Today I am in the mood of ''blogging'', thanks to the thought of working part-time as translator. Ideally I should be able to translate between English-Mandarin, it just partly depends on writing skills I guess, if particularly the content involves emotion. Sometimes I feel I can write, sometimes I feel I can't. I like to think I am able to think logically most of the time ( not when I am moody :-0), definitely with imagination, is it enough to make me write ? Or translate something. I guess I have to give it a try. Why not. I guess I don't need much imagination when I translate the function of a health supplement or the abstract of a study.
Anyway, after reading some blogs on the internet, I am surprised how long it's been- I have not written anything in my own blog since last May. Having read what I wrote in the past, first thing in my mind was : I didn't sound as stupid as I thought ( lol ). In fact, it is interesting. It is funny that reading my own blog feels like reading somebody else's blog, somebody who encountered similar experience like I did. How much difference with the Me from the past to the Me at the present ? The truth is, I like how it feels. I still remember I was feeling depressed, or just simply sad when I wrote some of them, but I feel different now. I feel calm, and realised I haven't watched any Japanese series since last May at the same time.
I guess the moment when I sit down and write, is the moment when I want to face myself just quietly, and talk to myself, talk about something that is bit opinionated, something that's better leave for myself or the strangers who read this blog (if miracle happens !)
今晚我覺得很無助，文化差異讓我覺得很無助。與上一帶的隔閡感到無助。剛剛又讀了一遍一篇文章，love and loneliness of Taiwan。作者是瑞士在荷蘭還瑞士有在新聞發表。我喜歡讀他，因為這外外來者的描述很貼切和某種程度的真實。文中講到台灣人生活，主要圍繞在食物和金錢。“當有人說我愛你時，可能不代表他真的愛你，願意為你付出。但當他願意分你一大塊麵包時，你則對他而言非常重要“。坦白說讀到食物和金錢時感覺不是太舒服，但卻有一絲貼切。講述到歷史時，一位台灣女生說，“很多我的這一帶的爸媽都是移民來的“ （沒錯，仔細想想我爸媽跟爺爺奶奶也是呢，所謂外省人..），所以上一代包括我爸媽等都是一路打拼，努力工作來給全家更好的生活。“尤其早期，某種程度上台灣人是孤兒“。是的我好像每篇文章都要表揚一下爸爸媽媽，我想大概是我出國後體驗佈道英國對我的文化衝擊，而是台灣的文化衝擊不斷在像浪花一樣打上我。我是被呵護的小孩，但爸媽以上的世代是政治和文化的孤兒。
I feel helpless tonight. Feel helpless because of culture differences, because of the generation gap. Just read an article called ''love and loneliness of Taiwan' again, the author seem to be a journalist from Switzerland, and it was published in the newspaper at that time. I like to read it, though I can't say I enjoy reading it. It undeniably describes the way Taiwanese live, the tradition and what we value.
''Life of Taiwanese are about food, and money.'' ''If someone says I love you, he/she might not mean it; if someone share a big piece of bread with you, that means he/she cares about you very much. '' I have to admit the shade of negativity slapping inside my body but it is somehow, true to an extent. When he wrote about history of Taiwan, a lady who he interviewed said ''Many of our parents from the last generation and their parents were literally immigrants, they were like orphans ''. It is very true, a lot of Taiwanese families ( mostly live in North Taiwan) were originally from outside if Taiwan, mostly from south China, malaysia and indonesia. Consequently most of the parents of last generation worked really hard to have quality life, to provide children and family. I am impressed by the insight of this point of view, a reflection of how children this generation were brought up by so much care and love, but our parents and beyond, were orphans of politics and culture. I am grateful from the bottom of my heart. Yet it partly explains English culture shock rarely hit me, while Taiwanese culture shock hit me with a heavy punch over, and over again.
