This one goes out to my bro's in Who's Ready for the Cave?.
Last Monday, I played my mandolin in front of one of my music classes. It went okay. I strummed out "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" and then just grooved for a little while. I was under the impression that there were to be other performances that day, but as it turned out the performances were today instead. So, at the end of last week's class, I agreed that this week I would play some songs on the guitar for everyone (but not Bon Jovi, not really my style).
I don't have my guitar in Taiwan, so I had to borrow one from a girl in class. I haven't really had many chances to play a guitar in the four months that I've been here, which is all right, I mean, I have my mandolin and I've picked up the ErHu fairly quickly, but there's something about the guitar (acoustic or electric) that makes everyone want to pay attention even if you aren't Eric Clapton or Jimi Hendrix.
Anyway, so they give me this guitar, it's nice, it has all it's strings, and then I had a little time to practice. The teacher assumed I had something prepared to play, which was sort of true, you know as an Eagle Scout I'm always prepared. I went into the little practice room next to the classroom and sat down on a bench with this girl's guitar.
I strummed out some chords and then started playing the only songs I really know, and it took me back. This little practice room had suddenly become my Dallastown High School's auditorium, where Who's Ready for the Cave? took Second Place only two men strong. I found myself in that little coffee shop, where our show was cancelled, but we played anyway and made $8.50 (our first paid gig). I was at the JCC mumbling in a microphone and pretending I was fronting an all girl band from a future where Chinese was the international language of choice. I was in the Blue and White Cafe fiddlin' around to the tune of "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" and watching the ho down of a lifetime.
I played "Marathon Man","New Year's Song" and "We're All Singing the Same Song". I should say "we" played those songs today, up in front of a class of fifteen year-old, Taiwanese students that still made me nervous. Sam, Vince, Eric, if you felt something today at around 2:35 in the afternoon, just know that it was part of you jamming with me over here.
I know somebody got a video.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
I hear it's chilly in Pennsylvania
Whilst everyone to the west of me is feeling cold on the outside and warm on the inside, sharing stories 'round the hearth, and thinking about "peace on earth", I am eating these home-baked cookies, wearing this awesome hat from Salvo, and thinking about when would be the best time to rip into this box of Hershey's chocolate bars sitting next to me.
It's crossed my mind lately, that (like my winters previous) time has slowed to an almost unbearable point. Maybe that was a little dramatic. It's good news though, because (like my Januarys previous) things begin to move more quickly. The phrase "seconds passed like hours" is suddenly swapped and I'm left with a bunch of old school papers in my backpack.
In a more "here's the news" sort of fashion, my Christmas was okay. No one really takes a day off to celebrate, but there was a lot of that "international Christmas spirit" (you know, peace on earth, good will toward your fellow human beings). So, I did get some very nice Christmas presents, which I hardly expected. A CD player from Counselor Maggie (most useful), a puzzle from my friend Leo (which depicts an antique map of the world, most apt), a German film which I recieved in a gift exchange from my friend Freya (it's Goodbye Lenin, for all you German film fans), and finally, a very proffesional set of watercolor pencils from my sister YoYo (it's like she's been my sister forever).
In much less recent news, a couple weeks ago my sisters took me to WuFenPu, a shopping district where they sell clothes and things found in XiMenDing (where the youth hang out) for cheaper. Long story straight to the point, I now find myself wearing very cool jeans, and most importantly, a red leather jacket. I've never felt more smooth.
Last weekend I went with my oldest sister to see my three year old niece perform with her preschool class. There was never anything cuter than those little kids (especially my niece, who is now tickling my feet). After that we went up into these mountains overlooking the ocean (both mom, who likes the ocean, and dad, who likes the mountains, would be able to have their vacations). As I looked at the gourgeous grass covered mountains and the dark ocean with fog covering the horizon, all I could think was "I made a good decision."
And even now, as I miss everyone I've left and think about how I'm going to miss everyone I've met here, I realize that as long as I live I'll never be homeless.
It's crossed my mind lately, that (like my winters previous) time has slowed to an almost unbearable point. Maybe that was a little dramatic. It's good news though, because (like my Januarys previous) things begin to move more quickly. The phrase "seconds passed like hours" is suddenly swapped and I'm left with a bunch of old school papers in my backpack.
In a more "here's the news" sort of fashion, my Christmas was okay. No one really takes a day off to celebrate, but there was a lot of that "international Christmas spirit" (you know, peace on earth, good will toward your fellow human beings). So, I did get some very nice Christmas presents, which I hardly expected. A CD player from Counselor Maggie (most useful), a puzzle from my friend Leo (which depicts an antique map of the world, most apt), a German film which I recieved in a gift exchange from my friend Freya (it's Goodbye Lenin, for all you German film fans), and finally, a very proffesional set of watercolor pencils from my sister YoYo (it's like she's been my sister forever).
In much less recent news, a couple weeks ago my sisters took me to WuFenPu, a shopping district where they sell clothes and things found in XiMenDing (where the youth hang out) for cheaper. Long story straight to the point, I now find myself wearing very cool jeans, and most importantly, a red leather jacket. I've never felt more smooth.
Last weekend I went with my oldest sister to see my three year old niece perform with her preschool class. There was never anything cuter than those little kids (especially my niece, who is now tickling my feet). After that we went up into these mountains overlooking the ocean (both mom, who likes the ocean, and dad, who likes the mountains, would be able to have their vacations). As I looked at the gourgeous grass covered mountains and the dark ocean with fog covering the horizon, all I could think was "I made a good decision."
And even now, as I miss everyone I've left and think about how I'm going to miss everyone I've met here, I realize that as long as I live I'll never be homeless.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Earthquakes, Haircuts, and Things That Creep Me Out
I am loving the city. I was thinking, the other day, how there are an untold number of people who live their entire lives in one place, never seriously considering what life might be like elsewhere. I'm happy to say, I've considered it.
Last week, I was in Chinese class when a small earthquake occured. I only realized it when my four-wheeled chair began to roll slightly, as though suddenly we were all out in the ocean. I had a similar experience yesterday at 5:25 AM when I was woken up from my dream of being in a row boat by the actual feeling of being in a row boat (or a row bed). My dad told me later when I asked him about it that he hadn't felt anything. One, he was asleep; and two, his room is in the first floor apartment. Mijn is on the fifth, where the building actually sways.
Can you read Dutch?
On Sunday last, my oldest sister took me and my niece to XiMen Ding, where the young folks hang out. Our main purpose was to get some haircut action. And we did. I now have a perfectly Taiwanese look.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The day I started writing this, the following things were creeping me out:
Last week, I was in Chinese class when a small earthquake occured. I only realized it when my four-wheeled chair began to roll slightly, as though suddenly we were all out in the ocean. I had a similar experience yesterday at 5:25 AM when I was woken up from my dream of being in a row boat by the actual feeling of being in a row boat (or a row bed). My dad told me later when I asked him about it that he hadn't felt anything. One, he was asleep; and two, his room is in the first floor apartment. Mijn is on the fifth, where the building actually sways.
Can you read Dutch?
On Sunday last, my oldest sister took me and my niece to XiMen Ding, where the young folks hang out. Our main purpose was to get some haircut action. And we did. I now have a perfectly Taiwanese look.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The day I started writing this, the following things were creeping me out:
- People telling me that I'm cold. (I wonder what they kow that I don't.)
- "Did you hurt your nose?"
- Has this busdriver been driving the same bus for 100 years?
- What was scratching around on the floor the other night?
- The smell of sterility eminating from the hospital down the street.
- Walking down the street with mopeds whizzing by.
These things still give me strange thoughts.
Monday, December 1, 2008
The New Place (now with more interaction!)
I have never been anything but the oldest kid. I have also never had sisters. I have also never been an uncle. Now I am all three.
I have three older sisters, one of which has a daughter of her own.
But let's flashback a little while, to the beginning of this "new chapter", if you will.
