Diaspora

I don't know if it is right for me to say that diaspora is a global phenomenon.

Israeli diaspora, then think of China, chinese diaspora is widespread, then you think of Africa...
think of Polish...

Went for a refugee day celebration party.

A band was there, they were telling that Gypsy Diaspora.

and Flamingo is said to be created by Gypsies in a way to escape the pressing reality.

Music without boarder, it is a form of salvation as well.

-----
The Guitarist has been changed to a young German.
Interestingly Enough, he is a junior from the HKU journalism.

He said he was taking a gap year, just staying in HK without going to school, He even harbored the idea of dropping out of the program.

He just found it very empty, boring, uninspiring, that sort of existentialism.

He didn't like his hometown in Germany. public school is a shit, people have nothing to do.

"some of my friends are ok with the plain life. But not me."

So with a simple reason, unhappy about the condition, about life there, he just left.
again, he didn't satisfy with the Uni, he gave up.

interesting. pretty magic.

人生大學的一課

Jessie j ft b.o.b - price tag


Seems like everybody’s got a price,
I wonder how they sleep at night.
When the tale comes first,
And the truth comes second,
Just stop, for a minute and
Smile

Why is everybody so serious!
Acting so damn mysterious
You got your shades on your eyes
And your heels so high
That you can’t even have a good time.

Everybody look to their left (yeah)
Everybody look to their right (ha)
Can you feel that (yeah)
Well pay them with love tonight…

It’s not about the money, money, money
We don’t need your money, money, money
We just wanna make the world dance,
Forget about the Price Tag

Ain’t about the (ha) Ka-Ching Ka-Ching.
Aint about the (yeah) Ba-Bling Ba-Bling
Wanna make the world dance,
Forget about the Price Tag.

We need to take it back in time,
When music made us all UNITE!
And it wasn’t low blows and video Hoes,
Am I the only one gettin… tired?

Why is everybody so obsessed?
Money can’t buy us happiness
Can we all slow down and enjoy right now
Guarantee we’ll be feelin
All right.

Everybody look to their left (yeah)
Everybody look to their right (ha)
Can you feel that (yeah)
Well pay them with love tonight…

Yeah yeah
well, keep the price tag
and take the cash back
just give me six streams and a half stack
and you can keep the cars
leave me the garage
and all I..
yes all I need are keys and garage
and guess what, in 30 seconds I’m leaving to Mars
yes we leaving across these undefeatable odds
its like this man, you can’t put a price on life
we do this for the love so we fight and sacrifice everynight
so we aint gon stumble and fall never
waiting to see, a sign of defeat uh uh
so we gon keep everyone moving there feet
so bring back the beat and everybody sing
it’s not about…

Yeah yeah
oo-oooh
forget about the price tag

總會有一些人，才華洋溢,能幹,聰慧,可欠缺了一些的人緣,尤其在工作場所.

明明是一個慶功宴,應該是大笑,侃侃而談,他只是站在一角,當大伙都在嘻笑,閒話家常,明明站在當中,卻插不了一句話;想開個玩笑,但卻給人反唇相譏...

記得在第一個實習時, 兩個高級新聞官,同一個職位,同一樣的薪水,一個經常做得要死,另一個是比較清閒,談談八掛,談談生活...

於是,忙得要死的那位經常找比較清閒的碴子...

一個文員說, 「要不是xx大量,原諒yy的無理取鬧,整個office才不會那麼和諧.」

另一個說，「朋友,通常是沒有利益衝突才可以成為朋友.」

或許吧,在人生大學中,學會的一課.

上帝聽禱告

今天去醫院探望Sister Rose, 她的氣色好多了,之前的一個POST,說Nancy forwarded 了一個電郵,當中提到Sister Rose 像是在彌留之際一樣。可今天去看她,臉上有了血色,回復原來可愛,健談,幽默的本色。

just like the previous email Nancy has written,

"i got an email from a friend in San Francisco who heard about her condition, so i told her and she said, "oh word travels so fast - the whole world knows now." and i said, "well i imagine God must be very busy answering all the prayers from all of us."

所以嘛, 上帝是聽禱告的.

