As I began my first day of work at the orphanage, I quickly began to realize that, unlike the orphanage I visited in Africa, Kids International was extremely well run. They had a huge inflow of volunteers and most of them are staying on a long term basis, ranging from a team that is here for 6 weeks to a few people who will be here for a year…it makes my one week seem pretty pathetic! They were well organized and had a the funds to do some pretty amazing things (see my previous blog post). My work was to be whatever I wanted to make of it and so I began.
On my first day, I went to the school and helped out with the kindergarten class. I did have some experience with this as I most of my classes in Taiwan were kids of this age. The major difference was that most of these kids spoke remarkable English and this time I was the co-teacher helping out the real teacher who was Pilipino. In the evening I went with a bunch of people to Faith Academy, an international school where many missionary’s children go, and watched a basketball game. Friday is the night off for most volunteers, lucky me, on my first day of work, I got some time off!
Saturday was exciting for me. An 18 year old girl had decided to have her birthday party with the kids at the children’s home rather than a typical 18th birthday. She brought food, cake, games and presents for all the kids. I got to partake and had tons of fun! The evening was full of more children’s time, including devotions with the kids and helping them get ready for bed.
The first two days were awesome, I don’t think I did a lot to help but I was able to develop a relationship with the kids nonetheless and I guess that’s never bad!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Friday, December 7, 2007
Arriving in Manila
I left my life in Taiwan and headed strait for Manila in the Philippines. From Kaohsiung, I took a bus to Taipei, then a taxi to the airport, then an airplane to Manila. Once in Manila, I realized that I forgot to write down the address I was to give the taxi to meet Jeff Long, the man who runs the orphanage called Kids International that I am working at. I also forgot to write down his cell phone number. So I had to go to the nearest place I could to access internet, which I was told was the Mall of Asia. I took a taxi there, found a Starbucks with internet access. (Side note: there are more Starbucks in Asia then almost anywhere in the world, and I think I would have been dead in the water without them and their wireless internet throughout this entire trip!) From there I called Jeff, got the address and, incidentally, headed to another Starbucks to meet two Americans who are full timers at the orphanage.
Once, I walked into the Starbucks I saw two American ladies, Kim and Daisy. Kim is the school master and Daisy is a volunteer that helps with the babies, she is planning on being for a full year. With Kim and Daisy where 5 month old, twin boys named Danny and Jacob. Their mother did not want them, she attempted to abort them a few times by poisoning herself, but was unable to. Then, Kids International came along and offered to take them. They were born premature but are healthy now and very cute.
As I sat in Starbucks with Kim, Daisy, Danny and Jacob – I was able to learn much about the orphanage that I was about to go and work at as we had to wait for another girl who arrived thru the domestic airport. I discovered that Kids International has two orphanages, one in the south and one here in Manila. The orphanage in Manila has 29 kids. 24 are school aged and there are 5 babies. The 24 school aged children go to the school that Kids International runs. In the school, along with the 24 kids from the home, they also provide free schooling to about 50 community kids. They chose the kids in the community who don’t have dads. In exchange, the single mothers come in about once every two weeks and make lunch for the kids and clean the school up.
The school was built last year and also serves as a community church on Sunday and a community center on most evenings. The top floor is one large open aired gym with basketball courts.
I am sure as I continue my work here I will find out more interesting things, and one thing is for sure, I will be keeping you posted!
Once, I walked into the Starbucks I saw two American ladies, Kim and Daisy. Kim is the school master and Daisy is a volunteer that helps with the babies, she is planning on being for a full year. With Kim and Daisy where 5 month old, twin boys named Danny and Jacob. Their mother did not want them, she attempted to abort them a few times by poisoning herself, but was unable to. Then, Kids International came along and offered to take them. They were born premature but are healthy now and very cute.
As I sat in Starbucks with Kim, Daisy, Danny and Jacob – I was able to learn much about the orphanage that I was about to go and work at as we had to wait for another girl who arrived thru the domestic airport. I discovered that Kids International has two orphanages, one in the south and one here in Manila. The orphanage in Manila has 29 kids. 24 are school aged and there are 5 babies. The 24 school aged children go to the school that Kids International runs. In the school, along with the 24 kids from the home, they also provide free schooling to about 50 community kids. They chose the kids in the community who don’t have dads. In exchange, the single mothers come in about once every two weeks and make lunch for the kids and clean the school up.
The school was built last year and also serves as a community church on Sunday and a community center on most evenings. The top floor is one large open aired gym with basketball courts.
I am sure as I continue my work here I will find out more interesting things, and one thing is for sure, I will be keeping you posted!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
A Recap On My Taiwanese Adventure
Well, it is official; the little life I built for myself in Taiwan is over! I left on the luxury bus yesterday night and headed out to Taipei, once again. Only this time I left after having quit my job, leaving my apartment and saying good bye to the friends I had made in Kaohsiung. Not only was I leaving the city, I was leaving my new life. I headed to Taipei and hopped on a plane to the Philippines.
Perhaps this would be as good of a time as any to debrief my experiences in Taiwan. You have heard many of my adventures in previous posts but lets talk about the overall experience. I know, once I return I am going to get the age old vague questions – “how was Taiwan?” I will respond with an equally vague response – it was interesting!
There were many aspects of the experience that were disappointing, or rather, not what I expected. Teaching the children was a task that proved difficult. This had nothing to do with the children, but it was how I was expected to interact with them that proved problematic. I was to be stern, strict and regimented when all I wanted to do was hug them and have tons of fun! Also, the food was not so great. It appears that the Chinese people eat all the parts of the animals that the rest of the world simply does not want. Perhaps there was really good food there, but due to the language barrier I certainly could not find it!!
The one thing that I found wonderful about Taiwan was the people. They were incredibly friendly and, for the most part, always willing to help you out, even if they had a hard time due to the language barrier. The children were particularly cute. There was one little girl who totally stole my heart and I miss her a little. Her name is Kitty and she is 5 years old and the tiniest thing you have ever seen. Having 20 kids run up to you when you leave saying “good bye teacher Jordan,” “see you tomorrow,” “teacher Jordan good” or “teacher Jordan look” as they point to whatever random thing they think is interesting at the time (often a sock or their shirt!). There were the odd times where they would try their very best to hit you where it hurts because, apparently, a large white guy in excruciating pain is hilarious!! Despite these minor flaws, I will miss the little children very much.
I was able to see an island, experience a culture, and, most importantly, undergo some good old fashioned personal development in what I am going to describe as a great adventure. Though not everything went perfectly, it turned out for the best.
I missed Joelle a lot and it was very hard to be apart. However, we were able to get to know each other on an entirely new level and I would not trade our time apart for anything. It is going to make being together all the better when I get home.
I missed my family very much as well as the many comforts of home. But, being away from them makes me appreciate many of the things we take for granted everyday.
It was personally very hard at times, however, I am a stronger person for my experience. I learned a lot about myself and have much more confidence in my ability to cope with many things.
There were ups and downs, but it is through the fusion of these that I was able to have my true adventure. It was great and I am so glad I went on the trip. I am also going to be very glad to be home!
As I sit here in Manila, I am awaiting my brand new adventure to begin tomorrow in the Philippines. Stay tuned for more on that…
Perhaps this would be as good of a time as any to debrief my experiences in Taiwan. You have heard many of my adventures in previous posts but lets talk about the overall experience. I know, once I return I am going to get the age old vague questions – “how was Taiwan?” I will respond with an equally vague response – it was interesting!
