Hospital

My roommate checked into the hospital this afternoon for a small surgery. She's been kinda nervous about it, but it's pretty minor and she'll only be there for two nights. I went with her today to help her get settled in and keep her mind off things. The surgery isn't until tommorow morning, but they asked us to get there by noon today. They hadn't yet figured out a time, but told us that it would be definitively scheduled by 7 pm. We had a bit of time to kill, and Betty had pointed out the other patients wheeling their dripping IV sacks out and about the area around the hospital, (some even going outside to grab a quick smoke!) so we figured we could spend the time with a bit of shopping and some lunch.

So after (!) checking into the hospital, we tooled around looking at what must have been the world's most hideous shoes (faux fur animal prints and suede cut into geometric patterns, and large bows all on the same shoe!), and finding things with horrible English on them, which has to be one of my favorite things to do! My favorite find in the English category: a t-shirt that read "Shhhhkhk Khkhhrk No Prblem Baby." Sadly, it was only in a magazine, but is available for purchase at major retail outlets across Taiwan. Now, the "proper" English at the bottom lets you know that whoever made the shirt at least knew *some* English, and renders the shirt that much more of a mystery. Why the nonsense words? Were you being paid by the letter? The best part was that it was modeled by a western girl who looked like she was scream-laughing in the photo. We concluded she was trying to understand what the hell her shirt was on about...

We talked about Taiwanese fashion, which is in a category all it's own. Mismatching patterns, faux fur, plaids and polka dots, big bows, applique ducks, anything and everything goes here. Of course, the psuedo-mullet has gained amazing amounts of popularity, as has a shade of hair color that is best described as bottle orange. In fact, the other day I spotted the best hairdo yet: a man with a permed mullet! You just can't get better than that! Interestingly enough, I find that the fashion is growing on me, and the only thing that's stopped me from becoming as nattily dressed as my Taiwanese cohort is the size issue. Shoes and everything else are just too damn small! It's a shame, but what can you do when the average woman here is a size 4? I'll find a way around it though. I'm creative. Accessories, accessories, accessories! If worse comes to worse, I can buy two purple faux fur vests and sew them together! :) In the meantime, I'll try to makeover Kristy. I think she might have a little bit easier time finding clothes that fit! We discussed it a little and I think it would be a fun girly-bonding day!

In any case, Kristy is all settled in and we had a good adventure. I'll head back to the hospital tomorrow to check up on her, and some women from work and her other friends are also taking good care of her.

Kindergarten Observation: Let the Madness Begin

I had my first glimpse of my kindergarten kids and classroom today. I observed Mike, in his final real lesson with the Cats class. It's a Xiaoban (small class) so the kids are only 3-4 years old and heartbreakingly adorable. I was glad to have the observation if only to have some time just to stare at the kids thinking how cure they are! They seem to be really well-behaved for the most part, and Mike gave me the run down on the kids who get a little hyper-active every now and again. They warmed up to me pretty quickly and before I left today they all said, "Goodbye, Teacher Cassie!" Too cute!

I haven't quite figured out the books or how to prep for class yet, but I'm not too worried since the same lesson that would be taught in one day in and older kids class (say something like the one I have with my youngest students--7-8 year olds) is taught in a week to these kids. The day is broken up into tiny bite-sized pieces too, and since they are so young, it's really more about teaching them not to hit their friends and share in English, than it is teaching them hardcore grammar.

Mike later asked me if I was still keen on Kindy and I have to say that I'm more excited than ever. I wasn't sure if I'd like it and I know it's going to be tiring, but I took one look at them and it was all over! I picked up some good tips from Mike, and I just need to learn how to keep them interested in what I'm doing. This may prove to be a task harder than it seems...

Hello Kitty

On my way to the icafe, I glanced over while stopped at a light. I spotted a waving motion and saw a woman sitting behind the counter at one of the ubiquitous tea/coffee/juice stands, and for a moment thought she was waving hello. Then I realized that it was the golden cat she was sitting behind that was waving.

I recently discovered that the golden kitties, decorated with auspicious red, whose right paw sometimes waves, isn't waving at all. Tacky as all get out to the western eye, they bring luck to a business, and most businesses have them prominently displayed somewhere in the shop (usually near the cash register or money box). The waving motion is actually the cat scooping invisible money towards the store. And here I thought they were just extra friendly little kitties, but really they are waving to my wallet, not me. :)

Crafty

Staying indoors is profitable for two reasons: 1) I won't be tempted to spend money I don't have and 2) It gives me time to finish projects I've started. Ok, well, actually start new ones and wait for inspiration to strike on the old ones.

Today, I started papier-maché fun-time project. I found a Chinese-farmer-style hat in the garbage downstairs and decided it would be fun to use it as a form to make my own hats. Our walls are still pretty bare, so we need something desparately *and* I've always wanted to make more papier-maché things, I just haven't found the time. And for the grand total of $46 NT, I've found a way to keep myself busy for the next few weeks until I start teaching Kindergarten.

