il Giardino Romantico

【前言】
這一系列的留學文章，最主要的宗旨是記錄我的經驗。但在記錄的過程中，也希望能夠為想要留學的朋友們提供一些訊息，解除一些疑惑或是在做任何選擇方面提供一些方向。
如果你是有想要留學的念頭的朋友：希望你能從我的經驗中得到一些資訊。
如果你是完全沒有想要留學的念頭的朋友：那就隨著這一篇篇的文章隨著我在這虛擬世界裡去留個學吧！
【What to study】

謝謝你們的支持！也歡迎你們繼續支持。
上個月生活上有了一些大變動。接下來還在台灣的這幾個月，將會是又緊張、又令人興奮的時刻。有很多事情必須完成。因此對於新家的經營方向，就不多做說明。完全隨著心情更新。
我在這裡，過著與世無爭的平淡、幸福生活。
你們也跟我一起幸福吧！
永遠的女王

by Alan Armstrong
Any book containing kids and talking animals may very well be classified as 'children's literature'.  But a truly well-written work need to charm not only the young readers, but also older adult readers as well.  Whittington certainly lured two grownups into reading chapter after chapter aloud every night before bed.
A group of unwanted animals are living in Bernie's barn.  The Lady, a duck, is in charge of all the animals.  Whittington, the cat, comes along one day and wins her approval to stay at the barn.   The cat then begins to tell the story of his ancerstor - the famous rat-killer that brought fortune to her owner, Dick Whittington.  While he tells his story, Ben, Bernie's grandson struggles with reading.  The barn animals and Abby, his sister encourages and supports Ben's progress.  They believe in him.  And so did he.
Not only is this story  of a legend, but also a story that teachers and parents can learn something from.  With positive attitudes and belief, any kid can walk out of the dark and see light just as everyone else does. 
It is a delightful reading that just about anyone could and would enjoy.

by Umberto Eco
If you are able to find satisfaction in reading a contemporary novel, then congratulations.  Because they are of a rare kind.  But if you are able to find the satisfaction of a number of books within one, then that one book must be the diamond among books.  I dare not proclaim Baudolino as such, but it is definitely a rare gemstone.
What you can expect is a tint of the Da Vinci Code and the Historian, but more sophisticated; the legend of King Arthur, but more humor; fairy tales and folk-tales, but much more serious.
Baudolino has more luck than anything else.  The story of his amazing adventure, battle, and romance unfolds as he narrates it to his newly acquainted friend - Niketas.  The enchanting tale of Baudolino consists of love, war, loyalty, betrayal, and murder. 
A surprising ending awaits at the end, which I have chosen to omit in this review.  It is for each reader to discover at their own will.  Surely, satisfaction will be guaranteed.

  by Elizabeth Kostova
Transylvania, garlic, the cross.  They have one thing in common - vampires.
The Historian is written in a form not unlike our other well-known best-seller The Da Vinci Code.  A mystery awaits to be solved, and ancient secrets are revealed by people seeming least related to them.  One can find action, romance, mystery, death, and of course a slight of humor.  These seem to be the essential ingredients to a successful novel today.
However, many would probably agree that The Da Vinci Code has more charisma because it was largely based on reliable resources. Many of the sources of reference do exist and the historical events mentioned in the story also did truly happen.  Nevertheless, if the reader happens to be a fan of Bram Stoker's Dracula, then they might as well consider this the sequel to it.
The book is satisfying enough for a casual coffee shop reading.  Suspense is not built as strongly as in The Da Vinci Code, but once you reach the crucial point, it can be just as enthralling.  Sometimes, your fingers will unconsciously be tempted to turn to the next page even though you have half a page left to read.  Though on some occasions, you may find it a little hard to continue even to the next page. 

2007。秋
8月26日 台北 - 台中
8月27日 台中 - 高雄
8月29日 高雄 - 台北
9月3日 台北 - 清邁[註]
9月11日 清邁 - 台北
9月14日  台北 - 曼徹斯特[註]
[註] 原本跟在旅行社的學弟問出來的票價是從台北到倫敦Heathrow，然後在曼谷停留的機票。不過後來想想，這樣我還是得出到清邁的旅費。好像沒有比較便宜。又因為到英國當地的行程也有改變。無論如何都是到Manchester比較方便。如果只飛到Heathrow，我又得想辦法自己飛到Manchester。如果直飛到Manchester，就算不參加學校的Meet and Greet[*]，到時候自己做巴士什麼的也都比Heathrow方便。
台北清邁跟台北曼徹斯特的機票分開買，其實也沒有比較貴。目前才會將行程做這樣的更改。
[*]曼徹斯特是離利物浦最近的國際機場。因此學校為國際學生辦的meet and greet安排在曼徹斯特機場。

Love Poems
Three Vertical Lines  [written to me by Jason]
Come, My Savior

By B.K.S. Iyengar
Light on Life is a book no yoga practitioners should ever miss out.   The wise and more than experienced octogenarian shares with us his own stories and gives advice to his yogic readers.  It is full of wisdom, yet just as enjoyable as any other book.  The journey every yogi or yogini has to take may be long and difficult.  This is when the book certainly comes in handy in helping to boost up one's spirituality.
I remember that first asana session after having begun the book.  It was the most delightful session I think I have ever had in my entire yogic experience.  The final resting asana was so profound that it took me a few minutes after to realize that I was back in the real world.  Afterwards, i was physically light and spiritually unbound. 
Then when I saw that the guru refers to himself only as a person who is 'close' to becoming a yogi, I realized that I, myself, did not deserve the title 'yogini'.  I quickly changed all the profiles on the internet from 'yogini' to 'yogini becoming'. 
Even if you have no experience and do not intend to begin your yogic experience, you may still find the book more valuable than it seems.  After all, the man has lived a longer life than a lot of us.  Surely  anybody can learn something from him.

Here is a list of the earlier book reviews.  Click on the title of the book to read the review posted on my old blog.
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
Mrs.Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

前兩個禮拜就收到系上寄來的通知說願意接收我。不過我卻為了信裡頭一的一行字搞昏了頭！信上請我以書寫方式確認是否要接受這個offer。寄了兩三封email去確認說這個到底要怎麼辦後，終於寫了一封簡短的信告知他們我願意接受他們的offer。結果今天卻意外的來了一份大驚喜！
Offer Pack
這文件袋裡大部分都是介紹校園啦、城市等的相關資料。其中我卻看到了一份表格，請我填完寄回去。這表格是幹嘛的？就是confirmation用的～昏倒！結果我email寄來寄去，又打了一封信根本就是白忙了一場。


馬上就來研究看看有些什麼東西。現在全世界都走在科技的前端。竟然還附上一片關於學校的影片！真是有趣。
不過對我來說，這些東西都不是最重要的喔！

這個盼了十年才等到的unconditional offer才是這整個package的重點！
另外還有個小小的驚喜：

其實上次跟Jenny碰面他就跟我提過了。說我有資格申請。但親眼看到申請表格就在眼前，還是給他高興了一下。不過我也不想高興的太早。因為只是『有資格』，還不代表一定會有獎學金。
我三月初才在跟Jason說，如果這offer letter能在我生日那天寄到，那就太神奇了！那就會是最好的生日禮物。
回頭看看那offer letter上的日期，不正是我生日前一天？
這份遲來的生日禮物，我盼了十年才等到的offer letter，我喜極而泣的告訴自己：