*********No meeting on 5/13 because of Mother’s Day ************

*********Best wishes to Mothers all over the world!***************

*********Ever-blissful, ever-young, ever-benevolent!!**************

Recap of “Because it’s there…” by Wisely on May 6, 2017

Host: Wisely

Topic: “Because it’s there…”

Participants: Daniel Chen, Fox, Barkley, J.T., Steven, Sophie, Wisely, Kevin Huang, Angel

Meeting Photo: https://goo.gl/photos/r6VeLkwki4ykBx5o9

“A Call from Mountains “started

Our manly-host wisely arrived earlier and preceded the meeting very smoothly and interactively as usual.

List of 100 Peaks in Taiwan and Beauty

Most peaks are strictly defined by their height over 3000m as those in Central Mountain Range, Xueshan Range and Yusahan Range,and some by their mountaineering value as those in Alishan range and Coastal mountain range. In a word, the list has become a benchmark, which successfully invokes enthusiasm from all the mountaineers. 

Preparation Before mountaineering

Wisely told we climbing mountain started with an attempt to reach 100 peaks of big mountains, but the lack of caution usually causes unnecessary resource wastes and serious accidents. He sincerely suggests us:

1.     Begin with joining a mountaineering club, in which the experienced leaders can help us to accomplish our goals and on the other hand we learn how they prepare or solve the problems during the journey.

2.     Reinforce your bodily capability and learn more about situation adaptation from easier and lower peaks. Then understand the mountain you plan to climb including the route situation like rocks, ice, or snow, the temperature in different elevation like the temperature approximately 0.5 degree lower by each 100m elevation higher, or the related practical mountaineering knowledge and skills.

3.     Always remember, “Prevention is better than cure.” For example, we prepare more than 5-day equipments for 5-day mountaineering journey.

4.     Enrich our mountaineering knowledge and skills all the time.

“Because it’s there…”

1.     Wisely asked us his reason to choose the topic and later he explained he was inspired by a legendary mountaineering figure, George Mallory, who was asked why he kept challenging to climb Mt. Everest regardless of failure by New York Times in 1923. Mr. Mallory answered”... Because it’s there. Everest is the highest mouton in the world. And no man has reached its summit. Its existence is a challenge. The answer is instinctive, a part, I suppose, of man’s desire to conquer the universe.”

2.     Wisely then asked us to interpret “it” here. After discussion, we concluded as below:

(1)  “Dream” in one’s heart

(2)  The mountain itself.

(3)  Where the heart is

Pictures and Videos”Bliss Always in Our Heart”~

Wisely showed us the pictures and videos about his 27-peak accomplishment in Taiwan and natural beauty along the way.  There was one picture, in which Wisely brought his self-printed poster “I Love Bliss 2017 March” to Mt. Jade Main Peak to show his true heat!  It was really touching.

Reflections:

In Bliss we always can find many devoted and heart-felt members like Wisely! When asked why we all love Bliss? The answer might be~ “Because it’s there...”

-- 

My Dear Blissers,

How long have you not visited Mountains?

Are you longing for the call from the wild?

Let’s prepare ourselves under the guidance of Manly-Blisser, Wisely on 5/6 together!!!

Introduction by Wisely:

There is an old saying, “A true man loves the mountains and a wise man loves the sea” by Confucius.

Taiwan, a small island, has almost 350 mountains over 3000 meters, which occupies 47% of Taiwan. As more and more people are tired of the fast pace in the modern society, in the day-off time, people start to hike or climb the mountains to enjoy the nature beauty.

However, we heard a lot of accidents on TV news that hikers were rescued or missing, the social resources of which were accordingly wasted.

Therefore, I am going to share my own experience and briefly introduce mountains in Taiwan and talk about how to be close to them safely and happily.

