The Sky in Taipei

Recently I read some news about the original singer, Ms Wang, of “The Sky in Taipei”. It said that she and her husband donated one million US dollars to a school in Virginia as a scholarship for Asian students. They also sold their own company which was worth more than several billion NT dollars and decided to do volunteer work all over the world.

I was touched by their generous deed because they are only in their late forty. It made me think and believe there are in fact nice people out there: the world isn’t really in the cul-de-sac and we should keep hope for a better future. I admire those who have a big heart and selflessness. It is not easy to put aside one’s wealth and devote to others fully.

I love the song “The Sky in Taipei” although I’m not literally from here. I used to sing the song when I was in Europe. There are many fond memories in this city I reside now; yet there are many sad ones too.

For a city like Taipei, I wonder how many people are like me, a passerby, trying to look for a sense of belonging. It’s true we don’t always see a blue sky here but I had the luck contemplating one a couple of times. Fortunately, I’ve grown to adopt myself to different environments over the past few years. I guess my loneliest time, which was in Oslo, had given me the strength to overcome whatever trial I might face later in life… I also miss the sky in Oslo at times…

Hundred Pacer Snake

Hundred Pacer Snake

Clandestinely
Meandering like a river
A symbol of guardian god
Under the beauty of geometry
Lies an ancient sorcery
A totem is thy territory
The almighty emblem
Evoking power of mastery
Reunites tribes of valiant warriors
In a chaotic circumstance
When the summer bell strikes
Thunder and lightning withdraw
A harvest festival summons
The primitive and ethereal vocal
Embracing dancing and hailing
Hundred Pacer Snake
Everlastingly

Written by Jerski Bjorksen

Bronca and Wernicke areas

If Mandarin speakers learn Chinese in a different way compared with English counterparts, then what is the major variation in brain activities? Chinese happens to be a language that uses sound and character separately. If one does not learn the written form, there is no possibility that he knows how to write characters via the pronunciation.

Presumably, Mandarin speakers use both tactile and visual sensory mechanisms to master their mother tongue, but would that help them to acquire other alphabetical languages? Or would it be a hindrance? If one’s linguistic parameter, confined in the area of first language acquisition, had been set long before mastery, how hard would it be to switch the parameter to adapt other languages’ parameters? Or is it just impossible to change?

How much should be sufficient in terms of frequencies of word use so as for an individual to reach the native-like fluency in second language acquisition? How can we manipulate our brains to acquire new linguistic skills so that neurons, be in the Bronca’s or Wernicke’s area? How dissimilar is it in these two areas for both Mandarin and English speakers? What about bilingual people and those who acquire their second language well later in life? Could one use fMRI or PET to sort out some pattern or distinction?

I’m curious about those questions as we know Bronca's area is mainly responsible for outgoing speech, words for speech, and semantic processing or assigning meaning to words, whereas Wernicke's area is linked to memory functions, especially short-term memory, language comprehension, and processing incoming language whether it is speech or written language.

"Lucky"

Indigo bracelets lay quietly on my desk as I got up to reach “Scientific American”. It’s already 6:26 pm; and I had another class to teach tonight.

The radio was playing the cheesy English learning program again. I wondered how many people really benefited from it. But I loved the songs they played sometimes. Too bad there was only one English radio station over here although one could get online and get all sorts of international ones on the Internet.

The weather was clement this morning, which struck up my memory of Vevey. I bet there must be tons of tourists there now. I recalled one late afternoon, C., B, and I were walking around the lake and we found several swans swimming with carefree air on their faces. C. picked up a piece of wood and craved it into a seahorse with a Swiss knife. He gave me the seahorse and I named it “Lucky”. I had taken “Lucky” to many places, including Norway and the United States. Now, “Lucky” still sleeps soundly in my precious memory box…

Fighting gamely

Why on earth are we living in this world full of chaos? People over here are losing confidence in the government; and yet those legislators and government officials are digging scandals and dodging the issues, respectively. How many out there are truly making effort so as to better our society?

