I never imagined how powerful the things we read, listen to and see thru entertainment venues are when it comes to shaping our perceptions of others and, ultimately, reality about different cultures.
Living in a foreign country can give a person an entirely different view of the world’s cultures and issues. I had a very unique experience during election week, one that most people will not likely experience and therefore I’d like to share it with you. In my school I am the only American; therefore I was impacted by the election in different ways than the Canadians and Taiwanese that I encounter here. Everyone was interested in the results, but it was “closer to home” for me. Because we are 13 hours ahead of Michigan time, I had no idea which candidates back home were ahead or had already won on November 4th, however I still celebrated like it was a holiday. Strangely, the election process seemed to take on more importance to me living here in Taiwan. My spirits were high and I wore an American flag sticker on my shirt. In between my classes, I even sang the Star-Spangled Banner for students. Because word got around about my singing, I had to sing many times for different students; I think I sang at least 15 times through the course of the day! Some students asked why I had the sticker on my shirt, and I told them it was voting day in America. They did not understand this without proper illustrations on the chalk board. The names “Obama” and “McCain” were, surprisingly, well known even to my sixth grade Taiwanese students. Results were not online for us until Wednesday, November 5th, which turned into another day of patriotic displays on my part. A good friend of mine mailed me “I voted” stickers and they arrived on the 5th, so I was able to enjoy that patriotic privilege even being so far from home. I actually voted several weeks earlier by absentee ballot.
When the results were finally in, the two Canadian teachers found it humorous to make insults in regards to America in general and their form of democracy. Anything they could come up with to push my buttons, they found rather entertaining. Regardless of who I voted for, or who won, I still took it as a patriotic day and showed my love of country. Many teachers at lunch made me aware of the results, even though I had been checking CNN almost every ten minutes. Unlike the Canadians in our midst, my Taiwanese peers were very respectful and supportive of my culture and exhibitions of patriotism.
Getting back to the development of one’s perception of a particular culture, I would like to discuss how modern “pop culture” seems to create illusions, or “skew reality” as it pertains to how others see Americans. In Taiwan, and I suspect in many other countries, the biggest influence of American culture comes from none other than television. The English channels (HBO, Cinemax, and TV sitcoms) all seem to be centered on guns, violence, sex, and profanity. Most here have come to the conclusion that this is daily American life. Many of my Taiwanese friends think that everyone walks around with a gun, is promiscuous, overweight, and swears in every sentence. What other conclusion could they draw given the source? Hardly anyone has any direct experience with our culture. American television and movies are definitely entertaining and action-packed, but is this the impression we want to give to other countries? It is slightly unnerving to think that my country, my family and friends, are seen as a bunch of overweight bums shooting at anyone that makes them angry. Obviously, that is not reality for the majority of Americans. I am thankful that I have the opportunity to influence so many people and show them, first-hand, that all Americans aren’t how they believe them to be.
In that same light, I have noticed that many of my students pick up popular words and phrases from watching American television. More than likely they don’t know the meaning of what they are saying. Instead, they are hoping to get a reaction from their native-speaking teacher. I have had many students use the “f-word” in my class, as well as other profane words when it is obvious they have no clue of the connotation. Even adults think that the English word for buttocks begins with an “a.” Lately, I’ve been hearing students refer to one another as “baby.” My favorite case is when a third grade student came up to me and said “teacher, you are hot.” I knew that he had meant it in a different way, but I replied, “no, I’m cold today…brrr.” That wasn’t the reaction he had expected, but I haven’t had that word used around me since.
Think about the stereotypes we have all insidiously developed in regards to different groups of people. Maybe you have formed a stereotype from what you have read or experienced yourself thru various forms of media or entertainment. I do not mean to imply that one’s perception of a culture or a group of people is always negative when they are formed from secondary sources, rather, just that it is skewed by the origin of the source. Coming to an Asian country, I imagined that my Taiwanese friends would excel in mathematics, that most would be a few inches shorter than I was accustom to and that many would be masters in the art of Kung-Fu or some form of martial arts. I was surprised when a Taiwanese friend asked me for math help. I am still a little taken back when I see a person taller than 6 feet and I don’t know anymore than five people that are even interested in the martial arts. Well, I have to tell you that I, like many, was caught in the trap of stereotyping about the Asian culture. I’m so grateful that this experience has opened my eyes to the subconscious beliefs we all seem to harbor in regards different cultures. As a result of the teacher exchange program I have been able to recognize that perceptions are just that, perceptions, and often times not realities. I have a sense that this lesson will serve me well in my life after this experience. As appreciative as I am for my experience here in Taiwan, I have to admit I wish that it didn’t take such a huge life commitment to make this realization.
I challenge you to compile a list of all the traits you imagine when you think of a certain group of people. Do a little research. I truly believe that at least half of the stereotypes you originally compiled will be flawed. May this be a lesson to us all.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Christmas Day
Christmas Day for me was both the best and the worst day that I've had in a while. It was my first away from home, which was very sad, but also empowering making me feel like an independent woman. The morning was the best. I woke up and while still in bed, I turned on my computer and set it up on a pillow. First I called my Dad and JC (because they "scheduled" the earlier time slot). We talked for about an hour and opened all our presents together. JC had me read her card out loud and I got a little choked up, so I wasn't even going to open Dad's until I was alone. He tends to me a man of words and his cards always touch my heart. I wanted it to be a happy time and not turn into a crying mess. So, next came the presents. Dad and JC and my brother seemed to like the little things I found for them. It was really hard to find souvenirs that aren't junky. It was great to talk to them and feel the love and laughter that is always present in that household. JC and I have a lot of traditions we do together at the holidays (shopping, baking, decorating...) and it was really sad to not be able to do those. She did a great job on her own, but I can't wait till I can be a help again! (Or start my own traditions! YAY). So after I talked to them, it was time to call the other side of the family! My mom and Gordy were over at Erin and Jason's waiting for my calll. It toook a while to connect because our computers were just not agreeing, but when we finally did, it was great to see everyone! The haircuts, the lost weight, the smiles, the jokes! I felt like I was there with them. They also enjoyed their gifts and I enjoyed the care package from Mom and Gordy. The funniest part was when mom opened the sea weed snacks and actually tried them! The reaction from both her and Bailey were hilarious! They were spitting and gagging at the nasty fishy taste. I would never try them. During the conversation, the boys got bored so I ended up getting to just chat with my mom and sister. It was nice to feel together at the holidays. I was so happy to talk to everyone on Christmas morning. Once I got off the phone with everyone, I wanted to take a nap. The night before I had the other two cheer coaches, Vince and Gilbert, over and we stayed up pretty late. But, before I could even lay down, Mr. Huang knocked on my door. He told me that his co-worker was coming over in ten minutes to take me shopping. I had already told him that it was too late to cook Christmas dinner because I have to get the cooking supplies the day before and start preparing in the morning. He agreed that we would have hot pot in their home, but the co-worker would take me to the mall. I'm not sure why he thought I wanted to go shopping, but it wasn't worth trying to discuss. So, I got dressed and before I knew it, the creepy co-worker that always stares at me was there to take me. He was being such a gentleman and I tend to think that in his eyes this was a date. First, he took me to this field of beautiful flowers and took my picture a few times. He drove very slowly on the scooter, I think for my safety. He barely speaks a word of English, so once we got to the mall the silence was very awkward. I didn't really feel like shopping because I was tired and had a headache. I bought a few things then said I was done. He asked if I was hungry and I pointed to McDonalds. Sitting across from each other over lunch was so awkward. I would try to break the silence, but he didn't understand what I was trying to say. He even called a friend to join us...and the three of us sat their in silence. So awkward. I could only look around the room so many times to avoid the eye contact. Somehow, he managed to ask if I wanted to see a movie. I definetely wasn't going to turn this into a date...so I said I would rather go home. Thankfully, this wasn't an issue, so he took me home. He carried my bags and even my PURSE! It was so strange. Taiwanese men do this, but I typically tell them it's ok and I can carry my own purse. He didn't understand. So, once I got home I took a nap.
I woke up to the sound of the maid and Mrs. Huang preparing hot pot. I think they hold the world record for the loudest choppers ever! So, I got up and presentable and offered my help. They did not need any help because there was not enough room in the kitchen. Soon, family started to trickle in. Mr. Huang's entire family and their spouses and kids showed up. I thought, "oh this is wonderful, it's like a big family celebration at Christmas" The day was finally feeling like Christmas. Except...no one really talked to me. A few people said hi, and Mr. Huang's sister, Kathy talked to me for about ten minutes. Out of three hours. As each minute ticked by, I felt more and more lonely. It was Christmas and I was the little white girl in the corner watching everyone laugh and tell Chinese jokes. I didn't want to leave and seem rude, so I tried to make the best of it. When everyone was done eating, I asked everyone to come in the room for the gift exchange. Mr. Huang said he had to smoke first, and Derek wouldn't come in. HELLO PEOPLE - PRESENTS! I laughed and told Mr. Huang he could wait and let's do presents first. We exchanged. I had to tell everyone to open them...they were just going to take it and walk away. Mr. and Mrs. Huang never opened their gifts. Derek opened his, then I opened mine, and the maid opened hers. It was when Lynn opened hers that the day turned sour. I got her very nice earrings that were more money than the limit we set. She took one look at them and her face fell to a pout. She sat there in shock for a minute and then stood up and started a hissy fit RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. Obviously, she hated them...I don't know why. They were sterling silver and nice. I bought them from her Grandma's jewelry store (hopefully she can exchange or return them this way). This hissy fit went on for about ten minutes while her grandma, the maid, and her mom tried to block her from my view. I knew exactly what was happening the whole time. Never an acknowledgment of the gifts. Never a thank you. I was crushed. I could've cried right there. Instead I pretended I didn't see anything.
When the party started to dwindle down, I went into my room. I was feeling so homesick and hurt from what Lynn had done. Everything came together and I couldn't keep MYSELF together, so I began to cry. Just then, Damien calls. I tried to hide the fact that I was crying, but he could tell. He wouldn't hang up with me either, because he knew I would just cry all night and spin into a bad situation...so he kept talking to me and trying to make me feel better. That was a nice gesture, but I really just wanted to be alone. Once we hung up, I hung out by myself for a while before calling my dad. He was expecting the call, I'm sure...and had a little chuckle when he saw it was me. I told him I was feeling lonely and homesick and just wanted to talk. After five minutes, I felt better and calmed down. I'm sure he's sick of it, but when I'm upset, I call him and the call always makes me feel better. I don't know if it's what he says or just that his shoulder is there for my tears. Thanks Dad! My mom is there too, don't get me wrong...but sometimes we women let our emotions take over what really needs to get done and we'll just cry together. Sometimes that is what I need...and I'll go to my mom just so she can hug me and tell me it's ok to cry and be sad and she will just want to hug me until it's all better. That's why God gave us two parents, each have their strengths to help us in hard times.
Anyway, Friday was a new day and back to work - and I felt much better. I knew that soon the day would be over and I would not dwell on it anymore...but I think I needed to cry and feel homesick for a few hours...I haven't cried or felt homesick at all since I've been here....so it's nice that the feelings surfaced when we all knew they were somewhere deep inside.
One thing I learned this Christmas...I love the holidays and I love being around my family. Though I love traveling, I hope that I can always be with my family on Christmas no matter where in the world I'm living at the time.!
I woke up to the sound of the maid and Mrs. Huang preparing hot pot. I think they hold the world record for the loudest choppers ever! So, I got up and presentable and offered my help. They did not need any help because there was not enough room in the kitchen. Soon, family started to trickle in. Mr. Huang's entire family and their spouses and kids showed up. I thought, "oh this is wonderful, it's like a big family celebration at Christmas" The day was finally feeling like Christmas. Except...no one really talked to me. A few people said hi, and Mr. Huang's sister, Kathy talked to me for about ten minutes. Out of three hours. As each minute ticked by, I felt more and more lonely. It was Christmas and I was the little white girl in the corner watching everyone laugh and tell Chinese jokes. I didn't want to leave and seem rude, so I tried to make the best of it. When everyone was done eating, I asked everyone to come in the room for the gift exchange. Mr. Huang said he had to smoke first, and Derek wouldn't come in. HELLO PEOPLE - PRESENTS! I laughed and told Mr. Huang he could wait and let's do presents first. We exchanged. I had to tell everyone to open them...they were just going to take it and walk away. Mr. and Mrs. Huang never opened their gifts. Derek opened his, then I opened mine, and the maid opened hers. It was when Lynn opened hers that the day turned sour. I got her very nice earrings that were more money than the limit we set. She took one look at them and her face fell to a pout. She sat there in shock for a minute and then stood up and started a hissy fit RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. Obviously, she hated them...I don't know why. They were sterling silver and nice. I bought them from her Grandma's jewelry store (hopefully she can exchange or return them this way). This hissy fit went on for about ten minutes while her grandma, the maid, and her mom tried to block her from my view. I knew exactly what was happening the whole time. Never an acknowledgment of the gifts. Never a thank you. I was crushed. I could've cried right there. Instead I pretended I didn't see anything.
