Green Island

After two and a half months of back breaking labor here in Taiwan, I decided it was time for a vacation. Fifteen hour weeks prove to be strenuous every Monday, especially when trying to fit my work schedule into my yoga, swimming and movie-watching schedule. So, this past holiday weekend (Dragon Boat Festival) at 2am on Wednesday night, six adventurers set forth and journeyed to Green Island for four days and three nights. The eight hour drive over curvaceous mountains roads took us along the east coast of Taiwan through an endless number of coastal towns for breathtaking, deep blue, moonlit ocean views. As the sunrise cracked its waking eye, the ocean began to lighten and reveal the black, volcanic beaches that sometimes disappeared into the cliffs we were driving over, as if we were driving over the crystalline water itself. About forty five minutes drive south of the Tropic of Cancer our trusty stead pulled into the port city of Taitung and we awaited our ferry to Green Island.

The ferry to Green Island is a bit infamous in its own right. It has the spectacular ability to make you sick, make your friends sick, and make everyone around you sick. Awesome. Luckily, we had heard this ahead of time and proceeded to pop some magic pills (loosely translated to "NO SICK" in English). Well it worked. No sick in our group.

The ferry docked about an hour after departure and we were greeted by a jolly old South African man who had been acting as our travel agent sorting out reservations, a truck and three scooters. So three in the truck and three on the scooters, and I, well,having never driven a scooter before decided that it was best not take the truck. After a good bit of time getting accustomed to my new ride, checking the brakes, adjusting the mirrors, leaning into turns and throttling up, I decided I was ready to have some fun. So, after about five minutes of messing about on the little 125cc moped, I let loose and floored it to 80kph, heading for our "hotel."

Our accommodations were on the complete opposite side of the island from town and harbor, but Green Island is hardly a freckle on the face of the Pacific so it only took about twenty minutes to get there. We were showed to our rooms, which were less than grandiose, and fed a delicious Green Island specialty... goat stew. Over the course of the next few days we accomplished a great deal, always on the go, never on the slow. We went snorkeling, kayaking, hiking, exploring, swimming, feasting and hot springing. A good four days work.

More to come... Also, I posted some pictures, so check out the link on the left.

Night Markets

Suppose it were possible for the city of Las Vegas and a farmers market to conceive a child. The deviant offspring of this preposterous conception would be a night market. Night markets: the perfect union between the strange and the stranger, alley upon alley of bright lights and neon signs, walkways bursting at the sides with visitors shuffling by, the shopping malls of peculiar things, where vendors, artisans and shop keeps peddle their wares at a low low price, just for you. Virtually everything you would never need to survive after a nuclear holocaust can be bought in a night market, but for good measure, everything else is there too. You can eat things you in no way ever imagined to be edible or go shopping for underwear. You can play carnival games or purchase your very own new puppy. The latest trends in trucker hats and hip-hop fashion, and everything weird from Japan is at your disposable, and don't forget to negotiate when you buy that over sized stuffed panda bear.

There is, however, many a practical side to the night market. At 11pm, when nothing else in the neighborhood is open, I stop by the Shida night market after work for a quick bite to eat. The variety can be quite intimidating: noodles, dumplings, barbecued meat on a stick, fried everything on a stick, rice, pancakes, omelets, lots of Taiwanese foods that have no English names, and of course, Burger King. And while I'm there for dinner, I can pick up school supplies if I need them, buy some tea, or grab a new pair of argyle socks. You just never know what you're going to come home with when you go to a night market, which is both incredibly and terribly awesome. For instance, the other day I came home with a box of fried rice, a bottle of water, and a small Godzilla action figure. Good for the soul, not so good for the wallet.

The Merits of Argyle

As the sun bursts forth onto each new day, I learn something new about Taiwan, and more particularly myself. Of late, I have admitted defeat to the inevitable domestification of my life, and tried to embrace it. For instance, argyle. Had you asked me a year ago if I knew what argyle was, I would have responded with a shrug and guessed it was some sort of frustrated medieval creature, but now the multi-colored diamond pattern has entered my life for good. Why you ask? Because one pair of socks will match all 8 articles of clothing I have in Taipei, the pattern never looks dirty and argyle seems to just make one look more professional. Perhaps there should be a warning label on all articles argyle, to ward off demon children and keep argyle in posession of the professional. Argyle: May Cause Maturity.

And the livin' is easy

My apologies. I have been updating this blog far too infrequently of late, but, I have been quite busy. Life in Taipei is always moving, and always moving fast. Settling in and adjusting has been relatively easy. Work and the home front are both going great and I'm truly enjoying myself here in Taiwan.

I have become a corporate sellout. I work for HESS, the largest English teaching company in Taiwan, but I love my job. I'm teaching adults in the evenings. The kindergarten teachers stumble to work in whatever they feel like and I roll up like a high-roller each night in business attire, just as they are making their way home. The cool thing about the adult program at HESS is that we're our own entity, operating separately from the rest of the company. It's a bit different from teaching the youngsters, but in a good way. My students are motivated, they all lead interesting lives, and I don't have to take them to the potty every half hour. It doesn't get much better than that for a teacher.

At the end of a long day's work I venture home. I'll usually stop at the Shida Night Market for a bite to eat (more to come on night markets) and head back to the apartment. I live with 3 guys: one from NZ, one from England and another from the States. The international mix is always fun, but my speech patterns and vernacular have slowly been morphing into some sort of an English language conglomerate. Maybe I'll call it New Ameribrit English... or something like that. This weekend we painted the appartment, including my room, and the place is really comin together. It will soon be the ultimate bachelor pad. Sweet as.

So life is good. I've been playing a lot of basketball and some ultimate frisbee to stay in shape, I've been going to Monday Night Movie Night that my friend runs, and I've started to do a little Yoga. My Chinese is slowly getting better day by day. I might start taking lessons in the near future, but for now, pointing seems to work. Summer approaches and the weather is beautiful. my days are full and life is sweet.