Monkey and the Puzzle
We think everyone will be amused by this short parable — identified as “an ancient Chinese Jewish story” — which came to us as a reply to Diane’s recent post from Kaohsiung: Once upon a time there was a Puzzle. And along came a Monkey. And he looked at the Puzzle. And he became rigid with fright and all his hair stuck out in every direction, and he could never move again. And that is how the Monkey Puzzle Tree came into existence. And the moral of that is: Character building must not be rushed. To which we say:...
read moreTaiwan / Weeks 7 & 8: Surprises Big and Small
This is the seventh installment of Diane’s journal from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, where she is studying Mandarin Chinese. If you are a first–time visitor, you may want to read the previous installments first (Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6). Surprise: The Big Secret (mee mee in Chinese) Before leaving for Taiwan, I contacted the American School in Kaohsiung. I had the idea to both tell the new stories from Journey to the West that I was hoping to translate in Kaohsiung and to work with the teachers at the American...
read moreTaiwan / Week 6: Friends, Food and Ferns
This is the sixth installment of Diane’s journal from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, where she is studying Mandarin Chinese. This entry was written on the country’s Election Day, when incumbent President Ma Ying–jeou won a second term. If you are a first–time visitor, you may want to read the previous installments first (Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5). Effie returns on Tuesday to China. Ma Ying–jeou has won the elections. After their wedding ceremony yesterday, the bride Huan Yi–ju, and her groom drove...
read moreTaiwan / Week 5: Learning, Birthing, and Chinese Characters
This is the fifth installment of Diane’s journal from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, where she is studying Mandarin Chinese. If you are a first–time visitor, you may want to read the previous installments first (Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4). The Reckoning comes on Fridays as well as the unexpected gifts. I got a 69 out of 100 on last week’s quiz. Up from 32. It was a relief but I knew it wasn’t going to last. I’m too wobbly. I’m wobbling among too many undertakings: how to hear the tones, learn the words, remember...
read moreTaiwan / Week 4: Celebrating the First Month
This is the fourth installment of Diane’s journal from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, where she is studying Mandarin Chinese. If you are a first–time visitor, you may want to read the previous installments first (Week 1, Week 2, Week 3). Let me start with Effie. Before I do, I did as badly as I thought I had on last week’s quiz: 34 out of 100. This Friday I was determined not necessarily to do better on the quiz but to be relaxed with the process of taking a quiz. Also, Jasper at the front desk helped me put the week’s lesson on...
read moreTaiwan / Week 3: Learning in Kaohsiung
This is the third in a series of postings from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, where Diane is learning Mandarin Chinese. If you are new to the series, you will want to read the first and second installments. Attack! Fire! Fire! Hit! Dead. Almost… Yep, that’s what the quiz in Chinese characters felt like this morning. I’d studied for nearly three hours the night before with Jasper. I’d learned 26 Chinese characters. 26!! Meaning I could write and recognize them. 26!! So I felt happy and prepared. The quiz began and we were asked...
read moreTaiwan / Week 2: One to Another
This is the second in a series of postings from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, where Diane is learning Mandarin Chinese. If you are new to the series, you will want to read the first installment. The wave, shall I call it the onslaught, of material in Chinese to master is relentless. Our daily classes are galloping. Our march is forward, no stopping. I feel as if I’m in the army. If I slow down, I’ll be left behind. My friends in Taiwan keep advising me, “Don’t worry.” But how does a marching soldier relax? He has to move,...
read moreTaiwan / Week 1: An Unlikely Story
“Chingwen ni, jiao shenme mingzi?” During the next six months, Diane will be in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, where she is studying Mandarin Chinese as part of the research for her adaptation of Journey to the West (also known as the Monkey King Epic). From time to time, she will share stories of her adventures in learning and living in Taiwan, starting today. I am the slowest in my Chinese class at National Sun Yat–Sen University. The other nine students, all men, are twice as quick and three times younger. Our teacher is a whirlwind....
read moreHighly recommended: My Reincarnation
©2011 Zohe Films. Courtesy Long Shot Factory. My Reincarnation, directed by Jennifer Fox, is an epic father–son drama, spanning two decades and three generations, about spirituality, cultural survival, identity, inheritance, family, growing old, growing up, faith, meditation, religion, magic, dreaming, Buddhism, Dzogchen — and past and future lives. The film follows the renowned reincarnate Tibetan spiritual master, Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, as he struggles to save his spiritual tradition, and his Italian born son,...
read moreMonkey King at Provincetown Playhouse
Blessings and thanks to all who came to see Diane and musician Jeff Greene’s Monkey King: Journey to the West performance at Provincetown Playhouse on Sunday, November 6th. Photography: Mark Roberts. Be sure to visit the Monkey King Epic website for more about the famous Chinese epic and to be in the know about future...
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