When the party started to dwindle down, I went into my room. I was feeling so homesick and hurt from what Lynn had done. Everything came together and I couldn't keep MYSELF together, so I began to cry. Just then, Damien calls. I tried to hide the fact that I was crying, but he could tell. He wouldn't hang up with me either, because he knew I would just cry all night and spin into a bad situation...so he kept talking to me and trying to make me feel better. That was a nice gesture, but I really just wanted to be alone. Once we hung up, I hung out by myself for a while before calling my dad. He was expecting the call, I'm sure...and had a little chuckle when he saw it was me. I told him I was feeling lonely and homesick and just wanted to talk. After five minutes, I felt better and calmed down. I'm sure he's sick of it, but when I'm upset, I call him and the call always makes me feel better. I don't know if it's what he says or just that his shoulder is there for my tears. Thanks Dad! My mom is there too, don't get me wrong...but sometimes we women let our emotions take over what really needs to get done and we'll just cry together. Sometimes that is what I need...and I'll go to my mom just so she can hug me and tell me it's ok to cry and be sad and she will just want to hug me until it's all better. That's why God gave us two parents, each have their strengths to help us in hard times.
Anyway, Friday was a new day and back to work - and I felt much better. I knew that soon the day would be over and I would not dwell on it anymore...but I think I needed to cry and feel homesick for a few hours...I haven't cried or felt homesick at all since I've been here....so it's nice that the feelings surfaced when we all knew they were somewhere deep inside.
One thing I learned this Christmas...I love the holidays and I love being around my family. Though I love traveling, I hope that I can always be with my family on Christmas no matter where in the world I'm living at the time.!
Where am I again?
Friday I encountered an incident that is not common to Taiwan, but would probably happen in an American school. After lunch, I was walking back to my classroom, when I saw a few boys playing "lookout" in a corner where there is no camera surveillance (also happens to be right below my classroom). So I yelled from the end of the hall "what is going on." When I was ignored, I ran down the hall to try and catch what was happening before everyone ran away. When I got there, I looked around the corner and saw some kids with air soft pellet guns, but I couldn't get to them (or see their number on their uniform) because one of the big "lookout" kids held my arm so I couldn't go anywhere. I couldn't break free because he was much bigger than me, but once I did, all the kids had run away. I figured I couldn't do anything about it because I didn't get their numbers and I don't know their names. So I just didn't say anything about it. Well, at the 3:00 break, I heard what sounded like a pellet gun being shot. When I looked out my window, I saw nothing. I heard it again, then I heard a "tink" on the table next to me. I look out the window, and see nothing. I ran over to the hallway and looked down to the secret corner, where I saw kids loading pellets into the gun. THEY WHERE SHOOTING INTO MY CLASSROOM WINDOW! So, I run out of my classroom and tell Gerry to catch the kids and get their numbers, while I run upstairs to get a Taiwanese teacher. By time we came back downstairs, Gerry had chased two kids across campus and gotten the attention of some school personell. They said they were taking care of it.
I was going to just forget about the whole ordeal until Bette encouraged me to do something about it. Of course, Bette is a little more bold than me and can be quite the hell-raiser, so I didn't take her advice to the "t". She told me to go to the office and tell them that I was upset and something needed to be done. After her talk, I was pumped up and ready to boldy tell the school officials how angry I was. Well, the 2 minute walk there calmed me down and once I arrived, I was like a noodle again. I gently told them what had happened. THEY LAUGHED! I told them again a little firmer this time, and they still laughed. Finally, ONLY to get my point across, I told them that if a pellet had hit me I would be back on the plane to America. I said that NO student should be touching me, let alone restraining me, and that I shouldn't have to deal with kids treating me like this. They agreed, and another teacher stepped in to tell me they would be punished. One of the school directors asked me what I wanted to give as their punishment. I told them that punishing them was not my responsibility and I don't know what punishments are in this country, so please don't lay that on me. They called the students to the office and screamed and hit them (I felt horrible now, because of me these students were getting blows to the back of the head....I was on the verge of tears). I sat there in an extremely uncomfortable situation for as long as I could stand, then I asked if I could leave. I was told that they would deal with the kids and tell their parents, and on Monday the kids would make it up to me. I was so overwhelmed with different emotions at this point, I just wanted to go home.
On Monday morning, the student that restrained me came to the English office with his teacher to apologize and give me a big box of fresh fruit. In translation, he told me that he hoped I could forgive him and move on with the year. I am sure that both the school and his parents really layed into him, so I am okay with the situation. I thanked him and now it's over.
At lunch the FETs and the native teachers discussed this recent lack of respect for the foreign teachers. It's mostly coming from the 6th graders and we can't exactly pinpoint why. Of course, being a teacher in a foreign land with a language barrier, it's difficult to discipline and maintain classroom order sometimes. That is why the homeroom Taiwanese teacher is supposed to accompany the students in class and help with discipline and translation when needed. They don't always show up, and if they do they are grading papers and usually do not help at all. I have learned to accept this and do the best I can. I have cashed out my ideas for discipline, and now we are brainstorming what else might work. It is very frustrating to have students that don't respect me. I can understand in my own land how this might be a fun game for students to play...but when I sacrificed a year of my life with my friends and family to live in a completely different culture, you would think perhaps I would get a little more appreciation and respect.
The taiwanese teachers are going to speak to the classes and hopefully next semester we will start off on the right foot. I know one thing is for sure: I'm going to start off with pictures of procedures in my classroom. When I talk, you don't. When I say quiet, you are quiet. Bring your book to every class. Not that difficult is it?
I was going to just forget about the whole ordeal until Bette encouraged me to do something about it. Of course, Bette is a little more bold than me and can be quite the hell-raiser, so I didn't take her advice to the "t". She told me to go to the office and tell them that I was upset and something needed to be done. After her talk, I was pumped up and ready to boldy tell the school officials how angry I was. Well, the 2 minute walk there calmed me down and once I arrived, I was like a noodle again. I gently told them what had happened. THEY LAUGHED! I told them again a little firmer this time, and they still laughed. Finally, ONLY to get my point across, I told them that if a pellet had hit me I would be back on the plane to America. I said that NO student should be touching me, let alone restraining me, and that I shouldn't have to deal with kids treating me like this. They agreed, and another teacher stepped in to tell me they would be punished. One of the school directors asked me what I wanted to give as their punishment. I told them that punishing them was not my responsibility and I don't know what punishments are in this country, so please don't lay that on me. They called the students to the office and screamed and hit them (I felt horrible now, because of me these students were getting blows to the back of the head....I was on the verge of tears). I sat there in an extremely uncomfortable situation for as long as I could stand, then I asked if I could leave. I was told that they would deal with the kids and tell their parents, and on Monday the kids would make it up to me. I was so overwhelmed with different emotions at this point, I just wanted to go home.
On Monday morning, the student that restrained me came to the English office with his teacher to apologize and give me a big box of fresh fruit. In translation, he told me that he hoped I could forgive him and move on with the year. I am sure that both the school and his parents really layed into him, so I am okay with the situation. I thanked him and now it's over.
At lunch the FETs and the native teachers discussed this recent lack of respect for the foreign teachers. It's mostly coming from the 6th graders and we can't exactly pinpoint why. Of course, being a teacher in a foreign land with a language barrier, it's difficult to discipline and maintain classroom order sometimes. That is why the homeroom Taiwanese teacher is supposed to accompany the students in class and help with discipline and translation when needed. They don't always show up, and if they do they are grading papers and usually do not help at all. I have learned to accept this and do the best I can. I have cashed out my ideas for discipline, and now we are brainstorming what else might work. It is very frustrating to have students that don't respect me. I can understand in my own land how this might be a fun game for students to play...but when I sacrificed a year of my life with my friends and family to live in a completely different culture, you would think perhaps I would get a little more appreciation and respect.
The taiwanese teachers are going to speak to the classes and hopefully next semester we will start off on the right foot. I know one thing is for sure: I'm going to start off with pictures of procedures in my classroom. When I talk, you don't. When I say quiet, you are quiet. Bring your book to every class. Not that difficult is it?
Monday, December 22, 2008
Taiwan Medicinal Myths
These are a few things that Taiwanese hold to be true for life and death. I have cracked the code, and done these things in front of a Taiwanese person and they FREAK out everytime. It's quite an enjoyable experience - lol!
When you are sick:
NO ICE WATER
No watermelon
No oranges
Lots of warm water (yuck)
No food with any flavor (spicy, onion, garlic....)
Do drink ginger root seeped in hot water (the most disgusting concoction I've ever tasted)
Do NOT mix:
Honey and hot water (poisonous?)
Hot food with a cold beverage (or vice versa)
taking medicine with anything but water (take it with Coke and they FREAK)
I will add to this list as I discover more medicinal myths!
When you are sick:
NO ICE WATER
No watermelon
No oranges
Lots of warm water (yuck)
No food with any flavor (spicy, onion, garlic....)
Do drink ginger root seeped in hot water (the most disgusting concoction I've ever tasted)
Do NOT mix:
Honey and hot water (poisonous?)
Hot food with a cold beverage (or vice versa)
taking medicine with anything but water (take it with Coke and they FREAK)
I will add to this list as I discover more medicinal myths!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
School's birthday celebration
Every school in Taiwan has a celebration each year. For elementary schools, it's a huge event and most of the parents attend. Our celebration was this past Saturday - and it's safe to say that it was beyond a huge event. As foreign English teachers, we were asked to host the event so that the parents could have the chance to see and hear us. We were also asked to do a ten minute performance, which we chose to do a silly game show. This ten minute show took almost a month of preparation and weeks of rehearsals. The week before the celebration, all the school staff were running around frantically preparing for Saturday. It wasn't until I arrived on school property that I realized just how overblown this celebration had become. There were beautiful flower arraignments decorating the school yard, 20 brand new bikes that would be given away, along with several other wrapped gifts that would be given away. On the stage in the center of the school sat "very important people" dressed in suits and treated like royalty.
The day began and we read our lines for hosting the event. First, there were student clubs that performed for the "important people on stage." There was a karate team, the Djembe African drum players and dancer, a bei-gwan temple drumming team, etc.... Next, were speeches by the principal, the pta, and others that I had never seen. Finally, each grade performed a dance in the middle of the field. After that was our game show and some track and field competitions. After the scheduled events, it was a time for parents to spend time with their children, classmates, and teachers until lunchtime. This was a very boring time for me. Note that I was very sick, but covering up my being uncomfortable to give parents a good impression. I walked around to each classes' tent and visited with the children and teachers. most classrooms showered me with snacks and drinks! They were so happy to share. After I met with every class I waited around for about an hour for lunch to be served. The other ENglish teachers were also bored, and we spent the hour in the teachers office. Lunch was not very good, considering they had to feed 1000 parents along with their families and grandparents. I wasn't in much of a mood for eating, I was feeling very sick at this point and just prayed 3 o clock would come sooner. Luckily, Natalie offered to take me to the doctor so we could sneak away from school for a while. There really was no need for us, but we were required to be at school. She said after 1:30 we could go, because she promised to watch a student in the 100 meter dash. 2 o clock came around and I couldn't find her, so Chiang Bird (the Djembe drum teacher...crazy guy!) offerend to take me. I wanted to wait for Natalie, but by 230 I didn't want to wait any longer, so Chiang Bird took me to the doctor. So, I didn't get to leave that much earlier than the rest. The beginning of the day was a lot of fun, when there were organized events and shows, but once there was no organization, or "free time" it became rather boring and strung out.
I have to say that it is nice that the parents are so involved and interested in their childs' education.
