| Alive and Well |
[Dec. 11th, 2007|08:17 pm] |
Well, it certainly has been a while. I'll try to some up some of the crazier things I've been up to lately. Highlights are as follows:
01) Korea
02) Halloween
03) Thanksgiving
04) Kids
01 - Korea
this was my first trip out of taiwan (i dont count hongkong), so i was fairly excited and curious to see more of the world. korea? what was that like. i knew i had to try bulgogi, bimbimbop, and see the DMZ. i figured i wouldn't get out of Seoul much so i wanted to see everything that city had to offer. i had already seen a lot of taiwan and taipei for well over a year, how different could this completely other country be? well, unfortunately due to globalization the answer is not that much different. well, i had some culture shock when i first arrived to taiwan and there were a lot of similarities with korean culture. they way the shopping malls are designed and the conservative yet liberal mesh of philosophy. so i think a lot of the shock that one gets from Seoul didn't hit me as hard. somethings that were wild to see were: a) the lack of a shit load of scooters like taipei b) everyone buys a new car every 3-4 years so it looks like the entire country just discovered cars 3 years ago, they're all shiny and new. c) Seoul has a shit load of space unlike other asian cities (tokyo, hongkong and taipei) d) the mess of noodles dropped on the floor which is their subway system was super easy to navigate, with a coded number and color scheme, 3D maps, and easy access. e) food was great, ate at a place that had garlic in every dish: mussels, pizza, and steak in one night. i also had the spiciest thing i've ever eaten sans an actual habernero. bulgogi and the grilled meat were fantastic as well. they have a lot of cool street food as well. f) i went to hooker hill and the korean hookers looked quite nasty g) discovered a hidden hooka bar that looked like a victorian opium den h) also discvoered that seoul can be quite a violent place. saw about 5 fights while there and was almost in one myself. i politely walked away from the drunken asshole knowing that foreigners who can't speak the native tongue are frowned upon. i) seoul was HUGE it took over 2 hours to get from one end of the city to the other by subway. it's definitely not the tiny convenient city like taipei or hongkong. j) dunken donuts has really invaded asia k) never get in black cabs as they're super expensive l) the DMZ is unreal and i highly recommend going. seeing north korea and actually stepping foot into there for a little bit was very surreal. m) i had not anticipated how much i would miss my students or my life in taipei.
02 - Halloween
this year my preschool class had a parade down the street and we walked to various stores and sang halloween songs while in costume. i dressed as a sumo wrestler. i found one of those hilarious inflatable costumes. my god, it was good times. the kids ran up to hug me and i knocked them over. hahaha. later i went to a night club in the city to help celebrate one of my friend's birthdays. man, wearing that costume was definitely the willy wonka golden pass. everyone wanted to talk /dance/ get their picture taken with the crazy guy in the sumo outfit. going to the bathroom was a little frustrating but it was definitely worth it.
03 - Thanksgiving
life overseas where no one celebrates thanksgiving nor do you see tons of advertisements, it's a little hard to remember it's the 4th thursday. i'm not sure how i spent my thursday. i think i had a burger with some friends. it's hard to have turkey as not many people have ovens. some restaurants offer special dinners but it never tastes good and is way too expensive. the burger was cheap and damn good.
04 - Kids
my class has gotten exceptionally bright and i'm always getting great feedback from parents. i love my job and find it incredibly rewarding. today we had our PTA meeting at some famous bakery. my kids sang up on a house top and rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. they had super cute hats and bell bracelets they made in class. the parents at the table i sat all told me how beautiful my girlfriend was, which was very cool. my girlfriend loved my class's performance too. (she's taiwanese, in case some of you didn't know) some parent's invited me to christmas parties and deeply thanked me for helping the kids. one mother (who speaks english very well) told me her daughter speaks better English than Chinese, which was quite funny. my job is super rewarding and i'm loving every minute of it. i look forward to going to work and i love thinking about how i can improve my work at home. i have a good life here and i'm extremely grateful for how lucky i am. |
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| The Greatest Story Ever Told |
[Jul. 1st, 2007|10:04 am] |
This is an essay a Taiwanese kid gave me to edit. She was lucky; if she was my student I would have kicked her out the window. Never the less, this is the greatest story ever told. To this day, I still laugh while reading it. It's even funnier if you can speak Chinese. The words in brackets are my translations for Chinese characters the student was unable to properly translate. Pay attention to the punctuation. Enjoy.
