December 2013 - March 2014
1.American Football with Non-Americans 美式足球 (December 2013)
The Seattle Seahawks are playing GREAT this season, and it looks like they might just go all the way to the Superbowl. If they make it that far, this would be the first time that Seattle has ever gone to the Superbowl. The Seahawks are presently the best team in the entire NFL, with a record of 12 wins to just 3 losses.西雅圖的海鷹隊在這一季有很棒的表現, 看起來很有希望進入美式足球超級盃, 如果他們能打進超級盃, 那將是西雅圖第一次打進超級盃, 海鷹隊是目前美國美式足球聯盟最好的球隊, 目前成績是贏了十二場, 輸了三場.
With the Seahawks in mind, I've been playing American football with my classes at the elementary school. The kids always get excited when I bring out the football, even if they're not exactly sure what it is. American football is NOT popular in Taiwan. At all.因為海鷹隊的關係, 我在國小裡帶我的班玩美式足球, 孩子們雖然不確定那是什麼球, 因為美式足球在台灣並不熱門,但看到我拿出橄欖球都很興奮 .
I have to simplify the rules quite a bit for the kids, but by the end of my short introduction we are almost playing something that looks like American football. I start by drawing a field on the board with two players. Then I draw one player throwing the ball to the other player. After that I act out the other player running to the opposite end of the field.為了孩子能盡快地了解玩法, 我必須將比賽規則簡單化,在我簡短的介紹後, 我們幾乎玩得有模有樣了, 剛開始我畫了兩個球員和一座球場在黑板上, 然後畫一個球員丟球給另一個, 接著我演那個接到球的人跑向球場的另一端.
Then I'll try a couple "demo games" in the class with two of the students. I throw one of the students the ball, and they try to walk past me to the other side of the room. I TRY to show the class that a two-hand tag means that the other side must stop, and that we are tagging the other player, not SMASHING THEM INTO THE GROUND. If I have time, I show the other student how to "block."然後我會請兩個學生在課堂上和我一起表演怎麼玩, 我將球丟給其中一個學生, 他們試著經過我走到教室的另一頭, 我試著讓他們了解 two-hand tag發生時另一隊要停止動作, 並且觸碰另一隊的隊員不表示猛烈撞倒他, 如果我有時間的話, 我也教其他的學生如何攔截球.
It is also necessary to explain that the ball can only be passed one time between players on the same team. A lot of classes have trouble with this part, and they will just pass and pass and pass. When they do this, what you end up with is a kind of handball. 對他們解釋同隊的隊友之間只能傳一次球, 很多班級沒辦法了解這一項, 他們只顧著在彼此之間傳球, 在這種情況下, 遊戲就成為某種手球賽了.
Of course the easiest way to avoid confusion is just to type out a series of directions in English and Chinese, but since I am the conversational English teacher, I don't really like doing this. As an educational exercise, I think it's better if I talk them through the rules as much as possible. 當然最簡單的教法是用中文跟英文寫一張介紹美式足球的規章, 可是我覺得英文會話老師不應該這麼做. 從教學的角度看, 我覺得討論美式足球的規則是比較好的教法.
Later on, we go outside and try to play football. I have to watch the boys VERY carefully when we do this, because many of them will want to shove the other players to the ground. A lot of boys are really fixated on the violent aspects of this and other sports, and I have had to tell a few boys that they can't play if they are going to hurt people. 介紹規則之後, 我們會到外面玩美式足球. 這時候我要很小心注意學生, 因為很多男孩想把他們同學推到地上. 很多男生認為這種運動最好玩的部分就是推擠別人. 所以我們每次玩的時候我都要跟這樣的男同學說他不能再玩了.
I often think about how much more interested they would be in football if there was a Taiwanese player in the NFL. Having a player you can identify with is a big part of any sport, and American football is no exception. Taiwanese people LOVED baseball after Chien-Ming Wang got into the MLB, just as they LOVED basketball after Jeremy Lin started playing in the NBA. I'm sure that many Taiwanese people would also become huge curling fans if it looked like some Taiwanese curler had a shot at the next Winter Olympics.如ˇ果有一個有名的台灣球員在美式足球隊的話, 那大家對美式足球就會更有興趣了. 在任何的球類比賽中, 有一個有名的球員是一件重要的事, 這在美式足球中也不能免俗, 台灣人民瘋棒球是因為王建明加入美國職棒大聯盟, 林書豪打 NBA也是一個很好的例子, 我相信如果台灣出一個冰上滾石遊戲的球員參加下一屆的冬季奧林匹克的話, 那台灣人民也會開始瘋那項運動了.
I think American football is a great game, and it is a game I enjoy both watching and playing. I feel the same way about soccer, which people in Europe call football, much to everyone's confusion. I really wish I could see the Seahawks games live, but thanks to the time difference they always end up occurring in the middle of the night over here. 我覺得美式足球是一個很棒的遊戲, 歐式足球比賽也同樣好玩又好看. 歐洲人叫他們的足球football, 可是我們美國人叫它soccer. 在美國football就是美式足球. 我很想看最近海鷹隊美式足球隊的比賽, 可是兩地的時差差太多了, 他們總是在台灣的三更半夜進行比賽.
Even if the Seahawks don't make it to the Superbowl, I've had a lot of fun playing the game with my students. Most of them enjoy it, and I've had a lot of fun trying to teach them how to play the game.就算海鷹隊沒進入超級盃的比賽, 我已經和我的學生玩得很開心了, 大部分的學生都很喜歡, 我也從教他們的過程中得到許多樂趣.
