Taiwan One Month

i've actually been sick for the majority of the time that i've been here, but that hasnt kept me from going out at all..which in hindsight, is what i guess is keeping me sick.

things that happened this month:
1. saw a taiwanese doctor! he sat me down in a chair..kinda like a dentist's chair, and looked down my throat (normal) and up my nose (wasn't expecting that). then, he takes one of those long q-tips, a cotton swab on a wooden skewer, and tells me that he's going to put medicine on the infected areas.
...
he sticks the qtip UP my nose.
there's this pretty dirty pick up line i recently heard: i wanna feel your bellybutton..from the inside.
well, this doctor felt my face...from the inside...and it definitely is an experience i never want to have again.

2. rode the taiwanese metro! it's cleaner than japan's..if you can believe that. there are also less routes, so riding it is a lot simpler than riding the japanese system.

3. i miss the diversity that we have at home. there are asian faces here, and occasionally white faces, but that's it. i don't like that my english school asks specifically for a north american accent, yet, as far as i know, hasn't hired any other non-white applicants. according to the man who interviewed me, they're extremely careful about hiring ABC's as well. ABC is almost a dirty word here, actually. the interviewer claimed that he was proud that the company hires people from new zealand, south africa, australia, UK, Canada, etc...because those places arent typically thought of as english speaking nations...definitely not as american-accent nations...but he claimed that that was diversity..that the company was changing how taiwanese people saw the world. now that's great...but i think hiring some black people or latin american people or indian people or other asians from those areas would "teach" the taiwanese people even more.

4. cooked my first real meal today! a fit end to my first month here.

5. went to my branch and started teaching english! well, that's just my job description..i'm not sure how much the kids actually learn. they're little english reading robots. the people at my branch are really nice. i'm the only female NST (native speaking teacher) at my branch. the other four NST's are boys. the girl boy NST ratio here is about 1:5...or 1:4 i would say. my roommate says that makes us hot commodities.

6. spent my first chinese new year in Asia! EVERYTHING closes down - food stands, restaurants, stores, banks, doctors etc. people go back to their 地元 and spend time with their families. it's like an eating marathon. then, for the whole week that chinese new year goes on, all of the prices are higher. the cabbies automatically add 85NT to each fare, haircuts cost more, etc. since most stores are closed, people scramble to scenic areas to catch a glimpse of nature. there isnt much green here at all..it makes me miss home, and 都留。

7. the zoo in taipei got pandas! people spend four hours in line to see the pandas for five minutes.

8. watched a lot of the L word. never seen so many boobs in my life.

25 random facts

1. i love kacey.
2. i love kheng.
3. i love krysta.
4. i love keiko.
5. i love janjon.
6. i love cheryl.
7. i love frances.
8. i love vanlin.
9. i love rupa.
10. i love alexandra.
11. i'm scared of strangers, especially if they're guys.
12. if i can, i will forgo eating in favor of drinking alcohol.
13. i bless farts and burps, but only rarely do i bless sneezes.
14. if i'm drunk, i sleep naked. if i'm fucked up, i sleep with all my clothes on.
15. i love japanese dramas.
16. my life is driven by my stomach.
17. i believe talent is infinitely more attractive than good looks.
18. i despise people who don't think of the needs of others before their own.
19. i've been to canada, switzerland, italy, japan, and china, but i've never been to mexico.
20. the more time i spend abroad, the more i think of myself as american.
21. my favorite food is rice.
22. i only believe in ghosts when i'm alone.
23. if i dislike someone enough, i want to vomit when i see them.
24. if i like someone enough, i want to kiss them when i see them.
25. the memorable moments of my life have nothing to do with success, failure or alcohol. they're simply moments in which i remember that i am alive.

culture shock? what culture shock?

being in japan made me realize that i'm not japanese. that's fine. that makes sense.

being in taiwan makes me realize that i'm not taiwanese...even though...i am. and that hurts a lot more than the realization that i'm not japanese.

BUT.

being able to fight with my mom while we're both halfway around the world, away from home and celebrating chinese new year, shows me that i can be at home no matter where the hell i am.

