as someone who always considered herself terrified of large groups of small children, and who has a college degree in secondary education, i can't help but laugh at something that i found myself doing today.
one of my classes was getting a bit out of hand, so i decided to implement some sort of discipline system. when i taught high school, this system was usually 'sit down and stop talking NOW or i'll throw you out' the first time, and actually throwing them out the second time. that will not wash with taiwanese 8-yr olds. i was wracking my brain thinking of some way to handle little kids...the only thing i could think of was my own elementary school teachers: and the pulling cards system.
i couldn't help but laugh at myself today sitting in my office colouring everyone's names on their pockets in brightly coloured crayons, making sure they looked like something an elementary school teacher would be proud of. i cut out their cards (green, yellow, and red...like a stop light) and will finish it tomorrow and see how it works. those little buggers are cute as they can be, and they make my day, but they are also still only 8...and thus unstoppable sometimes!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
the witch of portobello
i often feel as though my life is a constant battle. battle of what, you ask? well, that's a good question my friend. a very good question.
i often find myself in a constant cycle: this centrifuge has slowly become the trajectory of my life, and i am not sure if it is normal? i'm sure it has alot to do with the nature of my life right now: getting used to being in a new culture, speaking a new language, eating new food, just basically living life in a different way. in the course of 5 minutes, i can often find myself hating taiwan so much and looking for the next ticket home, and then 5 SECONDS LATER planning out the rest of my life in taiwan because i love it so much that i'm never leaving.
anyway i just finished yet another brilliant novel by paulo coelho, the witch of portobello. didn't like it as much as the alchemist, but it was the only one in the bookstore in english =) and it wasn't too bad. there was a passage that i really liked that i actually thought summed me up quite well. here it is...
'don't move,' said the man. 'look at what is there before your eyes.'
a line of ants.
'they all think they're very wise. they have memory, intelligence, organizational powers, a spirit of sacrifice. they look for food in summer, store it away in winter, and now they are setting forth again, in this icy spring, to work. if the world was destroyed by an atomic bomb tomorrow, the ants would survive.'
'how do you know all this?'
'i studied biology.'
'why don't you work to improve the living conditions of your own people? what are you doing in the middle of the forest, talking to trees?'
'in the first place, i wasn't alone; apart from the trees, you were listening to me too. but to answer your question, i left biology to work as a blacksmith.'
i struggled to my feet. my head was still spinning, but i was thinking clearly enough to understand the poor man's situation. despite a university education, he had been unable to find work. i told him that the same thing happened in my country too.
'no, that's not what i meant. i left biology because i wanted to work as a blacksmith. even as a child, i was fascinated by those men hammering steel, making a strange kind of music, sending out sparks all around, plunging the red-hot metal into water, and creating clouds of steam. i was unhappy as a biologist, because my dream was to make rigid metal take on soft shapes. then, one day, a protector appeared.'
'a protector?'
'let's say that, on seeing those ants doing exactly what they're programmed to do, you were to exclaim 'how fantastic!' the guards are genetically prepared to sacrifice themselves for the queen, the workers carry leaves ten times their own weight, the engineers make tunnels that can resist storms and floods. they enter into mortal combat with their enemies, they suffer for the community, and they never ask: 'why are we doing this?' people try to imitate the perfect society of ants, and as a biologist, i was playing my part until someone came along with this question: 'are you happy doing what you're doing?' 'of course i am,' i said. 'i'm being useful to my own people.' 'and that's enough?'
'i didn't know whether it was enough for me or not, but i said that he seemed to be both arrogant and egotistical. he replied: 'possibly, but all you will achieve is to repeat what has been done since man was man--keeping things organized.'
'but the world has progressed,' i said. he asked if i knew any history. of course i did. he asked another question: 'thousands of years ago, weren't we capable of building enormous structures like the pyramids? weren't we capable of worshipping gods, weaving, making fire, finding lovers and wives, sending written messages? of course we were. but although we've succeeded at replacing slaves with wage slaves, all the advances we've made have been in the field of science. human beings are still asking the same questions as their ancestors. in short, they haven't evolved at all.' at that point, i realized that the person asking me these questions was someone sent from heaven, an angel, a protector.'
'why do you call him a protector?'
'because he told me that there are two traditions, one that makes us repeat the same thing for centuries at a time, and another that makes us open the door into the unknown. however, the second tradition is difficult, uncomfortable and dangerous, and if it attracted too many followers, it would end up destroying the society which, following the example of the ants, took so long to build. and so the second tradition went underground and has only managed to survive over so many centuries because its followers created a secret language of signs.'
'did you ask more questions?'
'of course i did, because, although i'd denied it, he knew i was dissatisfied with what i was doing. my protector said: 'i'm afraid of taking steps that are not on the map, but by taking those steps despite my fears, i have a much more interesting life.' i asked more about the tradition, and he said something like, 'as long as god is merely man, we'll always have enough food to eat and somewhere to live. when the mother finally regains her freedom, we might have to sleep rough and live on love, or we might have to balance emotion and work.' my protector then asked: 'if you weren't a biologist, what would you be?' i said: 'a blacksmith, but they don't make enough money.' and he replied, 'well, when you're tired of being what you're not, go and have fun and celebrate life, hammering metal into shape. in time, you'll discover that it will give you more than pleasure, it will give you meaning.' 'how do i follow this tradition you spoke of ?' i asked. 'as i said, through symbols,' he replied. 'start doing what you want to do, and everything will be revealed to you...i did that and i survived. i discovered that there were other people who did the same but who are considered to be mad, irresponsible, superstitious. since time immortal, they've sought their inspiration in nature. we build pyramids, but we also develop symbols.'
'having said that, he left, and i never saw him again. i only know that from that moment on, symbols did begin to appear because my eyes had been opened by that conversation. hard though it was, one evening i told my family that, although i had everything a man could dream of having, i was unhappy, and that i had, in fact, been born to be a blacksmith. my wife protested, saying: 'you were born a gypsy and had to face endless humiliations to get where you are, and yet you want to go back?' my son, however, was thrilled, because he too liked to watch the blacksmiths in our village and hated the laboratories in the big cities.
'i started dividing my time between biological research and working as a blacksmith's apprentice. i was always tired, but i was much happier one day i left my job and set up my own blacksmith's business, which went completely wrong from the start. just when i was starting to believe in life, things got markedly worse. one day i was working away and i saw that there was before me a symbol.
'the unworked steel arrives in my workshop and i have to transform it into parts for cars, agricultural machinery, kitchen utensils. do you know how that's done? first, i heat the metal until its red-hot, then i beat it mercilessly with my heaviest hammer until the metal takes on the form i need. then i plunge it into a bucket of cold water and the whole workshop is filled with the roar of steam while the metal sizzles and crackles in response to the sudden change in temperature. i have to keep repeating that process until the object i'm making is perfect: once is not enough.
the blacksmith paused for a long time, lit a cigarette, and then went on.
