A Heartfelt Eulogy

On behalf of the Golden Ladies Toastmasters, I attended Linda's father's funeral Sunday morning, January 30th. In order to make it to the early funeral service in the morning, I stayed at my sister's place in Tai-chung Saturday evening.

Linda's big house was in the countryside in Chang-hwa. The funeral service took place in the front yard. There were a full house of people from all walks of life waiting in line to say farewell to Linda's father, including the local town congress people and school presidents. I also signed up to say the farewell as the representative of the District 67 of the Toastmasters International.

It was a solemn funeral decorated with flowers and fruits. There were three musical groups, Chinese, Western, and Taiwanese ensembles. The Master of Ceremony was professional in funeral service. What impressed me the most was the elmentary school president who delivered the eulogy at the beginning of the funeral service. He talked about Linda's father and his family for 20 minutes in Taiwanese without reading the notes. I really admired his speaking skills full of feelings of respect and dignity.

I know how hard it is for Linda to accept the truth that her beloved father passed away. I was glad I made it to the heartfelt funeral service of Linda's father to give comfort and to express words of love to Linda and her mother.

Ja, I can speak German!

Upon the recommendation of Toastmaster Virginia Lee of Legacy Toastmasters Club, I visited the Goethe-Institut Taipei Wednesday afternoon. I applied for a library card immediately, and I borrowed two books, PLANET A1 Kursbuch 1 Deutsch fur Jugendliche and Perfekt In Deutsch Ubungsgrammatik fur Jugendliche. I shall have a lot to study during the Chinese New Year holidays at my hometown in Chia-yi.

Virginia and I are both Libra. Being born on the same day, October the 9th, we celebrate our birthdays together for the past couple of years. And both of us are fond of foreign langauges acqusition. Virginia speaks German like a mother tongue, she studied Music in high school in Austria. And She is now studying Spanish diligently.

When I told Virginia that I wanted to learn the German language, she advised me to go on line to learn the German langauge interactively on DW-World.De Deutsche Well. I took her suggestion and enjoyed the user-friendly program very much. I'm very pleased with my progress in German in the past two weeks. Ja, I can speak German!

Many thanks go to Virginia for the valuable information in time to me when I was at lost not knowing what to do with the German language. I must buy Virginia a big Birthday dinner at a superb German restaurant in town this year. We can speak German language, we can drink German beer, hopefully we will be surrounded by a group of young and handsome German guys!

What happened to the German Language?

In order to welcome the oldest boys' choir in the world to Taipei, I embarked upon a challenging journey to study the German language. I wish I could extend the Taiwanese hospitality to 34 little boys and 20 older boys from Regensburg Domspatzen during their Taiwan Concert Tour from April 28th till May 10th.

At Taipei Skal Toastmasters Club's 1st anniversary party Wednesday evening (1/19), I asked Toastmaster Ronald Wiplinger if he would be interested in exchanging the language with me, he teaches me German and I teach him Mandarin. Toastmaster Ronald Wiplinger replied, why not? We didn't waste time and started our first two classes the following days, Thursday (1/20) and Friday (1/21).

I am happy for Toastmaster Ronald Wiplinger. He finally made up his mind to study Mandarin after having lived in Taiwan for more than 20 years. I am sure he can master the language fast being surrounded by Mandarin speaking people everyday. Toastmaster Ronald Wiplinger is excited about delivering his icebreaker speech in Mandarin at a Mandarin speaking Toastmasters club in the near future. And me, to deliver a speech in German at a Toastmasters club in Germany? I couldn't even dream about it!

My wishful thinking to entertain the Regensburg Domspatzen in their mother tongue is unrealistic, to be honest! I simply over-estimate my ability to acquire a foreign language in a short time. Firstly, the pronunciation of German is painstaking regardless how hard Toastmaster Ronald Wiplinger helps me articulate the vowel and consonant sounds again and again. Secondly, the verbs and nouns of the German language must be conjugated and changed in a strict way accordingly. Thirdly, I can't use the German language in my everyday life in Taipei.

What's more, I felt very frustrated that I couldn't find any German Textbooks in the library this weekend. The bookshelves of the Taipei City Library are jammed with Foreign Language Textbooks, from Spanish, French, Thai, Indonesian, Malay, not to mention English and Japanese. I don't know why there are no German textbooks. What happened to the German Language in Taiwan?