The Chinese Hip Hop Scene

Last night was another friend's last big night on the town so we went to her favorite club, Spot, for some dancing and general good times. It plays all the mainstream hip-hop songs, and the dance floor is usually packed until at least 3:30 am. So amidst all the thugged-out Chinese folks, I spotted a wonderful thing! A Taiwanese guy with one of the biggest afros I've ever seen, complete with pick! It was glorious, so we asked if we could take a photo. He graciously agreed and then resumed looking cool on the outskirts of the dance floor.

Also, in what I thought to be a really amazing mix, the DJ mixed Kelis's Milkshake, with Michael Jackson's Billie Jean! I laughed out loud, the social commentary was too much. I'm not sure if the DJ actually meant it that way, but it really was inspired!

Up to My Ears...

Oh, the debt. I really should have calculated my finances before leaving for the trip. As a result I'm *broke* until next payday. On the plus side, looking (0r hearing) the actual balance on my credit card, after an inital flush of panic and pain, developed into a renewed desire to be debt-free. Well...as debt-free as one can be with student loans...Ack!

Textures

Lately I've found I've been craving all the foods I thought were so bizarre when I first got here. The textures are so different. Grainy, sort of dry, and then oddly sweet. One interesting discovery we made a while back were "mao chi." They are small, round cakes that are squidgy and have red bean paste, taro paste, or peanut paste inside. When we first had them, the quickly gained the moniker "scrotum cakes" because of the texture and shape. Now, suddenly we've all grown to enjoy them. Weirdness.

Also, McDonalds has a new burger just for Asia: the rice burger. Instead of bread, they use two rice patties that appear to be fried. It looks interesting. Certainly, the man in the ad thinks it is outstanding...

Travelling Companions

Ah, the joys of travelling with a couple...

I love Susan and Brian, but travelling with a couple can be difficult. When they weren't canoodling, they were fighting. I had a great time, and sometimes the best times were when I went off by myself. I felt superfluous most of the time anyway. They did a lot of cuddling, whispering, and storming off.

The high point of the tension was the last morning. Some sort of argument happened and I wasn't quite sure what was said exactly, but suddenly Brian and I were on our way to breakfast alone. Susan walked by, but didn't stop. The scooters were due back at 1:30 and we had planned to visit the beach before catching a train. When we caught up to Susan after breakfast, she had already decided that she would be staying another night, without us. It had been her idea to go to the beach, but she was no longer interested. This confused me, so when she approached me to tell me she was pissed off and wanted to stay, I paused, feeling uncomfortable and said, "Um...ok." This wasn't the correct response (girl culture tells me that a girl who says angrily, "no you go, I'll stay here" means you shouldn't leave, but I didn't think Susan was that girl! Oops.) I discovered as she rolled her eyes and turned to walk away. I quickly corrected and said that, of course, I wanted her to come, because I really didn't like the idea of leaving someone behind in the gorge. She was convinced though, and after some tension-filled moments, Brian and I hopped on the scooters and drove back into Hualien.

I felt awful about this, but Brian assured me that she was pissed off at him and this had nothing to do with me. I did feel a little like the kid whose parents are divorcing. Is this my fault? Do you still love me? Can you divorce your friends? Brian and I had a long, awkward ride home on the train (6 hours with no seats!) to think about it.

I texted Susan this morning and she has arrived safely back in Taichung, she said she simply needed some time alone and that she's feeling better now. This makes sense since the two of them live together, work together, share a scooter, and travel together. It's enough to drive anyone insane. Sadly, the tension came to a head on the last day of what had been a superb trip until that morning. I did feel like I had been placed in the crossfire, and I'm not even getting any! All the crap of a relationship and none of the benefits...That ain't right!

Lesson learned: don't travel with couples who are either bickery, super touchy-feely, or both. :)

Taroko Gorge

Wow. Taroko is absolutely breathtaking. Even though the weather hasn't been that great here, the scenery is still stunning!

Yesterday was our last full day in the gorge. We decided to drive up a ways to see some bits we hadn't made it to yet. We drove out of the park and just followed the mountains for a while. We came across a tiny little village (we were told only about 2-3 families live there year-round). There was a temple gate and some mysterious-looking stairs, so we pulled over and walked up. The village was on the hillside, and were all traditional houses with small courtyards. There was even a tiny little post office! We kept climbing and came to the temple. It was a small daoist temple and a young woman came out to speak with us. She invited us to tea and we sat in the temple yard, underneath red lanterns looking out over the mountains. Patty told us that tehre were monkeys living in the trees and later we were even lucky enough to see one swinging on the trees. I'd never seen monkeys in the wild before! We ate cow's tongue cookies (they are long dry cookies that are shaped like cow's tongues) and drank freshly brewed tea. It was nice to warm up a little since the day had been so chilly and damp.

Later, Susan and Brian decided to hike a harder trail that involved steep hills and cliffs, so I passed and went on to another area of the park I'd been curious about. I scootered over through the caves and curves on the cliffs and came to Ho-Huan Mountain Old Trail. It was a short trail that was the last of an old trail that the aboriginal folks used to use to get from camp to camp. It was a beautiful little hike and I got cross a little suspension bridge and see some birds.