The day began and we read our lines for hosting the event. First, there were student clubs that performed for the "important people on stage." There was a karate team, the Djembe African drum players and dancer, a bei-gwan temple drumming team, etc.... Next, were speeches by the principal, the pta, and others that I had never seen. Finally, each grade performed a dance in the middle of the field. After that was our game show and some track and field competitions. After the scheduled events, it was a time for parents to spend time with their children, classmates, and teachers until lunchtime. This was a very boring time for me. Note that I was very sick, but covering up my being uncomfortable to give parents a good impression. I walked around to each classes' tent and visited with the children and teachers. most classrooms showered me with snacks and drinks! They were so happy to share. After I met with every class I waited around for about an hour for lunch to be served. The other ENglish teachers were also bored, and we spent the hour in the teachers office. Lunch was not very good, considering they had to feed 1000 parents along with their families and grandparents. I wasn't in much of a mood for eating, I was feeling very sick at this point and just prayed 3 o clock would come sooner. Luckily, Natalie offered to take me to the doctor so we could sneak away from school for a while. There really was no need for us, but we were required to be at school. She said after 1:30 we could go, because she promised to watch a student in the 100 meter dash. 2 o clock came around and I couldn't find her, so Chiang Bird (the Djembe drum teacher...crazy guy!) offerend to take me. I wanted to wait for Natalie, but by 230 I didn't want to wait any longer, so Chiang Bird took me to the doctor. So, I didn't get to leave that much earlier than the rest. The beginning of the day was a lot of fun, when there were organized events and shows, but once there was no organization, or "free time" it became rather boring and strung out.
I have to say that it is nice that the parents are so involved and interested in their childs' education.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Hsin Kang Celeb
Sunday afternoon. 1:20 pm. I'm hungry. Let's go get some food. Mmm. ma Ja Mien sounds good...
Riding bike...hear some drumming...go down temple road....see big crowd. Let's check it out.
I slithered my way through the crowd to see my school's Jembe african drum team and dancers. They were in front of the temple doing a performane, with news crews all around. How cool! I watched them do their last couple dances, then they were finished. My students ran up to me to say hello and were so happy when I gave them high fives. While I was talking to some students, a lady came up to ask me some questions. I figured she was a parent and just interested...but then she said can we say that all one more time? Before I know it a camera crew is in my face and she is asking questions again. Let's step back and consider it's a Sunday afternoon and I'm a lazy bum. So, luckily I had makeup on and my hair was pulled back. Was I dressed for a camera? Nope. I had on sweatpants a hoodie, and um....no bra. ha ha ha. No one seemed to care...they were just so excited to see me there. After the camera take, I asked someone where the best Ma Ja Mien was and they pointed me toward 7-11. I got there and all the shacks near 7-11 were closed....so the next person to say hi to me (a peanut vendor) told me that it's BEHIND 7-11. So I bought some peanuts from him and hoped back on the black dragon (that's what I named my bike. Hey Long is how you say it in Chinese). I got to the shack and one of my cheerleaders was eating with her family. Being a typical shy Taiwanese, she pretended she didn't see me until I stared at her long enough to catch her attention, then she was "so surprised and happy" to see me. Her parents bowed and smiled to me while I ordered my Ma ja mien. He bagged it up and I was on my way. Oops, almost forgot to get a drink. I went to the closest tea stand to get some black tea and I had a brain fart when they told me the price. I couldn't think of any numbers. Everyone in line laughed when they had to type it on a calculator to tell me 15. Uh duh! yi suh ooh! Stupid me! lol. So, I have my peanuts, my ma ja mien, and my hong cha....perfect lunch. It's a beautiful day in Shin Kang, everyone is saying hi to me and waving, I saw an awesome performance, and will be on tv later tonight!
I will post the performance on youtube and if I catch myself on tv tonight I will post that too!
Riding bike...hear some drumming...go down temple road....see big crowd. Let's check it out.
I slithered my way through the crowd to see my school's Jembe african drum team and dancers. They were in front of the temple doing a performane, with news crews all around. How cool! I watched them do their last couple dances, then they were finished. My students ran up to me to say hello and were so happy when I gave them high fives. While I was talking to some students, a lady came up to ask me some questions. I figured she was a parent and just interested...but then she said can we say that all one more time? Before I know it a camera crew is in my face and she is asking questions again. Let's step back and consider it's a Sunday afternoon and I'm a lazy bum. So, luckily I had makeup on and my hair was pulled back. Was I dressed for a camera? Nope. I had on sweatpants a hoodie, and um....no bra. ha ha ha. No one seemed to care...they were just so excited to see me there. After the camera take, I asked someone where the best Ma Ja Mien was and they pointed me toward 7-11. I got there and all the shacks near 7-11 were closed....so the next person to say hi to me (a peanut vendor) told me that it's BEHIND 7-11. So I bought some peanuts from him and hoped back on the black dragon (that's what I named my bike. Hey Long is how you say it in Chinese). I got to the shack and one of my cheerleaders was eating with her family. Being a typical shy Taiwanese, she pretended she didn't see me until I stared at her long enough to catch her attention, then she was "so surprised and happy" to see me. Her parents bowed and smiled to me while I ordered my Ma ja mien. He bagged it up and I was on my way. Oops, almost forgot to get a drink. I went to the closest tea stand to get some black tea and I had a brain fart when they told me the price. I couldn't think of any numbers. Everyone in line laughed when they had to type it on a calculator to tell me 15. Uh duh! yi suh ooh! Stupid me! lol. So, I have my peanuts, my ma ja mien, and my hong cha....perfect lunch. It's a beautiful day in Shin Kang, everyone is saying hi to me and waving, I saw an awesome performance, and will be on tv later tonight!
I will post the performance on youtube and if I catch myself on tv tonight I will post that too!
***I just found out that the performance will be part of a tv show about my town. It will air on January 23rd at 10:00 pm. So, if someone records it for me, I will put it up on here***
Shopping Adventure
Today (Saturday), I had no plans, so I decided I would take the challenge of taking a scooter by myself to Chiayi city and go shopping. I woke up about 8 and watched parts of a movie before getting up and around. I asked Mrs. Huang if I could take the family scooter, and she gave me the keys, no questions asked. I couldn't figure out how to start the thing and was embarassed to ask...but I need the thing started..lol. Surprsingly to me, I remembered the back way to get to the mall without making any wrong turns. When I got into the mall, I was greeted by a real life China doll. She was so beautiful and bowed to me so far I thought she might fall over. In the first 30 seconds, about 5 other employees bowed to me just as big as the China doll. They said "ty gwon ling" which means welcome here. I hoped on the escalator (fyi I'm just about over my deathly fear of escalators) and started going up floor by floor. I had no idea which floor to look on. It was really awkward how at every floor employees were just waiting for business. They would bow and say welcome, then if I looked at something the would stand by me and watch my every move. I don't think they were suspicious of me; I think it's their way of being helpful. If I decided to buy something, they would take it for me and package it and carry it to the door for me. Taiwan hospitality. I felt very awkward and didn't really feel like shopping around because of the eagerness of the workers. I couldn't find a floor with clothes in which I was interested, so I found a service counter and asked for an English map. The lady said "one floor," so I got on the elevator and went to the first floor. As soon as I got off the elevator someone that spoke English was waiting for me (I bet they called her to tell her I was on my way) and she had the map in hand ready to give me. It didn't have store names, just categories...so I chose a floor and started walking around. I wanted to find the store NET (Taiwan version of GAP) so I asked a lady at a desk. She called someone on the phone that spoke English, and she gave me directions. The mall is set up more like a department store. There aren't hallways and stores...there is a floor full of small areas of certain brands. You have to pay for the brand right there where you buy it. You can't walk around with different clothes and pay all at once. I found NET, and it was a small version of the store. I was having a hard time finding the clothes I was interested in, so I decided to go to culture road where I knew many stores and knew I could find plenty of clothes I would like. So I hopped back on the scooter and started off to...well...this is where the story gets comical. From the mall, I didn't know how to get to Culture road. I've been on the back of a scooter before when we made the trip, but not as often as other journies. So I just started turning down roads, doing u-turns like the locals, and really not knowing where the heck I was going. I figured I would just find my way. Well...eventually I ended up at the train/bus station and I know this area very well. I know that Culture road is one of the roads by the station, so I chose the busiest. I think I chose the wrong one. It was lunch time, so I got a happy meal at McDonalds while tons of jr and sr high school students stared at me. What's so odd about an American getting McDonalds? ugh. I ate my food, and started off on the scooter again. I was really distracted trying to find the stores, and probably was in danger of crashing...but somehow I survived. Scooters and cars behind me must've known I was a new driver and to stear clear of me. I heard a lot of honks...which made me nervous...but it was my first time so I didn't get upset. People honk at everything. I never found the big part of culture road, so I decided I was cold enough to go home. I thought a sweatshirt and my jacket would be plenty, but with the wind, I needed gloves, scarf, hat, the works! I was real chilly! Going home was not an enjoyable experience. I started driving who knows where and found myself in the middle of nowhere that seemed to be the ghetto of Chiayi. I found a gas station, filled up, and called Vince. He already knew I would get lost, so he had texted me a message in Chinese to show someone to get me back on track. I showed it to the gas station attendant and she pointed which way to go and motioned to turn left, and she said "7" so I figured the road titled 7 was where I needed to turn left. Two roads later, the road t'ed and it was not road 7. So I chose one and kept driving. I drove and drove, made some turns...trying to find something familiar. There was a nice looking lady waiting to cross the street, so I pulled over and showed her the text. She didn't speak a word of English, but she was shocked and pointed to herself and said Shingang (my town). So I took that as, follow me I'm going to Shingang. She got in her car and waved to follow her. She in her car, and me on my scooter, we made a little caravan through the city and took a way back to Shingang that I dont' remember ever taking. About a half hour later, I recognized some landmarks, so at the next light I waved to her and said thank you so much over and over in Chinese. Then I floored it and headed for home. My shoulders were so tense, and I just needed to chill for a while. It was so stressful not knowing how to get back home. I panicked before finding the sweet lady in the Civic.
So I was finally home, happy and safe. I gave the keys to Mrs. Huang, and took a nap. About two hours later, Mr. Huang called me and told me that I should stop and "put gasoline for the scooter" I told him that I filled up the tank...but the conversation was really confusing...so I walked into the office just to make sure. He was shocked to see me....he obviously thought I was still in the city. He was trying to explain to me that you need to put gas in the scooter so it will keep running. Wow. He either thinks I'm rediculously stupid or have never driven before. I told him I filled it up and he was shocked. lol. I come from another planet. I have never heard of this gasoline you speak of. I thought these contraptions ran on magic and gypsy tears.
So I didn't get what I needed to get (christmas presents for Taiwan friends and a few warm sweaters) but I definetly had an adventurous day.
So I was finally home, happy and safe. I gave the keys to Mrs. Huang, and took a nap. About two hours later, Mr. Huang called me and told me that I should stop and "put gasoline for the scooter" I told him that I filled up the tank...but the conversation was really confusing...so I walked into the office just to make sure. He was shocked to see me....he obviously thought I was still in the city. He was trying to explain to me that you need to put gas in the scooter so it will keep running. Wow. He either thinks I'm rediculously stupid or have never driven before. I told him I filled it up and he was shocked. lol. I come from another planet. I have never heard of this gasoline you speak of. I thought these contraptions ran on magic and gypsy tears.
So I didn't get what I needed to get (christmas presents for Taiwan friends and a few warm sweaters) but I definetly had an adventurous day.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Thanksgiving, Taiwan style
Thanksgiving in a foreign country was not the lonely, depressing day that one could imagine. It was just like any other day in Taiwan...but the weekend was extra fun thanks to a reunion of expat friends.
Thursday was Thanksgiving; and Thursday are my busiest days...so that worked out in my favor. I had classes as usual, but it was a school-wide exam day, so I sat and watched Scrubs on my laptop for most of the day. After school, since cheer practice was cancelled, Vince and I went to Chiayi City to find me some warm clothes. I didn't get much. I did get a really cute coat for really cheap, though! I was excited about that. I didn't realize that it was Thanksgiving until we were sitting in a little shack eating dinner. We had "ma jea mien" and "Show long bow" which probably was the best meal I've eaten in Taiwan thus far. The first one is a bowl of noodles with a sauce on top that is porky and there's a big piece of lettuce in it. It's amazingly delicious. The other one is similar to a dumpling. It has a ball of pork on the inside, and a little soupy deliciousness when you bite into it. The outside is like a thick noodle substance, not quite a bread. The entire thing is round and about the size of a 50 cent piece. It's really good with shredded ginger on top and dipped in soy sauce. I would eat this every day if I could find a place in my town that makes it. I was sitting and enjoying my meal when it dawned on me. I looked up and said in quite a loud voice (even for me!) "OMG it's Thanksgiving!" Vince gave me his cute little smile and was like, Oh yea I know! Lol! Knowing him he probably planned for us to do something fun just because it was Thanksgiving. He's a good friend! After we ate, it was time to rush me to dance class. I was so full and satisfied, I didn't want to exercise...but I definetely need to any chance I can get. So, I went to dance. Typically Miranda, Eve, and I hang out after class, but we were all tired...so I went home and went to bed.
