Taiwan - first impressions

My general feeling is that we've happily stumbled on a wee gem of a country that's taking us under its wing. People are lovely, you can get by with mere English and having a friend here from Toronto has been an immense help dialing into the action and getting various tips for orienting ourselves. Under Bob's kind watch we've joined a tai chi school under a bonafide master, met all kinds of good people and have been to several parties and an outdoor camping music festival!

In our first week here I was able to craft a dictionary definition through first-hand experience:
typhoon [tai - ' fün]: Asian weather phenomenon characterized by
horizontally-travelling rain alternating with sweeping sheets of water,
wind gusts destroying umbrellas and knocking down their owners,
businesses and schools closed.

It was more fun for us than anything, but that's because we are protected by the big city and are well away from the coast. On a later visit to a beach in Macau, we saw the stone boardwalk demolished by previous lashing winds and waves. Very humbling, Mother Nature! It's now early November and I think the winter rains have arrived. Honestly, it's a bit of a welcome change from absurdly humid heat that means I'm sweating buckets going about my day.

The friendliness factor here is set on high. We've been stopped by people eager to practise their English conversation, people offering us directions when we're simply studying a map, and it's common for someone to go out of their way simply to offer a hand. This friendliness lulled us into getting "kidnapped" by an unmarked-cab-driving big-grin-sporting enthusiastically-gesturing lady with zero English skills who we mistook for a driver a school sent for us and soon enough found ourselves at the top of a mountain at a huge temple complex with an unsolicited cab fare and some tricky explaining for why were late for the interview.

Speaking of interviews, I went through four teaching demos at various schools before being offered a job at my favourite of the bunch. I am now a proud employee of Eagle American School with great hours (2-7pm Monday-Friday), good pay and three rowdy classes of 7 to 13 years-old Taiwanese kids who aren't entirely convinced they want to learn English but it's still my job to keep them on track. Here is a picture of us on Halloween. My costume earned me the name of "Teacher Grape" for the entire day, even from kids I haven't met. : )

Teaching English means loads of preparation time to keep the kids occupied with activites that make the curriculum fun. I'm also brushing up on my Grammar for the higher level and generally feeling a bit like I'm on stage. Four weeks in, I'm mostly enjoying it! ; )

We've settled in Taiwan's busy modern capital city, Taipei. There is a wide system of public transport consisting of buses and the MRT - Mass Rapid Transit, whose trains run both above and underground and it's been voted the most reliable metro system for four years running. Street traffic is also heavy with cars and an outrageous amount of scooters. All of this leads to considerable pollution and many people wear a doctor-like mask over their mouth and nose when travelling through the city, to filter the air. Our cozy apartment is above a busy thoroughfare and we notice grime settling on the windowsills... Good thing we are keeping healthy by cultivating our chi, hiking in mountains and soaking in hot springs!

It took a bit of research and learning a few Chinese phrases, and I can now reliably find good vegetarian food. Besides restaurants and cafés, there are countless food stalls as well as infamous night markets which are places to eat, shop and see and be seen. Also on nearly every corner are bakeries, and one of the convenience store chains: 7-11, OK Mart, Hi-Life and Family Mart. 7-11 is the one-stop-shop king and not only sells drinks, snacks, beer, newspapers and phone cards, but there you can also pay your bills, fax documents and probably get a diversified mutual funds investment portfolio...

So we are happily settling into our Taiwanese life and wishing a more peaceful resolution to the current China-Taiwan trading negotiations which have sparked flurries of rioting.

PS. Hurray Obama and Canadian Opposition Leaders!!!

Hey! Canadians! Vote: for our Air, Water, Earth, Wildlife

Overshadowed by the upcoming US Presidential elections scheduled for November, no less importantly (in my opinion?) the Canadian Federal Elections are taking place October 14th, 2008.

There are so many issues when choosing a candidate, all the while knowing the platform is a malleable projection of what the voted-in representative may or may not adhere to, once gaining support. What's the point? At least this is the tactic many voters use to avoid participating in the election.

Certainly we humans (some argue politicians especially) are flawed creatures: emotional, attached to personal promotion, swayed by all manner of opinions and strong wills. Yet there is so much we all commonly share, shape and steward, wittingly or unwittingly, consciously or when giving away our power.

Of the myriad issues enfolded into the political platforms, I happen to really care about the environment. One needn't be the most news-savvy individual to know our entire planet is facing a crisis of over-population, over-pollution, over-use of resources, over-looking our responsibility to the natural balance of Earthly inhabitants. With just one week before Canadian Elections, our current PM's Stephen Harper's reputation as the country's sole leader with an irresponsible and disinterested stand on environment issues is just one reason to keep the Conservatives out of the ruling seats.

