I've moved in to my new studio apartment, close to the center of Taipei, and am starting to get settled in. I went to a Carrefour about 6 blocks away to get household items for my apartment, where I spent around $120USD on various things, but had to delay buying certain items since it would have been to heavy to carry everything back the 6 blocks. I've gotten too reliant on cars to get groceries and household stuff, and need to relearn certain habits (ie, no large purchases without lining up transport for it).
Along with some food and silverware, I bought some cleaning supplies, since the studio was covered with soot when I moved in. No one has lived in it for about a year, and the window was slightly cracked open. On the window ledge right in front of the cracked area, was a nice thick area caked with soot from the Taipei air. From there, the entire floor, which is all tile, had a thin film that would leave prints when I walked in it. I bought a swiffer wet wipe pad to use, and it just left the dirt in streaks when I tried it. So I got down and dirty on my hands and knees and wiped the whole floor clean, then once more just to get rid of that sticky film that was leftover from the spray I used. I think my next purchase will be some throw rugs to warm up the room, as opposed to the sterile feel it has now.
In job related news, I had an informal meet and greet with two directors and the VP of AMD Taipei, and they all seemed to like me. Collectively, they all liked me, but individually, it was something different they found interesting and was enthused about my being in Taiwan and my particular skill set I could bring. Which takes a lot of pressure off me from my dad. Now comes the waiting game, as they're currently going through a re-org, and won't have positions firmed up until mid/late March. I'm in no rush, as classes won't start until June and I'm still hoping to take that trip to Thailand.
Now that I've dispensed with what's going on with me, I'm going to start posting a new segment each post called "things I notice", that has to do with trends here vs the states. Today's observation are glasses worn by the youth. It's always been a stereotype that Asians have horrible eye sight, and to some extent, that may be true. I really don't know the statistics, if there are any, but I'm the only one of my generation of cousins that doesn't wear glasses or contacts (my brother doesn't count since he got Lasik :P), and that's 13 of us. So their options are glasses or contacts, or stumble around into things all day. A lot of the youth I see wear what appear to be glasses, but turns out to be just the frames, without any lenses. A lot of these frames look like "birth control glasses", what the military issue for soldiers in boot camp. They call them BCG's because if you wear them, you'll never get laid because they're so ugly. I first noticed this with my 18yr old cousin the first week I was here. Apparently, they don't wear the lenses because their eye lash extensions are so long that they would brush against the lens. I just find it odd that they wear contacts, and still put on the lenses for the sole purpose of a fashion accessory. And that folks, is something I've noticed. Until next time, please skype/email/facebook me, as I am getting lonely sans friends :(
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Staying put
So I've made the decision to stay in Taiwan to relearn Mandarin and get a job during the time I'll be here, as opposed to continuing on to Shanghai. I have a good support system already in place, and if I move to Shanghai, I won't have that to fall back on. As it is, I'm already getting a pretty sweet deal with housing, and I got set up with a wireless broadband card for my Macbook, so my monthly expenses are very, very low, allowing me to save most of what I already did have saved up for the travels. I move in to my new place tomorrow, which is pretty much in the heart of Taipei, about a 10-15 minute walk from the Taipei Main Station, with the rest of the city no more than a 40 minute MRT ride away. So for all my friends who wanted to visit me in Shanghai, sorry, you'll have to settle for visiting me in Taiwan.
I met a German expat that has been in Taiwan 30 years while doing laundry today, and we had a nice little chat on the shoddy state of the Taiwan Air Force and what's being done to correct it. How we got this discussion? He came here 30 years ago as part of a German military unit to train Taiwanese pilots and never left. He eventually left the military and has had odd jobs selling various mechanical hardware for use in the military. I liked this random meeting, as I've only had a few discussions in English, other than the few skype calls I've had with friends. Somehow, it felt strange, since I've been trying hard to just use Mandarin, to just bust out English. The easiest way to describe it was as if I were using a different part of my brain I hadn't used in the while.
In other news, the weather has gotten warmer, to a balmy range of 70-75 degrees. Now if only we can get rid of the humidity, it would be perfect! I'll be happy to cruise around in shorts and a tshirt in this weather, but everyone else here will still be wearing heavy coats. I guess the natives really are that afraid of the cold, since they almost never have cold water from the fridge either. All water is either room temperature or hot, which are the bane of my existence. Ok, that's a bit much, but I don't like it when I'm already warm.
