Typhoon Holiday, Brother Birthday

Gchatting with Alex, one of our Fulbright leaders in Taipei:

Tsung-hsun: hi, katie

home?school?

me: Hi Alex

yes, we are all at home today

Tsung-hsun: good

enjoy your typhoon holiday

Movies I watched while stuck inside during the typhoon:

• Forgetting Sarah Marshall
• Waitress
• Lust, Caution
• 10 Things I Hate About You
• Miracle Dogs Too (on Taiwanese TV)
  
• She's the Man
  

Food I consumed while most restaurants were closed because of the typhoon:

• Leftover Pizza Hut pizza (cold, of course)
• Peanut butter granola bar
• Kiwi (1)
  
• Oreos (several)
  
• Coca-cola
• Chicken Teriyaki burger and fries from Mos Burger

Amount my sleep schedule was thrown off because of the typhoon:

• A lot

Things that will make October different after this week:

• Typhoons will stop coming through ... knock on wood
• Jonathan will be visiting Oct 4th-22nd
  
• English Village will be on hiatus 10/7 to 11/2, which means more free time on Tuesdays and Fridays
• It will be at least a little cooler here in Kaohsiung ... knock on wood again

Time to go to bed again. If you know my brother Steve, remember to wish him a happy 25th birthday!


(Steve, at my graduation, after a night of no sleep, probably glaring at my mother for taking a picture of him)

No school tomorrow?!?

I can't remember when my last day off of school was. It must have been senior year of high school, at which point it was probably just another day I had to spend working on college applications (or not working on college applications, but spending the entire day feeling like I should be).

But now, here I am, late September in Taiwan, and thanks to typhoon Jangmi, I don't have school tomorrow. Though "Typhoon Day!" doesn't quite have the same ring to it as "Snow Day" once did.

Not to mention that listening to 100+mph winds and torrential downpours is not nearly as fun as sledding in the neighbor's backyard. But at least there's that same feeling of cozy warmth and protectedness as you sit inside and eat carbs of all shapes and sizes, watching the world fly by outside.

A sample from my cell phone camera just now (at more of a lull, when I dared stick my precious phone out the window to capture it):


So now I can spend the rest of my night watching 色,戒 and making name tags for my students. Goodnight, all!

Culturally Confounded in Taiwan, Chapter Two

The continuing saga of Taiwanese confusion.

Chapter 2: Free Stuff
Now, don't get me wrong, I love free stuff. Who doesn't? Well, maybe my mom, when my dad brings it home from business trips and/or garage sales. But for the most part, free stuff is fun. And in Taiwan, it seems to come in inexplicable times and ways.

In our first weeks here, my roommates Dan and Dani decided to go to the nearby computer store and buy some electronic dictionaries. These weren't cheap (about $200 USD each), but certainly on the cheaper end of the kind of merchandise sold in the store (laptops, LCD TV's... think Circuit City without the movies and music). When they finally made their purchase, the salesman threw in two trinkety "UFO Alarm Clocks." Because... you can't use your Chinese dictionary without having blinking lights to wake you up in the morning.

Last weekend, I went to a local cosmetic-y store (think CVS without the pharmacy) to buy sunscreen and maybe one or two unnecessary impulse buys. The total was not more than $15 US, but still, the woman grabbed a loofah from out of nowhere and said "送給你." Why did I get a loofah? I don't know. Why did the woman before me in line, who spent way more than I did, not get a loofah? I don't know.

And finally, convenience stores. Particularly during the first month, I seemed to get random discounts left and right at the Family Mart downstairs (initially deemed the "blonde discount"). And when I didn't get discounts, I'd get tiny stickers with cartoon characters on them that are supposed to go... somewhere. Think of it as something like McDonald's Monopoly, except you don't have a Monopoly board and you (probably) don't win a million dollars if you fill it up. You only get a million dollars from your receipt. Duh.

This whole experience of randomly and inexplicably getting free stuff is kind of like when you get ExtraBucks and coupons with your ExtraCare card at CVS. It's great when you get $4 off your next purchase, and bizarre when you get 50% off something you've never heard of... and who doesn't love that feeling of not knowing what's coming at the end of every purchase?

