Sorry-ology

  I had kept this mattress cover for about fifteen or sixteen years. It was acquired in a traditional market near my maiden home, when I returned to Taiwan for the first time after my partner and I purchased our house in the current place.  My mother and I went grocery shopping in the traditional market as we would do usually, if I was in Taichung. Traditional markets are wondrous places where one can get everything for his/her everyday life. It was a place where my mother would shower her love on me by answering whatever needs I had; it was also the only place where I could express my affection to her by accompanying her in the lonely journey that she made everyday.  After my partner and I were able to settle down in a house, it was the first time for us to have a double bed. My mother and I went into the market and searched for some bedding fabric to furnish the marriage bed. My mother loves exuberant colors, and we agreed to get this set of a mattress cover, a pair of ...

  5/March/2025 The Singing Mermaid , by Julia Donaldson I woke up early to rehearse today's reading and had made efforts to perform the drama as much as I could imagine the way the performance should be. The twist in the story is a typical surprise of Donaldson's stories, and I have loved it. The twist is also the timing when the story becomes suddenly clear to an audience, who might not understand the language too much. I made efforts to engage their attention with different voices and acting. Perhaps it works. The simplicity of the drama still played the key, I think. A good story, when well-performed, can always attract readers. 

  24/Jan/2025 Zodiac Animals of Lunar Years , by Lai Ma I am not very sure if this was a good choice this time. Listening to an well-known oriental folklore in a new language can raise the level of comprehension of young audience. However, I think I was somehow lost in the middle of the reading event this time, forgetting what I wanted to do through the monthly reading events.  When I newly joined the group, I set the goal for myself that I would read to children in an unknown language, even if they do not understand, it is ok to just enjoy the sounds. However, when I read Lai Ma's Zodiac Animals , I was burdened with a cultural mission (the Lunar New Year was near) and constrained by the anxiety over the audience's comprehension. I added my awkward Japanese translation here and there, and I also gave a small quiz about different zodiac animals in different Asian cultures. All of these efforts went fine, but I felt quite lost and disappointed by myself somehow.  Reading i...

 6/Nov/2024 I Want My Hat Back, by Jon Klassen

  July/2024

May/2024 I joined a read-for-kids group in T’s elementary school last month. It is a group of parents volunteering to read to school children in the morning once or twice a month. Last Wednesday, I read Ten Eggs, a picture book in Taiwanese, for my debut. The choice was not casual; on both language and identity front, it was a thoughtful pick and a political one. I also wished to make the occasion a window for children to hear a world of many languages with a hope that they will develop a friendly awareness of a world of different people, especially people of minor languages. Reading in a language that is entirely alien to a class of 9-year-olds was a challenge, so I told them to just listen to the sounds. The children were more receptive and welcoming than I had imagined, and their ears were not yet fossilized by the consciousness of meanings. They even started to imitate the sounds I made toward the end of the session. Meandering through the languages in my linguistic repertoire, I h...

  T began to practice calligraphy in elementary school this year, 2024. He is a third-grader now. 2024 is the year he had the homework of "the first writing" (書初め) for the new year's day.  He was more excited about choosing a case for calligraphy kit than the writing itself. The lack of patience in whatever that requires time naturally renders calligraphy a torture to him, I feel. He did not know how much I had looked forward to the day that we would sit side by side, write calligraphy together and chat like two normal human beings.  For several years in elementary school, I commuted to a calligraphy school in a home classroom near my maiden home.  I can still recall the smell of ink, the green space outside the house, and the sensory experiences of writing in a square space hearing the sound of rain drops. I remember the classroom was always quiet. It is never like the noisy chats and complaints that T made next to me. In those years when I was practicing calligraph...