I went to the cinema last weekend for the first time in months and saw Pacific Rim. I like action films so I was looking forward to some glorious CGI battles, explosions etc. I wasn't entirely sure of the film's plot beyond 'giant monsters attacking Earth', so I didn't have any huge expectations but I found some parts of the film left me feeling a ( Read more... )

Today I wish to share an amazing discovery.

( Read more... )

So I've finished my exams and we all get a week off before Semster 2 starts. My timetable has an extra 3 hours per week compared to last semester as I now have a Tools and Technology in Translation module and a series of 'mini-conferences ( Read more... )

I had an amusing 'argument' with my mother a few days ago.  We have a rabbit figurine that a friend sent us last year because it was the year of the Rabbit. I noticed it when my mother and I were tidying away Christmas decorations and the following conversation ensued ( Read more... )

It's the holidays!  Hooray!

I have exams in January though so I still have to study.  I have a Japanese -> English translation exam and an E->J translation exam.  No dictionaries allowed and they're handwritten...  I think the opinion of most students is 'Handwritten and no dictionaries?  What is the point!"  It feels more like a language test than ( Read more... )

I've nearly finished semester 1!!  Hooray!  Here are my impressions...

( They're here! Under this cut! )

Adverts on tv are usually annoying but every now and then an AMAZING advert comes along.   Yeo Valley who make dairy products have created two such adverts.  The ones on tv are quite short but you can see the full versions on youtube.

( See them here! They're honestly really good! )

Maybe it should have been obvious but interpreting and translating are skills and therefore to improve you need to put in a lot of practice, especially for interpreting.  What I've realised that I actually enjoy gaining new knowledge which is not really what this course is about.  So I'm a bit unsure about my future plans at the moment ( Read more... )

I'm renting a flat to live in whilst I'm at uni and I sent an email to the agency before I went to Japan to ask how I should be paying rent etc.  I didn't hear from them so when I got back to England I phoned up the agency and asked what was happening.  Then conversation was a bit like this:

Me: Hello, I'm calling about renting flat [address].
Man: ( Read more... )

I'm back and not too jet-lagged!  Hooray ( Read more... )