"Travel Fun Taiwan " Janet's speech

“ You can live once . If you make it right , once is enough“ This was the very first sentence by Travel Fun Taiwan’s hostess Janet of her speech delivered at NCTU Electro-information Building on the night of Nov. 04 . Janet , a Taiwanese American , a fiddler , and a MIT alumnus , started her overseas volunteering work at the early age of 16 . The first country she went to do her volunteering works was Ecuador , South America .But before Janet and her peers could go to Ecuador , they had to overcome a barrier first which was $20,000 charity funds for the impoverished in Ecuador . Though Janet’s community promised to provide round-trip flight tickets and accommodation fees for their stay in Ecuador , without at least $20,000 , they knew they could do very little for the needy in Ecuador . So Janet and her peers came up with a good idea to get this thorny issue resolved : “Free car washing” . The very next day , they prepared everything necessary for car washing and erected a big placard saying “ Free Car Washing “ right on the sidewalk in front of Janet’s house . So dirty autos kept moving in , and after the autos were finally washed , another big placard saying “ Donation for the Ecuadorean Impoverished needed “ waiting for the drivers at the end of the car washing line . Bingo , they raked in more than $20,000 in just one month .
Janet and her co-workers ventured into the deep jungle countryside of Ecuador . The first scene which drew the attention of Janet and her American co-workers was every Ecuadorean kid got serious tooth decay , no exception . After communicating with each other , Janet learned these countryside kids never knew what tooth brushing was , neither did the kids’ parents . So , Janet and her co-workers drove to the nearest city and bought all the toothbrushes and toothpaste they could find with a tiny portion of the $20,000 charity funds . They went back to the jungle village and taught every child how to correctly brush their teeth with the toothbrushes and tooth paste . They even asked every kid brought back the necessary toothbrushes to their homes and taught their family members how to brush their teeth for preventing tooth decay .
One story about an Ecuadorean girl was so touching that Janet could never forget . After Janet’s stay at the jungle village doing the volunteering works and helping the locals resolve some of their living issues , a shy girl came over to Janet and gave her a papaya for expressing her gratitude to Janet . In return , Janet asked this poor girl if Janet could share this papaya with her family . The girl gladly said yes and took Janet home . However , the journey to the little girl’s home turned out to be a two-hour walk through a meandering path and thick jungle . After arriving at the little girl’s house , Janet found out no furniture could be seen inside the house , and the papaya was actually the family’s lunch that day . Suddenly Janet realized how lucky she was by living in a prosperous nation U.S.A. , only having to worry about whether or not handsome boys liked her , and she felt so ashamed that how come she could only be worried about these trivial issues comparing with the little Ecuadorean girl’s sufferings . Janet shared this precious papaya with the little girl’s family with enlightenment instilled in her heart . The picture below showed how moved Janet still felt when recalling this story .

After her volunteering works in Ecuador , Argentina , Brazil , etc. , and earning her Bachelor's degree of Arts at MIT , she decided to come back to her parents’ motherland Taiwan to look around . With her shining appearance , Janet was soon recruited to serve as a model advertising contact lens and other merchandises . However , she didn’t think working as a model really fitted into her life plan . So one day when a producer , impressed by Janet’s dazzling appearance and energetic adventurous nature , of Travel Channel came over to her asking if she’d like to host a TV program telling the audience the real beauty and culture of Taiwan , she immediately seized the chance and accepted it . She enjoyed this job as the hostess of “Travel Fun Taiwan” so much that she realized she found her dream job . The following picture shows after having conquered Jade mountain top , Travel Fun Taiwan’s crew exposed all their bottoms only for celebration . Janet’s next goal would be hosting “Travel Fun Asia” after “Travel Fun Taiwan” was completed .
Even while chasing the beauty of Taiwan while hosting “Travel Fun Taiwan” , Janet still wrung out some time to travel abroad . One destination she could never forget was India ‘cause she was enchanted with yoga , and she hoped someday she could become a yoga master . One day , without any preparation , she flew to India and started her finding-yoga- master journey . However , without any expectation , she found out she was dumped in a region without electricity , tap water , and other basic facilities . Even so , her determination of finding a yoga master wasn’t dented at all . An Indian guy took her to a ridge but only a tiny Hindu temple-like structure could be seen . When Janet poked her head into the tiny temple-like structure , ouch , a bone-skinny man was sitting on the ground with both his legs raising high crossing behind his neck . “ Sorry for bothering you , sir , we’re leaving , we’re leaving “ apologized Janet . “ Come back , young lady , if you please “ said calmly the bone-skinny man . So Janet summoned all her courage and slowly staggered back to the structure ‘cause she was still under shock . “ Come inside , young lady , and do as what I’m doing “ said the man practicing yoga inside the structure . So Janet squeezed into the tiny temple and started practicing yoga . After months staying there , she finally became a yoga master teaching other Indians practicing yoga . The picture at the very top of this article shows Janet’s leg stretching over my shoulder ‘cause I wanted to know if she had flexible limbs capable of becoming a yoga master .
The reason that I went to listen to Janet’s speech was not that I wanted to know her travel stories or her model life , instead , I wanted to know how she kept her passion and initiative for doing volunteering works , and even motivated other people to do the same things . I serve right now as the vice president membership (VPM) of Toastmasters International Hsinchu Club(TIHC) responsible for recruiting new members volunteering to learn English and to help others learn English , as well as to learn the leadership skills . That’s why it was me who raised the first question after Janet’s fantastic speech ended . After listening to my brief introduction about my position as VPM at TIHC and my question , Janet told me as a leader , I had to lead by example and show my passion whenever it’s possible . The photo at the right shows me raising the question to Janet .
Finally , I’d like to express my gratitude to my TIHC club member Billy Chen ( picture shown right below )who took all the photos posted in this article . Let me repeat what I learned from Janet’s speech : “ You can live once . If you make it right , once is enough . “ “ Lead by example , and show your passion .“ “ Find your dream job . “