2. Shuang Liou Forest Recreation Area 雙流森林遊樂區 (December 2013)
Shuang Liou is in Pingtung 屏東 County, along the Southern Highway 南迴公路. I have driven by it many times on my way to the other side of Taiwan, but I hadn't been inside there until two weeks ago, when these pictures were taken.
These are, I'm sure, not the best pictures of Shuang Liou. It was cloudy, cold, and windy that day, and I'm sure that in the sunshine it would look twice as good. We enjoyed our visit there, but we kept thinking that it would be more scenic in the spring.
Shuang Liou is very close to the county line dividing Taitung from Pingtung. Between Da Ren Township 達仁鄉 and Shr Dze Township 獅子鄉, the Southern Highway rises to a peak where one can turn off onto Highway 199, and just west of that peak is Shuang Liou. It is a very remote area.
It costs 100 NT to enter Shuang Liou, though it is cheaper for Pingtung residents. A small road leads to the entrance, and it is there that you pay your fee and receive a map. Further inside there is a large parking area, and from there a few trails lead off into the surrounding mountains.
We took the trail up Hat Mountain 帽子山, though we didn't make it all the way to the top. We hiked about an hour in, and then my daughters decided they were tired and we had to turn back. From the halfway point on that trail there are some excellent views of the river valley, and I think the view from the top would be better still. Hat Mountain sits just above the west coast, and on a clear day it probably offers views all the way down into Kenting 墾丁.
Another trail leads to a waterfall, but we didn't take that one. I would like to go back there and walk it sometime soon. A third trail leads to a visitor center, and behind the visitor center this trail winds up into the mountains. This third trail was under repair during our visit.
As forest recreation areas go, Shuang Liou is QUIET. Our car was the only car in the parking lot, and during our multi-hour visit I only saw three other people there. Compared to the Jer Ben 知本forest recreation area, Shuang Liou is all but unknown.
Just the same, it's a nice place to walk around. If you are traveling on the Southern Highway and the weather's good, I would suggest visiting Shuang Liou. I plan on going back there after spring has arrived.
3. Mandarin in Taiwanese Elementary Schools (January 2014)
For a look at Social Studies in Taiwanese elementary schools, see "Social Studies in Taiwan." For discussions of English in Taiwanese elementary schools, see "English in Taiwanese," and "Teaching English 10: Review." For a more general introduction to elementary school in Taiwan, see "Elementary School in Taiwan."
1. Introduction
Mandarin 國語 is one of Taiwan's two official languages. The other official language is Taiwanese 台語, also referred to as Minnanese 民南語. Minnanese, like Mandarin, is a Chinese dialect, and the two share many linguistic similarities.
Yet Minnanese, while taught in every Taiwanese public school, is only taught once a week. It is also spoken by a much smaller percentage of the population. Despite the government's efforts to the contrary, it is Mandarin that is Taiwan's common language, and Taiwanese, although spoken and understood by many, is for many people a second language, and one that often fails to express the realities of both the modern world and their daily lives.
Mandarin, along with Math, Science, English, and Social Studies, is a core subject in Taiwanese elementary schools. In my elementary school, every grade from 1 to 6 has 5 Chinese classes per week. This makes Mandarin the most-taught subject in my school, followed by the other core subjects, which are allotted 3 class periods each.
2. Textbooks Used
The textbooks used for teaching Mandarin are all fairly similar. Our school uses the textbooks published by 康軒, 南一, and 翰林. Each semester the students complete a textbook and an accompanying workbook.
Below are excerpts from 康軒's textbooks. The red characters in each excerpt indicate characters that were introduced in that unit. Aside from the first grade 1 book, which introduces 94 characters, all the other books introduce between 200 and 250 characters each.
Grade 1
北風ㄏㄨㄏㄨㄏㄨ, 一下子跑到東, 一下子跑到西. The north wind blows east "hoo, hoo, hoo" one moment, and the next moment blows west.
白天, 小松鼠在玩球, 北風大聲的說: "給我! 給我! 我們一起玩!" In the daytime, the little squirrel is playing ball, and the north wind loudly says: "Give it to me! Give it to me! We'll play together!"
晚上, 北風輕輕的說故事給松鼠聽. In the evening, the north wind softly tells a story to the squirrel.
春天來了, 北風說: "小松鼠再見, 再見了!" As spring arrives, the north wind says: "Goodbye little squirrel! Goodbye!"
Grade 2
開學日, On the first day of school,
我們來到新教室, We arrive at our new class,
我坐上新的位子, We sit in new seats,
看一看身邊的朋友, We see our friends next to us,
今天是新學期的開始. Today is the beginning of a new semester.
開學日, On the first day of school,
我們打開新的課本, We open new textbooks,
書中有可愛的圖畫, Within the books there are cute pictures,
書中有好聽的故事, Within the books there are pleasant-sounding stories,
書有新奇的事物, There are many interesting things in the books,
我抱著新書, I hold my new book,
心裡好歡喜. My heart is full of joy.
Grade 3
萊特兄弟是美國人. 小時後, 他們看著鳥兒在天空自在的飛行, 心裡想著: "要是能做一隻'大鳥', 載著人們在天空飛翔, 那是多麼美妙的事啊!" The Wright Brothers were American. When they were children, they saw how birds flew in the sky, and they thought: "If we could build a 'big bird' to take people flying into the sky, that would be a wonderful thing!"
