Turnaround

My attitude toward Taiwan has completely and utterly changed. I’ve now watched many people come and go – some stay less than a month! They wonder why I stay but I can fully tell them now the reasons and what they are, whereas before I really couldn’t answer that question.

Firstly, I actually like my job. Half of my job right now is teaching students in classes I actually like because I started teaching them from scratch and I spend more than one day a week with them. I know exactly where their strengths and weaknesses lie. The other half of my job is in conjunction with my work (Genius in Kaohsiung) and the Kaohsiung government. I teach local businesses English classes (adults) and then I go to visit the businesses and evaluate them on their English skills for the World Games. As such, I can have the power to give them a rating of 3-5 stars, just like evaluating a hotel or whatnot. Not only that, the random photos mean that I will probably end up in more than one tourist guide in the future for the World Games or Kaohsiung! I don’t really mind. I have also kept one of my A+ private students and I like going to local businesses and talking with them, or also accepting jobs editing their menus. It’s a great opportunity, and definitely fits more the picture of what I would be doing here and what I could put on a resume for the future.

Aside from work (which is huge!) I am also hoping to accomplish a few other things while I’m here. One is to get my scuba certification (finally!) and the other is to travel the trans-Siberian railway before I leave.

Some people have asked me in the past, after travelling so much, what is the most beautiful sight or country I’ve ever seen. Before it was definitely a toss-up. Do I answer ‘Canada’ my home country? Do I mention the beauty of Spain, or the mountains and slow life of Slovenia? Now I would have to say in answer to this question:

The most beautiful image in my mind, that stands out above all others is this:

December 2008, on a plane, somewhere between sleep and awareness. Somewhere between awake and dreaming. Looking out a 10×10 inch window at the scene below. Watching an iceberg break away. Looking down at the brightness of the light over the Arctic and Siberia. Seeing nothing, absolutely nothing below except the bluest blue and the whitest white. That is the most beautiful image that stands out in my mind, and I hope that one day I can see it up close – as in less than 30,000 feet. It’s going to happen within the next two years, and hopefully it will happen with the person I love.

The New School

I have to say to everyone who’s been following, I love my new job! I get my own classroom! I get to keep my things in my room and also choose what songs I get to sing and bring to my boss what I think will be beneficial to my own students. It’s really incredible when you bring an idea to someone and they actually take it seriously, and you are part of real change! I’m not saying everything in Taiwan is perfect, because sometimes I really don’t get the Asian style of workplace (sacrifice work for personal life). But if I AM going to sacrifice work for personal life at all it might as well be in a way that I’m okay with (no weekends!) and in a way that I can actually influence, such as pace of the curriculum and choice of how long to spend on each section of the book etc etc.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m a born teacher. I thought journalism was the path for me, and I think that in a way it was (writing) but teaching is where I also feel confidence and happiness. I totally love baking banana bread for the class I have four days a week and decorating my own classroom. My boss (the owner of Genius) even came into my classroom the other day and took a picture of my blackboard because he really liked it, and I was so flattered and felt so appreciated. The way of working isn’t that much different but the amount of faith in the foreign teacher is much more and I love feeling like someone takes my opinion into consideration!

I have to say, Taiwan isn’t really easy. The workplace is aggressive, the expectations are high and the business model is entirely different than what we’re used to in North American society. The roundabout ways of asking for unpaid favours are still something worth considering when moving to Asia or Taiwan and I still think that the United States/Canadian way of doing things is way better, but that’s my ethnocentric attitude kicking in and I still think that Taiwan is entirely advanced for it’s era and Asia is progressing at a more rapid pace than we all realize. I feel that now I am not spending 2 hours a night on grading homework I’m a much more effective teacher and I can do those extra little things like bake for my class (totally my own doing!) or burn them a CD with North American music on it. I feel like I have extreme impact on these children, to the point where they are like my own. I really love it. Taiwan feels like more home than ever and I don’t regret coming here and spending two years here at all. In fact, it was a great choice.

