A Water Park!? In Changhua!?

Discovery of the week: Changhua has a water park (water slides, wave pool, etc.).  I know, most people are used to having water parks in their city, or at least in an accessible location to their house, but things are  different in Taiwan.  This is a country where a large percentage of the population can't (or doesn't) swim, where swimming pools are hard to find (and personal swimming pools might be unheard of).  The biggest difference about water parks in Taiwan, and water parks in the US (from what I can tell) is the enforcement of rules, it felt like we could have done anything in the park today.  We literally rode down the water slides stacked on each other, in a chain, standing up (well, trying to stand up, it is harder than it looks), and spinning in circles.  The mature side of me spent the day thinking we're going to break the slides or drown each other, but the immature side of me kept saying "this is so fun, how have I never done this before!".
To be honest, this week was a little underwhelming, work-wise, and I fear next week won't be any better.  With the transition into a summer schedule, two of my classes merged, thus removing 3 hours from my work week.  I find myself now with a 18-hour work week, annoyingly spaced out so over 27 hours in the office (because I often teach the first and last classes of the day with a 1.5-3 hour break between them).  Some extra hours can be nice because they give you time for lesson planning and eating, but when your number of unpaid/non-working hours are almost equal to your paid/working hours you run out of things to do.  Hopefully, with the starting of summer classes, there will be some new classes for me soon.
My initial review of this weekend was that it wasn't very eventful, but that would be a lie, it was full of ridiculous and unrelated moments placed in my usual weekend hangouts (namely KTV).  Saturday was another special Taiwanniversary for the group (a Taiwanniversary is the anniversary of any foreigner's arrival in the country), which is a more impressive event than it sounds because it marks the commitment of a teacher to stay for another year.  For many people, moving to a new country to teach is a very temporary life event, and staying for even a year is a big accomplishment, but to commit to a second year abroad shows that you are not just 'getting by' with your life, but you have found something worth staying for.  That something could be any variety of things: enjoyment of your job, happiness in your social life (which is very flexible, so this is sometimes a concerning reason to stay), an incomplete 'adventure' (knowing there is something more you need to do/see), etc..  You can get a lot done in a year, but in the long run it isn't a big span of time, so I definitely understand the need for extra years here).

Happy Taiwanniversary Nick!

Cultural note: This is a cultural issue which I am surprised I haven't discussed before: face.  'Face' in Taiwan doesn't simply refer to a person's eyes, ears, and mouth, 'face' embodies a person's dignity and reputation.  It is very important in the culture here to preserve your own'face' and to not cause another person to lose their 'face'.  A person can lose 'face' in a variety of ways, but the most common are through being embarrassed or being insulted.  For example, if I were to voice a disagreement with a Taiwanese person with witnesses around, that would cause the Taiwanese person to 'lose face', or if I were to be caught in a lie or break my promises that would cause me to 'lose face'.  In order to save 'face', it is expected that you handle tense situations involving anger or criticism in a private setting, never act in a way that will make someone else feel inferior, and in general, act in a manner which increases (rather than decreases) self esteem.  

From the day we arrived in Taiwan, most of us teachers were taught about the idea of 'face' and were asked to consider it in our personal interactions, but there are times when it is not viewed as a priority, and there are times when it is viewed as a double-standard, so the topic is a little controversial among the foreign population.  What do I mean by 'double-standard'? Well, in a country where it should be intrinsic to consider everyone's face, it is far too common to see Taiwanese salesmen increase their prices for western shoppers (which causes a  'loss of face' by being viewed as inferior), or for Taiwanese people to tell foreigners that we are fat and would be more beautiful if we lose weight (which causes a 'loss of face' through public criticism), or anything else of the sort.  One thing I will give credit to though, is that whether it is due to 'face saving', a different temperament, or less violence, I don't think I have seen any violent or angry outbursts by Taiwanese people.  No bar fights, no screaming matches, nothing of the sort (which is not so say that I think it doesn't happen here, I just think it is less common).