Two days of teacher training might not sound like much of an adventure, and, well, it isn't. But the chance to be back in the big city after a month out in the sticks was truly Just What I Needed this past week. It was also a bit like going home.
Understand, of course, that prior to this past weekend, I had spent a grand total of, I think, ten days in Taipei in my entire life. But those were my very first ten days in Taiwan, when I learned just about everything I know about this grand country. They were also spent with all the other members of my training class, several of whom I made fast friends with. I hadn't seen any of those friends in the ensuing month (with one too-brief exception) and we had all had far too little time to write to each other beyond your garden variety hey-how-are-ya quickie. So being called back for follow up training was plenty of reason to rejoice in civilization and reunions with old friends.
Yep, old friends. Until you go to work in a country where you know little of the culture and less of the language, you really can't appreciate how fast and deep the bonds are with people whose backgrounds are more like your own. Perhaps we'd all known each other for just a week and a half and that was itself just a few weeks ago - doesn't matter! You'd have thought we were old college buddies who hadn't seen each other in five years or something. (Actually, I did go to my five-year college reunion - itself about five years ago now - and this weekend was a lot more fun than that weekend. There is definitely something to be said for not pretending to be 18 again.)
Taipei is just a fabulous city in its own right. From the moment the bus got into town, everything felt a bit more vibrant and cosmopolitan. It was pouring rain and I was lugging my overnight bag along as I ducked into the subway to get to the school branch for the training, but it was all a great feeling all the same. The subway is fairly new, and it's pristine. You could probably eat off the railbeds, really, which is amazing considering how polluted Taiwan is in general. While struggling to read the subway map and find the station I needed, I was once again reminded of what a great country this is: an older woman came up and asked me in more than passable English if she could help me. It's never any trouble finding someone to help you in Taiwan: just look lost!
Arriving quickly enough at my destination, we had to dive right into the day's training activities, but it was a joyous reunion all the same. When we'd all gone our separate ways a few weeks before, it was a rather anticlimactic parting, everyone getting their luggage together and nervous about what godforsaken town they were heading off to (Longtan isn't the garden of eden, but from the stories I've heard I'm pretty lucky), and of course there were lots of plans to get back together that very next weekend - none of which came to fruition - so why exchange any pleasantries? This time it was hugs and handshakes all around, and you could definitely tell we'd all been hurting for contact.
Training came and went, and the rain, unfortunately, did not. But 5:00 rolled around soon enough, and - just like old times - we all piled into the bus for the trip back to the First Hotel, which hadn't changed at all in those four weeks. More catching up and laughing about old times (one month ago, for Pete's sake!) and big plans for the evening, rain or no rain. The clique of which I was a member ended up at Citizen Cain, a great western-style bar and grill with terrific thin-crust pizzas, among other things. (I'm usually a thick-crust man, but this place is really something else, especially by local standards!) We had all spent a particularly beer-soaked night there not so long before, and one of my friends had even brought pictures of that evening, which served as a pleasant reminder not to overdo it tonight, since there was another day of training yet to come. On the actual trip there, we happened to draw a cab driver who spoke English and was in a mood to talk about the elections. Every day is an education here!
Saturday came and went back in the classroom, and we were free to go home that evening. But of course, there was no question that many of us would be staying right where we were. So much catching up left to do - and of course, not all of it ever was done! But we put a pretty good dent in it, with a trip to the Ministry of Sound, the largest nightclub in Asia (or so they claim, and it was awfully big) that lasted well into the wee hours. I never have cared for dance music, but hanging out with everyone was great as always. This was preceded by ruminations on where to eat which lasted so long we ended up having to settle for Subway, because it was all we had time for. Island time at its best!
Sunday was even better, though - actual shopping! My apartment is still looking quite bare, and a trip to Ikea was definitely [in order]. We also got a chance to browse for books and CDs; I didn't buy any, but the option was nice for a change. And in one of those only-in-Taiwan moments, one of our gang had forgotten her camera at a convenience store by the First Hotel, so we took a swing by there on the off chance that they would still have it - and they did! How could you not love this town?
