A Few Random Tidbits

It's always nice when you have a week off work. It's even nicer when it's scheduled to have a week off work, but get paid for the week you have off work. What's even NICER is when you have 2 weeks off, back to back, and STILL get paid.

So if you didn't catch my drift, I have this week and NEXT week off to do whatever. Very nice.

And I am almost to the point of getting my bank account opened. I just need to find a Chinese Chop/Seal shop to create one for myself. In Taiwan (and China) a chop (or seal) is a specially carved stamp and are like a signature. In fact, they carry more weight than a signature. If you do business here in Taiwan (or in my case, need to open a bank account), you are required to use a seal to make things official. Also, you don't have to be present during the process as long as a seal is used. So now, I just need to locate one of the stamp making shops and I'll be set (well, at least I'll be ALMOST set to get my backpay...)


There is another thing that I have been always meaning to put on the blog, but seem to always forget. Maybe it's because I fear that some government official will be reading this in the US and enact a similar thing there. But putting ego-inflated paranoia aside, I'll get to my point.

Here in Taiwan, recycling is a big thing - and it's not just a political thing. It's engrained in the culture. It's as much religious conviction as it is personal responsibility.

Here in my apartment, in the parking garage, is the place where people throw away their garbage - and do their recycling. There are about 12 different kind of recycling cans - from hard plastics to soft plastics, to compost, to cardboard to batteries. To recycle is to replenish to earth. To throw away is to pay.

Catch that? Yea, if you end up not recycling something, you have to PAY to throw away garbage. How do they do that?

Well you can only throw away garbage in these special bright pink bags. You buy these bags in grocery stores or other random places. You get 20 of them for around $NT 170 (or $5.50ish). They have these special hologram stickers on them, which say (ironically) "Taipei County Government - Recycle"

So remember, next time you throw something away...at least you're not being taxed on trash - yet.

But yes, on to another topic - the life of a blossoming bourgeoisie. Well, not quite, but I can get use to the weather and lifestyle here. Today (and practically this entire week) the weather has been amazing. Mid-70's, sunny, breezy - couldn't ask for better. On top of that, across the street from Taipei 101 there is a shopping area called New York New York. In New York New York, there is a McDonalds, Mister Doughnut, Starbucks and Stone Creamery. But the best part about that is that all of those restraunts have tables that are outside with a nice big umbrella. So what I've been doing is going there for lunch, bringing a book with me, and staying under the umbrella enjoying every possible minute until dinner.

Now, I'm not saying this to brag. Just saying that (a) good things can't last forever and (b) I hope forever never comes.

Well, it's late and I figure that I should do something productive tomorrow. My friend Laura is coming in on Saturday and I still need to figure out some of the details on which bus to take to the Airport. So, if you come to visit me, I will by then know how I will meet you at the airport. Sorry Laura, but you might be a test subject - hopefully it all turns out well.

Until next time...

Awesome KEW Video

Big shout-out to Tristen for taking the time to put together an amazing video!

Notes from Students

Well, the week is OFFICIALLY over! Now, sometimes I will get notes from students (sometimes with help from a Taiwaneese staff member writing it and sometimes from their own free will) and some weeks I don't get anything. This week, I got quite a few notes...and I will share with y'all these notes, in all their glory.

"Mr. RJ, bloss you happy forever. Alice :)"

"Mr. R.J <3 <3, you very goot teach. bloss R.J happy. you teach me Enghish. good bye Thank you. good teach! Eva"

"Dear Mr. RJ, Thank you you teach me 5 day. I think there are awesome! God blass you! + student, Joyce :) 2010.3.25 (Thursday)"

"Mr. RJ, Thank you. you teacher me English. good teacher Betty"

"Mr. RJ (and puts my name in Chineese) Thank you teach me Engltsh Im very happy. Cindy"

"Mr. RJ. You are nember one teacher I am so happy during your class Thank you! Sarah *"

And now, my two personal favorite notes...

