Taiwan has always been prone to earthquakes but they are commonly centered in the north around Taipei or on the east coast. Last night we had the first here in the west central area since I came to Cihtong.
Perhaps you heard about it, the epicenter was near the city of Kaoshiung about a 3 hour drive south of here but it was definitely noticeable in YunLin County. It happened about 8:30 PM, I had just gotten home from a dinner party and was reading on my bed.
Remember I live on the 7th floor which made the whole thing worse -- the building was really swaying up that high. Like with all bad things, it seems like it lasts forever but was probably only about 10 seconds. My roommate and I had a bit of a nervous chuckle then went back to bed. About 15 minutes later, it happened again. This is getting scary. Many people went outside away from the building (and other structures in the neighborhood) but I couldn't bring myself to leave my nice warm bed and go out there into the cold on the strength of just two tremors.
My concession to the second, though, was to put on a sweatsuit, put slip-on shoes and my jacket right next to the bed so that if there was a third, I would be out of there. Never happened, slept through the night.
The big earthquake that killed 2,000 people happened in 1999 so there are still so many people that haven't quite gotten over that one so the hysteria factor is a little higher than is indicated by the severity of last night's quake. Today, everyone is retelling big earthquake stories ad nauseum.
The actual damage is not too widespread and their were only two deaths -- none of which was around here.
星期二, 12月 26, 2006
星期一, 12月 25, 2006
Merry Christmas
I have spent more than a few Christmases in different places and, fortunately, an old adage still applies: People try harder when they are away from their families.
Christmas for me began on the 22nd with a big party here at the school. I taught the students to sing "Jingle Bells", Deck the Halls", and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town". We had the party out in the courtyard in the middle of the school. The kids had decorated trees (a little oddly, but not bad), they had also drawn names for "Secret Santa" as had the teachers in my teachers' room. We had also gotten some textbook publisher to donate Santa hats. It was all a little raucus and, I have to say it didn't go exactly as planned, but the kids had a good time. Not one but TWO Santas came and threw candy into the crowds of kids, the teachers sang "Silent Night" and then everyone sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". For people who don't usually celebrate Christmas, it went pretty well and I was pleased.
I had also joined the "Secret Santa" drawings for the 9th grade classes and my Toblerone bars seemed well received. I got all sorts of presents, including (from my teacher Santa) a glass pendant shaped like a dolphin with a grain of rice inside. The rice is painted gold and has my name etched in it -- English on one side and Chinese on the other! Pretty nifty, if not for the far sighted!
It gave me the opportunity to give nice presents to the people who have been especially kind to me and the whole thing was pretty upbeat.
After the party, I went to Douliou to have dinner with my friend Rochelle. By this time, the cold that had been coming on for the two prior days managed to fill up my nose and take my voice and make me feel pretty crummy. I stayed over there and the next morning our friend from Tainan, Linda came up. All three of us were feeling pretty punky but we did a little shopping and our usual laughing and giggling. We went out for Thai food for dinner (Doesn't everyone have a Thai food feast on Christmas Eve?), dosed up with cold medicine and hit the sack early.
Christmas morning we exchanged presents, Linda and I went for a walk so that Rochelle could talk to her family, discovered a new park and communicated with the man in Taipei where we will be staying over New Year.
That night we went to a very interesting Catholic Mass in English (mostly) that was essentially the midnight Mass but was held at 6:00 PM since most of the parishoners at this church are Filippino. Since they, like us, had to work on Christmas Day, the church had the big ceremony early. It was very nice, a Chinese family that are friends of mine also came. Their 1 year old is my adopted grandson, and other than Brandon not being able to go the distance, it was a charming evening. After the mass, the church had organized a procession like the temple goers in Taiwan do frequently -- floats, fireworks, singing, etc. It was a hoot! (Brandon really liked that part).
After the excitement, we grabbed a quick bite and I had to come home. I had hoped to give out some presents to my neighbors and my roommate, but as a worknight, everyone was asleep when I got home at 9:00.
The next day was school as usual. The novelty had worn off and not having Christmas songs to practice left a hole in my teaching day!
Last night, though, was the best. Through the wonders of modern technology, I was able to watch and talk to my grandsons while they opened their presents in Florida. It was just too cool. Except for the hugs part, it was just like being there.
After that I used my newly set up SKYPE account to call my brother and talk to a couple of friends so it was a wonderful Christmas all around!
Christmas for me began on the 22nd with a big party here at the school. I taught the students to sing "Jingle Bells", Deck the Halls", and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town". We had the party out in the courtyard in the middle of the school. The kids had decorated trees (a little oddly, but not bad), they had also drawn names for "Secret Santa" as had the teachers in my teachers' room. We had also gotten some textbook publisher to donate Santa hats. It was all a little raucus and, I have to say it didn't go exactly as planned, but the kids had a good time. Not one but TWO Santas came and threw candy into the crowds of kids, the teachers sang "Silent Night" and then everyone sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". For people who don't usually celebrate Christmas, it went pretty well and I was pleased.
I had also joined the "Secret Santa" drawings for the 9th grade classes and my Toblerone bars seemed well received. I got all sorts of presents, including (from my teacher Santa) a glass pendant shaped like a dolphin with a grain of rice inside. The rice is painted gold and has my name etched in it -- English on one side and Chinese on the other! Pretty nifty, if not for the far sighted!
It gave me the opportunity to give nice presents to the people who have been especially kind to me and the whole thing was pretty upbeat.
After the party, I went to Douliou to have dinner with my friend Rochelle. By this time, the cold that had been coming on for the two prior days managed to fill up my nose and take my voice and make me feel pretty crummy. I stayed over there and the next morning our friend from Tainan, Linda came up. All three of us were feeling pretty punky but we did a little shopping and our usual laughing and giggling. We went out for Thai food for dinner (Doesn't everyone have a Thai food feast on Christmas Eve?), dosed up with cold medicine and hit the sack early.
Christmas morning we exchanged presents, Linda and I went for a walk so that Rochelle could talk to her family, discovered a new park and communicated with the man in Taipei where we will be staying over New Year.
That night we went to a very interesting Catholic Mass in English (mostly) that was essentially the midnight Mass but was held at 6:00 PM since most of the parishoners at this church are Filippino. Since they, like us, had to work on Christmas Day, the church had the big ceremony early. It was very nice, a Chinese family that are friends of mine also came. Their 1 year old is my adopted grandson, and other than Brandon not being able to go the distance, it was a charming evening. After the mass, the church had organized a procession like the temple goers in Taiwan do frequently -- floats, fireworks, singing, etc. It was a hoot! (Brandon really liked that part).
After the excitement, we grabbed a quick bite and I had to come home. I had hoped to give out some presents to my neighbors and my roommate, but as a worknight, everyone was asleep when I got home at 9:00.
The next day was school as usual. The novelty had worn off and not having Christmas songs to practice left a hole in my teaching day!
Last night, though, was the best. Through the wonders of modern technology, I was able to watch and talk to my grandsons while they opened their presents in Florida. It was just too cool. Except for the hugs part, it was just like being there.
After that I used my newly set up SKYPE account to call my brother and talk to a couple of friends so it was a wonderful Christmas all around!
星期日, 12月 17, 2006
Camping in Kaoshiung
There appears to be some sort of national commitment to making sure that kids can feed themselves "in the wild" since almost every 8th grader in the country goes camping at least once. Sometimes it is only out onto the playing fields behind the schools, or at somebody else's school. Our crowd went whole hog, though, and went to a really nifty camping facility down in Kaoshiung. Since it was my birthday weekend and they said I could stay behind in the city for the weekend, and because I have always loved camping -- I went too.
We were 12 teachers and 280 8th graders in 6 buses all singing karaoke (the Taiwan national pastime) for the 2 1/2 hour trip down on Thursday. The camp is like a jumped up Boy Scout Camp run by the China Youth Corps, previously an anti-communist, para-military organization but now just social. It's a beautiful place with a big lake, lots of activities, and the most energetic counselors I have ever met. They are also absolute pros at getting kids fired up. Within an hour, our generally sullen and recalcitrant crowd was singing, jumping, clapping in unison and willingly doing all sorts of silly things together -- all at very high decibles.
After lunch (the teachers ate in a very nice dining hall) the kids had to set up tents. They got minimal direction, they were mostly supposed to figure it out. We all had to help to some degree but I was pretty amazed at how good they were. Then there was more shouting and running around and rope climbing, rope bridge walking, etc. and then they had to cook their own dinner on an open fire. Fairly easy food was provided but I was still amazed at how good they were.
After dinner was the main event. Each class, there are 8 eighth grade classes, had been practicing a dance. They were quite sophisticated, kind of part aborigine, part rock, part line dancing and part break dancing. Each class did something different and most had designed a special T-shirt for the occasion. These were done in front of a giant bonfire that shot fireworks out of itself while those not dancing at the moment were waving light sticks. It was beautiful. At the end of the kids, three of the counselors did a fire dance twirling bundles of burning switches in the dark. Amazing.
The kids then went back to their tents and we went to a hostel type place where the teachers slept very comfortably. Unfortunately, the rain which had been threatening all day really let loose on the kids and they had to be moved to an indoor gym for the rest of the night. The weather the whole weekend was pretty grim but didn't really get in the way except for that night.
In the morning after breakfast the activities continued -- a zip line, tug-o-wars, snake petting, more screaming and chanting, all while the teachers went out for coffee. I LOVE being a chaperone here! Then the kids had a barbeque lunch and we ate in the dining hall and then the farewell ceremonies. This is only a minor exposure to the great outdoors. By this time, though, the kids were all in love with the counselors and most of the girls were actively sobbing through the ceremony (the 14 year old girl universal pastime).
It all broke up at 2:00 PM and they gave me a lift into the city and the kids went home. I checked into our hotel and went to the train station to meet my 2 friends that were coming for the weekend.
We had a great time, eating good food, doing a little shopping, and touring the museum, Lotus Lake and the old British Consulate which was built in 1865 on the highest promontory overlooking the harbor. As usual, the Brits got the best real estate because it is just gorgeous up there, even on a cold dreary day. Much of the building has been turned into a restaurant with the usual combination of very high prices for mediocre food but you enjoy it anyway because to sit out there and enjoy this view is worth anything. We had met up with my roommate and her friend Brian (and his car!) so our touring was very comfortable. For dinner we went to a Greek restaurant which was super.
Home on Sunday to our apartment where, while I was away, winter had come. It was freezing in the place which had been open with both of us in Kaoshiung. I got everything closed but we have no heating source and like most places built for hot climates -- it can't deal with the cold. We have tile floors, no carpets, plaster walls and great ventilation which we love in summer but it is truly miserable now.
As it was my birthday, which I thought I had kept a secret but obviously hadn't, 18 members of my neighbor's family took me out for a wonderful Japanese dinner feast. I was so touched. All in all, a wonderful birthday weekend.
We were 12 teachers and 280 8th graders in 6 buses all singing karaoke (the Taiwan national pastime) for the 2 1/2 hour trip down on Thursday. The camp is like a jumped up Boy Scout Camp run by the China Youth Corps, previously an anti-communist, para-military organization but now just social. It's a beautiful place with a big lake, lots of activities, and the most energetic counselors I have ever met. They are also absolute pros at getting kids fired up. Within an hour, our generally sullen and recalcitrant crowd was singing, jumping, clapping in unison and willingly doing all sorts of silly things together -- all at very high decibles.
After lunch (the teachers ate in a very nice dining hall) the kids had to set up tents. They got minimal direction, they were mostly supposed to figure it out. We all had to help to some degree but I was pretty amazed at how good they were. Then there was more shouting and running around and rope climbing, rope bridge walking, etc. and then they had to cook their own dinner on an open fire. Fairly easy food was provided but I was still amazed at how good they were.
After dinner was the main event. Each class, there are 8 eighth grade classes, had been practicing a dance. They were quite sophisticated, kind of part aborigine, part rock, part line dancing and part break dancing. Each class did something different and most had designed a special T-shirt for the occasion. These were done in front of a giant bonfire that shot fireworks out of itself while those not dancing at the moment were waving light sticks. It was beautiful. At the end of the kids, three of the counselors did a fire dance twirling bundles of burning switches in the dark. Amazing.
