來美國玩一定要保險 The Importance of Travel/Medical Insurance

July is typically the month when many of our Taiwanese friends and families come to the United States for their summer vacation. Inevitably, they will drop by Los Angeles and visit us. I am sure most of us who live in the United States have similar experience when it comes to visitors from Taiwan.

I learned something important this year. Two unfortunate events happened to my family and another friend's family within a day of each other. On July 5 (a long weekend Monday), I found out that the friend's father-in-law passed away from a heart attack while visiting a city about an hour away from home. Her father-in-law came to the U. S. often, so they were on one of their family outings. I didn't ask her what happened afterward, but it's safe to say that many things financial and emotional would need to be addressed after the passing of her father-in-law.

On July 6, a family friend visiting us had a stroke. He survived, but he was burdened with an astronomical medical bill. The ambulance trip between his son's house and the hospital (a total distance of 3 miles) cost more than US$1,600. The first day of emergency and ICU care cost more than US$65,000. Any doctor who visited the patient while he stayed at the U. S. hospital would be charged the doctor's regular hourly rate (at least US$350 per hour). Without medical insurance, the medical bill will continue to increase until this patient is stable enough to be air-lifted back to Taiwan for further medical treatment. This Taiwanese friend did buy travel insurance before he left for Taiwan, but most are accidental coverage for death and dismemberment, and not for catastrophic nor emergency illnesses. He had a NT$50,000 coverage for catastrophic illness. That's not nearly enough to even cover 1 day's worth of doctor's fees.

So a word of advice. If you or your family wants to travel to the United States from Taiwan, please make sure that enough medical insurance is purchased to cover serious illness such as heart attack and stroke for your friend or family. I would recommend travel insurance that include medical care for serious illnesses for people 50 and over. The medical coverage should be around US$300,000 or more. The medical insurance should also include the expenses of air-lifting the patient back to Taiwan for further care.

暑假是台灣親朋好友來美國旅遊的季節。今年也不例外。 可是今年七月卻讓我體會到旅遊醫療保險(重大疾病)的重要。 好朋友的公公來美國住不到幾天就因心臟病發作而過世。 我是沒有問好朋友如何辦妥她公公的後事,可是如果她公公有在臺灣買好旅遊保險,那肯定保險公司將會協助我朋友處理一些相關事物。

在我朋友公公出事的第二天,我的一位親戚也在來美的三天後中風。 因為沒有醫療保險, 第一天的住院費用就高達六萬美金!!! 就連救護車的帳單也要美金一千六(醫院和他兒子家的距離只有三英哩)。 所以奉勸大家--如果你將有親朋好友到美國來探親或觀光,一定要叮嚀親朋好友(尤其是年紀較大的人)來美國之前在臺灣買好至少有三十萬美金的重大疾病旅遊醫療保險。 這旅遊醫療保險最好是也有包括把病人從美國運輸回台灣的費用。 當初林志玲在中國受傷時也是用專機運輸回台灣的,她或她的經紀公司肯定有買這一方面的保險。

2010 U. S.Census 美國人口普查

If you are of Taiwanese origin, when you fill out the 2010 U. S. Census, please don't forget to check off "Other Asians" and WRITE IN "Taiwanese" on Question 9. Please forward this information to all your Taiwanese friends and family living in the U. S. The deadline for mailing in the 2010 U. S. Census is April 1, 2010.

美國的居民應該在這兩、三個星期內會收到2010年美國人口普查的問卷。 請大家不要忘記在第九題勾起“Other Asians", 並填寫 “TAIWANESE”。您這動作應該會讓美國政府瞭解台灣人在美國也佔一席之地!

珍奧斯汀的男人Jane Austen's men

Jane Austen is my favorite author. When I read her as a teenager, many of the nuances of adult relationships kind of went through me without registering much empathy. The focus was always the romance part of her stories. But now that I am in my 40s, Jane Austen's brilliance--in her ability to observe human relationships (not just the male-female ones) and to write them down with such an insight never cease to amaze me.

So I was delighted to see PBS' Masterpiece Theater broadcasting TV adaptation of Jane Austen's novels--Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion for the last 4 weeks. It was a nice diversion from the hustle and bustle of watching the Winter Olympic games.
I actually found the TV adaptation of Emma slightly off. The book was better than the TV production, mostly because they focused too much TV time on the first half of the book and not enough with the second half.

