Goorskey-Lin

the babies

2010-06-23T08:46:00.001-05:00

my kids at St. Lucy

2010-06-23T05:59:00.001-05:00

Jessica and Chao

2010-06-23T05:14:00.003-05:00

Miamisburg Mound

2008-08-02T21:50:00.001-05:00

Today, we also visited the Miamisburg Indian Burial Mound, which is the highest burial mound in Ohio. Please take a look:

Sun Watch Indian Village 2

2008-08-02T21:38:00.003-05:00

Here is a short video of Chao explaining about Indian gourd bowls to Dersu and Eva inside one of the huts at the Sun Watch Indian Village, Dayton, Ohio.

Sun Watch Indian Village, Dayton, Ohio

2008-08-02T21:28:00.002-05:00

It's been a long time since I posted to this blog. We now live in Centerville, Ohio, right outside of Dayton, Ohio. Here there are a lot of historical places to visit and natural wonders to explore. Today, we visited two Native American sites. This is the Sun Watch Indian Village which is restoration of an 800+ year Native American village near Dayton. There are several huts, a garden, and a museum to see. This was part of the Hopewell indian culture. I hope to write more about it later, as I read more books about it. For now, please enjoy these pictures.

Trip to Washington, DC

2007-04-12T21:47:00.000-05:00

I was able to go to Washington, DC for a conference related to my work. While, there, I got to visit Chao's King College undergraduate roommate, Melissa, and her partner Tiffany. Melissa is a foster parent of James. James is finishing his last year in high school. He does gymnastics and cheerleading and is a really great guy. Melissa is the one with the super smiley face and flaming red hair. Tiffany is the goofy one. This is the famous "Cherry Blossom Festival" in Washinton, DC. The 3rd picture is Melissa, James, and Tiffany (left-to-right as in Hebrew language). :)

Mom's alley

2007-01-03T10:37:00.000-06:00

Mother likes inside and outside of the house to be nice and clean. This is her alley. Her plants are nice and neat !

Reunion with High School friends

2007-01-02T00:21:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year

2007-01-01T00:35:00.000-06:00

We celebrated the New Year 2007 last night with cheeses and wine. It was our tradition inspired by my sister's family in Slovenia.

The goorskeys in Taipei

2006-12-29T20:56:00.000-06:00

Mama's cooking is the best

2006-12-29T20:38:00.000-06:00

The cake mold

2006-12-29T20:35:00.000-06:00

Cuker's Dad

2006-12-29T20:29:00.000-06:00

We stayed in Cuker's family for three days in Taipei. It was a great visit. His family was very nice to us. Cuker's father knows a lot about computer. He learns on his own.

By the river

2006-12-29T00:01:00.000-06:00

Love from Uncle

2006-12-28T23:46:00.000-06:00

Zhan-ho is my second brother. He nows works and lives in Japan. He is getting married in January 2.

What's cooking?

2006-12-28T21:07:00.000-06:00

Reunion

2006-12-27T08:49:00.000-06:00

I have not seen my second brother for six years ! He went to Japan for college the year David and I were married. He graduated from college last year and now he works for a Japanese company. He is getting married January 2.

The American

2006-12-27T00:48:00.000-06:00

We visited Cindy and Cuker's family in Taipei. The neighbor kids just enjoyed playing with David.

The flower carrier

2006-12-25T21:17:00.000-06:00

Boring for the kids

2006-12-25T19:53:00.000-06:00

The Map of Taiwan

2006-12-25T19:40:00.000-06:00

The sisters

2006-12-25T19:31:00.000-06:00

The new couple

2006-12-25T09:49:00.000-06:00

Tzu-chi Temple in Hualien

2006-12-21T07:41:00.000-06:00

We visited Tzu-chi's Buddhist temple in Hualien. Very impressive. Kind of cold on a rainy day. The lotus is the symbol of Buddhism.

East Taiwan Beach

2006-12-21T07:35:00.000-06:00

These pictures are from the East side of Taiwan somewhere between Hualien and Taitung.

Buddhist Temple 2

2006-12-20T22:19:00.000-06:00

We took a 4-day trip to the central mountains. This was a Buddhist temple on top of a very steep mountain. Nobody dared to climb the steep rock stairs. The sign said, "no stopping, danger of falling rocks." Very morbid! Indeed, the trail was a steep climb. I took Eva Sveta with me. Finally, we made it to the top. What a view! A small pond with lotus plants and frogs near the shrine. The frogs were croaking ... a very strange sound. We saw an amazing butterfly, but I didn't have time to catch it on camera. We climbed up to the second story of the shrine and rang the bell. Too bad nobody below heard it. The river was too loud and we were too high. Can't you see the road? The actual big temple and monastery are just to the right of the second picture, if you can see it. Into the high cloud mountains we found this special place. Too much work for people to climb, but could I resist such a challenge?

