美國玉米田裡教中文 / Teaching Mandarin Chinese in American Corn Fields

Eating was always an exciting time when I went to Chinatown. I am not really a foodie, but I do enjoy when there are more options of familiar foods that I can choose from. One afternoon, I stepped into this “Shan Dong Mandarin Restaurant” in Oakland Chinatown. Shandong Province in China is famous for their noodles and dumplings. I was craving for some noodles. I saw “大滷麵 Dàlǔ miàn ( Dalu Noodles) ” on the menu and knew in a heartbeat that’s going to be my lunch for the day. Dalu Noodles reminded me of my college days back in Taiwan. On a chilly day, I would walk with my roommates at that time, who are still my best friends now, from the packed 6 persons dorm to a restaurant in a small alleyway called “郭家奶奶 Guō jiā nǎinai (Grandma Guo’s).” It felt so comforting after devouring a big bowl of chewy thick-cut noodles soup in which you could also taste some good amount of napa cabbage shreds, thin pork shreds, wood ears, and egg drop. It warmed up your stomach and lifted up your spirit. A f...

火山國家公園（Volcanoes National Park） 位在夏威夷的大島。這個公園正如其名「火山」，而且是複數，所以裡面有不只一座火山。有死火山，休火山，甚至也有活火山！不過公園會關閉有危險的區域，所以可以不用擔心。來一趟火山國家公園可以了解各種火山相關活動，從不同角度看火山，也可以一次看個夠岩漿冷卻後的遺跡，幸運的話甚至可以在天黑時從遠處看到還是燒燙燙的岩漿。 火山國家公園裡有兩座蠻活躍的活火山， 「Kilauea」 和 「Mauna Loa」 。這次趁三月春假來走訪時，「Mauna Loa」 那區因為有火山運動並沒有開放，可惜無法看到這個據說如果從海底開始算，身高比聖母峰還高的活火山。而另一座活火山「Kilauea」上次噴發是僅僅在六年前，據說當時2018年噴發時還有地震，公園管理員也說一直到去年2023年九月還看得到一些岩漿在流動。甚至到目前還是繼續有化學物質排放出來，所以在我去的時候，沿著Kilauea的環狀步道有些地段是被封起來的，以免有毒氣體會危害到觀光客的身體。 另一個我覺得夏威夷火山國家公園的特色是，我常常搞不清楚到底哪個火山口已經看過了😂。像是我開在園區內的公路上時，看到告示牌上寫著「Pauahi Crater」，我想說我是開錯方向嗎不是剛剛才停在這個P開頭的火山口（crater）？拿出地圖仔細研究一下，原來剛剛看的火山口叫「Puhimau Crater」，拼法也太像了！公園裡的景點大部分是用當地的夏威夷文標記，而夏威夷文的特點是每個字都好長好難記，所以就會出現一些「Kukamahuakea」、「Kipukapuaulu」、「Pu'u Huluhulu」、「Pu'upua'i」等等的名字，讓我覺得頭昏眼花😵，所以記名字時真的要多用力注意一下。 我在夏威夷火山國家公園停留了三天兩夜，下面就來介紹一下我覺得很值得去體驗的火山活動。 遠眺俯瞰火山口，再踏在昔日火山口上：Kilauea Iki Trail 公園裡暫時沒有在噴發的這座「Kilauea」活火山離大門入口相當近，一進公園就會開在一條環火山口公路上（Crater Rim Drive），一路上有相當多個觀景點可以停下來看這個Kilauea火山口。 除了從各個觀景點看巨大的Kilauea火山口外 ，遊客也可以直接走下去在旁邊小一點的「Kilauea Iki」火山口...

The sound of cicadas and lawn mowers signals that it’s officially summer time. I thought about last year when I visited my family in Taiwan during my summer vacation and that last day when I had to take three flights back to the United States.   While the plane was traveling across the Pacific Ocean, I looked outside of the small airplane window. The clouds below me looked like an ocean made of cotton candy. Just that same morning, my phone numbers started with 0933. The app that I used the most often was called "Line." The language that I heard and spoke was 中文, Mandarin, a bit of Taiwanese, and almost zero English. The people that I interacted with are the ones that I've known for more than a decade at least. The temperature was above 35'c, or 95'F, and the humidity was, well, sweaty and sticky. "Ding." The seat-belt sign was on and the flight attendant announced that the plane was about to land. That was my signal to prepare for a different life as I ...