#32

     David said that he made a new habit, and that is to read my diary. It gave me such pressure to keep updating my blog. OK, so let me talk about my recent life.

     First, I've passed a job interview and now I am an online Chinese tutor. However, the platform for learning Chinese was just created last month, so there are not so many students there. I tried to open some classes for people to book, but no one came to book my class. T_T I felt a little upset, but I can understand the situation. I expect my first real Chinese class anyway.

     I dreamed of David yesterday. It was a horrible and annoying dream. He took a can of white paint, and painted the walls in my house. He even used white paint to cover the pattern of Finn, one of my favorite cartoon characters, painted by me a few weeks ago. I felt so angry at him for he ruined my painting. Also, he painted so many weird characters and patterns which I don't know and I can't recognize anyone of them on the walls.

     "What do you think you're doing now!!!!!!?????" I yelled at him, but he seemed satisfied with his paintings, and thought that he did me a big favor to decorate the walls.

     I am glad that it's just a dream, or I will split up with him.

#31

     It's been for about a week that I didn't write my diary. The day before yesterday, I went to Hsinchu with Becky and Patty to visit Joe and Ann. When we arrived there, we took a bus to a port to ride a bike. It was very windy and a little rainy, but we still rent a cart to watch the sea.

     It was funny and ridiculous for us to get lost, and we couldn't find the path for bikes. We were riding our cart on a *thoroughfare, and many cars tried to cut in front of us. Oh! My! It was really scary! There were not many tourists there, and we couldn't find anyone to ask for the correct direction, and then two kids passed by us. They were just like our God of the direction.

     I didn't know how we found the correct way, but we found it anyway. Then, we started real riding for sea watching, but later, we found that we started the tour from the destination... And everybody was going to end their beautiful trip, but we just started it.

     During our riding, we saw a funny guy riding his scooter. I guessed that maybe he was suffering from backache because he was lying on the seat when he was riding a scooter. He was such a comedian, I thought.

     At about 5:30, we went to meet Joe and Ann, and we had a big dinner together. Ann bought a can of alcohol drink with plum flavor, and it was so expensive. It cost 250 NT dollars! I was really shocked. After dinner, we said goodbye to each other, and Patty came back home with me. She would stay my house one night, and I would take her to visit around Lukang the next day. It was amazing to meet friends, talk with them, and enjoy delicious food together.

#30

     I think I can sleep pretty well today because everything is gonna be perfect. It was a stirring day for I thought of a good way to solve the problem that I couldn't upload my video without the permission of recording it in an office. Also, I went to the hospital with my dad, and the analysis of his blood has progressed so much. His CRP (發炎指數) was 0.95, and it was good news for me.

     Becky invited me to take a trip to Hsinchu next Saturday, and I've obtained my mom's permission to join her. I would expect it from now on! I'll bring my camera in case I think of some good ideas for Chinese teaching videos.

     Muzina's class again, and it was a delightful class as usual. What different from the first class was I could see him on my screen this time, ha ha. And I found that Arnela was back to Engoo, so I booked her tomorrow class immediately.

#29

     Today, I felt so excited because I was going to find Becky to make a video for my page of learning Chinese. Our topic today was Hobbies. I brought my digital camera, and we got a rehearsal before recording it. It was very interesting during our rehearsal, and we thought of a very funny opening of the video. After the video was done, I couldn't wait to edit it immediately.

     I uploaded the video as soon as I finished editing it, and I was very glad to share it with everyone since it was so funny. However, Becky's mom thought that it was not a good idea to record a video in an office.

     We didn't think too much, and we just did it for convenience, but our background was indeed an office. Becky's mom thought that we should ask for the permission first before recording a video in the office, so I deleted it.

     I didn't want to see Becky bothered by this video, and I hoped it would not influence her relationship with her colleagues and her chief. Also, I was afraid that she would feel guilty for inviting me to record a video in her office, and I knew that it was not her fault although I felt disappointed and sorrowful for I had to delete the video on the Net. I felt such a pity since we already spent time recording and editing the video. Both of us were very expecting to see it on, but we just couldn't carry it out.