'sometimes the steel i get simply can't withstand such treatment. the heat, the hammer blows, the cold water, cause it to crack. and i know that i'll never be able to make it into a good plow share or engine shaft. then i throw it onto the pile of scrap metal at the entrance to my forge.'
another long pause, then the blacksmith concluded: 'i know that god is putting me through the fire of afflictions. i've accepted the blows that life has dealt me, and sometimes i feel as cold and indifferent as the water that inflicts such pain on the steel. but my one prayer is this: please god...don't give up until i've taken on the shape that you wish for me. do this by whatever means you think best, and for as long as you like, but never ever throw me on the scrap heap of souls.'
coehlo, paulo. the witch of portobello. new york: harper collins. 2006. 215-220.
i often find myself in a constant cycle: this centrifuge has slowly become the trajectory of my life, and i am not sure if it is normal? i'm sure it has alot to do with the nature of my life right now: getting used to being in a new culture, speaking a new language, eating new food, just basically living life in a different way. in the course of 5 minutes, i can often find myself hating taiwan so much and looking for the next ticket home, and then 5 SECONDS LATER planning out the rest of my life in taiwan because i love it so much that i'm never leaving.
anyway i just finished yet another brilliant novel by paulo coelho, the witch of portobello. didn't like it as much as the alchemist, but it was the only one in the bookstore in english =) and it wasn't too bad. there was a passage that i really liked that i actually thought summed me up quite well. here it is...
'don't move,' said the man. 'look at what is there before your eyes.'
a line of ants.
'they all think they're very wise. they have memory, intelligence, organizational powers, a spirit of sacrifice. they look for food in summer, store it away in winter, and now they are setting forth again, in this icy spring, to work. if the world was destroyed by an atomic bomb tomorrow, the ants would survive.'
'how do you know all this?'
'i studied biology.'
'why don't you work to improve the living conditions of your own people? what are you doing in the middle of the forest, talking to trees?'
'in the first place, i wasn't alone; apart from the trees, you were listening to me too. but to answer your question, i left biology to work as a blacksmith.'
i struggled to my feet. my head was still spinning, but i was thinking clearly enough to understand the poor man's situation. despite a university education, he had been unable to find work. i told him that the same thing happened in my country too.
'no, that's not what i meant. i left biology because i wanted to work as a blacksmith. even as a child, i was fascinated by those men hammering steel, making a strange kind of music, sending out sparks all around, plunging the red-hot metal into water, and creating clouds of steam. i was unhappy as a biologist, because my dream was to make rigid metal take on soft shapes. then, one day, a protector appeared.'
'a protector?'
'let's say that, on seeing those ants doing exactly what they're programmed to do, you were to exclaim 'how fantastic!' the guards are genetically prepared to sacrifice themselves for the queen, the workers carry leaves ten times their own weight, the engineers make tunnels that can resist storms and floods. they enter into mortal combat with their enemies, they suffer for the community, and they never ask: 'why are we doing this?' people try to imitate the perfect society of ants, and as a biologist, i was playing my part until someone came along with this question: 'are you happy doing what you're doing?' 'of course i am,' i said. 'i'm being useful to my own people.' 'and that's enough?'
'i didn't know whether it was enough for me or not, but i said that he seemed to be both arrogant and egotistical. he replied: 'possibly, but all you will achieve is to repeat what has been done since man was man--keeping things organized.'
'but the world has progressed,' i said. he asked if i knew any history. of course i did. he asked another question: 'thousands of years ago, weren't we capable of building enormous structures like the pyramids? weren't we capable of worshipping gods, weaving, making fire, finding lovers and wives, sending written messages? of course we were. but although we've succeeded at replacing slaves with wage slaves, all the advances we've made have been in the field of science. human beings are still asking the same questions as their ancestors. in short, they haven't evolved at all.' at that point, i realized that the person asking me these questions was someone sent from heaven, an angel, a protector.'
'why do you call him a protector?'
'because he told me that there are two traditions, one that makes us repeat the same thing for centuries at a time, and another that makes us open the door into the unknown. however, the second tradition is difficult, uncomfortable and dangerous, and if it attracted too many followers, it would end up destroying the society which, following the example of the ants, took so long to build. and so the second tradition went underground and has only managed to survive over so many centuries because its followers created a secret language of signs.'
'did you ask more questions?'
'of course i did, because, although i'd denied it, he knew i was dissatisfied with what i was doing. my protector said: 'i'm afraid of taking steps that are not on the map, but by taking those steps despite my fears, i have a much more interesting life.' i asked more about the tradition, and he said something like, 'as long as god is merely man, we'll always have enough food to eat and somewhere to live. when the mother finally regains her freedom, we might have to sleep rough and live on love, or we might have to balance emotion and work.' my protector then asked: 'if you weren't a biologist, what would you be?' i said: 'a blacksmith, but they don't make enough money.' and he replied, 'well, when you're tired of being what you're not, go and have fun and celebrate life, hammering metal into shape. in time, you'll discover that it will give you more than pleasure, it will give you meaning.' 'how do i follow this tradition you spoke of ?' i asked. 'as i said, through symbols,' he replied. 'start doing what you want to do, and everything will be revealed to you...i did that and i survived. i discovered that there were other people who did the same but who are considered to be mad, irresponsible, superstitious. since time immortal, they've sought their inspiration in nature. we build pyramids, but we also develop symbols.'
'having said that, he left, and i never saw him again. i only know that from that moment on, symbols did begin to appear because my eyes had been opened by that conversation. hard though it was, one evening i told my family that, although i had everything a man could dream of having, i was unhappy, and that i had, in fact, been born to be a blacksmith. my wife protested, saying: 'you were born a gypsy and had to face endless humiliations to get where you are, and yet you want to go back?' my son, however, was thrilled, because he too liked to watch the blacksmiths in our village and hated the laboratories in the big cities.
'i started dividing my time between biological research and working as a blacksmith's apprentice. i was always tired, but i was much happier one day i left my job and set up my own blacksmith's business, which went completely wrong from the start. just when i was starting to believe in life, things got markedly worse. one day i was working away and i saw that there was before me a symbol.
'the unworked steel arrives in my workshop and i have to transform it into parts for cars, agricultural machinery, kitchen utensils. do you know how that's done? first, i heat the metal until its red-hot, then i beat it mercilessly with my heaviest hammer until the metal takes on the form i need. then i plunge it into a bucket of cold water and the whole workshop is filled with the roar of steam while the metal sizzles and crackles in response to the sudden change in temperature. i have to keep repeating that process until the object i'm making is perfect: once is not enough.
the blacksmith paused for a long time, lit a cigarette, and then went on.
'sometimes the steel i get simply can't withstand such treatment. the heat, the hammer blows, the cold water, cause it to crack. and i know that i'll never be able to make it into a good plow share or engine shaft. then i throw it onto the pile of scrap metal at the entrance to my forge.'
another long pause, then the blacksmith concluded: 'i know that god is putting me through the fire of afflictions. i've accepted the blows that life has dealt me, and sometimes i feel as cold and indifferent as the water that inflicts such pain on the steel. but my one prayer is this: please god...don't give up until i've taken on the shape that you wish for me. do this by whatever means you think best, and for as long as you like, but never ever throw me on the scrap heap of souls.'
coehlo, paulo. the witch of portobello. new york: harper collins. 2006. 215-220.
so many things to blog about now...hm...
