they say time passes, but it is not so-
in truth, time stays, love,
it is we who go
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
across the universe, again
i love the beatles. everyone knows that. 'across the universe' is one of my all time favorite songs that they sing because i love the lyrics so much. they are the title of my blog: 'nothings gonna change my world...nothings gonna change my world.' however, sitting here in my empty apartment on my last night in hsinchu- cable disconnected, refrigerator cleaned out, floor swept and mopped for the first time since 2009, posters off the wall- i realize that those lyrics are a bit of a misnomer.
my world has been completely changed. ripped open, shaken around, painted a different color, turned on its side, and then again just for good measure. its all been for the better, though. taiwan has taught me so many things. i often found it funny that i came to taiwan to be a teacher, when really, i was usually the student. apart from the things that i did "learn," such as how to speak chinese to teach children who weren't in high school, i learned how to be an adult: to pay bills (on time!), to fix my own plumbing to save money (i will likely never stop being so proud of that and mentioning it every chance i get), to cook my own dinner every night, to wake my own self up and go to work every morning, that my paycheck wasn't limitless, and credit cards are real money too...i learned how to ride the train to the right station, to stand up for what was right, i learned how to be alone and be ok with it, i learned how to operate and function outside of myself in another culture. i learned who i really am, and how to trust myself, to depend on myself. i learned to hold on. i learned to let go.
i am so thankful for every single second i spent on this island. all the friends i made, the nights that ended up being mornings, the experiences i had, the havoc i wreaked, the MASSIVE (at times too massive) amounts of fun i had, the...'exotic' food i ate, my job, the places i travelled, the things i saw...even though every single second wasn't exactly thrilling, i am even thankful for the bad times. i am completely the same girl who blindly decided to come to a country she knew nothing about and teach, still the same crazy girl...but i am also completely different. even though i am slightly afraid that all the adventure will be gone out of my life when i get home, if i have learned anything AT ALL from this past year, its that anything at all...anything...is what you make it. i am most thankful for finally having learned this fact.
now that its time to head back across the universe, i can say that i'm ready, but only in the sense that i guess i will never be ready. goodbyes, no matter how many times you have to say them, never get easier for me. in fact, they seem to get harder and harder the more i have to say them. i was once told that the hardest beginnings come with the hardest endings. for me, i think this is true. the words for goodbye in chinese, 再見, literally translate to "see again." so taiwan, i'd rather say it to you in chinese (only feels right in chinese anyway)...
so... 台灣,再見!
my world has been completely changed. ripped open, shaken around, painted a different color, turned on its side, and then again just for good measure. its all been for the better, though. taiwan has taught me so many things. i often found it funny that i came to taiwan to be a teacher, when really, i was usually the student. apart from the things that i did "learn," such as how to speak chinese to teach children who weren't in high school, i learned how to be an adult: to pay bills (on time!), to fix my own plumbing to save money (i will likely never stop being so proud of that and mentioning it every chance i get), to cook my own dinner every night, to wake my own self up and go to work every morning, that my paycheck wasn't limitless, and credit cards are real money too...i learned how to ride the train to the right station, to stand up for what was right, i learned how to be alone and be ok with it, i learned how to operate and function outside of myself in another culture. i learned who i really am, and how to trust myself, to depend on myself. i learned to hold on. i learned to let go.
i am so thankful for every single second i spent on this island. all the friends i made, the nights that ended up being mornings, the experiences i had, the havoc i wreaked, the MASSIVE (at times too massive) amounts of fun i had, the...'exotic' food i ate, my job, the places i travelled, the things i saw...even though every single second wasn't exactly thrilling, i am even thankful for the bad times. i am completely the same girl who blindly decided to come to a country she knew nothing about and teach, still the same crazy girl...but i am also completely different. even though i am slightly afraid that all the adventure will be gone out of my life when i get home, if i have learned anything AT ALL from this past year, its that anything at all...anything...is what you make it. i am most thankful for finally having learned this fact.
now that its time to head back across the universe, i can say that i'm ready, but only in the sense that i guess i will never be ready. goodbyes, no matter how many times you have to say them, never get easier for me. in fact, they seem to get harder and harder the more i have to say them. i was once told that the hardest beginnings come with the hardest endings. for me, i think this is true. the words for goodbye in chinese, 再見, literally translate to "see again." so taiwan, i'd rather say it to you in chinese (only feels right in chinese anyway)...
so... 台灣,再見!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
about a month after my arrival to taiwan, i broke down. it was so hard to drag myself out of bed and go to work everyday; when i came home, i just wanted to sit in the dark and cry. i couldn't speak chinese, i was so homesick, i couldn't eat because chopsticks felt so awkward in my hand, i couldn't deal with the heat. i just wanted to go home. frantically one night, i called a good friend on skype and cried and cried, probably for hours, regretting my decision to come, wondering what i was thinking, doubting if i could last even another second in taiwan, let alone the 11 months i saw staring me down. "i hate taiwan," i remember sobbing. she laughed, oddly, and said "i know. but, by the time july rolls around again, you will be so sad still that you won't be able to stand it. but, it will be a different sadness. think of how good it will be to stand at the end and say 'i did it, and i liked it.'" i remember at the time thinking she was nuts, and it was easy for her to say that, sitting safely in america, eating with her forks and knives. but...she was right.
i came to taiwan for many reasons, some of them trivial and out of panic, some of them out of desperation, some out of fear, adventure, restlessness...but there were some legitimate reasons as well. i wanted to push myself, i wanted to grow up, i wanted to learn who i was. mostly, however, i just wanted to prove that i could. even now i think people still doubt me, still doubt that i made it. i felt like everyone doubted me in the beginning. as much as that hurt, it was often what pushed me to keep going. to be honest, i wasn't even sure i had it in me, but...i did. not only did i live to tell about all this, i enjoyed (most of) it. i accomplished all that i set out to. more. i am eternally greatful for my time here, every single second: even the darkest moments of homesickness, the times i am not proud of. i have grown so much, learned to trust myself, learned to depend on myself, learned that its ok to make a mistake as long as you can learn from it. i've learned that its ok to miss things. mostly though, i've learned that just in the moment you think you can't walk another step, you somehow magically start to run.
all that being said, here are the top 10 moments of taiwan!!
1. meeting van fan 20342830493284 times
2. hualien trip with mary, kristen, flea and reyes/christmas in kenting!
3. completeing my first year of teaching!
4. renting my first flat, paying my first bills, etc
5. learning to speak chinese
6. learning how to ride a subway/train
7. making friends i will never forget :)
8. fixing my own plumbing in the bathroom
9. visits from foreign friends: jennifer, rachel, fuyu, rika, tadao, orange, tomomi, jonathan, becca!
10. learning to eat with chopsticks, and quite well if i do say so myself.
i can't stop from tearing up when i imagine myself sitting in america. i will miss taiwan so very much, and i don't really know how i will be able to say goodbye. a year is a long time to spend in a place; you begin to become a part of it, it begins to become a part of you. i will miss hopping on a motorcycle and dangling my feet off the edge, i will miss chasing van fan, i will miss taking the subway and the train, i will miss using chopsticks, i will miss speaking chinese, being called by my chinese name, being stared at because i am foreign, being asked about "my country," haggling in chinese in markets, i will miss the food, i will miss 7-11, i will miss my friends. however, i think i have accomplished what i set out to. i have taken everything taiwan has had to give me, and i hope i have given back enough. alot of things changed for me at once when i came here, and i had to endure many obstacles along the way, but in the end, i am standing here, smiling, with nothing but fond memories.
親愛的台灣，謝謝你~我愛你...再見!!
i came to taiwan for many reasons, some of them trivial and out of panic, some of them out of desperation, some out of fear, adventure, restlessness...but there were some legitimate reasons as well. i wanted to push myself, i wanted to grow up, i wanted to learn who i was. mostly, however, i just wanted to prove that i could. even now i think people still doubt me, still doubt that i made it. i felt like everyone doubted me in the beginning. as much as that hurt, it was often what pushed me to keep going. to be honest, i wasn't even sure i had it in me, but...i did. not only did i live to tell about all this, i enjoyed (most of) it. i accomplished all that i set out to. more. i am eternally greatful for my time here, every single second: even the darkest moments of homesickness, the times i am not proud of. i have grown so much, learned to trust myself, learned to depend on myself, learned that its ok to make a mistake as long as you can learn from it. i've learned that its ok to miss things. mostly though, i've learned that just in the moment you think you can't walk another step, you somehow magically start to run.
all that being said, here are the top 10 moments of taiwan!!
1. meeting van fan 20342830493284 times
2. hualien trip with mary, kristen, flea and reyes/christmas in kenting!
3. completeing my first year of teaching!
4. renting my first flat, paying my first bills, etc
5. learning to speak chinese
6. learning how to ride a subway/train
7. making friends i will never forget :)
8. fixing my own plumbing in the bathroom
9. visits from foreign friends: jennifer, rachel, fuyu, rika, tadao, orange, tomomi, jonathan, becca!
10. learning to eat with chopsticks, and quite well if i do say so myself.
i can't stop from tearing up when i imagine myself sitting in america. i will miss taiwan so very much, and i don't really know how i will be able to say goodbye. a year is a long time to spend in a place; you begin to become a part of it, it begins to become a part of you. i will miss hopping on a motorcycle and dangling my feet off the edge, i will miss chasing van fan, i will miss taking the subway and the train, i will miss using chopsticks, i will miss speaking chinese, being called by my chinese name, being stared at because i am foreign, being asked about "my country," haggling in chinese in markets, i will miss the food, i will miss 7-11, i will miss my friends. however, i think i have accomplished what i set out to. i have taken everything taiwan has had to give me, and i hope i have given back enough. alot of things changed for me at once when i came here, and i had to endure many obstacles along the way, but in the end, i am standing here, smiling, with nothing but fond memories.
親愛的台灣，謝謝你~我愛你...再見!!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
my life lately has been so full of packing and paperwork that i haven't really had time to do much else, and even if i wanted to, its TOO HOT TO GO OUTSIDE. meh~ i did celebrate the one year anniversary of coming to taiwan, which was super exciting!!!! there were times in the beginning when i didn't think i could ever make it to one year. but i did, and what a year it has been :)
once i get packed, i promise to write a proper entry, i have many things to say. but first, i have to somehow shove all the stuff i have accumulated into 2 bags which weigh under 23 kilos each, and that is going to require nothing less than a miracle.
once i get packed, i promise to write a proper entry, i have many things to say. but first, i have to somehow shove all the stuff i have accumulated into 2 bags which weigh under 23 kilos each, and that is going to require nothing less than a miracle.
Monday, July 5, 2010
this weekend, i saw toy story 3 (in english! yaaaay!) and...if you haven't seen it yet, RUN, don't walk, to the nearest theater!! i laughed, i cried, i looked like an idiot in those 3d glasses...but it was so good. best film i've seen in awhile.
also, this wknd started the first round of the goodbyes. i said goodbye to my friend mary, one of the first friends i made in taiwan. we have wreaked a lot of havoc on taiwan together: chasing van fan, crying until we laughed, laughing until we cried, climbing on things we weren't supposed to climb on, playing charades with many a waiter, learning and performing korean dances, movie nights, hualien, kenting...man. i couldn't have made it without you mary! i'm so so happy to have met you in taiwan and shared this mad adventure with you. thanks for everything. i miss you already!!! see you on the other side!!!! :)
i was talking with a friend this wknd also about the film 'into the wild.' if you don't know, here is the basic plot: a guy goes off, by himself, to find the meaning of life and ends up deciding that happiness is only happiness if it is shared. i've been thinking about that so much lately, it really stuck with me. i came to taiwan completely alone, and i admittedly spent a lot of time alone. i did it on purpose though. i grew up in a housefull of sisters, went to uni and lived in the i-house and was, by default, always surrounded by people. i had never really been alone or done anything alone, ever. i remember the first time i ever took a trip by myself in taiwan. i was so nervous, and was depressed for most of it; i kept seeing funny stuff and wanted to turn to someone and comment on it, or i needed someone to help me carry something, or just wanted someone to talk to while sitting on the train. i did enjoy the trip, and i was proud of myself for doing it alone, but...in the end, happiness is only happiness if you have someone to share it with. however! i can say with conviction that i have learned how to be comfortable alone. before i came to taiwan, i felt uneasy and nervous and sad if i was by myself. i couldn't do anything alone, i literally did not know how. i had to have someone with me. i have spent the past year learning how to enjoy being alone. i will be happy to get back into my old habits of having roommates and my family and friends always around, but i am thankful for the time i got to spend learning how to be friends with myself. i think its something everyone should do.