Agenda

1.     Warm up

2.     Know our mountains

3.     How to prepare for it?

4.     Experience & Picture & Video

5.     Conclusion

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<Recap of Bliss Q1 Outing on 3/25> By Alisa & JC & No Meeting on 4/1

My dear Blissers,

I am not kidding you that we won’t have a meeting on 4/1!

Please keep yourselves occupied in family matters during spring vacation, but do return to enjoy the ever-valuable topic “I-Speak” by Angel on 4/8. 

The Meeting Notice of Angel’s meeting will be posted next week , Stay Tune !!

And Here you go the Q1 outing recap made by our lovely JC and Alisa , Bliss Activity Manager of 2017 :-)

Q1 Outing: Picnic at Yuanshan Park

Activity Managers: Alisa & JC

Q1 Outing Photo:https://goo.gl/photos/g7MGNM3P8UwjTx9p9

Participants: Annie, Ellen&Karl, Mengta&I-Ping, Olivia&Zakk, Hector, Anthony, Daniel Chen, Daniel Yang, Steven, Jessica Huang, Alisa, JC, Nania,

 

Q1 Outing started…..

Although it was drizzling and bad weather, JC and Alisa made an wise and intellegent arrangement shift to Yuanshan park and proceeded the Picnic more invigoratingly than expected!

Romantic Deco

After we set the picnic table, Alisa decorated the surrounding with flora to create cozy and bountiful atmosphere!!!

Team-up

JC teamed us up into three, which were Energy Power, Family Group and Ladies, the group efforts of whom would count at each performance!!!
(a) Menu introduction: Chinese food including rice with duck, chicken legs, pork, Western food like submarine sandwiches, salad, burgers, Drinks and Desserts such as bananas, cakes, Latte, coffee, Water Chestnuts, guava ,apples, and so on. Each team worked hard to introduce the menu and background stories in English while eating!!!

(b)Swing dance: Under the patient guidance by JC& Hector, Ellen & Daniel Chen, we learned to Swing Dance well in a very short time and we even dance in the rain  :-)

(c) Chinese Idiom Guessing game: Each team thought of 10 Chinese idioms which had points with requirements of using English and body language by team members. During the game, many Blissers showed their bilingual proficiency and won our admiration, especially Hector and Mengta’s wife- I-Ping

(d) Responding Game: Three teams competed keenly and really needed a final game to decide which team was the best!!! In the game, Team Energy Power, the members of which were Hector, Anthony, Daniel Chen, Daniel Yang got most points, and became the Winner!!!

Reflections:

Thank Alisa & JC ‘s thoughtful itinerary adjustments and registration charts, other staff’s supports, and participants’ contribution, we all enjoyed ourselves very much and highly expect Q2 Outing on 6/24 soon!!!

Love, JC& Alisa 

Recap of “Industrial Evolution” @2017/03/18 by Brian

Topic: “Industrial Evolution”

Host: Brian

Participants: Brian, Sophie, Hector Wang, Anthony, Sophie, Annie, Daniel Yang, Cherry, Ellen, Steven

Meeting photo: https://goo.gl/photos/7nxP5Fc2VjocecwW6

New Blissers:

Sophie: https://goo.gl/photos/A7DxQfYETxWKqYW77

Hector Wang: https://goo.gl/photos/iZJdppVfEZKfuYF66

Anthony: https://goo.gl/photos/eGZ6pXXBzqk6YZ956

Meeting started~

Our distinguished New Blood, Brian arrived earlier and proceeded more efficiently and pinpointedly than expected!!!

Brief Introduction of Industrial Revolution stage 1.0 to 4.0 as follows

As an expert in both semi-conductor and management, Brian illustrated his points very systematically as follows:

Industry 4.0

Taiwan Industries vs. Industrial Revolution 1.0-4.0

Brian used his pictures of childhood, youth, and adulthood to lively reflect how Taiwan Industries have evolved, and thus motivated us to talk about the impacts upon us.

Impacts

Education killed Creativity?

