Peeping, Through, the Ice Caves

Thoughts of the encounters the writer’s had in Antarctica, translated…

“Using a pipe to see the skies”, this ancient phrase is used to describe the shortsightedness of some, or the humbling of the speaker.

Using a tiny bamboo pipe, looking through the tiny hole of that pipe, seeing anything toward the other end, from the ratios of mathematics, it doesn’t, fit correctly.  The objects are way too huge, the hole, too tiny, how can you see the whole picture?  But, think on it using a different angle, the concept of “quality”, you can see the corner of that mountain so green, which is, enough, to lift our, spirits!

photo from UDN.com

taken by the writer…

Following the eyes of the photographers, the artists, from the hole in the ice caves, to see the views that the exploration ships saw from a hundred odd years ago, it surely was, moving, and, it’s, comparable to seeing the starry nights from million years ago from the lens of the telescope!

And so, this, is how we’re all, linked to our separate, and collective pasts, no matter how hard we tried to deny it, because, we’re, still all here, sharing this, common environment, and maybe, what you see is not, exactly what I see, because we have, different perspectives, different interpretations of things we encounter in the world, but that, is how the experiences are, common, and different, at the, same time.

The Girl Who Couldn’t Erect the Foot Stand

Do you think this supervisor of this young woman should, take away her chance of working to get the scooter going, or just, step in and do it FOR her, because she’s, already, running late?  Translated…

During the New Year’s holidays, Wei-Wei received a preowned scooter, it was a hand-me-down from her older brother.  She’d happily rode it to and from work, but found, that the scooter was, too heavy, being only 4’9, even as she’d used the weight of her entire body, to step down HARD on that middle foot pedal, the scooter still, won’t park steadily in place.

Although people say, that it has nothing to do with her size, that it’s a matter of, techniques, but, Wei-Wei seemed to have trouble getting the techniques right.  The friend told her, that then, she should, just park her scooter upright, that she shouldn’t, force herself to park it the way that most would, slanted.  But she’d felt it wasn’t right, for her to, take up, such a huge parking spot, in the city of Taipei, where, a tiny spot for parking, is, hard enough to get.

sketch done by the writer, off of UDN.com

As her superior passing by her, seeing how this young lady was, struggling hard, trying, to get the foot pedal to park on the ground steadily, seeing how she’s about to be late into the offices, the superior contemplated on, whether or not she should just, step in, and do it FOR her, or that she should, stay away, and NOT strip her of the right to learn how to do it own her own?

So, this, would be a sort of a dilemma this superior is faced with, should she just, step right in, and do it for this young woman, stripping her of the chance of figuring out how to do it herself, because she’s, about to be late to the office, or should she, let her figure it out on her own?  This is something that as parents, people face too, to whether or not just, STEP in to do it FOR our own young (not that I have one!), or to, let them do it on their own, figuring out how things worked, so they can, take that knowledge with them?

No Subtitles…

How the HELL we supposed to, understand the PLOT, what the story’s about, if there are, NO subtitles, huh?

No subtitles, so?  I still watch the films, I mean, I’m PRETTY sure, I can get the storyline by CONTEXT CLUE (hello, hello, hello, middle school level READING classes???).

No subtitles, how are we supposed to understand them, huh?  Well, let’s just, WALK out in the MIDST of this movie, I mean, I’m sure, it’s, NO good anyways!

on the shoot of a movie set here! Photo from online

And, think how much you’d missed out on, without the “assistance” of those, too important, subtitles.  No subtitles, so?  Are you, really, that STUPID that you can’t see by the interactions of the actors, and understand the plot?

Or, you can, use that translate instant app, to HELP you understand what they (the actors and actresses) are saying on screen…

There are WAYS that WE can HELP ourselves, UNDERSTAND WHAT they’re (those on-screen) are, talking about, or, you just might, get INSPIRED, to take up, a FOREIGN language, that, should be, the BEST result!

No SUBTITLES, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!  Imagine, how those watching those, movies without sounds feel…you have got to be shitting me here!!!

