My Fulbright Taiwan

Questions

2012-01-08T02:42:00.003-05:00

If you have questions about the Fulbright program in Taiwan I'm happy to talk about my experience. But please do not communicate with me via commenting on this blog - I don't check this too often. Send me an e-mail:

kevin.connors@fulbrightmail.org

Kevin

New blog, new adventure:

2011-06-20T07:31:00.001-04:00

kevinaconnors.com

Taipei

2011-03-28T22:04:00.003-04:00

Very cool timelapse I found of Taipei:

http://vimeo.com/2415171

Winter Update

2011-01-23T20:52:00.003-05:00

Boston is currently freezing. Single-digit weather is the new norm, a fact I acknowledge every morning waiting for the train.

Consulting is exciting. It really is all about the people; an incredibly smart and successful pool of associates offers inspiring conversations, and access to minds and opinions that are helping shape my own views. I've had exposure to several areas within life sciences and private equity, and am beginning to delve into retail and consumer products on my current case.

Outside of the office I've tried to maintain exposure to Asia. I'm taking Chinese classes at the Chinese Institute of Language and Arts and I'm involved in the Boston chapter of Wokai, a Chinese microfinance organization I suggest everyone check out!

Most weekends are spent with co-workers, a group that works hard and goes out even harder. It's certainly not Taiwan, but the Boston nightlife is enjoyable.

Next on the radar is vacation-- where to travel. Fly solo to Paris? Peru with Stacy? Central America with Joe? Or do I just go back to Taiwan for two weeks?

Haven't put the camera to use since I've been here but I am lucky enough to able to listen to music all day in my cube. This is what I've rocked as of late.

China's 12th Five-Year Plan

2010-11-09T10:14:00.001-05:00

http://english.caing.com/2010-11-09/100197196.html

: - (

2010-10-12T23:27:00.001-04:00

Unfortunately Michelle Rhee is stepping down

Finding historical figures on the outskirts of Boston

2010-09-03T15:15:00.001-04:00

Was he balding, or wasn't he? One thing was for sure, he had the awkward upper physique of a munchkin but he was taller, much taller, and he was yelling at me with perhaps the thickest Boston accent I'd encountered yet. Between and among the shouts and drink refrigerators in the back, it quickly became apparent to me that I was no longer in Philly.

"National League!? Who gives a flying (airplane) about the NL? The Sox and the Yanks are the only two teams that matter, kid"

Hoping to build rapport with my new neighbor, my response was delicate, "No pickles on the hoagie, please."

He looked awkward; awkwardly tall. And he was pointing down at me, but strangely enough not in a threatening way.

Then he came from behind the counter and...it all made sense. He was about 5 feet tall! Boston's Napoleon had been standing on a stool behind the counter the whole time. What a relief, I thought. This guy was, after all, making my lunch.

With an air of bewilderment yet comfort knowing I was now lost in conversation in America, we proceeded in dialogue. Our topics ranged from the classics of literature, to geography and modern diplomacy. A few memorable expressions from this guy, now tagged "The Mayor's," bully pulpit that come to mind are:

Broadly covering sociology and geography, with a subtle hint of flavor:
"You were where!? Taiwan? Why the (airplane, yet again) would you go up there? All those Japanese are taking our jobs! And you over there helping em! You want vinegar on ya sub, kid?"

On US-ASEAN relations:
"How many sodas ya want? Three? Holy Christmas. What are you sending some back to ya friends in Thailand? They would like that, wouldn't they?"

Head now swollen with comedic ignorance, I made my way out of the dangerous, stoic audible-grasps of the sub-making guy and walked home.

I'm now on the bus, blogging from my phone via the Blogger-Droid app, and headed towards New Hampshire to visit my roommate from Taiwan who goes to med school in Hanover.

A weekend of recounting indistinct Taiwanese nights is upon us. Happy Labor Day!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.8

Journey to the...Beantown?

2010-08-30T21:00:00.003-04:00

In addition to the electronica and bromance underscore of my year in Taiwan, I also searched tirelessly for jobs.

And I found one in management consulting.

Come Wednesday, 9/1, I will 搬家 to Boston.

I'll keep this blog going, but may switch over to Wordpress because...it's better and all the cool kids are using it these days.

But don't think I would let you leave this posting feeling so unfulfilled. You're a blog reader of such discriminating taste!

On the bright side of my job search, at least I'm not looking for one in China, just check out this job fair

I added a new task to my do-before-age-30-or-never-do-it-no-really-never list. Courtesy of 60 minutes last night:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGbuR3LdevM&feature=related

Also,

Check out this great article (albeit, another pessimistic one) about China's most recent achievement from one of my favorite China-centric news outlets, Caixin:

Andy Xie on China as the world's #2

好的开始是成功的一半!!!

Taiwan in Review: Back in the US

2010-08-26T16:25:00.016-04:00

Funny, quick story. A missionary came to my school periodically over the school year. We never met, but I learned of him upon reading this lively phrase on the whiteboard. Interestingly enough, he accidentally wrote it in permanent ink. Jesus lives, indeed.

To anyone who still reads this, I'm back in the US and moving to Boston on September 1. After finishing the Fulbright program in June, I had a few adventures before returning home.

First, my cousin came out and we traveled around Malaysia and Singapore. My second sojourn in Kuala Lumpur was his first. Here's two weeks worth of adventures:

Said "Hello" once again to the Petronas Towers. This time, I went up.

Hung out with the locals in Singapore

Drank my first Singapore Sling at the Raffles Hotel

Also in Singapore, saw what appears to be a boat on top of three buildings.

Explored East Malaysia, BorneoStarted what would be my most difficult hike to date

But gradually, we made our way up

Finally after two days, we made it 13,435 feet to the peak of Mount Kinabalu

...and watched an epic sunrise at 15 degrees Fahrenheit

After the sun rose on Kinabalu, we were able to see neighboring peaks

and the fabulous Malaysian coastline

I could probably continue on with this blog, conveying stories about my Fulbright experience, until I return to Asia again in two or three years. But for now, I'll settle for a few funny videos and pics from the year--mostly new:

Yuli! My favorite, and perhaps the most peaceful, place in Taiwan

I learned how to discuss dance parties in Chinese, check that off the bucket list

First and second graders hustling

My favorite place in Taipei (besides Luxy!), Elephant Mountain

Taiwan has a great art scene

Sometimes, poor English can go a little too far

Platform of the Three Immortals along the southeast coast

The wonderful spring insects of Taiwan!
(Note: Bug bites were worse than illustrated in photo)

The unforgettable clock atop Yilan Train Station, how I started every morning

Last Day in Yilan

2010-07-12T11:57:00.006-04:00

Published last blog post while in Taiwan:

Every step in Taiwan is edifying. After moving to Taipei at the end of June, I went back to Yilan today for both my final day and also the first day of the summer volunteer English camp.

It was quite possibly one of the worst starts to any day I've had in Taiwan.

After waking up at 7AM I quickly "rushed" to the bus stop via the subway. "Rushed" as quoted because in Taiwan there is no such thing. Whereas in New York you've walked slow if you have only a mild pit stain after entering your office building, in Taipei people opportunistically stroll down the escalators and up narrow flights of stairs...during the morning commute! In America, you may glance behind you to see if stopping in the midst of a pack of people will disrupt the fluidity of walkers...not in Taiwan.

Today I kneed a 70-something year old guy in the head because he decided to pick up a plastic bottle while exiting the subway cars--big mistake, grandpa. Then to make matters worse after my kneecap and this guy's temple made contact, he proceeded to fall over and have people step over him while on their way to work. Oh, but don't worry--I helped him up.

Karma wasn't on my side either, as I arrived at the bus stop literally seconds too late. I watched the bus drive away and wondered just why grandpa had to grab that bottle...why?

I originally aimed to arrive at Da Li School at 10AM, and was already pushing this back to 1030 because I missed the bus.

Agitation level: 3

Once on the bus, another interesting aspect of Taiwanese modern culture revealed itself. Taiwanese people don't care much about anything that goes on outside of their household. Traffic problems? Recycle-what? Litter in the street? (<--- except for aforementioned grandpa) Therefore as the bus began to pull away the old woman sitting in front of me proceeded to recline her seat all the way so that I could see both the tip of her nose and the ageless bald spot on the center of her wrinkling dome. Knees buckled, iPod hit the floor, and a sharp "AH" occurred. But that didn't change anything--this lady was getting some shut eye during the one hour trip south to Yilan.

Agitation level: 5

Yawning, limping, and hungry I made my way to the nearby 7-11 after getting off the bus. Surely, such an American safe-haven could provide me with a much-needed 10 minutes of chillness. Oh, so wrong. I walked into what I can only imagine the streets of Madrid looked like last night--babies with no pants on running around, old people yelling loudly in a language I can't comprehend, and what appeared to be newly weds smooching directly in front of the bottles of water. After taking two steps in, I turned around and walked out.

Agitation level: 6

In Taiwan, it's HOT during the summer. Although it was only a 10 minute walk, I was drenched by the time I reached the train station. Then I received the bad news that the next train to Da Li wasn't for another two hours. By this time it was 930AM. I thought about my options and after suggestions from the guy selling tickets, I bought a ticket for the stop after Da Li, Fulong, from which I'd be able to catch the next train south and arrive at Da Li shortly after. It seemed logical.

During the train ride there was the usual pointing, picture taking, "Oh my God! He can speak Chinese!" and of course the old ladies simply staring blankly from five feet away and jabbering back and forth in Taiwanese.

By the time I got to Fulong it was nearly 1030 and I then found out the only train to Da Li was at 12PM. AHH!

Agitation level: 7 and rising

Because it was my last day, I tried to remain cool, but between the 90+ weather, no A/C or fans anywhere, and the gathering crowd of Taiwanese high school kids wanting to take pictures with me I was on the edge of exploding.

I went for a walk.

I spoke to cab drives who would only quote me outrageous prices for the 25 minute drive south to Da Li. Then I called them a cartel and a monopoly of (very unkind gents) and they laughed and said they didn't understand my Chinese. I then asked them where was the nearest 7-11. They answered my question with the following array of questions: why I needed a 7-11, where I was from, what I was doing in Taiwan, how much money I made, and oh yeah, how tall was I.

The 7-11 was "out of water because of construction." The correlation between the two obvious, I reentered the sweltering heat of the asphalt kingdom outside the train station and walked directly down the center of the gawking cab drivers' stomping grounds. My manhood and mental state still intact, I sat down at the train station, opened The Places in Between, and told myself I'd just have to wait the next 90 minutes out.

Agitation level: 7.5 after speaking with the cab drivers

Because of the heat, I dosed in and out while reading and was politely awakened by a four year old throwing a beach ball in my direction while yelling "Ah-doh-ah!" which means "foreigner" as well as "big nose" in Taiwanese. Obviously in the mood to deal with babbling babies, I took the beach ball and threw it out the window behind me onto the platform for southbound trains. Confused, the baby waddled away and I closed my eyes convinced the world had sanity, Taiwan had logic, and I was now the invisible foreigner in the train station waiting room.

Eventually I made it to Da Li. I found myself eager to share a school I called home for the past year with other Americans, but at the same time felt that my previous two weeks traveling and formal exit from the school kept me at an uncomfortable distance because I was neither employed nor supposed to be there.

Regardless, it was great seeing the kids and old habits soon reappeared: David cut into conversations with intermittent robot dances, Ivan wanted to play basketball, and the girls gave me random gifts they made.

It was a strange, yet necessary, return to Da Li. I sold my scooter, said a few last goodbyes, and snapped a few final pics of images already engraved in my mind. It was at this point I realized the uniqueness of the times: the students, their age and demeanor, the circumstances of the town, the current economic and political situation in Taiwan. All of these factors, and more, contributed to my experience. This point in time will never exist for future ETAs, and it's that claim to specificity that I think gives all of us a sense of pride in the Taiwan Fulbright ETA program. It's situations and realizations like these that make Asia, in my mind, the paramount destination of the world; the place, in the future, where everything will not only come from (manufacturing) but also where everything will end up.

One Last Thing I'm Doing...

2010-06-25T00:51:00.001-04:00

before heading back to the US!

Go to 3:40

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZfU_THttlU

Two weeks to go

2010-06-09T09:47:00.004-04:00

Tying up the loose ends here in Taiwan. The Fulbright final dinner is on Friday, followed by our last week of school then it's a few days of down time, backpacking with the cousin, San Francisco, and finally home.

My initial feeling when I arrived in August was that by June an ostensible sense of community would arise and you'd have to pry my feet off the grounds of Yilan county. But after 10 months this isn't the case. I miss having a TV. It's weird having such a passionate relationship with my Skype account. And my American life has more or less been placed on hold for the past 300 days, which gives me a really eerie feeling.

I'm ready to progress. The town I've called home for the past year is very much so a beautiful one but also a bubble; once you get out you don't come back, and if you stay you never leave.

I still haven't left yet so this certainly won't serve as any type of reflective abstract of my year, but with things quickly coming to a close I've never had such a feeling of completion. I took this year to do things I, for whatever reason, never really had the chance to do, and I'm happy to say every box on my to-do list created in August is now filled. Were the sacrifices over four years of college worth it? Absolutely. Will I have regrets looking back? Without a doubt. A handful of particular memories and my understanding of Taiwan, as well as myself, has increased dramatically, which is indeed the mission of the Fulbright program.