There were many aspects of the experience that were disappointing, or rather, not what I expected. Teaching the children was a task that proved difficult. This had nothing to do with the children, but it was how I was expected to interact with them that proved problematic. I was to be stern, strict and regimented when all I wanted to do was hug them and have tons of fun! Also, the food was not so great. It appears that the Chinese people eat all the parts of the animals that the rest of the world simply does not want. Perhaps there was really good food there, but due to the language barrier I certainly could not find it!!
The one thing that I found wonderful about Taiwan was the people. They were incredibly friendly and, for the most part, always willing to help you out, even if they had a hard time due to the language barrier. The children were particularly cute. There was one little girl who totally stole my heart and I miss her a little. Her name is Kitty and she is 5 years old and the tiniest thing you have ever seen. Having 20 kids run up to you when you leave saying “good bye teacher Jordan,” “see you tomorrow,” “teacher Jordan good” or “teacher Jordan look” as they point to whatever random thing they think is interesting at the time (often a sock or their shirt!). There were the odd times where they would try their very best to hit you where it hurts because, apparently, a large white guy in excruciating pain is hilarious!! Despite these minor flaws, I will miss the little children very much.
I was able to see an island, experience a culture, and, most importantly, undergo some good old fashioned personal development in what I am going to describe as a great adventure. Though not everything went perfectly, it turned out for the best.
I missed Joelle a lot and it was very hard to be apart. However, we were able to get to know each other on an entirely new level and I would not trade our time apart for anything. It is going to make being together all the better when I get home.
I missed my family very much as well as the many comforts of home. But, being away from them makes me appreciate many of the things we take for granted everyday.
It was personally very hard at times, however, I am a stronger person for my experience. I learned a lot about myself and have much more confidence in my ability to cope with many things.
There were ups and downs, but it is through the fusion of these that I was able to have my true adventure. It was great and I am so glad I went on the trip. I am also going to be very glad to be home!
As I sit here in Manila, I am awaiting my brand new adventure to begin tomorrow in the Philippines. Stay tuned for more on that…
Walking The Streets of Taipei
Last weekend I headed up to Taipei. Most people in Taiwan think thedistance to Taipei is insurmountable, especially on a weekend trip. Idid, however, overcome the obstacle of distance and make it there viathe overnight bus. The trip itself is about 500 kilometres or less andtook no more than five hours with the bus stopping about six times topick-up/drop-off passengers along the way. The bus can only bedescribed as luxurious. For about $20, you received a lazy-boy likeseat that seemed to recline endlessly and would massage you at will.You had your own personal TV complete with the ability to play videogames plus a bus attendant with a call button who would bring you acookie or tea at any time. I would say this bus ride was the bestbargain I have found in Taiwan to date.
Feeling a little homesick, I opted out of the traditional hostel routeand decided to splurge on my last trip on the island and get a nicehotel room. I found a five-star hotel with a sweet last-minute deal.It was heaven. I arrived and was greeted with warm, friendly,English-speaking individuals!! This was probably the single mostexciting part of being there – locals who spoke perfect English. I wasable to ask them how to get around, what the good places to see wereand even where to get good food. The other very exciting part of thishotel was the shower head was actually above my head. In my apartmentand at every other hostel I have stayed at since I began my trip toAsia, the shower heads have come no higher than my shoulders. This mayseem like a small thing, but given the amount of time I have spentducking in the showers of Asia, it was heaven. I stayed in the hotelfor one night and I had four showers. Perhaps that will give you anindication of how exciting it was for me!!
Moving beyond my hotel room, I did actually go out and see the city ofTaipei. I decided to travel the city the good old fashioned way – onfoot! In some cases, I did hop on the MRT (their subway system) to getto the places that were really far away. My immediate impressions ofTaipei were that the city itself was very similar to Kaohsiung, thecity where I have been living. They are both big cities with lots ofscooters and lots of people. Taipei does, of course, have some verycool attractions that Kaohsiung does not – foremost among them: Taipei101.
Taipei 101 is modeled after a bamboo tree and stands, yes, 101 storiestall. It is new, modern and currently the tallest building in theworld. The bottom six levels comprise a modern, high-end mall that mybrother Jason would love! The upper floors are office buildings withthe 89th floor reserved for tourists to see. I was a tourist, so Iwent up the fastest elevator on earth to the 89th floor. It was prettycool!
After that I walked to the world trade center and around the downtowncore for a while. The department stores were flush with Christmasdecorations in an attempt to boost December sales in a culture that,for the most part, does not celebrate Christmas.
After much walking, I became fatigued and was just ready to relax. Istumbled upon a Starbucks, sat down and read my book for about 45minutes. Feeling refreshed, I made my way over to the biggest nightmarket in Taiwan.
I took the MRT and once I got off, my personal space was immediatelyinvaded. The night market was about six blocks long and four blockswide. The entire expanse of the night market was littered with people.It took me an hour and a half to walk down one street and up the other– a total of 12 blocks. There were more people packed into this onenight market than I have ever seen in my life. Couple this with theweird smells and I was fully ready to go by the time I had walked my12 blocks.
I then made the journey home, stopped at Pizza Hut to get some pizzaand headed back to my hotel room. I had another shower and went tobed. I slept in, had another shower, ate my complimentary breakfastand walked around a little more. Shortly after my walk, I took anotherone of those fantastic buses back to my home in Kaohsiung. All inall, it was a very fun trip – perhaps the most fun was the bus ride and the hotel room!!!
Feeling a little homesick, I opted out of the traditional hostel routeand decided to splurge on my last trip on the island and get a nicehotel room. I found a five-star hotel with a sweet last-minute deal.It was heaven. I arrived and was greeted with warm, friendly,English-speaking individuals!! This was probably the single mostexciting part of being there – locals who spoke perfect English. I wasable to ask them how to get around, what the good places to see wereand even where to get good food. The other very exciting part of thishotel was the shower head was actually above my head. In my apartmentand at every other hostel I have stayed at since I began my trip toAsia, the shower heads have come no higher than my shoulders. This mayseem like a small thing, but given the amount of time I have spentducking in the showers of Asia, it was heaven. I stayed in the hotelfor one night and I had four showers. Perhaps that will give you anindication of how exciting it was for me!!
Moving beyond my hotel room, I did actually go out and see the city ofTaipei. I decided to travel the city the good old fashioned way – onfoot! In some cases, I did hop on the MRT (their subway system) to getto the places that were really far away. My immediate impressions ofTaipei were that the city itself was very similar to Kaohsiung, thecity where I have been living. They are both big cities with lots ofscooters and lots of people. Taipei does, of course, have some verycool attractions that Kaohsiung does not – foremost among them: Taipei101.
Taipei 101 is modeled after a bamboo tree and stands, yes, 101 storiestall. It is new, modern and currently the tallest building in theworld. The bottom six levels comprise a modern, high-end mall that mybrother Jason would love! The upper floors are office buildings withthe 89th floor reserved for tourists to see. I was a tourist, so Iwent up the fastest elevator on earth to the 89th floor. It was prettycool!
After that I walked to the world trade center and around the downtowncore for a while. The department stores were flush with Christmasdecorations in an attempt to boost December sales in a culture that,for the most part, does not celebrate Christmas.
After much walking, I became fatigued and was just ready to relax. Istumbled upon a Starbucks, sat down and read my book for about 45minutes. Feeling refreshed, I made my way over to the biggest nightmarket in Taiwan.
