Completing a challenge

Have you heard of the Photo-a-day challenge? I can proudly proclaim that I have completed this challenge for the month of November! I decided to take up this challenge as I could sense my mood turning darker along with the increasingly depressive situation we were facing. And I have to say the challenge really did helped to improve the mood. At the very least, it gave me something to look forward to every single day for the past 30 days,

Actually having had a couple of fairly accomplished photographers as partners previously, I had been more used to being in front of a professional camera rather than behind it. But now that we all have a camera phone, I rather enjoy applying my aesthetic eye to capture snapshots of memories worth keeping. (Though I also believe in being fully present in the moment rather than experiencing life through a lens.)

So I really had quite some fun looking for models and objects each day, playing with angles and even filters (since I had been uploading the photos to Instagram) that I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun project to do. Sometimes, just browsing the relevant hashtags can yield some interesting pictures too! It is a bonus that it helped to fill up my rather empty Instagram account. Ha!

Disclaimer: I did feel slightly stressed on some days when it felt impossible to fulfill the theme/prompt given my schedule for the day. Case in point, how to find waves when I know I will be nowhere near the sea that day?!?! I also kind of failed on two occasions even though I did produce an image on both days. On the day that I was to take a picture of something I do everyday, I shared an accomplishment on Two Dots rather than take a picture. On hindsight, I could have taken a photo of me chewing or breathing too. For the day that the prompt was this season, I was adamant to wait for heavy rain which of course did not happen that particular day...

I am already thinking about doing a 365 version one. Perhaps with a twist by including one object that will feature in every single photo.... like Mr Tan Chuan Jin's Parley.... hmmm..... 

 

 

when you love two languages..

Growing up in a Chinese/Hokkien speaking household, my grasp of the English language was never as good as that of my Mother Tongue. Learning Higher Chinese during my secondary school days had also deepened my love for this difficult and challenging but oh-so-incredible language. I am constantly amazed how a few characters in a single idiom can often convey so much more than the sum of its parts.

 

One would expect that if I am a language teacher, I would be teaching Chinese but fortuitously I had a take-it-or-leave-it offer to teach English when I applied to be a teacher. At times, I still feel like a fraud to call myself an English teacher when it is not something that comes naturally to me. The number of times I checked and re-checked the dictionary and thesaurus to write a single blog post is proof. Yet, having undergone that training started an unexpected love affair.

 

I love both languages. And I have come to realise that rather than identifying myself with either of them, it is more crucial to recognise the importance of language(s) as part of communication. Personally, effective communication is THE most important life skill everyone should acquire. So much wasted effort and unnecessary anguish can be avoided if what is said is received as intended.

  

Well, because I love both languages, I often try to make sense of the world, what I read, what I hear, through both medium. For example, I may watch a movie in English but constantly read the accompanying Chinese subtitles to get a deeper understanding. I enjoy such translation so much that I had offered to do translation (both ways) during volunteering stints! 

 

So recently, I was indulging in one of my favourite songs by one of my favourite artistes when I felt inspired to translate the song lyrics. Initially, I thought I would need to refer to other attempts (Mr Google really can find anything) but in the end, I was able to craft my own translation in its entirety rather fluidly. I was only concerned about not losing the original meaning (or at least my interpretation of it) that I did not bother about how my translation will fit back in the song. Look at this gem of a website I found! Such a great way to learn a new language if you enjoy singing too!!

   

I suppose it is not too difficult to guess which Chinese song I have translated especially since it is also the theme song for a famous fabulous movie! As a Physics teacher, I wonder if the songwriter had misunderstood the definition of light year to be a measurement of time rather than that of distance... but who cares! The song is beautiful and her singing is flawless!

 

What do you think of my translation? 

 

Beyond Light Years 

relishing the caress of your fingertips on my hair
it freezes time instantaneously
etching the focus of your determined eyes upon mine
there may already be no tomorrow 

compared to the vast galaxies of stars
we are more minute than dust
floating drifting in helplessness 

fate brought us together far from the madding crowd
destiny had us falling in love amidst distress
perhaps a future is far beyond light years
i am willing to keep a vigil for you in this uncertainty 

i never imagine how crazy i will get for you
without you disasters and calamities can claim my life
i am already mad in the mind for you
without you pulses and heartbeats are inconsequential 

one embrace by your loving arms
protects me from the whirlwind of life
one bond of passionate relentlessness
fires up that eternal flame of hope 

the universe is majestic yet aloof
our love is infinitesimal but brilliant
tremulous but oh so selfless 

perhaps to deviate from the course is a dream that can never come to fruition
far from the madding crowd we only belong to each other