對,一個星期內,生命像是過山車一樣,好像發生了很多事,梅州的拍攝像是很久以前的事,可也不過是5月21-23號的事.

可另一方面,我們在談天的時候,大家都覺得,時間過得很快.
Nancy 說,她像是活在2009年,可現在已是2011年.

對哦,2011年好像剛到,可是已經是六月了.天啊...

時間,如此的雙重...
總覺得小時候的時間過得慢一點,而人越長大,時間是飛得越快.


Related Post:

突然

突然

一切都可以如此地突然，只是幾天之間的事,一切都急轉直下,從梅州trip後,Sister Rose 便病了,住進了醫院,前天她還打電話給我,問我有關梅州trip的地方名字,她說,她在寫一封thank-you letter.

可是,今天,Nancy 便轉寄了一封電郵,當中提到,

"Sr. Rose is in hospital. She is very tired and needs a lot of rest. Doctor is getting very strict on her. She does not eat. This is the info from Sr. Mary Lou at King's Park today.

Do not visit or call her!

She got sick after the trip to Meixian. She was happy to see the Chinese Sisters who had been trained by MK Sisters there long time ago.

She felt satisfied after the trip and is ready to accept whatever God plans for her."

凡事都有定期，天下萬務都有定時。
生有時，死有時；栽種有時，拔出所栽種的也有時；
殺戮有時，醫治有時；拆毀有時，建造有時；
哭有時，笑有時；哀慟有時，跳舞有時；
拋擲石頭有時，堆聚石頭有時；懷抱有時，不懷抱有時；
尋找有時，失落有時；保守有時，捨棄有時；
撕裂有時，縫補有時；靜默有時，言語有時；
喜愛有時，恨惡有時；爭戰有時，和好有時。
這樣看來，作事的人在他的勞碌上有什麼益處呢﹖

‎"She looked at me when I left. I got the impression that it might be the very last look." 願祢的名成就,如果這是祢所願.

Please couch me !

“What about this couple? Lorena and Daniel. They have got 112 positive references.”
“Um.”
“Their location has been verified. And they have been vouched for.”
“Um.”
“So, let’s couchsurf them?”
“Yea, sounds cool. Why not?”

Finally, I have got a host that Jacintha is willing to nob.

It is late at night. In a common room of a hostel in Oaxaca, Mexico, Jacintha and I are planning the last part of our one-month journey in Mexico. She is researching on our itinerary and I am trying to arrange accommodation.

It is the third week of our end-of-semester travel. Jacintha and I were doing our exchange in Monterrey, Mexico. She is an Indian Singaporean. Both of us are tired of traveling with a larger group of friends, which requires more compromises to reach consensus, so we decided to conduct our own adventure after finishing our exams.

We have visited Mexico City, Puebla and Oaxaca during the past 3 weeks. While budgeting for our journey, it is not hard to find that a big chunk of our budget has been eaten up by the place where we lay our head at night. Life like this is not sustainable. We do not have financial resources.

After hearing from our fellow exchange students about their positive Couchsurfing experience, I have persuaded Jacintha to join the movement.

So what is Couchsurfing actually?

It is an online volunteer –based worldwide network connecting travelers with members of local communities, who offer free accommodation and/ or advice; the network part resembles Facebook.

Its origin is silly and simple, and simply amazing.

In 1999, a guy named Casey Fenton traveling to Iceland on a limited budget decided to email 1,500 random students from the University of Iceland and ask if he could stay on their couch. He received enough positive replies to accommodate him throughout his trip. There, he got inspired to create the Couchsurfing project.

Since then, Couchsurfing has been a way to quench a thirst many travelers have: free accommodation. Yes, it is FREE; staying with locals, intimately experience the real culture of everyday life; and connecting with like-minded travelers. Basically, it all boils down to the phrase “mutual trust”. But travelers have to register as a member first.

You enter some information about yourself, such as who are you, where you live, your current mission, one place you have been to, and ‘one amazing thing I’ve seen or done.’ You can also state whether you are currently available to host someone (this is not mandatory) or would like to meet people for a cup of coffee and show them around (not mandatory either).

