Chinese people from China and from Taiwan

全世界任何角落都可以看到很多的印巴人及中國人。

就這兩個民族的滲透性最高、也最厲害。
印度及巴基斯坦其實是很相似的民族，
有些人說他們是來自同一根源。

這和台灣及中國一樣。
其實，我們也是同一個民族。
有些人稱「漢人(民族)」、「華人」。

在我還沒到英國之前，

有一位也是來曼城讀書的同學對我說：
 「我們得把其他的台灣同學結合起來，
    曼徹斯特的中國人太多了。」


I don't know why everytime when we say that we,
China and Taiwan, are 2 countries, the Chinese people from
China get particularly angry. It actually works the other way
around--Taiwanese people would be offended if any Chinese
person says that Taiwan is only a province of China.

There is no denial of the fact that people from Taiwan and
from China are all of the same origin. We are all Chinese
as of the same race. The island was taken away and back
several times throughout the history. In the end, it was again
part of China. However, ever since 1949 the nationalist
Kuomintang leader, Chiang Kai-shek retreated to Taiwan
from China after the defeat by Communist Part, the 2
places have been ruled by different leaders, prime minister
and president, and there are different systems and laws.
Most Chinese people from China and some from Taiwan
may argue that China and Taiwan are ruled by only 2 political
parties.But Taiwan evolved into a democratic place and people
of Taiwan elect their own president. The systems and laws of
the two sides are never interfering with one the other and
it has been like this for many years.

I really think that the communist's concept of China government
to take care of such a big number of people in China is great
and very noble. But sometimes, I really think that those strongly
pariotic Chinese are a bit blind-fold by pariotism itself to face
and accept the reality that we are actually two countries.

Come on! What is the big deal?

If Taiwan were under the control of China or China
were under the control of Taiwan(Kuomintang was
taking the lead first in China), there would be no
difference by now. We would  still be working hell
a lot all the time. And since Taiwan doesn't seem to
be growing for that the development has come to
a certain level but China, on the other hand, is
growing strong and fast, China wouldn't get anything
or benefit from Taiwan.


我個人覺得....
其實台灣人並不是特別有「國家觀念」的人，
因為不怎麼上進的政府、
為了自己私慾及貪念把台灣搞窮搞糟的某些總統，
有些台灣人覺得非常地生氣，但也無耐及無力；
一些常自助旅遊的人及在外國遭受一些阻礙的人士，
會覺得持有台灣護照，很不好用，
所以有時覺得身為台灣真不好。
但是到了外國後，不知怎的國家的觀念就全起來了！

來自中國的中國人則相反。
他們從小被洗腦，也許長大後內心一些對國家的抱怨，
但他們95%的人都是極度愛國且不允許有對國家不利想法的愛國之人。

在國外，有兩個陳述會令很多的人生氣。


「台灣不是國家，是中國的一個省分。」
「台灣和中國是兩個國家。」

為了這個我已經和我一個室友長談好幾個小時、
好幾個夜都在良性的交流下進行。
我並不是想說服她或要她放棄她的想法....而是覺得：
既然她到了民主國家，
應該學著「別那麼固執」，
學著了解「為什麼全世界，除了中國以外的國家都覺得
中共的一些制度非常不合理及符合人性」。
 
 
「中國及台灣是兩個國家，還是台灣是中國的一個省」
只是插入的角度不同而產生的結果。

到底是中國管台灣，還是台灣管中國
(畢竟國民黨本來比共產黨勢力還強)，
要不要統一或獨力有那麼重要嗎？
其實只是圖利某些政客而已。


目前這對兩岸彼此都不會特別重要。

現在最重要的是.....如何打敗老要管閒事
又老一幅他是老大的美國。
讓我們的經濟趕快變好！
中國及漢民族更富强--才是重點。

Turn back the clocks時間向前1小時

在歐洲國家，到了冬天，
通常是十月的第4 個星期六近星期日的午夜12點，
時間會向後調1小時。

所以大家在這個時候，
會多一個小時。
到了夏天，再調回來。也就是說夏天時，會少一個小時。

聽說加拿大也是這樣。

原因是....這裡冬天太陽下山得非常地早，
大約5點(調過的時間)天就非常地黑；
而日出得也特別的晚。

這對我們有什麼影響呢？

首先...我們得學會騙過自己的生理時鐘。
明明肚子餓得不得了，也才不到中午12點。
明明晚上累了，也不到10點。

大家都說：當天可以多睡一點。
但如果沒有多睡一點的人，
會覺得那一天特別起奇怪，且怪。
(這是我的感覺)

