If you haven't lived in Taiwan, you don't know what noise is.
It's a lovely Sunday afternoon. I took a bike ride out to buy some food and got stuck in the traffic behind a religious procession. In the west, we picture spirituality as a somber, dignified, personal activity. In Taiwan, the idea is to make so much goddamn noise that the gods can't possibly ignore you. (Well, this isn't exactly true, in Taiwan they bring the 'gods' and the religious icons out of the temples are parade around, so they are actually making all that goddamn noise so that you don't ignore the gods.)
Picture 50 teenager boys with 8foot long trumpets (with 12inch bells for stronger vibrations) 15 10foot drums, 20 10foot gongs, about 100 whiny Asian clarinets, all hooked up to loudspeakers plugged into a massive battery that they wheel around on a cart behind the procession.
Now picture this going by your house at 6:30 am, and winding up and down all the streets of your city until mid-afternoon. There is simply no escaping the noise.
That's not to mention the 'firecrackers' (ie sticks of dynamite) that they set off by the thousands. Just now I swear the were setting off anti-aircraft mortars. I could see the puffs of gray smoke in the air, and feel the vibrations as the shockwave from the explosions pounded through the city blocks.
WOW.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Friday, November 30, 2007
TESOL/Linguistics: The Blind Leading the Blind
Have I mentioned recently that linguistics is the final degeneration of human progress? The lowest form of education possible? It's upsetting that it is so wildly popular: everyone wants to learn English. So they get a bunch of white people and train them in linguistics and TESOL, because there is an assumption (which I disagree with) that learning a lot of little symbols about all the various forms of mistakes non-native speakers can make and studying students not-yet-perfect accent will somehow get them to learn how to speak English well. It's absolutely ridiculous.
1) It's teacher-centered rather than student centered
2) It focuses on the mistakes and gives them power as autonomous modes of communication
3) It produces English teachers who know everything about the linguistic production of English but nothing of any value
Universities like to hire MA's or PHD's in linguistics to teach English to their students. This is a severely flawed notion. While linguistics or TESOL might be helpful to native-speaking ESL teachers, it is emphatically not helpful, nor useful, to any non-native student's wanting to learn how to speak English. Rather than read great English literature, study English grammar, or improve their fluency, they learn linguistics and do linguistic studies of their own "Meta-Language" (read: bad pronunciation).
There are thousands of these students, all over the world, studying Linguistics and TESOL simply because, the MA's and PhD's studied Linguistics and TESOL. They don't know anything else. So what you get is whole countries of academics studying the linguistic composition of a foreign language, their non-native English. And yet often their speaking and writing is terrible. And they will go on to teach "English" to others - by teaching linguistics and TESOL.
It almost makes me furious. It's so futile and self-defeating and inane and bureaucratic, absolutely senseless in every way. Brilliant minds solving problems that DO NOT NEED to be solved.
People have been learning languages since we began speaking them. People CAN learn 2 or 3 languages, and learn them well. They did it long before there was ever such a thing as TESOL or Linguistics. Without a doubt, my students studying Literature will learn to use English, not to dissect it and ruin it. And yet, I see myself having trouble finding work because the emphasis is so much on linguistics rather than literature.
1) It's teacher-centered rather than student centered
2) It focuses on the mistakes and gives them power as autonomous modes of communication
3) It produces English teachers who know everything about the linguistic production of English but nothing of any value
Universities like to hire MA's or PHD's in linguistics to teach English to their students. This is a severely flawed notion. While linguistics or TESOL might be helpful to native-speaking ESL teachers, it is emphatically not helpful, nor useful, to any non-native student's wanting to learn how to speak English. Rather than read great English literature, study English grammar, or improve their fluency, they learn linguistics and do linguistic studies of their own "Meta-Language" (read: bad pronunciation).
There are thousands of these students, all over the world, studying Linguistics and TESOL simply because, the MA's and PhD's studied Linguistics and TESOL. They don't know anything else. So what you get is whole countries of academics studying the linguistic composition of a foreign language, their non-native English. And yet often their speaking and writing is terrible. And they will go on to teach "English" to others - by teaching linguistics and TESOL.
It almost makes me furious. It's so futile and self-defeating and inane and bureaucratic, absolutely senseless in every way. Brilliant minds solving problems that DO NOT NEED to be solved.
People have been learning languages since we began speaking them. People CAN learn 2 or 3 languages, and learn them well. They did it long before there was ever such a thing as TESOL or Linguistics. Without a doubt, my students studying Literature will learn to use English, not to dissect it and ruin it. And yet, I see myself having trouble finding work because the emphasis is so much on linguistics rather than literature.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Spanish test and Taiwan's friendly people
What a day. I have a cold and am always irritable when my nose is stuffed up. My girlfriend woke me up early for a ride to the train station and I missed out on several hours of sleep I had been counting on; today was a very important Spanish exam day.
Tangent: I've been trying to convince my university to let me test out of my language requirements. They finally were persuaded, and I spent the last two days trying to re-learn the Spanish that I picked up in Argentina over 10 years ago. All things considered, I think I did pretty well, but a lot can go wrong with language tests. What if I got all the words right but the accents wrong? What if I got the verbs right but used past preterite instead of past imperfect tense? We'll see how they choose to grade it.
Anyway...I'm sick and its cold and its a sunny day - back to my morning story about Taiwan's friendly people. On a OCD infatuation I felt I needed a bigger TV, and last night I found a used one (huge) for $150. Did I need it? No. But it seemed like such a good deal! So, today I was trying to figure out how to buy speakers for it. This is something people do. They buy speakers for TV's. I have a set of old speakers, but I was willing to buy new ones.
I went to RT mart, the nearest supermarket, and asked in my passable Chinese. "I have this (TV) and I have that (Speaker) I want use together, how can I use together? What do I have to buy? The first guy in the electronics department answered my question and I said OK, but then he said "Wait" and he went to ask a co-worker. (The problem is that TV speakers don't plug into TV's, they plug into sound-boxes that plug into TV's. Or - they have a little green audio plug like computers, but I didn't think my TV has that. So the answer I got was "impossible. Can't do it." That's a silly answer. Of course I can find a way to connect speakers to a TV. And he read the incredulous look on my face as incomprehension - so he went to find someone who spoke ENGLISH.)
First, he brought a loud, sociable co-worker whose English was much worse than my Chinese and I ignored her. Then he brought a woman who was married to a man who lived in California and spoke some English. (I think they used the broadcast system to say "will anyone who speaks English please come to the electronics department?")
I explained to her, in Chinese, (but slower this time) what I wanted, and she passed that along in Chinese, to the crowd of employees gathering. They gave her answers (the same ones that I heard before) in Chinese (which I understood) and then she translated into English (how helpful.)
Then her husband came along who spoke English very well. At this point it would be rude to refuse his help so I spoke to him in English. We chatted for awhile about the USA, I asked my questions again but more specifically, and got the same answers (but was directed to another store at least) and thanked everybody for the help and left.
YES - Taiwanese people are extremely HELPFUL. They want to FIND HELP FOR YOU. But they often lack the confidence, self-esteem and competence to listen to you and help you themselves. To be fair, my Chinese isn't great. Even at the other store, the employees kept saying "Maybe this...but I'm don't understand what you want." However....the problem was simple and pretty clear. I had two physical objects to point to and gesture with, as well as lots of cords to dangle emphatically. Anyway....
Tangent: I've been trying to convince my university to let me test out of my language requirements. They finally were persuaded, and I spent the last two days trying to re-learn the Spanish that I picked up in Argentina over 10 years ago. All things considered, I think I did pretty well, but a lot can go wrong with language tests. What if I got all the words right but the accents wrong? What if I got the verbs right but used past preterite instead of past imperfect tense? We'll see how they choose to grade it.
Anyway...I'm sick and its cold and its a sunny day - back to my morning story about Taiwan's friendly people. On a OCD infatuation I felt I needed a bigger TV, and last night I found a used one (huge) for $150. Did I need it? No. But it seemed like such a good deal! So, today I was trying to figure out how to buy speakers for it. This is something people do. They buy speakers for TV's. I have a set of old speakers, but I was willing to buy new ones.
I went to RT mart, the nearest supermarket, and asked in my passable Chinese. "I have this (TV) and I have that (Speaker) I want use together, how can I use together? What do I have to buy? The first guy in the electronics department answered my question and I said OK, but then he said "Wait" and he went to ask a co-worker. (The problem is that TV speakers don't plug into TV's, they plug into sound-boxes that plug into TV's. Or - they have a little green audio plug like computers, but I didn't think my TV has that. So the answer I got was "impossible. Can't do it." That's a silly answer. Of course I can find a way to connect speakers to a TV. And he read the incredulous look on my face as incomprehension - so he went to find someone who spoke ENGLISH.)
First, he brought a loud, sociable co-worker whose English was much worse than my Chinese and I ignored her. Then he brought a woman who was married to a man who lived in California and spoke some English. (I think they used the broadcast system to say "will anyone who speaks English please come to the electronics department?")
I explained to her, in Chinese, (but slower this time) what I wanted, and she passed that along in Chinese, to the crowd of employees gathering. They gave her answers (the same ones that I heard before) in Chinese (which I understood) and then she translated into English (how helpful.)
Then her husband came along who spoke English very well. At this point it would be rude to refuse his help so I spoke to him in English. We chatted for awhile about the USA, I asked my questions again but more specifically, and got the same answers (but was directed to another store at least) and thanked everybody for the help and left.
YES - Taiwanese people are extremely HELPFUL. They want to FIND HELP FOR YOU. But they often lack the confidence, self-esteem and competence to listen to you and help you themselves. To be fair, my Chinese isn't great. Even at the other store, the employees kept saying "Maybe this...but I'm don't understand what you want." However....the problem was simple and pretty clear. I had two physical objects to point to and gesture with, as well as lots of cords to dangle emphatically. Anyway....
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Studying abroad in Taiwan.
I've started using "squidoo", yet another blog page. Don't know much about it except it's supposed to be a way to share practical information...my first post is about studying abroad in Taiwan with the Taiwan scholarship
http://www.squidoo.com/studyintaiwan/
Since this blog is about Taiwan, I'll post the whole thing here, too.
During my first several years teaching English in Taiwan I heard rumors about an amazing scholarship program run by Taiwan's Ministry of Education. Free tuition, a generous stipend, and a post-graduate degree in only two to four years. Specific details were hard to come by, but nearly everybody had met someone who, when asked what they did in Taiwan, kind of giggled and said "Oh, nothing. I'm not working right now." However, finding relevant information about studying in Taiwan under the Taiwan Scholarship can be elusive and overwhelming. This article is a user's guide to getting accepted into the graduate school of your choice, and federally funded during your stay.
The Taiwan Scholarship is a program designed to increase the number of foreign students in Taiwanese Universities, so that Taiwanese students will have a multi-national, bilingual university education. In my opinion, it's a smart move by Taiwan's Ministry of Education, who recognize that the increasing number of graduates may soon overwhelm Taiwan's workforce. This is great news for foreigners who like Taiwan but are tired of teaching English and would like to further their education. That's not to suggest that the programs in Taiwan aren't challenging. Nor can you assume that getting accepted is a piece of cake - a mistake I made applying to NCKU the first time in 2006. But with the right information and a little hard work, the Taiwan Scholarship can be a dream come true.
How do I apply?
The application process is two-fold:
You can apply for the Taiwan scholarship from February to March each year. You must mail the application and the required documents to a Taiwan Embassy in your home country. Part of the application is a "study plan", so you should already have an idea of what you want to study. For a post-graduate degree, this implies doing academic research on a problem in your field that you'd like to solve. Make sure you familiarize yourself with the studies being done internationally, as well as the research being pursued at the Taiwanese university you'd like to attend. You will also be asked for a list of the universities that you are applying to.
The application processes and deadlines for Taiwanese universities vary. Go into their website and download all the necessary materials. You will probably need a prior degree, transcripts, letters of reference, pictures, a statement of purpose and a study plan. Universities only accept a limited number of foreign students each year, so make sure you have a strong application. Let them know you are genuinely interested in the field by doing some research and getting yourself up-to-date. Don't go in as a clean plate asking for a free ride.