It was Saturday, the 30th of November, quite a beautiful day actually. My Swiss friend Sarah was having a birthday party at her house way out in Neihu, which was very much an enjoyable experience. However, I was looking forward to that afternoon. My things were packed and I was ready to trade spaces.
Mom showed up at four o' clock in her big Lexus (maybe it's an SUV, I don't know), my things stashed in the back, and after some goodbyes we began our journey back into the city, my friend Adam running alongside waving. "He's crazy," I explained to the first of my four moms (maybe it would be better to say "one of my many moms").
Close to half an hour later we arrive at my new residence. I've visited before for various reasons, and every time I've thought to myself how nice it would be to spend some real time there.
It's a relatively large apartment, actually two. They own the first (ground) floor and also the fifth. I think they have over nine televisons, if that describes the kind of environment I now find myself inhabiting. But enough about their things.
When I arrived, they took me up to the fifth floor apartment, where I could drop off my things (only half of which I had actually brought with me from America) and be given a brief introduction to my room and the bathroom. I met Yo-yo, who is the second oldest sister,on her way out, and then we travelled back down to the first floor for dinner.
Joy, mom number one, hung around for awhile to chat and make sure I would be alright. After she left, the youngest sister (she's maybe 20 or 21 years old) took me out to the nearest night market, but first we both had foot massages. She thought it hurt a lot, and I did too, but I was better at grinning and bearing it. I found out that the right side of my body is a lot more sensitive and tense than my left side. Weird.
So, we toodled around the night market. She was looking for Japanese DVDs because she likes to practice her listening skills. She lived as a teacher in Japan for a year. Well, we found the DVD place and purchased five DVDs for $500NT (pretty cheap, like $18US), one was the Tenth Kingdom, which I might have to take back to America. Later, we played a game where you try to hook little shrimps to barbecue. They were alive, which made things difficult. In, the end, after breaking about twenty hooks (which is really wht you're paying for), I managed to catch seven of the little guys. My sister caught one. She was really afraid of them though.
I don't have enough time to explain everything that's happaned in the past couple days, but I am sure that I won't be lonely, or alone, very much at all with this family. Where my little brother and my host dad of the last family were short on words, my sisters and niece always have something to say.
Did I mention I am pretty close to the heart of the city? It's great, I have street noise, people yelling, cars, buses, school bells, I really enjoy it, there is so much going on. I've never lived actually in the city before, so I think my exchange is getting a whole new dynamic.
Still having a blast, hope you all are as well.
I have three older sisters, one of which has a daughter of her own.
But let's flashback a little while, to the beginning of this "new chapter", if you will.
It was Saturday, the 30th of November, quite a beautiful day actually. My Swiss friend Sarah was having a birthday party at her house way out in Neihu, which was very much an enjoyable experience. However, I was looking forward to that afternoon. My things were packed and I was ready to trade spaces.
Mom showed up at four o' clock in her big Lexus (maybe it's an SUV, I don't know), my things stashed in the back, and after some goodbyes we began our journey back into the city, my friend Adam running alongside waving. "He's crazy," I explained to the first of my four moms (maybe it would be better to say "one of my many moms").
Close to half an hour later we arrive at my new residence. I've visited before for various reasons, and every time I've thought to myself how nice it would be to spend some real time there.
It's a relatively large apartment, actually two. They own the first (ground) floor and also the fifth. I think they have over nine televisons, if that describes the kind of environment I now find myself inhabiting. But enough about their things.
When I arrived, they took me up to the fifth floor apartment, where I could drop off my things (only half of which I had actually brought with me from America) and be given a brief introduction to my room and the bathroom. I met Yo-yo, who is the second oldest sister,on her way out, and then we travelled back down to the first floor for dinner.
Joy, mom number one, hung around for awhile to chat and make sure I would be alright. After she left, the youngest sister (she's maybe 20 or 21 years old) took me out to the nearest night market, but first we both had foot massages. She thought it hurt a lot, and I did too, but I was better at grinning and bearing it. I found out that the right side of my body is a lot more sensitive and tense than my left side. Weird.
So, we toodled around the night market. She was looking for Japanese DVDs because she likes to practice her listening skills. She lived as a teacher in Japan for a year. Well, we found the DVD place and purchased five DVDs for $500NT (pretty cheap, like $18US), one was the Tenth Kingdom, which I might have to take back to America. Later, we played a game where you try to hook little shrimps to barbecue. They were alive, which made things difficult. In, the end, after breaking about twenty hooks (which is really wht you're paying for), I managed to catch seven of the little guys. My sister caught one. She was really afraid of them though.
I don't have enough time to explain everything that's happaned in the past couple days, but I am sure that I won't be lonely, or alone, very much at all with this family. Where my little brother and my host dad of the last family were short on words, my sisters and niece always have something to say.
Did I mention I am pretty close to the heart of the city? It's great, I have street noise, people yelling, cars, buses, school bells, I really enjoy it, there is so much going on. I've never lived actually in the city before, so I think my exchange is getting a whole new dynamic.
Still having a blast, hope you all are as well.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Things I'm getting myself into. A fractured List.
- Cappucino
- Wearing scarves when it really isn't that cold
- Reading Dutch/Flemish books
- Cute things
- Being chill with most things (as in not taking everything so terribly seriously)
- Taking notes
- Classical music (again)
- Japanese things
- Toodling around
- Beat-boxing when I'm alone (well, even when I'm not alone)
- Not making plans
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Ghosts
This is all gonna sound like incoherant mumbo jumbo, and you'll all swear I've gone crazy, but I have reason to believe that, in Taiwan at least, ghosts are present.
When the Filipino housekeeper first explained to me, in broken English, that she feels the presence of a spirit in our apartment, I played it off, convinced she was just talking at me. The next time she mentioned it, she had "proof". She told me how she cleans the bathroom (in what we call "the Master Bedroom") making sure that there isn't any water in the sink or hair on the floor. Everything clean, she leaves the room to work elsewhere, but when she returns, there is hair on the floor and water in the sink, maybe even more than what she cleaned up before. She emphasized to me that no one goes in there, except for her, all day, and that the room isn't drafty at all. She also mentioned that she has to struggle to close my little brother's bedroom door sometimes. Says that it's as though there was someone on the other side pulling it open, and when she checks to see who it could be, there is no one there.
I didn't really take her words very seriously at first. I blamed the wind or her very vivid imagination, especially since she's stuck inside for days at a time. It was not until a few mornings ago that I thought there might be some truth to what she keeps saying.
I woke up that morning, as muc as I didn't want to, and put on my uniform and headed into the bathroom. When I return to my room, I discovered the computer's mousepad on my bed and my pillowcase to be missing. I could explain the pillowcase (Angie had taken it to be washed), but the mousepad? I was sure I hadn't touched it. I later asked Angie about it and she said that yes, she had taken the pillowcase, but she knew nothing about the mousepad.
Anyway, I think the ghost likes me, and Mom went to the temple and stuff, so it isn't a problem.
My fellow exchange students have had similar experiences.
The thing about ghosts is the unknown. That's what people are afraid of. Not knowing what it is that is happening and not being able to get substantial proof about what you believe. I think ghosts exist in Taiwan because so many people here believe that they do. There's a lot of power in belief.
When the Filipino housekeeper first explained to me, in broken English, that she feels the presence of a spirit in our apartment, I played it off, convinced she was just talking at me. The next time she mentioned it, she had "proof". She told me how she cleans the bathroom (in what we call "the Master Bedroom") making sure that there isn't any water in the sink or hair on the floor. Everything clean, she leaves the room to work elsewhere, but when she returns, there is hair on the floor and water in the sink, maybe even more than what she cleaned up before. She emphasized to me that no one goes in there, except for her, all day, and that the room isn't drafty at all. She also mentioned that she has to struggle to close my little brother's bedroom door sometimes. Says that it's as though there was someone on the other side pulling it open, and when she checks to see who it could be, there is no one there.
I didn't really take her words very seriously at first. I blamed the wind or her very vivid imagination, especially since she's stuck inside for days at a time. It was not until a few mornings ago that I thought there might be some truth to what she keeps saying.
