I've been on an emotional roller coaster for the last few weeks, and I'm going to blame everything that has happened on the stars. February just doesn't like me. Just when I thought all the issues were about to be ironed out and life could go on as normal, I get two loads of information today.
1) My sister is going to elope with her boyfriend of 16 years rather than have a traditional wedding, or even a small ceremony. This is happening in TWO WEEKS. I know this is what they want to do and it's selfish for me to not support it 100%, but I always dreamed of being a part of her wedding and being there for her every step of the way. I at least thought that the family would be around. I'm happy for them, don't get me wrong, I'm just having some sad feelings. I'm not sure if my brother ever intends on having a wedding, so that leaves me thinking that I'll never be a part of my siblings weddings or have the joy of tearing up as they say "I do." I guess as a part of a family, I had always hoped to celebrate that day in a special way by being there beside them. A girl can only wish.
2) My step sister from my dad's first marraige has not been a part of my life, or my family's life in over 14 years. This has been hardest, I think, on my dad and myself. I always wanted to know Danielle and do "sisterly" things with her. In high school, she told me over the phone to please stop writing letters that went unanswered, and please stop calling her. This broke my heart. I've learned to deal with the empty spot that is reserved in my heart for her, and I've been doing very well. Well, today I see that she accepted my request to add her on facebook. I got to see an up-to-date picture of her, see where she lives, she that she's single (thank GOD she didn't get married and NOT TELL US) etc... I've dealt with the heartbreak of not having her in my life and I was soooooooo close to coming to terms with it, and seeing her picture and seeing her profile just makes her seem within arms reach and it feels like my heart has broken all over again. I don't want to get my hopes up that anything will come out of this, but it's hard to not wish. At the very least, I can see where she lives, know when she has a boyfriend/fiance/husband, and see pictures of her. Call it stalking, but it's important that I know a little bit about her....she's my sister after all.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Hard work pays off
This is an e mail received this morning from the head of the English department at my school:
Dear Teachers:
We know Kate has done more than her share of test preparation and camp lesson planning. We want to correct this situation. To start Gerry will prepare all the grades five and six tests this term. Also Bette will prepare all tests for grade three and four for this term. Tests must be emailed to the other teachers two weeks before the test date. As will allow other teachers to make any changes needed for their individual class.
I've gotten one response from a co-worker and it was slightly sarcastic and cunning, but that is to be expected. I do not anticipate this going over well with the others. But I'm glad that the burden has been taken off of me, and the work divided evenly.
After Wednesday's brawl with Bette, I'm sure that this semester is going to unfold a lot differently than last. We have begun a semester with division within the department, tension, and hard feelings. I have a feeling it's going to remain this way for the next 19 weeks.
19 weeks. 5 days. I'll be home. Just keep going. Just keep going.
Time to go out for the night and not think about SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy Valentine's/Single's Awareness Day!!!!!!!!!!
Dear Teachers:
We know Kate has done more than her share of test preparation and camp lesson planning. We want to correct this situation. To start Gerry will prepare all the grades five and six tests this term. Also Bette will prepare all tests for grade three and four for this term. Tests must be emailed to the other teachers two weeks before the test date. As will allow other teachers to make any changes needed for their individual class.
I've gotten one response from a co-worker and it was slightly sarcastic and cunning, but that is to be expected. I do not anticipate this going over well with the others. But I'm glad that the burden has been taken off of me, and the work divided evenly.
After Wednesday's brawl with Bette, I'm sure that this semester is going to unfold a lot differently than last. We have begun a semester with division within the department, tension, and hard feelings. I have a feeling it's going to remain this way for the next 19 weeks.
19 weeks. 5 days. I'll be home. Just keep going. Just keep going.
Time to go out for the night and not think about SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy Valentine's/Single's Awareness Day!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Argus Winter Vacation Article
With my first semester of teaching and winter vacation behind me, I want to reflect on the many new things I have learned about the Taiwanese education system. My biggest surprise is the fact that although there are three weeks on the school calendar marked as “winter vacation,” two of the weeks some teachers are still required to be in school. I have mentioned before how much emphasis the Chinese put on their children’s’ education, and this reiterates that fact. Although these three weeks were considered vacation time, I was required to have office hours at school from 8-5, more than my normal work week of 8-4, for one week. Part of this time was spent teaching in the camp which I will describe later in this article. The remainder of the time was used to prepare lessons and activities for the first few weeks of the new semester, even though I didn’t get my teaching supplies until the day before classes began.