Brian showed us a TED telling how ridiculously the normed education slanted not on creativity but on IQ or academic performance and aroused our heated discussion about the goals and ways of education.

GaN & Energy

Reflections

We learned a lot because of all the participants’ contributed input and Brian’s explicit presentation in which he provided us both with profound knowledge and insights in future advancement and aspiration for further improvement. We look forward to his meeting soon.

-- 

<Bliss Coming-soon Poster in April>

My Dear Blissers,

You can’t imagine how fascination dish we will prepare for you after holidays!!!

You surely don’t want to miss how to train your Communication skills, know about learning skills, love poem writing and cake making.

Welcome to join the feast at Bliss!!!

4/8

Host: Angel

Topic: I-Speak

4/15

Host: Barkley

Topic: Learning Skills

4/22

Host: Annie

Topic: Love Poem Writing and Cake Eating

My Dear Blissers,

Do you have a hilarious and unforgettable “Lantern Festival” this year?  It is celebrated island wide in various ways!!

“Bliss Meeting” is no Exception!!!

“Learning by Doing”, our motto, was embodied in making “Bliss Sky Lantern” Fly in the sky and down into “Imperceptibility” ~degradeably!!!

Continued reading more details in the recap…..

Recap of “Story about Lantern Festival and Sky Lantern in DIY@ Ping Xi’ on 2/11 by Ellen Huang

Participants: Diana, Kevin, Nania, Jessica Huang, Ellen, Karl, Igor, Angel

Meeting Photo: https://plus.google.com/photos/101726755048448689917/album/6386202427536512833?authkey=CM7LhZu8kODFJg

Ping Xi Meeting

Last Sat, instead of the regular meeting place, our President and hostess, Ellen led us to a lovely coffee shop, surrounded by the mountains, located in Ping Xi.

Theme Talk: “Surplus Food”

Ellen started a warm up discussion of “Surplus Food”. Based on the related statistics, food was wasted around 100 KGs per person per year. To avoid such overwhelming waste, we brainstormedand came out following  solutions.

               1.     Post the information on social media to consume it.  Ex.  剩食終結者(https://www.facebook.com/groups/578834882309285/).

2.     Check your food stock regularly to avoid food’s expiry date.

3.     Use small packages for storage to prevent expiration or excessive cooking.

4.    Buy the food closer to expiry date in the supermarkets (or share or enjoy the surplus food cooked by some restaurantes like https://www.facebook.com/7upkitchen/ )

5.     Start to talk to neighbors in your community and use connections to share it.

History of Lantern Festival

After the warm up discussion, Ellen led us to learn the story of Lantern festival. It started from Han dynasty and one emperor ordered to light lanterns in palace and temples to worship Buddha on the 15^thday of the 1^st lunar month. Later, it was developed into a grand festival among common people. For the invention of sky lanterns, it is attributed to the famous military strategist Zhuge Liang, he used this to summon help when he was surrounded by enemy troops. That’s why we also call the lanterns “Kongming lanterns”.

Hazards of Flying Sky Lanterns

Although flying sky lanterns is fun and popular, several countries started to ban it due to the reasons below:

1.     Fire Hazards-A sky lantern may cause fire when it lands with still burring flames.

2.     Not eco-friendly-Partial materials of Lantern’s are difficult to decompose. Some animals may eat it or be hurt by the frames.

3. Navigation Hazards toward aircrafts.

4. Pollution Hazards to the air.

<Bliss Meeting Notice> “Story about Lantern Festival and Sky Lantern in DIY @平溪”by Ellen Huang

My Dear Blissers,

Are you ready to greet new challenges in English learning?

Are you willing to make self-improvement in expressing your ideas in English?

Yes, your voice is clearly heard!

