The Third-Year Question

It was pointed out to me today (though not for the first time) that you can always tell if I have considered a week to be exciting based on the number of words I manage to jot down about it.  That is true, but this week is deceptive, I see so many words below these, but I don't like them.  If It weren't for the sake of this project, I would delete them all.  Not because they are meaningless, not because they are negative, but because they are failing to express the thoughts running through my mind right now.  

I underwent my second year appraisal and was asked to stay on for a third year, which has left me spending most of the week weighing through the pro's and con's of a renewed contract.  Here is a short summary of the key points:

The PRO's

*I love my students, there isn't a single class that I don't enjoy, so the idea of giving them up is heartbreaking. 

*I have a system that works for me, with a lot of freedom to plan my own lessons and implement new ideas to the classroom.  It is a great way to allow teachers to not only find their teaching identity but also to keep improving upon it.  

*I have established such a strong group of friends who get me through every week.

*Every week feels like an adventure, even when there is nothing 'new' to write about, each day is a new day, and even the repeated locations hold new adventures.  I constantly add to the list of things I want to do in Taiwan, and my list of things I want to do in Asia has barely been skimmed.

*My transportation, housing, and employment are all established here (there will be a lot of work involved in re-establishing myself in the US).  

The CON's

*My eventual post-Taiwan plan is to continue my education in the form of a Master's Degree.  In doing so, I will need to be settled in the location of my future school prior to the start of the fall semester (which could be in any given year, but at the current time I am aiming to start in the fall of 2015).  Another year's contract will leave me finishing in Taiwan in the fall and finding a creative way to spend the rest of the year waiting for a new school year to start.

*I have several big commitments in the fall, spanning from August-November.  I could return for a partial-year contract and following this time, but I would be spending a lot of that time working towards the cost of the flight.

*There is no financial incentive to remain with the school past the second year.  Pay is capped at $620NT per hour (about $20US), leaving the school with very little to motivate their teachers with, except a continuation of what they already have.

*I'm not a 'life-r'.  Some people have settled in Taiwan, and intend to be here the rest of their lives.  After five years in the country you can apply for permanent residency, but I still feel like there are aspects of my life which are 'on hold' while I am here, and permanent residency won't solve that.  

If I'm being honest with myself, this is the 'after-the-fact' list, because I know I am going home.  It is almost like I am assessing the pro's and con's incase I find myself miserable a year down the road (which is not unheard of among the foreign teacher population here).  I am excited for the weddings, I'm excited to spend time with my family, I'm excited to do some of the traveling in the US that I've been neglecting, but most importantly, I am so excited to see what I come up with to occupy my time.  That slight tinge of fear about not having a job, a house, a car, gives me endless possibilities (and the knowledge that I have people who will save me if I start drowning in those possibilities gives me courage).  Should I find that the polar vortexes are too cold to handle, or the constant presence of English to convenient, I always have the option to leave again, I hold two years of teaching experience and the ability to resume this Taiwanese adventure or pick a new country.  With my mind made up, I know I will only be strengthening the unwanted 'countdown' until August, but I hope it won't be overwhelmingly present in my writing.

On a note of things that are far more positive, the weather has been gorgeous this week, which allowed for our first outdoor weekend of spring.  Abandoning my jacket, holding social events on roofs, outdoor meals, and parades, I have barely been inside for two days.  The most exciting thing though, was the first scooter trip of the year.  While the destinations were not new to me, it was nice to play 'tour guide' and show off two enjoyable places in Nantou County: Sunny Hills (a pineapple farm/ pineapple cake distributer) and the Skybridge (a 204 meter long suspension bridge across a canyon).  I look forward to more weekends like this one.

Satisfied by our pineapple cakes and smoothies, it was time to leave the farm, but not before we got our group picture taken.

On the Skybridge over the mountains of Nantou.

Spring has Sprung!

What a beautiful week! The weather is finally warming up, the sky is brighter, the animals are happier, and driving around on my scooter is once again one of my favorite activities (it is far less pleasant when the air was cold).  I know I’ll want to complain before long when I find myself sweating bullets and uninspired to step outside of my apartment, but for now I get to enjoy the gentle breeze wafting through my open window. 

To celebrate the emergence of spring I spent the majority of my weekend outdoors.  Taichung is known for hosting a wide variety of fundraisers and concerts, this weekend’s event was a book exchange.  Hundreds of books, written in Chinese and English, had been donated, and were each sold for $50NT (just less that $2US).  The unfortunate thing is that most of the available books lacked love in their past lives and were in rough shape, which didn’t inspire me to purchase any, but it was still a great idea.  Visitors also came to enjoy the 10 hours of entertainment planned for the park’s stage, including musicians and clowns.  As far as I’m concerned the event was a success, and the proceeds were donated to a children’s charity, giving it all a purpose.

The charity book sale in Taichung.

