Note: This text is an English translation of the article 誰愛說國語?(二) by Richter. Both the text and image are his original works.

Translator's Note: "Guo Yu" in Mandarin literally translates to "Language of the state".




History never fails to amaze us by showing how phenomenons occur over and over again. Although the dominance of Japanese has been replaced by Mandarin, the distribution of the both are strikingly familiar.

After the war, a complete language usage survey of Taiwan was never conducted, so a Mandarin prevalence map is not readily available. Fortunately in 2004, the "Survey on Taiwan democracy and elections" provided us with some valuable information. The focus of the survey was on political actions, but information on language usage was also collected. The distribution pattern of "Guo Yu" families are clearly shown, despite only 63 of 358 towns in Taiwan were selected for survey.

We divide participants into three categories according to language used in the family: 3 points if usage of Holo, Hakka, or Aboriginal languages were found; 2 points if they were used collaterally with Mandarin; 1 point if only Mandarin was used. The average of all participants was 2.28 points. Average scores was calculated for the 63 towns. Lower scores indicates more "Guo Yu" families in the region, and shown on the map as smaller circles.

The first conclusion we draw from the map is, there are obviously more "Guo Yu" families in urban areas, identical to the distribution of Japanese in 1930. Smaller circles are present in central Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung, surrounded by larger circles. The whole Taipei area even lacks a single circle above the national average.

Secondly, Hakka towns have more "Guo Yu" families, also similar to Japanese in 1930. Scores of Jhongli, Yangmei, Miaoli were all below the national average. Southern Hakka towns were not included in this survey, neither were more rural Hakka towns, so we are unable to determine if the difference is due to its Hakka population or the result of urban-rural or north-south differences.

Finally, northern Taiwan has higher proportions of "Guo Yu" families, still adhering to the 1930 Japanese distribution. Likewise, rural towns were not included in this survey, and the possibility that the variation is caused by urban-rural differences cannot be eliminated. The three trends described above are preliminary observations, and further inspection is required.

What's the big deal with speaking "Guo Yu" in the family? It's a very big deal. Language is not only a tool of communication, it is inseparable with national identity. According to the same survey, in those whose familial language is not Mandarin, 58.1% consider themselves Taiwanese, 36.4% both Taiwanese and Chinese, and a mere 5.5% think of themselves as Chinese. In those who speak other languages alongside Mandarin in their family, 43.5% consider themselves Taiwanese, 51.1% both Taiwanese and Chinese, and 5.5% think of themselves as Chinese. As for the "Guo Yu" families, only 26.7% consider themselves Taiwanese, 63.7% both Taiwanese and Chinese, and 9.6% Chinese. The usage of "Guo Yu" in the family correlates with the probability of self-identifying with Chinese.

Some may doubt, non-Mandarin families may be biased to the Holo population, as they constitute the largest proportion. The national identities of Haaka- and Aboriginal-speaking families may differ from that of Holo ones. We now break down this segment, and the results show 50% of Hakka families, along with 65% of Aborigine, and 58.3% of Holo families consider themselves Taiwanese. Clearly, all three have a preference for choosing Taiwanese as their national identity.

Again, among those who identify themselves as Taiwanese, 64.4% are non-Mandarin families, 21.9% use both, and only 13.7% use only Mandarin; of the Taiwanese-and-Chinese group, 40.9% are non-Mandarin, 26.1% both, and 33% Mandarin; of the Chinese group, 44.3% are non-Mandarin, 20% use both, and 35.7% Mandarin. We can easily discover the similarity between the Chinese-identifying group and the Taiwanese-and-Chinese group. As a matter of fact, these two groups show little differences in their political behaviours. Thus it is concluded that the national identity crisis of modern Taiwan is whether one identifies oneself to Chinese, rather than if they identify as Taiwanese. In the present political atmosphere, all participants are willing to throw in a "I'm a Taiwanese too" from time to time.

Since language has such a close interaction with national identity, which happens to be the most important disagreement in Taiwan, inevitably makes language a much-discussed political matter.

Note: This text is an English translation of the article 誰愛說國語?(一) by Richter. Both the text and image are his original works.

Translator's Note: "Guo Yu" in Mandarin literally translates to "Language of the state".


The "Guo Yu" in 1930s Taiwan is, of course, not Mandarin as it is today, but rather Japanese. The exact same phrase, conveyed a different underlying meaning. Obviously the term "Guo Yu" is not a specific linguistic term, but a political expression.

Seventy years before present time, who spoke "Guo Yu"?

We gain insight of the popularity of Japanese from a survey conducted in 1930. Interestingly, the east and the so-called "barbarian areas" (areas occupied by aborigines) had a higher level of penetrance relative to the rest of the island. This is explained by the fact that Japanese authorities of the time had put a great deal of effort into "assimilating" the aboriginals with quite some results. In fact, to this day, Japanese is still a common language among the elders of aborigines. On one occasion, I actually had to rely on a Taiwanese-Japanese translator to communicate with the aboriginal elders.

Excluding the east and "barbarian areas", three trends of distribution of Japanese were observed. Not surprisingly, higher prevalence was found in urban than rural areas. Over 1/4 of the local population in Taipei city, Taichung city, and Tainan city spoke Japanese. Hakka acceptance of "Guo Yu" seemed wider than Holo people both in the north or and in the south. Other than this, using the Jhuoshuei river as the border, the north part of Taiwan spoke "Guo yu" more readily than the south.

Intuitively, we expect the portion of Japanese in the population, the population density(reflecting the urban-rural differences), and the composition of the local population (Holo/Haaka/Aborigine) fully explains the prevalence of Japanese. However, as regular readers might have expected, language is the most typical collective behavior. Unless one lives in a totally isolated environment, the language we choose to use is often decided by the language commonly used around us. The more people use a particular language, the more likely we choose to use this language. The popularity of a language is obviously a type of "diffusion".

