Quest for Immortality

Hey guys,

Haven't seen you for a while, how are you? Sorry I can't make it to our meetings because of a course on Sats.

Today I went to this exhibition"Quest for Immortality" which I think most of you already knew about or even have visited. But I still recommand those who hasn't been there to go, cause it'll be worthwhile!

I have to say first that I know nothing about ancient Egypt except for a mural that I thought was from that time, so that means I knew very little about it. In the past I wasn't particularly crazy about going to exhibitions like this and being in crowds, but over these years, I changed my attitude because it feels like someone famous is visiting Taiwan! Like, "Oh! Picasso is coming to us!" or " Mucha is visiting TW!" And this time, yap, mummies have come to see us!

It was crowded and sometimes hard to see objects, but if you wait for 2 mins, the crowds went somewhere else so you could see the display. Some of the big objects, like ruins of pillars of murals, aren't protected by acrylic boxes, so you can take a very close look at them.

Probably the last visit to Great British Museum didn't leave a big impression on me, I felt like looking at the ruins the very first time. I didn't realize how beautiful and elegant the stone reliefs were. Seeing all the familiar patterns/words or shapes of gods/godesses made me feel like history was coming to life, and the distance between 4000 years ago and now is only a layer of acrylics apart.

I was in awe almost all the time, and saying "Fascinating!" quietly. The still vivid color of coffins, golden reliefs decorating the lid of a coffin, a painting of a goddess symbolizing rebirth on the bottom of a coffin, mummies of animals, the jars that contain organs, jewelry, 3 well-preserved mummies, and a rebuild of a Faroh’s tomb.

To me, the tomb was very special. It’s built exactly the same as it was in Egypt. I didn’t ask if it’s real, but from looking at the cracks of the wall, I think it is. The tomb was in a round shape, and there was some quiet background music that can get you in mood. The most important part is that the walls are covered with Amduat (literally "That Which Is In the Afterworld", also translated as "Text of the Hidden Chamber Which is in the Underworld" and "Book of What is in the Underworld") telling us all about what happens everyday in the dark 12 hours.
The ancient Egyptians separated night and day each into 12 hours, and that in the night belongs to the Afterworld. The God of Sun takes a boat into the Afterworld everyday when the sun goes down and goes through trials and dangers that might prevent him from going back to the mundane world. But under the protection of all the other gods and goddesses, he returns safely, welcomed by scarabs, a symbol of rebirth. It was some kind of experience standing in the round-shape tomb, looking at Amduat, and thinking about what happens there in the Afterworld to the ancient Egyptians. It reminds me of a boat in the movie” What dreams may come” starred by Robin Williams. The boat also carried people from this world to another.

Just go if you have time! And here are some tips: try the group orientation. But there’re only two times Mon to Fri, and three times on weekends and it’s limited to, I guess 20 people. There are much less people before closing (6pm) and don’t go on weekends.


Julie

[Very Important Notice] Email address of "tiia.info" is now changed as "tiiatw.info"!!

Dear All,

As title, please update your contact of "tiiatw.info@gmail.com" with the new one "tiiatw.info@gmail.com" immediately.

Also note that the previous shorter one is no longer available due to an unexpected setting mistake made just now!

Sorry for any inconvenience caused!

--TIiA

Sat 23 July 2011 Session Details

2011.08.15 UPDATES with session minutes by Betty
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ScU5GAL889HCKPWVK94EiZpabPZRZw4eZqjY1iVN2uk/edit?hl=en_GB

Date/Time: Sat 23 July 2011, 13:30-15:30
Place: Hess (何嘉仁) Main Office, 5th floor (very near the corner of Minquan E Rd and Songjiang Rd intersection, opposite Xing Tian Gong 行天宮); a 4-min walk from Xing Tian Gong MRT station, Exit 4
台北市中山區民權東路二段107號 5F, No.107, Sec.2, Minquan E. Rd., Zhongshan District, Taipei City


Topic: NGO Donations
We have hit the 10,000 NT amount, so it's time to decide where to donate it! Come and have your say about which NGO(s) we will support to help make Taiwan an even better place for all.

Optional preparation:
Choose/Find an NGO you like, and prepare a short presentation about it. Please answer these Qs in your presentation:
-What's the NGO's name?

-What's its main purpose?

-How long has it been going, and how was it started?

-What's your connection to it? Why do you like it?

-How might it spend any money we donate?

Please register by Fri 22 July, 12 noon For planning purposes, could you please indicate on the online registration sheet here or below if you're going to do an NGO presentation? Thanks.

Would love to see you and any friends there!

Lynn

Sat 09 July 2011 Session Details

2011.07.25 UPDATES with ACTION taken: Letter to Taiwan Tourism Bureau by Lynn
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XSk_r0vX2dqddt79qbg4JK8ZNUkQCnoSSNjSTtJK3hM/edit?hl=en_GB

2011.07.18 UPDATES with session minutes by Susan

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b3MzCi3iil4mB7i4IqDgoM2Es20d05kO5z4r_B6XJlA/edit?hl=en_GB

Date/Time: Sat 9 July 2011, 13:30-15:30
Place: Hess (何嘉仁) Main Office, 5th floor (very near the corner of Minquan E Rd and Songjiang Rd intersection, opposite Xing Tian Gong 行天宮); a 4-min walk from Xing Tian Gong MRT station, Exit 4
台北市中山區民權東路二段107號 5F, No.107, Sec.2, Minquan E. Rd., Zhongshan District, Taipei City


Topic: Taiwan Tourism Bureau Website:
The news is full of Chinese tourists in Taiwan, but the govt is also keen to encourage other international visitors to come and travel around. Of course one main way to do that is through the official Taiwan Tourism Bureau website. There are lots of good things about it, BUT in some places, the English is a bit strange...and may not help Taiwan's image. At this session, we'll have a look at the website and Lynn will point us to pages that could use some "naturalising" up. We'll try editing some English, and then write a polite email to the Tourism Bureau with our suggestions. (Lynn's been told by civil servant friends that this is what we should do!)

Optional preparation:
Have a look through the website: eng.taiwan.net; Look at the Climate section and the Travel Suggestions section, Popular Tours introduction

Please register by Fri 8 July, 12 noon

Would love to see you and any friends there!