To those considering coming to Taiwan, what I would say is you need to consider your real reasons for coming. Are you really interested in Taiwanese culture and language and knowledge? Are you willing to travel way beyond your comfort zone? Go to Taiwanese-style markets and find out where the real hotspots are? If the answer is yes, I would definitely recommend this country as an up-and-comer! I hope it continues to grow and progress through the World Games and grow to be what it should be. I think if I left and came back in 20 years I wouldn’t recognize this city at all.

Money

Today I learned:

Each culture is distinguishable in the way that they count money. In the West, money is counted as though gently separating the individual cards from a deck one bill at a time. In Taiwan, money is placed in the palm of a hand all together as though trying to hide it and each top edge of the bill is pulled upward toward the face revealing the next. Another way – used in Pakistan by the man who owns a burrito stand in the center of Kaohsiung City is to place the money sideways on the palm all together and count each bill pulling it away. How did the language of money counting take such subtle but different shapes in each part of the world?

Back in the Saddle

Oh my gosh. I’m back in Taiwan for yet another year. It’s 10:30 p.m. on a Monday night and I’ve just had my first two-day weekend ever (discluding holidays and going back to Canada) and I’m pretty much loving it. I don’t have to wake up at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday? What? Are you serious? So are the joys of no longer working with Hess. Hess works for some people, but it wasn’t a good match for me. When I meet people out at bars and pubs who work for Hess, I’ve joined the crowd who shrugs in pity, doesn’t know what to say and just nods and smiles knowingly. But that’s not me anymore. Thank the Chinese GODS, we can rejoice!!!! REJJJOICE!

After being home and seeing the state of things (recession, empty stores, bar fights) I’m actually pretty thankful to be living in Taiwan. First of all it’s peaceful. There are very few times when I’ve felt in danger here. Secondly, I missed my cleaning ladies. And, there are so many other, more obscure reasons for missing Taiwan. I feel like now I should make a list. I shall title this list “Why Taiwan Rocks!”

1> Scootering = freedom. I LOVE my scooter. I LOVE exploring on it!!!

2> FLOWERS!!! (orchids!) I went out today and bought 12 plants for less than $10 CAD. What more can I say? My apartment smells pretty!

3> The weather… it’s 20-25 degrees, and in Canada it’s -20. Enough said!

4> My brain is exercised: part of me doesn’t want to think in Chinese anymore because I’m lazy and it’s easier, but the other part is excited to learn new phrases and keep practicing this complex language. Today, I learned how to ask if my plants needed full or half sun! Awesome!

5> Kenting. What and awesome place. Not many places you can have a white, sandy beach to yourself in January and go swimming/surfing to boot.

6> My apartment. OMG my apartment rocks. In the words of my cousin, “This apartment makes me never want to leave!”

7> Watching a ‘third world’ country develop before your eyes. This is an unmeasurable experience that you can only live through.

8> Cheap, beautiful shoes! I love my Macanna shoes with polka dots. Can’t find those back home…

9>Slow and enjoyable lifestyle. No more Saturdays=no more stress. Loving it! Also love my cleaning ladies! And massages…and hair styling on a Saturday afternoon!

10> World Games. Can’t wait to watch this city go through the World Games. Hope my boyfriend’s work with the Games will get us some cheap or free tickets!

That’s my list of top ten things about Taiwan (in particularKaohsiung!). It rocks! Hope you can come visit here soon, because it’s well worth it!

Everybody’s having a Baby!

Well I guess this is what happens when you go travelling ‘at my age’ of soon-to-be 25. You leave, and everything is normal. You come back and all of a sudden, everyone is pregnant or just had a baby. The list of friends/family is up to four. It seems like a lot when the number was previously zero. Not only that, there seems to be an extreme number of friends/family members getting married all of a sudden. And to foreigners. What’s up with that? I somehow doubt I’ll be joining that club anytime soon. I’m kinda happy just living in limbo here in Taiwan with my American boyfriend and pretending to myself that everything is the same. And shopping. And getting my hair done. And buying $6 shoes. And still figuring out what I’m going to do with my life. And listening to some gay guy tell me I should reproduce as soon as possible because the future of acceptance of gay rights depends on educated people reproducing as much as possible. hmmm. It’s nice. Will I wake up one day and realize that I’m beyond the motherly age? Will my maternal instincts ever kick in? Will I ever decide to live in one place? The question remains….