side note: i will make no bones about my love for nietzsche. i was recently thumbing through one of his books in an english bookstore and found something i thought was interesting: "and if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee." i think this can mean many things depending on how you interpret it; it could be positive or negative, but its just something to think about. love him or hate him, nietzsche always forces you to think about things.
also, this wknd started the first round of the goodbyes. i said goodbye to my friend mary, one of the first friends i made in taiwan. we have wreaked a lot of havoc on taiwan together: chasing van fan, crying until we laughed, laughing until we cried, climbing on things we weren't supposed to climb on, playing charades with many a waiter, learning and performing korean dances, movie nights, hualien, kenting...man. i couldn't have made it without you mary! i'm so so happy to have met you in taiwan and shared this mad adventure with you. thanks for everything. i miss you already!!! see you on the other side!!!! :)
i was talking with a friend this wknd also about the film 'into the wild.' if you don't know, here is the basic plot: a guy goes off, by himself, to find the meaning of life and ends up deciding that happiness is only happiness if it is shared. i've been thinking about that so much lately, it really stuck with me. i came to taiwan completely alone, and i admittedly spent a lot of time alone. i did it on purpose though. i grew up in a housefull of sisters, went to uni and lived in the i-house and was, by default, always surrounded by people. i had never really been alone or done anything alone, ever. i remember the first time i ever took a trip by myself in taiwan. i was so nervous, and was depressed for most of it; i kept seeing funny stuff and wanted to turn to someone and comment on it, or i needed someone to help me carry something, or just wanted someone to talk to while sitting on the train. i did enjoy the trip, and i was proud of myself for doing it alone, but...in the end, happiness is only happiness if you have someone to share it with. however! i can say with conviction that i have learned how to be comfortable alone. before i came to taiwan, i felt uneasy and nervous and sad if i was by myself. i couldn't do anything alone, i literally did not know how. i had to have someone with me. i have spent the past year learning how to enjoy being alone. i will be happy to get back into my old habits of having roommates and my family and friends always around, but i am thankful for the time i got to spend learning how to be friends with myself. i think its something everyone should do.
side note: i will make no bones about my love for nietzsche. i was recently thumbing through one of his books in an english bookstore and found something i thought was interesting: "and if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee." i think this can mean many things depending on how you interpret it; it could be positive or negative, but its just something to think about. love him or hate him, nietzsche always forces you to think about things.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
小朋友and why they trip me out
the literal translation of "kids" in chinese (小朋友) is "small friends," which is hilarious, as is listening to myself address a huge group of students as "little friends." kids 10 and under, while they come with their own sets of frustrations, also come with the guarantee of being constantly entertained, and here are some reasons.
1. kids are obsessed with pens and pencils. everyday when my kids file into my classroom they are toting 20394823049324823948 different colors of pens, about 47 varities of pencils, and 29 pencil sharpeners. they will then proceed to spend 17 hours writing their homework books because they want to write each letter a different color, or deliberatley bear down too hard so their lead will break and they can pull out a sharpener and go at it right there in the classroom. this one kid in my grade 1 class even has a stuffed hippo which can open up into a pencil case that i ended up having to ban from classroom premises because, in addition to pencil case/stuffed animal, it was doubling as a weapon. i don't even want to count the number of hours i spend after school each day sweeping pencil shavings off the floor because even if the pencil is sharp enough to carve ivory, in their minds, it can always be sharper.
2. kids are obsessed with touching the teacher. in addition to sweeping pencil sharpener contents off the floor, i spend a good bit of time peeling children off me. yesterday, this child came out of nowhere, charged at me like a bull, latched on like a leech, and then started shouting "KATIE老師好香(teacher katie smells good)!!!!!" he followed me around for the rest of the day, smelling me, and announcing to anyone who would listen that katie老師好香. today, we were sitting on the floor for reading circle, and i kept noticing the kid beside me stretching out his feet at a weird angle. for a really long time i couldn't figure out what on earth he was doing, i just thought he had a cramp or something. i finally figured it out when i saw him tap the kid next to him and comment on how the sizes of our feet compared, and that even though he was only 8, his feet were almost as big as mine.
3. kids like when the teacher is as crazy as they are. today i was giving a spelling test, and it was deadly silent as they were writing. suddenly, the image of myself in 6th grade english class appeared in my mind. in this image, i am reciting a tennyson poem that we read: "cannons to the left of me, cannons to the right of me..." anyway, that led to an episode of little rascals replaying in my head, the one where alfalfa is reciting the poem to his class, but someone has snuck a bunch of firecrackers into his pocket, and when he starts talking about cannons, they start going off. by the time all these images have cycled through my head, i realised that i was laughing out loud (quite hysterically). i looked at my students, all confused and giving me their standard "whatttttt is going on" blank stares. after i had stopped laughing, one student raised his hand. "老師, you are crazy. it is very good." i'm glad they can appreciate it.
4. they draw things like this:
1. kids are obsessed with pens and pencils. everyday when my kids file into my classroom they are toting 20394823049324823948 different colors of pens, about 47 varities of pencils, and 29 pencil sharpeners. they will then proceed to spend 17 hours writing their homework books because they want to write each letter a different color, or deliberatley bear down too hard so their lead will break and they can pull out a sharpener and go at it right there in the classroom. this one kid in my grade 1 class even has a stuffed hippo which can open up into a pencil case that i ended up having to ban from classroom premises because, in addition to pencil case/stuffed animal, it was doubling as a weapon. i don't even want to count the number of hours i spend after school each day sweeping pencil shavings off the floor because even if the pencil is sharp enough to carve ivory, in their minds, it can always be sharper.
2. kids are obsessed with touching the teacher. in addition to sweeping pencil sharpener contents off the floor, i spend a good bit of time peeling children off me. yesterday, this child came out of nowhere, charged at me like a bull, latched on like a leech, and then started shouting "KATIE老師好香(teacher katie smells good)!!!!!" he followed me around for the rest of the day, smelling me, and announcing to anyone who would listen that katie老師好香. today, we were sitting on the floor for reading circle, and i kept noticing the kid beside me stretching out his feet at a weird angle. for a really long time i couldn't figure out what on earth he was doing, i just thought he had a cramp or something. i finally figured it out when i saw him tap the kid next to him and comment on how the sizes of our feet compared, and that even though he was only 8, his feet were almost as big as mine.
3. kids like when the teacher is as crazy as they are. today i was giving a spelling test, and it was deadly silent as they were writing. suddenly, the image of myself in 6th grade english class appeared in my mind. in this image, i am reciting a tennyson poem that we read: "cannons to the left of me, cannons to the right of me..." anyway, that led to an episode of little rascals replaying in my head, the one where alfalfa is reciting the poem to his class, but someone has snuck a bunch of firecrackers into his pocket, and when he starts talking about cannons, they start going off. by the time all these images have cycled through my head, i realised that i was laughing out loud (quite hysterically). i looked at my students, all confused and giving me their standard "whatttttt is going on" blank stares. after i had stopped laughing, one student raised his hand. "老師, you are crazy. it is very good." i'm glad they can appreciate it.
4. they draw things like this:
Monday, June 21, 2010
plane ticket = bought. i am officially going to 回去美國~ i have way too many feelings to write about so i will just choose the one i feel the most strongly: I JUST PAID OVER $34000NT FOR AN EMAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!! i have never spent so much money on one thing in my life. ahhhhhhhh~~~~~ anyway, its bought and paid for, and i am coming home.
one other prominent emotion i am beginning to feel is excitement. i practically salsa out of bed every morning in preparation for my triumphant return back into the world that is salsa dancing. i can't wait to see my friends. i can already taste the huge plate of bridges barbeque that i know is waiting for me. i CAN'T WAIT to bust through the doors of target. its going to be so nice to be able to breathe when i go outside because nc is NOT AT ALL HOT OR HUMID in comparison to taiwan, and the air is significantly less polluted. i can't wait to hug my family and sleep in my own bed. i am dying to see my friends again and speak rapid-fire slang english to them.
one other thing i am feeling, as stupid as this is...how is my life going to continue without 7-11? i often wonder how my life existed before it. where did i buy things? i know taiwan is just totally on a different system, i mean you are meant to walk everywhere so of course there is a 7-11 on every corner...but, its like i often wonder: how did clubs exist before lady gaga? how did i communicate with people before facebook was invented? how did life exist before 7-11? how will it exist after?
說再見 才發現再也見不到
能不能就這樣忍著痛淚不掉
說好陪我到老 永恆往那裡找
再次擁抱...一分...一秒...
都好
(謝謝你，親愛的周杰倫，you've done it again...)
one other prominent emotion i am beginning to feel is excitement. i practically salsa out of bed every morning in preparation for my triumphant return back into the world that is salsa dancing. i can't wait to see my friends. i can already taste the huge plate of bridges barbeque that i know is waiting for me. i CAN'T WAIT to bust through the doors of target. its going to be so nice to be able to breathe when i go outside because nc is NOT AT ALL HOT OR HUMID in comparison to taiwan, and the air is significantly less polluted. i can't wait to hug my family and sleep in my own bed. i am dying to see my friends again and speak rapid-fire slang english to them.
one other thing i am feeling, as stupid as this is...how is my life going to continue without 7-11? i often wonder how my life existed before it. where did i buy things? i know taiwan is just totally on a different system, i mean you are meant to walk everywhere so of course there is a 7-11 on every corner...but, its like i often wonder: how did clubs exist before lady gaga? how did i communicate with people before facebook was invented? how did life exist before 7-11? how will it exist after?
說再見 才發現再也見不到
能不能就這樣忍著痛淚不掉
說好陪我到老 永恆往那裡找
再次擁抱...一分...一秒...
都好
(謝謝你，親愛的周杰倫，you've done it again...)
Sunday, June 20, 2010
to my special daddy:
happy happy father's day. i wish i was in america now to celebrate! i just wanted you to know that i really appreciate everything you do for me, and to thank you for all the love and support you have always shown me, but especially over the past year of my life. i know it wasn't easy for you to let me haul off to taiwan, a place neither of us knew one thing about, but thanks for trusting me enough to let me do it anyway. thanks for always believing that i could do it, even when i didn't. you are the best daddy that anyone could ever be lucky enough to have, and i love you very much. i'm glad that i have someone to make proud.
love,
katie
happy happy father's day. i wish i was in america now to celebrate! i just wanted you to know that i really appreciate everything you do for me, and to thank you for all the love and support you have always shown me, but especially over the past year of my life. i know it wasn't easy for you to let me haul off to taiwan, a place neither of us knew one thing about, but thanks for trusting me enough to let me do it anyway. thanks for always believing that i could do it, even when i didn't. you are the best daddy that anyone could ever be lucky enough to have, and i love you very much. i'm glad that i have someone to make proud.
love,
katie
Friday, June 18, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
man, i wish i was in england.
after 3 years of faithfully schlepping down to the basement of the i-house every friday to watch people give powerpoint presentations on their countries, the tables have finally turned, and i will be presenting "america" to my students in a couple weeks. its so bizarre to be on the other side of friday fest!
...man, what i also wouldn't give to go back to the i-house...i have never missed any place so much.
after 3 years of faithfully schlepping down to the basement of the i-house every friday to watch people give powerpoint presentations on their countries, the tables have finally turned, and i will be presenting "america" to my students in a couple weeks. its so bizarre to be on the other side of friday fest!