I'm about to leave for dinner with my dad, his g/f, my ex coworker, and his g/f, since my dad wants to meet this "mystery ex coworker" who might be able to help me out with my job search. Dinner will be at a very well known xiao long bao (small dragon bun) restaurant. Adios!
I met a German expat that has been in Taiwan 30 years while doing laundry today, and we had a nice little chat on the shoddy state of the Taiwan Air Force and what's being done to correct it. How we got this discussion? He came here 30 years ago as part of a German military unit to train Taiwanese pilots and never left. He eventually left the military and has had odd jobs selling various mechanical hardware for use in the military. I liked this random meeting, as I've only had a few discussions in English, other than the few skype calls I've had with friends. Somehow, it felt strange, since I've been trying hard to just use Mandarin, to just bust out English. The easiest way to describe it was as if I were using a different part of my brain I hadn't used in the while.
In other news, the weather has gotten warmer, to a balmy range of 70-75 degrees. Now if only we can get rid of the humidity, it would be perfect! I'll be happy to cruise around in shorts and a tshirt in this weather, but everyone else here will still be wearing heavy coats. I guess the natives really are that afraid of the cold, since they almost never have cold water from the fridge either. All water is either room temperature or hot, which are the bane of my existence. Ok, that's a bit much, but I don't like it when I'm already warm.
I'm about to leave for dinner with my dad, his g/f, my ex coworker, and his g/f, since my dad wants to meet this "mystery ex coworker" who might be able to help me out with my job search. Dinner will be at a very well known xiao long bao (small dragon bun) restaurant. Adios!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Why won't it stop raining?
It's rained non-stop for almost 6 days now. All the planned trips to the various coasts with my aunt were all scrapped because the weather has been so crappy. Oh well, looks like I'll just have to explore on my own.
As for what's been going on, I've been trying to get my iPhone working again, but for now it's just a really expensive iPod. That's what I get for not paying attention when I'm clicking through things in iTunes. I have a few pictures I took on there to upload for your viewing pleasure, but that'll have to wait for now. Bah. It doesn't really help me either that I still can't get internet working on my Macbook at my dad's place. I've tried everything that I know, and can get an IP address, but can't connect to the internet. It's really, really annoying.
On a more positive note, I'm headed to South Korea from 3/4-3/10 to visit my friend Jason, who will be visiting from his current residence of Japan. I was planning on visiting him in Japan, but he's going to be in Seoul during the dates I looked at, so we decided to just meet there. Flying to Seoul is also much cheaper (bonus!), and I get airlines miles out of it (double bonus!). Hopefully I can also get my visa resolved over there as well. I'm also starting to plan a trip to Thailand with my effervescent friend Hoan-My, as she'll be in Vietnam visiting family. I can't wait to explore ruins and beaches :) I just hope it won't rain everyday while I'm in Thailand :P
As for what's been going on, I've been trying to get my iPhone working again, but for now it's just a really expensive iPod. That's what I get for not paying attention when I'm clicking through things in iTunes. I have a few pictures I took on there to upload for your viewing pleasure, but that'll have to wait for now. Bah. It doesn't really help me either that I still can't get internet working on my Macbook at my dad's place. I've tried everything that I know, and can get an IP address, but can't connect to the internet. It's really, really annoying.
On a more positive note, I'm headed to South Korea from 3/4-3/10 to visit my friend Jason, who will be visiting from his current residence of Japan. I was planning on visiting him in Japan, but he's going to be in Seoul during the dates I looked at, so we decided to just meet there. Flying to Seoul is also much cheaper (bonus!), and I get airlines miles out of it (double bonus!). Hopefully I can also get my visa resolved over there as well. I'm also starting to plan a trip to Thailand with my effervescent friend Hoan-My, as she'll be in Vietnam visiting family. I can't wait to explore ruins and beaches :) I just hope it won't rain everyday while I'm in Thailand :P
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Ringing in CNY with the Mom's side
I'm writing today's blog from my uncle's place in Banqiao, where I attended a family lunch and dinner with my mom's side of the family, and am staying the night to spend tomorrow going shopping with my aunt (I think?). Now, while it's only been 5 years since my last visit to Taiwan, it's my first CNY here since I was the ripe old age of 5. So that's almost 25 years of not experiencing a CNY in the homeland, and let me tell ya, it was damn fun. My mom's whole side of the family gathered to celebrate, coming from various parts of Taiwan to visit. My mom was the oldest of 7, only one of which was a boy, so that means a lot of aunts to ask if I have a girlfriend or not. I told them they shouldn't be asking if I have a girlfriend, but rather when my brother is going to have kids :) Even though I'm almost 30, I'm still considered "young" because I'm single and am still given a hongbao (red packet) I'm not going to turn it down, as it would be rude to, but it does feel awkward to still be receiving gifts at my age.