I woke up that morning, as muc as I didn't want to, and put on my uniform and headed into the bathroom. When I return to my room, I discovered the computer's mousepad on my bed and my pillowcase to be missing. I could explain the pillowcase (Angie had taken it to be washed), but the mousepad? I was sure I hadn't touched it. I later asked Angie about it and she said that yes, she had taken the pillowcase, but she knew nothing about the mousepad.
Anyway, I think the ghost likes me, and Mom went to the temple and stuff, so it isn't a problem.
My fellow exchange students have had similar experiences.
The thing about ghosts is the unknown. That's what people are afraid of. Not knowing what it is that is happening and not being able to get substantial proof about what you believe. I think ghosts exist in Taiwan because so many people here believe that they do. There's a lot of power in belief.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Wooah, I'm ch-changin'
Haldo again, I have about half an hour of spare time so we'll see how far I can get with this. I took my Chinese midterm today and did an awesome job. What I'm thinkin' about right now is that I'm in a cocoon. What I mean is I'm changing, I know I'm changing. I read what I wrote in my journal two months ago, look at the the state of mind I captured in writing, and then I compare it to what I wrote yesterday. The two are vastly different and the gap continues to widen. I say cocoon because I'm the only one who can notice and feel what's happening to me. Anyone who reads this (as I assume everyone is across an ocean somewhere) only remembers the catapillar (or weedhopper) that went away.
That's not to say that when I return I'll be some "beautiful butterfly". I might be some moth creature or some kind of stinging insect, you might not like me or you''ll wonder why I act a certain way that's different from how I acted before, I can't really imagine it right now, but the possibility exists. I wonder if you understand what I'm trying to say.
Whatever I am when I come back, I want you all to know that I've questioned it, put it through its paces, let it feel lonely, compared it with my surrounds and perception of the world, and finally decided it was me.
(note to dadmom: got my ballot day of election, read that it had to be postmarked by the day before, realized that it probably took more than a week to get here and would take the same amount of time to get back, decided to keep it as a souvenir of a historic election. Looks like Obama had it without my vote though. I'm really kind of sad i didn't get to to excercise my rights, but there will be other "historic elections" in the future. It's funny to me that the Taiwanese were really into watching the United States Presidential Election.)
That's not to say that when I return I'll be some "beautiful butterfly". I might be some moth creature or some kind of stinging insect, you might not like me or you''ll wonder why I act a certain way that's different from how I acted before, I can't really imagine it right now, but the possibility exists. I wonder if you understand what I'm trying to say.
Whatever I am when I come back, I want you all to know that I've questioned it, put it through its paces, let it feel lonely, compared it with my surrounds and perception of the world, and finally decided it was me.
(note to dadmom: got my ballot day of election, read that it had to be postmarked by the day before, realized that it probably took more than a week to get here and would take the same amount of time to get back, decided to keep it as a souvenir of a historic election. Looks like Obama had it without my vote though. I'm really kind of sad i didn't get to to excercise my rights, but there will be other "historic elections" in the future. It's funny to me that the Taiwanese were really into watching the United States Presidential Election.)
Monday, November 3, 2008
Dragons, Gods, and Beards on Tape
Imagine that I uploaded some cool videos from my trip to PingLin last Saturday.
This is a video of a dragon dance (chinese:舞龍舞獅-DanceDragonDanceLion). It was performed by some kids in PingLin, a town famous for its tea, which was supposedly the reason we were going there.
Actually, this trip reminded me of the Rotary outings for the Inbound Students in York, with some sort of itinerary and stuff, but then everyone has to rush through some museum or something because we spent too much timedoing something more interesting. I hope the trip in May is less hectic.
I did enjoy the hike through the tea fields on the side of a mountain. A very pastorale landscape, my only wish is that it could have been a little less rainy and depressing. I have some other videos from that trip, which I may add in here at a later date because just this first one is taking quite some time (granted, it is the longest video I took, but those kids were so cute).
So, I've been chillin' out lately, studying up for the Midterm Exam of my Chinese Class. I'm not much worried, thinkin' I'll ace it. I'm trying not to let 媽媽's compliments about my Chinese go to my head (although if anything they make me want to keep learning and not just chuck it).
http://s515.photobucket.com/albums/t354/Functional_bucket/Taiwan
The above is a link to my album of photos from Taiwan. It just takes so much time to put all the pictures in this blog that I figure you can peruse them on this other website and make up stories about what a blast I'm having over here. I bought a new wallet. It's Kung-fu Panda themed and holds all my cash and stuff. I'm keeping a budget now, to figure out where all my money is going and whether I should cut back on trips to the 7-11 for drinks.
I think I change adresses soon, maybe a couple more weeks, I don't know. I've met three of my four host families so far. The next one is going to be great I can feel it.
I've lost track of what I was going to say now because my little brother here is watching WWE with the volume up kinda loud. Just a typical day.
Oh yeah, I'm seriously considering going to Australia. Here's the website about it: http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday/index.htm I think it would be awesome to go there and this visa encourages traveling and working only to earn money to travel. It really sounds like it would be an interesting experience. I'm weighing it against art school. Art school is losing. Any ideas about this?
Any way, I'm still waiting for that video to upload. Until next time.
The video didn't really work out.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Habits, Addictions, and Settling (Much To My Dismay)
The time is ripe and I feel as though I have something to relate here. Today is October 22nd, exactly two months after my arrival. The true span of this time, though, is nebulous to me. At times, I tell myself, "Well, it hasn't been that long. Only two months, you have quite the while ahead of you." However, there are times when the adjustments of my body tell me I have survived many, many days on this island.
I have developed a few unexplainable and perhaps irrational addictions these past weeks. The one that immediately comes to mind is playing the game of Solitaire in a manner that could be called hysterical. ... Just talking about it makes me want to play a few games right now on this computer, but I know that I will lose the first 3 games and once I do eventually "win" one, I will be so pleased as to believe that I might possibly win the next one. Needless to say, I need to replace that habit with something more progressive.
A second addiction takes the form of any substance involving chocolate. Chocolate milk, a Japanese brand of dark chocolate, chocolate that you're supposed to use for fondue, chocolate ice cream, etc. All have been slowly enjoyed or quickly devoured.
Just now, I found my favorite radio station out of Philiadelphia online, which I think is pretty cool. They just happened to be playing a song that's been on my mind (Les Artistes by Santogold). Of course, as I listen right now they have the morning show going on, but also a pledge drive ('cause they're public radio). Whatever. This should probably be on the list now too, anyway. Apparently it costs $50 to play one song on the radio.
So, the last topic today is settling (much to my dismay). "Summer camp" ended awhile ago. "The honeymoon period" which I think I skipped, wouldn't have lasted very long anyway. What I feel now is a sense that this is my home and that I'm like most of the other kids at my high school. What I mean by "(much to my dismay)" is that the things I'm settling into, and that I'm settling at all, is not quite what I expected.
Before I stepped off of the plane and actually realized I was in Taiwan, I had been convincing myself for at least two months that I didn't have any expectations, which I believed, at the time, was the tolerant thing to do. The reality is that I did have expectations, from grandiose things, like living in some sort of hotel-like building, to little things, like all my classmates being very studious compared to most American kids. What I had done prior to arriving here was bury all speculation as to what my future held in Taiwan. The only thing I left on my mind was that I was embarking on what I believed (and continue to believe) would be the first of many great adventures.
What happened with the supressed expectations is that something would trigger one of them (such as the expectation that getting to and from school would be a simple and relatively painless ordeal) and I would have to accept the reality of the situation (it takes over an hour to get to school and the public transit and walking I use to get there often leaves me fatigued). My biggest example of coping with a denied expectation is, again, language. I expected to pick up Chinese in "no time at all" (which really isn't a specific time to begin with). In reality, I must fight an uphill battle everyday in which everything seems so apparent in my Chinese class, but then I go into my highschool and I talk to my Rotary Club and my host mom. Everything becomes muddled and I understand three sounds I think are words and the rest is mumbling to me. That's being a little unfair to myself though because there have been times where I have understood something that was said by a native speaker that other exchange students may have missed.