     It was a night for a barrel of beer. How I wish I was drunk now. Cheers, ziveli, na zdrowie~ for a better day and better life.

#28

     These days, Stanky and Arnela didn't have classes, so I could't book their classes. Therefore, today, I met another new teacher, Muzina. He is from *Croatia. I think I should broaden my global view because I never heard of Croatia before I booked this teacher's class. Before our English class, I searched the location of Croatia, and it is surrounded by Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

     It seemed that Muzina's webcam had some problems, so I didn't see his face during class, but it didn't matter actually. He was very interesting, and he shared some bands and singers he liked with me. I love music, and I am very glad to know some new bands. After class, I checked all bands and singers he mentioned in class one by one on Youtube and Wikipedia. Oh! My goodness! They are so awesome! So, I'd like to share them with you here, and if you are interested in music, maybe you can check them later: Arctic Monkeys, Queens of the Stone Age, the Doors, the Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix.




*Croatia -- 克羅埃西亞

#27

     I knew another good teacher today, and her name is Becka. During class, I found that my class time was over, but she still tried her best to answer all my questions about the text. I felt so sorry for occupying her break time, but she didn't mind it. And she said that my pronunciation is excellent, I felt so happy to hear that. But she was such a popular teacher, and I found all her tomorrow classes were already booked. T_T I think this might be our first and last class.

     My father seemed having a cold, so we went to the hospital this afternoon. However, Dr. Ho said it was not a cold but an allergy. He told us that we should turn on the dehumidifier more often, and remember to clear its water box. According to Dr. Ho, I think perhaps my dad felt ill because of the rain. It rained often these days.

     Today, I wrote a birthday card for a friend of mine, but I haven't sent it. I'll send her a letter to her company, and I think it will be such a surprise.

#26

     It was getting cold again, and it was rainy. My dad's condition was not good these two days, and I am not sure if it's because of the weather. For he can undergo a treatment smoothly next week, we decided to *make a doctor's appointment on line for tomorrow afternoon.

     The friend I had on the website HOW DO YOU DO came to visit my Facebook fan page! I was so happy to have her messages on it. She is such a sweet girl. I am very expecting the day I finish my fan page task, and send the web address to my interviewer.

     I learned two more Serbian words today, and it was very interesting to know more languages. Ziveli means long live. They said ziveli before drinking an alcohol drink, like cheers in English, and the other word is rakija. Rakija is homemade Serbian alcohol, and it's very strong, containing 50% alcohol. If I have chance, I would like to try it.




*make a doctor's appointment / make an appointment -- (醫院)掛號

#25

     I slept too late last night, so I felt very sleepy all day long. I was very busy thinking about what I could share and what I could teach on my page for Chinese teaching.

     This morning, I booked Stanky's class, and I enjoyed his class very much. Actually, I like his class since the first time I took his class. He is so smart and logical, and his instruction is always brief and very clear. That's why I adore him so much, and it makes me dare not to choose his class because I can't help but keep beaming in his class all the time, just like having an English class with a superstar.

     I ate a piece of chocolate cake given by Emma today, and it was very delicious! Not too sweet, and not too soft. It tasted slightly firm, perfect texture.

#24

     I didn't record anything in my diary yesterday because I was so *engrossed in making and editing my video last night. But my yesterday and today were so interesting, I'd like to share everything in these two days.

     Yesterday, I went to Taichung to join a wedding reception, and I met some college classmates there. I had a great time eating and talking with them. Our today's main role was the beautiful bride, Shitian. Although I am not really familiar with her, I still feel happy to be one of her guests in one of her important time in her life. It was a really touching scene as Shitian's mother gave Shitian's hand to the groom, and I saw them bursting into tears. It's hard for me to imagine my own wedding now, but if I get married some day, I must cry as well.

     After our beautiful lunch, Emma said there was a store she was very eager to visit in Taichung, so Patty, Anne, Jing, and I went there with her. It was a small store selling old-fashioned clothes. I love the style very much actually because they look so unique, special, and wonderful. But I am not suitable wearing them, they look weird on me. Q_Q Finally, no one bought something at the store, and we left for the train station.

