It's been almost a week since I've arrived in Taipei, and I've been keeping busy. The glasses appointment went well (much less miscommunication than with the haircutter) and I now have my own Chinese hipster glasses! Jason arrived on Monday and we have been traveilng around Taiwan ever since. We spent Tuesday in Hua Lian, a city on the east coast of Taiwan, and Wednesday at nearby Taroko Gorge, an incredible national park with breathtaking mountains, river, sheer cliffs, tunnels, caves, you name it. Today we are in a hot springs resort in the tiny rural town of Zhiben, another coastal city. We've already enjoyed the hot springs and taken a bike ride around the area, and I'm taking advantage of the internet while Jason is taking his jet lag-induced nap.
Here are some things I've learned about myself and Taiwan so far:
1. My Chinese can improve dramatically if I'm thrown into a complete immersion situation. I still garble up my words, have a translation delay, mess up my tones, use bad grammar, and completely misunderstand people, but I can communicate with hotels and train station managers and taxi drivers and all sorts of people better than I expected. I feel like using it constantly has forced me to be more confident about my language. Before I arrived I was afraid I had forgotten everything I learned from studying abroad in Beijing and from my college Chinese classes, but I've realized that my listening comprehension has improved for good.
2. The Taiwanese people I've encountered so far are really courteous, polite, and helpful. Many of them know upon first interaction that I'm not from Taiwan, but they have not tried to take advantage of me or treated me like I'm wasting their time. Instead, they are patient, accommodating, and very helpful. I've gotten great directions, and taxi drivers who explain the city to me, 7-11 clerks who give me the best tea eggs in the pot, and hotel managers who open a store just so Jason and I can shop there.
3. Family generosity knows no bounds. I have a distant cousin named Yi Qing in Hua Lian who I've never met, but she insisted on treating me and Jason to dinner, and then she took Wednesday off work so she could serve as our personal tour guide to Taroko Gorge. She drove us there, prepared lunch for us (complete with hot tea and coffee and our own mugs), spent 4-5 hours telling us about the gorge and taking us down the trails and to see the major sights, brought us back to the city and treated us to dinner, and then dropped us off at the train station. All of this with no compensation and perhaps no chance for me to ever do the same for her in the United States. I loved getting to know Yi Qing and spending time with her, and am full of gratitude for how she and all of my relatives here in Taipei have created a sense of home for me.
4. It may be 50-60 degrees here and not a snowflake in sight, but it can still feel pretty cold! Most Taiwanese people I see are walking around with puffy down jackets and UGG boots. Taiwan is so hot most of the year that there are no heated buildings, and I have to layer up to sleep through the nights. It feels like Bay Area weather - chilly, humid, wet, and windy. So although I'm glad I'm avoiding the blizzards back in the States, the t-shirt and shorts I brought will have to wait until Thailand.
5. Lunar New Year here is like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Year's Eve all rolled into one. It's still about a month away but all the stores are playing New Year's music nonstop (much more upbeat with more cymbals, brass, and gongs than Christmas music, but it just makes it more inescapable) and selling New Year's candy, banners, and random paraphenalia. I think everyone gets 2 full weeks of vacation so that they can go see their families. There are gifts exchanged, and huge banquets, and lots of excitement and fireworks. I almost wish I could be here to experience it, but it's a logistical nightmare and I am grateful that I will be in NJ for Lunar New Year with my maternal grandma and cousins.
6. There's no way I can eat everything here! Sadly, my stomach and appetite has not been cooperating, mostly because of jet lag, but also because I probably overdid it in the first few days and ate too much fried street food. My family here constantly outeats me. In fact, around them I experience what my friends experience around me, which is a mixture of awe/nausea at how much they eat. I have found myself saying, "I'm sorry, I'm full", "What, you're ordering more?" and "But we just ate!" a shameful number of times. It's nice to know that there are others like me when it comes to inhaling food, but I am giving my stomach a break for now so I can catch up with my family next week.