The second week I actually did have off and I took full advantage of it by going to Japan (also to be addressed later in this article). This was the government mandated time off due to the celebration of the Chinese New Year. For this Holiday, four weekdays are given off for all businesses, but the fifth day of the week, Friday, is not. Since most people traveled in order to be with their families, my school was gracious enough to give the additional day off………..with one catch; we have to make it up. In Taiwan culture when a day of work or school is given off, it must be made up. Because this Friday was given off, we will have a regular school day on a Saturday. This has happened before and each time I am surprised. Parents just do not want their students missing any days of school; so every day must be accounted for. I would assume the government has a certain amount of mandated days the students must be in school each semester as well but I don’t know this for sure. At any rate, there are times in Taiwan that teachers and students attend school on the weekends.
About the camp I mentioned above: the first and third weeks of our “break” we held an English camp, essentially two weeks of extra English practice for everyone. Although the students are considered to be on break during this time most, if not all of them, attended the two weeks of “English camp.” The students only come to school for half of a day, but the teachers have office hours until 5. The camp was a project given to the three foreign English teachers, which ended up practically being a project of my own. For each day, I prepared lessons and activities for three teachers to teach in rotating stations.
Because the project ended up in my hands, I wanted to have every student get the chance to be in each of the three foreign teachers’ classrooms. We had an hour session, three times in the morning, each the same lesson. The lessons, depending on the grade level, consisted of: acting out a story, role-playing how to buy candy at a store, and learning the months of the year. My other foreign co-workers failed to prepare any other lessons, so on the days that I did not prepare a structured lesson for them, they played an English version of bingo with the students. Though it was a very stressful time for me, it was a great experience and I was able to further develop my leadership skills.
In America, winter and summer vacations are times for teachers to re-energize, possibly travel with their friends\family or continue their education. Here in Taiwan, a few teachers, I believe the newer ones, are expected to work for the school during their “vacations.” What’s more, I don’t think there is any supplemental pay for this duty; it is just expected. I still haven’t quite figured this all out yet. My mindset is still that of an American teacher so this entire concept is something I don’t fully comprehend.
As I stated above, I did get to do some traveling during my one week of semester break. A small group of foreign English teachers organized a quick trip to Japan. It is not the best time to visit Japan because it is the winter season and many attractions, especially the botanical gardens, aren’t as impressive as they otherwise would be in the Spring or Summer but I don’t have time off then so, I took advantage of the opportunity while I had it. Because of a foot injury early in the week, I was unable to see and experience everything on my group’s itinerary but still saw a portion of the Japanese culture. We visited many temples and gardens in the historical cities of Kyoto and Nara.
The day trip to Nara is the most memorable day of my Japan experience. The train ride from Kyoto took about an hour and as we reached our destination it began to rain but even this did not deter us from seeing the sites. We rented bicycles, causing a little shock to the bicycle rental worker, and set off to the main park. After an uphill ride, we arrived at some tourist attractions. I assumed it was a zoo because I saw deer grazing in a gated area. Then I saw deer grazing in a non-gated area as well as in the street, near the temple and even trying to get into stores! There were wild deer EVERYWHERE. I couldn’t’ believe that this was accepted throughout the town. The deer were as much inhabitants of this town as the people! The deer were actually obnoxious. They came up to people begging for food, head butting them (and us!) and, in general, harassing everyone.
My two friends and I biked through the most beautiful parks and trails, stopping at shrines and temples. Then we came to an attraction that led us to Todai-ji, the temple that houses the biggest Buddha in Japan, and the largest wood carvings in the world. Nothing could have prepared me for the enormity of this Buddha. His eyes alone were three feet wide. Because temples are candle lit, pictures could not capture the essence of the Buddha or the temple, I still got a few nice shots though.
As I write this, the second semester of school has started and my year in Taiwan is more than half over. I hope to continue learning about the country and its people. My next article is going to discuss culture shock that goes beyond the initial reactions of visitors: living in a foreign land. Thank you again for reading, and I wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year.
