3rd Writing Assignment

Write a diary entry in a chatty style that explores the romantic/comic. Try to use sentences of varying lengths to give your writing some rhythm. Use the class example as a guide.

2nd Writing Assignment

Write a diary entry from the perspective of an adult. Describe an experience that is fantastic or supernatural. Try to focus on describing the experience objectively. Refer to the writing example we discussed in class.

First Writing Assignment

First Writing Assignment:

A diary entry written as a ten to twelve year old child. The entry should establish a clear time and place setting and should be primarily descriptive. Due midnight Sunday October 18th. Length: approx. 250-300 words

Happy New Year Wishes

Well, 2008 is quickly winding to an end and we will once again need to get used to seeing 2009 printed upon our stationary. This year has been a very eventful one for me, so I'm looking forward to a relatively peaceful 2009.

I wish you all the best for the forthcoming year and hope all the goals you have been working towards are realized. To your happiness and health!

- Paul

Where Are The Paper Airplanes?

Those who have walked through 228 park in the early morning hours will have at some time encountered a delightful old man who used to be at the entrance of the park. This man, in his 70's, would park his antiquated bicycle and remove a stack of papers from an equally antiquated leather briefcase strapped to the back of the bicycle. He'd then proceed to make paper airplanes for all that passed by. He's happily show you how to make them and how to fly them. He particularly delighted in teaching the art of paper airplanes to groups of school children on field trips to visit the museum.

To encounter him was to be bathed in a feeling of such natural warmth that I have yet to find words adequate to describe the experience. Over the last 5 years, he not only gave me hundreds of paper airplanes, but he even gave me a song he wrote for Mother's Day; he even sang it for me. It's not every day you get the opportunity to meet such a rare person. One late morning, on my way home I encountered him in his usual place in the park and had the chance to talk with him. It was a conversation that lasted an hour. He showed me pictures of his family, his daughters and his wife who recently passed away. He loves organ music and used to play organ in church. It was a remarkable afternoon.

I write this now because ever since the park was renovated, he has disappeared. I haven't seen him for many many months now and I feel the loss each time I pass the place he used to park his dilapidated bicycle. It occurs to me now that the park renovations may have made some nice changes to appearance of the park, but everyday I'm reminded of that which is missing.

- Paul

My Honeymoon - Prague

I wanted to share a few pictures taken on my honeymoon. I've narrowed it down to just a few, but I believe these few to really say something about how amazing a place Eastern Europe is. The scenery is so wonderful that it feels as though you've stepped into a renaissance painting. Colors are rich, landscapes mountainous, houses colorful yet austere. Your eye can't begin to take in all the details that arrest your attention.

One of my fondest memories is eating a piping hot sausage on a bun and drinking mulled wine, a combination of lemon, cinnamon and red wine. Let me tell you, it will really warms you up.

I was also fortunate enough to visit Kafka's house which has been turned into a tiny bookstore selling only his books. I've been an admirer of Kafka for many years, so it was remarkable to be able to stand in a place he once wrote.

In addition to magnificent churches, you'll also notice a rather colorful building. The building was designed by a famous Viennese artist. He attempted to make the village into art, and as you can see he was quite successful. On the right is the Prague Astronomical Clock built in 1410!

And that's it! This last picture was taken in Salzberg in Mirabell Gardens near the childhood home of Mozart.

- Paul

Public Washroom Appreciation

One of the great things about travel is that it opens your mind to new horizons, as the cliche goes. Yet one of the things I value most about travel is the appreciation it fosters for home. What I mean is, different cultural experiences often highlight unique aspects of your own culture that the everyday humdrum of life has made you take for granted. After my return to Taiwan from Czech, a have found myself with a whole new appreciation for public washrooms.

As those of you who have travelled to Europe know well, public washrooms are not free but require a fee of anywhere from $10 NT to $50 NT depending on where you are. The fee is paid to an attendant that services the washroom and keeps it clean and restocked. The other choice is to use an automatic pay toilet. With this toilet, money must be inserted before the door will unlock and allow you entry. The result is very clean and safe public washrooms, but at a price. I assume this service must also save taxpayers a lot of money, as the fees paid subsidize the maintenance costs substantially. While for some this is an excellent example of a "pay as you go" plan, for those of us not used to it, it can be highly irritating seeking a washroom only to discover we don't have the right change. The homeless no doubt do not get to use these facilities because of the cost, and I wonder if we are not robbing them of some basic dignity by requiring payment for such a basic human need.

Now, as I pass through Taipei's wonderful MRT stations, I look upon the clean, safe and FREE public washrooms and am reminded how lucky we are to have them.

- Paul