Lunch was at a restaurant that featured a karaoke set in the private room we reserved, and listening to my aunts and cousins croon out Asians hits was hilarious. My aunts doing background dancing to one of the songs was a nice touch as well. The lunch was delicious as well, and I think we had 8 or so courses, but I won't tease you with all the food pics, mainly because I didn't take any.
After lunch, we all head back to my uncle's place and were somehow able to cram 16 of us in that tiny place. Over the next few hours, we gambled to throwing dice in a cup and putting bets on what numbers would show up. Think of a poor man's version of craps. Everyone played, including the same 10 year old female cousin who told the joke, and all my aunts and most of my cousins. It. was. a riot. Fun times indeed. Eventually dinner rolled around and we all ate wherever we could find space, since obviously we can't cram 16 people around a small little table suited for 6.
And now, I'm headed to bed, as it's past 1:30am here, and I've got a full day of walking around with my aunt tomorrow. Let's hope that the rain stops so we'll actually make it out. Xin nian kuai le!
Lunch was at a restaurant that featured a karaoke set in the private room we reserved, and listening to my aunts and cousins croon out Asians hits was hilarious. My aunts doing background dancing to one of the songs was a nice touch as well. The lunch was delicious as well, and I think we had 8 or so courses, but I won't tease you with all the food pics, mainly because I didn't take any.
After lunch, we all head back to my uncle's place and were somehow able to cram 16 of us in that tiny place. Over the next few hours, we gambled to throwing dice in a cup and putting bets on what numbers would show up. Think of a poor man's version of craps. Everyone played, including the same 10 year old female cousin who told the joke, and all my aunts and most of my cousins. It. was. a riot. Fun times indeed. Eventually dinner rolled around and we all ate wherever we could find space, since obviously we can't cram 16 people around a small little table suited for 6.
And now, I'm headed to bed, as it's past 1:30am here, and I've got a full day of walking around with my aunt tomorrow. Let's hope that the rain stops so we'll actually make it out. Xin nian kuai le!
A game I like to play
I have this game I like to play whenever I travel to a foreign country. It's called "spot the foreigner". I've played this game (usually by myself) in Italy, Buenos Aires, and now, Taiwan. Obviously, non Asians are easy to spot here in Taiwan, so the fun lies in trying to spot out other folks like myself who have moved back from the states. I haven't been able to spot many, and it's hard to verify unless I hear them speaking English. It keeps me occupied enough to people watch on the MRT and other places with a large crowd. Am I only the one that does this, or are others as weird as I am?
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Gong Xi Fa Cai (Have a happy and prosperous new year!)
Happy Chinese New Year folks! The weather in Taiwan finally got cold, and I'm definitely enjoying the cooler temperatures. I've been out the last two nights meeting up with the few friends I have here in Taiwan for dinner, and in turn meeting more people out here that I can hang out with when I get bored.
On Thursday, I met up with my dad's friend's daughters whom I have known since I was a little kid. Our families used to hang out all the time before we moved to the states, but we've kept in touch over the years, especially when Facebook became available over here in Taiwan. Dinner that night was Japanese food, with about 10 courses (there is more to Japanese food besides sushi) and a pitcher of beer that I mostly drank since the girls usually only drink cocktails. I was stuffed, but I went out afterwards to a house party that my friend's boyfriend was hosting with some other people for CNY. They had a gift exchange similar to a white elephant, but without the stealing aspect. There was one other person there that didn't know anyone else except the person that brought them, so I talked with her for a little bit. I felt a bit mischievous, so I took the bag of extra condiments from the pizza that they ordered, and put it in another bag, and set it down next to the other gifts that they were being exchanged. We both got a kick out of it as a few people acted like they were reaching for it, but went for something else. The ruse was up when the participants were sorting through the remaining gifts and someone looked closer at the semi transparent bag and noticed the condiments.
