Nimen Hao, wode hao pungyo!
Err...um, sorry.
Hello, my good friends! I hope this entry finds you all doing well and staying warm, I've heard of snow around those parts...yikes.
Speaking of cold weather, I actually had to wear a jacket today for the first time since I came to Taiwan. Up until about a week ago it was still warm enough for shorts and sandals! But, there has been a dramatic shift in temperature and a steady wind has kicked up; combine that with driving at 60km/hr on my scooter and you've just entered jacket country! I'm one of the last, I think. When I was still driving in a t-shirt I saw many a local wearing legit winter coats and gloves and stuff. Reminds me of early autumn back in the US of A, really early autumn. Though, I don't expect any eminent snowfall.
Things have been going very smoothly out here in the freaky-freaky future. I've discovered the wonders of cheap, SUPER cheap bowling. $4US got me shoes and two games on a regular night, not special or anything. Score. I bowled a respectable 153, putting me an easy thirty pins ahead of my foreign cohorts and into the records books...sort of. The bowling alley itself was a treasure straight out of 1979/1980. Complete with mysterious water stains in the drop ceiling tiles and the hordes of older league bowlers all wearing the same maroon polo shirts. Just don't drink the punch.
One of the secretaries at my branch bid us, and Hess, adieu so a bunch of us went out to a sweet Hot Pot restaurant. For those of you not in the know, Hot Pot is a restaurant where you cook your own food in a pot of boiling hot water. Sounds boring, I know, just hear me out. First, this particular place was buffet style with just about everything you could want; beef, lamb, chicken, every kind of seafood possible, tofu, dumplings, noodles, etc. Massive selection, complete with like 20 things to mix and combine for dipping sauce type stuff. I grabbed a plate of lamb and an assortment of raw fish, prawns, dumplings, and a few things I could not identify. My fellow teacher, Kyle, split the pot with me. Our pot, like any big cook pot that just came into your mind, was big and metal but divided down the center. On the right was a yellowish curry, on the left something involving tomatoes. Now, isn't that a little more exciting? I wasn't too thrilled with the tomato hot pot, but that curry one rocked my world. Everything that came out of it was delicious.
Which leads me to my next happenstance.
The table adjoining Kyle and I held a few natives and Sue, another American teacher. Their hot pot consisted of regular flavor or whatever you call it, which i didn't try, and the good and spicy one. I munched a few things from the spicy side at the behest of my head CT Phoebe (CT= co teacher). It was after my fifth plate or so from the curry pot that Sue placed a black, rubbery lump in front of me. It was a little smaller than a twinkie and it glistened wetly. I poked it with my chopsticks and it quivered ominously.
"Just try it," Sue said. I looked at it dubiously.
"Don't tell me what it is," I said.
The lump was soft and came apart easily into an edible bit. It looked like tofu, only black. It quivered kind of like tofu. Hmm...
Ah what the hell, this stuff is part of why I came here anyway, right?
To tell the truth it didn't have a whole lot of flavor, but it was oddly textured. Similar to rubbery tofu but definitely different. I chewed thoughtfully, trying to decide if I liked it or not.
"Want to know what it is?"
"Sure, but I would have eaten it anyway," I said. What could it be? I thought. Weird eggs? Some rice concoction? Pig fat? Hoofs? Eyes? Brains?
"It's duck's blood."
I swallowed.
"Oh."
Ah, Taiwan. It wasn't that bad, for those of you that just cringed and made an "ew!" face. Not that I'm saying I'm going to go searching for it.
Other news. Chinese class is going really well, I'm one of the better students in the class and I have a lot of fun whenever I go. I'm learning as quickly as I can but it's pretty hard, though interesting. Shui jiao, pronounced Shoe-way jaow, can be said several different ways. The funniest of which are sleep, and dumpling. Imagine the look you would give someone if they ordered "Ten sleeps please, to go." I must also say that writing Chinese characters is really fun; it's really more like drawing than writing, though. Very satisfying to have a character come out nice and neat and proportioned. Soon I'll be able to write sentences that don't consist of "I want this" or "Who is she?" I think once I get the sentence mechanics down a little better the vocab will be easier.
Next time: My Chinese name and how to say it, how to curse in Chinese, some of my favorite Chinese-English direct translations, and some photos of the kids I teach.
Until then, stay safe you crazy kids. Many days and pleasant nights, say thankya.
Fun Facts:
-It's considered healthy to eat the bones of animals.
-Tuna for breakfast is badass.
-Turkmenistan is a crazy, crazy place.
-The ex-President of Taiwain is under arrest for corruption and money laundering.
-Taichung means "Middle City."
-According to some Chinese KTV song, Happy is a verb.
-Persimmons look like tomatoes, and I never knew that.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Don't Tread On Me
Hey Folks,
This entry is going to take a bit of a break from my normal Taiwanese story-telling, and rightfully so considering the events of the last 24 hours or so.
It has been quite interesting viewing the American election from this far away and surrounded by people that are not from the USA. Literally the whole world has been watching, waiting to see who would be next to lead the most powerful nation on Earth. I hope they have found the result as pleasing as I have.
After eight long years under Mr. Bush, I really can't say that I'm sorry to see him go.
For nearly a decade America's foreign policy has been used like a hatchet instead of a scalpel and our image abroad is horribly tarnished. The theory of trying to meet with other nations on the premise of "do what we want or we won't talk to you" is just plain idiotic. Combine that with W's inability to form a complete sentence and an approval rating that made even Richard Nixon look good and you've got a recipe for disaster. So, it's no surprise that things have turned to such an ugly hue these last few months(I believe James Carville called it "the economic cataclysm"). I couldn't follow someone that made me ashamed to say I was an American because of how he presents my country to the world.