7. Seems like riding a bike is something I only do in Asia nowadays. The last time I rode one before today was in Beijing. Today, since we're in such an isolated place without regular taxi service, Jason and I decided to bike our way into town. We rented 2 bikes for 4 hours for about $3 US dollars, adjusted the rickety things, and coasted down the hills and took in the lush mountain scenery. We shared the road with scooters, cars, and stray dogs and enjoyed the cool weather and the good exercise. I was afraid that I was going to be unsteady since it's been 4 years since I got on a bike, but well, you know how the cliche goes.
Forgive me for the corny simile, but being here in Taiwan has felt like riding a bike. Like there was a way of being and inhabiting this world that I learned when I was here the first time that I thought I had forgoten or lost. But now that I am back, the language, skills, habits, and memories I thought I had forgotten have returned. They were just waiting for me to need them again.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
first things first: Taiwanese haircut
I made it to Taipei! My flight went smoothly, although my 6 AM stopover in Anchorage, Alaska was pretty surreal. (one of the first things I saw when I got off the plane was a huge stuffed stag head staring at me from behind a glass case) I slept about 7 hours on the plane, ate the decent food and didn't get sick, and watched The Social Network.
My aunt and cousin woke up early to come pick me up at the airport at 7 AM local time. We took a bus to the the Taipei train station and then a cab to their apartment. The bus ride took about an hour because of traffic, and in the gray early morning light I could still see the lush green mountains. It was in the taxi, with the cabbie chatting away in a mix of Taiwanese and Mandarin, that it really hit me. I'm here! I made it! I'm back in Taipei, with all the scooters, traffic, palm trees, narrow alleys, the tiled sidewalks filled with plastic stools and food stands, crowds and the markets and traditional Chinese characters everywhere. This is the first time I've returned to a city in Asia, and it felt like a homecoming. Memories from my first trip to Taiwan that I haven't thought about in years came flooding back. Even the sewer smell made me nolstagic.Walking up to my uncle's apartment, where I stayed for so long the first time I was here, was a surreal and amazing moment.
I spent my first day here sleeping, eating, and soaking in the thrill of being here. Seeing my uncle again, who reminds me so much of my dad, was wonderful. As the 5 of us (my uncle, aunt, and their two adult children) sat around in the living room, watching TV and chatting, I felt like I had been absorbed into their family. Even though my 3rd grade Chinese definitely limits my interaction, and I haven't seen everyone for 5 years, it still felt natural. Like I belonged. I am so grateful for their love, warmth, and generosity.
I'm also grateful that there's internet access in their apartment! :) So I will use this blog as a more traditional travel diary during my trip now that I know I can update fairly regularly. And here's my first silly anectdote!
Today I had an adventure at the hair salon. I wanted to get my hair cut before I left the U.S. but wasn't able to make it happen. So my aunt took me to a local hair salon. I've gotten my hair cut in Asia before but it always manages to throw me off. I wish one of my Chinese language classes covered haircutting vocab because I never really know what's going on. This salon was fancy, with flat screen TVs embedded in the mirror for you to watch and hot tea to drink while you're waiting. Also, I got a shoulder, arm, hand, and head massage while I was getting my hair washed. The young woman who was giving me the massage and washing my hair was unfailingly polite, checking in with me every minute or so about how I was doing. Unfortunately, she also talked in a very quiet, high-pitched, breathy voice that made it really hard for me to understand her. Our conversations went a little like this:
"Do you want to [incomprehensible]?"
"What?"
"Do you want a [slightly rephrased but still incomprehensible]"
"Um, I'm sorry, I don't understand."
(I think she actually stamps her foot in frustration at this point) "I said [???]."
(wishing my aunt was next to me so she could translate) "Uh okay."
At this point I'm about to tell her that I'm not from around here and don't know what she's saying, but then she abruptly leaves. I sit there with lather in my hair for about 30 seconds until another hairdresser has to say to me slowly and loudly, "Rinse. Go to the back for a rinse."