The second week I actually did have off and I took full advantage of it by going to Japan (also to be addressed later in this article). This was the government mandated time off due to the celebration of the Chinese New Year. For this Holiday, four weekdays are given off for all businesses, but the fifth day of the week, Friday, is not. Since most people traveled in order to be with their families, my school was gracious enough to give the additional day off………..with one catch; we have to make it up. In Taiwan culture when a day of work or school is given off, it must be made up. Because this Friday was given off, we will have a regular school day on a Saturday. This has happened before and each time I am surprised. Parents just do not want their students missing any days of school; so every day must be accounted for. I would assume the government has a certain amount of mandated days the students must be in school each semester as well but I don’t know this for sure. At any rate, there are times in Taiwan that teachers and students attend school on the weekends.
About the camp I mentioned above: the first and third weeks of our “break” we held an English camp, essentially two weeks of extra English practice for everyone. Although the students are considered to be on break during this time most, if not all of them, attended the two weeks of “English camp.” The students only come to school for half of a day, but the teachers have office hours until 5. The camp was a project given to the three foreign English teachers, which ended up practically being a project of my own. For each day, I prepared lessons and activities for three teachers to teach in rotating stations.
Because the project ended up in my hands, I wanted to have every student get the chance to be in each of the three foreign teachers’ classrooms. We had an hour session, three times in the morning, each the same lesson. The lessons, depending on the grade level, consisted of: acting out a story, role-playing how to buy candy at a store, and learning the months of the year. My other foreign co-workers failed to prepare any other lessons, so on the days that I did not prepare a structured lesson for them, they played an English version of bingo with the students. Though it was a very stressful time for me, it was a great experience and I was able to further develop my leadership skills.
In America, winter and summer vacations are times for teachers to re-energize, possibly travel with their friends\family or continue their education. Here in Taiwan, a few teachers, I believe the newer ones, are expected to work for the school during their “vacations.” What’s more, I don’t think there is any supplemental pay for this duty; it is just expected. I still haven’t quite figured this all out yet. My mindset is still that of an American teacher so this entire concept is something I don’t fully comprehend.
As I stated above, I did get to do some traveling during my one week of semester break. A small group of foreign English teachers organized a quick trip to Japan. It is not the best time to visit Japan because it is the winter season and many attractions, especially the botanical gardens, aren’t as impressive as they otherwise would be in the Spring or Summer but I don’t have time off then so, I took advantage of the opportunity while I had it. Because of a foot injury early in the week, I was unable to see and experience everything on my group’s itinerary but still saw a portion of the Japanese culture. We visited many temples and gardens in the historical cities of Kyoto and Nara.
The day trip to Nara is the most memorable day of my Japan experience. The train ride from Kyoto took about an hour and as we reached our destination it began to rain but even this did not deter us from seeing the sites. We rented bicycles, causing a little shock to the bicycle rental worker, and set off to the main park. After an uphill ride, we arrived at some tourist attractions. I assumed it was a zoo because I saw deer grazing in a gated area. Then I saw deer grazing in a non-gated area as well as in the street, near the temple and even trying to get into stores! There were wild deer EVERYWHERE. I couldn’t’ believe that this was accepted throughout the town. The deer were as much inhabitants of this town as the people! The deer were actually obnoxious. They came up to people begging for food, head butting them (and us!) and, in general, harassing everyone.
My two friends and I biked through the most beautiful parks and trails, stopping at shrines and temples. Then we came to an attraction that led us to Todai-ji, the temple that houses the biggest Buddha in Japan, and the largest wood carvings in the world. Nothing could have prepared me for the enormity of this Buddha. His eyes alone were three feet wide. Because temples are candle lit, pictures could not capture the essence of the Buddha or the temple, I still got a few nice shots though.
As I write this, the second semester of school has started and my year in Taiwan is more than half over. I hope to continue learning about the country and its people. My next article is going to discuss culture shock that goes beyond the initial reactions of visitors: living in a foreign land. Thank you again for reading, and I wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year.
Argus New Years article
5…4…3…2…1…HAPPY NEW YEAR!