On Friday night, I met up with an ex coworker from AMD for dinner and drinks. We met when he was still working in AMD Austin, then moved back to Taiwan to work at AMD, quit to start his own business, and finally got back into the high tech industry back in October only to be recruited by someone to go back to work at AMD. It's the job position that I was hopeful to get back in September, but he has more experience and is probably more qualified for the position than I am. Definitely no hard feelings, but we discussed my career and what options are available to me now, which is bringing me to an interesting crossroads again. I'm seriously considering scrapping the Shanghai part of my whole move and just staying in Taiwan, especially if I might have a job with AMD again. I already have a place lined up to stay thanks to my dad's friend, which would be really central to everything in Taipei. I've also looked at Mandarin language classes I could take in the evening while working, which is a huge plus considering the whole move was originally to relearn Mandarin anyways. The main factor in all this is of course the possibility of the job opening at AMD Taiwan, which I am being considered for, but have no idea when the headcount will open up, if it all. In the meantime, I have to leave Taiwan by March 5th due to my 30 day visa expiration, which means I need to plan a trip somewhere (Japan, HK, S. Korea, Australia?)
In the meantime, I'm still subject to lectures from my dad, as well as his accordion playing. I've started to develop a headache whenever he starts lecturing, which is not a good sign, but I'm just trying to make it to the end of the month. He's mentioned to me that before I got here, if he had trouble sleeping or woke up in the middle of the night, he would bust out his accordion and then go back to sleep. Thank god he isn't doing that now.
Oh! I almost forgot, I've discovered this delicious new snack in Taipei. Oh. My. God. The last few times I walked through the Taipei Main Station, this fragrant smell just overwhelmed the area, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. My friend and I were walking through last night, so I stopped him and had him point it out for me. It's this bread that's baked with a coffee flavored cream on top, and is so delicious, that mere words would do it an injustice. Seriously, if you're ever here visiting, you MUST try this. I'm starting to crave it as much as I crave/miss Tex-Mex/BBQ/Cajun food/etc.
On Thursday, I met up with my dad's friend's daughters whom I have known since I was a little kid. Our families used to hang out all the time before we moved to the states, but we've kept in touch over the years, especially when Facebook became available over here in Taiwan. Dinner that night was Japanese food, with about 10 courses (there is more to Japanese food besides sushi) and a pitcher of beer that I mostly drank since the girls usually only drink cocktails. I was stuffed, but I went out afterwards to a house party that my friend's boyfriend was hosting with some other people for CNY. They had a gift exchange similar to a white elephant, but without the stealing aspect. There was one other person there that didn't know anyone else except the person that brought them, so I talked with her for a little bit. I felt a bit mischievous, so I took the bag of extra condiments from the pizza that they ordered, and put it in another bag, and set it down next to the other gifts that they were being exchanged. We both got a kick out of it as a few people acted like they were reaching for it, but went for something else. The ruse was up when the participants were sorting through the remaining gifts and someone looked closer at the semi transparent bag and noticed the condiments.
On Friday night, I met up with an ex coworker from AMD for dinner and drinks. We met when he was still working in AMD Austin, then moved back to Taiwan to work at AMD, quit to start his own business, and finally got back into the high tech industry back in October only to be recruited by someone to go back to work at AMD. It's the job position that I was hopeful to get back in September, but he has more experience and is probably more qualified for the position than I am. Definitely no hard feelings, but we discussed my career and what options are available to me now, which is bringing me to an interesting crossroads again. I'm seriously considering scrapping the Shanghai part of my whole move and just staying in Taiwan, especially if I might have a job with AMD again. I already have a place lined up to stay thanks to my dad's friend, which would be really central to everything in Taipei. I've also looked at Mandarin language classes I could take in the evening while working, which is a huge plus considering the whole move was originally to relearn Mandarin anyways. The main factor in all this is of course the possibility of the job opening at AMD Taiwan, which I am being considered for, but have no idea when the headcount will open up, if it all. In the meantime, I have to leave Taiwan by March 5th due to my 30 day visa expiration, which means I need to plan a trip somewhere (Japan, HK, S. Korea, Australia?)
In the meantime, I'm still subject to lectures from my dad, as well as his accordion playing. I've started to develop a headache whenever he starts lecturing, which is not a good sign, but I'm just trying to make it to the end of the month. He's mentioned to me that before I got here, if he had trouble sleeping or woke up in the middle of the night, he would bust out his accordion and then go back to sleep. Thank god he isn't doing that now.