The major theme in any of Jane Austen's novel is for her heroines to marry well. Back in those days, women had no means of supporting themselves. Their financial well-being relied much on the inheritance that they will receive and who they marry. Life for women today is not so different from their counterparts 300 years ago. For a woman to have a successful work/career life, if she chooses to have children and family life, she cannot do it alone. The choice of a husband can make or break a woman's life--who needs to go through divorces?!

The photo above is the famous Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice), portrayed by Colin Firth.
For years, Mr. Darcy was by far my favorite male character in Jane Austen's novels, but after watching the portrayal of Captain Wentworth by Rupert Penry-Jones in Persuasion, Captain Wentworth (photo below) is now my new favorite Jane Austen man. Men who inherit wealth and men who made their own wealth are different breeds of men. I prefer the latter. Also the fact that Captain Wentworth kept his feeling for Anne Elliot for 7 years even after she rejected him is worth the price of admission. I love a man who is reserved, disciplined, and controlled, but underneath it all, he is as passionate as they come. What woman wouldn't want that in a romantic fiction?!

If you are a Jane Austen fan, go to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/austen/menofausten.html, you can vote for your favorite Jane Austen men. There is a little write up on each man. It's a lot of fun!

最近這四個星期天的晚上, 美國的公共電視台 (PBS) 連接著播出了由珍奧斯汀的小說所改編的電視劇--Emma, Northanger Abbey 及 Persuasion。 這三部小說雖然沒有比傲慢與偏見 有名, 可是劇情提材出自於珍奧斯汀, 因此可看度很高。 尤其是對從小就很崇拜珍奧斯汀的我來講, 能看到珍奧斯汀的人物顯現在電視的螢光幕上,這真是一件很開心的事。 當然每個珍奧斯汀的男主人翁都酷和帥到不行! 大家有機會可以上網去投票給妳最心儀的珍奧斯汀男主角! http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/austen/menofausten.html 。

KOST 103.5

I have been a faithful listener to KOST 103.5 for a long time. Now, when I drive my kids to school, they also enjoy listening to Mark & Kristin's Morning Show. One drawback about listening to these radio shows is that my kids would constantly try to tell me to call-in to win whatever prizes are offered. It's hard to drive and call a radio station these days, especially in areas where radio reception is extremely bad. Over the last 10 years, it's not from my lack of trying, but I've never succeeded in winning anything from calling in. I was never at the right place at the right time.

Well, I was driving to work today and I heard someone on the radio announcing a 4-pack tickets to Disneyland offered to the 20th caller. What the heck, I will give it a try. I called KOST 3 times and I either got a busy signal or a not-in-service signal. The 4th time, the phone got connected and when someone pick up on the other end, I had to say hello several times, but no one said anything on the other end. I finally said, "am I the 20th caller?" The person on the other end said, "have you won anything from us in the last 60 days?" I said, "NO!" The person then said, "you are the 20th caller! Congratulations, you won the Disney 2for tickets!" I said, "I DID?" The person said, "YES, can I have your telephone number?" I gave him my number and he said, "can you stay on the line?" I stayed on the line and heard Kristin talk a bit and she even mentioned my name, but before I know it music was playing on the station again and the person got back on the phone and took down my address and telephone number. He said their promotional department will be in touch with me shortly about the tickets. I mentioned something about how excited my kids will be when they find out about the Disneyland tickets. Although I didn't get interviewed by Kristin, I was still very happy that I won these tickets.

On a side note, someone from the radio station called me in the afternoon and said that they don't have the tickets yet, but when they have the tickets, they will contact me again. I put this person's name and telephone number on my Outlook Agenda for the next 30 days. I will call her in 30 days if KOST doesn't contact me by then.

I told the kids at dinner that I have something great to tell them. They eagerly waited for me to sit down. But my husband spoiled the fun and said it's about the radio station. My daughter immediately guessed that I must have won something from the radio station. The kids continued to guess what I might have won. They were really excited when they found out we got Disneyland tickets.

My son wants to go to Disneyland next weekend. I had to tell him that I don't have the tickets yet and if we go, it would probably be closer to the Spring Break. At least now we will have some place fun to go to for Spring Break.