Forever Accompanying You

A developmentally delayed child that contributes to her family in her own way, translated…

My daughter in developmentally delayed, and a companion for the families, she’d accompanied the three generations.  The years changed, she will always be, a white sheet of paper, with the words of gratitude out of her lips, smiling.

Before the birth of my daughter, she’d been blessed upon by my grandmother.  My grandmother became a widow at twenty-eight, lonely her whole life, toward this baby great granddaughter, she’d felt that she was a grace from God, that she needed to love her very much.

After my daughter was born, we saw that she was limp in her limbs, with diminishing capacity, after a long road of treatment from the physicians, nothing worked.  During that age there’s no early intervention programs, and I had to work, can’t stay home to look after her, so I can only, move in with my own grandmother, and she’d, welcomed us with her arms wide open.

“Dear, come, a hug!”, grandma opened up her arms, my daughter ran toward her, like she was a pet that my grandmother kept, she’d slept with my grandmother too at night.  My daughter accompanied my grandmother for a whole of twelve years.

After grandmother passed, I’d placed her in an institution, on Monday I’d sent her into boarding, on Saturday, I’d taken her home.  This was a difficult period for her, as she came home happy on Saturdays, but when Monday came around, she’d started crying hard, throwing her tantrums, rolled on the ground, refused to get taken away, she was only fourteen then.

My mother moved in with me at her old age, I’d taken my daughter home so my mother could have company, during the daytime, my daughter went to daycare, and arrives home at four in the afternoon, and my mother looked after her with great care, they’d loved and cherished one another so, until my mother too had, passed away, my daughter had accompanied my mother for a whole of ten years.

After I retired, I’d taken her to a ton of group outings, to help socialize her into life of the community, my life, is her life too.  Companionship is the BEST gift of life, companionship doesn’t cost anything to hire someone from the outside, with the families there, keeping each other warm.  Although my daughter is not intelligent, but putting her in the right place, she’s still, a contributor.

And now, she’s, in her fifties, and as I got older, I’d found how wonderful she truly is, she’d had a ton of love from home, very spirited every day, it’s like the Holy Bible said, “everything works together, everyone benefitted.”

And so, this, is the “use” of this developmentally delayed child to the family, she’s great companionship for the elders, and now, her mother realized this finally, and now, the mother and daughter will live together, until the end.

The Department of Education Shall NOT Give Up on Any Child

The government’s not well-thought-out ideals of reforms in education here, off of the Front Page Sections, by a university professor, translated…

When I was in school, elementary years and middle schools are mandatory education, and this sort of making education available should be commended, because even for the kids from the poverty stricken backgrounds, they get the chance to get educated.  But what we can’t deny is, a lot of the children didn’t get educated enough.  Some had entered into the universities, and still can’t write out all twenty-six of the English alphabets.  Some had entered into high school, and still can’t do the addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division of fractions.  And there are those in high school who can’t understand the most basics of English words such as: not, at, in, with, there, who, when, etc., etc., etc.

For students who are on this level, staying in school getting an education, it’s, a waste of time.  For the country, it’s, a waste of money.  The kids don’t have the basic levels of education, and they’d, lost their competitive edge on the most fundamental levels, and it’s more than likely, that they will be on government assistance in the futures.  This is painful for the individuals, but even more a heavy burden for our country.

We need to track back to the systems of education in the elementary school years.  There’s no holding a child back in the elementary years, as the child falls behind in the first grade, and after that, the kid just sits and can’t understand what the instructors saying in the class, but all the way, they still, get higher in the grade years, and there’s nothing that teachers can do about this.

Don’t know when it was, that this country did away with holding the children back a grade, and, this is out of kindness, with the goal of helping the children keep their senses of dignity, and hoped, that children can somehow, be interested in learning.  A motto for the education reforms is “Happy & learning” it’s from the same beliefs.  But, this sort of not watching the gates, it’s actually, harming the students, because as they found, that they can’t understand anything, they can’t possibly have an interest in learning, and would lose faith, self-confidence over their own futures, and start giving up on themselves.  Some of the kids dropped out of middle school, all because they can’t make the grades.  And the government’s way, is giving up on the students.

