Dragon Boats in December?

I know I've lived in Taiwan too long when I am apart of the locals in the background of a Fun Taiwan TV shooting. The episode took its foreign guests (4 very attractive 20  somethings) to Erlong, Jiaoxi to experience local dragon boat racing.

Dragon Boats are normally associated with the summer festival, so when my friend's cousin asked us if we wanted to try dragon boat racing (while we began a 10 km mini marathon), my daughter and I chimed a resounding, "YES!" The only warning we got was we had to be there early, it was all day and there was no turning back.

It was only after we agreed that we found out it would be recorded for Discovery Channel. The night before I was informed it would be aired in 80 countries. I was starting to lose my initial enthusiasm. Then after that, we were told it was for Janet Hsieh's Fun Taiwan TV program. Now I really was questioning if we should go, I just wanted to try dragon boat racing. Being a single mom, I watched a little envious of friends throughout the years participating in the summer races, training for them, the teamwork, the experience and memory. Even for just a day, I wanted to be apart of it, and with my daughter which was an added bonus.

In case you didn't know (some of my non TV viewing coworkers don't), Janet's face is plastered everywhere, endorsing absolutely everything. Her show is wildly popular and has won numerous awards. I myself haven't necessarily watched a full episode, its not my cup of tea  (and apparently I'm not the only one, haters are so harsh). I prefer culinary inclined travel shows like Bourdain and my kid loves Andrew Zimern.

For a MIT grad, one would expect more substance from her show, "less airheadness" (an act for the Taiwanese viewers). The Taiwanese demographic of her viewers must be housewives, young people with zero travel experience who will hopefully want to travel after watching her show and easily tranquilized by corny jokes and puerile synergy. Yet she must be doing something right (awards and long running show). She was extremely friendly and down to earth and invited me to pose with her when my kid asked her for an autograph for a friend.  If it 'aint broke right?

In fact she posed for photographs and autographs all day with a smile. I doubt I could be as gracious despite her show's taste in guests (utterly camera fluff and bubblegum).

My kid Zen would of been a way more interesting guest. Apparently she thought so too, I had to hold her back from photo bombing the shoot several times, eventually I gave up and who knows which shots she's in or not.  Zen was in tears in the morning when she found out she wasn't the guest star (we had to hold back our laughter) and then she was annoyed she couldn't meet Janet immediately. Waking at 5:45 am certainly had a lot to do with her mood.



But it was all about the dragon boats right? Erlong is famous for its 200 year old dragon boat races and unique flat bottomed boats without dragon heads. It originates from an aboriginal Kavalan ceremony from the Ping Pu people to pacify the river god. There are also no timers or judges. The shirtless rowers themselves decide when to start by hitting the gong at the same time. It takes practice. It took the men several attempts. But even before the boats grace the waters, there is a detailed ceremony that must be followed.

First the 2 boats had to blessed. They beseeched the spirits of the dragons all morning long with drums, gongs, fireworks, a lion dance. It was quite the detailed invocation. Being a hardcore yang festival, women were not allowed to touch the boats- at all, which really put my ornery kid over the deep end. My friend (who grew up in Erlong) asked if we wanted to help carry the boats and of course we did, just to find out the second before, that females aren't allowed to.

My hand painted dragon boat adorning my book case.

Thankfully a DIY tent was set up and the creative art provided  a nice distraction while we waited our turn in a boat. It was pleasant to sit and meditative to paint our miniature clay replicas. My kid's mood certainly improved, as did the weather- it was blazing. The locals joked how the dragon gods indeed had summoned the sun.

 

A massive lunch was provided for, with sticky rice and loads of fresh cilantro, rice noodle soup, soft boiled eggs and duck meat. After lunch we watched the men race and then finally around 3pm we started to get into the non- sanctified boats. With no instruction we paddled. The girl who was hitting the gong poorly was replaced by my daughter who did a worse  job (it was heavy). We lost several races. Our boat bottomed out and my kid sitting on the top front helm, nearly fell out and lost her mind for about 3 seconds. "Titanic!" She yelled half jokingly. We lost twice to Janet's crew. The first attempt we were in the lead, but the man steering in the back totally lost it and my kid was unable to grab the flag. The second time, we were too slow. We were a little wet and possibly a little sun burnt, but it was worth the long wait. My kid wasn't as non-chalant about losing to Janet as I was, especially as Janet was playfully sticking her tongue out at us, which in kid language is a declaration of war. We were followed by a camera crew on a speedboat and a drone hovering loudly like a swarm of raging bees above us.