我最常聽的廣播電台是 KOST 103.5 (FM)。 我只要開車就一定會聽這電台。 現在連我的小孩也跟我一起聽。 雖然他們還是比較喜歡聽 Radio Disney, 可是 AM 的收訊不如 FM, 所以我們常聽 KOST。 小孩子大了, 當然也聽得懂廣播內客,尤其是可以得獎的活動。 例如,只要是第二十個打電話進去的聽眾就可以贏某種獎品。 今天一早開車上班,因為有點感冒,所以上班的意願不高, 可是還是得去。 在途中, 聽到 KOST 早晨節目的主持人宣佈第二十個打電話進去給她們的聽眾就可以贏四張迪士尼樂園的門票。 心血來潮就開始撥電話。 KOST 的電話號碼早就已經儲存在我的電話裏了。撥了三次電話都沒接通,本來想放棄, 可是又撥了一次。 這次電話通了....

我 "Hello"
KOST (電話是通了,可是沒人在線上。) "....."
我 "Hello"
KOST "......Hello..."
我 "我是第二十位打通電話的人嗎?"
KOST "妳在這六十天之前有在我們這電台贏過任何獎品嗎?"
我 "沒有!"
KOST "那妳就是第二十位打通電話的人!恭喜妳,妳贏了四張迪士尼樂園的門票!"
我 "真的?!?!"
KOST "是的。 請妳給我妳的連絡電話。 麻煩妳繼續留在線上。"

這是我生平第一次贏到這麼好的獎品。 回家後告訴小孩, 他們也興奮不已! 只是現在還無法敲定什麼時候去迪士尼樂園, 因為 KOST 也還沒有拿到迪士尼樂園的門票。 他們說票收到後會再通知我! 反正今年迪士尼樂園是去定了!

我認為沒有偏財運的我,在自己開工的第一天贏了這些票, 是個新年好兆頭!

Target Christmas 90% Off Clearance 聖誕節後大減價!

If you can't be at Target when it opens at 8AM the day when they markdown seasonal items to 90% off, basically, you will miss out on all the good deals. I had a feeling the 90% off markdown happened yesterday and because of my car trouble, I had blocked Target out of my mind. Since I don't have to work today, I did 3 loads of laundry, got gas, returned some stuff at Sam's Club, and then I decided to go to Target anyway knowing full well that there may not be any Christmas clearance stuff left, at 90% off.

Indeed, the 90% markdown of the Christmas items happened yesterday because by the time I got to Target at 1PM, only 1 endcap worth of Christmas items were left. Things go fast when it's only 10% of the original price. I had wanted to buy some Christmas t-shirts for my son, Christmas cards, and ribbons, but they were all gone. Here are what I ended up buying:

1. A clear plastic oval serving plate ($0.39)
2. 2 infant boys (sizes 12M & 18M) short-sleeved PJ set ($0.89). I would prefer it to be 100% cotton, but it's 100% polyester. Apparently, it's law that children's PJ cannot be 100% cotton anymore because it's a fire-hazard.
3. 1 roll of green ribbon ($0.19)
4. 1 adult-size (size XS) Christmas t-shirt ($0.99) Perfect for my daughter to wear next year.
5. $5 black legging. It's on sale (reg. $6.99), but not on clearance. It flares out at the end so it's perfect as my daughter's jazz pants. Most jazz pants in dance store would cost $20+.

Although my total Christmas clearance purchase was insignificant this year, I still managed to get $3.35 worth of Christmas clearance items. I just had to get that clearance bug out of me.

每年一月初(通常是一月三、四或五日), Target 會把聖誕節的產品減到一折。 其實聖誕節一過, Target 就會從減半價開始, 慢慢的減到一折(五折、二五折、然後一折)。 重點是我們一定要在八點開門之前趕到搶“頭香”, 要不然可能八點半以後,一折的東西就被搶購得差不多, 東西也所無己了! 昨天因為車子出點問題,而且還要送爸媽去機場, 我沒有心情去 Target 搶買聖誕節的產品。 今天剛好不用上班, 就忍不住得跑去 Target 看了一下。 一折的聖誕節產品只剩下三個小架子那麼多。 我還是找到東西可以買。 一折後的清單如下:

1. 一卷包裝用的綠色緞帶 ($0.19)
2. 二套小男孩(12M & 18M)的睡衣 ($0.89)
3. 大人(小號)聖誕圖型的T卹 ($0.99)
4. 橢圓形的透明塑膠盤 ($0.39)

我又順便買了一條黑色的 legging 褲子給女兒,做她跳爵士舞時穿的褲子(100% 綿褲)。 因為這星期特價才賣五塊錢 (平常價格是 $6.99)。 如果是到舞蹈專賣店去買爵士舞褲子, 那一條褲子最少也要賣美金二十元以上。

我對我今年 Target 聖誕節後大減價的收穫還算滿意!

