The Taiwanese Contest and the Graduation Trip

#2026-0110

John's Taiwanese Contest 

and James' Graduation Trip

The older I become, the more I cherish even the small things — including what my grandchildren have experienced. At times I want to record these moments, such as when John, my second grandchild, won third place in the Taiwanese Hokkien Reading Contest (台語朗讀比賽) held at his school a few days ago. (See the first two photos below.)

Another example is James, who is now in Grade 9. He just returned from his graduation trip (國中畢業旅行), traveling with his classmates through northern Taiwan from Tuesday to Friday this week. Each evening he called to tell me how much he enjoyed the four-day trip, although he eventually caught a cold and looked exhausted when he came home.

I spent hours doing laundry this morning. While the washing machine cleaned most of the clothes, I hand-washed the socks, underwear, and other small items. My wife, who is currently in Taichung, had advised me to wash these pieces by hand; otherwise, she said, they would retain an odd smell even after machine washing.

I let James sleep as long as he needed. When he finally woke up late in the morning, his breakfast was nearly his lunch, and our midday meal was postponed until almost three o’clock in the afternoon. That was fine — I didn’t mind eating later. What I really cared about was that he recover quickly and keep the good memories of the trip. (See the remaining photos below. Note that the last two are from my own memories.)

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相關文章 (See also)：

1)  Taipei Zoo (木柵動物園), part one     (2019)

2)  Taipei Zoo (木柵動物園), part two     (2019)

3)  夢境 -- What I Experienced Last Night     (2011)

4)  Ueno Zoological Garden (上野動物園)     (2023)

5)  再遊 "九族文化村" (Part One)     (2025)