The Warrior and the Ladybug / 武士與小金龜

小亮是個很喜歡畫畫的孩子，但是有點缺乏秩序感，我先看了小亮的作品，非常欣賞他畫的動態人物。

Liang is a very talented little boy, but he seems to lack a sense of order. I took a look at his works. I couldn't stop wowing at his dynamic figures. 

這些戰士根本就是內心在飛翔啊！

To me these warriors are flying even inside! 

但小亮什麼都畫，而且相當潛心研究有興趣的主題。

Liang draws many things. Whenever he's into a subject, he will come up with hundreds of drawings centering around it. 

我不記得見過小亮本人，只是想如果可以用圖像和他對話，而且還是他的藝術語言，應該會很好玩，所以我花了好幾天練習小亮的風格。

I don't remember having seen Liang in person. I was just wondering if I could have a dialog with him through images in his art language, it should be fun. Thus, I spent a few days imitating his style. 

除此之外，我當然也得蒐集參考資料，畫了日本武士，也請小方和阿楷當我的模特兒拍了一系列打鬥的照片，最後也花了些心思決定表達的媒材，因為已經離開坎貝爾了，所以這一路的過程就不拉拉雜雜敘述。

Apart from that, I of course had to collect reference images. I was especially attracted to those of Japanese warriors. Also, I asked Von and Kai to be my models because I needed more exercise in drawing moving figures. In the end it took me some time and efforts to decide on the media. Since I am no longer in Camberwell, I would like to be brief about the whole process. 

我希望小亮看到每張圖都有驚喜的感覺，所以與其用手工書的形式，我把圖放在信封裡。

I hope Liang will be surprised upon seeing every image, so I put each picture in one envelope rather than adopt the form of a handmade book. 

The Warrior and the Ladybug 

written and illustrated by Wei-chuen You 

"I am a warrior! I want to make friends!" 

"Don't run! Be my friends!"

"Why are they silent? I want to be their friend!"

"Who are you?"

"I am the ladybug." 

"What are you doing?"

"I want to be your friend."

"So if you want to make friends, you tickle them?"

"Nope! How did you feel when I was crawling upon you?" 

"Your touch was as soft as the clouds." 

"It seems that you knew what I need."

"Most of all, I knew you really like me." 

"I am sometimes rude and upset people, but you are still willing to be my friend..." 

"Well said! But did you ever think of this when you were trying to make friends?"

"I'd like to apologize to them. Will you go with me?"

很多時候我不知道在小孩的心裡這些圖像究竟有怎樣的地位，但是起碼我因為這件事受惠了⋯

Often I don't have a clue what kind of role these images play in children's mind, but at least I benefit from the whole process...

Everyone / 每個人

The Warrior and the Ladybug / written and illustrated by Wei-chuen You

花了一個月，又替另一個很特別的孩子小亮寫了屬於他的故事，我很喜歡這次的形式，現在我總會重複著之前露問我的問題：你自己喜歡這個作品嗎？多謝大家幫我找到自信心，我不再去擔心別人會怎麼想，但那並不代表我聽不進去有助益的忠告。

It took me a month to write and illustrate a story for another very special child--Liang. I personally love the format of this story. Now I am in the habit that Lu got me into--I ask myself the question if I like my work. Thanks to my friends and family's help, now I no longer worry about what others might think since I have finally felt confident of myself. However, that doesn't mean I don't take constructive advice.

最近一直在想要做些什麼事才能改變世界，如果用我的方式，我認為每個大人和每個小孩都應該擁有屬於自己人生故事的繪本⋯

Lately I've been thinking what I can do to change the world. In my opinion, for the starter, every adult and every child should own a picture book about their own life...

Promise / 承諾

小雪和阿長去花蓮之前問我要什麼紀念品，我隨口說了七星潭的石頭，他們很認真地幫我帶回了三顆，還是在黑暗裡撿的。

Sharen and John asked me what I wanted as a souvenir before heading for Hualien. I blurted out, "Several stones from the Seven Star Sea." They took my words seriously and came back with three smooth and round pebbles, which they had picked in the dark. 

這世界上也有人會幫你在黑暗裡撿石頭嗎？

In this world, is there someone who picks stones for you in the dark? 

