il Giardino Romantico

It's an interesting experience to witness the change of season through the changing color of leaves.

I've waited to write my first journal after my first tutorial, as they call it here, because I knew that I would certainly have something to say after it.  It's been wonderful to finally be around people who actually like Shakespeare, instead of those who are either intimidated by his works or pretending to like him just to look and sound smart.  These people have a genuine passion for Shakespeare, poetry, and literature in general.  I'm ashamed to say that I'm actually the least passionate among them when it comes to Shakespeare. 

We're doing four modules this semester, two of which run two hours fornightly and the other two are weekly one-hour sesisons.  There is one other international student doing the same MA, from Saudi Arabia.  Apparently, she's having a real difficult time adjusting to the culture here.  She is, afterall, Muslim, and all the diverse culture that England has to offer could be extremely intimidating.  Other than her, I'm the only person from Taiwan out of the nine of us.  Two of my mates are part-time, and they will only attend two modules with us. 

My MA mates are extremly nice and friendly.  They have been very thoughtful and considerate to both me and the other girl.  It may be too early to say, but I like to keeps my hopes up and believe that my time here is going to be well-spent and extremely rewarding.

I have heard of all the terrible things that could happen in university accommodations, but fortunately, I have yet to experience any of those.  The girl who lives next to me is from China, but she seems to be sensible and responsible.  Most of the people that live on the same floor are girls, with the exception of one boy who is here with either his wife or girlfriend (I do not know because they live in a self-contained flat, and thus they are not sharing the kitchen nor the toilet/bathroom with the rest of us).

The kichen is the best place to socialize with your flatmates, but you really have to get used to talking while you cook.  There was once when the kitchen got really crowded, but I absolutely enjoyed it.  There is a girl from Mexico, who hasn't learned how to cook, a girl from Vietnam, the States, and one local Brit girl.  It's been a pleasure talking to the, and I know it might be a little early in the year to say, but you know I like to keep my hopes up: I think I'm really going to enjoy their company.

Thus, coming back to my impression upon my first tutorial, I must say that I'm already feeling the pressure.  In a week, we were given the assignment to read twenty sonnets [due next Tuesday], and three plays [due two weeks from now].  I don't know how I'm going to manage, but I'm going to have to.  This is unlike anything that I had ever done before.  I enjoy the challenge, yet I'm also feeling extremely nervous about it. 

Fortunately, the professor that's in charge of our most important module, obviously the one about Shakespeare, is such a nice person.  Our first session actually ran overtime, but that was because we had tea at the end of our serious discussions.  The other professor, who is in charge of two other modules, seems to be a little more serious and uptight.  However, there shouldn't be a problem because all my MA mates are really supportive.  There is one other professor, but I can't tell you much about him, because we've only met him shortly during the English Social yesterday.  The topic of the module is certainly very interesting, I can tell you that much!

To sum this first week up, I must admit that I'm feeling a little silly right now.  Friends and family would know that I've always prefered English accent, especially Shakespeare adaptations, and I think I'm extremely susceptible to adapting their accent!  I've already caught myself speaking in North American accent, but using English intonation, which sounds absurd, trust me!  And as for the Chinese, oh my dear lord, have I ever felt so bad about my mother tongue?  Whenever I speak to the girl next door, I feel like a complete fool.

So there it is!  That sort of sums of my first 'real' week here in Liverpool.  Someone might be happy to know that I'm actually doing something other than drinking beer and watching football!



Abercromby Square, next to Sydney Jones Library, which is my favorite place in the world right now.

【這不是翻譯】

我也不知會寫多少雜記。這個命題方式先放著以防萬一。想寫關於我對這裡的第一印象很久了，可是一直等到今天才動筆[手]寫。原因是因為今天我們正式的上了第一次的seminar。感覺非常的充實。但同時壓力也很大。這學期我只有四門課。兩門課兩週見一次，一次兩小時。另外兩門是每週一小時。但就單單這一週，我們的書單已經超出你能想像的範圍了：二十首十四行詩要在一個禮拜內啃完；三部劇本要在兩週內啃完。當然，光是讀還不夠。還得分析以及探討教授丟給你的問題。

覺得幸運的是，同學們都很友善。我雖是唯一台灣來的學生，但另外一位是從沙烏地阿拉伯來的。因為宗教因素，導致他不是很習慣這裡的生活。但同學們都很貼心。我們還講好說要安排幾次無酒精的movie night。這都是為了他喔！不知道是不是學文的都比較貼心，因為雖然除了我們兩個國際學生之外，其他都是當地人。但我到目前為止完全沒有被排擠的感覺。每個人都很親切。

講到這，就不得不提一下住同一層樓的鄰居們。我聽說過很多恐怖的慘痛經驗。但是到目前為止，我覺得大家都非常親切，也很負責任呢！隔壁住了個大陸來的。但或許是因為在外工作過，感覺上就是一個很負責任、很有sense的人。其他還有墨西哥、越南、美國、和一個英國人。整層樓都是女生，除了一個跟他老婆還是女朋友[?]住套房的男士。

對於開學這一週的感想，我實在覺得自己什麼都不是。別誤會，這絕對不是缺乏自信，只是真正體驗到什麼叫『人外有人，天外有天』。在台灣時時被稱讚『英文好』的Celeste，在這個MA裡英文應該是最差的一個。至於母語國語，就更不用說了。每次跟隔壁那大陸人講話，我都很懷疑自己講的到底是不是國語。[補充說明：會這麼說不是因為聽不懂他說的話。而是因為他說得國語太標準了。讓我每次開口都覺得很慚愧...這不是國語，這不是國語。我還蠻喜歡聽他說話的。聲音有點像林志玲。抱歉剛開始沒解釋清楚讓大家誤會了。]

雖然要讀的東西很多，不過因為這個MA夠宅，我想我念到無聊的時候，還是會常常來貼一些有的沒有的文章吧！

碎碎念：值得慶祝的一件事是，我的包裹都到齊啦！這表示我的冬衣齊全了。冬天，來吧！我不怕！！！*抖*抖*抖*