My new class / 我的新班級

很有畫面感！

gives me a lot of images to think about! 

把我變成詩人了！

and turns me into a poet! 

很久沒有這麼有創造力了！ 

The good news is that I haven't been so productive for a while! 

Relay game / 接力畫

今天和男孩們玩一個游戲，我先開始一張圖，他們必須畫得一模一樣，我們三個在書房裡排排坐，最後還搶起畫筆。

Today we try a new game, that is, I will start to draw a picture and the boys have to draw exactly the same as me. We sit in a row in the study. In the end, we even fight for the colored pencils. 

        這當中我有許多有趣的發現，例如說，楷維是數學腦，與其畫無限的橘子把畫面填滿，他採用直線排列，並且先數我畫了幾顆。

     In the process I have some intriguing discoveries. For example, Kai is a math person. Instead of following his instinct and filling the image with oranges, he draws in lines and even counts beforehand how many I have drawn. 

        我們輪流休息去。因為太好玩了，我們畫了快三個小時。

     We take turns taking a break. It's so much fun that we keep at the project for almost three hours. 

        我看到每個人的風格各異，我們一起開了很多玩笑，好久沒有這樣玩了呢！我在想，這樣的畫面會持續到男孩們幾歲呢？

     It's obvious that everyone has their distinctive styles. We even joke about one another's doodle. In fact, we haven't played like this for a long while. And how long will this kind of Sunday fun last? 

        我的人物有點胖胖的。

     My characters are always kind of chubby. 

        楷維的人物瘦瘦高高的，攤販老闆很有黑社會老大的感覺。

     Kai's figures are tall and thin. We tease him for drawing gangster-like vendors. 

        思維的人物很夢幻，比楷維的風格還天真。

     Von's figures are dreamy. I feel his style is even more child-like than Kai's. 

        上哪去找這麼可愛的孩子們呢？

     Where can you look for such lovely kids? 

Naked / 赤裸裸

有點難，但是學會就解放了。

Is kind of hard to learn, but it's liberating as soon as you let go of all concerns.

Postcrossing

很久沒玩Postcrossing了，那天為了示範給孩子們看，便按了「寄明信片」的鍵，拖了好久都沒有寄，很有罪惡感。

I hadn't logged onto Postcrossing for long. However, to demonstrate how to use the website to my new kids, I purposefully pressed "send a postcard" the other day. But my procrastination made me feel very guilty as time went by. 

我的對象是個蘇俄小姐，那麼就來個蘇俄娃娃的洋蔥式介紹法吧！果然人不能逃避該做的事，畫完有種鬆了口氣的感覺，還意外發現原子筆的實用性！

My addressee is a Russian lady who inspired me to base my postcard on the concept of a Russian doll. Well, I felt a great sense of relief after drawing the postcard, and better yet, I discovered the beauty of a biro pen! 

Truth / 真理

身體說：「你居然活著活著，便忘了睡覺是真理！」

My body says, "You live only to forget that sleep is the basis of everything!"

Rainy park / 下雨的公園

我在下雨的大安公園裡散步，大樹和我說：那些讓你心裡不愉快的感覺，都留給我們當肥料吧！又派了一個可愛的外國先生來和我聊樹上的鳥類，於是，我就這麼撫癒了一個小傷口。

After a long evening walk in Da-an park, the trees tell me, "Leave your hard feelings here as our fertilizer." They also send a very interesting foreign gentleman to talk about the birds in the tree with me. Miraculously, my wound is thus healed. 

40

轉四十歲之前，是充滿焦慮的一年，還好最近把腳步慢了下來，找回了我想要的從容。

This has been a year filled with anxiety. Fortunately, I managed to slow down before turning 40 and retrieved the poise I so desperately longed for. 

凱特琳娜寄給我的卡片裡，問我要送什麼給自己當生日禮物，我的答案是「慢活」，所以今天去上班的路上，不奔跑也不緊張，看到想速寫的行人也不猶豫地停下來畫個兩筆。

Caterina asked me in the birthday card what I'd like to give myself as a birthday gift. My answer is "a slow pace." On the way to work today, I neither ran nor rushed. Upon seeing a beautiful smoking lady, I didn't hesitate to stop and sketch her. 

一早進到教室裡，可愛的孩子們準備了好大的蛋糕，我毫不彆扭地接受了大家的心意，今天我自在開心。

A super big cake was waiting for me when I stepped into the classroom this morning. I learned to accept the new girls' love without feeling shy. Today my heart is as wide as the ocean. 

雖然暑假就送了自己去奧地利旅行的大禮物，但一直到最近，我才真的明白對自己好的意義。暫時放掉了一些野心，我要從頭開始，一次只做一件事，表面上看起來像是放手，但我知道這是完成夢想的必要手段。

Though I gave myself the luxurious birthday gift of traveling to Austria in summer, I didn't really know what it means to be nice to myself until recently. For the time being, I let go of some goals. I will begin again and focus on one thing at a time, which is the only way I know to my dreams. 

四十歲真是個美麗的年紀，向前看未來的人生，還有一些機會，我要慢慢地前進‧‧‧‧‧‧

Forty is a very beautiful age. When I look ahead, I see some opportunities. Now I am going to move forward slowly...

with the sun and the moon / 日月的懷抱

去日月潭放空，大自然對我說：每一刻都有值得學習的美好，靜下心好好觀看和傾聽。

I travel to Sun-moon Lake to relax. Nature says to me, "There's something to learn in every moment, but you have to look and listen calmly..."