Back to School

One of my absolutely-not's when moving to Taiwan was "I am not getting a scooter.  People die on scooters".  I bought a scooter my first week and it became one of my favorite things about living in Taiwan.

I am making a shift in the coming weeks from productive, working member of society to full-time student, and am currently searching for an internship.  I recently got a pretty surprising rejection.  Surprising because I felt so good about the interview.  Everything flowed.  I felt like I represented myself and my skills really well, and most importantly, I felt like they bought it.  However I was not selected.  I have two other possibilities.  One has been crossed  off of my list because the interview was terribly awkward.  I have one more interview tomorrow.  If this one doesn't work out, it is back to the agency database.

I have some absolutely-not's in regards to my internship.  Some things I absolutely do not want to do.  But maybe I will end up settling for one of these positions and find it to be one of my favorite parts of returning to school - a memory as fond as my scooter, Green Peace.

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Kids Castle

Anyone can be a freelancer in Taiwan. I miss this. I find myself becoming jealous of people that work for themselves and stumble upon ridiculously cool jobs that have them working from coffee shops and going to Portland to "help my buddy get his business off the ground".

In Taiwan if you wanted a little extra money, you just picked up a few kindergarten sub jobs. You could drop off your resume one day and be in charge of a class of 3-year-olds the next day. A couple of times I judged speeches for this shady mega-school called Kid Castle. This involved riding my motor scooter about 25 minutes across town and listening to kids repeat a memorized speech (or freeze up completely unable to say one word in English). I was paid 1000NT/hr to do this. That is about $31 right now. I just got an email today asking if I would like to judge another speech contest. At that rate, 27 hours of judging speeches could pay for my roundtrip ticket.

I don't know why I haven't told them I am no longer living in Taiwan. I like the idea that someone thinks I am still scooting around drinking bai xiang lu cha (wei tang, chu bing), shopping at Mitsukoshi. Sometimes I have a hard time cutting that last stubborn tie.

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What I was blogging 2 years ago

I took a drive out of the city yesterday with my family. I put a helmet on my favorite daughter, told the other one to hold on tight, and took off around 2PM. I went up to Art Street to do some shopping. There is a store there that is like a really great thrift store at home. I bought a few things, and decided to keep driving.

Over the ridge, I could see the harbor. It would be a really great view without the haze. Old roads wind down the side of the ridge through the farms. I tried to stick to the main path since I was nearly torn apart by a pack of dogs last time I went exploring.

It's a slightly eerie view of the Harbor.

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Channel [V]

This is the best news I've gotten since returning from Asia. My favorite TV station from Taiwan, Channel [V] is available on YouTube. I never really understood anything that was happening, which was why it was fun to watch. It's just the same kids everyday, standing around doing stupid things. Sometimes they dance, sometimes they sing, and at other times they cry (very entertaining). Listen to this guy speak English to the boys of Take That. It will give you a good idea of what it was like to be approached by random people on the street eager to practice English. I'm not making fun of them, because I'm sure that's what I sound like when I speak Spanish, and even worse when I'm trying to speak Chinese.



And one more for good measure. A Taiwanese boy band that I believe ripped off the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

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Favorites of 2007

David does it, Liza (who's blog apparently contains adult material, as Panera Bread sees fit to restrict my access) does it, and Oprah does it. Por eso, I am doing it. The items in this list may not have been new in 2007, but they were new to me this year. Here it goes.

Favorite Album: The Crane Wife by The Decemberists. This was actually NPR Listener's pick for 2006, but I was introduced to it in 2007. It's a wonderful album based on a Japanese folk tale, and the story weaves through the entire work. Every time I hear the chant of "hear all the bombs fade away" at the end of this album, I get a little teary and hopeful for world peace. This album is also an icon of Taiwan for me. When I'm listening, I feel like I'm back in Taiwan on my scooter driving up to the Metropolitan Park to look out over the city.

Favorite Book: Tales of the City Series by Armistead Maupin. I downloaded it from Audible and listened to it while on airplanes, buses, and trains during all of my travels this year. Its definitely not from 2007, more like 30 years earlier. They are fast, easy reads, and highly entertaining. They make me want to move to San Francisco...in the 80's.