Unfortunately as a student, I don't have the time to deeply research this topic. Nevertheless, I am going to point out the distribution pattern of "Guo Yu" today is identical to the one 70 years ago, although they are two completely different languages.

有許多同學和醫學相關專業的朋友,要打病歷或是寫報告的時候,都會用到很多醫學上的單字。這些單字很容易拼錯,但是很不幸地又不在常用的拼字檢查裡面。我在網路上找了很久,市面上也有許多此類產品可以檢查醫學單字的拼字,但是都必須要收費。今天總算找到一個OpenMedSpel是以GPL方式授權,可以免費下載使用,介紹給大家。

OpenMedSpel是設計和OpenOffice.org一起使用。OpenOffice是一個自由免費的Office程式,包括文字編輯、試算表、簡報等。理論上可以讀寫Microsoft Word的.doc檔,不過有的時候會有一點小問題。如果說沒有特別要求的話,用內建的.odf格式儲存會比較好。

跟著以下說明,一起來安裝醫學字典檔吧:

  • Windows的使用者可以在這下載2.2.0中文版,Ubuntu的使用者則已經內含在系統安裝裡面囉。
  • 下載完安裝檔請執行並安裝,基本上只要一直按「下一步」就可以了。接著請到OpenMedSpel的網站下載字典檔。下載完之後解壓縮到「C:\Program Files\OpenOffice.org 2.0\share\dict\ooo」。
  • 用記事本打開「C:\Program Files\OpenOffice.org 2.0\share\dict\ooo\dictionary.lst」,在最下面加上「DICT en US en_US_OpenMedSpel」,存檔後關閉。

至此大功告成!現在您可以在OpenOffice.org裡頭編輯文件,不小心把一些單字打錯的時候,就會出現正確單字的提示了。

這個字典裡面的字數仍稍嫌不足,不過相信還是對您有助益的。

Once in a while, I come across a news article that actually upsets me. Sometimes it's how the media totally ignores its responsibility to verify sources, and rather mindlessly reported false material. On other occasions, it's due to the news itself. Lately there has been a piece of news that had really made me quite angry. As a student seeking profession in medicine, I feel responsible that I make this issue known to the world.

The issue is described in Food-safety alert delayed health at risk, and also available in various other news reports. I had learned of this incident from a Taiwan newspaper in Chinese. In brief, WHO issued a food-safety alert to the countries at risk. The alert intended for Taiwan was not sent to Taiwan, but rather to China, due to the sad fact that Taiwan is not a member of WHO. China officials delayed sending the crucial information to Taiwan, which put the entire population of Taiwan at risk.

For those not familiar with Taiwan-China relations, Taiwan is essentially self-governed. The Taiwan government is in charge of all aspects of the nation, including economics, military, jurisdiction, and of course, its public health. The China government has no part in the health system of Taiwan. Therefore it is ridiculous for China to act as the window between Taiwan and WHO. Furthermore, from this incidence, we can see that China has no concern for the welfare of the people of Taiwan.

Diseases and pandemics have no borders. The health of the people of Taiwan are just as important as the rest of the world. Allowing Taiwan to join WHO not only benefits the people of Taiwan, but also helps advance the health of the world. The subtropical position of Taiwan and its advanced medical research provides an outpost for the rest of the world, as emerging infectious diseases become more prominent each year.

I had tried to outline the current situation in clear, reasonable facts. I hope it is enough to provoke your interest, or at least your doubts. Please, look even deeper if you are suspicious about my claims. It is my hope that this issue will become sufficiently important for you to mention to others. I am genuinely angry at the irresponsibility of China and WHO, in that they chose to neglect the health of Taiwan people for political reasons. They are shameful for letting political purposes surpass medical profession.

As a doctor-to-be in Taiwan, I am truly sad for the people of Taiwan.

Please visit the following websites for more information:
WHO for Taiwan
WHO for Taiwan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
http://taiwanandwho.com/

單車衝烏來

昨天才剛考完病理,早上一來就知道自己還沒準備好要認真上課。九點開始打瞌睡,啊,真羨慕那些不用那麼早上課的大學生們,搞不好我在打瞌睡的時間他們還在悠閒地吃早餐呢。病理實驗時老師公佈了昨天考試的正確答案,跟昨天作答的有點差距,哈哈。今天沒有新的實驗進度於是十一點多就下課了。

下午是內科,以今天早上的不專心程度,大概去了也是白去吧。索性開始打算要去哪裡玩。「去郊外走走吧,」走廊上遇到的徐P這麼說。跟mickyax借了腳踏車,移動方式決定了,還沒有個目的地。「可以去烏來呀!」烏來?是上次那個搭了快一個小時的車才到的地方嗎?那不是在山上嗎?牽著車在走廊上,又遇到高老師。「去烏來不錯啊。」什麼時候騎腳踏車上烏來已經變成這麼輕鬆的行程了呀?彷彿像是去公園繞個一圈一樣。

好,就決定是烏來了!查了地圖,約略打包點東西就出發了。

從台大醫學院出發,沿著羅斯福路一直往下騎,直到新店。台9號經過一個小小的上坡之後,就會看到往烏來的台9甲。從醫學院騎到台9甲的開頭,也要17公里,好像也騎了一個小時。平地就當作是暖身吧!