The Bet

The blogger's note : this short story was written by Russian novelist and playwright Anton Chekhov( 1860-1904 ) . The blogger read this short story in his senior high school English textbook and his philosophical thinking was ever since highly influenced by this story . The blogger sincerely hopes the reader will get deeply moved by this superb story as the blogger did when he was only a youngster two decades ago .



It was a dark autumn night. The old banker was walking up and down his study and remembering how, fifteen years before, he had given a party one autumn evening. There had been many clever men there, and there had been interesting conversations. Among other things they had talked of capital punishment. The majority of the guests, among whom were many journalists and intellectual men, disapproved of the death penalty. They considered that form of punishment out of date, immoral, and unsuitable for Christian States. In the opinion of some of them the death penalty ought to be replaced everywhere by imprisonment for life. "I don't agree with you," said their host the banker. "I have not tried either the death penalty or imprisonment for life, but if one may judge a priori, the death penalty is more moral and more humane than imprisonment for life. Capital punishment kills a man at once, but lifelong imprisonment kills him slowly. Which executioner is the more humane, he who kills you in a few minutes or he who drags the life out of you in the course of many years?" "Both are equally immoral," observed one of the guests, "for they both have the same object - to take away life. The State is not God. It has not the right to take away what it cannot restore when it wants to." Among the guests was a young lawyer, a young man of five-and-twenty. When he was asked his opinion, he said: "The death sentence and the life sentence are equally immoral, but if I had to choose between the death penalty and imprisonment for life, I would certainly choose the second. To live anyhow is better than not at all." A lively discussion arose. The banker, who was younger and more nervous in those days, was suddenly carried away by excitement; he struck the table with his fist and shouted at the young man: "It's not true! I'll bet you two million you wouldn't stay in solitary confinement for five years." "If you mean that in earnest," said the young man, "I'll take the bet, but I would stay not five but fifteen years." "Fifteen? Done!" cried the banker. "Gentlemen, I stake two million!" "Agreed! You stake your millions and I stake my freedom!" said the young man.
And this wild, senseless bet was carried out! The banker, spoilt and frivolous, with millions beyond his reckoning, was delighted at the bet. At supper he made fun of the young man, and said: "Think better of it, young man, while there is still time. To me two million is a trifle, but you are losing three or four of the best years of your life. I say three or four, because you won't stay longer. Don't forget either, you unhappy man, that voluntary confinement is a great deal harder to bear than compulsory. The thought that you have the right to step out in liberty at any moment will poison your whole existence in prison. I am sorry for you." And now the banker, walking to and fro, remembered all this, and asked himself: "What was the object of that bet? What is the good of that man's losing fifteen years of his life and my throwing away two million? Can it prove that the death penalty is better or worse than imprisonment for life? No, no. It was all nonsensical and meaningless. On my part it was the caprice of a pampered man, and on his part simple greed for money ..." Then he remembered what followed that evening. It was decided that the young man should spend the years of his captivity under the strictest supervision in one of the lodges in the banker's garden. It was agreed that for fifteen years he should not be free to cross the threshold of the lodge, to see human beings, to hear the human voice, or to receive letters and newspapers. He was allowed to have a musical instrument and books, and was allowed to write letters, to drink wine, and to smoke. By the terms of the agreement, the only relations he could have with the outer world were by a little window made purposely for that object. He might have anything he wanted - books, music, wine, and so on - in any quantity he desired by writing an order, but could only receive them through the window. The agreement provided for every detail and every trifle that would make his imprisonment strictly solitary, and bound the young man to stay there exactly fifteen years, beginning from twelve o'clock of November 14, 1870, and ending at twelve o'clock of November 14, 1885. The slightest attempt on his part to break the conditions, if only two minutes before the end, released the banker from the obligation to pay him the two million .
