It's the point of the year where my thoughts are changing from "Man, I really wish I was in America," to "Do I have to go back to America?".
In the first statement, "America" takes on the position of home, family, friends, familiar places and events, context and circumstances that I'm used to. However, in the following question "America" turns into my future, expectations, and real responsibilities.
Truth is, these past months have been incredibly easy on me as far as what I actually have to do. This is not some "demanding job" where I have a lot of things to take care of. I've been sleeping too much and that makes me tired. Maybe may bed is too comfortable, and since I'm not a self-starter and only really work well when I'm under pressure, I haven't been feeling very "productive".
I guess those are things that I should learn to turn around. I should be a self-starter and work well all the time. But I only realize this at night and that makes me not want to sleep and it has become a cycle that I need to break today.
I'm going to try and keep trying until this sense of fatigue decides to leave. Any support would be appreciated. Thanks.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Things I Did
Monday
I went to DanShui with my schoolmates after waking up at five in the morning to go with Grandpa and the housekeepers to Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall to run around and excercise. It was a good time even though I was feeling pretty tired. I tried some Agei, one of the foods which DanShui is famous for, but I was too tired to finish eating it. Agei is DongFan wrapped in DoFu (does that make any sense?). Then we walked around awhile until we decided to cross the water on a boat and ride bicycles. So, it was my first time riding a Tandem Bike, it made me a little nervous because I was in the back at first and I had no idea whether we were headed for a collision or not. Plus, a lot of people had the same idea, so there were a lot of bikes flying around. Gave me the willies. Eventually made it home for dinner.
Tuesday
Woke up early again to go running, but this time I took a nap when I got home. Then after lunch I met a bunch of classmates again to help them out with their English assignment for the holiday, interview a foriegner. I told them that I'm not really a foriegner, but I didn't mind helping them because I know how hard it is to go up to people you don't know to ask questions, let alone going up to someone whose language you don't think that you can speak very well. All in all, I thought we had some fruitful converations and I was able to speak to my classmates in a very comfortable and relaxed way.
After that was over, I headed home for dinner and Anneke got a call from our Swiss friend inviting her out and I decided to tag along.
Wednesday
Woke up at 10:00AM. Ate a quick lunch and headed out to meet Renaat at the SYS Memorial Hall. He was like an hour early. We walked around. Looked at some mountain climbing gear (like hats, coats, gloves, rope, funny little shoes). That was at a place called Mammut. Went to the bookstore in Taipei 101. Somewhere in between Mammut and 101 I swapped my contemporary art magazine for his "the most popular of Dutch magazines". Learned some cool things to say in Niederlands, and then forgot what they were.
Later, we went to my Rotary meeting. The ice cream was fantastic. Did I ever mention that my Rotary club consists of some of the richest women I've ever been acquainted with? Some of them it's been difficult to figure out where their funds come from exactly.
After the meeting, walked to the movies. Saw "Changeling", which, to my disappointment, did not involve a little gremlin monster. Rather, it was Angelina Jolie cryfest. "That's not my SON!!"
Came home, sistahs watchin' the third "Mummy" movie that came out awhile back. I thought it was cool because I ddn't need subtitles to understand the Chinese parts of it. And, when the son of what's-'is-face said something in Chinese, I laughed at him.
Thursday
Woke up too late. Hung around. Took care of the financial side of the Round Island Tour coming up in May. Pretty boring sitting in the bank waiting for the traveler's cheques to be changed into a brazilian dollars. Thanks to my sister for helping me out with that. Later, with some of the leftover money, I went with my other sister, her friend, and Anneke to WuFenPu to shop for clothes. Bought myself a bunch of shirts. One of them says, "THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER" which reminded me of that ol' song "Marathon Man". Handsome.. Drank some Ice Cream in Red Tea and it was good.
Friday
Had agreed to wake up at five thirty and go running again, so I did. It's frickin' hard, but I'm starting to feel better about it. Was wearing the above mentioned shirt. Like my friend, Sam, talked about on his blog, you really have to run for yourself or it becomes a chore. Actually, I think there are a lot more things than running that you have to do for yourself, but anyway. Watched a really old episode of Last Comic Standing then took a shower and went back to bed until 12:00. I'm trying to restring my mandolin, but it is really difficult because I'm afraid of the strings breaking and the little nobblies the strings loop onto are really small. Got two new strings on today, almost.