It all ended where it began - at the subway station - with an agreement to meet up again in two weeks for a friend's birthday. Here's hoping I come with a shopping list that time. I had a few nervous moments waiting for the bus back to Longtan, but it stopped exactly where I had been told it would. Whatever my company's faults, they really are very good with the logistics and advising people how to get around Taiwan without being able to read most of the street signs. It's amazing what you can notice as landmarks and such when that's your only real option.
And I've still only scraped the surface of Taipei. But all in all, I'm glad to be back here in Longtan. As one of my friends said over a marvelous pasta lunch on Sunday, "If we lived here, we'd eat and shop like this all the time and we'd be broke and fat!"
Too true. Too, too true.
Monday, March 29, 2004
Thursday, March 25, 2004
When you can't find a friend, you've still got the radio!
In other news, I finally got a radio/CD player two nights ago. If this sounds like no big deal, consider: I've been in town for three weeks, and in that time I've had no radio or computer in my apartment. As a fellow teacher commented last week, "Your place must be like a tomb!" Too close to the truth.
No more. I got a Lucky brand one, which I've never heard of before and, from what I can tell, with good reason. It's an economy brand, and I don't get the impression it'll be terribly durable. But it only has to last for a year, and it plays .mp3s. That was a deal-breaker for me in buying a CD player here, because I went to the trouble of burning 131 Jimmy Buffett songs to a CD and 164 doo-wop classics to another one just before I packed up my record collection back home. Hard to imagine life without those two ingredients for a year - and now I won't have to, at least as long as this cheap stereo holds up!
Another great thing about Taiwan - even in small towns like Longtan, stores stay open very late. So a guy like me who works until 9:00 every night can pick up a little something like a stereo on the walk home from work. I did just that on Tuesday, and lugged the thing all the way home down the main drag. By the time I set it down on the floor at home, I had that feeling where your arms are so tired you have to concentrate hard to even lift one to scratch your nose. Oh, and it was drizzling, too, as it has been all week here.
All totally worth it. From the moment I had the speakers hooked up and the power on and "A Pirate Looks At Forty" cued up, my humble abode was a little corner of heaven in the stormy sea. The sound quality was about what you'd expect playing .mp3s on a cheap stereo, but it didn't matter. I can't afford to be an audiophile at the moment anyway.
My paycheck said "Let there be music," and there was. And it was good. Very, very good.
No more. I got a Lucky brand one, which I've never heard of before and, from what I can tell, with good reason. It's an economy brand, and I don't get the impression it'll be terribly durable. But it only has to last for a year, and it plays .mp3s. That was a deal-breaker for me in buying a CD player here, because I went to the trouble of burning 131 Jimmy Buffett songs to a CD and 164 doo-wop classics to another one just before I packed up my record collection back home. Hard to imagine life without those two ingredients for a year - and now I won't have to, at least as long as this cheap stereo holds up!
Another great thing about Taiwan - even in small towns like Longtan, stores stay open very late. So a guy like me who works until 9:00 every night can pick up a little something like a stereo on the walk home from work. I did just that on Tuesday, and lugged the thing all the way home down the main drag. By the time I set it down on the floor at home, I had that feeling where your arms are so tired you have to concentrate hard to even lift one to scratch your nose. Oh, and it was drizzling, too, as it has been all week here.
All totally worth it. From the moment I had the speakers hooked up and the power on and "A Pirate Looks At Forty" cued up, my humble abode was a little corner of heaven in the stormy sea. The sound quality was about what you'd expect playing .mp3s on a cheap stereo, but it didn't matter. I can't afford to be an audiophile at the moment anyway.
My paycheck said "Let there be music," and there was. And it was good. Very, very good.
Another Saturday night, and I ain't got nobody...
I nearly forgot to write about this little adventure. An Irish colleague (or Northern Irish, I guess) invited several of us to her place in Taoyuen last Saturday for a belated St. Patrick's day fest. For reasons that aren't important, I ended up traveling there on my own. Now traveling in Taiwan is an adventure unto itself even before you get where you're going; but it really isn't too bad as long as you get across the language barrier long enough to tell a cab driver where you want to go.
It took me two tries to make it past that first step on Saturday.
