On 228

Sitting by the window at JYT's Home Tuesday afternoon, I gazed at the tip of Taipei 101 vanished in the veil of mist on 228. Would visitors on Taipei 101 Oberservatory see me looking in their direction when they experienced a new horizon through a telescope in my direction?

After the WWII, everyone was broken and depleted. The fear of communist espionage (the McCarthyism) was everywhere in the world, including Taiwan. In 1947, an anti-government uprising in Taiwan that began on February 27, was suppressed by the KMT government. The 228 incident marked the beginning of the KMT's White Terror period in Taiwan, concurrently the Second Red Scare (1947-1957) in the US.

On the fourth day of the long weekend of 228, Toastmaster Trini Ding invited golden ladies Toastmasters to her home for a gathering to welcome Toastmaster Pamela Yang back to Taipei for a short stay. As JYT's Home has only two residents from abroad, we had the whole lounge to us to have fun!

I was the first one to arrive at 2PM sharp. As soon as I saw a Mandarin textbook on the table, I stuck a conversation with the resident from Australia who signed up a Hwayu course at Shida. I told him that Chinese characters are not hard to learn as long as you know how to decipher them. If I can type Chinese characters with the keyboard, so can foreigners without relying on pinying.

Pamela arrived with her parents and niece at 2:30PM. Kate arrived at 3PM. Pamela brought Camembert and Kate brought a box of preserved plums. Four golden ladies had a cheerful chitchat for what happened in the past month on a chilly rainy afternoon.

After Pamela left, I took out my walky Kara to practice sining with Kate. Kate knew many classic early 1900s popular songs. While we were singing, Trini and David, the resident from Canada worked diligently on their laptops. Four of us were like in a classroom of a graduate school, sitting in line at the lounge of JYT's Home, getting ready for our presentation.

Trini was a fantastic hostess as always. She made an early dinner for Kate and me, steamed rice, stewed chicken legs, eggs, and fried jelly ears. David was invited to join us. Even Taiwan was David's first foreign country, he didn't hesitate to try out everything. We had a great time savoring the delicious meals Trini prepared for us like preschool children nibbling their afternoon snacks.

In the evening, Kate and I went to Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall to see the Dream of the Red Chamber (紅樓夢) performed by Beijing Northern Kunqu Theatre. Dream of the Red Chamber published in 1791 is the masterpiece of Chinese vernacular literature. The novel is also known as the Story of the Stone (石頭記). I liked the theatrical opening of the Kunqu Opera with a piece of LCD stone left by Nuuwa who ment the broken heaven.

While seeing the opera, I was wondering what if I could go back in time to live with the Jia Clan under the roof of the Red Chamber, which one around the 12 Jinling ladies I would be? Not sentimental Lady Daiyu, for sure, I wouldn't want to live in the dark to feel pathetic about my destiny. Not compromising Bao-tsai, either, I wouldn't want to marry a man to hurt another woman! Maybe romantic and carefree Lady Hsiang-yun, just maybe. Who would want to live in the old China where women had little room for personal growth and self development?