Favorite foreign friend: Ariel Yang. She's the best friend anyone could ask for in Taiwan. She'll take you to the doctor, translate any menu, help you with your Chinese, and be your tour guide for the best night markets in Taiwan. As long as you ask her with a knife...





Favorite Home: 2007 saw a few different home bases. Taichung was my favorite for the year. The traffic, the pollution, the betel nuts...I miss it all.







Favorite non-fiction book: A History of God by Karen Armstrong. It gives a historical account of the beginnings of the 3 major monotheistic religions. I was especially enlightened on the beginnings of Islam (peace and care for the poor).







Best entertainment: KTV. There's nothing like filling a plush room with your friends, getting liquored up, and singing songs from the last 2 decades while watching images of women, wild animals, and national treasures flash across the screen with the lyrics.





Best students: Jimmy and Jerry, the twins. Always fun, sometimes crying, never very vocal.

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Last Few Days in Taiwan - Photo Recap

My 13 months in Asia is over, and I am back in North America. Leaving Taiwan was a little harder than I thought it would be, and I'm not sure what I've taken from my time there. So until I'm able to think about it more, I'll recap my final month in Asia with photos. This will be the first, then I'll do one of the Philippines, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Vancouver.

My last days in Taiwan included my first typhoon. This picture doesn't look too ominous, and really the typhoon wasn't so bad. It made for some of the most beautiful and clear skies I've seen in Taiwan. The downside was that it rained during a very busy 48 hours of packing, shipping, and seeing friends. Driving my scooter in the typhoon was a little unsettling also. And yes, I did it barefooted.

Goodbye Thai dinner with sisters Dana and Katrina. Katrina is now studying in England, and Dana is the coolest insurance agent in Taiwan.

Ichieh, Our Chinese teacher, took David, Elena and I out for a nice lunch in a cave. An artificial artsy cave, but a cave nonetheless. One of my favorite dining experiences in Taiwan.

Elena and Ichieh

Dessert. Sticky rice with peanut paste.

Onion salad. Tasted a lot like Thai Green Papaya Salad.

Fried rice with little dried shrimp. I really grew to like dried shrimp, eyeballs and all. I'll have to look for them at my local Chinese grocer's.

We said goodbye to Ariel (tear), and our enthusiastic friend Mark drove us to the bus terminal.


My final Taiwanese meal. Chicken with typical pickled sides and seaweed.

And some final goodbyes...

Goodbye lady on the tiny scooter.

Goodbye Tuesday night pizza friends.

Goodbye class.
Goodbye Ariel. I told you he was violent, but you insisted on being his friend.

Goodbye beef noodle soup.

Goodbye again Ariel.

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The End is Near

The day is approaching. Goodbyes are being said. Farewell ice cream is planned. Belongings are being sold and the remaining items packed.

We leave on Monday morning for a tour of Asia that will take us to the Philippines, Vietnam, Macau, and Hong Kong. Then, a stop in Vancouver and Las Vegas before seeing my family in Chattanooga. We arrive in Chattanooga on September 29th. I hope I can post a blog or two with pictures between now and then.

Goodbye Taiwan. 台灣 再見

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Driving

"Ever notice that anyone going slower than you is an idiot, but anyone going faster is a maniac?"

I read this today online, and I think it is true. Driving makes me a completely inconsistent asshole. When I'm driving my scooter, I think people who are walking need to stay out of my way. When I am walking, I think people on scooters need to be more careful and go around me. When I'm in someone's car, I think scooters are just in the way. When I'm on my scooter, I think car drivers are evil bastards. Also, when I'm driving, I think buses are extremely dangerous and erratic, but when I'm riding a bus, I think that all of the single vehicle drivers are really in the way, keeping the bus from getting many more people to their destinations.

Also, sometimes, when its raining...I drive my scooter with no shoes. It sounds crazy, and it probably is, but the warm pavement feels nice on my feet, and I don't have to deal with wet shoes.

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Last Class

Today I taught my favorite class for the last time. Don't they look fun. That is my co-teacher Susan on the left.