長大以後, 萊特兄弟合開了自行車行, 雖然工作很忙, 但是他們始終懷抱著在天空飛行的夢想. 為了完成夢想,他們先觀察老鷹飛行的動作, 畫出一張又一章的圖, 還閱讀許多有關滑翔機的資料. 經過一次次的修正, 他們終於改良出精巧的滑翔機. 然而, 萊特兄弟並不滿足, 他們的夢想, 是造出一種不靠風力也能飛行的動力機器... After they grew up, the Wright Brothers opened a bicycle shop. Although they were very busy with work, they still held to their dream of flying through the sky. In order to realize this dream, they first studied the way that eagles flew, and drew many pictures of this. They also studied a lot of information on gliders, and made many experiments. In the end they built an improved kind of glider. The Wright Brothers, however, were not satisfied with this, because their dream was to create a flying machine that didn't need to rely on wind power to stay aloft...
Grade 4
"放天燈了!" "Raise the sky lanterns!"
"放天燈了!" "Raise the sky lanterns!"
每年元宵節, 爸爸都會帶我們回到"天燈的故鄉" - 平溪, 和家族的親人聚在一起放天燈.
今天, 我們和往常一樣, 搭小火車回家. 火車才駛出山洞, 妹妹就指著天空, 大喊: "放天燈了!" 我抬頭一看, 果然有幾盞天燈, 好像等不及天黑似的, 已經在昏黃的暮色裡, 慢慢的往上飄. On Lantern Festival every year, father always takes us back to Pingxi, "the hometown of sky lanterns," so that our whole family can raise sky lanterns together. Today we did as we usually do, riding the train back "home." As the train passed through a mountain tunnel, my little sister pointed to the sky and said loudly: "Raise the sky lanterns!" I lifted up my head to see, and suddenly many sky lanterns appeared. It was as if they could not wait for the sky to grow dark, and they were already floating slowly in the dusk.
一回到老家, 大家都立刻圍過來, 相互問候. 爺爺興高采烈的說: "今年我們要彩繪天燈, 用圖畫向上天祈願." 在院子裡, 除了天燈以外, 我還看到許多畫筆和顏料... After we got back home, everyone gathered together and discussed what had happened. Grandfather then excitedly said: "This year we need special sky lanterns, so we will send them skyward with pictures!" Aside from sky lanterns, in the yard there were also drawing pens and pigments...
Grade 5
明天, 明天, 未來似乎有無數個明天! 然而, 我們做事若只是等待明天, 期待明天, 不僅會讓時間從手中流走, 也會坐失許多良機. Tomorrow, tomorrow, the future holds endless tomorrows! However, we often wait until tomorrow to do things, and we are often looking forward to tomorrow, regardless of how time slips through our hands or the opportunities we miss.
錢福寫下明日歌告訴世人: 時間稍縱即逝, 千萬不要虛度光陰, 以免被明日牽絆. 當我們朝看河水東流, 暮看夕陽西下,春去冬來, 年復一年, 鶩然回首, 青春以逝, 人的一生能有多少個明天呢? Chien Fu's "Song of Tomorrow" tells the people of the world: time is fleeting, it is imperative not to waste your time, in order to avoid wasting your tomorrows. When we see the flowing river pass us by, when we see the sun setting in the west, when spring passes into winter, when one year passes into the next, we must step back a moment and consider our mortality. After all, how many tomorrows does one person's life possess?
讀過明日歌, 再讀今日歌, 更能凸顯"今日"的重要. 今日就像流水, 一去不回頭. 今天的事, 如果不去做, 何時才能完成呢? 人生在世, 能有多少個今日? 白白浪費"今日"寶貴的時間, 不是十分可惜嗎? 有人說, 姑且等待明天再做吧! 可是明天還有明天的事啊! After studying the "Song of Tomorrow," and after studying the "Song of Today," we can understand the importance of today. Today is like flowing water, passing on without any return. If today's business is not concluded, when will it be concluded? People live to die, so how many todays do they have? Isn't it a great pity to waste all of the precious time in today? It is said that we can always wait until tomorrow! But tomorrow has its own demands!
Grade 6*
中秋節前後, 就是故鄉的桂花季節. 一提到桂花, 那股子香味就彷佛聞到了. 桂花有兩種, 月月開的稱木樨, 花朵較細小, 呈淡黃色, 台灣好像也有, 我曾曾走過人家圍牆外時間到這股香味, 一聞到就會引起鄉愁. 另一種稱金桂, 只有秋天才開, 花朵較大, 呈金黃色. 我家的大宅院中. 前後兩天片曠場, 沿著圍牆, 種的金是金桂. 唯有正屋大廳前的庭院中, 種著兩株木樨, 兩株繡球. 還有父親書房的廊簷下, 是幾盆茶花與木樨相間. In the village, the growing season for osmanthus flowers occurs at about the same time as Mid-Autumn Festival. At the mention of osmanthus flowers, it is as if the remembered smell of these flowers returns. There are two kinds of osmanthus flowers. The variety that opens every month is called sweet clover, its flowers are smaller, and it is a pale yellow. I think Taiwan also has this variety**. When I walk by people's outer walls I can smell this smell, and it causes homesickness. The other variety is the gold osmanthus, and these only open in the fall. The petals are bigger, and it is gold in color. In the big yard of my family's house the petals open during two days, and spread along the outer wall. The gold osmanthus is a kind of gold you can plant. There is a big courtyard in front of my family's house, and there are planted two strains of sweet clover, two strains of hydrangea, and in my father's library there are pots of sweet clover and white camellia.
3. Method of Instruction ***
As I am writing this at the end of the semester, I only had the time to observe two classes. The first of these classes was a first grade class, and the second was a fourth grade class. A short outline describing each class follows.