For the first year of his confinement, as far as one could judge from his brief notes, the prisoner suffered severely from loneliness and depression. The sounds of the piano could be heard continually day and night from his lodge. He refused wine and tobacco. Wine, he wrote, excites the desires, and desires are the worst foes of the prisoner; and besides, nothing could be more dreary than drinking good wine and seeing no one. And tobacco spoilt the air of his room. In the first year the books he sent for were principally of a light character; novels with a complicated love plot, sensational and fantastic stories, and so on. In the second year the piano was silent in the lodge, and the prisoner asked only for the classics. In the fifth year music was audible again, and the prisoner asked for wine. Those who watched him through the window said that all that year he spent doing nothing but eating and drinking and lying on his bed, frequently yawning and angrily talking to himself. He did not read books. Sometimes at night he would sit down to write; he would spend hours writing, and in the morning tear up all that he had written. More than once he could be heard crying. In the second half of the sixth year the prisoner began zealously studying languages, philosophy, and history. He threw himself eagerly into these studies - so much so that the banker had enough to do to get him the books he ordered. In the course of four years some six hundred volumes were procured at his request. It was during this period that the banker received the following letter from his prisoner: "My dear Jailer, I write you these lines in six languages. Show them to people who know the languages. Let them read them. If they find not one mistake I implore you to fire a shot in the garden. That shot will show me that my efforts have not been thrown away. The geniuses of all ages and of all lands speak different languages, but the same flame burns in them all. Oh, if you only knew what unearthly happiness my soul feels now from being able to understand them!" The prisoner's desire was fulfilled. The banker ordered two shots to be fired in the garden.
Then after the tenth year, the prisoner sat immovably at the table and read nothing but the Gospel. It seemed strange to the banker that a man who in four years had mastered six hundred learned volumes should waste nearly a year over one thin book easy of comprehension. Theology and histories of religion followed the Gospels. In the last two years of his confinement the prisoner read an immense quantity of books quite indiscriminately. At one time he was busy with the natural sciences, then he would ask for Byron or Shakespeare. There were notes in which he demanded at the same time books on chemistry, and a manual of medicine, and a novel, and some treatise on philosophy or theology. His reading suggested a man swimming in the sea among the wreckage of his ship, and trying to save his life by greedily clutching first at one spar and then at another. The old banker remembered all this, and thought: "To-morrow at twelve o'clock he will regain his freedom. By our agreement I ought to pay him two million. If I do pay him, it is all over with me: I shall be utterly ruined." Fifteen years before, his millions had been beyond his reckoning; now he was afraid to ask himself which were greater, his debts or his assets. Desperate gambling on the Stock Exchange, wild speculation and the excitability whic h he could not get over even in advancing years, had by degrees led to the decline of his fortune and the proud, fearless, self-confident millionaire had become a banker of middling rank, trembling at every rise and fall in his investments. "Cursed bet!" muttered the old man, clutching his head in despair "Why didn't the man die? He is only forty now. He will take my last penny from me, he will marry, will enjoy life, will gamble on the Exchange; while I shall look at him with envy like a beggar, and hear from him every day the same sentence: 'I am indebted to you for the happiness of my life, let me help you!' No, it is too much! The one means of being saved from bankruptcy and disgrace is the death of that man!" It struck three o'clock, the banker listened; everyone was asleep in the house and nothing could be heard outside but the rustling of the chilled trees. Trying to make no noise, he took from a fireproof safe the key of the door which had not been opened for fifteen years, put on his overcoat, and went out of the house.
It was dark and cold in the garden. Rain was falling. A damp cutting wind was racing about the garden, howling and giving the trees no rest. The banker strained his eyes, but could see neither the earth nor the white statues, nor the lodge, nor the trees. Going to the spot where the lodge stood, he twice called the watchman. No answer followed. Evidently the watchman had sought shelter from the weather, and was now asleep somewhere either in the kitchen or in the greenhouse. "If I had the pluck to carry out my intention," thought the old man, "Suspicion would fall first upon the watchman." He felt in the darkness for the steps and the door, and went into the entry of the lodge. Then he groped his way into a little passage and lighted a match. There was not a soul there. There was a bedstead with no bedding on it, and in the corner there was a dark cast-iron stove. The seals on the door leading to the prisoner's rooms were intact. When the match went out the old man, trembling with emotion, peeped through the little window. A candle was burning dimly in the prisoner's room. He was sitting at the table. Nothing