Luckily, by the time I show up in the back looking sheepish, someone has explained to my patient but confused hairwasher that I'm an American. I'm relieved, because up to this point I think she probably thought I was either really slow or trying to be difficult. This comes up a lot when I'm in Asia - I'm too tall to really be from around here, but I also look ethnically Chinese and have a passable command of the language, and no one believes that Asians can really be Americans. (To them, Americans are white. End of story.) So the locals usually treat me like I'm a lapsed Chinese - that I may have strayed abroad for a bit but have now come home so my inherent knowledge of Chinese language, customs, and etiquette will take over for me. When I continue to stumble through everyday interactions, people sometimes get frustrated or treat me like I'm an idiot, until I emphasize again then I was born and raised in America (which still sometimes doesn't let me off the hook). My hairwasher seemed intrigued that I was from America and wanted to talk to me about it. She asked if I understood Chinese, and I said I could understand most of what's said to me as long as peope spoke slowly. She said "oh okay, I'll speak more slowly."
She then turned on the water full blast and proceeded to speak to me more slowly, but at the same whisper-quiet volume of before. Which resulted in a lot more of me asking "what?" and nodding okay when she didn't ask me a yes or no question. A particularly ridiculous exchange went like this:
"Did I rinse [something something]?"
"Yes, yes."
"Where?"
"What? (what do you mean, where?)"
"[something something] rinse your hair."
"Yes, please rinse my hair. (didn't you just do this?)"
"No, is there any part I haven't rinsed?"
"Oh. No, no, everything's fine."
Nothing like conversations like that that make me feel like I wasted 4 years of college-level Chinese language instruction.
Luckily, my haircutter was much louder and clearer and with my aunt's help I was able to get my point across. I got a nice haircut in the classic Asian mullet fashion, with feathered layers and all. The whole thing, including a hairwash and massage for my aunt, ended up costing less than $30 US. Sweet.
Tomorrow, I plan on getting some new glasses. I have no grasp of any Chinese vocab one uses when visiting an optometrist or picking glasses, so I'm looking forward to more adventures in miscommunication. :)
My aunt and cousin woke up early to come pick me up at the airport at 7 AM local time. We took a bus to the the Taipei train station and then a cab to their apartment. The bus ride took about an hour because of traffic, and in the gray early morning light I could still see the lush green mountains. It was in the taxi, with the cabbie chatting away in a mix of Taiwanese and Mandarin, that it really hit me. I'm here! I made it! I'm back in Taipei, with all the scooters, traffic, palm trees, narrow alleys, the tiled sidewalks filled with plastic stools and food stands, crowds and the markets and traditional Chinese characters everywhere. This is the first time I've returned to a city in Asia, and it felt like a homecoming. Memories from my first trip to Taiwan that I haven't thought about in years came flooding back. Even the sewer smell made me nolstagic.Walking up to my uncle's apartment, where I stayed for so long the first time I was here, was a surreal and amazing moment.
I spent my first day here sleeping, eating, and soaking in the thrill of being here. Seeing my uncle again, who reminds me so much of my dad, was wonderful. As the 5 of us (my uncle, aunt, and their two adult children) sat around in the living room, watching TV and chatting, I felt like I had been absorbed into their family. Even though my 3rd grade Chinese definitely limits my interaction, and I haven't seen everyone for 5 years, it still felt natural. Like I belonged. I am so grateful for their love, warmth, and generosity.
I'm also grateful that there's internet access in their apartment! :) So I will use this blog as a more traditional travel diary during my trip now that I know I can update fairly regularly. And here's my first silly anectdote!
Today I had an adventure at the hair salon. I wanted to get my hair cut before I left the U.S. but wasn't able to make it happen. So my aunt took me to a local hair salon. I've gotten my hair cut in Asia before but it always manages to throw me off. I wish one of my Chinese language classes covered haircutting vocab because I never really know what's going on. This salon was fancy, with flat screen TVs embedded in the mirror for you to watch and hot tea to drink while you're waiting. Also, I got a shoulder, arm, hand, and head massage while I was getting my hair washed. The young woman who was giving me the massage and washing my hair was unfailingly polite, checking in with me every minute or so about how I was doing. Unfortunately, she also talked in a very quiet, high-pitched, breathy voice that made it really hard for me to understand her. Our conversations went a little like this:
"Do you want to [incomprehensible]?"