If they like your application material, you may be called in for an interview around May or June. This can be grueling. You'll most likely sit down in front of half a dozen Professors and asked challenging questions like "Why don't you get a degree from your own country?" They are just trying to rattle you and test your ability to think and speak clearly under pressure.
Once you get accepted, you can notify the Taiwan Embassy that you sent your Taiwan Scholarship Application to, and then they will decide whether or not you will receive the scholarship.
How much do I get?
If you get the Taiwan Scholarship, you will get 25,000NT a month for an undergraduate degree, or 30,000NT for MA and PH.D students. (30,000nt is about $1,000 USD) The money will be deposited into a Post Office bank account. However, you may still have to pay tuition, which ranges from 60,000NT - 100,000NT a year.
Even if you don't get the Taiwan scholarship, most universities offer their own financial assistance, which generally includes free tuition and roughly 10,000NT a month to help with living expenses.
This money relieves you of the necessity to work for a living, but you'll have to budget your time and be self-motivated enough to do the work, which can be challenging. Some foreigners manage to teach English as well and can save up some extra money.
What programs are offered?
You can apply for any program at the University. Keep in mind, as you infiltrate classrooms that have never been visited by a foreigner, you might at first be a distraction. Some professors are not thrilled, after teaching the same material for 30 years, to have a spotlight cast on their rusty English abilities. The programs that specifically target foreign students, such as Linguistics or the MBA, and larger universities with many international applicants, will be better equipped to handle foreign students. This isn't to say that being the only foreigner at a smaller University wouldn't be a great experience - only that you'll have to go with the flow and not lose your cool when the inane bureaucracy of Taiwanese Universities seems crippling.
My Chinese isn't so good, can I study in English?
Taiwan's National Universities are striving towards a full English curriculum, but in reality the level of English will depend upon the professor, the students and the course. In most classes, the reading and material may be in English, but the explanations and lectures could be in Chinese. (However, if you're sitting in the front row looking confused, they may make a concerted effort to speak English, which is precisely what you're there for.)
If you are studying the "Full English MBA" offered by many Universities, or Linguistics or English Literature in a Foreign Language department, chances are good that you'll be pretty comfortable. If you want to study Art or Engineering or Gastroenterology, you may need to take Chinese classes on the side to keep up.
Will a post-graduate degree from Taiwan be recognized abroad?
If you want to use a graduate degree from Taiwan to get a job teaching in a Western country like Canada or America, you may have some trouble. America in particular has been loathe to accept degrees from abroad. However, times are changing. The world is becoming smaller and some Western countries are starting to become aware of the outside world, including countries like Taiwan, whose students consistently score higher on aptitude tests than their Western counterparts. The degree itself is fading in importance to factors like personality, international experience and teaching methods, and a degree from Taiwan may be just the sparkle that sets your application apart and lands you the job.
On the other hand, if you want to use your degree to keep teach overseas, it's a mixed bag. The very finest Universities often want the best, and at present that stereotype is consistently Western. A post-graduate degree from America or Canada may open doors that a degree from Taiwan will not. However, Before decide where to study your undergraduate or postgraduate degree, evaluate the pro's and con's carefully. Do you need to be the number one professor at the World's Best University, solving the complex questions of the Universe, or would you be just as happy working at a mid-range University? Also think about what you want to use your degree for - an MBA from Taiwan for example (learning Chinese on the side) could significantly boost your career opportunities.
Regardless of where you choose to study in Taiwan, you can expect the warm hospitality of the Taiwanese to make your life easier. Teachers are patient and understanding, and your classmates will be exceedingly helpful.
Taiwan Ministry of Education's Website is http://www.edu.tw/. Click on "English", and then "Scholarships".
A lot of Taiwanese universities also advertise on http://www.tealit.com
http://www.squidoo.com/studyintaiwan/
Since this blog is about Taiwan, I'll post the whole thing here, too.
If you want to get an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in an exciting, beautiful country - without paying for it, this article is for you!
Discover why thousands of students from all over the world are flocking to Taiwan, and how you can get involved before the opportunity is gone.
The Taiwan Scholarship
Get your undergraduate or graduate degree in Taiwan for less
During my first several years teaching English in Taiwan I heard rumors about an amazing scholarship program run by Taiwan's Ministry of Education. Free tuition, a generous stipend, and a post-graduate degree in only two to four years. Specific details were hard to come by, but nearly everybody had met someone who, when asked what they did in Taiwan, kind of giggled and said "Oh, nothing. I'm not working right now." However, finding relevant information about studying in Taiwan under the Taiwan Scholarship can be elusive and overwhelming. This article is a user's guide to getting accepted into the graduate school of your choice, and federally funded during your stay.The Taiwan Scholarship is a program designed to increase the number of foreign students in Taiwanese Universities, so that Taiwanese students will have a multi-national, bilingual university education. In my opinion, it's a smart move by Taiwan's Ministry of Education, who recognize that the increasing number of graduates may soon overwhelm Taiwan's workforce. This is great news for foreigners who like Taiwan but are tired of teaching English and would like to further their education. That's not to suggest that the programs in Taiwan aren't challenging. Nor can you assume that getting accepted is a piece of cake - a mistake I made applying to NCKU the first time in 2006. But with the right information and a little hard work, the Taiwan Scholarship can be a dream come true.
How do I apply?
The application process is two-fold:
You can apply for the Taiwan scholarship from February to March each year. You must mail the application and the required documents to a Taiwan Embassy in your home country. Part of the application is a "study plan", so you should already have an idea of what you want to study. For a post-graduate degree, this implies doing academic research on a problem in your field that you'd like to solve. Make sure you familiarize yourself with the studies being done internationally, as well as the research being pursued at the Taiwanese university you'd like to attend. You will also be asked for a list of the universities that you are applying to.
The application processes and deadlines for Taiwanese universities vary. Go into their website and download all the necessary materials. You will probably need a prior degree, transcripts, letters of reference, pictures, a statement of purpose and a study plan. Universities only accept a limited number of foreign students each year, so make sure you have a strong application. Let them know you are genuinely interested in the field by doing some research and getting yourself up-to-date. Don't go in as a clean plate asking for a free ride.
If they like your application material, you may be called in for an interview around May or June. This can be grueling. You'll most likely sit down in front of half a dozen Professors and asked challenging questions like "Why don't you get a degree from your own country?" They are just trying to rattle you and test your ability to think and speak clearly under pressure.
Once you get accepted, you can notify the Taiwan Embassy that you sent your Taiwan Scholarship Application to, and then they will decide whether or not you will receive the scholarship.
How much do I get?
If you get the Taiwan Scholarship, you will get 25,000NT a month for an undergraduate degree, or 30,000NT for MA and PH.D students. (30,000nt is about $1,000 USD) The money will be deposited into a Post Office bank account. However, you may still have to pay tuition, which ranges from 60,000NT - 100,000NT a year.
Even if you don't get the Taiwan scholarship, most universities offer their own financial assistance, which generally includes free tuition and roughly 10,000NT a month to help with living expenses.
This money relieves you of the necessity to work for a living, but you'll have to budget your time and be self-motivated enough to do the work, which can be challenging. Some foreigners manage to teach English as well and can save up some extra money.
What programs are offered?
You can apply for any program at the University. Keep in mind, as you infiltrate classrooms that have never been visited by a foreigner, you might at first be a distraction. Some professors are not thrilled, after teaching the same material for 30 years, to have a spotlight cast on their rusty English abilities. The programs that specifically target foreign students, such as Linguistics or the MBA, and larger universities with many international applicants, will be better equipped to handle foreign students. This isn't to say that being the only foreigner at a smaller University wouldn't be a great experience - only that you'll have to go with the flow and not lose your cool when the inane bureaucracy of Taiwanese Universities seems crippling.
My Chinese isn't so good, can I study in English?
Taiwan's National Universities are striving towards a full English curriculum, but in reality the level of English will depend upon the professor, the students and the course. In most classes, the reading and material may be in English, but the explanations and lectures could be in Chinese. (However, if you're sitting in the front row looking confused, they may make a concerted effort to speak English, which is precisely what you're there for.)
If you are studying the "Full English MBA" offered by many Universities, or Linguistics or English Literature in a Foreign Language department, chances are good that you'll be pretty comfortable. If you want to study Art or Engineering or Gastroenterology, you may need to take Chinese classes on the side to keep up.
Will a post-graduate degree from Taiwan be recognized abroad?
If you want to use a graduate degree from Taiwan to get a job teaching in a Western country like Canada or America, you may have some trouble. America in particular has been loathe to accept degrees from abroad. However, times are changing. The world is becoming smaller and some Western countries are starting to become aware of the outside world, including countries like Taiwan, whose students consistently score higher on aptitude tests than their Western counterparts. The degree itself is fading in importance to factors like personality, international experience and teaching methods, and a degree from Taiwan may be just the sparkle that sets your application apart and lands you the job.
On the other hand, if you want to use your degree to keep teach overseas, it's a mixed bag. The very finest Universities often want the best, and at present that stereotype is consistently Western. A post-graduate degree from America or Canada may open doors that a degree from Taiwan will not. However, Before decide where to study your undergraduate or postgraduate degree, evaluate the pro's and con's carefully. Do you need to be the number one professor at the World's Best University, solving the complex questions of the Universe, or would you be just as happy working at a mid-range University? Also think about what you want to use your degree for - an MBA from Taiwan for example (learning Chinese on the side) could significantly boost your career opportunities.
Regardless of where you choose to study in Taiwan, you can expect the warm hospitality of the Taiwanese to make your life easier. Teachers are patient and understanding, and your classmates will be exceedingly helpful.
Taiwan Ministry of Education's Website is http://www.edu.tw/. Click on "English", and then "Scholarships".
A lot of Taiwanese universities also advertise on http://www.tealit.com
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Building up steam
Well it's settled: I only have 2 classes this semester. I'm allright on credits because I worked hard last year but still feel super lazy. I go to school Monday and Tuesday afternoon - and that's it. What a great life. The good thing is I have a ton of reading to do, and also need to finish my old websites and build a couple of new ones.
I'm starting an online copyediting company. www.perfect-english-editing.com It's almost ready, just need to translate it, print some posters and business cards, and voila! With only a few Taiwanese universities using my services, I should have enough work....forever. Work that I can do anywhere with a wireless connection.
The other element of this master plan is that I'm smuggling myself into a courier position - if they need something sent they'll call me up and say "you need to fly to Mexico/Israel/Germany tomorrow" And I get to keep the mileage! It'd be a dream job for me, I like flying anyway. I could a few days in all the countries I visit and save enough miles to travel for free.
I'm starting an online copyediting company. www.perfect-english-editing.com It's almost ready, just need to translate it, print some posters and business cards, and voila! With only a few Taiwanese universities using my services, I should have enough work....forever. Work that I can do anywhere with a wireless connection.
The other element of this master plan is that I'm smuggling myself into a courier position - if they need something sent they'll call me up and say "you need to fly to Mexico/Israel/Germany tomorrow" And I get to keep the mileage! It'd be a dream job for me, I like flying anyway. I could a few days in all the countries I visit and save enough miles to travel for free.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Cambodia
Angkor Wat has for years been one of the few places in the world I dreamed of visiting. I bought a ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Siem Reap for about $150. From the airport (I had to buy a visa on entry for $20) I paid $1 for a motorcycle ride into the city - good thing I packed very lightly. My motorcycle driver pretended to search for the hostel I'd booked a reservation at, but "couldn't find it" and brought me somewhere else where he had connections and would probably get a finder's fee. They even told me my hostel had closed down, a blatant lie I found out, but that's not a big deal. The hostel I found was $5 a night, but after walking around I found a MUCH better please for only $8, with cable TV, two twin beds and hot water.
Although I wanted to get rid of my driver, he stuck around until he'd convinced me to hire him for three days, paying $50 altogether. (That's way too much for a motorcycle guide. It only costs $12 a day for a tuk-tuk, which are more comfortable to ride in anyway.) He took me to get my 3-day instant picture ID pass, and took me to my first ruin at sunset. For those who don't know, the temples of Cambodia are remnants of the Khmer civilization, which was at its peak about 1,000 years ago. The temples were abandoned and lost until discovered by French explorers.