David is here with us !

2006-12-12T03:45:00.000-06:00

Dear All,
David arrived Taiwan this morning. Dersu was so excited to see him and he spoke only Chinese to David. Even so, they still communicate pretty good.
Eva did not forget about David either. She calls him Papa in Chinese.
It's nice that David is here with us! We will start our adventure in Taiwan together !

The Confucius Temple (2)

2006-12-11T00:28:00.000-06:00

Different interests

2006-12-11T00:07:00.000-06:00

A long walk !

2006-12-09T20:03:00.000-06:00

Cindy and her sister visited us for four days. Yesterday we took four hours time walking and looking around.

The roots !

2006-12-09T09:41:00.000-06:00

This kind of tree with obvious roots can be seen everywhere in Tainan, Taiwan

The Confucius Temple

2006-12-09T07:24:00.000-06:00

treasure !

2006-12-09T07:11:00.000-06:00

We took a walk and Dersu picked up some "garbage" on the road. He made a clock with the materials !

Learning from cousin Justin

2006-12-05T07:02:00.000-06:00

Canadian cousins

2006-12-03T20:41:00.000-06:00

Grandpa's best friend

2006-12-03T20:30:00.000-06:00

Sunday

2006-12-03T20:06:00.000-06:00

The gang

2006-12-03T08:30:00.000-06:00

Please give me the candy!

2006-12-03T07:54:00.000-06:00

Is lunch ready yet?

2006-12-03T07:41:00.000-06:00

The ice masher

2006-12-01T00:31:00.000-06:00

This machine mashes ice so the seafood buyers can get the ice to keep the seafood fresh.

Do you want to be fish?

2006-12-01T00:20:00.000-06:00

Fish market

2006-12-01T00:08:00.000-06:00

We went to a fish market where the fishing boat unloaded the fish and sold the fish right on the spot.

The wild veggie

2006-11-29T23:40:00.000-06:00

Food and me..

2006-11-29T23:28:00.000-06:00

House foundation

2006-11-27T20:50:00.000-06:00

Someone nearby is building roll houses. We see it from the start (digging out the ground).

share, please....

2006-11-27T18:56:00.000-06:00

very delicious!

2006-11-27T18:45:00.000-06:00

gods

2006-11-26T21:13:00.000-06:00

religious?

2006-11-26T20:07:00.000-06:00

visiting a temple

2006-11-26T18:39:00.000-06:00

We visited a temple in another district last Sunday afternoon. We took our time looking around. Aunti Shufen enjoyed listening to Dersu talking about what he saw. Eva was fussy in the car but she had a good time hanging out with grandma.

It's me !

2006-11-25T20:33:00.000-06:00

She just enjoys eating.

Saturday morning

2006-11-25T19:33:00.000-06:00

Dersu plays with these neighbor kids. They all have their own bikes. If Eva can join them, that will be perfect. BUT, that's just my dream talk. Eva is quite fussy. How I wish David is here already !

Our own time, finally!

2006-11-25T19:15:00.000-06:00

This is when the kids are sleeping at night. My mom, my sister and I are having some kind of "flower tea" (herb tea).

Who is smarter?

2006-11-24T19:12:00.000-06:00

Eva and Amei (the dog) share eating. Eva chews apple and has the juice, then she splits out the apple for Amei. Grandma says "who is smarter?"

he is thinking

2006-11-23T21:08:00.000-06:00

Dersu is also a thinker..

About language learning

2006-11-23T21:00:00.000-06:00

we planned to stay in Taiwan for three months. Long before we came back, grandparents said that Dersu(4) should go to the nearby kindergarden so he would learn to speak Chinese. I never thought it would be necessary. Although I speak Chinese to Dersu for four years, he refused to speak to me in Chinese. He only responded in English. But I truly believe my responsibility is to speak Chinese to him regardless. I never want to push him for any learning. I think he is learning in his own way.
When we arrived in Taiwan in the mid October, these conversations with the grandparents often occured:
"he should go to the kindergarden" the grandparents said
"it's okay. He does not need to." I said
"are you crazy? he can only learn in the kindergarden"the grandparents said
"there are different ways of learning. I think when he is playing he is learning" I said
"nonsense! even if he does not want to go, you should froce him" the grandparents said
Besides, all the adults around me told me that Dersu needed to go to school.They all said that forcing the kids to go to school is normal. All the children go through the phrases. They think I am too protective. However, I never believe that I need to force Dersu to learn. I only belive that the opportunities are there, he will pick up. He plays with the neighbor kids. He plays with my freinds' kids. He spends time with grandparents and many aunts. He is learning all different things from all different people.
Four weeks later, we took a trip to the southern Taiwan for two-day trip with two other kids and three adults. When we came back to the grandparents' house, Derus speak 90% Chinese.I told the grandparents that he is the living proof that learning needs no schooling.
The other day Dersu told me "I don't know how to speak English."
What can I say?

