Goodbyes

The Taiwanese expat community is a weird one. So many people come to teach for short periods of time that it's constantly evolving. This can be fantastic, like when some jackass you keep running into says he's leaving town, or sad, like a when a friend goes home. Relationships here are, by definition, transitory. You make a good friend, but then two months later they are leaving the country. This same effect happens at colleges across the globe, but generally friends can be counted on to stay there for at least 2-4 years. The friendship shelf life in Taiwan is markedly shorter. So, after a super blow-out, singin' all night at the KTV, followed by an evening of TV watching (those lucky kids have cable so we could watch the Australian Open and this fantastic show called "Extreme Change" or "Super Change Change Change") Jennifer, Adrian, Charles, Jay, Claire, and I wished Christine a good trip back to Australia.

I'm beginning to think about how weird it will be to say goodbye to all the people I've met here. And if I sign on for another six months, how weird it will be to see all the folks I started with leave. At least I'll have people to visit in different places...

Taiwan? Isn't that where stuff is made?

In response to my decision to come to Taiwan, a few folks commented that all they knew about Taiwan was that "stuff is made there." In a class with older students a few days ago, I asked, "Can companies get away with selling bad products?" and later, "Have you ever bought a bad product?" One of my students jokingly said, "Yes. Made in China." The other students started to laugh because all the cheap toys are made in China.

I smiled to myself and paused to think about how weird it was that a Taiwanese student would mock the production of cheap toys, given that all most Americans know about Taiwan is that cheap toys are made here. But it's also an interesting comment on the shifting culture of Taiwan. Standards of living are on the rise, and the economy is moving from production to service, with labor moving to China where it's cheaper. Interesting...

Scooter Reparo!

I've spent the last week cooped up reading nothing but Harry Potter and my mind has gone a little funny, but I was desperately trying to save cash. And since Kristy's scooter doesn't have spectacular brakes, I thought I'd take some time off from driving around town and hemorraging cash. Besides, I love some good escapist fiction!

In any case, I am pleased to report the resurrection of the beloved Yahama Fuzzy 125cc scooter! It has a brand new engine and works beautifully! It goes faster, no longer spews smoke, and is as smooth as ever! I love it! And, I have a guarantee from the scooter shop to fix it if anything goes wrong. Yippee!

On the road again...

Quiz Masters

Last night was trivia night at the Londoner. Our team, The Mooninites, was composed of four Americans, by way of Oregon, Ohio, Illinois, and Texas, one Kiwi, and one Australian. There were eight rounds of madness and we quickly found ourselves in first place. After one lousy round, and one perfect round, the emcee declared that we had dropped to last place. We angrily demanded a recount. It turns out they had miscalculated and that error affected out total score. We weren't in last place. We were, in fact, in 2nd place, and only lost overall by 2 points! We felt better, especially knowing that we were up against some pretty stiff competition and we still scored so well. Next time, that gold will be ours! This I vow!

Bar Hopping

A few folks from training came to town this weekend, so here comes the inevitable drunken night on the town story:

Our first trip was to Bar 7-11. Bar 7-11 is conveniently located on almost every corner, is open 24 hours a day, and is reasonably priced. A must-stop for any binge night. Afterwards we headed to Chubby's (there are a large number of bars and restaurants in Taichung that are named after fat folks--I can only assume that this has something to do with the "fatness" of foreigners. Let me give you an example: Brad Pitt is unattractive to some Taiwanese women because he's too fat.) for dinner and some drinks, although it was populated only by old western men and their wives. I chatted up the woman whose artwork was on display and before we knew it, she had ordered a round of tequila shots. Uh-oh.

Afterward, the six of us piled into a taxi (to the taxi drivers dismay I'm sure) and took off on our way to Oldies. Sadly in our state we were unaware of both the address or even the general location of said pub, but instructed the driver in our best pidgeon Chinese where to go. Eventually we saw something familiar, told the taxi driver to stop and rolled out (Susan who was laying on top of us actually did a back flip to get out of the cab) and into 89K. This bar was nice in that it felt like home. It was playing rock music (after a fashion, but still a nice change from the Taiwanese pop music we hear so much of) and had more young folks. It was an odd mix of decor for a Taiwanese bar. It was rockin' a Harley-Native American vibe. In fact, the owner is an Asian man with long hair named "Chief" who wears a cowboy hat and stands stoically behind the bar. I didn't see him smile the entire time we were there. Susan, Brian, and the visting folks went home afterwards, but Kristy, Jennifer, Christine and I went to Spot for some of the dancing.

As we walked up towards the bar, Kristy and I noticed a crowd beginning to disperse. Jennifer informed us that we had just missed some kind of fight. I'd never seen people fight in Taiwan before, but I'd just heard that they don't fight alone. I guess that's true. In any case, the business was over so we went in and shook our asses for a long time before calling it an evening.

I was hurting the next morning, so the trip to the Science Musuem didn't pan out, but I met Jennifer and Christine for brunch. It was amazing! Real Western Brunch! Eggs, bagels, potatoes, and tomato juice! It was heaven and I felt a little bit more human when we took off to go shopping.

It was really nice to get out after staying in bed all week due to a cold. Winter blahs be gone!

Grandma's in Town

Kristy's grandma is in Taiwan for a visit. It's fun to have an American grandma around the apartment. We get to share stories about the Betel Nut girls (the scantily clad women who sell betel nut in little stalls everywhere) and crazy scooter drivers!

A couple of days ago, she baked an apple pie! Oh man, what a treat! She's been having a fun time visiting all the museums in the area, and seeing the temples. It's so much fun to show people around. I can't wait until my family comes for a visit!