坦白講,這是我第一次騎腳踏車上山。雖然騎腳踏車的資歷堪稱不淺(從四歲開始),但是一直都是在平地,從來沒有上山過。雖說台灣一直都是世界有名的單車生產國,但是騎車的風氣卻沒有國外那麼盛行。最近腳踏車突然間流行起來,騎車環島旅行變成很多人的夢想,甚至是已經完成的夢想。我也曾經偷偷地想過,不過總覺得好像有點困難。但是看著朋友們一個個都完成了這個壯舉,好像也不那麼遙遠了。騎車上烏來也是,如果大家做得到,我應該也做得到吧,於是就衝了。

開始爬山,路標寫著:烏來,13公里。奮力的踩呀踩,天空開始飄著小雨,腳踏車行進的速度真是完全跟平地時不能比。我開始疑惑以這種速度,到底要何年何月才能夠到達烏來,何況此時我還沒吃午餐。心裡盤算著,如果我三四點才到的了,那還是中途看見有賣東西就趕緊吃吃吧。

一段上坡,前面是一個轉彎,轉到看不見的山壁的另一頭。爬上這個坡,前頭赫然是一整段的下坡路!心裡頭竊笑了一下,呼了一口氣往下騎去。雨濛濛溼了地面,不敢騎的太快,但是一段下坡過去竟加上了一公里餘的里程!原來騎山路是這麼一回事。用慢到令人沮喪的速度把自己搬上山,一陣風似的把落後了里程全都追回來。

當然到了坡底未免傷感了一下。之所以叫做坡底,也就是前方接著是上坡路了。前有上坡,後有上坡,若落在這關頭身體不適,可真是不知該怎麼辦呀。

上坡路仍然是一樣地難熬,但是知道所有的上坡都有等長的下坡回報,也就比較平衡了一點。但相對來講,每段爽快的下坡都是等會要更辛苦的上坡。而且下坡的時刻永遠比較短,上坡的時間永遠沒完沒了般。

路途中,我最喜歡看到的就是這個標誌:前有測速照相!因為這代表著前面應該就是下坡了,因為下坡的時候才會不小心超速嘛。應該也有強者騎腳踏車被測速照相吧,不過這種天雨路滑的時候,還是小心為上。


總算有個寫著「烏來」的東西囉!不過這裡離終點好像還有四五公里呢。加油!


不好笑的笑點:Portal Area。


總算到了烏來囉!有圖為證。


上次來烏來的時候沒有吃到的山豬肉拉麵。點的時候還在想,到底山豬肉拉麵會有什麼不一樣呢?我怎麼知道是山豬肉還是普通豬肉?熱騰騰的麵擺上桌,一咬答案馬上揭曉:山豬肉好硬!


單程總長度:28856公尺;來回共57.7公里!

白袍

在宿舍穿好整套裝備,照照鏡子看像不像樣。走到教室,襯衫卻已經濕了一片。到了教室不禁漾起一陣微笑,平日短褲拖鞋的同學,穿起襯衫打起領帶也是有模有樣。一堂外科的課上得零零落落,一定睛就是一片白色坐在講臺下聽講。教授自己也穿著白袍,想必是對這番景象已經見怪不怪。對我來說,卻是全新的一個畫面,我們和教授穿著一樣的衣服,台上的一個醫師,和台下的一群醫師。

外科終於結束,不知道是巧合或是設想周到,恰有一個空堂。終於壓抑不住早該爆發的笑容,拿出相機捕捉下這一刻。這一天,我第一次穿上白袍。腦中不知怎地響起MIB中的台詞:「Let's put it on...the last suit you'll ever wear」。四處與同學拍照,如果要在大學同窗當中挑出幾個代表性的日子,我想這一天應該名列其中吧。也許這是未來的教授、這是未來的院長...我們的未來仍待定形,未來在不可見之處,也因此不可限量。

醫院是我們沒有涉足過的區域。進了病房的電梯,在牆上的鏡子看見自己的映像,忽然不知道該怎麼自處。我清楚地看見白袍後的領帶、口袋裡的聽診器,還有白袍底下忐忑不安的心情。幾個同學面對著,在彼此的臉上都看見了同樣的表情,帶著一分自許,又有藏不住的一點慌張。不太敢直視病患或家屬的眼睛,因為縱使穿上了白袍,我們也自知自己的腦袋其實跟空空的沒兩樣。

到了病房還是一群迷路的羔羊般不知往那兒去,老師「撿到」我們帶進討論室,一一點名。老師當然是已經和身上的醫師袍合而為一了吧?被賦予新身份的我們,安安靜靜地不太敢講話,深怕冒犯了這件衣服所代表的身份。老師的叮嚀告一段落,忽步起身請了一位病人進來,開始示範怎麼詢問病史。還沒做好心理準備錯愕了一下,慌慌張張地拿出紙張,努力跟上談話內容記下重點。在手忙腳亂間訪談已經結束,第一次的病史詢問筆記記得亂七八糟,那藏不住的慌張又浮上每個人的眉間。因為我們不再只是學生,不能辜負被授權穿成這樣的信任。回去準備一下下禮拜再來,老師說著,對我們的慌張習以為常。

下樓拿病理課本Robbins,再上到最頂樓病房進行小組討論。快步通過護理站前,忽然可以想像,有一天自己是真正的醫師穿梭在病房之間。終於踏進小組討論的教室,一個個未來的醫師低頭看著等會要報告的資料,又再一次不習慣地驚訝一下。

結束了這一天,借道急診室步出病院,走廊兩旁列著觀察中的病患和家屬。低頭快速通過,深怕被當成正牌的醫生叫住。今天在回憶中立下地標,與其說是穿上白袍,毋寧是正式被推上第一線面對病人。從今天起,除了躲在課本背後的醫學系學生身份,也練習扮演半個醫師的角色。穿著白袍在醫院裡,自己期待是怎麼樣的角色,而病人期待是怎麼樣的角色 — 我想,我慢慢會習慣的。未來,我會繼續努力加油的。

Pondering the city

之前某次去台北市立美術館的時候,就瞧見了台北當代藝術館的宣傳單,與荷蘭鹿特丹的「V2_ Institute for the Unstable Media」合作在臺灣展出的ZONE_V2_特區。宣傳單上看起來頗為有趣,恰好逮到中秋假期的機會前往參觀。