First Grade:
The teacher began by placing several character cards on the board. These characters are to be found in Unit 8 of their textbooks, and the students are expected to practice writing them at home. They are: 要, 山, 洞, 穿, 原, 平, 過, 快, 排, 車, 火, 八, 去, 回, 哪, 你, and 搭.
After the students were all seated, their teacher asked them to take out their books and turn to Lesson 8. Students then recited a chant several times together. The teacher placed a larger copy of this chant on the board, and referred to it during subsequent discussions.
The remainder of class alternated between repetition of the chant and discussion of the Chinese used in the text. The teacher discussed words with the 火 radical, how to use the character 過 with several verbs ("我去過台北."), how to make sentences longer (from "他走" to "他慢慢走"), verb phrases using two characters ("上學," "開車," etc.), putting these two-character phrases in context ("我每天自己坐車上學"), matching the mode of transportation to its destination, and using the right verb with the right mode of transport ("開車," "騎腳踏車," etc.)
During the last five minutes of class, students completed a textbook grammar exercise together, and the teacher circulated through the room, answering their questions.
Fourth Grade:
The students began class by reciting a passage that their teacher had copied. The teacher then called upon individual rows and individual students to recite the passage.
The students then read through a play. Students were asked to read different parts, and they were told to show the proper emotion and use the correct body language (表情跟動作).
As the class read, they discussed idioms (成語) in the text.
Then the class discussed the characters in the play, their motivations and feelings. They were asked to provide examples of when they felt the same way, and to provide details of the situation that made them feel that emotion.
The students were then asked to memorize parts of the play after class, and class concluded with students completing a section in their workbooks. This section asked them to match idioms with the corresponding emotion. The teacher discouraged students from helping one another find the answers, and told students who didn't know to use their dictionaries.
4. Conclusions
I found the first grade class much more interesting to watch, probably because it was more different from what I've seen in American Language Arts classrooms. Both classes were taught by excellent teachers, but aside from side discussions of Chinese idioms, the fourth grade class just felt too much like English class in the States.
After watching the first grade class, which was very grammar-oriented, I couldn't help but wonder how one might go about having that kind of class with Taiwanese kids in English. To use an English chant punctuated by grammar discussions at that level would be an unheard-of thing, especially with students in that age group. I have come close to doing this in a private school setting, but to maintain that kind of dialogue with kids in a public elementary school would be an impressive achievement.
But what struck me most forcibly were the similarities between Chinese instruction, as practiced in my school, and English instruction, as myself and others have practiced it in the States. As I watched the two classes, it became clear to me that aside from linguistic differences we are - despite appearances to the contrary - members of the same culture. We might be using different sets of vocabularies to describe our world, but many of the thoughts, feelings, and impressions I gathered from my time in the Chinese classroom were very similar to things I'd hear in an American classroom, with kids the same age.
4. Keelung 基隆 and Uninterrupted Sunshine (February 2014)
During most of Chinese New Year we stayed in my brother-in-law's house. He lives in Bai Fu 百福, a small community south of Keelung City 基隆市.
We drove to his house from Taitung City 台東市. We crossed the mountains on the Southern Cross-Island Highway 南迴, and from Ping Tung County 屏東縣 we took Freeway 1 all the way up to Bai Fu. The traffic going north was very light, but there were many traffic jams going south. Traffic was at a standstill north of Kaohsiung 高雄, Taichung 台中, and Hsinchu 新竹, and I was very glad we were going the opposite direction.
During our stay in Bai Fu, we left our car parked near my brother-in-law's house. Neither my wife nor I had any desire to drive around that part of Taiwan. Instead we took trains, taxis, or the MRT. My brother-in-law's house is not far from the train station, and it was only a few train stops away from Nan Gang 南港, the nearest MRT stop.
We spent a lot of time walking around the Xin Yi Shopping District 信義商圈 in Taipei. This is something we do every time we're there. They opened up a new Krispy Kreme near the 101 building, and the lines in front of that place were unbelievably long. All that waiting in line for donuts. Why?
We also had dinner at my wife's aunt's (aunt-in-law's?) apartment near the Jong Shiao 中蕭 Sogo. My wife's aunt is a tailor, and it was a bit crowded in her little shop. Altogether there were 12 of us trying to eat a large dinner in that little workshop. My wife's uncle (uncle-in-law?) is a good cook, but it was hard to get comfortable.
On the day before we drove back to Taitung, we went to Keelung City, and it was astonishingly crowded. Even the train to get there was packed, and there were so many people going to Keelung that the trains were all running behind schedule. It is only four stops from Bai Fu to Keelung Station, but just going four stops away took us nearly one hour.
And why was it so crowded, you ask? It was so crowded because the "little yellow duck" - really a giant, inflatable duck - now resides at Keelung Port. A lot of people felt an uncontrollable desire to be near this duck, and this is why I might as well have walked there.
While in Keelung, we visited the Yangming Oceanic Culture and Art Museum 陽明海洋文化藝術館, which was surprisingly interesting. We also ate lunch in a coffee shop, walked through the terrifyingly crowded Temple Night Market 基隆廟口夜市, and had Western food at another restaurant before fighting our way back onto the train. The crowds were thick everywhere except the museum, and by the time we finally got back to Bai Fu we were all exhausted, and in desperate need of showers.
On the following day we drove back to Taitung, a trip that took us 7.5 hours. The traffic from Bai Fu to Hualien City 花蓮市 was not bad, but the traffic from Hualien City to Taitung City was terrible. We would have made much better time if I'd taken Highway 11 instead of Highway 9, but I had no way of knowing this at the time.