America's on Line 1

Apparently I'm very popular with countries. In addition to a letter I once received from all of Canada (letting me know exactly how much I was hated by the entire country), I have was recently rung by all of America. It went a little something like this:

At 2 am on a Friday night, a few beers into the evening, my cell phone rings. "Hello, this is America calling. Just checking the line. Thanks." Click. Bewildered, ecstatic, (and perhaps a little drunk) I erupt into nearly maniacal laughter at the the thought that America had just called to check in. All I can say is...Finally! I know I've got some ideas to share with America! I realize that if America is planning on calling all it's citizens, both within the States and without, I probably wouldn't have been able to share my thoughts in detail, but maybe more time than a "Hello. Uh...ok?" would have been nice.

Hey America! Call me back! Like the seething comeback that comes to you 20 minutes later, I've realized what I could say and how you be astonished by my wit, while also giving me a grudging respect. Clearly, you've got my number. Use it.

Jokes are Worth More

One of the ten classes I teach weekly is a class for older students. I'm the only teacher in the classroom and the students are middle-school age. This class is usually my least favorite since the kids generally stare at me like I'm a freak, refuse to speak, and/or have the general "I couldn't be bothered" attitude. Typical 13 year olds.

In any case, twice in each level I have to call the students at home for a telephone test. It's just basic conversation stuff that quizzes them on their knowledge of vocab and whatnot. It's not my favorite part of the job, as I've found myself being hung up on after not being able to communicate in Chinese that I would like to speak to their son or daughter with the English name. ("No Angus!" Click.) I try, but sometimes it's hard.

So today, for my kids in the class on clothing, I had to ask questions like "What's your favorite accessory?" and "Do red pants go with a purple shirt?" This is laughable as some of the fashion victims in Taiwan are stunning. I do enjoy seeing a nice floral print matched with polka dots though. When I came to the question "What can you put on over a shirt?" one of my students had a fantastic answer: "Underwear." At first, thinking she hadn't understood, I tried to explain that underwear goes on under your clothes, not over. Her reply was this: "Superman."

Stupid Scooter!

Alas, it's time to say adieu to the Yamaha Fuzzy 125. I picked it up after having left it in the shop over the weekend. It cost 1,500 NT to fix and luckily they accepted a credit card (I was totally broke after Kenting). Sadly, Tuesday night, on the way home from work, it broke down for the fourth and final time. I've decided that since I'll be driving to Fongyuan in starting in March, I'll need something more reliable and I'll be forced to buy a new scooter.

Luckily, the timing is pretty good. My roommate Kristy is buying a 125 today, and has agreed to let me use her 50 until I can buy a new one, so I won't be scooter-free. Also, I get paid this week and since the car has finally been sold at home, I won't have to use my paycheck to pay bills. So, it's looking like this month or next I'll have a new scooter that hopefully will run for the next 7 months without problem! Keep you fingers crossed!

New Year's Getaway

As a sort of last minute trip, a bunch of us, about 15 to be precise, took off to Kenting for the weekend. It's a southern town right on the ocean surrounded by green mountains. It was amazing! We stayed at the Winson House, a surf shack/homestay place right across the street from the ocean and that had a little cafe attached. It was out in the middle of nowhere, but we rented scooters and there was a bus into town, and it was nice to be out of the city.

Saturday afternoon, we had a bit of bad weather as the wind kicked up and it started to rain halfway back from town on the scooters. As we drove up and down the mountains, it got a little hairy because the winds were so strong. Driving past the sand dunes was no fun experience either! I'm glad I wear glasses since that helped me to keep my eyes open a little more than a squint, but the other folks were having hard time! Amazingly enough, it was Alisha's first time on a scooter and she did awesome! If it was my first time, I think I would've pulled over and started crying. It was a little scary. Luckily, we made it back to our place without incident, downed a few beers and then headed into to town for dinner. After some bar hopping and a bit of embarrassing behavior, it was New Years after all, we headed back to Winson House for some beachside fireworks and moongazing.

The next day was beautiful! It warmed up, the sun came out, and we took to the scooters for a trip into the mountains. Our little scooter gang (we were driving about 6 or 7 scooters) drove through some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen and passed a bunch of small towns. It was interesting to see people come out of their home to watch the freakish display of 10 foreigners riding past. Little kids pointed and yelled "Weiguoren! Weiguoren! (Foreigners! Foreigners!) People smiled and waved, some stared, and others spotaneously burst into laughter to see us. On our way back down the mountain, we decided to stop at a restaurant. We pulled up to a place that looked full, and sent Jessie (the only one of us who speaks Chinese well) over to ask if it was a restaurant or not. Turns out it was a party for a one-month old baby. They invited us to sit down and eat as much as we wanted. The only thing they asked was that we sing them some karaoke! They had rented a machine for the occasion so Alisha, Emilie, and I sang Wake Me Up (Before you go go) and then I sang Are You Lonesome Tonight? It was a blast and the family was super excited to have us sing horribly for them. :) They gave us food, cigarettes, and thanked us profusely for coming. We didn't quite understand why until Jessie translated, "They said that they don't see many foreigners around here and since there are so many of us and we happened to stop by, it must mean that the baby will be very lucky." After the took a least two rolls of film of us eating, posing with the parents, family, and baby in turn, we left. We had to catch a bus back at 3 and it was already 2pm. We tried to give them a red envelope with money in it for the baby (a traditional gift for a party like that), but they refused and shooed us away. We hopped on our scooters said "Thank You" in unison in Chinese and then rode off into the sunset. Sarah, the Brit who was riding on my scooter, said, "Maybe we could quit our jobs and just drive around the countryside blessing babies!" I laughed and agreed, "Sounds like a good gig to me!"

As we piled onto the bus, exhausted, I plopped down and just watched the mountains and ocean fade awayas the building began to grow into a city and thought about how I never imagined I would be spending the first day of 2005 in such an amazing place!