Reminiscing

This Tuesday, some of us Juniors were invited to see the rehearsal for the performances of the European Night. It is a huge event where all of the language groups from the European major, French, Spanish, and German, join together and come up with a spectacular show. Watching them practicing and putting all their effort on stage really makes me nostalgic. For the first two years of my university life, I have been devoting my time and energy holding events and organizing activities, and now, it's time for me to hand these responsibilities to the younger ones.

Right now, the Farewell Party for the graduates of the European major, which I am in charge of organizing, and the European Summer Camp are the only things left for the Juniors to handle. With all of the Seniors graduating, I realized that time passes by too quickly. Time stops for no one, it moves on unaware. It's easy not to remember how much you once enjoyed the things you did, it's easy not to care how much you'd miss the little things until you're too old for it, and it's easy not to notice that you're no longer going to be having all of these things back.

And so I started thinking about high school, thinking about prom, thinking about the senior trip, thinking about the cupcakes that our classmates baked for all of the graduates, and how I used to have so much fun with my high school classmates. If I could go back to any point of my life, I want to start high school all over again. Similar to the events that we have in our university, we used to also have Thai and Chinese Traditional Festivals, Spirit Week, Sports Day, Culture Day, and Rose & Chocolate Day. We would have food sales during lunchtime to raise money for prom. We would meet outside of school and study in Starbucks for our AP exams. We would put on our best outfit for the School Dance. We would practice after school for hours for our Talent Show performance. We would dress up however we like during No-Uniform Day. We would have sleepover parties and house parties. Oh, I could keep on going endlessly! Probably because it's graduation season, that's why I am being a little emotional and sentimental.

A few months later from now, I'll be in France, living and experiencing a whole new different life. I just wish I could hold on to every single memory, good or bad, and cherish every passing moment. No matter where I am, who I met, what I've been through, I know that a part of me will always remain the person that I used to be. I will still be the "Chung Wei" from TCIS, Class of 2010, and the "Patrice" from Bangkok, Thailand.

Festival Interuniversitaire de Théâtre

The APFT, also known as the Association of French Professors in Taiwan, holds the annual "Festival Interuniversitaire de Théâtre". It is an event where French majors from universities in Taiwan gather to perform theatrical plays. Each year, there will be around ten groups representing different universities participating in this event. Most of the participants from other groups are in their third or even fourth year of studies, but in our case, all of our members are Freshmen and Sophomores.

I participated last year, as well as the year before, but never as an actor. I was responsible for the costumes and make-up for two years. However, this year, I was there as an audience to emotionally support the little Freshmen and the adorable Sophomores. I felt nervous for them because the performance that went before us was really funny. The actors were lively and entertaining with their exaggerated lines and dramatic gestures. The judges were laughing at their jokes throughout the whole play. When it was our turn, the atmosphere shifted. Our play is a melancholic tragedy called "Cyrano de Bergerac", where our actors had to recite poetic love letters and mourn the death of their loved ones. My favorite part was the balcony scene, where our actor declared his love towards the actress (not to be mistaken with Romeo and Juliet!). Our script was sophisticated and refined, as the emotions of our actors were intricate and profound.

When it was time for the awarding ceremony, not only did our university get the first place for best actor and the second place for best actress, but we also got first place for the best theatrical performance! I was impressed, but also comforted in a way, since I could see how much our major has progressed and improved throughout the years. When I was in my Freshman year, we were awarded best costume and best actor. During my Sophomore year, we were awarded second place for best performance and first place for best actor. This year, we swept away all of the major awards, which I couldn't be more happy about. After the festival, my friends and I stopped for dinner and ice-cream, and we all went home feeling satisfied and contented.

Again, congratulations everyone from the Department of European Languages and Cultures!

World Festival!

Finally! The World Festival is over!
Every year, the Office of Student Affairs and the students cooperate to celebrate the World Festival in the school campus. Most of the students responsible for planning the event are overseas students like me, so I feel proud to see the event be such a success.
The World Festival started with opening performances, such as Flamenco Dance and Arabic Dance. Then, there was a Fashion Show where students wear traditional costumes from different countries while the hosts introduce the features of each costume. Right across the stage were food booths from different countries. Each year, overseas students gather and make the food they sell. It is a good opportunity to meet new people, as well as taste exotic food made by students. During the nighttime, there were musicians performing live, which is a perfect time for people to relax and enjoy foreign and aboriginal music.