All in all it was a good trip, and a pleasant Chinese New Year. I enjoyed Keelung and Taipei, and I am getting to know Keelung much better. I spent a lot of time walking around Bai Fu, and aside from the high rainfall it seems like a nice place to live.
5. Not So Festive Lanterns (February 2014)
Last weekend was Lantern Festival 元宵節, so there were fireworks exploding all over town. We dragged ourselves downtown to see this year's lanterns, but as it turned out there wasn't much to see. Only six lanterns in all, and some of them were broken!
We also passed by the Triangle Park while the big "fireworks fight" was going on, but this year's crowd wasn't half as large as last year's. Last year's Lantern Festival transformed the entire city into a single, massive traffic jam, but this time around most roads were clear. Apparently the Taitung County Government 台東縣政府 has decided not to funnel so much money into this festival, and this may be why this event was so distinctly unimpressive.
Aside from the haphazard viewing of local religious festivals, I didn't do a whole lot last weekend. I dusted off my road bike and rode up the coast on Saturday, and on Sunday I did laps on my mountain bike behind the Forest Park 森林公園. I would have loved to go swimming, but the weather is still too cold. After the amount of eating I did on Chinese New Year, exercising seems like the right thing to do.
I've been watching a lot of movies too. On Saturday I watched 1982's "Swamp Thing," and on Sunday I watched 2004's "Catwoman." "Swamp Thing" still holds up pretty well, despite the fact that it's now 32 years old. "Catwoman," a much more recent production, is so bad that it's good. I loved the part where the cats bring Halle Berry back to life, and Benjamin Bratt's character has to be the most clueless detective ever. We need more superhero(ines) to save us from dangerous beauty products. This is a niche market that The Avengers have yet to consider.
In more personal news, I've had more than one friend mention the word "divorce" lately. While everyone's situation is different, I can't help but wonder at the coincidental fact that three (count 'em, three!) different people mentioned marital difficulties in the same, two-week timeframe. Is it some kind of vibe I'm giving off? Something inappropriate that I'm saying? Something related to Valentine's Day?
Anyway, I've got a race in Guanshan 關山 this weekend, followed by a trip to Kaohsiung 高雄. Hope you all had a good Lantern Festival, even if you were far removed from lanterns, fireworks and festivals. Spring is here, and there are many reasons to be happy.
6. Nightlife in Taitung City 台東的夜生活 (March 2014)
Take what I say below with a healthy dose of skepticism. I go "out" maybe once a month, and when I do I'm not looking for girls, drugs, or even a particularly awesome time. If I was looking for those things, I suppose I'd find Taitung very frustrating. 我以下說的話不必太當真. 我差不多一個月去一次酒吧, 我去那種地方不是為了找美女, 毒品, 或是期待特別棒的時刻發生. 如果我是那種尋找那種事的人, 我會覺得台東是個蠻無聊的地方.
Taitung City is developing, but it's still a very rural place. There aren't many foreigners living here. There aren't even that many Taiwanese people, so I guess the lack of foreigners isn't that surprising. 台東市正在發展, 但是這裡仍是一個很鄉下的地方. 這裡的台灣人不多, 而這裡的外國人也不多. 所以這裡的外國人數少是可以理解的.
Taitung City is also very small. I live near the city limits, and I can ride my bike from my house to the city center in about ten minutes. In a city this small, your options after 11 PM are limited. 台東市也很小. 我家靠近卑南, 可是我騎腳踏車到市區只要10分鐘. 在這麼小的城市裡, 超過晚上11點營業的地方不多.
If you're looking for places where foreigners hang out, there are a few points of interest. A lot of people like Uncle Pete's Pizza, though the "crowds" in this place - like anywhere else in Taitung - are pretty subdued on the weekdays. 你如果想找外國人常去的地點的話, 這裡有些地方給你參考: 很多人喜歡Uncle Pete's Pizza(披薩阿伯), 只是這家餐廳跟台東大多數的餐廳一樣. 周一到周四來的客人並不多.
Kasa, a bar located downtown, is another place frequented by local expats. I tend to visit Kasa more than Uncle Pete's, only because it's a more convenient location for me. A lot of the crowd from Pete's pizza usually moves over to Kasa during the later hours, so you're likely to see many of the same people in both places. 台東的外國住民也喜歡Kasa. Kasa是在台東市區的酒吧. 我常常去Kasa, 因為它的地點對我來說比較方便. 通常比較晚的時候, 在Uncle Pete's的外國客人會過去Kasa. 這兩個地點有很多共同的客人.
Texas Jo's, a new bar next to the Tai Ping River, is just off Jung Hua Road. They serve food as well, but I've never eaten there. The owner of that place is very nice, and it's a more outdoor kind of bar, more like something you'd see in Kenting. Some foreign friends of mine play cards there once in a while, but the clientele tends to be more Taiwanese. Texas Jo's是在太平溪旁邊的酒吧. 它也靠近中華路. 他們也做德州式料理, 可是我還沒有在那裡吃過飯. 老闆很親切. 這家酒吧很像墾丁那裡的酒吧. 我有些外國朋友喜歡去那邊玩牌, 它大部分的客人是台灣人.
There's also the Railway Art Village, which most local foreigners refer to as "Tie Hua." This place is near the Starbucks/Eslite complex, and features live music. It's a bit pricey, and I'd have to really like the band to pay the cover charge. In the summer the mosquitoes are formidable. 還有鐵花村. 這裡的外國住民都叫他"Tie Hua." 它靠近星巴克咖啡跟誠品書局, 這裡也有現場的音樂表演. 我覺得有點貴. 我一定要好喜歡那個樂團才會買門票進場. 夏天時那附近的蚊子很可怕.