台北當代藝術館位在長安西路39號,取道捷運台北車站和捷運中山站之間的中山地下街,在長安西路有一個出口。浮上地面不遠處就是藝術館,位置十分顯眼。除了周一休館外,其他時間都有開放,下午五點半停止售票,六點閉館。

進入藝術館,首先映入眼簾的是這次特展的簡介。現代藝術經常使用新的媒體,時常媒體本身的性質就是藝術探討的面向。「Unstable Media」聽起來十分有趣,究竟什麼是Unstable Media?是會腐解的紙張、磁盤上整齊排列的電磁紀錄?倏忽即逝的光子?還有更不穩定、更不可預測的:觀眾與藝術裝置之間的互動!現代藝術就是這麼有趣,所有你曾經想過和沒有想過的創意,放在眼前讓你玩。

進館前必須先寄放包包,有趣的是每個寄物櫃都標上了一個流派的名字。我把物品寄放在櫃裡,關上寫著「Post-impressionism」的門,買了$50的門票進場參觀。門票的設計也很特別,是一張實體化的滑鼠游標。持門票當天可以無限次進館。買門票時館員同時也給了我一本導覽手冊,我在參觀的時候沒有先閱讀導覽,而是先去揣測想像藝術家可能要傳達什麼訊息,等到參觀完了才坐下來好好地回顧一項一項的藝術品。展出的物件共21件,數量不多,但都是精選之作。星期天恰好有專家導覽,但我聽的感想是專家講的並不比導覽手冊詳細,只跟隨專家導覽很多互動性的裝置玩不到,會很可惜。

因為我偷懶,所以就不寫下藝術品的內容了。有很多件藝術品都很有趣,有趣到我會在一旁對著牆壁竊笑。在這邊寫出來,以我的文筆又不見得能夠描述出其中奧妙的地方,反而有雷到人的感覺。因此希望諸位看到這篇文章能夠自己去參觀這個展覽,親自體驗一下這些有趣的現代藝術,然後再回來發表自己的看法。

以下是我對個別藝術品的感想,是個人對這個藝術品的詮釋,不見得是藝術家想要傳達的想法。可以想見這種情形是經常出現的,廣告公司努力想要推銷某項產品,我卻只覺得女主角很漂亮。但是藝術嘛,尤其是現代藝術,觀眾對於藝術品的看法原就是藝術的一個元素。

  • Drawn
自己創作出來的簡單圖案躍然紙上,在輸入到螢幕之後真的會跳了!
  • Exatitudes
獨特,還是認同?在這個講求個人特色的時代,每個人的衣著和髮型都想要與眾不同,傳達出自己的風格。然而藝術家卻發現,眾多的「獨特」卻只是另外一種形式的認同!我個人從來就沒有追求過獨特,至少在服裝和髮型方面,所以對我來講沒有那麼大的震憾。我光是要穿的跟大家一樣帥就昏頭了。
  • In the event of amnesia the city will recall
攝影機對著藝術家搖頭很可愛。不過我不太清楚這個題目是什麼意思。
  • The catalogue
製作非常用心的Mockup,一看就知道是什麼意思,觀賞起來仍然非常有趣。不過也許是我特別喜歡看console output。我們的資料,吃什麼東西、穿什麼衣服、用什麼保養品,一直被蒐集著,企業才能推銷最適合我們的東西。是福是禍?這個過程不在未來,現在就有,只是大家不常去注意罷了。Slashdot就一天到晚看到這類討論串。
  • Safe distance
用戰鬥機黑盒子紀錄器的影帶加上字幕。我不是很喜歡這個展品。
  • Google will eat itself
不太懂要表達什麼。而且投影機居然壞掉了。
  • Amazon noir
針對Amazon的一件作品。個人認為不是很有趣。
  • Made in Taiwan
用家電改裝成會發出聲音的一些裝置,用電話控制,不算是很新的創意。不過這個是Workshop的作品,和臺灣的學生一起創作的。
  • Zgodlocator/version ZII
很棒的作品。我心中浮現的形容詞是creepy。轉動旋鈕,底下的磁場會改變,在月球表面般的金屬碎屑中就會突然間冒出一個圓球。旁邊的不知名黑色液體更是恐怖,液面上出現振動不停的凸起,還伴隨著金屬聲,活像是電影裡外星人或是變種生物要出場的時候。
  • Yokomono
我不是很喜歡這個展品。
  • Beijing accelerator
看起來最為浩大的一件作品,像是一台模擬器。一次只能一個人使用,所以還排了一會兒的隊,但是互動性不是很強。如果更能製造頭暈效果的話會把意境傳達地更好。
  • Painstation: enhanced dueling artifact
本次展覽的焦點!一定要看!就算說是為了玩這個裝置去看這個展覽也不為過。因此我還是介紹一下這個藝術品好了:這是一個兩個人對戰的遊戲,左手必須壓住兩個按鈕不能放開,右手控制旋鈕,進行古老的Pong遊戲。在擊球板的後方會出現一些圖示,有火燒、鞭打、電擊,如果球沒有打到擊球板而是打到圖示的話,懲罰就會出現在你的左手上。No pain, no game!為了勝利,鞭打和電擊都必須承受下去,因為先放開左手的人就輸了。

PlayStation(雖然現在XBox比較流行)哪裡吸引人呢?怎麼會有人想要花錢,接下一個沉重的任務,耗費許多時間試圖破關?玩電動不可能是一帆風順的,死掉了,讀檔重來再試一次,不停不停地承受失敗的下場,只為了最後的勝利。中間的過程越坎坷,最後得到的滿足就越大。(否則怎麼會有遊戲的「耐玩性」等評比出現?)遊戲所提供的挫折,必須在某一個限度之內,也就是說,不能難到大家都過不了關。

