Lost - or gained - in translation

I just cracked and had McDonald’s for lunch.

 

But before you look down on me for abandoning my promise to fully immerse myself in the culture here, let me explain. Maybe 60% of my decision to go for the burger and fries rather than some Taiwanese dish was actual desire for greasy fast food. But the other 40% was curiosity.

 

The fries tasted the same as they do in the states, although they were skimpy on the ketchup. They’re very protective of their condiments here. But the burger was a different story. Instead of having a bread bun, it came with a bun made of – what else? – rice. It was actually pretty darn good.

 

The way I ordered the McDonald’s is indicative of my supreme fish out of water status in this random, but lovely, place. I had to walk behind the counter in order to point at the burger on one of those large display boards, and of course caused a scene doing so. I can only imagine what people think of me as I consistently make a fool of myself using mock sign language to attempt to order food, take the bus to the right place, and find the bathroom. Hopefully I come off as a loveable fool, but I’m sure to some I’m just a fool. To use a word we taught the local interns: whatevs.

 

Since last week’s update, I got through another week of work at the fabulous Washington State trade office, where I’m currently tasked with updating an information packet for potential investors that has not been updated in ten years. Gotta love the efficiency of American government.

 

On Friday night we went to see Sex and the City on its opening night in Taiwan. While I’m not really a fan of the series, the movie was actually pretty good despite the fact that our seats weren’t ideal. Tickets to movies here have reserved seats, and ours were the best in the house: in the very front row. But that wasn’t so bad, and the real fun of the experience was watching it with a Taiwanese audience. It seemed as though they were watching an entirely different movie, laughing when I didn’t think anything funny was happening. I guess some things are lost – or gained – in translation. 

 

On Saturday morning we left at the crack of dawn for Kaohsiung with a group of USC alums. The “tuna gathering,” as they called it, was really all about tuna. After a one and a half hour trip on the high speed train and a ride on a bus, we pulled up to a restaurant and feasted on fish dish after fish dish. I liked the raw tuna the best.

 

The alums then accompanied us to a local temple and a fish market. The market was just like the ones you see on TV when you’re watching a travel show about Asia. Men were hacking away at huge just-caught tuna, which can apparently retail for up to $200,000 NT or about $7,000 USD. In two weeks it makes its way into sushi restaurants at every podunk town across the U.S. It was fun to see, but not to smell.

 

We parted ways with the USC group and we fellows continued on to Kenting, which is as far south in Taiwan as one can go. My eyes were glued to the windows of the bus as we made our way further and further down the island. It was nice to see the ocean again after being landlocked in Taipei for three weeks.

 

We checked into our hotel in Kenting and then hit the beach, which was very crowded even in the evening. We watched the sun set as we frolicked in the Pacific and laughed at a group of Taiwanese men being pulled out to sea on a giant hot dog.

 

Nighttime brought dinner at a Mexican place (when will we learn that we’re simply not going to find good Mexican food here?), a stroll through the touristy Key West-esque town of Kenting, and a trip to a local bar/club.

 

Sunday was probably my most favorite day of my adventure here so far. After checking out of our hostel we rented scooters and drove (don’t worry, I didn’t actually drive, I rode!) down the island, past the southernmost point in Taiwan, and up the other side. We stopped to swim in turquoise water in a pool under a large rock, where American male (of course) 20-somethings were acting like American male 20-somethings.

 

We had a pancake lunch, complete with an allotted half-a-shot-sized container of syrup (and there was really no getting more), and then kept riding to a beautiful lookout point and a practically-deserted white sand beach. It was perfect/lovely/beautiful/insert adjective meaning sublime here.

 

After returning the scooters we were picked up by no-name, crazy, chain-smoking Taiwanese guy who cut our trip time down by an hour by obeying absolutely no traffic laws and almost killing a pedestrian. But anything to make it to our train on time, right?

 

A HSR ride brought us back to Taipei, and consequently back to another loooonnnngggg week of work.

 

This week’s outings have included a trip to Ice Monster and to the hot springs in Beitou. I’m trying to think of an American comparison to Ice Monster, but nothing is coming to mind so I’ll just describe what we ate. It was basically a mountain-sized serving of shaved ice covered with fresh mango and syrup and topped off with a scoop of mango ice cream. All the people here are crazy about it, and it’s easy to see why.

