by Mimi Chong
She said to call her Shu-jen. So there I was, caught in a little dilemma of respect or friendliness: surely as a student one had to show respect for the resident office lady in the文學院 – the humanities building – who does such things as pick up after us when we leave trash around (litterers in the building must be more careful in the future, you’ve placed me in the embarrassing position of having to apologize for you) and it is rather hard to be friendly with someone you’re not really sure you know. I suppose you, too, aren’t really sure you know who I’m talking about. Ms. Chen – that is, Shu-jen – is a diminutive, comfortably middle-aged woman who works in the Foreign Languages’ department office, and she’s not a TA. It’s hard to categorize what her position is: she herself seems to think that she’s a custodian or janitor, since she takes care of the few rooms that belong to our department (such as the meeting room and the offices) and takes out the garbage. But she also serves as a kind of courier, picking up mail and whatnot from the main office building and sorting them into the professors’ mailboxes. (And, as everyone knows, mail-sorting is a hazardous undertaking nowadays…) She delivers forms and papers from our department to the main office too. Sounds…uneventful, I say. Shu-jen agrees: yes, it’s a nice job. According to her, it’s pleasantly regular work that doesn’t differ much day by day; during the beginning and end of term there are more papers to distribute and she has to run back and forth between the offices more, but that’s about it. Shu-jen’s been working here for all of nine years, and she says that things haven’t changed much. Professors, the TAs sharing the office and graduate students who have classes in the classrooms there are always unfailingly polite to her, she maintains, and she’s never been treated any differently because her job description isn’t the same. She does have a few suggestions for our students, though. For starters, all the office ladies would appreciate it if people would be quiet in the hall during noon hour. (They are very, very adamant about this, and we do not want our office ladies to be irate.) For her own part, Shu-jen wants to remind students that use the classroom and the meeting room during noon, especially, to remember to remove the remnants of their repasts. In fact, it would be nice if students could manage not to litter at all, and to place their garbage into the correct canisters – imagine sticking your hand into gunk in order to fish out someone else’s improperly sorted trash. (The trash cans in the building are now situated just beyond the photocopiers standing in full sight of the main entrance, by the way.) When I first approached her about an interview, Shu-jen was rather baffled as to why our newsletter would want to talk about her. I told her we’ve had too many professor stories and professors, and in terms of economics she’s the rarer commodity. But seriously, in order for a university to function more than just professors and students are required. There’s a version of Shu-jen in every department office, and sometimes, it would be nice to acknowledge and appreciate those people who usually dwell in the background. #Volume 7 Issue 2
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by Sandra Shih
The Lin Family Residence and Garden at Panchiao, Taipei County, is an outstanding example of traditional Chinese architecture and marks a high point of Chinese living in nineteenth-century Taiwan. With nearly a 150-year history, the Residence almost came into ruin during the late Ch’ing dynasty. However, it was recently completely rebuilt and restored with loving craftsmanship and reopened in late September of this year. More than two hundred years ago, Lin Ying-yin brought his family to Taiwan from the Fukien (福建) province to Hsin Chuang (新莊). Later, his son, Lin P’ing-hou, made a fortune in the salt industry, and since at the time the main two immigrant groups in Taiwan were often in conflict, the Lins began to build concrete houses surrounded by a fortress to protect them from possible attack. Soon after the luxurious main house with three courtyards was completed, the family began to design the famous gardens behind. The Lin Residence occupies an area of more than ten thousand square meters and can be divided into nine zones according to traditional Chinese garden design. Let me give you a brief introduction to some of the most important areas. The first is the Chi-ku study (汲古書屋), at the end of the path leading from the entrance. It is a place for collecting books, and there is a square pond nearby in case of a fire in the study. Next to it, we find the Fang-chien Studio (方鑑齋), with two pavilions built in the water and facing each other from a short distance. The family and their guests used to watch performances here, read poetry, or chat. Behind the studio, the tallest building, Lai-ch’ing