Mid-term...

That time of the year when most students think I am a "guru sekolah yang garang" (ferocious school teacher)... LOL!

海角七号情信 第四封

傍晚，已經進入了日本海
白天我頭痛欲裂
可恨的濃霧
阻擋了我一整個白天的視線
而現在的星光真美
記得你才是中學一年級小女生時
就膽敢以天狗食月的農村傳說
來挑戰我月蝕的天文理論嗎？
再說一件不怕你挑戰的理論
你知道我們現在所看到的星光
是自幾億光年遠的星球上
所發射過來的嗎？
哇，幾億光年發射出來的光
我們現在才看到
幾億光年的台灣島和日本島
又是什麼樣子呢？
山還是山，海還是海
卻不見了人
我想再多看幾眼星空
在這什麼都善變的人世間裡
我想看一下永恆
遇見了要往台灣避冬的烏魚群
我把對你的相思寄放在其中的一隻
希望你的漁人父親可以捕獲
友子，儘管他的氣味辛酸
你也一定要嚐一口
你會明白…
我不是拋棄你，我是捨不得你
我在眾人熟睡的甲板上反覆低喃
我不是拋棄你，我是捨不得你

夕方、日本海に出た。
昼間は頭が割れそうに痛い。
今日は濃い霧がたちこめ、昼の間、僕の視界を遮った。
でも、今は星がとても綺麗だ。
覚えてる？
君はまだ中学一年生だった頃、
天狗が月を食う農村の伝説を引っ張り出して、月食の天文理論に挑戦したね。
君に教えておきたい理論がもう一つある。
君は、今見ている星の光が、数億光年の彼方にある星から放たれてるって知ってるかい？
わぁ～、
数億光年前に放たれた光が、今僕たちの目に届いているんだ。
数億年前、台湾と日本は一体どんな様子だったろう。
山は山、
海は海。
でも、そこには誰もいない。
僕は星空が見たくなった。
虚ろやすいこの世で、永遠が見たくなったんだ。

台湾で冬を越すライギョの群れを見たよ。
僕はこの思いを一匹に託そう。
漁師をしている君の父親が、捕まえてくれることを願って。
友子。悲しい味がしても食べておくれ。
君には分かるはず。
君を捨てたのではなく、泣く泣く手放したということを。
皆が寝ている甲板で、低く何度も繰り返す。
捨てたのではなく、泣く泣く手放したんだと。

Just for Laughs

Laura and I had so much fun taking these photos for the use of Literacy Test assignment . It took us almost an hour to get the right frame and feel and we wondered if the students would take just as much time to complete the assignment.

The assignment was to write a news report article based on the picture entitled "CIMP Math Teachers Have It All: Beauty, Brains... and Talent" Though I must admit it's dreadful marking 70 scripts of English essays but I had so much dose of laughter reading the news articles students wrote, even though I was only on my fifth.

I will share some interesting articles with you later, but in the mean time... I need to get more juste pour rire... LOL!

Dae Sa Kwan (day-sa-kooan)

Impressive menu cover

Adrian had just completed his thesis this weekend. To reward his hard work and celebrate the completion of his dissertation, I have decided to bring him to this Korean restaurant, highly recommended by my Korean student, Jessie Lee, a while ago.

Like most Korean restaurants, Dae Sa Kwan is a family-run business located in Sri Hartamas. Even though I don't know why it is named "embassy" in Korean but this BBQ haven has become a favorite family-get-together eatary for the Korean community in Klang Valley.

Usually, Adrian and I go to other Korean restaurants in Bangsar and Sri Hartamas to fix our Korean cuisine crave, but since it was a holiday and I have always wanted to try this restaurant since the donkey years, we've decided to give this a shot!

Since there were only two of us, we only ordered two dishes. As usual, Adrian ordered his all-time favorite beef bu-gol-gi (BBQ beef with onion and mushroom) and as a Cantonese, I've always enjoyed soup dish, so I ordered ginseng chicken soup.

The food serving size in Dae Sa Kwan is rather big for its price. The meal started off with typical Korean side dishes, which has always been one of the highlights of Korean meals. To me, their side dishes are well done with fresh ingredients.

Arrays of Korean side dishes which are not pleasing on the eyes but comforting in the tummy.

Some side dishes served on that day include:Korean national dish nappy cabbage kimchi--a must-have in every household in Korea

stir-fry mushroom with capsicum
One of my favorites--soy-bean sprout stir-fried with sesame oil
Green beans with sesame seeds
Actually, I haven't quite figured this out but it tasted like julienne veggies covered with breadcrumbs
Another kimchi variation--daikon kimchi

The serving size of the main dishes, in my opinion, is rather big--giving us bang for the bucks we pay. The ginseng chicken soup has subtle ginseng taste and the wholesomeness of chicken stuffed with glutanious rice. The soup compliments the meal so well. Then the beef bul-go-gi, which is equally scrumptious! The beef is well-seasoned with vibrant flavour and the tenderness is unbeatable!

Ginseng chicken soup is one of the best I have tried. We love the thrill of digging in the chicken to get the glutanious rice. What a way to start the main dishe??!!

Oh-so-tender beef bul-go-gi. A must try for beef lovers. It's simply heavenly to be eaten with the condiment shown in the next photo.

Fresh salad leaves are used to wrap the bul-go-gi with other condiments such as fermented bean paste, chopped green chili and garlic in half cloves (top bo bottom).