     Emma and I took the same train because she would stay at my home one night, and we planned to take a trip around Lukang the next day. Since she knew I was making a video for Chinese teaching and learning material recently and she was willing to be my special guest in my video, we planned to go to the night market to buy some snacks (although we weren't hungry) and record the short trip with my cellphone as one of my posts on my Facebook fan page.

     We are not stars, so we felt very embarrassed to act and speak loudly in front of the camera *lens. The weather was really nice last night, so there were many people in the night market. When we started to record a video, so many people were glancing at us as if we were *lunatics.

     At first, we planned to buy salty fried chicken (Taiwanese fried chicken), so we recorded a short video at the entry of the night market, and said, "We want to eat salty fried chicken, so let's go buy it!" But when we entered the night market, we didn't see any vendors selling salty fried chicken! It meant that we should record the start at the entrance again. It was really embarrassing to bear a constant gaze. However, after we recorded all scenes of our video, both of us were very excited to complete it and share with friends. So, after home, I couldn't wait to edit it, and I stayed up so late to finish my second video. That's why I didn't post anything on this blog yesterday.

     And today, I took Emma to many famous historical sites in Lukang. I was so surprised that she didn't visit any of them before, and I was very glad to share some histories and stories of Lukang with her. We had lunch with Becky today, and I really enjoyed the time eating with them.




*engross -- If something engrosses you, it is so interesting that you give it all your attention.
*lens -- a curved piece of glass, plastic or other transparent material, used in cameras, glasses and scientific equipment
*lunatic -- someone who behaves in a silly or dangerous way

#23

     I made my first video for teaching Chinese, and uploaded it on the fan page today. I felt so excited to share with my family and friends. I didn't care about the number of fans actually, but I really felt joyful to carry out something only by myself. It was an amazing experience. I spent my whole afternoon recording and editing the video like a professional editor, and I really appreciated that I had so many nice friends. They praised me so much, and they always gave me comments and suggestions.

     My father was in a very good mood and he was a little TOO excited. He got up so early, and started to plan what he could do today. Then, he came to my room to invite me to Mt. Pagua to go hiking. However, there were so many tour buses there, and my dad couldn't find a place to park his car. So, we just drove around the mountain and left. And then we went to Carrefour because my dad thought it was such a pity if we went home right away. We browsed through every kind of merchandise so quickly since we didn't have a shopping list.

     There is a free basketball *arcade game on the second floor of Carrefour, and we took turns playing it. My dad seldom played basketball now, so he felt exhausted after shooting again and again. We had a great time together.

     Now is very late, and I should sleep right away because I am going to join a wedding reception after seven hours. Good night.




*arcade game -- 街機遊戲

#22

     Since I had to accompany my dad to the hospital this afternoon, and I would join the meeting of the study group in the evening, if I'd like to have my English class, I could only take it in the morning. I got up early to preview part of A Christmas Carol for today's English class, and I finished my class at 7:30. Later, I went to have my breakfast, and I still had many things to do. I turned on my laptop to do the exercises of teaching past-exam papers in 2016, and reinvented a test paper for today's meeting.

     It was raining cats and dogs in the morning when my dad invited me to the gym to exercise. So, to avoid having a cold, my dad changed his plan. We went to an *electrical appliances shop to buy a *dehumidifier. The doctor suggested that we buy a dehumidifier because dampness is not good for our health, and it helps *germs *multiply rapidly.

     During chemotherapy, I kept hearing nurses talking and gossiping. They spoke ill of their mothers-in-law, and I felt a little embarrassed but they spoke so loudly that I couldn't stop hearing. They are very lucky, I think, to have colleagues to gossip with.




*electrical appliances shop -- 電器行
*dehumidifier -- 除濕機
*germ -- a very small organism that causes disease
*multiply -- to increase very much in number

#21

     I didn't book an English class today because I had lots of things to do. I went to the hospital with my dad in the early morning for he needed a blood test to make sure if he could undergo a treatment. We waited for a long time. The area of blood test is open at seven, and we usually arrive there at about 6:40, and then take a number from the numbering machine. Generally speaking, if we are lucky, we can get the number 4; if no, maybe number 7. But today, we got the number 17! I guessed it was because the hospital closed during Tomb Sweeping holiday.