"Dear Mr. R.J: Thank for your teaching. Do you know what I thank? Because you told us some words and sports we don't know! Thks! Student Kayla"

"Dear Mr. R.J: Thanks for your hard teaching. I'm so happy to meet you. On this week I was happy because you teach us some new words and you tell us some sport we don't understand. Sherry"

It's always nice to get notes...I did learn a few things: I need to teach how to spell the word "bless" and maybe do a better job in explaining what Ultimate Frisbee is ("...and you tell us some sport we don't understand.")

Wild Week at Kuolai!

Wednesday is offically over...or at least close enough. It's been a very busy week for me, but it's definitly been more good busy than bad busy...

I do have a few fun names of the kids from this week. I think my favorite is a boy named "Wordsworth". Ironically, he speaks very good English too! There is also a girl named "Jolin", but pronounced "Joel-leen". Besides those, the names are kind of tame. Maybe next time...

On Monday I dropped my camera and when it hit the ground, some of the clips that hold the battery door closed broke. Soooo until I can get a good resolution for that problem, I won't have a camera. And they don't have REAL ducttape over here...they have what is called "Deer tape". And it's not very strong. Ducttape would kick Deer tape in the butt if they ever fought in a cage match. Yeah...

Today I spent the day teaching the kids how to play frisbee. It's amazing how few people over in Taiwan even know what frisbee is, let alone play it. The kids seemed to really love it. It took quite a bit of time to teach them how to throw a frisbee at a stand still, throw a frisbee at someone who is running, and then teach them the basic rules to ultimate frisbee. But once they got the hang of it, they were tearing up the field. And one kid got a little torn up too!

I've never seen a person get 2 broken teeth from a frisbee. I've seen cut lips, or maybe a goose on the eye from being hit by the disc, but never as serious of an injury as broken teeth. But this kid (Billy) managed to get hit in the mouth with the frisbee, not cut his lip or any other physical damaage, but happened to break 2 teeth. But he was true to form and causing problems just a few hours later at lunch, pushing another kid.

Besides that, the weather has been very hot and beginning to feel like South Carolina. The humidity is definitly increasing, but the sun has been out so I'm not really complaining. Maybe I'll even get a tan before too long. As of now, I still reflect more light than the moon off my skin, so I have a ways to go.

Also, a friend of mine said that they will be visiting me in a short time! Laura Durkin!!!! Definitly get a shout out for flying out this way - even if I'm only a stopping point during your trip ;). Hopefully more people will head to Asia, and if you do, you have a FREE place to stay. You just have to eat a snake...

Well, I think that's about it. I need to shower, as playing frisbee for nearly 4 hours in hot and humid weather makes for a cologne that even the French won't wear. Until next time...

Keeping Busy

Well, I'm getting better, so that's good. I was able to have a pretty fun weekend, even with not feeling 100%.

Yesterday, I went to the Calla Lily Festival which is in Zhuzihu. It's about a 40 minute MRT ride - ride the red line to Beitou - from the closest station (which takes a 20 minute bus ride to get to from where I live). From there, you take another 45 minute bus ride around a windy montain road in a tiny crowded bus. Put it all together, and you have a very wild experience!

But it was all definitly worth it. The Calla Lily Festival is a short term festival that goes on during March and April - during the blooming season for lillies. You get there and pretty much walk around different lily "farms" and you can pick your own flowers for $NT 10 each - or about 30 cents per flower USD.

After that we headed back to Taipei. I was hankering for a hamburger so I forced Michael to follow me to the local McDonalds. Now, I am used to seeing interesting looking folks at McDonalds - I mean, I am from South Carolina. We aren't stereotyped for no reason...

Back on point though. I see this lady walk in with a pink fur coat, a pink undershirt, neon yellow pants and high heels on. As I'm looking at her, she is very exact on all of her movements - like she was from some high-class English heritage or something. Michael see's her too and informs me that she is some kind of semi-famous person from TV. She apparently had a short-lived TV program a few months ago and is trying to make it back onto the silver screen.

