High school visit

Last Tuesday, I was able to arrange to visit the high school that the Rotary club foreign exchange student attended this past year. I met him mid-morning at the subway station; he doesn't go to school early because he doesn't attend classes anymore. Apparently, the school gradually stopped requiring him and the other exchange students (5 in total at his school, all from the Rotary program) to go to class or be at school when it started; he said they didn't understand much in the regular classes anyway. (The first semester, all of the Rotary students from the Taipei district, about 50 total, took a Chinese class together at a University.)

Instead of going to class, the exchange students go to the teachers' office and study Chinese on their own (and/or play on the computers). The teachers' office was a big room with many desks (probably 50 or more) pushed together in lines. Several teachers were there during my time there; one was sleeping at his desk, 3 were talking together about something (it looked like curriculum or student work), and a few others were grading and working on powerpoint presentations.

While I was at the school, I was able to visit a class. It was a Chinese class for 2nd year students (high school is 3 years in Taiwan, equivalent to our 10th to 12th grades). The class had 60 students in it! The teacher asked the exchange students (Michael and another one, Constantine, from Germany, came to the class) and myself to introduce ourselves. The two guys spoke Chinese and I think the students were familiar with seeing them, so their introductions passed quickly. However, when I introduced myself (with the teacher translating), the students asked to learn some French, so I taught them a few phrases.

Then, the teacher started her lesson, which was introducing vocabulary from a photocopied sheet that she passed out. At the beginning of the class, about 5 students had their heads down sleeping. Some were eating, some were messing with their hair or cell phones, and many were talking with their friends. This all continued throughout her lesson, with maybe 30 students taking notes and occasionally engaged to some extent with the lesson. By the end of the hour long class, half of the students had their heads down sleeping. The teacher was at the front of the room with a microphone, writing on the board. (I forgot to mention that Michael had warned me that the school wasn't good, despite it being private.) Here's a picture from the end of class:



Here's a picture of the courtyard during lunch:



The school has a performing arts focus, so we watched one of their end-of-year performances. Here's a picture from the finale with all of the students on stage:

Rotary

A couple of weeks ago, I went to my sponsoring Rotary club's lunch meeting. The club members were very nice and welcoming. I didn't take my camera in to the meeting, so I don't have any pictures of it.

However, on Friday night, they had a dinner at a Japanese restaurant (one of the club members owns the restaurant, so they do this every 2 months or so). I sat with the high school exchange student that the club sponsored (he's from Minnesota and is going back home next week) and another exchange student sponsored by another club (he's from Brazil and is here for 2 more weeks) - in the background, notice the people singing karaoke (it was so loud that it was difficult for us to talk to each other):



They officially welcomed me to their club and I gave gifts to the club's president and past president - UT golf balls and tees, which are Bevos doing the hook 'em horns, so I taught them that:

Food

I believe that I've mentioned before that my first few days were difficult as far as eating was concerned. I had a hard time finding vegetarian restaurants and my Chinese isn't good enough to order vegetarian anywhere else. I still don't know many vegetarian restaurants, but I've found one in each key location: one that's a 10 minute walk from my apartment (I don't eat there often, because I don't spend much time at my apartment), two next to the University, and one next to the yoga studio. I eat at the latter one the most because I spend quite a bit of time at the yoga studio (either practicing yoga, reading, or studying), plus I'm usually quite hungry after yoga. :) Like the others restaurants I eat at (except one that's more of a deli within a small food store), the restaurant is a buffet.



You pay based on the weight of your food and if you're eating in or taking away. I haven't figured out the rates, but my meal is usually $3-4 for something like this:



At this meal, I found many of my favorite things (clockwise, from top right): seaweed salad (like the kind at Japanese restaurants) that I put on green stems (some type of lettuce, I think); sticky purple rice ball with sesame seeds (I don't think it's specifically a desert because they don't put it in that section, but I eat it as desert); curly seaweed with grated carrots and ginger; another kind of seaweed that's tied in a bow; squash or pumpkin; bean nuts (not sure exactly what they are, but they're good; apparently they grow in the east of Taiwan on plants that grow in lakes and people harvest them from boats); and Chinese eggplant (the long, brighter purple kind) with lots of basil and a bit of red pepper.