But how to do that with a crowded and divided political left? Enter Vote For the Environment, a site with "up-to-date riding by riding information on how to defeat Harper and his anti-environment policies." Thank you! To me this is rising above pettiness of control and power and humanity's history of divisive factions, and making a better choice for not only all of Canada, but the entire world.

So please! If you care - and I hope you do, enough to get out to a polling station next Tuesday... Vote for a cleaner future of fresh air, huge stands of forests, biodiversity, renewable energy, water we can drink and swim in, and more worthwhile jobs to be proud of in all these sectors.

My two cents...

Revision

Whenever I've paused to examine them, I've always found life's building blocks -- relationships, habits, my image, lifestyle choices, even reactions and perceptions -- to be determined early on in their existence. After a few trial runs, which are played out largely unconsciously as they join the flow of time, hereafter and forevermore there is a lot of solidified, predetermined aspects to what will transpire, or rather how I will behave in any given situation.

I meet a new person, we talk about this or that, or perhaps have very little to say to each other, and already the course of our interaction is set for... well... maybe the remainder of our lives. I get a haircut, style it a certain way and it's a likely gamble it'll look very similar until a radically creative moment or an inspiration for a new 'do.

Some people who know me well enough are likely to observe that this sounds bogus and very little of my life stays the same. I change locales and so jobs, homes, phone numbers and social circles more often than the US government declares a new terrorist-harboring enemy. Well, these observers would be right. But isn't that just another habit of mine that's ingrained and likely to persist until I (or some higher powers via a mediating event in my life) will decide to take root in something more lasting?

The truth is, I'm great at beginnings. I ooze with good ideas and awesome visions and can rally myself into wild and new experiences when others are too comfortable in their familiar setting to toss it all away on a whim. I start projects, learn the basics of a musical instrument, find my "dream job"... But then the excitement peters out and like a New Year's resolution, the new thing becomes the old thing that falls by the wayside as another opportunity glistens on the horizon. I'm the same with writing a first draft and then feeling a mix of boredom and fear about settling down to the refinement of my prose towards a higher destiny. Often, I just can't be bothered.

So with this in mind I dedicated a full 7 days to a juice cleanse. About 10 brave fabulous souls (Rich included) bonded in this experience. We began our mornings with yoga, drank juices and whole food supplements 5 times a day and convened in the evenings to meditate and discuss the process, with frequent trips to the loo flushing toxins out of our spring-cleaning bodies.

I am a huge believer in the philosophy that our body, mind and spirit are very closely interwoven. As I took a break from the comfort and distraction of food and worked harder than ever in my asana practice, I held on closely to a hopeful vision that some of my solid ways of thinking and being are becoming more flexible and shifting towards a spontaneous happy freedom of embracing each moment as it unfolds.

A word about Politics...

It seems our visit to Thailand has coincided with a flurry of political unrest and restructuring of government.

On our first evening here, I read an email from my Dad who checked into advisories for travelling Canadians and found out there had been demonstrations and several airports closed by protesters entirely unhappy with their Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej. Amazingly, we had seen a complete lack of any out-of-the-norm events or behaviour while extensively touring Bangkok that day. That same week, a state of emergency was declared in the capital after one man was killed in clashes between pro- and anti-Government protesters. Also members of the latter group had barricaded themselves inside Government House. At this point we had already travelled north, but I think it would've hardly mattered - except for newscasts and parental warnings, everywhere we went it was business as usual.

Making a point of following the events, we found out that General Anupong Paojinda appointed by the PM to oversee the country during the state of emergency politely refused to follow his orders as he was certain that the army's involvement would only escalate the situation. Newspapers hinted that the General also sided with the anti-government group's (People's Alliance for Democracy) position that the Prime Minister "bought his election by duping poor, ill-educated, often rural voters and that he should therefore resign." Mr. Samak continued to experience high government officials refusing to follow his instructions, although a few promised to support him unfalteringly.

Last week his downfall climaxed when Mr. Samak hosted a cooking show, which was reason enough for the constitutional court to force his resignation, as it is forbidden for a Thai PM to be involved in business. Mr. Samak was re-nominated for the position, but three days later even his party withdrew its support. His newly voted-in successor Somchai Wongsawat is from the same (People's Power) political party and is a 61-year-old judge who is considered to be a conciliator by some. However, protesters continue to express their disapproval as Mr. Somchai is married to the sister of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a 2006 coup amid corruption allegations and is believed to have a puppet-master influence over his followers.

