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School Improvement Programme

William Wong (K63), Vice-Principal of SFXC, Kowloon.

Some old boys who happened to drop by their alma mater were surprised to see a new structure rising up from where the pink, red and white azalea, the fir tree and the bamboo trees etc. used to be. This project is known as the “School Improvement Programme”. Construction of the new building commenced in September 2002 and hopefully it will be ready for occupation in September 2004.

The six-storey annex includes additional classrooms, a computer-assisted learning room, a language room, two interview rooms, a student activity centre, a conference room and a few offices. The opening of the new annex will help support our school's ambitious plans for further advances in academic excellence and the education of students for lives of accomplishment and service.

From these pictures, you can get a glimpse about the outlook of the new building and the progress of the construction work.

For more news about the school, please visit http://www.sfxc.edu.hk/

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Hallathon

Sunshine, breeze, green leaves and glitters from the lake were with every participant of Hallathon on 22 February 2004, when thousands of friends of SFX joined in the fund-raising walkathon at Shing Mun Reservoir and helped to build the facilities in the future hall at SFXS, Tsuen Wan. Over $300,000 was raised. The hall building is being finalized and will be ready for occupation soon. For more photos on the event, please go to the following web pages.

http://www.sfxs.edu.hk/~sfxsaa/Hallathon/hallathon.html

http://www.sfxs.edu.hk/album/album03/browser01.htm

http://www.sfxc.edu.hk/news/20040222/

For more news of SFXS, Tsuen Wan, especially the celebrations of the 40th anniversary, please visit http://www.sfxs.edu.hk and http://www.sfxsaa.net.

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A Ride on the Dragon's Back

Spring is a good time for hiking! Alumni seems to have not organized any hiking activities before, but why not? Join us for a walk at one of the most scenic places in the Hong Kong Island, stay away from the hustle and bustle of the city life, and enjoy the sunshine, the green and the fresh air!

Date : 25 April 2004 (Sunday)

Assembly Time : 10:00 am

Assembly Location : A3 Exit of Shau Kei Wan MTR Station

(To take Bus No. 9 to To Tei Wan)

Starting Time : 11:00 am

Starting Location : To Tei Wan (土地灣)

Finishing Time : 4:00 pm (Estimated)

Finishing Location : Shek O Beach

Route : Dragon's Back (龍脊, Island Trail Section 8)

Difficulty : Moderate

Length of Route : Approximately 12km

Duration of Walk : About 5 hours (including 2 half-hour breaks)

Further Planning : We may stay at Shek O to have fun and dinner,

or take Bus No. 9 to go back to Shau Kei Wan MTR Station

Please call Samuel Ho (Mobile: 9422-0658) if you are coming!

Tips: · Bring your own cap, sunglasses, drink (minimum 2 litres suggested for each person) and food for lunch.

· A stick will certainly help.

· Bring a camera to capture the scenic view.

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Special Interest Group – Tai Chi

Our next happy hours meeting will be a special interest group meeting for those old boys who want to know something about “Tai Chi”. We simply cannot exhaust all the issues to be discussed in one night but would consider these should include, but should not be limited to, the following:

· What is “Tai Chi”?

· Is it good for health?

· Does it give you magical power?

· Should you learn it from now on?

It will not be a speaker-driven meeting but a discussion forum for everyone. Of course if you have anything to share in this subject, you are most welcome. While the scheduled finishing time is 8:30 pm, we can stay as long as we wish subject to the normal closing time of the pub. Please join us and have fun.

Date : 6 May 2004 (Thursday)

Time : 6:30pm to any time you like.

Venue : China Coast Bar, Mariners' Club, 11 Middle Road, Tsim Sha Tsui (Tel: 23688261)

Fee : Buy your own drink. About HK$20 per drink

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New Home of Bro Konrad

Old boys may be pleased to know that St Joseph's Home for the Aged, where Bro. Konrad has been staying, has moved to a new location at Sheung Shui where the air is fresher, the place more spacious and the environment quieter. His new address is:

St. Joseph's Home for the Aged, 18 Po Kin Road, Sheung Shui

聖若瑟安老院, 上水保健路18號

Bro. Konrad stays mostly at the Home except Sundays when he will go back to SFXC, Kowloon to enjoy a gathering with other Brothers. He would welcome you to drop by his Home anytime!

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Bro. Bosco's Transient Stay at Singapore

Those of us in Hong Kong who experienced the coldest Lunar New Year ever in half a century would be glad to see Bro. Bosco successfully “escape” such adverse weather and “flee” to Singapore. He has enjoyed three months of sunshine and fresh air with serenity and peace before coming back to Hong Kong in early April. It is no surprise that he has come back in much better shape and spirit!

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校友聚舊活動的迷思

趙來發 (K76)

這似乎是該上教堂辦告解的事：我不是校友聚舊活動的常客，也很不常參加同屆校友所辦活動。

這樣說來，似乎叫人奇怪，我分明是在曾就讀的大學中，負責過校友事務諸如此類的全職工作，為什麼我還會這樣說？

受薪搞校友事務工作，跟參與自己所屬的那一屆同學的聚舊活動，其實是兩碼子不同的事，前者是為他人作嫁衣裳，說得難聽一點，事情有點像搞酒席到會，自己不是主人家，只是站在一旁的傳菜員，只求食客滿意服務，埋單時多給貼士，下次再幫襯而已。感情上不要也不應過份投入，態度手腳上則必須永遠做到最好，便是專業表現。

後者不同，跟昔日與自己一起成長的同學聚舊，沒有感情投入不行。因為，當年能在一個課室中、同一個操場上一同成長，如果不是緣份，哪又是什麼？

畢業雖然已有好些年頭，我跟幾個不同圈子的中學同學都保持聯絡與常有聚會，最初是幾個人去餐廳酒啤閒聊，漸漸地聚會的人數不斷增加，變成了家庭聚會，因為大家差不多在同一時間進入了人生新的階段，組織了家庭，生了孩子。

同是舊生聚會，中學同學仍保持著小圈子式的友誼，相比之下，大學同學聚舊便形式主義得多，有時竟像公司搞春茗，或政黨工會搞蛇宴旅行，參加者常在等待某種套餐式服務，心情不同。

當然，世上沒有免貴午餐，許多校友聯誼活動都有一個共同的潛台詞：籌款。姑勿論籌來為什麼，但在今天的校友文化中，籌款已是必然部份，它也被合理化地解釋為向母校回饋，大多數人都很疏爽，也很少人會質疑。

有趣的是，對籌款一事，少人會說是向教育制度或社會回饋，然而我們或多少都受惠過九年免費教育，但也受過昨日今日的香港教育制度所折磨。「母校」這一觀念，在這些經驗中究竟又扮演了什麼角色，其實有時也是校友聚會時龍門陣式的好話題。

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東岸之旅

周卓明 (K91)

序此遊記原記於一九九三年與幾位聖芳濟留美舊生到東岸旅遊後。在今次十四天的美國東岸旅行，經過了十七個省，十多個大大小小的城市，與舊朋友相聚之餘，亦有機會穿州過省開開眼界，真是十分難得！筆者希望藉此文令大家更加深入了解美國的風土人情。另外，自此旅程以後，無論美國政治經濟（九一一事件及不同的總統上任）或數個同途的舊生都有很大的變化（有學成返港發展的，亦有繼續留美的)，藉此文能為歷史作見證及回味一下舊事。

一 整裝待發

於學期初曾想往科羅拉多州（Florida）一趟，一則為了避過我校的嚴寒冬季，二則也可休息一下。但發現聖誕節是旅遊旺季，所以打消了這個念頭。經過無數電話及電子郵件後，幸運地聯絡到其他在美讀書的舊同學，又找到朋友為我們作司機，最後就決定到美國東岸與友聚舊 (在美若無氣車代步，枉說旅遊，有時甚至連日常生活運作也成問題)。

開心之餘，亦有幾分緊張。臨起行前的兩個星期，比平時忙得多，除了準備行裝外，亦要為終期考試而忙個不停。因為沒有太多時間看旅遊指南，實在連紐約、波士頓等地在那裡亦不太清楚，傻兮兮的帶著一張單程車票離開我校，就踏上旅遊巴士。探訪些從未到過的地方，甚至要自己計劃行程，對我是個很大的挑戰。身上背著大背囊，手攜個旅行袋，就開始這十四天旅程 (十二月二十日)。心情既興奮又緊張，就如弩上待發之箭。

二 孤身上路

離校第一站是Ann Arbor, Michigan，即University of Michigan的所在地。在我校 (University of Wisconsin-Madison) 出發，要十一個小時才到達 (四小時巴士及大概六小時的火車) 。途中經過芝加哥（Chicago)，由於素聞此地治安不好，我只在火車站外繞了個圈，便匆匆走回大堂內。