We need to know, that only a tiny portion of kids hated studying.  I have the experiences myself, that so long as the instructors are compassionate, and patient, then, the child CAN, learn.

Maybe, we won’t go back to holding students back a grade, but we can’t, give up on the students either.  The first thing that needed to get tackled is, to set up a fundamental curriculum for the classes in the elementary school levels.  Meaning, that as the children is in the first grade, they should be mastering the skillset during that grade level, the government should set it up in black and white, same for all other courses too.  With this basics of curricula, all the teachers across the country should be more in tune with whether or not the students are matching up to the requirements of the governments.  Of course, children are smart in different ways, some kids may be slower to learn, and the elementary years definitely need to device separate education plans for the children.  Setting up of individualized education plans is a written rule in the legislation regarding education, but the sad part is, now, it’s no longer, used.

We don’t need to go back to the ways of keeping a child back a grade, but we need to set up the different materials to teach the students with varied learning styles.  The Department of Education should ensure that every normal child can learn the fundamentals well.   I hope that everybody can understand, that I’m NOT asking the government to guarantee that every child makes the good grades, I just believe, that the government should NOT give up on any child.

And so, this, is under the current system of education reform, because this country tries to follow the methods that hard worked for the western countries, without realizing, that hey, this is a country on its own, and what works elsewhere, may NOT work here, and so, the system of education is still, not fully developed, and that’s why the students are, not learning what they needed to succeed in their lives in the futures.

Until the Darkness Swallowed Us, Whole…

Until the darkness swallowed us, whole, we will, NEVER be aware enough of what the darkness entailed, and, by the time the darkness takes us over, it’d be, too late!  Until the darkness swallowed us, whole, until we have, NO more light, we won’t, know just, how precious, light really is, as we’d, taken it, for granted, all this time…

when this, is all you’ll, EVER, see!  Photo from online

Until the darkness swallowed us, whole, but, that would be, too late then, we would’ve, sunk, too deep, into, that darkened, abyss, to even, get our selves, back out to the surfaces again.  Until the darkness swallowed us, whole, it’s always, until the darkness swallowed us is, took that light away, would we, finally realized, just, how precious, light is, in our lives, but by then, we have, NO way of, getting it back.

Until the darkness swallowed us, whole, until, we lived in the darkness, for a long, long, long, long time, we won’t, realize, just how important, that light we’d, once had was, and then, we can’t, EVER, get it back, it’s, already lost…

They don’t call it HINDSIGHT for nothing you know???

Finding Joys in Helping Others in Need

Helping someone in need!  Translated…

Early in the morn, I’d rushed off with my daughter to work, as we alighted the buss, we saw a bunch of ladies, looking over an elderly man, the elderly man’s socks were, soaked in blood, and, the tissue that covered the wound in the tibia, seemed to continue to bleed.

Thankfully, two more stations more, there’s the VMH in Shihpai, as he got off the bus, I saw him, sat waiting with hardship at the bus stop, the blood still, flowed out, he seemed to be calling someone for assistance; and I’d not cared that it was time for me to get to work then, I’d, gone up to him, told him I worked in the hospital, and had him call his families to meet him in the E.R., while I’d gone to the hospital, to get a wheelchair to get him in.  Then came, the running fast, pushing the wheelchair in supersonic speed, to the E.R., to when his loved one rushed in, the man was taken into the surgical ward to get sutured up, and that was when that huge rock finally got dropped inside my heart.  Later, I’d learned from his family, that the elder had cancer, and he was on anticoagulants regularly, had his hospitalization been delayed, the results would be, dire.

the random act of kindness from a stranger here!  Photo from online

I’d recalled how as I rushed the elderly man into the E.R., he kept telling me thank you, said that he’d met someone amazing who’d, helped him out.  I’d told him, he was my parents’ age, that if something like this were to happen to them, I’d wanted someone to lend them a helping hand too, and, this hour-long interlude, although it was, thrilling, but, in the end, it all, ended, well, other than knowing the meaning of helping other is bliss, I’m, also proud for being, that tiny screw inside that giant white tower!