Whew... enough excitement on that scene... Our recent stay near villages in Northern Thailand also turned up some pretty disturbing bits of history. There are dozens of hilltribes in Thailand, Laos, Burma and Vietnam and to the unassuming traveller they seem like peoples who have maintained their traditional ways, sell wonderful handicrafts and are sometimes used as a tourist gimmick. But shady details float up about refugee camps whose inhabitants cannot leave, tribes without land ownership or other rights, suppression of indigenous culture with tactics ranging from intimidation to outright genocide and Christian missionaries who inundate the young with their dogma and agenda, stripping local customs, language and healing practices for all the usual excuses of it equating to devil-worship while they bring higher learning. That certainly made me think twice about ever donating to World Vision Youth. I won't even go into the opium and heroin trade history fueled by aggressive power struggles of Shan and KMT army factions, as frankly I don't know enough about it.

The world seems such a troubled place and even in this wonderful country underneath the surface not all is calm and well.

On a lighter note, the Thai king Bhumibol Adulyadej is currently the world's longest-reigning head-of-state and a highly revered figure to the Thai people. Some interesting Wikipedia facts about the Thai king: he is one of the richest men today, has funded over 3,000 development projects, born in US and mainly educated in Switzerland, he is an accomplished musician, artist, and sailor and I've been told up to 20% of the country's population wear yellow on Mondays symbolizing their devotion and this figure quadruples during his birthday celebrations. Although he is a constitutional monarch with no formal political role, he is "regarded as a key to Thailand's stability and in his six decades on the throne has stilled bloody uprisings, weathered military coups and has reigned through scores of governments, democratic and dictatorial." Long live the wise king and may his people prosper!

Tea, fish and water, water, water...

Another action-packed day for the AnafunaRichsta intrepid duo! Despite a night of tossing and turning, no thanks to funny-shaped pillows, we were up just past 6am to catch the Morning Market of Mae Hong Son. Our guidebook said it’s a good place to spot hilltribe peoples and although everyone looked fairly ordinary to me, we poked through friendly stands of produce and crafts and had a fabulous local breakfast of noodles, savoury custard and about a dozen spoonfuls of various spices and sauces all mixed together and eaten in Thai style: using a fork, or in this case chopsticks, to place the food on a spoon – which is the only cutlery sanctioned to enter the mouth.

Next we rented a motorbike for the unbeatable price of $5 for 24 hours and set off for the hills. Our first destination was in fact the end of the line of a mountain highway that snakes up and north from Mae Hong Son. Its final reach is to the village of Ban Rak Thai, settled by refugees from the Yunnan province of China. Nowadays they peacefully grow 40 kinds of tea around a small lake and that’s just where we passed a breezy rest stop, sipping on oolong, dew and ginseng teas from tiny china cups decorated with cartoon elephants and cats.

Winding our way back down the mountain, Rich impulsively turned into the Maehongson Bamboo Complex, which was a green sanctuary of lush plants, bridges of bamboo lashed with rope and meandering paths leading nowhere fast. A flock of colourful chickens and roosters led us to a tiny museum visually praising the many uses of bamboo such as furniture, hats, baskets and the like.

Lunch stop at Pha Seau falls. We've been looking for waterfalls for days and this one was gorgeous! Three chutes of water toppling over an 8-storey precipice of black rock. As if to emphasize the power of the water element, the skies opened up in a short mid-day burst. Back on our motor steed, glimpses of mist rising from rain-kissed mountains dazzled us through the trees.

Just as we were packing away our ponchos, the rain snuck up again. We donned the cheap plastic covers and in minutes were whizzing through a true “shower”, raindrops stinging our faces as we sped on in search of the Fish Cave. Taking a wrong turn, we played charades through sheets of water with a Thai family safely dry in their house, trying to act out “fish cave” for directions. They finally lit up at my Winona Ryder’s impression of aquarium dwellers from “Reality Bites.” We sped and parked just as the last drops faded away.

The Fish Cave is another tranquil spot where a few sub-species of carp grow to impressively large size thanks to tourists feeding them bags of stale veggies sold by smart local entrepreneurs and the fact that these fish are considered incarnations of gods and so entirely off-limit to being caught or [gasp] eaten.

Home past emerald green rice paddies, stopping for photos. With all the rain to feed them, no wonder they’re such a brilliant green!

Our plan for a sunset view from a hilltop temple was washed down the drains with the wildest torrential downpour we’ve seen yet! Luckily we were indoors gobbling down a spicy Thai soup specialty when the rains returned. It was kinda exhilarating watching all that wetness descend from the sky! The best part is even when we get wet here, it’s still quite warm and hardly uncomfortable, giving us all the more reason to play with Miss Nature herself.