Friendships... Long-term & Long-distance Ones

It's incredible feeling when you meet some friends of yours again and everything's the same as it was even though you haven't seen each other for year or more. I feel like it was yesterday when we said good bye to each other and here we are today again. I'm really enjoying that and I'm grateful for this kind of friendship. Somehow this can help me forget about time. And about the distance too, because since I'm closer to some friends of mine now I got more far from the others.

This already happened with Ieva and Nils back in these old days. And now... for instance Rosita. I remember the last day when I saw her in May 2005. I went to her place, we were talking for a while, then took a few picture together and -- said good bye. It hit me more then I was expecting, I spent long time afterwards thinking about the fact she just left back to Hong Kong and realizing I already miss her so badly. Then, fast forwarding to January 2007, and we are standing at Wan Chai, Hong Kong island, hugging each other and it's back.

Look up -- there is always someone watching you, treating you well and thinking of you. You might wave, give him a wink or just smile back...

Thanks my friends to you all~

^.^ k.

Mainland Jump-off

I spent the vacation time between semesters in mainland visiting my friends. Just in one month and one day -- I've learned more then in previous several months (not talking about the school stuff :-) ), felt overmassaged, and I've started seriously thinking about changing my major. Also I've been expecting unexpected, enjoying and listening to Mike's freestylin' and picking up his phrases and vocabs -- Sleepy Sleepy Yo!, not planning too much, having New Year in China, eating plenty of food&drinking many kinds of 奶茶 (Năi chá - Milk Tea), making new friends and losing the old one, earning money and spending more, and observing and trying to understand Chinese culture.


For some, I was a foreigner, like a boyscout, teacher, roommate, tourist, friend and a boring guy for somebody else. As for myself, I've been still the same person looking all around, hanging out, thinking, asking tons a questions, and looking for the conclusions impossible to make.

Basically I was having great time and non-stop politics/economics class at once. I've been also listening to Mandarin and having feeling it sounds somehow familiar unlike the last week having fun with Cantonese. For last four days I've been to Hong Kong again and were totally amazed and impressed by that city -- I need more!

For the conclusion -- are there any lessons which I've learned during that month? For sure I won't let ever happen several things again. I've promised myself not to:

• Lost my passport with re-entry permit and visa in it.
• Make any effort to try understand Qimin again unless I've got fluent Mandarin (and preferably majoring in psychology).
• Climb the rock without a valid travel insurance (and just with the casual shoes).
• Get arrested for hiking by the soldiers for a while.

When I got back I had many things to sort out on my mind, it took some time to fully realize I'm not on the road anymore. I was so confused that I've been wondering every morning for few days where I actually am. Though it was easy to recognize I'm already back -- nobody were staring at me, glad for that :-)


^.^ k.

Don'ts

There are some gifts which you shouldn't give. If you wrap a clock 鐘 (zhōng), doesn't matter how nicely, and give to someone 送鐘 (sòng zhōng), it sounds as 送終 (sòng zhōng), the end, death. Which is actually quiet unpleasant present.

The same goes with the umbrella. In Chinese, the umbrella is 傘 (săn) sharing the same sound&tone with 散, to separate. Of course, this making any umbrellas totally wrong gift to your partner...

Pear isn't so bad, though can be still dangerous under certain circumstances. Why? Pear is in Chinese 梨 (lí) and the same sound is also to leave, 離.

Another interesting and similar language-related examples might be: number four 四 (sì) is similar to 死 (sĭ), death, die (well, the tone is different here!). The consequences are like that -- if you're choosing your cell number you can see a lot of options with 4s involved and hardly any without this number. At some places, there is no 4th floor or apartment with the same number (especially in Hong Kong) they will just use for instance 3B instead.

Another obvious example -- character 春 (chūn) which means spring and can be seen at many places during Chinese New Year (Spring Festival).

Put it simply upside down, 倒 (dào), and since 到 (dào), to arrive, has got the same sound, you will get the meaning "spring is coming".


^.^ k.

Night at the Lab

You all know that kind of situation -- the deadline is coming soon and you have to finish your work for sure. What you can do? Save some time and don't "waste" it on going back and forth to your place -- sleep in the lab! :-) No big deal due to perfectly equipped lab. Need to say this isn't so usual, only one guy is doing that in my lab regularly (he study really hard and he's got a nickname HardKid), though you can meet people in the lab in almost every day and night time. It makes perfect sense especially considering hard working people here and Chinese habit stay up late after midnight.

It's possible also to sleep just on three or four chairs, but this is quite close to torturing yourself. And they were looking at me as a weird person when I took a couch into my place in the University back in Europe...


Personally I'm staying in the lab all night long seldom, only when it's really necessary -- it has pretty heavy impact on the day after.

^.^ k.


Soundtrack: Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams

Second Floor

I already saw many kinds of parking places for cars and high-capacity storage carousels for them as well, though it was first time when I've seen anything similar for bicycles. One can find it close to 劍潭 (Jiàntán) MRT station and they've built lately another in 公館 (Gōngguăn) station too (that's the place where I took a picture).


You can park roughly as twice bikes as before and it seems to be way more organized (and instruction table is available), you will just miss fun taking out your bike from the huge pack :-)

k.


Soundtrack: Moby - Lift Me Up

Weekend With... Ys

Time to try something new. Joanna Newsom and her Ys. Basically it's all about her voice, the lyrics, perhaps better to say stories, and the harp with backing orchestral arrangements. Her voice is sort of recalling Björk (though that impression wasn't so strong as when I heard Gollum's Song by Emiliana Torrini during The Two Towers final credits).

I see the blossoms broke and wet after the rain
Little sister, he will be back again
I have washed a thousand spiders down the drain
Spiders ghosts hang soaked and dangelin'
Silently from all the blooming cherry trees
In tiny nooses, safe from everyone
- nothing but a nuisance; gone now, dead and done
Be a woman, be a woman!

She asked me for the attention. I cannot just sat back and ignore her as she's offering two simple options -- join her or let her walk away. One of best moments: two vocals at the end of Only Skin.

Recommended for night listeners...

k.

Thin Yellow Line

As usually in subway, in Taipei MRT system (Mass Rapid Transit) there is a line on the platform which you shouldn't cross. In the most frequent stations, there is even barrier with automated doors between the platform and railtrack. At some places one can see staff with whistle supervising the traffic (on the other hand, there are no "pushers" with white gloves which you can see in Japan). The entire system seems to be very well organized.


The others noticeable features are the screens all around the platform announcing ETA for the next train (perhaps the main reason is to make people watch the ads going on over and over) and the fact that train is suppose to stop each time at the certain place. Then, people waiting for the train in small line-ups (see the white stripe -- 候車線 (hòu chē xiàn)) can just walk in.

k.


Soundtrack: Fatboy Slim - Right Here, Right Now