Well as we are eating, people are lining up to take pictures with this lady. I mean, she was obviously not at McDonalds to eat - as previously noted on what she was wearing, she was also sitting in the very front near the door so everyone would see her.

Well I decide that I need to get a pic with her too - just because I figured why not. I travel 11000 miles, I need to see someone kinda famous. Yeah and this chick was semi-famous for acting (or being?) stupid. I'm guessing kind of like Ugly Betty in the US is famous for being ugly.

So in the past week, I have met 3 "famous" people here in Taiwan: The Governor of Taipei, the Mayor of Taipei, and who I will now designate as "Betty".

But yeah, back to work this week, which isn't really a bad thing. We'll see if I say this after this week. We have a LOT more boys this week than in the past, and 5th grade boys are...how should I put this..."hard to manage". So on the way to work I think I'm going to pick up a cattle prod...

Yeargggg!

Ok, so I'm not REALLY a pirate, but I feel like I've been attacked by them! I've been fighting off a cold practically since I got here and the last 2 days (minus today) have been pretty rough, to say the least. I bloody hate colds, flus, fevers, and that bum feeling of being sick. But I am finally back on my feet, found some vitamins (Good 'ole B6, B12, C and added minerals) and some Theraflu type stuff. Hopefully that'll do the trick!

But I have found out some interesting stuff recently. I will share one of those things with you now:

In America and Western culture, we have a strange belief that the number 13 is unlucky. Buildings don't usually have a 13th floor and all. Friday the 13th is another example. Well I found out that in Asian culture (Chineese, Japaneese and Korean) the number 4 is like our 13. The number 4 is pronounced much like the word "death" in Mandarian. Like really close.

IRONICALLY enough, I live on the 4th floor in my apartment complex. No wonder the rent is so cheap! Gotta love taking advantage of superstitous situations!

Also, a local Taiwaneese friend of mine recently recommended me a book to read. He said it was spot on. The book is called Taiwan A to Z: The Essential Cultural Guide by Amy Liu.

I have gotten about a third of the way through the book and have found it very interesting and helpful on certain things. I will definitly be sharing things from this book from time to time. One thing that I would like to share from it now. Normally I will just paraphrase, but this section seems hard to paraphrase. This comes from the Chopsticks chapter:

Good etiquette when using chopsticks
Never wave chopsticks to point at things or 'direct traffic' in the restraunt.

Pick food up with the chopsticks; don't spear it - only small children are allowed this infraction.

Put your chopsticks down before picking up a cup or bowl.

Never suck or chew the tips of the chopsticks.

Don't stick chopsticks vertically into a bowl of rice. This is only done at funerals, when the sticks resemble incense sticks lit for the dead. This is probably the one things most likely to offend the Taiwaneese.

Never use chopsticks as drumsticks to tap on the rice bowl. That's a beggar's gesture.

Don't use chopsticks as a hair decoration, even though in the past women used them as decorative hairpins.

Don't pick up an item and put it right back in the dish. You should aim before raising your chopsticks. Once you touch it, it's yours.

It may be a polite gesture to pick up the best piece of food from the dish and send it to your guest's bowl or plate. If there are serving spoons or communal chopsticks on the table, use those to get food. If not, reverse your chopsticks and use the other, clean ends to pick up the food.
--P. 38

Pi Day

I was beginning to think that maybe I was being too conservative over here! Well today fixed that.

As you know, today (3.14) is Pi Day. So in honor of that, I decided to not think about math.

I also decided that today would be a great day to do a few cool things. First off, hats off to Michael for taking time out today to take me around Taipei. Definitly found some new favorite places to hang out. The Taipower Building MRT stop is going to be a place I will be visiting a few more times over the coming weeks. It's located near the campus of Normal University. I guess the rest of the universities in the city are not normal.