These are familiar sounds to most everyone I know but they are not the words I heard around midnight on December 31st. Though there was not a formal countdown, my New Years celebration in Taiwan was a very memorable one. Some of you might have been watching CNN as they panned around the world to give viewers a sense of how different parts of our world celebrate the beginning of a New Year. One of those shots was in Taiwan at the famous Taipei 101 building where a dazzling firework display was briefly caught by the cameras and beamed to the network. Being at the 101 on New Year’s Eve is like being in Times Square in the States and………………I was there. Here is the story of that memorable evening and the few days after January 1 when I had a chance to explore the main city of Taiwan, Taipei.
Kevin, another expatriate English teacher from Long Island, and I met at the train station in Taipei City before 7pm and decided to find our way to Taipei 101 (the tallest building in the world) right away and then make our plans for the evening. Navigating this city, nearly the size of New York, was surprisingly easy using the MRT (subway) and before long we had located the famous landmark around which the New Year’s celebration would take place. There was no giant crystal ball hanging from any of the skyscrapers so I figured that was purely a New York thing but there was obviously going to be some sort of festivity. There were tons of people already milling around and midnight was still over 4 hours away. I was already excited!
Since we had both been on a train for several hours to reach Taipei and only eaten snacks, we were famished. Now that we had our bearings of where the celebration would take place, our thoughts turned to food-----not any food -----we craved a good ole fashion American meal. We knew from a trip we took in August that there was an Outback Steakhouse near Taipei 101. It took a while, but once we found it, our appetites had preceded us! We enjoyed every bit of our dinner because we rarely have an opportunity to enjoy this once familiar cuisine. After the leisurely meal we still had two hours to kill until Midnight so we walked around a little, got some drinks at one of the many street establishments and found a spot that we thought would be perfect to watch the show. We didn’t want to risk losing our spot, so we took turns leaving to walk around and “people watch”. The crowd was beginning to press in on everyone and the excitement, although tempered in terms of western standards, was palpable. You could feel the anticipation in the air but, interestingly, there was not that much noise or “craziness” that you see on television in regards to New York. We had our great seat in the middle of a street about a block and a half from Taipei 101. From our vantage point we had a super view of the building and were, essentially, in the middle of everything! As the hour crept slowly by towards midnight, many times we had to “protect” our turf from would be squatters. Thankfully, being a New Yorker, Kevin was an expert at this.
.
With only a few minutes until midnight we geared up for the traditional countdown. It never arrived. Somewhere around 12am all the lights of the 101 went out, there was a reaction from the crowd and a massive show of fireworks commenced from the building itself. Not over top the building, FROM the building----from the roof, from the sides and from the area around the structure. Actually I think it was a few minutes after the hour when the fireworks started. So much for the traditional countdown and obligatory eruption that follows 3-2-1…………. I thought the count down was a world-wide thing, evidently not. The show lasted about 6-8 minutes and on the last explosion, Kevin screamed "HAPPPPYYYY NNNEEEWWW YEEAARRR." You would think that he would have been one of many voicing the same thing but strangely, Kevin’s voice was the only one ringing in the New Year in this fashion. The firework show was nothing short of spectacular but I missed the noise and celebration we all grew up seeing on our televisions from Times Square. Following Kevin’s boisterous broadcast, everyone, thousands and thousands of people, got up and left. I'm sure it was just a funny coincidence, but it seemed as if Kevin's yell was the announcing of the end of the show. NO hugging, kissing or celebrating; the show was over so it was time for everyone to move on!
Kevin knew that when a huge show like this is over, it is not the best idea to get up and leave with the crowd...there is a lot of pushing, shoving and frustration so we sat and watched everyone else leave. Many people wanted to get their picture taken with the funny and loud Americans so we gladly obliged. For one couple, Kevin laid completely on his back so he could get a good shot with the 101 in the background. Many others found this remarkable, so he took about 5 more couples' pictures in this position. Onlookers were even taking pictures of Kevin on his back with a camera because this was very odd to them and ended up creating quite the scene. With the crowd thinning out after several minutes we looked at each other and wondered; what should we do now? Since this trip was arranged rather spontaneously, neither of us had made any arrangements for the evening, ie; we had no place to stay for the night! We decided not worry about it until we got tired so we just took in the night life of Taipei until a bit after 2am when the rigors of our travels and the events of the evening finally caught up with us. I was cold and tired. Both of us were ready for sleep but the question was where? There was not a hotel or hostel room to be had anywhere in the city, not on New Years Eve night. What now?