Go to the website, www.couchsurfing .org and you can find all types of people. It also gives you the freedom to portray yourself as you see fit. After you read someone’s profile, you will have a pretty good idea of whether you would enjoy surfing them —or letting them stay on yours.

Being a virgin backpacker, Jacintha doubted the phrase “mutual trust” -- “how can you trust a stranger you met online?” she asked me.

She is right. Security is a valid concern. There are few ways to verify other users, according to the website.

First, there is an official “verification” system. It is not obligatory, but is a good way to build confidence as both a “sufer” and a host. It charges you $25 USD if you wish to do so. Couchsurfing project staff term the charge a “donation.” After verifying your name off your credit/ debit card, they will send you a postcard with a code to finalize your address.

Second, you can refer to the references from previous surfers or hosts. After you have hosted or stayed with another member, you can leave a reference on their Couchsurfing page. You can leave positive or negative comments. Just by browsing the previous references of a profile, you can know which members are well-loved and connected.

Additionally, there is also an exclusive vouching system. It is a way for members to declare their trust in other members. The only way to become vouched for is to be extremely trusted by someone who has been couched for by three other members.

Of course, you can also find out through direct communication with a potential host by trading messages.

Based on Lorena and Daniel’s profile, they passed all the security checks. After gaining Jacintha’s approval, I sent them our Couchsurfing request.

Their reply came the next day.
“Hi, Chau. We are having a gathering with friends and family during your requested surfing period. So you really need to stay on couches in our living room. If you find it inconvenient, you may opt for surfing other CS (couch surfing) members. But you are welcome to join the Couchsurfing Christmas party we are gonna hold in our house. It is gonna be a big one.”

Thrilled, honored, gratified, we happily replied with, ‘Yes, please couch us. We are humble.’ What can be more privileged than being allowed in their homes to see how they live, do what they do, and get the insight into the place we are going to visit? At the same time, we are viewed as ‘hostable’ by them. As mentioned earlier, CS is a project based on mutual trust. We are judging what hosts are ‘surfable,’ and our hosts are also taking the adventure.

Daniel and Lorena have been married for 11 years. They work in the state of Tabasco during weekdays and return to the state of Chiapas during weekends. From their profile, you can tell that they have couch surfers nearly every week.

After a 14-hour bus ride, we made it to San Cristoal de las Casas, Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico. Winter weather has arrived. It is so chilly that I have worn 3 sweaters and a jacket, but still have to huddle myself to keep warm.

The surfing experience has been amazing.

For the first day, we have met their friends and family members from Tabasco to participate in tomorrow’s Christmas party. There are also a couple of couch surfers in the house too. Both are retired teachers. The wife is French while the husband is Canadian. They have houses in France, Canada and Guatemala.

The date is one of guests, Jair’s, birthday.

With all the nationalities gathered, six versions of “Happy Birthday” have been sung: Chinese, Tamil (an Indian Dialect), French, Quebec Canadian French, English as well as Spanish.

As people take turns sing in their own language as to the birthday boy, a beautiful picture is constructed. There are different nationalities and cultures among us, yet couchsufing binds us together, sharing the moment of joy and we are all receptive towards the differences we inherently carry. The acceptance has given us the freedom to be who we are. It is such a moving moment.

There is more to come for the next day is the Christmas Party.

It is a week before Posada celebration. But as Daniel and Lorena will be staying in Tabasco next week, they put the celebration a week earlier than the official one. Posada is a festive period before Christmas. It lasts for 10 days, representing 10-month pregnancy. Posada can be regarded as the prelude of Christmas. During this period of time, people party a lot and drink a lot -- although Mexicans participate in these two activities on a regular basis.

During the day, Lorena and her friends are busy preparing food for the party.

“I have created the event on the Couchsurfing page; more than 20 people are coming.” Lorena said.

When the night comes, only two Australian students and four neighboring couch hosts show up. We still have a good time.

To celebrate Posada, usually, people will visit neighbors, singing posada songs like "treat or trick" during Halloween.

