Orientation Week

The orientation week was alright so far. Been trying to know as many people and remember as many names as possible. From my past experience, as soon as the lessons start, most people would just shut themselves up and throw away the keys. In other words, they would not be as willing to learn and know each other.

So far, things are going alright, and the only (slightly) funny thing I’m experiencing is that I have to call my university seniors as ‘Seniors’ when I am much elder than them… haha

There are a total of 59 of us, and we were separated into five groups. Each group would have a teacher counsellor and two to four daddy and mommy in charge of us (懿德爸爸媽媽). They come from all over Taiwan and would be with us until we graduate.

Also, some unexpected surprises for us, was that the composer/producer/singer of many famous songs came to the university just to explain the meaning of our university anthem. What a rare opportunity for us to hear it all from the person who wrote the anthem himself. Here’s teacher Shou-Quan Lee (李壽全).

And lastly, some introduction to my classmates, this is Yao-Zhang (劉曜彰), which is also our course representative, in which they call as (班代).

Till then, more updates soon.

Not as simple as it seemed…

I may be here, closer to Master. But a Tzu Ching said something very meaningful to me today, “You might as well be spiritually closer to Master than just to stay closer to her.”

I may now be studying in Tzu Chi University, but the truth is, students here do not necessarily agree with our Tzu Chi Humanity standards. As college and university students are just as playful, they tend to do what they like, such as being disrespectful by not wearing clothing in the Temple of Buddha, or do things like not attending class, categorizing people etc.

At this very moment, I felt like I’m studying in a university with students worse than UTAR for some reason… haha

Nonetheless, I would try as much to blend in. Changing myself as much as possible to suit them. But there are 2 things for sure that they will NEVER change me:

1. I am a PROUD and CONTRIBUTIVE member of the Buddhist Tzu Chi Organization, and

2. I would never ever change my vegetarian diet.

So here, I include the second tip:

TIP #02:

What ever you do, try to make yourself small. The smaller you are, the easier you can blend in. Do what is right for yourself, believe in yourself. Have a still mind, and be flexible to learn. You will adapt quickly to the environment.

Best wishes to everyone. Really hoped to post some photos soon.

A New Chapter of Life

It has been 24 hours since my arrival.

Marking a new beginning of my new life in Taiwan.

Along the way, I’ll be posting up some tips along the way to survive in Hualien, especially if you’re from the Tzu Chi Big Family.

 

So here goes,

TIP #01:	Not all Tzu Chi University (TCU) students agree with the Buddhist Foundation itself, and frequently, if you are not friendly enough, they would find those Tzu Chi People (慈濟人) as aliens.
	So, try your best to blend in with the group of friends. Like I, although I insist on being a vegetarian, I don’t talk much Tzu Chi stuffs in front of them, for they may not like it very much. Try be befriend with those around first. And you shall find much joy in mingling with them.

 

Till then, will keep everyone posted from time to time, and hopefully with photos too!

That long waited mail…

The honking of a motorcycle out there in front of my house took me a little by surprise, as I expected that to happen next week, or perhaps not at all. It turned out to be the postman from the local post office. There it was, came registered, a big white envelop printed with that familiar sender’s address.

Mom did the opening, though the mail was for me, I knew that somehow my mom was more anxious than I am. There it was, that magazine, and a little gift of blessings from everyone from the Tzu Chi Humanities Development Centre.

Thank you for the mail. I really appreciate it. And the blessings are wonderful too! By the way, I wonder if the English Edition for the month of September would still have some of my work there…

Why mosquitoes?

They were everywhere! Twenty, thirty of them, buzzing away, causing much nuisance in the car. Although there were two of us in that spacious vehicle, the six-legged blood-sucking Athropods were crowding around us, attempting to annoy every bit of us.

Then it became an interesting topic of conversation: Why did God create mosquitoes?

“Out of so many insects, why did God create mosquitoes? They contribute nothing beneficial to the earth. Instead, they spread diseases, suck other people’s blood, cause itchiness… Perhaps it was created by mistake.”

Very interesting indeed! Even cockroaches and rats find themselves useful in chewing up waste materials to help degrade organic materials faster. Houseflies also help to speed up the degradation process.

So why mosquitoes? hmm…

Thank you for the opportunities

There I was, staring at the magazine. Somewhat, a mix of emotions clouded my senses – relieved, joy, touched. I did not expect that they would published that work of mine in the magazine.

It was a proud moment for me. At the same time, I am thankful for the opportunity to be featured, to be able to see both my writing and photographs published in the magazine. It was amazing.

 

 

 

Often, my work get published in the magazine and I must admit, none of this is possible if I weren’t given the opportunity to try and explore. The opportunities given to me are so much more than what I have given back to the society.

At the end of the day, I am glad that I was given the opportunity to serve, to ask nothing in return. All I could say is, thank you for letting me learn. I really appreciate those who helped me along the way. Thank you.

 

P/S: Get your copy of this magazine for free at http://chn.tzuchi.my/ or direct download link here.

Global economy crisis

I don’t normally blog about economics, but it’s nice to share this with everyone.

So this is what is about to happen in the future…

May you find this video informative. So please cut your expenses and save up. Meet your needs and not your wants. Hopefully, we would be able to go through this crisis together.

Long time no see…

Remember those days when we sat down together and chat.

Those long hours of talking, and we discussed nearly everything in and out.

Then we parted our on ways, wishing the best to the both of us.

 

After nearly a year without seeing each other, we met again yesterday.

 

The meet might be short, but it was very much meaningful to me.

We may have chattered a lot of things,

some topics were very much in common, some others were mainly personal.

Still, our chat reminded me of those days:

when we sat down to enjoy a simple meal, where we get to know each other better.

 

A day will come when we meet again, and hopefully that time, we could have more time for a cup of tea, to chatter like those old times again. Someday… one day.