新年快樂!!! Happy New Year!!!

I haven't blogged much lately. My new year's resolution is to blog more. But my real wish is to de-clutter my house and really make it nice.

I thought the stores are not open today, so I stayed home. Well, Target is open, but I can't go there everyday. I am waiting for it to markdown its Christmas merchandise to 90% off. I have a feeling the markdown will happen tomorrow morning. Hopefully, someone on the Mycoupons forum will post something about it.

January 1 has been a quiet day for me. The winter holiday is winding down to this weekend. All the visiting relatives will be gone and the kids will be back to school. Everything will be back to normal until the next holiday.

Happy New Year everyone!

今年的新年新希望是....把自己的房子整理好。 我想把囤積在家裏的東西都處理掉! 可是真的是很難割捨自己買的東西。 我曾經看過一篇教導主婦如何整理房子的指南。 基本上,任何東面只要在妳購買後兩年之內都沒有被用過,妳就應該把那東西扔了。 要我把好好的東西丟掉真的是好難喔! 以前的新年新希望都是圍繞著減肥計劃。 我也不知道什麼時候變得比較實際。 不管是減肥計劃還是整頓房子,對我來講,一樣都是高難度的願望。

今天是一月一日, 我本來以為商店都沒開, 結果發現只有我常光顧的 Trader Joe's, Costco, 及 Sam's Club 沒有開。 我本來想去 Target 逛逛, 可是想想再過一、兩天 Target 的聖誕節產品就要被減價到一折了, 到那時候再去逛 Target。

我會再向大家報告到 Target 血拼的結果。

祝福大家新年快樂!

如何取個好的英文名字 The Naming Game

Over the years, I have noticed some strange naming of English names by parents in Taiwan. It wouldn't be so bad if they translated their children's Chinese names phonetically into English. But a lot of parents, in their eagerness to give their children English names, came up with strange names, thinking that those "names" are legitimate English names. A lot of those names looked like mis-spelt names or impossible to pronounce "English" names. Worst names are those of cartoon characters. Just because a parent likes a certain cartoon character doesn't give them the right to name their children after cartoon characters. Well, it's their right to name their children however they want, but think of your children 30 years down the road. How would they feel when foreigners look at them funny at business meetings when they introduce themselves as Snoopy Tsai?!

So I have come up with a few rules if you are Chinese and want to give your child an English name.

1. Use the phonetic translation of your child's Chinese name. For example, 蔡傑熙 can be translated into Jai-Xi Tsai.
2. Use an English name (those on the top 500 of U. S. census names) that sounds similar to your child's Chinese name. For example, 蔡傑熙 can be translated into Jessie Tsai.
3. Use an English name that you like. It doesn't have to sound like your child's Chinese name at all.
4. Use an English name that has the same meaning as your Chinese name. For example, if your daughter's Chinese name has the following character: 愉、悅、樂, you can use the name Joy which is what those Chinese characters mean.

If you still have trouble coming up with an English name for your child, you can leave me a message and I will see what I can do for you.

這幾年,我看到很多台灣的父母親幫自己的小朋友取英文名字,可是取的英文名字都很奇怪。很多名字看起來像是拼錯的英文名字。所以各位爸爸媽媽如果想要幫寶貝取個好的英文名字,你們必需要注意幾個取英文名字的原則:

1. 用中文名字直接音譯成英文。請用護照上的正式拼音。有漢語拼音法(中國大陸) 或 羅馬拼音(台灣以前的拼法)。

因為大陸人口的優勢,全世界的趨勢是用漢語拼音法。 例如 “張”是拼 Zhang。在臺灣以前是拼 Chang。 漢語拼音是有一定的拼法。每個字有個統一的拚法及念法。學過中文的老外看了這種拼法也一定念得出來。

利: 本來就是自己中文名字的音譯。

弊: 怕拼出來,沒學過中文的老外根本念不出來 (尤其是 ㄓ、ㄔ 、 ㄕ、ㄩ 的音)。而且報上名字時, 還要順便報上怎麼拼。會很煩喔!