芝加哥車站大堂算是美國火車（Amtrak）車站中最宏偉及最值得觀賞的。這大堂四四方方，內裡的柱、地板是由大理石建成，樓底的高度保守估計有七八層的高，在玻璃天幕下擺放著深啡色的長椅，給人一份渺小的感覺。Amtrak的速度一般比長途巴士慢，而且它的誤點機會及意外率都比較多。一般遲到一個小時已是小事，美國人常戲言Amtrak能安全到達而沒有誤點就是件怪事。幸好，我班火車只比原定時間遲了十五分鐘到達。一下車就見到我的舊同學Francis Poon，總算沒有上錯車。若去錯地方，就不知怎辦。

翌日，當然是要參觀一下University of Michigan，這校和我校同屬美國大學Big Ten，即全美中西部十間規模最大的大學，而其校園面積與我校相若。除主要校園中心外，其他的幾個學系也有其所屬校園。其中醫學院與中心校園一樣大，另外工程及商科也有其獨立校園。由於我亦不會轉校，所以也不太留心同學的介紹。只知我倆校內建築及制度相若，所以不在這裡多提。

三 三人行

因舊同學Francis及他朋友Vince和我一起，現已不再獨自上路。天氣報告預測暴風雪將在東岸發生，在美國中部有高氣壓向東移，推著雪帶向東岸，亦正是我們所去的地方；換句話說，我們將會在大雪中行車。除非我們的行車速度比雪帶移動的速度快，否則將會推遲整個行程。

十二月廿二日下午離開Michigan。但正如預測所說，出發不到三小時，便開始下雪。由於北美冬天較早天黑，黃昏由四時半就開始，五時半就全部天黑。不可不提的就是全個旅程中只有Vince一人駕車，因我們其他人全都不懂駕車。而晚上駕車比較用神，為了安全起見就在Cleveland (克里夫蘭，全美治安最惡劣的城市)停下來，待大雪過後再作打算。當晚足足下了七八吋雪，十分厲害！

第二天，一覺醒來，以為天氣仍是惡劣，不能起行。怎知開門一見，只有白茫茫一片而風雪已停。我們趁這大好時機速速趕路，希望如期到達華府，一連六七個小時不停在高速公路上飛馳。雖說三人行必有我師，但我們三人卻有時因意見不合(例如在方向，公路號碼上意見分歧) 而導致時間上的耽誤。最後我們在晚上十時才到達華府外的一個小鎮 (Arlington)，準備去華盛頓和克林頓度聖誕。

四 與克林頓度聖誕

十二月廿四日，終於依照原定計劃到達華盛頓。在此我們接了兩位朋友，一個為我舊同學Benny Wong，另一個是新朋友Alex，來自Toronto，現一行五人在華府遊覽。第一處參觀的是華府的Amtrak Station，名為Union Station，和Chicago一樣，它亦是一座方方的建築物，只是層數較多，候車大堂較大而已。由於是聖誕前夕及星期五，許多博物館及政府部門早已關門準備度聖誕，所以我們只能到很少地方參觀。

Washington Monument（圖中最左的建築）算是華府中最值得參觀的名勝。此座紀念碑為紀念美國第一任總統華盛頓而建。因這建築物分兩期興建，所以外牆有明顯的分界。遊客可乘搭升降機到塔上觀景台，透過四面玻璃窗遠眺全華府的景色。北面可見White House，東面可及Capitol，南面是Jefferson Memorial，而西面就是Lincoln Memorial及其著名的Reflecting Pool。如要在數分鐘內把華府的名勝盡收眼底，可到這約五佰五拾呎高的Monument走一趟。

因是聖誕節前夕，我們只能到Museums匆匆行一行。第一個是Smithsonian Institution Museum Group（SIMG）中的American History Museum。SIMG （即圖中間部份）是不同類型博物館的總匯，有文化性的，有歷史性的，有藝術性及科技性的。要到每個展覽館走一趟，我相信最少也要兩星期，因這裡有近二十個展覽場地。美國歷史博物館介紹北美的文化在以往二佰年中的發展。最特別的算是在每天開門時會播起國歌，而在大堂中近三層樓高的紅白藍國旗會徐徐而下，換來美國初立國所用之旗幟，看過這偉大場面後，不禁有置身於那個時代的感覺。

今個聖誕節雖未能與家人團聚吃聖誕大餐，卻能和一班舊朋友到一間古色古香及具有美國傳統風味的牛扒房中共進晚餐。在享受美味晚餐之餘，大家都商量一下應到何處參與當晚的子夜彌撒。在華府有一座全美最大及全球第六大的教堂，我們當然希望可在這座聖堂中參與彌撒。因時間尚早，我們返回酒店稍作休息。十一點半鐘出發，途中才發現手持的地圖沒有顯示教堂的位置。因有人曾在該聖堂參與彌撒，就依其依稀的記憶嘗試於子夜前到達目的地，經過幾個左轉右轉，我們不知怎樣最後卻幸運地到達這宏偉瑰麗的聖堂。

可惜世事豈如人意，當大家喜洋洋地步進大堂的大門時，卻見聖堂內黑漆漆，不禁自問發生何事。定一定神後，見到遠處有人行過來。一問之下，才知彌撒早在十點鐘已經開始。失望之情固然有，但卻發現在大教堂後的小聖堂仍有子夜彌撒舉行，真是十分好運！我們幾個人當然立刻走進參與。及後回程仍是困難重重，沒有地圖，更行錯了方向，而氣油已差不多用完。零晨兩三點仍在街上四處亂行以尋歸家之路，最終早上四點才返回酒店，這遭遇一生人經歷一次而足夠了！

翌日，即聖誕節日，我們去了Reflecting Pool及Lincoln Memorial參觀，本人較喜愛Pool的景色。在晴朗的天氣下，Lincoln Memorial在水面的反映十分怡人。在旁是Vietnam Veteran Memorial，為越戰軍人紀念碑，許多美國士兵的遺孀及家人都會到此處悼念已逝世的丈夫及親人。他們有時會拿著筆和紙在碑上印下逝去親人的名字及在此處獻花，更不時有人在碑前哭哭啼啼，場面十分悲慘，亦為Reflecting Pool的反映 (reflection) 添上另一義意！而我們在那處沒作太長的逗留。不過在這短時間內，因違例泊車被票控亦是十分悲慘的，一張五十美元的告票足足是每天租用酒店的費用。

去到華府，必定要去白宮一趟，雖然克林頓已返回了小石城 (Little Rock)度聖誕，但我們亦在其家門前拍照留念。每逢這佳節白宮前會擺放一棵巨型聖誕樹，其四週有五十二棵小聖誕樹(代表五十二個州)，以供遊客在外觀賞及祈求世界和平。不得不提的是在這座總統官邸外，極多流浪漢在此露宿，連美國政府也無法解決這問題。美國國會大廈（如圖中所示）位於眾展覽館的東面，是全國最大的。而我校的州國會大廈 (Wisconsin State Capitol) 則是同類型中第二大，其黃昏的景色和校中的一模一樣，真像回了學校似的。

廿六日（Boxing Day），雖沒收到禮物，但早上在華府唐人街(只有十數商鋪的半條短街)中所吃的中式早餐，已經令到我十分滿意！隨後繼續我們最後一日在華府的行程。當日參觀了兩個展覽館，一個是Air & Space Museum，另一個是Holocaust Museum。前者就和香港太空館差不多，只是規模及內容上有少許不同，這處的展品較多而且多來自美國太空總署 (NASA)。Holocaust Museum揭露納粹黨之冷酷行為，用以警惕世人不再重演歷史。由於人多我們不能參觀主要展覽館。若干展品有入場年齡限制，以免兒童被驚慄場面嚇倒。這場館最近才開放，十分值得一去。其中印象較深刻的為講述一位小朋友幸運地在納粹集中營獲救而全家都死去的故事及地下拯救隊的救人事蹟。不知為何，每逢看完感人的展品後，我們亦經歷些慘事！看完展覽後，我們本打算立刻離開華府向費城出發。走到車前一看，卻見另一張告票。今次不是違例泊車而是泊在給傷殘人士車輛的車位上，兩日內收兩張告票，真是悲慘！不幸送了一百大元給美國政府！

(續)

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Memoirs of Frank Tsai

Frank Hwa-chang Tsai (S42) (Nickname: Vegetable Head, 菜頭). Frank went to SFXC, Shanghai in the 1930's and later came to teach at SFXC, Kowloon in the 1950's. In last issue, Frank wrote how he went into SFXC, Shanghai and some of his student life. He has more to tell in this issue…

Studying at SFXC, Shanghai

Many things happened when I was studying in SFXC. Many were worth mentioning because in those days everything was different from what it is today, and I would tell some of them. The only thing I cared at that time was to study hard. Now I came to Foche Terrace, I was told that the Marist Brothers had sold that piece of land at Ward Road and bought that lot of land at Foche Terrace. This was what I heard and the truth was not known, but the Marist Brothers had decided to do what is better for the students. The thing I had found out was the lot was smaller. It was about two acres in area. But that was in downtown, not suburban area. The school building was meant to be taller, not only one storey. But the school authority was out of fund at that time, so to build two storeys higher was a later question. We spent our final year there.