My Taiwanese friends in Taipei and Taizhong are this country's future leaders. I'm excited to return in the future and see them all having reached their fullest potential. As for Fulbrighters, I knew realistically it would be difficult to be everyone's best friend with so many type-A personalities in the room. The friends I have made, it's safe to say the roots are deep. The ones I was never able to, I've learned a great deal about how people think. The multitude of different intelligent types in this year's program really could conquer the world, I'm convinced. Sometimes talents were maximized, and it was interesting to observe when others were not--and the consequent feelings experienced, and reactions, by that party.

If I had to narrow it down to just that one thematic "thing" to summarize the year, I'd say I learned how to live just a little bit better. I was able to do what I wanted, when I wanted, and how I wanted.

I learned how to oppose a respected opinion, position oneself, and finally to navigate through true ingeniousness. If every year is a building block for the future, this is the final piece of the foundation.

Visits from Abroad!

2010-05-20T18:40:00.003-04:00

My classmate from SJU and Beijing is arriving Saturday and staying for two weeks. Check back soon!

Taipei American School

2010-05-12T10:26:00.006-04:00

If you glanced over your child's swim team schedule for the coming school year and saw:

November: Swim meet in Jakarta
December: Swim meet in Singapore; Swim meet in Hong Kong
January: Swim meet in Bangkok

...what would you think?

Today the Fulbrighters in Yilan visited Taipei American School (TAS). With the goal of "providing an American education to foreign students in Taiwan," TAS prides itself on its dedicated work staff, confident, informed student body, and knack for fusing American ideals with the unique foreign cultures of both the students and the country waiting outside the campus walls. Tuition stands at around the standard for college prep schools--$15,000--though it's important to note that relative to other international schools in Taipei this number is "low."

International school has always been a mystery to me. In the past, I was only briefly exposed to the possibilities and uniqueness of multinational schools via the Hammond family. Today, we were lucky enough to sit in on two classes, discuss with the assistant superintendent the opportunities available to students at TAS, and finally talk with a few of the students themselves to hear their perspective on their educational experience.

A broader scope.

First up for me was second grade. The class had a unique makeup: four Koreans, a boy from India, several Taiwanese, Americans, and a boy from Canada who was described by his counterparts as "a smarty-pants...he wants to be the president of the United States. But he doesn't even have an American passport!"

It was comical how these second graders were discussing summer trips to Mexico and Japan, or even something like a passport. Most American adults can't even point these countries out on a map. And I don't think I knew what a passport was until at least high school.

Simply put, the awareness of the students was unparalleled to anything I'd ever seen before.

Next up was seventh grade. At first it took my mind a bit of time to adapt. The teacher stood in front of the students, excitedly discussing weekly tasks and a new game they planned to play that period. As I looked around the classroom at the students--a vast majority of whom are Asian--I gradually realized, they understood what she was saying! I was so used to Asians not understanding English that witnessing kids who not only spoke English but spoke it with an American accent really blew my mind.

The school tour brought about even more surprises. We walked into the gymnasium to find the second graders--I repeat 2nd Graders!!--waiting for the results of their solar car competition, sponsored by the German engineering conglomerate, Seamens. Corporate sponsors on campus was an awesome sign of a progressive approach to education and something I think really illustrates why international schools may be at the forefront of creating a new type of pupil--i.e. a global student.

The autonomy given to the students was obvious from the second we walked in the door. There is no uniform, stories written in different languages hang casually on the hallway walls, and laptops are given to all students for use in classes ranging from geometry (where we saw a class building their own virtual city with pyramids, prisms, and spheres) to humanities (where students digitally designed posters for the upcoming middle school play).

If this is a peek into the future of education, I'm feeling pretty confident.

We also heard some great constructive criticism from students, such as the push to be progressive may be at the expense of traditional mechanisms that still work (i.e. laptops for note taking versus paper and pen). Similarly, the administration stressed the difficulty finding their place in the local community and the constant struggle to avoid being tagged "elitist" because of their different educational style.

Down to business.

On the business side of things, all the students have Lenovo laptops, and their e-mails are standardized via Google's gmail platform. It's very interesting to see these companies move their business models to campuses, and I think it shows the possibilities--especially for a company like Google--to adapt its fairly basic technology (e-mail, hosting documents on the web, etc.) to any type of client.

A few unique aspects of TAS include:

-Offers Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) classes to students (traditionally considered mutually exclusive programs for high schools)

-Beginning next year, will undergo renovations with plans of growing the school facilities three-fold

-A student body primarily made up of Chinese- or Taiwanese-born parents whose children were born in the U.S.

-Strong math program, average SAT math score: 680

-All foreign service officers' children attend the school

-Every student has a notebook computer

All in all, this was probably the best weekday of the year for me. I learned more about international education at one of Asia's top-notch schools, took some mental notes pertaining to what I plan to look for if I send my kids to international school in the future, and saw some of Taiwan's highest caliber students at work.

Yale's President on the Ascent of Asian Universities in the 21st Century

2010-05-06T07:40:00.002-04:00

http://opa.yale.edu/president/message.aspx?id=91

Elephant Mountain 象山

2010-05-04T04:47:00.007-04:00

This is the view of Taipei at sunset from Elephant Mountain.

Tough shots because Taipei 101 wasn't perpendicular to the horizon.

Walami Trail: Bridges, Bees, Bears, and Blisters.

2010-04-30T12:47:00.003-04:00

GDP facts on Philly!

2010-04-27T11:04:00.004-04:00

Who would have guessed of all cities in the world, Philly has the 9th largest GDP output

Click here for the data

sort by the column heading "PWC 2008 est. ($BN)

79 days until I'm back in the US!

Very cool article by a very cool guy

2010-04-22T12:26:00.004-04:00

A frank illustration of China's directive, courtesy of economist Marty Armstrong:

Start on page 10 for a quicker read:
Click here for Marty's article

Backpacking pictures via Facebook

2010-04-22T01:45:00.007-04:00

Two posts over the course of an hour? I'm on a roll.

For those of you who haven't seen my Chinese New Year trip across five countries, click my Facebook album and my roommate Joe's blog for pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2103989&id=34204083&l=d468febe9d

http://joegigliotti.blogspot.com/2010/04/chinese-new-year-photos.html

Teaching Pangs

2010-04-22T00:29:00.005-04:00

There sat Bert, confused by the typo on my midterm.

Please organize the following words in their correct order.

a) he b) like d) Does e) potatoes?

Bert currently sits 16th in my class of 17 third graders. 16th, meaning there are 15 students in the class who, on average, score higher than him on exams and quizzes. The sample size is small, we've had two quizzes and only one test. But his handwriting, difficulty in concentrating, and the horrid condition of his teeth tell me that perhaps he has a bit more to worry about than English.

His parents' location is unknown, though his mother's Indonesian nationality leads me to believe perhaps she returned (escaped) back to her country due to an unfavorable relationship with Bert's father. The chances are Bert's father is a fisherman somewhere on the east coast. Unfortunately, that also increases the probability that Bert's father abuses any of a variety of things that would be harmful to his upbringing: alcohol, drugs, female companions, etc.

Bert and I have struggled to find the middle in the teacher-student relationship. My initial attempts in the beginning of the semester to build rapport were met with a frustrated onslaught of head shakes and fist pounds.

I should have caught the error, but the midterm was on every student's desk and now natural selection would decide who understood that Teacher Kevin had in fact mistyped. Nearly all of the students had simply ignored my mistake, and answered the question D A B E, which is correct. But because the struggling few just couldn't catch on I thought I'd make things easier.

I wrote the correct form on the board:

a) he b) like c) Does d) potatoes?

It was then explained in Chinese.

The students who previously had the correct answer stared, confused. The students already confused began to yell in Taiwanese. But before long, pencil cases opened, erasers were drawn like battle axes, and the students went to work making the answer to #15 disappear.

I made my usual rotation through the classroom's rows and found that now even more students answered correctly. I smiled. Then I came to Bert.

Bert had correctly answered D A B E. But upon hearing of my error, erased his answer and now sat confused.

"A, B, C..." I said to him while pointing at the page.

No response.

"A, B, C, D, E, F, G...." I began softly singing, hoping he'd catch on.

Blank stare.

"Look, it's A...A.
This is B...B.
A, B...D? No, no. That's wrong. 錯"

Looking back to this afternoon I realized the difficulty inherent in all teaching situations. I wanted him to think; to solve the problem on his own. He was building a new pathway from one side of his mind to the other. That was my job. The hard part is both providing information while simultaneously identifying the point at which you've given too much. It's a difficult line to draw, especially when it happens over a matter of seconds.

It's situations like these that have changed me for the better. They're hard to explain, and even more difficult to recall once they've passed. But the teaching portion of my time in Taiwan has made me significantly savvier on several fronts, including communication skills.

I'm a good guy. I promise. Bert was struggling. I took his pencil, wrote out his previous answer, drew arrows to the new letters I wrote on the board and walked away.

He received his highest grade of the year, a 61, and was so happy he broke the 60% mark that he told me he wanted to kiss me. I declined.

Spring is here.

2010-04-19T01:54:00.005-04:00

The past several weeks were crammed with activities. I finally made it to Turtle Island , completed a 30 kilometer hike, and found the best pasta restaurant in Taiwan in a village my Taiwanese coworkers never even heard of.

I wish I could upload pictures but my computer is broke. Five years was just one too much...RIP.

The weather across Taiwan is finally breaking. Today it's hot and sunny, tomorrow looks to be the same.

Finished reading Gladwell's new book. A few good articles, probably should have just looked in the New Yorker's archive. The chapters on intelligence and interviewing theories are great. Next up is a book about the creators of Facebook.

Less than 10 weeks to go. The job search is heating up. Chinese is progressing...albeit slowly, but progressing nonetheless.

The near future holds a few important things before making my way back to the US:

1. Pick two of the following places to backpack through for two weeks: Bangladesh, Laos, Thailand (for a second tour), northern Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia (travel outside Kuala Lumpur).

2. Schedule a weekend trip to Tokyo (only $300 round trip)

3. Begin writing some sort of personal reflection paper regarding how I've changed, what I've learned, etc. over the past nine months for no reason other than posterity.

4. Write a cumulative report of my own Chinese abilities--all the characters I know, all the grammar structures, etc. etc. If I work in the US next year, this will help me when I come back.

5. Sketch out a map to business school.

6. Say goodbye to friends in Taiwan---foreigners included.

7. Find a job.

8. Ride my scooter counter-clockwise around the island.

9. Learn to scuba dive? This may not happen.

10. Hike a really tall mountain. Whether it's snow, or jade...I'd be happy with either, and both would put me over 12,000 feet.

Announcement: I'm American

2010-04-08T02:55:00.002-04:00

Generalizing Americans is common out here. I have now solidified all such beliefs. Here's how I spent my afternoon at Da Xi:

Playing basketball
Talking about how to make hamburgers
Blasting hip hop out of my classroom (thanks Chris Tow!)
Doing the robot dance with the 6th graders
Mispronouncing Chinese words while auditing the 5th grade Chinese class.

It's confirmed, home in July!

Tomb Sweeping Weekend

2010-04-02T07:58:00.005-04:00

Joe and Owen ventured down south a bit early, leaving me with an open, but rainy, Friday night. But then I quickly realized there isn't much to do without them! Yilan at night has some sort of seductive tranquility about it. Our apartment is on the 14th floor, leaving the entire town as close as a quick glance out the window. It's a pretty unique sight, and one I'll post up on here soon, once my laptop screen gets repaired!!

A safe bet for any Yilan resident is that when it rains...head south or west. The weather is polarized here--heavy rain or chirping birds and sun. It's been tough to field reliable weather reports, especially when I don't have a TV or radio!

I'm officially returning to the US in July, with a short stop in San Francisco to check out jobs, grad schools, and meet up with some old friends. I'm excited to finally make my way to the west coast.

In other news, Taiwanese are currently flocking to their ancestors' graves to dust off cobwebs and pay respects to family members who paved the way for where they are today. It's known as Tomb Sweeping Day. Because some Taiwanese I spoke with celebrated the national holiday, and others didn't, it was tough to get a straight answer as to the significance. But one thing is for sure: we have off on Monday! This is the only three day weekend of the semester. It's gotta be a good one.

The past few posts have lacked in the media department. Pictures and videos from the last several weeks are on deck for next week.

Man, this post was all over the place. A lot going on and only 90 days or so left to do them!

April Fools' Day in Taiwan

2010-04-01T02:31:00.005-04:00

This year for April Fools' Day, Owen, Joe and I switched schools. To say the least, it was an interesting school day. Joe went to my school in Daxi, I headed to Owen's in Gongguan, and Owen ventured to Joe's middle school in Yuanshan. We wore eachothers' clothes, showed up acting like everything was normal, and for the first several minutes of class assumed the other's name.

Amid chants of "We want Owen! You go home! We want Owen! You go home!" I found time to show them a new teaching style and even taught them a bit about Philadelphia.

Another favorite chant was, "Who are you? Not Owen. Who are you? Not Owen."