The next morning was Thanksgiving night back home, so I decided to make some calls before classes. Again, it was a testing day, so I didn't have class until 11:20. I called Dad and had a nice conversation, then decided to call my grandma, Mema. She practically lives at my uncle's house, so I called over there...and (if you know anything about my family, this should not be a surprise) of course, I interrupted game time! Just the fact they were playing one of our traditional games made me long for Pennsylvania a little bit more than before. I could hear a jumble of laughs in the background that were a mixture of so many people that I couldn't identify just one laugher. I love that. My Aunt, Ann, answered the phone and was surprised to hear from me! It was nice to chat with her for a second. Then, Mema was put on the phone and told me how the game was going (lol). The biggest surprise was Mema told me my brother had just gotten there that day, so I got to talk to him too! I shouldn't be surprised that he would drive there with no prior plans...that's just how he is :-) So, even though it was a brief conversation with Pennsylvania...it was so great to hear everyone and think about game time with the family.
The real celebration came on the weekend.
On my way to Taitung to stay with Julie and Sarni, I stopped in Kaohsiung to have a dinner date with Damien. Things between us were a little distant the last few weeks, so I figured this would either make it or break it....
He met me in the train station at Kaohsiung park looking so handsome! He had gotten a haircut, wore a nice sweater, and even put on cologne for me! I could tell he made an effort to make this a nice date night! He's too cute! He ate at Smokey Joes...the first time I had ever been there. Tex-Mex is one of my favorite kinds of foods, and the fact that I got FAJITAS pretty much made me the happest girl ever. They even serves a lime in my Corona! YAY! We had a great conversation over dinner, then walked around the city for a while. We got to the train station about a half hour before I had to leave, so we got some drinks and sat down for a while. During those 30 minutes we had the closest conversation that we've ever had. I learned so much more about Damien, and can understand his personality more because of that. We talked about the relationship and how we feel about it, about family, about individual future plans, etc... It was so nice to be able to just sit, relax, and talk face to face! I was extra sad when I had to say goodbye in the train station. With him being so busy in the Navy, I never know when I will see him next...so goodbye is always difficult.
The train ride was much worse than the goodbye. First of all, I didn't get a seat. I bought my ticket too late, so I had to stand. After about an hour, I was WAY sick of standing, so I went to the back of the train. Next to the bathroom, there were some young boys sitting, so I figured it was okay to sit here. Well, the only space for me was by three large black trash bags. I figured I knew the answer, but I asked anyway..."Is this garbage?" And the boys nodded their head. Wow, how humbling....huddled up shivering on the back of a bumpy train sitting between large bags of garbage. I felt like a refuge or something. Soon I fell asleep. My dumb buttocks woke me up and I became angry for how I was traveling when I paid the same amount as the people all cozy in a seat. I decided to take a little walk. Before long, I found an empty seat, and asked if I could sit there. For the last hour of the 4 hour trip, I was able to relax in a comfortable bumpy train seat. I tried to rest so that I would not be dead when I arrived at 11:40, but I was sleepy when I met Julie at the station. We had planned on going out, but once I got to their place, we all had something to drink and our conversations took over until about 2:00 when we decided to go to bed. It was a nice evening.
The next morning we took our time getting up and around. We decided to go to the hot springs for the day. What a great idea. After eating a yummy breakfast at a whole foods restaurant, we hopped on scooters and took off for about 40 minutes until we arrived at the hot spring place. When I imagine hot springs I think of a waterfall and shallow, rocky water with warm bubbles coming out of the earth...many people scattered around relaxing in the steam. Well, this was nothing how I imagined it. It was mad-made pools and well kept. The only thing was, the heat of the pools was from nature and the water came straight from the mountain...there were no heaters. The first pool we went to was a large pool divided into three sections of depth and heat. The first one was shallow and the hottest, then warm and knee deep, then the biggest was waist deep and the temp of a pool in July (still a little chilly). We hung out in these pools for maybe an hour, then ventured over to another section. This was the coolest part. There were all these different sections of one large pool with massaging jets. One for feet, one place where you could recline and get a body massage, a shower head that massaged the head and neck, etc.... this was fun going from place to place and becoming surprised when we hit the on button and got blasted with water. The final section of pools were the herbal soaks. Three pools sat next to one another: one yellow (Chinese healing medicine), the middle was purple (ginseng for energy), and the last was pinkish (lily for relaxing). We tried each one, but the purple was the favorite of both me and Julie. Before heading back home, we all tried the steam room (couldn't inhale it was so steamy) and the sauna (not too bad...I liked this!). Then, it was back on the scooters to find some lunch.
When we got back into town, we went to this cute little cafe called Oia. I felt like I was in an american cafe - it was so cute, had couches, and a tv, and some western food choices. I got a waffle with strawberries...it was...AMAZING! Tony and Julie got cream puffs and went nuts over then, Sarni got a coffee, and James got a waffle with honey. We all agreed it was time for a nap.
Around 5:30, Julie woke me up and told me I had an hour to get ready before we had to meet some other local expats for dinner. We had reservations for an aboriginal restaurant at 7:30. We met up with some other girls and one guy, and they seemed pretty cool. It's nice that the whole expat community had contact with one another and did things together. I know in my county there are supposibly 200 expats, but I've only met 6. I guess they have a group and do things together, but I've never looked into it much...
Anyway...our caravan (or cara-scooter) of 8 headed toward the mountain, and about 30 minutes later came to an outdoor eating venue of an aboriginal tribe. It was all made of bamboo, and had a stage in the middle where we would see dancers first, then kids playing on the rope hanging from the middle. Because we made reservations, our food started coming out as soon as we sat down. Because it was our Thanksgiving (for the 4 Americans at the table) we brought two cans of cranberry sauce (mailed from Indiana...thank you Sarni's mom) and some corn on the cob, compliments of Julie's hot pot. Just having those two small touches made thanksgiving and home so near. It was the perfect touch. For dinner, I had quite a bit of chicken, some mushroom soup, lots of cranberry sauce, a piece of corn, a few vegetables (I did'nt care for our selection) and home-made rice wine (not too much!). The conversation with people from all over the world (of our small group there were 2 Germans, a South African, 2 Canadians, and 4 Americans. It was great to share our tradition with other foreigners, and teach them why the holiday is important to us.
After dinner, we went back to Julie's house and were waiting for it to be late enough to go out. They wanted to take us to a night club that had really cool entertainment. We were all sitting on Julie's bed chatting, then Julie's phone rang and she went into the living room to talk on the phone. I decided to call my step mom. I talked to her for about 15 minutes, and in that time, James had drifted in and out of sleep. When we were all off the phone, the girls from the restaurant showed up and everyone was in the living room. James and I were still in Julie's room just chatting, and soon our chatting became sleeping (lol). Grandpa Yonts. When I heard the front door close when everyone was going out, I decided to move to my own bed. Wow, what a party pooper. We crashed at 11 while everyone else was just starting their night. Oh well, I felt great the next day and they were probably dragging!
Sunday morning we had breakfast then hit the highway for some oceanside scenery. Tony and Julie took us to this great little beach with tons of scenic photo ops. We took some pics, some silly pics, then headed to the marina. Took some more pics, then headed back. We had lunch at a place called Chicago and it featured some foods from around the world, including Chicago style pizza (or so they say). My food came first and in Taiwan customs, you eat when you are served. So, while everyone sat there salivating at the mouths, I finished my meal. Once their meals came, I was the one bored and sitting there. I don't like this custom, but it's just how things are run in this place! Julie luckily glanced at her watch and noticed it was 1:40. My train was at 2:10. There was no way I was going to make it...and I pretty much knew that. We rushed back to the house to get my stuff...then to the train station where I had 7 minutes to spare. I tried to get a ticket and was denied. There was no standing on this train. Don't know why. So I got a train for 4:00 and went back home. Hello again everyone! lol! So for the next hour and a half, Jules and I decided to go around and try to find some Christmas decorations for me. We weren't very succesful. Earlier in the day we went to a stationary store and I got some decorations, but I wanted more. I will continue to look in my town today. We made it to the train station in time, and I got a seat to call my own! Well, for the first hour and a half. At one stop, I was tapped on the shoulder by a mother and daugther and pretty much kicked out of my seat. I guess my ticket was only reserved until this particular seat, then it was standing for the rest of the way. You wouldn't believe how upset I was. I didn't want to repeat the trip there! So I stood there staring at the mom and daughter trying to ESP into their heads "this is our stop...let's get off so Kate can have her seat back!" Well...my ESP fairy was out of whack that day...because once we hit Kaohsiung, not only did the mother and daughter not leave, but about 93827594y65 more people got on the train. We were packing in the standing room only aisle for a good 45 minutes. People even attempted walking around. Everytime I had to squeeze next to a seat to let someone by I wanted to scream at them. "are you crazy! There's no room to move here people, just stay where you are!" But that wouldn't do any good. I would just look even more crazy than I already look to these people! So I sucked it up and stood...and stood...and stood. After all the people got off after Kaohsiung, a few seats opened up and I had about an hour to relax before my stop. It was later than I was expected to get back, but I figured as soon as I got on the bus, I would be home in no time. But, the next bus to my town was in 45 minutes.....so that added another hour on to my already 4.5 hour trip home. I walked to mcDonalds, was given the wrong order, and ate it while I walked back to the bus station. Luckily, and surprisingly, the bus was on time, and I got home around 9:30 pm. I had planned on cleaning my room, doing laundry, etc.... but I was beat, so I took a shower and went to bed. I always hate waking up Monday morning exausted...but today was one of those Mondays. When my alarm clock went off, I actually thought it strange that I sent it since it was the weekend...oops...no it's not...time to get ready for school.....
Thursday was Thanksgiving; and Thursday are my busiest days...so that worked out in my favor. I had classes as usual, but it was a school-wide exam day, so I sat and watched Scrubs on my laptop for most of the day. After school, since cheer practice was cancelled, Vince and I went to Chiayi City to find me some warm clothes. I didn't get much. I did get a really cute coat for really cheap, though! I was excited about that. I didn't realize that it was Thanksgiving until we were sitting in a little shack eating dinner. We had "ma jea mien" and "Show long bow" which probably was the best meal I've eaten in Taiwan thus far. The first one is a bowl of noodles with a sauce on top that is porky and there's a big piece of lettuce in it. It's amazingly delicious. The other one is similar to a dumpling. It has a ball of pork on the inside, and a little soupy deliciousness when you bite into it. The outside is like a thick noodle substance, not quite a bread. The entire thing is round and about the size of a 50 cent piece. It's really good with shredded ginger on top and dipped in soy sauce. I would eat this every day if I could find a place in my town that makes it. I was sitting and enjoying my meal when it dawned on me. I looked up and said in quite a loud voice (even for me!) "OMG it's Thanksgiving!" Vince gave me his cute little smile and was like, Oh yea I know! Lol! Knowing him he probably planned for us to do something fun just because it was Thanksgiving. He's a good friend! After we ate, it was time to rush me to dance class. I was so full and satisfied, I didn't want to exercise...but I definetely need to any chance I can get. So, I went to dance. Typically Miranda, Eve, and I hang out after class, but we were all tired...so I went home and went to bed.
The next morning was Thanksgiving night back home, so I decided to make some calls before classes. Again, it was a testing day, so I didn't have class until 11:20. I called Dad and had a nice conversation, then decided to call my grandma, Mema. She practically lives at my uncle's house, so I called over there...and (if you know anything about my family, this should not be a surprise) of course, I interrupted game time! Just the fact they were playing one of our traditional games made me long for Pennsylvania a little bit more than before. I could hear a jumble of laughs in the background that were a mixture of so many people that I couldn't identify just one laugher. I love that. My Aunt, Ann, answered the phone and was surprised to hear from me! It was nice to chat with her for a second. Then, Mema was put on the phone and told me how the game was going (lol). The biggest surprise was Mema told me my brother had just gotten there that day, so I got to talk to him too! I shouldn't be surprised that he would drive there with no prior plans...that's just how he is :-) So, even though it was a brief conversation with Pennsylvania...it was so great to hear everyone and think about game time with the family.