     Last night, I didn't sleep well. There was a very annoying mosquito flying around me and I couldn't find it. I got up several times and turned on the light to kill it, but I failed. I even didn't know if I fell asleep last night successfully. I felt so exhausted after we went back home from the hospital, so I went to bed again. But I didn't sleep long for I had to prepare lunch, and my dad needed to see a doctor at 2 p.m.

     This was our first time seeing a doctor without my mom. My mom always prepares everything, and we don't have to worry about forgetting to bring any stuff. But this time was very different, I was under the pressure for remembering everything. My dad is applying the *Fentanyl Transdermal Patch to relieve the pain, and the patch is a *controlled medicine, so we need to return every used patch when we go back to the hospital. Also, we need to record the time we change the patches and the number of patches we use every time. We record them in a green form, and we have to return it back with used patches to a *pharmacist. If we forget to return used patches and the form, the pharmacist won't give us my dad's medicine, so it's very important to collect them well.

     My dad's blood report showed that his condition is good enough to undergo a treatment, so my dad needs to go to the hospital tomorrow for undergoing chemotherapy. We were happy to hear that. After home, my aunt gave me her prescription and asked me to help her take her medicine. Oh! Why did she tell me so late? I've arrived home! Anyway, I just left home again.

     On the way to the clinic, I saw my dad's favorite *omelet vendor standing beside the road, so I went in to buy an original flavor one. I *rejoiced to buy a delicious snack home, and I decided to buy one for myself as well, so I went to McDonald's to buy a combo.

     There was a heap of papers around my room... So, I spent much time collecting them and *transcribing all my notes during English classes into my notebook. It was a very demanding task... I think from now on, I should take notes in my notebook immediately after class.



*Fentanyl Transdermal Patch -- 吩坦尼穿皮貼片劑 (一種止痛貼片)
*controlled medicine -- 管制藥品
*pharmacist -- a person who is trained to prepare and give out medicines in a hospital or shop
*omelet -- 煎蛋餅 (or egg cake)
*rejoice -- to feel or show great happiness about something
*transcribe -- to record something written, spoken, or played by writing it down

#20

     Oh! Yeah! I passed! I passed the first interview of the platform, Billion-idea, to be an online Chinese tutor. And my second mission is to create a Facebook fan page and post at least five pieces of information, messages, articles,or something about Chinese teaching and learning. I've created my fan page, and I will think of what topics I can share on it tomorrow. I wanna thank my friends Becky and Patty for helping me check my introduction script.

     Arnela said she appreciated that I booked  her English class so often, and I felt a little embarrassed, but I was very glad that she remembered me. I really like her English class since she is an enthusiastic teacher and she always gives me a *hearty welcome.

     Tomorrow, I have to drive my dad to the hospital alone because my mom has to work. Originally, we should go to the hospital on Tuesday, but this Tuesday was our Tomb Sweeping Day, and Dr. Ho didn't work that day.




*hearty -- enthusiastic, energetic, and often loudly expressed

#19

     Some relatives of mine came back today to worship our ancestors. We had lunch and watched TV together. My brother came back from Hualien yesterday evening, and he gave us a box of Hualien Mochi (rice cake) as a gift. Today, he showed me some interesting pictures during the trip to Hualien, and I sent them to my friends. Ha ha.

     In today's English class, I showed the picture of *popiahs (spring roll), and Teacher Arnela said it looked like Italian food. So interesting! Our popiah looks international, doesn't it?

     In the late evening, I invited my mom to *stroll along *Lukang Old Street, and we also went to *Lukang Artist Village. We met a very beautiful cat in front of *Lukang Culture Center (Lukang Assembly Hall), but the cat seemed blind. I am good at imitating cats' sound, so I tried to mew like a cat to attract the cat's attention. It did hear my sound, and it did walk on the way to my position, I meant, it tried to walk to me, but it failed somehow. It didn't run away but passed me again and again, and it never looked at me eye to eye, even though I *squatted in front of it.

     I needed to collect all my notes during English classes these days, and it would be easier for me to review vocabulary words.

