Anti-Taiwan Rant in 3...2...1...

I'm having one of those weeks that the Hess training staff would call "culture shock." I don't know if I even like that term, but I'm having a hell of a time trying to be content with my life right now.

I'm ill with something. Maybe the flu, maybe an upper respiratory infection, maybe something else. I don't know. All I know is that I haven't had any energy or appetite in three days and I've had all kinds of aches and pains. I went to see a doctor yesterday, my first time since I've been in Taiwan. I was initially hesitant to go to the hospital, because everyone has told me that it's such an ordeal. Boy, were they right. After waiting to check in, finding my way to the elusive section 3D, and waiting to get my blood pressure taken, I then waited another couple of hours to see the doctor. Imagine a room full of red faced, runny nosed people, some of whom have the worst hacking-death-rattle of a cough you've ever heard. They are all waiting for their number to show up on the sign next to their assigned doctor's door. My number was 49, and I waited from the number 20. When I finally saw the doctor, he barely checked me out, didn't take my temperature, and didn't even really listen to what I was telling him, but instead suggested symptoms I was having and proclaimed it a viral infection. This whole examination took approximately seven minutes. Ten minutes maximum.

Prescription for God-knows-what in hand, I headed down to the pharmacy to collect my meds, and was again greeted by a long line of sick people. I haven't seen Michael Moore's new movie yet, but it will have to be pretty damning of the American health care system to make me think socialized health care is at all effective after yesterday's ordeal.

So I got home from the hospital and was immediately called in to work. Sure, someone with a viral infection or... whatever can teach a group of kindergarteners, no problem. I also got the news that three of my weekly classes were inexplicably dropped from my schedule, reducing by 24 my monthly hours. Great. After lots of prodding and pleading, I finally got an explanation. I guess I'm not doing as well in my classes as I should be. The only explicit criticism I've gotten yet: I've been teaching too long on my last class of the week (something I was sure I corrected months ago.)

So let's recap. For doing too much, or upsetting a delicate timetable by 10 minutes a week, I received a schedule reduction of roughly 25%, with no explanation given upfront, and no way to argue my case. I'm not only pissed about the reduced number of hours, but also with the total lack of any communication, which I am told is part of Chinese culture. No one will ever tell me that they have a problem with my work or anything. They may mention something in a nice, suggestive way to one of the other teachers that may eventually make its way back around to me, but when I try to ask anyone about these things, I'm always met with this attitude like it's the first time they've ever heard of any problem, and I'm uniformly given the response that they will talk to someone about it.

I hope I can start to be positive soon, or it will make my life here much more difficult than it needs to be.

My Vacation

I'm finally getting around to writing about my Chinese New Year's trip to Thailand after a busy week back.

We decided to go to Thailand because it's close, easy, and our friends were all telling us that it's beautiful and warm, and lots of fun. We were not at all disappointed.

We planned the trip a couple of months in advance. By planned, of course, I mean we picked a destination (in this case, the peninsular paradise of Railay Beach) and bought a plane ticket. We would sort out all of the details about where to stay and what to do once we got there. A risky plan, considering tourism was at its peak this month, but it all worked out.

We got there at night, our longtail boat gliding over the water, huge crags looming in the moonlight. We could make out lots of lights and commotion on the water's edge-- these were the rasta bars and restaurants that we would later come to know and love. As our driver cut the boat's engine and we floated through the mangrove trees and onto the beach, we all knew that yes, we had made the right decision and that this place would actually be as good as it looked in the brochures.

The first night, we checked into the hotel that we had booked at the airport. It was nothing fancy, but it was convenient, and fairly cheap. We went looking for a bar to chill at and we found that there were many to choose from on our end of the beach. We had a good first night out.

The next day, we decided to get a lay of the land. Railay, as I said, is a peninsula surrounded by high limestone cliffs. These cliffs make it a very popular place for rock climbers, and we constantly saw 20-somethings walking around with ropes looking to get 'belayed', haw. The cliffs also spared Railay from any serious damage in the 2004 tsunami. In fact, my tour guide told me that 0 people died in Railay. The peninsula is basically divided into East and West beaches. We stayed on the East beach, where all the inexpensive bungalows and restaurants were. The East beach was nothing to look at, though. The sand was stony and the mangrove trees blocked the view. There were several paths going over the land to the West beach, maybe a 15 minute walk. There we could sit on wide, white sand and see the cliffs rising out of the turquoise sea and the bikini girls playing volleyball. Ahh, life was good.

We spent the first few days just warming our bones on the beach and filling our bellies with exotic curries. We were in no rush to do anything that required the use of our bodies or brains. Rock climbing? No thanks. Kayaking? Sounds good, maybe later.

We did eventually get around to doing some stuff. One day we rented kayaks for a couple hours and explored the rocky coastline. Another day we took a boat to the nearby city of Ao Nang, looking for entertainment. We found it to be dirty and bland, too much like Taiwan. We opted for the more scenic views. Our last two days we spent taking tours. The first tour was an afternoon island hopping tour. We went to four islands, including one inhabited by thieving monkeys, and one called Chicken Head Island, where we donned snorkel masks and looked at the tropical fish. It was like swimming in the aquarium at my dentist's office. The water was that clear, and the fish were that colorful.