The first thing I had to say was the janitors (and food seller) charged very reasonably. The bread for our lunch was charged 6 to 10 cents and the beef with a lot of juice on the bread was charged only for 4 to 5 cents. The prices were fair enough. Therefore many boys bought it for lunch.

Bro. Vincent later came to Foche Avenue. He was only 2 years older than I was. He came with a lot of changes in the teachers' soccer team and added more vitality.

We gave the nicknames to Bro. Henry, the Big Yellow Hair and Bro. Vincent, the Small Yellow Hair, because they both had yellow hair and they were so called because of their difference, not because we did not respect them.

At that time, ball games were greatly popular, such as basketball and tennis. When the school teams finished playing, the Brothers would give them a drink of fruit juice which was made by the Brothers themselves, while the others could have a drink of ice water.

There were endless things I could mention, but they were different according to times. There was one academic incident I would like to talk about. It happened in the final examination. When the Brothers could not teach analytic chemistry we had to employ a lay teacher to do the job. My partner, Robert Cheng (Kwok-heng) and I were taking the final examination. When we entered the lab, the teacher gave us a little package to analyse. We were frightened because we found nothing after our analysis. We asked the teacher for help with fear. The teacher said very calmly, “There is always a package of nothing. You are lucky or unlucky to get that package.” At the end we found that we were successful. That was the academic laughing stock we made finally.

In fact there are so many things I could not put them all down in words. For instance, the nicknames we gave to all the Brothers and teachers. I remember them all, but I am not going to write that down. They are quite prevailing among them, though.

Here were the subjects that the Brothers were teaching us during our final year:

Brother Julius: English including Literature (Third row)

(First Row: Seated. From left to right starting from the 3rd.)

Brother Alecious: Physics

Brother Peter (Stanislaus): French

Brother Paster: Book-keeping, Geography, History

Brother Lau: (Chinese Principal)

Brother Louis: All kinds of Mathematics

Lay teacher: Chemistry

Lay teacher: Chinese

I came to teach at St. Martin's College

I left Shanghai for Hong Kong in Aug. 1950. At that time, I came to H.K. with no difficulty because once I could prove that I was (am) Cantonese, I could enter Hong Kong. Sometimes the police or customs officers ask (or talk to) you something about H.K. to see if you let out any accents not Cantonese. I had no trouble at all, for I am a typical Cantonese. The only thing was that they checked very carefully my “removal certificate” (from Shanghai to H.K.) to see if it was a forgery.

I came to H.K. for 3 months and stayed with my younger brother and sister. They were both dead (may them rest in peace). I wrote out many applications but in vain. I told my friends that I would go back to Shanghai for Christmas. But before I was going back, my friend told me that he had a friend who ran a company in Kowloon and Hong Kong and had six big godowns (warehouses). He wanted a man who knew Chinese, English and typing and a little book-keeping. I was the man who was introduced to him. Then I began to work for Tay Kee & Company.

In 1952 I was surprised by Bro. Pastor who came to see me in my company. He told me he would re-open SFXC in Hong Kong. Under great hardship, he failed. He went back to France and since then I had no news from him. Later, Bro. Peter came (Bro. Stanislaus). He was successful in buying a “teddy boys' college” with a certain sum of money. It was at the residential area of Kowloon City. (Grampian Road)

I went to see Bro. Peter in a rare occasion. I had a Phillipine friend (Chinese) who left three sons to my care. The eldest wanted to change school, so I introduced him to Bro. Peter. The eldest son was accepted and Bro. Peter spoke to me if I wanted to be a teacher. At that time I did not reply him definitely. But one day he called me by the phone suddenly. He told me that he had something important to tell me and asked me to go to see him immediately. I went to see him only 8 or 9 days before the school re-opened. He asked me the same old question if I wanted to be a teacher and told me that the school would pay me HKD320.- + HKD50. I told him that if my boss would let me go in such a short notice. So I went to see my boss who, out of my expectation, gave me the reply that if I had the mind of leaving, it was useless to detain me. Thus I became a teacher of St. Martin's College for two years.

We had to be a “police” as well as a teacher. As I said it was a “teddy boys' college”, we had to take care of the students' behavior as well as their academic knowledge. When at the end of the day, we were watching the students to leave the school, we heard someone shouting, “The boys are fighting in the narrow lane.” In that case, we had to rush out and catch the boys who were fighting and let Bro. Peter do the punishing. This would go on every now and then and it kept on for two years.

(In the next issue, Frank will tell us more stories at St. Martin's. Stay tuned.)

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Silicon Valley's Insider

Ho Chi Liu (K91). Ho Chi went to the US after first term of F4 from SFX and has been with Silicon Valley for the past 6 years. He is going to deliver an insider's first-hand account of what life is like at this technology hub and breeding bed in the world. This will be the first one in the series...

Silicon Valley in brief

Before getting into the life in “Silicon Valley”, we do have to update ourselves with some of the fundamental background information. In brief, “Silicon Valley” is the south bay area close to San Francisco, Northern California, USA, where silicon, a semi-conducting element, is widely consumed to manufacture integrated circuit (IC) and computer chips. The valley is considered to be the valley area next to Santa Clara.

The pioneer, who began the history of the Silicon Valley, must be the infamous chip manufacturer, Intel Corp. While Intel is considered to be a hardware leader, Adobe System, which is famous for its Photoshop, Postscripts, and now Acrobat PDF, is the outstanding software correspondent in the Silicon Valley.

If we want to find “Silicon Valley” in the map, its geographic location consists of a series of major cities in the shape of a capital “U”. On the left hand side, there are Redwood City, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Sunnyvale. In the middle, there are Santa Clara, Cupertino and San Jose. On the right hand side, there are Union City, Fremont and Milpitas. During the web or dot com blooming time from late 1998 to early 2001, San Francisco was also considered to be a part of the “Silicon Valley” on the software side, because there could be more than ten start-up web-related companies established in remodeled warehouses in San Francisco everyday. However, in my opinion, San Francisco should never be considered a part of Silicon Valley. Each of the above cities is developed with residential area, and industrial area. Hotels are also available for travelers.

There are three major airports that provide access to the Silicon Valley; they are SFO (San Francisco International Airport), SJC (San Jose International Airport), and OAK (Oakland International Airport). An hour drive in the speed of around 100km/hr in a regular automobile should complete our basic tour of Silicon Valley.

While public transport is not an option in Silicon Valley due to the fact of flexible working hours and long distance from work places to residences, most of the insiders go to work with their own automobiles. The lucky ones can commute with friends from the same companies or companies in the same area to save gasoline and freeway occupancies. Since freeways in California have a special carpool lane in which only automobiles with two or more passengers can occupy in a certain time period of a day, “carpool commute” is an efficient way to reduce the number of automobiles on the roads during rush hours.

As an introduction, life for a Silicon Valley insider can be described with the following adjectives, the triple As (AAA) – Agile, Accurate, and Aggressive. Agile means we have to move very quickly, with both physical and mental. Accurate means we have to be precise on what we deliver (in computer world, we only have 0 or 1, nothing in between). Aggressive means we have to be aggressive enough to get the maximum return with the minimum amount of time and resources. “AAA” concludes this first article of “Silicon Valley's Insider”. Hope you have enjoyed it so far.

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Four Seasons

Dennis Lin (K57)

When I first heard of the talk I would be giving to the wonderful community of SFX, I thought of the four seasons, which many would think of Vivaldi, the much gifted composer who had written the orchestral pieces.

No. I am speaking of being a student member, and later, a teacher at both the SFX, Tsuen Wan, and SFX, Kowloon, and of how I recollect the wonderful times I had spent throughout the years.

