20100630 Long Time No See, My Dear Friends (1)

Long Time No See, My Dear Friends!

It's good to be home again

It had been a long time since I had seen my friends - I missed all of them so much. So in order to find out about their lives and experiences in college, I decided to step into their shoes. I visited six different universities in Taipei, and I also joined a few classes with my friends. Walking around their universities, I felt like a Taipei college student. The schools' cultures were so different from mine in California. The students in Taipei have such colorful and exciting lives compared with my life in the States.

Although I did not have the full experience of their classes, I feel Asian students learn differently than American students. In the States, we have papers, group projects, formal presentations and research, which help students develop the ability to learn by themselves. After being back for a month, I find myself experiencing reverse culture shock. But I am slowly readjusting to my home culture. Colleges here have just begun their summer break. My friends and I are planning to visit some different places around the island. I am excited about my journey and am enjoying the presence of friends and family.

culture shock 文化衝擊

step into somebody's shoes 感同身受

eg: When he saw the homeless man on the streets he briefly stepped into his shoes and decided to give him some money.

=> 當他看到街上的流浪漢時，一時感同身受並且決定給他一些錢。

step into somebody's shoes 接替別人的工作

eg: After James left the job, Greg stepped into his shoes and did a wonderful job.

=> 在詹姆斯離職之後，格雷戈接替他的工作並且做得很好。

re- 回來

reverse adj. 相反的/反向的

=> opposite direction/position

eg: The reverse side of the coat was lined with silk.

=> 這件外套的裡面鋪的是絲質的材料。

eg: If you do the procedure in reverse sequence, you will shut down the whole computer system.

=> 如果您把程序倒過來做，您就會把整個電腦系統給關掉。

readjust v. 重新調整/重新調適

eg: After Ricky moved to the suburbs, he took some time to readjust his lifestyle.

=> 在Ricky搬到郊區之後，他花了一段時間重新調適他的生活方式。

eg: Students need help in readjusting after a long summer vacation.

=> 學生經過漫長的暑假之後需要幫助重新適應。

step into somebody's shoes 感同身受/接替別人的工作

colorful adj. 多姿多采的/富有趣味的/生動的

=> exciting/interesting

//== Chat room ==//

Long time no see. 好久不見

make a long story short 簡而言之/長話短說

=> 這裡的story是指事情的原委

It's a long story. 這個說來話長

=> 這句話帶有弦外之音，他真正的意思是其實我不想告訴你

=> 所以當別人跟你說it's a long story時，別等著聽故事，因為他接下來可能會轉換話題

//== Grammar on the Go ==//

After being back for a month. I found myself experiencing reverse culture shock.

After + verb-ing, subject finds oenself + verb-ing

eg: After exercising regularly for two months, Jody found herself enjoying her workout sessions.

eg: Tyler usually likes to eat spaghetti, but after having spaghetti every night for a whole week, he found himself feeling sick and tired of it.