It was a long day and a totally unexpected December Sunday. I don't think I will ever look at dragon boats at quite the same way. For some, like the folks in Erlong, its more than just a race, but a discipline in summoning primordial solar leviathans.

Resources:
http://www.yilanwalker.com/English/ENAAVSEQ25.htm
http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/m1.aspx?sNo=0002106&id=621
http://ttf.ncfta.gov.tw/en-us/Festival/Content.aspx?Para=9&Control=1

Mini Me and Mom Marathon

Two weeks ago my daughter and I woke up at the crack of dawn to partake in our first marathon. It was small only 10 km. My friend, an avid runner invited my daugther and I and another friend from our TRX class to tag along. We started at the Evergreen Hotel in Jiaoxi and did a loop, up the road to where the buses/taxis drop off people at the base of the stairs to the waterfalls. Thankfully it was just lightly drizzling, no downpour.

With our Bronco jerseys, have to represent!

My kid was in no mood. I don't think she is quite the early bird by nature and kept saying, "I'm not feeling this."   I hope she was surprised that it wasn't as long as she thought it would be. Fingers crossed we can actually run it next time, she refused so we had to walk it.

Her mood improved as we had some lady spa time at the Japanese style spa. My friend suggested it and because she was officially entered in the marathon we got free entry. It happened to be the same hot springs I took my mom two summers before and one of two we occasionally go to ourselves.

We followed our soak with a brunch/lunch at a very nice, busy restaurant (喜拉朵) my friend highly recommended located on the road to the waterfalls. We will definitely return here next time we are in Jiaoxi, possibly next weekend. The salads were the freshest I've had in Taiwan. Its not really a salad eating culture and they all tend to taste the same, so the salads here were a nice respite after an early morning walk and hot springs.

台灣設計展 Taiwan Design Expo: Booming in Yilan

The theme for this years annual Taiwan Expo was "Makers Boom" and was held across from the DMV at the Chung Hsing Cultural and Creative Park  (中興文化創意園區)in Wujie. The space is a decrepit factory, the former Chung Hsing Paper Corporation with a large 800 ping space. The warehouses held the various exhibits.

The tie-dye hall was my personal favorite, especially the indigo pieces. They used all natural plants based dyes.

 


Guided tours were provided.

Taiwan's Design Expo sponsored by the Ministry of Economic Affairs,  and began in 2003. This is the 2nd time in 11 years Yilan has hosted it. There were regular tea ceremonies (Chinese and Japanese), which I unfortunately missed as well as live music.

If you missed this year's Design Expo, don't fret. Taiwan is constructing itself to be a major destination in the world of design. Next year 2016, Taipei will be designated The World Design Capital. There is sure to be lots of upcoming events in the next few months, especially in Taipei. The government in the capital city is engaging urban planners in 16 projects to transform the living landscape into a more sustainable and creative space. Urban planners and designers in Taiwan are currently in demand, an auspicious niche.

Resources

Taiwan Design Expo Gets Underway in Yilan

The Matters of the Ma-Xi Meeting and Taiwanese Elections

“The US-Taiwan relationship is more complex and far-reaching than most people realize,” said Jeffrey Horwitz, US Department of State.

Presidential candidates Eric Chu (KMT) and Tsai Ing-wen (DPP)

What's up with Taiwan anyways and why does it even matter to the average American far away across the Pacific? First lets clarify one misconception; I found most Americans seem to confuse Taiwan with Thailand. I won't judge them, Taiwan is purposely excluded from international participation in many conferences or formally recognized by the UN. Taiwan is low on the average American's radar, although it shouldn't be. The US regularly sells helicopters, weaponry and training to Taiwan and as Mainland China has about 12,000 missiles pointed at Taiwan, the Taiwanese perception is America will come to their aid if China invades. When this misconception comes up I tell my Taiwanese friends don't bet on it. For now the US will do everything they can do avoid conflict with China, like supporting Japanese militarization and increased navy activity in the South China Sea (but that's another subject).

President Ma turned up the drama button with his last minute announcement that he was having an historic meeting with Xi the leader of China in Singapore three weekends ago. It was extremely upsetting for most Taiwanese. Overseas Taiwanese students made a joint statement opposing the meeting. I was utterly bewildered (and I have the luxury of flying home should the situation get heated).

The local media had a field day; Ma apparently drank too much, but at least he held a press conference (unlike Xi) which obviously was not shown in China. Protesters in Taipei fought with police and chanted, "Ma, don't come back!" Mainland Chinese allowed their citizens to flood DPP [green] party candidate (and most likely future president) Tsai Ing-wen's Facebook page  denounced the meeting, while Chinese [state] newspapers accused her of being narrow minded and selfish.

