Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Gypsy Caravan

During the Memorial Day weekend, the St. Louis Symphony Volunteer Association had a fundraising event – the Gypsy Caravan. I think it a little bit like flea market.

That day was not very good weather - cloudy in the morning and rain in the afternoon. There was rain when we arrived and I did not expect to see a lot of people shopping in the rain. Some were wet – they didn’t bring an umbrella or raincoat, and there were no places to take cover from the rain, but it seems those Americans didn’t care about the rain. The vendor stalls were in an open area; their goods were wet…

St. Louis某大学在公共假日办了一项活动 – Gypsy Caravan,即是吉普赛式的流浪商队,我觉得他们卖的东西有点像跳蚤市场。

这天遇到天气不好,早上乌云阴天,下午却下雨了。我们抵达时就是下雨时段,出乎我意料,还是看到很多人在雨中逛,有些人没伞没雨衣只好被淋湿(没有避雨的地方),似乎美国人对雨天都不在意。商队们在露天摆摊,雨水淋湿了摆卖品

Monday, May 25, 2009

Black

Some Chinese people think the color black represents bad luck and they avoid using black as a main color in any celebration. Birthday celebrations too, the color black is ‘pantang’ ('taboo', in Malay). Really, don’t challenge their taboo! It might lead to an unpleasant situation and it seems black really can bring bad luck at that moment… (Recently, in the news ‘a few’ Malaysians are sensitive to see people wearing black cloth, sigh.)
We attended Steve’s cousin’s birthday party; it was a surprise party for her 50th. I noticed that they used black as the theme color, like black balloons, food service set, cake icing, and candles. They also put a ‘Ms. Over the Hill’ sash on her. I like this kind of playful and open-minded attitude…

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Feeling

Feeling is a teacher in a special school. The students in Feeling’s class are geniuses; everyone has their outstanding talent. However, the characters of the students are very aloof and arrogant. They don’t like to be together in class and are seldom quiet; sometimes a few of them make a lot of noise. Feeling is biased also, and does not treat or act fairly to all students. Feeling loves those good students like Exciting, Glad, Happy, Cheerful, Comfort… but hates Anger, Sad, Depressed, Nervous, Fear…. Nevertheless, those students sense this aversion and want to get more attention, so they often make mischief, frustrating Feeling. Sometimes Feeling punishes them, but is sometimes forced to ignore them. So they become aggravated. Feeling is so tired after coming back home from school. Feeling calms down and knows that was not the right way to react. What is the actual problem? How to solve it? Feeling always thought to be responsible while teaching class, but Feeling wondered why some students are not obedient and are difficult to control? “Ah…isn’t it because I hate them for being disobedient and difficult to control them?” They don’t get attention so they play tricks…
Feeling decided to try up to show concern and look at them attentively.
That’s funny; when these students know their behaviors and actions are being seen and their teacher Feeling cares about them, they find it difficult to continue to be rude. They slowly quiet down.


Thursday, May 14, 2009

Thanks Mom

Mom for both of us; one of us born, bred, grew and cared for by her; one of us came and was welcomed by her with a loving family. I am so appreciative I am a member of her family here, besides being thankful I would say thank you to her again and again.
I love Steve’s mom. She looks pretty, is always well prepared to welcome our visits, and her house is always immaculate. I especially admire her spirit.

We had a wonderful Mother's Day with her.

我俩的母亲,一个出生由她孕育爱护成长的,一个来到她打开双手迎接的。一个充满爱温馨的家庭,感恩一切让我进入这个家,除了向她说谢谢,还是谢谢。

我爱Steve的母亲。她很优雅及她把家装饰整洁,而且每次我们到访她都会花心思准备一些东西。我尤其赞叹她的精神。

我们与她有个美好的母亲节。

Friday, May 8, 2009

Vesak Day celebration at MABA

This year Vesak Day is on May 9th, but here it is not a public holiday. So the Buddhist organizations here do not celebrate it on the same day. Mid-America Buddhist Association (MABA) celebrated it last Sunday. Let’s see that celebration….
佛陀日今年是在59日,但这里不是公共假日,所以佛教团体都没按该日庆祝。中美佛教会於上星期天庆祝,看一看这儿的浴佛节



Tuesday, May 5, 2009

I need to take driver training course

Posted link: http://lktansinee.blogspot.com/2008/07/no-kopi-license.html

I suspect my driving license in Malaysia might be a kopi license (“coffee money” license – here it means under-the-table money). I failed the on-road examination three times in America.

After failing the road examination three times, I received a letter requiring me to enroll with an instructor to complete a 20-hour behind the wheel driver training course. @%!^* Is my driving so bad…

我开始怀疑我在马来西亚的驾驶执照是kopi lesen,竟然考三次失败 美国的街上驾车考试。

三次不及格后,我收到的信是去驾驶学院拿20小时学习驾车才能再考。@%!^* 我的驾驶真的这么差吗


Friday, May 1, 2009

Chinese Culture Days & Tulips in garden

We went to the garden to see the Chinese Culture Days last weekend.

The flowers and plants there always impress me; this season there are many tulips with beautiful colors.

我们上周末去花园观赏中华日。

那儿的花草树木常让我叹为观止,这季节是有很多郁金香,颜色多迷人。

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