20 minutes / 二十分鐘

今天早上走路去搭捷運時，想到某堂在坎貝爾的課上我和露說：我現在所學的將來可以用在工作上。這學期選了兩本我自己很喜歡的少年小說給學生讀，當初還有想替故事畫插畫的雄心壯志，卻一直未有動作。今早剛好有些蠢蠢欲動，第一堂課要上勞達爾的瑪娣達，於是在捷運上就畫起草稿來了。

On my way to the MRT station this morning, it occurred to me that I had said to Lou in Camberwell that what I was learning then could be applied to my work. This semester I have chosen two of my favorite teenage novels for my students. I even had had the ambition to illustrate them back in summer, but I  never took any action. This morning I felt something stirring in me, and since we were reading Roald Dahl's Matilda during the first period, I seized the time during the metro ride to draw the drafts. 

我把每堂五十分鐘的上課時間定義爲一起生活的光陰，而我總是不甘心就這麼嘮叨過去，我比學生還受不了一成不變的講課，所以如果我可以在當下做些改變，氣氛會很不同。

I define every period of 50 minutes as our time of living together. I am never the type that is satisfied with my own monologue. In fact, I, compared with my students, have very little tolerance for monotonous lecture. I know that if I can come up with something new every day, the atmosphere will feel fresh and lively. 

學生開始分組討論之後，我就開始把這個星期讀到的情節畫在黑板上，之前在dpi雜誌上讀到某些插畫家用粉筆作畫，其實不容易，不過我只有二十分鐘，沒空想那麼多。畫完之後，孩子們也討論完畢，他們很開心地告訴我畫的是哪一部份的故事，喬萱還說，Hortensia太瘦了。

After the girls started their group discussion, I got down to work, trying to draw the main plots of the week onto the blackboard. A few weeks ago I read in dpi Magazine that some illustrators use chalk as their medium, but to be honest, it's not easy to draw with chalk. However, I had no more than 20 minutes, so it was also important to draw fast. After I was done, the girls had finished their discussion. They told me cheerfully about the parts of the story the images correspond to. Joe even said my Hortensia is too skinny. 

下課時大家衝到講台前拍照，我的課結束之後，喬萱上來擦黑板，過了那ㄧ堂課，彷彿什麼都沒有發生過，倒是我一整天頭頂上頂著顆大太陽，而也許當場的十五個孩子二十年後什麼也不記得了，卻依稀有個畫面在心裡⋯

During the break, most girls thronged to take photos with the image on the blackboard. After my two-hour lesson drew to an end, Joe came up to erase it away as if nothing had happened. I did feel the huge bright sun above my head for a whole day. And maybe the fifteen kids present won't remember a thing we talked about today in twenty years, but there might be a blurry picture in their mind when they look back...

Autumn night / 秋夜

秋夜，六歲的孩子在算數學，三歲的孩子在讀英文。

On autumn night, the six-year-old boy is working on math while the three-year-old is studying English.

白天出這些作業的我，一個人吹著涼涼的微風，畫著圖，Keith Jarret的科隆音樂會清亮的史坦威琴聲陪著我，幸福。

I, one of the day-time assignment givers, want to get away from it all and simply enjoy the cool breeze. I draw, surrounded by the bright piano notes of Keith Jarret from his Koln concert. I am tasting the ultimate bliss of solitude.

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...

Paddington Bears / 派丁頓家族

英國的回憶常常在一轉眼或一呼吸中跳出來，有一天我開始叫楷維「派丁頓小熊」，我還上網查了圖片讓他知道自己應該長怎樣，從那之後回到家只要在門外大叫：派丁頓小熊！就會有一個三歲的小孩很奮力地幫我把門推開。這時哥哥問：那我呢？很粗心的阿姨有時會以為哥哥比較成熟，對他的態度就隨便些，我隨口說：你喔！就泰迪熊好了。所以楷維一人推不動門時會大叫：泰迪熊你也來！

Often the memories of the UK jostle me at certain moments. One day I started to call Kai "Paddington Bear." I even showed him the images online to give him a better idea. After that, whenever I come home and call "Paddington Bear!" I will hear a three-year-old shuffle to open the door for me. Then Von asked, "What about me?" I tend to careless with him simply because I think he is elder and mature. I blurted out, "You...You are Teddy Bear." So when Kai can't manage to push open the door, he shouts, "Teddy Bear! Come help me!" 