At the end of the day I was left wondering that perhaps the joke was on me. But it was a great feeling to see how connected the students are to their Fulbrighter.

Three day weekend coming up, so a bit of travel to the southeast coast. The weather is warming up. It looks like spring will be fantastic.

Someone is coming to visit!

2010-03-27T14:24:00.002-04:00

Great news. Stacy and her boyfriend are coming to visit me for two weeks in May! Stacy and I studied at SJU together and she was in Beijing with me for my spring semester.

Sharing your home away from home with someone is quite exciting. I'm pumped.

Great Taipei Skyline Video

2010-03-25T08:53:00.005-04:00

Check out this video of Taipei from Elephant Mountain. Hoping to get over there in the next three weeks.

Taipei at Sundown

99 Days 2 Go

2010-03-22T09:30:00.004-04:00

We're in the double digits. The Fulbright office in Taipei has begun asking for end of year statements, something to put a period on the end of our time here. Thought I'd share my answer to:

3. The most interesting event you've attended.

The most interesting event I attended during my Fulbright was a meal I shared with a Fulbright alumnus in Taipei. Soon after his own teaching experience, and subsequent graduate school degree, he married a Taiwanese woman and ever since has called Taiwan his home. On paper, he may be one of the most successful people I will ever sit down with. Ever. Big name occupation, big name grad school, and big name title in his e-mail signature. Surely, his achievements were something to boast about, but his reflective and modest nature were characteristics I sensed with a bit of surprise almost as soon as we sat down. Aside from my first Italian meal in months, I knew from then on I was in for a treat.

I came prepared. I sketched out a mind map and wrote, rewrote, and rehearsed questions countless times. My initial desire was to understand his interests. Learn about his drive. And finally understand how he figured out what to do with his life. I wanted to claim just a smidgen of his wisdom as my own, hoping to gain foresight of what lie ahead. Initially, we discussed the basics: our experiences, survival techniques for the Mandarin-jaded, and how coming to Taiwan was a cultural confrontation which evolved into an adventure. But then our conversation served an even greater purpose.

Over the course of our two hour dinner not a single one of my questions was answered. In fact, I didn’t even open my book the entire night. Like I said before, I had come prepared. Surely I intended to guide the conversation towards the Composition Notebook waiting under my seat. But the way in which this particular person was engaging me, I had no need for reiterated narcissism.

He was teaching me. Right then and there, the guy was teaching me all I needed to know. We answered the "Why," fiddled with the "How," and concluded on the "When." He was dignifying my future. I left pedantry under my chair. The line between the future and the present suddenly had a lot more diagonals. I grew dizzy trying to map it all out.

I did not realize it until soon after, but this channel of communication was exactly the reason I applied for the Fulbright. Right between the Caesar salad and chicken parm--he was changing the way in which I thought about the world.

Chiang Kai-shek and Sun Yat-sen Memorial Halls

2010-03-21T07:21:00.014-04:00

Jiufen will have to wait one more weekend. On Friday, the clouds crept in over Taipei and its neighboring counties. So instead of exploring things outside, I went to two of the most famous memorials in Taiwan--the Chiang Kai-shek and Sun Yat-sen Memorial Halls.

They're a bit far apart, but after an early breakfast with Joe and one of our Taiwanese friends, I made my way over to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. It was surprisingly vibrant, with teenagers practicing everything from breakdancing to drumline.

Who is Chiang Kai-shek? He's basically the guy who unified a debt-ridden and warlord-infested China in the 1920s and 30s, then lost control during the peak of the Chinese Civil War in 1948-49, opting to flee for a small island off the Fujian coast--present day Taiwan.

More interesting, however, is that Chiang Kai-shek instituted martial law throughout Taiwan until 1987. This is the root of differing public opinion surrounding Chiang. Despite his position as the war "hero" and leader of the country, he also was involved in obscene levels of bribery which led to corruption and additionally oversaw the killing and imprisonment of over 100,000 Taiwanese. And as these pictures will show, his dedicated memorial is significantly larger than Sun Yat-sen's--the actual founder of the Republic of China.

The colors and size of the place is extraordinary, and the public square had a faint resemblance to Tiananmen.

The main gate

Even from far away you get an idea of the size of the main building.

The National Concert Hall is on the same compound

Closer to the main building

Massive entrance way to the statue hall

Soldiers stand completely still, guarding the Chiang Kai-shek statue. You can see the assistant on the far right massaging and stretching out the soldier's limbs.

Straight shot of the big guy, himself.

Next I took the subway to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. I was expecting an even more lavish dedication, but unfortunately it looked like nothing more than an old, rundown Chinese building.

Who is Sun? He's the original founder of the Republic of China in 1912; the godfather; the big papi; the hotdog and the bun. He helped overthrow the last Chinese dynasty, kicking the Qing to the curb.

You want irony? Here's the founder of the ROC's dedicated building in the foreground--a sign of remembrance, respect, and honor--and Taipei 101 in the background--a sign of prosperity and modernism. Which one do you think gets more attention?

A soldier stands guard in front of Mr. Sun.

Taipei 101 from just outside SYS Memorial Hall

Other News

- The temperature has been hovering around 75 for the past week.
- Almost 100 days to go on my Fulbright.
- I've eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch every single work day for the past 4 months. The school lunches just don't fit my palate.
- Outside it looks like Beijing because pollution and sand from Chinese deserts have blown over, here are three pics for illustration:

The back hood of a car

The back windshield of a car

The view looking north from my apartment

I guess that explains why I have a runny nose.

Caoling Afternoon Hike

2010-03-19T09:28:00.010-04:00

Today, Joe and I spent the afternoon first on our scooters driving up the coast and then on foot walking through clouds.

We hiked the Caoling Historical Trail (草嶺古道) with a few other Fulbrighters back in August but because today we had a free afternoon and the weather was the best it's been in weeks, we made the trek. In two hours we made it from my bedroom in Yilan to walking through clouds. It was very interesting to realize how efficient we've become over the past several months. Here are some pics from the hike:

We started off low and flat

But then came the steps

And more steps...

Finally we made it to the halfway point and had a nice view of the town I teach in, Da Li.

But soon the clouds began to encroach

Before we knew it, we were walking through clouds

We turned back once our visibility dropped to a few yards. But overall got some great views for short afternoon hike.

Weekend Trip- Jiufen

2010-03-17T23:43:00.005-04:00

Traveling solo this weekend. I'm heading to Jiufen, a small town carved into the northeast coast that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. Below is a Googled picture, I'll post some of my own on Monday!

西門町

2010-03-14T21:30:00.006-04:00

Every weekend Joe, Owen, and I somehow always go to Taipei. Whether it's a Friday night or a Sunday afternoon, the city always has something to do. It's an ideal place: clean, great public transportation, friendly people, lots of taxis, different unique sections, etc.

Yesterday I went in and headed to Ximending in western Taipei. It's known as the trendy, hipster part where you'll see more people with tattoos than Taiwanese over the age of 40. It's also a consumer epicenter, a huge pedestrian area with dozens of clothing, shoe, and accessory shops. There's also a three floor Starbucks and a few street performers.

While its name originates from Japanese rule--it was created around the turn of the 20th century to house Japanese immigrants --there is little other evidence of Japanese influence. The place screams consumerism but is unique in that there are a lot of little shops with no-name brand clothing. I was not lucky enough to find a gem, but I'll be back soon for sure.

"Soldier boy up in the..."

2010-03-11T23:30:00.007-05:00

Taiwan law requires all males to serve in the military for one year after graduation. Today was the solider at Daxi's---Terry's---last day. Terry graduated from Taiwan's top university with a degree in English literature. He speaks English. In fact, during one class when I was teaching the faculty English, I was unsure how to define a word (I actually forgot what it meant). Terry defined it for me-- in English. It was incredible.

Some soldiers work at schools, considered one of the more desirable assignments, while others work on military bases.

Imagine if every 22 year old guy you knew--myself included--spent their first year after university in the military. No matter what. Even if you didn't want to go, you'd have no choice. And if you go to graduate school? Your obligation is simply deferred. Surely you'd forget a thing or two. Future economists, doctors, lawyers, bankers, poised to take the job market by storm, all restricted for one year. Graduated top of your class? Spend a year on a military base. Got that PhD? Semper Fidelis.

What do they actually do doing their year of service?

Every morning I arrive at school around 8:10. I greet the faculty around the office area, then make my way to the English classroom, passing by the bathroom on the way. This is the point of my morning when I say Hi to Terry. Everyday at that exact time Terry is always doing the same thing, mopping the bathroom floor. These menial tasks reciprocate throughout the entire experience.

True there is little resentment, this is simply how things are. But from a perspective which has seen two systems--the US and Taiwan--it's obvious the military service policy is simply wasting talent.

I met with a Fulbright alum who works for one of the most prominent banks on the globe. He runs his division. He wants to have kids. He's American, his wife is Taiwanese. I asked if he would like his son to be a Taiwanese citizen. "Absolutely not," he quickly responded. "The military requirement is simply absurd."

Taiwan's life expectancy is 78 years old. But because one year of his child's life would be dedicated to frivolous, monotonous acts--a small slice of a much larger pie--he still wants no part of it. Subjective views aside, this is a bold statement, and one I think retraces the larger picture of overqualification elsewhere.

Country 2: Cambodia - Siem Reap

2010-02-28T05:14:00.018-05:00

Kids sell things on the streets of Cambodia. One hot afternoon (in February) while sitting on the outdoor patio of a restaurant in Siem Reap, Joe and I were approached by a friendly looking boy carrying books and postcards. One dollar can buy you 10 postcards, he said, while two can get you a (copied) book. Then he deployed...

"Where are you from," he asked with a grin.
"Oh! Joe, look! He speaks English. We're from USA...America."

The grin grew to a smile.

"Oh wow, that's great. The President of the United States is Barack Obama. The population is 250 million. The capital is Washington D.C."

"Woah! Dude, this kid's smart! I'll buy your book and your postcards. Here's three dollars, buddy. Keep studying, it'll open doors for you in life."

"Thanks!" he said, then ran away.

What a guy I was. I was putting money in the hands of an intelligent, curious, young Cambodian boy. I was stimulating the economy, because now that kid would go spend my three dollars on math books, or English books. I felt great. Not soon after we were approached by a little girl.

"Hello! Do you want some books?"
"Oh, no thanks. I already bought one, Miss," I responded.
"Where are you from," she asked.
"We're from the United States."

"USA? Oh..." then she paused as if searching for something...
"The President of the United States is Barack Obama. The population is 250 million. The capital is Washington D.C... No book? How about a postcard?"

"No," I said. I downed my drink, stood up, and we left.

I had been duped.

Here are the two culprits, found together on the hustle, later that day.

Joe and I landed in Siem Reap, (northern) Cambodia uncertain of what to expect. While in Malaysia we concluded on a four question analysis which we would perform before entering each of the remaining four countries. They went as follows:

1. In preparation for disturbing levels of poverty, what were GDP per capita (PPP) figures?

2. For our safety, when was the most recent insurgent attack?

3. For comfort, does anyone here speak English?

4. And if all three of the above questions return with depressing results, how much does the local beer cost?

Cambodia came back with mixed reviews: GDP per capita (PPP) is around $2,000 (lower than Sudan) and the most recent terrorist threat was about 4-6 years ago depending upon who you talk to. But thankfully many people in the cities we would be visiting speak English and we often found our hands clenching that of the $0.50 Angkor Beer, a local delicacy with a striking resemblance to a popular American beverage which merged with a competitor not too long ago.

We were ambitious upon arrival. We planned to see all of the Angkor temples over a three day stretch, trying all the local rice and noodle dishes we could find in the process.

Then we changed our name to Idealist 1 and Idealist 2.

The first day, we rose at 4AM, bought our $40, 3-day Angkor Wat pass, and watched sunrise at the main temple of Angkor Wat. Joe wasn't too happy to be up so early on our vacation.

But I felt pretty good.

Here is the sunrise progression:

It was a really cool experience. The temples looked unbelievable. In hindsight, I think this was the point at which I really got the sense that our adventure was beginning.

Next we made our way through the two main temples: Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. One Buddhist, the other Hindu (Hindi?).

The temples are mostly famous because they have faces and bodies carved into them.

But also because they are ENORMOUS!!

Around 11AM, we finally grabbed a tuk tuk (motorized rickshaw) back to the hostel, content with what we had completed in just six short hours. For lunch, we ate a crocodile burger.

Then it was time for some R&R.

In Taiwan we don't have a TV. In Taiwan, if you want interaction with the West you either go to McDonald's and grab a Big Mac, or suffer from strained eyes and bad posture as you hunch over your laptop reading the NY Times. There is no comfortable way to get exposure to the US in Yilan.

But, ah, in Cambodia there is! We stayed at Siem reap Hostel, quite possibly the greatest hostel I've ever stayed in. They had little frogs hopping around everywhere.

Enormous, cloud-like beds, immaculate floors, spacious bathrooms, and to top it all off: shared Lonely Planet guides in the lobby and personally tailorable trips courtesy of the front desk.

