Did Someone Say Spring Break?

You know you are in way over your head when at 4:00 on a Friday afternoon you get a text from your 5:30 tutoring appointment, the 8^th for the week, and when she tells you that she has to cancel class today, tears of joy begin to roll down your face.  You would think that at the ripe old age of 40 and three quarters, I would know by now how to maintain sanity.  But alas, that dreaded hole I cannot seem to walk around still haunts me.  Sure, the fact that a coffee Frappuccino from Starbucks brings me immeasurable joy should be a red flag that something is awry, or perhaps the fact that I have not had an adult beverage in five months, but I dream about it all the time, could be another dead giveaway.  Why not head to 7-11 for a tall boy?  Well, with all of the Frapuccinos, I figure I use up all of my fat points for the week.  Terribly logical, I know.  The fact of the matter is, I am figuratively treading water here and I joke about it in print to make myself feel better.

Let me simply preface the following rant with the disclaimer that we do not have a spring break vacation at my school... and I need one.

Can I just say that while I think Taiwan is a wonderful and amazing place, there are a few cultural differences that are very different?

(And as always, these may be over-generalizations, but they are my personal observations.)

1.  Physical contact

One cultural difference I see here is in PDA (or public displays of affection).  I am not talking sex in the media or anything; I am talking about innocent hugging between friends or children.  A perfect example of this came about the other day in my first grade language arts class.  We were reading a story about a boy who visits his grandparents and after tucking him in bed, they kissed him goodnight.  The kids all did a choral “EEEWWWWWW!!!!”  I was a tad perplexed.  I asked them what exactly they found so gross, and they answered, “They kissed him!”  I said, “Well, doesn’t your grandmother or grandfather ever kiss you?”  Again, another “Ewww!”    Apparently, they found this very odd and all stated that they did not get kissed by or kiss their grandparents.  Perhaps this is an isolated commonality among this group of children.  Weird, but good to know. 

Then, a parent approached me because another parent was concerned that her son was hugging his fellow classmates.  (Please keep in mind that they are six years old.) I told her that I thought it was quite innocent, but she seemed mortified that he would be doing such a thing.  Then, I began thinking that a few of the kids in this same class have been running after me in the halls trying to give me hugs and now I wonder if this is normal.  I assume that perhaps these kids see me hugging my own personal children on occasion, and they just want my attention, but it does make me think.

2. Child rearing

It seems quite common that grandparents have a huge role in raising their grandchildren.  More and more Taiwanese women are working, and because they often must work far from the home, children will live with their grandparents during the week and only see their parents on the weekends.  I guess on an island so small, you are never terribly far away from family.  A friend at work lived an hour and a half away from her husband and baby for two years because her job was in another city.  The baby and the husband lived with her in-laws and the mother-in-law took care of the baby essentially 24 hours a day.  Recently, her husband was able to find a job closer to her so they moved in together.  As for the 2 year old baby?  She said, “Well, I will just let my mother-in-law take care of the baby until she gets sick of it.”  They see their daughter on the weekends.  I guess being with the mother-in-law is better than being at daycare, but I don’t think I could see my small children only two days a week.  Regardless, I do see a lot of happy looking grandparents around, obviously pleased to be spending quality time with their small grandchildren.

3.  The school system

Lastly, I have recently come across a few very interesting differences in the Taiwanese school system.  First of all, from what I have been told, there is no ‘free’ public education in Taiwan.  At our school, students must pay for tuition and textbooks (roughly $2000 USD per year).  I just assumed that this was an isolated instance for our school, but I have learned that paying some tuition is standard for all Taiwan public schools.  At some schools the tuition is less and from what I understand most impoverished children whose parents cannot afford the tuition and books often have theirs paid by a charitable organization or a donation.  Also, the Ministry of Education (i.e. the government) still fits most of the bill, via taxes I guess.  In the U.S we pay via taxes too, but we do not also pay a tuition fee out of pocket directly to the school our children attend.  It is funny, because while I was a tad surprised, my Taiwanese friend who was telling me this was shocked that children in the public schools in the U.S. do not pay for tuition or books, and many receive free or reduced breakfast and lunch.  She found that unbelievable. I wonder if parents in the U.S. did have to pay a bit of money out of pocket, would that make them want to be more involved?

