Sunday, September 17, 2006

每日新闻

今天早上,我和姐姐,妹妹和弟弟一起去湖滨公园参加一个活动,Terry Fox Run。我们一早去到集合地点,那里有很多人,也有很多档口提供香蕉,苹果,矿泉水,Milo和咖啡。都是免费的。
我看到很多外国人在谈天,也有很多小孩子在踏脚车。很是热闹。大概十一点左右,我们就回去了。


这篇文章,它的格式是根据马来西亚教育部教学纲要"小学部"的科目所写出的一则每日新闻。前一阵子,看到有一小孩的每日新闻作业簿,顿时令我动心,想写一篇类似的文章。因为我也曾经当过小学生。。。

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Last Time I Saw Mother

I took this novel out from my bookshelf last week and read it again. Not particularly like this novel but it'd remind me of a younger self as I bought this novel at the Brisbane International Airport on 23 May 1996. WHY I bought this book? Because it looks glamourous reading a THICK book during the flight and I always, really thought so when I was so much younger then. HAHA..

ABOUT THIS BOOK
"AN OFTEN LYRICAL AND ALWAYS TOUGH-MINDED DEBUT . . . Provides rare insight into the three cultures--Spanish, Chinese, and Filipino--that coexist in the Philippines."

--The New York Times Book Review

Caridad's mother never writes. So when a letter arrives for her in Sydney from Manila, Caridad doesn't even recognize her mother's handwriting. There is more distance than just miles between the two women. And that is why Caridad is called home. Her mother needs to talk. And to reveal a secret that has been weighing heavily on her for years.As Caridad hears at last the unspoken stories, and the never forgotten tragedy of the war years, she will learn a startling truth that will change her life forever. For Caridad is not who she thinks she is. . . ."Beautifully written . . . Reading each chapter is like having a conversation with a close friend."

--Chicago Tribune

"A sensitive . . . portrait of a family of Filipina women . . . The novel illuminates much modern Philippine history."

--The Boston Globe


author spotlight
Arlene J. Chai was born and educated in Manila. In 1982, she migrated to Sydney with her parents and sisters and now lives in Northern Beaches. After more years as an advertising copywriter than she cares to mention, she had a year off during which she wrote The Last Time I Saw Mother. She is at work on a second novel.