They say everything is getting more expensive but salary; I say there are still quite a few making a fortune monthly, be it legally or illegally. One just needs to realize what he or she wants for life and not to go with the flow blindly.

I reckon I must fight more gamely in order to have my goals fulfilled. I can act nonchalantly and mind my own business. But I do care about those are close to me. However, one critical aspect to a happy life lies in one’s own attitude. If you really know what you’re seeking and doing, you don’t have to care too much about others’ criticism. It’s not easy being singled out and fighting the world; but truth will shed light on many things sooner or later. The question is: do we have enough patience to persevere to the very end?

I am mesmerized by “The Shadow of the Wind” written by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Hope some day soon I will get to read in Spanish as well…

German again

So, I dug out my German textbook and started to do a little review after such a long pause. Funny to say, after having learned Norwegian, I no longer feel it’s that difficult to study German. I guess it’s because Norwegian is also a Germanic language.

S. rang me this morning while I was still asleep. I thought he would be stuck in Bali due to the typhoon. Good to know that he is back and safe and sound.

I was watching TV news while preparing my lesson tonight and I glimpsed that the weather has been scorching hot in Arizona, 48 degrees Celsius! The TV showed some images of ongoing lightening as well. It really makes one wonder what is going on in our world? Is it really the end of the world? Is it the fulfillment of the Apocalypse? Therefore, one thought came over me: why bother to care so much about things in life? I don’t need to worry about what people think of me, not to the extent to affect my own feelings. After all, we are all going to die sooner or later. Accordingly, we should live to the fullest of our own lives.

Yeah, I do feel revitalized in reading German again. I just love learning languages. I believe the neurons in my brain are very active and doing their best to acquire new skills. I know I will sleep well tonight, no doubt. Time to read Amy Tan again…

If I Die

If I die, would anyone mourn for me?
Should I care, should I not?
We all long for being loved
But does that truly matter?
If I die, would anyone cry for me?
I have no answer
Not in my mind’s eye
Not in my brain’s neuron
Who says there must be an end
To every story we hear
I want mine to be the exception
Way offline
Hard to comprehend
If I die, would my friends feel sad?
Do I want to know?
Maybe not
Why can’t we let negative thoughts take over
Just for a while?
Why must we stay positive always?
As human beings, it crawls up in our nature
I know I shouldn’t think like this
Yet who would really give a shit!?

Mountain Carp

Mountain Carp

There is a mystery about you
The beloved pet of crouching Buddha
Running away from menace
The fatal chase of ferocious feline
Thousands of years had passed
Leaving a trace of escapade
In the sable forest hunted by
A fearful blue ghost
On a sunny day of autumn
A troop of little pupils
Wandered around the steep treks
Searching the lost folktale
At the top of Mountain Carp
Where was it
Dead silent as it was usually
They looked up and saw only
The Orchid Island far east
Like a leaf floating in the sea
My first childhood outing
Lingered in my midnight dream
For ages and ages…

Written by Jerski Bjorksen

Trash Trash Trash!!!

When was the last time I really cared about myself? I wonder anyone out there truly cares about me? What kind of friend am I in their eyes? I don’t believe fortunetellers but at times I question myself why no one seems to bother…

So, that’s it! I am going to treat myself better! Those who are friends come to me; I’m not going to stretch out my hands. I got books to read, research to do, novels to write, and dreams to fulfill. Therefore, adieu for a while!

Some colleague asked me whether I had a bad day today. I didn’t even say a word but walked straight to my class. I despise those who come to “teach”. If they are passionate about teaching, I have nothing against them; but if they are here to take advantage of us, I look down on them.

That’s why I decided to study something more, not only to pursue my childhood dream but also get out of here. I’m sick of those fucking trashy people!!

Neurolinguistics, here I come!

WiMax vs. 3G

V. and I were talking about 3G mobile phone yesterday when he suddenly mentioned WiMax. What is WiMax? It is an acronym that stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, a certification mark for products that pass conformity and interoperability tests for the IEEE 802.16 standards.

With WiMax, one can also send and receive large files of video, photo, or music in a long distance, approximately 50 kilometers. It is useful having a cell phone integrated with this function in big cities. As for 3 G, one can also do the aforementioned things and even watch news or movies.