PS: I realize this is coming right after the first "chapter." I actually wrote that last night and forgot to post it. Oops.

Culturally Confounded in Taiwan, Chapter One

Over my past nearly-two-months in Taiwan, I've come across a few baffling "what the..." revelations about Taiwanese culture. These things would happen to me or around me that were totally unlike what I'm used to at home, but I would have no idea why. These aren't those "people eat snake meat" or "take your shoes off when inside" type things that you either notice quickly or people take you aside to tell you. No, these things are much more subtle than that, and you can go on living with it for two months before you realize what exactly is going on.

Chapter 1: Receipts
Business cards are a very popular thing in Asia right now. You meet someone somewhere and talk to them for more than three minutes, and you will walk away one business card richer. The way that you exchange business cards is rather formal; it is customary and polite to accept business cards with both hands while slightly bowing (at least nodding your head). This is one of those things that's pretty easy to notice, and I know this was explained to me before I went to Asia for the first time.

Now, Katie, why did you make the heading "Receipts" if you were just going to talk about business cards? Well, every time you buy anything-- from a can of Coke at the 7-11 to furnishings for your whole apartment at IKEA-- the cashier will formally hand you your receipt. They don't ask if you want one, and act somewhat surprised if you don't take it. I always assumed this was just an extension of the business card behavior... someone hands you a piece of paper, however trivial, and you politely accept it and move on with your day.

But nay! Apparently, at the top of every receipt, there is a 10-digit numerical code. These codes are all lottery numbers of sorts. A certain government website updates with new numbers every month, and you can win a prize if you have the winning number. But you have to be able to produce the whole receipt. Which means keeping all of your receipts for at least a month. This behavior is to encourage people to want receipts, thus encouraging companies to keep track honestly of their transactions. If you ask me, though, save me the clutter and save the world the paper, I'm not winning the lottery any time soon.

Now as proof, even 麥當勞 is serious about its receipts. (As a side note, I only go there for the 冰旋風. And maybe sometimes fries.)

The latest craze...

I went to a department store with my host family last Sunday. Department stores are basically 10+ story buildings with anything you could need, including a grocery store, bookstore, movie theater, and any kind of boutique or kiosk you would want. Anyway, this department store also had an arcade. A crowd was gathered around this one machine, and my host brother Kevin was particularly excited. It was like Dance Dance Revolution, but... well... revolutionized.

A video is necessary. My favorite part is not the guy standing and playing the actual game, but the many others standing nearby "rehearsing" for their turn.



Sorry for the brevity and poor quality. It was about as close and as long as I dared stand near the flailing-armed men (yes, men). Needless to say, when host mom Linda asked if I wanted to give it a try, I politely declined.

Don't buy stuff you cannot afford!

Being in Taiwan and having little knowledge of how the financial world works, let alone actually having investments of my own, I feel very disconnected from what's going on with the American (and world?) economy. Anyway, all of this stuff reminds me of one of my favorite SNL videos. Enjoy.

Who ordered pizza?

Saturday accomplishments:

• Finish another NYT Sunday crossword with Jonathan
• Buy groceries
• Discover that Taiwan does sell deodorant, razors, and hand sanitizer, at least a little bit
  
• Clean entire apartment (thanks to 小清)
• Wash and air-dry sheets, pillowcases, and blanket...
  
• Wear a sweatshirt and long PJ pants, however briefly and artificially, thanks to a strategically aimed air conditioning unit (I miss being cold)
  
• Watch some actual TV on my Slingbox
• Get the most expensive thing at Ice Art (actually on Friday): 雪花冰 with fresh mango, kiwi, and strawberry, and a scoop of chocolate chip ice cream for just over $7 US... probably the most you could spend on a single food item in Kaohsiung
• Find and navigate the online menu, then place an online order (all in Chinese) at必勝客; have a phone conversation with the server there, and pick it up
• Purchase three tubes of SPF 50+ sunscreen
• Watch "Pretty Woman" with Chinese subtitles
  

Tomorrow's to-do list:

• Write my weekly reflection (assigned by Fulbright and the Kaohsiung Bureau of Education)
  
• Go to Costco and a bookstore with my host family
  
• Plan lessons?
  
