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This is one of my favorite movies, The Legend of 1900. There is one spot in this movie that I am very surprised at what the actor, I mean 1900 said.
He said “Big city. You just couldn’t see an end to it. The end…please? You please just show me where it ends? It was all very fine on that gangway. And I was grand too in my overcoat. I cut quite a figure. And I was getting off. Guaranteed. That’s wasn’t the problem. It wasn’t what I saw stopped me, Max. It was what I didn’t see. Understand? What I didn’t see. In all that srawling city there was everything except an end. There was no end. What I didn’t was where the whole thing came to an end. The end of the world. You take a piano. Keys begin. The keys end. You know there are eighty-eight of them. Nobody tell you any different. They are not infinite. You are infinite. And on those keys, the music that you can make is infinite. I like that, that I can live by. You can get me up on that gangway and you roll out in front of me a keyboard of millions and billions of keys that never end. And that’s the truth, Max. They never end. That keyboard is infinite. And if the keyboard is infinite then there is no music you can play. You’re sitting on the wrong bench. That’s God’s piano. Christ, did you see the streets? Just the streets! There were thousands of them. How do you do it down there? How do you choose just one? One woman. One house. One piece of land to call your own landscape to look at. One way to die? All that world just weighing down on you. You don’t even know where it comes to an end. I mean, aren’t you ever just scared of breaking apart at the thought of it? At the enormity of living it? I was born in this ship. And the world passed me by. But thousands people at a time. And there were wishes here. But never fit between prow and stern. You played out your happiness, but on a piano that was no infinite. I learned to live that way. Land? Land is a ship too big for me. It’s a woman too beautiful. It’s a voyage too long, perfume too strong. It’s music I don’t know how to make. I could never get off this ship. At best, I can step off my life. After all, I don’t exist for anyone. You are the exception, Max. You are the only one who knows I’m here. You’re a minority. And you’d better get used to it. Forgive me, my friend, but I’m not getting off.”
That’s what he said to his friend, Max, while Max finally found he still on that ship which was going to explode within only couple hours later. He said a lot about his own opinion of life. And I agree most of them, especially the part he talked about the “Land”. I agree that the land I used to live is kind of too large for me to fit in. I still have all kinds of problems to figure out when I am playing the game people have made me to play. I found it ridiculous that I have to play the game before I say that damn yes! They have already set up every law and regulation which they call them traditions and then put you into their own game. And there are only two ways you can probably choose: Quit the game and you will find that you will be blamed by a lot of people, even your friends, and your families. Or you still follow those ridiculous rules as they tell you to do so, losing you freedom, your imagination, and your soul. I am in a dilemma, and you?
I want to be free and also be a good kid, or perhaps I have already needed to be a good adult. I don’t know. Though I am glad I will have a brand new college life within few weeks later, I am still afraid that I have to continue playing this kind of game. I don’t want my life to become a gambling. I am tired of following all these rules…Please set me free!
By Alice 07/21/09
As the proverb says, “Diligence is the mother of success.” Whether one will success or not depends on one’s diligence rather than on one’s intelligence. A diligent person will make good use of his time, working hard to reach his goal, while an idle fellow will fool around without doing anything, losing his opportunity to be successful.
So cultivate one’s diligence is very important. First, we must rid of our bad habits of laziness. “Never put off till tomorrow what we can do today.” Second, as far as I am concerned, God assigned us to the earth must have his reason. He hoped us can finish the task he gave us and learn how to be diligent from it. So we must be hard-working in order to make the most of the mission.
To sum up, of diligence and intelligence, the former is more important than the latter. “No pains, no gains.” The more diligent we are, the more successful we become.
Last Friday, Sien, Kerry and I went to “Bible Studying”. We went there and hoped to join this activity two weeks ago, but found that it was not opened. So, we went there again and had a great time. Let me share with you.
First, we sang some songs that are about God’s love with others. Everyone’s voice wafted around the room. People come from different places and have different backgrounds; however, we sang in one language and one sound. It was really amazing that people’s singing can be that loud together. It really touched me, though I don’t know why.