We add new session into our regular meeing as follows:

*****However: Since the meeting activity of 2/11 will be extended from 8:30 am, the agenda will be revised accordingly.******

1.     Introduction on 2/11:

This Sat. is our Lantern Festival and also the day of sky Lantern festival @ Ping Xi (平溪) , take this chance , I would like to invite you all join with me to go to Ping Xi for a hiking in the morning , and our regular meeting in the afternoon @十分

2.     Agenda on 2/11:

08:30  Taipei Zoo MRT exit 1 木柵動物園MRT 一號出口會合 (逾時不候)

09:00   Take shuttle bus from Taipei Zoo to 十分 ( NT$50 )

10:00  Arrival @十分南山橋 and sign in to Sky Lantern festival 

       (NT$199 for 4  people get a sky Lantern ) 排晚上集體放天燈場次

10:30~12:00 Hiking @十分 Waterfall

12:00~13:00 Lunch

13:30~16:30 meeting & Sky Lantern DIY

Theme Talk Session:

Do you know how serious the Surplus Food problem is in Taiwan and around the world? And as a citizen of the earth , what we can do to save the Surplus Food problem from ourselves ?

17:00  Fly the Sky Lanterns made by ourselves 放我們自己做的天燈(三個)

18:00  Fly the Sky Lanterns prepared by festival 集體放天燈

http://skylantern.ntpc.gov.tw/%E5%A4%A9%E7%87%88%E7%AF%80%E6%B4%BB%E5%8B%95.html

18:30 Take shuttle bus back to Taipei Zoo 搭shuttle bus回木柵動物園 (晚餐自理)

3.     Sign-up Survey

We will have dinner @貓空 after we are back to Taipei zoo ; restaurant info will be provided aftersign-up survey.

Please sign up to following link before this Wednesday off , so that I can reserve the lunch and afternoon tea café accordingly .

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc5_iFmgjO3HXqQizqz2ru14U157jxgPC-3updOHpP9X-Gt1A/viewform

“Happy Chinese New Year” & No meetings on 1/28, 2/4

My Dear Blissers,

Happy Chinese New Year!

Wish you a prosperous and invigorating year in 2017!!!

Surely enjoy your reunion with your family and relatives from our best regards during Chinese New Year, when we won’t have meetings on 1/28 or 2/4.

Until 2/11, we shall meet each other with full-charged spirits!! 

Recap of <Bliss Meeting> “Before I fall in love with…> by Ting Ting on 1/14

Hostess: Ting Ting

Participants: Ellen, Kevin Cheng, Daniel Yang, Annie, Joanna, Camille, Stanley, Nania

　
Meeting photos:

https://goo.gl/Pn4hmY 

New Blissers：

https://goo.gl/1o0ePP Camille

https://goo.gl/vhzBsA Joanna

At her very first meeting, the intelligent hostess, Ting Ting, held up our attention successfully from the beginning to the end to our surprise!!

Personal Straits Known

1.     What can’t you live without?

2.     What’s the most surprising thing you carry?

Ting Ting led us to understand a person via the life-related details such as things in one’s bag; she asked us to draw the staff in our bags and then shared the answers to the above two questions.

Through the activity, Ting demonstrated her technical pen in her bag and unmasked herself as a curious observant, art & culture lover and practitioner. One brought a lunchbox & mask indicatingshe is  health-carer; one took along with her earphone showing her love of music; one carried gym wear exposing his muscle-enthusiastic feature; three had notebooks for note taking habits.  

Then she amazed us by showing how to use a technical pen and do the color or oil painting with another “magical” pen.

Clues Hidden in the Details

1.     Guess the purpose of an animated commercial: It turned out to be the one promoting “Correspondence Course”!

2.     Guess what happened at the end of the microfilm,“L’accordeur”: Please refer to the link in the Bliss Post (line).

Before fall in love with “Art”

Her room shows many significant things as an artist, such as a small Eiffel Tower, comic books, drawing books, painting poster of her favorite artist, Niki, who used plaster as bullets and painted huge women because of the defensive need for her child abuse memory, or two signposts she did for two couples.

Which event had the strong impact on your personality and how did you change?

