Taiwaneers

We do miss things by living far away from home. My littlest sister is becoming a woman and Emily’s littlest brother is becoming a man; all the while we are over here, thousands of miles away. Skype, facebook, email, and summers spent back home make it way easier but there is no doubt that living overseas has a price.

I was just officially notified that 我的狗死了 (Wǒ de gǒu sǐ le). I knew it was coming. I actually expected it sometime during the 2008-2009 school year so last summer was purely extra time spent with her in my mind. I have no doubt that my dad made the right decision at the right time. Maggie was a wonderful 狗 (gǒu) and I am so grateful to have had her in my life. I cannot thank my parents enough for making her a Christmas gift to me back in 1995. She taught me a lot of things. I definitely agree with those who believe 狗s (gǒus) help teach children responsibility. She did that and also gave me an opportunity to practice for parenthood…I have to admit that sounds odd to say but its true. I learned, watching myself with Maggie, that I am incredibly consistent but will need to be careful not to withhold mercy when I am a parent of human children. I consider that an invaluable lesson and a direct result of my mother and father’s gift.

Maggie and I also had wonderful summers preparing for 4-H 狗 (gǒu) shows. Winning prizes with her throughout the years for our favorite competition, agility, is definitely something I remember with fondness.

I remember her fear of balls, disinterest in sticks, and confusion towards frisbees and the realization that I would not be that kid in the movies who showed his 狗 (gǒu) love and affection through hours of fetch. I remember seeing her have a seizure that first summer after Christmas and being scared and confused, not quite sure if I’d got a dud dumped on me or whether I was happy to have her. I remember after one of her seizures realizing she could no longer wag her tail. I remember cleaning up her accidents in the house with disgust. I remember holding her when she seizured throughout the years, speaking soothingly that “it’s okay Maggie, it’s alright” while keeping a grip so she wouldn’t knock into something or hurt herself. I remember how she’d be so excited to go for a car ride, a walk, 狗 (gǒu) show practice, or when I’d get home. I remember how she remembered me after I moved away from home and still greeted me with love when I was visiting and sleep in my room. I remember seeing her skinnier, slower, deafer, blinder, and weaker these past few summers. I remember realizing the respect I have for those at the end of life and how my help can ease the way for both them and me. I remember realizing her 死 (sǐ) was coming. I remember realizing that her 死 (sǐ) would be a good completion and that to try to hold on would deprive both of us of that goodness. I remember Maggie.

Her life and now her death have been great for me…that sounds odd too but its true. Even in her 死 (sǐ) Maggie teaches me how to mourn, remember, and let go. I’ve learned so much, loved so much, and built memories of fun times. I love you Maggie. I’ll remember you with fondness and affection.

Dear God, teach me to love my family, friends and the strangers you put in my life this way.

A lot of people wonder how we go about living in a foreign country without knowing the language. I have to admit I can understand where this incredulity from our fellow Americans comes from. We (as in Americans) think of that once-in-a-lifetime trip we took to Mexico for a week or two, thinking to ourselves that vacationing without language is hard enough but how could we ever go about renting an apartment, getting a job, paying the bills, buying groceries, or even figuring out how to take out the trash without knowing how to speak to those around us…and we haven’t even mentioned the literacy problem yet. These concerns are definitely ones that I thought about before I did all those things over here in Taiwan. I should also note that I am very much aware that not all Americans only take one trip to Mexico in their life. Many Americans are extremely well-traveled and I know a lot of them. I’m talking about the others who look at those of us who live overseas with that “I could never, ever do what you are doing” look in their eyes.

For me there are two keys to living in a foreign country without knowing the language. Key number 1: have a friend who knows the language and likes/is willing to help you. Emily and I were blessed to arrive in Taiwan with several friends already here and were so blessed by how kind and helpful they were in getting us up and running. We have really enjoyed doing the same for others who have come after us and consider it an honor and a privilege to help the newbies because we remember the surreal, helpless feeling at the beginning. We’ve also met people here who got a job online before arriving but knew no one at all. These friends were invariably helped by their new employers and the friend situation was rectified quickly. Plus, with the internet now and websites like www.couchsurfing.org tapping into friend networks is easier than ever.

Key number 2: be patient and take new information as it comes to you. While this is probably not as important as the first key it is helpful in keeping a light attitude when you realize that simple tasks that would have been a quick errand on your way home from work in the States are whole afternoon affairs in your new home. Like for example when I wanted to get something at a music store the other day. In the States my brain would immediately know where the music stores in town are and I could think to myself which one would be best suited for my purchase. I would go there when in that area of town next without any hassle whatsoever. Here in Taiwan the process is similar but just a little longer. It went like this: I remembered that Emily and I had driven by a music store a few months back so I took off on my scooter to re-trace my steps. And actually it wasn’t too difficult at all. I only went a few kilometers down the wrong street, and after doubling back without finding the store I realized I needed to be a few blocks down on another street. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again right.

