This Saturday was truly an unforgettable experience – I felt like the past few times that I've gone to the tribe were on a more superficial level since we only got to chat with the Ahmas for very short periods of time. But when we got to interact with their family members and the children in the tribe, it made me realise why these people are so proud to call themselves the "Amis".
For this visit, Juanjuan and I were grouped with five grandmothers, three from the previous visit and two new grandmothers due to the absence of our classmates. My inability to communicate well in Chinese has cost me the opportunity to learn more about the new grandmothers. I had to rely on Juanjuan to converse with them.
At the tribe, I talked to the same Ahmas (grandmas) again. This time, we got to see some photographs from the past. Two of the elderly did not manage to save their past in the form of photographs, as cameras were expensive, but they saved it in their memory. I could sense the nostalgia and fond memories through the way they spoke about their past, they had a smile on their face and spoke fondly about their old hometown in Taidong.
We started our time at Naluwan with some morning dance moves to warm up our bodies. It was pleasant to see the elders actively participating in the exercise. As a pair, Juanjuan and I had the opportunity to interview three grandmothers of the Amis tribe. I felt apprehensive about the language barrier as I was not fluent in Chinese and I harboured the preconception that the elderly would most likely speak in their own language. For these reasons, I knew that I would be relying alot on my partner to aid me in the translation process.
Also this week we spent time with the elderly in the community. Me and Charles had a conversation with a man in a wheelchair that Charles also talked to last time.
This was our first time interviewing members of our tribal family, and we had the pleasure of interviewing three grandmothers. Initially, I was worried about the language barrier since the elderly generally speak their own language. However, it turned out to be not much of a problem, and they spoke Mandarin with a special accent, that’s quite cool.
這週的課，我們是和老一輩文化衛生站一起度過的。一進教室，我們就和老人一起跳舞、鍛煉身體。之後，我們按照小組名單與我們的部落家庭會面。今天，我們主要會見了家裡開雜貨店的溫奶奶。在開始與部落居民互動之前，Scott 分享了他之前與土著朋友錄製的幾段傳統音樂錄音，並提醒我們與部落成員聊聊音樂相關的內容。
和溫奶奶互動時，助教因為害羞，幫他們開了很多話題。非常感謝！奶奶和我們分享了她在部落的生活。她還在台東的時候，家裡主要以務農為主。起初，因漁業資源豐富，她從台東搬到像山打工。她的主要謀生方式是捕魚，以竹筏為主要工具。按照文奶奶的解釋，她好像是用拖網打魚，多半是夫妻倆。不過，她也因為新竹的大風，經歷了一些驚心動魄的時刻。此外，由於無法拋錨固定關係，曾在打撈過程中被風捲走，最終被另一艘船救起上岸。
When we first arrived at the Naluwan tribe in Hsinchu, we were just in time to join in with the elderly of the tribe, at what seemed their morning exercise. They played various stretches on the big screen and all the elderly participated actively in it. Standing at the back of the room and moving along with them, while watching them doing the moves together was a beautiful scene to witness.
We sat in groups with some elderly from the Amis tribe in the activity center, and I had the opportunity to sit with a pair of sisters and their close friend. The three of them were very tight and comfortable with each other, bickering and laughing. When we first started talking to each other, the elderly women were not hesitant to start sharing their personal stories.
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