Oh! I almost forgot, I've discovered this delicious new snack in Taipei. Oh. My. God. The last few times I walked through the Taipei Main Station, this fragrant smell just overwhelmed the area, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. My friend and I were walking through last night, so I stopped him and had him point it out for me. It's this bread that's baked with a coffee flavored cream on top, and is so delicious, that mere words would do it an injustice. Seriously, if you're ever here visiting, you MUST try this. I'm starting to crave it as much as I crave/miss Tex-Mex/BBQ/Cajun food/etc.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
My dad is a playa.
So I get a call from my dad around 11:30pm, saying that he's not coming home tonight, and is just going to sleep at his office (which has a bed/tv/etc). Now, I wonder if he's actually staying there, or going over to his girlfriend's. Will I need to teach him the finer intricacies of putting a sock on the door to the condo, should he not want to be bothered here if things get intimated with his girlfriend? This is uncharted territory, as father and son are both bachelors living together. Suggestions anyone?
In other news, I am happy to report that I have a working Macbook Pro again, and can hopefully figure out this mess of a network so I can get internet on my laptop at home, instead of using my dad's. Also, the acupunture did help a bit, but there is still some pain there in the lower back. It's not as pronounced as it once was, especially in the morning, but I can still feel it after walking all day, like I did today.
In other news, I am happy to report that I have a working Macbook Pro again, and can hopefully figure out this mess of a network so I can get internet on my laptop at home, instead of using my dad's. Also, the acupunture did help a bit, but there is still some pain there in the lower back. It's not as pronounced as it once was, especially in the morning, but I can still feel it after walking all day, like I did today.
Monday, February 8, 2010
That was a bit painful...
So I went to the acupuncturist today, and was his first patient at around 9:30am. I later saw the list, and sure enough, there were about 6 or 7 other names beneath mine after I got out at 11:30am. The doctor has been in the same spot for 20+ years, and the layout hasn't changed, so says my dad's friend. By the looks of some of the Time magazines I picked up from 1998, I'm not surprised.
The guy spends half of the year in Taiwan, and the other half in the US, so he understand English very well, and speaks it decently. Thank god for that, since I have a hard enough time describing normal stuff versus medical stuff in Mandarin. He does a few flexibility tests on me, and asks me the normal questions and concludes that my back is almost healed, but the lack of flexibility and pain isn't 100% a result of the back injury anymore, but rather muscle tightness and my body still trying to protect itself from re-injury. So he went to work on my neck and mid back with the needle. Except this isn't the acupuncture that you think it is. Oh no, it's something that hurts. While typical acupuncture needles are at 34 gauge and IV/injection needles are at 22 gauge, the single needle he used was probably a 26 gauge. He used it a total of 10 times, with 5 times across the neck and 5 times down the middle back. It's about 10hrs later, and my neck and back still feel like they were punching bags and are quite sore. The good news is, my flexibility did improve fairly quickly after each poke, and he thinks that most of my pain will have dispersed by tomorrow morning. Here's hoping.
The guy spends half of the year in Taiwan, and the other half in the US, so he understand English very well, and speaks it decently. Thank god for that, since I have a hard enough time describing normal stuff versus medical stuff in Mandarin. He does a few flexibility tests on me, and asks me the normal questions and concludes that my back is almost healed, but the lack of flexibility and pain isn't 100% a result of the back injury anymore, but rather muscle tightness and my body still trying to protect itself from re-injury. So he went to work on my neck and mid back with the needle. Except this isn't the acupuncture that you think it is. Oh no, it's something that hurts. While typical acupuncture needles are at 34 gauge and IV/injection needles are at 22 gauge, the single needle he used was probably a 26 gauge. He used it a total of 10 times, with 5 times across the neck and 5 times down the middle back. It's about 10hrs later, and my neck and back still feel like they were punching bags and are quite sore. The good news is, my flexibility did improve fairly quickly after each poke, and he thinks that most of my pain will have dispersed by tomorrow morning. Here's hoping.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
The weekend
Friday, February 5th:
I awake to my dad turning the light on into my room at 7am, which really,really, annoys me, but I am rested, so I begrudgingly wake up. The day consists of traveling downtown to get my visa issue taken care of, only to find out that I can't get a visa, since I'm already here. That means I'll have to leave Taiwan in 30 days and come back, so I'll get a trip to somewhere in Asia. Maybe Japan to visit my buddy Jason.