After singing together, the host invited friends who took part in the activity for the first time to stand up and shake hands with others in order to welcome us. And then, we were separated into several classes, depending on our English proficiency. For us, we chose Hazzal’s class. As the teacher of freshmen, Hazzal taught us a lot of things about the Bible. She told us some stories about who wrote the Bible and what the Bible is. We enjoyed the stories and, most of all, I liked to interact with Hazzal (why?). Since I am a Christian. I have read the stories in the Bible before and my father told us storied about God too, so I felt familiar with with those stories. I talked a lot to share that evening. Perhaps the others considered me noisy because of this.
But time flied, two hours soon passed. We finished Lesson One and had a pray together before we went on. And as soon as we moved our steps, Hazzal reminded us that there were all kinds of desserts for us to enjoy. But time is late, we walked through crowds and said goodbye to the friends we met today. We hoped we can come here next time…….
Bible Studying is a good activity for me to release my bad feelings, especially while we are singing together; I really feel the love among people. Life pace in a big city becomes faster and faster, and people have few chance to relax their soul, so this kind of activity is good for people. We can not only relax and make friends with others, but also improve our English. As the proverb said “Kill two birds with one stone”, is really helpful, isn’t it?
Do you want to join us? Do you know that there is life after death? Join us next time, you will find out the answer of life you have sought for a long time. “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” Psalm119:105
Written by Alice Spancer
May 23, 2008, 10:00PM
A rainy day on October 20th, 1990, an expectant mother gave a birth to a small baby girl in the MacKay Hospital. It was me, and it was the start of my abundant life.
After giving a birth to me, my parents decided to move back to the small but booming city – Taipei, for my mother consider it a place which could provide me with better education. I grow up in a lovely family. There are four members in my family, including Dad, Mom and my little brother. All the family members have been close to one another. Most of all, my parents and we children are like friends. Now, let me introduce them one by one.
First, Dad. He has great sense of humor but doesn’t have a good voice. Though he can’t sing well, he does love singing! My father is the model in my life. He teaches me a lot of things. For example, he teaches me to be on time for every meeting or date. “It’s impolite to keep others waiting for you!” my dad always says that, and I always keep it in my mind, so I become a person who is never late unless there is something emergent. Second, another family member – my mom, takes care of my brother and me thoughtfully. She always prepares the best things for us. For example, she prepares fruit for us every day, and we have never eaten fruit which is not sweet. Last, my brother, he is the most kind-hearted guy I have ever seen. He never talks to me too loudly. It’s not because he is afraid of me, but simply because he doesn’t want get into an argument with me. My family are my angels. They always support me to do things I want all the time and encourage me to try different things in life. As a result, I become brave enough to pursue my dreams and never give them up. Without them, I may not able to stand up again after I fell down. They are my one and only family, which is the most precious present I got from God.
When it comes to me, my friends always say while I am laughing, the smile on my face is cute and infectious, so I can make everyone laugh with me. But when I don’t have any smile on my face, they always think I am in a bad mood or that there’s something bothering me. Besides, they regard me as an optimistic girl, a person who always looks on the bright side of life. It’s true that friends’ opinions, though not 100% correct, serve as a mirror that reflects my personality But to be honest, I don’t know what kind of person I am.. Different from the opinion that my friends see me, I think I am not an optimistic person, because I usually hide my bad feeling inside me and do not want to show them to others. Besides, I am a perfectionist and always want to seek the number one in groups. I try hard to become better and better. On one hand, it is good for me, because I can progress; on the other hand, I never have enough rest and don’t treat myself well. Anyway, I am still trying to find a way which can help me understand myself better.
Though I mentioned above that I don’t really know myself pretty well, I am sure about what I enjoy doing. I have many hobbies. Take reading for example; I never forget to read while I am busy. Reading a novel can help me relax myself, especially the novels which are about the love between family members. But in most of my friends’ eyes, it seems that there is only studying in my life. For me, my life is not only studying, but also tasting something special and exciting. Life really means something to me. I treasure it very much and it’s a special adventure. So my philosophy of life is “making myself happy,” which is the most important thing in my life. Though sometimes I might look on the dark side of life, most of time I still keep myself happy. I meet all kinds of people, experience all kinds of exciting activities and savor all senses of taste.