This is the craziest thing I've ever done, and I wouldn't have done anything like this if I weren't with Kevin but, really, we didn’t have many options. Kevin is quite a bit older than I am and is like an uncle to me; he's responsible and always puts my safety before anything else so I figured we'd be ok. I guess when you catch the “traveling bug” you do more adventurous things and take bigger risks than you normally would, at least that is what I will attribute our lack of planning to. Luckily, we both refrained from drinking much (note: it is legal to drink anywhere…even walking on the sidewalk) because in the back of our minds, we wanted to have control when it came time to find somewhere to stay. We got on the MRT and went to the stop where our hostel for the next night was located (Kevin had a room reserved for the next night but not THIS night). We walked into about 3 hotels where they just laughed at us when we asked for a room. The last hostel that rejected us was on the 3rd floor of a building so, seeing no other options, Kevin decided to find a nook in this building where we could crash. He left me in the stairwell (a bit frightened I might say) to find a spot and in a few minutes came back and said that he found a place out of the way and, by his estimation, it was the best place we were going to find. He led me up some stairs to a balcony where two comforters were hanging over a railing either drying or airing out. We now had covers and protection from the elements! Soon Kevin was snoring but I don't think I fell asleep until after the sun rose. It seemed like as soon as I got to sleep he was waking me up and telling me that we needed to leave before we were found. So, about 9am January 1, 2009, we rolled into McDonald's after a night of being homeless, and “refueled”. Neither a night not soon forgotten nor one I care to repeat in its entirety again!
As I stated above, Kevin had reserved a bed at a hostel for the next evening so I figured I could just sleep on the floor in his room or perhaps they had a roll-a-way bed for such situations. Obviously, I had never been to a hostel, nor did I really know what a hostel was. I thought it was just like a cheap hotel. WRONG. A hostel is a bunk room for cheap travelers, and you can't have guests so I inquired about a bed for me. No such luck but they offered a couch for half price. It was better than someone’s balcony but not by a wide margin. Being a hostel, there is nothing provided; no towels for wet hair, no shampoo, conditioner...etc. This I didn't realize until after I was in the process of showering. Along with no towels, they also don’t supply any soap. Luckily, I found a sample of shampoo that quickly was transformed into “body wash and shampoo”. There was one more lesson I learned from this situation: that in a pinch yesterday’s clothes can easily double as today’s towel! If not an adventure, it sure was an experience!
The rest of the weekend was much less eventful, very educational and enjoying. We spent most of the time learning some history of Taiwan by visiting many of the museums around Taipei. The National Palace Museum is a magnificent collection of artifacts from the Chi’ing Dynasty. I would love to share pictures, but no cameras were allowed in the museum. We also visited the Taiwan Aboriginal Museum, which was also a great experience. The aboriginals here are so similar to the Native Americans. They use similar resources from the earth, make similar clothing and jewelry, and celebrate similar rituals.
The holidays were definitely different for me, but a growth experience being away from home. The whole episode of New Years Eve 2009 will always be a great memory for me. I experienced a new way to celebrate, and was far more daring than I have ever been in the past. I pray that our nation and the world will have a better year in 2009 than it did the previous year. The economic downturn is worldwide and is also felt here in the East.
January marks the 5th month of my living in Taiwan. I have already experienced and learned so much. I look forward to my last 6 months here but will also be glad to step foot on American soil again. In the New Year, I expect to write about future travels, and more on the Taiwan culture. I will be traveling around Taiwan as well as Japan during my winter break so, hopefully, you can look forward to hearing about those excursions. It would be ok with me if they weren’t quite as “adventurous” as the New Year’s experience.
These are familiar sounds to most everyone I know but they are not the words I heard around midnight on December 31st. Though there was not a formal countdown, my New Years celebration in Taiwan was a very memorable one. Some of you might have been watching CNN as they panned around the world to give viewers a sense of how different parts of our world celebrate the beginning of a New Year. One of those shots was in Taiwan at the famous Taipei 101 building where a dazzling firework display was briefly caught by the cameras and beamed to the network. Being at the 101 on New Year’s Eve is like being in Times Square in the States and………………I was there. Here is the story of that memorable evening and the few days after January 1 when I had a chance to explore the main city of Taiwan, Taipei.