Secondly, in the U.S., public schools have a principal who went to school for that purpose and are hired to do a specific job.  Here, or at least at my school, there is one principal who oversees four campuses and then the individual campus administrators, or directors, are part time teachers and are also made to serve as administrators on a two year rotating basis.  This means, all teachers will be an administrator at one time or another.  This can be seen as positive because at least they will all know how difficult it is to run a school.  On the other hand, it creates a very odd dynamic when you know that the teachers that you oversee will be your bosses in the future.  What this equates to is:  Oh, I had better not reprimand so and so for not doing their job because in a couple of years they will be my boss and let me have it.  It creates a very bizarre system of not being able to accomplish much for fear you might offend someone.  Or, say you want to improve a school.  You work hard to create a well-oiled machine, but in two years, a completely new set of administrators will come in and start all over from scratch as they see fit.

Soooooo… for all of my former administrators out there, this is for you.  You are appreciated more than you know!!!! J 

Can you tell that I have missed my Spring Break vacation? 
Again, my teacher clock tells me it is time for a glorious week off, but alas… no breaks (other than one random Wednesday) until June 30^th. 
So many spoiled western teachers, so little time!

Saturday Morning Wake-Up Call

Bright, blinding lights began to erupt all around me searing through my eyelids like Marty’s fancy pants bike light that cost way too much to mention.

Bombs exploded at 20-second intervals as I ran for cover at a nearby 7-11, where I knew I would be safe with the promise of cold noodles and raisin bread. 

Red sulfuric smoke clouded the view outside of my haven and the smell of incense drifted through the neighborhood awakening the Gods to the morning sun… 

Then I woke up.

It was 5:20 a.m., and fireworks had begun to explode rather loudly in my neighborhood. 

Yes, I do mean 5:20 in the morning before the sun even began to peek out from behind the mountains. 

There is a temple about a mile from our apartment and often we hear the sound of fireworks echoing off of the buildings that surround us.  I always assume it is either the first day of the lunar calendar or some other festivity, but they usually subside after about 5 minutes.  This morning, however, a scaled down version of Beirut was happening outside of my window and it showed no sign of letting up. 

It quickly became apparent that there was little hope of going back to sleep with the sound of amplified popping outside, so I decided to ‘one up’ my friend at school who is holding me accountable to run on a regular basis, and I hopped out of bed for a bit of early morning jogging. 

Being the ever-curious cat that I am, I decided to head towards the temple to see just what was going on.  It was still dark outside when I left the apartment, and as I exited the building, multiple drums, gongs, and bells began to create such an incredible din that I could not imagine anyone within a two mile radius would be able to sleep through it, except my husband of course, who will sleep through anything.   

Sure enough, when I rounded the rice paddies and canal path that overlook the temple, I saw a small crowd of people in the initial stages of a ceremony.  Some wore yellow t-shirts, while others were dressed up in costumes similar to the ones seen below.  

I have been at temples before during festival days and am always shocked at the how extremely loud the fireworks are and how much smoke they actually produce.  The craziest one I have seen to date was when a huge pile of fireworks was placed in the middle of a busy downtown street. A group of about 8 to 10 people in smoke covered yellow vests ran out and formed a circle surrounding the pile.  Mind you, they were only one foot from the edge of the bright red sticks of fire.  Quickly, they all joined hands, placed their backs to the pile, and then stood stoically as one brave soul ignited the pyre and a smoldering explosion attempted to blow their collective gluteus maximus off.  It was simultaneously horrifying and I dare say breathtaking. 

I must admit that I really love the miao (Chinese word for temple and pronounced meow.)

The architecture is amazing, the serenity surreal, and the unknown appealing.  I do not dare attempt to understand the amazing culture, spirituality, and history that surround religion here in Taiwan, I simply know that walking into temples brings me peace.

Here are some photos of the temple near my house.