They also have tofu products, but because I don't eat those, I haven't been eating enough protein. So lately, I've started cooking eggs and beans at home, so that I eat protein with 2 meals a day, and then one meal at the vegetarian restaurant.

The other exciting thing I found with respect to food is a street vendor that I could buy something from (there are street vendors everywhere selling food, but all of the food either has meat in it or is cooked in lard). Here's a picture of a man who sells baked sweet potatoes (they're so good...they taste as though they were roasted in a campfire)...I've seen twice in the past week and a half (that's the only bad thing with street vendors...you never know when you'll see them):

Back to the Chinese doctor

Part of the reason I haven't written a post in the past week is that I got a head cold last weekend. (Both of my roommates have had colds in the past couple of weeks, and in addition, it was so hot in my room (91F) that I left the a/c on Friday night. I really need to buy a fan!!) Anyway, by Monday morning, I felt so bad that I didn't even want to think about going to the doctor (that thought is always my sign that I must feel really awful). :) But, after resting for awhile that morning, I decided it really might be better if I did go. And, indeed, that was true!

He did acupuncture, this time with 14 needles (!!) - on my toes, foot, calf, fingers, wrist, elbow, shoulder, sides of my nose, forehead and top of my head. It was really uncomfortable and, with all of those needles, I didn't want to move...or smile or talk...much less take a picture...although, I'm sure you can imagine how I must have looked. After 15 minutes of the needles, and then a quick shoulder massage (how nice!), I felt incredibly better!

They also gave me (well, sold me) some herbs to take, 3 times a day for 3 days. I figured they were probably good for boosting my immune system and they didn't taste bad - in fact, it had a hint of a cinnamon taste! :) Here's a picture of the packet that I had to put in my mouth (about a tablespoon of powder) and then swish with water and swallow:

My bike

I have been walking a lot, which I have always done when I've traveled or lived abroad. I prefer walking and seeing local life rather than standing and waiting for buses or metros (not to mention going underground for the metro where you see nothing interesting).

Maybe it's because I'm getting older, but this time, I've found walking tiring for my feet, legs and back. Last week, I walked about 2 1/2 hours a day just to go to the university for my morning Chinese class (25 minutes), then to yoga (50 minutes), back to the university (50 minutes), and then home (25 minutes). The metro doesn't have lines that intersect these areas (so that's not an option), and I haven't tried to figure out the complex bus system yet.

So, because I saw so many people on bikes, I thought that would be a great idea. I talked with my roommates about where to buy one, what kind, etc. and we came up with that it would be safer to get a second-hand bike so it would be less likely to be stolen. However, they didn't know where I could find one, so I asked at school and a woman in the office suggested a place. When I told my roommate what I had found out, she said it was too far (probably 30 minutes away by bus/metro) and that we should be able to find something closer.

So, last Saturday morning while I was at yoga, my roommate scoped out the neighborhood bike shops. When I returned home, she said she didn't find used bike shops, but she found 2 other bike shops where a new simple, one gear bike costs $55 and $80. So, we went to look at them. I liked the more expensive one better, and ended up upgrading the seat (a better seat cost $3!) and the lock (again, for $3), as well as buying a light for night riding. So, for around $90, I got a shiny new bike...it even has a bell (which I use often to alert people I'm coming behind them) and a basket (a wonderful place for my heavy backpack - takes the weight off my shoulders and back). Most people lock their bikes by putting the lock around the wheel (see picture below), but I always try to find something to lock it on to. At night, I bring it up to our floor and lock it in the hallway.

Even though I only ride on the sidewalk (on the major streets, there are two sidewalks; one that is right next to the buildings and is typically covered and then one that is between that and the road), there are still MANY obstacles...scooters (they park on the uncovered sidewalk; see picture below), bikes (see picture), pedestrians, food vendors, etc.