The kids then went back to their tents and we went to a hostel type place where the teachers slept very comfortably. Unfortunately, the rain which had been threatening all day really let loose on the kids and they had to be moved to an indoor gym for the rest of the night. The weather the whole weekend was pretty grim but didn't really get in the way except for that night.
In the morning after breakfast the activities continued -- a zip line, tug-o-wars, snake petting, more screaming and chanting, all while the teachers went out for coffee. I LOVE being a chaperone here! Then the kids had a barbeque lunch and we ate in the dining hall and then the farewell ceremonies. This is only a minor exposure to the great outdoors. By this time, though, the kids were all in love with the counselors and most of the girls were actively sobbing through the ceremony (the 14 year old girl universal pastime).
It all broke up at 2:00 PM and they gave me a lift into the city and the kids went home. I checked into our hotel and went to the train station to meet my 2 friends that were coming for the weekend.
We had a great time, eating good food, doing a little shopping, and touring the museum, Lotus Lake and the old British Consulate which was built in 1865 on the highest promontory overlooking the harbor. As usual, the Brits got the best real estate because it is just gorgeous up there, even on a cold dreary day. Much of the building has been turned into a restaurant with the usual combination of very high prices for mediocre food but you enjoy it anyway because to sit out there and enjoy this view is worth anything. We had met up with my roommate and her friend Brian (and his car!) so our touring was very comfortable. For dinner we went to a Greek restaurant which was super.
Home on Sunday to our apartment where, while I was away, winter had come. It was freezing in the place which had been open with both of us in Kaoshiung. I got everything closed but we have no heating source and like most places built for hot climates -- it can't deal with the cold. We have tile floors, no carpets, plaster walls and great ventilation which we love in summer but it is truly miserable now.
As it was my birthday, which I thought I had kept a secret but obviously hadn't, 18 members of my neighbor's family took me out for a wonderful Japanese dinner feast. I was so touched. All in all, a wonderful birthday weekend.
星期四, 12月 07, 2006
Karen Goes to the Market
Before I start this, you have to remember that I am not just an odd foreignor in my little town -- I am the ONLY odd foreignor in my little town.
Last weekend I decided to host some friends for dinner. This is quite an experience since my cooking facilities are pretty spartan, mostly because I have no oven. I never realized how much I used one until I didn't have one.
It would be 3 Americans (including me) and 3 Taiwanese -- all English teachers. I had hoped for some interesting conversation over a fair to good dinner. Wrong again! But more about that later.
One of my friends said we should have chicken and dumplings (which I had never made) but was able to procure a box of Bisquik in Tainan and a recipe from RecipeSource.com, so I thought I would be all set.
The morning of the party, I ventured to our local "traditional" market. This causes a GREAT deal of excitement as the foreignor comes into the area. Lots of little old ladies try to charm me into buying their vegetables but I thought I had better start with the chickens first. I went to a chicken stall -- really intending to shop around but immediately got sucked in at the one place. Chickens are sold whole here, so first I indicated that they needed to chop off the heads and the feet. That done, I got them to cut up the birds into recognizable pieces. By now I know that the woman's English name is Virginia and that her husband has raised the chickens himself and that they are the best around, very meaty and not much fat. Actually, all of this appeared to be true.
Then came the price part! I thought I needed two chickens so even with the odd parts cut off, I was left with about 6 lbs. of bird. The price was about $20! I couldn't believe it, asked again, acted dumb, made them write it down, etc. Nope, I understood the first time. It seems chicken is one of the most expensive meats there is. Little did I know, but what could I do at that point. They had all but cooked them for me. Live and learn.
That kind of put a crimp in what I had to spend for salad fixins' and the celery and carrots for the pot. This was all pretty cheap, however, a huge argument broke out between two old gals over who got to sell me celery. I couldn't follow all of it but it seemed one had better prices and one had better quality but one also seemed to have more experience dealing with foreignors so considered herself the better choice. I really wanted to get home by this point but what could I do. All the other vendors were standing around, either joining the argument or laughing. I joined the laughing group. The big problem with buying vegetables is that no matter how I protest, they keep giving me more. I only needed a handful of mushrooms but ended up with about 2 lbs. -- and then had to pay for them, of course.
Then, as I was leaving, the egg lady who had sold me eggs for an earlier party, nearly attacked me to ask why I wasn't buying her eggs. So I did. Then there were all the people trying to sell me vegetables that I didn't recognize, hard to put them in salad.
That left drinks. As far as I can tell, there is no white wine in Taiwan except at Costco. They do sell a really nasty (but expensive) red at the 7-11 but I know that one of my guests really likes it so I bought her a bottle. Beer and soda for the others (mostly soda, Chinese aren't big drinkers) brought the total for this dinner to about $60 -- a little more than I had expected. Oh well, it would be fun.
Time approaches, house is clean, chicken is bubbling along nicely and my first two guests arrive with the news that the third Taiwanese guest can't come. This would be the one I bought the wine for. My two American friends came right after so we were 5. It quickly became clear, though, that we were really only 4. The one Taiwanese that I was most interested in hearing from, apparently was intimidated by the rest of us because she became mute. Conversation lagged, dinner was not a great hit, and everyone was falling asleep by 9:00.
Oh well, I have enough leftovers to feed me for a month and the folks at the market are still talking about my visit.
Last weekend I decided to host some friends for dinner. This is quite an experience since my cooking facilities are pretty spartan, mostly because I have no oven. I never realized how much I used one until I didn't have one.
It would be 3 Americans (including me) and 3 Taiwanese -- all English teachers. I had hoped for some interesting conversation over a fair to good dinner. Wrong again! But more about that later.
One of my friends said we should have chicken and dumplings (which I had never made) but was able to procure a box of Bisquik in Tainan and a recipe from RecipeSource.com, so I thought I would be all set.
The morning of the party, I ventured to our local "traditional" market. This causes a GREAT deal of excitement as the foreignor comes into the area. Lots of little old ladies try to charm me into buying their vegetables but I thought I had better start with the chickens first. I went to a chicken stall -- really intending to shop around but immediately got sucked in at the one place. Chickens are sold whole here, so first I indicated that they needed to chop off the heads and the feet. That done, I got them to cut up the birds into recognizable pieces. By now I know that the woman's English name is Virginia and that her husband has raised the chickens himself and that they are the best around, very meaty and not much fat. Actually, all of this appeared to be true.
Then came the price part! I thought I needed two chickens so even with the odd parts cut off, I was left with about 6 lbs. of bird. The price was about $20! I couldn't believe it, asked again, acted dumb, made them write it down, etc. Nope, I understood the first time. It seems chicken is one of the most expensive meats there is. Little did I know, but what could I do at that point. They had all but cooked them for me. Live and learn.
That kind of put a crimp in what I had to spend for salad fixins' and the celery and carrots for the pot. This was all pretty cheap, however, a huge argument broke out between two old gals over who got to sell me celery. I couldn't follow all of it but it seemed one had better prices and one had better quality but one also seemed to have more experience dealing with foreignors so considered herself the better choice. I really wanted to get home by this point but what could I do. All the other vendors were standing around, either joining the argument or laughing. I joined the laughing group. The big problem with buying vegetables is that no matter how I protest, they keep giving me more. I only needed a handful of mushrooms but ended up with about 2 lbs. -- and then had to pay for them, of course.
Then, as I was leaving, the egg lady who had sold me eggs for an earlier party, nearly attacked me to ask why I wasn't buying her eggs. So I did. Then there were all the people trying to sell me vegetables that I didn't recognize, hard to put them in salad.
That left drinks. As far as I can tell, there is no white wine in Taiwan except at Costco. They do sell a really nasty (but expensive) red at the 7-11 but I know that one of my guests really likes it so I bought her a bottle. Beer and soda for the others (mostly soda, Chinese aren't big drinkers) brought the total for this dinner to about $60 -- a little more than I had expected. Oh well, it would be fun.
Time approaches, house is clean, chicken is bubbling along nicely and my first two guests arrive with the news that the third Taiwanese guest can't come. This would be the one I bought the wine for. My two American friends came right after so we were 5. It quickly became clear, though, that we were really only 4. The one Taiwanese that I was most interested in hearing from, apparently was intimidated by the rest of us because she became mute. Conversation lagged, dinner was not a great hit, and everyone was falling asleep by 9:00.
Oh well, I have enough leftovers to feed me for a month and the folks at the market are still talking about my visit.
星期四, 11月 30, 2006
Betel Nuts
Betel nuts are used as a cheap, legal amphetimine in many places in the world. It is widely available in Taiwan, with a twist!
30 years ago when I lived here, I do not remember any betel nuts being sold. I don't know whether it is because they weren't as popular as they are now, or because we lived in a city and they are most popular with long distance truck drivers. As I now live in the countryside and about 500 yards from the major north-south highway, there are LOTS of betel nut "establishments" around.
To describe: betel nuts are sold on the side of the road from a glassed in enclosure. They are lit on the outside with distinctive flashing or neon lights. The glass enclosure gives ample views of the comely young scantily clad woman inside. Adjoining the glass booth is a windowless enclosure, presumably with a bed inside. Hence, the full service vice stop. On the open highway, there is one of these booths about every 1/10th of a mile or closer.
Apparently they are also known as the place where you can drop your kids for an emergency hour or so of babysitting since many of the young lovelies also have children running around in these places. So they serve a real societal function.
One can never hide a stop for betel nuts from anyone since they turn your teeth a strong reddish brown, temporarily if occasionally used; permanently if frequent.
"Nice people" simply ignore them.
30 years ago when I lived here, I do not remember any betel nuts being sold. I don't know whether it is because they weren't as popular as they are now, or because we lived in a city and they are most popular with long distance truck drivers. As I now live in the countryside and about 500 yards from the major north-south highway, there are LOTS of betel nut "establishments" around.
To describe: betel nuts are sold on the side of the road from a glassed in enclosure. They are lit on the outside with distinctive flashing or neon lights. The glass enclosure gives ample views of the comely young scantily clad woman inside. Adjoining the glass booth is a windowless enclosure, presumably with a bed inside. Hence, the full service vice stop. On the open highway, there is one of these booths about every 1/10th of a mile or closer.
Apparently they are also known as the place where you can drop your kids for an emergency hour or so of babysitting since many of the young lovelies also have children running around in these places. So they serve a real societal function.
One can never hide a stop for betel nuts from anyone since they turn your teeth a strong reddish brown, temporarily if occasionally used; permanently if frequent.
"Nice people" simply ignore them.
星期一, 11月 27, 2006
Shopping
Shopping is one of the most common activities for us here. Most of the teacher friends that I came with were not able to bring much with them, or didn't on purpose, knowing that they could shop here. Buying clothes is quite an experience.
Let's start with shoes. There are LOTS of shoe stores around. (Not in my little town of course, but everywhere else I go). Shoes come in two major price groups -- leather or not leather with a vast price gulf between them. To buy good leather shoes will still cost you north of $60 up to 3x that but if you will deal with cloth or vinyl, they can be had for as little as $5.
I wear a 7 1/2 in the States, sort of the average American size and they are medium width feet. Here, people tend to have shorter and wider feet (all those years in the rice paddies) but I rarely have trouble getting shoes. I wear size 39 and most shoes run up to 40. Friends that wore US size 9, though are really in trouble and spending LOTS of time and money buying shoes.
My trouble is finding shoes that aren't outrageous looking. Taiwanese women tend to really be "into" shoes and wear really outlandish ones and, at these prices, can indulge themselves. It is much harder to find a simple pair of brown flats that aren't so wide that I walk out of them. But it is fun looking.
Clothes are a different matter. If you can get past the sequins and the bad spelling of word decorations, then you must find something in a western size. This can be a bummer when you walk into a store and the sales girl says "We have nothing big enough for you in this store". This greeting, all too common, is also often not true. What it really means is "I am not comfortable with westerners and I would rather if you just went away". However, sometimes it is true, and one's ego must learn to deal with suddenly becoming XXL!
It's all part of the "Taiwan Experience" and must be treated as such.
Let's start with shoes. There are LOTS of shoe stores around. (Not in my little town of course, but everywhere else I go). Shoes come in two major price groups -- leather or not leather with a vast price gulf between them. To buy good leather shoes will still cost you north of $60 up to 3x that but if you will deal with cloth or vinyl, they can be had for as little as $5.