"What?"
"Do you want a [slightly rephrased but still incomprehensible]"
"Um, I'm sorry, I don't understand."
(I think she actually stamps her foot in frustration at this point) "I said [???]."
(wishing my aunt was next to me so she could translate) "Uh okay."
At this point I'm about to tell her that I'm not from around here and don't know what she's saying, but then she abruptly leaves. I sit there with lather in my hair for about 30 seconds until another hairdresser has to say to me slowly and loudly, "Rinse. Go to the back for a rinse."
Luckily, by the time I show up in the back looking sheepish, someone has explained to my patient but confused hairwasher that I'm an American. I'm relieved, because up to this point I think she probably thought I was either really slow or trying to be difficult. This comes up a lot when I'm in Asia - I'm too tall to really be from around here, but I also look ethnically Chinese and have a passable command of the language, and no one believes that Asians can really be Americans. (To them, Americans are white. End of story.) So the locals usually treat me like I'm a lapsed Chinese - that I may have strayed abroad for a bit but have now come home so my inherent knowledge of Chinese language, customs, and etiquette will take over for me. When I continue to stumble through everyday interactions, people sometimes get frustrated or treat me like I'm an idiot, until I emphasize again then I was born and raised in America (which still sometimes doesn't let me off the hook). My hairwasher seemed intrigued that I was from America and wanted to talk to me about it. She asked if I understood Chinese, and I said I could understand most of what's said to me as long as peope spoke slowly. She said "oh okay, I'll speak more slowly."
She then turned on the water full blast and proceeded to speak to me more slowly, but at the same whisper-quiet volume of before. Which resulted in a lot more of me asking "what?" and nodding okay when she didn't ask me a yes or no question. A particularly ridiculous exchange went like this:
"Did I rinse [something something]?"
"Yes, yes."
"Where?"
"What? (what do you mean, where?)"
"[something something] rinse your hair."
"Yes, please rinse my hair. (didn't you just do this?)"
"No, is there any part I haven't rinsed?"
"Oh. No, no, everything's fine."
Nothing like conversations like that that make me feel like I wasted 4 years of college-level Chinese language instruction.
Luckily, my haircutter was much louder and clearer and with my aunt's help I was able to get my point across. I got a nice haircut in the classic Asian mullet fashion, with feathered layers and all. The whole thing, including a hairwash and massage for my aunt, ended up costing less than $30 US. Sweet.
Tomorrow, I plan on getting some new glasses. I have no grasp of any Chinese vocab one uses when visiting an optometrist or picking glasses, so I'm looking forward to more adventures in miscommunication. :)
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
on my way
In about six hours I will board my plane for a 20 hour flight to Taipei.
I have spent the last week in NJ with my extended family and enjoying their boisterous company. We celebrated the new year together, ate dim sum and hot pot, went to karaoke, played board games (I highly recommend Settlers of Catan), watched movies and TV and anime, shopped, and spent countless hours around the kitchen table just hanging out and joking around. I saw my oldest aunt's new apartment and had afternoon tea with her and my cousins. I saw what 2 feet of snow looks like in Edison, NJ. I got to play with my baby cousin who toddled around with a stuffed pineapple and chased the dog. In short, I had a wonderful vacation and felt like I really got to relax and be present with my family instead of stressing about my trip.
Life here has a pace and rhythm of its own, and all decisions are made for me. Though sometimes it's frustrating to not have control over my days, I've enjoyed not having to feel responsible or busy. I've liked sleeping in, having company around, and hearing my grandma's voice mixed with the sound of her cooking.