After our first trip out to Angkor Wat we sadly never returned to the 12th century temples. This is justifiable. After discussing at length the possibilities for our trip, Joe and I agreed that when traveling through countries, it's best not to let the momentum of tourist attractions move you, but instead to find what you want to do. And just do it! That's when Michael Bloomberg entered the scene.

Our room had a TV. It hung from the ceiling, projecting acoustics which were truly exceptional (for the year it was made, sometime in the 1980's). Channel 35. Bloomberg. It was appealing. It was addicting. It was Davos! The World Economic Forum was hosting its annual conference in Davos, Switzerland, and Joe and I were instantly intrigued. George Soros? Steve Schwarzman? Mack, Dimon, Blankfein? I haven't seen these guys in months! Who's the guy with the ponytail and earring? You can look like that at Davos? (later discovered to be Anders Borg, Swedish Minister of Finance)

I was entranced. It was better than Cirque du Soleil. Joe and I lay in bed. We discussed the interconnections of the world, how a workers strike in Greece will affect how many Dollars you can buy with Euros. Pathetic? Maybe. Weird? Definitely. We were 20 minutes from Wats people traveled across the world to see yet we shamelessly threw opportunity cost out the window.

We stayed in Cambodia a total of 10 days. Seven of those were spent in Siem Reap. The town itself consisted of five things--and this is no exaggeration--ATMs, restaurants, bars, massages (cat calling 20-somethings sitting out front included), and hostels. If Kuala Lumpur is arguably the best city I've ever been to, Siem Reap is by far the best town.

Poverty is glaringly obvious in Cambodia. But, like so many things in Southeast Asia, it's tough not to find it interesting. Children run after you asking for money, more as a game than actually needing the money. They're dressed, fed, well groomed. They don't look impoverished. That's because there's some guy, or as often occurs, a parent, sitting not too far away watching as they perform their daily duties. If a parent works, let's say he makes a dollar a day. But if he sends his kid out to beg, he can make 3 or 4 dollars and he gets to spend afternoons reclining on the couch. This is the reality of begging in Siem Reap. It's a full-time job...for both the parent and the child. Of course, we also came across the elderly disabled with missing limbs, often from land mines laid during the 1970's--most of which were indirectly funded by, you guessed it, the US of A and the United Nations.

Siem Reap is an excellent town, one Joe and I agree we would love to retire to for a few years once we get old. There are NGO's everywhere and a ton of other opportunities to help out the local community. We met a retired Australian lawyer on our way from Siem Reap to Battambang who started his own NGO, by himself. That'll be on the next post which will also include the rest of Cambodia (Battambang and the capital city, Phnom Penh--where we visited with the head of the Fulbright program in Cambodia!).

What's Going on Here

2010-02-26T15:57:00.001-05:00

Success! Cover letter and resume crafted to perfection. Now it's time to hit the job trail!!

Country 1: Malaysia

2010-02-25T08:45:00.009-05:00

For the sake of my sanity, as well as yours, I plan to post each of the five countries, one by one. First up is Malaysia. I can't remember too well what we did every minute of the day so I'm using my pictures as a guide, so please be advised of the short attention span instilled in each of the next five posts.

My roommate, Joe, and I left Taiwan hopeful that our four week adventure would leave no stone unturned. Calls back to the US contained many a "good luck" and "be careful." Most notably, my Mom told me to be careful of sunburn. Well, Mom. Don't you worry, because in Malaysia they sell this!

Nothing was getting to me through SPF 130.

In Malaysia we spent all of our time in Kuala Lumpur, the capital. But even four days wasn't enough to really know the ins and outs of the city. Nevertheless, we saw many things.

We saw pythons!

Then we wore one!

We climbed towers!

Then took pictures from the tower! This is Kuala Lumpur's skyline.

We saw monkeys!

Then we watched as they stole and drank our drinks!

We saw prosperity on a bun!

We saw the Batu Caves with a 140 foot statue of Murugan

Finally, we saw the 88-story Petronas Towers during the day

and at night.

From KL we flew to Siem Reap, Cambodia, the city known for Angkor Wat, and the country known more in the mainstream for being the birthplace of Angelina Jolie's two adopted children (bars have drinks named after her).

Home

2010-02-22T09:20:00.004-05:00

After an elongated return to Taiwan, we're finally back in Yilan. Time to go through thousands of pictures...

Ko Phi Phi

2010-02-15T06:44:00.002-05:00

Made our way through the Phi Phi Islands today. Off to Bangkok tomorrow.

In Phuket, Thailand

2010-02-11T09:33:00.004-05:00

Today we rented scooters and drove north up the coast of Phuket; beach hopped, drank coconuts, and swam in water that looked like it was from a postcard.

Tomorrow we're heading to some small islands for snorkeling, then catching a Muay Thai fight at night. Great place!

ill

2010-02-08T02:36:00.004-05:00

Joe and I caught some sort of bug and have spent the past several days in bed. But I was able to catch up on reading! Finished Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers, and am almost at the end of Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis. I don't think I could have picked two books with such differing themes.

We head to Phuket tomorrow night!

In Ho Chi Minh

2010-02-05T11:00:00.002-05:00

Vietnam! Have been experiencing the night life--24 hour bars!--and eating a lot of pho.

Made it 9 hours across the great lake on a wooden bench with no water! In Battambang for the night then Phnom Penh tomorrow!!

2010-02-01T06:01:00.003-05:00

Sunset over Cambodia's Great Lake while eating fish and chips and chatting with a Texas couple who lives in Malaysia

2010-01-31T07:46:00.002-05:00

In Cambodia. Impoverished is when a fly lands on your face and you don't flinch, 7 year old, Sarah.

2010-01-28T23:40:00.002-05:00

Landed in KL

2010-01-26T03:53:00.003-05:00

Staying at a really nice hostel. Only $10 a night!

Some first thoughts on Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (<--- click that link for a pic of the city):

- Lots of Catholic churches

- The Indian food is fantastic! Had some Tandoori chicken and Naan bread for dinner last night.

- On a scale of Hong Kong (everyone speaks English) to Taipei (no one speaks English), KL falls somewhere in the middle. A lot of people also speak both Chinese dialects, and of course Malay.

- The city is very spread out, with lots of trees. You can see the sky almost everywhere, especially around the Petronas Towers. An excellent detail that a lot of cities--including Beijing, Shanghai, and HK, often fall short of.

- The city is just north of the equator and is REALLY hot. It was at least 90 degrees today, January 26. Ha.

Will update again soon.

Next Stop: Kuala Lumpur

2010-01-24T07:55:00.006-05:00

Just arrived home in Yilan from our mid-year conference in southern Taiwan. Here are some pics from the resort:

Rock coined "The Richard Nixon"

Mountains and paradise on the southern tip:

Three roommates at the top of the lookout point

"How about that water!"

Now it's off to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

I Went to Hong Kong

2010-01-17T08:57:00.019-05:00

After four days in the financial epicenter of Asia, I can say that Hong Kong is very fragrant indeed. I don't know when, but I will live there at some point in the future.

In Chinese Hong Kong is 香港, or "fragrant harbor." May having something to do with the British East India Company running spices through HK for quite a while... or perhaps even a pseudonym for opium.

The reason I went to Hong Kong was to decide over a span of 96 hours if I could ever see myself working there.

I flew in Thursday afternoon and met up with a friend from JPM who was kind enough to let me stay on his couch all weekend. Thursday I did a lot more observing than anything else. I wrote down a few observations during the first night:

-People drive on the left side of the road here
--There seems to be a "Hong Kong for dummies" tutorial spread out over the city, as seen below

-The ratio of Mercedes:other cars has to be somewhere in the ballpark of 2:1
-Some Chinese actually prefer to speak English instead of Mandarin
-There are lots of hills
-Most ethnic restaurants have trilingual menus
-The British presence isn't nearly as obvious as I would have thought
-You can't see the sky because you're always surrounded by 20+ story buildings
-It smells more like raw fish than fragrant spices

Friday I met a few young professionals and received some very insightful perspectives on life in Hong Kong vs. New York. During the afternoon I also checked out Ladies Street (market selling fake stuff--landed an "Oakley backpack"...score!) in Kowloon and the Avenue of Stars (area set along Victoria Harbor dedicated to Hong Kong movie stars).

Ladies Street:

Huge buildings in Central:

Here are pics and a video from the Avenue of Stars:

Video: Avenue of Stars

Craving a taste of the HK nightlife I then headed out for a night on the town in Lan Kwai Fong--one of the bar districts.

Saturday I spent the day with Brian Or, a former classmate of mine in Beijing, Hong Kong local, and recently realigned patron of the former British colony after giving up his American citizenship. Hanging out with ex-pats then a local was an excellent way to navigate my way through the intricacies of the island. Two specific things Brian mentioned that have stuck with me are that Hong Kong has a flat tax structure of around 15-17% and that it's also a tropical island (a detail I overlooked because I thought of it solely as a financial hub). Why does HK have a flat tax? After World War II Hong Kong was hurtin...it was really poor. But in 1947 reformers developed the novel idea of dovetailing a flat tax with free-market principles...63 years later I think it's safe to say they made a smart decision.

Video with Brian looking at Victoria Harbor.

Brian took me up to The Peak. We arrived at sunset and stayed for a couple of hours. Here are two videos from up there.

Better illustrated than explained:

Videos from the Peak:
Video: Peak 1
Video: Peak 2

What a great trip.

When I was visiting schools as a senior at The Prep I arrived at SJU and just had a feeling that was the right place for me. The tour could have been muted because I was instantly entranced by the way things felt. The way the trees stood, the layout of the campus, the non-verbal interaction of the students (see: Blink). It was almost like an assumed sale, like I was already a student. I had that seem feeling when I took the Airport Express back to the airport on Sunday, it was like I already had a job in Hong Kong. And hopefully that will be the case.

Hong Kong

2010-01-06T00:56:00.003-05:00

Hong Kong tomorrow. Back on Sunday. Click for a view, I'll give you my own on Monday!

HK Picture

Rent an Island?

2010-01-05T03:04:00.002-05:00

Things are cheap in Asia.

Alright, that's an understatement...things are REALLY cheap in Asia.

My roommate and Chinese New Year travel companion Joe found a website where you can rent islands.

We're looking at Indonesia and Malaysia.

Quite a different feel from getting a Sea Isle house for a week, and from what it looks like a lot cheaper too--$700+ for a week.

Post again soon with what we decide on.

Ted Talk--Alain De Botton

2010-01-04T03:56:00.004-05:00

I've watched Ted talks every morning on my way to school for the past few weeks This one is notable, and only 17 minutes:

Alain de Botton: A kinder, gentler philosophy of success | Video on TED.com

The Different Skins of a Fulbrighter

2010-01-03T07:17:00.005-05:00

We are ambassadors for cultural exchange, teachers, foreigners, English speakers, American-educated, the tall guys in the room, novice users of chopsticks, the elephants in the room, and representatives of the Fulbright ETA program in Taiwan.

The Fulbrighters wear all of these hats simultaneously. It's at times exhilarating and at other times exhausting. A very interesting aspect of the Fulbright is this identity we wear everyday almost as an accessory--sometimes we feel embarrassed or uncomfortable carrying it, at other times we forget we even have it on. We all finally reach the brink and conclude there's no use in thinking about it. This is the life we live. But without a breath of thought, it all--seemingly out of habit--repeats itself.

We're making progress. Joe, Owen, and I are gradually assimilating into a very specific niche of Chinese culture--that of the 20-somethings. We've secured some very kind friends and are finding our ways into countless social circles with opportunities to learn more about Taiwanese culture through the lenses of locals.

Even with these new friends--coming from an array of backgrounds spanning college sophomores at reputable Taiwanese universities to club owners--we wear these hats. The question we now find ourselves asking is: Is it appropriate to take off these hats and become another common friend, a local Taiwanese ourselves? Or would doing such a thing result in us losing our own unique identities as Americans in Taiwan? Being American is what we bring to the table after all. It's hard to hide blue eyes when everyone's staring at you the minute you walk through the door. But in order to truly learn about this culture so foreign to the West, and more important in order to sift through the Starbucks cups, Louis Vuitton bags, and Lebron James advertisements, we must check at least part of our identities at the door.

Between my time in China and my time thus far in Taiwan, it seems there is a new cultural identity in Chinese-speaking "countries." One that cannot be found in books or sharing tea with professors. But instead one which necessitates that all Westerners--and especially Americans--carry with themselves at all times this Western culture. This is because the young Taiwanese themselves have already been viewing us and our culture since they were in diapers. And in order to learn more about them, it's important to learn about how they interpret the West's position and identity in their own culture. But not a position and identity existing on the outside of the Taiwanese cultural shell--such as what occurs when mixing oil and vinegar. Instead, Western culture's position and identity as an already assimilated puzzle piece of today's Taiwanese culture.

This is some pretty cool stuff we're doing out here.

2 Months of Travel Plans

2009-12-30T08:27:00.005-05:00

Heading to Hong Kong soon!

Then from late January to late February my roommate Joe and I are going on the follow vacation:

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -- 3 days

Cambodia -- 4 days

Vietnam -- 9 days

Thailand -- ?? days (until we run out of money)

Christmas Week

2009-12-26T02:50:00.012-05:00

Christmas week was excellent! Check out the pictures and videos below.