The posada song is a duet, dividing A and B. A acts like Joseph and Maria, right before the birth of Jesus, they were asking a couch. B acts like the host, trying to respond to the couch surf request. After the song, A's couch request is accepted, and invited to enter the house, where a feast is awaiting...

Daniel joked, 'Jesus is the very first couch surfer in the world.'

Then, there will be a game, called Piñata-hitting.

Participants need to be blindfolded. With a stick in hand to hit the Piñata, which is made of paper and small/thin bamboo sticks, like the making of lantern, filled with candies, chocolates.

When Piñata is hit to crack, the candies inside will spill over. Then participants will fight for their collection.
The religious meaning is that: Piñata symbols Devil which can appear in any form, splendid outside, but pernicious. Only by confronting it hard till defeat it, you will be able to enjoy the fruit of blessing.

The third day is even more amazing.

Daniel takes us, the two Australian students and two of their hostel friends to a Zapatista village. In 1994, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), which was formed by indigenous farmers to demand their land rights, rebelled against the Mexican government, followed by brutal repercussion by the government. There are currently 32 Rebel Autonomous Zapatista Municipalities (MAREZ) affiliated with the EZLN in Chiapas. It was hailed by the New York Times in 1994 as the "first postmodern Latin American revolution".

Villagers still wear masks when they have contact with outsiders. They check our passports before letting us in; no photos are allowed of villagers, only of the murals. Two villagers have followed us to see if we have snapped pictures on the villagers ‘illegally’.

All the above would not have been possible by just joining tours.

Even though you can’t get a host, you can still check on the site and see what’s happening in the community. Couchsurfing provides a platform for critical mass and like-minded people find ways to get together. Self-motivated members have organized themselves into groups within most countries and bigger cities and very interesting classifieds. Often these groups are well-connected and they arrange excursions, dancing nights, soccer matches, and then there are useful subcategories.

On our next destination planning, Jacintha pushed, “Chau, can we couchsurf? Try your best to get a host. You know, I began to feel sick and tired of constantly settling and resettling in different cities. I felt like I was living out of a suitcase. But these few days have given me a feeling of coming home and being grounded. And I felt like I learned a lot about Mexico compared to our traveling for the past few weeks.”

Somewhat, I hesitate, “It has been a great stay, but you know, it is pretty energy-demanding. You know, you need to be ‘on’ all the time. The host wants to chat, get to know you, maybe go out, go do something, be active. I don’t feel like being communicative for the next destination. I want to reflect on our previous journey. It is our last week in Mexico…”

“That’s true. But it really has challenged my traveling perspective. It helps me to step out of my comfort zone. I think the CS website will be my best friend apart from the Lonely Planet when I do traveling.” She giggled.

A few days later, Lorena and Daniel left a positive reference on my CS page:
“Lovely girl!!! Have an idea how is Chau: cute, funny, sweet, full of energy, great cook, and tons of positive words... We had a great-great time with her in home! We dance, cook, and had fun with Chau and her nice friend Jacinta... So you need to host her or surfer with her, because you'll get a nice Couchsurfing experience!”


The First One Feature Will Be:

The Making of a professional Clown

那些女生

繼續寫一些有關 Maryknoll Sisters 拍攝的 behind-the-scene 小故事。

當中有一個訪問日子，一天內一連訪問了十幾個舊生，和一些與 Maryknoll Sisters有關的人。

很明顯，當年的學生都已是現在的中年婦女，如果運氣好一點的都已成為別人的奶奶了。

雖然畢業年份不同，可是因著大家都是瑪利諾的舊生，有著共同的回憶, 像是大家小時候都是一個屋邨家庭，父母，尤其是母親如何地緊張自己的前途，如何在學校門外排隊拿報名表；在考入學試，面對Sisters時的緊張狼狽；以 前覺得很大很闊的禮堂，現在的自己站在當中，原來可以是如此的小；談修女如何注重學生的儀容與紀律。她們沒有打罵，只是自然地有讓你知錯的能力。

女生嘛，總會有改短裙子的經驗，而修女看見了，只是幫女生量度裙的長度，然後自顧言地說："There must be something wrong with the ruler."