The first driver took me to the gates of an apartment complex somewhere I'd never even seen before on the outskirts of my town, Longtan. He was convinced that he'd taken me exactly where I wanted to go, but when I didn't get out, he eventually realized that he hadn't. I think he probably asked me what I had said, but of course all I could say was "Taoyuen," again and again. Apparently it didn't occur to him that I meant the city. I'm guessing the apartments he took me to were called Taoyuen Village or something like that. Kind of like DC's Cleveland Park, which is at least a thousand kilometers from Cleveland, or New York's Greenwich Village, which is near Greenwich, Connecticut but five time zones away from Greenwich, England.
But I digress. When I couldn't get my point across, the driver took me back to downtown Longtan, just across the street from where he'd picked me up. I begrudgingly gave him the money I'd wasted on the ride, got out of the cab and planned to head home. I got as far as calling the friend who'd invited me on my cell phone to tell her I wasn't going to be coming after all. But the thought of a pleasant evening with half a dozen friends and plenty of liquid refreshments versus another night on the couch with nothing but a novel to keep me occupied was enough to get me to try another cab.
This time, I got to Taoyuen without much trouble. My destination was just off the main drag, so when we got to the main drag, I made a 50-50 decision and asked the driver to turn right. Soon enough, I discovered that I should have told her to turn left. Erg. Well, my friend had said to look for a McDonalds and then turn left at that corner, so I got out at the first golden arches I saw, only to find they weren't on a corner! This is when cell phones really are your friend, like it or not. Another call confirmed that I was walking in the right direction, only I would later find out that I wasn't really.
After going for several more blocks and reaching the outskirts of town, I called again to check on my location. I was outside the hospital just then, I told my friends. "Hospital? Where?" Oops. No problem, they said, just stay where you are and we'll come after you in a cab. I waited on the corner for around ten minutes, not long at all but it seemed like forever under the circumstances. Then, another call.
"Dave. Are you by the hospital now?"
"Yep, I'm on the main road just up from the hospital."
"Okay, I'm at the 7-11 there. Come meet me there."
Now, one of the first things anyone will tell you on your arrival in Taiwan is that you should never use 7-11's as landmarks, because they're more ubiquitous than Starbucks in DC. I had heard this myself exactly a month beforehand, but hey, I could actually see this particular 7-11! How hard could it be in this case?
Pretty hard. "Edith? I'm here."
"Where?"
"Right outside the 7-11."
"I don't see you."
"I don't see you either." So there were either two hospitals or two 7-11's. After comparing landmarks, we concluded that there were two different hospitals, only we later discovered that we were in fact at two different 7-11's at the same hospital. Anyway, she and the other members of the search-party got back in the cab. Just a few minutes later came another call.
"Okay, Dave? Got an idea. Go into the 7-11 and give your phone to the clerk. We'll have the cab driver get directions from her."
"Great idea! Will do."
I went inside and found a clerk and several customers. Now, the Taiwanese in general are very good at non-verbal communication. I suspect this has something to do with the sheer difficulty of learning to speak Chinese and the fact that they can usually tell by looking at you whether or not you can speak it. This, however, was not my night on that front either. I tried to hand the phone to the clerk, but she just backed away a bit and shrugged her shoulders at me like I was from Mars. I gestured a few more times and even tried saying "I need directions," in case she spoke English (some store clerks do!). Nothing. Then I tried the customers and got basically the same thing. Finally, one of them understood and took the phone.
"Neihao?" he said.
Apparently, the other phone hadn't been handed to the cab driver just yet, because the answer came in English and he shook his head and handed the phone back to me. More frustrated than ever, I took the phone back, only to find someone talking away in Chinese on the other end. Our timing was off by perhaps two seconds!!
Cursing up a storm, and trying not to think about what the people in the store must have thought of me, I went back outside shouting into the phone. But before they could pass it back to anyone who would understand me, the line went dead. Edith's minutes had run out, apparently.
So there I was, out in the hospital courtyard, feeling wound up tighter than a corkscrew and thinking someone was probably going to send the men in white coats after me. I made up my mind to give the others five more minutes to find me, then I would catch the first cab I could find back to Longtan.
