beach cleanup in Taiwan

                                              Beach cleanup 2020.02.28

                                    海邊遊玩垃圾不落地～淨灘有意義

     這是我來台灣遊學第一次參與這麼有意義的淨灘活動，人們的無心之過常造成海洋的垃圾的漂散與海洋生態浩劫，所以今日我們決定發揮小小的力量共同響應淨灘愛地球活動，也要提醒大家到海邊遊玩時，記得帶走自身垃圾與物品，還給美麗的海洋一片生機喔！回家之後我還享用了草莓跟手工粉圓當甜點唷！今天真是美好又愉快的一天！

     You might not think of a beach cleanup as an outing. However, it is a great way to go out into the community, make a difference, and enjoy the outdoors along the way.

     This is my first time participating in a beach cleanup. People always forget to bring their trash back. It leads to ocean creatures face the ocean crisis!  Joyce told me a lot of knowledge about the beach clean and recycling. Reduce your plastic consumption by using your own thermos for water and coffee. Stop your use of single-use utensils like soup spoons and chopsticks by bringing your own. Joyce told me not only in Taiwan but also in greater Asia, have a huge problem with single-use plastics at restaurants. You can greatly reduce your impact by bringing the above items with you. Taiwan right now has a lot of beach clean NGOs, such as the society of wilderness, Green peace Taiwan, Taiwan Ocean Cleanup Alliance(T.O.C.A) and so on. Thanks to Joyce, who is a homeroom teacher in fourth grade, taking me to participate in this wonderful activity. When I go back to Dubai, I want to do the beach cleanup with my classmates.

     After we had a great time at the beach, we decided to pick up trash on the seashore. We were glad we did that. After we clean up the seashore, I felt so proud of myself. Then we went home to have strawberry and bubble milk tea as my dessert. What a great day!

 

 

 

 

Earthquake drill in School

                             Earthquake Drill in School      2020.03. 13

      今天在學校有一場讓我們練習地震時該如何保護生命安全的演習，首先我們會聽到警報器鈴聲大響，接著我們必須快速躲到堅硬的物品或器材下掩護頭部，保命的口訣是:蹲下、 掩護 、穩住，最後等地震停止後，我們須快速的戴上防災頭套並迅速到空曠的操場集合點名確認大家的安全。每一學期經由防災及逃生演練，讓我們學習到災難發生時該如何保護自己的生命安全。

      We had an earthquake disaster prevention drill at school today. It started after a magnitude 7.3 earthquake devastated central Taiwan and left more than 2,000 people dead in 1999. From that time, schools in Taiwan have held an earthquake drill every once a semester. First, we heard the earthquake alarm. We were taught the three steps to take in an earthquake: "get down, take cover, and hold on". Then we squeeze ourselves or our heads under the space. Also, we need to hold on to the desk lags to prevent the big strike. Finally, when the alarm stops we were assembled in our sports field. The government hopes everyone in Taiwan can take precautions and be prepared so that when a disaster hits, we can keep losses and damage to a minimum.

Here I am ! Visiting Crystal High-heel shaped church again !

       Here I am! Visiting Crystal High-heel shaped church again!  2020.03.06 

                                   水晶高跟鞋教堂 我又來囉!    

     這個假日我跟著昀傑和他的家人們再次拜訪嘉義的高跟鞋教堂唷! 原來建造高跟鞋教堂還有一個紀念的意義;根據WUWOW 大英文天團資料顯示 主要是因為在台灣沿海曾經飽受烏腳病之苦，許多女孩兒在結婚前，因為得了烏腳病，不得已需要截肢...😰因此無法穿上象徵幸福的美麗高跟鞋，邁入人生的新階段所以，建造高跟鞋教堂，象徵雲嘉南這一帶已經走過了這貧瘠的歲月，邁入幸福的新階段。透明玻璃組成的高跟鞋教堂在陽光照耀下倒映在水面上，波光粼粼好美唷！還有超大的結婚鑽戒及夢幻馬車場景，難怪現在有好多人都來這裡舉辦婚禮，連我也忍不住跟透明夢幻高跟鞋們合照留影囉！這個美麗的地方讓我留下美好的回憶。

Here I am in crystal High-heel shaped church again!

     Jerry and his family bring me to crystal high-heel shaped church again. The sun sparkled the lake. The crystal high-heel shaped church was shined beside the pond. According to the WUWOW  website, It is mainly because Blackfoot disease used to prevail over the coastal area. Many young girls had no choice but to cut off their feet. Thus, they couldn’t put on beautiful high-heel shoes to live happily ever after. The construction of the Crystal High-Heel Shaped Church represents the difficult time that has been long gone. It was so sweet to do that. Let the love pay it forward. We made an unforgettable memory in my mind. 

