taipei

Just thought I'd drop in and say hello from the other side of the world (well, the end opposite of New York City). I arrived in Taipei two weeks ago and have been having a good time so far.

How I got here ... I wish I could explain it myself. Went through a rough patch this spring: split up with a few friends, saw others move to new places, had this disastrous episode with my best friend getting his girlfriend of a month pregnant. Also had my heart busted into a million pieces (not fun). And work - I just wasn't happy there and fell into complacency, and that gave birth to this unrelenting guilt about the lack of direction in my life, yadda yadda, etc. Your typical quarterlife crisis stuff, I suppose.

So, I quit my job a few weeks ago, packed up and came to Taiwan to improve my Chinese (one of the things I was feeling guilty about, never having learned well my parents' own language). It's been okay. Taipei is great: There is sooooooooo much great food to eat here, and the city constantly hums with this frenetic energy that is so exhausting yet oddly addictive. There are people everywhere all the time, always doing strange and peculiar things. I felt like such a small fish in Manhattan; but Taipei truly makes you seem the size of an ant.

I have been here several times before, so the sights and smells are not unfamiliar. Eating whole fish and duck heads is not strange, seeing Chinese writing everywhere is not intimidating and the etiquette (or lack of) is not startling. However, what's starting to sink in is the fact that I'm here for the foreseeable future, that I am not on vacation and won't return to all my friends and routine comforts in a few days, weeks or even months. There reason I am here is to overcome the language barrier. My daily challenge is not to get too discouraged. When someone sees I am of Chinese/Taiwanese descent, he expects me to speak like a native; when it becomes apparent that I cannot, a look of disgust or ridicule is not unexpected. It's a very humbling experience.

I start Chinese classes in early September at ShiDa (Nat'l Taiwan Normal Univ), and I'll be working part-time at a medical supply company, thanks to my dad's connections (yes, this is a VERY humbling experience). I'm living with my mom's younger sister and her family - when I get a chance, I'll post photos of our gorgeous view from the 13th floor.

I wish I had more to say right now - I've sort of spaced out and can't recall much of what I've done/seen/eaten over the past weeks. OH, for you sushi lovers: Last Saturday we went to Donggang, in the southern part of the island, where they host Taiwan's tuna festival every May/June. The toro was un-fucking-believable. Literally melts in your mouth like a slab of soft butter, and so full of that tender, juicy tuna goodness. Sigh, the 20 pounds I dropped this year will certainly return with haste, I've decided.

Any questions? Fire away! I've never seen people eating roasted bugs or spiders here (re: IOTD), but if I see anything truly extraordinary, I'll report asap. :eek:

Oh cool... Been to the night markets yet? Quite fun if you're looking for somewhere to stroll around...

Jia you to your Chinese learning!

Remember to have fun while you're doing this! It might be a good idea to journal while you're there to try to keep things in focus.

I highly recommend not going to the Shilin market, though, if youre hitting the markets, its overpriced and overcrowded. Ask around a bit and you can find some much better shopping.

And give Yangminshan a hike, its a fun hike, there's even a really nice waterfall/relaxing pool I can give you directions to, though its a bit of a hike outta TianMu.

Though I disagree about the New York thing... Having lived in both Honk Kong and Beijing previously, I would say that Taipei is like the halfway point... the size and scale of Beijing, but the westernization and smaller feel of HK.

Ibram wrote:

I would say that Taipei is like the halfway point... the size and scale of Beijing, but the westernization and smaller feel of HK.

Very true. I haven't yet been to HK (hopefully soon!) - I hear that place is nuts.

I handle cities just fine, but I'd much prefer the mountains. Odd how I ended up in a city that is more crowded than NY.

I'm horrible about keeping a journal. I've tried so many times, but it just doesn't work. Just don't have the ability to commit to it for some reason. I set up a new blog instead ... I don't like blogs but typing on a computer is so easy and fluid for me that I'd likely more often use that instead.

We live just south of ShiDa - I hear the night market there is probably the best in the city. But I've seen enough night markets. What I need are pubs and some hot Taiwanese chicks.

Sounds fascinating - pictures, pictures and more pictures please!

And plenty of detail about food & drink on sale (with prices). Its the minutae that interests me - sometimes I think that's where you feel the most difference.

this is a quick panoram i did of the view from our balcony. um, the exposure lock didn't set properly. i'll do it again when the weather is decent, maybe use a tripod too.

this is facing ... northwest-ish. we live in the southern end of the city; the central area is just past the hill in the middle-ground. the tower in the distance, taipei 101, is the empire state building of taiwan and sits at the corner of the city's times square.

Seriously, if you're a mountain person, go up to Zhongshan Bei Lu section 7. From the upper end of sec. 7 you can go right into the mountain.

Or, you could take a weekend and make your way to Hualien... the one road between Taipei and Hualien goes right along the coast...
and the mountains go STRAIGHT to the water.
It's a beautiful drive, especially if you have time to hit Taroko gorge while youre down Hualien way.