After the visa fiasco, I search around and find a place to take my Macbook Pro to be serviced, with the guy telling me to be back by 6pm, since he can't call me, as I am still without a working phone. In the meantime, I decided I need to take care of that problem, so I go get a prepaid SIM and pop it into my iPhone. I head back to the Apple shop, only for him to tell me that he can't get it working either, so he's sending it in to get the hard drive replaced, and I'll get it back on Wednesday. Here's hoping that it works when I get it back, and I can load all my stuff back onto it. It'll suck to have lost 2 years worth of photos.
For dinner, I call my dad, and we meet up for with his new girlfriend, who seems nice, but I still need to get to know her. After watching my dad interact with her, I am amazed at how he was able to land my mom with the way that he acts with women. Maybe it's just a different generational and cultural thing, partially the reason maybe I have a hard time connecting with my old man. My dad and I take the MRT back home, where he tortured me before going to sleep with his accordion playing.
Saturday, February 6th:
I went out with my dad to a hosted lunch by one of his friends celebrating CNY. He introduced me to one of his friends who has some experience in the semiconductor industry, and to discuss my career path/future. I later find out from my dad that he asked him to talk to me about trying to stay within an industry and not jump around from place to place. He said he had it in mind that if his friend helps me, then when his friend's child grows up, I can help him out too. It doesn't always quite work like that, as much as we would like it to.
After lunch, my dad and I parted ways, him to play mahjong with his friends, me to buy stuff for the condo, since my dad clearly does not know how to live like a decent bachelor. I went to the Carrefour (think super walmart) one stop down on the MRT from home, only to find the store had closed one week earlier. I think the sign said something about renovating it? I have no idea. In any case, I walk the rest of the way home, only to make it back right before it started pouring. I ended up staying the rest of the afternoon/night in catching up on tv shows and being bored out of my mind. I really need to start meeting people my own age to get out more.
Sunday, February 6th:
Today's the day I go see my mom's side of the family, who I hadn't see in 5 years, which was the last time I visited Taiwan. But first, I head over to the Shilin area to check out my dad's shop. He's rented out the 2nd and 3rd floors, but worked out a deal with the building's owner to have a giant advertisement on the outside of the building along the windows for all 5 floors. It's really well done, and looks pretty in the evening. The latest advertisement he has out features pictures of my brother and sister-in-law from their wedding photos, along with some other random women in dresses.
I take a look around, and it's well done inside, but then he sits me down to rehash/lecture the story of how he got to be where he is in his business. Now, I've heard this story before, multiple times even, and I got it the first time he told me. It's all getting a little old and tired, especially the part on him lecturing me about life and my career/future, etc, etc. It gets to the point I actually start developing a headache just from listening to it. I *rarely* get headaches, which will show you how much it actually bothers me listening to the same tired speech. I quickly nod and agree to everything just so I can leave and get to seeing my mom's side of the family.
After another 40min MRT ride, I finally make it to Banqiao, where four of my mom's six siblings are there to greet me, along with three of my nine cousins. It was great to see them again, and my little cousins are all grown up, but they all say that I haven't changed a bit, except that I lost some weight. I stay the day there, catch up with them, eat lunch/snacks/dinner before eventually heading to the MRT station to head back home. This entire time, my youngest cousin of 10 years old seems fascinated by me, and my general lack of knowledge of certain words and the inability to read most words. She's very inquisitive, asking if I know this word or that word, and being a typical 10 year old kid. Now, what I wasn't expecting was the joke that she told me that was for all intents and purposes, pretty racist. I won't repeat it on the blog, but I was in shock that my 10 year old female cousin. Definitely nothing on how my aunt/uncle raise her, but more so I think on playground humor, and how it's perpetuated as commonplace in Taiwan/Asia.
On the way back to the MRT, I have my first pretty white girl sighting in a very unlikely place. She was by herself on a street that's filled with street vendors for food during the day, but at night it's fairly empty and just an alleyway that doesn't even have a street designation on a map. Not a place you would expect to find a foreigner, and definitely not a pretty female one at that. Now, I would have been inclined to stop and to talk to her, but felt that might have been awkward with my two aunts by my side, so I missed an opportunity. Oh well.