The Finish Line

Ten working days left with Hess! Have I shown too much enthusiasm? That’s me trying to be subtle but optimistic because I don’t want to work every Saturday of my life in Taiwan or continue working for such a large company ever again in my life.

When people ask me if I would recommend working for Hess, I still don’t know what to say. Do I tell them everything I went through, all the illegalities, all the laws  broken, all the promises not fulfilled? Well the answer is no I shouldn’t focus on the stupid things. I’ve learned a lot here. And I’m not yet that bitter “been in Taiwan too long” person who wants to complain or dwell on these things. Hmm.

Actually, my classes were amazing and I will miss them dearly. One of my students even cried when I said I was leaving. The problem is that with over 20 students in ten different classes, playing effective games and not being able to check all books or focus on students who were having problems (behavioural and intelligence problems) made me feel somehow like less of a teacher. And then on top of that, passing those students who had problems when their averages were at the bottom of the barrel, just because their parents wanted them to continue to a higher level… ridiculous. As a teacher at Hess, the training was all right, I made some good friends, I recieved a very narrow introduction to Taiwan, but I also made some hard choices about my attitude there which I felt at the time was justified. Hess is all about business and the bottom line.

I think many places in Taiwan are like that.

But I’ve learned a few things in Taiwan, and one of the first things is that I will never EVER again work for a large company, EVER. If you, like many, came to Taiwan to escape the fast-pace of Western society, working at Hess (or maybe even in Taiwan) is not for you. You are just working for another big company, in a different part of the world. In fact, if I wake up in ten years and read this post, and I’m working for a large company in some annonymous cubicle where no one says hi or acknowledges my hard work and persistance, someone please knock on my door and kick me in the head, (mom, dad) because I will forevermore be doomed to another spoke in the wheel, another rat climbing to the top in hopes that if I stick it out long enough, it will all be worthwhile, I’ll get a payraise or promotion (that no one else wants) and I’ll make a name for myself in my tiny, narrow, one-coloured cage. HA! I’m NOT bitter!

So anyway, it’s not surprising that with this negative “employee of the month” attitude, I’m switching to a more regional organization. What one you ask? Sure I don’t mind sharing. I’m going to be working at Genius, in Kaohsiung. They are transferring my ARC (when people at Hess who shall remain anonymous told me that wasn’t possible) and I won’t have to leave the country or really do anything ridiculous except hand them my taxes – which will of course come at the last second - and health check and two ARC-sized photos.

So anyhoo, how do I know it’s going to be okay? Well first-off, this company is only based in Kaohsiung and you can actually see the people who give you a pay-raise, bonus, or handle your documents on a regular basis. Second, my boyfriend already works at a branch of this company and they offer more block-hours, no co-teacher (it’s better after you have some experience, really to have control over your own class), the kids are more conversational, and they are opening a new school that I’ll be able to have my say in and hopefully help out in my own way. Also, my documents haven’t taken one or two or three or five weeks (yes, once it was five weeks to change my address). They are ready almost immediately. Taxes are given well before you finish your contract so you don’t have to ‘get a friend’ to do it for you. Why can a smaller company do this, and Hess can’t? I have no idea, honestly!

 Also, the racial issue. The company I’m moving to hires people of many different races, and doesn’t discrimminate according to your accent. That to me, means more than anything. You could pay me a dollar an hour and I’d still take that job over one that hired “only white North American speakers.” I’m not saying Hess is COMPLETELY like that, however the company does have it’s preferences and those are clearly stated in interviews. I know one or two who have quit when parents or bosses complained of their accents, and they took the situation a lot better than I would have, that’s for sure.

Anyway, if anyone is still interested in this company after reading this post, I say do what’s best for you. This job suits people who want security, initial training, low-risk travel, possible long-term advancement with low pay and some sort of guidance. It does not suit all.

On the other hand, while working for Hess, I have done the following things:

*Been able to share a once-in-a-lifetime experience with my love.