Toastmasters in Mongolia

I delivered a speech about Toastmasters in Mongolia at Skal Taipei Toastmasters Club's first anniversary ceremony Wednesday evening, January 19th. I would not have thought of the honor to speak in front of His Excellency Markhaaj Choidorj from Mongolia and His Excellency William Tapia from Nicaragua when I joined Grand Toastmasters Club in 1986. I was glad I did. It has been one of the smartest decisions I made in my life. And the Toastmasters has changed my life ever since! I'm a better listener, thinker, and speaker. I'm more proactive, passinate, and positive. I love people more! And I love myself more!

Among 260,000 Toastmasters Members in the world, I was one of the happiest toastmasters to know the birth of Toastmasters Mongolia Club on the 13th of December 2010. I knew the good news from the Toastmasters International's official Website. I am happy that Mongolia joined the big Toastmasters family in 2010.

Before the start of Skal Taipei's 1st anniversary ceremony, His Excellency William Tapia from Nicaragua and I had a chat. We talked about the beautiful Nicaragua and we talked about Toastmasters. President Joseph Fan of Innovative Toastmasters Club helped me go on-line with his i-phone to find a club in Nicaragua. There is none. Wow, I have a new mission in 2011! It's to make Nicaragua the 117th country in the Toastmasters International. And, I must study Spanish now.

President Mayumi Hu of Skal Taipei Toastmasters Club is my role model. She speaks more than seven languages. When I saw her chitchat with His Excellency Tapia in Spanish like father and daughter. I know that I must spare no time catching up with her. Toastmasters is not only a friendly and positive learning environment to hone communication and leadership skills, it is also THE place to meet up with the outstanding people for us to emulate.

According to His Excellency Markhaaj Choidorj of Mongolia, there will soon be a direct flight between Taipei and Ulaanbaatar in 2012. I look forward to taking the first direct flight to Ulaanbaatar to meet up with the Toastmasters fellows in Mongolia! Would you like to join me?

Social Networking in Toastmasters

Toastmaster Janifer Kuo of Skal Taipei Toastmasters Club called me early yesterday morning. She told me she would serve as the Tabletopics Master at the 1st anniversary of Skal Taipei Toastmasters Club.

Janifer told me that she visited Mongolia with her husband last June and asked me in what way we could cooperate with each other to present Mongolia to the fellow Toastmasters in the presence of Mr. Markhaaj Choidorj, the Head of the Ulaanbaatar Trade and Economic Representative Office in Taipei, Wednesday evening, January 19th.

Janifer is an enthusiastic Toastmaster. She has contributed herself in Japanese speaking toastmasters Clubs for the past five years and has made a great process in the communication and leadership programs in Toastmasters. I didn't know that Jannifer also joined an English speaking Toastmasters Club till yesterday morning.

Janifer and I met at Starbucks Cafe' at the intersection of Sung-jiang and Ming-shen Roads from 1:30 to 3 this afternoon. First Jannifer told me why she joined Skal Taipei bilingual Toastmasters Club as a member. She wanted to learn how to run a bilingual Toastmasters Club, so that she can charter a bilingual Japanese and Mandarin Toastmasters Club in the future. Then she showed me the list of tabletopics she would address upon at the 1st anniversary club meeting. I was very impressed at the working attitude of Toastmaster Janifer. And I must work harder to prepare my speech about Toastmasters in Mongolia.

Dr. Stephen R. Covey, the author of the 7 habits of highly effective people, has been advocating the importance of social networking and the community to empower our greatness. Being a veteran Toastmaster, I'm glad I joined the world biggest non-profit education organization where each individual can learn the communication and leadership skills in a friendly and positive environment, build the friendships and professional alliances, and share information about the topics and interests in life.

German 101 & Spanish 101

In order to know more about Regensburger Domspatzen, I visited their official website in German, and I decided to refresh the German language I learned in college 35 years ago. I went through six lessons straight on DeutschOnlineLernen this evening. It was an exciting beginning to embark upon the journey of the German language acquisition at home to celebrate the Laba Rice Porridge Festival, on the 8th day of the 12th month, Lunar calendar.

I plan to go to Taipei City Library to borrow the German Langauge textbooks and CDs first thing tomorrow morning. I doubt how much I can really catch up in the following three months before I meet up with the oldest boys choir in the world, but so long as I immerse myself in the German language one hour a day, I could at least extend my hospitality to the German kids in their native language when they are in Taiwan from April 28th till May 10th.

After Regensburger Domspatzen leaves Taiwan, I shall begin to work on the Spanish language diligently before I go to Seville in April next year, to participate in the annual La Feria de Sevilla. Hopefully by then I could converse in basic Spanish to make acquaintance with many beautiful and handsome Spanish ladies and gentlemen!