But, as the fates would have it, the very next cab that came by was the rescue party! I was not in a very festive mood at that point, which is too bad since the others were so delighted to see me, but I did my best not to take it out on them. They had, after all, done all they could to help out! All the way home in the cab, there were stories all around about how everyone had been through the same sort of thing and how I'd be laughing about it all in no time.
They were right. A few hours in a pleasantly dry and warm apartment with the din of traffic outside and candles and Dylan on the stereo inside - not to mention three glasses of whiskey and several more travel horror stories - and I was all smiles once again. "You should've seen me in the 7-11, it was a hoot!" Such are the adventures of the expat, I guess, and really, it's all part of why I came here. But trust me on not using 7-11s as landmarks!
Thanks again, Edith!
It took me two tries to make it past that first step on Saturday.
The first driver took me to the gates of an apartment complex somewhere I'd never even seen before on the outskirts of my town, Longtan. He was convinced that he'd taken me exactly where I wanted to go, but when I didn't get out, he eventually realized that he hadn't. I think he probably asked me what I had said, but of course all I could say was "Taoyuen," again and again. Apparently it didn't occur to him that I meant the city. I'm guessing the apartments he took me to were called Taoyuen Village or something like that. Kind of like DC's Cleveland Park, which is at least a thousand kilometers from Cleveland, or New York's Greenwich Village, which is near Greenwich, Connecticut but five time zones away from Greenwich, England.
But I digress. When I couldn't get my point across, the driver took me back to downtown Longtan, just across the street from where he'd picked me up. I begrudgingly gave him the money I'd wasted on the ride, got out of the cab and planned to head home. I got as far as calling the friend who'd invited me on my cell phone to tell her I wasn't going to be coming after all. But the thought of a pleasant evening with half a dozen friends and plenty of liquid refreshments versus another night on the couch with nothing but a novel to keep me occupied was enough to get me to try another cab.
This time, I got to Taoyuen without much trouble. My destination was just off the main drag, so when we got to the main drag, I made a 50-50 decision and asked the driver to turn right. Soon enough, I discovered that I should have told her to turn left. Erg. Well, my friend had said to look for a McDonalds and then turn left at that corner, so I got out at the first golden arches I saw, only to find they weren't on a corner! This is when cell phones really are your friend, like it or not. Another call confirmed that I was walking in the right direction, only I would later find out that I wasn't really.
After going for several more blocks and reaching the outskirts of town, I called again to check on my location. I was outside the hospital just then, I told my friends. "Hospital? Where?" Oops. No problem, they said, just stay where you are and we'll come after you in a cab. I waited on the corner for around ten minutes, not long at all but it seemed like forever under the circumstances. Then, another call.
"Dave. Are you by the hospital now?"
"Yep, I'm on the main road just up from the hospital."
"Okay, I'm at the 7-11 there. Come meet me there."
Now, one of the first things anyone will tell you on your arrival in Taiwan is that you should never use 7-11's as landmarks, because they're more ubiquitous than Starbucks in DC. I had heard this myself exactly a month beforehand, but hey, I could actually see this particular 7-11! How hard could it be in this case?
Pretty hard. "Edith? I'm here."
"Where?"
"Right outside the 7-11."
"I don't see you."
"I don't see you either." So there were either two hospitals or two 7-11's. After comparing landmarks, we concluded that there were two different hospitals, only we later discovered that we were in fact at two different 7-11's at the same hospital. Anyway, she and the other members of the search-party got back in the cab. Just a few minutes later came another call.
"Okay, Dave? Got an idea. Go into the 7-11 and give your phone to the clerk. We'll have the cab driver get directions from her."
"Great idea! Will do."
I went inside and found a clerk and several customers. Now, the Taiwanese in general are very good at non-verbal communication. I suspect this has something to do with the sheer difficulty of learning to speak Chinese and the fact that they can usually tell by looking at you whether or not you can speak it. This, however, was not my night on that front either. I tried to hand the phone to the clerk, but she just backed away a bit and shrugged her shoulders at me like I was from Mars. I gestured a few more times and even tried saying "I need directions," in case she spoke English (some store clerks do!). Nothing. Then I tried the customers and got basically the same thing. Finally, one of them understood and took the phone.
"Neihao?" he said.