Hall (來青閣), dominates the center of the courtyard. From its second story, the green mountains and nearby plains are all visible, and the hall is famous for its inscription, “Let the Hall ring with merriment.” After Lai-ch’ing Hall, the path forks into two different directions. One way passes the Hsiang-yü Studio (香玉簃) to Ting-ching Hall (定靜堂) and the Yueh-po Water Pavilion (月波水榭), while the other leads to Kuan-chia Hall (觀稼樓). The Hsiang-yü Studio serves as a vantage-point for enjoying exotic flowers. The Yueh-po Water Pavilion, whose name means moonlight ripples, is built over an artificial lake. Though it does not take up much space, the view through its windows is unlimited. Next, Ding-ching Hall, the largest building in the entire residence, with its lucky bat and butterfly decorations on the walls, served as a place for gatherings and feasts. Down the path, Kuan-chia Hall, the second largest building on the grounds, has acquired the nickname of the Little Hall. The term “kuan-chia” means observing the crops and implies thankfulness to the labor of the farmers. So if you walk upstairs you can observe the farmlands nearby. In front of Kuan-chia Hall there are a large pond and a series of artificial hills. This pond, situated in a high position, not only stores water for daily use but also provides a place for recreational boating. The Lin Family Residence beautifully illustrates the versatility of Chinese architecture-for show, recreation, habitation, banquets, or friends gathering in its different zones. It is really worth taking a trip there. If you are interested here is a map and some additional information. Don’t miss it. Address: No.9 Hsi Men Street, Panchiao City, Taipei County (台北縣板橋市西門街九號) Telephone: (02) 29653061-2 Open Hours: 9:00 to 17:00 daily Website: www.cabtc.gov.tw #Volume 7 Issue 2 by Steven Lee
“Oh my god! You like them too?” I guess that started our first conversation. I met this guy because he lived next to my good friend in the men’s 8th dorm. I’d always known who he was but we’d never really talked before. But when we started talking about music we couldn’t stop. He was skinny and about 180 cm tall. As I got to know him, I found out more about him than his appearance. He was teaching guitar at a high school as a part time job and used to be a member of a band. At that time he was thinking about forming a new band and I also wanted to be in one. So we decided to form one together, after summer vacation, so I could have time to practice (I wasn’t really good enough to be in a band). Summer finally came and I became busy with work, and he was busy teaching and looking for a place to practice. I still remember the smile on his face when he told me he finally found a place where he could practice without bothering his roommate. So he moved all of his stuff from his dorm to his so-called “studio 300.” It was very close to where I worked so I went almost every day to practice. Every time I went there I could see him playing or teaching guitar. In that steamy room with no air conditioning, he would practice for hours without any breaks; while I would just practice for several minutes and take hour-long breaks. When he wasn’t playing guitar he would be reading books on music or practicing with his synthesizer. Since he stayed there every day, his girlfriend of two years came to see him often. Because they argued a lot, usually because she was angry that he didn’t spend enough time with her. Every time she got angry and left, he would start playing his guitar furiously without saying a word. Then one day he told me that he broke up with her. He had chosen music instead of love; his desire towards his music was so strong it left him no other choice. The new school year started. He was busier than ever. Other than teaching at a high school, he had taken on several jobs tutoring guitar and also had to go to school in between. Since we were both busy, we couldn’t meet often. It seemed like our plan for a band was gone like a puff of smoke. And one day he told me with a really excited voice that he was moving into a fully equipped, real studio. Ever since he moved there, I hardly saw him at the dorm or at school. Every time I called him, he was busy making music. I soon found out that he was actually preparing to release an album. The last time I saw him was at his studio. He looked really tired, but his face was filled with joy and hope. He was walking on a road that he dreamt for years, but had also worked for. He had made many sacrifices to make his dream come true, and this made me realize that if I wanted something, too, I would have to work hard and devote myself to it. Maybe it’s not a 100% foolproof guarantee of success, but the important thing would be that at least I tried my best. What do you think?? #Volume 7 Issue 2 By Vahid Buehrer