My cultural thought of the week focuses on part of the “seedy underbelly” of Taiwan, specifically an aspect most appreciated by single males.  As you probably know by now, I love KTV, and could probably go to one of these karaoke establishments every week if a group were interested in it.  Since arriving in Taiwan, I had known about the ‘yellow KTVs’ as well, but I had been blessed by never encountering one, until this weekend.  What is a ‘yellow KTV’? Essentially it is a combination of singing, bar culture, and a strip club (though for enough money, that strip club quickly evolves into prostitution).  Patrons will go, order a room, receive their alcohol, then have a line of girls paraded through (so they can select the ones they wish to accompany them for the rest of the evening).  The girls are initially bartenders, there to keep your drinks topped up, then they begin drinking, singing, dancing, chatting with, and making out with the male patrons.  For the right amount of money, these harmless interactions can progress to any level of indecency the patron is searching for as well.  My experience in one of these KTVs was short-lived to say the least.  Unaware of what we had gotten ourselves into, when four different staff members came into our room to explain the ‘club rules’ and set our price at $8,000NT (just over $250US) regardless of if we wanted girls or not, we politely excused ourselves and laughed about the situation for quite a while afterwards. 

It would be impossible not to acknowledge Taiwan’s presence in international news this week, as hundreds of students are still occupying the main chamber of parliament in Taipei.  On Monday, a pact, known as the “Cross-Straight Services Trade Agreement”, intended to open trades in service between China and Taiwan after a 65-year break, passed its first stage in parliament.  Outraged by the unconstitutional means by which the pact was passed (bypassing a committee review and sending it straight to legislative vote), and consumed with the fear that it will result not only in an increase of Beijing’s economic power but the production of an unnecessary reliance on China, students of the capital took action.  They stormed the parliament building on Tuesday and barricaded themselves inside with chairs so they could not be removed.  Despite the initial illegality associated with the seizure of the main chamber, the protesters have conducted themselves in a non-violent fashion and have called themselves the Sunflower Movement.  Outside the building, the streets are filled with thousands more protesters, as well as their supporters who have been supplying food, drink, blankets, and encouragement.  Requests of the president to allow regular operation of parliament to resume were met with the students’ vow to continue their occupation, however no direct dialogue has taken place between the president and the protesting party.   Escalating the movement, this evening the executive offices were seized as well, but they have been met with police orders for eviction and only time will tell the success of this movement. International responses to the controversy primarily support the continued implementation of the trade agreement, which is a disappointing display of how Taiwan and China are perceived by the rest of the world. 

Beers, Bowling, and a Bunch of Languages.

To all of those with Irish blood running through their veins, or just those looking for a reason to celebrate, Happy Saint Patrick’s Day.  With the holiday falling on a Monday this year, the trend around the world appears to have been to pre-emptively celebrate this weekend, which was the case here as well.  It shouldn’t come as a surprise to say that St. Patrick’s Day is not widely celebrate here in Taiwan, it exists almost solely in the expat community, which left us the task of explaining it to the bar staff when they were curious about our complicated drink order (the individual ingredients of Irish Car Bombs and the shakers, shot glasses, and pint glasses for me to assemble them like the bartender I once was).  We sported our green apparel, consumed our green drinks, toasted with our poorly pronounced Gaelic phrases, and had an amazing night. 

Sometimes we have western weekends, and the follow-up to our St. Patrick’s Day Saturday was certainly that.  My Subway lunch, visiting the local swimming pool, bowling a few lanes; if I had been in my car instead of on my scooter I think I could have forgotten which country I live in.
I've been taking a break from cultural notes recently, but I think it is time for a cultural extension for last week.  As I mentioned, Taiwan has 14 recognized aboriginal tribes which make up about 2% of the island's current population: Amis, Atayal, Bunun, Kavalan, Paiwan, Puyuma, Rukai, Saisiyat, Sakizaya, Seediq, Tao, Thao, Tsou, and Truku.  The tribes can be found in most counties (except for a small area in the northwest corner), but tend to stay in the mountainous regions.  The thing I find most interesting is the linguistic history of the aboriginal languages of Taiwan.  The Formosan Languages (those spoken by the aboriginal tribes) are members of the Austronesian language family which spreads to more than 250 million people the areas between Madagascar (to the west), Easter Island (to the east),  and New Zealand (to the south).  Looking back 4-5 thousand years ago, linguists believe the Austronesian languages had their origin in Taiwan, and we could map the migration of the language from this knowledge.  Unfortunately, the number of Formosan languages in dwindling, and the former 26 languages have reduced to around 14, with fear of a continued reduction due to the increasing popularity of Mandarin in aboriginal families.  While I believe it would be hard to get anyone to claim their native language as unnecessary or irrelevant, linguists are finding that the decreasing usage of the Formosan languages (as with many endangered language) is an irreversible trend.  As more media options are being provided in certain languages (like English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, etc.) the motivation to learn those languages increases, and eventually reduces the amount of household time spent speaking the native, endangered language.  The problem, at least to linguists and anthropologists, is that the languages we are losing are costing us access to vital cultural information.  Is there a way to make it stop though? The functionality of languages is not easily revived, so it appears either efforts to promote the Formosan languages need to increase or we accept the impending loss of this language tree's roots. 