The second tour we took was an all day trek around the Krabi Provence of Thailand. We went to a hot spring, a crystal limestone pool, and to a rubber plantation (how exciting.) We also went to a temple on a mountain. Luke and Mike decided to be real men and take the 1200-something stone steps to the top of the mountain and visit the big golden Buddha. Will and I took the easier route up 300 steps to see a 1,000 year old tree. We also saw some monkeys humping.

Our last stop on this tour was an elephant trekking place, where we got on these big Pacific Pachyderms and headed out into the jungle. Actually, we just took a short 40 minute loop up a road and through some ditches, but I still felt like Indiana Jones. We also got to feed the elephants and that made me happy as hell.

We headed home the next day, and were treated to a week of rainy, cold, miserable weather. Still, looking at these photos makes me a bit warmer.


Joe's Photos:

Thailand - February 2008

Mike's Photos

Luke's Photos: 1 2 3 4 5 6 (some overlap with mine, but different captions)

Krazy Krabi

We're having an awesome time here. Perfect weather, sandy beautiful beaches, good food, cheap massages, and so far no dengue fever (but a bit of mild food poisoning.)

I'll upload a bit of a travel narrative, plus a whole mess of photos, when I return to Taiwan on Monday. Until then:

Thai Bound.

Just three more days until my Chinese New Year's vacation, and it can't come soon enough. The weather here in Linko is dreadful, it's been cold and rainy all week. I have had enough of work lately, and I've had enough of sitting around in my apartment because I don't want to drive my motorcycle through the rain or wind.

So in three days, Luke, Mike, Willie and I will be getting on a jet and flying here:



One picture's all you get until I get back, but a quick Google Image Search for 'Krabi, Thailand' or 'Railay Beach' will yield similarly astonishing views. Yes, I'll be relaxin' to the maxin' on the beach, beer and book in hand, and watching the waves. Maybe I'll head to Pei Pei Island for a day, or ride an elephant. I don't know, but I'm sure as hell going to relax and enjoy myself.

Cleaning Up Linko

Well, despite the loud campaigning, I guess the legislators of Taipei County are good for something after all. I just read this article from the China Post that says that Taipei county will start to come down hard on advertising vehicles parked in public spaces for long periods of time.

Those who park their vehicles at public parking spaces in Taipei County, northern Taiwan, for advertising purposes for a period of more than 15 days will see their parking fee doubled from the ordinary level, according to a resolution made by the Taipei County Council.

The county council has recently ratified a set of revisions to the statute governing the collection of parking fees at public parking lots, proposed by the Bureau of Transportation under the Taipei County Government.

Finally! For those of you who don't live here, you won't understand what bothers me without a visual aid:



These trucks, with ads for new apartments and condos that are being built all over Linko and other cities in Taipei County, take up many available parking spaces on many streets. They are unsightly, they often have broken windows or dogs living under them. Most have flat tires and are inoperable, and they also serve as handy obstructions to us scooter drivers trying to pull out into traffic. I'll be very happy if they start towing these things.

The Big Erection

Never mind the Iowa or New Hampshire caucuses in America. Never mind Obama or Huckabee or Hillary. The most important election to me right now is the one here in Taiwan. Taiwanese politics is, for the most part, still a mystery to me. I know that like America, it consists mainly of two opposing viewpoints- the pro-reunification Pan-Blue coalition headed by the Kuomintang (KMT) party, and the Pan-Green coalition headed by current President Chen Shui-bian's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP.)

Local elections are coming up soon, and all candidates fro my area are having a real go at campaigning. I don't really care who wins, and to be honest, I don't have any interest in researching their political standings right now. I just want it all to be over.

I'm sick today. Sick as a dog. I called off work and I am currently awake and typing this post instead of sleeping because these politicking bags of douche have rented vans emblazoned with their thumbs up and smiling smug selves and are having said vans drive up and down the streets of Linko, blaring political messages at hundreds of ear hemorrhaging decibels.

And if I were healthy enough to go to work, I'd pass dozens of billboards, signs, flags, banners, and other propaganda seemingly originating from only two good ol' boys from Linko, one with a green polo shirt and glasses, smiling and giving me the thumbs up, the other with a cornflower blue polo shirt and sans spectacles, but also giving me a toothy smile and a hearty thumbs up.

Shut up. Shutupshutupshutupshutup.

I know I am a newcomer to this country, and I should respect the fact that they even have democracy in the first place (and I do, believe me,) but I can still criticize the overly irritating and invasive way in which that democratic process is executed.

Say what you will about Obama or Huckabee, at least they let me get some sleep.

New Year's Eve

Luke and I went to a party through some friends of friends on a rooftop in Taipei for New Years' Eve. I was a bit sick, but I still had a good time. We had a great view of the 101 fireworks, which was easily the most impressive pyrotechnic show I've ever witnessed.


101 looked really cool, even before the fireworks.

There was normal dancing...



...and fire dancing



The main event:


(not my video)



And a few more of the evening...



Luke tooka nasty shot.

Our whole group (minus Jerry, who was taking this photo):
Full album:

New Year's 2008