*Completed 99.9% of a TEFL certificate (which isn’t ‘real’) that will never be given to me because I missed 2 hours of a training due to passport issues (again, NOT bitter)

*Travelled most of Taiwan: Tainan, Ping Dong, Hualien and all the East Coast, Sun Moon Lake, Kenting, Jaliashuei, Taichung, Taipei, Taitung, Alishan, Taroko etc etc.

*Learned how to surf

*Met a handful of exceptional people

*Completed a beginner level Chinese University Course

*Worked legally and otherwise

*Written for a local magazine

*Watched Barack Obama become the first ‘black’ president and educated my students about racial and gay rights

*Taught my students that Hollywood is not in New York

*Been important to at least a few kids

*Considered teaching as a career

*Dreamed of freelance writing next year when my mind is more at ease

*Missed my family, but still wanted to come back to Taiwan to “do it again” for year 2

And that’s all I’m gonna say about that. Hopefully Year 2 will offer something more on the career front, and just as much on the emotional front.

Happy Travels and Learning!

Hit by a car again

It’s been four years since my England incident of being hit by a car. Well, apparently October is just a bad month for me and being hit by cars because it’s happened again, four years down the road, and again, in another country.

It’s actually kind of complicated how it happened. It was at a ’sort of’ intersection where there was a light however the only place to go was into a parking lot. There was a sign saying no left turns for trucks (or so it looked like) and suddenly a car turned left right in front of me and really quickly out of nowhere. I slammed on my brake and so did he, but I still slammed right into the side of a big nice looking van, leaving two massive dent marks. He stopped, offered me money, which I refused because I really didn’t get what had happened and well, I was okay and my scooter was okay. (except for a big scratch complete with white paint marks on the side). Since he wanted to give me money I’m pretty sure it was his fault or maybe he didn’t have a license but it’s hard to say because everything happened so fast!

But even if it was, at least he didn’t a> yell at me and try to take advantage of my being a foreigner or b> drive away which is what happens here a LOT of the time. Because of that, I didn’t ask for money because well I don’t think he hit me on purpose and even if he didn’t obey a road sign, I also don’t obey road signs all the time and pretty much nobody in Taiwan does…so I guess I can just say that karma will take care of it. My parents will probably say I’ve been spending too much time in yoga class. Oh well! There’s one more thankful driver out there.

Sticking it Out

Here I am, with six weeks left to go in my Hess contract. Wow! Actually, I will really miss the students, but I won’t miss working on Saturdays and a few other things…haha. More on that later, but for now, a little post to update everyone on mon vie!

To balance out the exhaustion and frustration of work, I’ve turned once again to cooking every night to make sure that I can immediately focus on something instead of being annoyed when I get home. Eating in Taiwan is hard, but now that I have a solid Chinese ordering-food ability, it’s getting a bit better by the day. But even so, I usually like to cook at home. I think it would be that way no matter where in the world I was. I have learned some interesting cooking tips here from Taiwanese friends, and I can cook a mean Chinese-style stir fry. But I miss Western food, and especially cottage cheese. I was thinking about making lasagna today (for the first time in almost a year!) and trying to figure out the logistics of it all. Where to find lasagne noodles? Where to find cottage cheese? These are the things that keep me sane!

Along with that, I have been taking yoga class once or twice a week. In so many ways, I think yoga has healed me and made me a nicer person to be around during the week. Let me tell you about my yoga instructor! She is also an English teacher, from Vancouver, but she is one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met, even though I don’t really know her that well. She always seems happy, balanced, and ready to start the day. She trained in Thailand to be a yoga teacher, and for whatever reason just decided to teach in Taiwan and open her own yoga studio. I love going to class!

That’s what I like about Taiwan. The things that were possible to do on your own many many years ago are very possible here for a young person without much worry. And if you have a service to provide, the foreigners are more than financially able to support it. Wanna open your own bar? Go for it! Your own school, private business, hostel, yoga studio, organic food business? No bureaucracy or stupid rules to go along with. Not that there aren’t downsides to that, but anyway it’s a lot easier! I’m sure if I had more time and the will, I could subsist here only on private students or some other means. However, schedules like that also have their downsides in terms of travel.