...man, what i also wouldn't give to go back to the i-house...i have never missed any place so much.
soooooooooo lately, since all my friends in america are out for the summer/back in the country, i have been chatting to them a lot more often. in amongst all the "when you get back home, we're going to ____" or "i can't wait til you get back so we can ____" and "let's go eat ____" and just talking to my american friends in general...added to the fact that i have almost 90% accepted that i'm going 'home' in a month, and listening to country music on youtube...i have to say that for the first time in a long time, the thought of going home doesn't make me as depressed as it usually does. it actually makes me kind of excited.
a few nights ago i dreamt that i went to chick-fil-a with my friends. in this dream i was psyched out of my mind to be eating it, but when i went to order, i could only order it in chinese. i had to give my phone number to the girl behind the counter so they could let me call in my order (i know, i know...i have no idea where my subconsious thinks up these things)...and then i couldn't even say the tones correctly (bc by now the dream had switched to chinese) so she couldn't understand my phone number...so eventually my friend nicole had to order my food for me. i woke up confused and annoyed, but ready to eat chick-fil-a nonetheless.
right now i'm in a very strange state, because all i can think about is the 20394380943248230492384 things i STILL have to cram into the monthish that i have left in taiwan...but lately i can't stop thinking about all the 203948230492834230948things i can't wait to do when i get back to the states. mostly i also stay in a constant state of shock because its june, and i have been here almost a year, and where has the year gone? and what's even going to HAPPEN TO ME when i get back to america? what is waiting for me there?
a few nights ago i dreamt that i went to chick-fil-a with my friends. in this dream i was psyched out of my mind to be eating it, but when i went to order, i could only order it in chinese. i had to give my phone number to the girl behind the counter so they could let me call in my order (i know, i know...i have no idea where my subconsious thinks up these things)...and then i couldn't even say the tones correctly (bc by now the dream had switched to chinese) so she couldn't understand my phone number...so eventually my friend nicole had to order my food for me. i woke up confused and annoyed, but ready to eat chick-fil-a nonetheless.
right now i'm in a very strange state, because all i can think about is the 20394380943248230492384 things i STILL have to cram into the monthish that i have left in taiwan...but lately i can't stop thinking about all the 203948230492834230948things i can't wait to do when i get back to the states. mostly i also stay in a constant state of shock because its june, and i have been here almost a year, and where has the year gone? and what's even going to HAPPEN TO ME when i get back to america? what is waiting for me there?
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
three things
1. FUYU CAME TO VISIT!!!! ahhh, it was such an amazing time, so wonderful to see her again after two years! it was just like old times. we wreaked as much havoc as possible in her very short weekend visit, and i believe that we succeeded ;) we played purikura, watched england v. usa, went to ximending, shilin night market, ate until we were sick (as per the usual), had a sleepover, stayed out all night, went shopping...it was totally just like old times, except in taiwan. i was so so happy all weekend, and i enjoyed being roommates again! excellent. thanks for visiting fuyu, soon i will return the favor and come to JAPAAAAAAAAAAN!!!
2. saturday night i went to a bar with some friends to watch the world cup game: england v. usa. the bar was full of english expats so we were kind of outnumbered, but its a very special feeling to pull for your country when you aren't in it. i almost teared up when the national anthem came on, and when they played sweet home alabama...i know that's stupid, but something about it just hit me in a soft spot. it was a really good game, and it was fun to cheer everytime (ok, the one time) the us scored or blocked one of england's shots. actually this game was tough to choose a side, i feel a certain sense of allegiance to both countries, so i would have been fine with either outcome...luckily the game ended up in a tie.
3. I WISH IT WOULD STOP RAINING. gross gross gross.
2. saturday night i went to a bar with some friends to watch the world cup game: england v. usa. the bar was full of english expats so we were kind of outnumbered, but its a very special feeling to pull for your country when you aren't in it. i almost teared up when the national anthem came on, and when they played sweet home alabama...i know that's stupid, but something about it just hit me in a soft spot. it was a really good game, and it was fun to cheer everytime (ok, the one time) the us scored or blocked one of england's shots. actually this game was tough to choose a side, i feel a certain sense of allegiance to both countries, so i would have been fine with either outcome...luckily the game ended up in a tie.
3. I WISH IT WOULD STOP RAINING. gross gross gross.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
i can't bloody wait to have my camera back in my life. i didn't realize how much i missed it until, oh, the 203948203498 times i've REALLY WANTED TO TAKE A PHOTO OF SOMETHING and couldn't. >.<
also, today is the biggest monsoon in taiwan everrrrrrrrrrrrr of all time and i swam everywhere. it was that kind of rain where your umbrella doesn't do any good, because the rain is coming from every direction. i couldn't stop thinking about how forrest gump describes the asian rainy season: MAN is he right. it really was coming out of the ground. it is also thundering and lightning, and at times like this, i really appreciate the idea of a front porch. for now, i will have to look out the window of my apartment and try to listen to the rain over the sound of traffic and see it over the 309482034 other apartment buildings. welcome to an asian city...
in other news, today is june 10th, 2010. on june 10, 2007, i left england to go back to america. i can't believeeeeeeeeeee its been that long. three years. man. i'd give just about anything to go back and relive all that...and be an exchange student again. i wish i could be an exchange student forever. or really, any kind of student. big sigh... real world, you have made me jaded. i kind of hate you, actually.
also, today is the biggest monsoon in taiwan everrrrrrrrrrrrr of all time and i swam everywhere. it was that kind of rain where your umbrella doesn't do any good, because the rain is coming from every direction. i couldn't stop thinking about how forrest gump describes the asian rainy season: MAN is he right. it really was coming out of the ground. it is also thundering and lightning, and at times like this, i really appreciate the idea of a front porch. for now, i will have to look out the window of my apartment and try to listen to the rain over the sound of traffic and see it over the 309482034 other apartment buildings. welcome to an asian city...
in other news, today is june 10th, 2010. on june 10, 2007, i left england to go back to america. i can't believeeeeeeeeeee its been that long. three years. man. i'd give just about anything to go back and relive all that...and be an exchange student again. i wish i could be an exchange student forever. or really, any kind of student. big sigh... real world, you have made me jaded. i kind of hate you, actually.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
being a plumber.
anyone who is a teacher knows how incredibly annoying it is to lay down at night to sleep and be haunted by a chorus of children in your head still chanting "teacher i'm finished!" or "teacher help me" or "teacher he hit me!" or just "teeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeecher!!!!!!!" i can't get rid of this phantom chant in my head!!!! help!!!
sometimes, i feel so bad for my kids. i will ask them to explain something to me, usually something a step ahead of very simple but a notch down from difficult. i watch their faces twist and turn, i can see their little wheels spinning...i can watch the frustration well up inside, jump around in their mouth for a minute or so, and then finally come out only as a loud sigh and an "i don't know teacher, sorry." i know that in chinese they could tell me this perfectly well, easily, fluently (possibly even eloquently). i see myself in that so much! often if i am having a conversation in chinese with someone, i will have to pause and let things swirl around in my head for awhile...first in english, then usually some german or random spanish...then finally i can think of it in chinese. then i have to configure all the tones, and then make sure my grammar is right, and then make sure all the vocabulary is (or is close to) what i mean. by the time i have figured all this out and rehearsed it enough in my head to not be afraid to say it out loud, the other person has usually either fallen asleep bc 17 hours have elapsed or they have finished the sentence for me. granted of course, its not like this so much anymore. now there usually isn't a transition from one language to another; actually i find it more troublesome to translate. i just try to turn off english brain and turn on chinese brain and go from there. this usually means lots of long pauses, SUPER awkward ways of describing things, mixed up grammar, and a really heavy english accent. thankfully taiwanese are nothing if not gracious and kind and have helped me struggle through their language while somehow managing not to laugh in my face. still, nothing quite matches the frustration and feelings of stupidity when someone asks you a question and you know the answer in your mothertounge, but cannot for the life of you say it in another language. i really feel the pain of my students. sometimes i want to scream!!
in other news, i think i may have missed my calling as a plumber. i have no idea how to get a stopped up drain fixed, even in my own country. anyway after about 2309482304 hours of trying to get hold of a proper plumber, i gave up and decided to have a go at it myself. the drain in my shower wasn't working and i was afraid i was going to flood my whole apartment out. so i went to the supermarket to see if i could find something to pour into the drain to fix it. why i wasn't of course already thinking that anything that one can just pour down a stopped up drain and clear it out wouldn't be dangerous i don't know, but i was suprised when i saw a huge skull and crossbones on the front of the bottle. in huge, red, very scary chinese it read "warning: this will burn off your skin if you touch it and maybe even the fumes alone will kill you" or something to that effect. its kind of foreboding in english, right? in chinese, it may as well have said "DON'T TOUCH THIS BOTTLE OR YOU WILL DIE. DON'T EVEN LOOK AT IT OR YOUR VERY EYEBALLS WILL FALL OUT OF YOU HEAD." anyway, i didn't buy it, mainly bc i was too afraid to even pick it up and carry it to the tills. so...i did the next best logical thing. i came home and set to work on that drain the old fashioned way. after about an hour's worth of honest work drilling and screwdrivering and chiselling, i was proud to have been able to turn on the water and watch it go immediately down the drain. the pride i felt at this domestic accomplishment was enormous. i can't believe i am my own plumber.
T-3 DAYS UNTIL FUYUKO OMURA MAKES THE PILGRIMAGE TO TAIWAN.......bakani shinai deyoooo!!! watashino hovercraftwa unagi de ippai desuuuuuu!
sometimes, i feel so bad for my kids. i will ask them to explain something to me, usually something a step ahead of very simple but a notch down from difficult. i watch their faces twist and turn, i can see their little wheels spinning...i can watch the frustration well up inside, jump around in their mouth for a minute or so, and then finally come out only as a loud sigh and an "i don't know teacher, sorry." i know that in chinese they could tell me this perfectly well, easily, fluently (possibly even eloquently). i see myself in that so much! often if i am having a conversation in chinese with someone, i will have to pause and let things swirl around in my head for awhile...first in english, then usually some german or random spanish...then finally i can think of it in chinese. then i have to configure all the tones, and then make sure my grammar is right, and then make sure all the vocabulary is (or is close to) what i mean. by the time i have figured all this out and rehearsed it enough in my head to not be afraid to say it out loud, the other person has usually either fallen asleep bc 17 hours have elapsed or they have finished the sentence for me. granted of course, its not like this so much anymore. now there usually isn't a transition from one language to another; actually i find it more troublesome to translate. i just try to turn off english brain and turn on chinese brain and go from there. this usually means lots of long pauses, SUPER awkward ways of describing things, mixed up grammar, and a really heavy english accent. thankfully taiwanese are nothing if not gracious and kind and have helped me struggle through their language while somehow managing not to laugh in my face. still, nothing quite matches the frustration and feelings of stupidity when someone asks you a question and you know the answer in your mothertounge, but cannot for the life of you say it in another language. i really feel the pain of my students. sometimes i want to scream!!
in other news, i think i may have missed my calling as a plumber. i have no idea how to get a stopped up drain fixed, even in my own country. anyway after about 2309482304 hours of trying to get hold of a proper plumber, i gave up and decided to have a go at it myself. the drain in my shower wasn't working and i was afraid i was going to flood my whole apartment out. so i went to the supermarket to see if i could find something to pour into the drain to fix it. why i wasn't of course already thinking that anything that one can just pour down a stopped up drain and clear it out wouldn't be dangerous i don't know, but i was suprised when i saw a huge skull and crossbones on the front of the bottle. in huge, red, very scary chinese it read "warning: this will burn off your skin if you touch it and maybe even the fumes alone will kill you" or something to that effect. its kind of foreboding in english, right? in chinese, it may as well have said "DON'T TOUCH THIS BOTTLE OR YOU WILL DIE. DON'T EVEN LOOK AT IT OR YOUR VERY EYEBALLS WILL FALL OUT OF YOU HEAD." anyway, i didn't buy it, mainly bc i was too afraid to even pick it up and carry it to the tills. so...i did the next best logical thing. i came home and set to work on that drain the old fashioned way. after about an hour's worth of honest work drilling and screwdrivering and chiselling, i was proud to have been able to turn on the water and watch it go immediately down the drain. the pride i felt at this domestic accomplishment was enormous. i can't believe i am my own plumber.
T-3 DAYS UNTIL FUYUKO OMURA MAKES THE PILGRIMAGE TO TAIWAN.......bakani shinai deyoooo!!! watashino hovercraftwa unagi de ippai desuuuuuu!
