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My Journal
by Stanley
March 18, 2006
Well, I finally arrived in
Hong Kong today after a very long and bumpy ride. When I
left America, no one told me that Hong Kong was over 8,000
miles away! Since I've arrived I have found out that Hong
Kong is right near China - at the very southern tip,
actually. It used to belong to England, but a few years ago,
England gave it back to China. I thought that was nice of
them. So now it's kind of a part of China. It's called a
Special Administrative Region so it's "separate but apart."
Maybe I'll ask the teacher to explain this to me more when I
get home.
I can't believe I'm in the
office of Jackie Chan. Jackie Chan!!! World famous actor,
stuntman, director, producer, martial artist, and nice guy.
I was greeted by Katharine when I got here. She is the
webmaster of Jackie's Internet sites and she's also an
assistant at the office. She told me that she's from New
York and used to be a teacher there, so she knew about the
Flat Stanley project. I thought that was cool. I was happy
that I didn't have to explain what I was doing here.
Right after I got here, you'll never guess who came into the
office. JACKIE CHAN!!! I was so excited that I nearly fell
off the desk. It's a lucky thing that I didn't or I could
have gotten a very nasty paper cut. Anyway, Katharine
introduced me to Jackie and we took a few photos. Here are
two for you to see:
Jackie and I spent some time together talking
and laughing. I wanted to show him some kung-fu moves
because I know I could teach him some new things, but when I
tried he couldn't stop laughing. It's okay. Maybe I can show
him some of my moves later. He was probably laughing from
nervousness because he was afraid that I might hurt him. I
would never do that. I would be very careful when teaching
him some new moves.
Well, after spending
the day hanging out with Jackie at the office, Katharine
told me she had to go home. She gave me a nice place to
sleep at her work station and told me that she'd see me on
Monday. I'll write more soon!
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March 21,
2006
Today when Katharine got to the
office, she put me right to work
at the reception desk. My job
was to say hello to people who
come to visit at the office and
to answer the phone. I think I
did a very good job. Here I am
at the reception desk: |
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The thing on the
counter that looks like a round
space ship is really a candy
dispenser that Jackie designed
himself. It's loaded with all kinds
of candy, but I didn't want to ruin
my appetite, so I didn't eat any.
Well, I'm very tired
now after a busy day at reception,
so I will go to sleep. I'll write
more tomorrow!
March 23
I was so busy
yesterday that I didn't have time to
write in my journal! Katharine took
me to the park behind Jackie's
office to have a look around. It's
so beautiful! There is a basketball
court, a playground, and even a
temple. The walls behind Jackie's
office are amazing because they are
covered with a mural. Katharine told
me that a mural is a really big
painting usually done on a wall. I
asked her why there was a mural
painted on the wall behind Jackie's
office. She told me that one day
Jackie was outside and noticed that
the wall was covered with ugly
graffiti. This made him sad, so he
hired some artists to come in and
paint something pretty on the walls.
There are all kinds of things
painted there including a little
restaurant scene. Here's a photo of
me having a snack at the restaurant: |
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Of course it's not
really a restaurant; it's just a
painting. But that's okay because I
am a painting too.
Katharine showed me
the temple also. It's so pretty and
there was incense burning in big
pots all around. People go there to
pray and give offerings to the gods.
Here I am in front of the temple: |
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When Kath (she said I
could call her "Kath") and I came
back inside, I had a look around.
Jackie has lots of cool toys at the
office, and my favorite is his
Segway. The Segway is like a scooter
and Jackie loves to ride his. He
takes it with him everywhere he
goes! Since I do not have a driver's
license, I didn't take it for a
ride, but I hopped on anyway so I
could have a photo taken to show
you: |
On the wall Jackie displays
miniature posters from all of his
movies. Here is a photo of me
starring in a movie with Jackie: |
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In the hallway of the office is a
large cardboard Jackie showing
everyone how he feels about smoking.
I joined him to pass the message to
you (Don't Smoke!!): |
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It's been such a busy day at the
office and I'm very tired. Kath said
that if I'm really good she will
take me on an adventure on Sunday. I
can't wait! I love adventures. |
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March 26
You
will not believe
where I went today!
Kath took me to the
film studio to watch
Jackie shoot his new
movie! The movie is
called Rob-B-Hood
and it's a comedy
about a thief with a
good heart. The film
stars Jackie and a
little baby named
Matthew. Matthew
wasn't there the day
I visited, so I
didn't get to meet
him. But I had such
a great time anyway!
Jackie really likes
me and since he
knows that I am very
quiet and well
behaved, he took me
all over the set.
Here is a photo of
me sitting in the
director's seat next
to Jackie: |
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And
here I am with the
director of the
movie, Benny Chan.
Benny has directed
many of Jackie's
movies and he's a
really nice man. I
gave him a few tips
about how to get the
best emotion out of
his actors. I think
he was happy to have
my help. |
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After
Jackie, Benny, and I
talked about some
more scenes, I went
to look around the
set a little bit.
It's a very large
room with really
high ceilings. It is
probably about the
same height as your
school gym and about
half the size. I
noticed that one of
the stuntmen was
playing cards over
in the corner, so I
introduced myself to
him. He was very
friendly and funny.
His
name is Ken Low and
he's very famous. He
was in Rush Hour,
Rush Hour 2, and
many other movies
with Jackie. He is a
world champion kick
boxer, so I decided
not to make him
angry in any way.
Here I am with Ken: |
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I
asked him why he had
a blue dragon
painted on his head
and he told me that
the character he
plays in Rob-B-Hood
is a tough guy, so
he needed to look
tough. Do you think
he looks tough?