那Painstation是不是個好遊戲呢?比起傳統電動,它所給的回饋更為直接且純粹,你的失敗不在是紅紅的畫面與再來一次的挫折,而是貨真價實的電擊、鞭打、火燒。懲罰會太多嗎?我承認,第一次被電到的時候直覺地縮起了手,也就輸了這場比賽。後來再玩的時候就學會把手掌努力壓住,說實在這三種懲罰也不是真的忍受不了。這麼說來,懲罰也是在可以接受的限度之內。玩Painstation時緊張的情緒也不是普通電動可以比得上的!那未來的電動是不是都會變成Painstation呢?
  • Pockets full of memories
看不太出來各個物品之間的關連性。最常見的東西是手機、證件、吊飾、首飾,把頭或手伸進去的也不少。不過就如導覽說的,最近幾年User-generated Content已經流行起來,所以這個主意已經沒有那麼令人驚訝了。
  • Data.tron [prototype]
資料不停的在牆壁上閃過。我走到牆前,線條和數字打在我的身體上,也許由另一個人看來我會像是一個資料流吧?
  • Cheap imitation
創意不錯,不過解析度低了點,看不出自己的外型輪廓。
  • Chinese portraiture
這也是很有趣的作品!一個個人物「掛」在牆上的電視裡看著你,當你到他們面前就會做出一些動作。無言而哀淒伸出手乞討的男孩、拿著抹布擦拭鏡頭的清潔婦,還有諷刺的講手機的和尚。
  • Purple rain
我不是很喜歡這個展品。
  • All is full of love
看完的想法:機器人演A片。雖說是機器人,但暗示十分明顯。也不是真的A片,但是看得出充滿情慾色彩,白色的潤滑劑(?)不停的在機體上滑動。就色情來講其實是個新鮮有趣的作品...
  • Logo.hallucination
在網路上找圖片,嘗試辨認出商標。我想它的「藝術」應該是在於那封律師函吧?用一些電腦技術去推斷犯罪事實,就像是光憑IP紀錄抓人,可靠嗎?
  • Synthia stock ticker
其實看沒有很懂。
  • Global player 4
把地球表面的起伏當作是黑膠唱片的刻痕。有創意的點子,但所得結果不是十分有趣。
  • Feed
這個藝術品讓人看一眼就知道要表達什麼!一盆盆植物在黑暗中,向著上方的電視螢幕生長。沒有營養的電視節目餵養著新一代的幼苗,電視是僅存的養分來源。在臺灣,同樣的裝置,也許我會取名為Euthanasia,或是Intoxication。目前,這些植物還活著...

A foreign Taipei: Luxy

Monday, Silvia, my exchange student mentioned they were going out on Wednesday, and asked if I would join them. "Yeah, sure, I think so." "That's a promise!"

At 10pm we departed from 景福會館, a whole bunch of people. There was Silvia and Lain from Spain, Maria and Betty(who was at 國防) from Hungary, Rebeka from Croatia, Leszek from Poland, Andreas from Austria, and also 朱彥儒。Later on we were joined by Grzegorz from Poland and Vicky from Portugal. We sat down to get some food at a pizza bar first, I had no idea the $70 pizzas were so petit. Lain had 5, no kidding.

I had heard of Luxy before, but have never actually been there. I've been wanting to go to a night club, just to see what it's like, if nothing else. This is the perfect opportunity! I get to dance around tall and imported goods. After all, it's part of their living, so it'd be much less awkward for me compared to going alone.

Ground level before the entrance, people are queueing up like crazy. The line was actually 20m long I think, although turned out it didn't take long for us to get in. A guard stopped me and asked, "Do you have a reservation?" I said I was with them, pointing to my well-dressed, chic, and obviously from out-of-country friends. Hey, is that what it takes to get in these days? Judging by the ratio of foreigners to Taiwanese, I pondered the possibility that there is a discrimination somehow...

600NT, ouch. Lady's night, ladies get in for free. How unfair! If one day I could get in for free, maybe I'd try this more often.

It was SO crowded. People everywhere! We could barely move around. The DJ in front was supposed to be someone famous I think, though I have no idea who it was. Dancing was not really possible at that spot, people were squeezing through just to get in and out. Ah, the lucrative market of Taipei! Just to think of all these people that all paid 600 for their way in. What a business!

Back at the dorm, Leszek had asked me how to say 「你的眼睛很漂亮」, and carefully wrote it down in his palm. Sure enough, he was tapping a girl on the shoulders and induced a giggle out of her. Foreigners with profound features and great body (see Lain) are charming enough, even more so when they're trying to speak Chinese, I guess. I really started to consider the possibility of pretending I don't speak Chinese.

After a while I started to wander around. It was amazing to see the constant stream of people pouring in! All the girls were dressed attractive while maintaining a low mass of clothes on them (Gee, I wonder the correlation between that). And the boys...well I guess I sort of neglected them, as I had forgot. Lots of people were smoking, but I lost track of the scent after an hour or so in there.

In the back, lots of people had a bored look on their face. I wondered what they were here for? Obviously they weren't here the first time, otherwise they'd be poking their head everywhere like me. Do they come to dance? Do they come so they could meet new people? Are they waiting for someone? Or waiting for a stranger to say hello first? There were spaces along the sides, and one in the middle, but once you sit down you lose sight of the stage.

What drives people to this place? Do they have too much energy that must be expelled by dancing? Is it a place friends hang out? For meeting new friends? Or is it just because they have nowhere better to go? (Even more unlikely, in my opinion, for the music?) I haven't got it figured out quite yet.