#1 the weekend! on saturday, i went to yangmingshan with my work! its just outside of taipei, and i think its a volcano...though really i have no idea what it is :) all i know is that it was GORGEOUS! the moutains in taiwan are the most beautiful i have ever seen outside of my beloved blue ridge. i even think the taiwan mountains put the alps to shame. we were in the national park, which i think is the most beautiful place i've seen since i've been in taiwan, and ally said 'when i'm here i often think that this is what heaven might look like.' i hope shes right :)
sunday, my friend orange from hong kong arrived for a visit! we went to hsinchu city for the day. actually when we got there, there were so many protests going on about china (1 oct is the anniversiary of the estab. of the proc). actually i thought it was parades because there were marching bands and stuff, but i quickly learned that i was wrong haha. while we were in the city, we stopped in a hotel for directions to the place we were heading. after he gave us the directions, he looked at me and said in heavily accented english: "welcome to taiwan!" i laughed a little and said to him in heavily accented chinese: "thanks, but i live here." he just stared at me...and i wasn't sure what to think! i'm not a tourist! then, we headed to the jhubei city night market...I LOVE IT! i ate tooooooooo much food, but i love that night market so much. might be my favourite in all of taiwan! even when i ordered something, the lady behind the stand told me that i spoke very good mandarin for a mei guo ren. hahaha. ;)
today when i walked into class, many of my students handed me cards and little cakes...its teacher's day in taiwan! they were so cuuuuuuute. bless their precious little taiwanese hearts. one of them even gave us all mooncakes from gaoxiong! 28sept is confucious' birthday, so that's why today is teacher's day. it was a quite nice day!
**i really wish it would feel like fall here! its still as blazing hot as it was when i arrived in july! ahhhh! i also really miss the beacon. i randomly started to wish i could go there and eat until i puked...what i wouldn't give for some good old fashioned terribly unhealthy fried in grease and full of cholesterol southern food with NO EYEBALLS
#1 the weekend! on saturday, i went to yangmingshan with my work! its just outside of taipei, and i think its a volcano...though really i have no idea what it is :) all i know is that it was GORGEOUS! the moutains in taiwan are the most beautiful i have ever seen outside of my beloved blue ridge. i even think the taiwan mountains put the alps to shame. we were in the national park, which i think is the most beautiful place i've seen since i've been in taiwan, and ally said 'when i'm here i often think that this is what heaven might look like.' i hope shes right :)
sunday, my friend orange from hong kong arrived for a visit! we went to hsinchu city for the day. actually when we got there, there were so many protests going on about china (1 oct is the anniversiary of the estab. of the proc). actually i thought it was parades because there were marching bands and stuff, but i quickly learned that i was wrong haha. while we were in the city, we stopped in a hotel for directions to the place we were heading. after he gave us the directions, he looked at me and said in heavily accented english: "welcome to taiwan!" i laughed a little and said to him in heavily accented chinese: "thanks, but i live here." he just stared at me...and i wasn't sure what to think! i'm not a tourist! then, we headed to the jhubei city night market...I LOVE IT! i ate tooooooooo much food, but i love that night market so much. might be my favourite in all of taiwan! even when i ordered something, the lady behind the stand told me that i spoke very good mandarin for a mei guo ren. hahaha. ;)
today when i walked into class, many of my students handed me cards and little cakes...its teacher's day in taiwan! they were so cuuuuuuute. bless their precious little taiwanese hearts. one of them even gave us all mooncakes from gaoxiong! 28sept is confucious' birthday, so that's why today is teacher's day. it was a quite nice day!
**i really wish it would feel like fall here! its still as blazing hot as it was when i arrived in july! ahhhh! i also really miss the beacon. i randomly started to wish i could go there and eat until i puked...what i wouldn't give for some good old fashioned terribly unhealthy fried in grease and full of cholesterol southern food with NO EYEBALLS
Friday, September 25, 2009
生日快樂 finally, a real one
i realised today that i haven't really devoted much of this section of my cyberspace to talking about my job and what i actually do with my life in taiwan, so i will do that now, in account of today was an especially good day =)
i have one student who announces that its his happy birthday every single day when i come in class, then proceeds to ask every single child in the class if it is their happy birthday, and then finally after we have established that it is in fact no one's happy birthday, we begin class. you can imagine his excitement when he was able to announce that today was someone's birthday. ally went to the 85 degrees cafe and bought him a little cake at my request. i saved the last 15 minutes of class for a little party! we all crowded around him (and boyyyyyyyyy was he shocked!) and sang happy birthday (finally legitimately!) in english. it was so much fun...tammy took lots of photos of us with his cake and his little '7' candle...hope to have them up soon =)
its so different teaching small children now. i get to shop for cute little things like stamps and stickers, and i spent an hour today colouring flashcards for the weather and the days of the week. of course i spent 4 years in uni learning how to corrall teenagers and keep them out of prison; i am totally still learning the ropes of how to deal with 8 year olds (dont even start me on how to deal with the kindy! i still dont know...) but, its actually quite fun. i could never teach proper elementary school in america with american children, but i have to say that i do love teaching esl to taiwanese babies! and, i like the fact that i also have advanced classes where i get to teach lots of nerdy grammar (spent a whole lesson tonight on the past perfect tense....:) and also adult classes too.
old life = getting ready to out for a long night of salsa dancing at 10p on friday night
new life = just getting off work and getting ready to sleep at 10p on friday night because i have to be up early on saturday to work
i have one student who announces that its his happy birthday every single day when i come in class, then proceeds to ask every single child in the class if it is their happy birthday, and then finally after we have established that it is in fact no one's happy birthday, we begin class. you can imagine his excitement when he was able to announce that today was someone's birthday. ally went to the 85 degrees cafe and bought him a little cake at my request. i saved the last 15 minutes of class for a little party! we all crowded around him (and boyyyyyyyyy was he shocked!) and sang happy birthday (finally legitimately!) in english. it was so much fun...tammy took lots of photos of us with his cake and his little '7' candle...hope to have them up soon =)
its so different teaching small children now. i get to shop for cute little things like stamps and stickers, and i spent an hour today colouring flashcards for the weather and the days of the week. of course i spent 4 years in uni learning how to corrall teenagers and keep them out of prison; i am totally still learning the ropes of how to deal with 8 year olds (dont even start me on how to deal with the kindy! i still dont know...) but, its actually quite fun. i could never teach proper elementary school in america with american children, but i have to say that i do love teaching esl to taiwanese babies! and, i like the fact that i also have advanced classes where i get to teach lots of nerdy grammar (spent a whole lesson tonight on the past perfect tense....:) and also adult classes too.