I took the MRT and once I got off, my personal space was immediatelyinvaded. The night market was about six blocks long and four blockswide. The entire expanse of the night market was littered with people.It took me an hour and a half to walk down one street and up the other– a total of 12 blocks. There were more people packed into this onenight market than I have ever seen in my life. Couple this with theweird smells and I was fully ready to go by the time I had walked my12 blocks.
I then made the journey home, stopped at Pizza Hut to get some pizzaand headed back to my hotel room. I had another shower and went tobed. I slept in, had another shower, ate my complimentary breakfastand walked around a little more. Shortly after my walk, I took anotherone of those fantastic buses back to my home in Kaohsiung. All inall, it was a very fun trip – perhaps the most fun was the bus ride and the hotel room!!!
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Scooter All Gone!
On Thursday Afternoon, after a routine break between two of my classes where I ate lunch and talked to Joelle from my apartment, I went outside to get my scooter and ride on back to school. Only my scooter was not there. Unsure whether my scooter was stolen or towed away, I went to the security guard in my building to see if he knew what happened. He, of course, does not speak English. But, as luck should have it, a tenant of the building walked by who spoke some broken English and we were able to figure it out. Unknown to me, the security guard called the police. The problem is that I am technically driving my scooter illegally. Technically, everything I do here is illegal. All of a sudden, I was turned from victim to suspect!
All at once I have a police officer asking me for my motorcycle license and my working permit. First, I don’t have a motorcycle license. Second, I don’t yet have my working permit. I am starting to get nervous. I had earlier tried to call the principle at my school to inform her of my situation and ask for her help, but she was in a meeting. I tried to inform the police that it was not my scooter and that they would have to contact the owner – that is the person who I rented it from. They didn’t seem to understand and then a police cruiser pulled up and they asked me to get in so I could go to the police station with them. Just a little word of travel advice, don’t get into a police car when you don’t know why they want you to get in and dont understand what they are saying. SO, heeding my own advice I didn’t. Then, the principle from my school called me back and was able to talk to the police for me. She told them what I was telling them and the police left.
I went back up to my house, still a little worried about the entire situation. Then, I got a knock on the door of my apartment a few hours later. It was two armed police officers. They asked me again if MY scooter was stolen. I told them that it was not my scooter, but rather, the lady who I rented it from. They asked for her number and called her in front of me. I am not sure what exactly they came for? Was it just for the number, or for me? Whatever the reason, they talked to her on the phone and then left. About 3 hours later, my heart began to slow down again. This probably would not have been a big deal, maybe a fine. But, worst case scenario – I am held in jail and then deported. Not fun. That night, the lady who I rented the scooter from brought me slightly older and slightly crappier scooter. All was fine. However, my feeling of security and being at ease had eroded. I feel a little different now being here and am looking more forward to being home.
After this experience, only one question still looms….who in their right mind would steal my crappy scooter?????
All at once I have a police officer asking me for my motorcycle license and my working permit. First, I don’t have a motorcycle license. Second, I don’t yet have my working permit. I am starting to get nervous. I had earlier tried to call the principle at my school to inform her of my situation and ask for her help, but she was in a meeting. I tried to inform the police that it was not my scooter and that they would have to contact the owner – that is the person who I rented it from. They didn’t seem to understand and then a police cruiser pulled up and they asked me to get in so I could go to the police station with them. Just a little word of travel advice, don’t get into a police car when you don’t know why they want you to get in and dont understand what they are saying. SO, heeding my own advice I didn’t. Then, the principle from my school called me back and was able to talk to the police for me. She told them what I was telling them and the police left.
I went back up to my house, still a little worried about the entire situation. Then, I got a knock on the door of my apartment a few hours later. It was two armed police officers. They asked me again if MY scooter was stolen. I told them that it was not my scooter, but rather, the lady who I rented it from. They asked for her number and called her in front of me. I am not sure what exactly they came for? Was it just for the number, or for me? Whatever the reason, they talked to her on the phone and then left. About 3 hours later, my heart began to slow down again. This probably would not have been a big deal, maybe a fine. But, worst case scenario – I am held in jail and then deported. Not fun. That night, the lady who I rented the scooter from brought me slightly older and slightly crappier scooter. All was fine. However, my feeling of security and being at ease had eroded. I feel a little different now being here and am looking more forward to being home.
After this experience, only one question still looms….who in their right mind would steal my crappy scooter?????
Saturday, November 24, 2007
A Day in Tainan
The weekend after my adventure in Kenting, Gabe and I decided to take a trip to Tainan. Tainan is the former capital of Taiwan and is considered the cultural capital. Tainan, I was told by two of my adult students, is too far away to drive. According to the locals here, everywhere in Taiwan is too far away. In actuality, Tainan is 40 kms away from where I live in Kaohsiung.
On board our 50 cc scooters, Gabe and I made the journey in about an hour. We stopped first at a Buddhist temple. It was massive, old and really cool. We then went to about 3 more temples – all were very well manicured. Some had really interesting statues and some really incredible gardens, but after a while, they all started looking the same. So, we went to the Museum of Taiwanese Literature. It would have been really interesting, I am sure, had we been able to understand any of the exhibits. However, we got to look at some old books and that was pretty cool! I did, however, find that Taiwan, like Canada, is a relatively young culture. It is trying to invent itself after a colonial power. So there is a very conscious effort from the Taiwanese to create a sort of new national identity that fuses their Chinese heritage, Japanese colonization, a post colonial quasi dictatorial rule, and the more recent bout with democracy and creates a distinct Taiwanese identity.
After discovering all this, I became hungry. Gabe and I decided to find a bite to eat. Unfortunately, we could not find anything. So we wondered up to a street vendor. This is the type of restaurant where they have a “kitchen” on the side walk and set up two tables and a few plastic chairs and call themselves a legitimate restaurant! I went and asked for chicken, they said no. I then asked for a couple more things and they continued to say no. Then, they told me what I was going to eat – fish and rice. I sat down, and out comes a small bowl of rice with little chunks of what I thought were fish. I started to eat, but they felt really, really tender. Something did not seem right about this fish, but I decided to take a few more bites to see if it was one of those acquired tastes you hear so much about. Just as I had decided that this taste was most likely one that I was unlikely to acquire anytime soon, my fish came out in another bowl. So what was this strange substance in my rice if wasn’t my fish? I discovered that it was little chunks of fat. Yes, strait fat – yummy. They actually love fat here in Taiwan, I still don’t love it!
My fish, was an actual fish that had been gutted and boiled then served to me. What I received was a fish with fins, gills and bones in a bowl of hot water...another acquired taste I presume, but one that I have yet to personally acquire.
After our meal, Gabe and I went to the 7-11 and bought ourselves a snickers bar. The snickers bar has been my saving grace. Whenever I am starving and in serious need of food but cannot find anything to eat due to the language barrier, I can always grab a snickers bar at any of the many 7-11s to sustain me.
We drove home that night. Tainan was a great place with some great temples and some not so great food (according to me)!