The girls in the inner courtyard

My morning run route... so lovely!

Below are a few pictures of my favorite temples in and around the Tainan County area. 

The bai bai

More fireworks please 

I just like this one

And now for my interesting story of the week…

My wonderful daughter who gave us a run for our money last year with a broken arm and pneumonia all in the same month, has struck again.  A few months ago, she developed three small bumps lined up in a row on the top of her wrist.  We didn’t think anything of it until it became apparent they were not going away.  Still, being the ever-low maintenance parents that we are, we sort of ignored it and thought surely they would disappear on their own.  Well, on Tuesday, I noticed that they were spreading, ever so carefully in a straight line up her arm.  I kept thinking I needed to take her to the doctor, but without a car and no time off, I kept putting it on the back burner.  On Thursday, she happily strolled into my classroom and announced that her teacher was taking her to the doctor. 

(Insert, ‘Oh I am a bad parent’ feeling here.)

Her teacher this year is native Taiwanese, but received her University degrees in Australia.  She is quite wonderful, sort of like a mother hen who goes above and beyond on a daily basis to make the six kids in her class feel special.  

(Yes, you read it correctly. There are only six children in the class.) 

I don’t know why, therefore, I was a bit surprised when I heard the news that she was taking it upon herself to take my child to the clinic in a neighboring town. 

I tried to assure her that she did not have to do this, but she insisted, and being without a car and not easily able to take off of work, I decided to allow my child a bit of much desired independence and alone time with her teacher. 

They left for the clinic at 3:15 and had returned by 4:00.  Within that short time, they had seen two doctors, gotten the bumps frozen off with liquid nitrogen, and received medicine for the next two weeks…

and all for the low, low price of $150NT (or $5.00 U.S.) 

How’s that for nationalized health care?

Perhaps we can chat about that some other day.

As for the cause??? 

All she could tell me was it was some sort of virus… perhaps she scratched herself and germs got in.

(Translation issues can be a royal pain when you really need important information.)

As for the treatment?? 

Perhaps there are better ways to take care of skin bumps than freezing them off and having to put anti-scarring scream on for two weeks, but of course I was not there and would not have understood anyway.

Oh, the joys of living in another world and always feeling like you are in the dark. 

When it was all said and done, my child was as pleased as pie that she had a doctor date with her teacher and she did not mind at all the pain that was involved.

Exhibit A - Three days after the clinic visit

These are just more examples of what I love about Taiwan: A wonderful teacher who genuinely cares about my children, and low-cost, efficient health care. 

Fifteen more months to go…

So many things to learn, so little time!

But who’s counting? J

Pet Mortuary… On Ice

One of the many things that I have come to equate with Taiwan is fish.  It seems that everywhere you turn there are aquariums and fishponds.  Pet fish shops are plentiful and easy to find, and it is normal to see beautiful aquariums in restaurants, offices, classrooms, homes, and bicycle shops. The other day while meandering down a new street in Tainan, we passed a greasy mess of a mechanic shop with car parts strewn in any and every conceivable inch of space.  What was amazing, however, was that perched high on a wall above it all was a 200-gallon aquarium filled with large exotic fish. 

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that over the past month we have acquired a total of eighteen fish and three turtles as gifts from neighbors and friends who are convinced that what the girls need most in their lives are pets...small and quiet, yes, but pets nonetheless.   

When I was a kid, we had aquariums… multiple aquariums.  I recall at one point there were five in our living room, ranging from 30 to 200 gallons in size.  My father, the ever-avid man of the sea, would go scuba diving 50 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico on the weekends.  He constructed his own slurp guns out of PVC and while diving would point the “gun” at an unsuspecting fish and slurp it up.  It would then go into a gallon sized Ziploc bag until he could transport it home and drop it into one of the tanks. There were never any pet stores involved- just a man, a slurp gun, and Ziploc bags.