Even my brain will be jammed with all kinds of European languages, French, German, Italian, and Spanish, I am not worried about what's ahead of me, as long as Ich habe Zeit! Ich habe mut! Und ich habe ausdauer.

Golden Ladies First Gathering in 2011

Among golden ladies, Irene will certainly be the rising star in serving her community in year 2011. After her brother won the Yu-chen Borough Election in Taipei last November, Irene has taken many initiatives to assist her brother to rebuild their old community. Irene has accepted the appointment and responsibilities as a registered Borough Assistance with the government. Irene is planning to charter a line dance club soon in her community. Wow, good for you, Irene. Go! Go! Go!

Golden Ladies were invited by Irene for lunch at MoMo Department Store this afternoon to celebrate her brother's victory at Borough Election. Golden ladies were happy for Irene for two reasons. Firstly, Irene can contribute herself in developing the community she was born and grown up. Secondly, golden ladies will have more chances to hone the entertaining skills on stage whenever there are celebration parties in Yu-chen Borough.

Irene, Michelle and I were three early birds. We arrived at 12 noon, followed by Libby and her husband, Linda, Kate, Lydia and Trini. When we were told by the waitress that we were required to finish the all you can eat hot pot meal within two hours, we didn't waste time collecting all kinds of meat, seafood, vegetables on the counter. Most golden ladies ordered light soup for the hot pot. Linda ordered Japanese curry soup, and I ordered hot and spicy soup. We shared the same ying-yang pot. Our taste bubs in our mouths were well pampered and our desires in our bodies were well quenched.

The highlight of the gathering this afternoon was none other than the collection of 24 profile photos of Linda in Kimono. While leafing through the gorgeous and beautiful photos of Linda, we couldn't help wowing Linda as a ever changing woman, from an animation figure, a teenager, a sexy geisha, to a mature lady. Irene was excited to shoulder the responsibility to coordinate all golden ladies to have their profile photos taken in the near future.

After lunch, Irene and I accompanied Lydia to purchase a chocolate birthday cake at Anna Cocoa Art for her mother's 86th birthday today. The sales ladies served three cups of Earl Grey tea for us to go with the Framboise Macaron Lydia bought for us. My heart melted the moment I put the Macaron in my mouth. The taste of sweetness, sourness, bitterness blended into a great harmony beyond description. I couldn't have asked for more than such a blissful and joyful afternoon to start the page one of golden ladies diary of year 2011!

Toastmaster Magazine Reading Gathering in 2011

I was very excited to invite golden ladies to bring the Toastmaster Magazine January issue to the Presidential Hall to sing the National Anthem and to celebrate the founding the Republic of China for 100 years on the New Year's Day.

January issue arrived in my mailbox today, January fifth, five days after the New Year's Day. We missed the chance to have a memorable photo taken to share with Toastmaster Magazine readers in the world.

I read the Toastmaster Magazine from cover to cover every month. I look forward to receiving it in time every month. Golden ladies have a monthly gathering to read the Toastmaster Magazine. It is my opinion that the each monthly issue should arrive at each reader's mailbox before the last week of the precious month.

In Japan, the monthly would appear on the bookshelves of every bookstore at least one month in advance to facilitate the readers to make plans for the coming month. I am hoping that Toastmasters International can take it into considerations to release the monthly timely. Take the January issue for example, many articles are about New Year's resolutions. Wouldn't it be more effective if the readers can receive the January issue before Christmas?

I went on line to search for the Toastmaster Magazine information on Toastmaster International website this afternoon, only to find the current issue was December 2010 Member Access Only. I am hoping that toastmasters members can read January 2011 on line timely.

Golden ladies Toastmaster Magazine gathering will be held this Saturday noon. How about we read three articles as follows, and set our goals in 2011?

1. Dream Big, Act Big in 2011 by Croix Sather, Page 5;
2. Creating Your Bucket List by Craig Harrison, Page 8;
3. Find Your Focus by Patricia Robinson, Page 12.

Wandering in the Garden, Waking from a Dream

I saw the change of guards at 2PM when I arrived at Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall among a big crowd, mainly tourists from the mainland China. I saw the change of guards at 5PM when I left Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall among a bigger crowd.

On the second day of year 2011, I saw the play of Wandering in the Garden, Waking from a Dream by Pai Hsien-Yung. What could be a better way to celebrate the founding of ROC for 100 years than reminiscing the good old days of our parents at Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall?

Being a second generation of mainlanders in Taiwan, I enjoy reading Pai Hsien-Yung's books about Taiwan in the early second half of the 20th century. The protagonists in the Wandering in the Garden, Waking from a Dream remind me of the aunties and uncles of my childhood, the vanity and homesick life of mainlanders before and after KMT came to Taiwan in 1949.