I wear a 7 1/2 in the States, sort of the average American size and they are medium width feet. Here, people tend to have shorter and wider feet (all those years in the rice paddies) but I rarely have trouble getting shoes. I wear size 39 and most shoes run up to 40. Friends that wore US size 9, though are really in trouble and spending LOTS of time and money buying shoes.
My trouble is finding shoes that aren't outrageous looking. Taiwanese women tend to really be "into" shoes and wear really outlandish ones and, at these prices, can indulge themselves. It is much harder to find a simple pair of brown flats that aren't so wide that I walk out of them. But it is fun looking.
Clothes are a different matter. If you can get past the sequins and the bad spelling of word decorations, then you must find something in a western size. This can be a bummer when you walk into a store and the sales girl says "We have nothing big enough for you in this store". This greeting, all too common, is also often not true. What it really means is "I am not comfortable with westerners and I would rather if you just went away". However, sometimes it is true, and one's ego must learn to deal with suddenly becoming XXL!
It's all part of the "Taiwan Experience" and must be treated as such.
星期四, 11月 23, 2006
Thanksgiving
Expats face approaching holidays with dread. As at home, it is always the holidays that bring all emotions to the surface and when one is far away, it is even more so. I have been fortunate, generally, to have wonderful holiday celebrations overseas, maybe just because people try harder.
This year, while a group of the Americans were planning a dinner over the weekend, my fellow teachers who share office space with me decided that I should not be alone on Thursday night and arranged to take me out to dinner. Wasn't that sweet!
Ten of us went out to a Japanese barbeque restaurant. This involves sitting at low tables that have "hibatchi" type grills on them. Then begins a procession of food to cook on the grills. I have not eaten so much meat since I got here altogether. Plates and plates of beef, pork, lamb, chicken, fish, shrimp, and vegetables are delivered raw and everyone cooks and EATS. Not exactly turkey and stuffing but the gorged feeling was the same, also the good feeling of being with people that you care about.
Then to top off the evening, the waiter appears with a big box that I, as guest of honor, am supposed to reach into and pick one of the colored balls. I got light blue which meant I won two round/trip airplane tickets to Bangkok! My co-workers went wild but, ever so skeptical moi, decided to withhold wild enthusiasm. A good thing since my roommate read the fine print that said the user of the tickets must be a Taiwan citizen, travelling on a Taiwan passport. We called about it today but the rule is made by China Airlines and is very strict. The group is now trying to decide the best course of disposal. I was just going to put all of their names in a hat and draw again but they think I can sell them. Even at 1/2 price it would make a good deal for both sides so they are planning an ad. I am just the bemused bystander!
All in all a very nice Thanksgiving. I hope yours was the same.
This year, while a group of the Americans were planning a dinner over the weekend, my fellow teachers who share office space with me decided that I should not be alone on Thursday night and arranged to take me out to dinner. Wasn't that sweet!
Ten of us went out to a Japanese barbeque restaurant. This involves sitting at low tables that have "hibatchi" type grills on them. Then begins a procession of food to cook on the grills. I have not eaten so much meat since I got here altogether. Plates and plates of beef, pork, lamb, chicken, fish, shrimp, and vegetables are delivered raw and everyone cooks and EATS. Not exactly turkey and stuffing but the gorged feeling was the same, also the good feeling of being with people that you care about.
Then to top off the evening, the waiter appears with a big box that I, as guest of honor, am supposed to reach into and pick one of the colored balls. I got light blue which meant I won two round/trip airplane tickets to Bangkok! My co-workers went wild but, ever so skeptical moi, decided to withhold wild enthusiasm. A good thing since my roommate read the fine print that said the user of the tickets must be a Taiwan citizen, travelling on a Taiwan passport. We called about it today but the rule is made by China Airlines and is very strict. The group is now trying to decide the best course of disposal. I was just going to put all of their names in a hat and draw again but they think I can sell them. Even at 1/2 price it would make a good deal for both sides so they are planning an ad. I am just the bemused bystander!
All in all a very nice Thanksgiving. I hope yours was the same.
星期二, 11月 21, 2006
Annoyances
I was awoken this morning by thunder and lightening at 4:30 AM followed by a torrential downpour. Lucky for me, this is the first morning rain we have had since, remember, I am a bike commuter. I have a long yellow plastic raincoat with a hood and I rolled up my pant legs and wore plastic flip flops but was still pretty miserable when I got to work. This has put me in a mood to talk about the annoyances of living in Taiwan.
Let me start by saying that I basically really like it here, love the people I work with and most of the students. I have made some great American friends through this program that I hope I never lose track of. But there are things...
1) Obliviousness. I've decided this is the best way to characterize this very common trait among Taiwanese. This is what allows a woman with two half-grown children to ride up an escalator and stop dead at the top. It allows people to stop their cars right in the middle of the road (only one lane in each direction) while they run in and buy breakfast from a street vendor. This forces all of the traffic behind them over into the oncoming traffic. It allows intelligent, educated teachers to work in a school where the world's largest backhoe is ripping down sections of the school and not even wonder why or what will be done with the space. It allows the same teachers to look out the window at all of the students being summoned to a special "assembly" out on the field in the middle of the day and not even be curious why. Now, I recognize that I have always been a curious person (some might say nosy) but this drives me crazy!
2) Doors that talk. Fortunately I do not have to work in a store that has automatic doors. It is common for shops (both large and small) to have doors that open as you get close to them. Some have been set so that they don't open until practically your nose is on the glass, but the real rub is when the doors say "Welcome" and when you leave, they say "Have a good day!". I would lose my mind if I worked there.
3) The lack of "Yield" signs. This is something one becomes particularly aware of on a bicycle. Most roads in Taiwan have a dedicated lane on either side of the street for motorcycles and bikes. At an intersection, the merging lane has the right of way to turn and ride through this lane at speed. Quite a thrill for your average bike rider!
4) Being over mothered. I know I should not complain about this because it is really just because they care but I have managed to live 45 years without a mother and now find I have at least 10. Most of them telling me what I can't do. "You can't go there, it's too far", 'You can't eat that it will make you cough", "You can't ride your bike there, it is too dangerous". They all think I am absolutely a wild woman for taking bike jaunts (one for 27 miles each way to visit a friend in a not-too-distant city). Once I did that, they kind of backed off on the bike stuff. Then I walked to the nearest town -- 2 hours -- caused quite a furor, but they seem to have backed off a little on what I can or cannot do. Now unfortunately, they think all Americans must be crazy.
There is a flip side to all of this, of course. In those bad traffic situations, no one honks or swears (or shoots!) and it has also been a while siince so many people cared about everything I do. I just have to get used to the obliviousness...
Let me start by saying that I basically really like it here, love the people I work with and most of the students. I have made some great American friends through this program that I hope I never lose track of. But there are things...
1) Obliviousness. I've decided this is the best way to characterize this very common trait among Taiwanese. This is what allows a woman with two half-grown children to ride up an escalator and stop dead at the top. It allows people to stop their cars right in the middle of the road (only one lane in each direction) while they run in and buy breakfast from a street vendor. This forces all of the traffic behind them over into the oncoming traffic. It allows intelligent, educated teachers to work in a school where the world's largest backhoe is ripping down sections of the school and not even wonder why or what will be done with the space. It allows the same teachers to look out the window at all of the students being summoned to a special "assembly" out on the field in the middle of the day and not even be curious why. Now, I recognize that I have always been a curious person (some might say nosy) but this drives me crazy!
2) Doors that talk. Fortunately I do not have to work in a store that has automatic doors. It is common for shops (both large and small) to have doors that open as you get close to them. Some have been set so that they don't open until practically your nose is on the glass, but the real rub is when the doors say "Welcome" and when you leave, they say "Have a good day!". I would lose my mind if I worked there.
3) The lack of "Yield" signs. This is something one becomes particularly aware of on a bicycle. Most roads in Taiwan have a dedicated lane on either side of the street for motorcycles and bikes. At an intersection, the merging lane has the right of way to turn and ride through this lane at speed. Quite a thrill for your average bike rider!
4) Being over mothered. I know I should not complain about this because it is really just because they care but I have managed to live 45 years without a mother and now find I have at least 10. Most of them telling me what I can't do. "You can't go there, it's too far", 'You can't eat that it will make you cough", "You can't ride your bike there, it is too dangerous". They all think I am absolutely a wild woman for taking bike jaunts (one for 27 miles each way to visit a friend in a not-too-distant city). Once I did that, they kind of backed off on the bike stuff. Then I walked to the nearest town -- 2 hours -- caused quite a furor, but they seem to have backed off a little on what I can or cannot do. Now unfortunately, they think all Americans must be crazy.
There is a flip side to all of this, of course. In those bad traffic situations, no one honks or swears (or shoots!) and it has also been a while siince so many people cared about everything I do. I just have to get used to the obliviousness...
星期一, 11月 20, 2006
A Trip to the Doctor
As I have high blood pressure and high cholesterol, I take regular medication and have for years. These are hardly esoteric problems so I knew I could get medication here but also knew it would take me a while to figure it out so I came with a 90-day supply.
The issue got all caught up in my problems getting registered at the beginning since you can't get health insurance until you get the Alien Registration Card, etc. With all of that finally taken care of, I went to the nearest hospital (next town, 45 minutes by bike) to get refills. It's quite organized if a bit impersonal. You take a number, get called, get assigned a number for the doctor and wait. The doc was a nice young woman who spoke very good English. I asked for refills of everything and had brought along the bottles. She had an online "formulary" so that when they didn't have the exact brand, they did have something similar. No problem. That is until we came to the Lipitor.
Any of you that take a "statin" know that they like you to have a blood test at least twice a year to see how your liver is handling the drug. My doctor in Virginia was religious about this and, lo and behold, I found his alter ego in Taiwan. No refill without a blood test and this blood test is after a 12 hour fast. I have to come back another day. I went the morning of the Sports Day since I didn't have a morning class and the test went fine, although realize that I rode 45 minutes in each direction with no coffee -- quite a feat for me!
Had to wait a week for the results then back to the doc but now it was an issue. The clinic hours are 9-12 and 1-4. I am in school at those times. They do have Saturday hours also but I have been going away every weekend, usually leaving on Friday. So I put in for an hour's sick leave from 3-4 figuring I could ride my bike fast enough to get in before 4.
I did but then had to wait ages to see the doctor since the world seemed to be applying for new jobs necessitating having a chest x-ray. Those people don't need numbers apparently and can just stroll in ahead of you and stay one minute and leave but there were about 30 of them. Turned out it didn't matter, I saw the doctor at 4:20 no problem and (shades of the US) my cholesterol level was so low that my insurance company wouldn't allow him to prescribe for me! I have to finish up what I have, wait 3 months to see how it is then maybe they can prescribe if it goes up a lot! Actually, that sounds great to me, I wanted to see what would happen if I took a rest from it for a while.
He gave a month's supply fo the Hbp drugs and refill prescriptions for two additional months. All of this, including doc and blood test cost me about $9.00! Not bad. The only hard part is the getting there during the time frames, especially when the weather isn't conducive to a 45 minute bike ride!
The issue got all caught up in my problems getting registered at the beginning since you can't get health insurance until you get the Alien Registration Card, etc. With all of that finally taken care of, I went to the nearest hospital (next town, 45 minutes by bike) to get refills. It's quite organized if a bit impersonal. You take a number, get called, get assigned a number for the doctor and wait. The doc was a nice young woman who spoke very good English. I asked for refills of everything and had brought along the bottles. She had an online "formulary" so that when they didn't have the exact brand, they did have something similar. No problem. That is until we came to the Lipitor.
Any of you that take a "statin" know that they like you to have a blood test at least twice a year to see how your liver is handling the drug. My doctor in Virginia was religious about this and, lo and behold, I found his alter ego in Taiwan. No refill without a blood test and this blood test is after a 12 hour fast. I have to come back another day. I went the morning of the Sports Day since I didn't have a morning class and the test went fine, although realize that I rode 45 minutes in each direction with no coffee -- quite a feat for me!
Had to wait a week for the results then back to the doc but now it was an issue. The clinic hours are 9-12 and 1-4. I am in school at those times. They do have Saturday hours also but I have been going away every weekend, usually leaving on Friday. So I put in for an hour's sick leave from 3-4 figuring I could ride my bike fast enough to get in before 4.