If you're gay or bi you'd probably like Red House, a bar not far from the Carrefour. I know hetero guys who also like that place, but the downside to Red House is that they're always wondering if the "hot women" they meet in Red House are really men. 同性戀或是雙性戀的人應該喜歡Red House這個酒吧. 它靠近市區的家樂福. 我知道有些喜歡女人的男人也喜歡去那裡, 可是風險是他們在那裏遇到的美女到底是女的還是男的!
There are of course many other small bars and KTVs around town, but nowhere that's as consistently popular as the places mentioned above. Some friends and I used to visit this super weird KTV near the Seashore Park, but I haven't been to that place in over a year now. I've seen a couple other places that look interesting - a bar with German beer and a sports bar - but I have yet to visit those places. 當然還有其他的酒吧跟卡拉OK, 可是其他的地方沒有那麼熱鬧. 之前我跟一些朋友喜歡去一家海濱公園附近的卡拉OK, 可是我已經一年多沒去了. 我也看過些市區的酒吧. 一間賣德國啤酒, 還有一間很像美國的那種運動酒吧, 只是我還沒進去過這二家.
If you have a car or a decent scooter, Dulan is a second option. On weekends the bar inside the Dulan sugar factory can be lively. WaGaLiGong, a bar up the highway from there, is a nice place to hang out. I was there a couple weeks ago, and had a great time. 有摩托車或是汽車的人也可以去都蘭. 有時都蘭糖廠裡的酒吧在周末的時候很熱鬧. 靠近那裡的WaGaLiGong也是一個很好的酒吧. 我兩個禮拜前去過. 我那時候玩得很開心.
If you are new in town, don't be surprised if you find some or all of these places nearly empty. Nightlife in Taitung City is sparse in the best of times, and you can be satisfied if you walk into a bar and see more than three customers present. If a given bar is too depressing, you can always do what I do, and head to the nearest 7-11 or Family Mart. In Taitung City, this often the most sensible option. 如果你是第一次來到台東, 很可能你到這些地方會發現客人不多, 那不用太驚訝. 因為台東的夜生活連假日時也不是很熱鬧. 在酒吧裡看不到超過三個客人是平常的事. 如果酒吧太無聊, 你可以跟我一樣去7-11或是全家. 有時候在台東這個是最好的選擇.
7. "The Belowground People" 地低下的人 (March 2014)
Here is a story from the A-mei tribe. It is here because I thought it was cute. I have translated it from "Taiwanese Folk Stories," 台灣民間故事 a collection that appeared in 1996. The Chinese text was written by 洪淑英, 區世皓, and 謝桂芳, the English (of course) was written by me.
The Seattle Seahawks are playing GREAT this season, and it looks like they might just go all the way to the Superbowl. If they make it that far, this would be the first time that Seattle has ever gone to the Superbowl. The Seahawks are presently the best team in the entire NFL, with a record of 12 wins to just 3 losses.西雅圖的海鷹隊在這一季有很棒的表現, 看起來很有希望進入美式足球超級盃, 如果他們能打進超級盃, 那將是西雅圖第一次打進超級盃, 海鷹隊是目前美國美式足球聯盟最好的球隊, 目前成績是贏了十二場, 輸了三場.
With the Seahawks in mind, I've been playing American football with my classes at the elementary school. The kids always get excited when I bring out the football, even if they're not exactly sure what it is. American football is NOT popular in Taiwan. At all.因為海鷹隊的關係, 我在國小裡帶我的班玩美式足球, 孩子們雖然不確定那是什麼球, 因為美式足球在台灣並不熱門,但看到我拿出橄欖球都很興奮 .
I have to simplify the rules quite a bit for the kids, but by the end of my short introduction we are almost playing something that looks like American football. I start by drawing a field on the board with two players. Then I draw one player throwing the ball to the other player. After that I act out the other player running to the opposite end of the field.為了孩子能盡快地了解玩法, 我必須將比賽規則簡單化,在我簡短的介紹後, 我們幾乎玩得有模有樣了, 剛開始我畫了兩個球員和一座球場在黑板上, 然後畫一個球員丟球給另一個, 接著我演那個接到球的人跑向球場的另一端.
Then I'll try a couple "demo games" in the class with two of the students. I throw one of the students the ball, and they try to walk past me to the other side of the room. I TRY to show the class that a two-hand tag means that the other side must stop, and that we are tagging the other player, not SMASHING THEM INTO THE GROUND. If I have time, I show the other student how to "block."然後我會請兩個學生在課堂上和我一起表演怎麼玩, 我將球丟給其中一個學生, 他們試著經過我走到教室的另一頭, 我試著讓他們了解 two-hand tag發生時另一隊要停止動作, 並且觸碰另一隊的隊員不表示猛烈撞倒他, 如果我有時間的話, 我也教其他的學生如何攔截球.
It is also necessary to explain that the ball can only be passed one time between players on the same team. A lot of classes have trouble with this part, and they will just pass and pass and pass. When they do this, what you end up with is a kind of handball. 對他們解釋同隊的隊友之間只能傳一次球, 很多班級沒辦法了解這一項, 他們只顧著在彼此之間傳球, 在這種情況下, 遊戲就成為某種手球賽了.
Of course the easiest way to avoid confusion is just to type out a series of directions in English and Chinese, but since I am the conversational English teacher, I don't really like doing this. As an educational exercise, I think it's better if I talk them through the rules as much as possible. 當然最簡單的教法是用中文跟英文寫一張介紹美式足球的規章, 可是我覺得英文會話老師不應該這麼做. 從教學的角度看, 我覺得討論美式足球的規則是比較好的教法.