Had lunch. Watched "Juno" with my sisters. Wondered where my wierd, loveable girlfriend is (hint: probably not in Taipei or Taiwan). Rode bikes around town, runnin' errands an' stuff. Chilly today. Realized I did a bunch of today's things on Monday. Went to WuFenPu again with my three older sisters. Didn't buy a thing. Waitin' for the New Year.
I went to DanShui with my schoolmates after waking up at five in the morning to go with Grandpa and the housekeepers to Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall to run around and excercise. It was a good time even though I was feeling pretty tired. I tried some Agei, one of the foods which DanShui is famous for, but I was too tired to finish eating it. Agei is DongFan wrapped in DoFu (does that make any sense?). Then we walked around awhile until we decided to cross the water on a boat and ride bicycles. So, it was my first time riding a Tandem Bike, it made me a little nervous because I was in the back at first and I had no idea whether we were headed for a collision or not. Plus, a lot of people had the same idea, so there were a lot of bikes flying around. Gave me the willies. Eventually made it home for dinner.
Tuesday
Woke up early again to go running, but this time I took a nap when I got home. Then after lunch I met a bunch of classmates again to help them out with their English assignment for the holiday, interview a foriegner. I told them that I'm not really a foriegner, but I didn't mind helping them because I know how hard it is to go up to people you don't know to ask questions, let alone going up to someone whose language you don't think that you can speak very well. All in all, I thought we had some fruitful converations and I was able to speak to my classmates in a very comfortable and relaxed way.
After that was over, I headed home for dinner and Anneke got a call from our Swiss friend inviting her out and I decided to tag along.
Wednesday
Woke up at 10:00AM. Ate a quick lunch and headed out to meet Renaat at the SYS Memorial Hall. He was like an hour early. We walked around. Looked at some mountain climbing gear (like hats, coats, gloves, rope, funny little shoes). That was at a place called Mammut. Went to the bookstore in Taipei 101. Somewhere in between Mammut and 101 I swapped my contemporary art magazine for his "the most popular of Dutch magazines". Learned some cool things to say in Niederlands, and then forgot what they were.
Later, we went to my Rotary meeting. The ice cream was fantastic. Did I ever mention that my Rotary club consists of some of the richest women I've ever been acquainted with? Some of them it's been difficult to figure out where their funds come from exactly.
After the meeting, walked to the movies. Saw "Changeling", which, to my disappointment, did not involve a little gremlin monster. Rather, it was Angelina Jolie cryfest. "That's not my SON!!"
Came home, sistahs watchin' the third "Mummy" movie that came out awhile back. I thought it was cool because I ddn't need subtitles to understand the Chinese parts of it. And, when the son of what's-'is-face said something in Chinese, I laughed at him.
Thursday
Woke up too late. Hung around. Took care of the financial side of the Round Island Tour coming up in May. Pretty boring sitting in the bank waiting for the traveler's cheques to be changed into a brazilian dollars. Thanks to my sister for helping me out with that. Later, with some of the leftover money, I went with my other sister, her friend, and Anneke to WuFenPu to shop for clothes. Bought myself a bunch of shirts. One of them says, "THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER" which reminded me of that ol' song "Marathon Man". Handsome.. Drank some Ice Cream in Red Tea and it was good.
Friday
Had agreed to wake up at five thirty and go running again, so I did. It's frickin' hard, but I'm starting to feel better about it. Was wearing the above mentioned shirt. Like my friend, Sam, talked about on his blog, you really have to run for yourself or it becomes a chore. Actually, I think there are a lot more things than running that you have to do for yourself, but anyway. Watched a really old episode of Last Comic Standing then took a shower and went back to bed until 12:00. I'm trying to restring my mandolin, but it is really difficult because I'm afraid of the strings breaking and the little nobblies the strings loop onto are really small. Got two new strings on today, almost.
