As a new teacher, it is important not to take on too much. It is important to do one thing at least very well. I’ve always believed it’s better to do one thing well than to do several things with mediocrity. I decided a few weeks ago that I would do it. Being a new teacher, a white girl, using my white voice (as others have advised me to do), on reserve, I would do one thing well, at least. There must be one thing. I can skate, and I can teach skating. So I have to start a skating club. The day I sent out permission forms, I had a dream that night. I dreamt that I sent out the forms, and I had eight forms exactly returned to me. In my dream I pictured the forms – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, on my desk – stacking up one after the other. I thought, “I’ll be lucky to get that many.” I woke up, and left it at that.

That day, at the end of the day, I counted the number of permission forms on my desk. There were eight. Exactly eight. Strange, how dreams tell you the truth. The next day, I dreamed that I would be the one to begin a yearbook at the school which had no official yearbook. Then, I decided that was a dream for another day. I had to do the skating first. By the end of the week, I had 20 permission forms for skating club.

On the day of skating club, I received another 20 forms. I had others show up at the ice. Parents, grandparents, elders, brothers, sisters, other family members. Suddenly, it wasn’t just 8 forms stacked on my desk. It was 50. It was 25% of the school. Suddenly those skaters needed helmets and skates. Suddenly I needed more people.

It is pointless to do several things with mediocrity. Doing one thing well can make all the difference.

Even though I may be leaving Taiwan in July, an amazing and beautiful thing has occured. Kaohsiung finally has a surf club! It’s on Cijin Island and I’m so so so happy. This weekend I checked it out for the first time with my friend Sandy. It’s Greek-style, lovely. I didn’t think Cijin Island would have good surf, but it’s great for me since I’m only a beginner and it’s only 20 minutes away!

Once you’re off the ferry to Cijin from Kaohsiung, you walk straight until the beach and turn right at the street that is right before you actually get to the beach (and toward the path that would lead you to the old fort on the hill and boardwalk). Then keep walking and just look for the surf signs and the building that looks Greek! It’s there!

The best time to surf on Cijin in the winter (Oct-April) is low tide. In the summer it’s high tide. Right now 10 a.m. until noon is the best and again around 2-4 p.m. if you’re lucky – although the waves seem to die down in the afternoon. They are great if you have the patience, and otherwise very gentle if you don’t! Gentle is fine with me.

The guys are wonderful. They told us this is the only surf club in Taiwan owned by surfers, so 13 of them share the club and rent boards. The boards cost around $500NT (or $15 a day) and they also have beds to nap in. After surfing they have a BBQ, and although I wasn’t able to stay the last time they were very kind and didn’t even want to charge us to eat! Hopefully next time. Anyway I know what I’m doing every weekend this summer.

Last weekend I had a lovely Saturday. It was one of those weekends where I didn’t really ‘do’ much, yet it felt like so much was accomplished! After my friend’s motorcycle broke down, we were on a mission to get it back. We met at the bus station but ended up finding a cab from Kaohsiung to Kenting – only 300NT, which is cheaper than the bus. For those of you not from Taiwan, that’s about $10 Canadian for a two hour ride! We were lucky and watched a movie on the way. I can’t say I cared much for 2012- especially since it just made me more scared of earthquakes, but it was entertainment, anyway.

We got to Kenting and had a decent meal of rice and veggies, and lucky for us there weren’t many people there in the afternoon. It was pretty empty. We just had time to mosy around and then find out where to rent a scooter to go to Jialeshui. I was really excited because I’ve been practising my ‘scooter rental’ Chinese skills. The first price I was quoted was $450NT (about $12) for a day. After explaining (IN CHINESE!!!) that I needed the bike from 2pm -9pm, I got the price down to $350. After showing them my Taiwan driver’s license and pointing out that they only had 100CC and not 125CC scooters (IN CHINESE!) I got the price down to $300. Maybe I could have gotten an even better deal, but hey, that’s $10 for a day! Why not! So we hopped on the rental and off we went to Jialeshui.

We got to Jialeshui and I was sad to see that the waves were a little too much, but I thought I’d try anyway. Wunsin’s surf shop was not open and he’d gone to Taipei, so I was sad I couldn’t say hi. Some nice people in the village offered to drive my friend to the nearby town where her motorcycle had been repaired from a breakdown the week before. In the meantime, I had to find a surfboard so I walked to the guesthouse next door. The man there was nice enough to let me into Wunsin’s surf shop to get the board I liked and said he would give the money to Wunsin when he got back. I didn’t question it because everyone in this village is pretty tight-knit. They are some of the most honest people I’ve met. I rented a board for $300 for a half day and that was a pretty good deal for me, since I knew I probably wouldn’t even make it past the break!

