The city on a cloudy day / 陰天，城市裡

還是好迷人。

Still has irresistible charm. 

Summer morning / 夏日早晨

這個夏天過得很滿，常常想念只專心於速寫的日子，於是在夏日結束之前，去家附近的市場畫畫。

My agenda was fully packed this past summer. With little free time left, I missed days of sketching badly. This, before summer ended, I decided to go sketching in the market in our neighborhood.

        想打破自己的界限，所以這次不用札記本和習慣使用的細字筆，帶著黑紙卡和色鉛筆，在市場找了小角落，坐下來享受很單純的喜悅。

     Desiring a change, I left at home the journal and fine markers I was used to. Instead, I brought with me a blackboard and colored pencils. After having found a cozy corner, I was ready to get carried away by the sheer joy of drawing.

        那天早上下過雨，夏季走到盡頭，太陽也疲憊了，派雨出來代班。充滿著橘光的市場裡，來來回回的是穿著繽紛的阿姨們，我感受到女力的強大。素食攤是大家的加油站，我著迷於她們厚實燦爛的背影，以及老闆簡潔但溫暖的人情味。

     It had rained earlier that morning. The sun couldn't hide its fatigue after having blazed for a whole summer, so it sent rain to take its place at the end of summer. In the market filled with orange light, ladies in colorful casual wear came and go in front of me. I felt the power of their mighty existence. The stall selling ready-to-eat veggie meals were ladies' gas station. I was so fascinated with their sturdy and
vibrant backs, also, the quiet yet massive warmth of the stall owner.

        市場外面還有雨的痕跡，市場裡面出太陽。

     I could sense races of rain outside the market, but inside the market, the sun never left.

White picnic / 白色野餐節

沒有靈感的時候就出去玩，躺著看城市的天空，像是超級大的碗公，心情都好了起來。

Play hard when I run out of inspirations. I lie on the grass looking at the city sky, which looks like a super big bowl. It's impossible not to feel elated. 

        身邊被穿著白衣的野餐客圍繞，還有白馬來作伴，真是無比夢幻！

   I am surrounded by picnickers in white. We are accompanied by a white horse. What a dreamy day! 

Art walk in the park / 公園裡的剪紙散步

我用很疏離的態度使用臉書，就像許多沒有臉書的用戶，我們有機會接觸到臉書是因為家裡的平板剛好是用家人的帳戶登入，我因為這樣的巧合，發現駐青年公園太陽圖書館的汗得學社，這週末舉辦了一場叫做「公園裡的剪紙散步」，包括生態導覽和剪紙的工作坊。

I use FB with aloofness, and like many people who don't have an FB account, our access to it is actually through our family, who stays logged in when we happen to use the computer. Because of such a coincidence, I accidentally found a workshop held by HAND Organization stationed in Solar LEO House in the Youth Park in Taipei. The participants will first be taken on a walk tour to learn  about the trees in the park, which will inspire us to create with paper cutting techniques. 

        我一度把青年公園誤認為二二八紀念公園，最好只好跳上計程車，就在這個過程中我才發現，原來我從來沒去過青年公園，幸好計程車司機非常有耐心地幫我做城市導覽。

   I mistake the Youth Park for 228 Memorial Park, so in the end I have no choice but to hop on a taxi. It is then that I realize I've never been to the Youth Park. Luckily, the patient taxi driver offers quite a comprehensible introduction of the part of the city. 

        這座太陽能圖書館很酷，一樓是無人圖書館，二樓則是汗得學社推廣太陽能的展示館，走進去有種國外的味道，而且館內因為特別的設計，沒有開冷氣就很涼爽，窗邊還有非常美麗的黃花相伴。讀了展示館的小冊子之後，我非常喜歡其中的一段話：

八分二十秒，

超過一億五千萬公里的旅程，

光子從太陽表面到達我們的星球，

太陽能不僅無所不在，

也是我們最直覺的能源。

        太陽光電是優雅的電力，為了推廣太陽能教育，汗得學社有許多課程和種子志工培訓。

   The Solar Leo House is a very cool building, the first floor used as a library where people check out books all by themselves. The second floor is the exhibition space of HAND Organization to promote solar energy. When I push open the door, I immediately smell the scent that I did whenever traveling abroad. Thanks to the energy-saving design, it is very comfy and quiet inside without any need of air-conditioning. Next to the double-layered windows are lovely yellow flowers. I am impressed by a quote from the pamphlet: 

   With eight minutes and twenty seconds, 

   on a journey longer than 150 million kilometers, 

photons reach the earth from the surface of the sun. 

Solar energy is not only everywhere, 

it is also our most instinctive energy. 