The next three days was a blur of temples. Luckily I met a nice Korean girl, also traveling alone, so I had some company and someone to help me take pictures. At every temple are hordes of locals trying to sell souvenirs. It is generally the children who are put up to this task, something which many foreigners can't stand. Although they could get annoying, I was amazed at the Cambodian kids. They were so intelligent! They could speak several languages, and had an armada of tricks to get you to buy their bracelets/guidebooks/bronze statues or whatever.
"Hey Mister, you buy this Ok?"
No thanks.
"You go in, come back then you buy Ok?
No.
"If you buy, you buy only from me Ok?"
Ok.
They would ask your name and remember you until you came back their way again, and they would remember what you promised you might buy. They would also ask where you came from, and tell you the Capitol of your State or Country."If I know the capitol of Madagascar, then you buy, OK? Do you know the capitol of Madagascar? If you don't know, then you buy OK?"
The girls were generally better at this, pouting or laughing or manipulating at whim, instantly judging up tourists and knowing how to appeal to them. The boys would just get angry and repeat plaintively, "You buy? You buy? You buy?" No tact.If you ask why they aren't in school, suddenly they say, "I don't speak English!" Someone has been training them good, because they all knew the correct formula for any response.
"But I don't want a bamboo-flute!"
"Oh, buy for your friends!"
Cambodia has had the misfortune of quickly becoming a tourist destination almost before they had a real country or government. Most of the roads aren't paved, nearly everyone outside of the tourist industry are farmers, providing for themselves. And then there are still the thousands of landmines spread throughout the country, creating perpetual hazard.
Siem Reap was a tourist town, filled with markets, internet cafes, photo shops and hotels. They also had AMAZING restaurants and I want to go back just to eat more.
I was there just 5 days, then I took a 12 hour bus to Bangkok so I could fly back to Taiwan.
Malaysia
I went to Kuala Lumpur this summer to watch my friend Nick jump off of the KL Tower. The "2007 KL Tower International Jump" was a huge event, overwhelmingly publicized as part of Malaysia's 50th anniversary celebration, highlighting a theme of "Unity and Harmony" to promote Malaysia's cultural diversity.Malays, Indians, Chinese and Arabs live side-by-side in Malaysia, using any number of languages to communicate with, bargaining and arguing but otherwise living peacefully. (I have my doubts that the peace wouldn't end with the strong economy, but that's the same everywhere.) Nick's sky-diving buddies were great and, although I settled into a cheap hostel the first day, I ended up staying on the couch at their hotel, which was right across the street from the KL Tower.
The KL Tower is the 4th largest communications tower in the world. It is also
the only Tower to open itself to the sport of base jumping once a year; 100 jumpers from all over the world came to KL to spend a week jumping, shopping and drinking - fitting nicely with their tourism campaign of "Visit Malaysia" 2007. The only thing I didn't like about Malaysia was the hype. They have the most heinous tourism propaganda I've ever seen. "Malaysia - TRULY Asia" is their main slogan on TV advertisements. Of course China doesn't need that kind of propaganda. Everybody knows where the great wall is. Unfortunately, Malaysia is one of the least Asian countries I've ever seen. I ate a lot of great Indian food. I was harassed at the markets by the pushy Arabic sellers. (Not their fault - that's their selling style. Same in Egypt or anywhere else, except they're selling Hong Kong junk.)The day before the jump we took a one hour taxi ride to an enormous tourist hub up on top of a mountain - an indoor mall with an amusement park and tons of other things, including a wind tunnel. Only $6 a minute or something like that which I'm told is a deal. I did allright, for having very little experience. I
could keep myself stable...just couldn't really control where to go. The 2nd time around, I was getting tired and desperate - I couldn't get out by myself and there was no way to call for help! The experienced instructor grabbed me, spun me up and down and all around, and then tossed me through the door. Good man.The first day of the Jump I picked up a Media pass that I held on tightly to for the remainder of the event, which allowed me full access to the building, to go up to the rooftop and strap on a harness and sit on the edge of the 980 foot platform the jumpers used to catapult themselves into space. At night we'd go for full bodied massages or bars. We went to a nice hotel buffet one night, with an open bar, and caused a ruckus - standing on tables and throwing sugar packets. (Not me of course).
It was nice to see Nick a part of something so big - jumpers were treated like VIP guests, star athletes, and cultural ambassadors. As they should be: BASE jumping is amazing...and dangerous. They have good gear, and they play safe, and they don't have a death wish, but when you've got only a few seconds before you hit the ground, anything unexpected can actually kill you. There were a few accidents, but nothing serious. More alarming to me was that people were jumping who only last week had broken an arm, a leg or a back. Hardcore.
But who am I to judge. They had a great time, I would try it too if I could get more skydives first.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Beach Bitch
I'm in Korea for the summer working at a university camp. I have to wash my meat and vegetables off in a cup of water to get the thick layer of hot sauce off of them before I can manage to eat them. Ah, Korean food. No msg though, which is terrific.
Today I was teaching my university students about preferences. "Ask your partner an 'either/or' preference question." One of the students was trying to say what I thought was "Do you prefer bitch girl or warm heart girl"...but he was pronouncing it like "Beach" so I wrote "Bitch" on the board, had the class practice the contrast in pronunciation between Beach and Bitch, and finally explained that he probably wanted to say "Easy Girl" rather than "Bitch", because in America, unlike some other countries, Bitch just means evil, mean, or rude; not necessarily a whore. After all that, it turns out he was trying to say "Do you prefer a RICH girl or a warm hearted girl", (ie love or money). Oops. My bad.
My favorite student writes crazy journals. She writes things like "I slandered someone today," or "I'm a good-for-nothing." Her comment for the yearbook was "I hate you but I'll try to like you." Awesome. They write KKK at the end of entries to show humor the way we would draw a happy face. KKK is the sound they make when they giggle.
It's been raining for several days and things are being to seem illusory, like the paint of the world is running down the canvas of life, blurring the sharply defined boundaries of reality. Time is slipping by. Our schedule is botched beyond my comprehension due to an indefinately postponed allday field trip, but I can manage teaching hour by hour, activity by activity. I can rest a little on the weekend. I found an amazing sushi restaurant in nearby Jinju, as well as a cute oriental pub with Strawberry flavored rice wine by the jar. Then its one more week, a flight to Taipei, a night in Tainan, and a vacation in Malaysia.
Today I was teaching my university students about preferences. "Ask your partner an 'either/or' preference question." One of the students was trying to say what I thought was "Do you prefer bitch girl or warm heart girl"...but he was pronouncing it like "Beach" so I wrote "Bitch" on the board, had the class practice the contrast in pronunciation between Beach and Bitch, and finally explained that he probably wanted to say "Easy Girl" rather than "Bitch", because in America, unlike some other countries, Bitch just means evil, mean, or rude; not necessarily a whore. After all that, it turns out he was trying to say "Do you prefer a RICH girl or a warm hearted girl", (ie love or money). Oops. My bad.
My favorite student writes crazy journals. She writes things like "I slandered someone today," or "I'm a good-for-nothing." Her comment for the yearbook was "I hate you but I'll try to like you." Awesome. They write KKK at the end of entries to show humor the way we would draw a happy face. KKK is the sound they make when they giggle.
It's been raining for several days and things are being to seem illusory, like the paint of the world is running down the canvas of life, blurring the sharply defined boundaries of reality. Time is slipping by. Our schedule is botched beyond my comprehension due to an indefinately postponed allday field trip, but I can manage teaching hour by hour, activity by activity. I can rest a little on the weekend. I found an amazing sushi restaurant in nearby Jinju, as well as a cute oriental pub with Strawberry flavored rice wine by the jar. Then its one more week, a flight to Taipei, a night in Tainan, and a vacation in Malaysia.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Poker Champion!
As we're all confined on campus during the week, a bunch of the guys have been playing poker to pass the evening hours. Last night, my fourth game, I took the big pot. 50,000wan! (50USD) I'd been borrowing money just to buy into the game, so I was able to pay back that debt and keep 10,000 for myself. Pretty exciting game, next one is Friday night. Now the other players know not to underestimate me.
Rice and meat and Kimchi for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I try to avoid the spicy stuff, but its growing on me a little. Hump day of the second week already - Summer's going quickly, but I'm having a great time here (and getting paid well for it) so I'm pretty content.
Kind of dreading Taiwan, because I've decided to work and go to school next year, but it'll be nice to put some money into savings.
Rice and meat and Kimchi for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I try to avoid the spicy stuff, but its growing on me a little. Hump day of the second week already - Summer's going quickly, but I'm having a great time here (and getting paid well for it) so I'm pretty content.
Kind of dreading Taiwan, because I've decided to work and go to school next year, but it'll be nice to put some money into savings.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Wednesday in Korea
It's my second full day of classes - It's Wednesday already so the first week is (kind of) almost over. . . teaching University students is a breeze. Even though the hours are long - I had to get up for morning exercizes at 6:30 - there is a lot of downtime and the ESL is teaching straight out of the book. Today I tried to give a workshop on magic tricks. Found out tricks are not very much fun for anyone once revealed. . .and I had to kill 30 minutes playing 'spoons'. I also have to do a lesson on Oregon "Culture". I downloaded the nearly 30 year old video game "The Oregon Trail", which was the height of cool when I was in elementary school, and tomorrow I'll let my Korean students make Wagons and try to get their party all the way to Oregon without dying from Dysentery or Typhoid.
The food is OK, only really spicy. Lunch, breakfast and dinner includes rice and about 3 different entre's covered in red chilli pepper sauce, everything is bright red. Including the Kimchi - onions, fermented cabbage and lots of chilli peppers. I usually eat pretty simply. Some of the food is allright. I have granola bars in my room for between meals.
Korean people are different from Taiwanese. The women are less attractive, I think. Many of the women get plastic surgery, but otherwise they are kind of lumpy and plain. However, Korean guys are well-built, very stocky, bulging muscles; very cool and strong. They don't have much to choose from, which may be why they get so angry when foreigners date Korean girls. On the other hand, Taiwanese girls are beautiful, but the boys are all geeks - pudgy, scrawny and silly looking.
Many people here at camp are reading the final Harry Potter book. I bought a copy in Taiwan, but didn't have a chance to pick it up. Luckily, I can download the entire thing online - there are actually people who ran out to buy the book, then typed it all up and put it on the internet, so that I can read a copy for free. Amazing.
Tonight I'm playing poker with a bunch of the guys here - I already lost $10 last time - which I had to borrow because I won't get paid until Friday. Maybe I'll win it all back.
The food is OK, only really spicy. Lunch, breakfast and dinner includes rice and about 3 different entre's covered in red chilli pepper sauce, everything is bright red. Including the Kimchi - onions, fermented cabbage and lots of chilli peppers. I usually eat pretty simply. Some of the food is allright. I have granola bars in my room for between meals.
Korean people are different from Taiwanese. The women are less attractive, I think. Many of the women get plastic surgery, but otherwise they are kind of lumpy and plain. However, Korean guys are well-built, very stocky, bulging muscles; very cool and strong. They don't have much to choose from, which may be why they get so angry when foreigners date Korean girls. On the other hand, Taiwanese girls are beautiful, but the boys are all geeks - pudgy, scrawny and silly looking.
Many people here at camp are reading the final Harry Potter book. I bought a copy in Taiwan, but didn't have a chance to pick it up. Luckily, I can download the entire thing online - there are actually people who ran out to buy the book, then typed it all up and put it on the internet, so that I can read a copy for free. Amazing.
Tonight I'm playing poker with a bunch of the guys here - I already lost $10 last time - which I had to borrow because I won't get paid until Friday. Maybe I'll win it all back.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Korea
A rough landing jolts me awake as we land in a mist-veiled Korea. As I leave the plane, I feel underdressed: pin-stripe suits seem to be in style, and my light summer wear from Taiwan doesn't suit the chilly weather. I gather my luggage and grab a bus into town, pointing at maps and pictures of where I want to go.Despite my clear directions, and the fact that express buses should run until midnight, I am unable to find a bus to Jinju city. The ticket vendors, who ramble on in Korean without so much as a nod of the head or a point in the right direction, won't take my money and give me a ticket. I'm pretty sure they are saying there are no more buses, but who knows. Stuck in Seoul - pronounced "Soul", I find out later.