2. 用中文名字直接音譯成英文,可是採用了類似中文名字的正統英文名字來做為翻譯的基礎。所以是中文名字英文化 (anglicize)。

利: 外國人看了都會念,也比較會拼得出來,然後又跟自己中文名字的音很像。

弊: 會被人批評說不需要取英美式的名字,用自己中文名字的音譯就可以了。太矯情了!

3. 取個跟自己中文名字完全不一樣的英文正統名字。

利: 外國人看了都會念,也比較會拼得出來。自己喜歡啊!

弊: 會被人批評說不需要取英美式的名字,用自己中文名字的音譯就可以了。太崇洋了!

4. 取跟自己中文名字同意思的英文正統名字。 例如: 中文名字裏有愉、悅、樂 的女孩都可以用 Joy 做為她的英文名字。

利: 外國人看了都會念,也比較會拼得出來。有意義!

弊: 大概沒有吧!

如果要音譯, 千萬不要自己亂拼,寫出來的英文字母可能念出來的跟當初想的不太一樣。 有時候還會因為文化不一樣而鬧出笑話。

在英美國家, 家長幫小孩取名字都不會無原無故的取名。基本上, 英美國家的父母親會採用下列幾個命名原則:

1. 先人的名字。有紀念性。 家族要求。(跟父母、祖父母、親朋好友同名)
2. 地源、時事關係 ( Paris 、April 、June 、 Dawn、Hamilton、Diego)
3. 父母喜歡什麼名字就取什麼名字 (畢竟小孩子長大後,家長說得出來小孩為什麼會叫這個名字。)

取英文名字沒有對錯。只要不要鬧出笑話 或 在二十年後造成兒女的困擾就好。 大家做個參考吧!

這就是美國人! Happy Birthday, America!

July 4th is a big day for my family. It's my father's birthday. Currently, he is somewhere in Europe on a cruise, so I can't wish him a Happy Birthday even if I want to. I am glad that he is enjoying life and doing what he loves the most--traveling. Happy Birthday, Grandpa, from your family in Los Angeles!

July 4th is also America's birthday. My family celebrates it every year by going to the beach to see the fireworks. It's a tradition that I started when I was a graduate student in Philadelphia. In 1988, I went down to Washington, D. C. with my friends to see the fireworks in front of the Washington Monument. I parked myself on a hill at the National Mall and waited until the darkness came. It was spectacular seeing the marvelous display of fireworks at our nation's capital. Then it just so happened that my first trip with my husband was to New York City on July 4, 1997 and we were able to see the Macy's fireworks over the Hudson River. Over the years, we would make an effort to see fireworks every July 4th, no matter where we are. Even when my kids were babies, we would bundle them up (yes, it would still be cold and windy on July 4 in Los Angeles), put them in strollers and took them to the beach to see July 4th fireworks. Most of the time, my kids would have fallen asleep in the strollers before the fireworks began. This year, we had another family joining us at the beach. The kids sat together and waited patiently for the fireworks to start. The grownups sat in folding chairs and chatted.

My kids were really excited about July 4th. After all, today is their country's birthday. They are proud to be Americans. They say the Pledge of Allegiance at school every morning, and they mean it. It makes people like me, who pledge allegiance to a country that doesn't exist, think about what it means to have a country that they can be proud of. When they woke up this morning, they put on outfits that they had already picked out yesterday. They wore red, white, and blue!

美國國慶日是我父親的生日。我們通常會用這做籍口,全家會聚在一塊兒一起去玩。 可是今年不一樣,在六月中旬,我爸媽就已經從台灣飛到歐州去坐遊輪了。 所以今年我們全家無法一起慶祝阿公的生日。 到目前為止,阿公阿嫲還在船上。雖然無法親口祝福我父親生日快樂,不過我知道他現在過得很愉快,正在做他最愛的事....那就是坐船環遊四海。快樂也不過是如此--做自己愛做的事!