Had lunch. Watched "Juno" with my sisters. Wondered where my wierd, loveable girlfriend is (hint: probably not in Taipei or Taiwan). Rode bikes around town, runnin' errands an' stuff. Chilly today. Realized I did a bunch of today's things on Monday. Went to WuFenPu again with my three older sisters. Didn't buy a thing. Waitin' for the New Year.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
nigel hieronymus to Linda show details 11:58 PM (1 minute ago) Reply
On 1/7/09, Linda Spotts <crosswinds@pa.net> wrote:
Hello to all Outbounds 2008-2009, Happy New Year to all. Attached is the 3rd report due 1/15/09. Hope you all enjoyed festivities as you entered into the new year. This report is for everyone except Jerit Barton who finally got to Brazil last week (his initial assignment was Bolivia but due to civil unrest he was reassigned). We have 11 new Outbounds who have made it through the interviews and compatability weekend last November and in February will be at Camp Eder. So your reports are always so important as we take some of your information and share with them to help them in their year of exchange…. Hope all is going well with all of you, and am reading from earlier reports how you are progressing with the language and many of you are now feeling relatively comfortable in speaking in your newly acquired language. Also, now that you are more immersed in your new culture and have made new friends, you will be getting invites to more events. A bit of caution as always – we want you to enjoy them, but always remember the 4D's – they are there to protect you and are added insurance for a successful exchange year, and of course hang with students who are acceptable to your rotary club and host families. We here at district 7390 want all of you to enjoy fully the rest of the months of your exchange. Thank you to those who have already turned in the 3rd report and also thanks to those who have sent pictures…. Wishing all of you the very best, Linda
OUTBOUND STUDENT BI-MONTHLY REPORT FORM
Please use black or blue ink and write/print NEATLY - several copies are made!
MAIL REPORT NO LATER THAN THE 15TH OF JANUARY WHILE ABROAD:
STUDENT NAME Nigel Hieronymus
DATE January 13, 2009
PRESENT HOST FAMILY PP Margeret TILL WHEN March
PRESENT ADDRESS 台北市仁愛路四段122巷20號5樓 OR 1F., No. 20, Lane 122, Sec. 4, RenAi Rd., Taipei, Taiwan.
PHONE EMAIL ADDRESS ____________________________________________________________________________ NEXT HOST FAMILY PP Ellen TILL WHEN ___________________ NEXT ADDRESS ________________ PHONE ______________________
DISCUSS STAGE 5 OF THE HOMESTAY STAGES: I don't remember what that one is, but if it involves a post New Year's sense of purposelessness and, dare I say, boredom, then that's what I've been going through lately.
PUBLIC SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS (ROTARY CHURCH, SCHOOL, ETC): Every week in Military class, I was also a host for the Final Presentation of my Chinese Class.
SOCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCLUDE VISITS TO PRIVATE HOMES): Going to my dad's company get-together, went to a night club, went up on a mountain to a temple a couple times (it's a really nice place), Christmas party with Rotoract, my highschool had a party one night, watched a basketball game, shopping with my sisters, New Year's Eve
PLACES OF INTEREST VISITED: Shopping places, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall,
CONTACT WITH OTHER EXCHANGE STUDENTS (YFU, AFS, ROTARY...): Well, it was five days a week up until my morning Chinese class finished. Now I see one of the exchange students hosted by club sometimes because her mom is sister to my dad, so that's all right. Definitely did not expect to be seeing a lot of exchange students and I got really used to being in this little bubble with them. Now the bubble's burst and it's back to square one again, sort of. Especially at school.
WHAT'S THE EASIEST AND CHEAPEST WAY FOR PARENTS TO GET MONEY TO YOU? My USAA credit card, which they keep track of anyway.
HOW IS SCHOOL GOING? ARE YOU ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN DISCUSSIONS? FRIENDSHIPS? School is... school. I had that morning Chinese class the past four months, so I was only spending about three hours a day there. The Chinese class usually left me tired or frustrated, and most days being at school was a time to relax a little bit, but I haven't had any real discussions with anyone at school except my Chinese painting teacher, and that's mostly in English. It's hard to interact in class when none of the teachers really treat you like a student. I don't blame them, I mean I did learn a lot of this stuff already and I only catch about 20% of what they're saying anyway. A lot of my recent time at school has been spent thinking about dumb stuff, asking myself big life-questions, drawing and writing, or sleeping. People have been coming over to talk with me, and that's nice, but soon we run out of things to talk about. I mean, it's not like I can talk to them in any great depth about the seven or eight tests they took today or...It's now January 18th. I'm coming back to this after I was distracted for a few days (which isn't so hard to be). I have what would seem like a lot of friends at school, but, infact, most of them are acquaintances. I would say the classmate that is more of a friend to me than the others is Leo, who is very thoughtful and has a keen interest in travel and life outside of Taiwan.