The real celebration came on the weekend.
On my way to Taitung to stay with Julie and Sarni, I stopped in Kaohsiung to have a dinner date with Damien. Things between us were a little distant the last few weeks, so I figured this would either make it or break it....
He met me in the train station at Kaohsiung park looking so handsome! He had gotten a haircut, wore a nice sweater, and even put on cologne for me! I could tell he made an effort to make this a nice date night! He's too cute! He ate at Smokey Joes...the first time I had ever been there. Tex-Mex is one of my favorite kinds of foods, and the fact that I got FAJITAS pretty much made me the happest girl ever. They even serves a lime in my Corona! YAY! We had a great conversation over dinner, then walked around the city for a while. We got to the train station about a half hour before I had to leave, so we got some drinks and sat down for a while. During those 30 minutes we had the closest conversation that we've ever had. I learned so much more about Damien, and can understand his personality more because of that. We talked about the relationship and how we feel about it, about family, about individual future plans, etc... It was so nice to be able to just sit, relax, and talk face to face! I was extra sad when I had to say goodbye in the train station. With him being so busy in the Navy, I never know when I will see him next...so goodbye is always difficult.
The train ride was much worse than the goodbye. First of all, I didn't get a seat. I bought my ticket too late, so I had to stand. After about an hour, I was WAY sick of standing, so I went to the back of the train. Next to the bathroom, there were some young boys sitting, so I figured it was okay to sit here. Well, the only space for me was by three large black trash bags. I figured I knew the answer, but I asked anyway..."Is this garbage?" And the boys nodded their head. Wow, how humbling....huddled up shivering on the back of a bumpy train sitting between large bags of garbage. I felt like a refuge or something. Soon I fell asleep. My dumb buttocks woke me up and I became angry for how I was traveling when I paid the same amount as the people all cozy in a seat. I decided to take a little walk. Before long, I found an empty seat, and asked if I could sit there. For the last hour of the 4 hour trip, I was able to relax in a comfortable bumpy train seat. I tried to rest so that I would not be dead when I arrived at 11:40, but I was sleepy when I met Julie at the station. We had planned on going out, but once I got to their place, we all had something to drink and our conversations took over until about 2:00 when we decided to go to bed. It was a nice evening.
The next morning we took our time getting up and around. We decided to go to the hot springs for the day. What a great idea. After eating a yummy breakfast at a whole foods restaurant, we hopped on scooters and took off for about 40 minutes until we arrived at the hot spring place. When I imagine hot springs I think of a waterfall and shallow, rocky water with warm bubbles coming out of the earth...many people scattered around relaxing in the steam. Well, this was nothing how I imagined it. It was mad-made pools and well kept. The only thing was, the heat of the pools was from nature and the water came straight from the mountain...there were no heaters. The first pool we went to was a large pool divided into three sections of depth and heat. The first one was shallow and the hottest, then warm and knee deep, then the biggest was waist deep and the temp of a pool in July (still a little chilly). We hung out in these pools for maybe an hour, then ventured over to another section. This was the coolest part. There were all these different sections of one large pool with massaging jets. One for feet, one place where you could recline and get a body massage, a shower head that massaged the head and neck, etc.... this was fun going from place to place and becoming surprised when we hit the on button and got blasted with water. The final section of pools were the herbal soaks. Three pools sat next to one another: one yellow (Chinese healing medicine), the middle was purple (ginseng for energy), and the last was pinkish (lily for relaxing). We tried each one, but the purple was the favorite of both me and Julie. Before heading back home, we all tried the steam room (couldn't inhale it was so steamy) and the sauna (not too bad...I liked this!). Then, it was back on the scooters to find some lunch.
When we got back into town, we went to this cute little cafe called Oia. I felt like I was in an american cafe - it was so cute, had couches, and a tv, and some western food choices. I got a waffle with strawberries...it was...AMAZING! Tony and Julie got cream puffs and went nuts over then, Sarni got a coffee, and James got a waffle with honey. We all agreed it was time for a nap.
Around 5:30, Julie woke me up and told me I had an hour to get ready before we had to meet some other local expats for dinner. We had reservations for an aboriginal restaurant at 7:30. We met up with some other girls and one guy, and they seemed pretty cool. It's nice that the whole expat community had contact with one another and did things together. I know in my county there are supposibly 200 expats, but I've only met 6. I guess they have a group and do things together, but I've never looked into it much...
Anyway...our caravan (or cara-scooter) of 8 headed toward the mountain, and about 30 minutes later came to an outdoor eating venue of an aboriginal tribe. It was all made of bamboo, and had a stage in the middle where we would see dancers first, then kids playing on the rope hanging from the middle. Because we made reservations, our food started coming out as soon as we sat down. Because it was our Thanksgiving (for the 4 Americans at the table) we brought two cans of cranberry sauce (mailed from Indiana...thank you Sarni's mom) and some corn on the cob, compliments of Julie's hot pot. Just having those two small touches made thanksgiving and home so near. It was the perfect touch. For dinner, I had quite a bit of chicken, some mushroom soup, lots of cranberry sauce, a piece of corn, a few vegetables (I did'nt care for our selection) and home-made rice wine (not too much!). The conversation with people from all over the world (of our small group there were 2 Germans, a South African, 2 Canadians, and 4 Americans. It was great to share our tradition with other foreigners, and teach them why the holiday is important to us.
After dinner, we went back to Julie's house and were waiting for it to be late enough to go out. They wanted to take us to a night club that had really cool entertainment. We were all sitting on Julie's bed chatting, then Julie's phone rang and she went into the living room to talk on the phone. I decided to call my step mom. I talked to her for about 15 minutes, and in that time, James had drifted in and out of sleep. When we were all off the phone, the girls from the restaurant showed up and everyone was in the living room. James and I were still in Julie's room just chatting, and soon our chatting became sleeping (lol). Grandpa Yonts. When I heard the front door close when everyone was going out, I decided to move to my own bed. Wow, what a party pooper. We crashed at 11 while everyone else was just starting their night. Oh well, I felt great the next day and they were probably dragging!
Sunday morning we had breakfast then hit the highway for some oceanside scenery. Tony and Julie took us to this great little beach with tons of scenic photo ops. We took some pics, some silly pics, then headed to the marina. Took some more pics, then headed back. We had lunch at a place called Chicago and it featured some foods from around the world, including Chicago style pizza (or so they say). My food came first and in Taiwan customs, you eat when you are served. So, while everyone sat there salivating at the mouths, I finished my meal. Once their meals came, I was the one bored and sitting there. I don't like this custom, but it's just how things are run in this place! Julie luckily glanced at her watch and noticed it was 1:40. My train was at 2:10. There was no way I was going to make it...and I pretty much knew that. We rushed back to the house to get my stuff...then to the train station where I had 7 minutes to spare. I tried to get a ticket and was denied. There was no standing on this train. Don't know why. So I got a train for 4:00 and went back home. Hello again everyone! lol! So for the next hour and a half, Jules and I decided to go around and try to find some Christmas decorations for me. We weren't very succesful. Earlier in the day we went to a stationary store and I got some decorations, but I wanted more. I will continue to look in my town today. We made it to the train station in time, and I got a seat to call my own! Well, for the first hour and a half. At one stop, I was tapped on the shoulder by a mother and daugther and pretty much kicked out of my seat. I guess my ticket was only reserved until this particular seat, then it was standing for the rest of the way. You wouldn't believe how upset I was. I didn't want to repeat the trip there! So I stood there staring at the mom and daughter trying to ESP into their heads "this is our stop...let's get off so Kate can have her seat back!" Well...my ESP fairy was out of whack that day...because once we hit Kaohsiung, not only did the mother and daughter not leave, but about 93827594y65 more people got on the train. We were packing in the standing room only aisle for a good 45 minutes. People even attempted walking around. Everytime I had to squeeze next to a seat to let someone by I wanted to scream at them. "are you crazy! There's no room to move here people, just stay where you are!" But that wouldn't do any good. I would just look even more crazy than I already look to these people! So I sucked it up and stood...and stood...and stood. After all the people got off after Kaohsiung, a few seats opened up and I had about an hour to relax before my stop. It was later than I was expected to get back, but I figured as soon as I got on the bus, I would be home in no time. But, the next bus to my town was in 45 minutes.....so that added another hour on to my already 4.5 hour trip home. I walked to mcDonalds, was given the wrong order, and ate it while I walked back to the bus station. Luckily, and surprisingly, the bus was on time, and I got home around 9:30 pm. I had planned on cleaning my room, doing laundry, etc.... but I was beat, so I took a shower and went to bed. I always hate waking up Monday morning exausted...but today was one of those Mondays. When my alarm clock went off, I actually thought it strange that I sent it since it was the weekend...oops...no it's not...time to get ready for school.....
Monday, November 24, 2008
Nothing New
I realize I haven't written in a while, so I thought I'd give an update. I've kind of fallen into a routine and just living the same ole' same ole'. There's nothing wrong with that...just no exciting news to share with you all.
Spent last weekend in my town and just hung out with some friends. Very low key. Ate Mongolian BBQ at the night market, which was delicious! I'm actually craving a big American hamburger right about now! Did you ever think you would hear those words from Kate Strein? ha.
I have a few plans for the holidays.
Thanksgiving Thursday is my busiest day of the week. After school, I have cheer practice, then dance class at night. After I find something to eat, I try to get to sleep. Not much time to think about what I'm missing back home. That's ok.
For Christmas, I have taken the day off to stay home and try and contact my friends and family via Skype or Yahoo! Please let me know if/when you're available to talk!!!!!!!!!! Christmas is on Thursday...so my Christmas morning will be your Christmas EVe night. Remember...I'm 13 hours ahead now because of daylight savings.
Since I'll be home all day, I might as well make myself useful...so I'm cooking a "traditional" Christmas dinner for my family. I've never roasted an animal before, so this will be quite the experience. I'm making a chicken instead of a turkey. hopefully I can find everything for stuffing, mashed taters, and GRAVY! ooooh my mouth is watering just thinking about it! The holidays are a great time at the Strein household (both in Pennsylvania and Michigan) because we've got some awesome cooks! Aunt Laura's turkey is always moist and delicious, and I LOVE her snacks and fruit salsa! JC makes a wicked awesome sweet potato casserole (my dad LOVES casseroles...lol) and some great meatballs and such to snack on all week! Oh man...can't wait till I can have these delicious, make-me-so-fat treats!
Meanwhile....I will stick to eating bok choy and over-garlicked mystery meat with rice every.single.day.of.the.week.
Being in a routine, I'm getting a little sick of how I'm running my classes. I have one chapter for two weeks...or four class periods. I typically introduce the material the first day, review it the second along with a game, add some more the third day, and review EVERYTHING the fourth. In there are also a lot of hangman games and competitions. The kids seem to enjoy the class, but they are finding the routine to get a little old, too. Perhaps this 3 day orientation in January will give me a kick start to use some different techniques and materials. I have plenty ideas to make classes interesting and hands-on, but I lack materials...and any days that are seen as "too much fun" or "too student led" are criticized by the Taiwanese teachers. I like to do projects and give worksheets to reinforce my lessons, but that is not something done in this culture, so they have many questions regarding the purpose. I'm trying to give each grade some kind of "free day" project around the holidays. Today, my 5th grade classes made paper snowflakes to decorate my room. To incorporate something educational....they had to write snowman, snowflake, cold, and snowy ll 5 times before starting the project. We recited the words many times beforehand, also! So, hopefully they learned SOMETHING!
For my 3rd graders, I've printed off easy coloring sheets and made them into cards...I will write on the board a few phrases for a Christmas card and everyone will make a card for a family member and then decorate it.
Not sure what I'll do with the 6th graders yet...They are pretty creative! One of the 6th grade classes made a Halloween story in October, so maybe I'll have them all right a Christmas story and give them some pictures to cut and color for illustrations. Oh the ideas you come up with while blabbing on your blog! ha!