Now, the question is if WiMax or 3G provides the access of Internet, then one can also use free online telephone service such as Skype to make calls. What will happen with all those mobile phone companies? For those who are metropolitans, wouldn’t it be so convenient to use the free Internet phone to call friends or even clients any time and any where?

How would those mobile telecommunication corporations deal with this situation? Maybe they will have to increase the charge of the Internet service on cell phone. Although there are still a few years to go, I’m sure with the advance of technology, we will soon be able to use either WiMax or 3G in many places…

Civilian

It’s been nine days since Israel has started its air strike on Lebanon. No matter what reason hinds a war, I think the poorest victim is civilian. What choice can a civilian have, expect for awaiting his life being taken away?

Middle East has been a very unstable zone for decades. Israel’s aggressive stand towards other countries around has caused many conflicts albeit some sporadic truces in between. When can all of us learn how to live peacefully? Is this an omen of the end of our world? Or perhaps it’s really the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Feud can’t be eradicated if on one wants to forgive and move on. War can’t be stopped if the goal to pursue world peace and love never reaches a consensus. The very possible outcome is all of us kill each other and at the end Homo sapiens dies out.

I’m glad to see my parents today although we didn’t get to talk much. They came up to help my sister take care of my niece; then they will head back to Taidong by next Wednesday. My little niece is very excited about going down to Taidong to see the Aboriginal Festival. Wish I could go with them, but looks like I’ll have to wait until September.

I had some glutinous rice my mother made for us this afternoon. It’s so delicious and sort of quenched my nostalgia…

Angel or Devil~Chapter 2

“Mom! I’m home!” Jade-Lynne shouted as she walked in the house.
“Oh, hey honey! How’s school?” asked Marianna.
“Fatabulous! I helped Jenny finish her science project.”
“Really? You mean that molecular biology one?”
“Yeah…”replied Jade-Lynne as she opened the fridge to grab a Popsicle.

After dinner, Jade-Lynne went into her room, which was decorated with all sorts of silver objects. She just loved the color and proclaimed it could make her head cool down and think more thoroughly.

When everyone at her age was playing dolls, she was only intrigued by the adult world. However, she was very into making clothes for her pet, Vector, a green lizard.
She got a sowing machine as her 4th birthday gift, which made her smile that whole week. All the relatives and friends who came over the house were amazed by her delicate artwork. She applied geometrical patterns and Indian totems to make clothes; and the colors were usually very attractive blue, indigo, red, yellow, and green.

Pacing back and forth impatiently, Jade-Lynne murmured “That little bitch is not here yet and it’s 12 o’clock! I am going to teach her a serious lesson later!”
Soon after she said that, Erica rushed to her breathlessly.
“I’m so sorry, Jade-Lynne! I got…Ouch! Why did you slap me?”
“To teach you how important being punctual is! You ugly tramp!”
“Now, give me the damn crystal ball right now!” demanded Jade-Lynne.
“I…I…” stammered Erica.
“Don’t you tell me you didn’t bring it!” Another slap slashed right across Erica’s face.
“My mother took the ball and forbids me to get it out.” said Erica tremblingly.
“Then today is really your day to sleep with the demon!” screamed Jade-Lynne.

Jade-Lynne took out the bayonet hidden in her back and stabbed right through Erica’s left wrist. Erica was screaming and crying to beg for mercy. Yet, Jade-Lynne seemed not to hear anything at all. She continued stabbing for a few times and then stopped to take out the ropes she had prepared beforehand. The blood had already trickled down to the floor and formed a small pool.

“Do you like honey and chocolate sauce?” asked coldly Jade-Lynne.
“Yeah, why?” replied Erica.
“Well, well, it’s your lucky day! I’m going to treat you a real nice lunch!”
As soon as Jade-Lynne said that, she quickly pushed Erica down and tied her hands and legs with the ropes tightly. Then, she poured a big bucket of mixture of honey and chocolate sauce all over Erica.