One thing that makes the hill even steeper is the quiet lacking of books and materials that I feel would help my process of becoming fluent. I was in a bookstore today (I suppose not tone frequented by foreigners) and I found only three different books for English speakers learning Chinese amongst the hundreds of "Learn English" books. It's a little frustrating.
That's enough about that though. Good things continue to happen. For you, a list:
I have developed a few unexplainable and perhaps irrational addictions these past weeks. The one that immediately comes to mind is playing the game of Solitaire in a manner that could be called hysterical. ... Just talking about it makes me want to play a few games right now on this computer, but I know that I will lose the first 3 games and once I do eventually "win" one, I will be so pleased as to believe that I might possibly win the next one. Needless to say, I need to replace that habit with something more progressive.
A second addiction takes the form of any substance involving chocolate. Chocolate milk, a Japanese brand of dark chocolate, chocolate that you're supposed to use for fondue, chocolate ice cream, etc. All have been slowly enjoyed or quickly devoured.
Just now, I found my favorite radio station out of Philiadelphia online, which I think is pretty cool. They just happened to be playing a song that's been on my mind (Les Artistes by Santogold). Of course, as I listen right now they have the morning show going on, but also a pledge drive ('cause they're public radio). Whatever. This should probably be on the list now too, anyway. Apparently it costs $50 to play one song on the radio.
So, the last topic today is settling (much to my dismay). "Summer camp" ended awhile ago. "The honeymoon period" which I think I skipped, wouldn't have lasted very long anyway. What I feel now is a sense that this is my home and that I'm like most of the other kids at my high school. What I mean by "(much to my dismay)" is that the things I'm settling into, and that I'm settling at all, is not quite what I expected.
Before I stepped off of the plane and actually realized I was in Taiwan, I had been convincing myself for at least two months that I didn't have any expectations, which I believed, at the time, was the tolerant thing to do. The reality is that I did have expectations, from grandiose things, like living in some sort of hotel-like building, to little things, like all my classmates being very studious compared to most American kids. What I had done prior to arriving here was bury all speculation as to what my future held in Taiwan. The only thing I left on my mind was that I was embarking on what I believed (and continue to believe) would be the first of many great adventures.
What happened with the supressed expectations is that something would trigger one of them (such as the expectation that getting to and from school would be a simple and relatively painless ordeal) and I would have to accept the reality of the situation (it takes over an hour to get to school and the public transit and walking I use to get there often leaves me fatigued). My biggest example of coping with a denied expectation is, again, language. I expected to pick up Chinese in "no time at all" (which really isn't a specific time to begin with). In reality, I must fight an uphill battle everyday in which everything seems so apparent in my Chinese class, but then I go into my highschool and I talk to my Rotary Club and my host mom. Everything becomes muddled and I understand three sounds I think are words and the rest is mumbling to me. That's being a little unfair to myself though because there have been times where I have understood something that was said by a native speaker that other exchange students may have missed.
One thing that makes the hill even steeper is the quiet lacking of books and materials that I feel would help my process of becoming fluent. I was in a bookstore today (I suppose not tone frequented by foreigners) and I found only three different books for English speakers learning Chinese amongst the hundreds of "Learn English" books. It's a little frustrating.
That's enough about that though. Good things continue to happen. For you, a list:
- I have been learning Tai Chi Chuan the past two Wednesday (which are culture learning days). I will be performing with 19 others at the Coming of Age Ceremony held by the Rotary Club at the Confucious Temple in Taipei.
- Yesterday, I played the Erhu, a traditional Chinese instrument much like the violin, for the very first time. I found it to be very simple to play and now feel that I must have one (they aren't so expensive here, so it shouldn't be much of a problem to procure one).
- I've been reading a book about finding Taiwan's identity, which has proven to be quite a struggle (finding the identity, I mean).
- I have decided to enjoy, rather than despise, the morning companionship of the other foreign exchange students. This has, I believe, led me to enjoy myself a great deal more, even through this process of "settling".
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Opportunities Find Me
Sometimes a door is opened for you and all you have to do is walk through it. That's how this week has gone for me. The first of such opportunities began actually last week when I decided to take the chinese painting instruction that my art teacher, Cohenko, had offered to me. So, Tuesday my lessons began.
This first lesson introduced the four treasures of the study (文房四寳 wen fang s bao). These are 筆bi (the pen), 墨mo (ink), 紙zhi (paper), and 硯yan (the ink stone). My name, 墨 , is a combination of the characters 黑 hei, meaning black, and 土 tu, meaning mud or soil. This is because the traditional process of making Chinese ink is, well, I'll start at the beginning, the reason will become self-evident, I think.
To begin, pine trees ar cut and burned in a furnace. The resulting soot that gathers on the walls of the furnace is collected and mixed with an oil creating a sort of black mud. This black mud is then pressed into a mold very tightly, thus creating what Cohenko referred to as an "ink stick", 墨 . This ink stick is dipped in water and rubbed on the ink stone in a circular motion for 20 to 80 minutes in order to prepare the ink for use.
Of course, now everyone cuts out the middle-man of the ink stick and goes straight to liquid ink.
Cohenko said that next week there may be four or five more people learning with me, which is great. I'm excited for that.
The second great thing that I learned this week was yesterday in my Home Ec. class. Not only have I made an apron using a sewing machine AND put an awesome little robot man on it using glue on jewels, the teacher randomly started introducing me to some traditional Chinese knot-work, which I have no objection to learning. I've pretty much mastered the Chinese button and now I'm working on the knot they call "lucky".
Later that day, my friend Leo and I went to back to the university where I study Chinese to check out the Traditional Instruments Club. Not so long story made even shorter, I will be studying the 二胡 (Erhu) on Tuesdays at 7:00 P.M.
I am really beginning to enjoy myself here, so I apologize in advance if communication becomes even more infrequent, but this is what I'm here for and I know you all understand that.
Also, while I'm here, I'd like to mention the possibility of another great opportunity that I recently was made aware of. I haven't looked into it very far, but apparently there is a Working-Holiday Visa in Australia available to people under thirty in which you can work and travel in the Land Down Under for a year. Just some forward thinking.
Until next time.
This first lesson introduced the four treasures of the study (文房四寳 wen fang s bao). These are 筆bi (the pen), 墨mo (ink), 紙zhi (paper), and 硯yan (the ink stone). My name, 墨 , is a combination of the characters 黑 hei, meaning black, and 土 tu, meaning mud or soil. This is because the traditional process of making Chinese ink is, well, I'll start at the beginning, the reason will become self-evident, I think.
To begin, pine trees ar cut and burned in a furnace. The resulting soot that gathers on the walls of the furnace is collected and mixed with an oil creating a sort of black mud. This black mud is then pressed into a mold very tightly, thus creating what Cohenko referred to as an "ink stick", 墨 . This ink stick is dipped in water and rubbed on the ink stone in a circular motion for 20 to 80 minutes in order to prepare the ink for use.
Of course, now everyone cuts out the middle-man of the ink stick and goes straight to liquid ink.
Cohenko said that next week there may be four or five more people learning with me, which is great. I'm excited for that.
The second great thing that I learned this week was yesterday in my Home Ec. class. Not only have I made an apron using a sewing machine AND put an awesome little robot man on it using glue on jewels, the teacher randomly started introducing me to some traditional Chinese knot-work, which I have no objection to learning. I've pretty much mastered the Chinese button and now I'm working on the knot they call "lucky".
Later that day, my friend Leo and I went to back to the university where I study Chinese to check out the Traditional Instruments Club. Not so long story made even shorter, I will be studying the 二胡 (Erhu) on Tuesdays at 7:00 P.M.
I am really beginning to enjoy myself here, so I apologize in advance if communication becomes even more infrequent, but this is what I'm here for and I know you all understand that.