Kevin, another expatriate English teacher from Long Island, and I met at the train station in Taipei City before 7pm and decided to find our way to Taipei 101 (the tallest building in the world) right away and then make our plans for the evening. Navigating this city, nearly the size of New York, was surprisingly easy using the MRT (subway) and before long we had located the famous landmark around which the New Year’s celebration would take place. There was no giant crystal ball hanging from any of the skyscrapers so I figured that was purely a New York thing but there was obviously going to be some sort of festivity. There were tons of people already milling around and midnight was still over 4 hours away. I was already excited!
Since we had both been on a train for several hours to reach Taipei and only eaten snacks, we were famished. Now that we had our bearings of where the celebration would take place, our thoughts turned to food-----not any food -----we craved a good ole fashion American meal. We knew from a trip we took in August that there was an Outback Steakhouse near Taipei 101. It took a while, but once we found it, our appetites had preceded us! We enjoyed every bit of our dinner because we rarely have an opportunity to enjoy this once familiar cuisine. After the leisurely meal we still had two hours to kill until Midnight so we walked around a little, got some drinks at one of the many street establishments and found a spot that we thought would be perfect to watch the show. We didn’t want to risk losing our spot, so we took turns leaving to walk around and “people watch”. The crowd was beginning to press in on everyone and the excitement, although tempered in terms of western standards, was palpable. You could feel the anticipation in the air but, interestingly, there was not that much noise or “craziness” that you see on television in regards to New York. We had our great seat in the middle of a street about a block and a half from Taipei 101. From our vantage point we had a super view of the building and were, essentially, in the middle of everything! As the hour crept slowly by towards midnight, many times we had to “protect” our turf from would be squatters. Thankfully, being a New Yorker, Kevin was an expert at this.
.
With only a few minutes until midnight we geared up for the traditional countdown. It never arrived. Somewhere around 12am all the lights of the 101 went out, there was a reaction from the crowd and a massive show of fireworks commenced from the building itself. Not over top the building, FROM the building----from the roof, from the sides and from the area around the structure. Actually I think it was a few minutes after the hour when the fireworks started. So much for the traditional countdown and obligatory eruption that follows 3-2-1…………. I thought the count down was a world-wide thing, evidently not. The show lasted about 6-8 minutes and on the last explosion, Kevin screamed "HAPPPPYYYY NNNEEEWWW YEEAARRR." You would think that he would have been one of many voicing the same thing but strangely, Kevin’s voice was the only one ringing in the New Year in this fashion. The firework show was nothing short of spectacular but I missed the noise and celebration we all grew up seeing on our televisions from Times Square. Following Kevin’s boisterous broadcast, everyone, thousands and thousands of people, got up and left. I'm sure it was just a funny coincidence, but it seemed as if Kevin's yell was the announcing of the end of the show. NO hugging, kissing or celebrating; the show was over so it was time for everyone to move on!
Kevin knew that when a huge show like this is over, it is not the best idea to get up and leave with the crowd...there is a lot of pushing, shoving and frustration so we sat and watched everyone else leave. Many people wanted to get their picture taken with the funny and loud Americans so we gladly obliged. For one couple, Kevin laid completely on his back so he could get a good shot with the 101 in the background. Many others found this remarkable, so he took about 5 more couples' pictures in this position. Onlookers were even taking pictures of Kevin on his back with a camera because this was very odd to them and ended up creating quite the scene. With the crowd thinning out after several minutes we looked at each other and wondered; what should we do now? Since this trip was arranged rather spontaneously, neither of us had made any arrangements for the evening, ie; we had no place to stay for the night! We decided not worry about it until we got tired so we just took in the night life of Taipei until a bit after 2am when the rigors of our travels and the events of the evening finally caught up with us. I was cold and tired. Both of us were ready for sleep but the question was where? There was not a hotel or hostel room to be had anywhere in the city, not on New Years Eve night. What now?