I did but then had to wait ages to see the doctor since the world seemed to be applying for new jobs necessitating having a chest x-ray. Those people don't need numbers apparently and can just stroll in ahead of you and stay one minute and leave but there were about 30 of them. Turned out it didn't matter, I saw the doctor at 4:20 no problem and (shades of the US) my cholesterol level was so low that my insurance company wouldn't allow him to prescribe for me! I have to finish up what I have, wait 3 months to see how it is then maybe they can prescribe if it goes up a lot! Actually, that sounds great to me, I wanted to see what would happen if I took a rest from it for a while.
He gave a month's supply fo the Hbp drugs and refill prescriptions for two additional months. All of this, including doc and blood test cost me about $9.00! Not bad. The only hard part is the getting there during the time frames, especially when the weather isn't conducive to a 45 minute bike ride!
Reawakening
I know it has been ages since my last post. That is because my blogsite went entirely Chinese! My last posting, entered in English was thoughtfully translated for me! Lucky for me, I have a son with more technical ability than his mother. At least, currently, I am back to English entry screens.
The problem is, I am so far behind on things I want to talk about...Maybe consecutive will be the best approach.
Three weekends ago, I went to Kaoshung. My roommate is from there and goes home about every other weekend. There appears to be a romantic interest there that encourages her devotion to her home. Anyway, her mother wanted to meet me and I was game, especially since we could get a ride from her sister who lives nearby.
Trust Sophie to have arranged a whole itinerary. We were dropped off at the famous Lotus Lake, in the northern part of the city. This is really more of a pond and is artificial, having been dug by hand in the 1950s. Around the lake there are an assortment of pretty temples, pagodas and parks and since it is very close to the thriving, modern downtown area it is neat to see the juxtaposition up close. After visiting a few of these, her boyfriend came and picked us up in his car and we drove to the beach -- Kaoshung is Taiwan's major port so obviously is located on the Taiwan Straits. Just north of the harbor is a lovely beach/park area which generates all the power it needs with windmills. Apparently this big open area is pretty much always windy and that day was having a kite festival which was fun to watch. There is a seashell museum, an attractive beach once you get used to the black sand (Taiwan IS volcanic, don't forget).
Then we went to a neat night market which had a temple having some sort of celebration -- very showy -- then had a fish snack, rode a ferry across the harbor. It's very busy, I counted 18 big ships lined up on Saturday afternooon waiting for entry to an unloading dock.
Then back into the city where we had dinner in a nice restaurant, then home to Sophie's house. I met her family who are very nice and quite charming once they got over the "Omigod, there is a foreignor in my house", mode. Her Dad is a carpenter and they live up over his shop. Her brother works with him. Mom is a very nice lady and we had fun one-upping each other with pictures of our grandchildren.
Sunday we went to Costco -- yes Costco. It was just like my favorite one in Alexandria except for the clothes. Similar to their American cousin, they had millions of pairs of jeans but none over size 8! I was able to buy a bunch of American foodstuffs, especially soup and spaghetti sauce and Peppridge Farm cookies. I also bought more comfortable pillows -- these people sleep on stones and I had had a stiff neck since I got here. It was really nice to be able to buy some stuff that I could have gotten closer to home, but have major difficulty transporting on a bicycle.
After Costco, we took a walk along the Love River which runs through the city and eventually widens into the port. Apparently it used to be really odorous but major civic effort has cleaned it up and now they are developing a lovely "Riverwalk" type area. It's not finished but is already very nice. Then we had a great lunch ar Sophie's and then home early to beat the traffic, which truly is horrendous.
All in all a really nice weekend but there is so much to see there that I am sure I will be going back again. It's probably the most cosmopolitan of the places I've been because of the influence of the port. There are many foreign businesses there -- from many countries -- and great restaurants. There is even Smokey Joe's Ribs!
The problem is, I am so far behind on things I want to talk about...Maybe consecutive will be the best approach.
Three weekends ago, I went to Kaoshung. My roommate is from there and goes home about every other weekend. There appears to be a romantic interest there that encourages her devotion to her home. Anyway, her mother wanted to meet me and I was game, especially since we could get a ride from her sister who lives nearby.
Trust Sophie to have arranged a whole itinerary. We were dropped off at the famous Lotus Lake, in the northern part of the city. This is really more of a pond and is artificial, having been dug by hand in the 1950s. Around the lake there are an assortment of pretty temples, pagodas and parks and since it is very close to the thriving, modern downtown area it is neat to see the juxtaposition up close. After visiting a few of these, her boyfriend came and picked us up in his car and we drove to the beach -- Kaoshung is Taiwan's major port so obviously is located on the Taiwan Straits. Just north of the harbor is a lovely beach/park area which generates all the power it needs with windmills. Apparently this big open area is pretty much always windy and that day was having a kite festival which was fun to watch. There is a seashell museum, an attractive beach once you get used to the black sand (Taiwan IS volcanic, don't forget).
Then we went to a neat night market which had a temple having some sort of celebration -- very showy -- then had a fish snack, rode a ferry across the harbor. It's very busy, I counted 18 big ships lined up on Saturday afternooon waiting for entry to an unloading dock.
Then back into the city where we had dinner in a nice restaurant, then home to Sophie's house. I met her family who are very nice and quite charming once they got over the "Omigod, there is a foreignor in my house", mode. Her Dad is a carpenter and they live up over his shop. Her brother works with him. Mom is a very nice lady and we had fun one-upping each other with pictures of our grandchildren.
Sunday we went to Costco -- yes Costco. It was just like my favorite one in Alexandria except for the clothes. Similar to their American cousin, they had millions of pairs of jeans but none over size 8! I was able to buy a bunch of American foodstuffs, especially soup and spaghetti sauce and Peppridge Farm cookies. I also bought more comfortable pillows -- these people sleep on stones and I had had a stiff neck since I got here. It was really nice to be able to buy some stuff that I could have gotten closer to home, but have major difficulty transporting on a bicycle.
After Costco, we took a walk along the Love River which runs through the city and eventually widens into the port. Apparently it used to be really odorous but major civic effort has cleaned it up and now they are developing a lovely "Riverwalk" type area. It's not finished but is already very nice. Then we had a great lunch ar Sophie's and then home early to beat the traffic, which truly is horrendous.
All in all a really nice weekend but there is so much to see there that I am sure I will be going back again. It's probably the most cosmopolitan of the places I've been because of the influence of the port. There are many foreign businesses there -- from many countries -- and great restaurants. There is even Smokey Joe's Ribs!
星期日, 11月 12, 2006
星期二, 11月 07, 2006
Sports Day II
I shouldn't have posted yesterday's report so early -- it got more interesting after that. The kids moved into their class-based relay races, which, it turns out is the big draw -- to see which class is fastest. There are 8 girls and 8 boys on each team so it takes a while and the lead changes with each runner. Pretty fun.
Then the teachers have a relay race! No, I didn't run -- not after I saw the average age of the runners. I saw no reason to set myself up for hilarity. That came later when I was selected to give out the prizes in one of the events. I had no idea what I was supposed to do so I kept thinking I was done and turning to leave but it seems there is a whole ritual they have to go through with bowing and saluting so I had to keep getting dragged back which everyone found very amusing.
The prizes for the winners of each event were hand towels (!?!) and a nice certificate. The kids thought the towels were as funny as I did but during the awards treated this all very solemnly.
The prize for the teachers came later -- the mayor (yes, he was there) invited us all out for dinner at a really nice restaurant. Sure beat the towels!
Then the teachers have a relay race! No, I didn't run -- not after I saw the average age of the runners. I saw no reason to set myself up for hilarity. That came later when I was selected to give out the prizes in one of the events. I had no idea what I was supposed to do so I kept thinking I was done and turning to leave but it seems there is a whole ritual they have to go through with bowing and saluting so I had to keep getting dragged back which everyone found very amusing.
The prizes for the winners of each event were hand towels (!?!) and a nice certificate. The kids thought the towels were as funny as I did but during the awards treated this all very solemnly.
The prize for the teachers came later -- the mayor (yes, he was there) invited us all out for dinner at a really nice restaurant. Sure beat the towels!
星期一, 11月 06, 2006
Sports Day
Today is Tuesday, November 7 -- Election Day back home, here it is Sports Day. It's kind of fun though mostly interesting to see how much time and effort is invested into what are basically intramurals.
For a day and a half, many of the students from our school, plus teams from the 5 elementary schools in town run races and do high and long jumping. The kids, of course, get very excited about this. The teachers just view it as an interruption or a day and a half without regular classes. For the previous week there were also MANY hours dedicated to practicing the "opening ceremonies". I have to laugh, they march in to the sound of the band playing "Anchors Aweigh", a very popular march for students here. No one that I asked knew that it was an American song, not to mention a Navy one.
The whole deal is quite showy -- every class has a flag, the school and national flags are everywhere. Some local vendor contributed matching shirts and hats for the teachers to wear, local dignitaries came -- really a hoot. All to watch a group of 7th graders run the 100 meters!
As in any group of young people there are some who are obviously more athletic than their peers. These, supposedly have been previously selected to be in the "sports classes" and woe be it unto them if they don't do well in these events. They do, of course, several clearly have talent (not to be confused with brains). A ugly little trace of racism creeps out now and again, though, which I have never heard before -- "well, of course she is 1/2 aborigine, that's why she can run so fast".
My role in this is nonexistent. I am just roaming around. Some of the teachers are judges and timekeepers but, as usual, I am deemed to be not interested/able/willing to do any of these things. I wish they would ask me what I thought!
For a day and a half, many of the students from our school, plus teams from the 5 elementary schools in town run races and do high and long jumping. The kids, of course, get very excited about this. The teachers just view it as an interruption or a day and a half without regular classes. For the previous week there were also MANY hours dedicated to practicing the "opening ceremonies". I have to laugh, they march in to the sound of the band playing "Anchors Aweigh", a very popular march for students here. No one that I asked knew that it was an American song, not to mention a Navy one.
The whole deal is quite showy -- every class has a flag, the school and national flags are everywhere. Some local vendor contributed matching shirts and hats for the teachers to wear, local dignitaries came -- really a hoot. All to watch a group of 7th graders run the 100 meters!
As in any group of young people there are some who are obviously more athletic than their peers. These, supposedly have been previously selected to be in the "sports classes" and woe be it unto them if they don't do well in these events. They do, of course, several clearly have talent (not to be confused with brains). A ugly little trace of racism creeps out now and again, though, which I have never heard before -- "well, of course she is 1/2 aborigine, that's why she can run so fast".
My role in this is nonexistent. I am just roaming around. Some of the teachers are judges and timekeepers but, as usual, I am deemed to be not interested/able/willing to do any of these things. I wish they would ask me what I thought!
星期二, 10月 31, 2006
Tainan
Tainan used to be a sleepy town in the southern part of Taiwan best known for its many temples. It is now a bustling city, fourth largest in Taiwan.
One of the great things about this program is that there are 47 of us scattered all over the island so there is usually a friendly face to spend a weekend with and to serve as host and tour guide. In thins case, it was a lovely woman from Indiana who, I have decided, has the best deal of any of us.
In addition to just being bigger, Tainan has 3 large universities with all the cultural opportunities that implies. She is out several nights a week at concerts, plays, ballets, etc. (I am home watching the rice ripen).
In addition to all the culture, there is a beach 30 minutes away, there is a train station AND an airport. This is without mentioning all of the interesting English speaking residents and the numerous wonderful restaurants. We went out for Greek food, for heaven's sake!
Just to make the jealousy total, we were comparing our teaching experiences. Here I am still trying to teach the kids their English names and she is reading "Dracula" with her 6th graders! Oh, it was hard.
We had a super weekend, though, mostly just walking around the city seeing the sights and eating whenever possible. I think the weather is even better there, it was great for being outside and they have wonderful wide sidewalks to make it a walkers delight. We even found two Halloween stores and a grocery store that sold Heinz ketchup and strawberry Twizzlers! I sweat the place was like coming home from camp.
I don't know whether or not I want to stay here another year, but if I do, it will only be with the promise of being in Tainan.
The temples are all still there, most impressive is the oldest Confucian temple which is very nice and tranquil. Some of the temples are so small they are barely the size of a doorway but very ornamental.
