20090924 -- The Sun Is Shining; The Winds Are Blowing (1)

The Sun Is Shining; The Winds Are Blowing

Here I am in Southern California - Los Angeles

I still remember early last month when I said goodbye to my parents, stepped on the airplane, and started my journey to America. Of course, everyone gets excited when traveling around. For me, however, this trip was different — I was traveling for academic purposes.

Filled with an anxious excitement, I began my year with the new students' orientation. Meeting all the freshmen from different parts of America was really exciting. Watching thousands of Americans walking around, speaking English, I finally realized that I was in America – a foreign country.

During the orientation, I tried to make some new American friends. Unfortunately, it is hard for me to make friends. My English skill were pooer than the Americans'. And my culture also made me different from the rest of the students here.

On the other hand, my diverse background was a good thing as it made me unique. Some were interested to know that I am from Taipei. Many asked tons of questions about the differences between Taipei and Los Angeles. Fun times always pass by quickly. After a few days of orientation, school started, and that was when the real battle began. To be continued...



academic adj. 學術上的/學業上的
=> refer to education
eg: Does Michael have the academic qualifications that are necessary for this job?
eg: You need to have excellent academic record in order to be accepted by this university.
eg: The professor's academic achievement was not fully recognized until recently.


orient v. 使適應
orientation n. 幫助新生適應的課程訓練
=> an event that introduces the new student to the campus
eg: All new employees must attend a two-day orientation before they begin to work here.
eg: Freshman orientation(新生訓練) day will be on September 1st.
eg: New employees need to attend our 3-day orientation.

freshman n. 大學一年級學生
eg: All of the freshmen at our university must take a class in cultural studies.

freshman 大學一年級學生
sophomore 大學二年級學生
junior 大學三年級學生
senior 大學四年級學生

uni- 單一
unique adj. 獨一無二的/獨特的
=> different from others
eg: Every person in the world is unique; no two people are exactly alike.
eg: His unique directing style is well received in Europe.
eg: This kind of butterfly is a species unique to Taiwan.

diverse adj. 不同的/多元化的
eg: Tom and I have diverse interests.



//== Chat room ==//

language barrier 語言障礙
cultural barrier 文化障礙

overcome v. 克服
patience n. 耐心


//== Grammer on the go ==//

Many asked tons of questions about the differences between Taipei and Los Angeles.

tons
=> a lot

plety
plenty of choices

loads
loads of fun

masses
masses of people

piles
piles of clothes

heaps
heaps of junk