Also, when it rains (summer is typhoon season here, so I'm prepared for many days of rain this summer), some of the sidewalks become really slippery (which I can feel even on my bike). Therefore, I decided to be safe and I bought a helmet (it's actually for a scooter, complete with chin strap, but it seemed like it offered more coverage). Here's a picture of me biking home from yoga this evening. It was raining lightly; I put the green plastic bag over my backpack to keep it dry (and then it's a handy place to carry my helmet and raincoat when I go in somewhere). :)

Chinese class

Well, finally a post about the reason I came to Taiwan...to study the language! In the States, people refer to it as Mandarin, but here everyone just says Chinese. :)

I'm studying at the Mandarin Training Center, which is part of the National Taiwan Normal University (typically referred to as Shida). According to wikipedia, there are around 11,000 students at the university. Of course, I only see my small world: the 5th to 10th floors of the building the MTC shares with a Graduate French program (they play TV5 on the 4th floor TV all the time!...it's great!!), the Graduate Program for teaching Chinese as a Second Language, and a few other departments. During our orientation last week, there were probably 200 new students who started for the summer quarter. I was really surprised at how many Asians were in the group - Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai, Mongolian, etc. (including some monks) - they probably made up two-thirds of the new students. The rest of the students are a mixture of American, Canadian, European, and Central/South American.

I've had 7 days of class now - the first several days were rough and full of confusion/some frustration, but it has become better. My regular class is in the evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. At first, I thought that maybe it wouldn't be the best time, but other than that I'm a little tired from the day, I don't feel as though I would be doing anything else in the evenings. I enjoy going to yoga and exploring the city during the days, and because it's dark by 7 p.m. here, it's actually nice to be sitting inside (but not at home) during the evening. I haven't met people to go out with at night, and I'm not very attracted by night life anyway, so the timing of the class works out well.

The class is beginner level, starting with chapter 1; although I had studied Chinese in the States, the hiatus of the last year while I finished my dissertation disrupted my memory of what I had learned, plus I didn't want to have gaps in the early stages of learning.

There are 10 of us in the class:

• Two are American guys: one has been here for 7 months teaching English and the other is an American Born Chinese (ABC) whose dad lives here in Taiwan.
  
• One girl is from France; she's finishing an MBA in France and is working here as an intern in the French economic and culture center (somewhat similar to an embassy) - I really enjoy speaking French with her during our mid-class 10 minute break!!
  
• Another girl is from Vietnam and she turned 20 this week; beyond that, I don't know anything about her yet, because she doesn't speak English.
  
• Two guys are from Japan: one is working here in Taipei, so he's learning Chinese for work and I haven't yet spoken with the other one.
  
• Three students are here for masters degrees: a Peruvian young woman started her masters in International Business last year and the other two are a young couple from Honduras who are going to start a masters in the fall. (Apparently, the Taiwanese government offers numerous scholarships for students to work on masters degrees here.)

The teacher has a traditional style of teaching and doesn't always explain things very well, so that's why the first few days weren't great. Also, we (the students) didn't know each other, and she didn't facilitate any introductions or ice-breakers. But now I've gotten to know some of the other students during the break and it seems as though we're all working as a team to try to understand the teacher's lessons. One of the Japanese guys and myself have become more forward in asking for clarification on points: he gets up and goes to the board to write his question (for example, when she misspells something) and I simply raise my hand and ask for a clearer explanation anytime she's confusing.

We spent the first 3 days (!!) on pronunciation of the alphabet and the four tones. That time was a bit repetitive, but now class is more interesting because we're learning around 10 characters each night.

In addition to the regular class, the school offers large group supplementary classes. These take place in a lecture hall that seats around 200, but only about 50 attend the class. The first week's class was on pronunciation (somewhat helpful, but not well organized or delivered). The second week's class (we're halfway through it now) is on character writing. This one is much more interesting - they show the original pictographs that evolved over time into the characters that are in use today, as well as describe the original reasoning for the picture/character to mean each word. Each of these are 2 hours long daily for the week.

After next week, I'll only have class once a day, which will be nice. However, for visa requirements, we have to be in class or at school 15 hours a week. My regular class is only 10 hours a week, so to make up the difference, I can attend supplementary classes (including the ones I just described; later in the month, they have a one afternoon class on Learning Chinese from Traditional Medicine that I plan to take) or study in the library or language lab. We have time cards (!) that we have to get stamped at each supplementary class or lab time; we turn them in to our teacher at the end of the month for attendance records. In the orientation, they made it clear that the supplementary hours are cumulative for the month, but they don't rollover month-to-month like cell phone plans. :)

Here's a picture of the building:

A hike in the mountains

On Sunday, I went to meet a woman who is a friend of one of Sherry Field's friends. (Sherry had connected me with her friend from graduate school and because he lives a few hours from Taipei, he connected me with one of his friends who lives in Taipei.) The woman's (English) name is Irene (she's Taiwanese) and after she picked me up at the metro station near her house, she drove me around to show me the area. She lives very close to the beautiful mountains that surround Taipei (the ones I enjoy looking at as I practice yoga from the 16th floor studio). Because I remarked on how nice it was for her to be so close to the mountains and because she saw that I was dressed somewhat sporty, we drove partway into the mountains and then went on a lovely hike. It was along a trail that not many people know about (in fact, we saw only one other person during the 30 minute hike). I enjoyed feeling so far from the city for a few hours! Here are some pictures of the views:



There are some farms in the mountains (which she said constitute a national park):



After about 30 minutes of hiking, the trail emerged onto a road with homes (what a wonderful place to live!). The first "home" was actually a fairy tale tea shop...



...where we had beautifully presented and delicious tea...



...and enjoyed the view and good conversation. Irene completed her Masters and PhD in England, so her English was the best of any Taiwanese person I've yet met. She's a professor of Early Childhood Education at a local University, and she's the director of a program to license and track family day care centers (small day cares operated in family homes that take in no more than 4 young children). Talking with her was very interesting!

Oh, also, I wanted to tell you about the wonderful gift she gave me: 3 mini papayas from her garden. They are the best I have ever tasted - so soft and full of flavor! Each one is the size of a small pear, and they have no seeds inside.

Trash

On one of my first few days in Taipei, as I was out walking, I heard the song Edelweiss playing very loudly (similar to the sound you would hear from an ice cream truck). Not long after the sound, big trucks pulled up to the curb and people poured out of the buildings with bags and bags of trash. (And, recently, my roommate put up a schedule of when they pick up trash and recyclables, which we pre-sort into plastic, paper, and styrofoam. Trash and recyclables are picked up in front of our apartment 4 days a week at 6:30 p.m.)





The other thing I've noticed regarding trash is that there is almost no litter on the sidewalks or streets; however, I always have a hard time finding a trash can to put things in! Now, I've figured out that I can usually find them at bus stops.

Yoga studio

Because I had almost a week after I got settled in my apartment before Chinese classes started, yoga was the anchor of each day. The studio is really beautiful - it's a great place to practice yoga! (And, it's about the same price as what I paid for a student membership in Austin.)

Here are some pictures:







Also, it's a very convenient place to shower so I don't have to get my whole bathroom wet. :) However, I did have to ask the first time which was shampoo, conditioner, and soap...

Traditional Chinese Medicine

On my third day in Taipei, during a 3 hour advanced yoga class, I noticed that my left knee was hurting when I bent it at an angle. It hurt like that a few months ago, and it went away after a few weeks, so I wasn't too worried. However, after the yoga class, I went out with one of my roommates to an outdoor market and while we were walking, we talked about Traditional Chinese Medicine. She's not working right now because her health isn't good (her "qi" or energy is low), so she goes to her Chinese doctor every week. I asked if I could go with her sometime. (I had read that while in Taiwan, it's worthwhile to get checked for imbalances by a Traditional Chinese doctor.) My roommate asked what was wrong, and I said nothing really. She seemed to think that I needed a reason to go, and then I thought of my knee! So, a few days later, when she went for her regular visit (Tuesday night), I went with her to have my knee checked. Because I don't have Taiwan's national insurance, I had to pay the full cost of the visit - $12!! My roommate was there to translate, but the doctor spoke English well. He suggested acupuncture, and I agreed to try it. I enjoyed the experience and it seemed to help my knee, so I went back a few days later (the doctor suggested that I go every 2 days). I took these pictures the second time.

They started by warming up the knee, so I sat near the machine pictured below, which blew hot, moist air (inside the glass jar, there was what looked like a tea bag, and indeed the air smelled nice...):



After sitting there for about 15 minutes, I sat back in the waiting area:



The first time, the doctor came out to the waiting area and did the acupuncture there! But the second time, he suggested electro therapy, so I was taken back to a semi-private area. They put the patches on that were connected to a machine that runs electric current through. I had this done at Manor High School by the athletic trainers when I hurt my back last year, so I was familiar with it. Then, the doctor came and after wiping the area with alcohol, he put the needles in. I sat like that for about 15 minutes:



Next came my favorite part...the massage! The guy who does the massaging is very good - I've never had that much attention given to my knee! After massaging for several minutes, he uses a suction cup to loosen the muscle more (this hurts a little and leaves a little bit of a bruise):



The visit concludes with a large patch put on the knee (about 5"x7") that has on it something similar to Tiger Balm (it feels really great!). He puts the patch on, wraps gauze around it several times, and puts a gauze band around it to hold it on. I leave it for 4 hours and then wash it off. It sure feels terrific for those 4 hours!