One of the great things about this program is that there are 47 of us scattered all over the island so there is usually a friendly face to spend a weekend with and to serve as host and tour guide. In thins case, it was a lovely woman from Indiana who, I have decided, has the best deal of any of us.
In addition to just being bigger, Tainan has 3 large universities with all the cultural opportunities that implies. She is out several nights a week at concerts, plays, ballets, etc. (I am home watching the rice ripen).
In addition to all the culture, there is a beach 30 minutes away, there is a train station AND an airport. This is without mentioning all of the interesting English speaking residents and the numerous wonderful restaurants. We went out for Greek food, for heaven's sake!
Just to make the jealousy total, we were comparing our teaching experiences. Here I am still trying to teach the kids their English names and she is reading "Dracula" with her 6th graders! Oh, it was hard.
We had a super weekend, though, mostly just walking around the city seeing the sights and eating whenever possible. I think the weather is even better there, it was great for being outside and they have wonderful wide sidewalks to make it a walkers delight. We even found two Halloween stores and a grocery store that sold Heinz ketchup and strawberry Twizzlers! I sweat the place was like coming home from camp.
I don't know whether or not I want to stay here another year, but if I do, it will only be with the promise of being in Tainan.
The temples are all still there, most impressive is the oldest Confucian temple which is very nice and tranquil. Some of the temples are so small they are barely the size of a doorway but very ornamental.
星期日, 10月 29, 2006
Class Trip to Kenting National Park
I was pleased to be invited to go along on the 9th grade class trip to Kenting -- a national park covering the southern tip of Taiwan. It is commonly referred to as the "Hawaii of Taiwan" and with pretty good reason.
Here we all were -- 7 buses trekking out at 7:00 AM. It has been awhile since I have been a chaperone and times have certainly changed. I was prepared (a whip and a chair) but they had hired a company to run this operation and they were great. Two of them on every bus keeping the kids busy and happy, they had arranged everything and it was all great and so organized! I had gone so far as to teach them "100 bottles of beer on the wall" but there was never a time they were antsy.
We stopped at the National Aquarium which is really beautiful but a little funny. In many of the big exhibits, after the explanations, there would be a huge "window" which I thought was looking into a tank but was actually a video screen! It was well done though and they do have many live fish and a large collection of penguins.
Then we stopped for lunch and they came and gathered up the teachers and took us to a separate room to eat -- none of this settling of food fights.Then we went to two scenic stops (many pictures taken)and watched the sun set. Then on to a restaurant for wonderful barbecue and singing and dancing and the inevitable Karaoke. Enough of that, on to the night market for an hour. Then to our hotel which was very nice. It was described as "5 star" but I would say that was a relative term. It was clearly set up for big groups as there were 4 beds in each room. All the kids knew who was bunking with whom and went down well.
I don't know if they did bed checks and if anyone patrolled the halls like I expected to do, but the teachers didn't.
In the morning there was a nice breakfast buffet and the kids went down to play beachball dodge ball on the black sand beach -- really nice. Checked out smoothly, back on the bus for an hour and went to this place which is hard to describe. It was clearly set up for school groups as they had a bunch of activities that the kids rotated though: fishing, a boat ride, a visit to an oyster farm and maybe some other stuff that we didn't do. It took a while to run 280 9th graders through the course then back on the bus and home by 5.
All in all a pleasant couple of days and the kids loved it. The only drawback for me was that there is diving there and I once asked if I would be able to go. They said no, that there would not be time to separate me from the "group activities" and that the kids would not even be going swimming, hence, no swim suit or anything. While we were driving down on the first day, the driver turned to me and asked when I wanted to go scuba diving!
Kenting is very lovely. It was a little hard to see things through the mass of kids in various uniforms (it seemed like it was the week for all 9th graders on the island. I was so glad that they wore their uniforms, or we never would have found them). It is very lush and green with lots of palm trees making that great noise that they make, and gorgeous flowers. I plan to go back.
Here we all were -- 7 buses trekking out at 7:00 AM. It has been awhile since I have been a chaperone and times have certainly changed. I was prepared (a whip and a chair) but they had hired a company to run this operation and they were great. Two of them on every bus keeping the kids busy and happy, they had arranged everything and it was all great and so organized! I had gone so far as to teach them "100 bottles of beer on the wall" but there was never a time they were antsy.
We stopped at the National Aquarium which is really beautiful but a little funny. In many of the big exhibits, after the explanations, there would be a huge "window" which I thought was looking into a tank but was actually a video screen! It was well done though and they do have many live fish and a large collection of penguins.
Then we stopped for lunch and they came and gathered up the teachers and took us to a separate room to eat -- none of this settling of food fights.Then we went to two scenic stops (many pictures taken)and watched the sun set. Then on to a restaurant for wonderful barbecue and singing and dancing and the inevitable Karaoke. Enough of that, on to the night market for an hour. Then to our hotel which was very nice. It was described as "5 star" but I would say that was a relative term. It was clearly set up for big groups as there were 4 beds in each room. All the kids knew who was bunking with whom and went down well.
I don't know if they did bed checks and if anyone patrolled the halls like I expected to do, but the teachers didn't.
In the morning there was a nice breakfast buffet and the kids went down to play beachball dodge ball on the black sand beach -- really nice. Checked out smoothly, back on the bus for an hour and went to this place which is hard to describe. It was clearly set up for school groups as they had a bunch of activities that the kids rotated though: fishing, a boat ride, a visit to an oyster farm and maybe some other stuff that we didn't do. It took a while to run 280 9th graders through the course then back on the bus and home by 5.
All in all a pleasant couple of days and the kids loved it. The only drawback for me was that there is diving there and I once asked if I would be able to go. They said no, that there would not be time to separate me from the "group activities" and that the kids would not even be going swimming, hence, no swim suit or anything. While we were driving down on the first day, the driver turned to me and asked when I wanted to go scuba diving!
Kenting is very lovely. It was a little hard to see things through the mass of kids in various uniforms (it seemed like it was the week for all 9th graders on the island. I was so glad that they wore their uniforms, or we never would have found them). It is very lush and green with lots of palm trees making that great noise that they make, and gorgeous flowers. I plan to go back.
星期日, 10月 15, 2006
Food
I guess it's time to talk about food since so many of you ask about it.
My big meal of the day comes at school at lunchtime. Not bad, for school cafeteria food, and if it is especially good, there are bags available to take some home.
I could easily live on Chinese food but periodically get a craving for some "comfort food". So far, I have located Combos, peanut butter, Pringles, Oreos, Diet Coke, hot dogs, outstanding tomatoes are now in season and the tangerines I remember from my last stay here.
Chinese are big snackers and there is a world of crackers and chips but you have to be careful since they are often oddly flavored: barbecus chicken potato chips, seafood platter Doritos, and a saltine looking cracker that is fish flavored (found that out the hard way!).
What I find really annoying is the dififculty in finding bread products that don't have something hidden them. For, example, I found things that looked like dinner rolls with which I thought I could make ham and cheese sandwiches. Beautiful and fresh, I was so pleased until I cut one in half and found plum paste in it. Often what is inside is not bad, it is the surprise factor that gets to me.
Fruit and vegetables are wonderful, though not as cheap as I remember. I bought 3 nice tomatoes yesterday for about $1.50 - not so different from what I would pay at Giant. Restaurant food is also not cheap unless you stick to rice or noodles. Of course, since there are no restaurants in my town, good eating out only happens on weekends. When we were in Natou over the long weekend, we did have two great dinners. They both had a salad bar, which I hadn't seen here yet and really pigged out. Three plates of lettuce doesn't leave much room for anything else but who cares!
There is now also ice cream and ice cream products eveywhere which is a treat. Before they told us to avoid them because of the fear of Tuberculosis.
Another interesting product is fruit flavored milk. I have never been much of a milk drinker so I haven't gotten into this but there seems to be a major effort to get people to drink more milk so they have flavored it with all sorts of juices (apple milk?) Could this be why kids are so much bigger?
My big meal of the day comes at school at lunchtime. Not bad, for school cafeteria food, and if it is especially good, there are bags available to take some home.
I could easily live on Chinese food but periodically get a craving for some "comfort food". So far, I have located Combos, peanut butter, Pringles, Oreos, Diet Coke, hot dogs, outstanding tomatoes are now in season and the tangerines I remember from my last stay here.
Chinese are big snackers and there is a world of crackers and chips but you have to be careful since they are often oddly flavored: barbecus chicken potato chips, seafood platter Doritos, and a saltine looking cracker that is fish flavored (found that out the hard way!).
What I find really annoying is the dififculty in finding bread products that don't have something hidden them. For, example, I found things that looked like dinner rolls with which I thought I could make ham and cheese sandwiches. Beautiful and fresh, I was so pleased until I cut one in half and found plum paste in it. Often what is inside is not bad, it is the surprise factor that gets to me.
Fruit and vegetables are wonderful, though not as cheap as I remember. I bought 3 nice tomatoes yesterday for about $1.50 - not so different from what I would pay at Giant. Restaurant food is also not cheap unless you stick to rice or noodles. Of course, since there are no restaurants in my town, good eating out only happens on weekends. When we were in Natou over the long weekend, we did have two great dinners. They both had a salad bar, which I hadn't seen here yet and really pigged out. Three plates of lettuce doesn't leave much room for anything else but who cares!
There is now also ice cream and ice cream products eveywhere which is a treat. Before they told us to avoid them because of the fear of Tuberculosis.
Another interesting product is fruit flavored milk. I have never been much of a milk drinker so I haven't gotten into this but there seems to be a major effort to get people to drink more milk so they have flavored it with all sorts of juices (apple milk?) Could this be why kids are so much bigger?
星期五, 10月 13, 2006
Long Weekend
Last Friday, October 6 was celebrated as Mid-Autumn Festival. This is a really old traditional holiday which involves staring at the harvest moon and barbequing. Not a whole lot different from Thanksgiving. This year it was on a Friday so we had a 3 day weekend, then the following Tuesday was 10/10 - Chinese National Day.
At the very last minute, for any one of many rumored reasons, they decided to make Monday a holiday also to give everyone a 5-day weekend. Of course, it isn't free, we have to have school tomorrow (Saturday) to pay it back. It was also decided too late to do anything fun. If I had known I was going to have 5 days, I might have gone to Japan or somewhere.
Anyway, three of us went to Sun Moon Lake, oft billed as the most beautiful place in Taiwan. It was too late to get hotel rooms at the lake so we stayed in a nearby town. Well, pretty nearby. The weekend was one of those "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" weekends. Anyway, to make a long story short, the lake area is gogeous but not at its best because of haze. We took a boat trip around it and that was fun.
The next day we met up with a woman from my school and what was a sort of unplanned (or misunderstood?) day trip to two earthquake museums. In 1999 there was a 7.3 earthquake in Taiwan, epicentered near the lake. They have done a fascinating job of showing the effects. It was really quite interesting if not exactly what I expected.
We spent the next day back in Douliou shopping, then home to a day of rest. Not bad for an unplanned weekend.
Today is the following Saturday and we had a regular school day. Tomorrow I am going to climb a mountain -- at least I think I am, I'm doing it with the same person who I thought was taking me to sweep her family graves but instead orchestrated the earthquake exhibit tour, so who knows what tomroow will bring?
At the very last minute, for any one of many rumored reasons, they decided to make Monday a holiday also to give everyone a 5-day weekend. Of course, it isn't free, we have to have school tomorrow (Saturday) to pay it back. It was also decided too late to do anything fun. If I had known I was going to have 5 days, I might have gone to Japan or somewhere.
Anyway, three of us went to Sun Moon Lake, oft billed as the most beautiful place in Taiwan. It was too late to get hotel rooms at the lake so we stayed in a nearby town. Well, pretty nearby. The weekend was one of those "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" weekends. Anyway, to make a long story short, the lake area is gogeous but not at its best because of haze. We took a boat trip around it and that was fun.
The next day we met up with a woman from my school and what was a sort of unplanned (or misunderstood?) day trip to two earthquake museums. In 1999 there was a 7.3 earthquake in Taiwan, epicentered near the lake. They have done a fascinating job of showing the effects. It was really quite interesting if not exactly what I expected.
We spent the next day back in Douliou shopping, then home to a day of rest. Not bad for an unplanned weekend.