Just
as I was about to
say goodbye to Ken,
Jackie came over and
told me that it was
time for my scene.
Oh, I forgot to tell
you! I am performing
one of the stunts in
the movie. I had to
go to "make-up" and
"hair" (that's the
way we talk in the
film business).
Jackie's personal
hair dresser,
Ronald, gave me a
quick touch up.
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Next
it was over to
wardrobe (that's the
place where you get
dressed up for your
scene). We looked
through the clothes,
but Jackie wears a
size or two larger
than me, so they
didn't really fit.
They decided that I
was wearing the
perfect outfit for
the scene anyway, so
I didn't have to get
changed: |
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Jackie led me over
to one of the sets
(a "set" is a place
where they film the
scenes for the
movie) and I waited
while he explained
to the stunt team
who I was and what I
was doing there. (A
"stunt team" is a
group of people who
train very hard so
that they can
perform stunts in
movies. A stunt is
when someone falls
down the stairs, has
a fist fight, jumps
out a window, etc.)
Jackie told me that
I should never try
any of the stunts
that I see in
movies. He said that
the team is highly
trained and there
are a lot of hidden
safety devices that
are used to make
sure no one gets
hurt during filming.
Here's Jackie
discussing my stunt
with the team: |
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Then
it was time for my
stunt! I took a deep
breath while Jackie
got me ready. Here I
am with Jackie as he
prepares me to be
lifted way up to the
ceiling on a rope
(I'm so flat that
it's hard to see me
in the photo!): |
And here I am going up, up,
up in the air:
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I was
a little nervous to
be up so close to
the ceiling, but
Jackie shouted
encouragement to me
from below. I
performed my stunt
and then the crew
applauded, and then
let me down.
Jackie was very
pleased with my
performance and gave
me the thumbs-up: |
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Afterwards, Jackie
asked me to help out
a little bit more so
I gave him a little
advice about the
camera while he
filmed a scene.
Jackie does a very
good job with
filming and I know
he appreciated my
help: |
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Jackie showed me all
the different
equipment on the set
and he wanted to
show you too. Here
is Jackie telling
you that this piece
of equipment is
called a crane. He
repeated it a few
times so you could
learn better.
"Crane. Crane."
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Soon
it was time to
leave, so I rushed
over to have a quick
game of basketball
with Ken Low before
I had to say
goodbye. You may
wonder why all these
games are on a movie
set. It is because
the scene in the
movie takes place in
a game room. Since
there is so much
equipment (cameras,
rigs, etc.) they
can't fit everything
into a real game
room, so they build
a special one at the
movie studio. It
looks just like a
real game room): |
I said
goodbye to everyone and
Jackie insisted that we take
one last photo of me with
the camera:
I said thank
you to Jackie and the crew,
and Kath and I headed back
to the office.
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March
28, 2006
Today is
my last
day in
Hong
Kong.
Kath is
going to
put me
in an
envelope
and send
me back
home. I
am sad
that I
have to
leave,
but I am
also
excited
that I
will be
going
home.
Kath
says I
am
having
"mixed
feelings."
I wonder
if
that's
anything
like the
"mixed
nuts"
that
Grandma
keeps in
a can in
her
kitchen.
I guess
it is.
Maybe if
a peanut
is like
sadness
and a
cashew
is like
happiness
and you
mixed
them
together
in your
mouth,
that
would be
like
"mixed
feelings."
Anyway,
I can't
wait to
share my
adventures
with
everyone.
I have
had a
wonderful
time.
Everyone
at
Jackie's
office
was so
nice to
me and
Jackie
is a
very
sweet
man.
He's
also
very
clever
and fun
to be
with. He
told me
that he
loves
kids and
that he
spends a
lot of
his
spare
time
helping
kids who
are poor
or sick.
It's
called
"charity
work." I
told
Jackie
that I
would
try to
help
some
poor or
sick
kids
when I
got back
to
America.
That
made him
smile.
He told
me to
study
hard in
school
and to
be nice
to my
parents.
So
goodbye
Hong
Kong,
hello
America!!
It's
been a
great
trip.
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Several
weeks after
Stanely was
sent home,
we received
a note from
his teacher
in America.
She told us
that her
class was
very excited
when they
found out
that Jackie
Chan had
written back
to them.
"Their
little
mouths
stayed open
as I read
through the
journal and
showed the
autographed
picture.
They were
beyond
excited and
just
amazed!"
She also
told us how
excited she
was to hear
about
Jackie's
commitment
to education
and his love
for kids.
She sent
along photos
of the
beautiful
display they
created to
tell
everyone
about
Stanley's
trip. Here
are the
photos:
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The
autographed photo
from Jackie was put
in a special frame
and given a place of
honor in the
classroom!
Their
teacher mounted each
of the journal pages
and made a beautiful
display for the
hallway!
The
hallway display.
Many
thanks to Stanley's
teacher and
classmates for
sending us the
photos. Jackie
really enjoyed
taking part in the
Flat Stanley Project
and many of the
ideas for the photos
of Stanley came from
Jackie himself. He
was very excited
about the project
and told everyone on
the set about it.
Jackie really does
believe in
importance of
education, and he
shows that learning
can be fun!
You
can read more about
the Flat Stanley
Project
here
at their official
website.
All
photos ©2006 The JC
Group
/
X? s? 100 ngày
/
©2006
The JC Group
No part of this
website may be
reproduced or
distributed without
permission.
Special thanks for
Katharine Mysak for
allowing this to be
used in conjunction
with the Flat
Stanley Project.
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