Snapshots from Taiwan

I have not written a blog post in a while. The reason for this is that I have been rather busy the past two weeks. Like any teacher at the start of school, I have stayed late during the week to plan and finish setting up my classroom. Outside of teaching, I have also been busy spending time getting to know the other teachers at my school. I have lived in Taiwan for two months now and it is clear that there is a difference between visiting a country for a vacation and living there for an extended period of time. While I feel like I should constantly be exploring and taking advantage of my time here, I also have to do mundane day-to-day routines like I would in the states. I still need to take time to work out, pay bills, and wash the dishes. I feel the need to explore, but also the need to make sure I get everything I need to done. I'm still figuring out how to balance both. Here are some snapshots from the past couple of weeks of my time here.

Ghost Month

One day I was modeling how to read to someone and sit EEKK (elbow elbow knee to knee) style. I told my student that was helping me how we were going to sit. 

      "Teacher," he said, "you cannot. It is Ghost Month." 

What he was talking about is that every year around August, it is believed that the gates to the underworld open and lets spirits visit the living for a month. During this time people will set out food for the ghosts and burn yellow paper "money" for the ghosts. There are many practices and rules during this month. Some of these rules include: 

1. Don't turn around if someone taps you on the shoulder. (What the student thought I was going to do)
2. Don't hang your clothes out at night. 
3. Don't go swimming, especially in the ocean. 
4. Don't whistle, especially at night. 

I am sure I broke several taboos during ghost month, including swimming. I ain't afraid of no ghosts. However, one day when I was swimming laps at the pool in my apartment, something a little creepy happened. There was a dad and several small children swimming in the pool at my apartment at the same time as me. Everyone got out of the pool, except for this one boy. I was kicking and keeping an eye on him. Where were his grownups? He was walking around the pool and looking at the bottom like he had dropped something and couldn't find it. He would dive down to the bottom and then come back up. He did this several times. I looked away for a second and he was gone. Worried that he was drowning, I went over to where he had been, but there was no trace of him. I told the story to my students, which led to a divided discussion of whether or not he was a ghost. They still ask me if I have seen him while swimming. 

Food and Friends

This is from a couple of weeks ago when I went out to dinner at a traditional Taiwanese restaurant with some of the other teachers at our school (Marcie, Josilin, and Jill). Afterwards we had ice cream. 

When I went to college on the West Coast, I loved getting bubble tea. I had no idea that it was invented in Taiwan. Here is bubble tea from the original bubble tea house. 

Exploring Taichung

Admittedly, I have not even made a dent in exploring Taichung. My roommate is a great tour guide and is willing to take me to all the sights. The picture above is from Rainbow Village. The story behind Rainbow Village is that a neighborhood was going to be torn down and redeveloped. Rainbow Grandpa, as he is now called, painted all of the buildings to try to prevent it from being redeveloped. It is still standing and attracts many visitors. 

This is one of the many markets in Taichung. This one specializes in selling jade, but also sells other goods. While at this market we visited a tea seller, who took the time to brew tea for us. 

Puli

Embarrassingly enough, I had  yet to venture outside of Taichung. So this weekend when my friend Tyler invited me to go on a day trip to a farm, I jumped at the chance. Originally we were going to take a car and then the morning of it was decided that we were going to scoot. Tyler doubled me with our friend Michael leading the way. Michael said that he knew a longer, but more scenic route. The more scenic route led us through the mountains. Tyler's scooter does not have great brakes, so every time we went downhill it was a little scary. When we stopped at an overlook Michael asked if we had enjoyed the view. Tyler and I mentioned that we didn't notice much of the view because we were afraid we were going to drive off the mountain. After three hours of scooting, we arrived at the city of Puli and convinced Michael to stop and spend the day there. We went to the local information center and got recommendations for what to see. The first stop was a paper making plant. We went on a tour (in Chinese) and then printed on our own paper. It was interested to see the process of how it was done from pulp to paper. The above picture is two of the workers at the plant turning the paper we made into a fan. 

We also went to a chocolate shop, a brewery, and a park. In Taiwan, I have found that things are often not what you would expect them to be (see my last post). They had recommended that we go to King Garden at the information center. In my mind I picture a garden with flowers, plants, and as a place to enjoy nature. Silly me! The "garden" was actually a castle with shops inside, a giant chessboard, and cardboard cutouts of world leaders as characters in movies. The cutouts included Hitler as Kill Bill and Hillary and Bill Clinton as Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I mentioned to Tyler, Michael, and Jacob that it wasn't what I expected from a garden. They told me that this is Taiwan and I better get used to it. :)

16 Things That Mean Something Different in Taiwan

My transition to living in Taiwan has been fairly easy. That is not to say that there have not been some adjustments. Here are sixteen things that mean something different in Taiwan.