The timing couldn't be even more suspicious as Ma's [blue] KMT  (Kuomintang) party lost in local  elections last year as well as current polls, to the historically pro-independence DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) party.

Here is the layman's background of Taiwan's political history: Although the KMT fought the communists in 1949, their US backed leader Chiang Kai-shek was another example of a totalitarian who controlled with an iron fist and suppressed local dissent (known as the White Terror Era   under martial law. Democratic reforms only happened after his death in 1975 and democracy wasn't a reality until the first direct presidential election in 1996 (which China responded to by launching some missiles). Unfortunately the last DPP president Chen Shui-bian was jailed for corruption charges which led to Ma's election. He courted mainland China hoping increased economic dependence and trade would soften their military threats and the potential of  an invasion. It boosted Taiwanese business in China, increased Chinese tourism in China and attracted Chinese students to study in Taiwanese universities.  But it also resulted in stagnated wages, lower economic trade with Asian partners and the perception that China is even more adamant on reunification dissipate Ma's butt kissing.

The Sunflower Movement  was key in articulating publicly, the Taiwanese fear of Ma selling out Taiwan to China via the CSSTA (Cross Strait Service Trade Agreement) a non transparent trade agreement , as well as inspire the more violent Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong (read "Today's Hong Kong Tomorrow's Taiwan").

So far,  DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen, a political professor from Kaohsiung, is leading in the polls. Taiwan's presidential election is this January. My daughter certainly is routing for her, if not for the sole reason that she would be Taiwan's first female president and secondly, that she wouldn't "sell out Taiwan to China". Tsai Ing-wen has gone out of her way to repeat that she would not push for independence but maintain the status quo, although China says quite the opposite.  What is up for debate is the 1992 Consensus, which recognizes ,"One China, Two Principles." Tsai Ing-wen's stance is the 1992 Consensus never happened. She re-framed the whole argument into the Taiwan Consensus back in 2011.

In desperation, the KMT swapped their female presidential candidate ("little chili pepper" Hung Hsiu-chu) as late as October of this year, for Taipei Mayor Eric Chu.   Chu is trying to distance himself from Ma by criticizing his party leader's controversial trade agreement. It hasn't seemed to make much difference in the polls.

Back to my original question: Why does the recent Ma-Xi meeting and upcoming elections even matter to the average American far away across the Pacific? It matters because like it or not Chinese politics influences not only their economy, but the world economy, stability in the Pacific region, as well as climate change which merits our attention. If the yuan's downturn is making waves in Africa, you can be sure its vexing everyone else, such is globalization. Yet a policy of isolationism isn't in anyone's interests, let alone Taiwan's. Even Ma sees the virtue (perhaps a little too late) in increasing trade with partners other than Beijing, like Australia for example.

There's a theory that democratic ideals make the world stable, democracies do not go to war with each other. Democracies in Asia mark as a counter balance to China's influence and agenda of expanding it borders. Taiwan is the glaring example across the straits, modeling to the Chinese people that democracy is possible. If China invades Taiwan, you can be sure that Hawaii, Japan and the Pacific Coast are potentially up for grabs. Unlike American politicians, Chinese authority think long term, they will wait when the timing is right. Not much of the international community has stopped them thus far; every year, inch by inch their contested borders with every country are growing .

We live in extremely interesting times. We in Taiwan are sitting on the edge of our seats, waiting for the January 16 elections, assuming Dr. Tsai Ing-wen will be the new president and somewhat apprehensive to what Beijing's response will be. I'm sure more missiles will be tested, but other than that we wait and see.

Getting My House In Order

new view, new apartment

My landlady gave a 2 week notice to find a new place to live about 3 weeks ago, her father was sick and was going to be living back in the apartment (ya right, she's selling). It was a miracle I found a place  over a year ago, as friends and I were scouring the internet for 6 months when I was moving from Tainan to Yilan. We couldn't find anything back then. We had to stay a month in a ghetto studio by the train station until I found my awesome new apartment across from the Yilan County Government park. This time around I would have preferred to live in Yuanshan or Weiyuanshan closer to my work, some place I could have a few chickens or a goat but I had no time to be choosy. My friend in Tainan Tony Coolidge is connected everywhere and knew of a place in Yilan City. I wasted no time.

new view, new apartment

I was lucky to find this when I did. Its the same price and size as the apartment I had, with an extra bedroom. It has better views of the mountains is slightly closer (not much) to my work, just between Piggy's and the sport's park. The previous owner was a North American who lived in it for 8 years and took good care of it. He painted all the rooms mellow colors, I welcome the change from asylum white walls.  The only downsides are there is no underground parking, no protected courtyard Zen can run around and play with the kids in our building, and the place is unfurnished. Basically I spent my paycheck and deposit on furniture and a used TV (that broke after 3 days).