 

The entrance fee to the hot springs in Beitou was approximately $1.33, but that just goes to show you don’t have to spend a lot of money to have a good time. We hopped on the MRT right after work and walked to the public springs, which are really just glorified hot tubs. It felt very nice to soak in the hot water after a long day of staring at the computer screen. We were (almost) the only non-Taiwanese people there and I felt as though I was observing some sort of ritual. We heard the waters have magical healing abilities, but my legs are still covered in mosquito bites so I’m not a believer yet.

 

Random musings:

 

1. People won’t stop staring! My boss, Sean, said foreign women are a rarity in Taipei and it seems our group of girls brings delight to many Taiwanese men. I can sense stares pretty much wherever I go. It is becoming annoying, but at least they’re not vulgar like some American men. One Taiwanese man chased me out of the 7-11 just to ask if I wanted to “make friends” with him! I prefer that to a cat call any day.


2. The heat is not as bad as I thought it would be. Being raised in Louisiana has given me a pretty high tolerance for heat and humidity. Take that, wimpy Californians!


3. 7-11 hot dogs are God’s gift to meat lovers. I’ve had more hot dogs from 7-11 here than I had in the U.S. all year. I’m not exactly proud of my convenience store hot dog obsession, but they’re irresistible.

Mike Huckabee and I Share a Tailor

Yesterday I spent a good chunk of my afternoon going to a tailor in Taipei to get fitted for a custom-made shirt, the typical gift of the state offices to their interns. Such is the randomness of my work days here. They’re long, and I stare at a computer for most of them, but I’ve fallen into a comfortable rhythm. And there’s usually at least one somewhat interesting excursion to break up the day, like the mentioned trip to the tailor.

 

The tailor had pictures of the “famous” people he’s made clothes for on the wall. The most famous customer: Mike Huckabee. Apparently he’s a regular in Taiwan and a very nice guy. I commented to the other interns that we were walking on hallowed ground (JOKES!). On the bus ride home I taught Sharon, one of the local interns, Pig Latin.

 

Today I spent two hours of my work day gorging on international food at a food trade show.  The state offices get free tickets to such events and always give us the chance to go, probably because they know the rest of the work is pretty darn boring. While I was biting into a rice slushie (sounds yummy, right?) and talking to the first tall Taiwanese women I’ve seen here (show girls), a Taiwanese news crew came up to me and asked me to take a bite on camera and tell them if I liked it.  I’m going to be star!

 

While work consumes our weeks here, we’re really working for the weekend. We’re trying to see as much of Taiwan as we can, and we started venturing outside of Taipei last weekend. Early Saturday morning we took a high speed train to Taroko Gorge National Park (or, rather, to a small town a pretty good distance away from the park entrance). We hiked on the road, took some pictures with locals (their request), and then arrived at one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.

 

I still don’t really know what a gorge is, but it sure was nice to look at after only seeing concrete for two weeks. Everything was lush and green, and we were surrounded by towering peaks overhead a rocky river. And that was just at the visitor’s center.

 

After taking a rather precarious bus ride on a steep road carved out of rock we made it to the hostel, threw down our bags, and went on a hike to a waterfall. Dark tunnels which seemed not to end comprised most of the hike, and we pretty much just held hands and walked into the unknown.

 

The “Catholic Hostel” where we stayed provided me with my worst night’s sleep yet thanks to a mattress made of hard straw and 6 a.m. mass, that, from the sound of it, was well attended. But it worked just fine, and I was ready to go Sunday morning for more park exploration. We chose a pretty strenuous hike and climbed to a pavilion in the sky which straddled two peaks.  The beauty of what we saw and the feeling of accomplishment I felt is hard to put into words; pictures will be provided later to those who want them!

 

After exploring a temple and some sort of tower that had a beautiful view of the park, we returned back to Taipei on a train in which we had no seats. Sitting on the floor was fine, though, because we met some very nice people as we always seem to do here.

 

We were exhausted Monday, but it was one of the fellow’s 21^st birthday, so we went to a karaoke place in Taipei to celebrate. They had a surprisingly comprehensive English song collection, and I was able to perform my specialty, You’re So Vain. We had a really fun time, and that’s all I’m going to say about that.

 

Work’s over in 12 minutes, WAHOO!