Malay pantuns have achieved some international fame so quite a number of people already know it’s form. It is most common in the 4-line form but the 2-line and 6-line structures also have their followers and fans. For the usual 4-line pantun or quartrain, the pembayang maksud i.e. the first two lines act as a sort of preparation for the idea that is to develop in the succeeding lines. Items in the first couplet and the following one may not and usually are not related to each other in any way. Here are a couple examples: Bunga telepuk kembang separak,Kembang bersusun setiap batang,Awan bertepuk, mega bersorak,Bulan terbit dipagari bintang. The printed flower’s a bloom of structurePetals and stalks, arranged just rightThe skies and clouds applaud with ruptureThe moon shines glorious on a starry night Petik nenas berhati-hatiBimbang terkena duri meruncingElok paras, berbudi pekertiBeribu jejaka berlari mendamping Pluck the pineapples so verycarefullyTheir small, sharp thorns may prickA true beauty, with goodness and pietySeekers would queue a 100 men thick. For more information check out this site: http://homepages.msn.com/HobbyCt/latbid/ #Volume 7 Issue 2 by Sean Huang
How much do you know about betel nuts, or bin-laung, as the locals call it? It’s a carcinogen, a main factor of landslides in Taiwan, and it carries the stigma of lower-class society. Actually, there are many interesting stories about it besides health, environment, and societal issues. Aboriginals, for example, are affected by betel nuts in their daily life, culture, and religions. In most people’s perceptions, aboriginal people really like betel nuts. In their tradition, the betel is a kind of snack, something like chewing gum: aboriginal children used to cut betel nuts into pieces and eat them during class breaks. Besides northern tribes such as the Tsou (鄒族), Bunu (布農族) and Atayal (泰雅族), other aboriginal tribes regard it as a gift for friends, a sign of affection and even a magical agent. For example, the Yami (雅美族), a tribe that esteems strong men, a host may give visitors harder nuts to test if that visitor could easily chip it with a knife, and then decide to treat him well or despise him. Betel nuts are also used to show a guest’s purpose. Traditionally, the host will give the guest betel nuts to show welcome, and then depend on the guest’s reaction (by enjoying or refusing it) to judge whether it’s a friendly visit or not. Amis (阿美族), a matriarchal tribe, view betel nuts as the symbol of life and a token of love. Since betel nut is pronounced the same as female genitals in their language, and they believe its sweet juice is like mother’s breast-milk, betel nuts represent the image of the mother. A popular method to eat the nut is to wrap it with betel-leaf and add some lime, and the betel-leaf and lime represent the father and children; so包葉仔 (the processed betel nut, with nut, leaf and lime) is the symbol of family and life. Therefore, on the first night of the Amis’ harvest festival when young men dance all night and wait for girls to woo them, a woman will give their Mr. Right betel nuts with lime and betel-leaf, which is to tell the man “I want you.” If the boy accepts her love, he will chew the betel nut immediately, or just keep it. If a boy gets no betel nuts all night, it will be viewed as a great humiliation. Similarly, in the Yami tribe, people regard the nut as female and the betel-leaf as male. So, if a would-be father dreams of himself growing betel, he’ll have a baby girl, and he will have a boy if he dreams of himself growing piper betel (荖藤), whose leaves people use to wrap nuts in. Betel nuts are also used in ceremonies and represent supernatural forces. In the Ami tribe, when people catch unknown diseases, the witch doctor uses betel nuts as sacrificial offerings to ask gods’ power to drive away the devil, which makes people sick. Furthermore, witches of the Puyuma (排灣族), a tribe that is considered to have the most powerful sorcery, take the betel as a symbol of humans (the stem is like human’s head and fruit is like the human body). As traditional Chinese make dolls to control people, Puyama witches put pebbles or red beads inside the fruit or use needles to pierce it, in order to make people uncomfortable or for other bad purposes. Fearing and revering this powerful witchcraft, neighbor tribes such as Bunu and Yami have learned this skill from Puyuma witches and even now, some tribes still use this voodoo-like craft. So, next time you find a betel nut on the ground, you had better recall this story. Aboriginals have different languages, customs, and attitudes toward betel nuts, and hopefully, after reading this article, you may know a bit more about some different points of view. If your want to know more about betel nuts and aboriginals, here are some useful webpages: 1. 屏東赤山萬金庄的代誌 http://start.at/peterpan (A website with the most systematic and positive betel nut information) 2. 台灣檳榔四季青 王蜀桂 published in 1999 (A book discussing betel nut culture without value judgment) 3. Taiwan Aboriginal Culture Park http://www.tacp.gov.tw/english/home.htm (A governmental aboriginal culture website with an English version) #Volume 7 Issue 2 by Kim Douglas