While my friend went to get her bike, I made my way to the beach. Of course as I thought, I didn’t make it past the break. Even though I love surfing, I really suck at it. But if you are a surfer and you are reading this – Jialeshui is the place to go in Taiwan! The people in that village are so wonderful and connected. There’s a sort of energy that surrounds them and nobody is a stranger. It’s just a beautiful place – like paradise to me.

The best meal I ever had home-cooked in Taiwan was in this village. It was one year ago and a holiday in Taiwan. The villagers were having a massive BBQ of freshly caught tuna. They told us it had been speared that day. And they marinated it in some sort of deliciousness including pepper, lemon, all sort of herbs and..oh I’m drooling and way off the point. But the point really is, go there! It’s great and even if you can’t surf it’s nice to sit on the beach just like I did that day.

After my friend came and left to drive her motorcycle back to Kaohsiung, I made my way back to Kenting on the rental to another of my favorite beaches. Now I was by myself so I decided to just buy a beer and sit on the other beach with my book. I like the Ceasar Beach because they always play nice music and they have bathrooms and lockers so if you’re by yourself you can go swimming. It’s also a nice little cove to go for a sunset swim. Pure relaxation! While I was sitting there, something amazing happened.

A Taiwanese girl and her friend came up to me and said hi! Why was it amazing? First of all because I was a little lonely at the time. I’m not generally lonely in Taiwan because usually it’s ‘weird’ to do things by yourself and everything is done in ‘groups’ or ‘couples.’ The second reason it was amazing was because they made the first move to talk to me! In Taiwan, I find that if I’m on a beach by myself, no one ever says hi to me. They might look or be curious but not actually talk unless I talk to them. And here all of a sudden were these two really interesting people! The guy had studied in England for five months, and his name was Alfonso. His English was wonderful! He was on holiday back home in Taiwan and going back to England for another few months. The girl, Lana, also had wonderful English. They were both young and full of energy. We talked for about 30 minutes. This almost never happens to me here in Taiwan, and when it does I find I meet the most interesting people.

At the end of the conversation, Lana said, “Can I ask you a personal question? When we’re talking and first meet, should I look into your eyes?” At first, this was a strange question to me, but then I thought about it and realized that rarely do people look right into my eyes upon first meeting. She gave me the example of first meeting and speaking for one minute. How much of that one minute would you make eye contact? My answer was at least 45 seconds, if not the whole minute. Otherwise, it appears as though the other person is distracted from the conversation. She told me, this is really difficult in Taiwanese culture because they don’t make eye contact at first meeting for that long. It would be considered rude.

Well this explains a lot. So many times I would get frustrated or think someone else was looking elsewhere, not paying attention when really it’s just considered rude for them to seek your eyes directly? Very strange to grasp but very enlightening. On the way home I took another cab – a beetle nut chewing man who kept speaking to me in Chinese with a thick accent even though I had no idea what he was saying 75% of the time. But then… there was the 25% that I did understand and that’s 25% more than I understood two years ago. All the while I was thinking about all the interesting people I’d met in only 12 hours. It was a very wonderful Saturday.

There’s just something about being outside. The outdoors has always been a big part of my life – whether it meant running around at grandma and grandpa’s farm or going for a bike ride in the fields behind my house. Now, it’s more important than ever.

In the big scheme of things, kids are being sent to cram schools and running in tiny one-acre parks outside the school more often than they’re genuinely just wandering. At least, in Taiwan. But I think in Canada too, this is more and more the case.

But thinking back to those ‘just wandering’ days… they were my days of self-discovery. Just being alone and breathing the air was an escape from the city, the boundaries of everyday life, the obligations and necessities of being.

We would go behind my house and play in the swamp, catching crayfish, slugs, snails, tadpoles and frogs. I could hear cows in the fields and sometimes even wolves as the sun went down. At any given time I had an array of creatures living in my bedroom. I had a snail farm for at least five years. Eventually this was traded in for my horse obsession, but either way it was always something.

On the farm, there were the two appaloosa horses Poco and Daisy. I would ride Daisy in the field bareback with only her bridle until the sun went down while grandpa watched. If I felt particularly passionate about anything at school I don’t remember much of what it was. I do however remember one day, memorizing the verses to the Twelfth Night, when I really wanted the part of Titania. I sat on the hill outside the farmhouse and huddled under my winter coat, sitting in the snowbank. I recited the words again and again until I was sure I would get the part. No distractions, no computer, no TV. I got the part. It’s amazing what one is capable of given the right environment, free of useless distractions.

