2009 a year in review

Where in the World is D Today?

Being his typical reflective self. Because that’s what Panda’s do.

It’s been almost a full year in Taiwan. Some of it has been really great. Some of it….. not so much. Let’s take a look back.

January 5, I get an email from Jack, not motorcycle Jack, Dewey Education Services Jack. Dewey services the contract for the Taiwan government. BTW Jack is a very common English name for Taiwan men. The short version…

“Do you still want to teach in Taiwan?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Can you be here February 1?”

“?!?!?!..... Ummmm… Let me see what I can work out.
Yes, I will come.” *gulp!*

A lease is signed to rent my house. (This is a subject I have said absolutely nothing about on my blog. But those close to me know it was easily my worse decision of 2009. It led to the collapse of a friendship, the pre-mature selling of my house and HUGE, we’re talking 5 digits, financial loss for me. Not to mention the shear emotional and mental stress to deal with some 7700 miles and weird time zones. What can I say, it seemed like a good idea at the time.)

My first 24 hours in Taiwan, is a series of comical miscommunications. Some of which I have yet to figure out “why” things happened the way they did. And I end up with Josh as my roommate. Josh and I are totally incompatible as roommates. And I end up getting my own apartment. I will say that I am very happy to report, that now that I don’t live with Josh, we get along quite well. I’ve watched him grow this year. He’s a decent fellow with a good sense of humor. And from what I can tell, he’s a good teacher. I’ve watched his rapport with the kindergarten kids and it’s pretty cool! I would have never guessed at the beginning of the year. Two thumbs up Josh!!

Met my first friends in Starbucks. I call it Ground Zero for the beginning of “life” in Taiwan. Coke was the first, then Timmy. Followed quickly by Shaq, Pie and Cindy. Who would eventually me the greatest Chinese name EVER, 戴格智 Then I got to know the staff and they got to know me. Winnie, Sylvie, Bryan, Elma, Dolphin, Rain, Eddie were my life-savers. These folks were my first up close experiences with Taiwan culture and Chinese language. For a long time I was as come to Starbucks as coffee. This is also when I first begin referring to myself as a Panda.

Discovered the sheer joy of KTV in April. Laughing, eating, drinking and singing. It doesn’t get better than that! KTV is a 24 hour a day deal. Going to KTV at 3 am is normal.

I experience my first Earth Quake ever at 2:00AM in June. This is a very bad way to wake up! Tears and vomit ensue. It was probably one of the most insecure moments of my life. My body and nerves where thrown completely out of whack. I’ve been through other earthquakes since. I still HATE them, but I don’t freak out either. There was a “big one”, by Taiwan standards, the week before Christmas. I was having dinner with friends. It would have extremely serious for if I would have been in my 14th floor apt.

Experienced my first Typhoon in August. I’d have to say it was a bit anti-climactic for me. Here in Jhongli, it was pretty calm. But unfortunately in the south many people died. It was quite horrible down there. And news reports had friends and family on high alert in the U.S. It’s nice to know people care if you live or die.
The food in Taiwan is simply delicious. Unfounded worries of me losing weight because of the food. If anything I’ve gained weight.

I began seriously with Chinese lesson in the summer, July. My Chinese is well, not very good in my opinion. 我覺得中文很困難. But the things I can say, I say very well with a decent Taiwan accent. I, like everything else in my life, have taken a more difficult path in learning Chinese. I am learning Chinese in a way that children in Taiwan learn Chinese. I am learningㄅㄆㄇㄈ , a phonetic system for learning sounds in Chinese. If I don’t understand a word when people say it, they can write it this way and I will understand better. Or at the very least add a new word to my vocabulary.

I joined a gym in March. Love the showers. Hate the number of men that walk around naked. The staff is cool, but not as cool as Starbucks. I do a body combat class twice a week to mix up my workout. I tried a step class… twice. I sucked both times. Step class is Taiwan is WAY different from the U.S. The routine just builds and builds. It seems you start with step one. By the end of class you are on step 37. It’s one long continuous routine. That’s fine. I am good through the first 5-6 consecutive steps, then I get very confused. The steps are much more difficult AND the instructions are in Chinese. I don’t feel too bad, because there are Taiwan people who can’t figure it out either..and they speak Chinese!

Found a church in the summer. It was definitely an answer to prayer at the time. I don’t attend as regularly as I did before. The language barrier is to great. 2010 will have a search for an English speaking church.

The fall led to the discovery of Thai Massage. Please resist the temptation to attach something sexual to it. It isn’t. Trust me when I say I there were, I sure as heck wouldn’t tell the whole world on my blog. It’s just a great massage. And by U.S. standards is super cheap. $1000NT for 2 hours, that’s about $34 US.

My latest adventure is riding Brutus, my motorbike. My friend Randy Rook once said God protects drunks and idiots. I’m not a drunk, so that only leaves idiot. I have felt that protection from time to time. I am beginning to ride more like a Taiwan person. I don’t know if that is necessarily a good thing, but it is certainly critical for survival on the streets of Jhongli.

All in all, it’s been a good year of growth. I still feel very much like a man in transition. There is much I haven't written about, but I think you get the point of my life. I re-signed my contract, so I will be in Taiwan another year. I am hopeful at the possibilities. I am hoping to become a better teacher, a better speaker of Chinese and maybe…. just maybe, I can find a girl friend. Wish me Luck.

Peace.

戴格智