“Okay! You’re ready to enjoy the meal I specifically prepared for you?”
“Please, have mercy, Jade-Lynne! Don’t do this to me! It’s all gooey!”
“That’s even better! Now I got another surprise for you, your special company for the meal! Hahaha…”laughed loudly Jade-Lynne.

She opened a big jar which contained thousands of big black ants and dumped all the voracious creatures out on the ground and walked away slowly without turning her head a bit…

Over The Horizon

Over The Horizon

Faces of dolphins protrude
From the surface of blue sea
Sirens of enigmatical history
Revive gently
My old days buried
With memorable comrades
Dearly
Master of pedagogy secluded
In a misty mountain far east
I miss you
Over the horizon
I see you
Across the Pacific
Being wrapped in Burgundy
Projecting a long lost picture
Of graceful memory

Written by Jerski Bjorksen

When I see your faces shine...

One of the most fulfilling things in teaching is seeing students’ faces shine like a star.
I enjoy sharing my experience in language acquisition with students. I know it’s not an easy task to mast a foreign language. One needs not only assiduity but also determination, patience, and perseverance.

When I told mother I wanted to be an English teacher and actually went ahead and became one, she asked me whether I knew how to teach. That’s a really good question.

For some reason, I just knew how to teach, if you ask me. The reason my mother asked me the question was that I’m very quiet in person, especially in a group. That is just my nature and I cannot change it.

But when I stand in front of a podium, I am completely different. I become very eloquent and love every minute interacting with audience. That’s also why I participated in all sorts of speech contests back in the school days.

How many of you have had the experience giving a speech to over 2,000 people? I had and I didn’t get any stage freight either. I was only in the fifth grade.

Tonight, I saw again my students’ faces shine brightly, like some enlightenment struck them. I knew they got the information of how to study better and apply what they’ve learned in life. Language is all about application and practice, isn’t it?

If I Were You

“Do you want to go back to Europe?” a friend asked.
“Sure, I’d love to. But it’s not now; I got something else I need to accomplish first…”

The radio is playing Hoobastank’s “If I were you”.

“If I were you, I would go now. What makes you reluctant to take off? Nothing is left expect all those tragedies.” continued the friend.
“You don’t understand. I must fulfill an important promise to myself. But someday I will go back to the lake…”

How many times have you said “If I were you, I would do such and such…” to friends or even yourself?

I’m a typical Aries, especially during my youth. Whenever, I thought of something worth a try, I did it without much consideration. There were great moments but also some of the lowest of lows.

Perhaps I gained more experience and wisdom in life, which I regard as critical elements for being a human in this world.

Right now, I think more thoroughly before making any important decisions because experience is such an expensive cost of life.

Try to arrange time for German courses again. I just hope this hectic period of time will go by sooner…

Angel or Devil~Chapter 1

“You’re so grounded! Jade-Lynne Knutson!” shouted Marianna hysterically.
“But Mom, I didn’t do it!” said Jade-Lynne tremblingly.
“Still lying? Where did you get all this money from? A child would not have 500 dollars in her purse!”
“But…but…I found it…”
“I don’t want to hear any lies! Now go to your room! You’re grounded for a week!”

Jade-Lynne was five years old but she was a lot of smarter than her peers. She had already read all the Harry Potter series and could do college calculus I. Her classmates adored her, especially when she gave her sweetest smile to every person she met.

“It’s so unfair! You never listen to me and I still need to call you Mom!” retorted Jade-Lynne.
“Face it! Nothing is fair in this world. You’re my daughter and I’m the mother! I will not tolerate your attitude any more. Now, I count to three and you’d better disappear in front of me!”
Stomping her feet hardly, Jade-Lynne ran into her room upstairs.

Sitting on her bed, her head started to race like a spinning top. “I will not let Erica get away from this! That bitch will definitely be dead meat by the end of this week!” thought Jade-Lynne with her calculating nature.

“Please don’t cut my hair, Jade-Lynne! I love my hair so much…”begged Erica.
“Really? How much do you love it? Show me!”
“I wash it everyday with milk…Ahhhh, please don’t pull it so hard.”
“You little bitch! What did you tell my Mom, huh?”
“Today is your day to sleep with the demon!” laughed evilly.

