在分享之後，是激起的回憶

今晚，聽完Chiashin Liao印度歸國分享後，不只感動，也重溫這個寒假我也去印度的記憶.....

聽她的故事，像是在見證一個勇敢的女孩突破外界給予的性別刻板印象，努力透過去印度的海外成長，交換一個嶄新的自我 ! (堅持採著厚底鞋勇闖印度的故事真的頗幽默的XD) 在她的分享中，感受到一個親切的國家熱切地以宗教信仰、街頭景象、紗麗與美食對旅行者產生文化衝擊。透過她的生動描述，印度有著熱鬧繽紛的色彩，分外有趣。至於這位台灣女孩大冒險究竟途中遭遇過多少次拉肚子; 買了多少件當地手工小物與衣飾;怎嚜學會與當地商家協調溝通; 後來如何自我定位並從中找到嶄新的自己......等，有興趣的人可以來中正AIESEC 在11/06 管理學院R107 的說明會一探究竟囉^^

  

我個人寒假跟著另外的志工旅行團，則是體驗到有些不同的多元印度文化 (可能是工作內容與地點造成的差別)。在那裡，因為工作關係，時常與當地孩子生活、一起遊戲、打掃、跳舞。與她的分享相似處就是印度的工作安排總會留下一大段空閑的午後時光，而我都以到處亂晃、發呆、觀察人打發到時間。>< 不同的是我眼中的印度像洋蔥; 外層包裹著熱鬧繽紛的色彩，直到一層層剝開後，才發現裡面蘊涵著深厚的寧靜氣息、深厚文化。那種沉靜的色彩，我不是在街景看到，而是在工作地點時體會到的：

  

每當孩子們圍著工作人員一起看報紙時，我有時也會一起湊熱鬧，聽著他們談論國際時事、對整頁的心靈啟發及社論版發表意見。(真的是滿滿整頁，不同於台灣報紙的少數小專欄) 每當老師們問小朋友"What do you want to do in the future?" 原以為會清一色聽見工程師、律師、銀行家等錢途光明的答案，卻發現不少孩子信誓旦旦地說 "I want to be a volunteer like you all."、 "Make good influence to the world."....等。也許他們或多或少受到各國志工影響，或是受到當地組織創辦人的照顧而想成為那樣的偉大改革家(另一個觸動人心的成長故事)。但不管如何，我都看見一股單純的愛與改善這個世界的衝勁，從印度大人與小孩眼神中奕奕地散發出來。

另外的寧靜感動來自當地的老師希望志工們在05:30起床和孩子們一起參予晨間禱告(一種當地宗教早上打座的活動)。於是，我們每天頂著澄靜的夜空和孩子們爬上頂樓，等待日出時一起復頌梵文祝禱並打座。剛開始孩子們不時三三兩兩小聲交談，當東方逐漸透出魚肚白時，老師便出聲示意祝禱開始。我嘴裡複頌著根本不知發音是否正確的梵文 (其實只是模仿音調  ><)；盯著旭日從遠山那螞蟻大的寺廟頂端升起；聆聽鄰近村落裡牛隻、駱駝、村民開始作息的嘈雜聲，霎時充滿感動! 那種悸動，不只是受當下莊嚴寧靜的氣氛所致，也因印證以前課堂知識而感到單純地興奮! 我憶起高中社會課老師提到印度的慢活哲學、太陽、天地萬物、人類相互影響的生態觀(間皆影響印度修行和吃素文化)....等。以前只能在課堂上憑空幻想，如今沐浴在其中，那樣深刻的悸動實在難以形容。果然，唯有身在其中，才能著實知全貌吧! 

  

這趟旅程其實沒有為我帶來劇烈的轉變，但我隱約感受到自己正重新定，並逐漸蛻變成嶄新的自我。回國後，在受到這次旅行的啟發下，我藉由大二下學期英文作文課的自由研究作業長期進行一份關於童工的小論文(這次旅行是和印度解放童工組織合作)，純粹希望藉由研究這個議題的發展歷程而發揮文章的影響力。

夜深了，我卻發瘋似地憶從前而不睡覺! 大概是受到印度研習生分享而激起日前沉澱的心得吧! 同時，也很開心能源源不絕地發現自己回國後默默做了不少小改變。現在，準備帶著這些新發現和回憶入夢。期待每天有嶄新的啟發與小蛻變!