Also, for you art/cultural lovers out there, the Zhongshan MRT stop is very close to the National Taiwan Museum and the Museum of Modern Art. The Mueseum of Modern Art definitly had some...interesting...things in it. The museum changes what it shows almost monthly, and this month was the works of Zhang Huan. Look this guy up if you have the time. He definitly likes doing living art in the nude, but some of his stuff actually is pretty impressive.


The National Taiwan Museum is also pretty cool. Has a lot of the aboriginal Taiwaneese culture things on display, as well as some items from the Japaneese Occupation (1890 - 1945). We went through the 2 mueseums pretty quickly, but we were able to see a bank vault, dinosaur skeltons and other fossils.


For food, I didn't disappoint. I really haven't had much "unique" food since my episode with the snake, so I needed to do some catching up. For lunch, I had a traditional Taiwaneese meal...noodles, pig intestine and oysters. Mmmmmm...


For a mid-day snack, I had chicken butt (yes, a chickens BUTT) and chicken heart. They actually were very good...in fact, what you eat at McDonalds as McNuggets or Taco Bell as a 5-layer burrito probably has a worse mix of meat that what I had today. In all honesty, I can see myself having both of those again.


I did have a normal dinner: cheese pizza with pineapples. I didn't want to push my stomach much more today as I'm sure tonight will be fun.

But yes, Pi Day was quite eventful. I'm thinking I will be staying in Sheng Keng for the next few days though...as my bank account seems to be running lower than I would like at the moment. But anyhow, until next time...

Thai Massage

After a long, gueling week with 50-some 5th graders, I decided to do something relaxing and comforting. And somewhat painful.

That's right, I did s Thai Massage...for an hour and a half. First off, I don't think I've ever had any kind of massage before. I kind of knew what to expect because the guy I went with told me what Thai massages were. What I didn't know is that they can be excruciatingly (I know I butchered the spelling...) painful and amazing at the same time.



The person who did the massage definitly knew what she was doing. And by knowing what she was doing, she made it as PAINFUL as possible. Last night, since I had walked up a miles worth of stairs, I had some pretty bad leg cramps. To get the cramps out during the massage, just imagine that there are marbles stuck to gum inside your leg. To get the marbles out you have to push really hard down toward your toes. After about 5 minutes on the calf and foot, your leg feels like its floating but your nerves are shot. If you've had one of these, you probably at least get the jist of what I'm saying. If not, I say you should at least try a Thai Massage and see what you think. I feel a lot better after taking it.

Here's another sign I saw tonight...thought it was kind of interesting...



Even after looking in that place, I still wasn't exactly sure what they were selling...Maybe bad gas?

Anyhow, the weather is nice again and hopefully this weekend I'll have somemore interesting adventures.

ALMOST there....

Well the end of the first week of teaching is ALMOST here. It's Thursday afternoon here. All of "lesson plans" are almost finished - I only have to teach one more set for 3 classes and I'm just taking them down to the river.

Some things I have learned this week:

Playing duck, duck, goose can be dangerous. We played it in a room with wooden floors and I was wearing socks. While running (and gloating how the kid couldn't catch me) I decided to have a "knee and wrist meet floor" experience. My wrist is still a little sore (and that happened on Tuesday).

Another thing I learned is that the saw grass here can be much sharper than the saw grass back home. Case in point: I cut my finger and after about a pint of blood gone it showed no signs of stopping. But truth be told, it added a little to my legacy...I was told that some of the kids thought that I was "macho". Haha, I guess I can fool them for a week or so...

Third, the spellings on some bootleg merchandise is hilarious. Harley Davidson was spelled "Harely Avidison" and I've been told Nike can be seen spelled "Nikf". I've seen others, but those two were pretty funny.

In 23 hours I'll be done for this week and then I'll have an entire week off...until then...

Another Week, Another Story

Well today was my first "offical" day of working at the school. Minus a technical probelm with Excel and GoogleDocs in the morning, everything else has gone off ok.

And by "ok" I mean I'm still alive. The kids we have this week are definitley more quiet than the last group, but they seem to be a little less intersted too; maybe it's a tradeoff. Gotta love equilibriums.