A New Take on Cultural Villages

It is rare for me to say that a week passed slowly, but this one certainly did.  If I had to guess why, I would say it comes down to patterns.  I live a fairly predictable life, my class schedule is essentially the same each week (with my weekends providing new experiences as often as possible), even my meals don't vary much.  This week, I wasn't allowed to immerse myself into my pattern because I was covering classes for several other teachers on 4 out of 5 of the days, which required additional planning time and commute time.  Fortunately, a longer week makes for a more rewarding weekend I feel.

There exists, in the mountains of Nantou county, near Sun Moon Lake, an attraction called the Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village.  When you hear this name, what do you picture? Houses that depict ancient taiwan? Food that represents the culture? Roller coasters and log flumes? Don't laugh, while the latter probably didn't come to mind, it is certainly present in the village.

Gathered together at the front gate of the Formosan Cultural Aboriginal Village.

On Saturday the franchise organized an outing for teachers and TA's from all five of the schools to visit an amusement part for the day.  We met at the school at 8 in the morning and carpooled to Nantou (which took just over an hour).  From the parking lot you find yourself in a European-style garden, the opposite of what you expect to find in the middle of Taiwan.  It boasts the title of 'largest European Garden in Taiwan' but this part of the park is barely notable.  I have to assume it is more appealing when the weather is warmer so a larger selection of flowers can be in bloom, but the recreations of European-style statues, bell towers, and fountains didn't impress me much.  

A view across the European Garden

Thankfully the park area inside the main gate, containing both the cultural village and amusement isle, was significantly more exciting.  As a child I was terrified of most amusement park rides, especially roller coasters.  My little brother would jump in line and try everything, while I sat around feeling too scared of being upside-down or experiencing sudden drops.  I am so glad I got over that fear, because now I really like amusement parks, and I like to think there is no ride I can't endure (though I still tend to avoid water rides, not out of fear of water, but out of the distaste for being soaked all day).  The amusement park itself was not very big, and the small crowds gathered this weekend, meant that we could ride anything we wanted, as many times as we wanted, without waiting.  The best rides for me were the UFO Adventure, which is an 280ft drop tower, and Mayan Adventure which is a suspended roller coaster that with g-force of 4.5g.  There were also a variety of children's rides (which we weren't ashamed to ride) in the indoor zone called Aladdin Square.

The first 'ride' you see when entering Amusement Isle: A 'One Piece' 3-D Theater

The third section of the park, providing the name for the entire attraction was the cultural village.  Here, nine of the fourteen recognized aboriginal tribes of Taiwan are represented through recreations of their ancient homes, demonstrations of their handicrafts, and descriptions of their lifestyles.  The employees are all aboriginals from the tribes represented who dress in traditional clothing and provide live demonstrations of various skills including dancing, weaving, carving, and games throughout the day.  

Target-shooting with blowguns in the cultural village.

The rest of our weekend was spent in Taichung.  Saturday evening was spent celebrating the 1-year anniversary of a couple of our co-teachers.  The 'Taiwanniversary', as we have taken to calling it, may not seem to be very important from an outside perspective, but it is a major achievement for a first year teacher.  We see expats come-and-go, some so quickly they never make it past training week, others get fired, still others are too free-spirited to stay through a whole contract, but to make it through a year shows dedication.  Then this afternoon we were at it again, first with some dancing at the Filipino disco, then a much over-due Greek dinner, a perfect ending to the week.