My first two days in Taipei

My first two days in Taipei were incredibly busy, but I got so much accomplished!

I landed at 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 27th. Fortunately, I had slept around 8 hours on the flight, so I was ready to go. I had met a girl in the Los Angeles airport who was coming to Taipei to visit her boyfriend (who was studying at the same language school where I had applied!). We didn't sit near one another on the plane, but after the flight, we met up and got our luggage together. She invited me to ride into the city with her and her boyfriend (who was coming to meet her at the airport). After I got money from the ATM machine (on my second attempt), we tried to use the payphone to call her boyfriend. Between the two of us, we tried to decipher the pictures on the phone for directions. However, after we kept getting a recorded message in Chinese, we gave up and just waited for him. Once he came, he showed me where to buy the bus ticket (there were 3 booths that looked like they all sold bus tickets, but only one was the right one). On the way, I tried not to ask too many questions about the school and Taipei, but I had so many questions! He was very nice and helpful with his answers. When we arrived at the main train station, he showed me how to buy a token for the MRT (subway); in Taipei, the fare is based on the distance traveled (there's a map for guidance). The token is plastic and you scan it to enter the station by holding it up to the pad. When you exit at your destination, you put the token into a slot. Many of the MRT stations have several exits, so it's helpful to know which one to use.

My first stop was the hostel where I had reserved a bed. I had printed directions (starting with using exit 2). After I quickly dropped off my luggage, my next stop was a bank to change my traveler's checks. A guy at the hostel suggested one nearby based on their reputation of not charging high fees for currency exchanges. He was right. I was supposed to register for Chinese classes by 11 a.m. and I arrived at the school at 10:30 a.m. - just in time! The first thing they did was check my temperature. (One thing I haven't mentioned is the number of people wearing face masks - I guess in response to the swine flu. At the hostel, they asked for my arrival flight number, in case someone from the flight is found to have been infected.) After rushing around all morning, I was hot, but because of my naturally low body temperature, I passed the temperature test. :) After registering for classes, I finally had time to find something to eat. Very exciting, but a little daunting after all the meat that I had seen in the restaurants and street vendors. However, just next to the University, I found an organic, vegetarian restaurant. They even have 2 Vita-Mix machines! I ended up eating all of my meals the first 2 days there. :)

I returned to the hostel (about a 15 minute walk from the University), took a shower, and went to the yoga studio that I had found on the internet. The yoga class felt so wonderful after the long trip! That night, back at the hostel, I started looking for an apartment. I had thought I might find something on craigslist, but people here seem to use a website called tealit.com more. It's for people coming here to teach English. I wanted to find something located between the University and the yoga studio, because I knew that I would be going to those two places very regularly. The most recent posting was exactly in that area, so I called about it and after seeing it the next morning, I moved in that afternoon! So, my second night, I was already settled into my apartment! It's a 3 bedroom apartment and the other 2 roommates are Taiwanese women my age. One works as a flight attendant for China Airlines, and the other one worked in HR, but isn't working right now. They're both very nice, and speak English well.

The other thing I did the second day was that I signed up for a local cell phone number. I was able to do it thanks to my mom, who called AT&T in the U.S. for me to get the code to unlock the phone. I had forgotten to do that, so it wouldn't work with another SIM card. A local cell phone number has been very important, as I'm asked for it often. And, per minute, it's cheaper to call the U.S. than another cell phone in Taiwan! Of course, I talk much longer to people in the U.S., so in the end it would probably become more expensive. :)

So, at the end of the first two days, I felt more organized and settled. Then, I could start looking around and enjoying myself more!

This is my room:



This is my bathroom (I'm renting the master bedroom, so the bathroom is connected). The toilet is to the right of the door. Notice the shower head in the middle...this is how many of the bathrooms were in Thailand - when you shower, everything gets wet, but there's a drain in the floor...