Enough can’t be said about my endless desires, and the many ways I want you. Physically, spiritually and emotionally, you’ve got me in a trance and I don’t know what to do. Baby, the way I feel right now mere words can’t explain, Trying to express myself I’m racking my brain. How did I allow myself to fall into love’s heaven, And why are you on my mind twenty-four seven. I confine myself to my little room absorbed in thought, Assessing my feelings and the happiness you’ve brought. Bubbling between bouts of anxiety, Tell me it’s real, I fear the reality. Like a fool in love I’m blind and can’t comprehend Reality, But I know my heart and why I want you so dearly. Baby girl, I want you in the physical form, and I’m longing for your touch, To caress and kiss you, I’m dreaming of so much. To nourish you and take you to ecstasy is my mission, To give you all my love and compassion. Spiritually means taking our relationship to a level of certainty, One where we’ll be together for all eternity. It expresses my longevity cause my feelings won’t go away, Like an indestructible pillar by your side I’ll stay. Emotionally cause thinking of you brings elation, Like a supernatural force sucking from me every bit of emotion. Darling, being with you sends me on an emotional high, Together we’ll touch the sky. #Volume 7 Issue 2 by yvonne Su
This summer, while I was flooded with piles of books, busy preparing for graduate school entrance exam, some of my friends chose to spend it in a different way. One was making coffee at a Starbucks in Ohio; another was a cashier in a national park souvenir shop in Colorado, and yet another was working in an amusement park in Atlanta. How did they get the opportunity to work legally in America? By joining a summer job program supported by the U.S. government! The main goal of this special program is to increase multi-culture exchange through work and travel in U.S.A. Students also can experience real American lifestyle and broaden their mind by interacting with people from various places. This program has lasted more than twenty years in Europe. However, it is only the fourth year here due to the over-protective attitude held by most Taiwanese parents in the past. There are four organizations responsible for promoting and arranging it in America; right now two of which have branches in Taiwan – one is Council Exchange, based in New York, and the other is Intrax WorkTravel, based in San Francisco. They are open for college students aged from 18 to 28 all over the world without requirement of specific academic background. Students mostly work in hotels, parks, restaurant, and shops that require more manpower during summer as sales assistants, beverage servers, kitchen staff, cashiers, and housekeeping, laundry, or room attendants. The wage per hour ranges from US$5.75 to 10.00 owing to the diversity of jobs, but at least it is always above the minimum pay regulated by the U.S. labor law. Although there are two agencies available in Taiwan to help you arrange the whole process, some slight differences still exist. The legal working period of Council Exchanges is from June 1st to October 19th, while for Intrax WorkTravel it starts from May 1st to October 31st. Intrax WorkTravel does provide you with a list of jobs to choose from or you can get your own job through other access, but Council Exchanges only tells you where to find job vacancies. Therefore, you have to search for them on your own. The application fee also differs depending on whether it is a self-arranged or agency-provided job. The amount is between NT$18,000 and 30,000. After brief explanation of how this program operates, it is time to talk about the application procedure. You need to pass a writing test first and take an oral test with American counselor to make sure you have the basic English communication skill to work in U.S.A. Once you pass, you should begin looking for a job or simply choose one from what the agency offers. Your future employer must fax an employment document for you to sign (Accommodation and salary are confirmed during this phase.) so that the organizations will be able to process your work permission IAP-66 issued by American government. Then, you can directly go to AIT to apply for J-1 legal work visa. The next step is to plan the itinerary in America, book tickets and arrange other details these agencies remind you. As for personal safety, the most important thing in a foreign country, you will be assisted in obtaining a social security card, buying insurance, and seminars will be held to prepare you for life in U.S.A. When everything is done, just pack your baggage and wait for departure day! For those who are really interested and have already thought about giving it a try, here is where you can get more information: Council Exchanges : www.councilexchanges.org.tw (02) 2364-0228 Intrax WorkTravel : www.soeasyedu.com.tw (02) 2370-4358 Remember! The number of students is limited though there is no specific deadline. Contact them as soon as possible! If you do join the program, be sure to share your experience with us after you come back! #Volume 7 Issue 2 By Vahid Buehrer
