Fall in love with this song

You know. I got to post this message right here, believe me.

I was working on some stuff for one of my classes, which is a listening-and-writing training class, where students would first watch a shot video in English in a normal speed. And then I will lead them to understanding all the lines in the lyrics.

For tomorrow's class, I just "Randomly" picked up a song "Sugar" on Youtube the other day, and this song was sung by a music group called "Maroon 5".

Maroon 5? My first feeling about it is "What the heck is the group?" I have never heard about it before, for I haven't actually been in touch with English pop songs for a long while.

However, as I kept preparing the handout by having to listen and listen to the songs many times, I just found I had begun to love this song already. Eventually I just couldn't help but fall in love with this song. This is just such an amazing song that everyone should love it. I believe my students will tomorrow.

By the way, actually I was told how popular "Maroon 5" is in the world now. Thanks for the song, Maroon 5. I will keep an eye on you guys now. Won't miss out on any of your musical works.

New Job

What a busy week I have had. My teaching at university has already got off the ground. Everything seems to be getting off on the right foot tough only a bit of unfamiliarity with the new setting needs to be sorted out. In a summary, this is the week that is filled with excitement and nervousness. Keep going!

Hindi or English? The Politics of Language

Please read the news first...

Hindi or English? The Politics of Language

Personally I have strong disliking for Indians- I was cheated many times by them. However, this article draws my attention. Some stupid political figures are trying to make Hindi as their first official language rather than English. They might have forgotten the fact that Indians always have advantages communicating with western world- just because they speak English well. So I want to tell people that don't let the same thing happen again in Taiwan- Chinese Mandarin will be a prevailing language in the world sooner or later, so don't be as foolish as the Indians.

What a small world it is!

Today I ran into a student of mine again on my way home- this was the second time ever by the way. He used to take my TOEIC courses a long while ago, so it's history. By the time I saw him today, he was about to go jogging at the elementary school track near by. Since it had been a long time since we last met, I felt a bit excited seeing him again trying to chat more with him. What surprised me was that he said he had begun teaching at a university in Hsinchu, and then wait a second ... that is EXACTLY the same school that I will be teaching at this September. What a coincidence! What a small world! I told him that our relationship had changed from teacher-student to teacher- teacher. Wasn't that interesting?

Happy Holiday!

Moon Festival is around the corner. I think we all are so much looking forward to it. But however I want to remind you that it may not be a good idea to eat too much BBQ food, so you need to know where to stop before eating too much.

A typhoon is said to be making its way to this island unfortunately, so let's hope that it'll only be bypassing us without causing any damages. I also hope that we all can see the full-moon tomorrow night. In any case, happy Moon Festival and have a great time with your loved ones and friends.

Alzheimer's

Hope. Joy. Peace.

Alzheimer's has become a common disease among senior people. Anyone of us may suffer from it. When we have got it at first, we gradually forget who we are, and then don't recognize our family members. My grandmother died of this disease but she did not suffer too much from it.

Working overseas

Working Overseas

While working abroad, you are faced with people who speak different languages than you. You know their language, but you can't speak as well as they. So improving your language skills in the new language is very important.

The Christmas Tree decoration

The Christmas Tree Tradition

Frankly speaking, I had never erected a Xmas tree during Xmas while I was living in the US. I only put up some small electric lights to get into the spirit of Xmas. My home was too small to place a plastic tree in the living room.

Poor cellphone

Can you believe that? My two-month-old cellphone broke down. Damn it! Never trust a product which doesn't have an outstanding reputation. You get what you pay for. (If you do not pay much money for something, it is probably of poor quality.)

Giving a presentation in English

Simplifying Information

Giving a presentation in Chinese is easy for most of us; however, while giving a presentation in English we always get nervous. Being not proficient in using English is causing the problem. So, we should work harder on improving our English skills.

Is he trying to tell people to believe in God? I found his speech a bit disorganized. That's my personal point of view. However, there are something he mentioned in his speech which I think important as well- be helpful for others, make long-terms plan for your business and family lives. In all, hearing stories of how people turned out to successful isn't a bad idea.

Adults Learning vs. Kids Learning

According to Steven, adults have more advantages than kids in terms of language learning. We have more life experiences, more vocabulary in our own language, but kids can only speak kids' language.