Yesterday my worst nightmare finally came true. We were in a deep sleep when all of a sudden I was sitting upright, heart pounding, earth shaking VIOLENTLY under me. It only lasted a minute, but in that minute I felt intense dread, fear of the end, and the knowledge that at least the person I loved was next to me, holding my hand and looking into my eyes. It may just be the recent earthquakes that have occurred around the globe, but it has really hit home that I live in a really active seismic zone and I don’t like it one bit. Crouched under the desk with Mike laying alongside the bed, I grabbed my cellphone sure that the roof above me would cave in. So, today is a day for celebrating, for being thankful.

First, I want to be thankful for my boyfriend who did exactly what I would want someone to do in that situation.

Second, I want to be thankful for life.

Third, I want to be thankful to Taiwan for taking care of me and building to code. In another time, in another place, structures might have crumbled and fell. But not here. Despite my occasional grievances, Taiwan never fails to impress me on most average days. But it especially impressed me yesterday.

If I do fail, I’ll become a student of Chinese, and I vow to practice every day. I’ll ride a motorcycle with ‘badass’ leather jacket and every day I’ll continue to learn this language and travel this land. Because it appears on pictograms, in caves, in beautiful writing. You have no idea where the inspiration comes in but you continue to learn. You try and try but still sometimes the people don’t understand. Your family…  it’s especially hard to make them understand.  But yet, it’s there, you’re trying. And you’re okay with that choice…

Over a game of Catan my friend who is leaving in a week said that she had experienced a day full of ‘firsts’ in Taiwan, despite living here for several years. First time in the Tower 85, first time eating NY pizza, and first time drinking Heinekin Green tea.

That brought me to think of everything I’ve accomplished here and how much there still is to learn, about any place, language or culture. I’m still making new discoveries every day. So I decided to make a list of my 10 Great Discoveries of 2010. Everything I can think of that I’ve discovered in the first month of my second year of living in Kaohsiung.

1. On Mincheng Rd. there is a European-style restaurant called The Little Green which serves incredible Belgian Ale and smoked salmon with capers served on onions. Pure heaven. The best discovery of the month, by far and also walking distance from our house.

2.The Yoga House. Best place for yoga in Kaohsiung (except for with Emily and the roof on Monkey Mountain).

3. It took me two years but I finally asked and recieved a VIP card for the gas station.

4. The Artists district in Tainan (this is my name for it, not any official name). It’s not far from Anping Day Market and Mincyuan Rd. An underground shopping center was deemed unsafe because of flooding from the river, and so ten years later several artists bought the area turning it into an outdoor art exhibit. Dilapidated buildings are turned into blueprints, historic records and outdoor bars and cafes. Amazing!

5.  I’ve now tried Heinekin Green Tea! Yes, I finally tried it after two years, and have been sharing it ever since.

6. The Do It Yourself Store right near Hanshin Department store is amazing. Who knew jewelery would be so cheap to make yourself? And that it could possibly be cheaper than Taiwan store prices?!

7. You are able to park for free (by donation) at the Buddhist Temple across from the old Hanshin. Forever I’d been trying to find parking there on a weekend. What a great discovery!

8. Apples to Apples is a great game! I could play it for hours with the right people.

9. In Taiwan, they have several different words for socks/stockings/leggings similar to the way they measure the sugar in your tea. In tea you can have no sugar or choose 3,5,7, or regular sugar. With any kind of sock or stocking the numbers represent where they hit your leg.

10. Poinsettas are native in Taiwan and mine is still going strong two months later!

It all began when we mentioned that our couches were falling apart….

Repairs and refurnishings are common requests in Taiwan, but foreigners often don’t ask for enough. Taiwanese people aren’t shy about making their needs heard, so why should we be? In Western culture, the reality is that we need to become better negotiators and bargainers. One of the ways we can do this is to open our mind in regards to language.  For example if you come to Taiwan with no intention of learning Chinese, you’re setting yourself up to be taken advantage of. It took me six months to even start learning more than numbers, but when I did it opened my eyes. It takes a little bit of effort and a lot of practice, but we can do it. After all Chinese and English are very different languages – and yet so many people who can speak Mandarin as their first language can speak English. Why not the other way around? Writing is a whole other category, but speaking? Anyone with good intentions can do it. And why not? We will get so much more out of our experience in Taiwan. But I digress…

We must learn to have the same expectations as the Taiwanese/Chinese in regards to service here in Taiwan, or risk losing out. That’s why we thought it would be a good idea to ask our landlord to help us reupholster our couches this year since they were already quite old when we first moved in. In North America it’s very easy to settle for the same old, same old – or even settle for less. So why don’t we demand more for our money? I have a few theories on this.

1> It’s just not the way we were brought up.

2> We’re bred to forgive and forget.

3> We divorce more than we change banks. It’s just not a priority.

4> It’s just a hassle to do all the paper work.