WHAT OTHER ACTIVITIES ARE YOU PARTICIPATING IN? (IN OR OUT OF SCHOOL) Well, tomorrow I'm going to wake up at five to go to the park with my grandpa and maybe do some TaiQi. I'm still studying Chinese painting and calligraphy. I'm sort of bored with the erhu and I'm thinking about joining the Guitar Club at my school.
HOW IS YOUR LANGUAGE? RECOMMENDATIONS TO MAKE LANGUAGE ADJUSTMENT EASIER: My Chinese is really good they say, but I think I could be a little better. It's slow learning because of the internationalness of everything. Today, I watched an English movie with Chinese subtitles while reading a German magazine and listening to my mom speaking Chinese and some guys speaking Taiwanese. How to make it easier? Well, I'm not quite sure.
DESCRIBE TYPE & FREQUENCY OF CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN:
YOU & YOUR FAMILY AT HOME (USA)? My blog at least once a week, emails sometimes, Facebook (my mom and Dad both have one), Skype/ooVoo with my friends seldom, phonecall at Christmas
YOU & YOUR SPONSORING (USA) ROTARY CLUB? Sometimes my counseler emails me, this report every two months
HOW IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP PROGRESSING WITH:
YOUR CURRENT HOST FAMILY? It's been really good, they aren't as busy as my last family, so I see and talk to them a lot more. I have three sisters, the oldest has a daughter, so I'm kind of an uncle, the other two are sometimes around and interested in me, sometimes not. Anyway, no problems really.
YOUR HOST (FOREIGN) CLUB? Everything's in order and every likes me. They're all my mom so that's kind of interesting.
YOUR ROTARY COUNSELOR (HOW OFTEN DO YOU MEET/TALK?) I see her around a lot. I haven't had any really big problems for her to take care of , so we sometimes talk about art because that's her speciality.
SPECIFIC SHORT COMMENTS FOR A NEWSLETTER TO BE SENT TO ALL: Sometimes you feel like eating chicken feet, sometimes you don't.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: (USE OTHER PAPER AS NEEDED) - DESCRIBE HOLIDAYS & HANDLING OF ANY HOMESICKNESS; INPUT FOR FEBRUARY OUTBOUND ORIENTATION. INCLUDE ADDITIONAL COMMENTS, COMPLAINTS, PROBLEMS, SUGGESTIONS, ETC. Please tell anyone who wants a current look at my perspective in Taiwan to go to my blog: odysseyintheorient.blogspot.com As for homesickness don't try to bottle it up or else you may actually get sick. The weird thing is it really is as up and down as they mention to you in the beginning. Maybe for a whole month it's the hardest thing just to get up, but then one night suddenly everything makes sense and is allright. It's important to look forward, yeah, but you have to take care of yourself now and try to be comfortable in this uncomfortable situation. Oh yeah, and I don't think you need a "good reason" to do this. If you have one you probably won't have a good time. What I mean is, if you think you're going to this brave new placeto find something you're looking for, a future in business, a foriegn girlfriend, freedom, relaxation, an endless party, or if you think that you're going for yourself, maybe you better stay home. Yeah, it can be a blast sometimes, and I've learned a lot about myself in relation to this fine world I've found myself in, but the only way that I've found anybody to learn anything is through thier mistakes and how they and others react to those mistakes. It's a hard thing , but I know that when I'm back in PA cruisin' with my bros I can look back on this year and say, "Yeah, I made the right decision". Best decision of my life so far.
