I have first say that we don't celebrate Thanksgiving here, but I would never turn down a chance to enjoy a nice Thanksgiving feast. However, it just never occurs to my parents that we should buy a turkey or something from markets or other places... Too bad :(
Now, I want to appreciate the fascinating nature. Here in Taiwan, you can see that the temperature was practically zigzagging its way from cold to hot in a day throughout the week. I have trouble keeping my jackets on but it would be too chilly to take it off. Thanks, Weather.
The Snowman in the Winter
This book takes a lot longer than the average time I take to read a book. It has been over a month and I am finally near the end of this thriller/suspense novel. This is what I intuitionally dislike about novels of this genre: Way too many plot twists. True, a suspense wouldn't be called a suspense if it doesn't have that many twists and turns, but sometimes the plot and the setting were changing so rapidly that you hardly have time to catch up with the change of POV and another person died.
The Snowman was no exception. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the thrill and the horror it gave me. It was, in short, a story about murders with the motive of family issues. I should have a better picture of the motivation when I finish the book, but either way, I am not going to give spoilers. :D
To sum up, I was once indifferent on novels like this, but it turned out I can be quite drawn to it if I let it to. I will have finished this book before the end of this week.
World Press Photo 2017 in Taiwan
Last Wednesday, Ms. Rita, an English teacher of our school took us up to Yangming Mountain for a photo exhibition: World Press Photo 2017.
We were told that this is an exhibition that displays a series of pictures that was taken by professional journalists all over the world. Every set of photos have their issues to talk about. Social events, cultural differences, and two of the major topics of this year: nature preservation and human rights.
In the room, we heard instrumental music -it was guitar, I guess- playing solemn melodies like Hallelujah to prepare us for the calm mental states we should have for the next two hours.
Here are some of the photographs hung on the wall:
This was the picture we saw upon entering the exhibition room. It looked beautiful at first sight, as it seemed to portray the vitality of nature in the sea, but when you look closer, you would see that the green bunch of cords were not seaweed but nylon strings that were braided into nets-- and it was stuck on the sea turtle...
We were later told to recall all the news reports of turtles at sea which have been drastically harmed by plastic: Eating too many plastic bags and dying of malnutrition, having a plastic straw stuck and tucked in one of their nostrils... It was us, the benefitted group in this world that caused these unnecessary harms. My heart ached and I knew it would remain so for the next dozens of pictures.
This was the picture of one of the African rhinoceros, dead and unattended because of the wound after an illegal hunter cut its horn off.
I HATE it when things like this happen. Not only because the horns of the rhinos were unjustifiably cut off, nor was it only because they were used to be made into Chinese medicine, but the fact that there are people who would just leave them alone and helpless in the wild to die. The same thing goes with sharks which were thrown back into the sea after their fins were chopped off and were made into delicious soup. That was highly unacceptable and downright cruel.
However, I did say that there were topics about cultural differences, and this was one of them.
It showed the life of a small settlement in the north of Russia, where snow was something you should be well-accustomed to. It showed how isolated they were, in a village of approximately 100 adults, needing to prevent the attack of bears and the cold all at once, and also their close relationship with hunting dogs. Even in the snow, the pictures seemed to be radiating warmth and light of a tradition that was passed down long ago.
There were also pictures with heavier stories. This is a picture of a sister pacifying her brother on a rescuer's boat after their parents died in the sea in an attempt to flee their home country that was filled with war. War has always been a hard topic to talk about, but the pictures did the talking for us, making us face the issue more bluntly.
We had a nice time in the rooms that held stories that we didn't know before. It was gravitating but at the same time, it sort of gave us the conviction to learn more of the world so that we would know what it needs.
2. To Mr. Maher, Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday because it was one of the few traditional holidays that don't involve religion or any serious topics. Simply put, it is a holiday solely about food, and hence a family can merrily gather around and have a peaceful nice dinner feast.
3. When talking about Thanksgiving, the first thing people think of should be turkeys. The same logic goes with the whole menu. People expect to see the traditional dishes on a traditional festival, and therefore you only have to bring out the menu from the one you did last year and the last and way back.
4. I didn't first go to the passage for the answer, but it HAS to be turkey, the dish appointed centerpiece of the whole feasting table. And -yes, I went and checked, it precisely is- it is normally stuffed with stuffing and put into the oven to bake, but now deep-fried whole turkey can as well be seen?
5. Usually, to prepare a dish of mashed potatoes, which is a signature dish of Mr. Maher, it would be a medium side of "white potato" per person. However, since it is normally one of the most popular dishes, getting two or three extras is also recommended.
We were told that this is an exhibition that displays a series of pictures that was taken by professional journalists all over the world. Every set of photos have their issues to talk about. Social events, cultural differences, and two of the major topics of this year: nature preservation and human rights.
In the room, we heard instrumental music -it was guitar, I guess- playing solemn melodies like Hallelujah to prepare us for the calm mental states we should have for the next two hours.
Here are some of the photographs hung on the wall:
This was the picture we saw upon entering the exhibition room. It looked beautiful at first sight, as it seemed to portray the vitality of nature in the sea, but when you look closer, you would see that the green bunch of cords were not seaweed but nylon strings that were braided into nets-- and it was stuck on the sea turtle...