Monday, June 7, 2010
加油~加油~加油~
lately, i have been noticing how much i feel like i actually live in taiwan. walking down the street and waving at people i know, being able to give directions in my city, translating for tourists...nothing really feels "foreign" anymore, though that is NOT at all to say that i myself don't feel foreign or that culture clashes don't happen everyday, because they most certainly do. i still sometimes find myself wanting to smash my head into the nearest brick wall a few times because i am used to doing things so differently, or am used to operating under/being held to a massively different set of standards. yes, i still hate being stared at. i hate being pointed at from across the street and hearing "FOREIGNER! LOOK!" i hate being spoken to in english in public, even if i respond in chinese. i know sometimes i paint over life as a foreigner in taiwan with rose colored paint, so to speak, but its definitely not all rainbows and butterflies, even after all this time.
however, i want to take a minute and be proud of myself, if i may. i have friends who cannot speak english, and i think (for myself anyway) its a testament to how hard i have really tried with my chinese (or at the very least, my ability to play charades). i'm so worried about going home and forgetting everything i have worked so long and so hard to learn. blehhhhhhhhh.
taiwan is hot. YAY! SUMMER IS HERE! though i have to confess that i am so jealous of everyone ELSE'S summer break. doesn't exist here. everything is school school school, study study study...but soon, soon, soon i will be done and then i can go rot on a beach for some weeks and not think about ANYTHING...not grammar or little kids or discipline or verb conjugations or exchange rates or paying rent or grading papers or planning lessons or wearing nice clothes everyday or setting an alarm or being an adult or buying a plane ticket/not buying a plane ticket...i can just go enjoy my last few days in taiwan in peace and quiet and sunshine :) actually i doubt there will be any peace and i know there will be no quiet but there will most definitely be sunshine, so 加油!!! al...most...there...
however, i want to take a minute and be proud of myself, if i may. i have friends who cannot speak english, and i think (for myself anyway) its a testament to how hard i have really tried with my chinese (or at the very least, my ability to play charades). i'm so worried about going home and forgetting everything i have worked so long and so hard to learn. blehhhhhhhhh.
taiwan is hot. YAY! SUMMER IS HERE! though i have to confess that i am so jealous of everyone ELSE'S summer break. doesn't exist here. everything is school school school, study study study...but soon, soon, soon i will be done and then i can go rot on a beach for some weeks and not think about ANYTHING...not grammar or little kids or discipline or verb conjugations or exchange rates or paying rent or grading papers or planning lessons or wearing nice clothes everyday or setting an alarm or being an adult or buying a plane ticket/not buying a plane ticket...i can just go enjoy my last few days in taiwan in peace and quiet and sunshine :) actually i doubt there will be any peace and i know there will be no quiet but there will most definitely be sunshine, so 加油!!! al...most...there...
Sunday, June 6, 2010
rain, rain, go away...find another island to torture...
last weekend i left my camera in taipei and of course in the meantime, i have seen about 203948203483024 i really wanted to take a photo of including but not limited to:
1. a man wrangling about 2039428304 HUGE white snakes
2. the biggest, ugliest, most fascinatingly disgusting snail i have ever seen
3. a little boy holding the umbrella for his mom while she got in the car
4. a little girl with red slurpee dripping all over her face but smiling so big!
5. 203498230948 outstanding examples of engrish
6. a really pretty sunset over the city moat
7. a really funny and super taiwanese traffic jam of about 203948203498 buses and motorcycles
8. a really REALLY bizarre and quasi-nauseating american themed restaurant that just opened in jhubei. today i walked by it and CONWAY TWITTY was blaring from the loudspeakers and there was a huge cowboy sign for the advertisement...oh. i'm so sad that this is the first image people always associate with america: cowboys and conway twitty.
OMURA FUYUKO WILL BE HERE IN T-6 DAYS!!!! TAIWAN, ARE YOU READYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
*also some food for thought~
"there may be wisdom in caution, but there's foolishness in letting life pass you by."
last weekend i left my camera in taipei and of course in the meantime, i have seen about 203948203483024 i really wanted to take a photo of including but not limited to:
1. a man wrangling about 2039428304 HUGE white snakes
2. the biggest, ugliest, most fascinatingly disgusting snail i have ever seen
3. a little boy holding the umbrella for his mom while she got in the car
4. a little girl with red slurpee dripping all over her face but smiling so big!
5. 203498230948 outstanding examples of engrish
6. a really pretty sunset over the city moat
7. a really funny and super taiwanese traffic jam of about 203948203498 buses and motorcycles
8. a really REALLY bizarre and quasi-nauseating american themed restaurant that just opened in jhubei. today i walked by it and CONWAY TWITTY was blaring from the loudspeakers and there was a huge cowboy sign for the advertisement...oh. i'm so sad that this is the first image people always associate with america: cowboys and conway twitty.
OMURA FUYUKO WILL BE HERE IN T-6 DAYS!!!! TAIWAN, ARE YOU READYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
*also some food for thought~
"there may be wisdom in caution, but there's foolishness in letting life pass you by."
Thursday, June 3, 2010
i am a pretty horrible excuse for a blogger lately, sorry.........
my days in taiwan are really numbered now, less than two months...so i am spending all my time trying to wreak as much havoc as possible with my friends before i leave. i would rather report it to you all later in person anyway ;) so, suffice it to say that the past little while has been full of too much fun. way too much.
in the past 4 years, i have said many very difficult goodbyes, but the goodbye i say to taiwan is going to be the hardest one yet.
my days in taiwan are really numbered now, less than two months...so i am spending all my time trying to wreak as much havoc as possible with my friends before i leave. i would rather report it to you all later in person anyway ;) so, suffice it to say that the past little while has been full of too much fun. way too much.
in the past 4 years, i have said many very difficult goodbyes, but the goodbye i say to taiwan is going to be the hardest one yet.
Monday, May 24, 2010
sometimes in taiwan i feel as though i am stuck in permanent christmas, which is bizarre for a number of reasons. number one, today it was about 203948230498 degrees but for whatever reason, my kids came busting in the door shouting "merry christmas teacher!" and singing "deck the halls." then after school was over i went to a tea shop to get something to drink because it was so hot and they were playing "santa claus is coming to town." and as if that wasn't enough random christmas, i went to get a haircut after work and what kind of music do you think was playing? yes. christmas music.
when i first went to this hair shop last summer, i had two phrases i could choose from to say to the lady working: either "hello, i am lost" or "i am going to rip you into two pieces" (some of my chinese friends in university taught me this phrase, i didn't learn it specifically to come to taiwan, ha). needless to say, that first visit to the shop was...awkward and unproductive. this time however, i waltzed right in and told her how i wanted it cut, and even had a conversation with her while she was cutting my hair. today for the first time i really realized how long i have been here and how much i have changed in that time. even though i was proud to have been able to do it, there were still about 203948 times i had to stop and say "what is ____" or "how do you say ____ in chinese?"
cultural differences are even more bothersome and hard to deal with than language differences, though. i am constantly reminded when i am out with a group of all taiwanese or people that grew up in taiwan that no matter how good my chinese gets or how much i (try to) dress, eat, walk, talk and carry myself like a taiwanese, i will always be american. extremely american. this weekend i was out with a group of taiwanese in ktv (karaoke). everyone was speaking chinese so quickly that i couldn't catch but maybe 30% of what was being said and by the time i could form a response in my head they had already moved to a new topic. all the songs were chinese songs and, while i knew most of them, i am a horrible singer and hate singing in front of people (especially in a second language). i still can't really understand taiwanese humor well enough yet to really know when to laugh or not laugh at a joke, and i cringe everytime a group of people is like "do you know ___ movie star/singer/song/tv show/movie?" and i have no idea what they are talking about. its strange, because sometimes my friends will say to me "wow! you are so taiwanese!" if i do or say a certain thing...but sometimes, like in the ktv, i feel like i have "FOREIGNER" tattooed across my forehead and that i am standing on a stage and the whole universe has a giant spotlight on me with backup dancers and flashing lights with "the star spangled banner" being played by a military band while a huge marquee that says "FOREIGNER" is being waved over me. so basically i just sat there like a very foreign knot on a very foreign log. i really, really, really, really hate this feeling.
its finally summer in taiwan again. let's go to the beach.
when i first went to this hair shop last summer, i had two phrases i could choose from to say to the lady working: either "hello, i am lost" or "i am going to rip you into two pieces" (some of my chinese friends in university taught me this phrase, i didn't learn it specifically to come to taiwan, ha). needless to say, that first visit to the shop was...awkward and unproductive. this time however, i waltzed right in and told her how i wanted it cut, and even had a conversation with her while she was cutting my hair. today for the first time i really realized how long i have been here and how much i have changed in that time. even though i was proud to have been able to do it, there were still about 203948 times i had to stop and say "what is ____" or "how do you say ____ in chinese?"
cultural differences are even more bothersome and hard to deal with than language differences, though. i am constantly reminded when i am out with a group of all taiwanese or people that grew up in taiwan that no matter how good my chinese gets or how much i (try to) dress, eat, walk, talk and carry myself like a taiwanese, i will always be american. extremely american. this weekend i was out with a group of taiwanese in ktv (karaoke). everyone was speaking chinese so quickly that i couldn't catch but maybe 30% of what was being said and by the time i could form a response in my head they had already moved to a new topic. all the songs were chinese songs and, while i knew most of them, i am a horrible singer and hate singing in front of people (especially in a second language). i still can't really understand taiwanese humor well enough yet to really know when to laugh or not laugh at a joke, and i cringe everytime a group of people is like "do you know ___ movie star/singer/song/tv show/movie?" and i have no idea what they are talking about. its strange, because sometimes my friends will say to me "wow! you are so taiwanese!" if i do or say a certain thing...but sometimes, like in the ktv, i feel like i have "FOREIGNER" tattooed across my forehead and that i am standing on a stage and the whole universe has a giant spotlight on me with backup dancers and flashing lights with "the star spangled banner" being played by a military band while a huge marquee that says "FOREIGNER" is being waved over me. so basically i just sat there like a very foreign knot on a very foreign log. i really, really, really, really hate this feeling.
its finally summer in taiwan again. let's go to the beach.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
why my house smells like easter eggs
before i die, i want to stand under the ceiling of the sistine chapel and look at michelangelo's greatest (in my opinion) work. i think rome is most definitely next on my list of places to go. i hate i missed rome last time i was in italy, even thought venice is definitely one of the best places on earth. at any rate, rome is next on the list.
teaching language is really interesting because you can see the progress you are making daily. it is amazing how much my students pick up from just listening to me speak english. while this is mostly a good thing, today i got a shock when we were on a bathroom break. i was walking the class down the hall to the bathrooms when i saw one student break in line. before i could open my mouth to correct the problem, i heard another student step in to do it for me: "L! get back in line! good lord." even though it was funny and the kid heard me laugh, i felt kind of bad at the prospect of having him possibly running around any given english speaking country in the future telling people "good lord" and having any given english speaker say "who on earth taught you that." this same kid was later shouting about his "spange bag" pencil...he was trying to say "sponge bob" but just couldn't quite get it out. i really think i spend most of my time cracking up at my hilarious and sweet kids. a few days ago i walked in the classroom and one kid had his arm in a sling, another had a huge scratch on her face, one was broken out in hives, and another had a patch on his eye. even though that's not at all funny, they all just had this look of complete and total desperation on their faces...when i walked in and they greeted me as normal, i just couldn't help but laugh because i felt like i had just walked in to the children's ward at the emergency room.
i am so proud of my little babies, though, that i could just bust. they are so smart, and they have come so far! (and i'm not just saying that because they have an awesome teacher... :) i also really like this age because its fun to watch them grow up. they were so young last year, and now they seem so old! maybe its because now we can have a full conversation in either language, but i have really enjoyed watching them grow and progress. i can't stop smiling when i hear them, even outside the classroom, speaking english to each other...or when they hide in my classroom and turn off all the lights to jump out and scare me...or when they pull a melted piece of candy out of their pockets and say "for you, katie teacher!" i never thought i would like working with younger kids so much. they are so much fun! today, for example, we were in the middle of a lesson when it started to pour down rain outside. one of my students, J, looked out the window and shouted "teacher teacher! look! big rain!" i started to pretend to be her and pretend, in a funny voice, that i was a weathergirl. everyone, including me, was in stiches, the lesson went wonderfully and i was impressed at their progress, and we had an awesome class.
a few days ago, i started thinking about chocolate chip cookies. like proper chocolate chip cookies that you can heat up in the microwave and pretend like you just baked. i went to the grocery store in search of them, walking up and down every single aisle looking for cookies. this was kind of traumatic because asian grocery stores are so overwhelming for me. yes, i grew up in the land of super wal-mart and sams club, so i know it might seem strange that another country's grocery stores can overwhelm me. its just that when there are durian (if you want a shock, google "durian" and read about the terror for yourself) stacked up to the and live shrimp jumping out everywhere i kind of don't know how i'm meant to react. i hate grocery stores period and actually i avoid going at all costs, but i really wanted a cookie...but i digress. long story short there weren't any...and i really missed america in that moment, so much so that i wanted to be 7 years old again and plop myself down in the middle of the aisle and scream bloody murder because i JUST WANTED A COOKIE.
also i bought some bananas a few days ago and left them sitting on my counter. i woke up and there were about 203948230948 fruit flies EVERYWHERE. i remembered once that someone told me that you can make a trap out of vinegar and dish soap, so i did. it worked wonders, and i felt like such a good housekeeper, trapping and killing my own fruit flies. what is the problem, you ask? well...now my house REEKS of 23048203948230483 easter eggs. for me, the impossible stink of vinegar will always mean easter eggs.