We moved house last weekend. It was a struggle boxing everything after dinner for 2 weeks, I was scrambling to finish when the movers showed up. Last Saturday, they efficiently packed and moved everything in a few hours, but I was still taking things and cleaning up until dinner time.

new living room

Meeting my previous landlady was extremely uncomfortable. She had 2 friends and a  notebook and they were noting every detail, turning over every nook and cranny, I really expected them to not give me some of my deposit. And this after making them wait for an hour (the restaurant we went to was weeded, it took a while and I had sent her several messages we would be late, which she didn't seem to regard.) After a very tense inspection I got back my deposit except for the price of water and electric, which I had to negotiate. I was happy to leave, I even left my washing machine because  my priority list is that big.

Formosan Blue Magpie  台灣藍鵲.

Zen had a great first day at her new school on Monday. It's small by Taiwanese standards, only 94 students (her first elementary school in Tainan had 2000 students.) Each kid has their own laptop and she had time to watch She-Ra and AFV, play kickball, start a new traditional wind instrument and is now the best one in math in her class. She will be starting a wood carving project next week. 

Its at such a beautiful spot in the mountains, next to a lake, gorgeous in any kind of weather. A bit of a drive, but I work in the area anyways. I am hoping this principal has fine tuned the balance between academics and fun. He is for an alternative, hands on approach but with using technology, literacy, which seems more practical in Taiwan. Her first week she saw a family of macaques outside her window (her teacher told me 10 or 11 of them), and the indigenous Formosan Blue Magpie  台灣藍鵲.  When I picked her up after lunch (she has a half day), she and her teacher were catching lizards, always good fun. Her teacher takes the class hiking once a week during PE class time in one of the 3 trails outside their campus. They also run around the lake once a week.

Zen happy at her new school

The school bus conveniently drops her off at my work 3 days a week while she finishes her homework in my office. After I clock out, we head to the cantina and enjoy a complimentary dinner. Its a godsend not having to scramble my brain, and resources to come up with dinner after a long day at work. 

I am just about all done unpacking, just a few more boxes; this weekend I have 2 massive loads of laundry, the TV man coming tonight and cable guy in the morning. All in the process of getting our house in order.

Bloody Moon Festival Weekend

Hello Moon Festival  or Mid-Autumn Festival a three day holiday weekend, celebrating the much needed end of summer. I have so many pleasant memories associated with this harvest holiday,  yet this year's was a little different.

Last year we went to three separate waterfalls including the amazing Auhua waterfall in Yilan County,  as well as Mingchi Forest, a wonderful memory, a fabulous weekend (read post here). A few years back when we lived in Tainan, my daughter and I headed to Guanshan to witness rolling hills of orange daylilies against the backdrop of the blue mountains that separate the east coast from the rift valley. A distinct, amazing mid autumn festival weekend. A further Moon Festival weekend of note was  shrimp fishing  at my friend's family business, where we joined her family BBQ, surprisingly dazzled by their impressive fireworks celebration.

 Friends back home ask me what Moon Festival is. In Taiwan it amounts to accepting the obligatory invitation to a communal mass BBQ which is a smoky, loud and carnivorous endeavor. (For a thorough explanation click here).

Zen and I went to a pre-Moon Festival BBQ in Toucheng with friends the weekend before the actual holiday and that was quite enough processed meat, pomelo and smoke to last me.


This year's blood moon wasn't visible in Taiwan, but the absurdly powerful gravitational forces were indeed felt in the form of a wicked typhoon.  The night before the typhoon came, I overheard my neighbors beneath my balcony complain I was boring for not BBQing (among other things), so I went down and joined them and had a good time. It was a more subdued and less smokey affair.



Leaving work Friday I told everyone I knew, "Just you watch, it will be a 4 day weekend" and sure enough Typhoon Dujuan indeed gave us in Yilan another day, Tuesday off and a rain free one at that. I admit watching the news I was starting to feel apprehensive, the typhoon was literally bigger than all of Taiwan and it was hitting smack into Yilan. Local news was vastly more entertaining. There was Yilan train station a sea of people all pushing each other to try and take the afternoon Monday train back to Taipei before all hell broke lose. The high-speed train stopped running at 3 pm leaving millions of travelers on their holiday weekend stranded.
                               