I saw a few other expats on the MRT, one of whom gave me the head nod and smile when we both exited the MRT at the same time. I asked if I really stuck out that much, and he gave a hearty laugh and went along his way. I guess it's pretty bad if even the white people can pick me out amongst my own race.
I awake to my dad turning the light on into my room at 7am, which really,really, annoys me, but I am rested, so I begrudgingly wake up. The day consists of traveling downtown to get my visa issue taken care of, only to find out that I can't get a visa, since I'm already here. That means I'll have to leave Taiwan in 30 days and come back, so I'll get a trip to somewhere in Asia. Maybe Japan to visit my buddy Jason.
After the visa fiasco, I search around and find a place to take my Macbook Pro to be serviced, with the guy telling me to be back by 6pm, since he can't call me, as I am still without a working phone. In the meantime, I decided I need to take care of that problem, so I go get a prepaid SIM and pop it into my iPhone. I head back to the Apple shop, only for him to tell me that he can't get it working either, so he's sending it in to get the hard drive replaced, and I'll get it back on Wednesday. Here's hoping that it works when I get it back, and I can load all my stuff back onto it. It'll suck to have lost 2 years worth of photos.
For dinner, I call my dad, and we meet up for with his new girlfriend, who seems nice, but I still need to get to know her. After watching my dad interact with her, I am amazed at how he was able to land my mom with the way that he acts with women. Maybe it's just a different generational and cultural thing, partially the reason maybe I have a hard time connecting with my old man. My dad and I take the MRT back home, where he tortured me before going to sleep with his accordion playing.
Saturday, February 6th:
I went out with my dad to a hosted lunch by one of his friends celebrating CNY. He introduced me to one of his friends who has some experience in the semiconductor industry, and to discuss my career path/future. I later find out from my dad that he asked him to talk to me about trying to stay within an industry and not jump around from place to place. He said he had it in mind that if his friend helps me, then when his friend's child grows up, I can help him out too. It doesn't always quite work like that, as much as we would like it to.
After lunch, my dad and I parted ways, him to play mahjong with his friends, me to buy stuff for the condo, since my dad clearly does not know how to live like a decent bachelor. I went to the Carrefour (think super walmart) one stop down on the MRT from home, only to find the store had closed one week earlier. I think the sign said something about renovating it? I have no idea. In any case, I walk the rest of the way home, only to make it back right before it started pouring. I ended up staying the rest of the afternoon/night in catching up on tv shows and being bored out of my mind. I really need to start meeting people my own age to get out more.
Sunday, February 6th:
Today's the day I go see my mom's side of the family, who I hadn't see in 5 years, which was the last time I visited Taiwan. But first, I head over to the Shilin area to check out my dad's shop. He's rented out the 2nd and 3rd floors, but worked out a deal with the building's owner to have a giant advertisement on the outside of the building along the windows for all 5 floors. It's really well done, and looks pretty in the evening. The latest advertisement he has out features pictures of my brother and sister-in-law from their wedding photos, along with some other random women in dresses.
I take a look around, and it's well done inside, but then he sits me down to rehash/lecture the story of how he got to be where he is in his business. Now, I've heard this story before, multiple times even, and I got it the first time he told me. It's all getting a little old and tired, especially the part on him lecturing me about life and my career/future, etc, etc. It gets to the point I actually start developing a headache just from listening to it. I *rarely* get headaches, which will show you how much it actually bothers me listening to the same tired speech. I quickly nod and agree to everything just so I can leave and get to seeing my mom's side of the family.
After another 40min MRT ride, I finally make it to Banqiao, where four of my mom's six siblings are there to greet me, along with three of my nine cousins. It was great to see them again, and my little cousins are all grown up, but they all say that I haven't changed a bit, except that I lost some weight. I stay the day there, catch up with them, eat lunch/snacks/dinner before eventually heading to the MRT station to head back home. This entire time, my youngest cousin of 10 years old seems fascinated by me, and my general lack of knowledge of certain words and the inability to read most words. She's very inquisitive, asking if I know this word or that word, and being a typical 10 year old kid. Now, what I wasn't expecting was the joke that she told me that was for all intents and purposes, pretty racist. I won't repeat it on the blog, but I was in shock that my 10 year old female cousin. Definitely nothing on how my aunt/uncle raise her, but more so I think on playground humor, and how it's perpetuated as commonplace in Taiwan/Asia.