• Find a song to sing for demanding 4th graders
• Make a list of the top players in the MLB to help my baseball classes pick English names ("Po-sa-da!" "But Posada isn't his name... his name is Jorge... so you can be Jorge, or George!" "PO-SA-DA!")
• Triple-check that my DVR will be recording all the new TV starting up this week (via Slingbox, of course): Grey's, The Office, How I Met Your Mother, Chuck, and (many) more

With such a big day ahead, I better get started on sleep. More inspiring posts to come, but my mom said she wanted me to post more. So post more I shall.

In case you're in the area...

Alternate title: Cultural Imperialism, ahoy!


Green dot near bottom/left/center = our apartment.

Addendum: see this page for information about 7-11 in Taiwan. It is basically the most ubiquitous chain around, with at least 4 within a 5-minute walk from our apartment. Not only can you buy snacks there, but you can also pay your bills, fax/print documents or pictures, and buy tickets to local events and attractions.

Do you like 奧巴馬?

A friendly reminder for others overseas to send in their absentee ballot applications...

WE ARE FAMILY!

Tonight was a momentous occasion in my year in Kaohsiung... maybe? Anyway, we had a special dinner and got set up with our "host family" in the area. I use the scare quotes because I'm obviously living with other Americans here with Fulbright in an apartment, and not in a home with a family. But just in time for the Moon Festival, Fulbright arranged for us to have host families with whom to spend holidays and experience the area. Twenty-some Kaohsiung locals applied to host us, and in the end only twelve were chosen. I told our coordinators that I would prefer a family with children, and if possible, one or two family members who would let me practice Chinese with them. So far, even the locals I've met have learned enough English (and are intent on learning more) that I usually find myself defaulting to my 母語 instead of going to the effort to speak Chinese.

Anyway, my Kaohsiung family has two parents and three children: two boys and a girl. Sound familiar? Well, the father is a dentist (though I have yet to meet him) and the mother Linda is a housewife (and speaks very little English but wants to learn more-- language exchange ahoy!); the daughter Christine is 17, son Michael is 15, and Kevin is in 6th grade (so, 12?). Michael is actually in school in Canada right now (his US travel visa expired but he didn't want to come home). He's only coming home to visit next summer, so it's likely I'll never meet him. Kevin and Michael both lived in San Francisco with an aunt and went to school there for two years, so Kevin's English is very good. Kevin told me that his family wanted to host someone because Americans and Canadians have been so kind and helpful to Michael, so Michael encouraged them to take any chance to get to know and be kind to foreigners in Taiwan.

So as I said, the primary reason for getting a host family at this time is to have somewhere to spend the Moon Festival (which is on Sunday). But because of Typhoon Sinlaku, the tradition of barbecuing and watching the moon is pretty much out the window. Instead, my family has some alternative Sunday plans. Plans that are so awesome they deserve a line break.

On Sunday, weather-permitting, the family will go to Costco, then eat pizza. And they want me to come, too. Am I with the right family or what?

I'm definitely excited about getting to know them more. True to Asian fashion, we even sang karaoke together after dinner tonight... 鄧麗君's classic hit 月亮代表我的心... also known as the only Chinese song I actually know all the words to. Here's a picture of me with my Kaohsiung family, singing in front of the awesome/awful WE ARE FAMILY poster.

Christine, me, Linda, and Kevin

I'm definitely excited to spend more time with this family... and to go to a Taiwanese Costco.

Katie 老師 and the mooncakes

So, I'm writing this at the end of my first two days of classes, my first two days being called "Katie 老師." Because I'm not yet familiar with the students' ability levels, how a class here should run, etc., Susan ran the class and then had time for 外國老師 introduction and open questions. For some classes this lasted a few minutes, but in most of the classes this took almost the full 40-minute period. As a 22-year-old, it's hard to believe how distanced I am from the major interests and preoccupations of elementary school kids. For example, I haven't really thought about my favorite colors, animals, sports, movies, moviestars, or foods in quite a while. Between that and cultural differences, I had to make up a good number of answers on the spot that were at least mildly true, and also understandable to students in their first, second, or third year of a rather infrequent, un-rigorous English program.