Of course we had to do a bit of normal teaching at some point. On Monday, we taught the 3rd graders how to tell time.

Santa always gives out high fives on Christmas

When writing Christmas cards some kids asked for a bike or a baseball glove. Others simply threw any form of discreetness out the window and got to the point--"I want a gift."

This was the view from my classroom on Christmas Eve. It's not 14 inches of snow...but it was pretty cold that day, almost 55 degrees!

On Christmas Eve, Joe and I found a nearby ice cream shop boasting all the latest flavors, including Obama Chocolate Brownie!

and the woman who worked there was dressed like a cow--I couldn't let such an opportune moment just blow by without a picture! Here's my roommate Joe and I.

Christmas Day consisted of songs, speeches, and a play. The kids all donned Santa hats and the principal gave a surprise guitar performance.

This is Mike, the conductor of the school's Christmas chorus. Note he's rocking a nice little paper blue suit.

Here's a shot of me with the first graders all ready for their rendition of Skinamarinky dinky dink.

Eventually Santa had to undress. That thing was hot! The second graders with their guitars

I had to trade in the Fountain Street crew back at St. Joe's for my new crew:

Here's Jodi--a local Taiwanese--and I. We co-teach all the English classes together at Da Li.

Now for a few videos. Most of these are available on the right hand side of this blog. Under My Videos from Taiwan

The first is the train ride to school on Christmas Eve. It's an excellent illustration of just how beautiful Taiwan is.
Christmas Eve Train Ride to Work

The Da Xi 1st graders now have an affinity for Christmas music. Here they are singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas
1st Graders Christmas Song

We practiced for the play a lot at Da Li. Here's Scene 4 from Wednesday's practice.
Da Li Play Practice

So there's this pop song out right now in Asia called "Sorry Sorry" by Super Junior--a 12 person Korean boy band. The song is absolutely HUGE in Taiwan. Jodi and I thought it'd be cool if the kids ended the Christmas show not with Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman, or We Wish You a Merry Christmas, but with something a bit more familiar...

Here's the actual song, just watch 0:40 to 0:50--that's the dance we performed: Sorry Sorry.
Here's our version, with the 4th graders' reactions to me saying "Great!" in Chinese at the end: Da Li Sorry Sorry

This was my 22nd Christmas but one that will stand out in my mind for years to come.

After a long day of performing, meeting parents, and pulling pieces of white beard out of mouth, it finally felt good to sit down.

That time I met the mayor

2009-12-19T05:48:00.006-05:00

The lights were bright, the tiled, squeaky clean room was noisy, and my stomach was grumbling. I was at the Yilan City Library on Saturday morning. My purpose: story telling for the community children. My problem: it was 9:06 and the "Foreigner Story Telling Event" was scheduled to begin at 9:10. Friday night had been a bit busy with extracurriculars, and I had only arrived home a few hours ago. But nonetheless there I stood, ready with a box of chalk in one hand and a 26x14inch super-sized copy of "Is Your Mama a Llama?" in the other. These kids wouldn't know what hit em, I thought. But that was before I realized every guy in Yilan would decide to use the library bathroom.

One guy out, one guy in...one guy out, one guy in. The turtle pace of the line was like watching paint dry. Then out of nowhere, this giant of a Taiwanese guy--probably around 6'0 or so--parts the Red Sea and slides right into the front of the line. He looked like this. Was this guy Moses? He didn't have a beard, that's for sure. And he was wearing a suit. Hmm...I thought, this is not kosher. With my very highest privileged-foreigner attitude I slid up behind him and politely bellowed (if that's possible) into his right ear, "Excuse me...sir...back there...people waiting...back there. You go to the back." It was the best Chinese I could muster. I was tired, the bathroom's odor began to creep into the hallway, and most importantly in a mere 2 minutes I was scheduled to guide 30 awaiting youngsters and their parents through a philosophical discussion pertaining to the question of whether or not their own mama was in fact a llama.

He turned with a grin. Nice smile, I thought. "Good morning," he said, and with that he turned back to the front of the line.

What!? I go 4 months being chased around the city by every local attempting to practice their English with me and this guys tosses a standard early day greeting? Oh, no.

But then right as I was about to tap him on the shoulder the librarian slid between us.
"Kevin! This the mayor! I let give you introduction!"
"Fantastic!" I said. "Then you can tell him the line starts back there!" (I said this knowing full well no one in the entire building would understand it--so don't worry!).
"Ok! Great," the librarian said, confirming my belief that he in fact had no idea what I was saying.

After a brief introduction I used my new found 關係 (guanxi-"relationship") to move from 7th to 2nd in line, right behind my new pal, known only by one name--Mayor.

The subsequent hour after my VIP bathroom treatment is a bit of a blur--something I've found often happens whenever I teach a class. It's almost like you're on, you're performing, then you're off, class is over, and you have no idea where the past 40 minutes went. But two moments that stand out in my mind are:

At about the 9:15 mark
"Hello, good morning everyone, my name is Teacher Kev--LLAMA!!!"--interrupted by a "cute" little 2nd grader who had obviously read the book before. For some reason, she wasn't called on for the entire hour and I honestly have no idea why.

At about the 9:40 mark
"That was a great book, wasn't it?"
"Yes"
"Do you like animals?"
"Yes"
"Is this cow small?"
silence
"Is this cow big?"
"Yes"
"Is your mother a llama?"
"Yes" ---at this point I realized asking too many questions with the answer "yes" only yielded obedient robots, and not informed students.

Here you can see the government's library schedule with my name on it, and the librarian said some pictures will be up soon too:
Website here

Top 10: Things Missed from Home

2009-12-17T07:48:00.009-05:00

10. The radio--Yes, the redundant Top 10 hits can at times make your ears go numb. But the opportunity to have no control over the music you're going to hear next is an underrated luxury completely unavailable because we drive scooters--not cars--here in Taiwan.

9. The postal service--Having someone come to your house and pick up your outgoing mail, or better yet deliver a package directly to your doorstep is really an excellent service. This is why no one has received post cards from me.

8. Neighborhoods--There's a feeling of security driving down roads with curbs, sidewalks...and people who actually obey traffic laws.

7. Ham sandwiches--Nothing like two pieces of fresh rye, spicy brown mustard, and deli ham.

6. Driving a car--We have scooters. It's fun to barrel in and out of traffic (barrel may be an exaggeration...let's say glide). But being able to relax and have windows (and a ceiling) that can provide you with a cool breeze or protect you from a thunderstorm (or typhoon in my case), is really a necessity for happily moving from Point A to Point B.

5. Talking to people you have a history with--Quoting Happy Gilmore or Caddyshack, and then looking around and seeing you're the only one laughing...is not a good feeling. Among the extracurricular activities pursued out here in Taiwan, plenty of memories are being made, but there's nothing like reminiscing with the friends you've known for years. That's something I'm really looking forward to when I get back in July.

4. Cleanliness--My experience in China yielded a similar response. Things out here just seem a bit more dusty. It's not an added stress, but around 7PM when you are just walking into your house or 7AM when you are walking out to your car, there is a familiar smell and feeling in the air. That's a detail I'm yet to experience here in Taiwan.

3. English--Remember that teacher from Charlie Brown with the jibber jabber voice? See here for a reminder. I feel like I'm talking in that voice almost all day--my "improving" Chinese and people who don't understand a lick of English create an often "difficult," you could call it, environment to work in. Also daily tasks such as buying food, getting a haircut, asking for directions, making plans but not knowing how to actually get anywhere, all really wear you down. In China it was a unique, fun part of the experience. But here in Taiwan it's more often a nuisance.

2. Bread and salad--two staples of my diet back in the US simply are not available (at least readily) here in Taiwan. I mean, I could get Caesar salad and a roll...but that would almost double my dinner tab from $4 to $8. Instead, I opt for the endless cravings and really salivate over the choice of restaurants every weekend in Taipei.

1. Civilization--This is more a culmination of the previous nine. Everything feels very foreign out here (Duh! Everyone speaks Chinese!). But really...we have to take a one hour bus ride to Taipei--the nearest city. The dozens upon dozens of stray dogs running around the town combined with the nearby mountains, rice patties, and long stretches of road leading to nowhere really generate a feeling of nostalgia and a yearning to be near something that's moving faster, something that's up and coming, or something that's really going somewhere with a goal in mind.

My daily train ride home

2009-12-11T07:37:00.007-05:00

My Fulbright experience is relatively unique in that my schools not only have students from disadvantaged backgrounds but additionally both schools are a 70 minute door-to-door commute every morning.

I grab the 7:27AM train and during the afternoon I get a 4:30 train back to Yilan. After a full day's work I'm usually pretty exhausted. The morning crammed with performing for students, and the afternoon spent writing, rewriting, and re-rewriting Chinese characters until they stick in my brain. The train ride home is split into two very different experiences. From my school to the halfway point I have a distinct view of the Pacific Ocean and Turtle Island, and the train for the most part is silent except for soft chatter in Taiwanese among the farmers shipping their day's crops to the night market. The sun's rays glare as light barely inches over the mountains to the west. Given my relaxing surroundings, I'm soon in and out of dozing off.

But then we approach Toucheng, a city just north of Yilan which is home to several of the local vocational high schools and even more middle schools. Students line up, usually 8-10 deep, right as the train's doors come to a soft halt...then all hell breaks loose. The doors swing open and it's a free for all, dark haired youths in red and blue sweatsuits burst onto the train, snagging an open seat the desired prize of the train's new patrons. Because of my iPod I usually don't realize we've passed through Toucheng until I wake up to--literally--dozens of small black eyes staring curiously at the foreigner who they've watched repeatedly fall to his side for the past 15 minutes as he swayed between resting his eyes and nodding off. You would almost think this was an act specific to foreigners.

Today I took a listen and heard some rather funny commentary provided by my surrounding peanut gallery:

"Why is he wearing shorts? It's so cold!" (Today it was about 65 and sunny)
"He looks tall, do you think he's more than 180 centimeters?"
"He is so nice looking, I knew a girl who had a foreign boyfriend for a year but then one day he disappeared and she never heard from him again." -a pessimistic high school girl
"Do foreigners like bubble tea?" -a curious 7th grade boy
"Look at his iPod, foreigners make so much and all they do is teach their country's language." -an informed 10th grader
"He is so handsome." -a hopeful romantic
"His eyes are blue" -an analytical observer
"Do you think he understands Chinese?"

Then the party really gets started when I unfold, standing up and stretching, my hands easily touching the ceiling. Awe soon sets in, at which point I turn off my iPod and engage the students in conversation. For the most part they really get a kick out of a foreigner speaking Chinese. From the second I say "你好"--"Hello"-- the crowd is entranced. Sometimes I pull out my Chinese book and recite the dialogue, or when it's a conversation I'll ask one of the high school girls to assume the role of the other character, this always makes a crowd gather and leaves the high school boys with a rather distasteful look on their face--sometimes you just can't compete with an American. In order to preserve my level of celebrity I rotate through the train's 11 cars everyday so it seems as though the foreigner spotting that day is a rare occurrence.

I'm hoping they won't catch on.

Death, Chinese Class, Walk to School, and a Scooter Ride

2009-11-24T09:42:00.014-05:00

Last Tuesday Owen, our Taiwanese friend V, and I headed south to Nanfangao--a beach notable for its pebble beach, amazing sights, and an absurd number of drownings because there is a cliff under the water that drops off and people get sucked down. I didn't go swimming there because it was raining.

But I did walk about 20 minutes north to a nearby sea glass beach that very few people know about. It was raining, really windy, and we had to scale a mountain. I'll leave the rest up to your imagination.

Here's a video of us right before we climbed down on the rope we found tied to a piece of metal sticking out of the ground (it was pretty sturdy in the end).

Youtube: Seaglass search / almost dying

My Chinese is coming along really well. I'm learning at about 40 characters a week in a one on one class that meets twice a week for two hours. In an attempt to allay the painful redundancy of memorizing vocabulary during tonight's class, Zhan laoshi--my teacher--and I looked up the meaning of my Chinese name, Chen Kai Wen (陳凱文). We didn't get far because before I knew it she whipped out the biggest book I've ever seen. We only got so far as looking up the meaning of Kai, which has a few meanings including "gentle," "fair," "intelligent", and, strangely enough, "victory song"--played after a major battle by the winning army.

But the main focus of this post is not my Chinese name, it's the mere size of this Chinese dictionary. It had well over 2,000 pages and was so impressive I stopped class and took some pictures and a video. After a short while I also came to the conclusion that no matter how much I study Chinese there is no way I will ever know every word in this book.

Here's the front of the book. I don't know what it says except the last three characters literally translate to "big dictionary."

Here's a video of me and my teacher discussing just how big this book is.

Here's a picture:

I took another video of my walk to Da Xi Elementary from the train station. It shows the living conditions of the students and a few of the dangers I encounter two mornings a week.

