The sumimasen of silence

Cultural difference is the longest distance in the world, and the biggest gap between any individual.

Junko san, a dear dear dear friend of mine has recently posted a short article on her blog, blaming an aspect of life in Tokyo, the cosmos-huge mega-metropolitan human agglomeration she recently lost herself in...

Being a mixture of western and oriental culture, Junko san seems to suffer from the "indifference syndrome" that most people in Tokyo as well as the rest of the world is victim of.

Sumimasen, sorry in Japanese, is widely employed and might be the most used word in Japan. Whenever one would like to do something in the presence of others, "sumimasen" is said in order to let people know. At this moment, a reply from the people we are addressing this word is mostly expected, no matter it be a smile, nod or just friendly eye contact.

However, indifference is ruining it all. There is in general no reply at all, and the "sumimasen" is just unheard.

The fencer in the Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF)

Accidents happen all the time in Taiwan's armed forces, all the time. But never have I ever thought that such misfortune could happen to a fencer friend I used to fence with.

I was speechless when I saw his picture on the front page of the evening newspaper in a 7-11, reporting on the disappearance of a twin seater Taiwanese-made Indigenous Defense Fighter of which he was the pilot. The aircraft disappeared at large of Penghu Islands on a duty about dropping bomb.

I felt sad... extremely sad, le cœur gros et la gorge serrée, but tearless.

Few days later, the air force officially announced his death. Short obituaries of him and his co-pilot could be read on online news, which allowed me to know him a little more.

Ever since I became a journalist reporting mainly on Taiwan's military issues, I never stopped blaming such accidents in the armed forces that are mainly due to low readiness and low spirit and inflexible regulations. Few efforts and microscopic improvements have been done since... 

"No comments" that's the only thing military spokesmen say to cover the ugliness behind everything they feel virgin-shy to let know, although they were taught to be courageous and fearless when fighting the enemy.

I think that I will never see him again during fencing competitions. He fenced well.

Jobless

I have been jobless since the first day of this month. The job that I have been doing for exactly two years forced me to quit because of unwise administrational regulations.

I wasn't happy to leave my French colleagues who also liked me, but I am not sad either to get my own real life back... Oh yes! Getting up late, stay up all night reading or plurking, make a lazy coffee at 10:30 a.m. and some oolong tea at 14:30. Everything you can imagine that a completely free individual can do.

It seems like the student in myself suddenly woke up at the dawn of a long vacation, heading for adventure. As soon as I started to take vacations, and of course having my free life, the only thing that I had in mind wasn't to talk to family or meeting up with friends (which of course came later), but to go back to my alma mater and join the fencing team I belonged to since my second year of university.

Two to three times practice is indeed a bit tiring, but to see novice fencers practice and make awkward moves, like I did before, is very amusing. It reminds me of the time I spent with this team, practicing and going to competitions.

I also enjoy coaching. Teaching is already great when students are incapable of doing what you ask them... so it should be even greater when they manage to achieve what I ask them to.

This is pretty much about the free time in my jobless life... like a student.

The Shortcut and the Old Woman

Monotony is one thing I try to avoid the most in my life, like the road I take to link my house and the subway station every morning when I go to work. There are two roads I often take since I started to live here more than one year ago in Peitou, but it's really depressing to see the same things everyday.

By miracle, two weeks ago, I discovered a shortcut. It not only changes the scenery I see everyday, but it also avoid the scorching morning sun. But the most charming element in this shortcut is an old woman who stands under a tree to enjoy the still-fresh morning air.

She also seems to be acquainted to people who walk by and responds to their morning greetings, which I found very human, and warm. I wanted my part of warmth too, and one day, I smiled at her and waved my hand. To my surprise and delight, she smiled back and wished my a good day and told me in a caring way to be very careful when I cross the street. That made my day !

I am happy to find this shortcut, and this old woman. At the beginning, I often forget to take this shortcut, but ever since I started to receive good mood from this charming old woman, I never forget to take it and wouldn't miss helloing her. I love shortcuts.

Big bang !! The Junkoes are in town !!

My friend Junko received the visit of another friend of hers, Junko from Tokyo, Japan, this weekend. So this weekend is the "Junko and Junko Weekend". The Junkoes are in town !!

During the weekend, I got to meet with the visiting Junko who taught me the newest-latest slang used it Shibuya, Tokyo. My memory doesn't allow me to remember all the slangs she taught me, but she initiated me the words Shibuya people use to describe different degree of feeling, and th

e highest of all is "Big Bang".

For instance, if I want to say that a ramen is super tasty, like the best ramen I've ever had in the world in my life, it won't be "sugoi oichii" or "chio oishii" anymore. It has to be "Big bang oishii".