Today is the following Saturday and we had a regular school day. Tomorrow I am going to climb a mountain -- at least I think I am, I'm doing it with the same person who I thought was taking me to sweep her family graves but instead orchestrated the earthquake exhibit tour, so who knows what tomroow will bring?
星期三, 10月 11, 2006
Teacher's Day
I am taking advantage of the availability of the blog site. Don't let me bore you.
September 28 was Confucius' Birthday and the day is celebrated as Teacher's Day. I am told that once it was a national holiday but no longer. It's not a bad deal, though. The Parents' Association gave us a really wonderful banquet -- best food I've had since I got here and the school sponsored a day trip to the north on the following Saturday. It was originally billed as a visit to a Hakka Village (one of Taiwan's minority groups) but we didn't really get to one.
Two buses were full. They let me bring another teacher friend along since the others were allowed to bring their families. We drove north about 2 hours, up into the mountains where it was lovely. We stopped at a giant Buddha statue on the way. We got to this national park area and hiked around in the rainforest. We saw a movie about the area which showed a lot of aborigines but we never saw any. We had a great lunch, then went to a Hakka town. I never saw any Hakkas but they proudly showed us two houses that were over 100 years old! (I didn't want to say anything about Old Town Alexandria so kept my mouth shut.) We couldn't go inside the houses but the layout of the traditional Chinese house was described.
In the town center, we were treated to a bunch of different stores that sold different flavors of tea as this is a tea growing region. Then we went to another town that had interesting handicrafts -- though pretty expensive.
Another great meal and we came home. All in all a great day and free! for teachers.
The weather has grown cool and lovely. I'm settling down with the little beasties and starting to learn some of their names. The teaching is really fun, although there is quite a range of proficiencies.
Today is a Red Letter Day as I FINALLY received my Alien Registration Certificate (Green Card) which makes me legal. It's green here, too.
September 28 was Confucius' Birthday and the day is celebrated as Teacher's Day. I am told that once it was a national holiday but no longer. It's not a bad deal, though. The Parents' Association gave us a really wonderful banquet -- best food I've had since I got here and the school sponsored a day trip to the north on the following Saturday. It was originally billed as a visit to a Hakka Village (one of Taiwan's minority groups) but we didn't really get to one.
Two buses were full. They let me bring another teacher friend along since the others were allowed to bring their families. We drove north about 2 hours, up into the mountains where it was lovely. We stopped at a giant Buddha statue on the way. We got to this national park area and hiked around in the rainforest. We saw a movie about the area which showed a lot of aborigines but we never saw any. We had a great lunch, then went to a Hakka town. I never saw any Hakkas but they proudly showed us two houses that were over 100 years old! (I didn't want to say anything about Old Town Alexandria so kept my mouth shut.) We couldn't go inside the houses but the layout of the traditional Chinese house was described.
In the town center, we were treated to a bunch of different stores that sold different flavors of tea as this is a tea growing region. Then we went to another town that had interesting handicrafts -- though pretty expensive.
Another great meal and we came home. All in all a great day and free! for teachers.
The weather has grown cool and lovely. I'm settling down with the little beasties and starting to learn some of their names. The teaching is really fun, although there is quite a range of proficiencies.
Today is a Red Letter Day as I FINALLY received my Alien Registration Certificate (Green Card) which makes me legal. It's green here, too.
Trash
Amazing, the blog is working. I have so much to say but the server has been down for weeks!
Anyway, all is well -- or sort of. I would really like it if we got paid sooner or later without a million excuses but supposedly it is on the way. In November I will be rich!
The topic for today will be trash. I have never been anywhere where they take it so seriously. Taiwan has the stated goal of being trash free by 2008. That means everything will be recyclable.
We have trash pickup every night. Ostensibly this keeps the rodent population down. The garbage truck plays a tune like the Good Humor man and everyone runs down to the designated corner to wait for the truck. The truck slows down (no, not stops) and everyone rushes up and throws their trash into the back while it is rolling. This stuff was previously defined to me as "wet trash". That seemed easy enough to differentiate from the recyclables that we already know: glass, cans, newspapers. Not true! Paper that has been used is not recyclable, some plastic bags are, some are not. If your guess wrong, the garbage man will refuse your trash. They can even fine you!
Two days each week (and every neighborhood know which ones they have) a second truck follows the first. This is the recycling truck. So, first you run to the garbage truck, throw your stuff in, then run back to the second truck and hand that bag up. It doesn't stop moving either but you can't toss it since there is probably glass in the bag. This becomes quite the neighborhood event. I've met lots of people this way, mostly because we have crashed into each other trying to get to the truck before it goes away.
We have lunch at school -- buffet style. Food isn't bad and it's very cheap. Everyone brings their own bowl, chopsticks and some sort of dish. When you are done, there are about 4 plastic disposal units. The first is for food (except bones), the second is for bones, the third is for napkins (used) and the fourth is for plastic if we have anything like pudding cups. It takes longer to dispose of your leavings than it does to eat! All of this is accomplished with much seriousness. They look at me oddly if I chuckle.
The food (without the bones) is sold to a neighboring farmer to be fed to animals. The bones go to a fertilizer plant where they are ground up and I have no idea where the paper and plastic go.
We are certainly doing our bit to make the 2008 goal.
Anyway, all is well -- or sort of. I would really like it if we got paid sooner or later without a million excuses but supposedly it is on the way. In November I will be rich!
The topic for today will be trash. I have never been anywhere where they take it so seriously. Taiwan has the stated goal of being trash free by 2008. That means everything will be recyclable.
We have trash pickup every night. Ostensibly this keeps the rodent population down. The garbage truck plays a tune like the Good Humor man and everyone runs down to the designated corner to wait for the truck. The truck slows down (no, not stops) and everyone rushes up and throws their trash into the back while it is rolling. This stuff was previously defined to me as "wet trash". That seemed easy enough to differentiate from the recyclables that we already know: glass, cans, newspapers. Not true! Paper that has been used is not recyclable, some plastic bags are, some are not. If your guess wrong, the garbage man will refuse your trash. They can even fine you!
Two days each week (and every neighborhood know which ones they have) a second truck follows the first. This is the recycling truck. So, first you run to the garbage truck, throw your stuff in, then run back to the second truck and hand that bag up. It doesn't stop moving either but you can't toss it since there is probably glass in the bag. This becomes quite the neighborhood event. I've met lots of people this way, mostly because we have crashed into each other trying to get to the truck before it goes away.
We have lunch at school -- buffet style. Food isn't bad and it's very cheap. Everyone brings their own bowl, chopsticks and some sort of dish. When you are done, there are about 4 plastic disposal units. The first is for food (except bones), the second is for bones, the third is for napkins (used) and the fourth is for plastic if we have anything like pudding cups. It takes longer to dispose of your leavings than it does to eat! All of this is accomplished with much seriousness. They look at me oddly if I chuckle.
The food (without the bones) is sold to a neighboring farmer to be fed to animals. The bones go to a fertilizer plant where they are ground up and I have no idea where the paper and plastic go.
We are certainly doing our bit to make the 2008 goal.
星期二, 9月 26, 2006
Diversity
People keep asking me how different Taiwan is from the way it was in the early '70s when I lived here before. The biggest, and most significant, is the homogenation of the population.
When I lived here before, there was a clear difference between "Chinese" (those whose families had come with Chiang Kai Shek in 1949), and "Taiwanese" (those whose families had also come from China but much earlier. In addition were "others" (aborigines ) who lived in the mountains and were more of a curiosity. The differences were profound and almost racial. Spots in the best schools went to Chinese, the best professions were populated by Chinese, freedom of travel was for Chinese. It was important to maintain the difference since they would be returning to "retake the mainland" as soon as the US "unleashed Chiang".
With the passage of time and the tremendous surge in the Taiwan economy, most folks here now have no interest in moving back to the mainland. Life is better for them here. Many have been back to visit and are glad they went but were even happier to come back. Therefore, the distinction has gone away. Now everyone refers to themselves as Taiwanese, it is non-pc to call yourself Chinese, and there is at least a show of interest in enjoying the diversity provided by the minority groups -- Hakka and the various aborigine tribes.
An interesting story: one of the teachers in my program was born in Taiwan but her family emigrated to Canada when she was 5. She was raised in Toronto and is a Canadian citizen. When we applied for this program we had to submit our birth certificates. Hers says that she is Chinese born in Taiwan. Before she could be hired for the job, she had to write a letter to the Taiwanese government stating that her birth certificate was incorrect, that actually she was Taiwanese from birth!
This Saturday my school is sponsoring a trip for the teachers and staff to a Hakka village about 3 hours drive north. Apparently Hakkas are "in" this year and there is some talk of our county adopting this village. It is somewhat unclear what we could do for them but it will be an interesting trip.
When I lived here before, there was a clear difference between "Chinese" (those whose families had come with Chiang Kai Shek in 1949), and "Taiwanese" (those whose families had also come from China but much earlier. In addition were "others" (aborigines ) who lived in the mountains and were more of a curiosity. The differences were profound and almost racial. Spots in the best schools went to Chinese, the best professions were populated by Chinese, freedom of travel was for Chinese. It was important to maintain the difference since they would be returning to "retake the mainland" as soon as the US "unleashed Chiang".
With the passage of time and the tremendous surge in the Taiwan economy, most folks here now have no interest in moving back to the mainland. Life is better for them here. Many have been back to visit and are glad they went but were even happier to come back. Therefore, the distinction has gone away. Now everyone refers to themselves as Taiwanese, it is non-pc to call yourself Chinese, and there is at least a show of interest in enjoying the diversity provided by the minority groups -- Hakka and the various aborigine tribes.
An interesting story: one of the teachers in my program was born in Taiwan but her family emigrated to Canada when she was 5. She was raised in Toronto and is a Canadian citizen. When we applied for this program we had to submit our birth certificates. Hers says that she is Chinese born in Taiwan. Before she could be hired for the job, she had to write a letter to the Taiwanese government stating that her birth certificate was incorrect, that actually she was Taiwanese from birth!
This Saturday my school is sponsoring a trip for the teachers and staff to a Hakka village about 3 hours drive north. Apparently Hakkas are "in" this year and there is some talk of our county adopting this village. It is somewhat unclear what we could do for them but it will be an interesting trip.
星期一, 9月 18, 2006
Naming
One of the most fun things I get to do here is bestow English names. Most Chinese by the time they reach 10 or 11 have either been given or have adopted an English name, but some have not or others had one but didn't like it.
For my students it is a necessity. There are 520 of them. I will be lucky if I learn even half of their names in English and would NEVER learn them in Chinese. Then there are teachers, teachers' children, street vendors --- I am getting a reputation.
I try to do something with their Chinese names or sometimes they just "look like" an Amy. Some who have adopted names for themselves need to be convinced that Spiderman is not a viable name, or that there are already enough "Kobe"s in Taiwan. I am also amazed at the cruelty that some of the earlier teachers must have felt to name a little kid "Moon", or "Venus"or "Lotus". Their English textbook characters have caused several to be named "Sky", both male and female. There are also a bunch of common misspellings that cause a little hilarity -- Windy, or Beety, for example. Some you can only wonder about -- my favorite is "Courlt". This is a math teacher (male) who insists that is the correct spelling.
About every one of you now has a namesake in Taiwan!
For my students it is a necessity. There are 520 of them. I will be lucky if I learn even half of their names in English and would NEVER learn them in Chinese. Then there are teachers, teachers' children, street vendors --- I am getting a reputation.
I try to do something with their Chinese names or sometimes they just "look like" an Amy. Some who have adopted names for themselves need to be convinced that Spiderman is not a viable name, or that there are already enough "Kobe"s in Taiwan. I am also amazed at the cruelty that some of the earlier teachers must have felt to name a little kid "Moon", or "Venus"or "Lotus". Their English textbook characters have caused several to be named "Sky", both male and female. There are also a bunch of common misspellings that cause a little hilarity -- Windy, or Beety, for example. Some you can only wonder about -- my favorite is "Courlt". This is a math teacher (male) who insists that is the correct spelling.
About every one of you now has a namesake in Taiwan!
星期四, 9月 14, 2006
Good News
After 29 days of pointing out to these people that I could only stay in Taiwan for 30 days if they didn't get moving on my working visa, it finally came through. I don't have it in hand yet, of course, but the logjam appears to be broken. I hope the others who are having similar problems manage to get what they need also.