i really like this: love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image... otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them. isn't that interesting? i think we all need to start loving each other that way.
no haiku lately.
i really miss writing them!
so here you go- yay!!
taiwan is the greatest place on earth. how can i ever leave it?
teaching language is really interesting because you can see the progress you are making daily. it is amazing how much my students pick up from just listening to me speak english. while this is mostly a good thing, today i got a shock when we were on a bathroom break. i was walking the class down the hall to the bathrooms when i saw one student break in line. before i could open my mouth to correct the problem, i heard another student step in to do it for me: "L! get back in line! good lord." even though it was funny and the kid heard me laugh, i felt kind of bad at the prospect of having him possibly running around any given english speaking country in the future telling people "good lord" and having any given english speaker say "who on earth taught you that." this same kid was later shouting about his "spange bag" pencil...he was trying to say "sponge bob" but just couldn't quite get it out. i really think i spend most of my time cracking up at my hilarious and sweet kids. a few days ago i walked in the classroom and one kid had his arm in a sling, another had a huge scratch on her face, one was broken out in hives, and another had a patch on his eye. even though that's not at all funny, they all just had this look of complete and total desperation on their faces...when i walked in and they greeted me as normal, i just couldn't help but laugh because i felt like i had just walked in to the children's ward at the emergency room.
i am so proud of my little babies, though, that i could just bust. they are so smart, and they have come so far! (and i'm not just saying that because they have an awesome teacher... :) i also really like this age because its fun to watch them grow up. they were so young last year, and now they seem so old! maybe its because now we can have a full conversation in either language, but i have really enjoyed watching them grow and progress. i can't stop smiling when i hear them, even outside the classroom, speaking english to each other...or when they hide in my classroom and turn off all the lights to jump out and scare me...or when they pull a melted piece of candy out of their pockets and say "for you, katie teacher!" i never thought i would like working with younger kids so much. they are so much fun! today, for example, we were in the middle of a lesson when it started to pour down rain outside. one of my students, J, looked out the window and shouted "teacher teacher! look! big rain!" i started to pretend to be her and pretend, in a funny voice, that i was a weathergirl. everyone, including me, was in stiches, the lesson went wonderfully and i was impressed at their progress, and we had an awesome class.
a few days ago, i started thinking about chocolate chip cookies. like proper chocolate chip cookies that you can heat up in the microwave and pretend like you just baked. i went to the grocery store in search of them, walking up and down every single aisle looking for cookies. this was kind of traumatic because asian grocery stores are so overwhelming for me. yes, i grew up in the land of super wal-mart and sams club, so i know it might seem strange that another country's grocery stores can overwhelm me. its just that when there are durian (if you want a shock, google "durian" and read about the terror for yourself) stacked up to the and live shrimp jumping out everywhere i kind of don't know how i'm meant to react. i hate grocery stores period and actually i avoid going at all costs, but i really wanted a cookie...but i digress. long story short there weren't any...and i really missed america in that moment, so much so that i wanted to be 7 years old again and plop myself down in the middle of the aisle and scream bloody murder because i JUST WANTED A COOKIE.
also i bought some bananas a few days ago and left them sitting on my counter. i woke up and there were about 203948230948 fruit flies EVERYWHERE. i remembered once that someone told me that you can make a trap out of vinegar and dish soap, so i did. it worked wonders, and i felt like such a good housekeeper, trapping and killing my own fruit flies. what is the problem, you ask? well...now my house REEKS of 23048203948230483 easter eggs. for me, the impossible stink of vinegar will always mean easter eggs.
i really like this: love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image... otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them. isn't that interesting? i think we all need to start loving each other that way.
no haiku lately.
i really miss writing them!
so here you go- yay!!
taiwan is the greatest place on earth. how can i ever leave it?
Monday, May 17, 2010
flying cockroaches are the reason i can't sleep at night.
cockroaches in taiwan are about as big as the mosquitoes, which are as big as parrots. and, they can FLY. as if the most heinous of all creatures needed to be able to do something as sinister as FLYING. anyway, i am too traumatized to relive the whole experience by writing about it in detail, but suffice it to say that today i was brutally attacked by a FLYING COCKROACH, screamed bloody murder, and was rescued by my boss who was wielding a broom and a bottle of hand sanitizer while a crowd of very confused 8-year olds looked on in mutual terror/amusement as their teacher was reduced to tears in the lobby of the school. i really won't sleep for a long time. really.
i can't believe it has been one year since i graduated. i remember it very well as being the worst day of my life, and i remember walking across the stage, crying buckets like an idiot while all my professors were smiling and congratulating me, telling me that now my life would start, yay! but the only thing i could think was..."my life is over." so in true katie fashion, i fled to taiwan and i have to say that it was the best thing i've ever done. but i can't figure out where the last year has gone! impossible! it really seems so short. my life has changed so much in this short time. i am totally not ready to leave taiwan yet, in fact i almost cry at even the thought of it...how is it possible that its even time yet? I JUST GOT HERE! its really weird too... a year is just long enough to figure out what the heck is going on, and now i have to leave.
no worries, i'm sure i'll find my way back over here someday ;)
i can't believe it has been one year since i graduated. i remember it very well as being the worst day of my life, and i remember walking across the stage, crying buckets like an idiot while all my professors were smiling and congratulating me, telling me that now my life would start, yay! but the only thing i could think was..."my life is over." so in true katie fashion, i fled to taiwan and i have to say that it was the best thing i've ever done. but i can't figure out where the last year has gone! impossible! it really seems so short. my life has changed so much in this short time. i am totally not ready to leave taiwan yet, in fact i almost cry at even the thought of it...how is it possible that its even time yet? I JUST GOT HERE! its really weird too... a year is just long enough to figure out what the heck is going on, and now i have to leave.
no worries, i'm sure i'll find my way back over here someday ;)
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
"katie teacher, i want to give you something. this is some tea from my taiwan. it is for my mother, but she doesn't like tea, and i love you like i love my mother, so i will give it to you instead."
i have cried at work a few times, usually out of frustration or complete and utter exhaustion, but today i felt my eyes well up with a different kind of tears. i thanked the student for the tea and went into a small corridor so she wouldn't see my happy tears.
it has been truly amazing to come to taiwan and teach these little children. at first i was horrifed because i had no idea how to deal with anyone except 10th graders, and i still feel like i am never doing a good enough job. and even as many days as i end up in my office smashing my head into my desk because they still can't remember to add an "s" to third person verbs or that prepositions of time go before the measure of time or that the first letter of an english sentence is a capital one...moments like this remind me that i must be doing at least one thing right.
ps- mom, happy happy mother's day. i really wish that we could be together on this day! i miss you so much everyday. i can never be thankful enough for everything that you have done for me: for the trust you have always put in me and my decisions, the sacrifices you have always made, the encouragement and praise you always give, and most of all, the unconditional love that you show. you will never know how much those things mean to me. i love you so very much, and i hope you have a very happy mother's day. xxx
i have cried at work a few times, usually out of frustration or complete and utter exhaustion, but today i felt my eyes well up with a different kind of tears. i thanked the student for the tea and went into a small corridor so she wouldn't see my happy tears.
it has been truly amazing to come to taiwan and teach these little children. at first i was horrifed because i had no idea how to deal with anyone except 10th graders, and i still feel like i am never doing a good enough job. and even as many days as i end up in my office smashing my head into my desk because they still can't remember to add an "s" to third person verbs or that prepositions of time go before the measure of time or that the first letter of an english sentence is a capital one...moments like this remind me that i must be doing at least one thing right.
ps- mom, happy happy mother's day. i really wish that we could be together on this day! i miss you so much everyday. i can never be thankful enough for everything that you have done for me: for the trust you have always put in me and my decisions, the sacrifices you have always made, the encouragement and praise you always give, and most of all, the unconditional love that you show. you will never know how much those things mean to me. i love you so very much, and i hope you have a very happy mother's day. xxx
Thursday, May 6, 2010
still, there are times i am bewildered by each mile i have traveled, each meal i have eaten, each person i have known, each room in which i have slept. as ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination.
-jhumpa lahiri
i promise that soon i will post about the pilgrimage to hualien, as soon as i can get my apartment clean enough to sit at my computer without feeling guilty...
-jhumpa lahiri
i promise that soon i will post about the pilgrimage to hualien, as soon as i can get my apartment clean enough to sit at my computer without feeling guilty...
Friday, April 30, 2010
today the weather was gorgeous, and one of my classes just finished level 3 and did beautifully on their finals. so, being the wonderful teacher i am...i reviewed for half the class, we corrected the mistakes on our exams and made sure we all understood everything...and then, we went outside to play in the spring sunshine.
it was about the most amazing day i have ever had in taiwan...being dragged around by the hand by a bunch of 8-year olds shouting "i love you, katie teacher!" and racing them down the slide and laughing and running and swinging and singing and just letting them be kids for awhile and get out of their books. i think they had a really good time :)
for me, it was also good: it was so nice to go sit and swing on a sunny spring day and forget that i am an adult now who has to make adult decisions and pay bills and rent and blah blah blah.
ps...is april really over?!?! time...can you please, please slow down.
it was about the most amazing day i have ever had in taiwan...being dragged around by the hand by a bunch of 8-year olds shouting "i love you, katie teacher!" and racing them down the slide and laughing and running and swinging and singing and just letting them be kids for awhile and get out of their books. i think they had a really good time :)
for me, it was also good: it was so nice to go sit and swing on a sunny spring day and forget that i am an adult now who has to make adult decisions and pay bills and rent and blah blah blah.
ps...is april really over?!?! time...can you please, please slow down.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
waxing poetic
today was a strange day. i was in a strange mood.
i went to go eat breakfast out for a change because it had finally stopped raining...so i went in and ordered, in chinese, what i wanted to eat. the girl behind the counter's jaw literally dropped onto the counter: (in chinese) "can you speak chinese?" "yes, a little bit," i replied. she started jumping and clapping, "you can understand! hey, come listen to this foreign girl! she can understand what i am saying in chinese!"
there are times when i am so shocked (and admittedly very proud) of listening to myself say anything, even just hello, in chinese that i also want to jump and clap and run around speaking to everyone i can find. but...there are days, like today, when i really don't feel like being a museum exhibit and i hate when people gather round me to hear me say "can i have some rice and tea, please" in chinese. i almost started to cry because i was so annoyed, and because i felt like such an idiot, but i just ate my breakfast and tried to forget it.
on the way home, a woman stopped me to ask me where i was from. this is not an event that is out of the ordinary; i live in a town where there aren't many foreigners, so when people see me, they often try to talk to me. i had been sulking to myself in english for so long that i almost couldn't respond to her; finally when i did say something, it came out wrong, and then i had to correct myself...and then she kept asking really involved questions like "why do you like taiwan? what's the best about it? do you miss your country?" etc. these questions are hard enough to answer in english! you know the phrase about being "lost in translation?" that's definitely how i feel. my chinese isn't good enough to be able to discuss abstract situations or ideas, so these types of conversations are really difficult. i didn't want to be rude, because everyone is so nice to me and they have good intentions when they strike up a conversation...but i could almost literally feel my brain explode and start oozing out my ears by the end of that conversation. i don't even know what i said to that poor woman, but she smiled, told me to enjoy the rest of my time on the island, and that she had never seen green eyes before.
i went to go eat breakfast out for a change because it had finally stopped raining...so i went in and ordered, in chinese, what i wanted to eat. the girl behind the counter's jaw literally dropped onto the counter: (in chinese) "can you speak chinese?" "yes, a little bit," i replied. she started jumping and clapping, "you can understand! hey, come listen to this foreign girl! she can understand what i am saying in chinese!"
there are times when i am so shocked (and admittedly very proud) of listening to myself say anything, even just hello, in chinese that i also want to jump and clap and run around speaking to everyone i can find. but...there are days, like today, when i really don't feel like being a museum exhibit and i hate when people gather round me to hear me say "can i have some rice and tea, please" in chinese. i almost started to cry because i was so annoyed, and because i felt like such an idiot, but i just ate my breakfast and tried to forget it.
on the way home, a woman stopped me to ask me where i was from. this is not an event that is out of the ordinary; i live in a town where there aren't many foreigners, so when people see me, they often try to talk to me. i had been sulking to myself in english for so long that i almost couldn't respond to her; finally when i did say something, it came out wrong, and then i had to correct myself...and then she kept asking really involved questions like "why do you like taiwan? what's the best about it? do you miss your country?" etc. these questions are hard enough to answer in english! you know the phrase about being "lost in translation?" that's definitely how i feel. my chinese isn't good enough to be able to discuss abstract situations or ideas, so these types of conversations are really difficult. i didn't want to be rude, because everyone is so nice to me and they have good intentions when they strike up a conversation...but i could almost literally feel my brain explode and start oozing out my ears by the end of that conversation. i don't even know what i said to that poor woman, but she smiled, told me to enjoy the rest of my time on the island, and that she had never seen green eyes before.