Also, I apparently left my apartment this morning without grabbing my camera. That's what 3 hours of sleep will do to you. Thank you insomnia and the people who were talking outside in the courtyard til 1 a.m. And the birds. You are very, very loud at times.

Anyhow, there are some good names in this group: My favorite so far is a guy named "One". Like the number. There's also a kid named "Lion", "Tembo" and "Komizu". Since when is Komizu an English name? Come to think of it, I've heard odder names in the states...

The forecast for this week is rain. Rain, and cold weather. The first of this type of stuff since I've gotten here - I guess the good days of 75 degree days with the sun shining couldn't last forever. Now I'm guessing it's a month or two of 50 degree weather with dreary rain. But it does make for some very good pictures of the mountain fog. Too bad I don't have my camera...

Well there probably won't be much to write home about for the next 2 or 3 days, so if that's the case, until then...

More Fun Stories from Taipei

Where to start? I've got a lot of things to write about on this post, so I'll try to condense it as much as possible.

I'll start with an interesting conversation I had with an older lady, but let me give some context to the story first. Me and Casey were at the night market Friday and were eating and talking when a guy around our age comes up to us and starts talking to us in English. Now two things are interesting about that to start with: 1. He's Taiwaneese but has an Australian accent and 2. In Asian culture people NEVER come up to someone they don't know.

We start talking and he had spent 6 months in Australia working (hence his accent) and his mother invited us over to where they were eating so we could - bond? Anyhow, there is a girl a little bit yonger than me there at the table and somehow me and her mother start talking about US - Taiwan relations (Imagine that - me talking politics!). Now the girl is acting as a translator (she is or had studies in England).

What was interesting was that the mother (who I would say was maybe 50) said that she liked Americans but did not like America. I asked her why is that. I mean, we have pretty much stuck our neck out for Taiwan in relation to their right to be "independent" of China (but still the US doesn't "recognize" Taiwan as a "country"). She said that there were two reasons she didn't like the US: 1. We rip off Taiwan when we sell them weapons and 2. She saw what Nixon did in 1972 as selling out Taiwan for the economic interest of the US. I can't say I can blame her for her feelings. It was very interesting to me because I had always assumed that the people of Taiwan would have a very favorable view of the US - but I can definitly understand where she is coming from.

But this is just one person - you can't please everybody.

Anyhow, now to more interesting things... Today I went into Taipei again. And I didn't get AS lost this time! Anyhow, I decided to visit Taipei 101 - which was the tallest building in the world until the one in Dubai opened up earlier this year (but does that count because last I heard they had to close that building because of electrical issues). It only costs about $8 US to take the elevator to the top. Contrast that with the CN Tower in Toronto. It cost like $36 to get to the top of that place. They even have an outside observation deck where you can see smog for miles. It's quite lovely...

After that I decided to start walking in one direction and see what was around. Now I've decided that I have "explorer ADHD" or something. I start walking and then I see some alley where there are people walking around so I go see whats going on. It's actually a good way to see some interesting and unique things. I'll let the video explain what I mean by that...I found this by walking to where the people were:



Anyhow, I did find out a few things today. The night market in Jiantan was the BIGGEST letdown ever. I thought it was going to be this really cool and big night market - I had heard a lot about it. I mean, it's even called a "Tourist Night Market". No. Not even close. It was at best a food flea market. If you want just some local cruisine (which you can find in most any night market) Jiantan is for you. But I don't think I'll head back there for awhile. I headed back to the night market off the Longshan Temple MRT route. I think that is my favorite night market so far - it's the famous one that I ate snake at last week.

Another thing I learned is that it is very difficult to find dudes sunglasses. I walked around for at least 6 hours today and I only found 2 places that had any kind of el cheapo sunglasses for guys.