   Solar optoelectronic energy is elegant in that it does not harm the environment. HAND Organization offers many workshops and courses to better people's understanding of the topic. 

        至於我們的生態導覽，先由生態老師為我們講解幾種樹木和果實，原來很多樹葉揉爛之後都有濃郁的香味，這是植物自我保護的方式，我很難得有機會用嗅覺認識樹木。

   Before we set out for the tour, our ecology teacher introduces some trees, their leaves and flowers. It does not occur to me that many leaves give off smells after we tear them into pieces, which is actually their form of self-protection. It's wonderful to employ more than the eye to learn. 

之後老師又提到榕果小蜂的生命週期，因為這個主題實在太有趣了，要寫繪本也不為過，大自然真是處處充滿智慧啊！

   One of the most interesting lessons of the day is about the life cycle of the fig wasp. It is so amazing that I think I should write a picture book on it. I can't help exclaiming: Nature is so full of wisdom! 

        接下來的實地散步裡，剪紙老師古國萱請我們邊走邊拓印各種不同的樹皮，大家都很投入。

   During the walk, our art teacher Joanne Ku invites us to do tree bark rubbings because every tree has its own pattern. Everyone is engaged in the task. 

        榕樹有很多氣根。

   Banyan trees have many aerial roots. 

        而且榕樹的根會不斷延伸，看起來很像是另一棵樹，所以被叫做「會走路的樹」。

   Here is a quote from the Wikipedia: 

   The seeds of banyans germinate and send down roots toward the ground, which may envelop part of the host tree or building structure, giving banyans the casual name of "strangler fig." 

        這個夏天和楓香很有緣份，去武陵農場也聽到類似的講解，楓香和槭是不同類的，而楓香的特色就在於把葉子揉開後會有香氣。

   This summer I have heard the story on the differences between maple trees and sweet gum trees twice, previously on the trip to Wuling Farm. Something special about sweet gum is its fragrance after the leaf is torn and rubbed. 

        一定要靠水而生的穗花棋盤腳，所以果實很像一艘船，據說快開花了，綻放的時候很像放煙火。

   Small-leaved Barringtonia has to live by the water as its fruit is dispersed by ocean currents; thus the fruit is shaped like a boat. The blossoming season is July and August, and flowers in bloom look just like fireworks. 

        紫薇。

   Common Crepe Myrtle. 

        扶桑花，又稱朱槿，俗稱大紅花，多生於中國南方。

   Hibiscus, originally grown in the south of China. It is the national flower of Malaysia. 

        回到室內後就由老師介紹剪紙的基本原則。

   After the tour, Ms. Ku introduces the basic principles of paper cutting. 

         我們把剛才在戶外拓印的白報紙剪成三塊。

   We cut the paper on which we did tree rubbings into three pieces. 

         長條的拿來做連成一串的設計。

   The long strip is used for the design of a connected pattern. 

        方形的則做窗花。

   The square-shaped ones are used for designs of window decor. 

        最後老師請我們回想散步之旅中得到的靈感，各種感官的刺激都可以，我想到了穗花旗盤腳開花的畫面。

   In the end we are asked to come up with a design inspired by anything we see or smell on the walk tour. Though I've never seen blossoming barringtonia, I can imagine it in my mind with the teacher's vivid explanation.

        成果總驗收。

   A snapshot of everyone's works. 

        晚上去凱道參加了我人生中第一次的群眾運動─送洪仲丘最後一程，雖然我很怕人多的地方，但是當下並沒有不舒服的感覺，反而很慶幸自己有去。

   In the evening, I decide to go to my first ever protest against the military's rough handling of Hung Chung-chiu's death. Though I've always feared the crowds, I am glad that I make it there.

        有趣的是，再怎麼嚴肅的場合都會有賣冰淇淋的小販！

   Interestingly, whatever the occasion is, there are always ice cream vendors wherever crowds gather. 

        這讓我想到最近念溫格爾的繪本「月亮人」給男孩聽時，楷維不懂為什麼冰淇淋小販也跟著往有事故的地方跑，真是人生如繪本，繪本如人生啊！

   This reminds me of my reading Tomi Ungerer's Moon Man to the boys. Kai didn't understand why the ice cream man also rushes to the accident site. Well, don't picture books reflect the real life and vice versa! 

Sketching in Taipei / 台北小旅行

昨天把我人生精華的布達佩斯速寫本拿出來借給一個也愛畫畫的小弟弟小亮，自己在公車上翻了一遍，心情自然是很激動，畢竟那是我用生命紀錄的旅行，我自我提醒現在也要時不時速寫才行。

Yesterday I took out my best sketchbook done mostly in Budapest from the shelf because I would like to lend it to a little boy Liang, who is equally passionate about drawing. When I thumbed through it on the bus,   I couldn't help wowing at myself for having gone all out to draw then. I reminded myself at that instant that I should draw sketches as often as possible now. 

