House No. 5

一切就從這裡開始。
This is where the magic happens.

Plassey House 5

搬進Plassey的前幾天就不斷想著會有怎樣的室友。會有很多瘋狂的愛爾蘭人嗎？會有彬彬有禮的日本人嗎？還是會有古靈精怪的歐洲人？想到未來半年要跟這些人共渡，心理總是一半緊張一半期待。
In my first few days in Plassey, I kept wondering what kinds of house-mates would I have. Maybe there will be some optimistic Irish young lads, so we can have party every night; or we may have some Japaneses, Koreans, knowing each other cultures but not well, so that we can have to chance to correct our stereotypes on the heterogeneous Asian cultures. We may have some spooky European teens with their piercings and flamboyant hair colors. The whole year ahead is full of anticipation and expectations.

結果，出乎意料的，七個室友中只有一個愛爾蘭人，五個來自北美（加拿大、美國），另一個來自中國。
Out of my expectation, only one of my house mates is Irish. Five of them come from the North America, three Americans and two Canadians, and the other is from China.

Aaron

我認識的第一個室友是Aaron，當他進門時我幾乎是飛奔出門去迎接他，因為太興奮了。Aaron來自美國的喬治亞州，主修心理學的他說話幽默風趣，標準美式幽默中帶點挖苦趣味。剛認識他時覺得可能他很輕浮，但後來發現他的個性其實沉著穩重，而且觀察力很強、也很懂得應對進退，實在有超越大三學生的成熟。另外一提就是，Aaron煮飯功力之高，讓人敬佩，印象最深的是他的馬鈴薯泥佐香腸，純美式作風，簡單的調味就能做出一頓好晚餐。
Aaron is the first guy I met in the house. When he went into the house, I heard the noise and ran out to welcome him (Oh yeah, first house mate!). He is very talkative and humorous, and his humor always reminds me of Chandler who is sarcastic sometimes in Friends. Wherever Aaron is, people won't feel bored. People like him could be frivolous, while I found him has mature aspects in his personality. He knows people around him and also possesses precise observation of things happening around. What's more, Aaron is a decent chef. His mashed potatoes and fried sausages impressed me a lot. With simple seasoning, he can make a quite unforgettable meal.

Sarah (right)

Sarah是我第二個室友。聽說她到UL的時間是凌晨一點多，在長途飛行之後又拎著大小行李到處跑，她在UL的第一天根本就累翻了。Sarah讓我首次覺得女生捲髮很好看。主修政治的她不會開口閉口就是政治經，反倒有著和善的感覺與靜謐氣質。聽說她養隻貓，而她本人的確像位貓淑女，走路靜悄悄的，做飯時會舔掉滴在手上的醬汁，那動作確是輕盈、細膩無誤。Sarah另一項長材就是她是本生活百科全書，像我這種生活白痴，舉凡切菜刀法、起司外層的蠟能不能食用都會問她，而她都會一一解答，所以我也戲稱她為「智者莎拉」。
Sarah is my second house mate, a miserable one. She arrived UL at 1 am, and she had to drag all her suitcases and exhausted body around the campus. Her curly hairs impresses me because its the first time I think the hair style suits woman. Although she is a political science major, she doesn't make the scene political. She is quite friendly and even demure sometimes. I lnow she keeps a cat, and she is indeed a cat lady. While cooking meals, she licks off the sauce dripping on her hand sometime. The feline posture is as light and subtle as the cat's steps. What's more, she is good at answering my stupid questions, such as "Can I eat the red wax around the cheese?" or "How should I cut the potatoes? into slice or dice?," etc. To pay her my respect and thankfulness, I call her "Sarah the Wise" sometimes.

Meagan

Meagen給我的第一印象真的是傻大姊。有話直說的豪爽個性配上約175公分的身高，在一個家裡應該算是發號施令的大姐頭角色。她常說的就是：「我覺得大家應該要...」，所以有很多的公共事務都是她帶頭組織的，也許有人會覺得她有點愛支配別人，但如果沒有她，這個家可能會是一團亂。煮晚飯時，Meagen如果看到我煮她沒嚐過的食物，她總是會說「我可以嚐一些嗎？」。
The first impression Meagan gave me was a 'silly sister' (which means a straightforward, simple personality in Chinese, a complimentary word). With her direct characteristic and 175cm figure, she is actually like the manager in the house. She usually says: "I think we should ...." She organizes or helps to organize many household chores. Some people may call her bossy, but she does do a lot for the house. If she sees something she's never tried before when I am cooking dinner, she always says: "Can I have some?"

Tara (right)

Tara對我來說更像是個小女孩。雖然她非常愛抱怨，但我覺得她跟我小妹一樣可愛。Tara總是臉上掛著笑容，只要遇到有趣的事，她就笑個不停。另外，可千萬別讓她看到巧克力，會被她吃個精光的！
Tara is like a little girl to me (maybe because she is little~). Although she complains a lot, but she is actually as cute as my youngest sister. Tara always has smile on her face. She keeps laughing whenever interesting thing happens. BTW, never let her know where the chocolate is, she will eat them all!

Doug

Doug是個酷傢伙。他不只常去健身，也很常自己去旅行。有時我跟他聊起去旅行的事，發現他是個很能融入人群，更能獨立自主的人。別以為他是個肌肉棒子就不夠細膩，他也是煮的一手好菜，雖然烹調方法簡單，但我還蠻佩服他的極簡烹飪法。

Doug is a cool guy, a constant gym-goer and an independent traveler. we talked a lot about travel and politics sometimes. Don't judge a man by his well-developed muscle! Doug is actually a guy with subtle mind and thinking. Every time I see him in kitchen, I am always surprised by his cooking. Seriously, I have though about stealing his food sometimes. It just smells delicious!

P.S.: He is a horse.

霍(Huo)

沒想過有天我會跟中國人在同個屋簷下生活。出國之前，想到可能會在海外遇到中國學生，心裡的想法總是先從政治議題切入之後再轉入情感層次。霍是CS(Computer Science)主修，非常純樸、踏實的一個人。來自長春，講話十分直接而且總是眉飛色舞。Sarah說他是「最友善的人」，形容的完全沒錯。在Aaron的影響之下，他也開始學用FB，想著去美國念PhD。希望他能夠跟下學期的美國、加拿大室友和平相處。

I have never though about living with a Chinese guy before. Before I left Taiwan, I always think the Chinese issue in a more political aspect. Huo is a Computer Science major from Chang-Chun, a city from North-east China. Everybody in the house love his manners of expression, full of sincerity and vitality. Under Aaron's influence, he starts to use FB and talk about his plan to obtain a PhD degree in the states. Huo will stay in Plassey with the Irish girl for the next semester. Hope everything goess well with him.

妖精（Goblin）