派丁頓小熊是個小馬屁精，每天說甜甜的話逗得我們很開心，一晚他轉過來對我說：我是你的派丁頓小熊，你是我的派丁頓大熊！再加上那些「好漂亮！」「好厲害！」等等的稱讚，很難不開心。這個週末只不過要出遊兩天，出發前一晚睡前還依依不捨地對我說：我會想你。

Little Paddington Bear is a brown nose. Every day he intoxicates us with sweet talk. One night he said to me, "I am your Little Paddington Bear, and you are my Big Paddington Bear." No one can resist his sincere-sounding compliments such as "So beautiful!" "So good!" This weekend he is taking a two-day trip, and before going to bed, he infused so much feeling into the sentence "I'll miss you!" after saying night night to me. 

可是除了這些，派丁頓小熊時不時也會冒出非常了不起的人生話語，某天他對爸爸說：後退就是前進，前進就是後退⋯然後我就拿這些話去輔導十五歲的女孩。

Apart from these, Little Paddington Bear sometimes comes up with very philosophical words. One day I heard him saying to his dad, "Taking a step back is actually a move forward and vice versa." Then I  found myself saying the same words to fifteen-year-old girls.

相對之下，哥哥有點離我們而去的感覺，小方本來就是個成熟的孩子，現在說話更像大人，對於我的一些舉動他會保留意見，因為我的背景電台從來不是說中文的，這星期格外想念法文，放了一周的法國文化電台節目，弟弟會跟著我喃喃念不懂的語言，哥哥則說：你怎麼老聽這些東西？那神情根本就是爸爸的翻版，他接著說：你之後要去法國嗎？你不要再離開了，我會很想你。難怪我被楷維灌迷湯之際，愛雪會說：小方是實在的好青年。只是這句話用來形容六歲的小孩很怪。

By contrast, Von seems to be farther away from us now. He's always been a mature child, and even so now. He reserves his opinions on some of my acts. For example, I always listen to podcast in other languages than mandarin, and since I really miss French, I've listened to a French culture radio program for a week. Kai will repeat what he doesn't understand after me, but Von says, "How come you always listen to such stuff?" He looks to me the splitting image of his dad at that moment. He then goes on, "Are you going to France afterwards? But I don't want you to go away anymore because I will miss you a lot." No wonder whenever I get carried away by Kai's praise, Mom always inserts her comment, "Well, Von is a down-to-earth good guy." I find it weird to describe a six-year-old in this way though. 

最後我們想了個辦法：把哥哥變成派丁頓中熊，這樣我們三個就可以組成派丁頓家族。大熊的心願就是小熊們不要那麼快長大⋯

In the end we figured out a way--turning Von into Middle Paddington Bear, so we could form the Paddington family. The biggest wish of Big Paddington Bear is that the small bears do not grow up so fast...

As the name suggests / 人如其名

夏天改了名字，把「為」字改成「爲」，本來是想要改掉爛姻緣運，之後我的世界裡依然男性空空如也，但是我越來越感受到新名字的強大力量。

I made some change over my name in summer. Wei is now written in a little bit complicated way, though the pronunciation remains the same. We intended to ask for good luck in love, but since then, there still hasn't been any eligible bachelor in my life, but I have felt the immense power of my new name. 

弟弟去查了字典，「爲」字的意思是母猴，不過還好某天我們發現此字也有幫助的意思，所以我現在的人生好像都一直繞著後者打轉，有些時候我知道自己不要看到或知道很多事，一但知道後就無法坐視不管。

Jun looked up the new word in the dictionary. Wei means female monkey, but it also means "help," which has become a main theme in my life now. Sometimes I wish I didn't see or know so much, because I just can't let things alone without taking any action. 

我喜歡幫助人，這是我在英國的時候最想念的事情之一，不過也請上帝把我的好人卡算在帳上吧！

I like to help people, and it was one of things I missed the most in the UK, but God, could I exchange my brownie points for a really good guy?