Also, while I'm here, I'd like to mention the possibility of another great opportunity that I recently was made aware of. I haven't looked into it very far, but apparently there is a Working-Holiday Visa in Australia available to people under thirty in which you can work and travel in the Land Down Under for a year. Just some forward thinking.
Until next time.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Something to Help You Visualize
This is my Dough Figurine. It's a panda bear eating a fish and some strawberry jam. The dough was extemely hard to work with because it would dry almost instantly, which made it hard to attach things like legs and ears. My other creation was a sort of alien snot blob with toothpicks sticking out all over him. He was a sidekick to Adam's awesome Super Penguin.
These are two of my classmates, Sean and William are their English names. In the second picture everyone is taking a test. I get a lot of drawing done at school, which I think is a good thing. Next Tuesday, I'm going to begin learning the art of Chinese Ink Painting from an art teacher named Cohenko.
I'm studying my Chinese very hard. I want to be a master. I understand more and more every day. That's all I can really ask for. The second picture I took because I had no idea why every one in school would be out of their classrooms. It turned out to be some one's birthday.
The MRT can really weird one out at times, especially because one can see from one end to the other and one realizes one is in a giant metal tube traveling very fast.
Have you ever wondered what the Mona Lisa would look like if it were made out of ASUS motherboards? I never did, but this is Adam standing in front of it. That was an interesting visit. I thought we would see all the machines makig more machines and we'd all be freaked out by it, but all that happened was a "sales representative" showed us a bunch of ASUS stuff, talked about some "red ocean, blue ocean" strategy, and had a number of technical difficulties with equipment that supposed to be the best stuff ever. Then there are these next pictures.
We got a look at where the workers (who apparently work twelve hour shifts) chill out and play games. At some point, the salesman said the workers basically live at the factory, so that's why they have a swimming pool and a hot tub and a basketball court (instead of a bigger paycheck?).
After the visit, a group of us went to a restaurant where I ordered a huge bowl of seafood soup and ate the whole thing. Here's the photographic evidence.
I took the first picture because I think they spelled "Hershey's" wrong. These two are from the shopping trip before the Class 218 Barbecue. Couldn't find any graham crackers.
Some classmates trying to light charcoal.
This girl was one of the first to try my S'moresenstein's monster. I wanted to get a picture of her overstuffed mouth (she was making a mess), but she insisted on covering her face with a napkin.
The first picture was taken right before (I mean not even a minute went by) the policeman showed up on his motor scooter complete with the red and blue lights flashing. The second is Taipei 101 with the words "WE ARE" illuminated in white lights. I couldn't stop thinking, "We are what?" Never did get an answer.
This is the ShiLin Night Market with about a brazilian people. Prom all over again. I don't know if I'll go back there.
Leo's church. First is a picture of the band practicing their song, second is the group talking about fashion things. I couldn't stop thinking about how much the cross looks like a lower-case "t" sans serif. That made me think of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.
Here's Adam with a Diabolo. Only a few of us really got the hang of it this first time (not me though). Next Wednesday I get to try again, but I think it takes daily practice to get better (like everything else).
Here's some random people that wanted a picture with us, not the first or the last time this will happen I'm sure.I've figured out how to get all my pictures uploaded so that shouldn't be so much af a problem anymore. One last thing, you see in the last picture I'm wearing my bandana and my beard is grown out a bit, well the Student Affairs Director at school asked me if I wear a beard in America. "Yes," I replied. He told me that boys in Taiwanese schools don't wear beards, so my assumption is that I should shave (even though my Rotary Club seems to like it)(they're mostly well-to-do, middle-aged women, if that explains anything). Then he asked, "Are you a cowboy?" To which I promptly responded, "Yes," as though it was obvious. Actually, I wear my red bandana because it makes me feel intrepid, but I don't tell anyone around here that.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
The Hardest Thing
Let me say first that lately I have not been able to find a computer capable of uploading all of my awesome photos and for that I apologize.
Today, I want to explain the hardest thing I'm having to cope with here and it has to do with the Chinese language. I know it's suppoesed to be the most difficult language to learn in the world, and I'll admit, it is proving to be more difficult to pick up than German was, but that's not my problem. Really, to me and my associate exchange students, the grammer is relatively simple (the trick being to forget everything that makes English great, like "the" and plural nouns and tenses) you don't have to conjugate verbs like in German and pronunciation takes practice and attention, but that is just another important aspect of any language.
No, the true difficulty with Chinese is getting native speakers to help me speak it without having them resort to using English every time the conversation strays into something I haven't learned yet and therefore don't understand. It's in not flipping out when the way some people speak to me in English sounds like they're mocking me and inside saying, "You foreign knucklehead, I can speak your language, why don't you just give up on mine. It would be a lot easier."
However, I didn't expect learning any new language to be easy, but when every Taiwanese person comes back to the idea that "Oh, Chinese very difficult to learn" it gets very old. Actually, the nicest thing I heard today was when, in Chinese class, we were making question sentences and so everyone is practicing out loud and the teacher said, "See, it's easy!" I could have cried because it was the first time anyone here had ever given me that kind of encouragement.
My point is that Chinese isn't, in itself, a hard language to learn. It takes time, practice, and patience. The other things I mentioned, though, take time, practice, and patience, as well as self-control, humor, and all kinds of love.
No, the true difficulty with Chinese is getting native speakers to help me speak it without having them resort to using English every time the conversation strays into something I haven't learned yet and therefore don't understand. It's in not flipping out when the way some people speak to me in English sounds like they're mocking me and inside saying, "You foreign knucklehead, I can speak your language, why don't you just give up on mine. It would be a lot easier."
However, I didn't expect learning any new language to be easy, but when every Taiwanese person comes back to the idea that "Oh, Chinese very difficult to learn" it gets very old. Actually, the nicest thing I heard today was when, in Chinese class, we were making question sentences and so everyone is practicing out loud and the teacher said, "See, it's easy!" I could have cried because it was the first time anyone here had ever given me that kind of encouragement.
My point is that Chinese isn't, in itself, a hard language to learn. It takes time, practice, and patience. The other things I mentioned, though, take time, practice, and patience, as well as self-control, humor, and all kinds of love.
Monday, September 29, 2008
First Generation
Yesterday, my friend Leo from school took me to his church in Beitou, northeast of where I live. It was a pretty rockin' place as there were only a few people there who were not teenagers. This was a Saturday afternoon and so I did not attend their service, but rather it was a reunion night as the church has just moved to it's current location after splitting off from another in an attempt to spread the faith. After a lot of introductions, a hip-hop dancing group, and a rock band performance, everyone split into different groups.
One group danced, another talked fashion tricks, and the other three taught piano, guitar, and drums with members of the rock band. I sat and talked with a man who had lived in Canada for a few years as a teenager.
Details of note:
So, I'll probably go to a service someday soon. Leo wants me to teach him some hymns.
One group danced, another talked fashion tricks, and the other three taught piano, guitar, and drums with members of the rock band. I sat and talked with a man who had lived in Canada for a few years as a teenager.
Details of note:
- Less than 4% of Taiwanese are call themselves Christian
- The church I went to is on the twelth floor of a building, there is a McDonald's on the first
- Most, if not all, of the kids that go to that church are first generation Christians, which means that their parents do not believe as they do and may or may not approve
- The man who began this particular church studied in Virginia for a few years before returning to Taiwan.
So, I'll probably go to a service someday soon. Leo wants me to teach him some hymns.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
They Tell Me This One is Bigger Than the Last One
It's Sunday afternoon and there is a howling wind outside our little apartment in NeiHu as another typhoon, this one known as 薔蜜 (Cho Me?), makes its way across Taiwan. Another old bridge collapsed. Three were destroyed in the typhoon two weeks ago.
The main reason for the destruction is the strong winds and the unbelievable amounts of rain. A river in DanShui flooded. The lake across the street from where I am living has turned brown and I'm told that it cost at least $3 million US to clean it up after typhoon season is over.
So, we're all just hanging around the house today watching television.