The visiting Junko came along with their mutual friend Aya, here at the center of the picture.

Despite the typhoon that sort of followed them here, bringing violent winds and rain, Aya and Junko spent their time strolling on Taipei's streets, shopping and eating.

We also went to Luxy, one of the most frequented and appreciated night clubs in Taipei's night life. You can read more in my friend, Marcus' blog about this. Marcus is a keen hip hop dancer who teaches English in Taipei.

Typhoon Vacation

Finally, we're having a typhoon vacation this year ! It has been a long time islanders here haven't had any day off due to typhoon. We didn't get to have a holiday when the previous typhoon visited Taiwan two weeks ago, but with the coming of this one, Fung-Wong, we finally get a typhoon holiday.

Typhoon vacations are most expected among office workers, students, salarymen and salarywomen and other categories of white/blue collars who would like to do something of their own when they're off work.

Although it is nice to have a day off, the coming of a typhoon often causes unwanted damages, mostly in agriculture and transport sectors. While we're laying back at our home, many others are struggling out there for their living, or helping others.

Ahem, while I am enjoying my day off home, I hope that there won't be too much damage as Fung-Wong, which means "Phoenix", passes by.

Pandora's box

There is a part of my past deeply buried in my Pandora's box. I have long forgotten about this part of my past that started in January 1989. I hated it. I really did.

Now it seems that I have to reopen it, because of an encounter last month on the MRT, when to my biggest surprise, my junior high school Chinese teacher whom I haven't seen for 18 years shouted out my name without hesitation.

All the memories from that time surfaced to the deep blue sea of my unwanted past. The feeling of being laughed at, being rejected and isolated, being far from an environment I would die to be in... The feeling of being unhappy because I just didn't want to be there.

I still remember the feeling of the dust from the playground on my wooden little desk, among 50 others. The feeling of wearing a uniform. The feeling of being beaten on my both palms. The smell of the sweat after running to the class and the sound of mischievous laughters from people teasing at someone.

Maybe I have to open it, and kill the bad memory in it. Or should I just burn the Pandora's box, and forget again about this past? You who are reading these lines, tell me what to do...

Dear students, dear friends, be ambitious !!

My dear students, my dear friends,

Tonight is the last time I meet you as a teacher. After I give you your final grade before summer vacation, I will no more be your teacher.

I hope then that we keep contact as friends. From that moment, you will have to call me by my name (which is given to me for this purpose), and not professor (which I have never been familiar with). Please feel free to contact me through the channels I gave you, I will be opened to all your requests (if they're reasonable). Do not hesitate to set an appointment with me for a meal, a beer, some non-hollywood movie, or a nice coffee afternoon.

You have given me a wonderful time every Tuesday evening. And I believe I have received more from you than what I gave you, the mere little things that I didn't stop repeating.

Of course, no one is perfect. I was shy and awkward at the beginning of the semester (this happens every beginning of semester), and sometimes I lost my patience. But you as a student, should participate more. You are all students in journalism, no matter you be a journalist or not in the future, it is important and primordial that you provide critical and analytical opinions. Even if you doubt on what your teacher says, it's absolutely okay. That's how society and history progresses (according to Machiavelli ??), and that's what freedom 0f speech is.

You have given me so much, my dear students.

After summer vacation, you will be counting the days before graduation. Lots of challenges are ahead, waiting for you! Be ambitious to influence the world with whatever you have in your hands, be it a keyboard or a microphone (or a glass of beer)!

I love you all.

Your friend, Taijing

Ramen, I love ramen. Slurp =P

I have been told since my most tender childhood that it is not decent to slurp while you sit at a table eating. This rule doesn't apply to Japanese people. They slurp while eating ramen, the Japanese style noodle.

I love ramen in Japan!! They taste so different than that I have tried in my country Taiwan. What I like to do is to admire the ramen shop owner's skills while they prepare this Japanese spaghetti in front of you, over the counter. Behind the steamy fog, the ramen maestro dredges up the noodles with grace and dexterity, and carefully puts it in a bowl of broth. Yummy :P

There was one evening, on my lone trip, when I visited Shibuya. Being tired and with camera batteries depleted, I rejoiced upon finding a ramen shop and rushed in! Ooooh !! Yummy ramen !!

After taking a sexy picture of my food, I started eating it with the manners my mom taught me. Sitting strait, rolling my noodles with chopsticks like Italian spaghetti... and not slurping. At this moment, a young lady started to laugh at me, making sounds like "huhuhuh".

I gave her a friendly question mark with my eyebrows, my mouth full of tasty ramen. She responded by a slurp with a move of her hand with fingers in the position of chopsticks. Then she laughed again. My ignorance of such table manner seemed to amuse her greatly, which made me happy.