短篇 The Picture of Dorian Gray (adapted version)

從前有個精神分裂症的患者，體內存在極度自責的偏執狂和一個恣意妄為的縱慾者。

有天，他發現自己的肖像竟然隨著夜夜笙歌而逐漸蒼老。懊悔之餘，他拾起桌邊的匕首，一刀劃向那已面目全非的醜惡。

瞬時一陣刺痛，他發現自己的腹部與匕首合一。

然後，他倒在血泊中，再也動彈不得。

News Feedback: Born to Anti- bully in This Way

                                

news: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/15571302

  After viewing Lady Gaga’s news, I want to have a say on campus bullying. First, I partially agree with the concept that family, teacher and mess media share responsibilities on campus bullying. However, it seems that we frequently skip an important role who cannot shun the responsibility, either. That is the onlookers, who silently witness campus bullying occurring. These onlookers are bullies in disguise due to their silent permission to violent incidents. Their behaviors may be based on two different psychologies: one is the fear of being the next victim once they sympathize the bullied, and the other is the hatefulness toward victims just like those bullies. Nevertheless, whatever these onlookers ponder, their attitudes of standing by will only enforce the violence to happen instead of terminating it.

　　　Second, some myths about bullying are held by public, and require fixing. In some expeerts’ sentences, students with poor academic performance will bully others to draw teachers’ attentions. Conventionally, students who score low are apt to bullying their classmates. But do students with excellent grades not bully others? Another myth relates to Sharon’s feedback that the bullied do not want to get along with others due to their inferiority. A traditional concept is held that a shy or timid person tends to be a victim. However, conditions like lack of friendship or transferring to a new place may be crises for the long-term bullied. Other myths like bullies possessing a low ego remain discussed. Actually, there is no evidence to prove the relationship between bullies and low self-esteem. Contrarily, most of them are confident and popular among their peers, especially in junior and senior highs. Maybe adolescent youths consider rebellion and bullying ways to show their uniqueness and power. In sum, we should fix some stereotypes on campus bullying.

　　　Last, congratulate to Lady Gaga’s successful establishment of the Born This Way Foundation. Celebrity as she is, Lady Gaga still concerns human equality. She believes that no matter the homosexual or the transgendered should share the same equality as others, because God makes no mistakes. Now she strives to reach her goal by helping youths with anti-bullying issues. In her inspiring statement, Lady Gaga said, "Together we hope to establish a standard of bravery and kindness, as well as a community worldwide that protects and nurtures others in the face of bullying and abandonment." Hopefully, her dream of equal society will realize in the soon future. 


Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation: http://www.bornthiswayfoundation.org/

Age Under Thirty, the Eighth Sin?

"I won't  hire those under thirty. ........They are irresponsible, unwilling to do hard work. " As mr. Jiang blastes the youngsters uhder thirty during a magazine interview, Strawberry Generation then become widly discussed and consecutively reported. Strawberry Generation is used to labeled  people born in 80"s, even in 90's, with some bias traits: low endurance, low stabliity, hendonism as well as hylicism, selfish man, and having high degree but inept. However, I consider these sterotypes  partially off the fact and misunderstood in two aspects.First, Strawberry Generation is  originally used to describe people in Taiwan born in 70's, "post-baby-boom" in another term, by a Career Magazine maneger due to their extremely various values. This phenomenon is not distinct in Taiwan but in other nations with different names. Those born in 70's are called "Generation X" in America, "New Human" in Japan, and "Generation 386" in Korea. Their existence represents a generation gap and sturs an arguement around the globe.

