桴海

To choose Stylistics would never be a good ideal for me, a non native speaker of English, actually I didn’t want it at first. But since all the other modules were full, I had no other options.

Today I marked the end of this module with an exam. Not bad, I would say. Looking back, I’m so happy about what I have gained from it: for the first time, I understand language can be manipulated by people’s thought, which is similar with the meaning of a semi funny ‘maxim’ in the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland trying to tell-words can mean whatever you want they to mean.

I clearly remembered last year when I went to London for the first time, I wanted to visit Royal Observatory Greenwich but it’s really a shame that I didn’t know how to call it correctly. When I popped out of the tube, I asked a person by saying ‘could you tell me the way to a building used for watching stars!’ OMG, I was shocked by my creativity and eye popping talent on paraphrasing. To my surprise, he understood me very well. During my visit in the observatory, again I was looking for the ‘prime meridian line’. I asked the staff ‘do you know how I can get to the zero degree line’. Without any doubt, he precisely pointed out the direction. The same stories occur nearly every day in my life. I speak the English according to my on way, which is stemmed from my thought and my thought is well bred by the Chinese culture and the people around me. Such fact is set, and no one including myself can change it. But I really wish that I could gradually understand the British culture, not now but ten years from now.  I think Stylistics may give me the key of stripping out the language per se and allowing me to know the information around me better.

I finally finished my assignment for the Strategy Management about Toyota, I got relaxed the moment I handed my copy to the business deanery office. Again I couldn’t download the module coversheet and had to fill a form with the related module information. I wish I can soundly chill myself for maybe two weeks, but more work needed to be sorted by my side. The final lap is always dragging, and I’m quite used to that.

Less than two weeks, I will leave Liverpool. I remembered I joked with Josy I would adopt Scouse accent and get assimilated with the local culture at the beginning of this semester. But I have to admit that it is more comfortable to live on my own culture and my own way of thinking.

The good weather in England always makes me positive: dogs, blossoms and the clear sky. And nothing would be more enjoyable than spending 20p to grab a copy of daily star in a sunny afternoon.    

Last Saturday I popped into Home Bargain, a chain store which is largely aimed at poor people in UK.

Entering the shop, I was puzzled by a number of plasitc cups filled with red or wihite liquid, on the top of which were sealed by plastic paper. Picking up one of them eagering to identify what it is, I was so astonished to find those transparent liquid is wine from Australia. This tiny goods managed to set up a chain of reactions in my mind. Wine, not from the old world but from the new world, means very good value for money. However people tend to consume wines in a very lovely environment, say in a family run restaurant with wines and exellent food on the table. There is nothing wrong if someone coming up with the idea selling soft drink like this, but what is the point of selling wine in this funny way. Can't help laughing. While I was pouring scorns on this product, two local people finding those wines as well. 

'look at that!' One woman speaking loudly can't conceal her excitement, 'what is this?'

By looking at the lable on the top, she soon realise it was wine in cup.

I was standing by, hoping to find how they reacted.

'It is handy, isn't it. We can take it to picnic, can't we.' She said to the woman next to her.

'Yeah, but I am afraid I might have more than one cups at a time and get drunk.' And without hesitation, they popped a few into their baskets.

Let me bring this this story to a conclusion, that is we need always to think out of the box.