I've been hired as an ESL teacher for a one month English immersion camp at a University in the South Korean town of Jinju. Orientation is tomorrow morning at 10am, don't be late, and Seoul is 4 hours away. Years of similar experiences should have taught me better, but my bank account is empty and I had very little cash because, once at camp, I shouldn't need any. I hadn't figu
red in a stay at a hotel. Luckily, I ran into some foreigners who pointed me towards a "love hotel", so named because it is used for discreet encounters, I suppose. 45USD got me a nice room, and I stayed up all night watching CSI, Top Model and Die Hard 1. This morning I got up at 5:30 but still missed the 6am bus and had to wait for 7. When I finally got to Gyeongsang National University I'd missed the morning orientation, but. . . I'm here!Korea is great, so far. People aren't as friendly as Taiwan, (well, at least so far, but what do I know? They're probably just a little more reserved) but I like the climate. Reminds me of Oregon, more hills, trees, agriculture. The architecture is clean and sharp, everything looks like it was put up yesterday. They love hot dogs and drinks come in small cans. It's much more similar to Japan than I expected.
Camp starts on Monday. I can't believe I'll be here for a month, but it should be fine. There are movie nights, sports, outdoor activities, and more. I have a great room, the campus is nice. HUGE tv screens everywhere, I've never seen anything like it. Anyway, gotta go I think. More later.Tuesday, July 17, 2007
East Coast
My parents were here recently and we did a bit of traveling. Taiwan is both strange and beautiful. My favorite pictures are on my flicker website.
More at Flicker.com
Taipei and Kenting
In two days I leave for Korea! It's been a hectic week. I had to go up to Taipei to get my tickets and Korean visa. Taipei is SO immense, I always feel like a rat in a treadmill. Even taking the MRT and Taxis between my destinations was tiring. I was exhausted by the end of the day and, when they told me I had to wait two days to pick up the visa, I decided to just go home (Tainan) so I could sleep during the 5 hour bus ride. A day later, I took another bus back to Taipei. This time I thought I'd play it smart and rent a scooter.
Amazingly, some women (whose shop looked like the inside of a garage filled with garbage and junk) let me rent a scooter with neither a passport or an ARC! All I had on me was my Student ID. It was 700nt, about 20bucks, and the scooter came with just enough gas to make it to the nearest gas station, providing I didn't get lost. I was headed towards Taipei 101 which was lucky, as it's an easy landmark to find and I'd not only forgotten to bring my city map, I also didn't have the addresses of the places I needed to go. It took me about 40 minutes longer to drive across town than it would have taken on the MRT, and embarrassingly, when I got to the Korean Embassy, I realized I didn't even bring the receipt to get my passport back! Luckily they recognized me and it wasn't a big deal. I got my tickets to Korea and to Malaysia, hung out with some friends, and finally went back to Tainan.
In Tainan I renewed my ARC and Taiwan Visa, which were nearly expired. And then, with less than a week before I leave Taiwan, decided to head to Kenting for some R&R. Kenting should be about a 2 or 3 hour drive from Tainan, but it was my first time driving down and it took me nearly 8 hours. I stopped a lot. I had to - driving a scooter long distances is really uncomfortable. The last two hours I got caught in a rainstorm, which made the trip much less pleasant. (The wind will actually push your scooter across the road, you have to be careful to keep in control). Once in Kenting, I broke out my brand new tent and sleeping bag, which I've had for months but never used. I thought it would be an adventure, but it was too hot to sleep very well.
Amazingly, some women (whose shop looked like the inside of a garage filled with garbage and junk) let me rent a scooter with neither a passport or an ARC! All I had on me was my Student ID. It was 700nt, about 20bucks, and the scooter came with just enough gas to make it to the nearest gas station, providing I didn't get lost. I was headed towards Taipei 101 which was lucky, as it's an easy landmark to find and I'd not only forgotten to bring my city map, I also didn't have the addresses of the places I needed to go. It took me about 40 minutes longer to drive across town than it would have taken on the MRT, and embarrassingly, when I got to the Korean Embassy, I realized I didn't even bring the receipt to get my passport back! Luckily they recognized me and it wasn't a big deal. I got my tickets to Korea and to Malaysia, hung out with some friends, and finally went back to Tainan.
In Tainan I renewed my ARC and Taiwan Visa, which were nearly expired. And then, with less than a week before I leave Taiwan, decided to head to Kenting for some R&R. Kenting should be about a 2 or 3 hour drive from Tainan, but it was my first time driving down and it took me nearly 8 hours. I stopped a lot. I had to - driving a scooter long distances is really uncomfortable. The last two hours I got caught in a rainstorm, which made the trip much less pleasant. (The wind will actually push your scooter across the road, you have to be careful to keep in control). Once in Kenting, I broke out my brand new tent and sleeping bag, which I've had for months but never used. I thought it would be an adventure, but it was too hot to sleep very well. I went swimming and got a good sunburn with some friends, then hit the road home, just in time for another heavy rainstorm.
Next time I'll splurge, go down by train and stay in a hotel.
Next time I'll splurge, go down by train and stay in a hotel.
Theft!
Today I stopped by the University to drop off some books, and when I came out, we caught someone breaking into my scooter! Under the seat is a compartment to store things; my particular scooter isn't very well put together anyway and any key of roughly the right shape will pop it open.
It was a surreal situation: I walked right past him without recognizing that it was my scooter he was digging into - Funky yelled "Derek he's stealing your things!" I turned back, there was my helmet, a comic book. . .yes, it was my scooter alright. The guy was about my age, Taiwanese, his clothes looked a little shabby. I nodded and said, "Wo-de," (Mine). His fists were full of the spare change I keep in my scooter for emergencies, but he dropped the money back inside and smiled sheepishly. I said, "Xie xie", (thanks) and he ambled off.
I was tempted to give him some money, figuring he was just down on his luck, but as we left we saw him breaking into more scooters across the street. Maybe somebody is going to lose more than a few dollars change.
It was a surreal situation: I walked right past him without recognizing that it was my scooter he was digging into - Funky yelled "Derek he's stealing your things!" I turned back, there was my helmet, a comic book. . .yes, it was my scooter alright. The guy was about my age, Taiwanese, his clothes looked a little shabby. I nodded and said, "Wo-de," (Mine). His fists were full of the spare change I keep in my scooter for emergencies, but he dropped the money back inside and smiled sheepishly. I said, "Xie xie", (thanks) and he ambled off.
I was tempted to give him some money, figuring he was just down on his luck, but as we left we saw him breaking into more scooters across the street. Maybe somebody is going to lose more than a few dollars change.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Happy Dragon Boat Festival!
Well, although I may have missed the boat races, at least I went out dancing last night to celebrate. But today its back to the grind - trying to organize a Levinasian response to Paradise Lost. 1 more week to finish three papers and take two tests, and I'm done for the summer.Frustratingly, I've spent much of the past month applying for summer camp jobs in Korea without getting any responses - crazy! I have a great resume with tons of ESL camp work experience - just who are they holding out for? However, I had two phone interviews this week and things are looking pretty good. The one I'm interested in is in Suwon, not far from Korea. It's only 3 weeks which means I'll have some downtime before and after, but still save enough to go to Kuala Lumpur (and maybe also Thailand and Cambodia?) at the end of August.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Going crazy
After two weeks of depressing rain and thunder storms, today was too hot to focus on anything other than napping. Which is bad news, incidentally, because I have a paper due on Monday that I'm having trouble organizing, two more papers the following week which I haven't started, as well as a couple exams coming up. Unfortunately, being the end of the semester, this is also when teachers in Taiwan try to "make up" the lectures that they've missed or canceled during the course, so that in addition to our regular classes, we have extra classes squeezed into every available moment, including national holidays (dragon boat festival) and weekends.
My topics for the papers are fascinating, actually, but I'm frustrated because I'm sure I'll never be able to do them as well as I'd like to in the two weeks I have, when facing everything I'm supposed to be doing at the same time. Even worse is the fact that I'm spending all my free time trying to find a summer job that will pay enough to take a long, leisurely holiday at the end of August, and worrying about my health - constantly reminded of my mortality and the futility of everything by the constant gnawing pain under my right ribcage, which tomorrow's endoscopy should confirm as a gastric ulcer.
Faced with all the pressure, I'm escaping into dreams of freedom. I'm actually HOPING that this summer is hot enough to melt all the ice in Greenland, raising the oceans by 20feet and flooding most of California, Florida, as well as all the coastal cities in Taiwan. (it could happen, really...) Of course, this could be seen as a major tragedy. But what do I know of tragedy? My generation has never seen the kind of change that comes with epic disasters...the kind that makes novels, movies and stories worth telling - the fire in which pure souls are elevated, the breakdown of social order which allows the possibility of true freedom. I'm sick of the idea that I will always have to work, always have to provide for myself (and my family, if I choose to have one). I would much rather scuba-dive down into the wrecked jewelry shops and search for abandoned gold trinkets.
Oh well.
My topics for the papers are fascinating, actually, but I'm frustrated because I'm sure I'll never be able to do them as well as I'd like to in the two weeks I have, when facing everything I'm supposed to be doing at the same time. Even worse is the fact that I'm spending all my free time trying to find a summer job that will pay enough to take a long, leisurely holiday at the end of August, and worrying about my health - constantly reminded of my mortality and the futility of everything by the constant gnawing pain under my right ribcage, which tomorrow's endoscopy should confirm as a gastric ulcer.
Faced with all the pressure, I'm escaping into dreams of freedom. I'm actually HOPING that this summer is hot enough to melt all the ice in Greenland, raising the oceans by 20feet and flooding most of California, Florida, as well as all the coastal cities in Taiwan. (it could happen, really...) Of course, this could be seen as a major tragedy. But what do I know of tragedy? My generation has never seen the kind of change that comes with epic disasters...the kind that makes novels, movies and stories worth telling - the fire in which pure souls are elevated, the breakdown of social order which allows the possibility of true freedom. I'm sick of the idea that I will always have to work, always have to provide for myself (and my family, if I choose to have one). I would much rather scuba-dive down into the wrecked jewelry shops and search for abandoned gold trinkets.
Oh well.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Stressful Week
The primary reason this semester is so stressful is my class schedule - most days I start school at 1pm, but on Monday and Thursday I have class at 9am. The irregularity throws off my sleep schedule and inevitably I stay up Sunday night until 4am, get up at 8am and go to school; however, on Monday I also have a German class in the late afternoon, after a three hour break.
I'm required to take 2 years of a foreign language because I didn't study a foreign language as part of my under-graduate degree. It doesn't seem to matter that I already speak Spanish, and quite a bit of German and Chinese. (Chinese, incidentally, doesn't count for this requirement because it isn't "foreign". Japanese would have been too hard because of the characters, so I chose German). The credit doesn't count for a grade, I only need to have a "Pass" mark...and because I've studied German before (a year in high school and six months with Inga, my German girlfriend I met in Malta), the class is pretty easy for me. For all these reasons combined, and because this Monday I was also sick, I missed German class for the 3rd time this semester. The teacher told my classmate to tell me that, as she'd warned us at the beginning of the semester, my three absences forbade me from taking the final exam.
I could go off on a long tangent about the futility of "attendance"...I know, I know, 90% of life is just showing up...but give me a break - showing up to class is an imprisonment. I trade two hours a week of my physical presence, practicing what I don't need to practice, for a language ability requirement that has nothing to do with my actual language abilities. And if I miss too many episodes (even if I score higher than everyone else on the tests) I'm forbidden the credit. What is education? What should be rewarded - knowledge, talent, or effort? Should those students who try very very hard get a higher grade than those students who don't need to try hard, who learn easily and effortlessly?
At any rate - you can't beat the system. If I don't have that credit, I'll have to retake it next year. So I tracked my professor down and apologized to her and asked her about make-up work - luckily, I caught her in the middle of teaching another German class, which she let me sit in on for the day, and now everything is square. (I'm lucky, because it was an easy solution to a big problem.)
Last night, I got an email saying I still owed tuition (which I thought I'd already paid). Apparently there was a 'tuition' and a 'course fee' - I didn't know that I was paying per class rather than a flat fee. So I owe $600usd. That doesn't sound like a lot, but its $20,000nt in Taiwan, which is how much a lot of people earn in a month. I was trying hard to save up to pay tuition NEXT semester, so this came as somewhat of a blow.....but then I also found out today that I will probably get my scholarship through the summer, which is really, really great news and far outweighs the extra tuition.