其實嗨只有一種,就是自嗨。Even in a "high" place like this, with the music booming and a thousand people twisting their body around you, doesn't automatically make you dancing. One has to deliberately make that decision to loosen up and join in. The way I see it, it's no different than dancing to music in your own room or anywhere else, albeit with lower barriers maybe.

The bar show was great! The host was actually taking all the attention front stage, where the Flatland Shadows or something was going to perform. I was making my way around the bar when the guards appeared and asked us (and shoving us) out of the way to a safe distance. I've never seen a bar show like this before! Fire-lit liquor bottles were flying high and low in the bartender's hands, and rhythms to this insanely fast music. He seemed if he could command the bottle where to go, although once or twice the bottle fell out of his hands. The show ended with a giant flame torching (OK, not really torching) the stack of liquor in the middle, created by the bartender breathing fire. It was awesome!

The Flatland Shadows weren't so great, mostly because I didn't even see them. Front row at the bar show, I was way far from the stage. I gave up, and so did all the girls who were obviously much shorter than me. Wandering a little more, I found another room where it was actually possible to dance. With my admittance there was a voucher for a drink, but my quest for the drink didn't go to well. 「這個是在這裡換嗎?」「甚麼?」「這個是在這裡換嗎?」「甚麼?我聽不到!」「…」「你要換什麼?」I had no idea what to choose from! Obviously we had trouble communicating, even in Chinese, so I settled for a Heineken.

After a while everyone came over to this room. They had met a couple people from 東吳, who were hosting a few Japanese guests, although the guests were enjoying themselves elsewhere in the room. Again, I failed to make new friends but for my foreign buddies...

I can see how alcohol fits into this formula. Blasting music with ultra bass, I could even feel my arms vibrating; Constantly flashing lights making everything look staccato, and probably triggers epilepsy; A room where nobody knows who you are, and your face is just plain not visible in the dark. Sounds like a carefully planned setting to demolish your own identity. So while you're at it, why not add a little alcohol to distort your mind more? At its best, you'll be shaking your head up and down in a lot of strangers who don't know or care who you are, and what troubles you might have. Neither would you care, hopefully. That's the point of it all, isn't it?

At 4am the folks decided to call it a night and head home. They had to be up and alert tomorrow at the hospital! Fortunately I had a empty day before me to sleep through. I don't know whatever happened to the plan to take a taxi, but we decided to walk home. It's not really that far, but a whole night out can make you tired. As I waved them adios at 善導寺站, the sky was already brightening up. We concluded the day(night?) by watching the sunrise on the rooftop of the dorm, before going to sleep at 6. All in all, a worthy experience no doubt!

趁著最後一天在北歐,找機會把挪威克朗花完。飯店旁就有一家超市,驚喜地發現有賣Nutella,本來想買個五罐回去當紀念品,不過身上的錢不夠,而且玻璃罐重得要死,只好作罷(後來才發現原來台灣也有賣)。餘的一些零錢弟拿去買了洋芋片、巧克力,全寄在我的包包裡。

最後一天的市區觀光行程,遊覽車在哥本哈根的大街小巷穿梭著,帶領我們留下最後一刻的北歐印象。女王皇宮、市政廳、市議會、證券交易所、噴水池,在五~十分鐘的短暫停留間,留下記憶卡上的一串資料,也在大腦製造不知名的神經迴路。

在女王皇宮,戴黑色高帽的皇家衛兵對自己的工作十分認真地對待,面對遊客的無理取鬧不動聲色;市政廳前有一對新人正在接受眾人的祝福,親朋好友撒上白米慶祝,最高興的莫過於前來赴吃喜宴的鴿子們;舊時的王宮成了當今的市議會,人民頭家換人做的意義非凡;童話般的丹麥有著童話般的歷史,他們相信女神把她的四個兒子變成了牛,在瑞典耕作了一塊肥沃的土地挖起來,就成了丹麥,而瑞典只剩下一塊丹麥形狀的湖,噴水池就是紀念這個女神。市政廳旁立了安徒生的銅像,端坐著仰望星空,也許是在找尋下個故事的題材吧?

哥本哈根是個大機場,必須早三個小時前往報到。前往機場的路上,領隊又帶我們走過一次行程,十五天的旅程突然間感覺沒有那麼長,聖誕老人村彷彿是昨天才去造訪。機場果然人群成龍,掛行李的時候有些人又被掛到了香港,領隊急得直跳腳。收行李的時候忘記把防曬乳、洗面乳等收到大行李去,安檢時防曬就過不了關被沒收了。同團好樣還有人買的牙膏狀魚醬也被沒收了,真可惜。

在慕尼黑轉機,等著接受最難熬的一段旅程,慕尼黑─香港要12小時左右。德航的飛機又沒有個人電視,而且前面的電視也不知道怎麼的壞掉了。很不知死的要了一杯Bloody Mary來喝,下場就是第一次使用了飛機上的暈機袋。整體而言這12個小時的飛行真的還滿難過的。以往都是去程感覺慢、回程感覺快,這回剛好相反。比較起來還是亞洲的航空公司感覺比較親切。

在香港居然碰到上次去一起去埃及的小逸!這次我們去北歐,他們去東歐,竟可以在香港搭同一班飛機回台北,真是太神奇了!

「...又是這件衣服!」
--小逸,2007


小美人魚靜靜的坐在海邊,絲毫不受大群遊客喧嘩影響。


這就是丹麥女神的噴水池。


衛兵和亭子看起來很有玩具的感覺!