Later on, we go outside and try to play football. I have to watch the boys VERY carefully when we do this, because many of them will want to shove the other players to the ground. A lot of boys are really fixated on the violent aspects of this and other sports, and I have had to tell a few boys that they can't play if they are going to hurt people. 介紹規則之後, 我們會到外面玩美式足球. 這時候我要很小心注意學生, 因為很多男孩想把他們同學推到地上. 很多男生認為這種運動最好玩的部分就是推擠別人. 所以我們每次玩的時候我都要跟這樣的男同學說他不能再玩了.
I often think about how much more interested they would be in football if there was a Taiwanese player in the NFL. Having a player you can identify with is a big part of any sport, and American football is no exception. Taiwanese people LOVED baseball after Chien-Ming Wang got into the MLB, just as they LOVED basketball after Jeremy Lin started playing in the NBA. I'm sure that many Taiwanese people would also become huge curling fans if it looked like some Taiwanese curler had a shot at the next Winter Olympics.如ˇ果有一個有名的台灣球員在美式足球隊的話, 那大家對美式足球就會更有興趣了. 在任何的球類比賽中, 有一個有名的球員是一件重要的事, 這在美式足球中也不能免俗, 台灣人民瘋棒球是因為王建明加入美國職棒大聯盟, 林書豪打 NBA也是一個很好的例子, 我相信如果台灣出一個冰上滾石遊戲的球員參加下一屆的冬季奧林匹克的話, 那台灣人民也會開始瘋那項運動了.
I think American football is a great game, and it is a game I enjoy both watching and playing. I feel the same way about soccer, which people in Europe call football, much to everyone's confusion. I really wish I could see the Seahawks games live, but thanks to the time difference they always end up occurring in the middle of the night over here. 我覺得美式足球是一個很棒的遊戲, 歐式足球比賽也同樣好玩又好看. 歐洲人叫他們的足球football, 可是我們美國人叫它soccer. 在美國football就是美式足球. 我很想看最近海鷹隊美式足球隊的比賽, 可是兩地的時差差太多了, 他們總是在台灣的三更半夜進行比賽.
Even if the Seahawks don't make it to the Superbowl, I've had a lot of fun playing the game with my students. Most of them enjoy it, and I've had a lot of fun trying to teach them how to play the game.就算海鷹隊沒進入超級盃的比賽, 我已經和我的學生玩得很開心了, 大部分的學生都很喜歡, 我也從教他們的過程中得到許多樂趣.
2. Shuang Liou Forest Recreation Area 雙流森林遊樂區 (December 2013)
Shuang Liou is in Pingtung 屏東 County, along the Southern Highway 南迴公路. I have driven by it many times on my way to the other side of Taiwan, but I hadn't been inside there until two weeks ago, when these pictures were taken.
These are, I'm sure, not the best pictures of Shuang Liou. It was cloudy, cold, and windy that day, and I'm sure that in the sunshine it would look twice as good. We enjoyed our visit there, but we kept thinking that it would be more scenic in the spring.
Shuang Liou is very close to the county line dividing Taitung from Pingtung. Between Da Ren Township 達仁鄉 and Shr Dze Township 獅子鄉, the Southern Highway rises to a peak where one can turn off onto Highway 199, and just west of that peak is Shuang Liou. It is a very remote area.
It costs 100 NT to enter Shuang Liou, though it is cheaper for Pingtung residents. A small road leads to the entrance, and it is there that you pay your fee and receive a map. Further inside there is a large parking area, and from there a few trails lead off into the surrounding mountains.
We took the trail up Hat Mountain 帽子山, though we didn't make it all the way to the top. We hiked about an hour in, and then my daughters decided they were tired and we had to turn back. From the halfway point on that trail there are some excellent views of the river valley, and I think the view from the top would be better still. Hat Mountain sits just above the west coast, and on a clear day it probably offers views all the way down into Kenting 墾丁.
Another trail leads to a waterfall, but we didn't take that one. I would like to go back there and walk it sometime soon. A third trail leads to a visitor center, and behind the visitor center this trail winds up into the mountains. This third trail was under repair during our visit.
As forest recreation areas go, Shuang Liou is QUIET. Our car was the only car in the parking lot, and during our multi-hour visit I only saw three other people there. Compared to the Jer Ben 知本forest recreation area, Shuang Liou is all but unknown.
Just the same, it's a nice place to walk around. If you are traveling on the Southern Highway and the weather's good, I would suggest visiting Shuang Liou. I plan on going back there after spring has arrived.
3. Mandarin in Taiwanese Elementary Schools (January 2014)
For a look at Social Studies in Taiwanese elementary schools, see "Social Studies in Taiwan." For discussions of English in Taiwanese elementary schools, see "English in Taiwanese," and "Teaching English 10: Review." For a more general introduction to elementary school in Taiwan, see "Elementary School in Taiwan."
1. Introduction
Mandarin 國語 is one of Taiwan's two official languages. The other official language is Taiwanese 台語, also referred to as Minnanese 民南語. Minnanese, like Mandarin, is a Chinese dialect, and the two share many linguistic similarities.
Yet Minnanese, while taught in every Taiwanese public school, is only taught once a week. It is also spoken by a much smaller percentage of the population. Despite the government's efforts to the contrary, it is Mandarin that is Taiwan's common language, and Taiwanese, although spoken and understood by many, is for many people a second language, and one that often fails to express the realities of both the modern world and their daily lives.