Second, the 70's doesn't resemble the 80's as well as the 90's in job transference. The 70's often changing occupations at will directly relates to the bubble economy time, a period that numerous companys and factories from financial field to technology industry all need emloyees frantically. Thus, elders cannot stand their low stability and low endurance and irresponsibility, labling  these youths as Strawberry Generation. Yet we 70's and 80's transfer our jobs frequently for we face a dilemma on work declination instead. For the quantity of work, it is a common pratice that we born in 80's and 90's hardly find a job, let alone obtaining a career which meets our interests nowadays. For instance, there was always an opportunity for the office worker  born in 70's getting a promotion due to the large demands on infrastruction and human resource at that time. Contrarily,  we youngsters nowadays pound the pavement hard end up being refused by employers with a reluctance to hire  "strawberries." For quantity of work,  de-skilled labor with no need to have complete technique strangely defines one with high degree.We can find numerous people with master degree making a living as salesmen, college students moonlighting  to earn penut salary......etc.

To sum up, I consider what Mr.Jiang strive to emphasize is the importance of having right attitude instead of the working age.It is the mass media that puts off the topic and exaggerates his reluctance of hiring whose age is under thirty to make this news more appealingand provoking. Actually, I think Mr. Jiang tried to say those with strawberry-generation traits are more likely to be eliminated than those under-thirty youngsters in the workingplace.Just like Mr. Jiang emphasized,"Atttitude is everything! " 

Facebook, a Tool for Connection?

     As the research pointed out, numerous Internet users are captured by the attraction of Facebook, a prevalent social website. Since its initiation in 2004 by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook has become the most welcomed social networking site, with over 500 million members in 2010. From connecting people across the globe to giving users an opportunity to polish their networking skills, Facebook offers it all. What’s more, it has become a great platform for raising social issues and also a profitable advertising tool with a broader reach than any other media. Nowadays, many youths are addicted to it, and I, unfortunately, am no exception because I browse through it at least three hours per day. Addicted as I am, I still have a say on this website’s merit and flipside.

      The cream of Facebook must be its feature to cultivate intimacy with friends, especially with those in “weak relationship.” By “weak relationship,” I mean it describes the friendship with nodding acquaintance like classmates in elementary school as well as in kindergarten, or ex-colleagues in previous workplace. By adding them in our Facebook, these friends in “weak relationship” can keep in touch with us anew. Thanks to Facebook, it creates and builds up a strong intimacy between people. Nevertheless, this kind of intimacy is not a real one but an outcome of virtual interaction. Adding more on this news, Facebook adversely affects the social communication skills of the youths. It spoils the value of long distance relationships, because the relationship is built and maintained through a website with lacks of emotional and physical involvement. Though the friend list in the networking site keeps mounting, how many of members are our real friend is a question worthy of pondering. Remember, friendship is more than just knowing a person over the internet.

     Obviously, privacy is the shortcoming discussed most. Seldom do users realize that Facebook serve a function named Open Graph API. The power of the Open Graph API is that it helps to create a smarter, personalized web that gets better with every action taken. It can record every website, link we visit frequently by setting countless “like” buttons in most of the websites. For instance, if we love a band on Pandora, that information can become part of the graph so that later if we visit a concert site, the site can tell us when our favorite band is coming to our area. In the other term, some criminal rings are able to go through our pockets by setting similar fishing sites. What’s worse, there is always the fear of cyber stalking in Facebook, and chances are that our personal details and photos might land up in wrong hands. To me, the problem on privacy relates to a film I have watched before, The Truman Show, starred by Jim Carrey. In this film, not until ages to thirty year old, does the main character Truman aware of living in a constructed reality television show, broadcast 24-hours-a-day to billions of people across the globe. Similar condition as Facebook does, it forces us to live in the age without privacy. 

      These qualities and features of Facebook is a double edged sword. We have to give a second thought on using it because it is the event happened right in front of us. Even as a Facebook member, there is no compulsion to share information every single day, or addicted to it like criminal inhaling drug. As a one-click culture, Facebook is synonymous with the Internet. They all can be beneficial or disruptive, only depend on us.