A lot of the questions were basic, but many were really strange, and I can't imagine an American elementary school student asking them. In both cases though, I had fun, and the kids had fun, and I hope they learned something. I should note-- Susan translated for them. If they knew how to ask all of these questions and understand the answers in English, I don't think they'd need me.

So, here are some fun examples from my two days of questioning...

First, what you'd expect from a kid.

• What is your favorite color? (green and orange)
  
• What do you like to eat? (牛肉麵 and pizza)
  
• What sport do you like best? (baseball)
  
• Do you have any brothers or sisters? (two older brothers)
  
• What's your favorite animal? Why? (I like fish because they are pretty and quiet)
  

Second, what a lot of people ask me here.

• Why did you want to come to Taiwan? (it is pretty, the people are friendly, I want to learn Chinese)
  
• What did you study in college? (linguistics)
  
• How do you like Taiwan? (I like it a lot)
  
• What do you want to do when you go home? (I don't know, maybe become 美國的總統)
  

Third... Are you trying to ask me out?

• What's your sign? (Scorpio for zodiac, Ox for Chinese calendar)
  
• Do you have a boyfriend? (yes, he is in America) ...and lots of follow-up
• Why aren't you married? (I am too young)
  
• Do you have children? (I am too young)
• Why are you so pretty? (thank you)... not throwing that in to boost my ego... they basically think anyone western-looking is beautiful/handsome.
  

Fourth... um, what?

• Why is your hair yellow? / Why are your eyes blue? (I was born that way, everybody looks different in America)
  
• What is your blood type? (O, I think)
  
• Does America have more trash than Taiwan? (Some places have trash, some don't)
  
• Do you come from a broken home? (My parents live together in Philadelphia, where the Phillies play!)
  

So, yeah. That was basically my first two days of class, meeting all of the students and having a Q+A with Katie 老師.

The fourth grade class was particularly endearing. One of the girls asked during the Q+A, "Does Katie like to eat 月餅?" Not really knowing what they were, I said yes. Later, during my last class of the day, a troop of 4th graders lined up outside and presented me one by one with mooncakes that they had made... somehow... in the hour since I'd seen them. So adorable.

Here is a picture of the ten mooncakes they gave me yesterday:

And a close-up of one:

Now, because the Moon Festival is coming up this weekend, everyone is exchanging mooncakes like there's no tomorrow. As far as I can tell, the Moon Festival is something like a Taiwanese Thanksgiving, in that you gather with family and eat a lot. My roommates and I have all accrued a massive amount of mooncakes. I'm happy to say that the little handmade mooncakes from my students are far superior to the expensive packaged ones given from school faculty... though maybe I'm biased.

To conclude, here is a picture of all the mooncakes in our apartment so far (most are still in fancy boxes). And just think... the Moon Festival isn't even until Sunday...

Addendum: I guess I should tell you what's in a mooncake. So far, we've had taro, red bean, egg yolk, some meat-flavored thing, and a good number of unidentifiable substances. We've heard that some have things like coffee, fruit, or chocolate inside. I guess we have until Sunday to find out for sure.

Live from Taipei: A Disclaimer

I'm currently blogging from Baby Laptop in my hotel room in Taipei... leaving on the HSR (High Speed Rail) in a matter of less than 12 hours. Because I haven't uploaded any pictures and don't feel like typing anything on the tiny keyboard, I'm just writing a quick but necessary blog post.

As many of you know, and the blog indicates in more than one instance, I am in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on a Fulbright Fellowship to teach English. This program is sponsored by the United States Department of State and run by the Foundation for Scholarly Exchange in Taiwan. I am grateful to the Fulbright program, US State Department, and FSE for the opportunities granted to me, but I need to say that in this blog and in any other communications you have with me about my program here, the opinions and observations expressed are my own, and not affiliated with or endorsed by any of the aforementioned organizations.