當時的小女生，只好硬著頭皮，慚愧地 說，"No, sister. It is the problem of my dress. I'll change it."

以為乖學生就可以勉於所有的面見，當中有一個受訪問者，笑著說，「我是故事的另一面。我是一個書呆子，裙子很長。然後Sister 叫我改短，說，'You are not an old lady. Show your youth. '」

又有一個較早期畢業的舊生說， 「我那年代，修女要我們頂著書本，挺著腰板來走路。踏在古老的木樓梯上，不準有聲響。Sister said, 'You are not elephants, you should have light footsteps.' 於是，我們都要踮著腳尖走。」

她們憶述的時候，所有的都像是在昨天發生一樣，七情上面，好像又回到了當時少女時代的自己。

那倒也是，從幼稚園／小學 到中學，14年，那是她們青春最美好的歲月，有她們最真誠的年日，擁有她們人生最好的朋友，those were the days。　


現在的她們都是獨當一面的女強人，彼此之間交談用的是英文。
不少都已是大學教授，導演Nancy 便是港大新聞系的教授。
監製Vivian曾是美國xx 大學的Dean of Humanity Department.

Amy Ho, 曾在香港交易所叱吒風雲，現在全力在家成為廿四孝媽媽。

Katy Lang, 一家採購公司的主席，穿著時髦，又是紀錄片的Producer, 負責籌集資金，至今已遠超過 150萬。

Cindy Chu, 一個擁有一系列英文小說的作者。

Shirley Lee, 前女高官，現任公益金的高層。

喜歡Shirley Lee, 她一開口便說最近的政府新聞，大罵現在的官無能，說唐英年發起的關愛基金偷了她公益金的意念，做得好，那她也算了，可是他弄得面目全非。
說 最低工資的推行 一踏糊塗。

她又說，不想再那麼拚命工作，「我之前就是太搏命咁做野，結果無左個老公。」

如此坦白，真誠得叫人無法不喜歡她。　

結束了一整天的訪問，Nancy 說了一個小片段，說瑪利曼的舊生劉慧卿在訪問中， 說她每次見她的同學，都有一種的不滿，因為她們都是在比較著自己手中的萬元手袋，但對於社會的承擔卻很少。但相比之下，瑪利諾的學生卻更接近修女要學生對 社會有承擔的訓勉。

一絲驕傲的笑容掛在她的嘴角。

只是看今天的教育，當年由傳教士本著濟世為懷而成立的學校，已逐漸成為為社會貴族服務的學校了。剩下的只是 those were the days 的嘆息。。。

Go Global series 1

Yeah, my voice is featured in a BBC program.

I helped them with the translation and even as a local correspondent for the content.

I translated Wendy's part.

BBC world Service

June 1 series
more to come next week. :)

08:52 is Wendy's interview.

Related Post

訪問

一些 ●喜歡

喜歡

什麼叫喜歡？
有個喜歡的人
有件喜歡的事
有處喜歡的地方
讓你臉紅心跳的人。。。
讓你快樂的事。。。
充滿回憶的地方。。。
喜歡
是一種感覺。。。

有一些很瑣碎的回憶，可是它就在你的腦海久久不散。
這個廣告花絮叫我想起了兩年前在酒吧遇見的一個男生。

他是一個Australian，在中國內地教英文，趁著假期，來港散心。那天剛好是一個朋友在香港的最後一晚，連同另外一個朋友，去了蘭桂坊，準備喝酒跳舞談天到天亮。

我不是一個Clubbing Animal，面對當中的紙醉金迷，看著朋友跟男士們的打情罵悄，我只是在一旁喝酒，可酒量不好，所以要靠吸煙來提神。

他走過來，說了一句, "you look sad, are you ok?"

結果是，他坐在我身旁說了他的故事，大概是父母離異，繼父對他不好，扭曲了他的人生觀，他愛上了一個中國女孩，甚至為了她而留在中國，然後是受騙，人財兩失。。。

其實我也並不是很用心地在聽，可很多時，人說故事並不是說給別人聽，而是給自己聽，讓自己為生命中的種種找出個理由來, justify for their occurrence, make sense of their existence. 只要有個適合的時間，有個像樣的聽眾，便可以侃侃而談...