*popiah (spring roll) -- 我找到的最接近潤餅的說法
*stroll -- to walk in a slow, relaxed manner, esp. for pleasure
*Lukang Old Street -- 鹿港老街
*Lukang Artist Village -- 鹿港桂花巷藝術村
*Lukang Culture Center or Lukang Assembly Hall -- 鹿港公會堂
*squat -- 蹲，蹲坐

#18

     In the morning, Mom drove me to visit my grandma, but she was not home. So, we went to Aunt Lizhen's dwelling. Aunt Lizhen planted many different kinds of vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, cabbages, *scallions, and many other I-don't-know vegetables in a small field beside their house. Aunt Lizhen has said that we could go take some vegetables home any time. So, here we were! Mom *pruned some sweet potato leaves and scallions home, and they became part of our lunch.

     Originally, I planned to make a video of my introduction for applying for a job interview this afternoon; however, I felt so uncomfortable because of my *period pain. I tried to fall asleep to relieve the pain, but I couldn't because I felt very cold even though I was covered with a comforter. It was just like experiencing a nightmare. But I felt better after several hours, and I was able to walk to drink a mug of hot water.

     I've finished making my video, and uploaded it to a website given by the interviewer. Please! Give me the chance to have an interview~

*scallion = green onion = spring onion 蔥
*prune -- to cut off branches from a tree, bush, or plant, esp. so that it will grow better in the future.
*period pain = menstrual pain 經痛

#17

     Because of Tomb Sweeping Day, Mom and I went to sweep my ancestor's tomb with our relatives this morning. Later, we rode a scooter to the *columbarium pagoda to worship our deceased families. There were many people and cars there. After we visited all the places where deceased families' *urns are located, I felt so hungry and I persuaded my mom to browse through the vendors along the street to see if there was something to eat. I stopped in front of a vendor selling *Taiwanese sausage with sticky rice and bought a set because it smelt so good. After home, one of my aunts came visit my dad with her son, her son's wife and her granddaughter. But since we didn't have lunch yet, we were busy cooking in the kitchen.

     It was so exhausted, and I fell asleep soon after lunch. My mom invited me to go to 85 Degrees C coffee shop to buy milk tea and coffee together for buy one get one free when I woke up. Of course, I said YES! I loved milk tea and coffee. When we arrived there, there were so many people standing in line, and the clerk said that we had to wait more than one hour to get our drinks. Therefore, after we ordered, we went to the temple decorated with lots of seashells in Fuxing and spent our time feeding fish. Fish there were always hungry.

     I tried to think of my English and Chinese introduction this evening because I would like to apply for a job interview for being a Chinese online tutor, and I had to make a short video to introduce myself first. It was challenging but interesting for me. Hope that I can finish the video tomorrow. Good luck to me!




*columbarium -- a building or room with special spaces for holding urns containing the ashes of dead people
*columbarium pagoda -- 納骨塔
*urn -- a container that has a lid and is used for holding a dead person's ashes
*Taiwanese sausage with sticky rice -- 大腸包小腸

#16

     I went to Lukang Junior High School to attend Lukang study group meeting and write 100 exercises of teaching past-exam papers in the morning. At noon, my mom sent me a message, and it said that she drove my grandpa to see a doctor, and no one prepared lunch. So, I went home to cook for Dad. I could almost be called a cook, ha ha.

     My parents and I went shopping  few days ago, and we bought a box of *flaxen green hair dye. This evening, I asked my mom to help me dyeing my hair. My mom said, "Before dyeing, you should apply some cream on your ear, neck, and around the edge of your hair. It can help you avoid being stained with hair dye."

     Originally, it looked really great after I applied hair dye on my hair. It was the color I wanted! To let the color fixed, I waited for about an hour, and went wash my hair. Later, I applied a pack of *Colorseal Conditioner on it. After I *blow-dried my hair, I stood in front of the mirror to check the result. Oh! My! It became brown... Actually, it still looked not bad, but it was not the color I expected. Where was my flaxen green?????? Q_Q




*flaxen -- (of hair) pale yellow
*flaxen green -- 亞麻綠
*Colorseal Conditioner -- 鎖色精華素
*blow-dry -- to dry your hair using a hairdryer