這週的生活主題是和自己相處，自從倫敦回來之後我似乎沒有一個人出去蹓躂的時候，難得今天沒有約，我帶著「台北小旅行」這本書去迪化街速寫。如果只是走過去，很快就可以把整條街逛完，但今日我又陷入什麼都想畫的情境，所以前進地非常緩慢，卻看到很多有趣的影像。

My theme this week is "learning to get along with myself." Since coming back from London, I have hardly gone out alone. It was nice that I had no appointment at all today, so I brought the book Traveling in Taipei with me and went to Dihua Street for drawing sketches. It's a street with hundreds of shops selling similar products such as preserved fruits and tea leaves. If I just stroll by, it won't take long. However, today I was in the mood for wanting to draw everything. I moved at an extremely slow pace, but I got to see many interesting sights. 

除了上述的店家，我發現了新開的陶器店，賣著日本工業設計大師柳宗理和台灣藝術家的作品，在歐式建築的對面畫了壁面的雕花，有一家西班牙小菜的走廊掛了龍面的燈籠，連作資源回收的阿嬤也是風景，她用的包包遠看很像傳統中式紙雕花紋，近看居然是英文字母。這條街挺有後現代主義挪用各種藝術影響的風格。

Besides the above-mentioned stores, I found a new ceramic shop selling the works of the famous industrial designer Sori Yanagi and Taiwanese artists. I stopped for a long while to draw the facade of an European-looking building. There is a Spanish tapas restaurant decorated with very Chinese-looking lanterns with dragons on them. Even the old ma'am whose job is recycling amazed me. The patterns on her bag is reminiscent of traditional Chinese paper-cutting at first sight, but upon a closer look, they are actually English letters. This street is so post-modern in that it appropriates all forms of artistic styles. 

我還發現我的耐心是從哪來的了，雖然沿路完全沒椅子可坐，而且我很飢餓，居然還是可以畫兩個小時，雖然仍有好多想畫卻還未紀錄的畫面。

I also discovered how I am trained to be patient. I had no chair to sit on. Moreover, I was quite starving. Still, I drew two hours without stop, though there were tons of images I didn't have time for.

話說今天的迪化街感覺有點像在京都⋯

Dihua Street today so made me recall my trip in Kyoto...

between London and Taipei / 倫敦和台北之間

今天早上聽91.7fm，聽說台北下著雨，我這邊是大晴天，透過廣播，我感受兩邊的天氣。DJ報的時間是晚上，我卻想像著有大太陽的夜晚，同時很想也不想家。

I tuned into 91.7fm in Taiwan this morning. I heard that it rained unceasingly in Taipei, but we had a super sunny day here in London. Through the broadcast, I experienced the weather of two cities. DJs kept announcing the time. It was the evening there, and I pictured a night with sunlight. I missed and I didn't miss home...

3:30 at the airport / 飛機場的三點半

半夜三點半在香港機場，雖然燈光明亮，廣播系統傳來爵士樂，但櫃台都關了，該是補眠的時間，我睡不著，這一刻的我好像已經超越熟知的時區，於是我替身旁轉機的旅人畫素描。

3:30 am at the Hong Kong airport--it is well lighted and we are accompanied by jazz music coming from the loud speakers. But in fact all counters are closed. It's time for sleep, though I have insomnia tonight. At this moment I have gone beyond any time zone that can be defined, so I decide to draw sketches for travelers around me.

再過一個小時，台北的天就亮了，大家會一如往常生活，我想像著橘色的陽光灑在車水馬龍的街道，然後我會飛往蕭颯多雨的城市‧‧‧

In one hour, the sun will rise in Taipei. Everyone will go on with their lives as usual. I imagine the busy streets coated with orange sunlight, but I'll fly into a rainy city which autumn has visited...

my beloved city / 我鍾愛的城市

二十三歲離開家去美國讀書，抱的是種遠走高飛的心情，以為離開就可以找到快樂，那一年我跌跌撞撞，不盡是開心的經驗，但是我學習了長大。之後我一直想，如果再一次出國長居，我肯定會找到適合自己生活的方式，本來都只是想想，現在真的要再離去，我連出發之前的心情都迥異，這十一年我學著喜歡我的城市，改變我的性格和想法，因為真心喜歡這裡的人事物，面對家人朋友的感傷，我總是笑笑地說：很快就回來了。

When I went to the States for studies at the age of 23, I considered it a perfect getaway that would reverse my life and the only secret to happiness. It turned out that I was constantly groping for my way. Not every moment was pleasant, but I learned to grow up. Afterwards, when I looked back on the year, I kept thinking that if I had another chance to live abroad for a while, I would for sure find a balance within myself. It was merely wishful thinking, but now it's becoming the reality. However, this time, I take a completely different attitude even before departure. In the past eleven years, I have come to love my city and changed my personalities and ways of thinking. This place, full of beautiful people and sites, is such a huge part of my life that when faced with folks and friends' sentimentality, I always reply with assurance, "Before you know it, I will be home again..."