This is the craziest thing I've ever done, and I wouldn't have done anything like this if I weren't with Kevin but, really, we didn’t have many options. Kevin is quite a bit older than I am and is like an uncle to me; he's responsible and always puts my safety before anything else so I figured we'd be ok. I guess when you catch the “traveling bug” you do more adventurous things and take bigger risks than you normally would, at least that is what I will attribute our lack of planning to. Luckily, we both refrained from drinking much (note: it is legal to drink anywhere…even walking on the sidewalk) because in the back of our minds, we wanted to have control when it came time to find somewhere to stay. We got on the MRT and went to the stop where our hostel for the next night was located (Kevin had a room reserved for the next night but not THIS night). We walked into about 3 hotels where they just laughed at us when we asked for a room. The last hostel that rejected us was on the 3rd floor of a building so, seeing no other options, Kevin decided to find a nook in this building where we could crash. He left me in the stairwell (a bit frightened I might say) to find a spot and in a few minutes came back and said that he found a place out of the way and, by his estimation, it was the best place we were going to find. He led me up some stairs to a balcony where two comforters were hanging over a railing either drying or airing out. We now had covers and protection from the elements! Soon Kevin was snoring but I don't think I fell asleep until after the sun rose. It seemed like as soon as I got to sleep he was waking me up and telling me that we needed to leave before we were found. So, about 9am January 1, 2009, we rolled into McDonald's after a night of being homeless, and “refueled”. Neither a night not soon forgotten nor one I care to repeat in its entirety again!
As I stated above, Kevin had reserved a bed at a hostel for the next evening so I figured I could just sleep on the floor in his room or perhaps they had a roll-a-way bed for such situations. Obviously, I had never been to a hostel, nor did I really know what a hostel was. I thought it was just like a cheap hotel. WRONG. A hostel is a bunk room for cheap travelers, and you can't have guests so I inquired about a bed for me. No such luck but they offered a couch for half price. It was better than someone’s balcony but not by a wide margin. Being a hostel, there is nothing provided; no towels for wet hair, no shampoo, conditioner...etc. This I didn't realize until after I was in the process of showering. Along with no towels, they also don’t supply any soap. Luckily, I found a sample of shampoo that quickly was transformed into “body wash and shampoo”. There was one more lesson I learned from this situation: that in a pinch yesterday’s clothes can easily double as today’s towel! If not an adventure, it sure was an experience!
The rest of the weekend was much less eventful, very educational and enjoying. We spent most of the time learning some history of Taiwan by visiting many of the museums around Taipei. The National Palace Museum is a magnificent collection of artifacts from the Chi’ing Dynasty. I would love to share pictures, but no cameras were allowed in the museum. We also visited the Taiwan Aboriginal Museum, which was also a great experience. The aboriginals here are so similar to the Native Americans. They use similar resources from the earth, make similar clothing and jewelry, and celebrate similar rituals.
The holidays were definitely different for me, but a growth experience being away from home. The whole episode of New Years Eve 2009 will always be a great memory for me. I experienced a new way to celebrate, and was far more daring than I have ever been in the past. I pray that our nation and the world will have a better year in 2009 than it did the previous year. The economic downturn is worldwide and is also felt here in the East.
January marks the 5th month of my living in Taiwan. I have already experienced and learned so much. I look forward to my last 6 months here but will also be glad to step foot on American soil again. In the New Year, I expect to write about future travels, and more on the Taiwan culture. I will be traveling around Taiwan as well as Japan during my winter break so, hopefully, you can look forward to hearing about those excursions. It would be ok with me if they weren’t quite as “adventurous” as the New Year’s experience.
Emotionally Drained
I've posted articles that I've written for the Argus, but I'd like to talk about things that aren't published in the paper.
Living here is HARD
You don't realize how little things in a culture can make a HUGE difference
At home, my landlord and I have that it would be better for me to find a new place to live. Taiwanese typically brush things under the carpet when it comes to dealing with issues. So, over the last 6 months there have been small issues that bothered the family I lived with, but they failed to tell me. Apparently, leaving your clothes outside overnight to dry is bad because there are ghost at night that can get in your clothes. It bothered them that I did this. Apparently, you wash your pots and pans BEFORE you eat, and I do not...I want to eat my food when it's still hot. This bothered them. Apparently, closing your bedroom door is rude...I didn't want everyone to see my room and what I was doing every minute of the day. This bothered them. So, all these little things have added up to create a big mess. The family I live with is no longer speaking to me, and over an internet chat, asked if I could find a new place to live. I wanted to resolve the issues, but all the father would say is "some people in the world have different ideas." I think he is a coward for not manning up and dealing with small issues as the arise. They have put me in a very challenging situation, with only 5 months left here, I need to find a new place to live and get all the necessities of living in a new place (fridge, microwave, tv....)