I sat at row 29, No. 56, with nobody around me. I saw the play from afar without a binocular, but with a better prospective of life on stage and in the audience at the same time. It was like reading a book with miniature protagonists acting between pages. When the light dimmed, Madame Dou was preoccupied on her mind about the dinner party for her friends of Chinese opera connoisseurs from Shanghai. The play began.

The stories, lines, and stage lighting of the play were all good. The actors and actresses played their roles well, but their accents disclosed the secret. Singing opera is one thing, conversing in Mandarin is another. I could not immerse myself in the play simply because of the lack of accents I was used to in my childhood! I was in total conscious that it was only a play of 20th century in the 21st century.

Everybody misses the good old times. I miss my carefree childhood living in a military community in Chia-yi. In the heterogeneous environment where everybody spoke mandarin with accents of various provinces in China, I was brought up as a baby boomer. I didn't experience any war myself, but I saw the impact of wars on people who laid the foundation for the country to be built upon, the new Taiwan.

PS: A Joke of Chinese dialects:

中國話一個比一個厲害﹗
例：某甲在樓上窗台往下看見熟識的某乙路過而忽然停止不前。

假設現在倆人是以北京話對談．．．六個字
甲：是誰在樓下阿？
乙：是我在這兒貝！
甲：你在做什麼咧？
乙：我在這小便吶！

假設現在倆人是以江浙話對談，
除了他們自己，沒人聽得懂．．．
甲：殺個人在樓下？
乙：阿拉在割裡!
甲：濃做啥個日踢？
乙：阿拉在砸蟋！

假設現在倆人是以國語對談．．．四個字
甲：誰在下面？
乙：我在這裡！
甲：你在幹嗎？
乙：我在小便！

假設現在倆人是以台語對談．．．簡單多了，才三個字
甲：蝦咪郎？
乙：喜哇啦！
甲：衝啥悔？!
乙：棒溜啦！

假設現在倆人是以四川話對談．．．兩個字ㄟ
甲：喇國？
乙：使握！
甲：昨傻？
乙：潦瞭！

假設現在倆人是以山東話對談．．．超酷！才一個字
甲：誰？
乙：俺！
甲：啥？
乙：尿！

New Year's Day 2011

To celebrate the start of 2011, five golden ladies toastmasters woke up early to sing the National Anthem in front of the Presidential Hall to show our respect to Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Republic of China in 1911, the first democratic country in Asia.

Trini, Pamela and I arrived at the MRT CKS Memorial Hall station exit 5 at 4:30. While waiting for Michelle and Lydia, Trini jumped up and down of the escalator marble aisle. It would have been forbidden on ordinary days. But, on New Year's Day everybody was allowed to mischief. When Michelle arrived, she joined our team to enjoy the slide to start our New Year's Day 2011.

On our way to the Presidential Hall, people were waiting in long queue to get a small national flag for free. Golden ladies had a group photo with five national flags borrowed from the strangers in the crowd. Being early birds, we were lucky to pass the security gate and got closer to the stage in front of the Presidential Hall, featuring 100 couples ready to be married. At 100 meters away, I could see the huge screen well enough what was going on stage. The short lady standing next to me, told me she couldn't see anything, she was 152 centimeters tall. I wish I had the strong shoulders to let her sit on me.

When the National Defense Orchestra played the National Anthem, everybody in the crowd sang loudly in tears. It was the meaningful moment for golden ladies to see our national flag fly high on the top of the Presidential Hall on the first day of the 100th anniversary of ROC together. We were happy for Lydia, because she would be celebrating her 60th birthday this year.

When the ceremony was over, people were eager to enjoy their first breakfast of year 2011. Within a minute, Lydia and I lost sight of Michelle, Pamela and Trini. No matter how tall I walked on my tiptoe, I couldn't see the blue knit cap of Michelle and the orange knit cap of Pamela. Lydia proposed that we moved to Exit 5. We walked along the street with our eyes open, we couldn't find three beautiful ladies in heavy coats. We couldn't contact them with our mobile phones, because of the heavy consumption of mobile phone lines. In the end, Michelle was smart enough to send Lydia and me the text message on the mobile phones. When we united at Exit 5, every golden lady had a national flag in hand.

On behalf of toastmasters in Taiwan, golden ladies wish, "Long Live the Republic of China"! And we wish everybody a happy and prosperous new year!

My new year resolutions of 2011, make 100 friends, read 100 books, write 100 articles, attend 100 parties, help 100 strangers.