And so, because your empathy kicked in, seeing the elderly man injured because you’d wanted someone to help your own elderly parents, and because it’s in your line of work, to offer assistance to people, being a medical care worker, and you’d, ended up, helping this elderly man get to the hospital on time, and saved his life.

At the Search, He’d, Offered to Help the Officers, Tipped off the Attorneys, Impressed the Police

Not putting what he’d learned in prison, to good use, I’m afraid…off of the Front Page Sections, translated…

Wu, who’d once committed a felony, falsifying the identification and got a cell phone, to forge the receipts to get the winnings, he’d served in prison for over ten years, in prison, he’d, studied law hard, and, there were, nothing but volumes of law textbooks in his place.  As Wu saw the officers showed up, he’d immediately requested an attorney present, and, he’d, guided the attorneys through their steps, he knew the law by heart.

The officers on the case said, this February as the police went to do a search at Wu’s home, the officers were very surprised to find his bookshelves filled with the volumes on law, and they’d found, that he wasn’t just well-read in law, he also knew the dealing procedures of land transfers really well, that he’d, gotten bigger and better in his cases of fraud, forgery as well.

Wu denied the police allegations from the start, as soon as the officers came to his place, he’d, requested an attorney present, Wu had also, even told the attorneys, “record down what’s important, and, disregard the rest” and he’d, left a deep impression on the officers who came to his apartment.

Based off of understanding, twenty years ago, Wu had taken the false identification with an accomplice to the Telecommunications company to get a cell phone, and had forged a receipt, to get the money for the winnings; he’d served for over a decade in prison, and became, well-read in law.

And still, you’d not, followed that basic rule of: don’t BREAK the laws you’re, familiar with, hello, hello, hello?  And your well-read in law, only became a sorry excuse for you, to keep going in your life of crimes!

The Families were Totally Unaware that the Nine-Year-Old Boy Was Carried Away by the Creek and Fished Out

How CARELESS this whole family was, thankfully though, this young boy didn’t DROWN, this time!!!  Off of the Front Page Sections, translated…

The Nine-Year-Old Boy, Lin went with Six Other Members of His Family to a Barbecue by the Leopard Creek in Sanxia Two Days Ago, as He Was Trekking by the Creek, He Accidentally Fell into the Water, and Got Carried Away, He’d Floated, Struggled, Took in Water for Over Dozens of Meter Downstream, and Was Fished Out by the Red Cross Volunteers Who were There; Until the Families Were Notified by the Local Fire Department, the Boy Lifted Back to the Barbecue Site, Did They Become Aware, that He’d, Fallen into the Waters & Nearly DROWNED!

Two days ago, was summer solstice, Lin and his families went to the Leopard Creek in Sanxia to swim; at around four in the afternoon, the families were barbecuing by the creek, Lin was left unattended, playing on his own, and accidentally fell into the water.

like, this???photo from online

Lin floated downstream, and his families didn’t know it back then, the Red Cross volunteer, Lin was close by, saw Lin struggling with his arms out of water, looked like he was drowning, he’d immediately leapt into the water, and embraced the boy in his arms; and the firefighter who was on duty, keeping the safety, Chang also went up to help, used the bamboo stick for Wang to grab a hold onto, to help both the boy and Wang back to shore.

Wang told, that the child had floated about over dozens of meters downstream, that he’d not called for help because he took in too many gulps of water, and can only wave his arms, without a second thought, he’d, leapt in.  Chang told, that thankfully, the water wasn’t too rapid, that he’d found the boy in time, and if he’d floated another two meters down, he may fall from a two-meter high waterfall, and the results, unimaginable.

As the boy was rescued up, he was in shock, but was still conscious, the firefighters took him back to his families, and that was when the families learned that he’d been taken away by the rushing streams, and almost fell down the waterfall; after the firefighters warned them, they took the child to the hospital to check if he was all right.

Another three-year-old boy, Tseng was looking at some fish by the Leopard Creek two afternoons ago, and accidentally fell in, the parents cried out for help, the alert firefighters close by immediately tossed the floatation device to the child, and pulled him back to safety.