In Springtime during the Easter Holidays, once I had such an unforgettable moment as to visit the homes of the students who had been living in underprivileged housing estates, and to give a grading to them to be eligible for a reduction of school fees, for in those days students had to pay a fee for a schooling. Most of them did not live in a 3 bedroom apartment, but in a space of not more than 300 sq. ft. with 5 or 6 members. It is unbelievable as to how they could survive, but they did, and had made their ways through numerous hardships after completing their education, as managers, solicitors, and doctors, as well as other professionals contributing to the community. The hard-working spirit of the Xaverians has been praiseworthy.

In Summer, as usual the weather was hot, and the kindness of the Brothers had taken us for a ride to a nearby beach, at Ting Kau, for a swim to cool off the heat of the summer, and meanwhile, in those days as young teachers, we had been able to get in touch with nature after a hard days' work to feel the sea-breeze. We were able to have a “Sing Along” as we are riding home in the Brothers' Simca, with “Darling, Clementine”.

Everybody knows that Autumn is mellow and a dry season. What is more delightful than to walk along the path along the “Red River Valley” in Tsuen Wan? This had been done with a purpose, with the aim of seeing the land-forms of the three stages of a water-carved-out valley, and then the latter part of the valley which was Shatin, which at that time was covered with growth of vegetation, all was green, and very pleasant to the eyes.

What did we do in Winter? Winter had been just as fascinating, as we decorated the classrooms with limited resources of ornaments and lots of creativity and sweat. We had carved out the beautiful meaning of Caring, Sharing, and Loving, on the boards at the back of the classrooms. Besides, we had real Christmas trees too.

All in all, in the early days, the boys walked with SFX season after season. SFX enriched their stories and they enriched SFX's history.

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Reunion in Tientsin

This news and photos are adapted from ANA inflight magazine dated November 1997 with a cover story “REUNION IN TIANJIN: The Class '48”. It was provided to us by Frank Lau (T67).

Most, if not all, of us should know about our remote root at Shanghai. Few of us, however, have ever heard of another spot in China where Marist Brothers had also left significant footprints in the mission of education. As described in the magazine, “Other orders might have taken harsh exception to dissent, but not the Marist Brothers. The mission of Bro. Kenny and his colleagues was to teach, and nothing distracted them from it.”, lots of young people had enjoyed the dedicated teaching and love by the Brothers at St. Louis' College, Tientsin (now Tianjin).

The class of 1948 reunited in their first homeland in 1996, after almost half a century. They all agreed that it was nothing short of miraculous to be able to establish the network again. How many of you can recognize the Marist Brothers in the first picture? (Bro. Aloysius, Bro. Edward, Bro. Kenny, Bro. Denis and Bro. Leo)

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Herald sails, XAVIER-CELLINE!

Bro. Gregory

To the SFX Boys and Friends

I would like to share with you, the OLD BOYS and Friends what Bro. Manfred, my Marist Superior in Germany, has written in the GEBETSKREIS, our official Marist publication in Germany. I have translated it for you and I would be grateful if it could be promulgated by our webmasters of SFXAA and Schools.

Thank you in advance.

Bro. Hans (Gregory)

The 20^th January 2002 will long be remembered by the St. Martin YTC community. In the late afternoon of that day our fibreglass boat TINA-CELLINE sank to the bottom of Lake Victoria. Every time we think of this tragic accident, our hearts also utter a silent prayer of gratitude to God for His protection, as the eight passengers on board at the time were rescued. As the news of the loss of the boat spread to the Marist World, a wave of solidarity welled up spontaneously. Bro. Hans informed some of his former students of St. Francis Xavier's College, Hong Kong, who per internet started the action “Salvage the Boat”. In a flash the news reached the Old Boys in Canada, USA, and Australia (Marcellin College in Bulleen) and, naturally, the Marist Brothers in Germany, the homeland of Bro. Hans. There, the Maristenkolleg in Mindelheim was gripped with special fervour and raised a very handsome sum. The Grand Total Cost of the new boat with a 75HP Yamaha outboard engine and accessories amounts to 29734.64/-EURO. With the remainder of the donated amount, approximately 10000/-EURO, the technical school is purchasing essential equipment for the workshops and even a trailer for our tractor which is the only motorised vehicle on Mfangano Island. Once again, to one and all, THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU.

The solemn BLESSING and the “BAPTISM” of the new boat took place on 1^st December 2003. It is named XAVIER-CELLINE (after St. Francis Xavier and St. Marcellin Champagnat). It was not possible to follow our original plan to have the blessing and official launching of the boat on the 3^rd December, the feast of St. Francis Xavier, the Patron of all Xaverians of Hong Kong. The entire staff with their families, our students and many friends of our Polytechnic gathered on and around XAVIER-CELLINE as we celebrated the Eucharist with the parish priest of our island on the boat.

On New Year's Day 2004 we had the Brothers from Orore and Roo (our two other mission stations) as our special guests; we again celebrated the Eucharist with our island priest, shared in a communal meal and went for a test ride on Africa's largest lake.

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Brief Report on Alumni Activities

Annual Ball 24 tables of Brothers, teachers, old boys and guests joined in the warmth and fun in our Annual Ball 2003 held on 6 December 2003 (Saturday) at Royal Plaza Hotel Grand Ballroom. It was an occasion transcending ages with old boys coming from the 60's to this millennium.

If you still remember, December 3^rd marks the anniversary of St. Francis Xavier, and all of us have enjoyed a day of games, songs, and laughter on this day every year in our school time. We purposely scheduled our ball around this very date to let us recapture the jubilation and exaltation. Unfortunately, the date coincided with the 40^th anniversary dinner of CUHK which drew away lots of our old boys.

We have yet to determine how and when our next Ball will be arranged, with 40^th anniversary dinner of SFXS, TW coming into sight this year-end, and the golden jubilee dinner of SFXC, Kowloon taking turn next year. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to let us know through email: sfxaa@xaverians.net.

Happy Hours Gathering Our Happy Hours Gatherings have grown into more variety than ever. Chan Cho Hung (K64) has once been a speaker telling us his school life from a student and a teacher's perspective. A discussion forum was also held on the topic of retirement. More recently David Lan (K57) shared with us how he handled and managed pressure from his lifelong experience of serving the government. Particularly noteworthy was the joint organization of such gatherings with SFXS (TW) Alumni Association in the hope of enhancing the bond between the two alumni bodies.

The number of participants varied from above ten to dozens on every occasion. We heard that most old boys enjoyed this kind of arrangement and they would usually make use of this occasion as their gathering with old buddies.

We look forward to a closer tie among all old boys through such casual and warm gatherings

New Year Visit to Brothers We have arranged a new year visit to Brothers on 31 January 2004. We would like this to be a tradition that old boys will bring our greetings to the Brothers with warmth, love and care at this season of coming years. Read http://www.sfxs.edu.hk/~sfxsaa/brother/newyear04/newyear04.htm for photos.

Alumni Mutual Career Help Some old boys have suggested to us a system to assist old boys with job hunting, career development or headhunting. We are certainly aware that many sensitive issues will have to be tackled as regards building such a mutual help system. While we are figuring out how this can be done, your suggestions are always welcome.

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Call for articles

Inspired by any articles?

Any stories to share?

Starting this term, the Alumni has formed a newsletter sub-committee whose members comprise both schools' old boys ranging from the 50's to the 90's. With this new task force, we pledge to bring more colors to our newsletter, and while it is a newsletter for the old boys, we would like to make it a newsletter of the old boys, and by the old boys. We hereby call for articles from every one of the alumni family. Now you have a chance to contribute. Be it a piece of critics towards some social issues, reminiscences of your school life at SFX, or stories of your life and work, you're most welcome! We believe the first and second issues of the reformed newsletter will be the touchstone for even more interesting articles to come in future.

We plan to publish our newsletters roughly quarterly, and articles are accepted all the year round. Just submit your contributed articles to us any time and we will try to include yours in the next issue. Please note that the sub-committee will have the final editorial right.

Currently the newsletter sub-committee consists of the following members.

Dennis Lin (K57)

William Wong (K63)

Timothy Yuen Wai Wa (K78)

Lee Kim Hung (T83)

Chow Ka Po (K91)

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Acknowledgment

Thanks are given to all old boys and teachers who have contributed articles and photos, and to Bro. Gregory's translated article from Germany.