Trust your kids. Give them the chances to explore. They will learn in their own ways.

Another grandpa

2006-11-23T20:49:00.000-06:00

This is Dersu and Eva's another grandpa. He lives in Florida. He is a CRAZY foodball fan. We believe Dersu's machenical gene came from this grandpa. He retired from Marine.

The soybean grounder

2006-11-23T20:10:00.000-06:00

This is a commercial soybean grounder. Grandma was making soymilk when Dersu was inside teaching snacks. I saw what grandma was doing and said:
"and you did not tell Dersu you are doing this?"
I told Dersu to go outside and he would see something ! He was very interested in how it worked. After watching grandma grounding the soybeans, Dersu just examined the machine inside out !
This is another example of learning opportunities ! They are everywhere around us !

Getting better

2006-11-23T19:30:00.000-06:00

Eva seems better. She is eating bread and Amei is prying on the bread.

Grandpa's tools

2006-11-22T20:47:00.000-06:00

What does it make?

2006-11-22T20:20:00.000-06:00

This big machine makes bottles. Every time it comes out, there are four bottles made. Dersu waches how it works. Great Uncle gives him some parts. Later, he designs his own machine that makes chopsticks.

smile again, please....

2006-11-22T20:09:00.000-06:00

I hope to see Eva smile again like in this picture. She has been sick with stomach virus. She does not want to play or smile. These two stinkers love to jump on grandparents' bed.

Round shapes everywhere

2006-11-21T23:48:00.000-06:00

This is a cup sealer. With the heat on the edge, the plastic can be sealed. It is an ideal to prevent leaking for drinks. Dersu is amazed how it works.
Dersu and I pay attention to many things around us. We realized that there are round shapes things everywhere.

The mechanic mind

2006-11-21T23:04:00.000-06:00

This is Dersu. He is learning and playing in his own way. If he is not playing with neighbor kids, he is busy taking stuff apart. Grandpa finally knows the danger of Dersu's mechanic curiosities. If the design is easy, Dersu took apart and put them back. if the design is too complicated, he cannot put them back.
This is an old switch box. He unscrewed the parts and examined the wires. he now knows how the switch is designed. All I did is gave him the almost-gotten-thrown-away switch box. He spent hours on it and learned the wires and the switch on his own. What else did I do? Turned off the TV and gave him the quite time to himself... Did I spent time teaching him any of the mechanic knowledge? No! because I don't even know how it works myself and I am not really that interested in it either...

noodlemaking (4)

2006-11-21T22:22:00.000-06:00

noodlemaking (3)

2006-11-21T18:24:00.000-06:00

noodlemaking (2)

2006-11-21T17:49:00.000-06:00

noodle making (1)

2006-11-20T21:48:00.000-06:00

What do you see?

2006-11-20T21:26:00.000-06:00

There are many small factories where we live. We often take a walk to see different factories. What do you see in these pictures? It's nothing for adults but for Dersu, he sees the round things, the hooks and they are automatically turning. These are for speakers. They are waiting to be dried and painted.

It's me !

2006-11-20T21:12:00.000-06:00

We went to Kaoshing to visit friends. The kids played in the playground. Eva just had so much fun with the little kids around her. She charmed everyone, of course !

7-11 is the best

2006-11-20T20:55:00.000-06:00

7-11 is everywhere in Taiwan. Kids like to go there for little snacks.

Eva and grandpa

2006-11-20T19:46:00.001-06:00

Eva insisted to put the chair on the sofa. Grandpa worried she would fell so he sat next to her. Eva just rocked back and forth with the chair. She had a good time with grandpa.

The Ocean

2006-11-20T02:59:00.000-06:00

Sunday

2006-11-20T01:36:00.000-06:00

These pictures were taken on one Sunday. Amei the dog had to be tight up. Dersu's playmates were out there watching the birds.
Dersu made a cocoroach.

so much fun !

2006-11-20T01:03:00.000-06:00

Kengtin

2006-11-20T00:27:00.000-06:00

We took a two days trip to Kengtin in southern Taiwan. Dersu had a good time with his friends. By the end of the trip, he speaks 90% Chinese.

so tired..

2006-11-19T19:19:00.000-06:00

Whale of a storm!