I don't know why I'm rambling about my problems. My brain feels too full recently, there's too much going on, too much to do and too much to think about. I've been reading "Life and Times of Michael K", a fascinating book about a guy who just wants to be left alone, who goes and hides in a cave and grows pumpkins to live on and nearly starves himself to death because he just wants to lay down and do absolutely nothing all the time. Right now that's sounding pretty good to me. However, I've got to finish this semester first. I noticed in class today, I'm starting to "Mimic" the academic language myself, which is pretty good. It makes it sound like I know what I'm talking about - and maybe I do. Today I brought up Wittgenstein's theory of DaSein in a discussion about being, and correctly used the term "Symbolic Order", an overused expression in literary criticism which comes from Lacanian Psychoanalysis, and refers to the organizing effects of language.
I'm required to take 2 years of a foreign language because I didn't study a foreign language as part of my under-graduate degree. It doesn't seem to matter that I already speak Spanish, and quite a bit of German and Chinese. (Chinese, incidentally, doesn't count for this requirement because it isn't "foreign". Japanese would have been too hard because of the characters, so I chose German). The credit doesn't count for a grade, I only need to have a "Pass" mark...and because I've studied German before (a year in high school and six months with Inga, my German girlfriend I met in Malta), the class is pretty easy for me. For all these reasons combined, and because this Monday I was also sick, I missed German class for the 3rd time this semester. The teacher told my classmate to tell me that, as she'd warned us at the beginning of the semester, my three absences forbade me from taking the final exam.
I could go off on a long tangent about the futility of "attendance"...I know, I know, 90% of life is just showing up...but give me a break - showing up to class is an imprisonment. I trade two hours a week of my physical presence, practicing what I don't need to practice, for a language ability requirement that has nothing to do with my actual language abilities. And if I miss too many episodes (even if I score higher than everyone else on the tests) I'm forbidden the credit. What is education? What should be rewarded - knowledge, talent, or effort? Should those students who try very very hard get a higher grade than those students who don't need to try hard, who learn easily and effortlessly?
At any rate - you can't beat the system. If I don't have that credit, I'll have to retake it next year. So I tracked my professor down and apologized to her and asked her about make-up work - luckily, I caught her in the middle of teaching another German class, which she let me sit in on for the day, and now everything is square. (I'm lucky, because it was an easy solution to a big problem.)
Last night, I got an email saying I still owed tuition (which I thought I'd already paid). Apparently there was a 'tuition' and a 'course fee' - I didn't know that I was paying per class rather than a flat fee. So I owe $600usd. That doesn't sound like a lot, but its $20,000nt in Taiwan, which is how much a lot of people earn in a month. I was trying hard to save up to pay tuition NEXT semester, so this came as somewhat of a blow.....but then I also found out today that I will probably get my scholarship through the summer, which is really, really great news and far outweighs the extra tuition.
I don't know why I'm rambling about my problems. My brain feels too full recently, there's too much going on, too much to do and too much to think about. I've been reading "Life and Times of Michael K", a fascinating book about a guy who just wants to be left alone, who goes and hides in a cave and grows pumpkins to live on and nearly starves himself to death because he just wants to lay down and do absolutely nothing all the time. Right now that's sounding pretty good to me. However, I've got to finish this semester first. I noticed in class today, I'm starting to "Mimic" the academic language myself, which is pretty good. It makes it sound like I know what I'm talking about - and maybe I do. Today I brought up Wittgenstein's theory of DaSein in a discussion about being, and correctly used the term "Symbolic Order", an overused expression in literary criticism which comes from Lacanian Psychoanalysis, and refers to the organizing effects of language.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
ArtFest
I wrote a little about this on my other blog, the one for my art. It was a grand affair. I have school tomorrow morning but am not ready to sleep. I'm counting down the days until I finish this semester, quit my jobs and private tutoring, and have a bit of adventure. I've gotten far too busy for comfort. Not that I'm doing anything. But having so much to do robs my time of its slow and beautiful passing.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Yesterday it was raining
It was raining hard yesterday and the day before. Many parts of our apartment face outside and have no windows - and even those parts with sliding screen doors are not immune to the water, which builds up outside, inches upon inches until it can leak through the vacuous joints of the old building and flood the interior. Not that I mind - I just let it flood, and then let it dry. The result is MOLD. Hard to keep things dry here. Mold is common. Military planes have been flying overhead, bearing their brawn, convincing the Taiwanese that they are prepared for a war with China. A few weeks ago the government did a computer analysis of war strategies and concluded that in a year war, Taiwan wouldn't lose.
Downstairs someone is wailing terrible karaoke. A woman and a man. It sounds a little like native American chants, but with amplifiers, reverb and off-key singing. Lots of warbling. They are singing for the god that sits at the end of the alleyway, whose temple I can see from my bedroom window. Nobody else sees him; the alley is out-of-the-way. If his handful of devotees didn't visit constantly, burning paper money, performing in front of him, then he would get bored. I'm on the 5th floor, but the noise carries for blocks.
"Pearl Harbor" has been playing constantly on TV, several times a day. It's even harder to take the obese patriotism now than it was the first time, having just read "Obasan" and "No-No Boy", which talk about how America and Canada rounded up all of the citizens of Japanese heritage and through them in disgusting concentration camps, forced them to live like animals while at the same time seizing all of their properties and bank accounts - most of which was redistributed to whites. And that was all before the dreadful atom bombs which peeled the flesh from their skins. Go America.
Tonight I'm teaching idioms to my private student.
Downstairs someone is wailing terrible karaoke. A woman and a man. It sounds a little like native American chants, but with amplifiers, reverb and off-key singing. Lots of warbling. They are singing for the god that sits at the end of the alleyway, whose temple I can see from my bedroom window. Nobody else sees him; the alley is out-of-the-way. If his handful of devotees didn't visit constantly, burning paper money, performing in front of him, then he would get bored. I'm on the 5th floor, but the noise carries for blocks.
"Pearl Harbor" has been playing constantly on TV, several times a day. It's even harder to take the obese patriotism now than it was the first time, having just read "Obasan" and "No-No Boy", which talk about how America and Canada rounded up all of the citizens of Japanese heritage and through them in disgusting concentration camps, forced them to live like animals while at the same time seizing all of their properties and bank accounts - most of which was redistributed to whites. And that was all before the dreadful atom bombs which peeled the flesh from their skins. Go America.
Tonight I'm teaching idioms to my private student.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Mimicry and TOEFL
I have some students preparing for the TOEFL exam, so I was wondering how best to help them out. Most schools that teach TOEFL preparation are actually teaching tricks on how to "guess correctly" - looking out for specific patterns, and using knowledge of the testing format that TOEFL employs to get a feel for the probable answer - rather than actually teaching English. On the one hand, this is probably very effective. People who learn these tricks will undoubtedly get higher scores than the students who try, through conversation or newspaper reading, to quickly improve their English ability. However, using these high test schools to get into schools or to get jobs will be misleading. It's almost like cheating.
Last night I ran into a guy at the grocery store (both of us doing our shopping after midnight) and we had a very long conversation about all kinds of things, during which he claimed that all Taiwanese people cheat on everything, all the time. They copy notes and tests from previous years, trying to reproduce the "right" answers - and who can blame them? They could stagger off into their own independent territory, trying to do it all on their own, and they will undoubtedly get lower grades. Since grades in Taiwan completely rule your entire future, with no exceptions, nobody can afford the risk of independence. Learn what works. Learn the right answer. Not the process.
But is this cheating? One of my student's other teachers gave him a list of grammatically correct sentences to use during essay writing. He was supposed to memorize the sentences and then copy them into his essay whenever possible. He asked if this was a good idea, and I said that it was: trying to express their own thoughts freely, they will translate from the Chinese and the grammar will be very difficult to sift through. The meaning will get lost, the paper will be obtuse and difficult to read. Learning the structure of many common English sentences, for transitions and things, will really help. Sure, the writing will be rough, fragmented, and disconnected. It may seem starchy or false. But at least there's a chance of getting the meaning across. Throwing the grammar around changes all of the meaning in English, and with many sentences together, meaning gets lost (I know, I've had to correct some papers).
Likewise, in my classes, I sometimes wonder if my classmates aren't "mimicking", or learning and reproducing the target language rather than fully understanding it. But then, what does it mean to "fully understand" something? If they know the right technical jargon and they employ it correctly, grammatically, in relevant discourse (sometimes I'm surprised how well they can do this - I usually reduce all concepts into very simple English) what separates them from native speakers?
Last night I ran into a guy at the grocery store (both of us doing our shopping after midnight) and we had a very long conversation about all kinds of things, during which he claimed that all Taiwanese people cheat on everything, all the time. They copy notes and tests from previous years, trying to reproduce the "right" answers - and who can blame them? They could stagger off into their own independent territory, trying to do it all on their own, and they will undoubtedly get lower grades. Since grades in Taiwan completely rule your entire future, with no exceptions, nobody can afford the risk of independence. Learn what works. Learn the right answer. Not the process.
But is this cheating? One of my student's other teachers gave him a list of grammatically correct sentences to use during essay writing. He was supposed to memorize the sentences and then copy them into his essay whenever possible. He asked if this was a good idea, and I said that it was: trying to express their own thoughts freely, they will translate from the Chinese and the grammar will be very difficult to sift through. The meaning will get lost, the paper will be obtuse and difficult to read. Learning the structure of many common English sentences, for transitions and things, will really help. Sure, the writing will be rough, fragmented, and disconnected. It may seem starchy or false. But at least there's a chance of getting the meaning across. Throwing the grammar around changes all of the meaning in English, and with many sentences together, meaning gets lost (I know, I've had to correct some papers).
Likewise, in my classes, I sometimes wonder if my classmates aren't "mimicking", or learning and reproducing the target language rather than fully understanding it. But then, what does it mean to "fully understand" something? If they know the right technical jargon and they employ it correctly, grammatically, in relevant discourse (sometimes I'm surprised how well they can do this - I usually reduce all concepts into very simple English) what separates them from native speakers?
Monday, May 21, 2007
Career Plans
I realized today that I only have about 3 more weeks of class before finals. Yikes! My first semester is finished! I learned a lot, but not nearly as much as I could have. Unfortunately, I don't feel like I've done all that much in the past 10 months. I've been a little depressed recently, but only because I'm letting myself drown under the weight of the next 30 years until I can retire. Unlike normal students, I'm not worrying about the classes or the tests (which I know I can handle very well). Instead, I'm worrying about the kind of professor I will be, what kind of job I will get and if I'll enjoy it, where I will live, in what country, whether to buy a house or not, how much I can expect to save...
It's just too much, of course its crazy. I have to live much longer before I can think about retiring. Besides, the reason thinking about an academic career leads me to existential angst is that it isn't really fulfilling any of my life goals. I don't want to be a professor. I want to be a writer - but in the meantime, I should be 'doing' something for money, and teaching at a university seems like a pretty sweet gig. I'd much rather be talking about Jung's archetypes of Lacanian symbols or Postmodernity than teaching grammar to children. (So I think...but now I wonder, could I fill up three hours just talking about a novel the way my professor's can? Will I ever be able to? At least teaching kids you have structured materials and lesson plans.) I have a part-time job right now teaching adults which I thought was absolutely perfect when I got it. I can talk about anything I want. But I have to spend about an hour to prepare the lesson plan, and it seems I'm always anxious because its something else I have to do - one of the dozens of things I'm juggling. Teaching bushiban (cramschools) you just walk in, teach, and walk out. Nothing comes home with you.
At any rate: I'm allowing myself to be intimidated by the very highest examples, but the truth is there are lots of professors who aren't great teachers. And although I often feel like I'm not smart enough to be an "expert", I'm able to figure out what's going on most of the time - I can even read Derrida if I try hard enough. Which makes me feel that I'll always feel at home in a University.