NOTE: Your reports are important and very helpful in improving our program for those who will follow you. Your time and input is greatly appreciated. Thanks! REPTFRM3.OUT\WP6
On 1/7/09, Linda Spotts <crosswinds@pa.net> wrote:
Hello to all Outbounds 2008-2009, Happy New Year to all. Attached is the 3rd report due 1/15/09. Hope you all enjoyed festivities as you entered into the new year. This report is for everyone except Jerit Barton who finally got to Brazil last week (his initial assignment was Bolivia but due to civil unrest he was reassigned). We have 11 new Outbounds who have made it through the interviews and compatability weekend last November and in February will be at Camp Eder. So your reports are always so important as we take some of your information and share with them to help them in their year of exchange…. Hope all is going well with all of you, and am reading from earlier reports how you are progressing with the language and many of you are now feeling relatively comfortable in speaking in your newly acquired language. Also, now that you are more immersed in your new culture and have made new friends, you will be getting invites to more events. A bit of caution as always – we want you to enjoy them, but always remember the 4D's – they are there to protect you and are added insurance for a successful exchange year, and of course hang with students who are acceptable to your rotary club and host families. We here at district 7390 want all of you to enjoy fully the rest of the months of your exchange. Thank you to those who have already turned in the 3rd report and also thanks to those who have sent pictures…. Wishing all of you the very best, Linda
OUTBOUND STUDENT BI-MONTHLY REPORT FORM
Please use black or blue ink and write/print NEATLY - several copies are made!
MAIL REPORT NO LATER THAN THE 15TH OF JANUARY WHILE ABROAD:
STUDENT NAME Nigel Hieronymus
DATE January 13, 2009
PRESENT HOST FAMILY PP Margeret TILL WHEN March
PRESENT ADDRESS 台北市仁愛路四段122巷20號5樓 OR 1F., No. 20, Lane 122, Sec. 4, RenAi Rd., Taipei, Taiwan.
PHONE EMAIL ADDRESS ____________________________________________________________________________ NEXT HOST FAMILY PP Ellen TILL WHEN ___________________ NEXT ADDRESS ________________ PHONE ______________________
DISCUSS STAGE 5 OF THE HOMESTAY STAGES: I don't remember what that one is, but if it involves a post New Year's sense of purposelessness and, dare I say, boredom, then that's what I've been going through lately.
PUBLIC SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS (ROTARY CHURCH, SCHOOL, ETC): Every week in Military class, I was also a host for the Final Presentation of my Chinese Class.
SOCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCLUDE VISITS TO PRIVATE HOMES): Going to my dad's company get-together, went to a night club, went up on a mountain to a temple a couple times (it's a really nice place), Christmas party with Rotoract, my highschool had a party one night, watched a basketball game, shopping with my sisters, New Year's Eve
PLACES OF INTEREST VISITED: Shopping places, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall,
CONTACT WITH OTHER EXCHANGE STUDENTS (YFU, AFS, ROTARY...): Well, it was five days a week up until my morning Chinese class finished. Now I see one of the exchange students hosted by club sometimes because her mom is sister to my dad, so that's all right. Definitely did not expect to be seeing a lot of exchange students and I got really used to being in this little bubble with them. Now the bubble's burst and it's back to square one again, sort of. Especially at school.
WHAT'S THE EASIEST AND CHEAPEST WAY FOR PARENTS TO GET MONEY TO YOU? My USAA credit card, which they keep track of anyway.
HOW IS SCHOOL GOING? ARE YOU ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN DISCUSSIONS? FRIENDSHIPS? School is... school. I had that morning Chinese class the past four months, so I was only spending about three hours a day there. The Chinese class usually left me tired or frustrated, and most days being at school was a time to relax a little bit, but I haven't had any real discussions with anyone at school except my Chinese painting teacher, and that's mostly in English. It's hard to interact in class when none of the teachers really treat you like a student. I don't blame them, I mean I did learn a lot of this stuff already and I only catch about 20% of what they're saying anyway. A lot of my recent time at school has been spent thinking about dumb stuff, asking myself big life-questions, drawing and writing, or sleeping. People have been coming over to talk with me, and that's nice, but soon we run out of things to talk about. I mean, it's not like I can talk to them in any great depth about the seven or eight tests they took today or...It's now January 18th. I'm coming back to this after I was distracted for a few days (which isn't so hard to be). I have what would seem like a lot of friends at school, but, infact, most of them are acquaintances. I would say the classmate that is more of a friend to me than the others is Leo, who is very thoughtful and has a keen interest in travel and life outside of Taiwan.