old life = getting ready to out for a long night of salsa dancing at 10p on friday night
new life = just getting off work and getting ready to sleep at 10p on friday night because i have to be up early on saturday to work
denken auf deutsch
sorry...what i have to say can't be said in english
manchmal wünsche ich, dass ich über mein leben sicher sein könnte. warum bezweifele ich mich immer? eine minut mag ich taiwan, die folgende minute, die ich nach hause gehen möchte. ich wundere mich, wenn meine gefühle wird überhaupt reguliert…ich hasse das gefühl von vergessen werden. ich hasse in den gedächtnissen und in der zukunft leben. ich hasse mich wundern, wenn ich überhaupt die leute und die plätze finde, die ich werde bedeutet für…ich wundere mich, wo ich meine fehler machte. ich wundere mich, WENN ich einen fehler machte. es ist so schwierig, glückliches jeder zu sehen so und sich dann zu sehen. bin ich glücklich? ich weiss nicht: ich bin nicht traurig. aber es gibt etwas, das jetzt von mir verfehlt. ich wundere mich, wenn solch ein platz für mich existiert. ich wundere mich, wenn es irgendeinen platz oder irgendeine person gibt, dass ich WIRKLICH für BEDEUTET wurde. ich wundere mich… ich mich wundere häufig. der teil von mir wünscht das leben, das einfach ist: aber der teil von mir wünscht das abenteuer. wie man die hälften versöhnt? wo kann ich den platz finden, den ich gehöre? existiert es?!
möglicherweise beschreibt dieses das gefühl---- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUFgRqxDNd4
manchmal wünsche ich, dass ich über mein leben sicher sein könnte. warum bezweifele ich mich immer? eine minut mag ich taiwan, die folgende minute, die ich nach hause gehen möchte. ich wundere mich, wenn meine gefühle wird überhaupt reguliert…ich hasse das gefühl von vergessen werden. ich hasse in den gedächtnissen und in der zukunft leben. ich hasse mich wundern, wenn ich überhaupt die leute und die plätze finde, die ich werde bedeutet für…ich wundere mich, wo ich meine fehler machte. ich wundere mich, WENN ich einen fehler machte. es ist so schwierig, glückliches jeder zu sehen so und sich dann zu sehen. bin ich glücklich? ich weiss nicht: ich bin nicht traurig. aber es gibt etwas, das jetzt von mir verfehlt. ich wundere mich, wenn solch ein platz für mich existiert. ich wundere mich, wenn es irgendeinen platz oder irgendeine person gibt, dass ich WIRKLICH für BEDEUTET wurde. ich wundere mich… ich mich wundere häufig. der teil von mir wünscht das leben, das einfach ist: aber der teil von mir wünscht das abenteuer. wie man die hälften versöhnt? wo kann ich den platz finden, den ich gehöre? existiert es?!
möglicherweise beschreibt dieses das gefühl---- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUFgRqxDNd4
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
ode to jay chou
there are many things that i have come to appreicate since coming to taiwan, such as the english language (ahhhh), the chinese language (actually i've come to think it sounds really beautiful), chou tofu (it doesn't taste as bad as it smells), bamboo in all forms (mmmmm), getting from place to place using my own two feet, international mail, TEEEEEEEEEEEA, and...jay chou.
i first discovered jay chou in the airport in taoyuan. AT THAT VERY MOMENT i fell in love. he is a really really (really!!!) famous taiwanese jack-of-all-genres-of-entertainment. he is famous in all asia, but especially in taiwan, because he is from here. i think he is especially worshipped by a select part of the american expatriate population--namely myself.
watch these: the last one is my favourite:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9PFQSVZdzM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap_1HElPC9A
我愛你 jay chouuuuuuuuuu
i first discovered jay chou in the airport in taoyuan. AT THAT VERY MOMENT i fell in love. he is a really really (really!!!) famous taiwanese jack-of-all-genres-of-entertainment. he is famous in all asia, but especially in taiwan, because he is from here. i think he is especially worshipped by a select part of the american expatriate population--namely myself.
watch these: the last one is my favourite:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9PFQSVZdzM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap_1HElPC9A
我愛你 jay chouuuuuuuuuu
Sunday, September 20, 2009
expatriatism: a teleological anaylsis (and some stuff about wulai too)
what an amazing weekend. i am getting very very very tempted even more everyday never to leave taiwan. seriously.
i was meeting some friends in xindian (in taipei) at noon which meant that i had to be out of bed at the crack of dawn in order to get there on time. if you know me well enough, you know that i have never been out of bed on time in my life. same for today. i had every intention of being up and out the door by 830...not so much (actually i dont know why i even needed to be up so early anyway...im only a half hour from taipei! haha)
i got to the train station at exactly 10:00a and bought my ticket to taipei...the train left at 10:01. i had to literally RUN across the platform and leap into the train, but i got on and somehow got to taipei on time. met kristen and mary in xindian and got on the bus to wulai (you can read about wulai here: http://wikitravel.org/en/Wulai)!
a poetic digression:
while i was waiting for the girls in xindian station, an american came up to me and started chatting. we were just shooting the breeze about this and that, and eventually she asked: 'so are you an expat too?' i had no idea how to answer that question. am i an expatriate? in the most technical sense of the word, yes. i left my mother country and now i live and work in a country that is foreign to me. i love both places, in completely different ways of course and for completely different ways... but am i an expatriate? im not really sure, to be honest. i love love love taiwan and if you ask me today, i will tell you that i am never going to leave. but what about america? hm, im not sure. i love it to and maybe i do eventually want to go back someday. i got my a.r.c. (alien resident certificate...basically my taiwanese green card) thursday...which means that i am taiwnese now! but it is strange to hold that in my hand sometimes. in the end, after i stared at her like an idiot for about 3 minutes after she asked me the question, i finally said: 'yes.' suprised at how that word felt coming out of my mouth, i quickly amended my statement: 'and no.'
anywayyyyyyyyyy, we got off the bus (after a 40 minute bus ride that did a number on both my motion sickness and my nerves), we hiked!!! all the way up to the top of the mountain to see the 'big' waterfall (which ended up being kind of small...but still totally worth it!) it was totally gorgeous. the mountains were so tall, and everything was so green...the weather was perfect. such a great day! anyway, on our little hike, we saw about 1032820938 of the hugest and most fantastically disgusting spiders ive ever seen in my life, took a ton of photos, browsed through all the shops filled with aboriginal things (bought the CUTEST bag for only 100nt!!!!!!), and climbed about 23840283 steps.
then, we met up with kristen's friends danny and flea. after looking everywhere for a parking spot, we ate dinner/supper/lunch/not really any specific meal. it was sooooooooo goooooood. rice cooked in bamboo, chicken and papaya soup (not as nasty as it sounds i swear), pork, and some kind of vegetable, im not sure. i even got complimented on my chopstick skills by true real live asians ;) then we took a looooooooong walk down to the hot springs! IT WAS SO COOOOOOOOL! these natural hot springs are no joke though, mary and danny burned their feet! haha. i, of course slipped in and got myself soaking wet, but the water wasn't bad. we moved over to a rock overlooking the river beside some gorgeous mountains...just sitting there in the perfect weather, perfect view, talking about the trash/ice cream truck. it was good times. good, good times.
while the girls and i were bumming around the shops, we took a pit stop by the bathrooms. a little girl pointed at me and asked me if i was english (i am still in awe of the fact that i had a conversation with this kid in chinese haha). i told her i was american and she literally dropped her jaw and said 'wow' in chinese haha. she asked me my name, and i told her and she started shouting 'katie mei guo ren!' which means 'katie american!' haha. when kristen and mary and i were leaving together, she pointed at us and shouted 'SAN MEI GUO REN!' which means 'THREE AMERICANS!' we died laughing and kept on our way.