TAIWAN

so, if any of you people want to come to Taiwan, the apartment i'm in has more than enough space to accomodate ALL of you. so COME.

i got pretty sick, actually, a couple of days after i arrived....so i'm pretty drugged up and tired.

i got back from work today and just sat on the couch in our new apartment, chillin, like i would normally do anywhere else, and all of a sudden i just felt so homesick.

like, i wanted to cry.

i havent felt this way since i've had to break up with a boyfriend.

and it isn't just homesick, because i'm used to not being at home..i feel no desire to be in Japan or America or California or Palo Alto or SF or LA...

i just really really want to be with all of YOU.

it's amazing. the friends i've made in the past year have impacted my life so much more than i could have thought possible.


it sucks that you guys arent here with me, and that i'm not wherever you all are.

you got your man set-up.

now all you gotta do is demo do and wrap up.

tofu flower

our practical assessment test is tomorrow! we need to give demo lessons to an observer.


...i'm having a lot of trouble with it, actually.

so i got something after dinner to cheer myself up.



it's tofu flower soup in sweet syrup with tapioca pearls!

yup.

everyone in taiwan is really nice :D.
we ate at a street vendor's today, and they explained the menu to me haha.

I CANT READ CHINESE MENUS

i got all my medical tests done!! i think the company is paying for them, so i'm happy.
i got blood drawn for the first time! i also got a chest xray for the first time!
it was weird to see my own blood pump into the vial. when i connected what was happening with the visual i got a little queasy.


but i got over it!


yeah that's right i'm a fighter. christina aguilera would be proud.

anyways..
my cousin took me out after last night after training, and guess what i found out!

THE TITLE OF THIS ENTRY!

his girlfriend just ended up ordering something for all of us so it didnt really matter.

it was really cool too..i wish i had pictures.

we sat at a square table that had a pit in the center of it, and the waiter lowered a broth-filled urn-pot with live coals underneath it into the pit. it felt like hot pot the way my ancestors would have eaten it!

actually wait my ancestors are probably from China.

but oh well they probably did it too!

the broth was filled with chinese medicines, so it felt extremely healthy. the herbs and roots probably counteracted all of the grease that was floating at the top.

OH WAIT WAIT WAIT. I FOUND OUT A WAY TO GIVE A VISUAL!

So, imagine that the trash can is the urn-pot (just the pot would have been fatter with handles), and that the suitcase is the fire beneath it. YEAH!


Now, imagine that this was our table! actually, our table wasn't much bigger than this. i had trouble fitting.
NOW, put the two together!!!!! (just imagine the trash can is under the table and poking out through a hole in the center of the stool.)


TA DA! there you have it! that was more or less my dinner last night!


oh fun fact:
you can't flush toilet paper/toilet cover seats in taiwan cuz the pipes are too narrow. you have to throw it out in the small trash can in the bathroom stall.

AND
taiwanese are more anal about garbage than japanese. IF you can believe it.


...which is weird cuz Taiwan is a bit dirtier than japan. must be the pollution.

JET LAG INSANITY

i am in taiwannnnnnnnnnnnn, in a hotel room....and i cant sleep.


sooo i've just been listening to random music on youtube and dancing around.

there's a mirror on the desk right behind my computer. it's pretty distracting. i keep staring at myself and making faces.



ummm.

here:
these are fruits that are indigenous to taiwan! they're pretty tasty.















i'm missing a lot of paperwork, so i'm kinda worried.

otherwise, it's just really humid here.

yup yup yup yup.

OH there are FAMILY MARTS here!!! i walked into one in thought of japan and how much i want to go back. they have nikuman in the cases and everything. and even the same ocha that we would drink.
aaaah　なつかしい

it's funny cuz, even though i'm in Taiwan...i'm really just ONLINE in taiwan.

so no matter where i go...i'm kinda still in the same place.

oi, to be a hermit.

the worldwide web is HOME!

it's raining right now

i'm leaving for the airport in 6 hours, and boarding the plane in 3.

i had written this long-ass thing before about regret and then decided it was too retarded and poorly written to post.

suffice it to say, i don't exactly feel good about this, and i'm going into it with ridiculously low expectations.

well then, for the new year, i guess there's no place to go but up.


that's my dad. "it's 8, i have to go feed the pigeons."
it's weird, cuz we've had pigeons for longer than we've had our dog, but i think this is the first time i've ever heard him say that.

daily routines that i never even thought about are what i'm leaving behind now.