My Final Post in Ihla Formosa (Beautiful Island)

Wow, somehow I only have one week left in Taiwan.  That's a very difficult fact to come to terms with considering that it feels like two weeks ago that I packed my bags in DC and my parents dropped me off at LAX.  My emotional state is composed of excitement and sadness.  I'm excited to return home to the people I love and my real life, although I've honestly started to forget what that is exactly.  I'm excited to begin school again and get back to work.  I'm excited for the two CALIFORNIA BURRITOS I will eat in 12 hours in San Diego and the Taylor's Gourmet Sandwiches I will pound down in DC.  

I am sad that I will soon be leaving this country.  I will deeply miss all of the kind, hospitable, and generous friends I've met here.  I will miss the beautiful geography, awesome Chinese food, and the bustling night markets.  I will also miss what is both so endearing and humorous about the Taiwanese, like missed translations, little kids yelling at me, and old men flopping around at 7am doing Tai-Chi.  These are things that I will be hard pressed to find in America.  I suppose that this lends me greater reason to keep practicing Mandarin and to one day re-trace my experience here.

I've done a lot since my last post.  I've visited Hong Kong, an island called Xiao Liu Chiu, Tainan, went back to Kenting, and won second place in a Talent Show that our group was vastly unprepared for.  Pictures and video are included below.  I'll spend this week wrapping up classes, saying goodbye to friends, visiting a local trail famous for monkeys that steal food, and going cliff jumping from a waterfall somewhat close to campus.  All in all, it's bound to be a great last week here.  See everyone soon.

Zai Jian (Good Bye),

Brendan

In Hong Kong, the old and the new exist harmoniously.  This picture serves of an example of that - a two hundred year old Church (with a re-furbished exterior) with a Gotham City-like sky scraper in the background.  

A "Big Ass Buddha" in Hong Kong.  It's actually called the Tian Tian Buddha, which I believe translates to "Sky Buddha."  It was honestly huge and definitely worth climbing all those stairs to see. 

Hong Kong definitely has the most beautiful skyline I've ever seen.  This shot was taken from Victoria Peak.  Feel free to note the British influence.  Our hostel was on the other side of the river.  

We had to take one day at the beach.  Hong Kong has a range of solid beaches anywhere from twenty minutes to two hours outside of the city center.  Taylor, my buddy I met here, is on the left and Andy Liu, an old buddy from San Diego, is on the right.

Jie Jie (older sister in Chinese), Taylor, and I taking a ride after lunch in Xiao Liu Chiu.  I got bitch.  

The group in front of "Vase Rock" in Xiao Liu Chiu.

View of a secluded beach in Xiao Liu Chiu with Kaohsiung (Taiwan's second biggest city) in the far background.  This place was pretty close to paradise.  I definitely want to go back in the future.

My fruity board and I in Kenting.  It was good enough to catch a few waves on.

Our Kenting host, Jason, and his son, gege.  In Chinese culture, you usually address an individual older or younger than you by their family role.  In this case, gege means "older brother."  Jason is the man and one of the most generous people I've ever met.  

A little surf store in Kenting

Gino (G-Money) and I enjoying two of Mexico's finest.  It took a long time for me to explain what G-Money means and why it is a good nickname.

Our group's talent show.  I was really not happy to be forced into what I felt was a meaningless exercise.  It just seemed so silly.  Supposedly, Americans react to having to the talent show the same way every year.  The Taiwanese just see it as an important part of their culture that we ought to learn more about.  Fair enough. 

Post #3: Kenting, Taipei, and other happenings

It's really weird to think that this trip is half way over.  The last two weeks have been pretty hectic.  We're tested about 3-4 days per week and have been really busy over the weekends.  We went to Kenting two weeks ago.  Kenting is the "surfer's paradise" of Taiwan, a little town that has five to ten epic breaks.  Two of my buddies, Bart and Josh, and I decided to stay a few more days to catch some rays and check out the whole scene.  We were really impressed by Kenting's beauty and night market.  Overall, it was an awesome experience.

This past weekend a group of about twelve of us went to Taipei, Taiwan's capital city.  I didn't expect it to be so developed and full of so many foreigners.  We met a bunch of Americans, Europeans, and South Pacific islanders.  We had three crazy nights and four long days.  We didn't get much rest but definitely saw most of the city.  

This weekend my friend Taylor and I are heading to Hong Kong.  We'll be there for four nights.  I will post about it when I get back.  Until then, enjoy some pictures from my recent travels.

Brendan

This picture gives justice to Kenting's nick name of "Tawaii."  Surprisingly, the air and water is actually warmer year-round than Hawaii.   

View from our hostel  

Our buddy and hostel owner, Archie.  Another funny name of the friendly Taiwanese.  He's a huge surfer and really liked showing us around.  

Chang Kai Shek Memorial

A nice view from Dansui, a little town outside of Tapei

Taipei 101, the second tallest building in the world

A gazebo inside the mall.  Their malls are the most extravagant pieces of work I've ever come across.  They're much more advanced, detailed, and high-end than most of what we know in the US.

We had to do it, a shot of snake blood that is.  Notice our pickled friends in the background.  

My new buddy, Sylvester, and I

It's important to stop and appreciate the little things that get lost in translation sometimes.  Note the name of their sale.

We had no idea what this was but honestly came across it 3-5 times.  Maybe a clothing store?  Regardless, I'm not sure if I should be creeped out or what.