Yeah, I've never been down the east coast. I plan to hit all the major stops - Ilan, Hualian, Taitung, Lu Dao, Lan Yu. At some point, I'd like to tackle some of the mountains. I've been to Alishan. No idea what kind of grade the other peaks are like - I know places like Yu Shan are pretty serious, but I've only asked my mom, and she doesn't know much about outdoor stuff.

BN amazing shots. Don't swaet the auto exposure probs. We get the picture. Cool.

Have fun, hey maybe Ibram can skip out of school as your tour guide.

(Trying my best to help keep you out of school, Ibram.)

breakingnews wrote:

So, I quit my job a few weeks ago, packed up and came to Taiwan .... My daily challenge is not to get too discouraged. When someone sees I am of Chinese/Taiwanese descent, he expects me to speak like a native; when it becomes apparent that I cannot, a look of disgust or ridicule is not unexpected. It's a very humbling experience.

Very impressive BkN. That's really the only way to get enough time off for a long pleasure/exploration trip for Americans. Save your cash, quit and then just go!

As for the language situation, I've had the exact same thing happen in England. :D

Have a great time man. Watch the sweet meat.

breakingnews wrote:

I set up a new blog instead ... I don't like blogs but typing on a computer is so easy and fluid for me that I'd likely more often use that instead.

Typing while hooked to the Cellar is easy and something you're experienced at. Then you can gather up your posts and write the great Chinese-American novel. :thumb:

OK I know this isn't a photo of Taipei, but I took it saturday morning at the Botannical Gardens. It makes me warm and fuzzy inside.

And here's one of Taipei 101 at night, although it's kinda dark. We were out late. It doesn't look very tall, does it?? But it's currently the world's tallest building, although soon to be eclipsed by the new project in Bali and possibly whatever replaces the WTC.

This is the Lin Antai homestead, Taipei's oldest residence. Built in the 1780s by one of Taiwan's richest families, it was to be demolished in 1960-something to make way for a highway. Locals petitioned to have it preserved, the house was finally moved - piece by piece - to its current location in Yuan Shan.

It has 30 rooms and is hot as a motherfucker.

Today concludes a weeklong sit-in aimed at coercing Taiwan's president to step down from his post. Kuomintang supporters have been occupying the massive boulevard in front of the presidential palace since last Saturday; at any given time, the attendance has ranged from just a few hundred to about100,000 (KMT is touting 200,000-300,000, but police say the event has peaked at 90,000-100,000). Supporters of Chen Shui-bian plan to hold a rally tomorrow morning in the same location - what many are worried about is that stragglers from the protest will clash with the support movement.

A quick snapshot of Taiwan's political scene: Taiwan has enjoyed a relatively peaceful existence since a series of tumultuous events triggered a government overhaul in the late 70s/early 80s. Although the KMT party - these folks fled China during the cultural revolution and, after unsuccessfully regaining control of the mainland, settled for running the island nation - remained the majority, the popular election of a Taiwanese-born president (Lee Teng-hui) in 1996 signaled interest in continuing social reform and developing a national identity different from China's. The Democratic Progressive Party was also formed, and it generally represented complete independence from China. DPP candidate Chen was elected president in 2000 and 2004.

While the people of Taiwan generally favor maintaining political distance from China, many fear the consequences of formal moves to independence (China claims Taiwan as a special administrative region with sovereign rule, like Hong Kong). Thus Chen won the 2004 re-election by a slim 30,000-vote margin. His supporters tend to be those who are several generations Taiwanese (my ancestors migrated in the 1700s), the elite/wealthy and the unskilled/poor, who are afraid of losing more jobs to the mainland. These people are afriad that loosely opening ties with China could eventually transfer control the mainland, which would not hesitate to completely erase Taiwan's identity.

On the other side, Chen's opponents are those who think independence should be gradually attained, because they fear that any serious abrasion with China in the short-term could cripple Taiwan's economy. A boycott of Taiwanese products would be devastating to the island. Furthermore, about $51 billion - 70% of Taiwan's outbound investments - have been sent to China, and any conflict might severely diminish the possibility of ever recovering those assets. There's a growing population of capitalists in Taiwan who feel that the island of 23 million is quickly running out of room to expand, and that open trade channels with China is the only way to ensure Taiwan's future.

Back to this week's protest: KMT has been looking for ways to get Chen out of office. They got just that this year when a series of corruption scandals were uncovered. Members of Chen's immediate family were busted for insider trading, accepting payments, etc., and some of his aides were also caught for various acts. The situation has gotten so bad that even some DPP members are calling for Chen to step down.

I went to the protest site last night to take some photos. Today would have been the best day to go - KMT leaders were planning a huge finale - but I have to be on a bus to visit my parents in two hours.

Sorry for the history lesson. Here are some photos.





For some, being at the protest before the presidential palace was something of a novelty.

Thanks for the lesson, bn....you make the world affairs class such a pleasure. :D

BTW, that second picture is a Pulitzer. It's got all the elements, the jacket(shirt?), the sign, the cheerleader yelling, the stalwart resolve or maybe worry of the guy in the background, very powerful.


Unfortunately the third picture shows you can't keep your mind on the work. She is cute, though.