On the morning of  Monday the 28th it was calm. Zen was playing with her friends outside. The wind started to pick up so the girls were playing with the gusts, trying to walk against it. Around noon I called her in and at around 1pm the rains came and it looked like being inside a car wash looking out of our windows. The news said the typhoon would hit us directly at 9pm, but it seemed to have come sooner. Our windows were leaking in our bedrooms and kitchen. We went thru all our towels and some blankets trying to sop it all up. It was a minor inconvenience, but we were safe. Little did I know that all our neighbors lost power and my coworkers lost running water too. I had filled up my bath tub just in case.

My daughter and I drank pots of chai and British tea and watched episodes of Portlandia, reveling in being utter couch potatoes for a day. Typhoon Dujuan left at 1am and Tuesday was called off everywhere but Tainan. Yilan received  914 mm of rain, just second after Su-ao which is still Yilan County and a 15 minute drive down the coast.

My favorite doorman, Moon Fest BBQ with neighbors the night before Dujuan

 The weather Tuesday was perfect, the better to assess the damage and clean up. All the trees in our neighborhoods were blown over, completely uprooted, the topsoil was ripped out by the winds. In other parts of Yilan and Taiwan the rivers were flooded. I spent most of the day cleaning my balconies and floors, washing the towels and blankets that quickly dried in the sunny weather on Wednesday. If it weren't for the fallen trees and blown off building signs, you would haven't guessed a typhoon was in town the day before.

The fallen soldiers at Yilan Sports Park

Not the most ideal mid-Autumn Festival weekend, but I can't complain. Taipei dwellers tend to flood Yilan on holiday weekends anyways and working full time and Z doing homework at her anchingban til 6:30 makes kicking back at home a necessary and joyful relief.

Mid Autumn Festival BBQ, Toucheng.

I Love My School! Happy Teacher's Day to Me

Days are getting shorter, front entrance

Today is Confucius birthday but was celebrated on Friday at schools across Asia. That whole day the intercom kept on repeating the same sappy song in Chinese, "Thank you teacher.." It influenced the kids. I had students walk into my office and give me a card their class signed, no expensive bribes (chuckle), not that I expected any.

There are moments throughout my day where I am clicking my heels on the inside, counting my lucky stars that I am here, that this school has found me. I teach social justice, to 9th graders and some ESL to 7th and 8th graders. I was given the choice to teach all social justice classes, but for variety's sake, I decided to take just the 9th graders and my coworker was given the 8th graders. Its good for them to have different teachers. I am creating my own curriculum, my managers who are my co-teachers, are transparent conspirators, good people, real educators, who went to grad school in the States and appreciate a liberal Western education. This is a subject I care passionately about, that I went to graduate school for. I worked 7 years like a slave for this job to fall in my lap, like the Judaic narrative of Jacob working 7 years for his bride. This is my year of jubilee. Even the petty annoyances of kids losing their papers here and there aren't enough to rattle me. I am just too damn happy to be here.

The 15 minute drive to Yuanshan is gorgeous. I skim the outkirts of Yilan city, the fields of flooded rice patties near the sports park, the mountains reflecting in their waters and head towards the mountains, never the same perfect color on the morning drive in the scooter, tho the car is safer and I have tunes. The campus is beautiful, immaculate, surrounded by fields of fruit orchards, dragon fruits vines growing on the fences, nestled at the base of the mountains. Wisps of fog and clouds trail the small peaks, the air is sweet from farmers burning grass in the distance. Every morning the kids are busy cleaning the floors and classrooms, all is spick and span. I teach 28 classes but amazingly I have time, more than enough time. Teaching the same 2 subjects and materials to different classes, prep is minimal and by the 3rd repeat class, I would have tweeked and perfected what didn't work the first time.

The kids are comparatively well behaved, compared to my semester at their competitor Chung Dau in Zhuangwei (which really isn't competition). The lowest level 8th graders who my manager thought might be too much trouble actually are the sweetest class, all 36 of them.  After junior high hell at Chung Dau, where the wealthy socially challenged controlled the classroom and their paying parents bought the board, these kids at Huey Deng are absolute angels. I think my current "bad" class just didn't test so well, actually their English is good enough. For Teacher's Day on Friday, they sang me a song which they rehearsed independent of their homeroom teacher. Acutally I have a few students who were in my nightmare classes in Chung Dau and here they are totally different students, dare I say they are thriving and so am I. The culture of this school is positive. I can teach at a slower pace for the kids to genuinely learn, I don't have to dumb down tests (yes that's a thing) and I am not seen as a babysitter/entertainer, but an actual teacher.