A Trip to [Yilan]
Last summer vacation , I with my dad and mom went to Yilan [Annual Children's Festival] ! at that time , the Snow Mountain tunnel only just constructed .
The Snow Mountain tunnel , had 12.9 km , beginning , had almost 10 km tunnel , at that time , I don't know Snow Mountain tunnel was 12.9 km , so , I thought it was real ! until I saw the 12.9 board .
After arrived there , we stayed the car and sit [shuttle bus] , it carries us to [Water Park] , there had many people , we casual looked for a seat to sit down . We looked they play , also wanted to played , but mom said " must finish eating the lunch , [before you can play] " , so , mom went around to bought the lunch . That lunch was not very delicious , their drumstick tasted , oily , [tough] , vegetable , tasted salted , soured . After we finished eating lunch , I with dad were went to played water , theirs water was very limpid , we first played [water slide] , it was so excited ! Service personnel first give we a [boogie board] , and called us waiting a fe minutes , after a few minutes , they said " three , two , one " , then we could slided , After a few second , me and dad were entire soaks in the water ! After got up , I proposed played again ! Finally we had played quick twenty times ! Side also has the [paddle boat] and the tire ! That were funny , but the [paddle boat] , was so hard to played steering wheel toward left, the body must toward right . We continuously repeatedly played these things , until quick four o'clock .
This trip , I extremely like ! Very stimulates ! Besides lunch , I thought , I won't buy the that side again the lunch ! |
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| Are Taipei Taxi Drivers WMDs? |
[Jun. 8th, 2007|10:17 pm] |
Someone told me to start posting here instead of myspace, so they can read these blogs. Well, this one's for you;)
"A common thing you'll hear in Taiwan is that a large percentage of taxi drivers are reformed criminals. Is there really any truth to this? Can a guy who just got off Green Island (known notoriously for its prison) really become a taxi driver? What percentage are really reformed criminals?
Well it's difficult to say... According to the newspapers:
"Existing laws stipulate that people with criminal records of rape, homicide, robbery or kidnapping are not allowed to apply for taxi licenses."
I think there are probably few reformed criminals in fact. However, this does not rule out the budding criminals! Many taxi drivers have a history of mental instability and violent behavior. It is well known that these taxi groups are also infiltrated by gangsters. Just pick a fight or damage a driver's car and watch all his friends show up in no time with crowbars or machetes. This fact added to the often crazy driving skills is a potent powder keg of a mixture.
I personally have had no trouble with drivers in Taipei. They are quite chatty if you strike up a conversation. Politics is an ify topic though. Also, don't assume that most drivers can't speak English. I've ridden in quite a few cabs with quite fluent drivers.
I remember a story a friend once told me about taking a cab. She was a local woman. She hailed a cab and got in. She told the driver her destination. Not too long after, he complained that he was really hungry as he hadn't eaten. Being a passive woman, she said that he could stop to get something. Once he had something, he said something along the lines of "What am I going to do? I can't drive and eat at the same time. How about you drive?" The girl, not thinking twice, drove the cab to her destination and then remarkably paid the driver! Only in Taiwan I say!" |
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| long time no see |
[May. 7th, 2007|09:31 pm] |
so as most of you are improv crew, let me ask you this:
i've been invited to improvise with a chinese improv troupe,
and by chinese i mean they barely speak english,
which is okay as i barely speak chinese.
any thoughts on some good games or exercises? |
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| The lone blog, Part 2 |
[Nov. 23rd, 2006|08:01 am] |
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
This is my first thanksgiving with no turkey and no family. It's weird. Even if I found a turkey, which I could possibly at (drum-roll please) CostCo, I still don't have an oven. I have fond memories of Andy and I tearing away at a turkey for a few days. Sigh.... Rudy's makes a damn good smoked turkey. I think I remember my roommates saying we're going somewhere for dinner...
Life is good here, but I do miss you silly Americans. Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving. |
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| the lone blog |
[Apr. 11th, 2006|03:41 pm] |
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| | Frank Sinatra | ] |
hello. |
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