Ting introduced her backpacking trip; one said studying in Canada changed his life; another said Bible studying class; another said working holiday in America opened he eye; another said the teacher in his high school; another shared living in Taipei made her independent!

Animation & Game

Having worked as Executive Producer, Ting Ting also laid her eyes on some famous art works like “Taiwan Bar” and the game of “Detention.”

Reflection:

We thank Ting Ting for sharing self-exploration and displaying how art appreciation can be nourished by careful observation!!! Besides, of course, all the other participants’ contribution made the meeting more fruitful and enjoyable!! We look forward to her next meeting soon.

-- 

<Bliss Meeting Notice> “Before I fall in love with ….” By Ting Ting on 1/21

My Dear Blissers,

My dear Blissers,

Curious to how to interpret your life and answer your puzzles?

You are going to see it through neither the Tarot nor astrocode from our New Bliss fortunetelling expert, Nania this Saturday!!

Welcome to grasp this chance to explore yourself better on 1/13!!!

Agenda:

14:30-14:50               self-introduction & brief Introduction about cards

14:50-16:20               draw a card

16:20-16:40               Break

16:40-17:30               Q&A

Recap of Bliss Meeting <The Hidden Secret of English Communication> by Michael Wu on 1/7/2017

Host: Michael Wu

Participants: Ryna, Christine, Daniel Yang, Ellen Huang, Annie, Michael Wu, Barkley, Daniel Chen, Naihsin, Angela, Angel, Ting, Sophie Su

Name: Ryna

Photo link: https://goo.gl/photos/fyoJiexy7Mmy6Syz6

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Name: Christine Chen

Photo Link: https://goo.gl/photos/nDmQJ374KtuvMnE19

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Meeting's Photos link: https://goo.gl/photos/jEoNgRepdCsLYaKa7

The well-informed New Blisser Michael Wu, together with his friend, the intellectual beauty, Ryna proceeded the meeting causally and fulfilling as expected.

They successfully demonstrated some distinct examples and brought our awareness of the hurdles in communication as follows:

1.     The different tone on each word in the interrogative sentence of “What would you like? “carries different meaning of the speaker.

2.     The accents in sentences can be regarded as a regional indicator like “Where are you from?”

3.     Punctuation which means “pauses” sometimes brings misunderstanding like “Cappuccino”.

4.     Sentence Intonation, rise or fall in the sentence, can focus on the contrast, emphasis, reconfirmation, repetition, in which produce different effects either sarcastic, reassurance or the others!! 

5.     Racial, gender, political cultural prejudice in each country usually hinder the communication as reflected in JOKES. “Political Correct” wording should be carefully applied in daily communication. For example “Valley-girl tone” “”Asian Glow” should be avoided. 

Lingual Games

1.     Guessing the “action word” in a sentence “I xxx every day “using “Who-Q” or “Y/N-Q” in turn.

2.     Make a sentence of “I’ve never xxxx in my life”, in which all the other attendees bend one of their fingers if they have ever engaged in xxxx in the life. The earliest one having bent all five fingers is the winner.

Myths unveiled:

l  No legitimate accent at all; does feel free to say what you mean!!!

l  Communication barriers can occur because of the speaker’s regional accents, bias, and unconscious errors, or his or her intentional use of punctuation, phrasing, intonation, tones, or even the nonlingual contexts and scenarios.  Therefore be confident to figure out what the other(s) really mean without self-accusation first!!!

“Better Communication” Learning Tips:

1.     Preview the text before the occasions if possible.

2.     Watch the local sitcom to be easily immersed in the culture such as “TheBigbang Theory”.

3.     As an adult, we can learn language better through higher-order cognitive functions and be internalized.

Reflections:

Michael and Ryna are such role models that encourage us to copy their success in English learning and aspiringly develop the mode in academic field. We appreciate their precious experience sharing and demonstration. Look forward to their dreams realized and meeting in the near future!!!

Bliss English Club since 1997