來美國之後，我發現聽說讀寫在日常生活裡最難練習的是寫作。要練聽力，可以看電視新聞或者一些talk show節目，要練會話，就想辦法多跟朋友聊聊天，要練閱讀，可以看原文小說，或者網路上隨便一找都有一堆有趣的東西可以看，但是唯獨寫作這塊，很少有機會練習，因為日常生活裡很少有需要寫東西的時候啊! 就算寫了，沒有人幫忙改的話想要進步也很有限。
這個學期開始，我開始在MIT上英文課，我遇到的老師非常好，我們使用的「課本」跟一般學英文的教科書很不一樣，因為其實就是一本英文散文集，每個禮拜老師會挑一篇文章讓大家一起讀，除了文章本身很有趣以外，認真讀的話其實可以學到一些英文作文的技巧。(這點就跟多看中文書，寫出來的作文就會比較漂亮一樣。) 讀完之後，老師會從文章裡面找出一些可以著墨的的點，希望我們寫一小段文字發表自己的看法，老師會幫忙改。剛好我覺得我們的第一篇作文題目滿有意思的，所以就不害躁的把我的作業貼出來。題目是” Things people do when they are first in love”，寫的當然是我跟蘑菇的經驗，希望你們也會覺得有趣囉!
In the first several years when my husband and I dated, we grabbed every chance to celebrate. We celebrated each other’s birthday, the anniversaries of being together, Valentine’s Day, Chinese Valentine’s Day, and Christmas. We would have dinner at a nice restaurant, write sweet greeting cards, and buy presents for each other.
There were two kinds of presents that we usually chose. One was very practical, things that you can use every day, like a table lamp or a fan. The other was something we wanted badly, but we hesitated to buy for ourselves because of the price. For example, a brand new LCD monitor, or an expensive watch. Since it was a present, the price was not so important. We were more generous to each other than to ourselves.
I forget when we stopped celebrating the way we used to. We still remember each special day when it comes. We hug each other and say “Happy anniversary!” “Happy Birthday!” to each other, but we don’t need those presents anymore. Maybe because after so many years together, we have everything we want. We go to a nice restaurant once in a while, but not for the celebration, just to enjoy. Having Valentine’s Day dinner at home is as good as having it at any fancy restaurant. When we were first in love, we celebrated a date because it was special. As now, a special date can be just like a usual day, and every day can be special.
(這是好久以前我送給蘑菇的枕頭套，上面還自己繡字，是不是很賢慧，哈哈!!)