    

Visiting Kevin's Grandma in Guanmiao

                   Visiting Kevin's Grandma in Guanmiao  2020.01.16

                                   
                                    跟宏文一起到關廟外婆家

     宏文帶我到外婆的關廟家，沿途我們經過了當地的信仰中心-代天府 ，宏文跟我介紹背後的石雕香爐是拜拜後要將線香放置的地方，向天神祈求平安順利的意思。廟裡有龍 跟老虎栩栩如生的石雕，讓人心生敬畏。接著我們到了外婆家，社區裡有好多壁畫，我最喜歡一幅有鵝在吊橋下悠遊的愜意壁畫，上面還寫著可愛的童謠，鵝群的怡然自得令人嚮往。

     Last week, Kevin went to his grandmother's home. He took me to visit his grandmother. Her grandmother lives in Guanmiao, where is a rural district in southeastern Tainan. We visited a famous temple, called “ Dai Tian Temple”. The temple was originally constructed in the 17th century as the Baoning Temple. After an earthquake, the temple was relocated to another place and renamed Bao'an Temple. In 1955, the temple was rebuilt and renamed Madou Daitian Temple. The construction took around 10 years to be completed.

    

     Kevin introduced the incense burner to me and show me how to do the worship. There are several dragons and tigers hanging on the wall. With great reverence for the god, we have stayed in Dai Tian Temple for one hour. The stone sculpture was amazing! I like it.

Look at the suspension bridge on the mural. And there was a goose nursery rhyme written in red on the picture. We love it.

Playing with Naomi and Iris in the new playground

      Playing with  Naomi and Iris in the new playground       2020.03.05

今天我、昱琦和瑞瑀一起到學校新的遊戲區遊玩，我們一起玩了大象溜滑梯，大象溜滑梯好滑喔!一下子就滑到下面了，大家都好愛大象溜滑梯，是人氣王。我們還去爬了欄杆，我們比賽看誰最先爬到上面，新的遊戲區真的很好玩。

     Today I went to school a new playground with Naomi and Iris. We played on an elephant slide. The elephant slide is very slippery. It’s really fun. The elephant slide is the most popular facilities in the school’s playground. Later, we climbed railings. We had little competition to see who is the winner climbing to the top of the railing. We had a good time playing in the school’s new playground.

Twelve Phoiche Folk Art Performance class

                       Twelve Phoiche Folk Art Performance class   2010.03.05   

 今天我、昱琦和瑞瑀來上婆姐課，婆姐是臺灣傳統的一種藝陣，學校為了保留傳統，所以請教練來教我們。瑞瑀和昱琦他們很厲害，他們會下腰，身段非常的柔軟，這是常常練習的成果。

     Today I went to twelve Phoiche folk art performance classes with Naomi and Iris. Twelve Phoiche folk art performance is a traditional Taiwanese folk parade. According to the legend, Goddess Pochie blesses children and also the character bringing blessing to and expelling the evil spirit of the children; in the traditional religion, the performance is to exorcism in order to evict demons and attract good luck.

    In order to preserve the traditional culture, the school has founded Twelve Phoiche folk art performance club. The member of this club from the first grade to the sixth grade. Naomi and Iris are good at bending backward into a bridge. Their body is more flexible than me. I was not surprised. They have practiced this action for a long time.

 

Chinese Kung Fu Class

                                         Chinese Kung Fu        2020.03.05

      今天我和翊捷他們來到武術班練習武術，首先教練要我們劈腿，很多人都下不去，而且大家都哇哇叫，因為太痛了!接下來，教練教我們蹲馬步，蹲馬步也不輕鬆，我和翊捷的腿都在抖，因為這是這學期的第一堂課，對於我和翊捷，我們是第一次上課，所以這些動作對我們來說都好難，但是我還是覺得這堂課很特別。

Martial art, any of various fighting sports or skills, mainly of East Asian origin, such as kung fu, judo, karate, and kendō. The martial art originated from labor and developed later out of the needs of fighting and training. Chinese Kung Fu Club is a new club in our school. Kung Fu is a sport that combines physical exercise with personal combat skills. More than 60% of Taiwanese parents think kids can acquire could protect themselves if they learn Kung Fu. It’s a good sport.

In the first class, the coach wants us to do the splits. It was really hurt. My legs were very sore and painful. And then the coach taught us how to do the squat appropriately. My legs were very arching. It was really difficult for me and Jack. Although these poses are really difficult, I still feel this club is really special and interested.   