Monday, April 26, 2010
more wisdom from foreign films
another excellent weekend! another excellent fan yi chen concert! i really love my life :)
there are many reasons i am glad taiwan is a tiny little island, but maybe the main reason is accessibility. it is quite easy to chase rock stars here! in america it would be all but impossible to follow your favorite singer around the country and go to all his shows/autograph signings, but in taiwan, its so so easy and cheap. sooooooooo this wknd, after cooking a DELICIOUSSSSSSSSS dinner of chicken and mango salad (and watching yet another awesome foreign film), the girls and i made the pilgrimage to ximending for the concert. it was awesome, as per the usual..........but! this time included a personal shout out to us from the stage, in the middle of the concert!!!! he was introducing the song, and then saw us. he looked right directly in our eyes and, in front of everyone, said (in english) "yes, hello, i remember you!" everyone then turned to look at us standing there...i could feel my ears turning red with embarassment at being called out right there, in english, in front of that whole crowd...but i was secretly proud and flattered to have been remembered by a rock star :) everyone was so surpised to see the foreigner there, being talked to by fan yi chen from the stage. then after the show when we went to get our albums signed, he and his bandmate thanked us for coming and said they remembered us, the "mei guo de pung yo," and shook our hands....... :) :) :)
the movie we watched this wknd was super good! it was "saawariya," a bollywood movie based on a short story by dostoevsky (highly highly recommended!) anyway, there was one scene in the movie where the main character is seeking advice about the woman he loves, who doesn't love him back. his landlady tells him: "if it is meant to be yours, nothing will stop it from being yours. if it isn't meant to be yours, then nothing can cause it to become yours." that is a really comforting thought :)
some other things:
1. today we had another earthquake.
2. it is very strange to eat with a fork.
3. mangoes and red peppers go suprisingly well together.
4. i love red beans.
5. i can't believe next wk will be may.
there are many reasons i am glad taiwan is a tiny little island, but maybe the main reason is accessibility. it is quite easy to chase rock stars here! in america it would be all but impossible to follow your favorite singer around the country and go to all his shows/autograph signings, but in taiwan, its so so easy and cheap. sooooooooo this wknd, after cooking a DELICIOUSSSSSSSSS dinner of chicken and mango salad (and watching yet another awesome foreign film), the girls and i made the pilgrimage to ximending for the concert. it was awesome, as per the usual..........but! this time included a personal shout out to us from the stage, in the middle of the concert!!!! he was introducing the song, and then saw us. he looked right directly in our eyes and, in front of everyone, said (in english) "yes, hello, i remember you!" everyone then turned to look at us standing there...i could feel my ears turning red with embarassment at being called out right there, in english, in front of that whole crowd...but i was secretly proud and flattered to have been remembered by a rock star :) everyone was so surpised to see the foreigner there, being talked to by fan yi chen from the stage. then after the show when we went to get our albums signed, he and his bandmate thanked us for coming and said they remembered us, the "mei guo de pung yo," and shook our hands....... :) :) :)
the movie we watched this wknd was super good! it was "saawariya," a bollywood movie based on a short story by dostoevsky (highly highly recommended!) anyway, there was one scene in the movie where the main character is seeking advice about the woman he loves, who doesn't love him back. his landlady tells him: "if it is meant to be yours, nothing will stop it from being yours. if it isn't meant to be yours, then nothing can cause it to become yours." that is a really comforting thought :)
some other things:
1. today we had another earthquake.
2. it is very strange to eat with a fork.
3. mangoes and red peppers go suprisingly well together.
4. i love red beans.
5. i can't believe next wk will be may.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
ode to 淡水
the photo you see above was taken on halloween in my favorite place in taiwan, 淡水 (danshui). i love this place for many reasons: its a nice escape from taipei city, there is good food literally on every corner, jay chou went to school here, and its gorgeous, obviously. it is a small port town/fishing town in the very northern north, and was first settled by the spanish; you can still see alot of european architecture here. it has gotten quite popular over the years; there is now a fisherman's wharf, about a gazillion open-air markets, and i can't emphasize the food-on-every-corner enough.
even though i could still see pollution swirling in front of me in the twilight hours, i have seen few sights more beautiful than watching that man fish at sunset.
even though i could still see pollution swirling in front of me in the twilight hours, i have seen few sights more beautiful than watching that man fish at sunset.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
forgiveness.
i watched a really sad/interesting korean movie last weekend called "a moment to remember." for the sake of my own sanity (it was really sad!) i won't summarize the plot, you should all find it and watch it yourselves anyway. i love the way asians do love stories: no sap, no unrealisticlly happy endings, and plenty of heart-wrenching sadness to make it seem real. but i digress.
in the movie, the main girl character was fighting with her new husband out whether or not he needs to forgive his mother. he says he doesn't need to, that she was a horrible woman who did horrible things, and that he would be better off having nothing to do with her, and that he didn't care. his wife, however, has a different take on what forgiveness means. her husband is a carpenter, so she uses a metaphor he can readily understand: building a house. i am trying to remember what the subtitles said, but something like this:
"not forgiving is like building yourself a house. a very beautiful, expensive house that you put all your time and effort and money into. then, you ask the person you can't forgive to move into the house instead of you. you are outside shivering in the cold and rain, beating on the door to be let in, while someone else is living inside the beautiful, warm house that you built. that's what hate is. if you forgive, you can give that person only one small room inside the house and you don't have to deal with them anymore. you can live in the house you built happily, and life can go on."
interesting, right?
in the movie, the main girl character was fighting with her new husband out whether or not he needs to forgive his mother. he says he doesn't need to, that she was a horrible woman who did horrible things, and that he would be better off having nothing to do with her, and that he didn't care. his wife, however, has a different take on what forgiveness means. her husband is a carpenter, so she uses a metaphor he can readily understand: building a house. i am trying to remember what the subtitles said, but something like this:
"not forgiving is like building yourself a house. a very beautiful, expensive house that you put all your time and effort and money into. then, you ask the person you can't forgive to move into the house instead of you. you are outside shivering in the cold and rain, beating on the door to be let in, while someone else is living inside the beautiful, warm house that you built. that's what hate is. if you forgive, you can give that person only one small room inside the house and you don't have to deal with them anymore. you can live in the house you built happily, and life can go on."
interesting, right?
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
guavas, life plans, and moonlight
right after this photo was taken, i almost vomited from laughter. i do love that feeling. and thank you mary for your awesome haiku about it:
one head caused big laugh
the longest laugh i have heard
15 minutes long?
today i ate 3 guavas. when i first moved to taiwan and people kept making me eat guavas, i thought they tasted like solidified perfume. seriously. but now, i love them. I ACTIVELY SEEK THEM OUT. the passage of time is a strange animal that does very strange things to people and their taste buds, such as making solidified perfume taste good enough to pay $35nt for.
i am currently waiting for a life plan to show up at my doorstep. or in the form of a letter to my mailbox, a swift kick to the face...anything. i am kind of at a loss...i expected to stay in taiwan longer than this, but for whatever reasons, i have found myself headed back to the motherland. to a newly unknown destination. granted, i will have only been gone for a year, but SO MUCH changes during that time. actually, i think life at home will still be relatively the same: its me who has changed. and that's normal, i'm just really hoping there will be a place for me when i go back. at this point, i'm at DESTINATION UNKNOWN.
in other news, here is a poem for everyone. our friend flea showed it to us on saturday night at dinner while we were making him translate 203948203 haikus for us.
床前明月光
疑是地上霜
舉頭望明月
低頭思故鄉
its a traditional chinese poem, and the translation is (roughly):
from my bed, i can see the reflection of the moonlight:
it looks like frost on the floor, but i doubt that's what it is.
i raise my head to look up at the moonlight,
and then i bow my head to miss my homeland.
Monday, April 19, 2010
blood types and other interesting stuff
for those of you who might have been awake last night wondering the answer, i have type ab blood. for most westerners, this seems like insignificant medical trivia, but for those of us in asia, it is an important facet of personality. i am frequently asked the question "what's your blood type?" its kind of the equivalent of your star sign in the west, except more common to ask about. of course its not a be-all-end-all determiner of personality or compatibility with others, but its important. its more common in japan i guess, but taiwan still uses the system.
being type ab, most people gasp when they find out. evidently its a rare blood type in asia, ha. most ab's are considered to be evil geniuses (true? YES! muhaha) and people who are made up entirely of opposites. HOW TRUE OF ME. this conveniently explains why i usually spend most of my time feverishly chasing after things on both ends of the spectrum, why it takes me 2309482304923 hours to choose which shampoo to buy, and why my ipod playlist confuses people. i consist entirely of contradictions, and this is thanks to my blood type. yay. this website has many funny things to say about type ab blood (anime villans? really?) and you can find yours too: http://www.issendai.com/rpgs/takemywings/bloodtypes.htm
this wknd, i spent saturday with my friends mary, kristen, and flea. we ate FRENCH FOOD in taipei (random, but DELICIOUS) and had flea translate our many haiku into chinese ;) then we went back to mary's house for movie night :) i can't remember when is the last time i almost threw up from laughing so hard, but we had such a good time (even though we watched the saddest korean movie i've ever seen in my life). the next day, i went down to taichung to meet my friends carol and jeremy and hang out for the day. we ate hotpot (i'm going to miss it sooooooo muchhhhhhhh when i go home) and went shopping. EXCELLENT WEEKEND!
the more and more i think about going home, the sadder and sadder i get. i am so not ready to leave yet. i am probably buying my ticket home this week...and that's a hard pill to swallow...i am totally not ready for this ending........
being type ab, most people gasp when they find out. evidently its a rare blood type in asia, ha. most ab's are considered to be evil geniuses (true? YES! muhaha) and people who are made up entirely of opposites. HOW TRUE OF ME. this conveniently explains why i usually spend most of my time feverishly chasing after things on both ends of the spectrum, why it takes me 2309482304923 hours to choose which shampoo to buy, and why my ipod playlist confuses people. i consist entirely of contradictions, and this is thanks to my blood type. yay. this website has many funny things to say about type ab blood (anime villans? really?) and you can find yours too: http://www.issendai.com/rpgs/takemywings/bloodtypes.htm
this wknd, i spent saturday with my friends mary, kristen, and flea. we ate FRENCH FOOD in taipei (random, but DELICIOUS) and had flea translate our many haiku into chinese ;) then we went back to mary's house for movie night :) i can't remember when is the last time i almost threw up from laughing so hard, but we had such a good time (even though we watched the saddest korean movie i've ever seen in my life). the next day, i went down to taichung to meet my friends carol and jeremy and hang out for the day. we ate hotpot (i'm going to miss it sooooooo muchhhhhhhh when i go home) and went shopping. EXCELLENT WEEKEND!
the more and more i think about going home, the sadder and sadder i get. i am so not ready to leave yet. i am probably buying my ticket home this week...and that's a hard pill to swallow...i am totally not ready for this ending........