In other news, I’ve taken up another new hobby…. Surfing! For a while now, I’ve been traveling to a city on the East coast called Jaliashuei. It’s a beautiful little town, straight off a postcard from Greece (minus the white sandy beaches) and it’s my new favorite place in Taiwan. The people are chill, the atmosphere is nice and it’s a great getaway, only a few hours from Kaohsiung. This weekend was “Double Tenth” weekend, a holiday in Taiwan…can’t remember exactly what’s it’s for but I had three days off anyway and that was awesome! I really like watersports so it’s only natural that surfing has become near and dear to me. Why don’t we have bigger waves in mainland Canada? So unfair!

Well…these are all the random bits of life in Taiwan. Not mentioning the random jobs, the strange people, the weird food and the noise of the garbage truck outside my door. The biggie is that I’m staying here at least until next summer. I like it here. This is the life people should be able to live. Not making too much money, but making enough to get by and do what you really really want. Not too worried about food or living expenses. Not to worried about work or school or cleaning or anything else because life is easy and there is time to enjoy. But unfortunately I had to move halfway across the world to find that…and unfortunately the local people here do not enjoy the same privileges we do. We are very much the supporters of local businesses, of cleaning ladies, of hair dressers, of Thai massage companies or noodle stands. And we are the service-providers of schools, for middle to upper class children, and the sources of information to people about Western culture and ideals. The observers of the bad diets and parenting and unhealthy lifestyle Western culture has also brought to this place. It’s not made to last, but it is made to learn from!

Racism in Taiwan and the ROC

This is a topic I’ve wanted to write about for some time. But today in the Globe and Mail, one article just pushed me over the edge of anger.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080718.wchina19/BNStory/International/home

The article accuses the Beijing government/police/CCP of ordering local bars to restrict access in bars to black people and Mongolians. As in, they will not be allowed in bars during this time. I’ve had it with hearing stories like this. I have to say that although Taiwan is slightly more accepting of ethnic minorities (I’m talking about anyone with dark skin here) this country has a long way to go.

Here is a recent example. A ‘friend of mine’ works at a job where a new foreign speaker was entering the workplace in a week. She had met the new person but the Taiwanese boss had not, and so the boss asked what this person looked like. My ‘friend’s’ response was that he had “curly dark hair, glasses, kinda tall…”

The boss’s response? “He isn’t black is he?”

Just one example of the attitude here. It’s really unfortunate and I think it’s just disgusting. How can a country with such a regimented education system simply neglect to teach its students about basic things such as racism and social awareness of different cultures? Many Taiwanese are not in fact of ‘Chinese’ decent but they are of Aboriginal, Portugese/Chinese/Japanese background given all the occupations of Taiwan in the past. As well, the Chinese people here with darker skin depending on those backgrounds are routinely discriminated against.

I want to say that on for a country like China that wants to be a global leader and set an example during the Olympic Games to discriminate against people with darker skin…it’s despicable. Not least among those reasons is the blatantly obvious one that people from countries all around the world – athletes, fans, supporters, coaches, business people will all be watching and many of them will not be white. What if they want to go into a restaurant or bar?

Why aren’t people rallying against this more? I’m also disappointed in Taiwan. For a country that considers itself more democratic than China, I still see many advertisements on mailing lists for a “North American” speaker who is NOT Chinese looking and ‘looks’ North American. Or others that ask the teacher to be female, or under 40 or a plethora of other criteria that basically make me not want to work for that school or company ever.

Quite frankly, it’s sad for me because let’s say it simply, I’m in the minority here in Taiwan. I get treated very well because of what I look and speak like. Not only am I female (and many teachers here are male) I am white, and I have a North American accent. But goodness…if you have an Australian, British, New Zealand, or South African accent you face discrimination when it comes to obtaining private students and also at work where you might be taken advantage of (namely asked and be required to do additional work) and also paid less.

I won’t even get into the recent rumour of the time an ‘anonymous’ company hired a ‘one-armed-man.’ What a dilemma that was…because really how can a person with one arm ever be a teacher?