If you’re still confused about all the news about the “Blueteeth,” don’t worry, you are not alone. There has been lots of talk about this new technology because it’s destined to make good profit. It may not be the best on the market, but companies like Microsoft, IBM, Ericsson, and Intel are throwing enough money into it that it’ll crush anyone that gets in the way. Bluetooth has nothing to do with teeth. It is a new technology that allows short-range wireless transmissions. It’s somewhat like the remote control of your TV, only that it can transfer data up to one megabit per second (Mbps). That would be just a little faster than downloading Harry Potter in the dormitories or twice as fast as your ADSL at home. So why do we need a faster remote control? Well, even experts are still querying about which areas are most suitable for this new technology. IBM is working on a range of innovations including the WatchPad, a wristwatch with a high-resolution touchscreen, and CyberPhone-2, a lightweight cell phone that can project data on to a small mirror the user can look at while talking. Sound sci-fi? Believe it or not, prototypes have already been designed and products will be commercialized in the next few years. By that time, it’ll be like learning how to use a new cell phone. By the end of this year 11 million products featuring the Bluetooth wireless technology will be sold, generating worldwide revenue of USD 5 billion. Wireless technologies have now begun to flourish and a few wireless technology companies are already trying to get a share of this jackpot. They all have their advantages and downsides. It’s up to us to choose what type of technology best suits our needs. To help you out, here’s an introduction to the three leading wireless technologies, Bluetooth, HomeRF and 802.11b: l Bluetooth, as I mentioned before, is a Personal Area Network technology with transfer rates of about 1 Mbps. Compared to other wireless technologies it is quite a bit slower, even though it is still faster than most connections that we are currently using at home. This type of technology is designed for device-to-device transmissions, like transferring an mp3 from your friend’s PDA to your mobile phone. This design also allows dramatic decreases in power consumption. Your mobile phone will be as light as it was. No extra batteries needed! Bluetooth is also a lot cheaper than the other wireless technologies. Currently the lowest price for a Bluetooth chipset is USD 8.50. Prices are targeted to USD 5 in the next few months. l HomeRF is a Local Area Network, or LAN, technology that offers speeds of about 2 Mbps and reaches over larger areas – from the living room to the backyard patio, for example. l 802.11b, only known by its scientific name, is a LAN technology. Good for surfing the web and watching live basketball games on the net without a wire connected to your laptop. It has already taken the lead over HomeRF, because it offers the fastest transfer rate speeds – about 11 Mbps. Its compatibility is also better than that of HomeRF. 802.11 equipment is still more expensive than HomeRF equipment, but as 802.11 becomes widespread the costs will come down quickly. And its second generation, with the “creative” name of 802.11a, promises to offer speeds up to 55 mbps later this year. Ultimately, we will end up with only Bluetooth and 802.11, or even a merger of these two technologies. For now, we can just sit back and change channels with infrared remote controls and wait until the experts figure out what they want to call the new wireless technologies, maybe something like “802.11x” or “Redface.” #Volume 7 Issue 2 by Mike Yuan
Let’s see…$300 x 4 visits…$1200…the amount of money I need each month for eating spicy hot-pot; 3 hours x 4 visits…12 hours…the amount of time I could spend every month eating it; and $200…the amount of money I save every time I choose to eat something else like a bowl of noodles and a can of apple sidra. Math figures are not what I love most, but they sure do come to mind every time I sit in front of Kungkuan’s “Fly to the Sky Ma-la Hot Pot”(公館飛天麻辣鍋). The equations above reflect the best case scenario, meaning, for example it would be best if I could eat hot-pot four times a month. The word “best” is ironic, of course, considering the recession in Taiwan; this should be the time when we save. As a result, my demand cannot always be totally satisfied, due to insufficient supply of cash. Some people ask me how can I be so fanatic about hot-pot? Well, imagine this. There