On board our 50 cc scooters, Gabe and I made the journey in about an hour. We stopped first at a Buddhist temple. It was massive, old and really cool. We then went to about 3 more temples – all were very well manicured. Some had really interesting statues and some really incredible gardens, but after a while, they all started looking the same. So, we went to the Museum of Taiwanese Literature. It would have been really interesting, I am sure, had we been able to understand any of the exhibits. However, we got to look at some old books and that was pretty cool! I did, however, find that Taiwan, like Canada, is a relatively young culture. It is trying to invent itself after a colonial power. So there is a very conscious effort from the Taiwanese to create a sort of new national identity that fuses their Chinese heritage, Japanese colonization, a post colonial quasi dictatorial rule, and the more recent bout with democracy and creates a distinct Taiwanese identity.
After discovering all this, I became hungry. Gabe and I decided to find a bite to eat. Unfortunately, we could not find anything. So we wondered up to a street vendor. This is the type of restaurant where they have a “kitchen” on the side walk and set up two tables and a few plastic chairs and call themselves a legitimate restaurant! I went and asked for chicken, they said no. I then asked for a couple more things and they continued to say no. Then, they told me what I was going to eat – fish and rice. I sat down, and out comes a small bowl of rice with little chunks of what I thought were fish. I started to eat, but they felt really, really tender. Something did not seem right about this fish, but I decided to take a few more bites to see if it was one of those acquired tastes you hear so much about. Just as I had decided that this taste was most likely one that I was unlikely to acquire anytime soon, my fish came out in another bowl. So what was this strange substance in my rice if wasn’t my fish? I discovered that it was little chunks of fat. Yes, strait fat – yummy. They actually love fat here in Taiwan, I still don’t love it!
My fish, was an actual fish that had been gutted and boiled then served to me. What I received was a fish with fins, gills and bones in a bowl of hot water...another acquired taste I presume, but one that I have yet to personally acquire.
After our meal, Gabe and I went to the 7-11 and bought ourselves a snickers bar. The snickers bar has been my saving grace. Whenever I am starving and in serious need of food but cannot find anything to eat due to the language barrier, I can always grab a snickers bar at any of the many 7-11s to sustain me.
We drove home that night. Tainan was a great place with some great temples and some not so great food (according to me)!
Monday, November 19, 2007
A Trip To Paradise
A few weekends ago ( I know I have been bad at keeping this thing up to date!) I went to Kenting. Kenting is on the southern point of Taiwan and is the major tourist attraction here. It possesses a wonderful beach, many resorts and a strip that has restaurants, night clubs, arcades (this is Asia after all) and many random shops on the street. The weird thing is that when you hear tourist, you almost automatically think white people. When you are in Mexico and hear of a tourist spot, it usually means that it is the spot where the gringos hang out, and it is the same for many other places. However, in this tourist Mecca of Taiwan, Gabe and I were the only white people there.
Kenting is about 100km away from the city I am living in. 100km is nothing by Canadian standards, but for the Taiwanese, 100km is a formidable distance. When you consider the entire island is only 500km long, this short journey for a north American is seemingly endless one for the Taiwanese. Nonetheless, I decided to make the journey.
When I decided to go to Kenting I was originally going to go alone, however, another English teacher from Wisconson decided to join me. His name is Gabe. He had lived in Japan for two years with his Girlfriend – they went together. Then when they returned to rural Wisconson, he just couldn’t stand it – so he decided to come here. His girlfriend didn’t….so we were both in Taiwan alone and both had girlfriends back home. It turns out we had much more in common and have since become good friends.
We decided to take our scooters to Kenting. We both had 50cc scooters, as I have mentioned in a previous blog, but decided to drive there anyway. Many people told us this was a very bad idea. Both the locals and the foreigners here told us that a) your scooters will probably blow up or b) if they don’t blow up, it will take you forever to get there. Gabe and I, being the crazy adventurers that we are, opted to take our scooters anyway. We reseaned that within the city our scooters could comfortably reach 50km/hr. Given that it was a 100km journey – we could make it there in 2 hours driving time. Factor in periodic stops so that our scooters would not blow up, and we figure about 3 hours drive would get us to our destination. I thought to myself, I could, in the same amount of time get to paradise as it would take me to drive to Calgary…..it was a no brainer.
Well, as usually calculations aren’t always accurate. It took us closer to 4.4 hours to get there, however, we got totally lost leaving the city. Our drive home would prove our time calculations correct.
The drive there was exciting, despite that fact that my rear end was starting to get sore! As we left the core of Kaohsiung, we began to see the industrial sector. Just like a science fiction movie, there was an entirely different city connected to ours. Instead of delapitaded buildings mixed with new ones, it had old, run down manufacturing plants fused with the new and the modern plant. “Made in Taiwan,” this is where it all came from. We also saw some agriculture, which is basically really small little plots of land spread throughout factories and buildings. It was a very fin drive!
Once we arrived we checked into the Catholic Youth Hostel. It was very cheap - $350 NT, which is about $11 Canadian. The room is nice, but I would later find an ant infestation that haunted me in the night. By haunted me, I mean they would all climb on my bed and try to strike up a friendship. I subsequently killed them, but they just kept coming back for more – perhaps they didn’t get the memo – “huge white guy does not want to cuddle.”
After we got settled in we went to the beach. You will have to see pictures. Nice white sand, hammocks and bamboo umbrellas. It was really paradise. We stayed on the beach for the better part of the day.
After the beach we went for lunch. There was a restaurant offering a meal and free internet access for $90 NT. We couldn’t refuse. The meal was basically microwavable fish sticks and rice, but it was a good internet connection!
After dinner we walked around, checked out the street stalls then proceeded to 7-11 to buy a beverage. We then took those beverages to the beach and had a romantic moon lit beach date where both Gabe and I evoked our feelings of how much better this moment would be if we were with our girlfriends and not with each other. Neither of took offense to the others feelings!
I went to bed, had my run in with the ants. Then we woke up early and headed to the southern most tip of Taiwan. It was a beautiful. I officially stood on a the pointy ocean rock that was as far as I could go in Taiwan without going swimming and having the waves violently push me into said pointy rock!
After that we drove through the mountains. We went to a look out point where you could see both sides of the island – both the Taiwan straight and the Pacific Ocean. I kept on pointing towards the pacific and saying “this way to Canada” – Gabe told me to stop as apparently is wasn’t as funny as I thought.
We went back to the beach and I slept on a hammock on the beach – the sun kissed my face while the ocean breezed gently rocked me about in my hammock. It was heaven.
We drove home and made it a much faster trip – although we did get lost coming back into the city. Overall, it was awesome and one of the highlights of my trip to date!
Kenting is about 100km away from the city I am living in. 100km is nothing by Canadian standards, but for the Taiwanese, 100km is a formidable distance. When you consider the entire island is only 500km long, this short journey for a north American is seemingly endless one for the Taiwanese. Nonetheless, I decided to make the journey.
When I decided to go to Kenting I was originally going to go alone, however, another English teacher from Wisconson decided to join me. His name is Gabe. He had lived in Japan for two years with his Girlfriend – they went together. Then when they returned to rural Wisconson, he just couldn’t stand it – so he decided to come here. His girlfriend didn’t….so we were both in Taiwan alone and both had girlfriends back home. It turns out we had much more in common and have since become good friends.
We decided to take our scooters to Kenting. We both had 50cc scooters, as I have mentioned in a previous blog, but decided to drive there anyway. Many people told us this was a very bad idea. Both the locals and the foreigners here told us that a) your scooters will probably blow up or b) if they don’t blow up, it will take you forever to get there. Gabe and I, being the crazy adventurers that we are, opted to take our scooters anyway. We reseaned that within the city our scooters could comfortably reach 50km/hr. Given that it was a 100km journey – we could make it there in 2 hours driving time. Factor in periodic stops so that our scooters would not blow up, and we figure about 3 hours drive would get us to our destination. I thought to myself, I could, in the same amount of time get to paradise as it would take me to drive to Calgary…..it was a no brainer.