could be seen but his back, the hair on his head, and his hands. Open books were lying on the table, on the two easy-chairs, and on the carpet near the table. Five minutes passed and the prisoner did not once stir. Fifteen years' imprisonment had taught him to sit still. The banker tapped at the window with his finger, and the prisoner made no movement whatever in response. Then the banker cautiously broke the seals off the door and put the key in the keyhole. The rusty lock gave a grating sound and the door creaked. The banker expected to hear at once footsteps and a cry of astonishment, but three minutes passed and it was as quiet as ever in the room. He made up his mind to go in. At the table a man unlike ordinary people was sitting motionless. He was a skeleton with the skin drawn tight over his bones, with long curls like a woman's and a shaggy beard. His face was yellow with an earthy tint in it, his cheeks were hollow, his back long and narrow, and the hand on which his shaggy head was propped was so thin and delicate that it was dreadful to look at it. His hair was already streaked with silver, and seeing his emaciated, aged-looking face, no one would have believed that he was only forty. He was asleep ... In front of his bowed head there lay on the table a sheet of paper on which there was something written in fine handwriting.
"Poor creature!" thought the banker, "he is asleep and most likely dreaming of the millions. And I have only to take this half-dead man, throw him on the bed, stifle him a little with the pillow, and the most conscientious expert would find no sign of a violent death. But let us first read what he has written here ... " The banker took the page from the table and read as follows: "To-morrow at twelve o'clock I regain my freedom and the right to associate with other men, but before I leave this room and see the sunshine, I think it necessary to say a few words to you. With a clear conscience I tell you, as before God, who beholds me, that I despise freedom and life and health, and all that in your books is called the good things of the world. "For fifteen years I have been intently studying earthly life. It is true I have not seen the earth nor men, but in your books I have drunk fragrant wine, I have sung songs, I have hunted stags and wild boars in the forests, have loved women ... Beauties as ethereal as clouds, created by the magic of your poets and geniuses, have visited me at night, and have whispered in my ears wonderful tales that have set my brain in a whirl. In your books I have climbed to the peaks of Elburz and Mont Blanc, and from there I have seen the sun rise and have watched it at evening flood the sky, the ocean, and the mountain-tops with gold and crimson. I have watched from there the lightning flashing over my head and cleaving the storm-clouds. I have seen green forests, fields, rivers, lakes, towns. I have heard the singing of the sirens, and the strains of the shepherds' pipes; I have touched the wings of comely devils who flew down to converse with me of God ... In your books I have flung myself into the bottomless pit, performed miracles, slain, burned towns, preached new religions, conquered whole kingdoms ... "Your books have given me wisdom. All that the unresting thought of man has created in the ages is compressed into a small compass in my brain. I know that I am wiser than all of you.
"And I despise your books, I despise wisdom and the blessings of this world. It is all worthless, fleeting, illusory, and deceptive, like a mirage. You may be proud, wise, and fine, but death will wipe you off the face of the earth as though you were no more than mice burrowing under the floor, and your posterity, your history, your immortal geniuses will burn or freeze together with the earthly globe. "You have lost your reason and taken the wrong path. You have taken lies for truth, and hideousness for beauty. You would marvel if, owing to strange events of some sorts, frogs and lizards suddenly grew on apple and orange trees instead of fruit, or if roses began to smell like a sweating horse; so I marvel at you who exchange heaven for earth. I don't want to understand you. "To prove to you in action how I despise all that you live by, I renounce the two million of which I once dreamed as of paradise and which now I despise. To deprive myself of the right to the money I shall go out from here five hours before the time fixed, and so break the compact ..." When the banker had read this he laid the page on the table, kissed the strange man on the head, and went out of the lodge, weeping. At no other time, even when he had lost heavily on the Stock Exchange, had he felt so great a contempt for himself. When he got home he lay on his bed, but his tears and emotion kept him for hours from sleeping. Next morning the watchmen ran in with pale faces, and told him they had seen the man who lived in the lodge climb out of the window into the garden, go to the gate, and disappear. The banker went at once with the servants to the lodge and made sure of the flight of his prisoner. To avoid arousing unnecessary talk, he took from the table the writing in which the millions were renounced, and when he got home locked it up in the fireproof safe.