The fun times are when I know something another foreigner doesn’t and I get to let them in on it…it’s like simple bits of knowledge become these nuggets of gold that I get to give out. I remembered this the other day when I was at 7-Eleven. I was there buying a few beers and returning Taiwan Beer labeled bottles for the 2NT deposit on them. Another foreigner in the store saw me handing the empty bottles to the cashier and asked what I was doing. I told him about the 2NT deposit and his face lit up with recognition. I knew exactly what was going through his brain because it’s the same thing that went through my brain when I learned about the deposit. He was thinking about all the bottles he’d thrown out and about how exciting it would be the next time he had some empty beer bottles and would get a chance to use his new nugget of knowledge. It truly is the simple things my friends.

Living overseas without knowing the language is by no means impossible. It just takes a little more patience and a willingness to accept help from others. The pros outweigh the cons by a million to one.

Endnote: please accept my apologies for the corniness of this post. It’s just so fun to realize how much pleasure can be gotten from simply knowing how to do easy, everyday stuff.

Tonight is a perfect example of the random wonderfulness that is the “expat-lifestyle.”

One of our roommates, Phil, recently went to Hong Kong on a visa run. While there he met a Hong Kongese dude named Jacky. Jacky showed Phil a good time and took him around and stuff. Earlier this week Jacky called Phil and told him, “hey, I’m coming to Taiwan for the weekend.” So Thursday night Jacky showed up at our house and Phil has been taking him out and showing him around Taipei with Jacky sleeping on our couch in between.

Earlier this evening Jacky cooked us dinner…he used to be a chef, but the head chef in the posh restaurant he worked at didn’t allow the use of any machines – so Jacky hurt his arm whisking egg whites all day, every day…now he works at some internet company or something (actually I’m not exactly sure). So anyways it wasn’t only us at dinner. Phil invited this girl he’s been out with a few times. Jacky invited this other Taiwanese girl he had met in Hong Kong (him being the out-going, fun-loving guy he is) and she brought along her sister. Plus, Jacky invited these three South African guys he had also met and shown good times to in Hong Kong, but who live here in Taiwan. Rachel, our friend, also happened to be here this evening as well.

So now the scene is set. A Hong Kongese guy, who happens to be here at our house for the weekend and used to be a professional chef is cooking dinner for us: an American couple (Emily and I), Rachel our American friend, Phil our American roommate, three Taiwanese girls, and three South African guys here at our house in Taipei. He cooked us Foie Gras on top of vinegar-pickled apple slices as the main course alongside a Greek salad. Next came scallops and sea bass covered in garlic mayonnaise sauce, followed by pasta with white sauce and bacon. And lastly, eaten slowly and with savor, a cheese platter of bleu, brie, and camenbert cheeses eaten on top of slightly fried french bread slices. Can anyone say yum?

I wasn’t sure how I’d like duck liver but now I have to say I have drank the cool-aid and am a big Foie Gras fan. Thank you Jacky!

What a great life it is to be a foreigner. Where else do I get to be a minority and reap the benefits of minority fellowship with a whole bunch of other foreigners displaced and in need of community?

We’ve known about the PingXi Lantern Festival since our first year in Taiwan. However, we’ve never attended before. Last night we seized the opportunity and, with some friends, took the train to experience this end-of-the-Chinese-New-Year-Celebration event.

The crowds were incredible. We arrived just before it started to get dark and as we walked through the narrow main street of Shihfen, eating street food as we went, it seemed like the crowd just kept on building. We stopped and took the time to participate ourselves, buying a lantern and then writing wishes on it, then sent it up into the night sky to join everyone else’s lanterns. It was like a whole bunch of fireflies or stars were floating up into the sky, becoming fainter and fainter until disappearing into the blackness.

I think the largest crowd I’ve ever encountered was last night’s in PingXi. Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-Jeou showed up. We didn’t get close enough to see him but we were unfortunate enough to find ourselves in the crowd, bottle-necked behind him, as he went through the streets shaking hands and kissing babies. It was crazy how close everyone was to each other, all of us trying to figure out how we could get out of the human traffic jam to where movement could once again resume. We finally ducked down a side alley to an alternate route along the train tracks with loads more people having the same idea.