1. scooter

United States: Maybe this is because I am child of the 90s, but I always picture children on Razor scooters. 

Taiwan: If you saw my last post, you know scooting is very different in Taiwan. A scooter is like a Vespa and is the preferred way to transport adults, children, dogs, and IKEA furniture, frequently all at the same time.

 2. doctor

United States: Something that is done occasionally for more serious ailments, because going to the doctor is expensive. 

Taiwan: Something that is done for every ailment, because it is cheap. This past week I had a cold and I was asked if I had gone to the doctor yet. 

3. garbage day

United States: People pay money to have garbage trucks come to your house and pick up the trash on a certain day of the week. 

Taiwan: Garbage day is almost every day. Trucks come around playing classical music (that sounds deceptively like ice cream truck music) and people bring their garbage to the truck. The Taiwan picture is from this past week by my apartment. 

4. tissue

United States: What you use to blow your nose with. 

Taiwan: Frequently interchangeable with napkins, tissue, and toilet paper.

5. mask

United States: Something that is worn as part of a costume, like on Halloween. 

Taiwan: Something that is worn when one is sick to prevent others from getting sick. Also, masks can be worn while scooting to avoid exhaust fumes.

6. nap

United States: Something that is done by small children almost daily and by adults on occasion. I rejected this idea in preschool and would practice tying knots in my shoes instead of sleeping. 

Taiwan: Something that is done on a daily basis by both adults and children. At my school from 12-1 pm every day students pull out cots and have nap time. All students and teachers sleep during this time, because people go to bed later. Pictured are my students' cots in my classroom. 

7. dessert

                       United States: A wide range of sugar-filled choices to be eaten after meals. e.g. cake

Taiwan: A smaller range of less sweet choices that are eaten pretty unfrequently. e.g. sponge cake with fruit. This is a picture of the birthday cake one of my students brought to school. 

8. shower

United States: Something that is usually done daily or after a workout. 

Taiwan: Something that is done 2-3 times a day or after every time you go outside to wash the sweat off.

9. shoes

United States: Typically one pair that is put on for the day. 

Taiwan: Includes street shoes, which are taken off before going inside school, inside shoes, and bathroom shoe varieties. Pictured are bathroom shoes at my school that all the kids share and put on when they go to the bathroom. 

10. 7-11

United States: A gas station known for Slurpees. 

Taiwan: A convenience store known for quick food, ATMs, bill paying, taxi calling, ticket counter, and everything you could possibly ever need.

11. glass of water

United States: A large glass that is cold and usually filled with ice. 

Taiwan: A small glass that is usually lukewarm temperature with no ice. Ice is thought to be unhealthy, as is drinking things that are very cold. 

12. spoon

United States: see picture

Taiwan: see picture

13. swimming

United States: Something that is done in summer outside or indoor for recreational or workout purposes. 

Taiwan: Something that is done outside for two months of the year, because otherwise it is not hot enough. It is done for recreational and workout purposes. For both purposes it involves wearing a swim cap and stretching for about 20-25 minutes before entering the pool.

14. New Year

United States: Celebrated in January and involves staying up until midnight, hats, countdowns, and noise makers. 

Taiwan: Celebrated in end of January/beginning of February and involves closing businesses and travelling to visit family.

15. Eating out/cooking

United States: Eating out is something that is done once in awhile, like on special occasions. Cooking is done most frequently and often involves and oven/stove. 

Taiwan: Eating out is done at least one meal a day. It is less expensive than cooking. Most living spaces do not have an oven, but instead use a toaster oven.

16. cute

United States: An adjective most commonly used to describe children and baby animals. 

Taiwan: "Ke ai" in Chinese.  An adjective used to describe everything. 

Getting Back on the (Metaphorical) Horse

When it gets hot in Minnesota, everyone heads up to the lake for some boating. My family did not have a boat, but we would be invited to go out boating by our friends the Hogans. For us kids, the best part of boating was always going tubing. We would all pile up on inner tubes that were connected to the boat by a rope. We would get pulled along until one of us fell off. There were different hand signals to give the driver. A thumbs up meant go faster and a thumbs down went to slow down. Although there were five of us kids, I was always in charge of doing the hand signals. Even though I was not the youngest. I got this job because while my brother was a daredevil, I was always the most cautious. This is something that has continued for me when there is the potential for bodily harm. I have passed up opportunities to sky dive and bungee jump in my travels because I am not a risk taker when in comes to potential broken bones or injury. 