I think this feeling of comfort, of being taken care of, of being part of a family will carry through when I go to Taiwan. I am visiting my dad's relatives there (everyone in NJ is connected to my mom and her family). My aunt will pick me up from the airport and I will be staying in their apartment for the first few nights I'm there. I know I will be comfortable, safe, and looked after, which eases my anxiety and uncertainty about my trip.
There is a part of me that still has a hard time believing that this is really about to happen, that in a few short hours I will get on a plane to Asia. My trip is my gift to myself, my break, but also my escape. It was a way to convince myself to leave my job. Traveling abroad was a decent way of explaining my departure from an organization that I have poured all of myself into for the last 2 years. It was a tidy thing to say when people asked me what I was going to do next, a way of avoiding saying, "I have no idea." My trip was always something to work towards, to look forward to, and I never thought through what it would mean to actually live it.
I still have no idea what I'm doing, but am opening my heart to whatever the experience will bring me. I'm grateful that I have family waiting for me to arrive, that I'm a much more seasoned traveler now than when I went to Asia for the first time when I was 15, that I will have my own space and a degree of autonomy, that I have the time, resources, and ability to go on an adventure of my own making. I'm excited and nervous, but so glad that this is how I get to start my new year. Beneath the "AAAHHH what the hell am I doing?!" feeling is the part of me that is thrilled by the chance to take a plunge.
I will try to update this blog when I can while I'm in Asia. Thanks for your love and support. I would not be going on this adventure without all of you who encouraged me to live my desires and just go for it. So, that's enough processing. Now it's just time to do this thing. :) See you on the flip side!
I have spent the last week in NJ with my extended family and enjoying their boisterous company. We celebrated the new year together, ate dim sum and hot pot, went to karaoke, played board games (I highly recommend Settlers of Catan), watched movies and TV and anime, shopped, and spent countless hours around the kitchen table just hanging out and joking around. I saw my oldest aunt's new apartment and had afternoon tea with her and my cousins. I saw what 2 feet of snow looks like in Edison, NJ. I got to play with my baby cousin who toddled around with a stuffed pineapple and chased the dog. In short, I had a wonderful vacation and felt like I really got to relax and be present with my family instead of stressing about my trip.
Life here has a pace and rhythm of its own, and all decisions are made for me. Though sometimes it's frustrating to not have control over my days, I've enjoyed not having to feel responsible or busy. I've liked sleeping in, having company around, and hearing my grandma's voice mixed with the sound of her cooking.
I think this feeling of comfort, of being taken care of, of being part of a family will carry through when I go to Taiwan. I am visiting my dad's relatives there (everyone in NJ is connected to my mom and her family). My aunt will pick me up from the airport and I will be staying in their apartment for the first few nights I'm there. I know I will be comfortable, safe, and looked after, which eases my anxiety and uncertainty about my trip.
There is a part of me that still has a hard time believing that this is really about to happen, that in a few short hours I will get on a plane to Asia. My trip is my gift to myself, my break, but also my escape. It was a way to convince myself to leave my job. Traveling abroad was a decent way of explaining my departure from an organization that I have poured all of myself into for the last 2 years. It was a tidy thing to say when people asked me what I was going to do next, a way of avoiding saying, "I have no idea." My trip was always something to work towards, to look forward to, and I never thought through what it would mean to actually live it.
I still have no idea what I'm doing, but am opening my heart to whatever the experience will bring me. I'm grateful that I have family waiting for me to arrive, that I'm a much more seasoned traveler now than when I went to Asia for the first time when I was 15, that I will have my own space and a degree of autonomy, that I have the time, resources, and ability to go on an adventure of my own making. I'm excited and nervous, but so glad that this is how I get to start my new year. Beneath the "AAAHHH what the hell am I doing?!" feeling is the part of me that is thrilled by the chance to take a plunge.
I will try to update this blog when I can while I'm in Asia. Thanks for your love and support. I would not be going on this adventure without all of you who encouraged me to live my desires and just go for it. So, that's enough processing. Now it's just time to do this thing. :) See you on the flip side!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)