Right now, I’m studying in Taipei Municipal Lishan High School. I think Lishan is a good place to study in. The learning activities in Lishan are interesting and they give me a lot of chances to explore. I joined the tennis club when I was a ten-grade student. I love to play tennis with others, and make a lot of good friends in the club. But, when I became an eleven-grade student, I have no time for extracurricular activities. I am too busy on my homework. Though I really want to find some time to get together with that group of friends, I can never afford it. Even if I study so hard that I feel tired everyday, Lishan is just like a limitless sky for my dream flying in. And it means a lot to me. In the school, I have made a lot of friends. But only few of them can be bosom friends of mine. I can totally trust them and tell them whatever I think. It’s really good to have such those true-hearted friends in my life. They are just like my brothers and sisters, and we share everything with each other. Without them, I can’t image what my world will be.
Next, I want to talk about my future. Though a lot of students might already have their ambition, I still don’t know what I am going to do or what I am going to be. It’s not because I didn’t think about it before; it’s just because I have too many choices in front of me. Maybe I will become a businessperson, a job that my mom wants me to do. Or maybe, I will become an owner of a coffee shop, making coffee and chatting with my customers. Perhaps, I will travel all over the world, broadening my horizon and vision. I haven’t decided what I want to do at this moment. But, one thing is for sure, I want to do the job that can have interaction with others, especially with all kinds of people.
Imagine myself 10 years into the future; I will be in a place which has beautiful view and peaceful environment. I will have an ordinary life. And maybe every morning I can have short walk near my house, and in the afternoon, I might have time to have an afternoon tea with birds and trees. My work hour is flexible so that I can choose my work time and arrange the vacation or trips easily. That will be my life, peaceful and relaxing. So I guess I have to study harder and harder to attend my goal. If I have the talent to do such a job, I can have the life I want. And I can take my job as my hobby, then I will enjoy my job and life very much.
Written by Alice Spancer
1. When and where were you born? A rainy day on October 20th, 1990, an expectant mother gave a birth to a small baby girl in the MacKay Hospital. It was me, the special girl in the world.
2. Where do you live? I live in a small but flourishing city – Taipei. It is the capital city in Taiwan.
3. What kind of family you grow up in? I grow up in a lovely family, in which all family members have been close to one another. Most of all, my parents and we children are like friends.
4. How is your family? When it comes to my father, he has a great sense of humor but doesn’t have a good voice. He can’t sing well. Another family member – my mom, takes care of my brother and me thoughtfully. She always prepares the best things for us. For example, she prepares fruit for us every day, and we have never eaten fruit which is not sweet. And my brother is the most kind-hearted guy I have ever seen. He never talks to me too loudly. I love him very much.
5. What influences they have on you? I have to say, my family are my angles. They always support me to do the things I want all the time and encourage me to try different things in life. So I can be brave to pursue my dream.
6. What kind of person you are in your friends’ eyes? My friends say while I am laughing, the smile on my face is cute and infectious. So I can make everyone laugh with me. But when I don’t have no smile on my face, they always think I am in a bad mood or that there’s something bothering me. Besides, they regard me as an optimistic gir, a person who always look on the bright side of life.
7. How do you see yourself? Honestly speaking, I don’t know what kind of person I am, but my friends’ opinions , though not 100% correct, serve as a mirror that reflects my personality. I don’t really understand myself so I still have to try to find out a way which can help me know myself more and more clear. Different from the opinion that my friends see me, I think I am not an optimistic person, because I usually hide my bad feeling inside me and do not want to show them to others. Besides, I am a perfectionist and always want to seek the number one in groups. I try hard to become better and better. On one hand, it is good for me, because I can progress; on the other hand, I never have enough rest and don’t treat myself well.
