Posts filed under '西雅圖，Seattle'
“The tea was from last spring. It should not be too good. Try it. What do you think?”
“Hmm, you are right. It is not as fresh as the tea I used to have in the mountain at home.”
I did not tell Mr. Jim Labe that the tea he made was the best I had in years. And, the conversations we shared eased my homesickness in an unforgettable way. I came across Teahouse Kaun Yin when I was doing market research in the neighborhood. I took a peek in the store and decided to go in because the bulks of tea were whispering the loneliness at my ears.
Jim showed up behind the counter with a very easy smile and relax manner. It seemed like he was ready for a friend to come in asking for a tissue paper or something. “Do you have Chinese tea?” I asked. “Oh, Yes. What’s your favorite?” From Jim’s smile, I knew he probably had my love, Wen Shang Bao Jong from Taiwan. I felt my face was blushed when Jim took out a bag of my favorite from somewhere. After my brain turned back from the blank, I saw Jim was serving the tea with a set of white Chinese tea pot. From the way he made the tea, I could tell he knew the temperament of the tea and the philosophy of tea tasting.
“I believe tea tasting is more like a journey. You have to sit down with a friend, finish a pot, feel the whole process, and you can speak about the tea.” It was not a surprise to me that Jim has been in tea consulting business for years and he is probably the true tea expert currently in the United States. Once he was interviewed on MSNBC with a Yi-shing tea pot and a bag of tea from Nantao, Taiwan. “You probably need to know the tea is from a place where people are suffering from an earthquake.” This was what he said to the audience.
I guess it was 1999 when I visited Nantao last time. Compared to Jim, I traveled less to Taiwan and more in the United States these years. For Jim, Taiwan is a place embracing the great nature to cultivate fine teas. For me Taiwan is a place with my beloved families and a land only in the dream. When Jim asked, “Why cannot you go back to Taiwan often?” I remember I murmured through something I cannot even remember. Sometimes there is the homesickness hard to conquer especially when I realize I like Wen Shang Bao Jong more than English Breakfast.
Jim and I stood at the counter for an hour or so. We exchanged feeling of the teas and tea business ideas. Then, there was the subtleness of Wen Shang Bao Jong in the air. Seattle is still home. We made it here and nothing is more important than staying with people you love. The flavor of tea can be shared across nations as long as there is a sommelier like James (Jim) Labe.
Image: A gift from Mr. James Labe. Tea Sampler of Taiwanese Oolong. (I did not have a chance to taste it. Mushroom Tau had it all. )
Teahouse Choice: http://www.teahousechoice.com/
March 7th, 2006
I did not feel much when the arrogant store owner slammed the door in my face.
“Your products are not for our store. I am the owner and I made it quick.” I knew if I kept standing there I would get “Please leave” as a reward. So, I turned away quickly with an “Oh.” and the two boxes of my very first products. It was nothing to be embarrassed about, but something to be digested. When there are so many stores closing in town because of the downturn economy or bad business operations, the owner cannot be prouder of her long-standing presence in the community. But why is there the bad attitude?
Does the bad attitude do any good to the business or to the person who is trying to suggest a potential product to your store? I guess it is only good to personal feelings such as “triumphal” or “superior”. Suppliers, cooperators, and collaborators are not beggars. Unfortunately, in the personal and professional lives, I am usually the kind of person who supplies, cooperates, and collaborates. I saw lots of ugly faces and sometimes I dreamed about “It will be my turn to slam the door in your face next time.”
It is not a big deal to be excluded since I become more prepared each time. Frankly speaking, I enjoy seeing different kinds of faces and responses since I get the first hand information from whom I want to talk to. Direct and clear. Business games are everywhere. Over the internet, it is behind each screen. It is hard to imagine what customers look like or what they really want to say since you cannot feel the tones. In the physical world, you sense the reality. Feeling the connection (Man, I am not talking about the internet connection) and the reality is a big part of my life. It helped me realize that we are not alone and we cannot exist without others.
Mushroom Tau favors digging the numbers and digital data to tell the market and to calculate the next moves. Well, I think he is probably smarter, more effective, or anything you can use to describe the benefits of computer technologies. Calculation is important before a move. But putting yourself out there makes great points. I am definitely having more fun using my five senses just by being there physically.
Next time, when you feel like slamming the door in others’ faces, think of me grinning and having fun.