不想空手離去，我開始記錄台北的天空，以前追逐異國的雲朵，現在我要把家鄉的雲彩放在第一位。

Not wanting to leave empty-handed, I began to record the sky of Taipei. I used to chase after the clouds in foreign countries, but now it's my beloved city that matters the most.

夏日傍晚六點半的台北市 / the cityscape of Taipei at 6: 30 pm on a summer day 

夏日傍晚窗外的台北 / Taipei outside my window on a summer evening 

夏日早晨五點多的台北 / Taipei at 5:30 am on a summer morning 

夏日早晨的台北101 / Taipei 101 on a summer morning 

更重要的是天空下的人情，離開之際收到禮物和祝福，一路為我的夢想鋪路的小蕙，從最早的激勵，到倫敦的友人安排和地鐵卡都幫我準備好；還有總是讓我靠著的家人，怕我忘記他們，這個暑假安排無數的吃吃喝喝玩玩；一直嚷嚷我得上MSN才能和他聊天的小方，説他才不會忘記我；默默支持我的小朋友，給我一路的溫暖；工作上的同事也塞給我滿滿的鼓勵，並且幫我守著辦公室的空位。親愛的朋友都要陪我飛行，歐洲的友人都準備好要出發去倫敦拜訪我了，連透過六度分離介紹給我的倫敦新朋友也紛紛連絡我，我還想，再給我一點時間和愛的人說再見。

The sky is beautiful because underneath it is the love between me and my people. I have been showered with best wishes and gifts. Hui literally prepared the whole package for me from inspiring me to go to the UK to hooking me up with her friend in London and giving me the oyster card. My dear family, who is always my shoulder, is so afraid that I will leave them behind that we've been touring and eating and enjoying life this whole summer. Von has reminded me several times to get on MSN so that he can chat on a regular basis with me like in Taipei. He promises never to forget me. Also, my present and past kids have delivered sincere wishes to last for a whole year. My colleagues at work can't help but send encouragement and vibes and guard my empty seat in the office. Dear Dee will fly with me to London, friends from Europe have planned to travel to London for a visit, and even new friends introduced through six degrees of separation have contacted me. I still think, give me some more time to say goodbye to those I love...

Life Stories / 人生故事

這個星期受到了一些挫折，因為深知不能在沮喪的泥沼中打轉，我每天走出去看別人的生活，和他們交談，希望回來的時候用新的角度重新檢視我的困境。在象山上遇到了牽著胖狗爬山的胖男子，用相機捕捉101之美的攝影阿伯們，在國畫課上和學習陶藝的謝同學聊他過去充斥著數字的人生，週末在龍山寺邊偶然發現了剝皮寮，隨性地坐下來和寫了六十年書法的阿善師說話，我急於從每個人的生活經驗學到智慧，因為怎麼說我都還太稚嫩太脆弱。

This week I’ve suffered from some frustrations. Deeply aware that I can’t wallow in depression, I walked out of myself every day to take a look at others’ lives and to converse with them. My hope was to re-examine my dilemma from a new perspective after I came back. In Shiang Mountain, I ran across Mr. Round with his chubby dog and a bunch of passionate senior photographers waiting to capture Taipei 101 at sunset. In Chinese painting class, I had a long talk with Mr. Pottery, who used to work with numbers before retirement. On weekends, I stumbled into Bo Pi Liao, a historic site near Long-shan Temple. There I accidentally discovered Master Shan, a calligraphy writer engaged in the art for over sixty years. I was too eager to derive wisdom from everyone’s experiences because I had found myself to be too tender, too fragile.

最要感謝的是我身邊良善的精神支柱，如果說這次的經驗教了我甚麼，其中一課就是我也要這麼熱心地幫助別人。

Most of all, I would like to express my heart-felt thanks to the kind and sincere folks around me. Their support is priceless, and without them, I wouldn’t be able to write these words now. One of the lessons the incident taught me is that I should pay it forward selflessly when seeing others in need of help.