When we decided to leave we had a harrowing experience weaving and running through the crowd back to the train station. We thought we were about to miss the last train out that night. We arrived before it pulled out…only thing was that the platform was chock-full of people and the train was already bursting at the seams. That train pulled out…without us on it. We popped a squat on the platform and waited with a ton of others for the next one (it was not the last train of the night thank goodness. Otherwise the residents of PingXi would have had a riot on their hands of a bunch of stranded city-folk). The next train pulled up after about 30 minutes or so. Electricity shot through the crowd as the train approached. It was like a lottery drawing trying to guess where to stand to end up in front of the doors once the train stopped. The winners of this lottery would end up with seats! As the train came to a standstill little clusters of people up and down the platform who had gotten lucky let out cheers and hurrahs. We were some of the lucky ones as it so happened. When the doors of the train opened though it was crazy as everyone behind us pushed with a mighty heave to get in. I went into the train with half of my body on the left side of the doorway and the other contorted towards the right side. Thankfully my feet stayed underneath me and I managed to get into the train. All five of us got seats together along the bench-style side of the car for the trip out of PingXi, back to Taipei.

What a night!

End Note: It should be noted that the title does not reflect what we experienced and is only a sensationalization (we can play at that game too mainstream media) of the event. While the crowds were immense, fire was everywhere including floating up into the sky, and stray firecrackers were going off inches from ears, shoes and faces, we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the Lantern Festival to others. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

So much has happened since my last post. My problem has been that since so much was happening I kept on meaning to post but then I would be overwhelmed by how much there was to talk about so I would put it off only to be faced with a bigger problem as there was even more to talk about. I’m finally biting the bullet but alas I have compromised with myself and it will be an abbreviated bullet.

So after my birthday Emily and I left for vacation. We are trying to save money for a trip home in March for a wedding so this year’s vacation was not a jaunt off to some other east-Asian country but instead a trip around our own Formosa (one of Taiwan’s many names.) After thinking about what we could do we decided upon a moped trip around Taiwan. Setting out with with one other friend Rachel, on her own moped, Emily and I piled our big backpack, our tent, and ourselves onto our moped and fled Taipei. We traveled down the west-side of Taiwan’s mountainous center stopping only one-night to stay with friends near Nantou before completing the journey down to our friend’s house in DongGang, a coastal town south of Kaohsiung (Taiwan’s second-biggest city).

We stayed and hung out with Laura, our DongGang friend, for about a week and camped for a few days on Xiao Liu Chu, a small, coral island not far from DongGang. It was warm and sunny. We camped out on the beach and read and we even went snorkeling in the surf. It was fantastic and a great departure from the much colder north.

Emily celebrated her birthday while we were in DongGang. I took her to Kaohsiung for the day and we hiked and road bikes and had fun together exploring the city. She’s a quarter-century old if you can believe it.

Megan, my sister, joined up with us the day before we left DongGang. Now there were four of us on two mopeds for the trip back to Taipei and oh man were we funny looking all packed on to our tiny, little 125cc scooters.

We took off north and hopped on Hwy 20, Taiwan’s southern cross-island road. There was a ton of road damage from mud-slides and it was very precarious in spots…it’s a very good thing that no mothers were on the trip is probably where I should leave the description. We came across many construction crews repairing damage and were even held up by one that hadn’t completed a little dirt trail to connect each side of the road from where a bridge had collapsed. Emily’s pictures will be invaluable for you all to see and get a better idea of what I’m talking about! We made it through eventually though and camped at LiSong, a natural hot-springs that LonelyPlanet says is Taiwan’s most beautiful hot-spring. It was very beautiful but oh man was it a hike to get down to it at the base of a ravine. I’ll leave that story for Emily to share.

After a few days there we took off up the east coast of Taiwan. The mountains and the east coast of Taiwan are so beautiful; so untamed compared to what we were driving past going south on the west-side.

After a night at Hualien’s Formosa Backpackers Hostel (recommendable) we headed into Taroko Gorge for a few days of camping and hiking. Another great story and another one I’ll leave for Emily.

After leaving Taroko we continued to head west and north through Taiwan’s mountains. It was slow going and very foggy in places. We stayed one night at a place called Wuling Farms and while it was a nice place we arrived too late in the day to truly enjoy it. Plus, we were pretty far north at this point and as we were camping we were less enthused about being outside and “doing stuff” due to the drop in temperature.

Our last day driving from Wuling Farms to Taipei was the most grueling. It was cold, rainy, and foggy and we were way up in the mountains in the middle of these clouds that were causing the rain and the fog…and we were riding on mopeds…brr.

We finally made it back to our house last Friday evening. Since then we’ve been hanging, reading, and enjoying each other’s company. Megan had to leave to head back to her home on Kinmen today. Monday Emily and I start school.

Vacation is over.