Wind of change

Ten years ago , when I studied as a graduate student at the Physics Institute , I got an invitation from the International Physical Society to deliver my thesis at a convention which would be held at Moscow State University Moscow Russia in late August . Back then , the former Soviet Union was collapsing into numerous independent states : Latvia , Estonia , along the Baltic Sea , Ukraine , Belarus in eastern Europe , etc . My lab partner happened to be a Russkie , a Russian whose name was Alexander Stepanovich Abrikosov . We all called him Sasha since the dimunitive of Alexander in Russian is Sasha . Sasha and I got along very well with each other , so when he came over to me and asked me if he could travel along with me to Moscow , I told him “ No problem “
So Sasha and I boarded a China airliner directly flying to Amsterdam , the Netherlands in early July . In Amsterdam , we rented a Toyota sedan ‘cause we would drive all the way through Europe to Moscow . Since Sasha and I were both fans of Don Quixote , Spain’s greatest novel , we were so excited witnessing so many evil Windmills . We felt we were in heaven when the gentle winds blew the fragrances of endless tulips to us under the azure sky .

As we moved east into Germany , we decided to stay in Goettingen for one night because there was a grave which Sasha and I , as physics majors , had to pay a visit to . It was the grave of Max Planck whose revolutionary discovery in 1900 started the first page of modern physics , and that’s why he was awarded Nobel Physics prize . In fact , Germany was able to start the two world wars in the 20th century partly due to his revolutionary discovery . So that morning , deliberately dressed in black shirts and grey trousers and with a bouquet of yellow roses in our hands , we drove to Max Planck’s tomb . However , before we parked our Toyota , Oh Sa La Mio , Oh Sa La Mio ,we saw a bride and a groom as well as a bunch of people singing and dancing loudly around Max Planck’s tomb . “ What the hell are they doing ? “ I asked a German onlooker near by . “ Oh , it’s our tradition here that a bride majoring in Physics comes to Max Planck’s tomb to celebrate on her wedding day . Wait , wait , wait , here comes the best part . “ Sasha and I almost dropped our eyes and jaws ‘cause the bride ripped open the front part of her wedding gown and squeezed her huge bosoms onto the tombstone . “ When did this kind of tradition start ? “ Murmured Sasha , “ Oh , since the fall of the Berlin Wall . “ The German onlooker amused . So Sasha and I looked at each other , threw away our yellow roses , retreated to our Toyota and sped off .
As we zigzagged across the countryside of Poland , a scene usually seen in the medieval time drew our attention . A white-haired farmer drove a two-wheeled wooden cart pulled by a donkey moving against the east wind . So I steered my Toyota to get closer and said hello to the old farmer in my broken Russian . “ Hello Sir , how are you doing today ?” “ I’m doing pretty well , young men , where are you going ? “ “ We’re going to Russia , do you like Russia ? “ “ Ha , I love Russia so much , especially when there’re so many Russias now . Ukraine , Belarus , Latvia , you name it .” I turned to Sasha who only cracked a bitter smile .
Finally , we arrived at Moscow State University in late August . Sasha took me to Moscow’s landmark , the Red Square . “ Let me tell you a story about my grandpa and the Red Square “ , said Sasha . “ My grandpa was a war hero in War World Two since he shot dead hundreds of Nazi soldiers . He was quite tall and handsome , however , boooo he farted all the time due to his poor digestion system . His comrades always called him Red Army skunk . After we defeated Nazi Germany , a huge military parade would be held to honor our great leader Josef Stalin . To my grandpa’s surprise , his name was not on the name list of the parade . So he strode angrily to his superior “ Comrade General , why can’t I join the parade ? “ “ Do you want our great leader comrade Stalin to smell your stinky farts blown along by the strong winds ? “ “ But I’m the war hero , I --“ Booooo, he farted again , and that was the end of the arguments . ( Enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeoIHxSaEaU , especially its backgound music which definitly makes your blood pumping . )
A gentle wind happened to blow over my face and neither could I smell Sasha grandpa’s farts , nor could I hear comrade Stalin’s speech in the parade . Instead , along the breeze , I could only hear laughter and conversations in English , German , Japanese , and even Mandarin from the tourists in Red Square . And I could also hear Oh Sa La Mio at Max Planck’s tomb blown away from Goettingen to the whole world along with the wind of change .( Enjoy Scorpions' live performance in Red Square http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4PhDfOthY4 , it was this very song that inspired the blogger to write this article . )

Toastmasters club mission

Toastmasters club is the best way to improve your communication skills. Loose your fears of public speaking and learn skills that help you be more successful in whatever path you've chosen in life.
The mission of Toastmasters club is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every individual member has the opportunity to develop oral communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self confidence and personal growth.