It's just too much, of course its crazy. I have to live much longer before I can think about retiring. Besides, the reason thinking about an academic career leads me to existential angst is that it isn't really fulfilling any of my life goals. I don't want to be a professor. I want to be a writer - but in the meantime, I should be 'doing' something for money, and teaching at a university seems like a pretty sweet gig. I'd much rather be talking about Jung's archetypes of Lacanian symbols or Postmodernity than teaching grammar to children. (So I think...but now I wonder, could I fill up three hours just talking about a novel the way my professor's can? Will I ever be able to? At least teaching kids you have structured materials and lesson plans.) I have a part-time job right now teaching adults which I thought was absolutely perfect when I got it. I can talk about anything I want. But I have to spend about an hour to prepare the lesson plan, and it seems I'm always anxious because its something else I have to do - one of the dozens of things I'm juggling. Teaching bushiban (cramschools) you just walk in, teach, and walk out. Nothing comes home with you.
At any rate: I'm allowing myself to be intimidated by the very highest examples, but the truth is there are lots of professors who aren't great teachers. And although I often feel like I'm not smart enough to be an "expert", I'm able to figure out what's going on most of the time - I can even read Derrida if I try hard enough. Which makes me feel that I'll always feel at home in a University.
Career Plans
I realized today that I only have about 3 more weeks of class before finals. Yikes! My first semester is finished! I learned a lot, but not nearly as much as a could have. Unfortunately, I don't feel like I've done all that much in the past 10 months. I've been a little depressed recently, but only because I'm letting myself drown under the weight of the next 30 years until I can retire. Unlike normal students, I'm not worrying about the classes or the tests (which I know I can handle very well). Instead, I'm worrying about the kind of professor I will be, what kind of job I will get and if I'll enjoy it, where I will live, in what country, whether to buy a house or not, how much I can expect to save...
It's just too much, of course its crazy. I have to live much longer before I can think about retiring. Besides, the reason thinking about an academic career is that it isn't really fulfilling any of my life goals. I don't want to be a professor. I want to be a writer - but in the meantime, I should be 'doing' something for money, and teaching at a university seems like a pretty sweet gig. I'd much rather be talking about Jung's archetypes of Lacanian symbols or Postmodernity than teaching grammar to children. (So I think...but now I wonder, could I fill up three hours just talking about a novel the way my professor's can? Will I ever be able to? At least teaching kids you have structured materials and lesson plans.) I have a part-time job right now teaching adults which I thought was absolutely perfect when I got it. I can talk about anything I want. But I have to spend about an hour to prepare the lesson plan, and it seems I'm always anxious because its something else I have to do - one of the dozens of things I'm juggling. Teaching bushiban (cramschools) you just walk in, teach, and walk out. Nothing comes home with you.
At any rate: I'm allowing myself to be intimidated by the very highest examples, but the truth is there are lots of professors who aren't great teachers. And although I often feel like I'm not smart enough to be an "expert", I'm able to figure out what's going on most of the time - I can even read Derrida if I try hard enough. Which makes me feel that I'll always feel at home in a University.
It's just too much, of course its crazy. I have to live much longer before I can think about retiring. Besides, the reason thinking about an academic career is that it isn't really fulfilling any of my life goals. I don't want to be a professor. I want to be a writer - but in the meantime, I should be 'doing' something for money, and teaching at a university seems like a pretty sweet gig. I'd much rather be talking about Jung's archetypes of Lacanian symbols or Postmodernity than teaching grammar to children. (So I think...but now I wonder, could I fill up three hours just talking about a novel the way my professor's can? Will I ever be able to? At least teaching kids you have structured materials and lesson plans.) I have a part-time job right now teaching adults which I thought was absolutely perfect when I got it. I can talk about anything I want. But I have to spend about an hour to prepare the lesson plan, and it seems I'm always anxious because its something else I have to do - one of the dozens of things I'm juggling. Teaching bushiban (cramschools) you just walk in, teach, and walk out. Nothing comes home with you.
At any rate: I'm allowing myself to be intimidated by the very highest examples, but the truth is there are lots of professors who aren't great teachers. And although I often feel like I'm not smart enough to be an "expert", I'm able to figure out what's going on most of the time - I can even read Derrida if I try hard enough. Which makes me feel that I'll always feel at home in a University.
Losing face
I just had a two hour private lesson with a young engineer who wants to improve his English. He's very friendly and very intelligent, we sit in a charming coffee bar eating sandwiches and going over GRE vocabulary and recent newstories. Part of me feels bad of course - I'm a native English speaker and people pay me a great deal of money just to talk with me. But, I charge the standard going rate, 600nt, less than what many charge for private lessons. And as teachers go, I'm probably pretty good. Although, I kept having to explain that GRE and TOEFL words are usually never used in conversation and that Americans also have to study hard to remember them all. (Defalcate, eviscerate, execrate - think you know what they mean? I was surprised when we looked them up in his electronic dictionary.) Also, people are looking for the fastest, best way to learn English well, and 1-on-1 conversation with a native is probably pretty good (although it depends a lot on the material.)
Several times tonight my student hinted time was up - but I was pretty sure it wasn't and besides, I don't care about the time because I was happy talking with him, trying to think up some American idioms. Finally however, we checked the clock, and it was already 30 minutes past the end of our session. I was surprised when he insisted on paying me for those 30 minutes - half of the hourly rate, 300nt. No, no! Of course not, it was my choice, my mistake not watching the time, it doesn't matter, I don't need it. But he'd already made change and was handing me the money. This is one of those complicated "Face" issues you hear about often in Chinese culture. Of course, I felt that I took the money too quickly - I did protest, but he insisted, and I gave in. Should I protest more? Absolutely refuse? Stalk out the door? Slap him in the face? At one point does one of us "win"? It was very nice of him to offer, but of course the money was unnecessary; this was a battle I should have won easily, but I generally avoid conflict and don't like making scenes, so... But now I feel bad. And I can't help but wonder if he feels bad for losing 300NT.
When my parents were visiting Taiwan, we went out to dinner with my former employees, a cute Taiwanese couple. After the meal, my parents insisted on paying, as did they. Finally, my parents paid - then in the parking lot, the Taiwanese called me over and gave me money for their half at least - I took it to my parents and they refused it, they had me chase the Taiwanese back to their car; the Taiwanese ran from me and slammed their doors. I took the money back to my parents again and they complained. My dad said "you made me lose face!" But somebody will always lose face. Wouldn't it be more generous to accept the loss and let the others win? Except that, then they, after winning, would probably resent the fact that they had to pay. What a silly world.
Several times tonight my student hinted time was up - but I was pretty sure it wasn't and besides, I don't care about the time because I was happy talking with him, trying to think up some American idioms. Finally however, we checked the clock, and it was already 30 minutes past the end of our session. I was surprised when he insisted on paying me for those 30 minutes - half of the hourly rate, 300nt. No, no! Of course not, it was my choice, my mistake not watching the time, it doesn't matter, I don't need it. But he'd already made change and was handing me the money. This is one of those complicated "Face" issues you hear about often in Chinese culture. Of course, I felt that I took the money too quickly - I did protest, but he insisted, and I gave in. Should I protest more? Absolutely refuse? Stalk out the door? Slap him in the face? At one point does one of us "win"? It was very nice of him to offer, but of course the money was unnecessary; this was a battle I should have won easily, but I generally avoid conflict and don't like making scenes, so... But now I feel bad. And I can't help but wonder if he feels bad for losing 300NT.
When my parents were visiting Taiwan, we went out to dinner with my former employees, a cute Taiwanese couple. After the meal, my parents insisted on paying, as did they. Finally, my parents paid - then in the parking lot, the Taiwanese called me over and gave me money for their half at least - I took it to my parents and they refused it, they had me chase the Taiwanese back to their car; the Taiwanese ran from me and slammed their doors. I took the money back to my parents again and they complained. My dad said "you made me lose face!" But somebody will always lose face. Wouldn't it be more generous to accept the loss and let the others win? Except that, then they, after winning, would probably resent the fact that they had to pay. What a silly world.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Strawberries and Bananas
Oh no. I've become one of those people that talks about their health and bowel movements all the time. Yuck. But, it seems to be the most common theme in my life these days - and I've also made (trying) to be healthy my top priority, so what I can and can't eat is often on my mind.I got very sick last week from beef - rice at a dingy restaurant; sick enough to finally go to the hospital and get some tests done. The reason I never go to the hospital here, incidentally, is that I have to get a number and sit and wait for several hours before I see anybody....which is how it went down this time as well. After first convincing the front desk that I wanted to see a gastro-internalist rather than a 'family doctor' because I already know what my problem is, I sat down and waited. Like all white people in Taiwan, however, I expect special treatment and can't stand to sit around and be ignored. I thought maybe I'd been given the wrong number, because according to my calculations, it would be at least another 2 hours before I could see anybody, and that was way too long. So I complained, and they sent me to the pediatrician, who was very nice and could schedule all the right tests. Ultrasound was clean, to my surprise, because I thought something could be wrong with my liver. Nope, must be something inside the stomach. Most likely, I've had a peptic ulcer for years which is why I throw up all the time.
I decided to fast this week. For the last 5 days I've had only fruit and vegetable juices. It was going pretty well until I ate a banana, which is a common migraine trigger, and I was sick again. Then today I had shaved ice with strawberries (usually I'm ok with sweets) and now I'm sick AGAIN....(if you get migraines, you can only eat very fresh cream, so you have to avoid any kind of milk or whey powder which is made from old milk.) I was feeling amazing, excellent, and euphoric after not eating for 5 days. Better than I've felt for a long time. But it didn't solve any of my problems.
The trick is to never eat a trigger food, which seems like it would be simple, but isn't. Although it seems like bananas and fresh fruit and all that healthy stuff would be good for my stomach, I'm actually better on packaged cookies and cake. I can eat tons of cake and not get sick. Cake all the time.
On an up note, today I went on a shopping spree and bought 5 pairs of jeans, and a luxury pair of linen pants. (Oh so comfortable!) I cleaned out my closet a little and packed away all my sweaters. It's getting pretty warm in Taiwan. I have a month left of school, and this summer I'm planning on working for a month in Korea, and then heading to Malaysia to watch my best friend Nick basejump off of cliffs.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
English in Taiwan.
Tonight I went to a conversation party for a group of English-speaking university students of NCKU. They are among the very top in their class from various disciplines like mechanical engineering and urban planning. They are also very fluent in English. I was surprised - I'm in the English Department and yet many of them spoke English better than some of my classmates.
I haven't yet described just how insane the Taiwanese education system has become - and I don't mean that negatively; its just that, as far as I know, Taiwan is the only country in the world to teach every university student of every degree completely in a second language. As of about three years ago, Taiwanese lecturers have to teach all disciplines in English - so Taiwanese PhD's of Engineering or physics who had been teaching in Chinese for 30 years and perhaps had at best rusty English, suddenly had to lecture in English. The classes are in English, the books are in English, the tests are in English. At least in theory - some professors begin in English and after about 5 minutes, when all the students are falling asleep because they can't understand anything, they switch to Chinese.
I'm a little outspoken on this subject because I think its crazy - how can you learn a subject any better by studying it in a foreign language? I don't think you can; I think Taiwan will produce a generation of incompetent English speakers, who speak English pretty well and know their subject slightly less than they would have if they studied it in their own language. But that's my prejudice because I know, if I studied philosophy in German or theology in Latin, I would have improved my language skills but not fully understood the subject.
However, I admit that I'm probably wrong. Ludicrous as it sounds, Taiwan is not crazy. It's just a small island. There are too many graduates and not enough jobs in Taiwan. What will happen is an economic crisis and lots of unemployment. By forcing students to learn English, they are increasing the opportunity and likelyhood that Taiwanese professionals will move abroad to work, or at least have that ability in a scarce job market.
And, these students are probably smarter (or at least more industrious) than I am. While many won't be able to manage, most of the practical skills you need to do a specific job are learned on the job, not at university - they will probably learn enough to get the degree, which is enough to get the job - and they can learn what they have to later. And some, like the students I met tonight, will be able to move flawlessly back in forth between English and Chinese, in a complicated discipline; there is hardly a country they couldn't work in.
It's a double standard for me - I'm in Taiwan studying English, my native language. People ask why not study Chinese literature: well, because there's no way in heck, even if I'm an excellent Chinese speaker and a great academic, that I will be chosen to teach Chinese literature. In Taiwan, and probably also in America, a native Chinese speaker will get the job. It's the same in Taiwan. The university positions for teaching English and teaching English literature will often go to Native Speakers who also have an MA in English (which is what I'm studying for.)