after the hotsprings, we went back to taipei and went to this crazy little ice cream store. i ordered half strawberry/mango thinking it would be small...it was the hugest thing of ice cream ive ever seen but it was SOOOO GOOD. we all sat around chatting about how hilarious it is to teach english in taiwan...and how much we love it! :) i felt like such an adult, hanging out and talking about my CAREER. as far as the teaching goes, i survived my first parent's day and observation and things are going well. i love my job. i love taiwan. i love this life.
with the cheif at the restaurant :) haha
waterfalls!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
america, england, and taiwan
生日快樂 daddy! happy birthday!
so i'm going to pay homage to veronica's stoic and effecient way of blogging and make a list. i have been in taiwan for 10 weeks, and i have to say that every second of those ten weeks has been an emotional rollercoaster. moving abroad to work is night and day compared to going abroad to study, where you are guaranteed almost instant friends and at least someone who is a native speaker of your language (or in my case, someone who grew up 5 minutes down the road from you...haha). there were times at first when i would look on expedia for the cheapest ticket home; there are times now when all i do is worry that the next ten months won't be enough time. at first, i found myself missing home so much...i often miss my family, but i rarely IF EVER miss shelby. but in the beginning of being in taiwan, i wanted to go back to shelby so bad. when i got homesick before in england, it was always for greensboro, and when i got homesick in greensboro, it was for england. it was freaking me out that i was homesick for shelby. usually, my homesickness consisted of dreaming of nando's, boots, primark, big ben, taking a train, walking through england and looking how beautiful it is, hearing british accents, blah blah. (don't get me wrong...i will feel homesickness for england until i'm back there for good!) anyway...now for that list...
the top 10 things i miss about america
1. my family. even though they are all certifiably insane, i really do miss them.
2. taking trips with my friends to places including but not limited to dc, nyc, the mountains, the beach, etc and terrorising all the citizens that we can get our hands on.
3. english books being everywhere. you know im going to take this a step further and go ahead and say barnes and noble (i agree with v-music, books (ALL IN ENGLISH!) and coffee all in one place? best idea everrrrr). and old navy. ok i miss the friendly center.
4. and also like v, wreaking havoc in greensboro with my friends. of course.
5. target. although taiwan is literally busting at the seams with cool stuff to buy, there will never be anything to compare with target. i miss the smell of popcorn when you walk in, all the red decorations, the thingssssssssss they sell...
6. ah yes, i miss north carolina in the fall MORE THAN ANYTHING. the leaves, the smells, the weather, football games, the holidays...oh my gosh, i misssssssssss it. fall has always been my favourite season...and taiwan doesn't have fall, haha.
7. uncg and the ihouse...really greensboro itself. enough said.
8. a few random restuarants. i love taiwanese food, don't get me wrong, but there's only so much food with eyes on it that a girl can take.
9. being able to buy shoes in my size. my feet arent really that big, maybe 9.5 at the biggest, but in taiwan everyone's feet are so bloody small that i doubt they go over size 7 (and even thats considered HUGE).
10. SALSA DANCING.
some things about america that i don't miss, you ask?
1. my car. don't miss driving, don't miss paying for gas, don't miss looking for parking.
2. stupid girls. i don't miss seeing girls with $5000 pocketbooks talking in really obnoxious voices about the latest epsiode of whatever stupid tv show they are watching or the next album thats coming out. i donttttttttttt miss american pop culture at all.
3. the vma's. yes, i heard what happened, yes i watched it on youtube, but i feel so disconnected from american culture now...i didnt know who half those people were and i didn't know any of the songs.
4. the celebrity obsession. i hate how america seems to worship them and they are somehow some sort of superhuman being. i like being able to stand in a checkout line now and not have to read about every single person who has ever been in a movie ever and what they ate for lunch today and why thats bad or how its going to save the world.
top ten things i miss about england
1. the weather. i know i know, thats strange, but i love the weather there! i love bundling up in a coat and scarf and wellies to go outside.
2. NANDOS. holy crap, i would give anything to go eat at nandos...............best restaruarnt ever
3. british accents, of course =)
4. english chocolate! i have to say that the chocolate in taiwan sucks.
5. being in europe...theres just something about being in europe that i love. the weather, the buildings, the pace of life. i miss it soooooooo much.
6. ok im going to state the obvious: everyone around me speaks english, no matter how bizarre it sounds and no matter how much at times i can't understand it....its still english.
7. my friendsssssssssssssssssssssss.
8. primark, boots, the body shop, m&s, weatherspoons, union square...that list could go on forever...
9. public transportation. does it exist in taiwan outside of taipei?
10. the culture. i really love england so much. i miss it.
top ten things i love about taiwan
1. the engrish. its everywhere and its 10x funnier in real life.
2. the teeeeeeeeeeea. i love tea shops! i love tea!
3. the people. they really are some of the nicest in the world, and to boot, they are hilarious without meaning to be.
4. i love how colourful everything is in taiwan. everything from the temples, to the lights at night, to the red stains of betelnut spit everywhere, taiwan is a very colourful place, which makes me very happy :)
5. fooood. even though some taiwanese food still really scares me, there is some that i could eat by the truckload, but since i am really bad at trying to romanise chinese words, i wont =)
6. the shopping. oooooooooooh my gosh, the shopping here is the best in the world!!!!!!!!
7. the dogs and scooters everywhere. sometimes i really feel like i'm in a different world.
8. the layout of cities. i know that sounds really strange, but in america cities are so spread out, and in england, if you can find a proper city (like london) its so huge that its hard to get a real feel for it, you just learn the parts of the city really well. but in taiwan, i feel like cities are more compact and just taller. its really cool.
9. asians. they're everywhere ;) oh and the music! i am obsessed with mtv taiwan!
10. the geography. taiwan is a GORGEOUS country.
so i have one class that is just hilarious, and i swear keeps me in stitches more often than not. everyday when i come in, i am greeted with a VERY LOUD chorus of 'happy birthday to you' in english. and everyday i say, 'its not my birthday.' and then everyday, one certain student says 'its MY happy birthday!' and then another certain one will shout 'its my birthday too!' it always feels like i'm in that episode of i love lucy where they are in italy and all those kids keep telling them that its their birthday. haha. it would have been funny if it had happened once or twice, but every single day we start class the same way, arguing about whose birthday it is and whose it isn't. the same kid who starts off the happy birthday argument has also been known to jump out of his seat at random intervals and start singing 'shake your bon bon' at the top of his lungs. can anyone ask for a better job? :) or at the very least, a more entertaining one? haha, didn't think so.
here is me in taiwan, eating fish head and whole octopu
s. just another day.