Well, as usually calculations aren’t always accurate. It took us closer to 4.4 hours to get there, however, we got totally lost leaving the city. Our drive home would prove our time calculations correct.
The drive there was exciting, despite that fact that my rear end was starting to get sore! As we left the core of Kaohsiung, we began to see the industrial sector. Just like a science fiction movie, there was an entirely different city connected to ours. Instead of delapitaded buildings mixed with new ones, it had old, run down manufacturing plants fused with the new and the modern plant. “Made in Taiwan,” this is where it all came from. We also saw some agriculture, which is basically really small little plots of land spread throughout factories and buildings. It was a very fin drive!
Once we arrived we checked into the Catholic Youth Hostel. It was very cheap - $350 NT, which is about $11 Canadian. The room is nice, but I would later find an ant infestation that haunted me in the night. By haunted me, I mean they would all climb on my bed and try to strike up a friendship. I subsequently killed them, but they just kept coming back for more – perhaps they didn’t get the memo – “huge white guy does not want to cuddle.”
After we got settled in we went to the beach. You will have to see pictures. Nice white sand, hammocks and bamboo umbrellas. It was really paradise. We stayed on the beach for the better part of the day.
After the beach we went for lunch. There was a restaurant offering a meal and free internet access for $90 NT. We couldn’t refuse. The meal was basically microwavable fish sticks and rice, but it was a good internet connection!
After dinner we walked around, checked out the street stalls then proceeded to 7-11 to buy a beverage. We then took those beverages to the beach and had a romantic moon lit beach date where both Gabe and I evoked our feelings of how much better this moment would be if we were with our girlfriends and not with each other. Neither of took offense to the others feelings!
I went to bed, had my run in with the ants. Then we woke up early and headed to the southern most tip of Taiwan. It was a beautiful. I officially stood on a the pointy ocean rock that was as far as I could go in Taiwan without going swimming and having the waves violently push me into said pointy rock!
After that we drove through the mountains. We went to a look out point where you could see both sides of the island – both the Taiwan straight and the Pacific Ocean. I kept on pointing towards the pacific and saying “this way to Canada” – Gabe told me to stop as apparently is wasn’t as funny as I thought.
We went back to the beach and I slept on a hammock on the beach – the sun kissed my face while the ocean breezed gently rocked me about in my hammock. It was heaven.
We drove home and made it a much faster trip – although we did get lost coming back into the city. Overall, it was awesome and one of the highlights of my trip to date!
Sunday, November 4, 2007
The Taiwan Series
Since before I arrived in Taiwan, I wanted to go to a baseball game. Being the big baseball fan that I am, and seeing that baseball is one of Taiwans favorite sports, it just made sense. Reading the news paper I discovered that the Taiwan Series was underway which, as I found out, is basically the Taiwan World Series. It was game six that afternoon, so I grabbed my baseball hat and headed to the ball diamond. Well, that isnt as easy as one would think, so I had to stop about 12 times to ask for directions. This is always an interesting experience considering no one here speaks English....so there are lots of animated hand gestures, pointing and very slow talk with the locals - which when you think about it is the most ridiculous thing ever - but for what ever reason, I guess universally we think that if someone does not understand you when you are talking at a normal pace, they will magically understand you when you are talking slowly!!!
Anyway, I get to the ball diamond, the first inning has just begun and I hear a loud roar from the crowd - I start to get really excited! I find out, after about 15 minutes of confusion and then finally finding a Canadian guy who has lived in Taiwan for 3 years, that you line up in one line to buy tickets if you are cheering for the home team, or the other line if you are cheering for the away team. Having no die hard loyalty either way, I decide to go in the away teams line up because it was much shorter!
I entered the corridor and immediately realised that actually finding my seat was going to be a process....and it was! I went to one person and they pointed me in the basic direction, then to another and they would get me a little closer, then to another and so on. From the time I entered the door to the time I found my seat was roughly 45 minutes of being lost - mind you I stopped to get a little pop corn too! I was now at the ball diamond for 1 hour and 15 minutes and had just entered my seat...welcome to a foreign a country where you dont speak their language and they dont speak yours I thought to myself!
I sat down in what was the bottom of the third inning - not too bad! The fans were loud! But, as is Asian culture, incredibly considerate and very structured. The stadium was divided perfectly in half, with each teams fans sitting on their respective sides. Each team had cheer leaders, which included actual cheerleaders - who actually sang while they did their little dances in between innings ( they love the Karaoke here - they love it ALOT!!), they had full bands with drums and trumpets and they had chant leaders. The truly amazing part of it was that each sides fans took turns doing their chants. There was no contest in who could chant louder then the other, they waited their turn and chanted their little hearts out. When one team was batting then their fans, and only their fans, would chant. When the other team was up, then their fans would chant. And chant they did. They must have had a dozen different chants and every single fan would yell in PERFECT unison....Perfect. They each had a different beat and each person tapped their noise makers together with flawless precision. It was truly something to behold. I didnt think it could go on for the entire game, but it did - and seemed to get louder! I had a head ache by the end, but it was soooo worth it and one amazing experience!
Oh yah, the game was really good too!!!!!
Anyway, I get to the ball diamond, the first inning has just begun and I hear a loud roar from the crowd - I start to get really excited! I find out, after about 15 minutes of confusion and then finally finding a Canadian guy who has lived in Taiwan for 3 years, that you line up in one line to buy tickets if you are cheering for the home team, or the other line if you are cheering for the away team. Having no die hard loyalty either way, I decide to go in the away teams line up because it was much shorter!
I entered the corridor and immediately realised that actually finding my seat was going to be a process....and it was! I went to one person and they pointed me in the basic direction, then to another and they would get me a little closer, then to another and so on. From the time I entered the door to the time I found my seat was roughly 45 minutes of being lost - mind you I stopped to get a little pop corn too! I was now at the ball diamond for 1 hour and 15 minutes and had just entered my seat...welcome to a foreign a country where you dont speak their language and they dont speak yours I thought to myself!
I sat down in what was the bottom of the third inning - not too bad! The fans were loud! But, as is Asian culture, incredibly considerate and very structured. The stadium was divided perfectly in half, with each teams fans sitting on their respective sides. Each team had cheer leaders, which included actual cheerleaders - who actually sang while they did their little dances in between innings ( they love the Karaoke here - they love it ALOT!!), they had full bands with drums and trumpets and they had chant leaders. The truly amazing part of it was that each sides fans took turns doing their chants. There was no contest in who could chant louder then the other, they waited their turn and chanted their little hearts out. When one team was batting then their fans, and only their fans, would chant. When the other team was up, then their fans would chant. And chant they did. They must have had a dozen different chants and every single fan would yell in PERFECT unison....Perfect. They each had a different beat and each person tapped their noise makers together with flawless precision. It was truly something to behold. I didnt think it could go on for the entire game, but it did - and seemed to get louder! I had a head ache by the end, but it was soooo worth it and one amazing experience!
Oh yah, the game was really good too!!!!!
