mind.  However, to THU people, there are so many other places filled with various kinds of memories.  I wonder if all THU folks are like me, finding it difficult to forget such a beautiful campus...


大一住校時，不知道走了幾百遍的通道...

'A cup of tea is the solution to every problem.'  This is a quote from 'Doctor Who'.  I had never imagined myself falling in love with English tea.  The person who taught me how to drink tea the English way, was a French girl.  When she came to visit me, she asked me, 'Have you learned to drink tea the English way?'  She told me to add fresh milk and sugar to every cup of tea.  That's the way you're supposed to drink it. 

When you're feeling down, have a cup.  When you're feeling over the moon, that's even more of a reason to have one.  While coffee has become a daily routine, tea has become an enjoyment reserved only for special occassions.

我沒有想到我也會愛上英國茶。『一杯茶可以解決世上任何的問題』，這是從【超時空博士】聽來的名言。而真正道地的英國茶飲用方式，是一位法國人教我的。記得他那次來找我問我：你喝茶已經學會了英國人的喝茶方式了嘛？牛奶跟糖都要加。聽他說完那次之後，每一次喝茶我都很自然的加入了新鮮的牛奶跟一包糖。

很抱歉，這次又讓大家久等了。

就在十一月初，天仙正式告別了無業游民的米蟲生活，重新踏入美語界。不過雖然這次教受的領域不同，性質也跟以往所習慣的兒童美語非常不一樣，但是同樣是英語教學，有很多東西都是共通的。

所以就趁這個月來介紹一下一些天仙以前常去取經的兒美老師的blog。不過，兒美老師很多都很優秀，也有很多都有在寫blog分享。天仙不可能一次就介紹完得囉。所以先來看看這次介紹的一些優質兒美老師的blog。看看他們的教學心得分享，以及工作的甘苦談，當然老師們也會分享自己在下課後的生活趣事。

 【Did you moji today?】

相信許多美語老師都對Moji不陌生。如果你是兒美老師，你還不認識Moji，那你就遜掉囉！人家可是有出過書的呢！為什麼天仙喜歡Moji的blog？因為Moji的呈現方式很精彩。幾乎每一篇都是以Moji手繪的方式呈現上課過程中以及生活中所發生的趣事。看起文來一點都沒有壓力。而且保證看了一定都會笑呵呵～