We were later told to recall all the news reports of turtles at sea which have been drastically harmed by plastic: Eating too many plastic bags and dying of malnutrition, having a plastic straw stuck and tucked in one of their nostrils... It was us, the benefitted group in this world that caused these unnecessary harms. My heart ached and I knew it would remain so for the next dozens of pictures.
This was the picture of one of the African rhinoceros, dead and unattended because of the wound after an illegal hunter cut its horn off.
I HATE it when things like this happen. Not only because the horns of the rhinos were unjustifiably cut off, nor was it only because they were used to be made into Chinese medicine, but the fact that there are people who would just leave them alone and helpless in the wild to die. The same thing goes with sharks which were thrown back into the sea after their fins were chopped off and were made into delicious soup. That was highly unacceptable and downright cruel.
However, I did say that there were topics about cultural differences, and this was one of them.
It showed the life of a small settlement in the north of Russia, where snow was something you should be well-accustomed to. It showed how isolated they were, in a village of approximately 100 adults, needing to prevent the attack of bears and the cold all at once, and also their close relationship with hunting dogs. Even in the snow, the pictures seemed to be radiating warmth and light of a tradition that was passed down long ago.
There were also pictures with heavier stories. This is a picture of a sister pacifying her brother on a rescuer's boat after their parents died in the sea in an attempt to flee their home country that was filled with war. War has always been a hard topic to talk about, but the pictures did the talking for us, making us face the issue more bluntly.
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| In love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are. |
We had a nice time in the rooms that held stories that we didn't know before. It was gravitating but at the same time, it sort of gave us the conviction to learn more of the world so that we would know what it needs.
Questions Answering- Part 1
1. Thanksgiving is generally on the fourth Thursday of November and for this year, the 23rd, which is very soon. Yes, I looked it up on the Internet.2. To Mr. Maher, Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday because it was one of the few traditional holidays that don't involve religion or any serious topics. Simply put, it is a holiday solely about food, and hence a family can merrily gather around and have a peaceful nice dinner feast.
3. When talking about Thanksgiving, the first thing people think of should be turkeys. The same logic goes with the whole menu. People expect to see the traditional dishes on a traditional festival, and therefore you only have to bring out the menu from the one you did last year and the last and way back.
4. I didn't first go to the passage for the answer, but it HAS to be turkey, the dish appointed centerpiece of the whole feasting table. And -yes, I went and checked, it precisely is- it is normally stuffed with stuffing and put into the oven to bake, but now deep-fried whole turkey can as well be seen?
5. Usually, to prepare a dish of mashed potatoes, which is a signature dish of Mr. Maher, it would be a medium side of "white potato" per person. However, since it is normally one of the most popular dishes, getting two or three extras is also recommended.
"One Year of Learning French" Brunch
Remember my mentioning of my French classmates a while ago? Well, last weekend, on Saturday, we organized a small meet-up brunch at a French restaurant called Paul. I don't normally have brunch, so everytime's a brand new experience. This time, Candy couldn't come along with me and Melody because her mother said she couldn't.
This restaurant, Paul, was beautiful, with the classy designs and jazz music playing in the background. The brunch menu was evil, for it was really hard to choose which dish I should get, and it was hard to find a perfect balance between the amount of food, the price, and how tasty a dish looked. In the end, I chose a dish that had baked mushroom potatoes and a sunny egg.
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| Earl Grey |
It took a long while for the dish to arrive, but as this group of French learning people always are, we are never short on chatting topics. We talk about how we managed to learn French for roughly a year so far. True, it has been a year, before this year, I never know a lot of the everyday objects we see have a connection with French culture. A year has passed, and we were able to talk about what we did, what we ate last week for dinner, we could talk about what we are capable of doing, or the picnic meeting we will go to tomorrow. In French! It was sure to be a magical journey, and though I would like to keep going, I was asked to stop the courses for a while, a request from my mom, who wished that I would have some time to study for the university entrance exam. After that, I hope I can continue down this road for it was something I would love to pursue.
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| Group photo! |
Questions Answering- Part Two
6. The cranberry sauce served alongside with the turkey comes in two kinds. The jellied type which you can simply buy from the supermarket (french word practice: confiture, jam), while there is also the do-it-yourself type, which can simply be made by boiling a mixture of cranberries, sugar, and water.
7. The dressing indicates that it is put on top of the dishes, while stuffing was more like "stuffing" something inside. Mr. Maher prefers having some raisins and bits of apples inside the sauce, but usually, he doesn't get what he wants...
8. Mr. Maher's rules: NO dessert before the dining room has been tidied up and EVERYONE has to help.
9. The Colombian Exchange was the process when food like animals and plants are transferred from the old world to the new world.
10. A lot the food we see on the Thanksgiving table was from the old world, through the time of the Colombian Exchange, so thanks to them!
Quick End
My mom is getting angry at me because there is basically a midterm coming next Monday and Tuesday and I am here, writing a letter I don't even have to write. However, I feel like this is what I am supposed to do, knowing that this is a sort of my stress relief.
See you next week, and I think I would have to foremention that the next letter would be out a bit late, for I would have to study for the exam!
Sincerely,
Hugo
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