Well I guess this is it for now....probably the most boring blog I've written...but I wanted to give an update so everyone knows I didn't get kidnapped or become part of a tribal gang or something! :-)
Love and Miss you
happy Holidays!!!!!!
Spent last weekend in my town and just hung out with some friends. Very low key. Ate Mongolian BBQ at the night market, which was delicious! I'm actually craving a big American hamburger right about now! Did you ever think you would hear those words from Kate Strein? ha.
I have a few plans for the holidays.
Thanksgiving Thursday is my busiest day of the week. After school, I have cheer practice, then dance class at night. After I find something to eat, I try to get to sleep. Not much time to think about what I'm missing back home. That's ok.
For Christmas, I have taken the day off to stay home and try and contact my friends and family via Skype or Yahoo! Please let me know if/when you're available to talk!!!!!!!!!! Christmas is on Thursday...so my Christmas morning will be your Christmas EVe night. Remember...I'm 13 hours ahead now because of daylight savings.
Since I'll be home all day, I might as well make myself useful...so I'm cooking a "traditional" Christmas dinner for my family. I've never roasted an animal before, so this will be quite the experience. I'm making a chicken instead of a turkey. hopefully I can find everything for stuffing, mashed taters, and GRAVY! ooooh my mouth is watering just thinking about it! The holidays are a great time at the Strein household (both in Pennsylvania and Michigan) because we've got some awesome cooks! Aunt Laura's turkey is always moist and delicious, and I LOVE her snacks and fruit salsa! JC makes a wicked awesome sweet potato casserole (my dad LOVES casseroles...lol) and some great meatballs and such to snack on all week! Oh man...can't wait till I can have these delicious, make-me-so-fat treats!
Meanwhile....I will stick to eating bok choy and over-garlicked mystery meat with rice every.single.day.of.the.week.
Being in a routine, I'm getting a little sick of how I'm running my classes. I have one chapter for two weeks...or four class periods. I typically introduce the material the first day, review it the second along with a game, add some more the third day, and review EVERYTHING the fourth. In there are also a lot of hangman games and competitions. The kids seem to enjoy the class, but they are finding the routine to get a little old, too. Perhaps this 3 day orientation in January will give me a kick start to use some different techniques and materials. I have plenty ideas to make classes interesting and hands-on, but I lack materials...and any days that are seen as "too much fun" or "too student led" are criticized by the Taiwanese teachers. I like to do projects and give worksheets to reinforce my lessons, but that is not something done in this culture, so they have many questions regarding the purpose. I'm trying to give each grade some kind of "free day" project around the holidays. Today, my 5th grade classes made paper snowflakes to decorate my room. To incorporate something educational....they had to write snowman, snowflake, cold, and snowy ll 5 times before starting the project. We recited the words many times beforehand, also! So, hopefully they learned SOMETHING!
For my 3rd graders, I've printed off easy coloring sheets and made them into cards...I will write on the board a few phrases for a Christmas card and everyone will make a card for a family member and then decorate it.
Not sure what I'll do with the 6th graders yet...They are pretty creative! One of the 6th grade classes made a Halloween story in October, so maybe I'll have them all right a Christmas story and give them some pictures to cut and color for illustrations. Oh the ideas you come up with while blabbing on your blog! ha!
Well I guess this is it for now....probably the most boring blog I've written...but I wanted to give an update so everyone knows I didn't get kidnapped or become part of a tribal gang or something! :-)
Love and Miss you
happy Holidays!!!!!!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Surprising Taiwan Observations (frequently updated)
Here's a list with some pictures of surprising observations in Taiwan
1. A scooter is a family vehicle (mom, dad, baby, groceries, and dog)
2. If a stray dog walks into a restaurant or a store, no one cares
3. The saying "no shirt, no shoes, no service" does not apply here
4. Weddings can be held on anyday of the week (isn't Tuesday so romantic!)
5. The principal of a school is rarely seen at school
6. Funerals are held in a tent next to the street
7. It gets dark at 5pm
8. there are separate lanes for bicycles and scooters to share...but cars can still pass in this lane if they want
9. Garbage is picked up everyday (at 6 for us!)
10. Most people get dinner outside their home rather than cooking
11. Most mattresses are about an inch thick and hard as wood (luckily I have a western mattress)
12. Women don't paint their nails or toenails
13. Everyone says Bye Bye
14. Drinks are served AFTER the meal
15. F is pronounced "ef-oo", l is pronounced "ello", n is pronounced "UN" And my favorite...thank you is pronounced "shank you"
16. Most people live with their parents until they are married
17. Toilet paper doesn't come in rolls, instead it is in sheets.
18. You don't flush TP, you put it in the waste basket
19. There are no laws against open alcoholic containers.
20. In a hotel, the key has to be placed in a little box on the wall to turn on the electricity. They don't want anything to stay on while you aren't in the room
21. Taiwanese are the most energy efficient people I've ever met. They often unplug things when they're not in use. They'd rather sweat to death than use energy on an AC unless it's absolutely necessary.
22. 70 degree weather means bring out the winter jacket
23. When you are sick you cannot drink cold water...they freak out when you do
24. If you are eating something hot, you should not drink anything cold because it will make your digestive system angry
25. Everything has it's own god. A rock has a god, a car has a god, a book has a god, an electrical outlet has a god.
26. guys fix their hair more than girls...they seem to be more interested with their looks than women.
27. I see a LOT of teased hair, crimped hair, and mullets.
28. People carry cash most of the time instead of using credit cards
29. Taiwanese strive to be whiter and whiter...they have lotions that have bleach in them and whiting makeup everywhere.
30. There are hard boiled "tea" eggs in every convenient store
31. There is a 7-11 on just about every corner
32. Women don't shave
33. Fireworks go off everyday at any time of day - it has something to do with the temple
34. When you eat dinner, you typically just get a small soup bowl that holds about a cup and a half of rice...then you put one or two bites on top of the rice, eat it, and take more. filling your plate up and eating what you took it not done here.
1. A scooter is a family vehicle (mom, dad, baby, groceries, and dog)
2. If a stray dog walks into a restaurant or a store, no one cares
3. The saying "no shirt, no shoes, no service" does not apply here
4. Weddings can be held on anyday of the week (isn't Tuesday so romantic!)
5. The principal of a school is rarely seen at school
6. Funerals are held in a tent next to the street
7. It gets dark at 5pm
8. there are separate lanes for bicycles and scooters to share...but cars can still pass in this lane if they want
9. Garbage is picked up everyday (at 6 for us!)
10. Most people get dinner outside their home rather than cooking
11. Most mattresses are about an inch thick and hard as wood (luckily I have a western mattress)
12. Women don't paint their nails or toenails
13. Everyone says Bye Bye
14. Drinks are served AFTER the meal
15. F is pronounced "ef-oo", l is pronounced "ello", n is pronounced "UN" And my favorite...thank you is pronounced "shank you"
16. Most people live with their parents until they are married
17. Toilet paper doesn't come in rolls, instead it is in sheets.
18. You don't flush TP, you put it in the waste basket
19. There are no laws against open alcoholic containers.
20. In a hotel, the key has to be placed in a little box on the wall to turn on the electricity. They don't want anything to stay on while you aren't in the room
21. Taiwanese are the most energy efficient people I've ever met. They often unplug things when they're not in use. They'd rather sweat to death than use energy on an AC unless it's absolutely necessary.
22. 70 degree weather means bring out the winter jacket
23. When you are sick you cannot drink cold water...they freak out when you do
24. If you are eating something hot, you should not drink anything cold because it will make your digestive system angry
25. Everything has it's own god. A rock has a god, a car has a god, a book has a god, an electrical outlet has a god.
26. guys fix their hair more than girls...they seem to be more interested with their looks than women.
27. I see a LOT of teased hair, crimped hair, and mullets.
28. People carry cash most of the time instead of using credit cards
29. Taiwanese strive to be whiter and whiter...they have lotions that have bleach in them and whiting makeup everywhere.
30. There are hard boiled "tea" eggs in every convenient store
31. There is a 7-11 on just about every corner
32. Women don't shave
33. Fireworks go off everyday at any time of day - it has something to do with the temple
34. When you eat dinner, you typically just get a small soup bowl that holds about a cup and a half of rice...then you put one or two bites on top of the rice, eat it, and take more. filling your plate up and eating what you took it not done here.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
My "First" haircut
Friday I had my first haircut in Taiwan. It was an experience. I asked Derek to show me a place to get my haircut and he took me to a small convenient store to buy scissors or hairties. He definetely misunderstood me. So I was showing him the action of cutting hair, when a random lady asked me if I wanted to get my haircut or just washed. I said cut. So she told Derek (in Chinese) where to take me. We took a few side streets and came to two salons, one across the street from the other. Derek said to take my pick. Of course, I chose the most classy looking. I told him he didn't have to wait for me, and he left while I walked in. Immediately, everyone turned to look at the white girl walking in. I smiled and asked if they spoke English. I got not reply, so I guess that was my answer. I once again showed the action of getting a haircut and I said "yi dien dien" meaning, just a little. I just wanted a trim. So, I am led to a chair where a beastly Taiwan girl that looked like she wanted to kill me, started to rub icy hot on my neck. She started going at it like she was beating a rug. I had to tell her to chill out a little. It felt good in a way, but it was too hard. After the massage, she brought over some shampoo and a small squirt bottle. She shampooed my hair right there without a sink or anything. It took about ten minutes to work it all in and give me a scalp massage. Felt so good with her man hands. Lol. Then she led me to the sink where I sat in a massage chair while she rinsed me hair, then shamppoed it a second time (lather rinse repeat) and then put conditioner it in. It's always relaxing to have someone else wash your hair. From there, she led me back to my chair where I would wait about ten minutes for the expert cutter to start her work. She had two apprentices that she was helping cut other ladies' hair. There aren't salon schools like Douglas J here, you just learn by doing. When it was finally my turn, she came over and began her work. There were about 3 occasions when she had to stop and help the apprentices with the other women. I just sat there patiently and watched. When they were done, then asked if I wanted it scrunched or straight...since they were the experts, I felt like having it straightened. So, back to the sink where they would get my hair wet once again...and then for the next 45 minutes I had up to 3 women at the same time fondling my locks with blow driers and straighteners and creams. It was something else! The salon was supposed to close at 9pm, but at 10:30 they were just finishing. I was so greatful that they stayed so long to work on my hair. It definetely was their pleasure. While they were straightening, the owners little girl came over with her 1st grade English book and showed me what she knew. I talked to her a little and told her that her teacher's name is "Bette" then I told her my name. We went through the book, page by page, what she already knew. She was so proud to show me...so adorable! I felt that I should help her out a little since I was keeping her mom after work for so long. So, my hair was straight, felt like silk, and it was time to go. She asked only 600 NT for the entire thing...which is about 18 US dollars. WOW! This would've ATLEAST cost 60 bucks in America...at a cheap place! The cut was no Jill Taylor cut (cheap plus for Jill Taylor, stylist at Bella Salon in Owosso...the best) but it was still cute. A very close second to Jill.
I definetely want to get my haircut everyday now after being pampered and fussed over for two hours and only spending 18 bucks! They have a service here, though, that they will wash your hair for like 9 dollars or something....I think they style and massage, too. NICE!
Gotta love Taiwan!
I definetely want to get my haircut everyday now after being pampered and fussed over for two hours and only spending 18 bucks! They have a service here, though, that they will wash your hair for like 9 dollars or something....I think they style and massage, too. NICE!
Gotta love Taiwan!
Cheer Pictures
Here's some pics and videos of the cheer team I help coach. They had a little performance on Saturday during a festival in my town...but I was on vacation with the fam. They are awesome...I love em!
http://www.wretch.cc/album/album.php?id=gounicorn&book=20&page=1
http://www.wretch.cc/album/album.php?id=gounicorn&book=20&page=1
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Bad Day - Need to vent
Everytime we have an English department meeting, it means I'm going to have a bad day. The English meetings are mostly in Chinese, and I feel like we have to beg to get some information in English. Doesn't make sense does it? It doesn't help that the head of our department is extremely unorganized, horrible at relaying information on to others, and speaks the worst English out of the three Taiwanese teachers. It just doesn't make sense that she is the leader. Natalie would make a much better leader. She is very considerate, actually wants us foreign teachers here, and is very good at relaying information on to others. That's just the beginning of my frustration.
