Gen-chang Hsu
Nov 2 · 2 min read

Nov 1, 2019

Day 85 Reflection

Can’t imagine how fast the time flies: it’s already November! Almost three months since I arrived in the US. I have definitely gained some new experiences, explored new things, developed my own routine, and adapted to the life here. Yet, I think I still have a long way to go. Perhaps one of the most important things is time management. Sometimes I feel that I spend too much time on “non-school” work. I am still finding the balance. Language is also still a challenge for me, especially speaking. In general, I think I have gradually got used to the all-English environment and American culture. However, I still have a hard time speaking naturally, or at least expressing what I have in my mind. When having a conversation with others, I often cannot continue talking for more than three or four sentences. After that, I have to pause awhile, organize my thought, translate it into English, and speak it out. I know this is normal for every non-native speaker, and it is also the must-pass way on the language learning path. But it’s just annoying and frustrating though. In fact, I don’t think my speaking has significantly improved after coming to the US (it is a before-after experimental design!). Writing is also a problem for me. When writing an essay or article, I have to spend quite a little time to look for the proper words in my brain; if I could not come up with them, then I have to search online. This really slows down my writing speed and has already had negative impacts on me: my Biogeography midterm. Maybe, it takes time to change. I might be lingering around the transition stage.

Switch to another tone. Today I tried out a new recipe: oven-roast the asparagus and eggplants. It’s simple and easy. First, clean and trim off the bottom one inch of the asparagus spears. Next, evenly spread out the veggies in an oven pan, rinse them with oil, and sprinkle some salt and black pepper. Third, place the pan into a pre-heated oven at 220 degrees Celsius. The time depends on how you would like your veggies. For me, I set around 50 minutes. Finally, wait for the timer to end and ready to serve!

After about an hour waiting, I took out the pan from the oven. It smelled pretty good! Salty black pepper scent mixed with a bit burnt smell. It looked nice as well! My asparagus turned brown-green with some golden texture. The eggplants became bright purple, probably because the anthocyanin pigments were already broken down. It also shrank a bit and got wrinkled. Thanks to the oil, both asparagus and eggplant were coated with a glossy, metallic layer on the surface. I can’t wait to take a bite of it. The asparagus had a crunchy taste outside but tender inside; the eggplants also tasted soft and smooth, and just melted in your mouth. Hmm, yum yum!

Gen-chang Hsu

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A Life Science major having broad interests in ecology and environmental issues. Loves outdoor activities, traveling, and exploring.