Driving a Scooter in Taiwan
One of the most exciting parts of this experience in Taiwan has been driving a scooter all around Taiwan. Most of the time it is wild, occasionally a little scary and sometimes ends up being just too insane to handle. The only rule with scooters here is that, as the cliche goes, there are no rules. For example, to turn left, you dont just turn left on a scooter, you have to drive to the other side of the intersection, and join the traffic flowing in the correct direction you want to go. So you end up having to wait at two lights instead of just one. For many Taiwanese this just isnt acceptable! So, they cross over to the wrong side of the road, wait at the red light and then start driving into on coming traffic to stop the need to wait at two lights. If you dont understand and are a little confused, dont worry, I am too - and I have been here driving for a while!
There is also no such thing as a red light here. When the yellow light flashes, that does not mean slow down, it means that if you are within a block of the light punch it full throttle, close your eyes and go. One time I was waiting my turn to go, being the good polite Canadian that I am, my light turned green and I waited for about 10 seconds for the rest of the scooters to finish running the red light so I could go. You would think that at this point horns would be honking, hands with certain fingers displayed would be waving with vigor, and the odd profane death threat would be shouted out....but that is just not the case. First of all, culturally, there is no room for showing emotion - especially not anger. It is seen as weekness. Second, nobody gets mad, because everyone knows that in the next 2 minutes, they will be doing the exact same thing!
My scooter is a rental. It is called the Jog 5o Basic. First, it is from the scooter company Jog - which is the lowest end of scooters in Taiwan. In fact it may be like comparing a brand new BMW to a 1985 Russian car. Secondly, it is the basic model - which means that it is the lowest end Jog out there. In addition, that little "50" in there means it is a 50 cc motor - the smallest motor out there. What I am trying to say is that as far a scooters go, mine is on the low end of the totem poll! The fact that I am probably the tallest guy in Kaohsiung (I am not even joking about that) is funny enough for all these taiwanese add to this that I am driving the smallest scooter available and the end result is that I get lots of funny looks!
I found a video on youtube that shows it pretty well, although this video is not in rush hour, so add about three times the scooters and that is what it is like for me driving home! All the streets you see are streets that I have been on, in fact been on often! the link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUJF0omwviQ - enjoy. You can also YouTube "Scooters in Taiwan" or "Scooters in Kaohsiung" and see more fun!
So, the scooter is one of the best parts but also the most scary! It has brought me closer to God as I am in constant conversation with him while driving my scooter!!!!!! :)
There is also no such thing as a red light here. When the yellow light flashes, that does not mean slow down, it means that if you are within a block of the light punch it full throttle, close your eyes and go. One time I was waiting my turn to go, being the good polite Canadian that I am, my light turned green and I waited for about 10 seconds for the rest of the scooters to finish running the red light so I could go. You would think that at this point horns would be honking, hands with certain fingers displayed would be waving with vigor, and the odd profane death threat would be shouted out....but that is just not the case. First of all, culturally, there is no room for showing emotion - especially not anger. It is seen as weekness. Second, nobody gets mad, because everyone knows that in the next 2 minutes, they will be doing the exact same thing!
My scooter is a rental. It is called the Jog 5o Basic. First, it is from the scooter company Jog - which is the lowest end of scooters in Taiwan. In fact it may be like comparing a brand new BMW to a 1985 Russian car. Secondly, it is the basic model - which means that it is the lowest end Jog out there. In addition, that little "50" in there means it is a 50 cc motor - the smallest motor out there. What I am trying to say is that as far a scooters go, mine is on the low end of the totem poll! The fact that I am probably the tallest guy in Kaohsiung (I am not even joking about that) is funny enough for all these taiwanese add to this that I am driving the smallest scooter available and the end result is that I get lots of funny looks!
I found a video on youtube that shows it pretty well, although this video is not in rush hour, so add about three times the scooters and that is what it is like for me driving home! All the streets you see are streets that I have been on, in fact been on often! the link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUJF0omwviQ - enjoy. You can also YouTube "Scooters in Taiwan" or "Scooters in Kaohsiung" and see more fun!
So, the scooter is one of the best parts but also the most scary! It has brought me closer to God as I am in constant conversation with him while driving my scooter!!!!!! :)
Monday, October 22, 2007
Edumicating the Youngins
I have now been out of the Canada for about two weeks, and in Taiwan for about 10 days. It has been a wild experience so far. It seems like I have been out of Canada for a very long time, much longer than two weeks. The transition to this very new and very different culture has been hard at times. Couple my feelings of culture shock and missing friends, family and Joelle with experiencing all these feelings in relative relational solitude, and there are times that are very tough. On the other hand, I am experiencing what many only ever dream of. This trip is truly dichotomous, a cohesion of tough times and excellent ones - often all at once!
Keeping with that theme of hard and amazing all in one experience, lets talk about teaching english to kindergarten students. I officially have my own class now. The youngest in my class are 2 years old with the oldest being 5. That is a naturally difficult age range to teach to, never mind the differing language skills. I have a Taiwanese teacher in my class that helps with discipline. By helps with discipline I mean that when a student gets out of line she scares the living crap out them, usually makes them cry and, sometime, gives them a good whack! I am told by other teachers that I will need to get used to my students being hit, because it is going to happen - that is just the way it goes in this country. I have been here one week and seen it one time, although in this case, it was a mild smack on the butt!
The teaching itself is going to be an exercise in energy conservation. I have these young kids for 2 full hours. Trying to keep the kids who are this young focused for that long is a trial all on its own, never mind the reality that they usually dont understand everything I am saying and with the simple action of no longer looking at me, can tune me out at any time. Some kids are better at english than others are, but for the most part, even the simple concepts have to explained in great detail using many different forms of body language.
Although this will be a challenge, it has already been rewarding. Hearing "good morning Teacher Jordan" in their cute little accents is one of the highlights of my day. They are so cute and I enjoy almost every moment with them. It is hard to be a good disciplined teacher, as I have to be here in Taiwan, when all you want to do is give them a big hug! I have a feeling that these kids will be the highlight of my trip!
So, thus far life in Taiwan has been full of many challenges and many good times. I really miss those back home in Canada, but am grateful for every second I am here - I know it is a blessing and an experience that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. And, for all those blessings I have back home, I know that I will cherish them so much more once I return.
Keeping with that theme of hard and amazing all in one experience, lets talk about teaching english to kindergarten students. I officially have my own class now. The youngest in my class are 2 years old with the oldest being 5. That is a naturally difficult age range to teach to, never mind the differing language skills. I have a Taiwanese teacher in my class that helps with discipline. By helps with discipline I mean that when a student gets out of line she scares the living crap out them, usually makes them cry and, sometime, gives them a good whack! I am told by other teachers that I will need to get used to my students being hit, because it is going to happen - that is just the way it goes in this country. I have been here one week and seen it one time, although in this case, it was a mild smack on the butt!
The teaching itself is going to be an exercise in energy conservation. I have these young kids for 2 full hours. Trying to keep the kids who are this young focused for that long is a trial all on its own, never mind the reality that they usually dont understand everything I am saying and with the simple action of no longer looking at me, can tune me out at any time. Some kids are better at english than others are, but for the most part, even the simple concepts have to explained in great detail using many different forms of body language.
Although this will be a challenge, it has already been rewarding. Hearing "good morning Teacher Jordan" in their cute little accents is one of the highlights of my day. They are so cute and I enjoy almost every moment with them. It is hard to be a good disciplined teacher, as I have to be here in Taiwan, when all you want to do is give them a big hug! I have a feeling that these kids will be the highlight of my trip!