Although I still have nightmares of spider crabs and octopi crawling out of the tank at night and finding their way into my bed, my favorite memory involving those aquariums was my last Easter living at home when my Dad put cold hard cash inside of Easter eggs and hid them around the house. The biggest prize was a $50 dollar bill that was oh so strategically hidden under the gravel in the 200-gallon aquarium. Only the bravest of souls was willing to dig deep down amidst the sea creatures to claim that grand prize.  I can’t remember who came away with the biggest booty, but it was by far the best Easter I have had to date. 

So, what does all of this have to do with fish in Taiwan?  Well, as you can imagine, with the amount of live fish being bought and sold here, you might think that there is a high pet fish mortality rate.  And as far as I can see, you would be correct.  Just yesterday, our Kung Fu master was off to the fish store to purchase eight fish, the exact amount to take place of the eight who had just passed away. 

Out of our eighteen fish and three turtles, we now have three fish and one and a half turtles.  (One turtle is on its way out as we speak, so I only count him as half.)  I guess I should ask what the culturally normal thing to do is when pet fish and turtles die, but seeing as I grew up around fish, I do what my Dad did…

I put them in Ziploc bags and stick them in the freezer. 

Isn’t that what everyone does?  If my memory serves me correctly, his excuse was that he might want to paint them some day and this was a good way to preserve their natural beauty.  I recall thinking it was a bit odd to see those beady eyes staring at me each time I opened the freezer for a Popsicle, but after a while it was simply accepted as the normal thing to do.  It was also a great topic of conversation at parties. 

So here I am twenty-two years later with children of my own, and while I have no plans of painting them, the freezer seems like just the perfect place for our former pets.  The girls keep asking when we are going to bury them, and I keep making excuses like… perhaps when the weather is nicer.  I don’t know, maybe it is a comforting reminder of my youth to have former pets in the freezer. 

Fireball, Orange Bubble, and Turtle Number 3... On Ice

No... no quirkiness here.

Practicing our solemn faces... On Ice!

Call me crazy. 

I think deep down, I am just waiting for them ALL to die so that we can have a mass burial and not have to drag it out. 

Or… maybe I have issues with saying goodbye. 

Or… perhaps I just like passing on quirky family traditions. 

Whatever the case may be, there is an ever-growing pet mortuary in my freezer, and while my family thinks I am a tad off my rocker… that is just fine with me.

It is certainly something I have grown accustomed to. 

(Please insert Kermit the Frog’s voice here)

‘It’s not that easy… bein’ green.’

The Gorge That Never Was

This past Saturday the family boarded a packed 9-hour train to Hualien with the intention of seeing the famous Taroko Gorge.  After much train booking drama, we scored seats on a train leaving Tainan at 3:15 in the afternoon, and arriving in Hualien at 12:45 in the a.m.  I had been trying to mentally prepare myself for the trip because I knew what we were in for, but seeing as I live with a group of very happy people, I tried to put my best foot forward and be that cup half full kind of gal that I know I am not.  

The first three hours or so were quite fun, reading books, drawing, and playing solitaire on the iPad.  We even got quite a laugh out of Carmela returning from the bathroom warning us all to not go in unless we were prepared to fall in.  Of course, I knew she was exaggerating (like her father loves to do J) but when I got up to go, I realized that she was completely correct in her words of warning.  For there in front of me was a largish squat toilet on a high-rise platform, complete with crotch level bars to hang on to in case you did indeed decide to fall in.  The falling in part can be attributed to the fact that you are on a wobbly fast moving train prone to lurching at any given moment.  The part I found disturbing, however, was that when Marty emerged from the bathroom a while later, he commented that he was not sure in which direction to shoot.  This means, of course, that any given man could have the same issues and during an unexpected lurch, pee all over the bar that us poor women are forced to hold on to lest we wish to go for a swim.  Needless to say, after this revelation, I insisted that everyone visiting the restroom  must afterwards have a date with an anti-bacterial hand wipe, because of course, there was no soap. 

Ahhh, the joys of travel!