Yesterday I found out that the brand new computer that I bought a few weeks ago is NOTHING like what I asked for. I didn't know how to find the specs on a computer, so I just figured I got what I asked for. Well, first of all, I was given a computer with Windows XP from 2002! 6 years old! I should have Vista. Also, all the memory is in the d: drive which is hard to access when the programs run on c: drive. I found all this out when I started getting messages that my computer was running out of memory. There is no way a 3 week old computer can run out of memory already. I don't download that much! Someone is going to get an earful once I can find someone to translate my frustrations. I don't think Mr. Huang will be able to...he might not understand everything I'm saying.
Finally...I was extremely frustrated that my bank card would not work at the atm. I was just taken to the bank in Puzih (40 minute drive) to get it squared away. I had to take the card to the bank to get it activated first...which I was never before told. Frustrating.
So I guess three months before having a bad day isn't all that bad. It's not the end of the world...tomorrow will be better!
There are some other issues that I have with friends or family...but I don't want to publish that because I'm not ready to discuss them with the people and wouldn't want to hurt them by putting that knowledge on a public blog.
Yesterday I found out that the brand new computer that I bought a few weeks ago is NOTHING like what I asked for. I didn't know how to find the specs on a computer, so I just figured I got what I asked for. Well, first of all, I was given a computer with Windows XP from 2002! 6 years old! I should have Vista. Also, all the memory is in the d: drive which is hard to access when the programs run on c: drive. I found all this out when I started getting messages that my computer was running out of memory. There is no way a 3 week old computer can run out of memory already. I don't download that much! Someone is going to get an earful once I can find someone to translate my frustrations. I don't think Mr. Huang will be able to...he might not understand everything I'm saying.
Finally...I was extremely frustrated that my bank card would not work at the atm. I was just taken to the bank in Puzih (40 minute drive) to get it squared away. I had to take the card to the bank to get it activated first...which I was never before told. Frustrating.
So I guess three months before having a bad day isn't all that bad. It's not the end of the world...tomorrow will be better!
There are some other issues that I have with friends or family...but I don't want to publish that because I'm not ready to discuss them with the people and wouldn't want to hurt them by putting that knowledge on a public blog.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Alishan Mountain Trip
This weekend I met Dave, Kevin, and a bunch of teacher from Kevin's school to go on a trip up the famous Alishan Mountain. The Tsou tribe was having some ceremony that we would be able to see. We met at the Chiayi train station Saturday morning at 9 before beginning our journey up the mountain. These mountain roads would not be acceptable in America....there are more 180 degree turns than straight-aways. You must drive slowly the whole time, be in overdrive, and pray for your life. More to come on the roads later in the story. The whole way up the mountain, we saw hundreds and hundreds of bikers. It took about 45 minutes to realize there was a bike race up the mountain. Duh...numbers on their backs...sponsor flags everywhere...I bet it's a race! lol! We saw numbers up to 3300, so that gives an estimate on how big the race was. A bike race didn't stop drivers from weaving in and out of traffic or driving two deep on a one-way road. The bikers had to be extremely cautious.
About two hours later we come to a small area (I can't call it a village....) and parked the car. We weren't sure if this was a bathroom break or if we were at the B&B....we just kept following the bunch. It turned out that we were at the Tsou Tribe celebration. There were tons of people, aboriginal and tourists both, watching some dancing and initiation ceremony. Soon after, I head the wedding march. About 15 couples were introduced and stood in a line in front of the crowd of friends family, media, and strangers (like us). I figured that this was an annual festival and all the couples getting married in the last year were being recognized. I was way off. This was their actual wedding ceremony! They shared the ceremony with 14 other couples, and some of them were in Adidas running shoes! The ceremony part was very official. At this wedding, unlike the other I saw, the couples kissed in public. There was one couple that actually had a mini make out session. I can't believe it! In public! No way. After the kissing, many gifts were given to the couples, and they had a ceremonial couples drink. One gift was a bamboo cup that was connected to another...each person would take hold of the contraption and take a drink from their respective cups. This was a huge part of the ceremony - I could tell by how many cameras and news reporters gathered around each couple while they took a drink. It was a major media event. There was some more dancing, then the couples exited stage left. From there, I believe they met their families for group pictures. Kevin, Dave, and I hung back and were watching the elders of the tribe eat, drink, and be merry! They definetely did a great job. Kevin had to get a taste of the alcohol, so he was brave and dove right in to the scene. He graciously took a sip and them gom-bayed (bottom's up) the "stuff" that he was given to drink. He came back and said it tasted like fermented milk. We were told it was wine. I decided NOT to try the wine. After the wine, they were cutting some soft bread. I can do bread....so I stepped up and held my piece of bread while the chief (I think) cut off a piece with a macheiette....watch your fingers! The bread I think was rice flour and water - perhaps not baked at all. It was extremely gooey. It didn't taste bad...but it wasn't a taste I would go back for. The ceremony was over, so what are we doing next? We didn't know! The theme of the weekend! My next argus article is going to discuss how I'm a leader and an indepedent person...but being in a foreign country I need to humble myself and learn to follow when I don't know what's going on. Which is most of the time. Back to the story...
We went to one of the huts in the "area" and sat down for lunch. We were first served a stick of bamboo...when you open it, there is rice inside. We saw this many times over the weekend...and I would not be upset if I never saw it again. It's overcooked rice with a sticky substance (similar to the bread). You cut off a chunk with your chop stick and it's like a stick of rice to eat. It's definetely different. Next, a few vegetables were served. I love the cabbage and pepper vegetable that's always served. yummy. Finally, a noodle soup was served. I think it was pork. It was oily, but very tasty. We were going to get a few beers, but they were room temperature, so we opted for water instead. Next, we walked to another hut and had some espresso. I'd never had espresso, so I was intrigued. I always thought you shot espresso like you do vodka...but we sipped on the tar-like substance. It's not something I prefer...but it was a nice little pick-me-up. We left the hut area and got back into the vehicles (we had a caravan of three). We drove up the mountain for perhaps another hour. Most of us were drifting in and out of sleep...but I woke up at one point and noticed we were entering a scenic park. We drove up to a visitor center, parked, and began hiking. We were in a national scenic park hiking on a trial. We saw so many awesome things: very tall trees, extremely old tree stumps, and national stump formations. I have lots of pictures at kateintaiwan.shutterfly.com of this hiking adventure. There were so many beautiful scenes, I can't even explain. While we were taking a picture with a train, we ran into a guy from America. He was pretty good looking, and his tour guide saw me and said he found a girlfriend! lol! We ran into the group many times that day, and then even once on Sunday at a different place.
From there, it took about two hours in the car. It was getting dark, so I thought perhaps we were going to check in to the B&B and then perhaps get dinner. Again, we didn't know our destination or plans...we just waited to find out. The drive was like nothing I've ever experienced before. We were mostly on one-lane paved trails, going about 20 mph, with hairpin turns every quarter-mile. If there were cars coming in the opposite direction around a turn, we would probably be dead. There were many times when we couldn't make the turn, so we'd have to go in reverse and try again. I was reminded of going up north trying to find a camping spot in the middle of the night after a long day of driving. I was actually scanning for deer. lol. There's none here! It was spooky, like Blaire Witch project spooky. After I thought we were further away from civilation than you could imagine, a bed and breakfast pops out of nowhere, and there is dinner waiting for us! I couldnt' believe it! Who would ever find this place? The people greeted us with large smiles and bows. We sat together and ate dinner: the bamboo rice stuff again, some fish, some pork, some chicken, and lots of vegetables. It was ok, but definetely not my favorite meal. I was getting so tired from all the driving and no knowing what we are doing...I was ready for a power nap. We got to our room (which was a rustic cabin with two beds and a bathroom. That was it. It was like a camping trip, I like it! The guys were very kind and were ok with me laying down for a little. Remember, I'm still sick at this point, so I'm trying my hardest to forget about my conjested chest and sinus headache. The guys were so understanding! They left the cabin to take a little walk, while I rested for about 40 minutes. I heard some guitar and singing, so I decided it was time to get up. I easily could've crashed for the night. The owners of the B&B started a camp fire and were entertaining our crew. How cool! Not just bed and breakfast, but dinner, entertainment, and bonfire too! That's Taiwanese hospitality for you! We listened to some really cool tribal songs, then the older man brought out his harmonica. He brought his old dog over and the dog howled to the beat of the harmonica playing. It was HILARIOUS! Such a cute dog! Then, they played some English songs. It was great when he brought the guitars to us and had each Kevin, me, and Dave take a shot. Kevin drummed on the guitar, Dave actually played a few chords, then there was me. I stood up and strummed up the most awful sound ever acting like I was rocking out to a sold out Aerosmith concert. I was definetely a rock star. I got an encore in the end! you know! I'm sweet like that. lol. It definetely was a good laugh. At the bonfire, Lily got Kevin to try a chicken foot. He said the sauce on the outside wasn't too bad, but the texture was something you need to get used to. I can't believe he tried it...how gross! They eat these things all the time and they are so disgusting looking and I can't imagine they are any good. How many gross things does a chicken step in everyday! Okay, no eat it! NO THANK YOU!
It was almost ten and I was completely out of energy. I decided to go inside and read for a while. Right as I went into the cabin, Damien called, so we talked for about a half hour. Then I finished a chapter in my book and turned out the lights. Right then, the guys returned to the cabin and laughed because I wasn't reading like I said. They had gone inside to where some of the men were playing a game or watching tv or something. They had some shots of vodka with them and were given some beers. We were planning on partying Saturday night, but we didn't get beer because we didn't know what we were doing or where we were going when....and we were all pretty exhausted from the drive and the hiking. So it was better this way. Kevin really wanted to see the sunrise the next morning, but he would've had to get up at 4 am or before to get a sunride tour. I'm glad that idea was nixed.
We woke up abotu 730 on Sunday and I had no idea what the plan was. Where we packing up and going home? We all go ready, then headed to breakfast. Some porridge, rice, vegetables, dried pork, and egg. Breakfast isn't the same here...it's almost like another meal just less meat. I had some porridge with peanuts on top and some coffee. We got into the car and took off down the mountain. WOW! In the daylight, the roads were EVEN SCARIER than last night. We could see the cliffs that we were about to full down to our deaths. We had to get some insurance for the weekend because it's such a hazardous trip. I'm not sure what it costs, if it was individual insurance, or what....but I had to give information for insurance purposes. I see why....this was so dangerous. There were many occasions where landslides and typhoons took off almost half of a road. There was a point where the road was completely gone and a new path was made higher up in the mountain on the landslide. These roads were rediculous. Sometimes there were cones to warn you of a cliff, sometimes yellow tape (so safe!) and other times, nothing. No camera can capture the amazement we experienced in these awful roadways.
During the day, we took about 4 stops. The first two were pretty views of the mountain where we got out, took some shots, and got back in. Then we came to a small village with no people and were told to meet back in a half hour. There was nothing to see! What would we do for 30 minutes! We were completely confused. Then we found a shop with handimade crafts...which were all imported from China. They were pretty crappy. Then we went across the street to a refreshment place. There is this nut that they dry and then turn inside out and dry. Somehow it turns into a geletin like substance. They were drying everywhere and didn't look very appatizing. Here, we each got a cup of the geletin substance. They added some flavor and water so it was like a jello drink or something. The geletin had no flavor, but the flavoring syrup they put in it was pretty gross. I swallowed as much jello as I could, then threw my cup away. I didn't want one in the first place, but didn't want to be rude.