大紅的指甲油--回到學生時期

每當我說起我的年紀，

大家都是一臉不可置信。

Ever since I became a teacher, I seemed to grow out
of nailpolish. The first intention was not to let students
be distracted by it, so they could focus solely
on the studies, not the colors on me.
But....since I'm now in this international city,
away from my still conservative native land,
and there are various dressing codes and styles here.
Many hippies or young girls wear
strangely obvious and daring nailpolish.


Many people get stunned when they find out my age.
So..I suppose I can blend in and just be
what they think I am!

這裡年輕人的裝扮很多元性，

但女生青一色的手上都塗了顏色很突兀的指甲油。

自從當老師後，就已經不再擦指甲油了。

最近，想了想....

反正現在不用擔心學生不認真讀書把注意放在我的手上，

而且人也在外國....做怪一下，也無所謂。

我的手很白...這樣擦起來，有點可怕吧！

Stay or go?英國也因為外國人在變當中

When I grew up, I was so used to hearing people,
teachers, the elderly talk about the
story of how 1 chopstick is easily breakable
while a bundle of chopsticks aren't


英國因為這些外國人，
已經漸漸地在變。

沒想到....一己及少數人的力量有那麼地大！

不守交通、闖紅燈、不再像從前那樣禮讓行人；
大車讓小車，小車讓行人也不再。
這裡的人開車跟台灣人有得比了....一樣的狂！

倒底發生了什麼事？

It's a story of cooperation and sticking together
for a much more or greater force. With 1 joined
heart,  the combined energy is undestructable
and thought to be able to win any battle.
So, I always thought what a country can do
is certainly better and more than a person himself
can do alone.

Here, however, another interesting phenomenon
about Manchester, a big city in central UK geographically,
is that a bit of those foreigners and of what they do is
gradually changing Britain as what it is supposed
to be. The politeness, the good traffic rule keeper,
a considerate stranger towards others,
a country whose people would always keep places
clean, no-littre, and things like noble manner
are nowhere to be seen!

Sadly, what I see everyday when I step out of my
flat is inconsiderate drivers going on driving like
crazy, turning suddenly without giving in to any
passersby and almost hitting someone all the time.
People stop paying attention to red light, instead
they just go when they feel like to.

I really think these weren't British at all a while
ago and were purely done by new people in town
and mainly foreigners who didn't know what it means
to 'do like British people do,' but now ironically
these 'new concepts' are blending and becoming
part of British now, at least part of Manchesterish!

This is really the first time I realized ONE chopstick
can be stronger than the bamboo trees!

Wow!

家人的愛--令人感動的包裏

Packages with a lot of love from the family.
因為室友把通知單拿回宿舍，
看到時已經是舍監下班的時間了，
只好等到笫二天。

沒想到，還因為我的東西最多，
被舍監酸了一下！

她說，她們通常不收這麼多的東西，
一堆起來就像人一樣高！

不過，
當我收到這三個重的箱子時，真的很感動！

雖然都是自己舊的東西，但有拆禮物的感覺。
家人肯定花了不少錢！

終於可以擺脫穿"小紅"的日子！

我的衣櫥也從只有一、兩件衣服
變到快要滿喔！

這樣算算，其實也蠻快的，
從他們把東西寄出，好像笫3天我就接到英國航運公司
的電話，要我寄e-mail填一些免稅的單子，
而2天後東西就到了。
所以不包含星期六日，可能6天左右就可以到。

哇.....真幸福！

Downtown Manchester市區的景相

Manchester Downtown is a busy place.

There is a mixture of old and modern buildings.

This looks like a Japanese paper bird

on top of the building.

Even the outlook of a bank(LloydsTSB)

has the strong renaissance built.

Town Hall

Sport Center, where the major

football games are held.

A big shopping area, Arndale.