WHAT OTHER ACTIVITIES ARE YOU PARTICIPATING IN? (IN OR OUT OF SCHOOL) Well, tomorrow I'm going to wake up at five to go to the park with my grandpa and maybe do some TaiQi. I'm still studying Chinese painting and calligraphy. I'm sort of bored with the erhu and I'm thinking about joining the Guitar Club at my school.
HOW IS YOUR LANGUAGE? RECOMMENDATIONS TO MAKE LANGUAGE ADJUSTMENT EASIER: My Chinese is really good they say, but I think I could be a little better. It's slow learning because of the internationalness of everything. Today, I watched an English movie with Chinese subtitles while reading a German magazine and listening to my mom speaking Chinese and some guys speaking Taiwanese. How to make it easier? Well, I'm not quite sure.
DESCRIBE TYPE & FREQUENCY OF CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN:
YOU & YOUR FAMILY AT HOME (USA)? My blog at least once a week, emails sometimes, Facebook (my mom and Dad both have one), Skype/ooVoo with my friends seldom, phonecall at Christmas
YOU & YOUR SPONSORING (USA) ROTARY CLUB? Sometimes my counseler emails me, this report every two months
HOW IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP PROGRESSING WITH:
YOUR CURRENT HOST FAMILY? It's been really good, they aren't as busy as my last family, so I see and talk to them a lot more. I have three sisters, the oldest has a daughter, so I'm kind of an uncle, the other two are sometimes around and interested in me, sometimes not. Anyway, no problems really.
YOUR HOST (FOREIGN) CLUB? Everything's in order and every likes me. They're all my mom so that's kind of interesting.
YOUR ROTARY COUNSELOR (HOW OFTEN DO YOU MEET/TALK?) I see her around a lot. I haven't had any really big problems for her to take care of , so we sometimes talk about art because that's her speciality.
SPECIFIC SHORT COMMENTS FOR A NEWSLETTER TO BE SENT TO ALL: Sometimes you feel like eating chicken feet, sometimes you don't.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: (USE OTHER PAPER AS NEEDED) - DESCRIBE HOLIDAYS & HANDLING OF ANY HOMESICKNESS; INPUT FOR FEBRUARY OUTBOUND ORIENTATION. INCLUDE ADDITIONAL COMMENTS, COMPLAINTS, PROBLEMS, SUGGESTIONS, ETC. Please tell anyone who wants a current look at my perspective in Taiwan to go to my blog: odysseyintheorient.blogspot.com As for homesickness don't try to bottle it up or else you may actually get sick. The weird thing is it really is as up and down as they mention to you in the beginning. Maybe for a whole month it's the hardest thing just to get up, but then one night suddenly everything makes sense and is allright. It's important to look forward, yeah, but you have to take care of yourself now and try to be comfortable in this uncomfortable situation. Oh yeah, and I don't think you need a "good reason" to do this. If you have one you probably won't have a good time. What I mean is, if you think you're going to this brave new placeto find something you're looking for, a future in business, a foriegn girlfriend, freedom, relaxation, an endless party, or if you think that you're going for yourself, maybe you better stay home. Yeah, it can be a blast sometimes, and I've learned a lot about myself in relation to this fine world I've found myself in, but the only way that I've found anybody to learn anything is through thier mistakes and how they and others react to those mistakes. It's a hard thing , but I know that when I'm back in PA cruisin' with my bros I can look back on this year and say, "Yeah, I made the right decision". Best decision of my life so far.
NOTE: Your reports are important and very helpful in improving our program for those who will follow you. Your time and input is greatly appreciated. Thanks! REPTFRM3.OUT\WP6
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Electric
Last night the fog cleared.
I figure what happened was something I'll call "sudden adjustment". This term describes an unforeseeable instance of realizing exactly what you're supposed to do and what things need to be done to get you there. It usually follows a period of not remembering what you did for the past fourteen days.
The effects of this sudden adjustment have included: reaching out to classmates, writing stuff down in an appointment book, not letting moments drag on, feeling more awake, but knowing when to sleep, thinking about what I'm going to miss about this place rather than what I've been missing about that place.
Sudden adjustment is not a theory and has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
I figure what happened was something I'll call "sudden adjustment". This term describes an unforeseeable instance of realizing exactly what you're supposed to do and what things need to be done to get you there. It usually follows a period of not remembering what you did for the past fourteen days.