With this fiasco, and the recent drama happening with a co-worker at school, I have felt emotionally drained and burnt out on my position here in Taiwan. I decided last night that I for sure was going to head back to America within the next week. Sleeping on it, reading a lengthy email from my dad, and seeing how supportive the school has been to me, I'm re-thinking things.
1. If I run away from this problem, how will I ever learn to face life's difficulties
2. If I leave this school, my co-worker will have the victory over me when she is in the wrong
3. I don't have a job back in the US
4. It is not a good way to start your career by backing out on your first contract
5. I would miss my students and the work that I enjoy here
6. I would disappoint a lot of people.
So, it's been a very hard few days trying to get all my thoughts and feelings sorted out.
I've come to a conclusion that I think is best in the long run, but not easy in terms of short term emotions. I'm going to stay here and tough it out. Hopefully by doing this I become a stronger person and I can face giants later in life that try to get me down. I don't know if this will work, but if I don't do it I will never know.
Living here is HARD
You don't realize how little things in a culture can make a HUGE difference
At home, my landlord and I have that it would be better for me to find a new place to live. Taiwanese typically brush things under the carpet when it comes to dealing with issues. So, over the last 6 months there have been small issues that bothered the family I lived with, but they failed to tell me. Apparently, leaving your clothes outside overnight to dry is bad because there are ghost at night that can get in your clothes. It bothered them that I did this. Apparently, you wash your pots and pans BEFORE you eat, and I do not...I want to eat my food when it's still hot. This bothered them. Apparently, closing your bedroom door is rude...I didn't want everyone to see my room and what I was doing every minute of the day. This bothered them. So, all these little things have added up to create a big mess. The family I live with is no longer speaking to me, and over an internet chat, asked if I could find a new place to live. I wanted to resolve the issues, but all the father would say is "some people in the world have different ideas." I think he is a coward for not manning up and dealing with small issues as the arise. They have put me in a very challenging situation, with only 5 months left here, I need to find a new place to live and get all the necessities of living in a new place (fridge, microwave, tv....)
With this fiasco, and the recent drama happening with a co-worker at school, I have felt emotionally drained and burnt out on my position here in Taiwan. I decided last night that I for sure was going to head back to America within the next week. Sleeping on it, reading a lengthy email from my dad, and seeing how supportive the school has been to me, I'm re-thinking things.
1. If I run away from this problem, how will I ever learn to face life's difficulties
2. If I leave this school, my co-worker will have the victory over me when she is in the wrong
3. I don't have a job back in the US
4. It is not a good way to start your career by backing out on your first contract
5. I would miss my students and the work that I enjoy here
6. I would disappoint a lot of people.
So, it's been a very hard few days trying to get all my thoughts and feelings sorted out.
I've come to a conclusion that I think is best in the long run, but not easy in terms of short term emotions. I'm going to stay here and tough it out. Hopefully by doing this I become a stronger person and I can face giants later in life that try to get me down. I don't know if this will work, but if I don't do it I will never know.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Matzu Culture Celebration
Last night was a celebration in my town. I wouldn't have known about it, and would've missed it, if it weren't for my cheer team performing. They were told to be ready to perform at 6pm, but didn't end up performing until shortly after 10. So, we had a lot of time to just sit around and wait, but we made it a lot of fun. At about 9:30, the celebration began. It was a huge parade that stopped at the temple. Vince explained some of the attractions to me, but a lot of it I just admired for the beauty and intricacy. Matzu is the goddess that is worshiped in my town. She is the one that protects people that emigrate from China to Taiwan. The Taiwan straight is dangerous, so Matzu looks over them for a safe journey. Of course, Matzu was the last in the parade, and as the parade went on, the floats were more meaningful to her. There were trumpet players and bands and other types of worshipers. It was all such an awesome experience, even if I didn't know the reason behind it all.
For pictures - check out kstrein.shutterfly.com in the Matzu folder
for videos - go to youtube.com and search kstrein for videos of the evening
My cheerleaders did a great job performing....the video is also on youtube
For pictures - check out kstrein.shutterfly.com in the Matzu folder
for videos - go to youtube.com and search kstrein for videos of the evening
My cheerleaders did a great job performing....the video is also on youtube
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