Christmas in Taipei

Christmas in Taipei (text)

I’m here at Taipei 101—in Taipei, of course—where else would it be? But it’s Christmas time again, it’s December 16th. It’s pretty warm here, but, there’s no snow—there is plenty of shopping, so, uh, it doesn’t have exactly the same feel of Christmas as I have back in Pittsburgh.
But it’s nice because there is al this shopping here, and the people are very friendly. That’s the key to it. So, they’re very accepting of our holidays—as we also have to adjust to their holidays.
It’s not the same as being in Pittsburgh, but it’s not bad.
(Christmas tree) Taipei 101 and it’s kind of nice—the people like it. They like to take their picture in front of it—so I guess they’re a lot like everybody back home.
Well, here is the food court inside Taipei 101, down in B1.
Well, I do see one Christmas tree here in inside the mall at Taipei 101. But I don’t see any other Christmas decorations.
Well, I just spoke about no Christmas decorations—and they do have this light display, and then there’s a Christmas tree way up there at the top. But I don’t know if I see Santa Claus anywhere. We need to go down there to information and ask where Santa Claus is.
Well, they do have some Christmas singing here at Taipei 101. But they do have some Christmas singing here at Taipei 101. It is in Chinese.
Well, they do have Santa Claus here at Taipei 101. I wasn’t sure about that.
So that’s it, Christmas here in Taipei. There’s good and bad. I miss my family, I miss the snow. But I don’t miss all the heavy food that adds on ten pounds, and I don’t miss all the excessive drinking that goes on for 3 weeks. So, it’s whatever you wanna make of it. No matter where you are, Christmas is always up here and in here.
Take care!

Sponge Bob Chant (in Chinese) from Ming Luan High School--too funny, I love it!

Shy is a Choice (from Wuzhen, China)

Shy is a Choice

Okay, we're in Wuzhen, Wuzhen, and, uh, old canal town, so okay we're rolling, and uh, yeah, and uh, it's already going, so, no problem. Ai you!
Pretty neat this bridge back here--well, this is Wuzhen.
Bill Clinton was here before, five years ago--but who cares! Eh, big deal, Bill Quinn is here now, so that's the only thing that really matters.
So, I got a question for you--are you shy? Well, I got news for you--shy is a choice. So don't use "shy" as an excuse. People use "I'm shy" as an excuse, and, uh, it's just--there's no reason for it. Now, people might say "I'm shy because of my family, and my upbringing, but, uh, you don't need to be shy.
People are shy and they use that as an excuse because they're afraid of looking bad, they're afraid of making a mistake, they're afraid of being rejected by people, and, uh, eventually they're afraid of, uh,--they're gonna be not loved by people because they don't do something perfect. So, we hold back, and we don't do what we're supposed to do. Or we don't take chances--and we say that we are shy.
So, keep that in mind. If you think "well, I'm shy, and I can't do it", that's an excuse, and it's a choice.
So, one of our Studio Classroom teachers is outstanding, and she use to be so shy. But she made a choice not to be shy anymore--she decided to take a chance, risk rejection--and now she's very successful.
Okay--from Wuzhen, this is Bill--no more! Bye bye!

Key words

Upbringing-n-your family life, how your were raised as a child, teenager, young adult.

Rejected-v-disapproved of by others, not appreciated.

Nei Li High School Students Go Crazy When They Win Drama Contest (November/2007)