The effects of this sudden adjustment have included: reaching out to classmates, writing stuff down in an appointment book, not letting moments drag on, feeling more awake, but knowing when to sleep, thinking about what I'm going to miss about this place rather than what I've been missing about that place.
Sudden adjustment is not a theory and has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Next Step?
I'm the winter slug again.
Or maybe a hibernating tortoise.
Or some kind of squishy sea-creature.
Anyway, I'm back to having a lot of time to think about dumb stuff and times gone by, and so I've finished another little scetchbook/journal thing.
I'm waiting for my next step.
Or maybe a hibernating tortoise.
Or some kind of squishy sea-creature.
Anyway, I'm back to having a lot of time to think about dumb stuff and times gone by, and so I've finished another little scetchbook/journal thing.
I'm waiting for my next step.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Where we get back on the escalator.
Last night, this time (9:30), I think I had just wound down an hour long one-sided conversation with myself and was working on that thousand-piece puzzle my fiend Leo had given me. It's been going around that these late winter days really are the worst during an exchange year. I have a cold again, which really hasn't made things any better. I've found winter to be my worst season pretty much every year, anyway.
So, I'm putting stuff off, like send the letters I've written (I keep having to update them), find out what kind of scholarships I should apply for (I'll get on it this week, Mom), I've got to get the $700 in for the tour of Taiwan in May, and I should probably finish that bi-monthly report for my Rotary friends back home.
On a lighter, more encouraging note, today was the Final Presentation of the Chinese class I had been attending. I was involved with a dramatic performance, in which I played the ErHu and also did some beatboxing. Later I hosted the awards section of the presentation with my friend Yani. I was pretty tired though, so I didn't really convey a lot of heart in my words. It was all in Chinese, though.
In the end, I was placed first in the class for something involving overall attitude and ability. I was really honored to be given the award, but I know there are still some flaws with the whole program and I don't want the fact that that I recieved this special distinction to suddenly cause me to change my view on that. When the time comes, the right people will know exactly what I think. That's my hope.
All in all, I'm ready to start going to my high-school all day again, although I will think of the other exchange students that I became good friends with. There has been a lot of good and bad thus far, and I expect it will remain as such, but at the end of this I hope I can look back and say, "Yep, a lot of folks were affected by my just being around."
So, I'm putting stuff off, like send the letters I've written (I keep having to update them), find out what kind of scholarships I should apply for (I'll get on it this week, Mom), I've got to get the $700 in for the tour of Taiwan in May, and I should probably finish that bi-monthly report for my Rotary friends back home.
On a lighter, more encouraging note, today was the Final Presentation of the Chinese class I had been attending. I was involved with a dramatic performance, in which I played the ErHu and also did some beatboxing. Later I hosted the awards section of the presentation with my friend Yani. I was pretty tired though, so I didn't really convey a lot of heart in my words. It was all in Chinese, though.
In the end, I was placed first in the class for something involving overall attitude and ability. I was really honored to be given the award, but I know there are still some flaws with the whole program and I don't want the fact that that I recieved this special distinction to suddenly cause me to change my view on that. When the time comes, the right people will know exactly what I think. That's my hope.
All in all, I'm ready to start going to my high-school all day again, although I will think of the other exchange students that I became good friends with. There has been a lot of good and bad thus far, and I expect it will remain as such, but at the end of this I hope I can look back and say, "Yep, a lot of folks were affected by my just being around."
Monday, January 5, 2009
The Upside of the Downside
We've had a Chinese calligraphy class, these past two mornings, with an older woman who is a retired teacher and well-known artist (to check that fact I asked my counselor who confirmed it). Although an atmosphere similar to a high-school cafeteria again pervaded the classroom, I was able to get a lot out of these past two classes, and this woman took notice.
On Monday, I sat in the front of the room and tried to imagine what sort of things were about to occur this day. When it became clear that Miss Ro was to be our teacher, I gave her my full attention and waited patiently for her to begin. The same could not be said for others in the room, but they are not really the point of this story. Throughout the two-hour class, I remained attentive, interested and respectful and Ro Lao Shi took note of that.
Today, a Tuesday, we again had Miss Ro to teach us. I sat in the back (I don't know why), but, when she arrived, Miss Ro called me to sit in the front. I'm glad I did. As if the fact that she recognized my interest wasn't enough, during the break she wrote for me a sentence that meant something along the lines of "Studying language is a small thing, but it makes the world so much bigger."