設計這尊銅像的人真有洞見,所有的人不論年齡大小都可以爬上安徒生的膝上,仰望著聽他講一則童話故事。


城市裡面有許多人乘腳踏車來往,道路上也都畫有和車道同寬的腳踏車道。


轉機的時候飛機慢了,航空公司大概怕其他乘客等的不耐煩,特地派車子從這架飛機載到下一架。牌子上面寫的是Peking。


機場裡面竟也有18歲以下禁止進入的地方?令人好奇裡面究竟賣什麼。


小逸!你在這裡做什麼?原來是去東歐玩。居然還可以搭上同一班飛機回台灣,真是太巧了。

I'm now in the airport of Copenhagen. It's a fairly big airport, so we were asked to check-in 3 hours before departure. The computer systems were somehow faulty, so we got into various situations: some had two boarding passes, while some only had one. A couple of people had their luggage destined for Hong Kong instead of Taipei. It's going to be a tough job for the tour guide at Hong Kong.

We walked through the itinerary again on the way to the airport. Now, the 15-day trip seemed so short. The places we visited were still vivid images in my head, as if we had just been yesterday. I especially liked Finland and Santa Claus village. It'd be the place I choose if I could only visit one place. Sweden is nice, with a proud history. Norway has a rich scenic collection, and an astounding oil reserve. Denmark is like a giant playground. It is impossible to know the countries in such a short trip, there are many aspects we didn't have the fortune to explore. The people, the food, the culture...I believe that my perception of a place would be much different given I had the time to really experience it.

Yet it has still been a wonderful experience. After all, every deep attachment has so start with a first encounter! I have set my foot on this land, and one day perhaps I will manage to bring the rest of my body.

這艘郵輪不但比較小,設計的也比較不好,離開時大家排了好久的隊才終於踏上陸地。哥本哈根!對這個城市的第一印象是這裡果然是個大城市,一下船就看見公車、地鐵、火車,感覺十分忙碌。

(安徒生的故居)
我:「那邊有一塊牌子,寫說安徒生以前住在這裡。」
爸:「嗯...房子前面的國旗沒有升起來,所以安徒生可能不在家。」

旅行社居然安排了雙層遊覽車,我們連領隊才27人,有79個座位可以坐。說「普通話」的導遊在下層看不到人,感覺就像是在聽語音導覽:「要聽關於丹麥的簡史,請按#字鍵。」三不五時還會冒出個「同志」之類的。跟Oslo的導遊一樣,非常流利但聽了就想睡覺。往北開50公里到島的北邊參觀Kornberg,中文開玩笑叫它「空堡」,因為瑞典人來佔領的時候把東西全部搬光光了。連一個大噴泉都沒有放過,現在被放在Stockholm的國家博物館。城堡裡面真的就大多都空空的,真可憐。

接著到腓特列堡,也是有如法式的皇宮,但現在變成丹麥的國立歷史博物館,陳列了許多當時國王使用的器具。城堡的後花園倒是照顧得很漂亮,大池塘中有許多鴨子游來游去,甚至有一窩小鴨。這裡的鴨子還表演了「輕功水上飄」,一邊拍著翅膀一邊在水面上快速奔跑,有時還會潛水,十分活潑。

回到哥本哈根市區,在新港區一督這個城市的真面貌。運河的兩端是五顏六色火柴盒般的房子,一樓店面全都是餐廳,露天的座位人手一杯啤酒座無虛席。恰巧碰到哥本哈根的爵士音樂節,搭了個舞台現場演奏,還有熱情的觀眾在台前跳舞。整個夏天,對北歐人來講都是節慶,從天撒下的黃金光線就足以構成慶祝的原因。

在新港20號,一棟紅色的房子,就是安徒生的故居。不知道當年的丹麥和現在是否相像?是不是也腳踏車滿街跑呢?漫長的冬日黑夜,也許間接造成安徒生在童話裡,往往摻進一絲的悲劇色彩。

丹麥(或應該說哥本哈根)的市景相較於其他的北歐城市來得全球化;霓虹燈、廣告看板、稍嫌髒亂的街道,也許可以說「紐約化」。爸的說法是「被污染了」。徒步區上行人來往十分洶湧,廣場上也有許多街頭藝人和小販。

Tivoli遊樂園就在哥本哈根市中心,事實上就在市政廳和火車站的隔壁!據說原本是國王設立,提供貴族們一個休閒和交誼的去處,就不會來作亂。之後陸續加上了雲霄飛車、旋轉木馬、大怒神等遊樂器材供大眾娛樂。雲霄飛車就在市政廳的旁邊耶!真是一個夢幻而童話的都市。可以想像台北市政府旁邊蓋一個佔地一樣大的遊樂場嗎?真是太酷了!

雖然樂園就在如此便利的位置,但入園和乘坐設施可都是要另外收費的。儘管如此,乘坐雲霄飛車的人潮仍是一批接著一批,絡繹不絕。價格以台灣的標準而言絕對不便宜,所以我這個觀光客還是看看就好。有一個攤位很特別,20Nkr.可以換六顆木球,老闆會不停換上新的盤子,而你的任務就是把盤子砸破。六顆球投完就沒了,你可以攻擊正面上下晃動的盤子,或欺負旁邊疊成一疊的盤子。「匡啷!」圓形的盤子就這樣裂成十幾片的碎片。抱歉,沒有獎品可以換,老闆的本錢都拿去買盤子了。

旁邊有一間泰迪熊的店,可以親手製作屬於自己的泰迪熊。首先選好外表,挑一個屬於它的聲音盒子放進去。工作人員會幫你塞棉花,然後交給你一顆小小的心臟,煞有其事地告訴你怎樣讓心臟活起來,親手放進玩具熊的胸膛。當然,別忘了買更多熊熊的配件!


