Classmate: “Are these places cold?” (pointing to a listing for a university in Minnesota and a university in Ohio)
Me: “What do mean cold?”
Classmate: “Colder than Taiwan?”
Me: “Yeah of course. Every place will be colder than Taiwan. Out of the two the one in Minnesota will be colder than the one in Ohio though.”
Classmate: “How about this one?” (pointing to a listing for a university in South Carolina)
Me: “That one will be warmer but still colder than Taiwan.”
Classmate: “But does it have a lot of black people?”
Me: “What does that matter?”
Classmate: “Black people are dangerous.”
Me: “Why do you say that? White people are dangerous too. Why are you only afraid of black people?”
Classmate: “The movies. All the gangs and guns are dangerous.”

This isn’t completely verbatim but I tried to get it as close as I could. The ending of the conversation was said with hints of humor and blitheness but one could tell these were real thoughts going through my classmates head and were real concerns she wanted addressed before choosing a university to spend time at as an exchange student.

I also had a similar conversation with a Taiwanese friend who was going to go work for a while in Houston.

What does this mean other than it is definitely true that the wrong-headed but major message sent out from Hollywood/Mtv/mainstream media is that black people are dangerous gangstas? What should the call to action be? My classmate isn’t a racist. She is just trying to make the best decisions with the information she has…something all rational people do. That means that she can be convinced of a new reality without blind hatred getting in the way.The problem is not with her, it’s with us.

Should media outlets care how blacks are portrayed as opposed to how others are portrayed? Should I care? Should I care what Taiwanese students think of black Americans as opposed to other Americans? Should black Americans care? Should all Americans care? Should all the world care? I believe the answer is yes but that means actionable change needs to be pursued and that is where I get completely befuddled.

What can be done other than publicly denouncing these lies about my black brothers? Should all Americans be forced to move back into the cities so that, at least, to be authentic they’ll (the media outlets) have to show a “new” racial diversity in portrayals of inner-city problems? Should we all just keep yelling at black Americans that this is all there fault? Should we support the propagation of media that demonizes other people groups in greater proportion to balance this view so that at least all Americans would be seen as dangerous as opposed to just blacks? Should we make movies about Westboro Baptist Church, or the Iran-Contra Scandal’s connection to crack being introduced into American cities, or how public education was thought up by rich people in an attempt to obtain workers who would be satisfied with assembly line lives? Should we do more to share with the world some of white America’s suburban/rural problems seeing as how we are the majority? Should we support exchanges and multi-cultural experiences for all people (young, old, black, white, American, Iranian, Christian, Muslim) so that we can base ideas about others in reality? Should we “purify” all entertainment and media messages into non-truth about inter-racial love and acceptance? What can be done that is actionable and also brings about positive change? How can we make Michael Jackson’s profound lyric, “I’m not gonna spend my life being a color” be true for EVERYONE and to EVERYONE?

These are the thoughts that are circling round my head.

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.

Before reading on, press the play button of this video and listen to it as you read. It will be a scrumptrulescent experience, I promise.

Last week I finished my last final, turned in my last term paper and started winter break! Last Thursday Emily and I hosted a “No More School” party here at our house with truly fantastic people joining us in our celebration. This week I’ve lazed about, began using Pimsleur in my quest to become a real speaker of 普通話 (Mandarin), hiked with Emily in the hills just south of 台北市 (Taipei City), spent an evening at the club with foreign exchange classmates for one last whoopla before they bid Taiwan adieu, and said goodbye forever to being a twenty-five year old. What a wonderful world we have been given.

After checking my grades and speaking with classmates it seems that there is consensus in my class that many of our professors felt that they were too kind to us during the midterms and have tried to make up for it in grading our final exams. It seems like all of us have 5-10 points less on our finals than were on our midterms….maybe the administration gave one of their crack-down decrees or something. Maybe we all just slacked off. Whatev’, we should all become Montessori advocates anyways.

Our party was great. A ton of people had told Emily and I that they would be coming but as it turned out there were not too many but plenty enough to have fun! I estimate thirty to forty but Emily insists there were at least fifty people. We had an awesome mix of my classmates, Emily’s classmates, and friends of friends creating an atmosphere of diversity, conversation, beer-pong, Soul Caliber II (Playstation for the rest of you), and Texas Hold’em. Phil, one of our roommates headed up the beer-pong effort and it was a true hit. While the fact that the Asians did not know the game wasn’t surprising, I was flabbergasted in learning that the Europeans hadn’t played. Just think, because of our party beer-pong will be spreading the world over. Can a man leave a better legacy is the question that now haunts my moments of cogitation. Last year we had our party at the end of Spring semester in June and it was way too hot. Now, having done both I can say with authority that having the party at the end of Fall semester is a much better way to go.

The lazing about has been great for me but a little nerve-racking for Emily. I think that might be a reflection of our upbringing. What do you think?

Pimsleur’s Mandarin learning curriculum has been recommended to me a few times now. It was apparently developed by Dr. Pimsleur to simulate the way a baby learns language. So far I’ve really enjoyed it and I’m hopeful that I will soon be speaking pǔ tōng huà like a zhōng guó rén. Right now, though, I need to remain hopeful and consistently exercise my nǎo. Diligence is my Achilles’ heel but this time…this time will be different.

The lazing about came to a head this past Wednesday with Emily suggesting we go hiking. We chose a trail out of our Taipei Day Trips book that started just south of Xindian and went up over a mountain (or big hill if you prefer) and ended down the other side in Muzha. On the way up we stopped in to see a little temple cut into the side of the mountain behind a waterfall. It was pretty rad. If I were going to be a monk that place would be a contender. Upon reaching the top of the hill Emily and I came upon a few criss-crosses in the paths that we weren’t too sure about and ended up a little off-track. No matter though as we decided we had had enough hiking for the day. Finding ourselves in the Tea House area of the mountains surrounding Muzha we popped into one, bought some tea, enjoyed the view, talked, and sipped to our hearts content. I should teach you all how to properly drink tea; it is quite a procedure. Once we’d had our fill we hopped on the bus for the winding ride back down into the city.

Emily and I joined some of my classmates, who were only here for this past semester as exchange students, at 9 percent, a club that is luckily within walking distance from our house. Emily and I had never been there before and the evening was a nice bit of Long Island ice-teas, dancing, and saying goodbye to Julia and Fendi who are leaving to head back to Germany.

As I write this I am celebrating my first day as a twenty-six year old. I knew it was coming up but since break began I’ve completely lost track of dates. Consequently I didn’t realize until yesterday that my birthday was looming so near. I’m not even thirty and I’ve already become that guy who forgets about his own birthday. This very moment Emily is preparing a wonderful birthday dinner for me so I had better go.