Sigh….

Typhoon Season’s a Comin’

The season’s first typhoon is right south of us, and there’s no telling if it will hit or veer off in the next few days! I’ve had my share of very strange and very crazy weather since I got here. A few weeks ago, we were on the ferry coming back from Ciao Liuchiu Island when we saw a funnel cloud in the distance drop and then rise up again.

And last week, on the way to University, after raining for 36 hours straight (or something) we scootered right through a massive flood near the river and had to get off and push our bike as I tried to keep my flipflops from floating away down the road. Luckily the bike stalled but then started again. But I was shocked to see that the first floor of many houses was flooded and people were starting up the barricades. Another problem when this happens is the insects. All the cockroaches and ants from below try to find refuge in people’s houses and other places. So even if you do stay dry you have to deal with all the bugs, and also with the aftermath of sewage smell on the roads. It’s not pleasant but at least the pollution has subsided for now.

So what’s new? I’m learning Chinese conversation twice a week. In my class there is another Canadian but also two Americans, two Japanese and one guy from Peru. The whole class is in Chinese, so we really have to pay attention to understand what’s going on. I’m loving it though and learning the Chinese (buhpuhmuhphuh) phonetic alphabet to help me learn to read and write the characters. I’m not sure if I’ll keep it up writing and speaking classes next semester, but we’ll see how I like it and how I can maintain working and class together!

The other news is that we are moving to another apartment. It’s not that our apartment sucks, it’s just that after seven months here and having seen everyone else’s apartments in the similar price range, we are opting for a place that is more comfortable. We are taking over an apartment from another couple who have been here for four years. There is a ton of furniture and it gets a lot more light. It’s going to be a little more, but I don’t mind considering it has a more European style and just plain more comfort in it. I sure am getting settled into Taiwan life!

I don’t know how long I’ll be here still, and I have a lot of things to consider. Although I like my job okay I really can’t do another year of working weekends and that’s starting to become apparent to me. I also want to spend more time at home. And with Mike potentially applying to law school I could be back as early as one year from now depending on what happens. I think sometimes people don’t really get why I’m here. At first I didn’t really get it either, aside from the fact that my boyfriend came, and I love travel so why not?

But in the end there is more reason to be here than not. I am learning Chinese which is going to be incredibly valuable in the future, and I really think that this is the best thing for me now. The University Mike and I go to is dirt cheap compared to back home…but not only that it’s GORGEOUS. I don’t think I’ve exactly explained to people how gorgeous it is: I will try.

Basically you drive 20 minutes just to the edge of the ocean and halfway up a mountain. The University (Sun Yat Sen aka Jhongshan University) sits on the mountain. In class, I sometimes see monkeys playing when it’s not too hot. Also you can see really cool bugs that you don’t see in the city, like a spider larger than an average bar of soap. Also with the ocean view from the school, it’s just a better environment to learn.

After teaching, I’ve also become a far better student. Since I see my kids’ mistakes, I can also recognize what the grammar differences are between the languages and where you would have a hard time learning Chinese as a Westerner. For this reason, my speaking is much better than the people taking the class but not working in Taiwan. For example, in English we would say something like “May I go to the bathroom please?” But in Chinese the direct translation would be ” I can bathroom?” or something like that. Some things there ARE no direct translation. There is also no future and past tense. So in a way, if you are good with pictures and replicating sounds, this language is possible to learn. But definitely easier having lived here for seven months and listened to it at school, on TV etc. You get used to the sound. I find myself picking up more and more. During break time, I get my students to teach me a new word and I think soon I’ll be getting a lot better. Anyway, it’s going very well and I’m really enjoying learning just a bit of this language!

The other thing here that is new is that my second cousin Tara is back from China. Since she’s around my age, I have a new friend to visit on weekends. She is here only two months, but before she was here for three years and is planning on going to India in September. She lives in Tainan which is only 45 minutes away from here, so it’s nice to have some family close by. I really miss home a lot but there is so much here to keep me busy that I don’t have too much time to be sad anymore!