(and yes, i really did eat both of them)
so i'm going to pay homage to veronica's stoic and effecient way of blogging and make a list. i have been in taiwan for 10 weeks, and i have to say that every second of those ten weeks has been an emotional rollercoaster. moving abroad to work is night and day compared to going abroad to study, where you are guaranteed almost instant friends and at least someone who is a native speaker of your language (or in my case, someone who grew up 5 minutes down the road from you...haha). there were times at first when i would look on expedia for the cheapest ticket home; there are times now when all i do is worry that the next ten months won't be enough time. at first, i found myself missing home so much...i often miss my family, but i rarely IF EVER miss shelby. but in the beginning of being in taiwan, i wanted to go back to shelby so bad. when i got homesick before in england, it was always for greensboro, and when i got homesick in greensboro, it was for england. it was freaking me out that i was homesick for shelby. usually, my homesickness consisted of dreaming of nando's, boots, primark, big ben, taking a train, walking through england and looking how beautiful it is, hearing british accents, blah blah. (don't get me wrong...i will feel homesickness for england until i'm back there for good!) anyway...now for that list...
the top 10 things i miss about america
1. my family. even though they are all certifiably insane, i really do miss them.
2. taking trips with my friends to places including but not limited to dc, nyc, the mountains, the beach, etc and terrorising all the citizens that we can get our hands on.
3. english books being everywhere. you know im going to take this a step further and go ahead and say barnes and noble (i agree with v-music, books (ALL IN ENGLISH!) and coffee all in one place? best idea everrrrr). and old navy. ok i miss the friendly center.
4. and also like v, wreaking havoc in greensboro with my friends. of course.
5. target. although taiwan is literally busting at the seams with cool stuff to buy, there will never be anything to compare with target. i miss the smell of popcorn when you walk in, all the red decorations, the thingssssssssss they sell...
6. ah yes, i miss north carolina in the fall MORE THAN ANYTHING. the leaves, the smells, the weather, football games, the holidays...oh my gosh, i misssssssssss it. fall has always been my favourite season...and taiwan doesn't have fall, haha.
7. uncg and the ihouse...really greensboro itself. enough said.
8. a few random restuarants. i love taiwanese food, don't get me wrong, but there's only so much food with eyes on it that a girl can take.
9. being able to buy shoes in my size. my feet arent really that big, maybe 9.5 at the biggest, but in taiwan everyone's feet are so bloody small that i doubt they go over size 7 (and even thats considered HUGE).
10. SALSA DANCING.
some things about america that i don't miss, you ask?
1. my car. don't miss driving, don't miss paying for gas, don't miss looking for parking.
2. stupid girls. i don't miss seeing girls with $5000 pocketbooks talking in really obnoxious voices about the latest epsiode of whatever stupid tv show they are watching or the next album thats coming out. i donttttttttttt miss american pop culture at all.
3. the vma's. yes, i heard what happened, yes i watched it on youtube, but i feel so disconnected from american culture now...i didnt know who half those people were and i didn't know any of the songs.
4. the celebrity obsession. i hate how america seems to worship them and they are somehow some sort of superhuman being. i like being able to stand in a checkout line now and not have to read about every single person who has ever been in a movie ever and what they ate for lunch today and why thats bad or how its going to save the world.
top ten things i miss about england
1. the weather. i know i know, thats strange, but i love the weather there! i love bundling up in a coat and scarf and wellies to go outside.
2. NANDOS. holy crap, i would give anything to go eat at nandos...............best restaruarnt ever
3. british accents, of course =)
4. english chocolate! i have to say that the chocolate in taiwan sucks.
5. being in europe...theres just something about being in europe that i love. the weather, the buildings, the pace of life. i miss it soooooooo much.
6. ok im going to state the obvious: everyone around me speaks english, no matter how bizarre it sounds and no matter how much at times i can't understand it....its still english.
7. my friendsssssssssssssssssssssss.
8. primark, boots, the body shop, m&s, weatherspoons, union square...that list could go on forever...
9. public transportation. does it exist in taiwan outside of taipei?
10. the culture. i really love england so much. i miss it.
top ten things i love about taiwan
1. the engrish. its everywhere and its 10x funnier in real life.
2. the teeeeeeeeeeea. i love tea shops! i love tea!
3. the people. they really are some of the nicest in the world, and to boot, they are hilarious without meaning to be.
4. i love how colourful everything is in taiwan. everything from the temples, to the lights at night, to the red stains of betelnut spit everywhere, taiwan is a very colourful place, which makes me very happy :)
5. fooood. even though some taiwanese food still really scares me, there is some that i could eat by the truckload, but since i am really bad at trying to romanise chinese words, i wont =)
6. the shopping. oooooooooooh my gosh, the shopping here is the best in the world!!!!!!!!
7. the dogs and scooters everywhere. sometimes i really feel like i'm in a different world.
8. the layout of cities. i know that sounds really strange, but in america cities are so spread out, and in england, if you can find a proper city (like london) its so huge that its hard to get a real feel for it, you just learn the parts of the city really well. but in taiwan, i feel like cities are more compact and just taller. its really cool.
9. asians. they're everywhere ;) oh and the music! i am obsessed with mtv taiwan!
10. the geography. taiwan is a GORGEOUS country.
so i have one class that is just hilarious, and i swear keeps me in stitches more often than not. everyday when i come in, i am greeted with a VERY LOUD chorus of 'happy birthday to you' in english. and everyday i say, 'its not my birthday.' and then everyday, one certain student says 'its MY happy birthday!' and then another certain one will shout 'its my birthday too!' it always feels like i'm in that episode of i love lucy where they are in italy and all those kids keep telling them that its their birthday. haha. it would have been funny if it had happened once or twice, but every single day we start class the same way, arguing about whose birthday it is and whose it isn't. the same kid who starts off the happy birthday argument has also been known to jump out of his seat at random intervals and start singing 'shake your bon bon' at the top of his lungs. can anyone ask for a better job? :) or at the very least, a more entertaining one? haha, didn't think so.
here is me in taiwan, eating fish head and whole octopu
s. just another day.
(and yes, i really did eat both of them)
Monday, September 14, 2009
miaoli
last night i dreamed of frozen pizza. i miss it.
yesterday i went to miaoli, the county right underneath hsinchu. the drive was only about an hour, but it felt almost like i was in another country! we were definitely not in the city anymore! we went to a township called 南庄鄉. it is an old part of the county situated right in the middle of the mountains. they were soooo beautiful! and the biggest and most beautiful temple i've ever seen was situated right at the top of the hill we climbed. we went inside, and ally explained to me what everything was, from the lions guarding the door (to keep the bad out and the good in) and the huge incense burner and paper money incinerator, to the red lanterns hanging on the powerlines (the people write their prayers and put them inside, hoping that since they are closer to the gods, the gods will be able to see them better).
after looking at the temple and a really super cute elementary school, we headed down to osmanthus alley. this is a really !!!! skinny alleyway with little booths on either side selling this and that, usually things made from the osmanthus flower, which miaoli is famous for. there were so many teas, jams, blah blah made out of it and they were giving out so many samples that i was about to pop by the end of the alley. (there were also about 2039482308 samples of chicken feet and other random things i couldnt identify that everyone kept making me try...) for dinner, we went to a restaurant where i ate lots of little fish with the eyeballs still attached, and of course, octopus. =) i can't wait to go back to miaoli again! its such a cool place... you can see exactly where i was if you look here: http://www.taiwanfun.com/travel/0710/0710Nanzhuang.htm
when we left it was dark. i looked up and saw a sky full of stars! its been so long since id seen any...you certainly cant find them in jhubei city. i just stood there with my head at a 90 degree angle thinking of all the times in my life i'd been under a sky full of stars and never thought twice about it. i also thought about the times i'd spent in the mountains looking at stars with people that i loved. isn't life funny.