 

Random thoughts: my legs itch! (the Taipei fellows from last year did not tell us Taiwan’s nick name should be “land of killer mosquitoes”), I’m laughing about the teacher who allowed one of the local intern’s friends to chose “banana” for his English name, and curse business card scanners!

Teaching "English"

The state offices took the interns to an appreciation dinner last night at an Italian place near Taipei 101. I wouldn't say the food rocked my world - squid ink pasta, anyone? - but it was fun to converse with the local interns. They're very curious about how we do things in the good ol' USA, and last night afforded Kili, Cyndy, and I the opportunity to teach them some important expressions. If you see a Taiwanese girl in the states anytime soon, here's what she might be saying:

1. That's WACK
2. Keep it on the DL
3. Sketchy/Shady
4. Tight/Sweet
5. Let's BOUNCE!
6. PEACE OUT homie.
7. My Bad
8. Sexiled
9. Fugly
10. Mind's in the gutter

One of the girls took careful notes, and I think we've made a lasting impact on her vocabulary. A change for the better, I'd say.

Now I've got to PEACE OUT and get to work!

Thank you, Cotillion

Saturday night's NTU prom was an experience I don't feel I'll ever be able to adequately describe. A middle school atmosphere + ballroom dancing + random 80s pop songs + eccentric performances made it a hilariously awkward night, although I'd say much more fun than the "Singing in the Rain" SJA prom debacle of '06.

My years of Cotillion training finally came in handy, and I guess being able to whip out the waltz in Taiwan made all those years of forced hand holding with clumsy middle school boys worth the humiliation. We brought the party, starting a train throughout the auditorium that attracted probably half of the attendees to get on board and being called up to the stage to lead the Taiwanese bunny hop. Who knew standing out could be so much fun?

Sunday was the Dragon Boat festival, and after an ill-fated trip to Danshui we traveled to the river to watch the grandiose boats racing one another. It was a scene straight out of Ben Hur, with buff men in tight outfits pounding their oars into the water. Damn they moved fast.

The ladies took pictures with a dragon boat team (yeaaa) and we walked throughout the food stalls. I had a corn dog, which was very similar to the ones I had in my high school cafeteria (and loved) but with a little more spice. Really good.

A spontaneous storm hit as we were walking thoughout the festival and made me feel as though I were back in Louisiana. Years of enduring extreme humidity and fickle weather have prepared me for this experience. I relish the evening time, when the hot day cools into night, but still with enough warmth to preclude the necessity of long sleeves or pants.

I had a piece of white toast with jam this morning, the first actual bread I've eaten on this trip. I don't miss it at all and find myself craving meat instead. The food continues to be an experience. When two guys in our group ordered rice pudding last night they were brought chunks of pigs' blood. Mmmmm.

The fascinating task of finding a Taiwanese distributor for wooden windows and doors calls, so I must alight (what Subway signs here say in reference to leaving the train). It's gonna be a long day, and I hope I'm sufficiently caffinated.

Point and Smile

A week ago at this time I was in L.A. or almost there. But what a difference a week makes.

One of my fellow Global Fellows commented last night that this place is starting to feel like home. It is. In the past week I have adjusted to a day to night time change, started a brand new job, embraced Taiwanese cuisine, and made some awesome new friends. Oh, and developed a somewhat Diet Coke-esque addiction to milk tea, which I am enjoying as I write this.

I mentioned in the last post how friendly the Taiwanese people are, and this has only become more evident in the last few days. The state offices where three other fellows and I are working also have local interns, extremely sweet girls who are as curious about our culture as we are about theirs. It makes for a very interesting flow of information.

The J-O-B is good, if a bit long and tiring. I spend pretty much all day researching Taiwanese companies on the internet, trying to find local distributors for such exciting Washington State products as stucco and wooden doors. It's a very laid-back environment, though; my boss is quite a character and the other girls and I have been sampling local restaurants for lunch.

THE FOOD IS AMAZING and deliciously cheap. I passed on the pig's ear today at lunch, but other than that I've been pretty adventurous about eating everything that's placed in front of me. I've found it's more fun to put something in my mouth and decide if I like it that way before finding out what it is. I had a delicious red bean donut a few days ago and some amazing cuttlefish (a.k.a. squid- who knew?) soup. And last night we went to this world-famous dumpling restaurant where we pigged out on everything under the sun wrapped in soft dough. Mmmmm...