 

Our Brandnew Playground

                                 Our Brandnew Playground    2020.03.03  

     開學了，學校新的遊樂設施也開放了，所有的小朋友都很高興，一下課馬上衝到遊樂區去玩。我和庭愷、瑜蓁也一起去玩，看看新的遊戲區到底有多好玩。我們先去走平衡木，哈哈!真得太簡單了，我們一下子就完成

      

      School opening postponed to Feb. 25 due to coronavirus. The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced on the first day of February. I was looking forward to going to school because I have not seen my friend for almost one month. In the first week of the semester, I found there are several new facilities in the school’s playground, such as an elephant slide, seesaw, swing, balance beam, and jungle gym. All of the students are excited when they saw the new facilities in the playground. Jean, Tim and I went to the playground every break. We like to walk on the balance beam. Walking on the balance beam was easy for us. Tomorrow I will try another facility.

A trip with my homeroom teacher in Taitung

                  A trip with my homeroom teacher in Taitung    2020. 02.28

老師帶我到臺東（臺灣的東部）走走。藍藍的天、藍藍的海水，風景真的非常美麗。我們很悠閒的到處逛逛，放鬆一下心情。臺東的海岸和西部的海岸不同，東岸多是岩岸，和西部的海邊多是沙岸真的很不同。我們還到鹿野高臺，可惜沒有熱氣球，因為季節不對。但也可以瞭望遠處，風景真得好美!

     Last weekend, my homeroom teacher took me to Taitung, in eastern Taiwan. We spent three and half an hour taking a train from Tainan to Taitung. Taitung is situated where the Philippine and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. As the two plates have pushed together over millions of years, the orogeny that resulted and cut by rivers, erosion, sediment deposit, and wave impact, and other natural processes, have created a diverse geological landscape between mountain and ocean. Taitung has the ocean in front and high mountains at its rear, which gives it rich ecological and agricultural produce variety. The mountains are pristine, the water pure and the rice good quality; other agricultural products of which the county is rightly proud are tea, golden day lily, sugar apple, shaved fish and sailfish, their purity, naturalness and taste the pride of Taitung.

     In the mountains of Taitung, there are a lot of Taiwanese Aboriginal tribes live there, such as Amis, Puyama, Rukai Bunun, Paiwan. The culture here is richly diverse and it is worth slowly exploring the nature and culture in depth. The highest average temperature is 28.7°C in (July) and the lowest 19.2°C (January). Taitung's climate makes it suitable for visiting all year round.

     

      We went to Luyeh Highland. Luyeh Highland rests on a hill in Luye township of Taitung County that is about 350 meters above sea level. To my disappointment, we missed the Taiwan International Balloon Festival because this festival is held by the government every summer. This area has the area has beautiful scenery, especially of the surrounding eastern rift valley. I will come back again this summer.

 

                 

Attend Traditional Dance Class in School

                         Attend Traditional Dance Class in School     2020.03.06

我今天和昕霖(Vincent )一起上了新的課程，一個從來沒見過的陳老師來介紹十二婆姐，那是一種傳統的表演，老師說以後還要介紹婆姐的故事，希望下個星期趕快來！我還想繼續聽故事！

    Vincent and I attended a new traditional Chinese dance class today. Today is the first day of our traditional dance class. Mr. Chen, who works in an opera troupe came to our class. He introduced a special traditional Chinese dance, called "twelve pochie folk art performance." Mr. Chen talked about the origin of the traditional dance story. Let me shared it with you guys.

    

     In the folk legend, pochie are subordinates or maids of Madam Lin Shui who is a goddess believed by people in Taiwan and southern Fujian Province, China. She takes charge of miscarriage prevention and smooth delivery, and she is considered the protector goddess of women and young children. Legend has it that Madam Lin Shui lived in Fujian Province in the Tang Dynasty and that her name was Chen Jing-Gu. She learned about magic and helped her hometown kill monsters and expel devils. Later, Fujian Province was stricken by a serious drought, and although Chen Jing-Gu was pregnant at that time, she still set up an altar to pray for rain. Finally, there was timely rainfall after a long drought. However, she died from a miscarriage at the age of 24. After Chen Jing-Gu passed away, her village people built a temple to enshrine her, and she became a goddess who protects women and children. She is called Madam Lin Shui and Goddess of Childbirth. If a pregnant woman wants to have a smooth delivery or a child cries and is frightened, people can pray to Chen Jing-Gu for protection. It is worth mentioning that in folk customs, women are forbidden to enter a temple when they are on their menstrual periods. However, as Madam Lin Shui is the protector goddess of women and children, the rules are bent here and women can still worship the goddess in her temple during their menstrual periods.
    

     Mr. Chen told us he will continue the story in the next class. We are looking forward to listening to the story next week.