Sense of Taipei / 台北感

週五聽了李明璁教授的演講，他提到每個地方都應該有其特殊的文化氛圍，台北的特色是什麼呢？去象山健行的時候，得到了有趣的答案。

I listened to a talk by Prof. Lee Ming-tsung two days ago on how every place should have its own particular sense, i.e. culture and atmosphere. What is the sense of Taipei? I found extremely intriguing answers on a hike to Xiangshan (Elephant Mountain) yesterday. 

        現在的象山非常國際化，有國內國外的旅人，每個佇足點也都有強烈的特色，例如說，我們到巨石公園時，被排隊的人潮嚇了一跳，這裡又不是信義區的百貨公司，究竟在排什麼？原來大家想爬到石頭上拍照，有人認真研究如何爬上去，有人為了避開人潮，盤算著登上其他顆石頭，我強烈感受到大家征服石頭的欲望。而且這裡的旅人穿著打扮很多和逛信義區的人群沒兩樣，還有穿著小紅鞋來登石頭的女孩呢！我本來只是在遮蔭處發呆，後來忍不住記錄這個驚奇的畫面。

     Amazingly,  Xiangshan is a rather international tourist spot now. There are much more foreign travelers than imagined. Every stop in the mountain is unique in its own way. For example, upon reaching the Giant Rock Park, we were stunned by the queue. What were people lining up for? It turns out that they would like to take a picture upon one of the rocks. It was amusing to eavesdrop   people's talk about how to climb the rock or how to avoid the crowd by going up on another rock. I could feel their strong desire to conquer the rocks! Besides, most people would be mistaken as the shoppers in Xin-yi District since their wear was no different. In fact, it's important to look fashionable for the photo on the rock. In the beginning I was just watching people in the shade, but I couldn't help sketching the super interesting image later on. 

        往前走到逸賢亭，亭子前有做操的民眾，亭子裡有大叔拉著手風琴，旁邊還有舉重的男孩，大寶說這是象山上的World Gym！因為再度覺得很驚奇，我又拿出速寫本，想不到右下角的阿伯跑來讓我點歌，接著「何日君再來」，我只能想到「甜蜜蜜」，大叔演奏完還來教護心操，好和樂融融啊！

     As we moved ahead to one pavilion, in front of it were the locals doing exercise, and in the pavilion there were other stories going on. An old man played the accordion while a young man was lifting weight next to him. This is the mountain version of World Gym! Feeling amazed again, I took out my sketchbook immediately. The half-naked uncle in the lower right corner was eager to have me request a song. Since the previous one is a classic by the famous singer Teresa Teng, I had no choice but to request another song of hers. After the performance, the accordion musician came to teach me how to massage my hands. What a harmonious afternoon! 

        台北是個什麼元素都可以找到的地方，而且完全無違和感，可說處處有驚喜！

     The sense of Taipei lies in a wide mix of all the cultural elements, whether local or foreign. Strangely, nothing feels out of place here and there are always surprises to look forward to! 

The magnifying glass / 顯微鏡下

這學期和另一班的幾個孩子們一起修「造紙」的選修課，包涵了生物、物理、化學和藝術的內容，在生物方面長了很多見識，不過還有令我意想不到的大收穫，那就是當我變成孩子們的同學時，看到了只站在講台上看不到的風景。

I am taking a course on "how to make paper" along with some students this year. The course covers biology, physics, chemistry and art. I have learned a lot in science, but what I didn't expect is that when I become the classmate of my fifteen-year-old students, I've got an opportunity to a bigger world. 

        首先，孩子們會罩生物很不靈光的我，因為感受到學習上的障礙，我常常有「啊，原來跟不上的感覺是這樣啊！」這個經驗讓我變得比較能夠設身處地為小朋友著想。變成了同學之後，孩子們會問我：「你下週會來上課嗎？」在課堂上做實驗或手作時，就像和同齡的朋友什麼也沒有忌諱地和我閒聊。

     For starters, the girls will help me since I have difficulty learning biology. Now that I experience the frustration of learning something I am not good at, it often hits on me that I should be more understanding toward the kids that struggle. Often, the girls will ask me, "Will you come to class next week?" When we are doing experiments or making handicrafts, they will chat with me like I am their peer without being reserved at all. 

        更重要的是，在我突然又覺得自己像新手的時候，我的好朋友每一週都和我分享學習的挫折和進步的喜悅，以及多麼多麼喜歡我。例如她們大方地拿出帥哥老師的照片給我看，可是當我問：「你喜歡帥哥平淡的講課還是有趣的老奶奶？」又毫不遲疑地回答：「還是老奶奶好了！」這讓我開始對教到六十歲有點期待了。

     What's more important, when I suddenly lose confidence in myself, my good friends will share with me their progress in learning and how much they like me. For example, once they didn't hesitate to show me the photo of a handsome young teacher, but when I asked them, "Do you prefer him or an interesting granny?" I got a surprising answer, "It would be the granny!" This makes me start to look forward to having to teach until I am 60. 

        原來，放在顯微鏡下的心情是愛和鼓勵啊！

So what I get to see under the magnifying class is love and encouragement. 

後記：生物不好的我，只記得第一張圖美女的名字了：是紫背萬年青。

P.S.: I can only remember the name of the first plant: Oyster Plant.