I am really enjoying this age group. Maybe its God's way for preparing me to parent a teen soon. Teenagers are just little kids in bigger bodies and even some of the 7th graders still literally are little kids; not all the boys have hit puberty and they are dwarfed by the girls and bigger classmates. On Monday morning they cry quietly for their parents, still homesick, getting used to life at a boarding school (they go home on weekends).

 On Friday afternoons I am free. Between prepping I was walking around the track listening to my headphones just flabbergasted at the civility of the students, some playing basketball in the many courts, some jogging,  a few playing catch with a baseball and gloves, others raking leaves and bagging old grass. Kids feel invested to care for their school, there is accountability for their behavior in and out of the classroom. Sure they are extremely wealthy and pay 82,000NT a semester, but they don't act spoiled rotten. Its obvious most live in a bubble, they haven't known much hardships and its difficult for them to relate to some topics such as human rights violations in Taiwan, poverty or even people with disabilities. Their comfortable lives is their biggest hurdle in educating them about social justice, but their EQ as a whole are high, so they are open and kind-hearted enough to listen and that's everything.

I cannot reiterate enough that on a daily basis I am communing to higher powers my utter gratitude. This constant communion of thankfulness is invigorating, I look forward to everyday. I didn't think there were schools, students, managers in Taiwan that function on such a professional level, a well oiled machine.  Every job prior has been a stepping stone for this present moment. I am basking in this victory.

The Confuscius Confusion and Swimming Against the Current

                          (Preschool winter concerts turn into elaborate kindy graduation performances)
 
I'm all for going with the flow, most of the time. But I have had to put my foot down when it comes to navigating the dire straights of parenting a child in the Taiwanese education system. It certainly has enlightened my understanding of being a teacher here myself. Confucius birthday, better knows as "Teacher's Day" ironically is coming up (September 28th) so now is a good time as any to indulge our private and recent struggles of at times swimming against the currents.

                                                        (Here Z as a toddler is pretending to teach her friends)

For the most part Z's teachers have been amazing, from preschool and kindergarten teachers laid the foundation of "bopomo" the phonetic alphabet of the traditional characters. She was memorizing Tang dynasty poetry like a parrot, perfecting her impeccable pronunciation as a wee child. Elementary school was unknown territory, but her homeroom teacher and anchingban owner  (in Tainan) were superb; we all communicated well together, despite language and cultural barriers, which was helpful as my kid was going through a kind of lying phase, trying to use her drama skills to see how much sympathy she could arouse from adults. But with support and cooperation we got through it.

                        (learning Mandarin was easy when it was a song, the good ol' days)

There was one major incident where her Taiwanese language teacher in Tainan without my consent (or without informing Z's home teacher and anchingban) were filming my kid for promoting Taiwanese language, which scared the bejeez out of me and her anchingban for ten terrible minutes, as she was MIA. Then there was her homeroom teacher giving Z a flu vaccination without my consent, subsequently getting sick, which I was livid about, but let it go.

But what kind of education?

Recently, it was new territory going to a private, wealthy elementary school. It was in fact a terrible experience for my kid, being bullied ("haha you have no Dad, you have no one to take care of your mom!") on a daily basis. That class went thru 3 homeroom teachers in one year as the class was utterly unmanageable. She lasted a semester there before returning to the public education system in Yilan.

Its been a test in patience and understanding on my part to deal with this young teacher, and most likely the reverse is true as well! My kid certainly didn't help her relationship early on by inciting a class mutiny against teacher, for giving the kids too much homework. (Z was organizing the class to demand less homework- future labor organizer perhaps?). At the time I had to side with the teacher that the classroom isn't a democracy and the teacher is the captain. Now  considering the past few weeks of this new semester, I think my kid brilliant and perhaps forward thinking after all. There were times when I had to LINE message her, Z had been spending 4 hours doing her homework and was crying, and teacher responded by reducing the amount of copying of characters, which is great, but, I wish it was already at a sane amount to begin with.

                                  It bares repeating, kid learn better by creative playing. Here they are running  a noodle shop.

Last semester I had to have several meetings and even met with the principals to demand that my child be allowed to have her precious recess. Teacher being a good, traditional teacher, was taking away Z's only breaks to inflict academic punishment (copy and memorize). My view is that's counterproductive and harmful and teacher can be more creative with her punishments and rewards other than taking recess away. Even prisoners get time everyday to walk around outside.

I understand they have to copy a character a zillion times to get it in their minds. I copy characters myself and unfortunately those characters don't stay in my memory very long. Mandarin is indeed a time consuming language. I understand this is a Confucius culture where there was no need to think and question as that would lead to dissent, as much as recite. I appreciate my child can read and write Chinese, but when it affects her quality of life I am obligated as her mom to stop the madness and find the balance.