yesterday i went to miaoli, the county right underneath hsinchu. the drive was only about an hour, but it felt almost like i was in another country! we were definitely not in the city anymore! we went to a township called 南庄鄉. it is an old part of the county situated right in the middle of the mountains. they were soooo beautiful! and the biggest and most beautiful temple i've ever seen was situated right at the top of the hill we climbed. we went inside, and ally explained to me what everything was, from the lions guarding the door (to keep the bad out and the good in) and the huge incense burner and paper money incinerator, to the red lanterns hanging on the powerlines (the people write their prayers and put them inside, hoping that since they are closer to the gods, the gods will be able to see them better).
after looking at the temple and a really super cute elementary school, we headed down to osmanthus alley. this is a really !!!! skinny alleyway with little booths on either side selling this and that, usually things made from the osmanthus flower, which miaoli is famous for. there were so many teas, jams, blah blah made out of it and they were giving out so many samples that i was about to pop by the end of the alley. (there were also about 2039482308 samples of chicken feet and other random things i couldnt identify that everyone kept making me try...) for dinner, we went to a restaurant where i ate lots of little fish with the eyeballs still attached, and of course, octopus. =) i can't wait to go back to miaoli again! its such a cool place... you can see exactly where i was if you look here: http://www.taiwanfun.com/travel/0710/0710Nanzhuang.htm
when we left it was dark. i looked up and saw a sky full of stars! its been so long since id seen any...you certainly cant find them in jhubei city. i just stood there with my head at a 90 degree angle thinking of all the times in my life i'd been under a sky full of stars and never thought twice about it. i also thought about the times i'd spent in the mountains looking at stars with people that i loved. isn't life funny.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
a photo tour of jhubei city
today after work, despite the debilitatingly high temperature of 234023840329842038 degrees, i decided to take myself on a little tour of the city with my camera. though i love taking photos, i hate doing it for many reasons: people stare at me enough as it is, the last thing i need to do is pull out my camera like a bloody tourist and start snapping photos of every single thing i see. however, i still want to catch it all on film. im not taiwanese yet ;)
i'm not exactly sure what is this or why its here...but its some jeans thing-y thats...bizarre...no matter where you are...
this is what a typical street looks like. though you cant exactly tell from the photo, you take your life into your own hands everytime you cross. there are scooters EVERYWHERE and cars and neither of them care about pedestrians. its scary
yyyyyyy (but kind of fun ;)
yyyyyyy (but kind of fun ;)
here is another temple i found (if you look closely at the bottom left corner of the top of the temple, you can see a man in a green shirt cleaning it :)
^the inside of the temple
<--dragon on the top of the temple
a
<--this is only a small small small small small fraction of the number of scooters in jhubei city.
Friday, September 11, 2009
today i was telling someone a story, and i heard the words 'when i was in college' come out of my mouth. they felt so strange! although i have to say, it is becoming more and more real to and ok with me lately that i'm no longer a student. yes, i miss that life, i miss those days, i miss those people, but life goes on.
today we were reviewing animals. i held up a picture of a gorilla and asked, 'what is it?' one of my students yelled out 'DA XING XING'! and i just thought of the ihouse and smiled. i didn't almost cry, i didnt almost book a plane ticket home, i didn't feel bad at the memory. i smiled for it, happy that i have all those good memories, and then i carried on with my lesson. is that what moving on feels like? is it supposed to feel like that?
also, i was reading lady chatterly's lover and came across this one:
'we've got to live, no matter how many skies have fallen.'
**also, today is a very important day for america. i wish i was there today. take a minute and remember.
today we were reviewing animals. i held up a picture of a gorilla and asked, 'what is it?' one of my students yelled out 'DA XING XING'! and i just thought of the ihouse and smiled. i didn't almost cry, i didnt almost book a plane ticket home, i didn't feel bad at the memory. i smiled for it, happy that i have all those good memories, and then i carried on with my lesson. is that what moving on feels like? is it supposed to feel like that?
also, i was reading lady chatterly's lover and came across this one:
'we've got to live, no matter how many skies have fallen.'
**also, today is a very important day for america. i wish i was there today. take a minute and remember.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
titled
yay! i think i am out of the darkest part of the culture shock woods...all those of you who have ever hauled it off to another country (not for holidaying!) know the glorious feeling im talking about...waking up and finally realising that you arent as miserable as you thought, and remembering the reasons that you did it in the first place. ladies and gentlemen: IM BACK!
i dont remember the detail i went into about this, so i will retell. its funny enough to tell again anyway. i have a student who refuses to answer to anything except 'michael jackson.' he wont even look at me when i call roll unless i use this name, he wont stop if i tell him to unless he is addressed as michael jackson. i can hardly keep a straight face when i have to say 'michael jackson! sit down and stop shouting!' or 'michael jackson, what is the phonetic value of the letter b'? anyway, i was in my office writing a lesson when he came upstairs to get his books. he couldnt see me looking at him, but out of the corner of my eye, i watched him stand in the room and start singing 'thriller' and dancing. i busted out laughing and got caught watching. he ran away embarrassed.
there is never any shortage of entertainment in taiwan. even a short trip down the road to find food ends up being a fight for your life crossing the street (im honestly never sure if ill make it to the other side alive), discovering a new temple to take photos of, having to play charades in order to actually order the food, then coming home to discover that you've been bitten by every bug on the whole bloody island.
there are things about taiwan that i have grown used to: speaking in chinese very badly, only ever seeing asian people, never hearing english, eating strange food, using chopsticks, being stared at, staring at people blankly when they speak really fast to me, crossing the street under circumstances that i normally wouldn't in america, dreaming in 'chinese,' eating chinese food all the time, seeing hello kitty EVERYWHERE, sweating everywhere i go even in airconditioner, etc etc. however, there are some things about taiwan that still freak me out: seeing a price tag on a coke that says $25 (yes thats taiwan dollars but its still weird), holding $500 bills in my hand, taking $10000 out of an atm, eating octopus, speaking chinese very badly, only ever seeing asian people, never hearing english, eating strange food....etc. i have grown used to going to sleep at night thinking of what i need to do the next day and 7-11 is the first thing that goes through my head. i have grown used to saying 'ni hao' alot. i am getting used to the fact that this place is just HOT. im trying to get used to being illiterate. haha. however, my chinese is coming along quicker than i would have ever in a million years anticipated. wow. when i think to myself what i want for dinner, i no longer run crying to mcdonalds...images of rice and shrimp with eyes still attached and bamboo enter my mind. i think of green tea and tapioca bubble tea (even though the bubbles still freak me out) and soy milk. yes people, soy milk. its amazing. im truly back in my element: all the reasons that i came to taiwan are becoming clear to me again and im so happy here!
i have been here for exactly 9 weeks. WHERE THE DEVIL HAS THE TIME GONE?! i really cant figure out where. thats over 2 months...only 10 left...only 10 more months left to travel all around taiwan and go to japan, vietnam, singapore, china, and hongkong! and hopefully indo and malaysia if i have time....how will i ever do it? ahhh! so little time left!