Youtube: Walk to Da Xi

In other news, my scooter is my most prized possession out here. Last week my roommate Owen and I got off work at 12 and started driving south. Six hours and several dozens of kilometers later we were surrounded by mountains in this pretty sweet valley. Here's a video from up there:

Youtube Scooter

Check out these pics:

I started taking pictures when I wake up in the morning because the view from my bedroom is just so amazing when the sun comes up. We're on the 14th floor facing east. This is especially inspiring because my cousin Sean's apartment in midtown Manhattan is probably around $2,000/month and comes equipped with the cosmopolitan view of a brick wall and a neighbor's living room, while my rent is about $200/month. Thus while I could certainly "make bank," as the NYC vernacular goes, the opportunities available to me right now are something I really appreciate. See pics below:

Weekend = 很好玩

2009-11-22T03:15:00.007-05:00

Many great feats have happened throughout history: Columbus sailed across the Atlantic, someone created the internet, air conditioning was introduced back in the 18th century, the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, and this past weekend in Taipei I had the greatest time of my life.

To say the least, this weekend was epic.

I ate great food, met even more great people, and to top it off spent Friday night polishing my dance moves with my two best friends out here--my roommates Joe and Owen.

First, the Thanksgiving dinner Friday night went from 6-9ish. The diplomats had us over to their residential building in Taipei and we feasted on everything American--turkey, cranberry sauce, potatoes, etc. and of course they had bread and caesar salad--the two staples of my diet back home in the Illadelph. The best part of the night was talking to the foreign service officers who are all really cool, really smart, and really honest about the pros and cons of working abroad for the state department. I also met my first ever celebrity,--defined here as someone who actually has a legit profile on Wikipedia--the American ambassador to Taiwan, Bill Stanton.

After wining and dining the night really got started when we rolled up to the club in a brand new, red, 3-series BMW equipped with none other than a diplomat license plate. So imagine me--tall, lanky, most importantly WHITE getting out of that car in front of probably close to 200 Taiwanese all waiting in line to get into the Armin Van Buuren concert, then just walking towards the front of the line. Ah, twas a brush with greatness indeed. Those 30 seconds really set the stage for the rest of the night.

Armin Van Buuren did not disappoint. He started playing at around 1AM and was onnnn point. The crowd was amazing and the main room he was in got so packed they opened up the second dance room and just streamed his music straight into there and put a live video feed of him jamming out on the big screen. It was absolutely one of the best nights I've had in Taiwan thus far.

Here's a clip I found on Youtube from the show on Friday night.
Armin in Taipei 11.20.09

Here are two shots from our Halloween a few weeks back. If you look carefully enough in the first you can see us dressed as Indians.

Best of all, I still have 7 more months out here.

你從哪裡來?

2009-11-15T09:33:00.006-05:00

Big weekend coming up

Friday night--11/20--is the Thanksgiving dinner at AIT (The US de facto embassy in Taiwan), followed by a HUGE techno concert with the #1 DJ in the world, Armin Van Buuren. Saturday night we're staying in Taipei again which means more clubbing.

Wooooah STOP!

What does "clubbing" really mean?

For my two roommates and I, we follow these five, simple steps which always translate into an excellent night.

1. Take the bus from Yilan to Taipei around 8PM

2. Eat the finest food we can find (usually an American burger from a restaurant in the university section of Taipei)

3. Head to a club at around 1030PM feeling refreshed, smelling fragrant, and surrounded by the familiar, auspicious air of being a 22 year old Fulbrighter in Taiwan.

4. We exit the club when they kick us out, usually around 3 or 4AM.

5. Then it's decision time.

At this point we're quite tired, amidst other feelings, and usually want to head straight home. But! And this is a big BUT...only a block away from our favorite club, LUXY, is the greatest geometric figure ever created--the golden arches of the one...the only...McDonald's.

So what's a Fulbrighter to do? A cab ride home runs us 1,200NT total--which is about $40. Divided by 3 that's still $13 a head (keep in mind we only make $1,200 a month).

The reason McDonald's is such an opportune post-LUXY hangout spot is because in the event we ask the golden arches for its services, we are also provided the convenience of sleeping there...until the buses start running back to Taipei in the morning.

I won't lie to you. I hate sleeping at McDonald's. From what I can remember it smells weird, the people are way too friendly at 4AM in the morning, and most importantly I can't get chicken McNuggets past 430AM because that's when they start serving breakfast.

So that's a usual Saturday night in Taipei. Clubbing, some Mickey D's, sleeping on plastic tables, then the bus at sunrise.

Here are two pictures--one from a random night in Taipei with Owen (orange shirt) and I conveniently in the middle, and the other from Halloween with my two roommates (Joe and Owen) and I dressed as "In dee on."

two blog posts in one week? someone 有空兒

2009-11-12T00:51:00.002-05:00

After the Halloween extravaganza 2 weeks ago I've now arrived at midterm week. Here are some good stories from the week just ended:

6th grade is...how do you say...polarized? Kids either got 100s (like Linda, Sara and Karen) or drew pictures and wrote their Chinese homework on the test (like Peter, Eilleen, Daphne, Eric 1, Eddy, Rex, Eric 2, Bobby, Brian, Peter 2, Henry and Joyce). Now I know what you're thinking..."Kevin. you're such a shit teacher. Why did so many kids fail?" But let me answer your question with one of my own: If a waffle maker overheats in a forest, does anyone smell it burning? That's a rhetorical question, but the point is these kids are so far out in left field that I could smack fly ball after fly ball at them and they still wouldn't come close to catching what I serve up twice a week in English class. For example, Peter. Peter and I have a very distinct relationship. I walk in every morning and give some high-fives, and announce to the class "What's up?" in perfectly annunciated English. This is about 30 seconds into class, and Peter is already fast asleep in any of his three bedding areas in the back of class, though lately he's been favoring the 10-foot wooden lunch table. The other 29 kids in class contribute to their "class participation" grade in similar fashion. I have many-a text message queens, quite a few nose pick-glance-eaters, and, ah, the ubiquitous blank stare that propagates not just in 6th grade but also in grades 1-5. So I wanna learn how to surf, I tell my 6th grade class this week.

And with that single word-----surf----the gates of heaven suddenly opened: Peter arose from his slumber on the lunch table, Eileen stopped texting Daphne from across the room, Eric 1 stopped copying Eric 2's Chinese homework, and, yes, Peter 2 and Joyce stopped playing best-of-19 rock paper scissor in the back corner of the classroom. They all suddenly became interested in my questions surrounding what could possibly be the greatest creation on earth--the surfboard.

Soon after though, this height of interest was quietly squashed as I tried to transfer from "wave" the noun to "wave" the verb and into the lesson on Greetings. Peter reclined, and Eileen and Daphne now resorted to simply talking out loud in Chinese from across the room--it's so much faster than just texting!

So why are there Taiwanese kids with names like Eric 1 and Eric 2, Peter 1 and Peter 2? And why didn't I rename them?

The answer the first question is quite simple: I have no idea. Whoever their English teacher was before me either had the creative prowess of a tree trunk or just didn't care. Now I tried, I really did, to pry this redundant alias, perhaps in exchange for a more pleasant name, such as Sean, Dan, Kevin, James, or Larry. But while their lack of interest in English was obvious from the get go, their invisible tender embrace to their original English name was something I had to come to grips with. "Eric 2! How about a new name, like Dan?" "Umm...no" "Larry?" "Uhh...no" "Can I do anything here?" "No." "Well how about just getting rid of the number on the end of your name? That's not really common, to have numbers after your name" "I think...no. I want 2."

All in all, midterm week was a great success. I measured how much my students got outta me. And even those who didn't get a lot, I certainly received such generous amounts of artwork from them. I will leave you with the verbal test I gave Peter 1 from about an hour ago.

Me: "Do you like baseball?"

Peter: "What?"

Me: "Do you like to play baseball?"

Peter: "I...brother...hello."

Me: "Can you play badminton?"

Peter: "May I go to the bathroom?"

Me: "What are you going to do this weekend?"

Peter: "Yes, you may."

Me (in Chinese): "Alright, Peter. I know you understand what I'm saying here. You've studied English for 6 years. Now you need to make a decision. Either answer my questions and I'll pass you, or continue to do what you are doing and I'll give you a zero."

Peter (a bit dazed): "Hmm...OK Teacher Kevin. I is Peter. I like turtles. Bye bye."

...and with that, I gave my first zero of the year.

Edit Oct 20 Post

2009-11-10T20:31:00.001-05:00

Just so everyone knows, the below post that says Oct 20 is really from November 9--I just posted it on Monday.

Kevin

this one time in october when i was on the fulbright...

2009-10-20T01:04:00.019-04:00

(All the new photos from Halloween on out you can click on and there should be a normal size photo instead of before where it was a huge billboard size one you couldn't really view)

((And everyone please keep my brother Mark in your thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery))

It is impossible to synthesize my Fulbright experience thus far into a written statement. Over the past four weeks I've toiled in front of my computer screen trying to get things just right for grad school applications. But then realizing that as a whole, what I had just written still didn't fully communicate what's been happening out here.

When I studied in Beijing, I essentially saw China from inside a vacuum. Visas, travel plans, good restaurants, medical problems, and even friends, were all provided by my study abroad program--The Beijing Center (which I suggest everyone click on to see someone all too familiar on the front page). But on the Fulbright, and especially within the ETA program, it is a completely different story.

Our washing machine broke, so we had to call the landlady...in Chinese. I got lost today on my scooter in the nearby farmland so had to stop and ask for directions--in Chinese. My coworkers at school and most of my friends are all Taiwanese meaning I have to speak Chinese probably for more waking hours of the day than English. Even these sentences can't explain it fully... essentially, my entire life is enveloped in the Taiwanese imagination.

And it's amazing! It's an adrenaline rush every morning simply riding the train...

What's the over/under on how many people will stare at me at the train station--30, 40? I'll take the over.

What's the vocab from Chapter 4 that I can test out? "恐怕...yeah, yeah that means I'm afraid that...Hey! Miss, hello...good morning...do you think it will rain today? I'm afraid that it will rain because I forgot my umbrella."

Why is everyone so interested in what I'm eating for breakfast, it's cereal?

Why does this guy next to me smell like strawberries but look like a homeless person?

These are the things that keep me going and make me so happy that I'm here. My experience in China was the best way to start off studying Chinese culture--reading books, traveling the country with academics, and writing research papers on modern issues. But now, with all of these topics in my arsenal I can really begin telling the detailed differences between not just the Taiwanese and Chinese, but the Taiwanese/Chinese and America. This is all made possible through the Fulbright. I won't be heading to England next year but I know wherever I end up it will continue to provide me opportunities similar to the Fulbright--to explore my surroundings, its people, and its culture, all from my own point of view.

Over the past few weeks we've seen many things. First, about three weekends ago we headed 200 miles or so south to see the other ETAs in Gaoxiong--Taiwan's second largest city. A friend told me when I first started blogging to "put up more pictures" so I think that's what I'll do.

This is Gaoxiong's harbor--the 6th largest container port in the world.

Here's my roommate Joe snapping a pic :

I thought this was pretty crazy looking, this was a 12 story shopping mall...we were pretty into the escalators.

Gaoxiong also boasts the Sky Tower--that huge building in the background of the harbor pics above. It's an 85 story skyscraper. Here are some pics from up there.

This is a building that broke in half and fell over--we never really figured out why.

Check out the below video of us talking with some people and the funny interaction that occurs.

Youtube Video confused foreigners interacting with Taiwanese...wait no, they're Australian.

Here's a great place to send your kids to college: , it has everything they'll need: palm trees, a beach resort right next door, monkeys climbing down from the nearby mountain, and a great view of the harbor.

Here's a video of Joe and I sitting on the beach at the resort/maybe also the university campus.

Youtube Zhong Shan Da Xue Video

Then we celebrated Halloween at Da Li which you KNOW means I "brought the thunder" to Taiwan with my extensive understanding of Halloween culture. If you're at work and you can't get on YouTube then PLEASE check these videos out when you get home, they really tell the whole story. Some background, there's a popular song out in Taiwan right now called "Sorry Sorry" and there's a running joke in our office of using the title "Sorry Sorry" as if you were apologizing for something, or just to say "Hello." I really don't understand it either but that's basically the story. Also, the kids really couldn't say "Happy Halloween" so we stuck with just "Happy.." and let the Halloween part drop out. That's something we can build on at least. Now, for the videos:

Youtube Halloween at Da Li 1
Youtube Halloween at Da Li 2
Youtube Halloween at Da Li 3

Finally, after making pumpkin faces we then moved to face painting/drawing with crayons on teachers' faces. Things started off quiet and calm...

then things got a little feisty....

and then all hell broke loose

The students then covered the teachers in newspapers, which was a great idea.

But then came time for them to take the paper off...

YouTube Video Willy Getting Dominated

Today I went to the Asian Rowing Games, here's a video from there:

YouTube Kazakhstan dominates

And now...for the pumpkin man/music teacher's solo:

Youtube Music Teacher Solo 1

Playing 跟 Fire?

2009-10-15T05:47:00.002-04:00

Short update. For the past 6 or 7 days it's rained, rained...and rained. Today on my way home from the train station it was (you guessed it!) raining! I was doing about 30mph coming to an intersection, squeezed my left break to slow down and turn right, but then CRACK the brake handle broke off. Now, last week we watched all three Bourne movies (Identity, Supremacy, Ultimatum) so I thought 'well i could jump off and land on my feet and let my scooter slide through the intersection,' and then I even considered turning while going 30. But, ah, logic soon set in and I realized I had a right brake handle.

