16歲的麥子在英國(guó)學(xué)習(xí)已有幾個(gè)月了，在一本厚厚的日記里，她記錄了自己在異國(guó)的生活，有新奇卻也有無(wú)奈……
Sixteen-year-old Mai Zi has lived and studied in the United Kingdom for a few months. By reading excerpts of her diary，we have a small glimpse into her event-filled life. And there were some surprises！
Meeting My Host Family for the First Time
入住當(dāng)?shù)鼐用窦?BR> March 7，2003
It was night. I arrived at my host family‘s home directly from the airport. Crysta Philips，a small woman，my hostess，came out of her lovely，red-roofed house to greet me. I discovered my new family had four members-Crysta；her husband，Adam；Abbey，a cute dog；and another overseas student，Mencia Manuel，from Spain.
My host family was perfect：A nice room；breakfast in my room，if I got up late；no household chores to perform；and my hosts did the laundry，the same day dirty clothes were placed in the laundry bag. The accommodations were much better than those during my stay with a family in Australia.
I asked Crysta if I had to follow any rules.“No！”she said，“As long as you keep your room clean.”It was simple，I thought.
Cultural Clash Over‘Clean’
“干凈”的概念不同
March 13，2003
My host family was upset with me today because I didn‘t“clean”my room before I left home. I realized my concept of“clean”was different from Crysta’s. She believes cleaning the room involves more than tidying the bed cover and clearing the floor. She believes it also means emptying the trashcan and picking up clothes. She said my room was“disgusting”today. Disgusting？I couldn‘t believe she used that word，just because I hadn’t emptied the trashcan and had left a coat on the chair.
She seemed really angry，and warned me，if I cannot keep the room clean，that I would be asked to leave. After she left my room，I sat on the floor and choked back my tears. Despite that，Crysta was a good hostess.
She was very thoughtful. She replaced the cold fruit juice with milk for breakfast，after she learned I bought milk everyday. She moved her own mirror to my room.
So，even though she was too strict with me today，I won‘t be angry. Instead，I will think it over，and I will try to do much better in the future.
Talking about Sex
一家人聊“性”
March 20，2003
Tonight，after supper，the family sat together and chatted. I forget how，or why，we shifted the topic to sex. Mencia，the Spanish girl，said，in her country，women tend to lose their virginity by the time they turn 16 or 17 years old. She said she was an example；she and her boyfriend had sex last summer. She felt it was funny.
Crysta said many women around her have had sex before 20. She said if women in Britain say they haven‘t had sex before marriage，“that’s ****.”
Comparatively，I was too traditional. I cherish my virginity. If I give it to a person who I don‘t love the most，I will feel regret. So，I have decided to have sex only after I am married，because I am sure I will marry the man I love most.
Mencia asked me，“What life is like in China？”I told her，“Thirty years ago，Chinese people had very traditional views about sex. After the first night of sleeping together，if a husband discovered his wife was not a virgin，he would divorce her，and think she was a bad woman. Now，Chinese people are much more open. However，only some Chinese are as open as Westerners.”
First Pub Visit
憑生頭遭進(jìn)酒吧
March 21，2003
Today，my friend Cecily Wang invited me to“have some drinks.”I followed her into a pub near our school. It was a room filled with smoke. We found seats near some Russian and Spanish boys. Everyone in the room smoked，except me. They asked me“Do you want a drink？”Do you want to smoke？“I shook my head，smiled and said”No.“I thought，”Dear God，I must watch what I put into my mouth. What shall I do if I eat the wrong thing？“
The boys smoked and drank. They often cursed the school and told some pornographic jokes. They looked like bad boys，but they were friendly to me. After a while，some of them left the table. Cecily whispered to me that they left to take drugs.“What？Drugs！”I thought such things only happened in movies or on TV，but now it was happening near me！
But I didn‘t think taking drugs indicated the boys were bad. Anyway，they are all good students，with good marks.