SUPPORT THE ALUMNI

SUPPORT OUR ALMA MATER

	Marist Schools Alumni Association (Hong Kong)
	[ Newsletter \| Vol. 04-1 ]
Home History Membership Coming Events Past Events Contributions Committee Contact Us Related Links		Newsletter Vol. 04 - 1 Issued in Apr, 2004 You may download other formats: MS Word and PDF Contents at a Glance News of SFX Schools School Improvement Programme Hallathon Headlines A Ride on the Dragon's Back Special Interest Group – Tai Chi Brothers' News New Home of Bro. Konrad Bro. Bosco's Transient Stay at Singapore Perspectives 校友聚舊活動的迷思東岸之旅 Memoirs of Frank Tsai Silicon Valley's Insider Four Seasons Brothers at Tientsin Herald sails, XAVIER-CELLINE! Alumni's Call Brief Report on Alumni Activities Call for articles *School Improvement Programme* William Wong (K63), Vice-Principal of SFXC, Kowloon. Some old boys who happened to drop by their alma mater were surprised to see a new structure rising up from where the pink, red and white azalea, the fir tree and the bamboo trees etc. used to be. This project is known as the “School Improvement Programme”. Construction of the new building commenced in September 2002 and hopefully it will be ready for occupation in September 2004. The six-storey annex includes additional classrooms, a computer-assisted learning room, a language room, two interview rooms, a student activity centre, a conference room and a few offices. The opening of the new annex will help support our school's ambitious plans for further advances in academic excellence and the education of students for lives of accomplishment and service. From these pictures, you can get a glimpse about the outlook of the new building and the progress of the construction work. For more news about the school, please visit http://www.sfxc.edu.hk/ Go Back to Table of Contents *Hallathon* Sunshine, breeze, green leaves and glitters from the lake were with every participant of Hallathon on 22 February 2004, when thousands of friends of SFX joined in the fund-raising walkathon at Shing Mun Reservoir and helped to build the facilities in the future hall at SFXS, Tsuen Wan. Over $300,000 was raised. The hall building is being finalized and will be ready for occupation soon. For more photos on the event, please go to the following web pages. http://www.sfxs.edu.hk/~sfxsaa/Hallathon/hallathon.html http://www.sfxs.edu.hk/album/album03/browser01.htm http://www.sfxc.edu.hk/news/20040222/ For more news of SFXS, Tsuen Wan, especially the celebrations of the 40th anniversary, please visit http://www.sfxs.edu.hk and http://www.sfxsaa.net. Go Back to Table of Contents *A Ride on the Dragon's Back* Spring is a good time for hiking! Alumni seems to have not organized any hiking activities before, but why not? Join us for a walk at one of the most scenic places in the Hong Kong Island, stay away from the hustle and bustle of the city life, and enjoy the sunshine, the green and the fresh air! Date : 25 April 2004 (Sunday) Assembly Time : 10:00 am Assembly Location : A3 Exit of Shau Kei Wan MTR Station (To take Bus No. 9 to To Tei Wan) Starting Time : 11:00 am Starting Location : To Tei Wan (土地灣) Finishing Time : 4:00 pm (Estimated) Finishing Location : Shek O Beach Route : Dragon's Back (龍脊, Island Trail Section 8) Difficulty : Moderate Length of Route : Approximately 12km Duration of Walk : About 5 hours (including 2 half-hour breaks) Further Planning : We may stay at Shek O to have fun and dinner, or take Bus No. 9 to go back to Shau Kei Wan MTR Station Please call Samuel Ho (Mobile: 9422-0658) if you are coming! Tips: · Bring your own cap, sunglasses, drink (minimum 2 litres suggested for each person) and food for lunch. · A stick will certainly help. · Bring a camera to capture the scenic view. Go Back to Table of Contents *Special Interest Group – Tai Chi* Our next happy hours meeting will be a special interest group meeting for those old boys who want to know something about “Tai Chi”. We simply cannot exhaust all the issues to be discussed in one night but would consider these should include, but should not be limited to, the following: · What is “Tai Chi”? · Is it good for health? · Does it give you magical power? · Should you learn it from now on? It will not be a speaker-driven meeting but a discussion forum for everyone. Of course if you have anything to share in this subject, you are most welcome. While the scheduled finishing time is 8:30 pm, we can stay as long as we wish subject to the normal closing time of the pub. Please join us and have fun. Date : 6 May 2004 (Thursday) Time : 6:30pm to any time you like. Venue : China Coast Bar, Mariners' Club, 11 Middle Road, Tsim Sha Tsui (Tel: 23688261) Fee : Buy your own drink. About HK$20 per drink Go Back to Table of Contents *New Home of Bro Konrad* Old boys may be pleased to know that St Joseph's Home for the Aged, where Bro. Konrad has been staying, has moved to a new location at Sheung Shui where the air is fresher, the place more spacious and the environment quieter. His new address is: St. Joseph's Home for the Aged, 18 Po Kin Road, Sheung Shui 聖若瑟安老院, 上水保健路18號 Bro. Konrad stays mostly at the Home except Sundays when he will go back to SFXC, Kowloon to enjoy a gathering with other Brothers. He would welcome you to drop by his Home anytime! Go Back to Table of Contents *Bro. Bosco's Transient Stay at Singapore* Those of us in Hong Kong who experienced the coldest Lunar New Year ever in half a century would be glad to see Bro. Bosco successfully “escape” such adverse weather and “flee” to Singapore. He has enjoyed three months of sunshine and fresh air with serenity and peace before coming back to Hong Kong in early April. It is no surprise that he has come back in much better shape and spirit! Go Back to Table of Contents 校友聚舊活動的迷思趙來發 (K76) 這似乎是該上教堂辦告解的事：我不是校友聚舊活動的常客，也很不常參加同屆校友所辦活動。這樣說來，似乎叫人奇怪，我分明是在曾就讀的大學中，負責過校友事務諸如此類的全職工作，為什麼我還會這樣說？受薪搞校友事務工作，跟參與自己所屬的那一屆同學的聚舊活動，其實是兩碼子不同的事，前者是為他人作嫁衣裳，說得難聽一點，事情有點像搞酒席到會，自己不是主人家，只是站在一旁的傳菜員，只求食客滿意服務，埋單時多給貼士，下次再幫襯而已。感情上不要也不應過份投入，態度手腳上則必須永遠做到最好，便是專業表現。後者不同，跟昔日與自己一起成長的同學聚舊，沒有感情投入不行。因為，當年能在一個課室中、同一個操場上一同成長，如果不是緣份，哪又是什麼？畢業雖然已有好些年頭，我跟幾個不同圈子的中學同學都保持聯絡與常有聚會，最初是幾個人去餐廳酒啤閒聊，漸漸地聚會的人數不斷增加，變成了家庭聚會，因為大家差不多在同一時間進入了人生新的階段，組織了家庭，生了孩子。同是舊生聚會，中學同學仍保持著小圈子式的友誼，相比之下，大學同學聚舊便形式主義得多，有時竟像公司搞春茗，或政黨工會搞蛇宴旅行，參加者常在等待某種套餐式服務，心情不同。當然，世上沒有免貴午餐，許多校友聯誼活動都有一個共同的潛台詞：籌款。姑勿論籌來為什麼，但在今天的校友文化中，籌款已是必然部份，它也被合理化地解釋為向母校回饋，大多數人都很疏爽，也很少人會質疑。有趣的是，對籌款一事，少人會說是向教育制度或社會回饋，然而我們或多少都受惠過九年免費教育，但也受過昨日今日的香港教育制度所折磨。「母校」這一觀念，在這些經驗中究竟又扮演了什麼角色，其實有時也是校友聚會時龍門陣式的好話題。 Go Back to Table of Contents 東岸之旅周卓明 (K91) 序此遊記原記於一九九三年與幾位聖芳濟留美舊生到東岸旅遊後。在今次十四天的美國東岸旅行，經過了十七個省，十多個大大小小的城市，與舊朋友相聚之餘，亦有機會穿州過省開開眼界，真是十分難得！筆者希望藉此文令大家更加深入了解美國的風土人情。另外，自此旅程以後，無論美國政治經濟（九一一事件及不同的總統上任）或數個同途的舊生都有很大的變化（有學成返港發展的，亦有繼續留美的)，藉此文能為歷史作見證及回味一下舊事。一整裝待發於學期初曾想往科羅拉多州（Florida）一趟，一則為了避過我校的嚴寒冬季，二則也可休息一下。但發現聖誕節是旅遊旺季，所以打消了這個念頭。經過無數電話及電子郵件後，幸運地聯絡到其他在美讀書的舊同學，又找到朋友為我們作司機，最後就決定到美國東岸與友聚舊 (在美若無氣車代步，枉說旅遊，有時甚至連日常生活運作也成問題)。開心之餘，亦有幾分緊張。臨起行前的兩個星期，比平時忙得多，除了準備行裝外，亦要為終期考試而忙個不停。因為沒有太多時間看旅遊指南，實在連紐約、波士頓等地在那裡亦不太清楚，傻兮兮的帶著一張單程車票離開我校，就踏上旅遊巴士。探訪些從未到過的地方，甚至要自己計劃行程，對我是個很大的挑戰。身上背著大背囊，手攜個旅行袋，就開始這十四天旅程 (十二月二十日)。心情既興奮又緊張，就如弩上待發之箭。二孤身上路離校第一站是Ann Arbor, Michigan，即University of Michigan的所在地。在我校 (University of Wisconsin-Madison) 出發，要十一個小時才到達 (四小時巴士及大概六小時的火車) 。途中經過芝加哥（Chicago)，由於素聞此地治安不好，我只在火車站外繞了個圈，便匆匆走回大堂內。芝加哥車站大堂算是美國火車（Amtrak）車站中最宏偉及最值得觀賞的。這大堂四四方方，內裡的柱、地板是由大理石建成，樓底的高度保守估計有七八層的高，在玻璃天幕下擺放著深啡色的長椅，給人一份渺小的感覺。Amtrak的速度一般比長途巴士慢，而且它的誤點機會及意外率都比較多。一般遲到一個小時已是小事，美國人常戲言Amtrak能安全到達而沒有誤點就是件怪事。幸好，我班火車只比原定時間遲了十五分鐘到達。一下車就見到我的舊同學Francis Poon，總算沒有上錯車。若去錯地方，就不知怎辦。翌日，當然是要參觀一下University of Michigan，這校和我校同屬美國大學Big Ten，即全美中西部十間規模最大的大學，而其校園面積與我校相若。除主要校園中心外，其他的幾個學系也有其所屬校園。其中醫學院與中心校園一樣大，另外工程及商科也有其獨立校園。由於我亦不會轉校，所以也不太留心同學的介紹。只知我倆校內建築及制度相若，所以不在這裡多提。三三人行因舊同學Francis及他朋友Vince和我一起，現已不再獨自上路。