So I just pulled down on that.

It was pretty scary though for the 3 seconds I thought I'd have to go Hollywood.

An Update for You

2009-10-05T23:09:00.012-04:00

A lot has happened over the past few weeks. Here's a brief summary: teacher's day, typhoon scare, attempting to buy pants off of a 7-Eleven employee (mind you, at 2AM), student love letters, building rapport with Obama fans abroad, correct pronunciation of "th," job search, fellowship deadlines, grad school apps, scootering in the countryside, scootering in a typhoon, scootering while thinking about scootering, and yet again another appearance of my peanut butter and jelly lesson plan.

The best method for explaining all of the above is through a random stream of pictures.

Confucius is the sorta grand daddy of Chinese culture. His thoughts on everything, from meritocracy to filial piety, are prevalent in Chinese culture today. Here's a fun fact: the west learned of Confucian ideals from Matteo Ricci, a Jesuit (score!). Anyway, because Confucius had the foresight of recording his birthday, Chinese celebrate Teacher's Day on September 28. After listening to "教師節快樂" ("Happy Teacher's Day") about a hundred times, I finally found some relief when Judy, a third grader simply gave me a card and said (IN ENGLISH!!!) "You are good teacher." What a feeling. The picture is a bit blurry but it says:

"Kevin, wish happy teacher's day. You are handsome. My E-mail: ****. Judy."

The first graders decided to draw pictures of "the four most important people in their lives," their mom, dad...principal... and English teacher. Here are some more pics:

The scenery is such a novelty, I still haven't come to grips with it. Check out the pictures and video below from last week during my afternoon commute home from Da Li.

These are from the train platform facing southwest towards the mountains.

Here's a clip from the platform facing the ocean.

Here's a pic facing the ocean.

After such success at Da Xi last week I brought the PB&J lesson to Da Li.

Although I'm unable to take pictures of my scooter rides during typhoons, below are a few shots from the countryside scootering we did a few weeks back.

The methodologies we use for teaching are quite complex, sometimes detailed visuals other times creative analysis of the transfer of knowledge. Here's a few examples of just how sophisticated things are:

No matter where I go, I can't escape American television!

Finally, this week I was asked in passing by a coworker if I "knew Eh-ba-me." Which soon changed to "O-ba-me," then, "O-ba-ma." She assumed all Americans knew each other. How did I respond? Well, I told her the truth of course, solidifying her belief that all Americans do, indeed, know each other. I responded, "certainly, but, you know, I haven't heard from him in a while. I guess he's busy..."

A wow

2009-09-30T03:51:00.005-04:00

Today I taught a second grader how to write her name, pretty cool feeling.

Last night I got through an entire 1 on 1, 2 hour Chinese class only speaking Chinese. But my progress only makes the impending decision on what to do next year more complicated.

I finished grad schools apps.

David Robinson HoF Speech

2009-09-22T04:29:00.003-04:00

If you haven't seen this, I strongly recommend you take seven minutes out of your day to check it out--David Robinson is an awesome speaker. He talks about his love for his family, elders, and the game of basketball. Just an awesome speech.

David Robinson video on Youtube

China = Bust?

2009-09-22T00:29:00.008-04:00

It seems that the angelic China ride may be coming to an end. A lot of the recent articles from my Google Reader (which I hope everyone uses because it's a boon to anyone with a busy schedule) are just pouncing on how China's been so brightly described--especially with a 8-9% GDP growth pace in 2009--yet how there are still fundamentals lacking in the bigger picture. I could go on and on but here's just one quote:

"Even though state-controlled enterprises produce between one-fourth and one-third of all output in the country, they receive more than 75% of the country's capital, and that figure is rising."

Here's the article. It argues that the government is propping up the entire economy--state owned enterprises are the primary investor in most of China's IPOs, meaning tax dollars are being funneled into the equity markets...that doesn't sound good.

If that doesn't spell out inefficient then I don't know what does. And these aren't the non-performing loans that made up 20% of ICBC's total portfolio back in 2005. These are loans that have picked up in 2009 as people sought to find a bottom in the market so they took out loans on essentially speculation--buying stocks, real estate, etc. Here's the CNN article from mid-summer 2009.

Someone should do a study on the changing psyche of even the common people--I can remember the stalls in many of Beijing's outdoor markets with computers in the back, the boss interchangeably moving between selling a Mao ornament and then heading back to day trading on the Shanghai--which ended 2008 down 65%!

Toucheng Festival

2009-09-20T11:24:00.004-04:00

How far would you go for a year of good luck? Not far? Don't tell that to these guys. Every year in Toucheng 12 teams climb what can only be described as lubricated tree trunks, the winners receiving, wait for it... one year of good luck. It's a huge carnival, and the largest concentration of Taiwanese I've seen yet. There has to be a few thousand at least. Luckily we ran into some high school students from Mexico who got us into the VIP section which was directly under the platform. It was an awesome time. Here are some pics courtesy of other Fulbrighters:

China: Strictly Business on 60th Anniversary

2009-09-20T06:36:00.002-04:00

Check out these pictures of China's rehearsal for its October 1st celebration

7th Inning Stretch, Classroom and Apartment Tour, Scooter Trip.

2009-09-18T23:36:00.006-04:00

The best way to talk about my time out here is through video. With this in mind I'll now use YouTube as a host--it's nearly 10x faster than blogger.com. Plus hearing my thoughts instead of reading them is a bit more explanatory as well.

This week we had a teeball tournament at Da Xi elementary school. Eight schools arrived Thursday morning but unfortunately after some severe beatings (Da Xi beat my other school, Da Li, 23-1) only four teams remained after about two hours.

Baseball Video 1

Baseball Video 2

Here's two more videos, one of my classroom at Da Xi and another of my apartment in Yilan.

Da Xi Classroom

Yilan Apartment

Finally, we took a scooter ride yesterday and it was amazing. The temperature dropped at least 10 degrees, the air suddenly felt fresh and moist, and we were surrounded by trees everywhere. Here are a few videos and pictures I took on the way up then on the way back home.

Rest stop on the way up

Made it to the top

On the way back

Almost home

Bike It

2009-09-12T04:53:00.006-04:00

This week was a big one in terms of becoming a resident in Yilan. I paid my first month of rent, purchased a scooter this morning, and finally fell into a routine between schools, reading, and writing. I also named my first grade class. A few refused my initial attempts at giving them a name (Terrence, Joe, Mark, Kevin, as well as Jason were all just not going to cut it for these kids). I finally found a few that matched their tastes: Denise, Dan, Sean, and Sky. Here is a pic of my scooter I'll pick up on Monday.

Today the heat was pretty intense but fortunatley hovering clouds created a subtle shade. There was a gentle wind blowing between the towering high rises in southwestern Yilan so I got on my bike and just started pedaling. I brought a bottle of water, a camera, and River Town. The greatest thing about the Fulbright is the sophistication of the program as well as all the Fulbrighters in it, dovetailed with the simplistic atmospheres we are placed in. The myriad Chinese approaching in the streets, the low budget living we all love, the fact that we're teaching English and/or researching---all of these things just come so naturally when you're out here in Taiwan because you're surrounded by the locals doing the exact same thing; living off of noodles and meat--everyday, bike riding everywhere, getting up every morning at the crack of dawn for the day's work ahead. If this program does anything it certainly grounds you.

The bike ride was possibly the best hour I've had in Taiwan thus far. The high rises kept me feeling cool, racing the scooters as each light turned from red to green provided some consistent entertainment (as well as surprise on their part), and always being able to see the mountains off in the distance reminded me constantly that "Dude...I'm in Taiwan." It was an excellent self reflection type of day. After making it to the outskirts of Yilan I stopped to look around and discovered some very nice townhouses right next to a dilapidated apartment building, Audis and BMWs parked alongside bicycles and wagons. A healthy reminder that while Yilan's city limits continue to grow the wealth gap also widens with it. The irony continues.

This is a pic of the nice townhouses

Something I forgot to mention last week is two funny stories from Da Li Elementary.

A snake was found running the halls with the students and so someone had to catch it... After volunteering to help I simply asked, "Is this snake poisonous?" To which everyone immediately responded, "Probably." This was right after I learned that my fifth grade class would only have two students in English class this week instead of the usual five because a few had symptoms of H1N1:

"But don't worry! Their symptoms developed at home. You are OK here at Da Li. Plus, we have a nurse!"

This is the world I live in.

It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

2009-09-11T06:45:00.006-04:00

I've officially moved American culture into the classroom at Da Xi Elementary School. We made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for grades 1-6 which translates to over 100 sandwiches! Despite a dozen leftover at the end of the day, I just couldn't stomach eating even one. Here are some pics from our lesson with the vocab words in the background. Click for a larger image.

Nikka, one of the Fulbright faithful from Philly, made the below video. It summarizes what we've been up to since arriving in the beginning of August.

Orientation Video

Kenny G, Weight Loss, and...break time?

2009-09-09T08:24:00.007-04:00

Every morning the sweet melodies of who else but Kenny G grace the halls of Da Li Elementary School. This morning was no different except upon mentioning I did in fact know who Kenny G was the poor Chinese on my end led the faculty to believe I actually know Kenny G--as a personal acquaintance.

In other news I've lost 11 pounds in the past month--down to a slim 174. Due in small part to my default diet of rice and whatever the day's "meat" is but also because I have to walk or bike everywhere without access to a scooter--yet.

The 1st and 2nd grade classes are gradually moving along. We spent last week on A, B, C, and next week we'll get to D, E, F...the suspense is just killing the students.

In an attempt to connect on a more personal level I had the 1st grade students draw my Taiwanese co-teacher and I. Please keep in mind two things: I hadn't shaved for quite some time, and blue eyes are somewhat of a novelty in Taiwan. See pictures below.

Finally, the best way to learn new English words--according to my school's administrators--is flashcards with memorable pictures. Please scroll down below to see the school's collection including eyes, nose, mouth, ears, as well as the exceptional flashcard for head.

I was also finally able to get some tape of the morning break...dance. The students jam out to blasting Taiwanese techno every morning at 10:15. Awkwardness ensued yet again because I was the weirdo who actually thought this was a bit strange--don't all schools have correographed dances to teeny-bopper Techno? My co-teacher at Da Li, Jodi, is the young woman at the end of the video helping the students with the dance.

Teaching is Tuff!

2009-09-03T08:15:00.003-04:00

Imagine the last time you spoke to anyone whose first language isn't English. Or simply think about the traditional "I have no idea what that person's talking about, they're better off just speaking Chinese." Well that was me today in class, except take out Chinese and insert English. 6th grade appears to be the age at which boys act out, which left me attempting to discipline them--but the only problem is I can't let them know that I speak Chinese! I tried charades, intimidation, and nearly resolved to abuse I was so frustrated--no matter what I would do they kids would just keep saying, "听不懂" or "I don't understand!"

In hindsight it must have looked pretty funny. A six foot two foreigner going off on four tiny sixth grade beach village children. But seriously, it really wasn't.

Rain and River Town

2009-09-01T04:33:00.004-04:00

The background on my Taiwanese cell phone has changed to brown leaves, meaning September is finally here. Writing is probably the most addicting thing to do out here because everything is really so interesting; the food, the people, even trying to find the bathroom! Today I had off because English Village doesn't start for another week. Despite the suggestions from my LETs to "take a rest" I arrived at Da Xi elementary school at 9AM unsure of what to do.

I've begun reading River Town by Peter Hessler which tells the story of his two year experience in Fuling, Sichuan Province, China (location of last year's earthquake). As part of the Peace Corps, Hessler teaches English and American literature at the teachers college. It's an excellent read thus far, and I'd definitely suggest it to anyone looking to learn more about China. Just after reading 80 pages this morning it seems like we're going through similar experiences, and it certainly helps Hessler is such an awesome writer.

My brutal train ride to work as previously seen on yesterday's entry was plagued by sun showers this morning. Because the train runs along the coast I like to sit facing east. Today was a bit stranger, however, because while listening to my iPod and reading River Town I began to notice an unending gray wall through the window. It appeared to be blocking my view of the ocean. After about 15 minutes of zoning out/half thinking about what I was seeing, I realized that when heavy clouds roll in they are so dark that the contrasting mist, fog, ocean, and sky all overlap to generate what appears to be a giant gray wall. No, I'm not going crazy. And yes Kevin Connors is blogging about the color of the ocean and clouds. With different life circumstances come different perspectives.

Here's a pic of the clouds once they shuffled a bit further west, revealing the previously enshrouded Turtle Island.

First Day of Work

2009-08-31T07:10:00.005-04:00

After a longer than expected commute from Yilan City to Da Li, I found myself participating in the opening ceremonies for the school year which included a lot of bubbles, a lot of balloons, and a lot of beer (in that order).

First, my schedule is pretty spread out so I'll be teaching at Da Xi (the school mentioned a few weeks ago that's set right on the beach) Mondays and Thursdays, and Da Li (about 200 meters from the water instead of 50 meters) Wednesdays and Fridays. Tuesdays are spent at English Village which essentially boils down to role playing in real life situations (post office, restaurant, airport, bank, dance studio, etc.).

Back to my commute. It's pretty rough.

I just don't know if I can stand for something like this. Could you? I have to sit through this commute everyday!?