8. What your interests or your hobbies? I have all kinds of hobbies. Take reading for example; I never forget to read some books that I like while I am busy. I think reading a novel can help me relax myself, but most of my friends don’t agree with me. Maybe, in their eyes, there is only studying in my life. But I really like to read novels, especially the novels which are about the love between family members.
9. What do you think school means to you? Right now, I’m studying in Taipei Municipal Lishan High School. I think Lishan is a good place to study in. And it means a lot. The learning activities it provides are interesting and they give me a lot of chances to explore. Lishan is just like a limitless sky for my dream flying in.
10. What kind of student are you? To be honest, I think I am not really a hard-working student. Though I do study hard, sometimes I still spend a lot of time playing computer games or chatting with others on the Internet. And when it comes to the achievement that I did in the school, I don’t perform as well as other students like Carter or Jocelyn. So I don’t think I am a good student.
11. How do you make your school day go by? My school day is pretty routine. I don’t need to plan any activity in the school, because there is a regular schedule for us to have classes and all kinds of activities. We are not as free as the students in the western countries. They have more selective courses than we do. So, I consider that my school day is kind of regular and doesn’t have anything very special.
12. Are there any significant teachers or role models in your life? I think my father is the model in my life. He teaches me a lot of things. For example, he teaches me to be on time for every meeting or date. “It’s impolite to keep others waiting for you!” my dad always says that.
13. Have you taken part in ant extracurricular activities? Yes, I like to make friends in the extracurricular activities. I joined the tennis club when I was a ten-grade student. I love to play tennis with others, and I make a lot of good friends in the club. But, when I became an eleven-grade student, I have no time for extracurricular activities. I am too busy on my homework. Though I really want to find some time to get together with that group of friends, I can never afford it.
14. How you have changed over time in the process of receiving education? In the past, I was the person who thought friends never hurt you. But since I became a senior high school student, a lot of things have happen to me and to my friends. That makes me understand human nature more. There are always some bad ideas in everyone’s mind. Sometimes you can trust your friends, but sometimes you have to be careful not to believe all the things that your friends do or say.
15. What does life mean to you? Life is the most precious gift that God gives me. I treasure it very much and it’s a special adventure. I meet all kinds of people, experience all kinds of exciting activities and savor all senses of taste. So it really means something to me.
16. Are you happy or sad? Am I happy or sad? It depends on the things I face. There is always something that can make me sad, while there are always other things that can make me happy. But most of time, I am pretty happy.
17. Do you have a lot of friends or just a few at school? What do they mean to you? I have a lot of friends in a lot of places. But only few of them can be bosom friends of mine. I can totally trust them and tell them whatever I think. It’s really good to have such those true-hearted friends in my life. They are just like my brothers and sisters, and we share everything with each other. Without them, I can’t image what my world will be.
18. What is you philosophy of life? I think life is the most precious present I got from God, and it is also the most wonderful journey. So my philosophy of life is “making myself happy,” which is the most important thing in my life. Though sometimes I might look on the dark side of life, most of time I still keep myself happy.
19. What do you think the future will be like? I can’t and I afraid to image my life in the future. I know everyone says that it’s wonderful to have dreams, but I am a realist. I don’t think I should make my future too visionary. I just need to grab the opportunity I want and do the things I need to do right now. My future will be wonderful foe sure.
20. What is your ambition? Or what is your future goal? A lot of students might already have their ambition; however, I still don’t know what I am going to do or what I am going to be. It’s not because I didn’t think about it before; it’s just because I have too many choices in front of me. I haven’t decided what I want to do at this moment. But, one thing is for sure, I want to do the job that can have interaction with others, especially with all kinds of people.
21. Project yourself 10 years into the future. What do you hope you will be doing? Well, maybe I will become a businessperson, a job that my mom wants me to do. Or maybe, I will become an owner of a coffee shop, making coffee and chatting with my customers. Perhaps, I will travel all over the world, broadening my horizon and vision.
22. Where will you be? How will you be living? I imagine that I will be in a place which has beautiful view and peaceful environment when I become 27. I will have an ordinary life. And maybe every morning I can have short walk near my house, and in the afternoon, I might have time to have an afternoon tea with birds and trees. My work hour is flexible so that I can choose my work time and arrange the vacation or trips easily. That will be my life, peaceful and relaxed.