Past Lives

I am pro reincarnation. I believe that we must have countless past lives. I've always wanted to know what my past lives would be like and others too. When I retire one day, I wish to discover more about human's lives.

Unbelieveable EV

Kymco, one of the biggest and well-known motorcycle and scooter manufactures in Taiwan, launched its new electric scooter model called Candy 2.0 EV. Frankly speaking, I was not really impressed by its performance after reading its review and specification on line. But however it at least shows that we Taiwanese have the capability to make an electric vehicle on our own, which is better than nothing. Now I want to show you another electric motorcycle which is made by Americans for camparison. It is equipped with an "clutch" which means that you can change speeds by manipulating the gears in this motorcycle. And it runs very fast! All I have to say is, we still have a long way to go.

Brammo Empulse
http://www.brammo.com/empulse/

Smangus Trip

Hi my friends, I have just come back form a three day's trip to Smangus, a village which is located in the deep mountains of Hsinchu county, about 4 to 5 hours drive by car. There I experienced so different a lifestyle lived by the aborigines of Smangus called Atayal. In any case, I had a great time there and took tons of photos and lots of video which I wish to share with you later. However, I feel a bit tired so need to collect my thoughts. Talk to you later.

Never Gonna Give You Up

I am a Rick Astley's fan. I loved listening to his albums when I was 20 something. Still once in a while I get touched by his songs while hearing some of them on Youtube. This video drew my attention because it is like a collage 拼貼 made by putting people's voice together. Really amazing. But if you would like to hear the real song of it which I have posted below, you will understand why I like his songs.

 The original "Never Gonna Give You Up"

Good and bad news

I would like to share two things with everyone. One is bad news and the other is good. First I got one of my fingers cut while I was changing the fluorescent lights in the classroom. I know changing the tubes is beyond the call of my duty; however, it just happened. My finger didn't stop bleeding, so I had to get to see a doctor. The cut was kind of deep that the doctor had to put some stitches in it. Now I got to go back to the clinic for a check-up every day. The other thing is, one student sent an email to me for thanking me for helping him get a good score on TOEIC (803). Wonderful news!

Contemplating February

February is the month for family reunification and getting relaxation in Taiwan. Most of hard workers can take many day-offs with pay, which is good for sure. Unlike me, to be honesty, I really don't like the idea of celebrating the Chinese New Year holidays for too long. The longer the vacation is, the more anxious and insecure I feel. To me, working and getting paid is definitely better.

Hotel Room Sizes

I went into a discussion in class about the difference between a "double room" and a "twin room". To me, a twin room sounds unfamiliar to me since I seldom used this term while I booked a hotel room in the US. So I checked it up on the Internet and found some useful information for you to read.

Single: A room assigned to one person. May have one or more beds.
Double: A room assigned to two people. May have one or more beds.
Twin: A room with two twin beds. May be occupied by one or more people.

Reference: http://www.setupmyhotel.com/train-my-hotel-staff/front-office-training/how-to-define-room-types-in-hotels.html

So, it doesn't matter how many beds there are in either a single or double room, whereas there must be two "twin"-size beds in a twin room. A twin size bed usually has the measurement of 39" x 75", or 3 1/4" x 6 1/2".

Click the following links to see more pics, and you will see that a double room can denote a big bed for two people or two separate beds. It is designed for two people anyhow.

Double Room:
https://www.google.com/search?hl=zh-TW&q=double%20room&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=kwTtUOKKB5HPkgW0zIDQCg&biw=1280&bih=685&sei=lQTtUIK6He6KmwX8lICwBQ

Twin Room
https://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl=zh-TW&tbo=d&biw=1280&bih=685&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=twin+room&oq=twin+room&gs_l=img.3..0j0i24l9.1119015.1119441.0.1119779.4.4.0.0.0.0.86.256.4.4.0...0.0...1c.1.A_fJ3Z4FG_M

Happy New Year

Great news. I am so lucky that the New Year falls on a Tuesday, and I usually have no class on Tuesdays. Hee...

Now it's only six degrees Celsius in Hsin-Chu at night. Happy New Year guys. I wish you all the best in the days to come. For those who are in between jobs, keep searching for a good one next year. For those who are still working, rake in as much cash as you can. For those who are students, don't forget what you responsibilities are, and work your butt off in your school studies. 

Speaking of my New Year's resolution, hmm... I just wish to live a little (to do something fun or not boring.) That's it.