The Hollywood hills of Keelung |
Anyway, my uncle teaches flute to a group of people there, and I got to tag along. There are about eight people in the class, all of varying ages. Today, I not only got to listen to them play, but I also got to play as well. Now, when I say that I played the flute, what I really mean is that I learned how to actually make the flute produce sound. For those of you out there who play the flute, you have my utmost respect. For those of you who do not, just know that it is a very difficult instrument to play. The amount of skill it must take to be able to not only read music and move your fingers across the keys accordingly, but to also have to breathe a certain way is just incredible to me. I played the violin, the cello, and the piano, and those instruments seem easy in comparison. So, suffice it to say, that I didn't play along with the other students. I did, however, get to follow along with them reading the music, and I was pleased to find out that I am recovering some of my long lost musical ability. Maybe by the time I return to the States I will have improved on what I already know.
Now, confession time: I was starting to feel a little discouraged about learning Chinese. My accent was, and still is, atrocious; and during most conversations I just smile and nod vacantly. However, today I started to pay attention, I mean, really pay attention to body language, tones, and expressions. And, surprisingly, I was able to pick up the gist of what people were saying. So, there is hope for me yet! I may not be speaking full sentences by the time I get back, but I may be able to understand some Chinese. The rest, I will just have to pick up on return trips.
In the afternoon, I went with my two cousins, (by taxi!!!), to their violin lesson. Their teacher lives near by the Dan Shui river, this is the same river that I mentioned in an earlier post whose name means "wet." (see Food, Glorious Food) While one of my cousins had their lesson, the other cousin and I walked on the trail alongside the river. Here are some pictures:
As you can see, the river itself is gorgeous, but the buildings are also something to behold:
Information building with a roof shaped like the bottom of a boat |
High-rise apartment buildings |
The surprising thing, though, is that this area is extremely cheap, because most of those apartment buildings stand empty. In the U.S., water front property is ridiculously expensive, but here it is not. I suppose it is because Taipei gets so much rain in a year that all of the people are tired of looking at water, and they don't want an apartment that looks over a whole body of the stuff.
The last thing of note that I did this evening, was that I got the chance to meet a celebrity. There is this lady named Doris Brougham and she founded the Overseas Radio TV network. It is a program that runs here in Taiwan that helps people learn English. Apparently, they also have a radio station and several magazines that serve this purpose as well. She invited me to come visit the station sometime while I am here and she said that she would "put me to work." So, hopefully I will have the opportunity to do that, and then I can tell all of you about it. I am going to sign off for now, because today was very busy, and I am tired. But I will post again tomorrow, and if you are interested in finding out more about ORTV and Mrs. Brougham go to StudioClassroom.com
I am glad to learn that you were taught how to make the flute produce sound. You can easily see why it was difficult for ME! Some people are cut out for it and some are not! I'm so glad you are having a good time! You can do this thing called "learn Chinese"! I just am sure of it! BR
ReplyDeleteWhat an opportunity to meet the TV lady. Speaking English is a real plus that everyone wants to learn. The Chinese will come to you because you are really trying. That Purple Pen Girl is really something special. JC
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