Anyway, somebody did notice the effort I put into learning about Chinese/Taiwanese culture, and that's the upside of the downside.
On Monday, I sat in the front of the room and tried to imagine what sort of things were about to occur this day. When it became clear that Miss Ro was to be our teacher, I gave her my full attention and waited patiently for her to begin. The same could not be said for others in the room, but they are not really the point of this story. Throughout the two-hour class, I remained attentive, interested and respectful and Ro Lao Shi took note of that.
Today, a Tuesday, we again had Miss Ro to teach us. I sat in the back (I don't know why), but, when she arrived, Miss Ro called me to sit in the front. I'm glad I did. As if the fact that she recognized my interest wasn't enough, during the break she wrote for me a sentence that meant something along the lines of "Studying language is a small thing, but it makes the world so much bigger."
Anyway, somebody did notice the effort I put into learning about Chinese/Taiwanese culture, and that's the upside of the downside.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Have a New Year
Well, another year is over, another year's gone by. I hope everyone had fun crossing over. I know I did. Here's my New Year's Eve in pictures.
I woke up yesterday morning and headed to the University to take my Chinese final exam. I think it went well. I'm just glad this class is almost over.
Lunch has always been just alright at the college. I tried the beer-flavored green tea. It was interesting, not completely beer-flavored, but I think it manages to taste somewhere between green tea and beer.
I woke up yesterday morning and headed to the University to take my Chinese final exam. I think it went well. I'm just glad this class is almost over.
Lunch has always been just alright at the college. I tried the beer-flavored green tea. It was interesting, not completely beer-flavored, but I think it manages to taste somewhere between green tea and beer.
After lunch we had another culture study class, which was again dissappointing. I was dissappointed by the fact that the few of us who really have an interest in what we might be learning about are consistently hindered by the obnoxius and very vocal majority of ... I'm having a hard time deciding what exactly to call them. Let it be known that there have been all sorts of problems with this exclusively exchange student Chinese learning course that nobody (no one with any authority anyway) has been willing to address. I think it's a cultural thing though. I've been told that it is often the case here that if someone has a problem with you or disagrees with you they won't bring it up to your face, especially women and the class is run by women.
So what the class ended with yesterday was the very pretty little calligraphy teacher telling us in Chinese (and a not so good English translation by another of the teachers) that at first she thought we were all very bright and interested young adults. She went on to say that she thought it was great that everyone had decided on their own to come to Taiwan for a year for the reason of learning Chinese. She then tried to explain how she couldn't understand why were acting so much like children. The rest I've forgotten because I was trying to cry.
The people that were supposed to be hearing this message were talking and laughing the entire time. The people that have tried so hard to fit in here suddenly felt like they wasted their time. The director of the whole Chinese Language Education Center, a little woman who has been far to nice, also had a message for the people who weren't listening. She told us she received a letter from the Ministry of Education, never quite mentioned what it might be about, but I assumed it was not good news. She talked about how some kids were smoking on campus and generally being rambunctious. She later said that when she was asked by the Rotary Club about certain students' behavior she said that they were very hard-working and bright even though she doubted it. She said she tried to treat us like adults and then took the blame for receiving the dissappointing letter. She admitted that we're all foriegners at some point, that we're here representing our countries and our families and our Rotary Districts.
I took issue with everything those two, too nice women were saying. It tears me up that seemingly no one actually takes this seriously. That's what I think prevents a lot of these other exchange students from growing from this and being more adult.
One thing that gets me is that I didn't come here for the sole purpose of learning another foreign language, but rather to figure out what it means to be Taiwanese in the 21st century and to make my world a little rounder.
So, anyway...
New year's eve was great. The night club plans fell through, so I ended up walking with my dad to Taipei city hall where there was a concert going on before the big fireworks display on Taipei 101. I think about 8 o' clock I headed to the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall where some of my friends were hanging out before the spectacle.
New year's eve was great. The night club plans fell through, so I ended up walking with my dad to Taipei city hall where there was a concert going on before the big fireworks display on Taipei 101. I think about 8 o' clock I headed to the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall where some of my friends were hanging out before the spectacle.
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