March 6th, 2006
「下雨了、下雨了。」
我向窗外一探頭，外面出著太陽，沒有下雨。
不知道巧晴腦袋瓜裡是怎麼理解「下雨了」這個詞。根據一些狀況猜測，巧晴應該知道「雨」是什麼。戴上帽子，她說下雨了；出門坐在車子裡看見雨刷在動，巧晴表示她知道在下雨；更妙的是看見牆角的雨傘，她便急著要我撐傘，連忙說下雨。於是以女為榮的香菇韜自豪地說：「Fannie不是亂說的，她知道下雨是什麼。」
然而，巧晴說下雨的頻率越來越高，在任何時間、任何地點，巧晴都會說「下雨了」。她指著天花板說下雨、進超級市場說下雨；陰天說下雨，晴天也說下雨。西雅圖的冬天是多雨的季節，我們的感受更為深刻，因為巧晴不但會天氣報導，我想她應該有呼風喚雨的能力，否則雨不會跟巧晴說的一樣天天都在下，一下就是一個月了。我們應該教教巧晴如何說「出太陽」，來寄望西雅圖的春天能有多一點的陽光。
根據幼兒語言發展學，巧晴應該是把「下雨了」這個詞概化了(Generalization)。幼兒認知發展與語言學習是相輔相成的。在小朋友開始快速學習字彙，也就是經歷所謂的(Vocabulary Spurt) 時，小腦代瓜裡會利用所學習的語言將身邊的事物與經驗分類。例如巧晴說下雨了有可能代表她看見水滴或者黑黑的雲。再例如，有些小朋友以ㄅㄨㄅㄨ來代表所有會移動了東西。這種很粗略的分類方式會隨著經驗與理解語言的能力增強，而變得更精準。下次如果小朋友看見貓，說是狗狗，你就不會很訝異囉。
January 27th, 2006
失眠的夜總是特別長。
我索性仔細聆聽起香菇韜的打呼聲，順便為他聽診一下。「嗯……有鼻水聲、喉嚨有痰，大概明早會喉嚨痛……那是不是要強迫他滴幾滴易媽媽推薦的蜂膠在喉嚨，增強抵抗力一下？]想著想著，覺得自己大概是全西雅圖此時此刻最無聊的老婆。 「嗯……iPod Shuffle 可能可以幫上點忙，可是不知道香菇韜把它放到哪了。乾脆起床看電視好了。」搖頭晃腦地走到樓下把電視打開，心想無聊的購物頻道應該最具催眠作用。然而，看著看著，我的眼睛睜得越來越大，心裡越來越難受，最後還因為廣告，答應每個月從口袋掏出9塊錢。
不過每個月九塊錢，大概是我目前生活花費中最有意義的一項支出。 ABC, Abandoned Baby Center, 照顧世界上被遺棄兩歲以下的孤兒。這些孤兒大部分是貧窮家庭的小孩，有些是來自愛滋家庭，感染愛滋。這些寶寶出生就被遺棄在醫院、公共場所，甚或是荒郊野外受著風吹日曬。他們被人發現時仍堅強著活著，因而進入了ABC 的照料。看到電視裡三個月才七磅的小孩、因為被太陽曬傷留有疤痕的小身體，實在非常不忍。任何一個母親，都能感受到哺育是一種強烈的本能，除非萬不得已，才會讓自己的下一代在接觸這個世界的第一刻那麼的孤獨、無助。
真的該感謝這世界上有人願意接受並照顧這些被遺棄的小孩，我不知道還有什麼比這件事情更偉大。如果誕生是為了飽受摧殘並恐懼地等待死亡，這些小生命就不會奇蹟似地活著。我相信因為ABC的努力，這些被解救的生命，除了延續、更會茁壯與快樂。我們似乎不能救世界上的每一個人，不過一個月9塊錢美金可以為ABC的嬰兒帶來更完整的醫療與實質的幫助。一個月9塊錢，我為Fannie 省下買玩具的錢，幫助其他同年齡沒有爸爸媽媽在身邊的小朋友。
如果你也想幫助ABC，請點文章上方的小朋友圖片。或者是直接到ABC的網頁： http://www.feedthechildren.org/site/PageServer?pagename=abc_homepage
失眠的夜，良夜。
December 21st, 2005
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