西方人穿什麼都好看！是嗎？

我們常覺得西方人穿什麼都好看、 有型
----其實這是個迷思。

當然，他們很多人骨架好，
所以穿衣服比較撐得起來。

http://www.primark.co.uk/

去Premark一趟，你就會明白。
東西很多，不同的size，款式也很多；
有休閒的，也有正式場合穿的。
東西都很便宜，
但絕大部分質感都不錯。

我看到一件像我這幾天穿得小紅外套，才￡8.5！

難怪....我目前的一千零一件小紅外套才7.99。
所以我是買貴了！！

難怪這裡街上，一大堆女生穿像愛斯基摩人
的靴子。那也才4-5鎊。

所以西方人看起來比較有型，
是因為他們的選擇性比較多。
因為那麼便宜...常常就會有混搭(或亂搭)。

在Premark，你會看到像在台灣，
台灣人看到更宜東西，拼命拿的景像。

你問我，他們比較有格調嗎？！

嗯.....好像也不是真的這樣。

Premark-最便宜的商品

In Europe , everybody thinks that everything is
expensive. In most cases, it's true,
especially when you eat out a lot.

But you can still find things of the same price
as in Taiwan and save some money
if you know the ways.
If you ever get to UK or somewhere in Europe ,


Premark is the place with the best price.
Indeed, when I say the best price,
I mean the lowest price.
With very little money, let's just say a few pounds or
euros, you can actually wear some common
but stylish things.


他們說在還沒去Premark以前，
什麼東西都還不要買。

在那可找到便宜又好的東西。
Premark大概就是最便宜的了。


本來還不太相信.....那天我終於見識到了。
難怪，手冊上說不要帶太多的衣服，
這當地買比較便宜。
一開始，我真的不相信，
前兩個星期所看到的，也許價錢沒那麼高，
但也高出台中2-3倍。說什麼我也不相信。

Guess how much they are?

因為在曼徹斯特坐公車到不遠的市區要￡1.10(NT$55)。
從台中到東勢也才80元不到，
這裡很多人都習慣走路。

但我太久了像這樣走那麼多路了，我的鞋子也許在台灣算舒適，
到這就真的不行了，痛到不行。
本來想一直等到我的包裏行李到達，
但前幾天才聽說行李"剛寄" .......
所以我就趁來市區找工作時，來這看看。



猜猜這兩雙鞋多少錢？

它們價錢一樣。
要不就猜一雙就好了。

You will never know.....really!

They are only 2 pounds altogether,
which means NT$120---can you believe that?
The original price is 8 pounds, but still.
I know there are many 100-dollar shoes in Taiwan,
which are made in China and are really bad
but I don't think there are 50-dollar shoes with
a quality like these. Amazing, huh?

你一定會覺得我，怎麼那麼愛花錢，
東西一下就買麼多！
但它們很舒服，還不是大陸製的。
而這兩雙鞋才2鎊，等於說....不到台幣100元。
在台灣應該買不到這個價錢喔！
是原價￡8的商品。

相處才會了解Know your friends

我相信人性本善。
It takes time to know the true essense of
a person, even the best psychologist can't
sense everything right at the very moment
of encounter.

All my life, I see the nice nature
of human being and very often tend to believe
that is how we are before the negative
destructive effect from the outer world.

所以大部分時候我都是覺得我看到好的部分，
就真的是好的。

但是啊....還真有不少的事情走近、仔細一看，
並不是那麼一回事。

Therefore, I treat people around me nicely and
think people are genuinly nice.

Well...I'd say that the class which we learn in
contact with people in real life does teach me
a good lesson. It kinda bites!

It'd be easy if I were in my own country and
weren't in a country with multinational people
whom I have to deal with from time to time,
I would have stopped being friends with
this kind of hypocritical people while though
still maintaining basic politeness in contact
with them.



以為我的室友人很好.....但人真的要相處。


一開始只覺得她是太有禮貌、太客氣。
她常掛在嘴邊的話是：「真不好意思！」
   

但當她因為我們一起參加一個聚會，
我把她要吃的薯片零食放在我的盤子，
要她直接拿來吃，省去她的麻煩時....
那麼小的事，
她也可以一臉愧疚地說：「這怎麼好意思」時，
我真的開始覺得她怪怪的。


後來，我就知道事情不是表面那麼一回事。

 
我們常說：「禮多人不怪。」
但是如果對很熟的人也這樣，
那就太見外，根本心裡不把他當朋友看。


在英國有些東西買多價錢會便宜非常地多。
拿薯片來說，如果我去便利市超買小小一包，
可能要59p(NT$30)；
但我若去超市買一大包，裡面有9小包，
卻只需要99P(NT$50)。
所以有些東西，我當然會選擇後者。