Apparently, the other phone hadn't been handed to the cab driver just yet, because the answer came in English and he shook his head and handed the phone back to me. More frustrated than ever, I took the phone back, only to find someone talking away in Chinese on the other end. Our timing was off by perhaps two seconds!!
Cursing up a storm, and trying not to think about what the people in the store must have thought of me, I went back outside shouting into the phone. But before they could pass it back to anyone who would understand me, the line went dead. Edith's minutes had run out, apparently.
So there I was, out in the hospital courtyard, feeling wound up tighter than a corkscrew and thinking someone was probably going to send the men in white coats after me. I made up my mind to give the others five more minutes to find me, then I would catch the first cab I could find back to Longtan.
But, as the fates would have it, the very next cab that came by was the rescue party! I was not in a very festive mood at that point, which is too bad since the others were so delighted to see me, but I did my best not to take it out on them. They had, after all, done all they could to help out! All the way home in the cab, there were stories all around about how everyone had been through the same sort of thing and how I'd be laughing about it all in no time.
They were right. A few hours in a pleasantly dry and warm apartment with the din of traffic outside and candles and Dylan on the stereo inside - not to mention three glasses of whiskey and several more travel horror stories - and I was all smiles once again. "You should've seen me in the 7-11, it was a hoot!" Such are the adventures of the expat, I guess, and really, it's all part of why I came here. But trust me on not using 7-11s as landmarks!
Thanks again, Edith!
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
I really don't want this to be another political blog, but...
I can't resist pointing this out. Here in Taiwan, there was an election on Saturday. An extremely close election in which a lot of people feel the winner took less than kosher steps to come out ahead and there are legitimate questions about whether the voting was clean. So the apparent loser has asked for a recount, and the apparent winner has agreed.
The world has learned a lot from America. It would really reflect well upon us if we returned the favor now and then.
The world has learned a lot from America. It would really reflect well upon us if we returned the favor now and then.
Striking fear into the hearts of children
I had a truly revelatory experience yesterday.
Between classes, I went downstairs to get some coffee. The hot water machine (all our coffee is instant here, unfortunately) is in a sort of informal student lounge where a lot of the kids hang out between classes. While there, I happened to run into one of my students. I asked how she was doing.
"Oh, so-so," she said.
"Just so-so?" I asked.
"Well, nervous. Big test tonight!" she explained.
"Ah," I assured her, "I'm sure you'll do fine."
Now, I hadn't checked my lesson plans for the evening yet at this point. So imagine my surprise when I got back upstairs and discovered that the big test she'd mentioned was in my class! I didn't know just what to make of this - hey, I'm not such a tough teacher. (No one here is, really. Our grading policy is very lenient.) And this girl was also one of my better students; in fact, she did very well on the test, as it turned out. I wonder how I'd managed to forget how scary test day can be, and me being surrounded by schoolchildren for the past three weeks! It's hard to imagine anyone ever being that scared of little ol' me, really. Hope I don't let the power go to my head.
Between classes, I went downstairs to get some coffee. The hot water machine (all our coffee is instant here, unfortunately) is in a sort of informal student lounge where a lot of the kids hang out between classes. While there, I happened to run into one of my students. I asked how she was doing.
"Oh, so-so," she said.
"Just so-so?" I asked.
"Well, nervous. Big test tonight!" she explained.
"Ah," I assured her, "I'm sure you'll do fine."
Now, I hadn't checked my lesson plans for the evening yet at this point. So imagine my surprise when I got back upstairs and discovered that the big test she'd mentioned was in my class! I didn't know just what to make of this - hey, I'm not such a tough teacher. (No one here is, really. Our grading policy is very lenient.) And this girl was also one of my better students; in fact, she did very well on the test, as it turned out. I wonder how I'd managed to forget how scary test day can be, and me being surrounded by schoolchildren for the past three weeks! It's hard to imagine anyone ever being that scared of little ol' me, really. Hope I don't let the power go to my head.
A blog of a thousand posts begins with...
Well, here it is. Inspired by the example of my oldest friend, Beth ("oldest" in terms of how long I've known her, not age-wise; she's a year younger than me), here I am entering the world of blogging! More to come later; I need to go prep for the next class I'm teaching.
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