So, thus far life in Taiwan has been full of many challenges and many good times. I really miss those back home in Canada, but am grateful for every second I am here - I know it is a blessing and an experience that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. And, for all those blessings I have back home, I know that I will cherish them so much more once I return.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Arriving in My New Home
On Friday October 12, 2007 - I arrived in what would become my new home for the next while. It is a diffirent experience getting off the plane and knowing that this is your new home, and yet you have no idea what to expect once you leave the airport! I passed through security, collected my bags and wondered into the unkown. The principle at my school, Ellen, came to pick me up. It was really nice to have a local person who could speak English walk me through the steps. The first stop we made was to meet the English director at the school, Gareth - a guy from Ottawa who has been in Taiwan for 8 years now. From there we went to Walton school, the school I will be teaching at and I took a tour. It is a really nice place - very modern and clean. After I finished my tour, Ellen informed me that an agent was coming to let me look at some apartments with him and that hopefully I would have an apartment by the end of the day so that I wouldnt need to find a hotel! So, in the span of about 2 hours, I had a new city to call home, a new place of employment and was soon to have a new apartment - talk about moving fast! So after looking at about 4 different places, all of which were old and run down, I stumbled accross one in an old run down building that was clean and newly renovated. The furniture was new and I could not find a bug anywhere! Being my fathers son, I didnt want to make a decision too quickly so I said I would hold off on it, even though it had been the best one so far. The land lord realizing I was new in the country and a little unsure offered to let me stay there for the night to test it out, if I liked it I could stay, if not I could just give her a little bit of money and move on. Well, again being my fathers son, I did not want to make any decisions too quick so I asked her to let me stay the entire weekend while I exlpored the city and looked at some more places. She agreed but hers was the best and I will be signing the lease very soon!
The next morning ( that being saturday) I met gareth and he fixed me up with a cell phone and a scooter! I was told I could not survive in the city without one because it is really big and the transit system is obsolete ( although a brand new one will be completed in one year). The scooter was exciting and scary. I have to admit that it was really fun, however, given the fact that the traffic here is insane, it was, and still is, very scary! I spent the rest of the day on saturday on my scooter exploring the city on my new scooter.
Sunday was more aparment hunting and a little relaxation. I found a starbucks about 2 blocks away from the apartment I was staying in(which helped me decide to stay there!). In a time when I was experiencing so many unfamiliar things, starbucks gave me the familiar I needed! It also provided wireless internet which was nice!
Then on sunday night, I went to church. It was not my type of church persay, but the poeple were freindly and they spoke english. I got some phone numbers of some poeple who would be willing to help me if I ever got into trouble which made me feel much, much better.
Then on monday I started my journey into educating young children....which is another blog post altogether!
All in all, Kaohsiung is an intersting city. It is mostly old and run down buildings with new, modern ones popping up and an ever increasing rate. The city that used be characterised as an over polluted, industrial city with little to offer has become a city that is still really polluted, but offers rich culture and some interesting sights. I am looking forward to exploring it, and the entire Island further.
The next morning ( that being saturday) I met gareth and he fixed me up with a cell phone and a scooter! I was told I could not survive in the city without one because it is really big and the transit system is obsolete ( although a brand new one will be completed in one year). The scooter was exciting and scary. I have to admit that it was really fun, however, given the fact that the traffic here is insane, it was, and still is, very scary! I spent the rest of the day on saturday on my scooter exploring the city on my new scooter.
Sunday was more aparment hunting and a little relaxation. I found a starbucks about 2 blocks away from the apartment I was staying in(which helped me decide to stay there!). In a time when I was experiencing so many unfamiliar things, starbucks gave me the familiar I needed! It also provided wireless internet which was nice!
Then on sunday night, I went to church. It was not my type of church persay, but the poeple were freindly and they spoke english. I got some phone numbers of some poeple who would be willing to help me if I ever got into trouble which made me feel much, much better.
Then on monday I started my journey into educating young children....which is another blog post altogether!
All in all, Kaohsiung is an intersting city. It is mostly old and run down buildings with new, modern ones popping up and an ever increasing rate. The city that used be characterised as an over polluted, industrial city with little to offer has become a city that is still really polluted, but offers rich culture and some interesting sights. I am looking forward to exploring it, and the entire Island further.
A Delayed Account of My Hong Kong Experience
After a long flight, a train ride, driving in a taxi, checking into my hostel(which I didnt book until I landed on the ground in Hong Kong) and a short sleep, I woke up in a totally unfamiliar place ready to explore. I went to bed that night with a really wierd feeling - not having any idea where I was in relation to anything else. I knew I was in Hong Kong, but other than that - I was lost. So the first thing I did was get a map! From there I took my backpack and started walking.
I started in Kowloon (Cosmopolatin Hong Kong has two main areas - central Hong Kong which is where all the western businesses are and is the more "international area" and Kowloon, which is accross the bay from Hong Kong and is the more distinctly chinese area). After walking for about 45 minutes I made my way to the water. I found a ferry accross the bay for $2.2 HKD ( about 30 cents) and explored the international side first. I saw the tallest building in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong version of time square, modern malls, sophisticated technology, old run down buildings and almost everything in between. After my adventures there, I crossed the bay one more time by my trusty ferry and went to Kowloon. There I found the art museum, science museum and the most interesting part of Hong Kong, the chinese culture. Along the main routes you would find modern buildings with some western familiarity. But, when you went off the main tourist path you would find the real Hong Kong. The Hong Kong that, unfortunately, most tourists probably dont bother to see. THe streets were alive with street vendors, the sky was busy with signs jutting out from every possible place on the old buildings. The shops usually sold one or two things. I remember a stretch of road where one shop sold doors, the next door nobs and just two shops down you could find any kind of door bell you wanted. The poeple were friendly, but used to a white face - it is Hong Kong after all. But, the highlight of Hong Kong was that on the MTR ( mass transit railway - their underground subway) the poeple of Hong Kong dedicated a subway terminal after me. Now, you can go to Hong Kong and find Jordan Station! I took a couple of pictures! My last stop in Hong Kong was a light show. Like most things in Hong Kong, they held nothing back. The light show was to a chinese symphony and the buildings in Hong Kong Central were all ecquiped with different lights. The symphony would play and the buildings would literally flash to the music. So there you have it, dancing buildings - that was pretty neat!!
In summation, Hong Kong was really exciting. It was an intersting fusion between old and new, western and eastern. I would definatley recomend anyone to go there and explore. They say in the Lonely Planet that is is possible to stay there for $250HKD a day if you are incredibly frugal - well I am proud to say that yours truly was there for two nights and almost two full days and I spent a total of $200HK....just shows that staying in hostels and exploring everything by foot will keep you richer in your pocket book and, perhaps, give you a richer cultural experience!