english wisdom of the day:
(the lyrics to my lastest favourite song by none other than newton faulker):
if this is it, all we have
i know ive done all i can
if this is it a
and we can't stop and start again
we can't fast forward to the end
this is it
deutsche klugheit des tages:
(von meine lieblingsgruppe, glashaus!)
fehlt ein stück - sie soll stehen
und die welt dreht sich weiter
und das sie sich weiter drehtist für mich nicht zu begreifen
merkt ihr nicht das einer fehlt
haltet die welt an ... es fehlt ein stück
haltet die welt an ... sie soll stehen
i also just have to say that though many of my friends are so very far away from me, scattered everywhere from greensboro to estonia to england to japan to mexico and everywhere in between...i am very very thankful for y'all and will never be able to do anything without you, truly. i love you all.
i dont remember the detail i went into about this, so i will retell. its funny enough to tell again anyway. i have a student who refuses to answer to anything except 'michael jackson.' he wont even look at me when i call roll unless i use this name, he wont stop if i tell him to unless he is addressed as michael jackson. i can hardly keep a straight face when i have to say 'michael jackson! sit down and stop shouting!' or 'michael jackson, what is the phonetic value of the letter b'? anyway, i was in my office writing a lesson when he came upstairs to get his books. he couldnt see me looking at him, but out of the corner of my eye, i watched him stand in the room and start singing 'thriller' and dancing. i busted out laughing and got caught watching. he ran away embarrassed.
there is never any shortage of entertainment in taiwan. even a short trip down the road to find food ends up being a fight for your life crossing the street (im honestly never sure if ill make it to the other side alive), discovering a new temple to take photos of, having to play charades in order to actually order the food, then coming home to discover that you've been bitten by every bug on the whole bloody island.
there are things about taiwan that i have grown used to: speaking in chinese very badly, only ever seeing asian people, never hearing english, eating strange food, using chopsticks, being stared at, staring at people blankly when they speak really fast to me, crossing the street under circumstances that i normally wouldn't in america, dreaming in 'chinese,' eating chinese food all the time, seeing hello kitty EVERYWHERE, sweating everywhere i go even in airconditioner, etc etc. however, there are some things about taiwan that still freak me out: seeing a price tag on a coke that says $25 (yes thats taiwan dollars but its still weird), holding $500 bills in my hand, taking $10000 out of an atm, eating octopus, speaking chinese very badly, only ever seeing asian people, never hearing english, eating strange food....etc. i have grown used to going to sleep at night thinking of what i need to do the next day and 7-11 is the first thing that goes through my head. i have grown used to saying 'ni hao' alot. i am getting used to the fact that this place is just HOT. im trying to get used to being illiterate. haha. however, my chinese is coming along quicker than i would have ever in a million years anticipated. wow. when i think to myself what i want for dinner, i no longer run crying to mcdonalds...images of rice and shrimp with eyes still attached and bamboo enter my mind. i think of green tea and tapioca bubble tea (even though the bubbles still freak me out) and soy milk. yes people, soy milk. its amazing. im truly back in my element: all the reasons that i came to taiwan are becoming clear to me again and im so happy here!
i have been here for exactly 9 weeks. WHERE THE DEVIL HAS THE TIME GONE?! i really cant figure out where. thats over 2 months...only 10 left...only 10 more months left to travel all around taiwan and go to japan, vietnam, singapore, china, and hongkong! and hopefully indo and malaysia if i have time....how will i ever do it? ahhh! so little time left!
english wisdom of the day:
(the lyrics to my lastest favourite song by none other than newton faulker):
if this is it, all we have
i know ive done all i can
if this is it a
and we can't stop and start again
we can't fast forward to the end
this is it
deutsche klugheit des tages:
(von meine lieblingsgruppe, glashaus!)
fehlt ein stück - sie soll stehen
und die welt dreht sich weiter
und das sie sich weiter drehtist für mich nicht zu begreifen
merkt ihr nicht das einer fehlt
haltet die welt an ... es fehlt ein stück
haltet die welt an ... sie soll stehen
i also just have to say that though many of my friends are so very far away from me, scattered everywhere from greensboro to estonia to england to japan to mexico and everywhere in between...i am very very thankful for y'all and will never be able to do anything without you, truly. i love you all.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
vodka + incense + snow cream in september = taiwan
today, i went outside after work and once again was almost knocked over by the smell of incense and fake money being burned en masse. i went to eat with some people from my school...one of my students even took me to show me another huge altar filled with food and more burning money...this was one massive! shame i didn't have my camera...
then we went to a place to eat desserts. i had some huge thing (thats evidently from thailand) that was made of fresh pineapple and mango and candy that was covered in ice and sugar water. it tasted like snow cream! it was so bizarre to be sitting in the middle of the world's most flaming hot country eating snow cream with mango in it. i really felt like i was in a parallel universe.
tonight, i went to carrefour (walmart) to get some groceries and as i was walking in, i was quickly offered a sample....normal right? sometimes stores pass out free samples of things, hoping that you'll like it and buy it in large quantities? normal enough? well it was a sample of VODKA! i was so suprised! she didn't ask to see my id, didn't even blink...it was as normal as if she was offering me water! i just stared at her in disbelief and politely refused...and kept shopping in my parallel universe.
i'll say it again: i'm definitely not in kansas anymore.
then we went to a place to eat desserts. i had some huge thing (thats evidently from thailand) that was made of fresh pineapple and mango and candy that was covered in ice and sugar water. it tasted like snow cream! it was so bizarre to be sitting in the middle of the world's most flaming hot country eating snow cream with mango in it. i really felt like i was in a parallel universe.
tonight, i went to carrefour (walmart) to get some groceries and as i was walking in, i was quickly offered a sample....normal right? sometimes stores pass out free samples of things, hoping that you'll like it and buy it in large quantities? normal enough? well it was a sample of VODKA! i was so suprised! she didn't ask to see my id, didn't even blink...it was as normal as if she was offering me water! i just stared at her in disbelief and politely refused...and kept shopping in my parallel universe.
i'll say it again: i'm definitely not in kansas anymore.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
ghost month.
in the taoist religion, today is an important day. its the halfway point of the seventh lunar month. the first day of this month, the door between the ghost world and the human world is opened, and on the fifteeth day (today), there is a 'ghost day' festival. everyone puts out huge altars filled with food and drink for the ghosts. they have come out of the spirit world and into ours now, looking for food and entertainment. everyone also burns paper money and incense for the ancestors. i walked out of work and smelled incense; there were sticks of it stuck all in the sidewalks and i felt like i was at woodstock or something. it was soooo bizarre.
i found out about all this via making an idiot of myself at work. there is another typhoon coming so it was very windy out today. i looked outside and saw huge flames and yelled to my boss: 'is that trash can on fire?!' he laughed and explained to me what was going on. so after work, i walked around and looked at all the goings-on and even took some photos.
im certainly not in kansas anymore. 
<--this is a trashcan burning paper money. this man and his kids were throwing it in and chanting prayers.
<---an altar of food.
you can read more about ghost month here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Festival
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)