I was thinking, this morning about what I should do with my weekends. The last few have gone like this: I wake up close to noon, between 11 and 12, and then it's lunchtime, after which I wonder about what I will do with the time I have until I return to sleep. I decided this morning that, in living this way, I am denying myself opportunities to practice my Chinese and my art, as well as opportunities to talk to my friends or even go outside (when there's no typhoon) and explore the area in which I live.
The main reason for the destruction is the strong winds and the unbelievable amounts of rain. A river in DanShui flooded. The lake across the street from where I am living has turned brown and I'm told that it cost at least $3 million US to clean it up after typhoon season is over.
So, we're all just hanging around the house today watching television.
I was thinking, this morning about what I should do with my weekends. The last few have gone like this: I wake up close to noon, between 11 and 12, and then it's lunchtime, after which I wonder about what I will do with the time I have until I return to sleep. I decided this morning that, in living this way, I am denying myself opportunities to practice my Chinese and my art, as well as opportunities to talk to my friends or even go outside (when there's no typhoon) and explore the area in which I live.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Politics and Why Taiwan Should Be Allowed to Join the United Nations
Right now, I'm drinking Assam Milk Tea from the 7Eleven and thinking that this post could end very badly. What I mean to say is maybe, when it comes to who should be America's next president and why the UN should accept Taiwan, I just don't know what I'm talking about.
But I want to give it a try.
So, in my mind, I'm voting for Barack Obama (Mom, where's my absentee ballot?). I cannot justify this with any surefire reasons because I'm in Taiwan, I rarely watch international news, and I use the internet only to connect with those I know and love. As a result, my reasons are idealistic and few: He's attractive, he seems to have a relatively fresh perspective on things, he's black, and maybe the only reason that is close to being substantial, the exchange students who are not from United States that I talk to here say that he would greatly improve America's international image (and in politics, it looks to me as though image is everything). I came to these conclusions during a discussion with Adam and Dave, from Austin, Texas, today over lunch.
We had started this conversation yesterday on our way to school after we met a Reverand (Rev. William J. K. Lo) who fells it is his calling from God to get the word out about Taiwan's wanting to join the United Nations under the name of Taiwan and be officially and peacefully seperate from China. He proceeded to hand out pamphlets to the five of us and Adam and I gave him our namecards. He said something about how the Chinese leaders in Beijing are brainwashing the other world powers into believing that Taiwan is a territory of China. I don't know about that, but I do agree with him that Taiwan should be allowed to join the UN in cooperation and peace. Living here makes readily apparent the reasons, both political and cultural, why Taiwan is not a part of China. For starters, Taiwan has it's own, democratically elected leaders (the president is Mr. Chen, Shui-Bian), it's the year 97 in Taiwan, which counts the years since Taiwan became a country, and there is a cultural variety here that rivals America's.
Let it be known, I have yet to visit China. I know only what my dad, school, Walt Tilley, and the media has told me, so again I fear I don't know what I'm talking about and I'm merely being idealistic in thinking that a country that everyone thinks is China or Thailand when I talk about it could ever overcome the considerable influence of the Northern Capitol, and actually be allowed to join an organization dedicated to peaceful cooperation between nations. I continue to believe, in spite of my lack of information, that Taiwan, as free as it is, will be joining the UN in the near future, and as much as the people here try to maintain order and peace, they deserve it.
So, that's the politics on this end. Can't say much about where you are, but I've heard from multiple sources that America has another problem. It's always something.
But I want to give it a try.
So, in my mind, I'm voting for Barack Obama (Mom, where's my absentee ballot?). I cannot justify this with any surefire reasons because I'm in Taiwan, I rarely watch international news, and I use the internet only to connect with those I know and love. As a result, my reasons are idealistic and few: He's attractive, he seems to have a relatively fresh perspective on things, he's black, and maybe the only reason that is close to being substantial, the exchange students who are not from United States that I talk to here say that he would greatly improve America's international image (and in politics, it looks to me as though image is everything). I came to these conclusions during a discussion with Adam and Dave, from Austin, Texas, today over lunch.
We had started this conversation yesterday on our way to school after we met a Reverand (Rev. William J. K. Lo) who fells it is his calling from God to get the word out about Taiwan's wanting to join the United Nations under the name of Taiwan and be officially and peacefully seperate from China. He proceeded to hand out pamphlets to the five of us and Adam and I gave him our namecards. He said something about how the Chinese leaders in Beijing are brainwashing the other world powers into believing that Taiwan is a territory of China. I don't know about that, but I do agree with him that Taiwan should be allowed to join the UN in cooperation and peace. Living here makes readily apparent the reasons, both political and cultural, why Taiwan is not a part of China. For starters, Taiwan has it's own, democratically elected leaders (the president is Mr. Chen, Shui-Bian), it's the year 97 in Taiwan, which counts the years since Taiwan became a country, and there is a cultural variety here that rivals America's.
Let it be known, I have yet to visit China. I know only what my dad, school, Walt Tilley, and the media has told me, so again I fear I don't know what I'm talking about and I'm merely being idealistic in thinking that a country that everyone thinks is China or Thailand when I talk about it could ever overcome the considerable influence of the Northern Capitol, and actually be allowed to join an organization dedicated to peaceful cooperation between nations. I continue to believe, in spite of my lack of information, that Taiwan, as free as it is, will be joining the UN in the near future, and as much as the people here try to maintain order and peace, they deserve it.
So, that's the politics on this end. Can't say much about where you are, but I've heard from multiple sources that America has another problem. It's always something.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
What I Said I'd Say
This is a fairly instant replay of an interesting weekend.
Friday:
I get the call, kids are going to XiMen, apparantly there's a Night Market there. I go home, change out of my uniform and I'm ready for action. Bus 284 takes me to Kunyang MRT Station and I'm estimating my arrival at XiMen station to be 6:41 PM. I'm right on time. I whip out my sweet Motorola PDA cell phone gadgetry to call everyone and let them know I made it exactly when I foresaw.
This is where the confusion occurs. Turns out everyone is at the ShihLin Tourism Night Market, there's no Night Market in XiMen. So, I'm back on the train again, have to change lines at Taipei Main Station, and eventually I arrive at the correct place where I wait patiently for everyone to find me.
Too many people. We related it to Senior Prom where there's music playing, but no room to move let alone dance. Bags, clothes, shoes, it all ran together, everything cheap, but I didn't buy anything, in my mind money's pretty tight. The only thing I bought that night was a 250NT meal of chicken, shrimp, rice, soup, greens and browns (worth every dollar), and an 18NT bottle of black tea (which I hear is bad for me). Walked around a lot, made it home okay.
Saturday:
Could have gone to DanShui, which is apparently really beautiful and near the ocean and basically an awesome place to go. Too bad my little brother had "too much homework", so we hit up the batting cages? I am not a baseball player, and I try not to pretend that I am. Of twenty baseballs thrown by lever arm I bunted/fouled five or six. We're there about one and a half to two hours, and when we get home DiDi (little brother in Chinese) is on the computer playing online baseball, I wonder where his homework went.
Sunday:
Wake up at 11:30 and must be at YongChun Station by 1:00 to meet some classmates to go shopping for a barbecue. I'm early, so I grab breakfast at one of the bazillion 711's in Taipei and wait around for half an hour. During that time I decide that, yes, I will attempt to show these kids how to make S'mores.
We get to the grocery store (a French chain called Geant) and I begin my ingredient search. Chocolate was the easiest find, as expected. Marshmallows took some finaegling, but were eventually acquired. Graham crackers do not exist in Taiwan. I substituted milk cookies, but there was no comparison.
With our barbecuing necessities in hand we headed to a nearby park. Setting-up the grills was half the fun. The charcoal was not matchlight, and one kid had to use a blowtorch in order to get the stuff to light (I have a picture). We barbecue for awhile, I pull out my mandolin and strum out some merry tunes, I hold a few conversations, we have a good time. I notice someone has put a hot coal in a cardboard box. I wonder how I should act on this information as I climb to the top of a low wall to take a picture of the goings on.