But enough talking (and dreaming) about the food. It may seem like it from this account, but I promise I'm not shoveling food into my mouth every second of the day. My time has been better spent doing things like...shopping! Jeannie, who is a super fun employee of USC Taipei, took us to a shopping area on Wednesday night that we dubbed "The Grove on Crack." What's great here is that the vendors welcome haggling, and armed with Jeannie's knowledge of Chinese and English I was able to get a fun bag for a really good price.

The language barrier hasn't really been a problem since our host students/Jeannie/the local interns usually translate for us. But even when we're alone, the smile and point tactic works pretty well. The smile is usually returned here.

This weekend we're going to be rolling in style at the NTU prom as guests of Chris, who is a graduating graduate student. I'm definately more excited about it than I was for my own prom, details to come! I wonder if the NTU students know the Soulja Boy? We'll find out!

Apple Bottom Jeans

I slept through an earthquake last night. My first one, even after living in California for two years, and I missed it!

My first impression of Taiwan was from the back seat of a taxi to the
tune of "Apple Bottom Jeans." Definitely not what I was expecting to
hear after traveling halfway across the world, but I guess the best
music has no borders (JOKES). What I saw as the radio blared Western
hip hop songs was a huge city, illuminated at night, not very much
different than the one I had left fourteen hours earlier.

But when the cab driver tried to hand back the tip money I had given
him, I knew I wasn't in the U.S. anymore.

My hotel room, as expected, is slightly larger than a shoe box. My
head almost hits the ceiling when I stand in the shower, and my body
is too long to lie in the bath tub. There is no top sheet on my bed,
only a down comforter, and I wake up in the middle of the night
drenching in sweat. But I love it here.

I have been struck with the niceness and genuineness of the Taiwanese
people. They put Southern Hospitality to shame. A group of students from National Taiwanese University volunteered to be our hosts for our stay here, and we have explored the city with them during the last couple days. They are possibly the single nicest group of “young people” I have ever had the pleasure to meet. And they think we’re hilarious, which I think is hilarious. Last night while I was unsuccessfully attempting to eat an oyster pancake at the Shilin Night Market, my chopsticks abilities failed and the pancake fell first onto the table and then out of my mouth. All of the NTU students were hysterically laughing.

Night markets are basically huge food bazaars where gorging is pretty much required. The Shilin Night Market is the largest in the city and features booth after booth of delicious types of Taiwanese food. In the span of about one hour, I had the mentioned oyster pancake, fried squid, stinky tofu (which tastes exactly like it sounds), mango milk tea, a dumpling, and a Taiwanese hot dog, which is a vast improvement over its American counterpart.

Yesterday we also went to the Longshan Temple, a stunning Buddhist place of worship. Our Taiwanese friends explained to us what everything represented, and we had our fortunes read. I’m not going to recant mine here because doing that would take all the mystery away.

Today I started my J-O-B at the World Trade Center. My boss is very nice, as are everyone else in the offices. I’m honestly not stoked to have to work from 9-6 everyday, but I hope I’m able to make some sort of contribution to the State of Washington while I’m here. We’re right next to Taipei 101, which is currently the tallest building in the world.

Random thoughts: I could write an entire blog about all the food I’m going to eat on this trip, working on a computer with a Chinese operating system is mighty difficult, and Taiwanese boys have more sense than American ones – Chris, one of our NTU host students, actually asked for directions when we were lost yesterday!

Well, here I go...

Countdown: 5 days until I arrive in Taipei!

I must admit lazing around with no responsibilities has been a very nice and relaxing way to start the summer, especially after a particularly challenging semester. But too much down time can make a girl crazy, so I'm itching to start my summer adventure!

I'm off to Taipei, Taiwan for two months as part of USC's Global Fellows program. I'll be interning for the State of Washington's trade office there (random, right?), doing what I don't know. Probably a good amount of office work and the occasional trade show.

But the job will only be one part of it. I'm hoping to have some amazing experiences while being completely immersed in Taiwanese culture. That I speak not one word of Chinese is a little concerning, but I'm confident I can make it. I'll document my adventures (and likely misadventures) here.

Good bye Louisiana and hello Taiwan! I'm ready for the summer of my life!

Hello world!

Welcome to Wordpress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!