Last year was the first time I participated in the festival. My friend who also came to Taiwan from Thailand asked me to help her out. It was hard work, since it was the first time for students from Thailand to have our own booth and we were unsure if people would like our food. Although we were all in doubt whether we could pull it off, we tried our best and made all the dishes beforehand to test the flavor. It sounds easier said than done, but we had to find a place with a kitchen to cook our food and lend us their cooking utensils. On top of that, some of the Thai ingredients were only purchasable in certain markets and groceries stores, so we had to carry the ingredients all the way from there. During the week of the actual event, each morning we had to wake up early and make the food and drinks we were going to sell that day. When it was time for us to sell the food, the heat and the crowd proved to be a complete chaos! We also had to run errands from time to time to exchange bills and coins, as well as buy extra straws and chopsticks. Nevertheless, I am very thankful to have the chance to participate in this cultural festival. I even got to wear a traditional Japanese costume and taste Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Malaysian, Turkish, Macau, Hong Kong, and Moroccan (shout out to Joyce!) food. It's nice to see students work together to create such a wonderful event. I hope that next year's World Festival will be a great success as well! Although I won't be able to participate next year, but I wish that when I get back from France, I'll still be able to help out and have as much fun!

A Weary Week

This past two weeks was extremely exhausting, I felt like I had to squeeze out every single bit of energy in me to make it through, which thankfully, I did. I am pretty satisfied with my midterms exam results, except for one. Not only did I fail the test, I failed miserably, as I only got 36 for the test. It's not like I didn't study for it, but it's just that the course happens to be one of my greatest obstacles...Translating French into Chinese. I know it's childish to complain about test scores, but I feel like I could have done a better job, if only I was able to finish all my writing. Since when I was a kid, I was never good at Chinese handwriting, my handwriting is perfectly written...but it literally takes me forever to carve the words. I was always the last one in my Chinese class to complete in-class writing assignments and time-limited tests. For a period of time, I tried to scribble my way through the papers in Chinese and I did manage to finish the work in time, but my handwriting was unreadable. Since then, my nightmare has come back to haunt me again. During the test, I struggled with writing in Chinese, as well as trying to figure out the Chinese for the French words. After a while of futile attempt, I ended up completing only 2/3 of the test. When the teacher gave back my test paper, I was dumbfounded because he deducted so many points off of my spelling mistake. I know that it's not fair for the teacher to make exceptions for someone who did not have a Chinese education background, and that's not what I am upset about. I was disappointed because I knew what the French articles were about, but I could not express my translation well enough in Chinese. Just when things were getting rough for me, I had a fever and a sore throat. As the obstinate and persistent person that I am, I refused to take a day off and rest. On top of that, there were meetings that I had to attend and appointments that I had to schedule into my already hectic planner. At the end of the week, I forced myself to go swimming and surprisingly, it felt good, as I was able to let out all the stressed piled up in me. Anyway, I guess the lesson that I learned this month is that sometimes we can't have everything we want. Sometimes there are things that we just cannot control, even though we think we deserve better, or even if we try our hardest to get it. Although I'm not sure what challenges still lie ahead for the month of May, all I can think of is to give it all I've got. Hopefully, all of my hard work will be returned with a rewarding outcome. Good luck!

Get Ready for Summer!

The cold and windy winter season is finally over. After the rainy season, it will soon be the start of Summer! Nothing feels better than spending time outside on a warm and sunny day, but in Taiwan, sometimes the weather can be scorching hot during the summer months! We've all heard about the potential dangers of exposing your skin to sunlight without protection, but are we aware of the correct way to apply sunscreen? Needless to say, it is important to wear sunscreen from the sun's damaging rays, but it is even more important to understand why and how to do it.

We all need some sun exposure, it keeps us healthy by giving us our source of vitamin D. However, too much unprotected exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays can cause skin damage, eye damage, and even develop cancer if there is a family history.

So, what are UV rays? Sunlight comes in three types of ultraviolet rays: UVA, UVB, and UVC.

1. UVC rays are the most dangerous, but thankfully, they are blocked by the ozone layer.

2. UVB rays cause sunburn, cataracts, and affects the immune system. Skin cancer may also develop with UVB sunburns.

3. UVA rays is the primary cause of aging and wrinkling, as well as contributing to skin cancer.

Before we learn how to apply sunscreen, we need to know to choose a good sunscreen! When buying a sunscreen product, read the label to for its SPF and PA protection. SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor, and protects the skin from UVB rays. The most common SPF levels in Taiwan are SPF 30 and SPF 50. Since SPF represents the length of time you can stay in the sun without getting a sunburn. For instance, if a person's skin starts to burn after 10 minutes of sun exposure, then a sunscreen with SPF 15 protection would prolong the sunburn 15 times longer, which equals to 150 minutes. Therefore, contrary to popular belief, higher SPF levels does not mean better protection, and SPF 30 should already be enough for daily protection, unless if you are going to the beach. PA stands for Protection Grade, and provides protection against UVA rays. You can find products with PA+, PA++, and PA+++ protection. Unless you are staying out in the sun for long hours, PA+ and PA++ protection is adequate for daily activities. But one might wonder: Why not just buy a product with the highest protection if the prices are about the same? Though higher protection level means longer protection against the sun, it is also heavier on the skin, which may be uncomfortable on a day in the heat. Thus, one should avoid too much protection if unnecessary.