天氣報告預測暴風雪將在東岸發生，在美國中部有高氣壓向東移，推著雪帶向東岸，亦正是我們所去的地方；換句話說，我們將會在大雪中行車。除非我們的行車速度比雪帶移動的速度快，否則將會推遲整個行程。十二月廿二日下午離開Michigan。但正如預測所說，出發不到三小時，便開始下雪。由於北美冬天較早天黑，黃昏由四時半就開始，五時半就全部天黑。不可不提的就是全個旅程中只有Vince一人駕車，因我們其他人全都不懂駕車。而晚上駕車比較用神，為了安全起見就在Cleveland (克里夫蘭，全美治安最惡劣的城市)停下來，待大雪過後再作打算。當晚足足下了七八吋雪，十分厲害！第二天，一覺醒來，以為天氣仍是惡劣，不能起行。怎知開門一見，只有白茫茫一片而風雪已停。我們趁這大好時機速速趕路，希望如期到達華府，一連六七個小時不停在高速公路上飛馳。雖說三人行必有我師，但我們三人卻有時因意見不合(例如在方向，公路號碼上意見分歧) 而導致時間上的耽誤。最後我們在晚上十時才到達華府外的一個小鎮 (Arlington)，準備去華盛頓和克林頓度聖誕。四與克林頓度聖誕十二月廿四日，終於依照原定計劃到達華盛頓。在此我們接了兩位朋友，一個為我舊同學Benny Wong，另一個是新朋友Alex，來自Toronto，現一行五人在華府遊覽。第一處參觀的是華府的Amtrak Station，名為Union Station，和Chicago一樣，它亦是一座方方的建築物，只是層數較多，候車大堂較大而已。由於是聖誕前夕及星期五，許多博物館及政府部門早已關門準備度聖誕，所以我們只能到很少地方參觀。 Washington Monument（圖中最左的建築）算是華府中最值得參觀的名勝。此座紀念碑為紀念美國第一任總統華盛頓而建。因這建築物分兩期興建，所以外牆有明顯的分界。遊客可乘搭升降機到塔上觀景台，透過四面玻璃窗遠眺全華府的景色。北面可見White House，東面可及Capitol，南面是Jefferson Memorial，而西面就是Lincoln Memorial及其著名的Reflecting Pool。如要在數分鐘內把華府的名勝盡收眼底，可到這約五佰五拾呎高的Monument走一趟。因是聖誕節前夕，我們只能到Museums匆匆行一行。第一個是Smithsonian Institution Museum Group（SIMG）中的American History Museum。SIMG （即圖中間部份）是不同類型博物館的總匯，有文化性的，有歷史性的，有藝術性及科技性的。要到每個展覽館走一趟，我相信最少也要兩星期，因這裡有近二十個展覽場地。美國歷史博物館介紹北美的文化在以往二佰年中的發展。最特別的算是在每天開門時會播起國歌，而在大堂中近三層樓高的紅白藍國旗會徐徐而下，換來美國初立國所用之旗幟，看過這偉大場面後，不禁有置身於那個時代的感覺。今個聖誕節雖未能與家人團聚吃聖誕大餐，卻能和一班舊朋友到一間古色古香及具有美國傳統風味的牛扒房中共進晚餐。在享受美味晚餐之餘，大家都商量一下應到何處參與當晚的子夜彌撒。在華府有一座全美最大及全球第六大的教堂，我們當然希望可在這座聖堂中參與彌撒。因時間尚早，我們返回酒店稍作休息。十一點半鐘出發，途中才發現手持的地圖沒有顯示教堂的位置。因有人曾在該聖堂參與彌撒，就依其依稀的記憶嘗試於子夜前到達目的地，經過幾個左轉右轉，我們不知怎樣最後卻幸運地到達這宏偉瑰麗的聖堂。可惜世事豈如人意，當大家喜洋洋地步進大堂的大門時，卻見聖堂內黑漆漆，不禁自問發生何事。定一定神後，見到遠處有人行過來。一問之下，才知彌撒早在十點鐘已經開始。失望之情固然有，但卻發現在大教堂後的小聖堂仍有子夜彌撒舉行，真是十分好運！我們幾個人當然立刻走進參與。及後回程仍是困難重重，沒有地圖，更行錯了方向，而氣油已差不多用完。零晨兩三點仍在街上四處亂行以尋歸家之路，最終早上四點才返回酒店，這遭遇一生人經歷一次而足夠了！翌日，即聖誕節日，我們去了Reflecting Pool及Lincoln Memorial參觀，本人較喜愛Pool的景色。在晴朗的天氣下，Lincoln Memorial在水面的反映十分怡人。在旁是Vietnam Veteran Memorial，為越戰軍人紀念碑，許多美國士兵的遺孀及家人都會到此處悼念已逝世的丈夫及親人。他們有時會拿著筆和紙在碑上印下逝去親人的名字及在此處獻花，更不時有人在碑前哭哭啼啼，場面十分悲慘，亦為Reflecting Pool的反映 (reflection) 添上另一義意！而我們在那處沒作太長的逗留。不過在這短時間內，因違例泊車被票控亦是十分悲慘的，一張五十美元的告票足足是每天租用酒店的費用。去到華府，必定要去白宮一趟，雖然克林頓已返回了小石城 (Little Rock)度聖誕，但我們亦在其家門前拍照留念。每逢這佳節白宮前會擺放一棵巨型聖誕樹，其四週有五十二棵小聖誕樹(代表五十二個州)，以供遊客在外觀賞及祈求世界和平。不得不提的是在這座總統官邸外，極多流浪漢在此露宿，連美國政府也無法解決這問題。美國國會大廈（如圖中所示）位於眾展覽館的東面，是全國最大的。而我校的州國會大廈 (Wisconsin State Capitol) 則是同類型中第二大，其黃昏的景色和校中的一模一樣，真像回了學校似的。廿六日（Boxing Day），雖沒收到禮物，但早上在華府唐人街(只有十數商鋪的半條短街)中所吃的中式早餐，已經令到我十分滿意！隨後繼續我們最後一日在華府的行程。當日參觀了兩個展覽館，一個是Air & Space Museum，另一個是Holocaust Museum。前者就和香港太空館差不多，只是規模及內容上有少許不同，這處的展品較多而且多來自美國太空總署 (NASA)。Holocaust Museum揭露納粹黨之冷酷行為，用以警惕世人不再重演歷史。由於人多我們不能參觀主要展覽館。若干展品有入場年齡限制，以免兒童被驚慄場面嚇倒。這場館最近才開放，十分值得一去。其中印象較深刻的為講述一位小朋友幸運地在納粹集中營獲救而全家都死去的故事及地下拯救隊的救人事蹟。不知為何，每逢看完感人的展品後，我們亦經歷些慘事！看完展覽後，我們本打算立刻離開華府向費城出發。走到車前一看，卻見另一張告票。今次不是違例泊車而是泊在給傷殘人士車輛的車位上，兩日內收兩張告票，真是悲慘！不幸送了一百大元給美國政府！ (續) Go Back to Table of Contents *Memoirs of Frank Tsai* Frank Hwa-chang Tsai (S42) (Nickname: Vegetable Head, 菜頭). Frank went to SFXC, Shanghai in the 1930's and later came to teach at SFXC, Kowloon in the 1950's. In last issue, Frank wrote how he went into SFXC, Shanghai and some of his student life. He has more to tell in this issue… Studying at SFXC, Shanghai Many things happened when I was studying in SFXC. Many were worth mentioning because in those days everything was different from what it is today, and I would tell some of them. The only thing I cared at that time was to study hard. Now I came to Foche Terrace, I was told that the Marist Brothers had sold that piece of land at Ward Road and bought that lot of land at Foche Terrace. This was what I heard and the truth was not known, but the Marist Brothers had decided to do what is better for the students. The thing I had found out was the lot was smaller. It was about two acres in area. But that was in downtown, not suburban area. The school building was meant to be taller, not only one storey. But the school authority was out of fund at that time, so to build two storeys higher was a later question. We spent our final year there. The first thing I had to say was the janitors (and food seller) charged very reasonably. The bread for our lunch was charged 6 to 10 cents and the beef with a lot of juice on the bread was charged only for 4 to 5 cents. The prices were fair enough. Therefore many boys bought it for lunch. Bro. Vincent later came to Foche Avenue. He was only 2 years older than I was. He came with a lot of changes in the teachers' soccer team and added more vitality. We gave the nicknames to Bro. Henry, the Big Yellow Hair and Bro. Vincent, the Small Yellow Hair, because they both had yellow hair and they were so called because of their difference, not because we did not respect them. At that time, ball games were greatly popular, such as basketball and tennis. When the school teams finished playing, the Brothers would give them a drink of fruit juice which was made by the Brothers themselves, while the others could have a drink of ice water. There were endless things I could mention, but they were different according to times. There was one academic incident I would like to talk about. It happened in the final examination. When the Brothers could not teach analytic chemistry we had to employ a lay teacher to do the job. My partner, Robert Cheng (Kwok-heng) and I were taking the final examination. When we entered the lab, the teacher gave us a little package to analyse. We were frightened because we found nothing after our analysis. We asked the teacher for help with fear. The teacher said very calmly, “There is always a package of nothing. You are lucky or unlucky to get that package.” At the end we found that we were successful. That was the academic laughing stock we made finally. In fact there are so many things I could not put them all down in words. For instance, the nicknames we gave to all the Brothers and teachers. I remember them all, but I am not going to write that down. They are quite prevailing among them, though. Here were the subjects that the Brothers were teaching us during our final year: Brother Julius: English including Literature (Third row) (First Row: Seated. From left to right starting from the 3rd.) Brother Alecious: Physics Brother Peter (Stanislaus): French Brother Paster: Book-keeping, Geography, History Brother Lau: (Chinese Principal) Brother Louis: All kinds of Mathematics Lay teacher: Chemistry Lay teacher: Chinese I came to teach at St. Martin's College I left Shanghai for Hong Kong in Aug. 1950. At that time, I came to H.K. with no difficulty because once I could prove that I was (am) Cantonese, I could enter Hong Kong. Sometimes the police or customs officers ask (or talk to) you something about H.K. to see if you let out any accents not Cantonese. I had no trouble at all, for I am a typical Cantonese. The only thing was that they checked very carefully my “removal certificate” (from Shanghai to H.K.) to see if it was a forgery. I came to H.K. for 3 months and stayed with my younger brother and sister. They were both dead (may them rest in peace). I wrote out many applications but in vain. I told my friends that I would go back to Shanghai for Christmas. But before I was going back, my friend told me that he had a friend who ran a company in Kowloon and Hong Kong and had six big godowns (warehouses). He wanted a man who knew Chinese, English and typing and a little book-keeping. I was the man who was introduced to him. Then I began to work for Tay Kee & Company. In 1952 I was surprised by Bro. Pastor who came to see me in my company. He told me he would re-open SFXC in Hong Kong. Under great hardship, he failed. He went back to France and since then I had no news from him. Later, Bro. Peter came (Bro. Stanislaus). He was successful in buying a “teddy boys' college” with a certain sum of money. It was at the residential area of Kowloon City. (Grampian Road) I went to see Bro. Peter in a rare occasion. I had a Phillipine friend (Chinese) who left three sons to my care. The eldest wanted to change school, so I introduced him to Bro. Peter. The eldest son was accepted and Bro. Peter spoke to me if I wanted to be a teacher. At that time I did not reply him definitely. But one day he called me by the phone suddenly. He told me that he had something important to tell me and asked me to go to see him immediately. I went to see him only 8 or 9 days before the school re-opened. He asked me the same old question if I wanted to be a teacher and told me that the school would pay me HKD320.