23. What efforts should you make to realize this vision? I guess I have to study harder and harder to attend my goal. If I have the talent to do such a job, I can have the life I want. And I can take my job as my hobby, than I will enjoy my job and life very much.
Last Thursday, Alice took us to the Studio Classroom. We were all excited and nervous. This activity was the one we had looked forward to for a long time.
We took the bus to the destination. As soon as we arrived, Sylvia Chao received us with a big smile and let Miss Chang introduced the Studio Classroom to us. She played a film which is an introduction of Studio Classroom in the briefing room. After that, Miss Chang told us that the Studio Classroom was founded 45 years ago. I was so surprised that I couldn’t believe my ears. This magazine has helped many students to improve their English skills in Taiwan. And the most important of all, it has been our friends for life. Maybe it also has been our parents’ friends, too.
Afterwards, we visited the Studio. When Camble and another tall guy recorded the program, we went into, saying hello and taking pictures with them. But the most interesting thing is not taking pictures or having conversation with them. It was talking to Hazzel. She made a lot of fun jokes and did some big action in order to attract our attention and to try to make us feel like home. Perhaps, we looked a little nervous, I guessed.
Last part of the activity is to play with Liz and Steve. When it comes to Steve, he is one of my favorite teachers in the Studio Classroom, not only because he has a good voice, but also has a great sense of humor. We played two games, called “find friends” and “guess words.” We had a great time and all did a good job. Steve asked some interesting questions to check whether we cheated or not. But, of course, we “Didn’t”. Right? Ha!
Before we left, Liz and Steve said something to us. Perhaps, you didn’t hear it, but it really got my attention. “We want to be your friends of life.” Their voice touched my mind. Yeah, Studio Classroom really helps us. They hold all kinds of activities and try to let this world prettier. They also spread God’s love to all the people in Taiwan. Moreover, I could feel the atmosphere in Studio Classroom is surely happy. Everyone there wears smile on face when they meet guests. It really lets me feel comfortable and warm.
I can hardly forget this activity. It means a lot. And, I forget to say “thank you” to our teacher, Alice. I love her so much. Not only because the snack she treated us, but the things she did for us.
It was a day that I won’t forget forever: the first day of my 4-day graduation trip in senior high.
That morning, I was too excited to sleep in because of the graduation trip. Also I got up early lest I should be late. When I arrived at school with two of my classmates, what welcomed us was a group of tour buses. We got on our bus and greeted to our friends cheerfully. We felt good because we were going to be free from schoolwork for four days. Our excitement rose when the bus started off at 7 A.M. sharp.
On our way to the first destination, we took a lot of pictures on the bus. After the guide introduced herself, all of us started to do one of our favorite activities – singing the karaoke. But it didn’t last for a long time, our eyes became heavier and heavier. Some of us, me included, dropped off on the bus.
After a long time on the bus, we finally came to a museum which displays the special species in Taiwan. There are all kinds of rarely-seen animals. Next, we visited the historic Min-Shing Aacademy of Classical Learning. To our excitement, we found a strange-shaped item that can try our luck. It is said that if we can throw a coin at it, we can get into a good college. We didn’t hesitate for any minute and tried immediately. Guess what? We succeeded. “No one can do this for a long time!” Our guide yelled out.
Later, we arrived at a restaurant where we enjoyed our lunch. After lunch, we visited the famous Jiji train station. Jiji is a small town that tries their best to preserve old traditions and maintain architectures nicely. The ancient train station is a landmark in the town. We took pictures with all kinds of acts, and ate ice-lolly and rambled the stores around the station. Some of my classmates bought some souvenirs, but I thought it was extravagant. My mom would yell at me if I bought anything like that.
The last destination on the first day is Sitou Forest Recreation Park. They said walking in such a wonderful forest is great. Yeah, though it was tiring to walk a long distance in the forest, breathing the fresh air and the Pythoncidere let me feel totally carefree and refreshing.