Friday, April 16, 2010
haiku, and why i love them
lately, my friends and i have been writing haiku. why, you ask? why not!
while our topics are many and various, they are all dedicated to taiwan and the adventures we are having. mostly, they are dedicated to fan van. i love haiku number one because (and yes this is nerdy and english major-y) but i like the way the syllables fit together when you say them out loud; also, they are funny to write. and let's just be honest: who doesn't love a good old fashioned haiku? really.
here is my first attempt at a chinese haiku:
中文，為什麼？
我愛你 van fan，可是
中文很很難
this post is random,
sorry! you should write haiku
because they are fun :)
while our topics are many and various, they are all dedicated to taiwan and the adventures we are having. mostly, they are dedicated to fan van. i love haiku number one because (and yes this is nerdy and english major-y) but i like the way the syllables fit together when you say them out loud; also, they are funny to write. and let's just be honest: who doesn't love a good old fashioned haiku? really.
here is my first attempt at a chinese haiku:
中文，為什麼？
我愛你 van fan，可是
中文很很難
this post is random,
sorry! you should write haiku
because they are fun :)
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
the altar of heaven
this is a photo of the altar of heaven temple in tainan. the inside is so colorful and beautiful!! it is a place you can go to pray to the highest dao god, the jade emporer. in the 1st and 15th day of each lunar month, people will go there to pray for help from bad luck. i was there on the 15th day, and the temple was flooded with people making offerings and praying for good luck. the inscription you can see on the tablet over top of the temple says "yi," which is chinese for "one." in the dao religion, there is only "one" way, and that's what this means.
you can see a monk in the bottom right corner in purple. the big gold thing in the front is the place where you burn the incense after you've made your offering and said your prayer. this temple has no god in it, even though dao temples usually do, and its also over 300 years old!
thank you lonelyplanet, best travel guides ever, though i already knew most of this.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
everyone should listen to this awesome song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0xX7kjVF7I&feature=related
Saturday, April 10, 2010
a short synopsis of the holidays (including the best moment of my life thus far)
hi, remember me? its been awhile... :)
and WHOA, so much crazy has occured since the last post! let's see...where to start? i will attempt to start at the beginning if my poor brain can reach back that far...
american visitor #2 arrived on friday night (mar26) in the form of a shelby girl herself, jennifer gold. if you had told me 3 1/2 years ago when we were terrorising england that in a few years we would have progressed to asia, i would have laughed. anyway, saturday we left to taipei for some touristy sightseeing (i have lived in taiwan for nine months and am usually burning up the road between hsinchu and taipei, but this was the first time i had taken my camera, taken 2348029348 foreign tourists photos, and spoken english really loudly. we went to a party with my friends saturday night and then did the tourist route the rest of the time: craziness at the top of taipei 101 (the world's tallest building) in the form of a crazy old asian man who kept trying to take his photo with us and a million tourists trying to go under the ropes that were clearly blocked off...we saw all the temples, blah blah blah...how strange to be a tourist/interpreter/tour guide in taipei. ps thanks jen for these photos...my camera was once again dead.
after taipei we were off to chiayi, a town toward the south of taiwan. the second we stepped off the train, this grandmother came up to us, and, speaking the fastest chinese my brain has ever attempted to keep up with, led us to a hotel that i bargained to get really cheap (i have gotten quite good at haggling in chinese ;) anyway, next thing i know, the woman has me sitting on some benches in the lobby of the hotel trying her darndest to get us to go on this van trip to alishan (some really famous mtns near chaiyi) for "only $500nt! so cheap!" i kept trying to tell her that she was leaving much earlier than we wanted to go and that we weren't staying the night there, but she wouldn't have any of it. "i want to take you because you are a chinese-speaking foreigner! your husband taught you very good chinese!" then, i kept trying to tell her that i didn't have a taiwanese husband, and that my chinese wasn't good. i really could barely keep up with what she was saying because she was speaking so fast and so loud and she had a really strong accent that i'm not used to listening to. somehow, i finally convinced her that we would think about it and she could call us in the morning. easy out, right? NO... in the meantime, we went out exploring the city. i love chiayi very much! it was really different from any city in the north, but that's part of why i liked it so much. but, it was full of many bizarre things: i saw people getting haircuts in what appeared to be an outdoor beauty shop in the middle of the park (i also need to add that this city has a salon literally EVERY TWO FEET.) we ate dinner in a really traditional restaurant that serves the traditional food of rice and flowers wrapped in bambooo (mmmmmmmm!!!!!). we met a really nice girl who told us all about the city and what we could do there (she even helped me buy motion sickness medicine. she wanted to practice english with us of course, but i never cease to be amazed by the kindess of strangers here. we got on the subject of tea, and next thing i knew, she was on her motorcycle going to buy us some plum tea that is really famous in chiayi. so sweet! after that it was pretty late so we headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep... but our phone rang at the crack of dawn but both of us were too delerious to realise what was happenning because it was so early, so we didn't answer. thinking we were safe, we headed to the train station to start the journey to alishan sans crazy grandmother, but the second we got to the station, there she was! running over to us with the biggest smile i have EVER SEEN ON A GRANDMOTHER BEFORE. "the foreigners are here!" she shouted, and next thing i knew, there was a huge crowd of taxi drivers (who i still don't know what their significance was...) and she was loading up the van ready to haul us to alishan "for only $500nt!" she pointed to the people who would be joining us on the journey...and what do you think i see when i turn to look? the saddest looking teenage boy i have ever seen who has on a blue sweatshirt. not just any blue sweatshirt, mind you. a blue sweatshirt that read "RUTHERFORD COUNTY BIBLE CAMP." assuming there's only one rutherford county bible camp in the world, and that its the one in forest city, i took it as our sign to flee. i knew the second i tried to pop up alishan in a van with a sad boy from bible camp and that crazy grandmother, i would get the worst motion sickness and puke everywhere (if you know me well, you know that for me, vans and mountain ranges most certainly do not mix.) anyway, i'll never know how we got out of that one, but we ended up scratching the trip to alishan and going to tainan instead.
ah tainan...i have always heard that it is the best city in taiwan, and maybe i can't argue. it was hotter than blue blazes, but it was certainly awesome! its the oldest city in taiwan, and its full of tradition. we were there during the 15th day of the lunar month, so everyone had offerings of food and incense set out for the ancestors. we looked at about every single temple there, and there are sooooo many that i'm pretty sure we covered every square inch of that city. however, the temples are beautiful, and everytime we'd get lost, there was a friendly local around to help us. i love tainan very much...its just the right mix of city and countryside without being too much of either to be obnoxious ;)
after jennifer left, i was headed down to kenting with some friends for a nice wknd at the beach and a music festival that we had tickets to. AWESOME! some really good bands were playing (namely magic power and van fan) and we saw both their shows, ate lots of thai food, spoke lots of chinese, spent lots of time at the beach, enjoyed the southern sun...ah, it was so nice :) but, the best moment came on sunday night...
after watching van fan's wonderfully awesome show, we wandered out of the venue to find the exit and head home. *ok side note: for those of you who don't know who van fan is, he's a taiwanese singer/actor who i am in love with and have been chasing around the island at a pretty sucessful rate since i got here.* anyway, my friend kristen said "wouldn't it be funny if he was standing in his booth?" we laughed, knowing it was impossible. UNTIL WE LOOKED DOWN AT THE BOOTH THAT WAS PROMOTING HIS NEW ALBUM... AND THERE HE WAS!!!!!! naturally i took off running in that direction. one of his staff popped up out of nowhere and started raving about the "foreign fans" who were here, and for us to "wait, wait, you are foreign fans, i help you! wait, wait!" next thing i know, i'm standing NEXT TO VAN FAN getting my photo taken with him. he turned to shake my hand, but i couldn't even speak. every single word of english and every single word of chinese i have ever known fled from my brain, and i couldn't do anything but gasp and giggle like an idiot. he was also smiling, but i think he was just confused why these foreigners were here, and how we even knew who he was much less why i rampaged the booth and begged for photos. anyway, true to form, i can't do anything normally. can't just go say "i'm a big fan of your work," take the photo, and leave. no. not possible. i felt my arms go out in front of me, i felt my hands latch onto his shoulders, then i felt myself start shaking him. my brain kept trying to signal my arms to please stop shaking the movie star, but they wouldn't have any part of it. THEN, i heard my mouth start shouting in the loudest english i could muster..."IIIIIIIIIII LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU." his face was priceless (as i'm sure was mine and everyone else's.) about this time my friend mary grabbed me and dragged me away and we all fled. i was still in shock as we wandered to the bus stop...when we got to the bus stop, i spent a lot of time trying to convince them to let me go back down to the tent and have a do-over, after all, we hadn't even gotten an autograph!!!! so, we went back down. this time was much more calm, however. when they saw us coming back, i can only imagine what was running through their heads...but the crazy album promoter called out our names and announced that the foreign fans were back (which was probably code for "EVERYONE GET PREPARED.") i got an autograph, many posters, and had a conversation and a photo on my own with van fan :) it was the best best best best day in my life, one i'm sure that i (and van fan...) will not soon forget. it was just like that episode of i love lucy where they meet john wayne...though thankfully, i resisted the urge to dump out my purse and put it on my head.
so all in all, the holidays were excellent :) i love taiwan so much. the time is passing too quickly.................
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
"hey baby, let's study english!" and other tales from the crypt
你好，blogworld，對不起! i've been so busy lately and so much has happened since the last time i wrote...
march 19 came and went, and i have made the decision to go back to america in july. i won't go into the particulars of the decision, mostly because if i start to think about it too much i'm afraid that my brain might actually explode. while it certainly wasn't an easy decision, it was the one i felt i had to make. but at any rate, i have loads to do before july and lots of places to see :) big sigh...
anyway...on a happier note: taiwan is still as awesome and bizarre as ever. through a bizarre turn of events i ended up wandering around taipei at 5:30am on saturday, and it was beautiful. i watched the sun come up over taipei 101 and saw the city come alive. i sat in a cafe and drank coffee and watched people go to work, catch the train, eat their breakfast...as bizarre as it was to be stuck in the city in the wee small hours of the morning, it was kind of nice. one of the most enjoyable times i've had in taipei.
a few days ago, i was having a class discussion with grade 3. we were talking about toys, i can't remember the exact topic. next thing i know, this child is standing up screaming "HEY BABY, LET'S STUDY ENG-A-LISH!!!" after i stopped laughing long enough to tell him to sit down and stop shouting, he explained to me that he is the proud new owner of a toy car. not just any toy car, but a toy car that, when prompted, can whiz past someone shouting "HEY BABY, LET'S STUDY ENG-A-LISH!" in a mechanical toy car voice. well, wouldn't that make you want to study english?! tell me it wouldn't.
yesterday i was in 7-11, in the back of the store where the tea is, next to the breakroom. about halfway through my search for tea, i saw george (the 7-11 dog) push the door open with his nose, walk out of the breakroom, through the store, and back outside (and no one even batted an eyelash).
at press time, i have 22 mosquito bites.
i'm going to miss taiwan.
march 19 came and went, and i have made the decision to go back to america in july. i won't go into the particulars of the decision, mostly because if i start to think about it too much i'm afraid that my brain might actually explode. while it certainly wasn't an easy decision, it was the one i felt i had to make. but at any rate, i have loads to do before july and lots of places to see :) big sigh...
anyway...on a happier note: taiwan is still as awesome and bizarre as ever. through a bizarre turn of events i ended up wandering around taipei at 5:30am on saturday, and it was beautiful. i watched the sun come up over taipei 101 and saw the city come alive. i sat in a cafe and drank coffee and watched people go to work, catch the train, eat their breakfast...as bizarre as it was to be stuck in the city in the wee small hours of the morning, it was kind of nice. one of the most enjoyable times i've had in taipei.
a few days ago, i was having a class discussion with grade 3. we were talking about toys, i can't remember the exact topic. next thing i know, this child is standing up screaming "HEY BABY, LET'S STUDY ENG-A-LISH!!!" after i stopped laughing long enough to tell him to sit down and stop shouting, he explained to me that he is the proud new owner of a toy car. not just any toy car, but a toy car that, when prompted, can whiz past someone shouting "HEY BABY, LET'S STUDY ENG-A-LISH!" in a mechanical toy car voice. well, wouldn't that make you want to study english?! tell me it wouldn't.
yesterday i was in 7-11, in the back of the store where the tea is, next to the breakroom. about halfway through my search for tea, i saw george (the 7-11 dog) push the door open with his nose, walk out of the breakroom, through the store, and back outside (and no one even batted an eyelash).
at press time, i have 22 mosquito bites.
i'm going to miss taiwan.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
a good day at the mailboxes
happy st. patrick's day!!
this morning i woke up in such a horrible mood for no apparent reason. i didn't want to go to work at allllll, so i decided to go on a walk to the 7-11 that's farther away from my house. when i came back, the mail was being put up, and i saw that i had a package. of course i immediately went nuts and tore it open right there in the lobby. my friend mary's mom had sent me something!!!! (thanks mary and diana!!!) a package full of so much american foooooooooood! oh my goodness. i almost cried i was so happy...especially when i caught sight of the bean dip and taco shells!!! i also had a card from my friend julia in australia...excellent day at the mailboxes ;) i do love getting mail more than just about anything!!! always puts me in a better mood.