I took two pictures and then everyone got quiet. A cop had showed up, I was told later that someone had called him about the ruckus we were making and apparently we were not to be making barbecues or ruckuses in this particular park.
He let us off with a warning and the party was over. We cleaned up the huge mess we made and then we played a few games including Spin the Bottle and Do Something Dumb While People Take Pictures of You. That was interesting. An old man tapped me on the shoulder and thought I was my classmates' English teacher. I told him who I am and where I came from. He chuckled at his mistake and bid me take care. I was home by 9:00.
Friday:
I get the call, kids are going to XiMen, apparantly there's a Night Market there. I go home, change out of my uniform and I'm ready for action. Bus 284 takes me to Kunyang MRT Station and I'm estimating my arrival at XiMen station to be 6:41 PM. I'm right on time. I whip out my sweet Motorola PDA cell phone gadgetry to call everyone and let them know I made it exactly when I foresaw.
This is where the confusion occurs. Turns out everyone is at the ShihLin Tourism Night Market, there's no Night Market in XiMen. So, I'm back on the train again, have to change lines at Taipei Main Station, and eventually I arrive at the correct place where I wait patiently for everyone to find me.
Too many people. We related it to Senior Prom where there's music playing, but no room to move let alone dance. Bags, clothes, shoes, it all ran together, everything cheap, but I didn't buy anything, in my mind money's pretty tight. The only thing I bought that night was a 250NT meal of chicken, shrimp, rice, soup, greens and browns (worth every dollar), and an 18NT bottle of black tea (which I hear is bad for me). Walked around a lot, made it home okay.
Saturday:
Could have gone to DanShui, which is apparently really beautiful and near the ocean and basically an awesome place to go. Too bad my little brother had "too much homework", so we hit up the batting cages? I am not a baseball player, and I try not to pretend that I am. Of twenty baseballs thrown by lever arm I bunted/fouled five or six. We're there about one and a half to two hours, and when we get home DiDi (little brother in Chinese) is on the computer playing online baseball, I wonder where his homework went.
Sunday:
Wake up at 11:30 and must be at YongChun Station by 1:00 to meet some classmates to go shopping for a barbecue. I'm early, so I grab breakfast at one of the bazillion 711's in Taipei and wait around for half an hour. During that time I decide that, yes, I will attempt to show these kids how to make S'mores.
We get to the grocery store (a French chain called Geant) and I begin my ingredient search. Chocolate was the easiest find, as expected. Marshmallows took some finaegling, but were eventually acquired. Graham crackers do not exist in Taiwan. I substituted milk cookies, but there was no comparison.
With our barbecuing necessities in hand we headed to a nearby park. Setting-up the grills was half the fun. The charcoal was not matchlight, and one kid had to use a blowtorch in order to get the stuff to light (I have a picture). We barbecue for awhile, I pull out my mandolin and strum out some merry tunes, I hold a few conversations, we have a good time. I notice someone has put a hot coal in a cardboard box. I wonder how I should act on this information as I climb to the top of a low wall to take a picture of the goings on.
I took two pictures and then everyone got quiet. A cop had showed up, I was told later that someone had called him about the ruckus we were making and apparently we were not to be making barbecues or ruckuses in this particular park.
He let us off with a warning and the party was over. We cleaned up the huge mess we made and then we played a few games including Spin the Bottle and Do Something Dumb While People Take Pictures of You. That was interesting. An old man tapped me on the shoulder and thought I was my classmates' English teacher. I told him who I am and where I came from. He chuckled at his mistake and bid me take care. I was home by 9:00.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Chinese School and Why I'd Rather Be with the Natives
I guess it's kinda late right now, but all my days seem chock full o' stuff my supporters ought to know. Monday saw the start of my Chinese education and also an increase in my food and transportaion costs (no more pea crackers and chocolate milk). Monday was also the day that marked the beginning of being around other exchange students every morning (I'm not positive, but I think we're quickly running out of new things to talk about). In short, I'm glad that the long arduous journey of officially learning Chinese has begun, but I would rather a Sherpa guide to aid me in climbing this Everest than fifty foriegn exchange students each with his (and her) own pitfalls.
What I'm trying to get at is that I would rather be at SongShan Senior High School for eight hours than with fifty (myself included) contestants on Survivor.
In other news, I have some funny stories and neat little tidbits in store for you all which I hope to transmit when I find myself at a computer earlier in the day.
What I'm trying to get at is that I would rather be at SongShan Senior High School for eight hours than with fifty (myself included) contestants on Survivor.
In other news, I have some funny stories and neat little tidbits in store for you all which I hope to transmit when I find myself at a computer earlier in the day.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Latest Pictures with Commentary by 李墨
So, this is at the Animals Taiwan Rescue Center. It turned out to be a really good day. The guy on the right is Adam, from Idaho. Together, we cleaned and organized the garden area, where the older dogs stay, we cleaned areas affected by dog, we moved washing machines (with some difficulty in the face of a very mean-looking old guard-dog), and we cleaned the roof. Anneke help with a bunch of these things and also cleaned up the cat area. She went afraid of dogs and came away much less afraid (although that old guard-dog was really freaking me and Adam out pretty bad).
This is where the dogs stay during the day. In the afternoon we walked about seven of them. Some of the dogs only have three legs and, depending on which one is gone, they walk in a way that is slightly humorous.
Here's the whole gang: members of the Hwa Yueh Rotaract Club, including Marty Chen (in the back row with the peace sign, or V for Victory), Sean McCormack (between Adam and I), and Anneke's on the end in yellow.
For more info on Animals Taiwan the website is http://www.animalstaiwan.org
Here's me in my sweet uniform. This is also what my room looks like if you're the television. Most of my clothes now are uniform clothes.
Friday, September 12, 2008
A Few Notes
This week I've discovered some interesting cultural details of the Taiwanese.
Regarding the culture of my high school, 松山高中:
Students are responsible for cleaning the school, including hallways, bathrooms, and classrooms
Snacks can be bought between classes
Lunch is eaten in the classrooms or hallways
Teachers move to the students
It is these aspects, in my opinion, that allow studeents to take pride in their school and their education. By having to take care of the building and clean up their own messes, the students are more careful with things and don't leave so much trash everywhere.
Regarding the Moon Festival:
The general premise is that even though one may be far away from his family and friends he can look at the moon and think about how the people he is far from also have the same moon to look at.
Ways to celebrate include barbecues with friends and family (I'm going to one next weekend), parades (I heard one go by the other evening), and eating mooncake. I have good mooncake and I've had weird mooncake, so there are different recipes I guess.
The whole thing is very comforting to me because I am sort of far away from my family and good friends, but every day I grow more and more connected to this place. I'm finding that I know where things are, I know where to go, I know what tastes good and what to politely decline. I still don't understand everything, I realize I might not ever understand everything, but that does not hinder me quite as often as it has in the past.
Regarding the culture of my high school, 松山高中:
Students are responsible for cleaning the school, including hallways, bathrooms, and classrooms
Snacks can be bought between classes
Lunch is eaten in the classrooms or hallways
Teachers move to the students
It is these aspects, in my opinion, that allow studeents to take pride in their school and their education. By having to take care of the building and clean up their own messes, the students are more careful with things and don't leave so much trash everywhere.
Regarding the Moon Festival:
The general premise is that even though one may be far away from his family and friends he can look at the moon and think about how the people he is far from also have the same moon to look at.
Ways to celebrate include barbecues with friends and family (I'm going to one next weekend), parades (I heard one go by the other evening), and eating mooncake. I have good mooncake and I've had weird mooncake, so there are different recipes I guess.
The whole thing is very comforting to me because I am sort of far away from my family and good friends, but every day I grow more and more connected to this place. I'm finding that I know where things are, I know where to go, I know what tastes good and what to politely decline. I still don't understand everything, I realize I might not ever understand everything, but that does not hinder me quite as often as it has in the past.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
At the School
Right now I am in the library at my school. My class is talking about DNA and RNA and I am thinking about the little adventure I am about to embark on an hour from now. If all goes as planned, the bus will take me to Taipei 101 Entrance A where I will meet Adam Kolejevich-Kotch and Anneke Kirsch to go shopping at one of the night markets here.