Lastly, the correct way to apply sunscreen!

1. It is recommended that you apply on sunscreen everyday as a daily basis, even when the weather is moderate.

2. Apply sunscreen 15 to 30 minutes before heading out so that a good layer of protection and form and stay on the skin.

3. When applying the sunscreen, don't forget about the ears and behind the neck! Some lip balms even provide SPF protection! Wearing sunglasses or using an umbrella is an effective way to prevent your eyes from harmful rays.

4. Put on generous amounts of sunscreen, a thin layer of sunscreen will not offer enough protection against the sun.

5. Reapply sunscreen approximately every 2 hours, since sweating may reduce the effects of the sunscreen.

Next time when you're heading out to enjoy the sunlight, don't forget your sun protection! Happy tanning, everyone!

Productivity V.S. Procrastination

 

Since the midterms are coming up next week, I thought I might write a blog post about managing your time wisely. Isn't it funny how we like to procrastinate and then try to finish the stacked workload until the brink of the deadline? Why is it that we do that? Is there a way to increase productivity and at the same time effectively use our time?

 

Let's start by talking about willpower. We always need at least a bit of willingness before we do something. Before we start our work, we tend to imagine the work we need to do beforehand, thus making it harder to actually start the work. Therefore, before we even begin, we are already discouraged to make the first step. Instead of doing what we need to do, we then focus on other trivial tasks just to make ourselves believe that we are actually doing something productive. In my case, I tend to clean the room and organize my closet and shelves before exams just to persuade myself that I am completing something, and not trying to escape from studying. On the contrary, when we actually start doing our work, whether it's the day before the deadline or hours before the exam, we find it really easy to finish the work in a limited amount of time. Interestingly, how our brain works is that it tells us to finish what we started. For instance, if we are in the middle of doing something, and then forced to stop doing it, we feel this itch inside us to complete what we left off. Combining these two facts, we can now come up with a strategy to fight against procrastination!

Step 1: Make a to-do list. The tasks will be less intimidating if we actually put it down on a list and tackle with them one by one!

Step 2: Set up a deadline for each and every one of the tasks. Though it might seem insignificant, but if you have a chart that reminds you of what you need to do, the chances of you starting it will be higher than having nothing at all!

Step 3: Don't force yourself to finish everything all at once. Break down your tasks into smaller portions and occasionally give yourself a break. Our attention span simply does not allow us to stay focused on one thing for too long, it's just too exhausting!

Step 4: At the end of the day, evaluate what you have done and what you haven't accomplished. This will make you feel like you haven't finished a certain task yet, and therefore you'd be more motivated to finish it the next day!

Step 5: Reward yourself when you finish a huge task, whether it's a project or a report, or even an essay!

To briefly summarize the tips, all you need to remember is to: PLAN >>> START WORKING >>> HAVE BREAKS >>> EVALUATE >>> TREAT YOURSELF! 

Good Luck! (And remember, no multi-tasking because it is not productive and it also decreases work efficiency!)

Reminiscence

During the four-day holiday, I went to Shen Keng Old Street, which is only a few bus stops from NCCU. I was impressed by the ancient-looking streets and antique shops, but was kind of disappointed because they aren't authentic. You could easily tell that it was built and modified to look timeworn for the purpose of attracting tourists. Nevertheless, it is still a great place for people who would like to experience what it is like in the old days, to be surrounded by red brick houses, crimson lanterns, as well as restaurants with wooden stools and tables. It felt nice being there, yet sad somehow, probably because it reminded me of my grandmother. She passed away when I was in middle school, and all that's left in my memories of her are the good times when she gave me nothing but love.

My grandparents lived in a suburban village in Changhua, where some of the houses are more than a hundred years old! Everyone in the village have the same last name, Su, hence the name of the neighborhood "Grand House of the Su Family". You could see red bricks and wooden furniture almost everywhere, along with faded red couplets on rusty doors. Beside my grandparents' house is a well where the villagers used to come get water from, and next to it are two trees that stand on the village entrance like guardians. Directly in front of that is the traditional three section compound, in which the central building is the Shrine of the Su Family with our own God that we worship. The two wing buildings are resident houses, and the open space is where we hold festivals and religious ceremonies. Following the red brick road in front of my grandparents' house will lead you directly to a mysterious bamboo forest. It's so quiet and calming there it is like a fictitious land, dissociated with the rest of the world. When I was young, I'd imagine myself as Dorothy, following the red brick path and escaping into my own land of peace. Past the arch of bamboo trees are acres of fields and croplands, where my grandmother would catch butterflies to cheer me up. There were so many fond memories of this place that I cherish so much that emotions would pour out uncontrollably whenever I go back for a visit (which I haven't for a very long time). I feel lucky to have this cultural heritage, because to me, this place is my sanctuary, a retreat away from the turmoil of the world, which will always have its special place in my heart.