The dream children silently engrossed in books

The romance of the train trip wore off around hour 5 when out butts fell asleep and no one could get comfortable.  We were sitting in the front seats right by the door so each time someone would get on, get off, or go to the bathroom, we were right there to witness it all.  My favorite was an older European looking man who stood for a few hours in the space between the trains.  I couldn’t quite figure out why he kept making trips to the bathroom every 10 minutes and I assumed he must have intestinal problems of some sort.  Low and behold, it turned out that he had a fancy Koozie holding lanyard around his neck and was consuming a steady flow of beer… to combat the monotony of a 9-hour train ride, I suppose.  When the jealousy wore off, I concluded that he was a smart man and I no longer wondered why he had parked himself outside of the bathroom.  What’s the point of going back to your seat when you will just be out of it again in another five minutes?  Just drink outside of the bathroom and all of your problems will disappear… down the drain… literally.

There was an overwhelming sense of joy when we finally arrived in Hualien.  Sure it was one in the morning and pouring down rain, but we had survived nonetheless.  We took a cab to the Debonair Hotel, made an inventory of all free toiletries they had to offer, and relished in the fact that we could finally lay down.  The next morning we awoke to the constant drone of falling rain.  Well… maybe we can go to the Gorge tomorrow, we thought, for surely the rain can’t last ALL weekend.  We headed down to the free continental breakfast and made bets as to what category of mystery meat was present in the scrambled eggs.  I have learned that when one eats at a continental breakfast in Taiwan, the only semblance of American fare that you can expect to get is scrambled eggs and white bread for toast.  Everything else offered involves ominous vegetable and mystery meat medleys and seaweed of some sort.  Forget the waffles unless you are really upscale… which we never are.

We gathered up our one umbrella and headed out for a jaunt around the town to see what Hualien had to offer.  We did not get past the guard office, however, because Marty struck up a conversation with the day manager and before I knew it, he had purchased four tickets to Farglory Ocean Park, an aquarium / theme park that resembled a scaled down Sea World.  The girls were terribly gung ho and I had decided that in order to survive I would just follow Marty’s lead and try to find as much coffee as humanly possible along the way.  We took a cab out of town and were soon greeted by the Pacific Ocean.  Ah yes, we live on an island!  Rocky beaches, crashing waves, expansive blue as far as the eye can see… it was beautiful!  And there on a hillside, with no shortage of flags beckoning our arrival, was the Farglory Ocean Park… and it was packed!!!  I thought for sure the rain would be a deterrent, but here in Taiwan, people are serious about getting out and having fun, rain or shine.

People, people everywhere!

For the next six hours we saw dolphin shows and kissing seals, rode mini roller coasters and spinning teacups, and of course headed underground to see a myriad of aquariums filled with exotic fish.  I have been to a few aquariums in my day, and I must say despite the Disneyland-esque feel to it all, the actual aquarium was impressive.  The part that shocked me the most was that even in the pouring down rain, hoards of people were walking around like it was another sunny day at the beach.  I seem to recall that at theme parks in the U.S. rides would shut down after the first drop of rain.  NOT HERE!!!  We literally rode a roller coaster in a deluge.  Was it safe?  Probably not.  Did I care?  Not at this point, not in the least. 

Before we boarded, I so enjoyed telling the story of my friend who vomited on this ride at Magic Isles when I was in junior high... it made it just that much more exciting.

Roller coasters in the rain!!!!!!!!

After roller coasters and spinning teacups, the carousel is a tad slow for us

We headed back to the hotel around 6 and immediately crawled into warm, dry beds for a little cable and relaxation.  At 7:30 we headed back out to have dinner with some co-workers who also happened to be in Hualien for the night.  Generally, one always wonders if anyone will mind if your kids tag along, but in this case it quickly became clear that Marty and I were the third wheels, so to speak. For some reason, people just love our kids.  I mean, I get it, they are cool and all, but I honestly think we often get invited places just so people can hang out with them, and Marty and I are merely along for the ride. 