On the way back to the MRT, I have my first pretty white girl sighting in a very unlikely place. She was by herself on a street that's filled with street vendors for food during the day, but at night it's fairly empty and just an alleyway that doesn't even have a street designation on a map. Not a place you would expect to find a foreigner, and definitely not a pretty female one at that. Now, I would have been inclined to stop and to talk to her, but felt that might have been awkward with my two aunts by my side, so I missed an opportunity. Oh well.
I saw a few other expats on the MRT, one of whom gave me the head nod and smile when we both exited the MRT at the same time. I asked if I really stuck out that much, and he gave a hearty laugh and went along his way. I guess it's pretty bad if even the white people can pick me out amongst my own race.
1st post...
Ok, so I'm new to this whole blogging thing, but figured there is enough demand from my friends to create one to keep track of me, instead of posting sparse updates on facebook. I don't expect more than a dozen readers to follow me on this journey, but who knows where it will take me, and I'd like to share it with my friends.
Before we begin, some background information that might be helpful:
Now that you have some basic info about me, let's begin with some things that have been going on since I got to Taiwan last Wednesday evening.
Thursday, February 4th:
I stayed home all day, partially because of jetlag, partially because I was feeling a bit sick. I guess all that packing/partying/traveling had finally caught up with me from the previous 5 days. Since I confined myself at home, I decided to try and figure out how to connect my laptop to my dad's internet connection in his home. I was desperate to watch Lost, and wanted to use my laptop instead of my dad's.
I can't really read any Chinese, so figuring out the connection stuff from my dad's computer was a no go. Instead, I decided to boot my Macbook Pro into the Windows 7 install I had from my desktop, which I transplanted onto a external HD connection. Bad Idea Jeans. This wasn't the smartest thing, as I hadn't done that before, and it caused my Mac OS X install to not properly boot up anymore. Throughout the rest of the day, I tried doing as much tech support as I knew how to try and get it working, to no avail. ***On a sidenote, I was able to download and watch Lost (thank you bittorrent!), since Hulu/ABC won't let me stream from Taiwan.*** I went to sleep around 7pm, defeated and tired, and didn't wake up until 7am the next morning.
I'll continue the rest of the following days tomorrow, but for now, I need to get some sleep for an acupuncture session I have to try and fix my back. Supposedly the guy I'm going to is a miracle worker, and always has people lined up to see him. Wish me luck!
Before we begin, some background information that might be helpful:
- My Mandarin Chinese is good enough to get around, but still very elementary, but that's why I'm over here in Taiwan. To get fluency to the point where I can use it in practical business/political applications.
- I'm staying with my Dad in DanShui, just north of Taipei, about a 40 minute MRT ride from the Taipei Main Station.
- The unit is fairly small, but has two seperate sleeping areas
- My dad and I have not lived together in any extended capacity since I was 13, almost 17 years ago
- My dad likes playing the accordian
- My dad has a new girlfriend
Now that you have some basic info about me, let's begin with some things that have been going on since I got to Taiwan last Wednesday evening.
Thursday, February 4th:
I stayed home all day, partially because of jetlag, partially because I was feeling a bit sick. I guess all that packing/partying/traveling had finally caught up with me from the previous 5 days. Since I confined myself at home, I decided to try and figure out how to connect my laptop to my dad's internet connection in his home. I was desperate to watch Lost, and wanted to use my laptop instead of my dad's.
I can't really read any Chinese, so figuring out the connection stuff from my dad's computer was a no go. Instead, I decided to boot my Macbook Pro into the Windows 7 install I had from my desktop, which I transplanted onto a external HD connection. Bad Idea Jeans. This wasn't the smartest thing, as I hadn't done that before, and it caused my Mac OS X install to not properly boot up anymore. Throughout the rest of the day, I tried doing as much tech support as I knew how to try and get it working, to no avail. ***On a sidenote, I was able to download and watch Lost (thank you bittorrent!), since Hulu/ABC won't let me stream from Taiwan.*** I went to sleep around 7pm, defeated and tired, and didn't wake up until 7am the next morning.
I'll continue the rest of the following days tomorrow, but for now, I need to get some sleep for an acupuncture session I have to try and fix my back. Supposedly the guy I'm going to is a miracle worker, and always has people lined up to see him. Wish me luck!
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