A Little Island Get-Away

For the first time since the start of this writing project, I have just not found the motivation to write about this past week.  I sat down to my computer as usual on Sunday night, keyboard on my lap, millions of thoughts running through my mind, and nothing came to the screen.  There is nothing particularly taxing about this blog, it takes me a few hours to condense each week into a few paragraphs, and the more weeks that pass, the easier it is to weed out the unimportant events.  The things I write are more for me than for anyone else, though I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me smile to see the 'view count' increase each week, or to receive messages (or occasionally meet) the people who have stumbled upon my stories, so if I enjoy the writing, and I enjoy its results, why have I lost my motivation to continue?  I had a great week, and I have a lot to say about it, but sleep and other projects have been winning the battle for my time, well that ends now.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Taiwanese holidays, this past week was the anniversary of the 2/28 incident (also referred to as the '2/28 massacre' and simply '228').  On this day, in 1947, a political uprising against the Taiwanese government led to the deaths of over 10,000 people.  The incident is said to have begun with the confiscation of contraband cigarettes off of a female vendor who begged not to have her supplies taken away.  The exchange between the woman and police drew a large crowd, and when an officer hit the woman over the head with his gun, the pent-up anger of the crowd erupted.  People surrounded the officers, and eventually a gun was fired into the crowd, killing one its members.  The incident was a trigger for a period of martial law in the country which lasted for almost 40 years but eventually led to the "Taiwan Independence Movement".  Today it is a declared holiday, and is commemorated with peace parks and monuments in several cities around Taiwan.
The history is grim, but for most residents, particularly the younger generations who I interact with on a regular basis, the holiday is not covered in a dark shroud.  Most students enjoy the break from their studies, while most foreign employees take advantage of the extra day of travel or leisure it provides them.  I, for example, used my long weekend to travel south with several of my friends, so we could visit the large city of Kaohsiung and the small island of Xiao Liu Qiu.  We set out on Friday morning on one of the busier train rides I have had to endure, and with no seats for a two-hour train ride, the time could have dragged on.  Fortunately, few Taiwanese people seem to fight to sit in the door-wells, so we made ourselves at home (though we had to stand at each of the stops along the way to allow people to enter or exit).  My coffee must have perked me up because I found the ride quite pleasant, and before long we were sweating in our sub-tropical destination.  We began in the art district of pier two, hoping to get some food and see some of the interesting works of art housed there (though we did pass through without thorough exploration of each of the pieces). From what we were able to see, there were various forms of art including a large number sculptures made from recycled shipping containers.  This is an area I feel I would like to explore more if given a future chance, there is a lot to see and it provides a great location for an scenic walk.  We made our way to the hostel, deciding to bypass the subway (because it would have only been needed for one stop), but managed to get lost along the way (which wouldn't have been the case if it weren't for the ambitious yet unhelpful police officers who pointed us in the wrong direction).  Once settled the group parted ways, with the majority off to explore the British Consulate and Sizhiwan beach, and the others (myself included) off to take a 25 minute boat cruise along the Love River.  The cruise was relaxing, and the weather was perfect, but it felt like no sooner had we left the dock and we were already turning around.  The route followed takes riders to the right for about 7 minutes, then past the starting point and to the left for about 10 minutes, before turning around and returning to the dock, meaning that the majority of your view is of the same patch of skyline.  We reconvened for a western dinner and a night market dessert before getting an early night's sleep.

These "construction workers" have been decorated with many different paint motifs throughout pier two.

We "struggled to catch our train" as we made our way from pier two to our hostel.

Remember how much I hate mornings, and try not to be surprised when I say, we were all up and ready to go at 6:30 the following morning.  Knowing we were in for almost two hours of travel before reaching Xiao Liu Qiu, we wanted to be mobile as early as possible.  We caught a bus near the train station which took us to Donggang, where we boarded our ferry to the island.  Once on shore we rented bicycles, which might not have been the smartest choice.  Unaware that the majority of the island is an uphill climb (with a few quick spurts of downhill coasting), we made our way around the perimeter slower than anticipated, and due to an unfortunate chain malfunction, I scraped up my elbow and knee early on.  None of that stopped us from enjoying a relaxing day of swimming (surrounded by sea urchins), spelunking (through the shortest, yet most tourist-packed cave I have ever experienced), and general sight seeing.  Most of the group had pre-decided not to spend the night on the island, due to its size no more than a day-trip is really required to explore it, so we took one of the last ferries of the evening, and watched the sun set over the island as we departed.  That evening, back in Kaohsiung we painted the town red with one of my favorite night club specials in Taiwan - all you can drink (which, for women only cost an entry fee of $100NT (about $3.00US).  The music was surprisingly familiar to me, which likely means that music back in the states has likely not changed much in two years.

One of Xiao Liu Qiu's best-known attractions is Vase Rock.

Started a little later than our previous morning, we got ourselves up and checked out of our hostel so we could do some Kaohsiung-based sightseeing.  The first stop of the day was the monastery on Fo Guang Shan which is one of the largest buddhist organizations.  The grounds are filled with hundreds of buddha statues, including a stating buddha which measures 120 ft, and a sitting buddha which measures 108 meters tall.  Both buddhas are painted in gold and are an impressive sight to see.  Before we knew it the day was more than half over, and by the time we made it back into the main city, the sun had set.  Fortunately sunlight isn't required to ride the tallest ferris wheel in Kaohsiung, so we went to Dream Mall to take in the scenic views before embarking on our train ride home.

The monastery's golden standing buddha statue.

The buddha memorial center's golden sitting buddha statue.

There we have it, another great week.  There were some rough patches (mainly that patch of road that 'ate my arm'), and I've made more than my fair share of jokes about how I need to stop planning group vacations so I can stop getting injured, but I would gladly do it all again.