WuiT #054: Tony Masalonis

Filed Under: Learning Chinese, Lu-Wei, Matzu.
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Tony Masalonis if from The U.S. and currently working in Taiwan as an aviation safety consultant. He is very serious about studying Chinese during his leisure hours and gave us a very detailed explanation of his Chinese name during the interview. He enjoys Taiwan very much and shared his love for lu-wei ( a Taiwanese dish with meat or fowl stewed with soy sauce and strained before serving) and the Kinmen and Matsu Islands.

This interview was conducted in terminal 2 of Song-Shan Airport, a place where even many locals are unaware of its existence. Mr. Masalonis gave us a brief introduction of the history and background of the building.

Tony(his web site) also writes as a hobby. The following is a sample of his work which he tries to capture the harmony of nature and urban intenseness that is Taipei and Taiwan.

"The Wind partners with streetlights to light green leaves into sparkle.
But the bus’s bright green numbers outshine it all.
Despite a high pitched dog, and subdued traffic hum
There’s a relative stillness, peaceful waiting

Back at eye level the haggard hookers hello-hello aggressively
At clearly Asiafied foreigners with faces creased from sorrow and joy of adapting, of being adopted, of wincing quizically,
mouths curled garishly from pronouncing x and q
pupils dilated from gazing at followed stars, moons and bus-lit trees –

perhaps irreparably but if it’s reparable why gaze?"

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Tony 在台灣擔任航空安全顧問。平常工作之餘，他很認真的學習中文，訪問中並解釋了他自己選擇的中文名字：嗎簡謄。他很喜歡台灣的滷味並推薦馬祖。

本次訪問在松山機場第二航站進行，很多人都不知道台北松山機場有第二航站，Tony也在訪問中簡單介紹了一下松山第二航站的背景。

閒暇時間，Tony還喜歡寫詩、作詞，他特別寄了一首描寫他的台灣（台北）印象的詩，有興趣的朋友不妨將它翻譯出來。