In the evening, we felt tired but still excited. We finished our dinner, went to our hotel and checked in. Different from others, four classmates and I went to the swimming pool. Not only did we swim, but also we chatted with one another. We had a great time before going to bed. Around ten, we went back to our own rooms. As for me, to prepare the energy I need for the next day, I went to be at eleven. But, I was sure some of my roommates stayed up pretty late that night.
The first day was over. I closed my eyes and soon fell asleep. Good night, my fist day.
PS: please look at my ppt about thre pictures that I took on my graduatiom trip→ my-memorable-graduation-trip2
That day, Alice asked us to do the exchange forms about the eating habit that we have in our country. First of all, we did our own eating habit forms and sent it to teacher. After that, on the next class, Alice showed us others’ forms, gave us a lot of advices and distributed us the different works of the exchange form and hope us to work hard on it. My work is to describe meals for most students in a school day. Though I think I need to be humble, I avow that I did a good job. Because I used my own words to integrate everyone’s idea into a common opinion that can express the pandemic students daily eating habit. That’s what I learn in this project. Also, I learn the skills of putting all kinds of information in order and organizing them clearly.
Besides, I think everyone understands in general that if we do the same thing by cooperative way, the efficiency is more streamlined and the work we have to do is lesser. So it seems that the group-working is very important for everyone, and I think is one of the things that Alice wants us to learn from it. Not only can we have cooperation in English homework like this one, but also can we have this way of learning in all the subjects. I learn how to work with others, and I think I really learn a lot form this work, how about you. I’d like to change my opinion with you^ ^.
I opened my eyes, crawled out of my blanket, and tried to taste my day. Today is the second day of my “lovely” winter vacation. Not as usual, I woke up at seven. “No school” I said happily. And later I ate my breakfast with fresh air around me.
After finishing my breakfast, I opened the book, “The memory keeper’s daughter” which is written by Kim Edwards. Soon I dropped into the story. Every plot in the story captures my mind and asked me not to stop reading it. Finally, I finished the book, but felt a little upset. There were a lot of conflicts of life in this story, and, of course, a lot of contradiction of humanity that I have never thought before.
The story is about a father, who is a doctor, told a lie to his wife that the little daughter of their twins died after she was born. But actually, their daughter didn’t die. In fact, the little girl is a patient of Down’s syndrome. Since he didn’t want his wife to feel sad,, he asked a nurse to send the baby to a special nursing home and tried to forget this terrible news. However, everything turned wrong after he did this. His wife couldn’t face the bad news that her daughter died, and soon changed to a different woman from the one that the doctor had known before. The family broke into pieces.
On the other side, the nurse was so kind that she couldn’t leave the baby in the nursing home alone. As a result, she decided to bring her up as her daughter. With no help, she tried her best to give the baby a warm home. Life was certainly hard, but they had wonderful life. The two families seem so different. The rich doctor ended up having a broken family because of a lie, while the poor single-parent mother worked very hard every moment, and enjoyed her life with her “daughter”. It’s just like a game that God played, one day the doctor bumped into the nurse. She told him “Though you escaped a lot of heartbroken memories, you lost a lot of joys at the same time…”
The story ended here…
Suddenly, too many feelings stuffed my mind. I couldn’t explain. The contradiction and conflicts of humanity in the book made me think a lot. I tried to play the role in the story. If I was the father, what I would I do? Telling the truth? Or keeping the lie? If I was the mother, could I face the sadness? Or losing my mind like the mother in this story.
A white lie changed two families…
Tonight, I was sleepless.
Last class, the teacher asked us what we decide to do to advertise our program.
There are the ways I want to do:
1.Draw some posters
2.Send some emails to friend
3.Tell all my friends, classmates, and teachers in person
4.Make some advertisement and send them in the school
5.Write on the blog and let everyine to view it
There are the ways I can measure up. And here I want to advertise our program “Lishaninsight”. If you will stand with me, then go ahead… Listen to our program!! “Lishaninsight” http://lishaninsight.podbean.com
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