Signs of Progress
習(xí)以為常
April 4，2003
After a few weeks，I think I have improved a lot. I have become accustomed to drinking VS and ICE，（they are something between soft drinks and alcohol）。
The first time I drank them，I got drunk！Also a sign of important progress-I have become accustomed to greeting others by kissing them！Cheers！
Sixteen-year-old Mai Zi has lived and studied in the United Kingdom for a few months. By reading excerpts of her diary，we have a small glimpse into her event-filled life. And there were some surprises！
Meeting My Host Family for the First Time
入住當(dāng)?shù)鼐用窦?BR> March 7，2003
It was night. I arrived at my host family‘s home directly from the airport. Crysta Philips，a small woman，my hostess，came out of her lovely，red-roofed house to greet me. I discovered my new family had four members-Crysta；her husband，Adam；Abbey，a cute dog；and another overseas student，Mencia Manuel，from Spain.
My host family was perfect：A nice room；breakfast in my room，if I got up late；no household chores to perform；and my hosts did the laundry，the same day dirty clothes were placed in the laundry bag. The accommodations were much better than those during my stay with a family in Australia.
I asked Crysta if I had to follow any rules.“No！”she said，“As long as you keep your room clean.”It was simple，I thought.
Cultural Clash Over‘Clean’
“干凈”的概念不同
March 13，2003
My host family was upset with me today because I didn‘t“clean”my room before I left home. I realized my concept of“clean”was different from Crysta’s. She believes cleaning the room involves more than tidying the bed cover and clearing the floor. She believes it also means emptying the trashcan and picking up clothes. She said my room was“disgusting”today. Disgusting？I couldn‘t believe she used that word，just because I hadn’t emptied the trashcan and had left a coat on the chair.
She seemed really angry，and warned me，if I cannot keep the room clean，that I would be asked to leave. After she left my room，I sat on the floor and choked back my tears. Despite that，Crysta was a good hostess.
She was very thoughtful. She replaced the cold fruit juice with milk for breakfast，after she learned I bought milk everyday. She moved her own mirror to my room.
So，even though she was too strict with me today，I won‘t be angry. Instead，I will think it over，and I will try to do much better in the future.
Talking about Sex
一家人聊“性”
March 20，2003
Tonight，after supper，the family sat together and chatted. I forget how，or why，we shifted the topic to sex. Mencia，the Spanish girl，said，in her country，women tend to lose their virginity by the time they turn 16 or 17 years old. She said she was an example；she and her boyfriend had sex last summer. She felt it was funny.
Crysta said many women around her have had sex before 20. She said if women in Britain say they haven‘t had sex before marriage，“that’s ****.”
Comparatively，I was too traditional. I cherish my virginity. If I give it to a person who I don‘t love the most，I will feel regret. So，I have decided to have sex only after I am married，because I am sure I will marry the man I love most.
Mencia asked me，“What life is like in China？”I told her，“Thirty years ago，Chinese people had very traditional views about sex. After the first night of sleeping together，if a husband discovered his wife was not a virgin，he would divorce her，and think she was a bad woman. Now，Chinese people are much more open. However，only some Chinese are as open as Westerners.”
First Pub Visit
憑生頭遭進(jìn)酒吧
March 21，2003
Today，my friend Cecily Wang invited me to“have some drinks.”I followed her into a pub near our school. It was a room filled with smoke. We found seats near some Russian and Spanish boys. Everyone in the room smoked，except me. They asked me“Do you want a drink？”Do you want to smoke？“I shook my head，smiled and said”No.“I thought，”Dear God，I must watch what I put into my mouth. What shall I do if I eat the wrong thing？“
The boys smoked and drank. They often cursed the school and told some pornographic jokes. They looked like bad boys，but they were friendly to me. After a while，some of them left the table. Cecily whispered to me that they left to take drugs.“What？Drugs！”I thought such things only happened in movies or on TV，but now it was happening near me！
But I didn‘t think taking drugs indicated the boys were bad. Anyway，they are all good students，with good marks.
Signs of Progress
習(xí)以為常
April 4，2003
After a few weeks，I think I have improved a lot. I have become accustomed to drinking VS and ICE，（they are something between soft drinks and alcohol）。
The first time I drank them，I got drunk！Also a sign of important progress-I have become accustomed to greeting others by kissing them！Cheers！