Once I arrived, the scenery didn't get any better...

This is really interesting, Taiwan has mandatory military service for every male college student for the two years following graduation. Even more interesting is that I work with a guy who went to National Taiwan University (Tai Da or NTU) which is the top university in Taiwan. He's 23, just finishing up his second year of service and his English is really good, but all he does is odd jobs around the school "including but not limited to" serving as temporary janitor, picture taker (see below), and English translator when the English teachers aren't around.

Well, I survived the arduous drawn out day. Quick shot below of the school around 4PM as the first day was coming to an end.

"School starts Monday" - Brian Madison to his son, Billy

2009-08-30T10:53:00.003-04:00

I can't help but feel like I'm reliving scenes from Billy Madison. School starts tomorrow at both Da Xi and Da Li elementary schools.

Here's to the new head of the English department, yours truly.

Free Education?

2009-08-29T22:51:00.006-04:00

This has nothing to do with Taiwan.

I came across this website, www.academicearth.org. It's awesome! Free recorded classroom videos from the top colleges in the country and in subjects ranging from law to engineering. Lecturers include Bob Shiller from Yale and even Alan Blinder from Princeton. It definitely satisfies the intellectual withdraw after graduating.

Best. Weekend. Ever.

2009-08-24T12:52:00.008-04:00

Just finished up one of the best weekends I've had in a long time.

Friday night, all five guys in my program decided to check out the basketball courts in famed Luodong Sports Park. If you're familiar with feng shui, the Chinese art of essentially positioning things in the best possible way (see: Disney Land in Hong Kong), this entire gigantic sports park was also built in a similar fashion. Everything from the trees, to the paths, to the entrances are positioned facing a specific direction, surrounded by appropriate things, etc. etc. as to maximize feng shui. It's really cool, and sums up a lot about eastern culture.

Unfortunately, the Taiwanese college kids do not subscribe to taking it easy on out of shape, aging foreigners. These kids were really good. After rotating 3 on 3 for a few hours we headed to bed because Saturday held an even bigger workout.

If you pick up Lonely Planet Taiwan, the first sentence for the Caoling Historical Trail entry simply reads:

"If you can only do one hike during your stay in Taiwan, make it this one, which runs along the rugged coastal mountains from Fulong to Daxi."

The hike was all that and a bag of chips as we say in the West. The only way I can describe it is you are surrounded by the pacific ocean to the east, coastal towns to the north and south, and inland to the west are rolling mountains. You walk up about 500 feet to a nearby mountaintop where you are able to see a small cabin in the distance, then you soon realize you'll be walking down another 500 feet, then back up again to get to that same cabin. You're literally walking the shape of a "W" the entire way--and that is why this hike was awesome. See chronological pics below, and eventually a video when it uploads.

It started off a bit bland... I mean, who hasn't seen power lines, a river, and some trees before?

But quickly we realized at the top of this hill was something a bit more exciting.

And boy were we right. This is facing east. That's the Pacific and Turtle Island in the distance.

From there, things only got better.

This is facing inland. Taiwan has mountains running straight down the center of the island. You can see them from almost anywhere when you're traveling around by bus, train, or even bike.
This is looking back towards the trail. We walked out from what seemed like an unending jungle between the two below mountains and up to the first resting point.

The hills were steep. There's no doubt about that.

Little huts like the one below were stationed all along the cliffs of each mountain. That's Turtle Island again in the background.

Probably my favorite picture below. That winding path is rather telling.

Here's a video of the first mountaintop we reached, and a quick view of the others we'd climb soon after.

The Schools

2009-08-18T08:57:00.011-04:00

Now that we've visited all the schools it's time to meet the Local English Teachers (LETs). A few pictures below of what schools look like here in Taiwan. Most boast basketball courts and/or a soccer field, as well as a computer and overhead projector in every classroom.

On our way to one of the schools last week traffic stopped due to what I can only explain as a Taiwanese parade. Apparently the giant figure in the below video has the ability to scare away the oncoming wrath of the devil. On a side note, although the audio gives it away, see if you notice anything familiar in the video.

While it certainly could be described as a tourist trap, we stopped off at the Taiwan Cultural Center en route to one of the schools last week. Of course when we show up they just happened to be filming a documentary about the Center. Who did they want in the background of this video to attract more tourists? FOREIGNERS! Wearing a yellow fake Polo from Beijing, I was the canny extra placed oh-so-arbitrarily in the center of the background. Below are two pics of the documentary crew at work setting up the scene.

Finally, on Fridays during the school year we will take part in English Village. The government invests a ton of money in English classes. Tangible proof of this are these huge buildings they constructed to mimic real-life situations in which you would use English. Pictures below include the market where you would learn how to name and buy food, and the clothing store where you would ask for assistance, try on clothes, and finally buy a few things.

Planning to hike this weekend along the coast. Check out the link below for a description.

Link 1

Dude. It's All About the People.

2009-08-17T09:12:00.007-04:00

Where to begin? Orientation is chugging along. Last weekend I made my first trip to Taipei, then Sunday we headed back to Wai Ao beach. Here is a great picture from the beach at Wai Ao looking out towards Turtle Island with a local Taiwanese in the foreground--tattoos are very popular among the surfing, beachgoing, coastal folks. Click for a larger view.

The best part the experience thus far HAS to be the people. Up until this point it seems all of my closest friends are from the Philly area. But here in Taiwan there are so many people with such wide interests it's just exhilarating to talk to them!

First, Monica is an ETA in the Fulbright program also living in Yilan with me. She spent the summer here studying Chinese right after graduating from St. Mary's College in Maryland. If any future Fulbrighters read this, I STRONGLY SUGGEST doing this.

Lucky for me, Monica already knows a few people in Taipei--also excellent people. One is Huntz from California--graphic designer from RIT, here is Huntz drinking the bone marrow from his dish of Pho at the nearby Vietnamese restaurant in Yilan.

The food is definitely difficult to get used to. No more ham sandwiches. No more hoagies, pretzels or anything salty for that matter. Similar to Beijing, the adventure to eat is increasingly absorbing more and more of our time.

In other news, while in Taipei on Saturday we also stopped in at the Modern Toilet restaurant. It's a bathroom-themed food joint which serves its food in mini toilets and urinals, and its patrons sit on toilets (closed lid of course). Here are a few pics I snapped without intruding too much into the customers' lunches.

Taipei is an awesome city. Similar to Beijing in its level of Westernization, but substantially smaller. This weekend I hope to conquer Taipei 101--the second tallest building in the world. Many pics to follow and hopefully more new friends to introduce as well.

Phone

2009-08-14T10:04:00.012-04:00

I also just found out people can call me here--2 cents per minute on a land line, and 9 cents or so from a cell phone. Use www.rebtel.com

The service creates you a Taiwanese phone number then connects you with me. Just remember I'm 12 hours ahead.

My phone number is:

0953239504

..or you could just Skype and call me too.

Typhoon Relief

2009-08-13T18:57:00.003-04:00

Things have been so busy up here in the north, I don't think any of us ETAs realized just how bad things are right now in the south. We're throwing around a few ideas on how we can help: donating, heading down to volunteer, etc. Will keep everyone updated.

NYT article on ex-pats in Beijing

2009-08-11T11:28:00.001-04:00

It seems young professionals my age are seeing 8% growth and following it.

Bad Fruit

2009-08-11T00:30:00.003-04:00

If you're ever in Yilan City, Taiwan, I can tell you how to get to the hospital. After successfully navigating our way through Luodong's night market, unfortunately one of the smoothies I'd drank caught up to me. I'm still unsure of what was wrong with it--maybe the ice? Bananas? Milk? All three? At any rate, I found myself grimacing in pain on my bathroom floor a short while after returning home. For the next five hours I was the freak show/lao wai (foreigner) in the ER turning from side to side with stomach pains. Thank God for Kelly--our Taiwanese Fulbright adviser--and my roommate Eric from Gettysburg College. Kelly secured not only a ride for me to the hospital but also stayed with me and helped translate until they gave us the boot at 3AM. I don't remember much aside from the words "hyperventilation and inflamed intestines," as well as the oxygen mask they kept insisting I keep over my mouth and nose.

Quite a scary experience overall. But of course, there was also a comedic aspect. Firstly, the doctor spoke pretty good English, but the nurses only spoke Mandarin. So whenever the nurse needed to give me a shot, etc. she would ask Kelly to translate. Here's an example of their exchange:

Nurse: "aldkfjlajlkjfdklajfldajlk"... intensely fast and incomprehensible Mandarin

Kelly: ...responds in similar fashion

..after about three minutes of conversation, Kelly would turn to me and say something like, "Don't drink anything cold this week!" or, "Stay away from Pork. You might have swine flu...I mean GET swine flu." Now I'm no linguist, Chinese scholar, or native speaker, but a three minute exchange in any language has to translate to something more than "don't drink anything cold," right?

This continued the entire 5 hour period we were there. Unfortunately, I have spent the last three days in bed, missing both Monday and Tuesday orientation this week. Hopefully tomorrow I can get back on the horse. I'll have some great pictures up later this week, including a video tour of our apartment here in Yilan.

The Only Thing to Do During a Typhoon

2009-08-06T23:53:00.001-04:00

Here's the typhoon, headed straight for Yilan City.

Not too much is going on today…besides the typhoon outside. I woke up to the sound of revving car engines. But to my dismay there were no street races, just trees bent at 90 degree angles and previously intact street signs blowing down the road. Nothing to worry about though, this “is only a medium typhoon, very safe,” so say our Chinese neighbors. In order to reinforce the idea that we were in no form of danger, our Fulbright advisor Kelly simply told us, “Taiwan has received typhoons for many years. If your building could not withstand a typhoon, it would have already blown down!”

Similarly, many of the Fulbrighters expressed a bit of concern surrounding the incredibly high probability we’d all get hurt in scooter accidents because traffic in Asia is simply chaos bound within two lanes. How would Kelly again reinforce positive thinking? “You are all very nice people. I don’t think you will get in accident.” Now at first I was thinking, “Wow…we are so screwed.” Especially because she had just finished telling the story of a Fulbrighter a few years back who broke her leg and was in the hospital for a month after miscommunication with a truck driver. But if you really think about what Kelly was saying, the underlying tone of good vs. bad Karma is hard to ignore. It’s sort of a metaphorical linear thought process, so simplistic but only to the Taiwanese. If you are a good person, very few bad things will happen to you. If you are a bad person, expect bad things to happen to you.

The scooter license test is similarly as comical. One sample question I found in a previous Fulbrighter blog is:

Q: The red stop light means:

a) Stop because the walls are high

b) Go because the river flows

c) Stop because eyes are watching

d) Stop when the light is red

Lost in translation is not even the half of it. This is going to be a great year.

Our First Typhoon!

2009-08-05T20:04:00.003-04:00

The Taipei Times reports Typhoon Morakot is building strength. Opinions differ on the trajectory of it, but either way we should be in for some heavy rain and winds this weekend.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2009/08/06/2003450503

Alive in Yilan City

2009-08-04T10:00:00.006-04:00

It seems the higher powers just don't want me traveling to Asia. When I headed to Beijing back on August 8, 2007 I forgot my passport back at Loyola Chicago's Dorms that we were staying at. This time around? My flight was canceled from Philly to NYC. Fortunately mother dearest came through and after a two hour road trip up I-95 we made it to JFK at around 10PM Friday night.

The only way I can describe living conditions for us Fulbrighters here in Taiwan is by saying that this apartment I'm in is nicer than any dorm in the US I've ever seen. My own bathroom, A/C, fridge, leather couches, and a nice balcony. Currently I'm "being orientated" in Yilan City which is one of the largest towns on the east coast with a population of about 400,000 or so.

First meal? Not too sure about that. But it looked like this

Don't let the picture fool you, that is NOT coffee in the cup on the bottom. That is in fact something that tastes like soy sauce---imagine drinking soy sauce?

Orientation is all of August. We learn how to Teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) with the help of our academic adviser, Dr. Dennis Hoopingarner, from Michigan State.

Tonight we checked out the night market where I was served an entire chicken despite only asking for a small bit of chicken and rice. Being lost in translation has its perks but also its negatives--she charged me 9 USD. 9 bucks for dinner? What!!

Tomorrow we check out the first round of potential schools we can teach at, then head to the beach as part of "orientation."

Update 07.09.09

2009-07-09T10:53:00.002-04:00

Ah, technology. Click on the links to see the powers.

Alright, so just to clarify the above picture is from this guy's hiking blog. It's taken from mountains bordering Taipei, that protruding structure is Taipei 101, the world's tallest building up until the Arabs in Dubai finish their 160 floor building that has a striking resemblance to the castle from the Wizard of Oz.

Some fun facts about Taipei 101:
1. If you clicked on the Taipei 101 link above, you can see it looks like a bunch of Chinese take out boxes crammed on top of each other.
2. Most of the current businesses in the building are mainland Chinese people
3. It has 101 floors--go figure! And 5 floors underground too.
4. There is a LOVE sculpture at the base of the building, reminiscent of Philly's Love Park

Update:
The Fulbright crew leaves July 31. One month orientation in Taipei then the school year begins, should be the beginning of an adventure.