Off the subject, I'm sick. I was sick yesterday (very sick) and today I'm sick again, although I haven't eaten anything dangerous. (Except an unwashed apple, and ONE Dorito.) It's gotten to be my private joke, when people ask, "Oh, you're allergic to MSG? So. . . do you cook at home?" And I say, "No, I just get sick." Ha. Of course its silly and stupid, but then so is throwing up after eating one Dorito. It's a ridiculous situation. I handle it the best I can. Funky bought me some awful Chinese "Stomachic Powder: Chin Shih Tzu". Mostly Sodium Bicarbonate.
I haven't yet described just how insane the Taiwanese education system has become - and I don't mean that negatively; its just that, as far as I know, Taiwan is the only country in the world to teach every university student of every degree completely in a second language. As of about three years ago, Taiwanese lecturers have to teach all disciplines in English - so Taiwanese PhD's of Engineering or physics who had been teaching in Chinese for 30 years and perhaps had at best rusty English, suddenly had to lecture in English. The classes are in English, the books are in English, the tests are in English. At least in theory - some professors begin in English and after about 5 minutes, when all the students are falling asleep because they can't understand anything, they switch to Chinese.
I'm a little outspoken on this subject because I think its crazy - how can you learn a subject any better by studying it in a foreign language? I don't think you can; I think Taiwan will produce a generation of incompetent English speakers, who speak English pretty well and know their subject slightly less than they would have if they studied it in their own language. But that's my prejudice because I know, if I studied philosophy in German or theology in Latin, I would have improved my language skills but not fully understood the subject.
However, I admit that I'm probably wrong. Ludicrous as it sounds, Taiwan is not crazy. It's just a small island. There are too many graduates and not enough jobs in Taiwan. What will happen is an economic crisis and lots of unemployment. By forcing students to learn English, they are increasing the opportunity and likelyhood that Taiwanese professionals will move abroad to work, or at least have that ability in a scarce job market.
And, these students are probably smarter (or at least more industrious) than I am. While many won't be able to manage, most of the practical skills you need to do a specific job are learned on the job, not at university - they will probably learn enough to get the degree, which is enough to get the job - and they can learn what they have to later. And some, like the students I met tonight, will be able to move flawlessly back in forth between English and Chinese, in a complicated discipline; there is hardly a country they couldn't work in.
It's a double standard for me - I'm in Taiwan studying English, my native language. People ask why not study Chinese literature: well, because there's no way in heck, even if I'm an excellent Chinese speaker and a great academic, that I will be chosen to teach Chinese literature. In Taiwan, and probably also in America, a native Chinese speaker will get the job. It's the same in Taiwan. The university positions for teaching English and teaching English literature will often go to Native Speakers who also have an MA in English (which is what I'm studying for.)
Off the subject, I'm sick. I was sick yesterday (very sick) and today I'm sick again, although I haven't eaten anything dangerous. (Except an unwashed apple, and ONE Dorito.) It's gotten to be my private joke, when people ask, "Oh, you're allergic to MSG? So. . . do you cook at home?" And I say, "No, I just get sick." Ha. Of course its silly and stupid, but then so is throwing up after eating one Dorito. It's a ridiculous situation. I handle it the best I can. Funky bought me some awful Chinese "Stomachic Powder: Chin Shih Tzu". Mostly Sodium Bicarbonate.
English in Taiwan.
Tonight I went to a conversation party for a group of English-speaking university students of NCKU. They are among the very top in their class from various disciplines like mechanical engineering and urban planning. They are also very fluent in English. I was surprised - I'm in the English Department and yet many of them spoke English better than some of my classmates.
I haven't yet described just how insane the Taiwanese education system has become - and I don't mean that negatively; its just that, as far as I know, Taiwan is the only country in the world to teach every university student of every degree completely in a second language. As of about three years ago, Taiwanese lecturers have to teach all disciplines in English - so Taiwanese PhD's of Engineering or physics who had been teaching in Chinese for 30 years and perhaps had at best rusty English, suddenly had to lecture in English. The classes are in English, the books are in English, the tests are in English. At least in theory - some professors begin in English and after about 5 minutes, when all the students are falling asleep because they can't understand anything, they switch to Chinese.
I'm a little outspoken on this subject because I think its crazy - how can you learn a subject any better by studying it in a foreign language? I don't think you can; I think Taiwan will produce a generation of incompetent English speakers, who speak English pretty well and know their subject slightly less than they would have if they studied it in their own language. But that's my prejudice because I know, if I studied philosophy in German or theology in Latin, I would have improved my language skills but not fully understood the subject.
However, I admit that I'm probably wrong. Ludicrous as it sounds, Taiwan is not crazy. It's just a small island. There are too many graduates and not enough jobs in Taiwan. What will happen is an economic crisis and lots of unemployment. By forcing students to learn English, they are increasing the opportunity and likelyhood that Taiwanese professionals will move abroad to work, or at least have that ability in a scarce job market.
And, these students are probably smarter (or at least more industrious) than I am. While many won't be able to manage, most of the practical skills you need to do a specific job are learned on the job, not at university - they will probably learn enough to get the degree, which is enough to get the job - and they can learn what they have to later. And some, like the students I met tonight, will be able to move flawlessly back in forth between English and Chinese, in a complicated discipline; there is hardly a country they couldn't work in.
It's a double standard for me - I'm in Taiwan studying English, my native language. People ask why not study Chinese literature: well, because there's no way in heck, even if I'm an excellent Chinese speaker and a great academic, that I will be chosen to teach Chinese literature. In Taiwan, and probably also in America, a native Chinese speaker will get the job. It's the same in Taiwan. The university positions for teaching English and teaching English literature will often go to Native Speakers who also have an MA in English (which is what I'm studying for.)
Off the subject, I'm sick. I was sick yesterday (very sick) and today I'm sick again, although I haven't eaten anything dangerous. (Except an unwashed apple, and ONE Dorito.) It's gotten to be my private joke, when people ask, "Oh, you're allergic to MSG? So. . . do you cook at home?" And I say, "No, I just get sick." Ha. Of course its silly and stupid, but then so is throwing up after eating one Dorito. It's a ridiculous situation. I handle it the best I can.
I haven't yet described just how insane the Taiwanese education system has become - and I don't mean that negatively; its just that, as far as I know, Taiwan is the only country in the world to teach every university student of every degree completely in a second language. As of about three years ago, Taiwanese lecturers have to teach all disciplines in English - so Taiwanese PhD's of Engineering or physics who had been teaching in Chinese for 30 years and perhaps had at best rusty English, suddenly had to lecture in English. The classes are in English, the books are in English, the tests are in English. At least in theory - some professors begin in English and after about 5 minutes, when all the students are falling asleep because they can't understand anything, they switch to Chinese.
I'm a little outspoken on this subject because I think its crazy - how can you learn a subject any better by studying it in a foreign language? I don't think you can; I think Taiwan will produce a generation of incompetent English speakers, who speak English pretty well and know their subject slightly less than they would have if they studied it in their own language. But that's my prejudice because I know, if I studied philosophy in German or theology in Latin, I would have improved my language skills but not fully understood the subject.
However, I admit that I'm probably wrong. Ludicrous as it sounds, Taiwan is not crazy. It's just a small island. There are too many graduates and not enough jobs in Taiwan. What will happen is an economic crisis and lots of unemployment. By forcing students to learn English, they are increasing the opportunity and likelyhood that Taiwanese professionals will move abroad to work, or at least have that ability in a scarce job market.
And, these students are probably smarter (or at least more industrious) than I am. While many won't be able to manage, most of the practical skills you need to do a specific job are learned on the job, not at university - they will probably learn enough to get the degree, which is enough to get the job - and they can learn what they have to later. And some, like the students I met tonight, will be able to move flawlessly back in forth between English and Chinese, in a complicated discipline; there is hardly a country they couldn't work in.
It's a double standard for me - I'm in Taiwan studying English, my native language. People ask why not study Chinese literature: well, because there's no way in heck, even if I'm an excellent Chinese speaker and a great academic, that I will be chosen to teach Chinese literature. In Taiwan, and probably also in America, a native Chinese speaker will get the job. It's the same in Taiwan. The university positions for teaching English and teaching English literature will often go to Native Speakers who also have an MA in English (which is what I'm studying for.)
Off the subject, I'm sick. I was sick yesterday (very sick) and today I'm sick again, although I haven't eaten anything dangerous. (Except an unwashed apple, and ONE Dorito.) It's gotten to be my private joke, when people ask, "Oh, you're allergic to MSG? So. . . do you cook at home?" And I say, "No, I just get sick." Ha. Of course its silly and stupid, but then so is throwing up after eating one Dorito. It's a ridiculous situation. I handle it the best I can.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Impervious to crime
Last week my flat-mate came home depressed because someone had stolen her bicycle. The next day, she was complaining to a classmate of hers about it. The classmate happened to know the gang who went around stealing bikes, and he made some inquiries. Later, he told her he'd found 3 bikes the same color as hers picked up in her neighborhood, and she could come over and ID them - sure enough, she found hers, and took it back.
I think this story is amazing: not only are Taiwanese flawlessly generous and trusting, (to foreigners, not each other), but Taiwanese criminals won't even STEAL from a foreigner.
I think this story is amazing: not only are Taiwanese flawlessly generous and trusting, (to foreigners, not each other), but Taiwanese criminals won't even STEAL from a foreigner.
Foreigner for sale
I started a new part time job tonight - exactly what I wanted, 5 hours a week Wed/Fri evenings only, conversation classes with adults. I can choose any topic I want, prepare my own materials...it's fabulous. After I finished, Funky told me she'd seen a girl near the train station passing out fliers and yelling "We have Foreigners! Come talk to a real foreign person in English! First class is free!" She thinks it was probably even the same school I teach at, but there are lots of schools in that area. On another street corner is a fruit stand; the owner always stands out by the street wearing a headset with a microphone and amplifier, and yells the prices of oranges and bananas at the scooters waiting for the red lights.
Incidentally, for this job that I think is pretty good, it would take Funky 15 hours of work to make what I get paid in 2 1/2.
Incidentally, for this job that I think is pretty good, it would take Funky 15 hours of work to make what I get paid in 2 1/2.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Computer nerd
Yup, I'm a geek. I should've gone down to Kenting in my week off, spun fire, danced on the beach with a thousand girls in bikinis...but I stayed home. I watched 3 movies a day and painted quite a bit, and never left my bedroom.
A few days ago I decided I was bored with my windows XP and was thinking of upgrading to Vista - until I found out that you could get XP skins and customize your desktop to look like Vista. Cool! So, stupid me, I downloaded everything I could until my computer was coughing up blood. Usually I just 'system restore' to undo changes, but somehow, my computer would no longer turn off on command - so system restore wouldn't work! I couldn't find a way around it. Days later and about 10 reinstallations of a cracked Windows XP Pro Service Pack 2, I'm stable again. I got all my programs back up and then some - take a look at my desktop! It's so clean and shiny. I've got a calendar and a to-do list that I can mark important events on, and my computer will greet me with the days schedule! I also get live feeds on the temperature outside and moon phases, and most cool of all, there's a swivel icon menu just like Mac computers have. (I'm no fan of Macs, but they are definitely nicer looking.)
And thank God I'm done. I'm pretty OCD, when I have a project or problem or something to fix or find out, I can't do ANYTHING else. I can't relax, or sleep, or eat, or go to the bathroom. Here it is 4am again, last night I didn't get to bed until 6am and then I managed to get to class at 9! But I'm starting to feel the dizziness of sleep deprivation, a lot of hours in bed is on my agenda for the rest of the week - a long with finding a job, to pay for all my shiny Palladium teeth.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Swimming Lessons
Today Funky and I went to the nearby Spa. I haven't been for a long time, but its a really nice place with scented hot water pools, lots of pressurized water jets and fun things to play with. Every time I leave that place I feel completely relaxed and ready for bed. I wanted to teach Funky to swim, because she says she wants to surf but has a morbid fear of water. I had lots of suggestions - I demonstrated front crawl, breast stroke and even doggiepaddling, but she refused to take her feet of the ground and even float in the water.