taiwan was ridiculosly cold today. the kind of wet cold that is also in the wind. you can't escape this kind of cold, and i don't understand where its coming from or why its here because IT IS MARCH. bah. hope spring/summer comes back soon and stays! i'm so sick of this wet winter! boooooooooo~ but 加油! we are in the single digit countdown until the start of the holiday...only 9 more days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) and it can't come soon enough...teaching is such a hard job, and i am so burnt out. i don't know how teachers do it here without summer/christmas/spring break to rest.
also, i am the proud big sister of future nurse emily toms! congrats on getting into nursing school, you are going to be an awesome nurse! love you and MISS YOU xxx
this morning i woke up in such a horrible mood for no apparent reason. i didn't want to go to work at allllll, so i decided to go on a walk to the 7-11 that's farther away from my house. when i came back, the mail was being put up, and i saw that i had a package. of course i immediately went nuts and tore it open right there in the lobby. my friend mary's mom had sent me something!!!! (thanks mary and diana!!!) a package full of so much american foooooooooood! oh my goodness. i almost cried i was so happy...especially when i caught sight of the bean dip and taco shells!!! i also had a card from my friend julia in australia...excellent day at the mailboxes ;) i do love getting mail more than just about anything!!! always puts me in a better mood.
taiwan was ridiculosly cold today. the kind of wet cold that is also in the wind. you can't escape this kind of cold, and i don't understand where its coming from or why its here because IT IS MARCH. bah. hope spring/summer comes back soon and stays! i'm so sick of this wet winter! boooooooooo~ but 加油! we are in the single digit countdown until the start of the holiday...only 9 more days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) and it can't come soon enough...teaching is such a hard job, and i am so burnt out. i don't know how teachers do it here without summer/christmas/spring break to rest.
also, i am the proud big sister of future nurse emily toms! congrats on getting into nursing school, you are going to be an awesome nurse! love you and MISS YOU xxx
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsFFmjYdVVE
my new favorite song, which just happens to be the theme song of my new favorite tv show, ps man. (and this band is coming to festival i'm going to in only 2 weeks and 6 days....:)
today the weather was soooooo nasty. not hot, but still wet, and just hot enough to be so muggy that i hated to be outside. it was overcast and humid...and everything everywhere is growing mold and there is so much condensation on the tile floors that it looks like everything has been mopped 25 times...this weather is so so so bizarre. the humidity in taiwan is no joke.
today a kid on the street saw me walking, shouted WAI GUO REN!!!!! (foreigner)as loudly as she could, and ran back to tell all her friends to look at me. i smiled and waved at them, and they all just stared at me...
my new favorite song, which just happens to be the theme song of my new favorite tv show, ps man. (and this band is coming to festival i'm going to in only 2 weeks and 6 days....:)
today the weather was soooooo nasty. not hot, but still wet, and just hot enough to be so muggy that i hated to be outside. it was overcast and humid...and everything everywhere is growing mold and there is so much condensation on the tile floors that it looks like everything has been mopped 25 times...this weather is so so so bizarre. the humidity in taiwan is no joke.
today a kid on the street saw me walking, shouted WAI GUO REN!!!!! (foreigner)as loudly as she could, and ran back to tell all her friends to look at me. i smiled and waved at them, and they all just stared at me...
Sunday, March 14, 2010
i really do love making lists more than the average person probably does.
1. taiwan's weather is very bizarre. yesterday it was raining so hard that i couldn't see in front of me, and today it's so sunny that i can't open my eyes enough to see in front of me.
2. i'm spending this sunny sunday planning my holiday (that is coming up in less than 2 WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!), and planning holidays is the best way i know how to spend any day.
3. i hate and despise all forms of housewivery. however, i might reform: it took me about 45 seconds to push my door open last night when i came home because there's so much junk on my floor.
4. i just finished an EXCELLENT book, the book thief. i have decided that it is my second favourite book ever. everyone should go pick up a copy! especially if you're into wwii stories. it was excellent on all counts.
5. seeing movies (especially american movies) in taiwan is very strange...not only because it is about 1 degree in any given cinema, or because you have assigned seats, or because everything is subtitled, no. the strangest thing about seeing american films in taiwan is after they are over, walking back out into the public expecting to be in america and...not. i watched alice in wonderland last night and got a huge shock when i came out of the cinema and wasn't in america.
6. and, as we were walking to go back to the train station, i had one of those moments where i look up, see huge buildings towering over me, flashing lights everywhere, every sign in chinese, and am listening to everyone speak and nothing is english...in these moments, even after having lived here for over 8 months, i kind of stop and think to myself, "whoa...i'm in taiwan."
7. i can't believe march is half over. ahhhh
8. a few nights ago, i dreamt of tootsie rolls. i dreamed that they were all over the streets of taiwan, and i was running around to collect them so i could eat them before everyone else got to them. i was severely craving a tootsie roll after waking up from this dream.
9. i was reading through an old journal i kept while i was student teaching and ran across something i'd written that is now very funny to me: "i just wish i knew where i was going to be next year and what i was going to be doing. wouldn't it be cool if i could go to asia?" hahahaha~
10. i love spring in north carolina and hate i'm missing it.
2. i'm spending this sunny sunday planning my holiday (that is coming up in less than 2 WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!), and planning holidays is the best way i know how to spend any day.
3. i hate and despise all forms of housewivery. however, i might reform: it took me about 45 seconds to push my door open last night when i came home because there's so much junk on my floor.
4. i just finished an EXCELLENT book, the book thief. i have decided that it is my second favourite book ever. everyone should go pick up a copy! especially if you're into wwii stories. it was excellent on all counts.
5. seeing movies (especially american movies) in taiwan is very strange...not only because it is about 1 degree in any given cinema, or because you have assigned seats, or because everything is subtitled, no. the strangest thing about seeing american films in taiwan is after they are over, walking back out into the public expecting to be in america and...not. i watched alice in wonderland last night and got a huge shock when i came out of the cinema and wasn't in america.
6. and, as we were walking to go back to the train station, i had one of those moments where i look up, see huge buildings towering over me, flashing lights everywhere, every sign in chinese, and am listening to everyone speak and nothing is english...in these moments, even after having lived here for over 8 months, i kind of stop and think to myself, "whoa...i'm in taiwan."
7. i can't believe march is half over. ahhhh
8. a few nights ago, i dreamt of tootsie rolls. i dreamed that they were all over the streets of taiwan, and i was running around to collect them so i could eat them before everyone else got to them. i was severely craving a tootsie roll after waking up from this dream.
9. i was reading through an old journal i kept while i was student teaching and ran across something i'd written that is now very funny to me: "i just wish i knew where i was going to be next year and what i was going to be doing. wouldn't it be cool if i could go to asia?" hahahaha~
10. i love spring in north carolina and hate i'm missing it.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
i have the sweetest students ever.
it never ceases to amaze me, really. one girl brought in candy for everyone, sweetly offering a "give you" and a smile while she went around the room handing it out to the other students and me. if i drop something on the floor (which is often), they will race to see who can pick it up first. for no reason at all, sometimes they will greet me with "teacher, you are beautiful!" even the ones who are so naughty and give me such a hard time are just so cute that i can't get angry. of course the most popular mode of transport in taiwan is the motorcycle. kids will ride their parents' to school and i love seeing them hop off and run inside, yelling my name and pulling off their helmets and shoes and giving me a huge hug. there are days...like today, for example...when i have to spend 30 minutes trying to teach just one word: today's was "floor." i must have stood at this one kid's desk for 28 of those 30 minutes just repeating it over and over: "FLOOR," i'd say. "f-weruosalknclewaroierllllllllll" was always the reply. he just couldn't get it. even through this frustration, they are just too cute and too sweet and trying to hard to really get frustrated. yesterday, i somehow got on the topic of van gogh with my advanced class. they sat on the floor with me, silent and still, and listened to me tell about van gogh's life and work. they were completely fascinated with him, and the story. "why was he such a sad man?" they asked. "i don't know," i replied. "everyone needs to have friends," one kid said. i miss teaching high school very much, but the minds of children are really amazing and inspiring, and they teach me so much.
the cultural differences i encounter everyday are also interesting. today the kids were writing on the board (why is it that kids are obsessed with writing on the whiteboards?!) and one kid was trying to write my name. she had used a red marker, and all the other kids immediately started shouting at her in chinese and trying to erase it quickly. she looked at me, and i could see tears welling up in her eyes as she choked out an apology to me. "teacher...red...(sniff sniff) i'm sorry..." i wasn't sure what was going on, so i asked tammy, one of the taiwanese teachers, what was the problem. she said that in chinese culture, writing someone name in red is not acceptable, because it means bad luck (i think its because emporers used to sign the names of people to be executed in red or something like that). she said that kids are really apt to believe this, and that's probably why everyone was so spooked. i just laughed and told the child that it was ok to write my name in red, because america people don't have any such legend, and she looked nothing if not very, very relieved.
today was about the coldest day i have ever felt in taiwan. BEHHHHH, where is summer.
ps one of my taiwanese friends said she had a dream that i was speaking perfect chinese. i can only hope that this dream was, in fact, a prophecy...
it never ceases to amaze me, really. one girl brought in candy for everyone, sweetly offering a "give you" and a smile while she went around the room handing it out to the other students and me. if i drop something on the floor (which is often), they will race to see who can pick it up first. for no reason at all, sometimes they will greet me with "teacher, you are beautiful!" even the ones who are so naughty and give me such a hard time are just so cute that i can't get angry. of course the most popular mode of transport in taiwan is the motorcycle. kids will ride their parents' to school and i love seeing them hop off and run inside, yelling my name and pulling off their helmets and shoes and giving me a huge hug. there are days...like today, for example...when i have to spend 30 minutes trying to teach just one word: today's was "floor." i must have stood at this one kid's desk for 28 of those 30 minutes just repeating it over and over: "FLOOR," i'd say. "f-weruosalknclewaroierllllllllll" was always the reply. he just couldn't get it. even through this frustration, they are just too cute and too sweet and trying to hard to really get frustrated. yesterday, i somehow got on the topic of van gogh with my advanced class. they sat on the floor with me, silent and still, and listened to me tell about van gogh's life and work. they were completely fascinated with him, and the story. "why was he such a sad man?" they asked. "i don't know," i replied. "everyone needs to have friends," one kid said. i miss teaching high school very much, but the minds of children are really amazing and inspiring, and they teach me so much.
the cultural differences i encounter everyday are also interesting. today the kids were writing on the board (why is it that kids are obsessed with writing on the whiteboards?!) and one kid was trying to write my name. she had used a red marker, and all the other kids immediately started shouting at her in chinese and trying to erase it quickly. she looked at me, and i could see tears welling up in her eyes as she choked out an apology to me. "teacher...red...(sniff sniff) i'm sorry..." i wasn't sure what was going on, so i asked tammy, one of the taiwanese teachers, what was the problem. she said that in chinese culture, writing someone name in red is not acceptable, because it means bad luck (i think its because emporers used to sign the names of people to be executed in red or something like that). she said that kids are really apt to believe this, and that's probably why everyone was so spooked. i just laughed and told the child that it was ok to write my name in red, because america people don't have any such legend, and she looked nothing if not very, very relieved.
today was about the coldest day i have ever felt in taiwan. BEHHHHH, where is summer.
ps one of my taiwanese friends said she had a dream that i was speaking perfect chinese. i can only hope that this dream was, in fact, a prophecy...
Monday, March 8, 2010
a short meditation on names, and why you should never translate them phonetically.
today i was marking notebooks and asked one of my students to tell me the meaning of her chinese name in english. after a long time of trying to explain it, i finally understood that it means "soft feathers." its a really nice name, i like the meaning, the characters are pretty. but i realised that, as i was complimenting her name, she was giggling. "whats so funny?" i asked. "your chinese name teacher, hahaha, is very funny." my name was just translated phonetically to get my chinese name. toms (which goes first in chinese) was translated into "tang" 湯 which means "soup." while this sounds funny in english, it is a pretty common surname in taiwan, so it isn't the funny part. my given name though, katie: "kai di" 凱蒂 means "trimphant brainstem." since this was just translated by finding characters with the closest sounds, my chinese name literally means "soup, triumphant brainstem." excellent. the student went on to explain to me that even though i have a strange name, its ok, because i am "america people" and everyone will know i'm a foreigner. as if i needed my name to prove to the people on this island that i'm foreign, haha.
today...ah, just another monday. it's rainy today and randomly cold again. hope spring comes back soon...
here are some photos from what i've been up to lately: saturday night's lantern festival near taipei 101, right in the heart of the city! people had made many traditional lanterns in honor of the new year. courtesy of my friend kristen and her snazzy new camera, because
i am always forgetting mine...
i am always forgetting mine...
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