So I started to slurp my noodles, with few success. I think I need practice more often. The lady could very easily eat her ramen by slightly slurping it, and the noodles would disappear... in her mouth. But no matter how hard I slurp, well, the ramen just hanged there. Ahem, I am glad that my mom didn't see me like this.

The lady really burst out laughing when I choked myself while slurping. Okay, then I gave up. The ramen was really tasty !!

Later on, I had some more when I flew to Sapporo. Back in Taiwan, I started to choose ramen shops carefully, because I already know how the "real" ones taste.

I think I need more practice slurping ramen, therefore, I have to go back to Japan !!

Goodbye Ling Ling... 安息吧，陵陵。

By Taijing Wu
Fake Reporter

Ling Ling, the giant panda of Tokyo's Ueno Park Zoo died of heart failure April 30, leaving its fans of all age in deep sorrow. He was 22 years and seven months old.

Originary from China, Ling Ling was born on the 5th of September 1985 and started to serve at Ueno Park Zoo on the 5th November 1992, when he was seven years old.

The zoo started to keep giant pandas since 1972, when the Chinese government gave Japan Kang Kang and Lan Lan. Since then, giant pandas became the site's main attraction.

Optimistic political analysts depict this loss as an opportunity to break the diplomatic ice between the Empire of the Rising Sun and the "Empire du millieux"(another appelation of China in French, more litterary), with the recent visit of Chinese Premier Hu Jintao, as he proposed to lease two other giant pandas.

But reactions are not always positive.

The price proposed by Hu Jintao for the pair of giant pandas is about one million US$. News reports said that Hu mentionned leasing two other pandas to the zoo while he was meeting Emperor Akihito. During the conversation, he said he hopes Japanese people keep on appreciating pandas, and he would like to make it possible that these two countries commonly study pandas; therefore he would like to provide a new pair of pandas, and that kids would keep on admiring this kind of animal.

Well, probes on public opinions seems to reflect more cons than pros... This is a problem that the Fukuda cabinet has to solve... Let's see what happens then.

Mother's Day

It was Mother's Day, it was dramatic. I wouldn't want to survive such an atmosphere ever again. My mom had a sort of disagreement with my brother which triggered her temper and stormed out of the house without precising where she goes in the afternoon to comeback only close to midnight.

Yes, yes. Mothers are delicate creatures and if one doesn't handle with care, consequences can be extremely harmful.

That day, I woke up quite early in the morning and took advantage of the nice weather to go out take pictures on Yang Ming Shan. I went to 陽明書院, one of the residences of late Taiwan president Chiang Kai-shek. Although it is forbidden to take pictures in the residence, where late CKS received diplomats of all countries, I still managed to take some in the back of our guide.

In the first picture, the late president looks like batman in his portrait.

The room in the second picture is where he received and decided whether a military personnel would be promoted to general. This room has five doors that allows him to run away asap if someone (there should have been many at that time) wanted his life.

And this is the toilet that Madame CKS used. Everything inside is pink. Apparently, this couple didn't sleep on the same bed and used different bathrooms. Madame CKS' bathroom is pink-colored and her husband's is white-light blue.

Madame's bed is a single bed, while in the adjacent husband's room, the bed is a luxurious one for two people.

When I went home and was preparing to meet Thomas and James, my mom was already very unhappy, so I quickly rushed out to avoid being involved.

Sunday Cycling

Taiwan's a world leader in the bike industry, and Taiwanese are proud of that!

On Sunday, me and my friends, Junko, James, Thomas and Ken decided to make a bicycle trip to Bali by crossing the Tamsui River on the famous Kuandu Bridge.

The sun was sort of torrid, but our spirits were high... um, at least at the beginning. The ever-poised Junko likes to take pictures almost as much as I do.

The happy bicycle company met up at Kuandu Temple, our rally point where we took a copious lunch together, throwing jokes at each other.

Arrived at Bali's wharf, James, Thomas and Ken continued to the anthropology museum not far from there while I decided to go home, as I had something alse to do. Everyone seemed to have had great cycling fun!

The trip ended with a few sunburns for us. Poor Junko, she seems to have her nose a little burned by the sun. I should be more thoughtful and take care of my cycling mates next time!!

Summer is coming

I finally decided that I should join the blogging community... after my trip to Japan, meeting Mimi and her husband Sylvain.
Summer is around the corner, and on this island called Taiwan, summer can sometimes be so torrid at such an extent to withdraw all the energy one has. Right now I am planning a trip to Wang An island, a little island belonging to the Penghu archipelago, at large Taiwan's west coast.