Can you blame me? Eight years of that man and all the bullshit he represents and now...no more. There is something about Barack Obama that I can find faith in, that I believe in. I have never said that about any politician ever. Watching his victory speech today was wonderful, I was captivated. It was the first time in a long time that I felt truly patriotic, truly happy to say "Yes, I am an American" without fearing the stigma of a cowboy hat-wearing, beer swilling, gun carrying hedonist. Being an American is about more than that and Obama reminded us all, especially today, what that is: we are a country together. It brought tears to my eyes seeing the people gathered in Grant Park, Ill. Every age, every ethnicity, every gender, together for one common purpose. I saw hope, genuine hope and it was overwhelming. It was as if they were all saying "Finally, something, someone, we can believe in. Something we can trust, someone to give us hope."
It was beautiful.
Now, I'm no political expert, I'm not a pundit, I don't have a political science degree or even a respectable grasp on politics in general, but I know what I saw today. Today I saw history. Not the first black president of the USA, it goes deeper than that. Today I saw the culmination of people willing to band together for something greater than theirselves, something more grand and meaningful. A campaign for the ages. The US has seen ups and downs of every nature and in many ways it will always be divided. But today I saw a different America than the last eight years. Today I saw what it could be, what it should be, what it wants to be: a place of prosperity, of unity, of hope. A place of peace. In those people's eyes I saw a yearning for something better and the dawning realization that maybe, just maybe, the door has been opened and the path revealed. Perhaps just a glimpse, but its a start nonetheless.
Forgive my paraphrasing and editorialising but Obama said it right when he said that yes I won, here I am at the finish line and the highest office in the country; and all because of you. We won today, together. But it doesn't stop here, the hardest part still lies ahead and we musn't shrink from the hardhip of that road. We have a duty to each other and to the world to rebuild our country piece by piece, and make it whole again. I agree. It won't be easy, it won't be immediate, it won't be convenient; but I think that's ok, I think America is ready for the challenge.
Today I saw the recognition of that and the willingness to try. That ironclad American ideal of work, of sweat and blood and tears to get the job done and it seems to surface right when we need it most. Today I saw the hope for a better future, for a better world, all we need do is try. And alongside that hope, I saw pride. A deep, human pride that shouts of accomplishment, of resilience. "Yes we can" became "Yes we did."
And now I say:
"Yes we will."
Here's to four years of hope.
--n
This entry is going to take a bit of a break from my normal Taiwanese story-telling, and rightfully so considering the events of the last 24 hours or so.
It has been quite interesting viewing the American election from this far away and surrounded by people that are not from the USA. Literally the whole world has been watching, waiting to see who would be next to lead the most powerful nation on Earth. I hope they have found the result as pleasing as I have.
After eight long years under Mr. Bush, I really can't say that I'm sorry to see him go.
For nearly a decade America's foreign policy has been used like a hatchet instead of a scalpel and our image abroad is horribly tarnished. The theory of trying to meet with other nations on the premise of "do what we want or we won't talk to you" is just plain idiotic. Combine that with W's inability to form a complete sentence and an approval rating that made even Richard Nixon look good and you've got a recipe for disaster. So, it's no surprise that things have turned to such an ugly hue these last few months(I believe James Carville called it "the economic cataclysm"). I couldn't follow someone that made me ashamed to say I was an American because of how he presents my country to the world.
Can you blame me? Eight years of that man and all the bullshit he represents and now...no more. There is something about Barack Obama that I can find faith in, that I believe in. I have never said that about any politician ever. Watching his victory speech today was wonderful, I was captivated. It was the first time in a long time that I felt truly patriotic, truly happy to say "Yes, I am an American" without fearing the stigma of a cowboy hat-wearing, beer swilling, gun carrying hedonist. Being an American is about more than that and Obama reminded us all, especially today, what that is: we are a country together. It brought tears to my eyes seeing the people gathered in Grant Park, Ill. Every age, every ethnicity, every gender, together for one common purpose. I saw hope, genuine hope and it was overwhelming. It was as if they were all saying "Finally, something, someone, we can believe in. Something we can trust, someone to give us hope."
It was beautiful.
Now, I'm no political expert, I'm not a pundit, I don't have a political science degree or even a respectable grasp on politics in general, but I know what I saw today. Today I saw history. Not the first black president of the USA, it goes deeper than that. Today I saw the culmination of people willing to band together for something greater than theirselves, something more grand and meaningful. A campaign for the ages. The US has seen ups and downs of every nature and in many ways it will always be divided. But today I saw a different America than the last eight years. Today I saw what it could be, what it should be, what it wants to be: a place of prosperity, of unity, of hope. A place of peace. In those people's eyes I saw a yearning for something better and the dawning realization that maybe, just maybe, the door has been opened and the path revealed. Perhaps just a glimpse, but its a start nonetheless.
Forgive my paraphrasing and editorialising but Obama said it right when he said that yes I won, here I am at the finish line and the highest office in the country; and all because of you. We won today, together. But it doesn't stop here, the hardest part still lies ahead and we musn't shrink from the hardhip of that road. We have a duty to each other and to the world to rebuild our country piece by piece, and make it whole again. I agree. It won't be easy, it won't be immediate, it won't be convenient; but I think that's ok, I think America is ready for the challenge.
Today I saw the recognition of that and the willingness to try. That ironclad American ideal of work, of sweat and blood and tears to get the job done and it seems to surface right when we need it most. Today I saw the hope for a better future, for a better world, all we need do is try. And alongside that hope, I saw pride. A deep, human pride that shouts of accomplishment, of resilience. "Yes we can" became "Yes we did."
And now I say:
"Yes we will."
Here's to four years of hope.
--n
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