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.