Every time her head went under she'd freak out and scream and start choking on the water; and this is in less than 4 feet of water. I tried to get her to just hold her breath underwater, or better yet, breathe in, then breathe out underwater...but her paranoia was overwhelming. Most Taiwanese can't swim. When Funky grew up, her parents told her "Don't play in the water, water is dangerous, it will kill you, you will drown and suffer horribly", passing on an inheritance of Hydrophobia. Next time, I'll buy her a flotation board.
Every time her head went under she'd freak out and scream and start choking on the water; and this is in less than 4 feet of water. I tried to get her to just hold her breath underwater, or better yet, breathe in, then breathe out underwater...but her paranoia was overwhelming. Most Taiwanese can't swim. When Funky grew up, her parents told her "Don't play in the water, water is dangerous, it will kill you, you will drown and suffer horribly", passing on an inheritance of Hydrophobia. Next time, I'll buy her a flotation board.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Painting again!
I saw this painting my first day in Taiwan, wandering around the still streets on a chilly morning in April - I was awake before the sun came up from the time difference and was eager to explore. I ate some of the best food I've ever had, a sticky rice bun with pork, crushed peanuts and fresh herbs. (Can't eat that stuff any more because of a intensified MSG intolerance.)Anyway, I remember this painting from that morning. I found it again recently, in a painter's shop on a tiny side street next to Ckikkan towers, which is built on the remains of a 17th century Dutch fort, right in the center of Tainan. This guy did reproductions or portraits, and he's not bad, but its this ancient painting rotting outside that I love - I'll buy it sometime.
In the meantime, I've started painting again myself. It's amazing that I haven't done it in so long. I've been focusing on writing and developing in other directions; but painting just makes me feel so good, so energetic. And I love that I can paint what I want without having to justify it or prove it; even though my paintings are 1000 times as challenging or provocative as my writing. I'm working on a painting of the last supper, but I have four large canvases already sketched, so I'll cruise through several I think in the next couple of months. After that, I'll be able to organize some exhibitions.
Friday, March 30, 2007
International Food Festival
Last weekend NCKU organized an international food festival. I was thinking about making and selling something, but what does America have? Hamburgers and hotdogs come from Germany. Pizza and pasta come from Italy. What's left? In the end, I decided not to cook - but I felt bad for not being involved so I said I could spin fire in the talent show portion.In retrospect, my act was a little bizarre. There were all these cute cultural dances, with groups of friends from some country in their traditional outfits, and then me: I chose a hard-rock punk criticism of American politics song (Greenday, American Idiot), and spun around on stage in jeans, twirling a flaming stick. Although the show went off ok, and thank God I didn't drop the thing and light anyone on fire, I still felt a little out of place. Later on, they held a fashion show and everybody who performed came out for 2nd and 3rd rounds of bowing - all of which I skipped, feeling conspicuously ordinary in appearance.
The food, however, was great. Hands down the best was an Indian curry with rice, chicken and garbanzo beans. There was also an amazing carne asado (good cooked meat) from Colombia, and they even had Yerba Mate - although they drink it cold there instead of hot, sweet, with milk.
Almost everything was fried, but pretty good stuff. Hmm... its making me hungry again. I also found out something interesting: people all over the world consider potato salad their own cultural heritage. Not just something they like to eat, but a sample of their own ethnic ingenuity. We had potato salad from Equador and potato salad from Mongolia. When I was cooking in Boston I worked with a girl from Romania - I asked her to make a special Romanian dish and she made potato salad - and she spent all day on it too, chopping up all the potatoes and vegetables until the looked just like the little squares that come in the frozen veggie mixes.
I know a lot of Americans who would consider potato salad the epitome of Yankee; like fried chicken and apple pie. Can you imagine going to Mongolia or Romania or Equador, somewhere that seems completely foreign, and getting a plate of chopped potatoes and mayonnaise?
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Road Trip
I'm going crazy on a Thursday night... class was canceled today so I've been sitting at home building my websites. Getting a lot of work done but going stir crazy. I did acupuncture yesterday, got another tooth drilled this evening (I have about 6 teeth left that aren't all metal posts and porcelain) and am kind of killing time with nothing to do.
Next week is Spring Break however, and I'm taking a road trip down to Kenting. I've never driven so far on my scooter, but desperately need an adventure - besides, next week is Spring Scream, Taiwan's largest outdoor music festival. Every college student on the island will cram into the tiny beach town for 3 days; there are 3 stages which will play 24 hour music, and its a constant party. (http://www.springscream.com/)I decided to camp, so I bought a tent. I'm also packing my fire staff and my metal detector.
My bike is old and falling apart. I had the foresight to take it in for an oil change (about a month late) but while I was there the mechanic recommended I change my tires and fix some broken bits. The entire front was all bashed up and falling off also, so I bought a new one. All the work set my back about 60USD, and while it was in the shop, the mechanic let me borrow his scooter to get to work. (It always astounds me when they just let me drive off with their scooter, with no ID or paperwork or anything, even though its pretty common.)
I need a fun, distracting project - so I'm going to buy some acrylic paints and paint my scooter crazy style for the trip. Make it super cool, arsty, and attention grabbing. Check back soon for picture.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Funky English
In my minority literature class, recently we've been reading books by Chinese immigrants like Kingston's "China Men" or Amy Tan's "Joy Luck Club." What's fun about these books is the way the authors make word puns or play with the multiple meanings that arise going back and forth between English and Chinese. Unlike English, Chinese is a tonal language in which one sound can have many different meanings, depending on the tone. So the author will point out, that "Ro - Lo- Bo" to use a fictitious example, can mean second uncle or frog prince or tea ceremony.
However, the truth is that these second meanings aren't even noticed by Chinese speakers. Tones are tones, after all. A word with a different tone is a completely different word, with no relationship to the first. I know this because, when trying to learn Chinese, I often have trouble with words that sound alike.
In Chinese, there are words that sound exactly the same, but have different characters, and there are words that have the same characters, but sound different. Then there are the words we foreigners get mixed up, that have different tones, or sound the same to us, but which are never confused by native speakers. If you drop off the tone and write the word in blank pinyin, or an English approximation, a learner of Chinese, or someone who's not been brought up with Chinese as a first language, can readily see the substitutions and word games. For example, "Yao" can mean "I want", "to bite", and "medicine". So, "Wo yao yao yao," means I want to eat medicine. This is hilarious to foreigners or learners of the language. Chinese people, however, don't get the humor.
Amy Tan and Maxine Hong Kingston can only use these word puns because they were brought up in America but in a Chinese family - and the only people who can fully appreciate their little jokes, or have the same kind of fun with the language, are other people who can look at Chinese with an English mind-set.
I often find the very opposite of this phenomenon with my Taiwanese girlfriend, who hears connections between English words that I've never considered before. For example, when I'm cold, I say "Brrrr...." which to her sounds like "Bird." She never knows why I say "bird" when I'm cold. Even though I've explained it to her, she always thinks its funny to translate back into Chinese, "Xiao Niao" - Little Bird. When I was growing out my facial hair, she asked how to call it. I said, "Beard." She translated into Chinese, "PiJiu", or "Beer", which is what she heard.
One day after staying in watching movies, my girlfriend said "We are tomatoes on a couch!"
It took me awhile to figure out that this was what her memory and translation had retained from a phrase she learned in class, "Couch Potato."
However, the truth is that these second meanings aren't even noticed by Chinese speakers. Tones are tones, after all. A word with a different tone is a completely different word, with no relationship to the first. I know this because, when trying to learn Chinese, I often have trouble with words that sound alike.
In Chinese, there are words that sound exactly the same, but have different characters, and there are words that have the same characters, but sound different. Then there are the words we foreigners get mixed up, that have different tones, or sound the same to us, but which are never confused by native speakers. If you drop off the tone and write the word in blank pinyin, or an English approximation, a learner of Chinese, or someone who's not been brought up with Chinese as a first language, can readily see the substitutions and word games. For example, "Yao" can mean "I want", "to bite", and "medicine". So, "Wo yao yao yao," means I want to eat medicine. This is hilarious to foreigners or learners of the language. Chinese people, however, don't get the humor.
Amy Tan and Maxine Hong Kingston can only use these word puns because they were brought up in America but in a Chinese family - and the only people who can fully appreciate their little jokes, or have the same kind of fun with the language, are other people who can look at Chinese with an English mind-set.
I often find the very opposite of this phenomenon with my Taiwanese girlfriend, who hears connections between English words that I've never considered before. For example, when I'm cold, I say "Brrrr...." which to her sounds like "Bird." She never knows why I say "bird" when I'm cold. Even though I've explained it to her, she always thinks its funny to translate back into Chinese, "Xiao Niao" - Little Bird. When I was growing out my facial hair, she asked how to call it. I said, "Beard." She translated into Chinese, "PiJiu", or "Beer", which is what she heard.
One day after staying in watching movies, my girlfriend said "We are tomatoes on a couch!"It took me awhile to figure out that this was what her memory and translation had retained from a phrase she learned in class, "Couch Potato."
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Center of Attention
I have a nervous, introverted disposition that generally prefers to hide in the corners observing the action rather than gathering attention to myself. In certain circumstances, of course, if I'm on stage or giving a speech, if I've assumed the role of exhibitionist, I can handle being the center of attention. In Taiwan, I'm rarely given the choice.
While most immigrants to America are marginalized and ignored, as a foreigner in Taiwan I'm very, very interesting. Today my professor got distracted from the lesson plan and began to ask me, in front of my classmates, personal questions about my background. Like most people, she thinks its surprising that I came all the way to Taiwan to study English literature and wanted to know the process behind that decision. I usually try to keep out of the limelight because I don't think its fair to Taiwanese students to be compared to a native speaker, and I don't want them feeling insecure in their abilities. And also, some days, like today, I'd just like to keep my mouth shut and count the seconds until class is over and I can go home - just like any other student. But being the foreigner, I usually feel a little responsible for helping the teacher out. Taiwanese students aren't really used to speaking out in class, and given that these classes are in their second language, its even harder for them to speak their minds. Often, if the teacher has asked a question, and nobody else seems to want to answer, I'll raise my hand and respond just so the class can progress.
Today I was thinking about skipping my afternoon German class. It's a beginner course and because I've studied some German before, its pretty easy for me. Besides, I have to take the class for credit on a pass/fail basis, so the grade doesn't even matter. However, one of my classmates told me that my German teacher, after I had a short conversation with her about her time spent in Spain (we could speak more fluently in Spanish than we could in English or German), was talking about me with her students during her Wednesday class. Why? No reason. I'm just interesting. I stand out. An American studying German in Taiwan who learned Spanish in Argentina. Of course, it means that I can't just skip German class when I want to. My absence will be just as conspicuous as my presence, if not more so.
While most immigrants to America are marginalized and ignored, as a foreigner in Taiwan I'm very, very interesting. Today my professor got distracted from the lesson plan and began to ask me, in front of my classmates, personal questions about my background. Like most people, she thinks its surprising that I came all the way to Taiwan to study English literature and wanted to know the process behind that decision. I usually try to keep out of the limelight because I don't think its fair to Taiwanese students to be compared to a native speaker, and I don't want them feeling insecure in their abilities. And also, some days, like today, I'd just like to keep my mouth shut and count the seconds until class is over and I can go home - just like any other student. But being the foreigner, I usually feel a little responsible for helping the teacher out. Taiwanese students aren't really used to speaking out in class, and given that these classes are in their second language, its even harder for them to speak their minds. Often, if the teacher has asked a question, and nobody else seems to want to answer, I'll raise my hand and respond just so the class can progress.
Today I was thinking about skipping my afternoon German class. It's a beginner course and because I've studied some German before, its pretty easy for me. Besides, I have to take the class for credit on a pass/fail basis, so the grade doesn't even matter. However, one of my classmates told me that my German teacher, after I had a short conversation with her about her time spent in Spain (we could speak more fluently in Spanish than we could in English or German), was talking about me with her students during her Wednesday class. Why? No reason. I'm just interesting. I stand out. An American studying German in Taiwan who learned Spanish in Argentina. Of course, it means that I can't just skip German class when I want to. My absence will be just as conspicuous as my presence, if not more so.
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