There are multiple drowning accidents by this creek every year, the fire department stated, that the temperatures are rising up higher and higher, and the people are coming to the creeks to swim by increasing numbers, that as the parents take their children to swim, they MUST keep a close eye on the children.

thank heavens, however, this particular case did not end…like this!  Phoot from online

So, this is pure NEGLECT!  I mean, how the FUCK (don’t pardon me!) can you possibly NOT know that a kid from your family was missing, oh yeah, because you adults are way too busy, watching that FIRE pit of the barbecue, that you failed to pay attention to your own young, and this time, he was, lucky enough, that there were firefighters downstream, who got to him in time, and the next time?  He just not might get lucky, and you fucking (no need to pardon here!) parents still don’t got a SINGLE C-L-U-E???  Wow, are you all just, @#$%ING (maxed out!) retarded, or are you all just way too, @#$%ING, retarded here???

What is Taken Away from Your Education?

Lessons we learned, from school, from our own, experiences in life, off of the Front Page Sections, translated…

Recently I’d made the speeches at the schools, as the speech ended, a parent led two children to before me.  “Professor, I was your student, do you still remember me?”  This was every instructor’s nightmare, I’d, worked really hard, to think back on all the students, and just, couldn’t, recall her name; but I’d still smiled and told her, “let me think!”, as she’d heard me say this, her smile did not fade, she’s not, disappointed one bit, but her second-grade daughter looked up at her innocently, “Mom, your teacher can’t remember you!”

I felt very awkward after hearing, before I could reply, she’d immediately told her child, “Do you know how many students the professor’s had?  How can she remember every one, but, so long as I remember her!”, then, she’d, started speaking of her middle school careers, that with the problems she’d, faced in life then, how I’d, given her the advices she’d needed, “because you’d, counseled me, teacher, so I will, never forget you, as I saw the flyer on the seminar, I was so excited to come, to thank you.” as she’d told me, I still, can’t quite, remember her, but, I’d felt, very touched by her words.

The following day, a student used the communication app to contact me, this particular student had been, hurt by a certain teacher, he’d come back to me to tell me about what happened, to seek out my counsel, it took me sometime, but I’d, accompanied him, helped him out; back then, I’d, encouraged him: you need to turn what happened to you, into your driving force, if there’s a chance, you must, help those who’d been hurt like you had.  Back then he’d told me, that he will, work hard, to become a teacher who can, help his students.  In his final year of high school, he wrote me that with his grades, there was, NO chance he will ever be a school teacher, so, he was, willing, to become, a serviceman, to fight to protect the country.

And now, many years afterwards, he’d, shared with me everything he’d weathered through in the armed services, and he’d, mentioned what happened to him again back in middle school, and stressed to me, that even though he wasn’t, highly ranked, he will use his past as a teacher, to NEVER make the mistakes his middle school instructor had made.

After I’d read, although I’d felt glad, but, I couldn’t help but feel: that the first woman told me, “so long as I remember you!”.  It symbolized, I don’t’ need your affirmations from your memories, but I will remember, that was, the demands that one made of, one’s own, characters, to never forget to be, thankful.  While the second student, couldn’t forget about the shame, but he’d not, selected, to take revenge, instead, he’d, turned his shame into something he could, learn from, to remind himself, to NEVER shame another like he’d been, shamed.  Think on his, how many people we will meet, how many things we can, encounter, in our, lifetimes!

Who remembered us, it isn’t, that important, what’s important is who we remembered?  Well, it’s, not that important either, the important being WHY we remember who or what we remember?  Those that happened, those whom we remembered, what were their, influenced on us?  From these two students, I saw the choices of attitude, how they’d, chosen to make themselves feel happy, how by choosing to forgive, it’d, given him peace, to use the past as a mirror to reflect, to have a life without regrets, what, will you, choose?

And so, this, is something worth pondering on, what, do you remember when you graduated?  I’m sure, that it’s not the course load, the books, the materials, or even what you’d made on your exams, it’s the experience of learning, of accumulating the knowledge, of the lessons that life teaches us that we will, carry with us from here on out.