20140607, Article, Taichung

[Jasmine0316]

網站 http://www.happyforum.org/ 歡迎超連結並轉寄網址
論壇 http://www.happyforum.org/happy/ 歡迎至論壇討論

歡迎加入Taichung Happy English Club粉絲團



Time：第 271例會，2014年6月7日（週六）下午2:30~5:30點
Place：
viewtopic.php?t=15

Agenda
14:30~15:30 Session One
15:30~15:50 Speech Session
15:50~16:00 Change Group and then Break Time
16:00~17:15 Session Two
17:15~17:30 Happy Time

Host: Vicki
Assistant Host:

Topic:
Hello, Stranger
Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/26/opinion/sunday/hello-stranger.html?ref=opinion&_r=2

Please Note:
Venue:台中市南屯區大業路182號 Mos Burger
Thanks a lot for your attention.

Questions:
1. Do you believe what the study says? Would you like to try talking to the strangers on public transport?

2. How did you feel when a stranger talked to you? Did you respond to him/her?

3. Have you ever had any experiences of making friends with strangers?

4. What would you do if you just run into the conflicts on the MRT?

5. Vicki will give us a psychological quiz at the gathering— after she reads two questions to us, please write down your answers. Then, wait for the surprise! Ring ding ding ding........

例會須知
時間地點須知：
http://www.happyforum.org/happy/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15
協會章程：
http://www.happyforum.org/Association_Principle.htm
各分會章程：
http://www.happyforum.org/Club_Principle.htm
協會會員會費及各分會會員會費及入場費：
http://www.happyforum.org/15.htm
參與例會，請自行列印當週的討論文章，並帶至現場
http://www.happyforum.org/happy/viewforum.php?f=33
參與例會，請勿討論政治/種族/宗教/性，經勸導無效者，不得參加本會任何活動
http://www.happyforum.org/happy/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1766
週六晚餐(Saturday Dinner)
http://www.happyforum.org/happy/viewforum.php?f=76
戶外活動(Club Outing)
http://www.happyforum.org/happy/viewforum.php?f=72
所有行程(All Schedule)
http://www.happyforum.org/happy/viewtopic.php?t=883

[Jasmine0316]

Dear Taichung Happiers,

After offering this topic, our host Vicki kept asking me: “Is it ok? Is it ok? ............” Dear Vicki, this topic is not ok. This topic is awesome. This topic--Hello, Stranger--is waking people up.

Irish poet William Butler Yeats (13 June 1865 – 28 January 1939) had this striking thought: “There are no strangers here; only friends you haven't yet met.” Unlock our empathy, and we will encounter this no-strangers scenario unexpectedly. In Bern Bear Park, Switzerland, a smiling senior foreign lady touched my elbow and directed my attention to a peeing bear. And then, after looking at each other’s smile for seconds, we burst into laughter together and an inner voice told me that she was a friend in one of my previous lives. This somehow has been one of my sweetest travel memories.

Initiating conversations with strangers is to articulate with circumstances for a new network world, and, for what we are called to be. French writer and poet Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944), the author of The Little Prince, used to address “A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born.” Talking to strangers can be the single event to awaken the stranger within us. Had American award-winning photographer Alec Soth not stepped out into the journey of finding attachment of strangers, he would not have developed the awareness of how far his talent can go. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spn7JJSRng4

However, it is so easy to get caught up in fear. Have you ever run into your idol, tried to have some words with him/her and turned yourself frozen? Here are some solutions: How to start conversations with total strangers. http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2014/04/14/talk-to-strangers And, what if we don’t understand the stranger’s language? Let us see how smiling at the stranger and thinking with heart can help conquer the language barrier in the story The Lion and the Little Red Bird. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPISEvWfd04&app=desktop (I also love the beautiful interaction between the story-teller and this innocent girl.)

Kindness of strangers always encourages our kindness. When was your last time talking to a stranger? When was your last time helping a stranger? How have you experienced strangers’ kindness and been inspired by it? Join us!!! Dear Happiers, share your stories and show us your courage and determination.

Hello, stranger, see our smiles? We welcome you as well.





Best Wishes,
Jasmine

[longbow]

20140607, Gathering, Taichung