- + HKD50. I told him that if my boss would let me go in such a short notice. So I went to see my boss who, out of my expectation, gave me the reply that if I had the mind of leaving, it was useless to detain me. Thus I became a teacher of St. Martin's College for two years. We had to be a “police” as well as a teacher. As I said it was a “teddy boys' college”, we had to take care of the students' behavior as well as their academic knowledge. When at the end of the day, we were watching the students to leave the school, we heard someone shouting, “The boys are fighting in the narrow lane.” In that case, we had to rush out and catch the boys who were fighting and let Bro. Peter do the punishing. This would go on every now and then and it kept on for two years. (In the next issue, Frank will tell us more stories at St. Martin's. Stay tuned.) Go Back to Table of Contents *Silicon Valley's Insider* Ho Chi Liu (K91). Ho Chi went to the US after first term of F4 from SFX and has been with Silicon Valley for the past 6 years. He is going to deliver an insider's first-hand account of what life is like at this technology hub and breeding bed in the world. This will be the first one in the series... Silicon Valley in brief Before getting into the life in “Silicon Valley”, we do have to update ourselves with some of the fundamental background information. In brief, “Silicon Valley” is the south bay area close to San Francisco, Northern California, USA, where silicon, a semi-conducting element, is widely consumed to manufacture integrated circuit (IC) and computer chips. The valley is considered to be the valley area next to Santa Clara. The pioneer, who began the history of the Silicon Valley, must be the infamous chip manufacturer, Intel Corp. While Intel is considered to be a hardware leader, Adobe System, which is famous for its Photoshop, Postscripts, and now Acrobat PDF, is the outstanding software correspondent in the Silicon Valley. If we want to find “Silicon Valley” in the map, its geographic location consists of a series of major cities in the shape of a capital “U”. On the left hand side, there are Redwood City, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Sunnyvale. In the middle, there are Santa Clara, Cupertino and San Jose. On the right hand side, there are Union City, Fremont and Milpitas. During the web or dot com blooming time from late 1998 to early 2001, San Francisco was also considered to be a part of the “Silicon Valley” on the software side, because there could be more than ten start-up web-related companies established in remodeled warehouses in San Francisco everyday. However, in my opinion, San Francisco should never be considered a part of Silicon Valley. Each of the above cities is developed with residential area, and industrial area. Hotels are also available for travelers. There are three major airports that provide access to the Silicon Valley; they are SFO (San Francisco International Airport), SJC (San Jose International Airport), and OAK (Oakland International Airport). An hour drive in the speed of around 100km/hr in a regular automobile should complete our basic tour of Silicon Valley. While public transport is not an option in Silicon Valley due to the fact of flexible working hours and long distance from work places to residences, most of the insiders go to work with their own automobiles. The lucky ones can commute with friends from the same companies or companies in the same area to save gasoline and freeway occupancies. Since freeways in California have a special carpool lane in which only automobiles with two or more passengers can occupy in a certain time period of a day, “carpool commute” is an efficient way to reduce the number of automobiles on the roads during rush hours. As an introduction, life for a Silicon Valley insider can be described with the following adjectives, the triple As (AAA) – Agile, Accurate, and Aggressive. Agile means we have to move very quickly, with both physical and mental. Accurate means we have to be precise on what we deliver (in computer world, we only have 0 or 1, nothing in between). Aggressive means we have to be aggressive enough to get the maximum return with the minimum amount of time and resources. “AAA” concludes this first article of “Silicon Valley's Insider”. Hope you have enjoyed it so far. Go Back to Table of Contents *Four Seasons* Dennis Lin (K57) When I first heard of the talk I would be giving to the wonderful community of SFX, I thought of the four seasons, which many would think of Vivaldi, the much gifted composer who had written the orchestral pieces. No. I am speaking of being a student member, and later, a teacher at both the SFX, Tsuen Wan, and SFX, Kowloon, and of how I recollect the wonderful times I had spent throughout the years. In Springtime during the Easter Holidays, once I had such an unforgettable moment as to visit the homes of the students who had been living in underprivileged housing estates, and to give a grading to them to be eligible for a reduction of school fees, for in those days students had to pay a fee for a schooling. Most of them did not live in a 3 bedroom apartment, but in a space of not more than 300 sq. ft. with 5 or 6 members. It is unbelievable as to how they could survive, but they did, and had made their ways through numerous hardships after completing their education, as managers, solicitors, and doctors, as well as other professionals contributing to the community. The hard-working spirit of the Xaverians has been praiseworthy. In Summer, as usual the weather was hot, and the kindness of the Brothers had taken us for a ride to a nearby beach, at Ting Kau, for a swim to cool off the heat of the summer, and meanwhile, in those days as young teachers, we had been able to get in touch with nature after a hard days' work to feel the sea-breeze. We were able to have a “Sing Along” as we are riding home in the Brothers' Simca, with “Darling, Clementine”. Everybody knows that Autumn is mellow and a dry season. What is more delightful than to walk along the path along the “Red River Valley” in Tsuen Wan? This had been done with a purpose, with the aim of seeing the land-forms of the three stages of a water-carved-out valley, and then the latter part of the valley which was Shatin, which at that time was covered with growth of vegetation, all was green, and very pleasant to the eyes. What did we do in Winter? Winter had been just as fascinating, as we decorated the classrooms with limited resources of ornaments and lots of creativity and sweat. We had carved out the beautiful meaning of Caring, Sharing, and Loving, on the boards at the back of the classrooms. Besides, we had real Christmas trees too. All in all, in the early days, the boys walked with SFX season after season. SFX enriched their stories and they enriched SFX's history. Go Back to Table of Contents *Reunion* in *Tientsin* This news and photos are adapted from ANA inflight magazine dated November 1997 with a cover story “REUNION IN TIANJIN: The Class '48”. It was provided to us by Frank Lau (T67). Most, if not all, of us should know about our remote root at Shanghai. Few of us, however, have ever heard of another spot in China where Marist Brothers had also left significant footprints in the mission of education. As described in the magazine, “Other orders might have taken harsh exception to dissent, but not the Marist Brothers. The mission of Bro. Kenny and his colleagues was to teach, and nothing distracted them from it.”, lots of young people had enjoyed the dedicated teaching and love by the Brothers at St. Louis' College, Tientsin (now Tianjin). The class of 1948 reunited in their first homeland in 1996, after almost half a century. They all agreed that it was nothing short of miraculous to be able to establish the network again. How many of you can recognize the Marist Brothers in the first picture? (Bro. Aloysius, Bro. Edward, Bro. Kenny, Bro. Denis and Bro. Leo) Go Back to Table of Contents *Herald sails, XAVIER-CELLINE!