Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Transitions and Translations


I've been here a little over a week, and I still can't catch my breath.   This place transcends the imagination.  There isn't a single morning I wake up that I don't have to remind myself where the hell I am.  It's wonderful.  For those of you who don't know much about Taiwan, well... words don't do somewhere like this much justice.  Hell, pictures don't even do this place a shred of justice.  But, alas, I shall do my best.

The entire island of Taiwan is about 250 miles from the top to the very bottom, at which point the Tropic of Cancer runs right through it.  Consequently, the weather here is no less than scorching hot on a daily basis.  In fact, it's so hot here that there is almost no point in showering if you are going to spend more than an hour outside.  For those who know me, this was not an easy fact to face (my 20 minute showers have drastically reduced to a mere 5).  As it is the rainy season/typhoon season, the sun usually bakes the island from about 9am until 4pm and then rains for a good portion of the late afternoon.  If you are going to live in Taiwan, you best have some top-of-the-line rain gear.  Fortunately for me, I have a 300NT ($6 US) raincoat from the local superstore.  It's been lovely walking home in pouring rain that feels like individual bullets (sense the sarcasm, people).

As far as my routine is concerned, let's start with my walk to work.  My walk to work usually takes about 7 minutes, and in that time, I see no less than 5 stray animals.  Depressing, yes, but I'm slowly beginning to respect and understand this strange "ecosystem."  For example, I went to pet and feed a stray the other day and almost got my hand chewed up.  Over the last week or so, I've gradually stopped pitying these animals and begun to respect them for their mighty survival instincts.  Seriously, dogs in the worst ghettos of America have nothing on the animals here!  These animals are more independent than most people I know, and if you even try to "make their life easier," they will probably eat you.

So, work... For those of you who don't know, I am teaching a 1st grade class and a 6th grade class.  After a little over a week of teaching and countless hours of preparation, I find myself constantly pondering one question: why don't teachers earn a shit-load of money?  It is no less than pathetic that we (as in the entire world) impress upon our children how vital it is they get a good education when we place such a low value on those who do the educating... literally.  Please note that I am not complaining about my pay, but I am merely expressing my frustration with the little appreciation teachers get (and this lack of appreciation is universal).  I suppose part of this upset stems from the fact that I never really realized how much my teachers and professors did for me over the years.  Being on the other side of the coin really allows you to see how much work and worry goes into lesson planning, teaching, and not to mention, inspiring!  Luckily, my kids are truly wonderful...  That's not to say I haven't had any trouble with them, but as I become more comfortable with teaching, I have been conjuring up different, more tactful approaches to my lessons.  So far, so good!  I will say, though, if I decide to pursue teaching I don't think 1st grade is for me.

Anyway, overall, the last couple weeks have been good.  The low point was getting sick with tonsillitis and missing a day of work, but I'm kind of glad I got sick early on because getting sick in a foreign country for the first time is always kind of a traumatic ordeal.  Now I know where the doctor is and I'm not as worried about the next time, which hopefully won't be for a while.

So last weekend I had intended on moping around and doing work, but my awesome co-workers encouraged me to go out.  What a night.  Saturday we went to a bar called Fubar, which is basically a foreigner hang out.  The bar is located in a part of the city called "Little Europe," which as you can imagine attracts many expats.  There were about five of us who went out, but our group quickly grew to about nine when some US sailors walked up to us and bought us a bunch of shots.  Though it was nice getting the free drinks, they were pretty annoying.  One of them in particular was quite the blubbering idiot.  He was fairly intoxicated, but I still can't believe what a jackass he was.  This guy asks me where I'm originally from and I tell him the suburbs of Detroit.  He says to me, "Detroit?  Last time I was in Detroit a 300 lb black dude walked up to me and tried selling me cocaine."  Okay, so you probably had to be there and understand the way he said it, but he was basically dissing the city.  Though I can't say I a am a true Detroiter, it sort of pissed me off to hear someone talking negatively about Detroit, especially someone who isn't even from there or familiar with the wonderful things it has to offer.  I'm sick of people believing the stereotypes and all the bullshit portrayals of the city courtesy of the devil media.  I highly doubt this guy has even been to Detroit if he had that experience.  I mean, where the hell was he anyway?  Ah well, whatever.

Well, that's all I got.  I'll try to write more often than every two weeks but I've been so busy getting acclimated.  I'll let everyone know as soon as I post a new blog.  Hope everyone is happy and healthy and all in one piece.  Much love!