My Thoughts After Two Weeks

It's been a quick two weeks since I arrived in Taiwan.  My initial impressions of Taiwanese culture are positive.  The people are extremely kind to tourists and the program is very well structured.  My weekdays are spent in an intensive Chinese class, one-on-one tutoring, and different cultural seminars.  All in all, I feel like my Chinese is progressing quickly and that I'm starting to get a handle on how people go about their days here.  I've been playing basketball and soccer with other Taiwanese students for exercise.  They think I'm way better than I really am.  None have heard of water polo before let alone seen it played.  I think that's a little surprising considering how hot it is here.

Taiwanese culture is very interesting.  First, people here do everything in their power to stay pale year-round.  This requires wearing jeans and a sweatshirt in 90+ degree heat.  Unlike the States, a tan here is not a sign of health, glamor, or vitality.  To them, being pale is an indication of upper class living.  They cannot even begin to wrap their heads around the concept of tanning salons.

Second, the Taiwanese are extremely interested in Westerners.  We're some of the only Westerners people in Pingtung see on a yearly basis.  They like practicing their English with us and talking about American culture.  For some reason, all of the students here watch "Friends" in their English classes in high school.  I led a discussion this week and many of the students wanted to talk about Joey, Phoebe, Rachel, Chandler, etc.  I thought that was pretty funny.

All in all, I've really enjoyed my time here thus far.  I have a home-stay this weekend and will be visiting Kaohsiung and Tainan, two of Taiwan's largest cities.  I'll be spending next weekend in Kenting, Taiwan's surfing paradise.  Hopefully they'll be waves for a particular San Diegan in need of a surf.  

Zai Jian,

Brendan  

This is the cart that made me sick in Kaohsiung.  I literally spent a whole night in pain because of this sweet lady.  I have no idea if it was old fish or all the fried batter I ate.  Regardless, I've learned to be more careful about what I eat here.    

I was the first one to ring the "bell of wishes," or something to that effect, at a Buddhist monastery outside of Kaohsiung.  It was a pretty amazing place.

Just a few bros hanging out in a field of American-made cotton...with mullets.  This is a prime example of the oddity that is Taiwanese advertising.  

They really don't seem to be that infatuated with Obama here.  I found this book's title and sub-title to be particularly interesting for some reason.  

More Buddhist monastery...

Some happy disciples...

For my Mother...

A fairly large night market in Kaohsiung.  They literally have everything one could want in an evening - gambling, fried chicken, mango smoothies, more gambling, electronics, and grilled chicken heart.  It was sweet.

  

A humorous attempt at translation.  Their attempt to express "temporary loading/unloading" turned into "Car Kiss and Ride."  That is the beauty of this place.  

The next three pictures are of Modern Toilet Restaurant.  Yes, this is literally a restaurant based on the concept of the toilet.  You sit on a toilet, eat out of a toilet plate, drink out of a toilet cup, and eat your ice cream out of a toilet bowl.  I don't think this would ever catch on back home.  The Taiwanese think it's very, very strange and most don't decide to eat there.  I'm still at a loss for words about how I feel about it.    

Inaugural Post: My First Three Days in Pingtung

Well, I finally caved into the idea of blogging about my time in Taiwan.  It took me a whole three days to realize that blogging isn't too bad after all.  Per my blog's description, I'll be studying Chinese in Pingtung, Taiwan for two months.  I'll be taking intensive language courses during the week and will be traveling throughout the country on weekends.  I'm really excited and look forward to every new experience that is bound to come my way, including eating smelly tofu and chicken heart.

It has been a pretty busy three days since I landed in Taipei, Taiwan's capital city.  Upon arrival, I took a bullet train down to Kiaosiung, Taiwan's second biggest city, and was picked up by my roommate, Gino.  A little on Gino now.  

As seen, Gino is the man.  He's a Junior majoring in Computer Science and he lives in a city adjascent to Pingtung.  His Chinese name is Kai-Bo.  I guess that all of our roommates and tutors were told to choose American names to ease our transition to the language.  Most names are pretty standard: Robert, Andy, Jeff, Olivia, etc.  It is funny how some chose to take a more interesting route, like Gino, Lance, and Stan (same name as my dad).  Overall, I think this is pretty damn considerate on the part of these people.

Today, Monday, was our first actual day of the program.  It started with an "Opening Ceremony" and finished with a campus tour.  The opening ceremony was an awesome experience.  Some pictures below...

As seen, the opening ceremony included a group of Buddhas dancing to Techno music, a Dragon dance show, and a Taiwanese Opera.  It was all really impressive.  The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs came all the way from Taipei to welcome us and view the ceremony.  The program really put a lot of energy into making a positive first impression on us.  Supposedly, the dancing Buddhas to the left won a prestigious award in Shanghai for their performance.  It was awesome - literally six people in Buddha outfits doing a synchonrized dance to Taiwanese techno.   

The Dragon Dance was pretty sweet too.  It definitely took a ton of coordination to perform the act.  Better yet, they were all on roller blades.  I think that was probably the sweetest part of the ceremony. 

 I would be lying if I said that I understood one word any of these women said during the Opera.  It was explained beforehand that the plot entailed a young street vendor vying for the love of a noble princess.  Overall, they were pretty solid singers.        

I've really enjoyed my time here thus far.  I'll post again in a week or so when I have some more stories to tell.  Until then, some of you might find these pictures pretty funny/interesting. 

The Taiwanese do not take their safety lightly.  On the bullet train, they provide patrons with an "emergency hammer" to blast through windows in case of a crash. 

This photo was taken in an outdoor market in Kiaosiung.  A modern toilet ice cream store?  There is really no way to explain this. 

They are obsessed with Golden Retrievers here.  Seriously, every brand of dog food or dog cleaner had a Golden on the package. 

My first dinner of really good dumplings in a spicy sauce.  Gino ordered it for me.