「好奇心是愛的語言」...嗎？ 這篇文章呼應的我們三月的主題「想像力」，在人跟人之間的互動，想像力會被認為是「關心、在意」. Personally, I couldn't agree more. 程度中高級 ★★★☆☆ 部分精選單字看文末解釋 語氣自然不做作（雖然用了太多的『because』），相當適合開口朗讀！這個禮拜還沒開口說英文的你，跟我一起唸唸看吧！ 全篇文章 ⬇️ I was in a relationship for 6 years and he loved me in all the ways you could see. We went on dates, we bought each other gifts, we talked every single day. For a long time, I thought that was all you needed, but what was missing was the depth. He just wasn’t really curious about me. And it sounds silly but he as really into planes so I’d always ask him about them. Every time he picked up a new hobby, I’d ask him what drew him to it but I didn’t realize how much I needed that back until I made a bid for connection. A while ago, my dad and I went to Boston to see this artist I admire. When I came back, I was excited to tell mu boyfriend about it and he said, “oh cool, when you gonna be back?” That was it. It was always like that and I remember thinking “maybe this is something we can work on”. So I’d make more bids for connection, but he never changed. Then one day, around 6 months after we broke up, and I became friends with this girl and one day we were just hanging out. I casually mentioned that I liked this artist, and then she caught me off guard with “what is that you actually like about these paintings?” And I was surprised and said “Oh well it’s the strategy. Impressionism is harder than realism because realism is just copying.” She thought for a second and then she just said, “why do you think that?” And I just froze. It was such a simple question and we barely knew each other then. But I felt oddly seen and heard in that moment because it wasn’t just “oh she wanted to know more about art”. It was that this girl I barely knew was still curious to know more about who I really was and in that moment, I felt more sense than I felt in my past 6 years of relationship I was in. Because talking, dates, and gifts are all rituals of love but being curious was the actual intimacy and making someone feel seen requires a level of genuine interest in who they are. Because love is more than just rituals. It’s remembering that the person in front of you is deeper than the version you already know. And being curious enough to keep discovering because if I love you, I just want to know who you are.

我們的學員 @Tiffany Lin 看了電子書的第一部影片，寫了一篇快閃小說跟我分享（flash fiction），看完後我心想：「很有八點檔的味道，不跟大家分享實在太浪費了！」 是不是該幫她下個標題？😍 ❝ In the evening, Tom, Amy, and Sandra are having dinner and catching up. "Hey, how's it going? Is everything okay with your wife?" Amy asked. "Not really, I found that she cheated on me yesterday, so we fought," Tom replied with a depressed face. Sandra slammed the table and said out loud, "Aha, I knew it! I saw it coming when she hung out with her co-worker last month!!" "Co-worker? Who is he?" Amy started getting confused. "Remember I told you I saw his wife with a man in the grocery store? He is her co-worker in the company, and also, they were classmates in middle school. If my memory was correct, he did well in school and was a popular guy", Sandra whispered. "I was gonna talk to her calmly, but my emotions controlled me at the time, so we ended up arguing rather than talking. I wasn't thinking clearly," Tom sighed. "Do you have any plans about what you are going to do in the future? We can help you", said Amy. "Thanks, but you can't hold my hand forever. I have to handle it myself." Suddenly, Sandra held everyone’s arms intensely and said, "Hey! I have an idea...." "Hold on, don't get any funny ideas." Amy interrupted what Sandra was going to say at the time. "You don't even know what I was gonna say. Maybe.... it would help!" "No! It won't," Tom and Amy said together. To prevent Sandra from becoming sad, Tom immediately comforted her," I see where you're coming from. But I can address it, trust me." "Alright. Last question, does he have a wife or girlfriend? " "Not that I know of," Tom shrugged. "Anyway, it's time to head home. Sandra, how do you get around? You don't have a car, right?" Amy said. "I will get around with public transportation." ❞ 我僅做了部分的微調，其他原封不動。 片語用得很恰當，語氣自然，感覺真的是朋友之間會出現的話語。 這位同學不是第一次寫故事，我們在過去一年的貴賓課有練習寫快閃小說， She is also a reader. 所以這篇故事性特別完整不是偶然的，Big thumbs up! 有買電子書的你，有在故事看到新片語嗎？