因為知道她愛吃零食，
有時還故意只吃零食就當一餐。
我就把每一種口味都分給她一包。
結果，她竟然回房間拿了二顆金莎巧可力給我！

我和她說：「你真的不用那麼客氣！
我也吃不完。我不太愛吃這樣的東西的，
只是偶爾還會想吃一些。
因為不想多花那麼多錢，所以才買大包的。」

沒想到，她竟然說：「我也是很大方樂於分享的人。」

每次我煮菜，也幫她多弄一份，
她就會問我要不要喝她從家鄕帶來的泡湯；
但如果那天是她先煮湯，
她就不會問我要不要喝。


真的是把她當做比我年紀小的妹妹照顧。

因為我一直都是被別人照顧的那一個。
一路走來除了對我不斷付出的姊姊，
身邊很多的朋友也都大我很多，
他們也都超照顧我的。
所以....覺得對她好一點也應該的。


一開始她這些過於見外又奇怪的舉動，
對我來說只是「小女生，還沒長大」。

很多留學生的家境都很富裕，
全身名牌，很懂名牌但非常節儉的她，
就會說：「他們憑什麼？！」

我們家也不太好，但我並不會特別羡慕這些有
錢人家的孩子。

「名牌」--又如何！

有人整身的名牌，但內在呢？
人品呢？有沒看過一身身名牌的人很不大器的？

未來的大品牌，在任何時間都有可能產生。
有些好的東西不見得有品牌。

再說...我自己就是個名牌。

明明我24歲時就已經在地球村教書2年了，

我不記得我那個時候有她現在的不成熟。


我如果手上沒有現金，如果先跟她借，
一去銀行領錢，就會馬上還給她。
但她連一隻剪刀都要跑來問我用完了沒。
到現在她都還欠我一些錢，卻完全忘記！

如果是不要佔別人便宜，不會那麼做的。

在我看來是「雙重標準 加 虛善」 ！

做人為什麼不能真實可愛一些呢！


一向討厭就是這樣的人，
在台灣我會馬上把她例入「拒絕往來戶」。
但因為人在異鄕，很多事情無可奈何，
只有忍受下來了！

There are people wearing famous brands

all over their body because they have rich
parents. My flatmate often gets a bit jealous
of them. She is always frugal and careful
with her money. In fact, a lot of international
students, especially Asian students are pretty
well-off if they can come so far, so it's not
uncommon to see them with a lot of gadgets
of big brands.

What is the meaning of it if
you have all the nice brands on you but nothing
nice or genuin within or inside of you?
This is why I never envy them.
I, myself, am a good brand.

I know some brands become famous because of
their reputation in quality or they simply hired
the top branding and marketing specialist to help
them. It's just possible that there are future
famous brands coming in the the market right now.

We choose who we are; not what we were born
decides what we are going to be.

火警演習--Fire Drill

就是今天早上8:15....就被可怕的巨響給嚇醒。

In European countries, most classes start from
10:00, as I heard. Unlike schools in Taiwan the earliest class starts
from 8:10. Sometimes, students are required to go to school before
7 or even 6.

I thought I could linger longer on my bed but....then the fire drill
alarm blasted and woke me up cruelly! I grabbed my jacket.
Fortunately, I wore something to bed.
There, outside the building, we stood for only 2 minutes, and then
we returned to our flat.

I know British people are matter-of-fact and take a big number
of things seriously so the inefficiency is apparent but garantees
things done without a flaw.

But....come on!
I went to bed fairly late last night.
How come everytime I go to bed late, something would happen
to disturb my sleep?

     "We just hope if there is a fire, you can be a lot faster."
     (Knock on Wood!)


原來是火警練習....還好我有穿衣服！！
加件外套就趕快下樓到外面。

不到2分鐘，又回到床上.....唉！
我了解英國人做事不會虛虛的，
會把事做好，哪怕有時效率不太好。
而且消防演習是為了人身安全，
但是真得碰上這樣的事，還真的有些討厭！

聽說不只英國，歐洲的學校有很多都是10:00才有課。


所以啦....好不容易覺得很幸福，可以多睡一會，
剛好昨晚比較晚睡....竟然.....真的很3條線！

很有跟921緊急往外跑一樣的感覺！
雖然這次沒有害怕的感覺。