The next step is a physical and an application for an Alien Registration Card (similar to green card), which, when received will make it legal for the school to pay me. Won't that be nice? I am so glad that I worked for a bureaucracy for 20 years so I don't take all this as personally as some of the younger teachers in the program who seem to think this is an al Qaeda plot! It has been extremely aggravating but the best part was the support I got from my school.
Now that I have a television, I feel a little more connected to the world.. Getting the BBC version is only annoying since they don't cover American football at all. Soccer games from ALL over the world, also American tennis and American golf, but football isn't mentioned. Thank heavens for washingtonpost.com or I would never know how bad the Redskins lost!
9/11 commemoration events got big play but I couldn't find any students who had any idea what happened that day, and precious few teachers.
I have also found 3 movie channels which are mostly in English but where do they find these movies? I was so excited to find "The Hunt For Red October" the other night, I stayed up until 1 AM to watch! I now know why I only had basic cable in the states.
The next step is a physical and an application for an Alien Registration Card (similar to green card), which, when received will make it legal for the school to pay me. Won't that be nice? I am so glad that I worked for a bureaucracy for 20 years so I don't take all this as personally as some of the younger teachers in the program who seem to think this is an al Qaeda plot! It has been extremely aggravating but the best part was the support I got from my school.
Now that I have a television, I feel a little more connected to the world.. Getting the BBC version is only annoying since they don't cover American football at all. Soccer games from ALL over the world, also American tennis and American golf, but football isn't mentioned. Thank heavens for washingtonpost.com or I would never know how bad the Redskins lost!
9/11 commemoration events got big play but I couldn't find any students who had any idea what happened that day, and precious few teachers.
I have also found 3 movie channels which are mostly in English but where do they find these movies? I was so excited to find "The Hunt For Red October" the other night, I stayed up until 1 AM to watch! I now know why I only had basic cable in the states.
星期一, 9月 11, 2006
Free Money
This is a good time to talk about a really inventive thing the Taiwanese government has instituted. Apparently there was some trouble getting store keeprs to truthfully report their receipts, thus the government couldn't account for the sales tax money.
Some smart soul came up with the idea of receipts with preprinted consecutive numbers on them. Every time you buy something, you get one of these receipts. On the 26th of every other month, there is a lottery drawing. You compare the numbers on the receipts with the number drawn and maybe win money. There are 9 digits so it is nearly impossible to match them all, hence that person wins 2 million NT (about $650,000) but you only need to match 3 numbers to get 200 NT ($6.50) and LOTS of people win that. Considering you were going to spend the money anyway, people refer to it as free money. People now demand receipts from stores so the government gets their money, too. Smart, hunh?
The drawing will be the 26th of September. I'll let you know if I will be quitting early...
Some smart soul came up with the idea of receipts with preprinted consecutive numbers on them. Every time you buy something, you get one of these receipts. On the 26th of every other month, there is a lottery drawing. You compare the numbers on the receipts with the number drawn and maybe win money. There are 9 digits so it is nearly impossible to match them all, hence that person wins 2 million NT (about $650,000) but you only need to match 3 numbers to get 200 NT ($6.50) and LOTS of people win that. Considering you were going to spend the money anyway, people refer to it as free money. People now demand receipts from stores so the government gets their money, too. Smart, hunh?
The drawing will be the 26th of September. I'll let you know if I will be quitting early...
星期日, 9月 10, 2006
Taichung weekend
This was the first of, I hope, many fun weekends spent with my two new teacher friends. One is Rochelle, the woman who works in the big town near me, and the other is Lyneice, the Detroit big-city gal who is up in the mountains with the aborigines. It was good for all of us to get together and compare notes.
I hitched a ride to Douliou with one of the teachers here on Friday after school. Met up with the one friend and we took a train to Taichung. The trip lasted about an hour and the only stress was buying the ticket, getting on the right train and making sure we got off in the right place. We had some trouble finding where our other friend was staying and never did meet up with her that night. Next day, though, we had a great reunion and began a day and a half of shopping, talking, laughing and eating good food. The woman from the mountains has not been in a store at all since we saw her last -- it's even an hour to any place she can buy food. All in all a fun weekend, but didn't really have anything to do with Taichung. There are some very famous temples, etc, there so we will have to go back.
Taichung is the third largest city in Taiwan and noticeably more expensive than my little backwater. (sorry, I mean pastoral rural village). We will make sure to enjoy the place more next time.
I hitched a ride to Douliou with one of the teachers here on Friday after school. Met up with the one friend and we took a train to Taichung. The trip lasted about an hour and the only stress was buying the ticket, getting on the right train and making sure we got off in the right place. We had some trouble finding where our other friend was staying and never did meet up with her that night. Next day, though, we had a great reunion and began a day and a half of shopping, talking, laughing and eating good food. The woman from the mountains has not been in a store at all since we saw her last -- it's even an hour to any place she can buy food. All in all a fun weekend, but didn't really have anything to do with Taichung. There are some very famous temples, etc, there so we will have to go back.
Taichung is the third largest city in Taiwan and noticeably more expensive than my little backwater. (sorry, I mean pastoral rural village). We will make sure to enjoy the place more next time.
星期四, 9月 07, 2006
coffee and t-shirts
I must have sounded really needy in my first blog because several people offered to be my coffee supplier! I thank you all but the situation is better controlled. First, you can get "2 in 1" instant mix instead of "3 in 1". This means that there is no sweetener in it, which I much prefer. I also found Maxwell House 2 in 1, which, if you don't dilute it too much with water, is not bad. Also, Taiwan has a coffee plantation, actually not too far from here, and I understand that instant is very good. I realized that the reason everyone drinks instant here is because the water must be boiled, and maintained at a boiling temperature, which your regular coffee pot doesn't do.
There is a continual source of entertainment in the t-shirts which have interesting English sayings on them. The choice of words/or their spelling can lay a native speaker out with hilarity. This weekend while I am in Taichung, I will write some down and share.
Chinese decorate their cars. I can't quite explain this but the fascination with the "cutesy", even by adult males, is amazing. "Hello Kitty" (if your remember that whole campaign) is still alive and well in Asia. I understand it is even more so in Japan. It amazes me that any cars still have rear view mirrors since they hang so much stuff off them!
There is a continual source of entertainment in the t-shirts which have interesting English sayings on them. The choice of words/or their spelling can lay a native speaker out with hilarity. This weekend while I am in Taichung, I will write some down and share.
Chinese decorate their cars. I can't quite explain this but the fascination with the "cutesy", even by adult males, is amazing. "Hello Kitty" (if your remember that whole campaign) is still alive and well in Asia. I understand it is even more so in Japan. It amazes me that any cars still have rear view mirrors since they hang so much stuff off them!
Little tidbits
Taiwan seems to be a year of so behind the US in the great "social movements".
They are currently getting concerned with childhood obesity (with visible good reason) and have removed all vending machines from the schools. Everyone talks about healthy eating and they are religious about recycling. The garbage men can fine you if you don't separate your garbage properly! I have not been fined, but I have been yelled at.
There is a definite decrease in the amount of smoking. I rarely see anyone smoking and when I lived here last, everybody did.
In 1972, we drank the tap water. With the increase in heavy industry, that is no longer possible. The heavy metals will kill you now or later.
Some things never change, though. We all have lunch from 12:00 until 1:15. A rather pleasant time with quite good food shared by all teachers in a nicely cool room. For everyone except me, though, lunch is something to be bolted so that you can get back to your desk and take a nap.
We have no water in the school today. Some plumbing issue that has caused an increase in employment for the plumbers of the area, but still not resolved. At lunch I mentioned that if this was in the United States, the Health Department would close the school. They all looked at me in confusion and wondered why.
Last night, they gave me a television! I never realized how much I missed it but with no TV, no radio, and no telephone, the nights are pretty empty. I've been going to bed too early, then waking up too early. The school had one they weren't using and my building is prewired for cable so now I am all set. There are 99 channels, only 3 in English, but Discovery, National Geo, and CNN (British version) will definitely improve my life.
This weekend, two of the other American teachers from the program and I are meeting in Taichung for a little R&R to the big city. It's not all that far but when limited to public transportation, it's a bit of a production.
They are currently getting concerned with childhood obesity (with visible good reason) and have removed all vending machines from the schools. Everyone talks about healthy eating and they are religious about recycling. The garbage men can fine you if you don't separate your garbage properly! I have not been fined, but I have been yelled at.
There is a definite decrease in the amount of smoking. I rarely see anyone smoking and when I lived here last, everybody did.
In 1972, we drank the tap water. With the increase in heavy industry, that is no longer possible. The heavy metals will kill you now or later.
Some things never change, though. We all have lunch from 12:00 until 1:15. A rather pleasant time with quite good food shared by all teachers in a nicely cool room. For everyone except me, though, lunch is something to be bolted so that you can get back to your desk and take a nap.
We have no water in the school today. Some plumbing issue that has caused an increase in employment for the plumbers of the area, but still not resolved. At lunch I mentioned that if this was in the United States, the Health Department would close the school. They all looked at me in confusion and wondered why.
Last night, they gave me a television! I never realized how much I missed it but with no TV, no radio, and no telephone, the nights are pretty empty. I've been going to bed too early, then waking up too early. The school had one they weren't using and my building is prewired for cable so now I am all set. There are 99 channels, only 3 in English, but Discovery, National Geo, and CNN (British version) will definitely improve my life.
This weekend, two of the other American teachers from the program and I are meeting in Taichung for a little R&R to the big city. It's not all that far but when limited to public transportation, it's a bit of a production.
星期一, 9月 04, 2006
More About School
Note: I have heard from many of you and it sounds like this is going over better than I would have expected. I will do them more often. I am also getting used to the site, now. It was very easy to set up, but not so easy to continue. Remember, any "page" I get to that I haven't actually written on, is in Chinese characters.
I had a few more comments about the school that I didn't have room for on the last post.
The building is U-shaped, covered on the outside with white tiles. The middle part of the "U" is a pretty grassy, flowery area. the bottom of the U is mostly Admin offices with the classrooms in the "uprights". All rooms have windows on both sides and open onto balcony/walkways so there is lots of light and (on the odd ocasion that there is any) and breeze. Every room has ceiling fans or we would all be dead by now. Picture 38 15-year olds in one room all day without air conditioning when the weather is 95 degrees!
Yes, the students stay in one place and the teachers go to them. Classes are heterogeneously grouped although they may not know it. Some was just coincidental. Actually, the big "cut" came earlier. At the end of elementary school, those parents who are really of an academic bent (and/or can afford it) send their kids to private school beginning in the 7th grade. We get the other 40%. They aren't slow kids (in most cases) or even really poor ones, they are what we call "country". I haven't found one yet who knows who Bush is.
It's a great school, though. The teachers are really dedicated and are less overwhelmed by the numbers than I am. Or they have gotten over it, one or the other.
I had forgotten the basic frugality of schools after working for the profligate government for 20 years. Students, and teachers, supply their own pens, paper, notebooks, and anything else you want them to have. It is also hard to ask because you don't know what will be involved with them getting it.
When you are done with the xerox machine, you turn it off. When you leave a room, you turn the fans off.
I had a few more comments about the school that I didn't have room for on the last post.
The building is U-shaped, covered on the outside with white tiles. The middle part of the "U" is a pretty grassy, flowery area. the bottom of the U is mostly Admin offices with the classrooms in the "uprights". All rooms have windows on both sides and open onto balcony/walkways so there is lots of light and (on the odd ocasion that there is any) and breeze. Every room has ceiling fans or we would all be dead by now. Picture 38 15-year olds in one room all day without air conditioning when the weather is 95 degrees!
Yes, the students stay in one place and the teachers go to them. Classes are heterogeneously grouped although they may not know it. Some was just coincidental. Actually, the big "cut" came earlier. At the end of elementary school, those parents who are really of an academic bent (and/or can afford it) send their kids to private school beginning in the 7th grade. We get the other 40%. They aren't slow kids (in most cases) or even really poor ones, they are what we call "country". I haven't found one yet who knows who Bush is.
It's a great school, though. The teachers are really dedicated and are less overwhelmed by the numbers than I am. Or they have gotten over it, one or the other.
