Personify Anything (by Jenny)

Personify Anything

by Jenny

How do you feel about handrails on escalators? Perhaps you don't think about them very often except when you are on an escalator.  Anyway, I bet your first reaction to my question is not, 

"Oh, I love escalator handrails; they are so cute!" 

Well, one thing I have learned in Taiwan is that it is possible to personify anything and make it into a character. Often its a super cutesy colorful giant statue you put in front of your business so that you can sell more of whatever it is you sell. Sometimes it is on a billboard or poster to spread whatever message you need to spread.  And if I remember correctly, somewhere along my travels, (either in Taiwan or Guangdong), I saw a personified escalator handrail with eyes and hands and feet and all.  Its purpose in "life" was to convince everyone that they should hold onto the handrail when riding the escalator. I probably should have taken a photo of it for you, but I would have had to let go of the handrail to do so.

Meet Grandpa Bamboo.  He promotes travel by rail in Hsinchu County.  He is part of a family of characters that includes Little Brother Rice Bucket, or Zhú Tǒng Dì, pictured beside Grandpa Bamboo below, and Auntie Wild Rice Shoots, a.k.a. Jiāobáisǔn Āyí, who is in the bottom center of the photo below.

It is possible to cut a section of bamboo into a tall cup shape, then cook rice in it.   The rice would pick up some of the bamboo flavour. That is what Little Brother Rice Bucket is. 

Close up of Auntie Wild Rice Shoot

Doesn't she look more innocent than wild?

Sometimes it is not entirely clear what we are personifying.  Any guesses?  The sign just says, "This is where you get the train to Liujia or Neiwan."

This was at a western style restaurant in our neighborhood. 

Do you associate onions with being smart? Chinese people do, because onion 蔥 and smart 聰 are both pronounced cōng (tsong) in Mandarin. I'm sure all the children who attend this kindergarten are far smarter than those of us who went to regular kindergartens, the kind without personified onions.

And while we are on the subject of food that walks, talks and smiles, here is a black soya bean.  He's even got a drink, made from... one of his ancestors, I suppose.

I asked the people running this drink shop what this thing was, a piece of fruit? an animal?  They weren't too specific.  They just said, "He's Bingo," or "He's our mascot."  Yes, but 它到底是什麼東西？！ They couldn't say.  

Maybe someone should let Bingo know that DaYung doesn't sound too promising to English speakers. Most of us would rather live long than die young.

A drop of oil at a gas station

Personified drop of water on our water bill

What is this, the Eggman?

A giant plum and Mr. Lu

Pineapple people at a breakfast shop

 

Pole stands decorated with characters of themselves

An expo building

Damper baby is a personification of the damper at Taiwan's tallest building, Taipei 101.  The damper keeps this 101-story building from swaying in the wind.

 Roller skating Pepto Eggman Cowboy helps with shuttle travel.

One of the most alarming personifications was a caricature of a nuclear reactor doing all sorts of human activities including playing with human children and having babies.  It was printed in 52 different drawings on a deck of playing cards given out to children who visit a hydro dam.  The people who gave us a tour of the dam were very much in favor of opening the controversial Fourth Nuclear Power Plant which has been built in northern Taiwan.  I took photos of the playing cards.

This personified condom and personified birth control packet teach us that, "Two forms of birth control is the safest and most effective prevention."

 

Personified toilets and squatty potties, of course. Wee!

So apparently you can personify anything in the world, including the world itself.

2014 Spring Calligraphy Competition

Last month I entered a calligraphy competition at National Chiaotung University and got fourth place in my category.  No one got first because no one was good enough, apparently.  In Chinese that is called 從缺. Last semester when I got third place, the first and second places were also 從缺. Anyway, here is a photo taken at the award ceremony.  The gentleman is Mr. Huang. I took a calligraphy class from him last semester.  The Tang poem I chose to write is about a traveler far from home, riding a horse. Let me clarify that. 岑參 Cén Sēn authored the poem. I just copied it. And although I am far from home, I ride a bike, not a horse.
If you want to read a translation of the poem, go to:   http://cn.hujiang.com/new/p478056/

The Glory of Jade Mountain and the Bamboo Museum

It was one of the few sunny days we've had this month.  May is the month of "plum rain" which leads to typhoon season in June and July.  This year people have noted that plum rain storms have been bigger than usual.  So, it was a pleasant surprise to see sunshine, naturally on a Sunday.

We took a weekend trip with our friends Joyce and YP from our church.  They drove us to central Taiwan and then up winding mountain roads to the visitors' center at the trailhead for Jade Mountain, the highest point on the island.  Just a few kilometers down the road stands Mt. Ali, a much bigger tourist attraction because of the railroad that crosses there.  Sounds like the Cog to me (going up Mt. Washington in New Hampshire).  At the visitor center Soleil wanted to know if we could feel the clouds there, because we'd just watched a movie of the mountain which is frequently seen above a layer of clouds.  I told her that if we wait long enough the clouds may settle and we'll be in them.  Just before we left, her hopes were realized.  We drove down the road and out of the clouds.

  

  

Once out of the clouds and down from the mountain we stopped for lunch at a chicken barbecue shop, then headed to Bamboo World.  Bamboo World turned out to be a free museum and activity center which displayed the many products made from bamboo.  As a long time fan of bamboo, this was an exciting destination for me.

As we walked up the steps we were greeted with sweet watery sounds of bamboo chimes played joyously with a flexible paddle by visiting kids.  Here's Soleil with her original composition.

The first floor of the exhibition was mostly a display of traditional bamboo woven baskets, toys and tools.  On the walls were unusually creative woven art of famous people including Karl Marx and Albert Einstein.

Woven bamboo basket.

Bamboo balls and good fortune tree.

Other baskets and dustpans.

Bamboo cranes on a bamboo nest.

Shortly after a brief bamboo rainstick storm, Soleil challenged Greg to a bamboo duel.  How could we refuse a little father-daughter whack-a-thon?

But the music didn't stop there.  A sighting of two tiny musicians gave way to another command performance in the Circle of Chimes.  The forest is alive with the sound of music!  While Greg takes a well-deserved break in the bamboo chair.

Jenny plays the pipa as Solei toots a bamboo flute.

A chair for the emperor.

China Penguin & Taiwan Penguin

Lots of people ask us what the differences are between China and Taiwan.  Just as the English varies according to where in the world it is spoken, there are differences in Mandarin, too. Let these penguins show you some of the linguistic variation between mainland and Taiwan Mandarin.

by Soleil and Jenny

Two New Cameras

This is a journal entry Soleil did for her spelling book.

 

Oops, the actual name of the song is 外面的世界, "The Outside World."

Here are some photos of the Songs Competition:

 

 

Here are some photos of the recitation contest last fall.  There is a video of the speech in an earlier post called Recitation Contest.