Sunday, February 22, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
omg i make no sense and im just confused right now bear with me
it's 7am and i can feel my breath congeal against my face mask. moist air on one side, pollution on the other.
having sex seems to mean so much more here than it does anywhere else.
a cabbie picks me up on the corner.
"i thought the foreigner would be getting in the car, too"
i shake my head no.
"he's your..." he prompts, but i know what he's thinking. my hair is disheveled, my eyes are bleary, i smell like alcohol.
i know what he is thinking. the people who had seen me on the curb had been thinking the same thing.
"he's my co-worker. i'm an english teacher."
but it's not true, what you're thinking, i go on, justifying my actions. it's commonplace in america, this type of thing. it's okay, because i'm american too, and this is what happens in America.
because i'm american too.
it doesn't matter that nothing happened last night. that he was a white boy who wanted to be jerked off, while i laid in bed next to him with all my clothes on.
the cabbie knows what happened.
he looks at my face.
"you speak chinese well. lots of ABC's, they come back, and they can't speak a word."
"thanks."
he looks at me in the rearview mirror again.
i look at him.
he speaks a few lines of taiwanese.
"you didn't understand what i just said?"
"no," i say. "didn't understand any of it at all."
having sex seems to mean so much more here than it does anywhere else.
a cabbie picks me up on the corner.
"i thought the foreigner would be getting in the car, too"
i shake my head no.
"he's your..." he prompts, but i know what he's thinking. my hair is disheveled, my eyes are bleary, i smell like alcohol.
i know what he is thinking. the people who had seen me on the curb had been thinking the same thing.
"he's my co-worker. i'm an english teacher."
but it's not true, what you're thinking, i go on, justifying my actions. it's commonplace in america, this type of thing. it's okay, because i'm american too, and this is what happens in America.
because i'm american too.
it doesn't matter that nothing happened last night. that he was a white boy who wanted to be jerked off, while i laid in bed next to him with all my clothes on.
the cabbie knows what happened.
he looks at my face.
"you speak chinese well. lots of ABC's, they come back, and they can't speak a word."
"thanks."
he looks at me in the rearview mirror again.
i look at him.
he speaks a few lines of taiwanese.
"you didn't understand what i just said?"
"no," i say. "didn't understand any of it at all."
Saturday, February 7, 2009
my apt
soo....this is my apt!
i sleep at the top of those stairs. it reminded me of japan, so i was really happy when my roomie and i decided to get this place. it even has the same dust bunnies as i would have in japan...plus it's a little bit less claustrophobic.
random though, i miss how japan smells.
anyways, the problem is that people just walk up those stairs whenever they want...i guess they dont realize it's my bedroom - they think of it more as an extension of the living room.
even though my bed is up there, and i'm up there in my pj's under the blankets, some people still go up there and try to talk to me.
what i need is a KEEP THE FUCK OUT UNLESS I'M TALKING TO YOU sign.
or, a door that i can close.
god i hate that my english sucks now. i cant express my thoughts the way i used to.
anyways.
shower curtain, maybe?
Thursday, February 5, 2009
stray dogs are SCARY at night. they form packs in the outdoor markets, where all the vendors leave their tables. i was jogging, and all of a sudden i hear all this barking, and a couple of them ran right up to me and started growling at me. i felt like they were going to bite my legs.
on a side note...
food gives me a buzz now.
alcohol does not.
on a side note...
food gives me a buzz now.
alcohol does not.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
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.
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.
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