I had forgotten the basic frugality of schools after working for the profligate government for 20 years. Students, and teachers, supply their own pens, paper, notebooks, and anything else you want them to have. It is also hard to ask because you don't know what will be involved with them getting it.
When you are done with the xerox machine, you turn it off. When you leave a room, you turn the fans off.
星期五, 9月 01, 2006
School
Although I have only had 2 days of actual classes, I can talk in generalities about the school.
Cihtong Middle School has 880 students. Frankly, I don't know where they come from -- there sure aren't 880 houses around here. The school has 3 grades, 7,8 and 9. It is the highest level these kids can achieve in Cihtong, ater this they must leave town to go to school.
The students are quite well behaved compared to American students this age, but it is a squirrelly age at best, both here and there. The first class I had was so similar in makeup to the first 9th grade I taught in 1969, that I had to laugh. One big loudmouth kid, 6 "most popular" girls, one heartthrob, etc.
Students wear uniforms, 2 actually. If there is the slightest excuse for doing something physical (PE, sports, whatever) they can wear shorts and a polo shirt with trim to match the shorts -- navy for the boys, maroon for the girls. It seems it doesn't take much of an excuse, since I have rarely seen the real uniform. I can also see why. For girls it is a truly ugly color blue pleated skirt with a pink blouse with the blue trim. Boys wear blue shorts and a mint green shirt. Grim.
I have 520 different students each week! That is 8 8th grade classes and 8 9ths. Each class is 45 minutes. The other teachers are wildly jealous of my "light load". They don't face as many different faces as I do but they often have 20-22 classes. For me, though, if I give up on trying to learn their names, it's pretty easy since so far it is only 1 prep. Eventually it will be two but, hey, no tests, no homework to grade, etc.
The principal is a young fellow who seems nice but speaks n0 English so we haven't spoken much. He has a passion for badminton and there is a pickup game every day after school for him, teachers and students. I may join them later but right now I can't get too excited about playing killer badminton in an unairconditioned gym when it is about 95 degrees.
They serve a catered lunch to the teachers every day. Not bad for less than $1 a day, paid monthly upfront.
One thing I find interesting is that the students are responsible for building maintenance. Good idea since it keeps them neat and makes them a part of the whole school deal. The sports teams maintain the playing fields. Others mop floors, wash windows, clean restrooms, etc. Everyone has a job and does it, probably without much enthusiasm but no overt griping either.
Other interesting points: each grade has a "sports class". These are kids who are showing some special sports ability and have been culled out for special treatment. They even wear a different uniform. For the teachers, it makes for at least one small class, the sports classes average about 18. It is somehow difficult, though to picture the next Michael Jordan coming from Cihtong Twp., but they think it is possible.
Cihtong Middle School has 880 students. Frankly, I don't know where they come from -- there sure aren't 880 houses around here. The school has 3 grades, 7,8 and 9. It is the highest level these kids can achieve in Cihtong, ater this they must leave town to go to school.
The students are quite well behaved compared to American students this age, but it is a squirrelly age at best, both here and there. The first class I had was so similar in makeup to the first 9th grade I taught in 1969, that I had to laugh. One big loudmouth kid, 6 "most popular" girls, one heartthrob, etc.
Students wear uniforms, 2 actually. If there is the slightest excuse for doing something physical (PE, sports, whatever) they can wear shorts and a polo shirt with trim to match the shorts -- navy for the boys, maroon for the girls. It seems it doesn't take much of an excuse, since I have rarely seen the real uniform. I can also see why. For girls it is a truly ugly color blue pleated skirt with a pink blouse with the blue trim. Boys wear blue shorts and a mint green shirt. Grim.
I have 520 different students each week! That is 8 8th grade classes and 8 9ths. Each class is 45 minutes. The other teachers are wildly jealous of my "light load". They don't face as many different faces as I do but they often have 20-22 classes. For me, though, if I give up on trying to learn their names, it's pretty easy since so far it is only 1 prep. Eventually it will be two but, hey, no tests, no homework to grade, etc.
The principal is a young fellow who seems nice but speaks n0 English so we haven't spoken much. He has a passion for badminton and there is a pickup game every day after school for him, teachers and students. I may join them later but right now I can't get too excited about playing killer badminton in an unairconditioned gym when it is about 95 degrees.
They serve a catered lunch to the teachers every day. Not bad for less than $1 a day, paid monthly upfront.
One thing I find interesting is that the students are responsible for building maintenance. Good idea since it keeps them neat and makes them a part of the whole school deal. The sports teams maintain the playing fields. Others mop floors, wash windows, clean restrooms, etc. Everyone has a job and does it, probably without much enthusiasm but no overt griping either.
Other interesting points: each grade has a "sports class". These are kids who are showing some special sports ability and have been culled out for special treatment. They even wear a different uniform. For the teachers, it makes for at least one small class, the sports classes average about 18. It is somehow difficult, though to picture the next Michael Jordan coming from Cihtong Twp., but they think it is possible.
星期日, 8月 27, 2006
Arrival
I have already been in Taiwan almost 3 weeks so if I'm going to carry through on this blog thing, I'd better get going. The idea of the blog is 1) so I don't have to repeat myself so much and 2) if you find this totally boring, you don't have to look!
The flight over began badly with security at National who denied everything I was carrying and made me check my carry-ons ($80) so that I had nothing with me but a wad of Kleenex and a paperback book for 30 hours. So much for forethought.
Miracle of miracles, all of my luggage arrived with me in good shape and there was someone there to meet me. We drove to San Shia, a southern suburb of Taipei to the Educational Institute. I was 3 1/2 days late arriving thanks to visa problems but it turned out that many more folks came after me. The two weeks of training was pretty good, learned a bit although it was geared to the majority of the students who will be teaching elementary school.
The most interesting part was the rest of the group: by the end 47 of us, slight majority of Americans but many Canadians, 1 Australian, and 1 Brit. Despite my fears, there were at least 10 in my age group, the rest in their 20s. The Americans were heavily midwestern, Iowa, Indiana and Michigan each having a contingent. So we were a very diverse group but eveyone got on well. We lived in dormitories and ate (pretty well) in a dining hall.
It turned out that there were many things that we did not know. It seems that this program is the Taiwan government's attempt to improve English teaching in "remote areas". The schools which are not rural, are in the poorer parts of towns. I'm sure I did not know this before but I still would not have realized just how "remote" it can be. Actually, I can't complain, there is a fair sized town just 10 miles away -- but with only a bicycle it seems a ways. My town is very small, it will be easy to live on my income here -- there are no restaurants and no "shopping" stores. People are super nice, though, and anxious to help me. I am the only foreignor most have ever seen. My roommate at the Institute was a 50-something black woman from Detroit who was excited to be assigned to an aborigine village up in the mountains near Sun Moon Lake. A recent email that I have received, however, makes me suspect that it is a bit more remote than she was counting on.
I live in a very nice modern 2 Br/2Ba apartment on the 7th of 9 floors. When I arrived it was pretty spartan in the furniture department but they are doing their best to improve it -- new stuff arrives daily. They also bought me a bicycle and a washing machine. It takes about 10 minutes to ride to school on my bike. So far the only misery is the weather -- really hot and humid, like DC at its worst. The bedrooms are air conditioned but not the rest. The school is not air conditioned at all. There are also big time storms most afternoons. When you are dependent on a bike or feet for transport, this must be taken into consideration.
I share the place with a Chinese elementary school teacher who is great. Her English is about as good as my Chinese so we struggle together with goodwill. People keep dragging me off for food (when did I start looking like a starvling?) but one of the teachers, who is also my neighbor, took me to her mother's house for meals 3 times over the weekend! Her parents are nearby farmers and live in a traditional style extended family house which amazingly was just built 30 years ago.
Even out here, though, people seem quite prosperous. The richest man in Taiwan has got to be the one who had the first Toyota dealership. I have never seen so many Camrys in my life and late model used ones can be purchased by your average middle school teacher.
School hasn't started yet, officially. Today is Monday and I am positive that they told me I should come today so I did but few other teachers did and the students don't start until Wednesday. I will be having a total of 500 different faces each week (!!!) Where is the Teachers Union when you need it! They will each have 4 other English classes during the week, just me once a week. I only have conversation, which I love to teach, even to shy middle schoolers, but I figure I may never learn their names.
I forgot, there is one other misery: lack of coffee. For those of you who know how important coffee is to me, picture me drinking "Mr. Brown". Mr. Brown is instant coffee, premixed with milk powder and a light sweetener. You can get it in a packet and add boiling water or buy it pre-mixed cold in a can. Either way, it's not bad, it just takes about 6 cups to get me moving. I have been sleeping a lot and realized it's because my caffeine levels are down about a gallon. There is a coffee shop in town but I have not yet found it open. Will keep trying.
More later, after school starts.
The flight over began badly with security at National who denied everything I was carrying and made me check my carry-ons ($80) so that I had nothing with me but a wad of Kleenex and a paperback book for 30 hours. So much for forethought.
Miracle of miracles, all of my luggage arrived with me in good shape and there was someone there to meet me. We drove to San Shia, a southern suburb of Taipei to the Educational Institute. I was 3 1/2 days late arriving thanks to visa problems but it turned out that many more folks came after me. The two weeks of training was pretty good, learned a bit although it was geared to the majority of the students who will be teaching elementary school.
The most interesting part was the rest of the group: by the end 47 of us, slight majority of Americans but many Canadians, 1 Australian, and 1 Brit. Despite my fears, there were at least 10 in my age group, the rest in their 20s. The Americans were heavily midwestern, Iowa, Indiana and Michigan each having a contingent. So we were a very diverse group but eveyone got on well. We lived in dormitories and ate (pretty well) in a dining hall.
It turned out that there were many things that we did not know. It seems that this program is the Taiwan government's attempt to improve English teaching in "remote areas". The schools which are not rural, are in the poorer parts of towns. I'm sure I did not know this before but I still would not have realized just how "remote" it can be. Actually, I can't complain, there is a fair sized town just 10 miles away -- but with only a bicycle it seems a ways. My town is very small, it will be easy to live on my income here -- there are no restaurants and no "shopping" stores. People are super nice, though, and anxious to help me. I am the only foreignor most have ever seen. My roommate at the Institute was a 50-something black woman from Detroit who was excited to be assigned to an aborigine village up in the mountains near Sun Moon Lake. A recent email that I have received, however, makes me suspect that it is a bit more remote than she was counting on.
I live in a very nice modern 2 Br/2Ba apartment on the 7th of 9 floors. When I arrived it was pretty spartan in the furniture department but they are doing their best to improve it -- new stuff arrives daily. They also bought me a bicycle and a washing machine. It takes about 10 minutes to ride to school on my bike. So far the only misery is the weather -- really hot and humid, like DC at its worst. The bedrooms are air conditioned but not the rest. The school is not air conditioned at all. There are also big time storms most afternoons. When you are dependent on a bike or feet for transport, this must be taken into consideration.
I share the place with a Chinese elementary school teacher who is great. Her English is about as good as my Chinese so we struggle together with goodwill. People keep dragging me off for food (when did I start looking like a starvling?) but one of the teachers, who is also my neighbor, took me to her mother's house for meals 3 times over the weekend! Her parents are nearby farmers and live in a traditional style extended family house which amazingly was just built 30 years ago.
Even out here, though, people seem quite prosperous. The richest man in Taiwan has got to be the one who had the first Toyota dealership. I have never seen so many Camrys in my life and late model used ones can be purchased by your average middle school teacher.
School hasn't started yet, officially. Today is Monday and I am positive that they told me I should come today so I did but few other teachers did and the students don't start until Wednesday. I will be having a total of 500 different faces each week (!!!) Where is the Teachers Union when you need it! They will each have 4 other English classes during the week, just me once a week. I only have conversation, which I love to teach, even to shy middle schoolers, but I figure I may never learn their names.
I forgot, there is one other misery: lack of coffee. For those of you who know how important coffee is to me, picture me drinking "Mr. Brown". Mr. Brown is instant coffee, premixed with milk powder and a light sweetener. You can get it in a packet and add boiling water or buy it pre-mixed cold in a can. Either way, it's not bad, it just takes about 6 cups to get me moving. I have been sleeping a lot and realized it's because my caffeine levels are down about a gallon. There is a coffee shop in town but I have not yet found it open. Will keep trying.
More later, after school starts.
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