With that said, bureaucracy has in some ways ruined the willingness to pick up and take business elsewhere. However I know a few people in Taiwan who have done just that. Every foreigner who is here in in some regards frustrated and exasperated with the way things are at home. High taxes for Canadians, lack of medical care for Americans. There is a whole subculture of young people who are just plain tired of it. And let me get this straight. Living abroad sucks in terms of being near those you love (you aren’t) and in terms of saving money (too much to tempt you, too much to miss out on, unless you want to sap all the enjoyment out of life and sit at home all day watching TV) and in terms of living with comfort (no place to put your stuff half the time, or spending all your money to send stuff home.)

BUT….and there is a huge BUT. Why? Why do people leave, and stay in a whole other world? I don’t care what people say about globalization. Taiwan and Canada are really really really far apart. So why would anyone move there voluntarily?

1> Personal development. Everyday life can be so boring. You get a job, you settle. Have kids. Work to meet ends. When do you get to grow as a person and make enough money with the cost of living to support that growth? In Canada I would never be able to afford yoga classes, a decent apartment, or Chinese lessons unless I went back to school and paid thousands of dollars or worked my butt off for ten years missing the best days of my life at a boring job!!!

2> Adventure. Since when did life become so boring? Computers are great and all, but I’m talking about real passion. Desire to thrive. Desire to create and foster that growth. What happened to that?

3> Interpersonal connection. I’m talking about relationships developed through common goals. Through acting and being in a similar situation. Relationships that grow over time and experience. This is what people are lacking and desire. Instead, we might stay in our comfort zone and reign in the passion that resides in us.

So back to my story about our couches.

The story ends like this. Two men walk out of the apartment, three couches in tow. Our landlord announces, “This is temporary.” (duh) “They will be ready in two weeks.”

“Okay.” WAIT. “Two weeks?”

Despite living here for two years, speaking a bit of the language, and trying my best to understand…I still just don’t.

(The landlord walking out the door. Me and my boyfriend, who isn’t even from the same country as me looking at each other in shock. The thoughts entering and simultaneously leaving our head. “Where are we going to sit for two weeks? If the couches aren’t back for Christmas, where will our twenty guests sit?” And thinking we were so smart by getting reupholstered furniture free of cost after bargaining with the landlord, it ultimately ends up in one BIG MASSIVE UNFORESEEN translation error. As so many things do.)

But personally, despite my boyfriend’s anger at the situation, I secretly hope that the couches don’t come back. A Christmas on the floor, spent sitting on pillows is exactly what we need. To remind us that our basic needs our met; we have come so far; and that this is still a culture we are trying to understand every day –

and most of all that we may never do so.

Despite what some may think, the foreigner population isn’t entirely dominated by white people here in the big KH City. My cleaning ladies and my Chinese tutor are Phillipino. One of our favorite Vietnamese restaurants is owned by locals from there on Chishan Island.

And as of late, I’ve been exploring the local Thai massage place with my yoga teacher. I’d been going there for a while but it’s fallen under new management. It’s the cheapest place in town at $590NT for 90 minutes. That’s about $18 CAD, my friends. That means it’s a cheap alternative to a Friday night eating out or going to the pub for a pint! The best part about Thai massage in Taiwan is it’s randomness. The women who work there get a huge kick out of us. They ask us sooo many questions in Chinese which is funny because they also have a Thai accent, which I think makes me feel more comfortable speaking to them in Chinese as well. For example, my yoga teacher came in wearing a T-Shirt that said “Stupid” in Thai, and it was all the rage. So was my “Angkor, What?” T-Shirt, that I got from the expat bar in Siem Reap, Cambodia. These alone led to sooo many questions.

“How long did you go there?” Two weeks.

“Do you like it there? Do you like Taiwan?” Yes. Yes.

“How old are you?” 26.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” Yes.

“Where is he from?” USA.

“Where are you from?” Canada.

“You like coming to this place for a massage?” Yes. Yes.

“Do you feel any pain right now.” Ummm…

“What is ‘pain’ in English?” Pain. Hurt. Ow.

I digress…

I’ve hired a private Chinese tutor here, to help me at least try to practice more. Whether I’ll ever learn the writing and speaking that I feel I should learn is another issue, but the point is I’m trying. The days pass and fall turns into winter which means I’m wearing a fleecy vest in a cool 21 degree breeze while driving my scooter up and down Bo-Ai Road to and from work. My days are spent decorating: the school, the apartment… and practicing for Christmas dinner. Trying to get all the ingredients I need for shortbread and gingerbread cookies is a task in itself. But this year, it’s a full fledge Christmas in Taiwan. The first Christmas I spent away was a big deal…. well because it was the first. But after being home last year and seeing my family this summer I think I’m okay staying here. It’s more like home. Sort of.