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死に物狂いの留学生活
今学期4クラスを受講中の武藤さん、やることの多さに困惑しています。
毎週1、2の課題をこなすほか、6つの課題、3つの中間試験、1つのプレゼンテーションがあるのです。
これまで課題提出直前まで勉強に身が入らなかったことを反省し、一生懸命勉強しようと思い直す一方、
もっと遊んで、留学生活を十分楽しむべきだとも思っています。
そんな中、武藤さんはある決意をしました。
Frantic
"Due: Week 4 Friday," "Due: Week 5 Monday," "Due: Week 5 Wednesday" ...
I've enrolled in four units this semester so I usually have one or two assignments every week, not to mention the six assignments, three mid-term exams and one nightmarish presentation (which I'll talk about later) before term break (that's the second last week of September). To say that's hard is, well, an understatement.
And it's not only me who's having trouble. My friends Wen, Shirley, Phillipe and Robert are all struggling to finish all their work. These days, whenever we meet, the first thing we ask each other is: "So how many assignments do you have?"
The way I go about doing assignments is very poor. To use a driving analogy, I usually cruise along on low or second gear, and then about three days before the deadline, I suddenly shift into top gear as I scramble to get everything done. Inevitably I end up regretting that I hadn't started earlier and been better at using my time.
It's hard to study at home because it's a minefield of distractions, and most attempts to hit the books just end up with me surfing the Net, chatting with friends, or taking a nap. So I usually study in the university library, and I'm always surprised how studious all the other students seem to be (at least, during term time). The library is almost always full, even on weekends, and whenever I see people studying in the library, I feel that I should study even harder.
And not just study. I also feel like I should play harder too and enjoy myself more. That's what one of my Australian friends said the students there do. They work hard during semester, but come the holidays, they make the most of their time off and enjoy it as much as they can. I wanted to do something similar so I wouldn't regret my time here when it came for me to leave.
This all ties into what I wrote last week about how I wasn't sure what I'd learned since coming to Australia. I worry about this a lot, and I always feel under pressure from teachers and students to show how I've matured here. It scares me because if I haven't matured, I can't think of any excuse why I haven't, and once I start going down that track, one worry follows on from another, and I end up just getting depressed and doing nothing.
Studying abroad, I think, isn't easy. It's certainly very hard for me (not only in terms of studying, but everything else as well, even making friends), although it's also very fruitful. But it's so easy to take it easy and just float through your one year here without doing much. After all, as exchange students, we have no diploma or certificate to work for, so there is no great motivation to set goals, work hard, or, really, to do anything.
But I can't take it easy. I feel I have a responsibility to my parents, who write to me every day, to my teachers, who are always looking out for me, and above all to myself. So I've decided to make myself as busy as I can, whether it's working or enjoying my leisure time, to stop myself from thinking negatively, to keep myself open to new encounters and to continue learning from my experiences.
- Frantic
- 死に物狂いの
- Due
- 締め切り
- Week 〜
- 〜週目
- (have) enrolled in 〜
- 〜を受講している
- semester
- 学期
- assignments
- 課題
- not to mention 〜
- ほかに〜もある
- mid-term exams
- 中間試験
- nightmarish
- 悪夢のような
- term break
- 学期中の小休暇
- second last week of 〜
- 〜の最終週の前の週
- understatement
- 控えめすぎる表現
- are all struggling to 〜
- 皆〜するのに苦労している
- driving analogy
- 車の運転の例え
- cruise along on 〜
- 〜でゆっくり運転する
- gear
- ギア
- deadline
- 締切日
- suddenly
- 急に
- shift into top gear
- ギアをトップにする
- scramble to 〜
- あわてて〜する
- get everything done
- すべてを済ませる
- Inevitably
- 当然
- end up regretting that 〜
- 〜を後悔することになる
- (hadn't) been better at 〜
- 〜が上手でなかった
- minefield of 〜
- 〜がたくさんあるところ
- distractions
- 気を散らすもの
- hit the books
- 勉強する
- surfing the Net
- ネットサーフィンをする
- chatting with 〜
- 〜とおしゃべりする
- taking a nap
- うたた寝する
- library
- 図書館
- (am) always surprised
- いつも驚かされる
- studious
- 勉強熱心な
- at least
- 少なくとも
- during term time
- 学期中は
- full
- 満員の
- come 〜
- 〜が来ると
- make the most of 〜
- 〜を最大限に活用する
- time off
- 休みの時間
- similar
- 似た
- when it came for me to 〜
- 自分が〜するときに
- ties into 〜
- 〜に関係する
- feel under pressure
- プレッシャーを感じる
- (have) matured
- 成長した
- scares 〜
- 〜をおびえさせる
- excuse
- 言い訳
- once I start going down that track
- こういうことを考え始めると
- 〜 follows on from 〜
- 〜の次に〜が生じる
- getting depressed
- 落ち込む
- abroad
- 海外で
- certainly
- 確かに
- not only in terms of 〜 but 〜
- 〜の面だけでなく〜も
- fruitful
- 実りの多い
- take it easy
- のんびりやる
- float through 〜
- 〜を気楽に過ごす
- After all
- 結局
- exchange students
- 留学生
- diploma
- 卒業証書
- certificate
- 修了証書
- responsibility
- 責任
- parents
- 両親
- (are)looking out for 〜
- 〜に気をかけている
- above all
- 誰よりも
- leisure time
- 余暇の時間
- negatively
- 否定的に
- keep myself open to 〜
- 〜にオープンでいる
- encounters
- 出会い
- experiences
- 経験