雖然我沒怎麼用心聽，可他最後對人生的總結，我竟記住了。

"An old man told me that three things make life worth living: something to do, someone to love and something to hope for."

他開始拆開第二包的煙，是的，他可以在一個多小時吸完一包煙，你可以知道他是多麼的寂寞、緊張、興奮。。。

"but to me, all I need is someone to love, I hope for meeting the special someone, and when I meet her, I will have something to do."

He smiled.

然後，　我不記得了然後。。。　
可我記得那種在第二天洗完澡，刷了幾次牙，仍殘留在身上的煙草味。。。

巧克力人生

關於生命，對於前途，我們都只是一個在巧克力盒前準備試吃的人，不確定叫人折騰，可未知也叫人期待。

只是一個簡單的訊息， “shall we have dinner tonight? Maybe invite jean as well.”
就這樣，三個同窗三年的同學，便一起吃了三年來最長的一頓飯。

大家一起談天說地，而彼此生命的故事總是最吸引人的。

就拿順德女生Jean來說吧。

初中畢業，去外國讀書，目的地是新加坡。坐在前往新加坡飛機的她拿起報紙一看，天啊！　她原本要入讀的學校倒閉了！！

15歲的她隻身在異地面對當中的無奈，想哭但沒有一個可以倚靠的肩膀。

Well, shit happens.　生活中的逆流、漩渦，既來之，則安之，也只能硬著頭皮頂硬上。一個人去移民局辦手續，找學校，好不容易，終於找到了一家中學收她，準備高考。

課程很淺，除了英文差一點外。以為可以考入重點高中，可惜名落孫山，只能進入一間普通高中。心中不忿，把心一橫，不如回到內地讀，本來打算在新加坡讀書，為的是學好英文，有一個較好的前途，可一波三折，星國太多華人，並不是最好的英語學習環境，而現在更入不了想進的高中，大概也進不了想進的大學，不如回去。

可是當時已過了所有內地公立學校的插班報名期，抱著姑且一試的心態，她報了一間像香港李寶春般的私立名校。

以為沒望了，可那個校長打了一通電話，隨意問了她幾句，然後說：「你被錄取了。」

考大學，也不知該讀什麼好，便報了中大的傳理和港大的新聞。當時，港大給了她一個Conditional offer, 就是在公開考試拿40/45的成績，誰知她只考到39分。

「其實也沒有失不失望，人生經歷了太多開信、拆件之間的驚喜、失望，已習慣了。」Jean淡淡地說。

還好中大收取了她。便下定決心，交了一萬元訂金，帶齊入讀證明文件，準備讀中大。誰知，港大打來電話說，可能錄取她。

於是，懷著一絲的希望，她拖著中大的入學手續，等。雖然中大盛意拳拳地說，如果經濟上有困難，他們可以提供獎學金。

最後，當然是，她捨棄了１萬元訂金，捨棄了獎學金，入讀港大。
至於有沒有後悔，她只是說，她沒有入讀中大，輪不到她說，但辜負中大的一番心意倒是令她內疚的。

我和在旁的娜塔莎都為她的經歷嘖嘖稱奇，而她卻淡然地說，「我有一個朋友更厲害，一個小妮子，在初中時，隻身從南美的巴拉圭回到珠海讀書，那時她連一句中文也不會，可在最後，她參與以中文為母語的語文考試中拿了甲等成績。」

我們沉默了。

見了很多很厲害的人，也看見許多帶著「我要像xx一樣成功」，「我要比xx更厲害」的態度去過活的人，是的，以名利去衡量，他們都是成功的，只是，你在他們身上看見了ABCDE，唯獨沒有了獨特的他／她。

於是，便說了一句：「我不想成為某某的翻版，雖然我很平庸，可那是我，獨特的我。」

大家都相視而笑。

我想多年後, 我還是會記得在swire canteen 的這一頓飯, 我們一起談過去, 談未來,談人生的晚上, 以及一出門看見的那一 彎月, 慶幸在三年的大學生涯遇見了你們. :)

那天是2011年5月6日。