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Some photos

My friend Laura is leaving Taiwan today, so I went to her house and stole some photos that she has taken this year. Here are a few:

The Menagerie and I

This is Laura on her scooter, or "The Kevinmobile". I taped this picture of myself to her dash about 9 months ago...and there I have been, riding along with her ever sense. I have begun to mold a bit in this damp climate.

The twins bothering me again.

Ruby, who unfortunately is called "Luby" by all of her classmates.

My roommate, Brynn and I

It's just not a good photo if you don't hold up your "oh yeah" fingers.

I didn't know they weren't going to smile.

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Hua Tao Yao, Miao Li

Sunday, our friends Katrina and Dana took us on a nice day trip to an art refuge created by a Taiwanese couple that loves pottery and nature. It was beautiful, and a lot of fun. We toured the gardens and dabbled in some amateur pottery making.

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Squid on a Stick

I finally got the squid on a stick that I've wanted since my first visit to the night market. The stars aligned, and it was every bit as good as I'd imagined.

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11 Haircuts

My time left in Taiwan could be measured several ways.

1 haircut. As I get my hair cut every month, I'll only have need for one more.

24 more 700ml cups of tea. I'm averaging one a day. Some days its three, some days its zero.

216 horn honks. Contingent on what day I sell my scooter. I calculate that I honk my horn 9 times a day to alert nearby drivers, pedestrians, and potential u-turners that I am in the vicinity.

7 near death encounters on the road.

3 trips to Starbucks. It's true. I go about once a week. Much more than I ever went in the States.

31 more classes taught at Hess, along with the possibility of subbing kindergarten for a couple of weeks.

5 times that I'll smile and nod when requested by a co-teacher to do something in another (their own) way.

3 Chinese classes. 不好

10 lunches with Ariel.

4 sandwiches from my favorite local sandwich shop.

3 bowls of beef noodle soup.

1 turkey rice lunch box.

1 trip to Miao Li.

3 visits to Match Cafe.

15 谢谢's from The Tea Shop ladies. "What is the memory of the tea? The teashop."

I'm sure I'll think of more. I'm not sad. I'm sentimental.

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Scooter Madness

A conversation over pizza Tuesday night:

R: I hit a guy on my scooter today.
L: What!?
K: Was he on a scooter, or walking.
R: He was walking, you know how people just walk down the street here…
L: Because there is a family of 8 having dinner on the sidewalk.
R: Yeah, well this guy was not paying attention. A car was merging over, so I had to too...and I hit him. My mirror hit his arm. Hard enough to turn my mirror around.
K: Did you stop?
R: I went back. He was pretty angry, but all I could say was dui bu qi. He finally got tired of talking at me and waved me on.
K: Yeah, a blue truck* knocked my mirror off the other day. I had to pull over and run out in traffic to get it.
F: I remember one time, I was driving in the mountains and I forgot to put down my kickstand when I stopped. My scooter fell into a canal. I just stood there like "what happened". I had to wait on a guy in a blue truck to drive by and help me pull it out.
K: Did you hear about Lina’s first wreck? She gave it too much gas and plowed through this table of two guys enjoying their tea at a sidewalk café…
F: I never drive in the scooter lane. It’s just too dangerous.
L: Guys, listen to us. This is not normal…

Laura was right to bring some sense to the conversation. Taiwan driving has this way of shifting one’s idea of normal way to the left. It’s time leave and to pass the Green Peace (my scooter) on to someone else.

*Almost without exception, all trucks in Taiwan are blue. Pickups, flatbeds, concrete…all trucks. The same color blue. I’m not sure what it’s about. But blue now says to me “watch out, I drive irrationally"

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Haagen Dazs

It's hard to find good ice cream in the grocery store in Taiwan. What I wouldn't give for a half-gallon of Mayfield's Moose Tracks. But there are a few great places to go out for ice cream if you are willing to pay relatively high prices. On Saturday night, the teachers from our school got together at the Haagen Dazs restaurant near my house. This wasn't the 31nderful flavors of Baskin Robbins. This was a sit down, fancy picture menu experience. I was pleased to find out that my manager would be paying for my $7 milkshake. Here are 2 photos:

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