長文分享 這個問題我探討了好多年，嫁到國外的人跟求學或技術移民的經驗很不同。重點是，對你來說年味從哪裡來？ 我跟師丈的觀察是這樣的。 聖誕節在冬天，是個 cozy 溫馨/舒適的節日：熱飲、下雪、待在家、穿新睡衣、送禮物，看聖誕電影和聽音樂就可以感覺到這個節慶的溫馨氛圍。 相對的台灣春節是個熱鬧、吵吵鬧鬧的節日：拜年、走春、圍爐、鞭炮、賭博、麻將、去百貨公司，至於音樂⋯⋯去買刮刮樂的人都會聽到🤣 很多人在台灣也跟我說現在過年不如以前，it is not the same as before，探討後發現原來家裡人常常科技冷漠，尤其沒有小孩的家庭；老一輩身體不好，所以有些菜索性不做了，以前自己灌的香腸、蘿蔔糕、年糕都外掛。 當這個「怕麻煩」的心態慎入，就開始取代年味，這種狀況在國外生活更加明顯，因為我發現所有任何的過年氣氛，都在自己的手上、自己的控制之下，如果我不自發，There is nothing! No music. No food. Nothing. 身在國外的你，與其尋找或等待年味，不如自己「創造」。 哪怕是一兩道菜、兩張春聯、出門買東西或打電話給家人朋友。只要你不怕麻煩，就可以減緩過節的空虛感。 去年我跟在師丈家人家裡做菜，感覺很硬，不對味。今年我們嘗試僅掛春聯、打電話給家人，到了初一我直接大哭😭 It doesn’t feel right! 在這個 do something 跟 do nothing 中間是個動態平衡。但我相信不變的真理是千萬不要「怕麻煩」。 明年該怎麼辦呢？

看了電影或有過自身經驗的人才可能解釋得出來這種細微差別。英國歌手 Zayn Malik 在接受訪談時對於前任 Gigi Hadid 說了這一段話：「I will always love her, but I don’t know if I was ever in love with her.」 我在台灣娛樂新聞看的翻譯是：我會永遠愛他，但是我不知道我有沒有對她真的心動過。 我覺得還是沒有戳到這個 in love with someone 的點。 你覺得該怎麼翻譯呢？ 歡迎討論沒有固定答案🫶🏼

"Made in Taiwan: Recipes and Stories from the Island Nation" Book by Clarissa Wei and Ivy Chen 我因為翻譯了堂姐的童書後因緣際會得知這個食譜書的作者之一魏貝珊（Clarissa Wei）， 也感覺特別親切因為我的名字裡也有「珊」！（我小時候筆畫不清楚常常不小心把自己名字寫成『王冊』被同學笑🤣） Anyways， 今天重點是推薦這本書，尤其身在異地的台灣人如果想家，這本書保證會讓你過個乾癮！不只是食譜，更包含滿滿的台灣文化和歷史知識，目前最有心得的是對於711的細微描述，每字每句都讓我大喊：「是真的！我就是想這要形容給外國人聽！」 擷取兩段分享： 📕 ...if you stop a person on the street in the city and ask them what the greatest thing about living in Taiwan is, they'll most likely like, "it's convenient ah". （如果你在街上隨便攔住一個人，問他住在台灣最大的好處是什麼，他很可能會說：『很方便啊。』） 📕 Some 7-Elevens in the more rural parts of Taiwan also double as pseudo daycare centers, where kids can safely wait for their parents to pick them up after school under the surveillance of staff.（在台灣一些比較偏遠的地區，有些 7-Eleven 也兼作臨時托兒所，孩子們可以在工作人員的監督下安全地等待父母接回家。） 我最喜歡用食物品嚐一個地方的文化，這本書真的適合我這種人！