That being said, because I am here on basically a mini-diplomatic mission, don't expect my blog to become politically controversial. I'm very interested in the politics here and have had several dialogues with Taiwanese citizens about these issues, but it is my duty to stay relatively distanced from any activity that would go against the Fulbright's diplomatic mission of cultural exchange.

Thanks for your reading (or skimming to here), and please, look forward to much more interesting blog posts later.

(Five dollars to anyone who can guess what was in our Fulbright conference/orientation packet...)

我的日常生活

I remember from my earlier Chinese classes, one of the most common topics for essays (aside from 自我介紹 ) was 我的日常生活. So, true to my Chinese Ba/Bb roots, I thought I'd make a post on some of the things in my daily life here that are far different from my daily life at home (Berwyn, Cambridge, or otherwise). I've broken it up into a few categories...

Food
Because of the size and (lack of) appliances our kitchen has to offer, in addition to the fact that eating at restaurants is very inexpensive, we have yet to cook a meal for ourselves. So far I've taken to eating most of my lunches and dinners at a restaurant right next to our apartment building. Though she has a more extensive menu, I've only gone for 湯麵, 乾麵, and 餛飩麵. Until we officially exchanged names and phone numbers, I referred to the young woman working there as "Noodle Lady." The other day when I got 乾麵 for the third time in a row, she gave me a hard-boiled egg "on the house." I'm not sure whether she was trying to be friendly, or gently reminding me to vary my diet.

But more on "Noodle Lady" another time. Spoiler? She is a great friend who has been immensely helpful in my settling in here in Taiwan.

A common form of food is the 便當, which is what they fed us for lunch every day of orientation. Every 便當 is different. I could explain it to you, or I could just show you a picture. This picture is of the best meal I've had here, from a vegetarian buffet one night. In the large compartment there is white rice and some sort of tofu, and on the right there are green peppers (top), lima beans (middle), and corn/carrots/eggs (bottom). Few can relate to my deep appreciation for lima beans... but trust me, these were amazing, thus earning it the "best meal" title.



Finally, in an effort to save the environment and guard against unclean restaurants, most people carry their own set of chopsticks around. Here is my chopstick carrying case:



Transportation
Because the traffic here is dangerous and Kaohsiung is currently spending a lot of money on new public transit, our program directors are strongly advising us against buying scooters (the most popular mode of transportation). My roommates and I all bought bikes to help us get to and from our schools and other places in the area. While Dan went the fancy new road bike route, and Dani and Vicky got some nice standard mountain bikes, I decided to go in another direction. I wanted a foldable bike so that I could take it on the MRT (subway) or buses for free (can't do that with big bikes). Again, a picture is worth a thousand words, so instead of explaining the ridiculousness that is my bike, here's a picture.

Folded:


Unfolded:


Yeah, this thing doesn't even have gears. Also, the basket has an elephant on it. In case you couldn't tell.

Also, the seemingly "Asian" thing to do is to wear one of those facemasks around to protect yourself from airborne disease, or pollution, or something. Though I initially thought this was ridiculous, after riding around on the back of Susan's scooter I realized that not getting stuff in your face as you ride in traffic has its perks. Alas, I bought a facemask:



(The little pink dachshunds on it are an homage to my two dachshunds back home.)

The Little Things
It's really, really humid here. So every closet, cabinet, and hamper needs some sort of dehumidifier. I hung a dehumidifying pack in a small closet when we first got here, and after a month, it was basically a Ziploc bag full of water. It's a little hard to tell but... on the left there's the bag I just removed (flat on top, full of water on the bottom), and on the right there's the new bag (full of dehumidifying stuff on top, empty on the bottom):



Also, I have a fish. This is not unlike my life at home, my summer apartment, or my dorm room, really, but um, it's a different fish? His name is T-Rex.




Well I hope you all enjoyed yet another glimpse into my Taiwan life. Sorry for the post of novel proportions... we're going for a Fulbright conference in Taipei tomorrow, so this post, like my very first, is just another effort to avoid packing.

Talk to you Sunday, when I get back from Taipei!