我家有二個土生土長的美國人。今天對他們來講是個重要的日子, 是美國獨立的日子。他們在學校的每一天早上都要朗誦對美國的效忠誓約 (Pledge of Allegiance)。了不起的是, 美國小孩對於自己國家的效忠熱情不會因為總統是誰而改變或減少。愛國就是愛自己的國家。 我的小孩生長在美國,他們愛美國也是無法改變的事實。真是讓做為臺灣人的我有所省思。

在美國國慶日看煙火是我家的傳統。1988年的美國國慶日,我正在東岸讀研究所,那天我與同學做火車到華盛頓,去到 National Mall 前,坐在山坡上等看煙火。白天野餐、下午聽 PBS (美國公共電視台) 的露天演奏會、晚上看煙火--真是終身難忘。 畢業後, 我也曾經到費城碼頭邊看煙火。 結婚前跟老公去了一趟紐約。剛好是美國國慶日,兩個人就順著38街,往河邊方向走。在 Hudson River 旁,我們看到 Macy's 的煙火秀。那時真的是非常開心。 那種場面也是前所未有的。

現在做媽媽了,我和老公在每年的美國國慶日都帶著小孩到 Redondo Beach 的海邊看煙火秀。那裏的煙火秀都晚上九點半才開始。 年年都要早點到海邊 “站/佔” 位子。 洛杉磯沿海一帶的城巿都有放煙火的習慣。所以站在 Redondo Beach 的海邊,往左望,可以看到 Palos Verdes 市所舉辦的煙火會。往右望,可以看到 Manhattan Beach 市一直到 Santa Monica 巿 (甚至於 Malibu 巿) 所舉辦的煙火會。真的會讓人嘆為觀止!

我的兩個小孩其實已經是蠻大了,他們有他們自己慶祝美國國慶日的方法。姊弟倆在昨天就選好今天要穿的衣服。一早起床就穿上一身的紅、藍、白! 笑死我這個做媽的!

洛杉磯又地震了!!! Earthquake!!!

My husband and the kids had just finished working on the science project involving boiling some soda cans and were moving on to the next science project when we heard a huge rumble. I was sitting on the sofa getting ready to talk to my dad on Skype. Once I ascertained that it was earthquake, I screamed to the kids to go outside. But my son was so fast, he ran past me and hid under our kitchen table! My daughter had her shoes on, so she managed to get out the door. We heard a loud thump, like something fell. Then all of a sudden, it was quiet. Earthquake no more.

In hindsight, my son did the right thing going under the table. He is only in Grade 1 and he must had only 2 earthquake drills since he started elementary school. But I must say, all the training exercises helped. He knew exactly what to do. In a split second, disaster can strike and often times, there just wasn't enough time to react. Trying to get outside might be the thing to do, but often times, it's not possible to do, especially if you are in bed, on the second floor of a house. I have to work out a disaster plan with my husband so we all know where to go (i.e. the escape routes) if we are in different parts of the house.

Tonight's earthquake lasted maybe 10 seconds. According to U. S. Geological Survey (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/), it was a magnitude 4.7 earthquake, centered around Lennox, CA, which is less than 4 miles east of the LAX (Los Angeles International Airport). We are about 12 miles south of Lennox. We saw the local news and many people had china and glassware broken. We later found out that the loud thump in our house was the ladder falling down. Nothing got broken, thank goodness. Even though it wasn't a big earthquake, it still shook us up!

剛剛洛杉磯又地震了!!! 這一回的震央是在 Lennox市, 大概在洛杉磯國際機場往東走五公里的地區。我老公正在跟小孩做項科學實驗。他們才剛完成第一個實驗, 正在準備下一個實驗時, 聽到一陣陣的隆隆聲,好像大卡車要衝進來似的。我正坐在沙發上要跟我爸通 Skype。 我話都還沒開始講就大聲叫“地震了,趕快出去!〞兒子馬上跑到餐桌下面躲。女兒則跟我要開後門出去。就在這時候,地震就停了。根本就來不及反應! 還是兒子做得對, 只有他跑對地方, 躲到桌子底下去。平常學校就有辦災難演習, 這一回真的有用到, 派上用場了! 兒子才一年級就知道該怎麼做, 讓我們大人覺得很慚愧。我得和老公好好的想想我們自家的災難計劃。我們應該事就先想好逃生路線--人在一樓時要往哪走, 人在二樓時要往哪逃。這些都應該事先要跟小孩子講好, 出事時, 大家就會知道該怎麼做了。

這次地震的威力只有4.7, 不至於造成任何嚴重的傷害。但是小孩、大人都嚇了一跳。小孩子還真的是上了一堂重要的人生課程--如何逃難!