郵輪上的房間其實可以住四個人呢!其實想起來,好像也沒甚麼機會全家人一起住一間房...不過爸媽自有另外一間房間,在郵輪的另外一端。側面的床可以放下來變成上鋪,但要上去可要有點功夫,還要注意天花板(我的頭就挨了好大一下)。


進到丹麥前,這一列海上的發電風車映入眼簾。



這是丹麥的「空堡」,城堡裡面空空如也,但是外頭的花園池塘讓人心情看了就很棒!水裡的鴨子不時表演輕功水上飄的絕技。



運河兩旁的房屋色彩十分鮮艷,就像是童話故事裡的插圖。這就是安徒生的舊住所,新港街20號。


路旁當然少不了喝啤酒曬太陽的快樂丹麥人,不過有些啤酒杯形狀還真奇特。


徒步街上的玩具店陳列著滿櫃的樂高,泡泡滿天飛!十分夢幻的丹麥。



這兩位表演者又唱又跳的,看他們的表演十分令人愉悅。周圍的小朋友也跟著載歌載舞。


在台灣人開的店買明信片,我倒是第一次看見「台語嘛也通」的招牌。



Tivoli花園裡面遊樂設施之外還有很多造景餐廳,像這艘海盜船就是餐廳!真是超帥的。


有排解不了的忿恨嗎?花點小錢,買六顆球,這邊的盤子隨便你砸!


泰迪熊的填充物。雖然看起來只不過是棉花,但上頭寫著「Love is the stuff inside!」。

我:「我要來看看昨天的行程到底寫了甚麼。」

我:「哈,果然只有兩行。」
弟:「寫甚麼?」
我:「『早晨後專車前往哈丹格峽灣展開峽灣之旅,兩岸─』」
弟:「峽你老師咧!」

今日得以遊覽Oslo市區,首先到Vigeland雕塑公園。我個人覺得這個公園真是超有意思的!依照雕塑家本人的規劃,分成生命之橋、生命之樹、生命之柱、生命之環,都是刻劃人的一生。有男女、小孩、老人,人生中各階段的喜悅掙扎與衝突,都透過裸體銅石雕栩栩如生的身體語言和表情顯現出來。人物的數量驚人,兩百餘件作品中共有七百多個人物,真的是蘊含了各式各樣的情感。

這公園像是個巨大的靜物畫,可以好好欣賞雕塑家精美的技藝;又像是電影中的定格畫面,適合來此處,佇立在一座人物前,看見自己的掙扎體現在雕像的臉上,索尋同樣的感緒。既具巨觀的豁然,又不遺落微觀的細膩。雕刻家Vigeland先生真是個天才。

公園的旁邊有大塊草坪,整個公園面積達40公頃!因此也是民眾重要的休閒場所。今日有些陰雨,據爸所言,上次大太陽時造訪,有許多人甚至全裸做日光浴呢!

冬季奧運有一項目是滑雪跳遠,在電視上看過,看起來像是專業的玩命運動。選手著滑雪裝從高處斜坡衝下來,起飛後想辦法降低風阻並保持平衡,厲害的人九十公尺以後才會降落在陸地上。夏季時跳台上面當然沒有雪,不過看他的高度跟陡度就很嚇人了!

市區的最後一個景點是維京船博物館。維京人的貴族埋葬方式傳統上是船葬,也就是把棺木和陪葬品一起放在一艘船中,埋進土壤中。因此其中出土了不少維京人的用品,包括衣服、靴子,甚至還有遊戲版。其中有絲製品,表示當時的貿易可能到達遠東,因為本地完全不產絲。

下午有兩個小時自由活動時間,跟爸、弟決定去搭搭看輕軌電車tram。Oslo的票券設計很有趣,一段票可在一小時內無限轉乘,可以搭乘地鐵、電車、公車、還有船。事先買一段票22NKr,上車才買的話要30NKr。上車後要去打票機打上時間,否則視為無票,但我們都沒碰到查票。

電車其實很像公車,只是不能任意轉彎。我看司機也很忙,又要停車開車,開門關門,還要記得打方向燈。紅綠燈或是行人通過時也要停下來。但電車經過的路線可以比較特殊,如市府廣場前沒有馬路但有輕軌。有些地方的地面甚至是草地,最誇張的還經過一個噴水池!我們原本搭19線到終點站下車,要換搭12線返程,在等車時,只見19線司機下車扳了鐵軌,19線就變成12線了!於是乎我們又上車,繼續慢慢的觀賞街景。

Oslo的天氣多變,比台北還糟糕,「下雨─雨停」大概就循環了十次。要回去集合時剛好遇到一陣超大雨,只得躲進一家舊書店。舊書店裡擺滿了外文的古籍,彷彿隨時可以找到一本關於魔法或是惡魔的書。逮到下雨的空檔狂奔,還好沒有淋得太濕。

晚上坐DFDS郵輪到丹麥Copenhagen,可惜之前坐過Silja line郵輪,比較起來這艘就沒那麼豪華,剩餘的6NKr也沒有賭場可以「揮霍」掉。天氣也不是那麼晴朗,在海上的天空仍是一段陽光一段陰雨。和弟在船艙裡聊天,直到十二點才發現日記還沒寫,不過還是睡覺吧。


我很喜歡這個雕塑,但是它在很高的石柱上,沒辦法靠近欣賞。


這裡面最有名的雕塑,憤怒的小孩。聽說曾經被偷走、噴漆,真是命運多舛。


所有父母都曾經有過這種時刻吧。兒女總是會有不聽話的時候,然而父母的角色卻是不能休假的。


在眾人的注意力之外,初生之犢玩起了蛇。小孩,你要平平安安的長大,好嗎?


玩命跳台。看看那些樹就知道跳台有多高了。


不論中外,帝王都喜歡把葬禮辦得隆重奢華,陪葬品卻都落入了盜墓者手中。


這張票22克朗,一個小時內無限轉乘。






電車走在馬路上、走在石板廣場上、走在草地上,最誇張的是還輾過一個噴水池!


電車上也有公車詩文。


悠遊卡的機器和台北的一樣呢!



碰到很誇張的大雨,只好先到一間書店裡頭去避雨。


 

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