“Okay, okay, I will give you all my Barbie dolls and plus my secret treasure in the garden-the crystal ball!” said Erica
“Who wants your stupid dolls! Bring me the crystal ball at noon tomorrow or you are absolutely going down to hell!”

Before Jade-Lynne walked off, she snapped a strand of smooth blonde hair and cut it hard, leaving Erica sobbing in the dark.

To be continued…

Yellow Hibiscus

In the front yard of my next-door neighbor stood a hedge of hibiscus trees. There was one special tree that always had yellow flowers among the red, pink and orange…

JJ liked to play with his rabbit; I liked to chase after my fat guinea pig!

Who said we couldn’t pick the unripe grapes? I always plucked them to make strong ammunition of my bamboo guns.


Yellow Hibiscus

The flow of memory lane
Strikes up an oblivious fan
Turning languidly
With its heavy head
Where is my bucket of strawberries
Who ate all my cheese cake
The current of windy day
Brings down a forgotten dance
Where is the dragon
Who took away Confucius’s cane
Little child has a small pet
Running around like busy ants
Under the tree of yellow hibiscus
Scatter my all-time favorite
Mischievous robber bands…

Written by Jerski Bjorksen

Splash

Splash

Rain follows a trailing spiral

Down to the bottom of muddy road

Crickets sing with sparrows

Up to the end of blue horizon

Golden stars yellow tarts

A small child's laugh

Like a dancing lark

In a park

Whether purple or turquoise

Forest or wilderness

Morning dews are lovely kaleidoscopes

East West North South

All reflect a beautiful ray of colorful touch

Monet Picasso and my own imagination

Splash

Splash

And

Splash

Written by Jerski Bjorksen

Chinese Trend

My genealogy says my ancestors came to Taiwan about three hundred years ago. They were from a town called Chuan-Chao in the province of Fu-Jen. However, I overheard my parents talking about my great-grand father was actually an adopted child in the family. So, my biological ancestors were from another kinship.

What difference does it make when someone asks me whether I’m Chinese or Taiwanese? I reckon the real issue lies in the political ideology between China and Taiwan. I have nothing against people from Mainland China but I have to admit communism is not my favorite political regime.

I should be very proud because I was raised in a Mandarin environment; yet does that make me more advantageous in this globalization? I doubt it. At least, the Chinese trend is just getting started and it will at least take another 15 to 20 years for it to reach a full-fledged state. And again, who knows whether this Chinese fever will die down before it bears its fruit.

While many are rushing to learn English in Taiwan, one should maybe take a moment to think about Chinese and Taiwanese cultures. Is your English good enough to clearly tell foreigners about your own root and legacy passed on by your ancestors? Or are you just learning American or British culture and hoping to be like them? Let’s face it. It will never happen because you’re not born in either of these countries. But again, does that matter in the pursuit of being a global citizen?

Duck Weed

Today on my way to work, I was reading Jeff Hawkins again. The subject matter was memory lane. All of a sudden, a picture of duck weeds emerged in my head. Then, it’s a small pond near uncle’s farm.

My cousins and I used to play there on Saturday afternoons. Gosh, we hated the noisome odor from the pig sty! Yet, we loved to feed the gold fish in the pond. I particularly loved the duck weeds because they could grow fast and I enjoyed picking them out of the pond.

There was a stream running slowly beside the Bei-Nan River, where lots of duck weeds “resided”. They actually floated around and never stayed put. Doesn’t duck weed mean an uncertain life? I didn’t know that until later I studied it at school.

Why did the duck weeds pop up in my head? I really don’t know. However, for some reason, I’m sort of like duck weeds. I’ve traveled to several countries and it’s not just for vacation but mainly for schooling. I pretty much lived in a country for one or two years.

Looks like my mind’s duck weed is agitating again. But I hope this time I will find the place I would like to live for a longer time. And certainly, my life isn’t uncertain; it’s more crystal-clear than ever!

La Suisse, tu me manques, tu sais?