Olympic Truce

   

King Iphitos asked God how to bring peace, and then started a game in ancient Greece. For the Olympic Games, a treaty was written. The King himself made sure that peace was given. From competitors to spectators, officials to artists, they traveled safely to a peaceful environment. Athletes fought for their glory, their family, their King. They compete as gentlemen, no bribing, no cheating.

    When truth becomes a legend and a legend becomes a myth, the Truce and the Olympics still exist. The world is still unsteady for sometimes people fight. Some people are at war, they fight day and night. But we respect the Truce, the longest peace accord in history. It represents a desire to build the world based on humanity. This is a job worth doing and it’s worth doing together. Team work makes the dream work. Let’s make the world better.

   Coming together is the beginning. Staying together is the progress. If we work together, we will definitely succeed. All of us only have one world and one dream. We wish to live as one, one spirit, one team. One day we will be family, united as one, we will be family united as one. We believe in each other, respect all, and fear none. To make this day come soon, we have to move fast. Quick!  There’s no time to wait. If we work together, we will succeed.

Goddess worshipped by most

     When it comes to the Goddess worshipped by most in Taiwan, it’s Matsu. Matsu is the Goddess of Sea, she protects people at sea. Because Taiwan is an island, a lot of people were fishermen in the past. When they had trouble at sea they would pray to Matsu. From then on, Matsu has become the most popular deity in Taiwan’s folk religion. If you have any problems like health, business, farming etc, you can all ask Matsu for help. This is why she’s the goddess worshipped by most people in Taiwan.

     As the legend goes, Matsu’s real name is Lin Mo-Niang. At her birth, people reported a bright light in the northwestern sky, and the scent of perfume filled the room. She was given the name Mo (means silence) because as a newborn, she never cried. It is said that she showed great intelligence early so that her parents sent her to school when she was only eight years old. She took Refuge in Buddhism when she was ten years old. Later, she began to demonstrate her gift for healing and taught local people how to prevent diseases.

When Lin Mo-Niang was 16, she had a vision of her father and her elder brother caught in a storm while out at sea. It says that she herself was the one to save them from the sinking ship while she was in a dream state.

    Around Matsu’s birthday, on the 23^rd of the third month of the lunar calendar, thousands of followers of Matsu will have a pilgrimage around Taiwan for 8 days.  The meaning is to drive away evil spirits and bring good luck to people.

Pearl Milk Tea

    In my opinion, I think "Pearl Milk Tea" can best represent Taiwanese culture.
    Why? Because it's everywhere in Taiwan. Those who live in Taiwan know "Pearl Milk Tea".
    It's caramel milk tea plus black pearls, which sweet and chewy feelings in one cup of "Pearl Milk Tea". How creative!
    What other drinks are chewy and sweet at the same time?
    If you live in Taiwan but you never drank "Pearl Milk Tea" before, I think you're not a Taiwanese.
    But most of the foreigners haven't drunk "Pearl Milk Tea" before, and they definitely want to try it if they come to Taiwan.
    They would be very curious and start imagining what it would taste like.
    When they finally have it, they're never forget this amazing sensation.
    Milk tea is already great, but these pearls make ir from excellent to perfect.
    But is you come to Taiwan and never drink"Pearl Mikl Tea", I suggest you go back RIGHT AWAY, or you'll definetely regret.
    This Taiwanese food isn't just creative but delicious. It needs only four ingredients: mulk, black tea and sugar.
    This drink is simple and cheap, so everyone can drink it.
    It's made for everyone in Taiwan, That's why I think " Pearl Milk Tea" can best represent Taiwanese culture.

The Amazing Maze

    In my summer vacation, I went to Jeju island (濟州島). I think the most interesting place there is a maze park. This maze is the shape of Jeju island and it's HUGE!!! The bushes are really tall so it's impossible to cheat.
    At first, I thought this should be easy, all I need to do is walk to the exit and ring the bell, they even gave me a map, how hard could that be. I started walking trying to get to the exit, but the more I tried the path always turn out to be a dead end. When I thought my luck couldn't get much worse, it started to rain, and a bunch of little kids kept ringing the bell.
    After a very very VERY long time, I finally found the exit(Hooray)! Even though I was tired and soaked, it was really fun. If you ever come to Jeju, this maze is definetly a good place to visit!

An awesome trip

This trip to the wetland was super interesting! Learning outside school makes me pay more attention on what we’re going to learn, and you will never feel bored when you’re learning outside. This wetland was built for a kind of bird called ”Jacana”. There are only 8 kinds of Jacana in the world, and the Jacana in Taiwan is (of course) the prettiest.

    We were devided into two groups to visit this park. We saw butterflies, trees with delicious berries, ducks and a bunch of beetles. The best part was we got climb up a high tower to see the lotus pond. The first thing I saw was this huge sword dude standing in the pond. The volunteer tour guide said, this sword dude was a god. He borrowed the seven-star sword from another god and defeated the serpent and the turtle monster. But after defeating the monsters, he didn’t want to give the sword back. But the sword was enchanted. It would fly back to the owner. So the sword dude had to do everything one-handed. Isn’t that a great story?

    I really appreciate having this trip to the wetland. I learned a lot about plants, insects and even legends. I wish we could go out for learning more often. (But remember to have a better bus driver.)

A Nightmare

       I heard somebody whispering'' Yes, the thief is upstairs.'' Great! I'm in my neighbor's house and they thought I was a thief. I got up and ran, but unfortunately I tripped over the chair again. When I got up I saw my neighbor holding a pistol pointing at me! He said" Freeze! Put your hands up!" I tried to explain"Look! I'm your neighbor!"He shouted" Shut up! Tell these words to the cops!" The police arrived a few minutes later and took me away. I kept shouting"Look! I'm his neighbor and I lost my keys. I got into the house through the window and found out that the house wasn't mine! Let me go! I'm innocent!" Then I woke up, my parents are staring at me. They asked"What on earth are you yelling about? It's 2a.m."
       I was glad it was just a dream!

Janfusan Fancy World

  Mmm! This is delicious! This is just a snack from Janfusan Fancy World. Janfusan isn't just a bunch of scary roller-costers. It also has a lot of resteraunts. Even though the food isn't too healthy , it is still delicious.(Well, it's better than the lunch in our school.) I have never eaten so many snacks ever since I went to junior high school. But the bad news is the food is so expensive! An ice cream in Janfusan cost NT30, but the ice cream in Mcdonald only cost NT15! So remember to bring your own  snacks to Janfusan. If you have too much money to burn, you can give them to me. Don't waste your money on food that is expensive,especially food in Janfusan.