The names I mentioned are those of the two other exchange students in my host club Taipei-HwaYueh (means "beautiful music" because it's founder was into music). Adam is from Idaho, near Boise I think, and Anneke is from Germany, around Westphalia.
the plan is a little shoddy, taking into account the fact that we don't really know our way around the city, but we're trusting in public transportation and a little luck. I'm sure that everything will work out as Adam is very cool-headed and I have a map.
In other news, I think I should mention that I do have a chinese name now. I talked about it with my family and we came up with: 李墨. It's pronounce li moi. The "li" came from my dad's chinese name "Li Da Qi". My dad here said, "It will honor your father." "Moi" is the word for the chinese ink well and connotates poetry and art. "Nigel" means black, so we could have used the chinese for black, but my mother felt that Moi was better and carried more meaning. I tend to agree.
Anyway, I'm going back to class now.
The names I mentioned are those of the two other exchange students in my host club Taipei-HwaYueh (means "beautiful music" because it's founder was into music). Adam is from Idaho, near Boise I think, and Anneke is from Germany, around Westphalia.
the plan is a little shoddy, taking into account the fact that we don't really know our way around the city, but we're trusting in public transportation and a little luck. I'm sure that everything will work out as Adam is very cool-headed and I have a map.
In other news, I think I should mention that I do have a chinese name now. I talked about it with my family and we came up with: 李墨. It's pronounce li moi. The "li" came from my dad's chinese name "Li Da Qi". My dad here said, "It will honor your father." "Moi" is the word for the chinese ink well and connotates poetry and art. "Nigel" means black, so we could have used the chinese for black, but my mother felt that Moi was better and carried more meaning. I tend to agree.
Anyway, I'm going back to class now.
Monday, September 8, 2008
A Sick Feeling Passes
I don't have any pictures loaded yet, but I want to tell you all about what is going on with me anyway.
Last week was the beginning of school for me at Song Shan Senior High School. I have a really handsome green uniform and I take the 630 bus from Dahu Park, where I live, to China Daily Times Square (nothining like New York) where I then take the Blue 7 to school.
Well, I went to school on Monday and Tuesday, and then Wednesday I got sick around 1:00 P.M. I was feeling really tired, so Huang 老師 took me to the nurse to rest.
As soon as I lied down I began to feel warm, but I slept until 4:00 P.M. and then my counselor Maggie picked me up and took me to the clinic.
So, we see the doctor. He checks my ears, nose, and throat, listens to my heart all that jazz. Says I have the "common cough". I haven't cough all day, and the only other symptom was diharrea, which he said was caused by the same virus after I mention it.
So, he starts a-prescribin'. I'm looking at a computer screen with a box that says: INJECTED THROAT thinking he's gonna stick a big needle through me larnyx. Lucky for me, the translator meant: TAKEN ORALLY.
Anyway, I eat bread and I drink water and I orally take like five different pills and think about how Eric Lutz can't swallow pills. I continue to have diharrea for the next four days, although, after seeing a different doctor with a better diagnosis, my health begins to improve.
I had weird dreams while I was sick, intricate and hard to explain, thought I'd mention it.
So, feeling better, I look at the true cause of my illness and that's mental unrest. I didn't realize how difficult it would be for me to feel comfortable here, but it's finally starting to happen.
For one thing I really owned today, it was mine, it was me.
Right now, I know I'm going to be fine here. I know the worst is over and the best is on its way. I believe, now, more in myself, and I am more willing to transform because of this adventure.
I have plenty to look forward to and I'm beginning to understand life here in 台灣.
Last week was the beginning of school for me at Song Shan Senior High School. I have a really handsome green uniform and I take the 630 bus from Dahu Park, where I live, to China Daily Times Square (nothining like New York) where I then take the Blue 7 to school.
Well, I went to school on Monday and Tuesday, and then Wednesday I got sick around 1:00 P.M. I was feeling really tired, so Huang 老師 took me to the nurse to rest.
As soon as I lied down I began to feel warm, but I slept until 4:00 P.M. and then my counselor Maggie picked me up and took me to the clinic.
So, we see the doctor. He checks my ears, nose, and throat, listens to my heart all that jazz. Says I have the "common cough". I haven't cough all day, and the only other symptom was diharrea, which he said was caused by the same virus after I mention it.
So, he starts a-prescribin'. I'm looking at a computer screen with a box that says: INJECTED THROAT thinking he's gonna stick a big needle through me larnyx. Lucky for me, the translator meant: TAKEN ORALLY.
Anyway, I eat bread and I drink water and I orally take like five different pills and think about how Eric Lutz can't swallow pills. I continue to have diharrea for the next four days, although, after seeing a different doctor with a better diagnosis, my health begins to improve.
I had weird dreams while I was sick, intricate and hard to explain, thought I'd mention it.
So, feeling better, I look at the true cause of my illness and that's mental unrest. I didn't realize how difficult it would be for me to feel comfortable here, but it's finally starting to happen.
For one thing I really owned today, it was mine, it was me.
Right now, I know I'm going to be fine here. I know the worst is over and the best is on its way. I believe, now, more in myself, and I am more willing to transform because of this adventure.
I have plenty to look forward to and I'm beginning to understand life here in 台灣.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Recent News
Photobucket Album
I only had to use that style of toilet once the first night in a restaurant. I haven't come across one since then. I had a good evening. We went to the first night of the Art Taipei Festival. I forgot my camera so I didn't get any pictures, but I'm going tomorrow so I'll have some soon. I'm really settling in now, and even having fun. School starts next Monday and I have all my uniform clothing. I think it's cool so I might have to leave some clothes here to take home my uniform (if I don't get sick of it by the end of this).
Anyway, the video is from the PPGA (Past President Golf Awards)(I think). It was so crazy to me and really loud. Sushi is fun.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Tomorrow
Hours left now for me in America. It has been a little hectic, what with these uncertainties about how the flight will go and what I should have in my luggage. I'm trying not to worry a lot about everything, but it does not hurt to be prepared for the little things.
Anyway, I'm excited and ready to go. Thanks for you support!
Anyway, I'm excited and ready to go. Thanks for you support!
Monday, August 18, 2008
For More Information
My Mom found this website for the CIA that has very good information about Taiwan, so that you can have a better perspective on where I am. The website is: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tw.html
Another one is: http://www.taiwanembassy.org/ct.asp?xItem=456&CtNode=2243&mp=1&xp1
Check 'em out!
Another one is: http://www.taiwanembassy.org/ct.asp?xItem=456&CtNode=2243&mp=1&xp1
Check 'em out!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Ten Days
There is a definite soonness about the whole thing. If I had a list of things to accomplish before I leave, this would be it:
- Complete a presentation of "pictures of home"
- Finish reading WATCHMEN
- Have dinner with my parents
- Work at Purple Door
- Have my get-together Sunday afternoon
- Pack it all up
Yep, that looks like the next ten days to me. The waiting has been the most unbearable part. Time has effaced for me the fact that my summers have always been relatively uneventful (relative to my school years). I feel as though I've been out of school for no fewer than thirty years, which in my mind is a long time.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Preparations
So, I finally have this thing the way I want it. I am, like many other Rotary exchange students this year, counting down the days until I fly to a far off land. Taiwan shines in the distance only 18 days away. When I get there, however, these posts will be mostly pictures as it is my hope that I will find myself dreaming in Chinese fairly quickly. I remember it happening in Germany and I was only there for three weeks.
Anyway, I grow more excited everyday, but I am trying to make the most of the time before I leave. Some friends and I will be going camping next weekend and the house continues to be painted, so the seconds tick by. Until next time.
Nigel
Anyway, I grow more excited everyday, but I am trying to make the most of the time before I leave. Some friends and I will be going camping next weekend and the house continues to be painted, so the seconds tick by. Until next time.
Nigel
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