As previously mentioned, scooting is the preferred method of traveling for people in Taiwan. At first I did not think that I would scoot at all. Drivers are crazy. They very frequently will run red lights. Honking in Taiwan means watch out I'm about to do something stupid and dangerous. Scooters go in between cars and are very close together. I grew up where everyone puts a buffer seat between people when sitting down, gives enough room for Martin Luther/the Holy Ghost to go in-between two people when dancing, and gives at least a car length of space in between cars. There is nothing between you and other people and cars. I was decidedly against it. There was too much risk. Then, I doubled with someone on a scooter and after a couple of times found it not as scary as I first thought. One of the other teachers, Tyler, gave me a scooter lesson in areas that there were no cars. It was fun. I wanted a scooter of my own. 

Doubling with Tyler on my first scooter ride. 

While he went home for the month of July, Tyler let me have his scooter. We rode to school together and then he walked home so that I could drive back on my own. I was a little flustered because I did not fully know the way back home. While I felt that I had decent control when practicing, I suddenly did not feel very balanced or in control. I turned down a street and found that the street I wanted to go on was a one-way in the wrong direction. I went to turn, did not turn tight enough and I ran into the side of a car that was turning the same way. No one was hurt, but the car was scratched. The driver got out of the car and started speaking to me in Chinese. I wasn't sure what to do. I messaged Tyler and my roommate Josilin, who told me to go back to the school to get someone to translate. Thankfully, I still was close to the school so I got one of the Taiwanese staff who came out with me and spoke to the driver. They traded contact information and I agreed to pay to fix the damages. Have I mentioned yet how helpful everyone is in Taiwan? The Taiwanese staff at the school is especially wonderful. I ended up taking a taxi home. I was determined to work my way up to scooting home by the end of the month. 

Marcie, one of the Taiwanese teachers I work with, came to my apartment and showed me how to take the bus. The first week of school went by and I did not scoot at all.I checked once to make sure the scooter was still there. Week two I was determined to actually practice. I went to school on my day off to practice. I struggled with even getting the central kickstand up so I could drive. I practiced in the alley behind the school for about 20 minutes and then I had had enough. I was determined to practice more little by little. Meanwhile, other new teachers already seemed like experts. How come it was so easy for others and not for me?

I'm not the only one who has troubles scooting.

That weekend, the teacher who had helped me with the accident messaged me with an estimate of what the damages would cost. It was expensive, way more than I was expecting for just a scratch. She said she tried to negotiate, but that was as low as they were willing to go. If we did not pay that amount they would go to the police station to fill out an accident report and the damage expenses would be even more expensive. I was incredibly discouraged, vowing that I would just relegate myself to biking or the bus. It was a night when I was tired, hot, and very itchy from bug bites. For the first time in Taiwan I was unhappy. I didn't wish that I was still living in the U.S., but I realized that some things were definitely harder here. I went to bed early, hoping I would wake up with a more positive outlook. 

I Facetimed with my parents and told them the estimate. While they acknowledged that it was not a small amount, they said minor car accidents can cost thousands of dollars. I was just used to things in Taiwan being so cheap. It calmed me down. Still, I did not practice scooting for the whole next week. When I came back from the wedding, I had a slight problem. Tyler would be back on Friday. The scooter was still at school. I needed to find a way to get it home. I was talking to another Teacher Jill, another Taiwanese teacher that I work with. She told me scooting wasn't that hard and that it was just like riding a bicycle. I didn't tell her that my parents didn't teach me how to ride a bike until third grade because they didn't think I was coordinated enough. She told me it would be very inconvenient to be without a scooter, especially when all of the other teachers have one.  Teacher Jill told me that I could come to school on Friday to practice and then I could follow her home. 

Inaccurate portrayal of scooting.  You led me astray Roman Holiday.

I was very nervous on Friday. While on the bus to school though, I saw something wonderful. A woman was riding her scooter with her legs on the sides so that she could put her feet down if she needed to stop. I went to school and tried it. It made scooting much easier and I felt more comfortable. I could stop when I needed to and it helped with my balance. I circled the block a couple of times and then told Teacher Jill I was ready. We went very slowly. So slowly, in fact, that at the stopped light another teacher asked Jill if something was wrong with her scooter. I made it though and it was okay. 

The next day Tyler came back, so I assumed he would want his scooter back right away. Instead we went to breakfast and I again drove the scooter. This time I felt comfortable putting my feet up on the scooter once I got going. I think slowly I will get more and more comfortable on the scooter. Driving felt okay.  I will probably get a scooter eventually, but I am in no rush. As Teacher Marcie says, "In Taiwan, if you don't have a scooter, you don't have your feet." I got teased a little bit for going so slowly. But it reminded me of the quote "stay in your own lane. There is less traffic there." I stayed to the right in mostly my own lane while other passed me by. There was still traffic, but I could go at my own pace. It was also a good reminder that I shouldn't compare myself and get discouraged by the progress of other teacher's scooting. After all, they are in a completely different lane.