The proverbial dung hit the fan last night as my child in tears confessed that the past 5 days of trying to memorize her current assignment was an exercise in futility. Yes, once again its a Tang dynasty poem written over a thousand plus years ago and yes no one uses the language like that anymore, except possibly in a University essay, but still she has to memorize it. I was kind of shocked she was having so much difficulty. Her memory is in fact one of her greatest strengths (unfortunately for me sometimes). I tried to help her with her memorization (the blind leading the blind) as I can read the "bopomo". Yet she wasn't making any progress and was getting headaches and being generally stressed out.

The poem she doesn't understand

You can imagine my surprise when she confessed she had no clue what the poem was about, it was all meaningless. Yes she knows the characters, but the sentences? The poem's significance was totally unappreciated. Her teacher didn't even bother to explain the meanings and nuances, no one asked her to either. Even having lived here for seven years and understanding the influence of a Confucian rote memory system, I was still floored. No wonder she couldn't memorize it. Unlike being a toddler who could memorize poems mindlessly like a parrot, she is now a more sophisticated, thinking being. I am now suggesting her teacher to explain the meaning of future poems as I am unable to. I hope this approach would help her memorize it easier. I'm still appalled that I have to tell her teacher to in fact teach.

Its frustrating, most Taiwanese friends want to help, but they still don't understand where I'm coming from. They suggested books she had in preschool, or looking up the meaning myself on Google, or having their kid help drill Z. They don't get that memorizing something mindlessly is whats totally bizarre (to me). They say its useful for expressing moods, writing essays in the future, and I don't disagree, but that would require Z to actually understand the poem first. When I told a friend that this kind of education was why Taiwan was suffering in innovation he took it personally. I can't even communicate this with people who are supposedly friends, can I hope to communicate this with her teacher?

Fortunately, her teacher this afternoon backtracked and explained the poem to the kids so much that my kid feels like she understands the poem. Happy Teacher's Day to her indeed. I hope she will continue to do explain poems from the beginning for the rest of her long career. I learned that 1500 year old poetry is not to be taken lightly.  If its so highly esteemed than it should be explained in language kids can understand, so that they can draw their own meanings. My dear friend of 15 years told me she learned that poem in Junior High and her teacher took great time and care to explain it. She thought Z too young to appreciate it.

I love my new job and life in Yilan, if we go home prematurely its because I can't help my kid navigate a balanced life in this education system. She talked about wanting to "escape". I tried to explain its a stressful world, whether we are living in Denver or France or Yilan and she has to learn to manage her stress. We can't just run away or change schools. I suggest she ask questions early if she doesn't understand until waiting til the last minute to admit she's clueless (another legacy of the learning system here, students are afraid to ask questions and lose face.)

I've reached the point where I am planning to just flat out tell the principals she wont be going to University here, she wont be testing her Junior High years away to get into a local University. Heck, if we are still here when she's 20 its doubtful she could even be a legal citizen considering the current web of confusion for children of APRC holders. I'm just happy enough she is fluent and can read and write well enough. If I'm ok with that why isn't everyone else? Why is asking her teacher to teach, opening up a can of worms for some individuals? (who don't have kids and are not teachers of course.) The teacher handled it gracefully, I regret keeping her on her toes but she took a test for her enviable position out countless applicants, so I hold her to a professional standard.

Now I know why when I ask questions to my 9th grade social justice classes, that require them to think critically I get these blank stares. They never really have to think about meanings before, they cram just enough to answer a, b, c or d or mindlessly recite a beautiful poem.

9/ 25 Post update: Later last night my friend gave me the English version, and her opinion (being a teacher and Taiwanese) is that this poem isn't appropriate for children (being a drunken ode to wine and drinking written by a notorious and much venerated alcoholic), but it is beautiful and even in English quite difficult to understand, read here: I doubt my kid could appreciate this in English!

I made my descent from the Zhongnan Mountains that twilight had tainted blue,
The mountain moon followed me down as it rose high.
I looked back on the path taken,
Only to see belts of viridian traverse the hillside.

On my way I encountered a mountaineer and followed him home,
Where children came to open a gate made of twigs intertwined.
I passed the threshold to find a secluded path behind green bamboos,
As we walked along, our clothes brushed pass various vines.

Inside the lodge pleasant conversations abounded and I had a resting place for the night,
Accompanies by good wine, we were chatty all the while.
We got on to sing folk songs like Wind in the Pines,
By the time we had finished singing, many heavenly stars have retired.