We drove around for a while looking for a place to eat, but everywhere we went had lines that snaked down the street.  One of the girls we were with wanted to eat a famous oyster egg pancake dish that could only be purchased from a small stall located on a virtually hidden side street, so we parked and worked our way in that general direction.  Keep in mind that it is still pouring down rain.  When we arrived, there were roughly 50 people in line and even though I was simply tagging along, there are just some things I will not do… like wait in line for an hour and a half for oysters and scrambled eggs.  So, the majority of us (we were 12 in all) ate at a small noodle stall while a few others took their chances in line.  Lucky for us, the noodles were spectacular and although Marty and I were banished to a table of our own, we had a fabulous time.  Afterwards, we were coaxed into visiting a famous Mochi shop to sample the heavenly deliciousness.  Mochi is a rice cake of sorts made out of glutinous rice that is pounded into a round ball and then stuffed with various flavors ranging from strawberry and chocolate to taro root.  We opted for the taro root mochi covered with sesame seeds and then went back to see if our new friends had scored their oysters and eggs yet. 

Negative. 

Dinner with THEIR friends 

Noodles

The line!

The girls and P.E. Sandy 

Mmmmmm... Taro Root Mochi

We stood around and waited for another 30 minutes or so and watched the rain come down as the girls played with their friends.  When the remaining members of the group finally emerged triumphantly, we hollered and cheered with glee.  They felt bad about making us wait and were going to eat their prize in the car, but I insisted that if they waited in line for 2 hours, it must be eaten now.  We found a fold up table hidden in the alley, made a makeshift dinner table, and I prepared myself to be wowed by what must certainly be the equivalent of ambrosia. 

When the box was revealed, I anxiously peered inside and was met with this:

Basically, it was an omelet stuffed with fresh oysters and covered with a red sauce.  Marty and the girls went to town downing oysters, but I was not terribly impressed.  Sure it was good, but was it worth two hours of my time?  I think not.  The company, however, was well worth it.

Finally!

Check out this cool aboriginal ribbon store we loitered in front of for an hour

We headed back to the cars and went to the night market that was a series of pop up tents along the beach.  We played a few games and walked to the beach to hear the waves and watch people set off fireworks that were apparently illegal.  Yes, night market stalls sold the fireworks right there just a stones throw away from where you were prohibited from setting them off, but I am sure if they say it is illegal, they mean it. J  Pop, Pop, Pop!

Playing games at the night market

Party at the beach!

We went back to the hotel and once again crawled into warm and dry beds.  As we said goodnight, we thought surely Monday would be sunny and warm and Taroko Gorge would be calling our names.  As I opened my eyes the next morning, however, all I could hear was the spattering of raindrops on the street below.

Have no fear, remember I live with a happy family that can make the best of any situation.  So, we grabbed the umbrella and set out for another day of walking around in the rain, stumbling upon art galleries and too many pet stores to mention.  We stopped at a few bakeries, downed multiple caffeinated beverages, went to game rooms, the movies, and finally ended the day at a steak house.  The highlight of the evening, of course, was staying up until 2 a.m. watching the Oscars and waiting for the train to arrive. (In my defense, there REALLY was nothing else on T.V.) 

Baked goods and caffeinated beverages 

The mountains of Hualien

Game room!!!

The train station at 2 a.m.

I am delighted to say that the train ride home was much less painful in the opposite direction because in the middle of the night you tend to sleep more and therefore time passes more quickly.  I was shocked that a two a.m. train was standing room only, and I realized how lucky we were to have seats.   Sure, I had three teenage boys in the 2 seats in front of me who wouldn’t shut up, and yes there was a big man behind me whose snoring was bordering on comical, but there really is nothing that cannot me solved if you have an ipod that plays Getz and Gilberto and a magical scarf to cover your head with.  In an instant, you can become invisible and transport yourself to a pleasant tropical beach in Brazil…AND before you know it, you are pulling into the Tainan station at 10:30 in the morning with an entire day for sleeping at your disposal. 

I cannot say that I am well rested after our trip to the East coast, but there was plenty of family bonding time to be had.  I must also admit that it was probably a good test run for our trip this summer, especially since it will be monsoon season while we are in India.  Hooray for rain!!!

Who knew that I would be so happy to come back to our bare dorm-like apartment? 

My stars, this must be a sign that I am getting old. 

Oh well, being the cup half full kind of girl that I am not, I will take that as a good sign.