2006-08-21T17:11:00.000-05:00

Today we had a very powerful thunderstorm with strong winds. Dersu says to me, "Mama! Mama! There's a BIG FISH out there! There's a BIG FISH out in the front yard!" I know from experience that Dersu doesn't make things up, but still I didn't understand. I went to go look and this is what I saw. A BIG FISH sitting right in our front yard. "Is this some kind of joke?", I thought. After all, just yesterday, Baba found out that we have two little additions to our fish pond. Two young baby fish that we never noticed before. So, maybe somebody is playing a joke on us. Then, the wind blew hard again and the HUGE WHALE FISH started swiming over to the neighbors yard. Then it swam into the street. Soon it traveled all the way down to the end of the street. Eventually, the BIG FISH was gone! So, what can I say? No matter how crazy it sounds at first, your children are probably right after all.

Please leave a message !

2006-08-03T13:31:00.000-05:00

You may now call and leave a message on our answering machine ! We hace came out of the Cave Age because we now own a ansewring machine (donated by an Indian friend)...

Like mother like daughter

2006-08-01T17:07:00.000-05:00

Both Eva and Mama love corn very much.... Just boil the corn and add little salt... delicious... but Dersu just does not care for it.

A surprise from Texas !

2006-07-31T21:36:00.000-05:00

I got a BIG package from Texas ! I was thrilled to see all that Taiwanese and Japanese snacks ! There is another package inside the big package is 24 packs of "science noodles" which we ate all the time when we were growing up....

Going to a party !

2006-07-31T21:25:00.000-05:00

A big girl already ....

2006-07-31T20:41:00.000-05:00

Smile

2006-07-24T15:41:00.000-05:00

Dersu wanted me to take a picture of him. I said smile and this is the best he can do...
The tomatoes are from our garden

Eva

2006-07-24T15:26:00.000-05:00

She was fussy, so I put her in the sink. She got quite for abot five minutes..

Just too hot !

2006-07-21T15:25:00.000-05:00

It's 104 F outside. Maya found herself the cool spot in sacrifice of my salad garden. She dug two big holes and lay herself in the holes, quite smart. But, she has destroyed my precious horseradish plants... what can I say?

Be awared of the media bias

2006-07-21T08:59:00.000-05:00

I never understand why the Arabs hate the Jewish people so much? We have been involved with Judaism for four years. I love Jewish culture and the Hebrew langauge. Jewish culture is very multi-cultured with influences from Europe, Africa, Russia and many others. There are even Indian Jews and Chinese Jews.
Jewish people are not provocative like the Arabs. In fact, I want to say that when you are watching the news about Israeli-Lebannon conflicts, be awared of the media bias against Isreal. Why does Isreal strike? In fact, we shoud ask "Why does Isreal strick BACK?"

Nanocrystal

2006-07-20T15:43:00.000-05:00

Dersu helped Papa to replace the light switch cover. He believes there is nanocrystal inside the cover.

A chess quilt

2006-07-20T14:08:00.000-05:00

I finally finished this quilt. It's peiced, embroideried and quilted by hand. This is the last quilt made by hand because I GOT A SEWING MACHINE...

Don't cry, baby.

2006-07-18T17:34:00.000-05:00

Don't cry Eva. Baba is here.

Trekking Devil's Den

2006-07-18T17:19:00.000-05:00

A week or so ago, my friend Naryan, his wife Jyoti, Dersu, Eva, and I went out for a nice trek at Devil's Den State Park. The day was hot, but enjoyable. We had a lot of fun. Here are some pictures to prove it.

Visit to Virginia

2006-07-11T15:51:00.000-05:00

Some pictures of our visit to Virgnia last week. My brother got married on 1 July. The first picture is my mother with our daughter Eva. The second picture is my mother and I. The third picture is Chao holding Eva and my 1st sister (Jessica) holding her daughter (Chloe). These pictures are from my growing-up home in Check, Virginia. We will post more pictures soon.

Parachute drop over Munsan, Korea, 1951

2006-06-26T23:05:00.000-05:00

This picture showes US Paratroopers over Korean contryside near Munsan, Korea in 1951. Picture given by Grandpa Dan.

Formosa again

2006-06-26T21:48:00.000-05:00

This is another pictures taken in Taiwan. I don't know when it was taken but sure Taiwan does not look like that at all now.

a rose with thorns

2006-06-26T20:40:00.000-05:00

NO KIDDING !

2006-06-23T20:49:00.000-05:00

Lots of eggplants and tomatoes ! We thought Maya would be the ememy for the veggie garden but it turned out that Eva is the one trying to pick the tomatoes.

Formosa ca. 1951

2006-06-22T23:46:00.000-05:00

Formosa, 1951. Picture from Grandpa Dan.

Who is this?

2006-06-22T13:05:00.000-05:00