After our snack, we hopped in the car and took off to what I thought would be home. Wrong again. We stopped at someone's house...where we thought we might have lunch. We hung out on someone's porch for about a half hour before anyone said what was going on. There was an extremely dirty dog that caused there to be flies EVERYWHERE. The leather couches were nice, but everything else was very uncomfortable. Finally, we were taken across the road to have lunch. We had rice (normal this time) and fish and chicken and lots of vegetables, and snail. Kevin tried it and by his reaction I decided to not go near it. I'm just not at adventurous when it comes to taste. We had some beer and some food, and then karaoke came on. Oh geez. One of the ladies with us wanted to sing, so we left to chill while they sang for probably an hour. At one point, we walked across the street to where some tea was being harvested. Many people in long sleeves and pants and hats were plucking fresh tea leaves in the hot mountain sun. We learned what leaves were good to pick, and it supposibly smelled amazing up there (I couldn't smell anything). From there, we went back to sitting on the porch. This stop took three hours. All we did was have lunch. I assume that the lady of the house was a good friend and the friends wanted to visit....so we gave them their time to visit and catch up. It was wonderful once we got back into the car. Are we headed home? nope. This time, when we stopped, I asked what we were doing. I was answered in Chinese and given to real answer. This actually pissed me off. I was tired, didn't know what was going on, and wanted to know when (if ever) we were going home. All I asked for was to find out if I needed my wallet, my camera, etcc.... I didn't take anything because I thought maybe it was a bathroom break. We ended up hiking aagain through what looked like a jungle. We hiked about 30 minutes to this place in a river that had fish that only were in this area. It was really awesome and beautiful. We played on huge rocks, and Kevin fell in with his shoes. It was something that I was originally annoyed by, but ended up being worth the hike. I didn't have my camera because I didn't know what we were doing, so I'll have to steal pics from Kevin, Lily, and Dave. I finally asked how many more stops we had, and I was told this was the last one of the day. It was a relief. I just wanted to know when I would get home. I saw a lot of beautiful things and had a great time with my friends, but was ready to be home and relax. A few more hours, and we were at a restaurant. It was about 5:30 and I didn't really feel hungry. I was wondering if someone would just take me and Dave to the train station instead of eating dinner...then we found out we were too late for dinner, so we left anyway. I think we were all relieved. When we finally got down the mountain, it seemed like we were in Chiayi forever before finding the train station. We got there, had some hugs goodbye, and parted ways.
It was a very lowkey weekend, with a lot of beautiful sights, not so wonderful food, and good conversations with friends. I love when Kevin uses his slow voice with particular announciation to speak to Taiwanese...it's hilarious!
great Dave quotes:
Do you want some? It's pork paper. Like paper. Made out of pork. Pork paper. You can write on it. It's paper.
Sorry this is such a long story, but I wanted to get all my adventures in!
Halloween in Taiwan
My first Halloween in a place where it's not celebrated. It was different, yes...but fun all the same. In America, some girls use Halloween as an excuse to dress premiscuously. I am guilty of doing that. Here, women still dress extremely conservativiely, and Halloween is no exception. I've never worn so much clothing on Halloween...my friends thought that was pretty funny. I told them that some girls would go in fancy underwear and wings and that would be their angel costume. I, however, had white leggings, a white dress, an undershirt, my wings, and a halo...so I was appropriately dressed.
I wore my wings to school, which got the students excited. On Friday mornings, there is an assembly, and each foreign teacher takes their turn teaching phrases or sentances. This Friday was my turn. I had Gerry go on stage with me since he was also dressed up (as a Viking). I was scheduled to teach "what time is it?" "we're early, we're on time, we're late" but I also threw in Happy Halloween and Trick or treat. Luckily, everything is translated...so we told the rule that you have to say trick or treat to get candy...and you have to be in costume. Throughout the day, I was disrupt Gerry's class to go trick or treating. It was fun for the kids, gave a break in the routine, and gave a chance to demonstrate trick or treating. I made sure to have plenty of candy on hand for the kids that came to my classroom. I went through 4 bags of candy that day.
In the evening, the cheerleading coaches, Gilbert and Vince, invited me to go to a costume dinner with them. Several high school teachers (all very young and hip) were dressing up and going out to eat. It was so exciting! They were celebrating MY holiday! Vince picked me up and we went to the student apartment complex by the high school. We spent probably 40 minutes helping everyone get ready before we went to dinner. Because it is student housing, there were high schoolers in the lobby when we came down the elevator. Gilbert was embarassed to be in costume and wanted to ride the elevator back up...but we decided to face the hundred students and leave the building. The kids got a kick out of us! I was an angel, Vince was Bart Simpson, Gilbert was some Chinese villian or something, Kate was an 80's rocker, one guy was young Albert Einstein, we had Hulk, and also a rabbit.
The drive took about 40 minutes to get to the restaurant in Puzih. The restaurant was so nice and I had the BEST curry I've ever had in my life (it had kiwi in it....!). We definetely turned a LOT of heads at the restaurant, and several people took pictures of us. We were there for almost 3 hours taking silly pictures and having a great time. I was a nice time to get to know some people my age, and attempt to take my mind off Nick.
We had planned on going to my house and drinking that night...but after dinner I was beginning to get tired (and I was feeling really sad inside). Only a few of us went back to my house, picked up some beers, and went to the park. I told them I was tired and had to get up early, so I wouldn't stay out late. Vince brought his guitar and seranaded us (watch out boy, that makes us girls fall in love!). We had some beers, sang some songs, then I headed home. On the way, Vince and I looked for Xiou Hu, the puppy I found, but she was gone. Hopefully she found her family.
It was a very good Halloween...much more sober and sane than ones in the past. That's a good thing, right?
I wore my wings to school, which got the students excited. On Friday mornings, there is an assembly, and each foreign teacher takes their turn teaching phrases or sentances. This Friday was my turn. I had Gerry go on stage with me since he was also dressed up (as a Viking). I was scheduled to teach "what time is it?" "we're early, we're on time, we're late" but I also threw in Happy Halloween and Trick or treat. Luckily, everything is translated...so we told the rule that you have to say trick or treat to get candy...and you have to be in costume. Throughout the day, I was disrupt Gerry's class to go trick or treating. It was fun for the kids, gave a break in the routine, and gave a chance to demonstrate trick or treating. I made sure to have plenty of candy on hand for the kids that came to my classroom. I went through 4 bags of candy that day.
In the evening, the cheerleading coaches, Gilbert and Vince, invited me to go to a costume dinner with them. Several high school teachers (all very young and hip) were dressing up and going out to eat. It was so exciting! They were celebrating MY holiday! Vince picked me up and we went to the student apartment complex by the high school. We spent probably 40 minutes helping everyone get ready before we went to dinner. Because it is student housing, there were high schoolers in the lobby when we came down the elevator. Gilbert was embarassed to be in costume and wanted to ride the elevator back up...but we decided to face the hundred students and leave the building. The kids got a kick out of us! I was an angel, Vince was Bart Simpson, Gilbert was some Chinese villian or something, Kate was an 80's rocker, one guy was young Albert Einstein, we had Hulk, and also a rabbit.
The drive took about 40 minutes to get to the restaurant in Puzih. The restaurant was so nice and I had the BEST curry I've ever had in my life (it had kiwi in it....!). We definetely turned a LOT of heads at the restaurant, and several people took pictures of us. We were there for almost 3 hours taking silly pictures and having a great time. I was a nice time to get to know some people my age, and attempt to take my mind off Nick.
We had planned on going to my house and drinking that night...but after dinner I was beginning to get tired (and I was feeling really sad inside). Only a few of us went back to my house, picked up some beers, and went to the park. I told them I was tired and had to get up early, so I wouldn't stay out late. Vince brought his guitar and seranaded us (watch out boy, that makes us girls fall in love!). We had some beers, sang some songs, then I headed home. On the way, Vince and I looked for Xiou Hu, the puppy I found, but she was gone. Hopefully she found her family.
It was a very good Halloween...much more sober and sane than ones in the past. That's a good thing, right?
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Loss of a great friend
I found out via facebook that my good friend, Nick Beacham, died this morning. From asking others, I found that he took his own life. Nick and I have been neighbors our whole lives and have so many great memories together. When we were little I would tag along with all the guys and play football or go swimming or be the referee...when we were in middle school I babysat his sister and faught with Nick all day long. In high school we were friends again and we walked together at high school graduation. I've always been close with Nick, and I'm so sad to see him gone. This last summer we hung out and drank beers all the time. He helped me finish off the keg before I came to Taiwan. I always loved running and jumping to get up into his humungous truck (seemed lifted more every time I saw him) and I loved doing crazy things with Nick. It's so hard to be a world away when I know that something like this has happened. I'm praying for Nick's family and other close friends. This is such a devastating event! RIP I love you and miss you!!!!!!!!!!!!
Puppy Love
At orientation, we were warned to NOT adopt pets in a foreign country. Don't feed strays, don't visit the pet shop....DON'T DON'T DON'T!
Well Rachel was the first to break that rule. She found a newborn cat that was nearly run over, hungry, and helpless. She took it in until she found a better home...but happened to get free vet care for it and now keeps it in her apartment. Xiao Hu and Rachel are a perfect match.
Next, Kevin adopts a stray dog that is sick and hungry. It goes to show how big his heart is. I wouldn't want to touch a dirty stray dog, but it touched Kevin's heart and now he has a furry friend.
Everytime I go to Minsyong I visit the pet store and play with the puppies. I know I'm not going to buy one because it's an extra responsibility that I'm not ready for. Bette was close to buying two 3 month old Chihuahuas the other day. That's a lot of work, but she misses her puppy from Singapore, so it made sense. She hasn't gotten them, and not sure if she still is going to.
Well today I got my case of puppy love. I was walking in the park and from behind a car came this thing in the dark - I screamed because it jumped out at me and at first looked like a lion cub. Then I looked back and it was a bouncing little puppy. So furry and cute. So I came back and let the puppy warm up to me before petting her. Well, one thing led to another and for the last half hour I was chasing her and rubbing her belly and playing with her. She's going to be a big dog, not quite sure what breed....but it's not like a little yorkie or anything. She seems healthy right now and might be owned already. I sure hope so...I'd hate to see her in a few months skinny and dirty with all the other street dogs. Perhaps I'll walk over to the park to find her and play with her often...but I can't adopt a dog so I wont' be able to bring her food. Just love.
Well Rachel was the first to break that rule. She found a newborn cat that was nearly run over, hungry, and helpless. She took it in until she found a better home...but happened to get free vet care for it and now keeps it in her apartment. Xiao Hu and Rachel are a perfect match.
Next, Kevin adopts a stray dog that is sick and hungry. It goes to show how big his heart is. I wouldn't want to touch a dirty stray dog, but it touched Kevin's heart and now he has a furry friend.
Everytime I go to Minsyong I visit the pet store and play with the puppies. I know I'm not going to buy one because it's an extra responsibility that I'm not ready for. Bette was close to buying two 3 month old Chihuahuas the other day. That's a lot of work, but she misses her puppy from Singapore, so it made sense. She hasn't gotten them, and not sure if she still is going to.
Well today I got my case of puppy love. I was walking in the park and from behind a car came this thing in the dark - I screamed because it jumped out at me and at first looked like a lion cub. Then I looked back and it was a bouncing little puppy. So furry and cute. So I came back and let the puppy warm up to me before petting her. Well, one thing led to another and for the last half hour I was chasing her and rubbing her belly and playing with her. She's going to be a big dog, not quite sure what breed....but it's not like a little yorkie or anything. She seems healthy right now and might be owned already. I sure hope so...I'd hate to see her in a few months skinny and dirty with all the other street dogs. Perhaps I'll walk over to the park to find her and play with her often...but I can't adopt a dog so I wont' be able to bring her food. Just love.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Taiwan Doctor Visitt
Today was my first visit to the doctor. Because Taiwan has national health insurance, they want to run to the doctor for every little ache or pain. I was coughing quite severely last night, and it continued to get more and more painful. This morning, Mr. Haung took me to the doctor. From the time we entered the office to the time we went home with medicine in hand, we probably spent 10 minutes or less. It was a very quick and easy thing. The doctor spoke perfect English, which was a major relief. Mr. Huang's English isn't the best, so I wasn't sure how I would know what was going on. He asked me my symptoms, medicine I take, and anything I'm alergic to. He listened to my lungs, looked at my throat, and sprayed something in my throat. Then, he handed me some papers, and we went next dooor to the pharmacy where the medicine was there waiting for me. The entire visit with medicine and all cost me about 3 dollars US.
The medicine comes in little bags for each dosage. There are several different pills in each bag, and they are numbered for when to take each dose. 1 is morning, 2 is afternoon, 3 is evening. Then, there is a brown liquid in a small container that I take 8 cc with each pill dosage. I love how everything is measured out and there is no need to figure anything out on my own. Just open a bag, and take the stuff that's inside. Easy as that!
Hopefully I will feel better soon! My chest feels like it's going to cave in!
The medicine comes in little bags for each dosage. There are several different pills in each bag, and they are numbered for when to take each dose. 1 is morning, 2 is afternoon, 3 is evening. Then, there is a brown liquid in a small container that I take 8 cc with each pill dosage. I love how everything is measured out and there is no need to figure anything out on my own. Just open a bag, and take the stuff that's inside. Easy as that!
Hopefully I will feel better soon! My chest feels like it's going to cave in!
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