I was drunk in merriment and in high spirit my company was,
In such ambience of joy, the world of concerns and politics was out of mind.

Immigration Headaches for APRC parents in Taiwan

I have shared this with my students and Facebook posts, so I better also share to a wider audience. The current Taiwanese immigration system is like most, flawed, confusing and in need of reform. Long standing APRC holders who have been a positive influence in Taiwan are being punished along with their family members because nothing has been done to improve current laws.

My friend Toby is a perfect example of an upstanding long term expat whose family is suffering under the current immigration system. Tomorrow he is meeting with Taiwanese immigration to see if they can change his son's visa from 90 days to 180. Watch this video posted September 9th.

My friend's son will be 20 soon and they are trying to figure it out. Basically if I am still here when my daughter Z is 20, she is no longer my dependent and yet cannot apply for an APRC herself. She can't legally work here despite being in the school system since preschool. She would have to do Hong Kong runs to renew her tourist visa, or stay as a student under a student visa. But perhaps if I transfer her visa before she turns 20 I might be able to secure something. Ask a different immigration officer and you get a different answer.

There is a FB group Foreigners for Taiwan Immigration and the private Taiwan DREAM group for parents. On one of the most recent DREAM posts (Sept 10), supposedly there is a new law, that no one including the immigration officers know about, which is confusing. The father whose 20 year old got an ARC dependency status recommended an immigration officer named Eric who was willing to help anyone in this situation. A month before his son turned 20 he turned in the paperwork that his son has been living in Taiwan for 10 years and applied for a Dependency ARC, but apparently this only works if you transfer an existing visa, not if your child has already been enduring visa runs, like my friend Tobie. [NIA Officer Eric Chen. 886-7-623-6334 E-mail: eric817@immigrations.gov.tw.]

There has been a petition in the past, and since this law isnt' legit for every child of an APRC holder, I am thinking of organizing a letter campaign with my students to write to the main immigration office. Taiwanese people need to stand up for long-term foreign friends and call elected officials to rewrite some of the current immigration laws. Here is an excellent article published September 10th to share with your Taiwanese friends.
 

A Buzzin' Consumerist

Its been 4 weeks since we returned from our trip home and I am still buzzing. My fantastic job certainly helps maintain the positive vibes (worthy of its own post). There isn't a day that goes by when I don't think fondly about Colorado, conversations with friends, my family. It was all like a dream.

I had to face the reality that I am a consumerist. Stocking up on goodies was in order, literally. I had so much joy buying products through Amazon and iHerb that I could not get in Taiwan- ok iHerb does ship here but if I could stuff it in my carry on, why not?

I still benefit daily from the cruelty free products I bought. Here are my top 5 of many.

1. Vega Protein shake.  Recommended from my Canadian friend who is a kindred spirit in all things healthy. The whey based junk at Costco and the gyms are filled with sugar and all kind of weird chemicals, and all Herbalife protein products in Taiwan are soy based, I have an allergy to soy. Why is it so difficult to find a vegetable based protein shake on the island?

2.  Nature's Way Hemp Protein powder. Used every other day alternatively with Vega. Each serving has 11 gm of protein and 13 gm of fiber.

3. Organic Tulsi tea- Boulder based Organic India company. I mix tulsi loose leaf  with the loose leaf yerba mate which is bitter. Tulsi is the queen of Indian ayruvedic herbs and has dozens of health benefits like being top in antioxidants, boosts metabolism, anti-aging, combats cancer and are full of minerals (here are 33 more). I also got some tea bags of tulsi and lemongrass. I'd like to grow it actually.

benefits of Tulsi tea

4.  Now Stevia in packets. I got 2 boxes, one has chromium which helps regulate blood sugar. I've seen only flavored stevia from a yoga studio in Loudong.

5. Minerals Fusion  SPF 40 Moisturizer, another local brand from Littleton, Colorado. No junk, easily absorbed and lasts a while.

Honorable mentions: Now almond oil, Dr Bonner's Mint and Hemp pure castille soap, Giovanni dry shampoo, the crystal deodorant, bosu ball, Dabur clove toothpaste, neem oil, Bragg Liquid Aminos soy sauce alternative, a psychedelic new yoga mat,  and much needed workout shoes.

What I wish I would of brought back: spelt tortillas, sourdough bread, books, my violin, special gel inserts for my left heel.

But back to reality. There's more to life than things. Also there's been little consumption this month, not having worked last month, my car needed some repairs, and also I am still catching up on bills.

Might come in handy if in a hurry post workout or traveling through Java.

I am counting down the days to my first full time paycheck since December and making plane for CNY in February (everything books out fast). Life is good!