I started in Kowloon (Cosmopolatin Hong Kong has two main areas - central Hong Kong which is where all the western businesses are and is the more "international area" and Kowloon, which is accross the bay from Hong Kong and is the more distinctly chinese area). After walking for about 45 minutes I made my way to the water. I found a ferry accross the bay for $2.2 HKD ( about 30 cents) and explored the international side first. I saw the tallest building in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong version of time square, modern malls, sophisticated technology, old run down buildings and almost everything in between. After my adventures there, I crossed the bay one more time by my trusty ferry and went to Kowloon. There I found the art museum, science museum and the most interesting part of Hong Kong, the chinese culture. Along the main routes you would find modern buildings with some western familiarity. But, when you went off the main tourist path you would find the real Hong Kong. The Hong Kong that, unfortunately, most tourists probably dont bother to see. THe streets were alive with street vendors, the sky was busy with signs jutting out from every possible place on the old buildings. The shops usually sold one or two things. I remember a stretch of road where one shop sold doors, the next door nobs and just two shops down you could find any kind of door bell you wanted. The poeple were friendly, but used to a white face - it is Hong Kong after all. But, the highlight of Hong Kong was that on the MTR ( mass transit railway - their underground subway) the poeple of Hong Kong dedicated a subway terminal after me. Now, you can go to Hong Kong and find Jordan Station! I took a couple of pictures! My last stop in Hong Kong was a light show. Like most things in Hong Kong, they held nothing back. The light show was to a chinese symphony and the buildings in Hong Kong Central were all ecquiped with different lights. The symphony would play and the buildings would literally flash to the music. So there you have it, dancing buildings - that was pretty neat!!
In summation, Hong Kong was really exciting. It was an intersting fusion between old and new, western and eastern. I would definatley recomend anyone to go there and explore. They say in the Lonely Planet that is is possible to stay there for $250HKD a day if you are incredibly frugal - well I am proud to say that yours truly was there for two nights and almost two full days and I spent a total of $200HK....just shows that staying in hostels and exploring everything by foot will keep you richer in your pocket book and, perhaps, give you a richer cultural experience!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Lost in Hong Kong
I arrived in Hong Kong at about 11pm Hong Kong time. The adventure begun. I did not really have a sense for where i was going to be sleeping, though I had got the name and number of a few places. After spending about 25 minutes looking for a phone, I proceeded to find a place. THen, not having any clue where it was or how to get there I went to visitor information and got the directions in english, then written in mandarin. I took a train and then got a taxi. gave him the directions in mandarin and off I went. The wierdest feeling is having to totally rely on someone else. Not having a working phone anymore (which is wierd in and of itself) if something went wrong, I would be in Hong Kong with no means of getting ahold of anyone, and, perhaps scarier, no one to get ahold of.
But, here I sit in my hostel. It is somewhere in Kowloon, which is a district of Hong Kong. The room is small, but private. it is about 5.5 feet wide and about 8 feet deep. The ceiling are normal height, but the bed is small and hard. I have an air conditioner and a little tv and I share a bathroom with about 4 other poeple. The bathroom is pobably about the size of the shower in my house. The only difference is that in that space their is a toilet, a sink and the shower. The shower head comes up to my chest!
So here I sit. In the middle of Hong Kong not knowing anyone and not having any idea where I am exactly. I will endeavor to discover this tomorrow when it is light outside. Until then I will anticipate the adventure to come in the morning.
But, here I sit in my hostel. It is somewhere in Kowloon, which is a district of Hong Kong. The room is small, but private. it is about 5.5 feet wide and about 8 feet deep. The ceiling are normal height, but the bed is small and hard. I have an air conditioner and a little tv and I share a bathroom with about 4 other poeple. The bathroom is pobably about the size of the shower in my house. The only difference is that in that space their is a toilet, a sink and the shower. The shower head comes up to my chest!
So here I sit. In the middle of Hong Kong not knowing anyone and not having any idea where I am exactly. I will endeavor to discover this tomorrow when it is light outside. Until then I will anticipate the adventure to come in the morning.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Awaiting the Unknown
Here I sit in the Vancouver airport awaiting my 13 hour flight to Hong Kong. It is a weird feeling, sitting in the familiarity of Canada and awaiting the total unknown! I saw an Asian travel group not too long ago. The tallest of them came up to my chest, the shortest to my belly button. They spoke fast and with passion, I had no idea what was going on. I imagine this, but on a much larger scale, will be my experience once I arrive in Taiwan. It is scary, yet somehow exciting. Is it madness to step onto a plane and have no idea what will await you on the other side, to go to a country with 1.3 billion people, and yet know no one? Part of the time I think it is, other times I realize that these experiences stretch us and make us stronger. I have no doubt that this experience will be a broad amalgamation of good times, great times, and challenges. It is however the mixture of these that will make it what I wish it to be, the reason I decided to go; a truly life changing experience.
I wish to say to my friends that you are awesome and I can’t wait to come and tell you all my stories and show you all my pictures. We will keep in touch through the marvel of the internet and all its applications (ie. facebook!). To my mom and dad, thank you for everything you have done to help me with this trip. I would not be sitting in this airport without you! Thank you also for instilling in me the confidence that allows me to take on such an endeavor. To Carissa, you are seriously my best friend and I will really miss you, however, not much will change! Instead of me talking to you in which ever random city you are in, I will be talking you on the phone from Taiwan while you are in a random city. To the boys, Jason and Josh, a big brother could not ask for better little brothers, even though one of you is already bigger than me and the other is soon to follow. Over the years our relationship has turned from me baby sitting you and running from charging stools, to a relationship of genuine friendship. There are no other guys on the planet I would rather spend time with than you, I will miss you lots but we will talk often and perhaps send the odd email back and forth! Joelle, what can I say. When I planned this trip about 7 months ago, I had no idea that I would meet someone as amazing as you. The last 5 and a half months have been awesome and I wouldn’t trade them for anything, even though it doesn’t make leaving Edmonton any easier. Your support in this whole situation, and the fact that you are cool with me leaving for 6 months, is incredible. I am a very lucky guy to have you in my life.
Next time I write I will probably be lost in Hong Kong somewhere!!! Until then have fun in Edmonton. It was 27 degrees in Taiwan yesterday (thought you might like to know!).
I wish to say to my friends that you are awesome and I can’t wait to come and tell you all my stories and show you all my pictures. We will keep in touch through the marvel of the internet and all its applications (ie. facebook!). To my mom and dad, thank you for everything you have done to help me with this trip. I would not be sitting in this airport without you! Thank you also for instilling in me the confidence that allows me to take on such an endeavor. To Carissa, you are seriously my best friend and I will really miss you, however, not much will change! Instead of me talking to you in which ever random city you are in, I will be talking you on the phone from Taiwan while you are in a random city. To the boys, Jason and Josh, a big brother could not ask for better little brothers, even though one of you is already bigger than me and the other is soon to follow. Over the years our relationship has turned from me baby sitting you and running from charging stools, to a relationship of genuine friendship. There are no other guys on the planet I would rather spend time with than you, I will miss you lots but we will talk often and perhaps send the odd email back and forth! Joelle, what can I say. When I planned this trip about 7 months ago, I had no idea that I would meet someone as amazing as you. The last 5 and a half months have been awesome and I wouldn’t trade them for anything, even though it doesn’t make leaving Edmonton any easier. Your support in this whole situation, and the fact that you are cool with me leaving for 6 months, is incredible. I am a very lucky guy to have you in my life.
Next time I write I will probably be lost in Hong Kong somewhere!!! Until then have fun in Edmonton. It was 27 degrees in Taiwan yesterday (thought you might like to know!).
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Getting Ready To Go
Well, I am about to embark on my adventure in Asia. Yesterday I booked my flight and I will be off to the wonderful world of Asia. I leave Edmonton on Tuesday October 9 and will arrive in Hong Kong on October 10. From Hong Kong, I plan to move to Taiwan. It will be a wonderful experience and I am looking forward to the good times, and the challenges, that are sure to come. Stay tuned for my many adventures!
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