More to follow...

Chinese New Year: The Prequel

A few days before the actual Chinese New Year, the company I work for threw a banquet. The Annual year End Banquet is a pretty big deal, and the head of the company and his wife's parents come to make a few speeches and hand out awards. The entire banquet lasted about 4 hours and involved two hours of awards presentations, one hour of the Imiation Show, and then a raffle for big bucks.

A few weeks ago, I was asked to help out for a friend's skit in the Imitation Show. I hadn't heard much more about it, but then suddenly a script appeared and I realized that while I had orignally agreed to "help out" I had been given the largest role and needed to buy a costume A.S.A.P. It was a total dud of a comedy piece that involved superheroes in some sort of recovery program and I was to play the counselor. It had potential, but it was pretty lame overall. Luckily, the day before we were to perform, I found out it was cancelled because too many people had dropped out and we couldn't replace them. I wasn't really all that disappointed by the news, but I had put together a fantastic costume and had been looking forward to wearing it. Oh well...maybe I'll find another occasion!

I was still going to be involved though. My supervisor asked me to read the English translation of some Chinese for a game she had arranged for the Ten-Year Employee Award. So, I still had to be there a little early to do some soundchecks and whatnot. While I was sitting there waiting, I saw what would have been our competition. It was a hilarious skit about the first day of teaching for the new teachers. Someone calls you and lets you know five minutes before class that you will be teaching a lesson different from the one you'd prepared. Then you arrive in class and accidently say something in English that sounds like a funny word in Chinese (Ex: Once in my class I said "Counterclockwise" and the kids all started to laugh because my pronunciation of it sounded like "your butt looks weird" in Taiwanese). You have a showdown with the CT over class procedure (in the skit they had an actual showdown complete with music and kung fu!). The CD player doesn't work right, and generally the day is a complete bomb. It was perfect and they won hands down! It was hilarious and I'm so glad we didn't have to compete for the prize money!

Afterwards there was a traditional lion dance. This was something I was so excited to see! It was something I actually recognized from pictures of Taiwan! Men dressed in lion costumes that fought with each other and then threw gold coins into the audience.

It was a great introduction to Chinese New Year and a nice start to the vacation!

Chinese New Year Part 1

The following posts will come in a series as I have been rather busy enjoying my Chinese New year vacation. At the time of writing, I am sitting in the hotel lobby of the Grand Formosa Taroko, borrowing some time to share my stories. It's nestled in the middle of Taroko Gorge, the most beautiful place I've ever seen. Green mountains all around, and through the middle a river runs of the most stunning blue.

Susan, Brian, and I spent the last few days hiking. On Wednesday, we went to the Enternal Spring Shrine, a temple built right into the side of the mountains with a waterfall flowing out from beneath it. Yesterday, we climbed to the highest buddha in Taiwan and had a picnic of indigenous fruits. We were staying at a small hotel in Hualien, about 30-40 minutes outside of the gorge. On our way back into town last night, we stopped at what looked like a night market. When we entered under teh large red gate, we saw a rooster of lights, and realized it was a celebration for the New Year, the year of the rooster. It was there that we saw an aboriginal dance, complete with singing and drums. Later we saw a great lion dance, with the men in costumes, tossing gold coins made of chocolate to the crowd. These coins are supposed to bring luck and money for the coming year. The lion dancers were acrobats as well, and one of the lions, jumped onto foot-sized platforms arranged going higher and higher. The front half of the lion jumped into the air and landed two foot places away and jumped up to stand on the knees of the bottom half of the lion. It was amazing. The grand finale of this traditional dance, had fireworks, costumes, children dancing. It was one of the most fantastic things I've ever seen. Susan, Brian, and I all agreed that it was great to have stumbled upon it.

Today, we decided to stay by thegorge for a few more days and we moved to a hostel inside it. We are staying in a large room with 22 beds, but for only 250 NT a night (9 USD), who can argue!?

We've already spent some time bathing in the hot springs, and hiking past clear pools, and waterfalls. I think tommorow we will check out some aboriginal villages and hike a bit more. it's been really great and I can't even envision heading back to the city! It's a huge time to come, so there are tons of visitors. It seems like they keep pouring in. The last two days were ok, but there were even traffic jams here today. It must be because the weekend is coming. The people are friendly as always and eager to try out their English. Susan said today, "I feel like a celebrity sometimes!" Every 20 feet a group of people calls out "Happy New Year!" or "Hello!" To which we reply "Shing Nien Kwai Le" (Happy New year) and smile at the resulting giggles. As i write this, a kid is standing behind me watching me like I'm a show! I've heard him say to his parents "blah blah blah weiguoren balh blah" ok, all I really caught was "foreigner" but it's interesting nonetheless.

Ok, three minutes left, so I'll wish you a Happy Chinese New Year! Stayed tuned for further installments!