* Bro. Gregory To the SFX Boys and Friends I would like to share with you, the OLD BOYS and Friends what Bro. Manfred, my Marist Superior in Germany, has written in the GEBETSKREIS, our official Marist publication in Germany. I have translated it for you and I would be grateful if it could be promulgated by our webmasters of SFXAA and Schools. Thank you in advance. Bro. Hans (Gregory) The 20^th January 2002 will long be remembered by the St. Martin YTC community. In the late afternoon of that day our fibreglass boat TINA-CELLINE sank to the bottom of Lake Victoria. Every time we think of this tragic accident, our hearts also utter a silent prayer of gratitude to God for His protection, as the eight passengers on board at the time were rescued. As the news of the loss of the boat spread to the Marist World, a wave of solidarity welled up spontaneously. Bro. Hans informed some of his former students of St. Francis Xavier's College, Hong Kong, who per internet started the action “Salvage the Boat”. In a flash the news reached the Old Boys in Canada, USA, and Australia (Marcellin College in Bulleen) and, naturally, the Marist Brothers in Germany, the homeland of Bro. Hans. There, the Maristenkolleg in Mindelheim was gripped with special fervour and raised a very handsome sum. The Grand Total Cost of the new boat with a 75HP Yamaha outboard engine and accessories amounts to 29734.64/-EURO. With the remainder of the donated amount, approximately 10000/-EURO, the technical school is purchasing essential equipment for the workshops and even a trailer for our tractor which is the only motorised vehicle on Mfangano Island. Once again, to one and all, THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU. The solemn BLESSING and the “BAPTISM” of the new boat took place on 1^st December 2003. It is named XAVIER-CELLINE (after St. Francis Xavier and St. Marcellin Champagnat). It was not possible to follow our original plan to have the blessing and official launching of the boat on the 3^rd December, the feast of St. Francis Xavier, the Patron of all Xaverians of Hong Kong. The entire staff with their families, our students and many friends of our Polytechnic gathered on and around XAVIER-CELLINE as we celebrated the Eucharist with the parish priest of our island on the boat. On New Year's Day 2004 we had the Brothers from Orore and Roo (our two other mission stations) as our special guests; we again celebrated the Eucharist with our island priest, shared in a communal meal and went for a test ride on Africa's largest lake. Go Back to Table of Contents *Brief Report on Alumni Activities* Annual Ball 24 tables of Brothers, teachers, old boys and guests joined in the warmth and fun in our Annual Ball 2003 held on 6 December 2003 (Saturday) at Royal Plaza Hotel Grand Ballroom. It was an occasion transcending ages with old boys coming from the 60's to this millennium. If you still remember, December 3^rd marks the anniversary of St. Francis Xavier, and all of us have enjoyed a day of games, songs, and laughter on this day every year in our school time. We purposely scheduled our ball around this very date to let us recapture the jubilation and exaltation. Unfortunately, the date coincided with the 40^th anniversary dinner of CUHK which drew away lots of our old boys. We have yet to determine how and when our next Ball will be arranged, with 40^th anniversary dinner of SFXS, TW coming into sight this year-end, and the golden jubilee dinner of SFXC, Kowloon taking turn next year. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to let us know through email: sfxaa@xaverians.net. Happy Hours Gathering Our Happy Hours Gatherings have grown into more variety than ever. Chan Cho Hung (K64) has once been a speaker telling us his school life from a student and a teacher's perspective. A discussion forum was also held on the topic of retirement. More recently David Lan (K57) shared with us how he handled and managed pressure from his lifelong experience of serving the government. Particularly noteworthy was the joint organization of such gatherings with SFXS (TW) Alumni Association in the hope of enhancing the bond between the two alumni bodies. The number of participants varied from above ten to dozens on every occasion. We heard that most old boys enjoyed this kind of arrangement and they would usually make use of this occasion as their gathering with old buddies. We look forward to a closer tie among all old boys through such casual and warm gatherings New Year Visit to Brothers We have arranged a new year visit to Brothers on 31 January 2004. We would like this to be a tradition that old boys will bring our greetings to the Brothers with warmth, love and care at this season of coming years. Read http://www.sfxs.edu.hk/~sfxsaa/brother/newyear04/newyear04.htm for photos. Alumni Mutual Career Help Some old boys have suggested to us a system to assist old boys with job hunting, career development or headhunting. We are certainly aware that many sensitive issues will have to be tackled as regards building such a mutual help system. While we are figuring out how this can be done, your suggestions are always welcome. Go Back to Table of Contents *Call for articles* Inspired by any articles? Any stories to share? Starting this term, the Alumni has formed a newsletter sub-committee whose members comprise both schools' old boys ranging from the 50's to the 90's. With this new task force, we pledge to bring more colors to our newsletter, and while it is a newsletter for the old boys, we would like to make it a newsletter of the old boys, and by the old boys. We hereby call for articles from every one of the alumni family. Now you have a chance to contribute. Be it a piece of critics towards some social issues, reminiscences of your school life at SFX, or stories of your life and work, you're most welcome! We believe the first and second issues of the reformed newsletter will be the touchstone for even more interesting articles to come in future. We plan to publish our newsletters roughly quarterly, and articles are accepted all the year round. Just submit your contributed articles to us any time and we will try to include yours in the next issue. Please note that the sub-committee will have the final editorial right. Currently the newsletter sub-committee consists of the following members. Dennis Lin (K57) William Wong (K63) Timothy Yuen Wai Wa (K78) Lee Kim Hung (T83) Chow Ka Po (K91) Go Back to Table of Contents Acknowledgment Thanks are given to all old boys and teachers who have contributed articles and photos, and to Bro. Gregory's translated article from Germany. SUPPORT THE ALUMNI SUPPORT OUR ALMA MATER

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