on a rectangular table a hot-pot sits gracefully and quietly, like a meditating sage. Suddenly the calmness is broken by an intrusion of a variety of raw dipping materials, from traditional hot-pot necessities like beef, pork, lamb, prawns, cuttlefish and dumplings to specialties like pork liver, chicken claws, oyster, and crabmeat. He opens his eyes wide, and starts breathing rapidly, almost gasping for air. You feel an increase in heat around the sage as his eyes radiate burning flames. He takes all the different materials in one hand and flips through his enigmatic recipe with the other hand, and like magic the materials are made into a tableful of gourmet food. Fly to the Sky’s spicy ma-la hot-pot is different from the other hot-pot restaurants I’ve been to. The restaurant’s special tasty “pot bottom”(鍋底), a combination of duck’s blood, and tofu stewed in bone soup with a special mix of spices, is so delicious that it’s made me their loyal customer, and I feel I will never eat ma-la hot-pot in any other restaurant again. A key concept in Chinese cuisine is that we consider a plate to be “well-cooked” only if the many different tastes are all cooked “into” each other. For example, a mushroom chicken soup would be considered well-cooked if when you take a bite of a mushroom, you could feel you are eating chicken, because the taste of chicken has been cooked into the mushroom and into the soup. Usually it takes several hours of stewing for the tastes to cook into each other. Fly to the Sky’s duck blood, unlike the duck blood of other restaurants, which taste like they had just been added into the pot a few minutes ago, are well-cooked and will conquer your mouth and stomach, urging you to take another one from the pot. I usually see the sage perform his magical act two or three times before I feel full and satisfied. Then I serve myself a glass of ice cream, for free! Ah, how I wish I could be eating it right now! #Volume 7 Issue 2 by Mimi Chong
Men are like dogs. Before anyone starts snarling at me, let me clarify that I have nothing against dogs and men. In fact, I’m very fond of dogs, and some men. It’s just that in most boy-girl relationships, the analogies that a keen observer of dogs and men can draw between the two are – plentiful. There are many, many different kinds of dogs. There are common mutts and dogs with aristocratic pedigrees, there are good-for-nothing curs, there are dogs with the sweetest irresistible eyes … every size, shape, color and disposition you could imagine. A very few are naturally mean, but most are cute and friendly, especially when you get to know them. Dogs are fun, companionable, and happy to play bodyguard when you’re out walking at night. But if you want to keep a dog, you have to be prepared to spend a lot of time and energy on them. Normal dogs need a lot of attention: they need to be fed, coddled, petted, walked. Many need to be cleaned up after if they’re not properly housetrained. (A lot of those refuse to be housetrained their entire lives.) A few dogs are naturally servile and are happiest when ordered to fetch and carry; again, training is important in this case for in their enthusiasm they are apt to get things wrong. (And you must remember to reward them afterwards; there’s nothing as endearing as a happy doggy.) Little dogs are inclined to be either boisterous or painfully shy and hate being reminded that they’re small. You must decide whether or not you want a dog that loves the whole world and all the people in it: being overly friendly they’ll glomp onto every other nice-looking person they see. Some dogs tend to stray if you don’t watch them closely; keep him on a tight leash if you’re not certain he’ll return, or if you don’t think you’ll want a dog trotting back repentantly with his tail tucked between his legs. On the other hand, there are dogs that are immediately suspicious even if you paid the merest bit of attention to another dog; puppies in a jealous fit are sometimes amusing, though. (But they really can get mad.) Another thing to remember, girls, is that canine fidelity is overrated. Of course there are dogs that are faithful unto death, despair not, but generally mutts love most the hand that feeds them. My own ex-dog was one of those. (And sometimes you have to beware of the Faithful Unto Death type: they tend to whine, beg and even howl if you don’t want them anymore; occasionally they even turn vicious. You don’t want a vengeful hound dogging your heels.) Even so. Most women will persist in the endless indefatigable search for just the right one, for a good dog is the greatest company in the world, and a girl’s best friend. Of course, men are most unlike dogs in that you can’t just pick out a cute one at a petshop. You have to hunt them. But that’s another story. #Volume 7 Issue 2 |
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May 2024
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