il Giardino Romantico

Why in the world would I be dragged to southern Taiwan within 24 hours of my arrival back home?  Two missions await for me to accomplish. The most important mission was to visit my 87 year-old granny whose hometown had been badly hit by the typhoon a couple of months back.  Although her house remained in tact, there was no reason to wait any longer to see her.  After all, once you reach a certain age, there is nothing more important than having company.

Because I had just gotten off the plane, and although the high speed train had reduced a lot of physical pressure, I was still pretty knackered, and fell asleep on the coach from Kaohsiung to my grandma's.  When I opened my eyes once again, I could hardly believe what I was looking at!  The once beautiful, peaceful, and scenic countryside road had been completely sabotaged by Marakot.

為什麼才剛下飛機沒多久，就被拖來六龜？其實有兩樣很重要的任務。第一項最重要的任務，當然是探望我一年沒見到的八旬外婆。雖然說早已知道外婆居住的地方未受颱風侵襲，不過既然都回來了，除了打電話，當然還是要親自去一趟！畢竟長輩心裡最想要的不是別的，就只是『陪伴』。

因為才剛下飛機沒多久，雖然做高鐵到高雄已經減輕不少旅行的負擔，但精神上還是會稍稍有點吃力。因此到了高雄轉客運時，[中途車子還壞掉！！]我就睡得像豬一樣。當我眼睛再睜開時，我簡直不敢相信我眼前所見的，就是我曾經那麼熟悉的通往六龜之路！原本山明水秀的順暢道路，竟然一個颱風侵襲就變成這副模樣！





This was once a smooth road.  There used to be a tourist centre here.  Now the road's gone, so is the centre.  I didn't care how rough the journey was, I was more concerned about how the place was going to recover from this devastating catastrophe.

原本好端端的遊客中心整個都不見了！一路上顛顛抖抖的，我在意的不是路好不好走，而是那被颱風侵襲所造成的損害。原本就很難營運的荖濃、寶來溫泉區，現在一個颱風來所創下的傷害，要何時才能撫平？



Turn to the other side, and you'll see the once more peaceful Lao-Nung River.  Can you believe how much water flowed through here to cause all the damages?  What was even more heartbreaking, was when I saw the bridge that was once so familiar, now it is no more.

轉頭望著另一頭，真的很難想像當時的嚴重性！但更令人觸目驚心的是，我曾在此篇文章曾刊登過的六龜大橋，一個颱風過後，竟然連個橋頭都不剩！





When I saw Granny safe and sound, it was the most comforting news.  My 'stubborn' granny insists on living on her own.  I had not seen her for a whole year, and we insisted on taking her back to ours to live for a while.  It took a while to persuade her, but she finally agreed.  And now, I shall report a more light-hearted story.

但是看到外婆安然無恙，居住的家中也完全沒受到颱風的影響，心裡又鬆了好大一口氣。個性強悍的外婆，一直到了這把歲數還是很堅持要住在六龜的家中。不過因為一年沒見到她，我們很執意的要把她接回家裡住上一陣子才肯放她回去。好不容易才說服了外婆，接下來當然就要報告一些比較溫馨的消息了。



Other than our personal mission, my dad also brought along the president of the Northern Thailand Taiwanese Association who was to donate a small amount of charity to the Children's Home located near my granny's.  Although the amount may be insignificant, compared to larger associations and corporations, it was more than enough, me thinks.

除了與家人想把外婆接回家裡住的私心之外，這次錢爸也帶了泰北台商會長以及台商會所募集的款項要來捐給育幼院，幫助他們渡過這次的難關。清邁不是一個很大的城市，所以成員也有限。款項雖然不比其他更龐大的團體來的要大方，但是這份心意絕對不會比較少！



According to my mum, this children's home began as a little shack.  Today, it offers shelter, food, and education to around 80 children.  Most of all, they offer lots of love to these children. 

據說，這間育幼院一開始只是一間小小的屋子起家。至今，卻能經營到這樣的規模，讓這些可愛的孩子們有個溫暖的『家』可以居住，想起來就是整個讓人很窩心。


Photo of Dad, Mum, Granny, and county officer, president of the association, and manager of the children's home.
錢爸、錢媽、天仙的外婆、六龜鄉長的秘書、台商會長、以及育幼院副院長合影。

And while we were looking around the children's home, I saw a little kitty.  I didn't care what my stupid cats would think.  It had been much too long since I had played with a kitty, so I had some fun with this one.

之後我們花了一點時間參觀了一下育幼院。此時，我發現了一隻小貓咪！不顧兩隻兒子是否會介意尚未見到他們就先跑來跟野貓玩，貓媽太久沒看到貓咪，只好先看看野貓過過乾癮。

 



You can see from minute details that they do not spend their funds on unnecessary expenditures.  When you see the smiles on the children's faces, you will understand that their hard work and effort was well worth it.

育幼院四處可看得出，他們能省得地方則省。絕對不會將經費花在不必要的事物上。但是當時看到有幾個孩子剛放學回來，臉上的笑容可是他們營運優良的最佳證據！


These little cards were possibly written by children from other schools...
牆上可見的小卡片...

Last, but certainly not least, this framed calligraphy means LOVE in Chinese.  Inscribed with in the word LOVE is the Chinese version of my favorite verse from the Bible: 1 Corinthian 13:1 that starts with 'Love is patient, Love is kind...'
不過最後的最後，還是要跟大家分享，這段出自聖經的經典段落：


Let's spread our love for Taiwan, but even more so, the whole world!
讓我們用愛來愛台灣、愛地球吧！

天仙念：六龜基督教山地育幼院網址為：http://www.mutual.com.tw/cmch.htm。欲更深入了解或是捐款幫助者請洽網站上所公佈之資料。不過天仙也想跟大家說，受災戶不只是育幼院。還有許多也需要大家幫助的人。但更重要的是，重建家園之後若有機會能夠幫助促進經濟，還請大家多多給點機會給受創的六龜災區！