But I did find a new place that I will be checking out again. Its called Ximen and it seems to be the place to go. While in Ximen I did the riskiest thing since I've been here: I ate at MCDONALDS! I got the Big Mac (which when I saw it, the only thing that went through my mind was "Where's the beef?") But they gave me a large drink and medium fries and it cost about $4 US. One really random thing though that I noticed was that they just gave me 1 ketchup packet. I'm guessing if I asked they would have given me more, but really?! I mean, isn't it self evident that when you have a medium fry you'll use more than half an ounce of ketchup?

Oh going back to the night market off Longshan Temple. I don't know if this was what was going on, but I'm pretty sure it was. I walked kind of off the main part of the market because there was a wall that had some items on it and I wanted to see if there was anything there I needed. Right as I get to the end of the wall (where it turns into the sterotypical creepy dark alley) a woman comes up to me and starts talking to me. I'm just giving her a blank stare but then she grabs my arm and trys to pull me with her into the alley. Now, the first thing that goes through my mind is that she's a hooker. The second thing that goes through my mind is that she's not a hooker but is working with other people to get foreigners (who will have cash on them) into the alley where someone will pull a knife or something on them. So with this immediatley running through my mind I pull my arm away, turn around and get back on the main market area. So the moral of this story is this: during night time, its not a good thing to have "explorer ADHD". I could be wrong though...but I doubt it.

Anyhow, at the end of the day, I was able to find my bus stop very quickly this time. I think I've memorized where they are all at after last weeks fiasco.

Oh and one last thing, I found this crazy looking rock walk thing. It was the most painful thing to walk on barefoot, but after walking on it I felt really good.

Then I saw the sign and it all made sense.

Finishing the Last Post...

Yeah, I have a little more energy now so I figure I'll go more into detail about what's going on here at the school...



The kids we have here are pretty well behaved. I'm not saying they are angels (or 'angles' here...I'll explain that in a minute) but once they understand what we are trying to tell them, they obey.

Some interesting (and cool) things that they do over here in Taiwan that you would NEVER see in the US (thank you Bill Green and the likes...) is that the kids actually WORK. For example, before lunch, the food has to be brought down from the kitchen area that is in a seperate building up a flight of stairs. The kids are required to get the food and bring it down and put it on the table in the cafeteria area (although one kid did drop the grapes today - FAIL!). After a meal, the kids are required to sweep the cafeteria, clean the tables, clean out their dishes and return the pans to the kitchen. Not bad for child labor!

As for the work side, this week I'm more of an observer. I was able to put together my first 2 days of lessons (we have short days Mondays and Fridays due to Orientation and getting the kids to peace out). I'm going to be teaching a set on photography and tie it into things like outside stuff (teaching words like tree, bird, snake, cloud etc), city stuff (bus, skyscraper, dead bodies), and other things like that. I think it will be interesting...whether it works or not is a different story.

My food experience here at the camp has been very positive. For at least the next 2 weeks we will have a restraunt cater for us. They are making all the food here onsite - and it's pretty damn good. After the first 2 weeks the powers that be may decide to get a professional catering service or keep what we got. As of today, my vote is to keep these current guys.

Back to the names thing. I have been pretty amused with some of the names so far. Names ranging from "Black" to "Mix Ting" to misspellings such as "Angle". I've even heard there is a kid named "Wee Wee" or something. I'm still waiting for Obama.

And on Obama, they are obsessed with anyone who is black. Every black person is Obama to them. Ironically, aligators are also Obama. I'll have to research that a little...

Well, I think that's all for now. Not sure if I'll have anything new to post til the weekend, so if not, until then...

Kuolai English Wilderness Opening Day!

So today was pretty cool...we had our opening day here at the school but I must say I am pretty tired. It's amazing that these kids are between 10 and 12 (5th graders) and they are being sent away, for the first time ever for some of them, to a school where they don't understand much - if anything - for a full week. Some of them are definitly doing pretty well, but the majority of them are like I would be if I were in their shoes right now. I'm going to put a videos up of what today was like, so hope you enjoy (I'll try to put more up later)...



Anyhow, as I am tired and it takes a long time to put videos up, I'm going to sleep...