Mandarin, along with Math, Science, English, and Social Studies, is a core subject in Taiwanese elementary schools. In my elementary school, every grade from 1 to 6 has 5 Chinese classes per week. This makes Mandarin the most-taught subject in my school, followed by the other core subjects, which are allotted 3 class periods each.
2. Textbooks Used
The textbooks used for teaching Mandarin are all fairly similar. Our school uses the textbooks published by 康軒, 南一, and 翰林. Each semester the students complete a textbook and an accompanying workbook.
Below are excerpts from 康軒's textbooks. The red characters in each excerpt indicate characters that were introduced in that unit. Aside from the first grade 1 book, which introduces 94 characters, all the other books introduce between 200 and 250 characters each.
Grade 1
北風ㄏㄨㄏㄨㄏㄨ, 一下子跑到東, 一下子跑到西. The north wind blows east "hoo, hoo, hoo" one moment, and the next moment blows west.
白天, 小松鼠在玩球, 北風大聲的說: "給我! 給我! 我們一起玩!" In the daytime, the little squirrel is playing ball, and the north wind loudly says: "Give it to me! Give it to me! We'll play together!"
晚上, 北風輕輕的說故事給松鼠聽. In the evening, the north wind softly tells a story to the squirrel.
春天來了, 北風說: "小松鼠再見, 再見了!" As spring arrives, the north wind says: "Goodbye little squirrel! Goodbye!"
Grade 2
開學日, On the first day of school,
我們來到新教室, We arrive at our new class,
我坐上新的位子, We sit in new seats,
看一看身邊的朋友, We see our friends next to us,
今天是新學期的開始. Today is the beginning of a new semester.
開學日, On the first day of school,
我們打開新的課本, We open new textbooks,
書中有可愛的圖畫, Within the books there are cute pictures,
書中有好聽的故事, Within the books there are pleasant-sounding stories,
書有新奇的事物, There are many interesting things in the books,
我抱著新書, I hold my new book,
心裡好歡喜. My heart is full of joy.
Grade 3
萊特兄弟是美國人. 小時後, 他們看著鳥兒在天空自在的飛行, 心裡想著: "要是能做一隻'大鳥', 載著人們在天空飛翔, 那是多麼美妙的事啊!" The Wright Brothers were American. When they were children, they saw how birds flew in the sky, and they thought: "If we could build a 'big bird' to take people flying into the sky, that would be a wonderful thing!"
長大以後, 萊特兄弟合開了自行車行, 雖然工作很忙, 但是他們始終懷抱著在天空飛行的夢想. 為了完成夢想,他們先觀察老鷹飛行的動作, 畫出一張又一章的圖, 還閱讀許多有關滑翔機的資料. 經過一次次的修正, 他們終於改良出精巧的滑翔機. 然而, 萊特兄弟並不滿足, 他們的夢想, 是造出一種不靠風力也能飛行的動力機器... After they grew up, the Wright Brothers opened a bicycle shop. Although they were very busy with work, they still held to their dream of flying through the sky. In order to realize this dream, they first studied the way that eagles flew, and drew many pictures of this. They also studied a lot of information on gliders, and made many experiments. In the end they built an improved kind of glider. The Wright Brothers, however, were not satisfied with this, because their dream was to create a flying machine that didn't need to rely on wind power to stay aloft...
Grade 4
"放天燈了!" "Raise the sky lanterns!"
"放天燈了!" "Raise the sky lanterns!"
每年元宵節, 爸爸都會帶我們回到"天燈的故鄉" - 平溪, 和家族的親人聚在一起放天燈.
今天, 我們和往常一樣, 搭小火車回家. 火車才駛出山洞, 妹妹就指著天空, 大喊: "放天燈了!" 我抬頭一看, 果然有幾盞天燈, 好像等不及天黑似的, 已經在昏黃的暮色裡, 慢慢的往上飄. On Lantern Festival every year, father always takes us back to Pingxi, "the hometown of sky lanterns," so that our whole family can raise sky lanterns together. Today we did as we usually do, riding the train back "home." As the train passed through a mountain tunnel, my little sister pointed to the sky and said loudly: "Raise the sky lanterns!" I lifted up my head to see, and suddenly many sky lanterns appeared. It was as if they could not wait for the sky to grow dark, and they were already floating slowly in the dusk.
一回到老家, 大家都立刻圍過來, 相互問候. 爺爺興高采烈的說: "今年我們要彩繪天燈, 用圖畫向上天祈願." 在院子裡, 除了天燈以外, 我還看到許多畫筆和顏料... After we got back home, everyone gathered together and discussed what had happened. Grandfather then excitedly said: "This year we need special sky lanterns, so we will send them skyward with pictures!" Aside from sky lanterns, in the yard there were also drawing pens and pigments...
Grade 5
明天, 明天, 未來似乎有無數個明天! 然而, 我們做事若只是等待明天, 期待明天, 不僅會讓時間從手中流走, 也會坐失許多良機. Tomorrow, tomorrow, the future holds endless tomorrows! However, we often wait until tomorrow to do things, and we are often looking forward to tomorrow, regardless of how time slips through our hands or the opportunities we miss.
錢福寫下明日歌告訴世人: 時間稍縱即逝, 千萬不要虛度光陰, 以免被明日牽絆. 當我們朝看河水東流, 暮看夕陽西下,春去冬來, 年復一年, 鶩然回首, 青春以逝, 人的一生能有多少個明天呢? Chien Fu's "Song of Tomorrow" tells the people of the world: time is fleeting, it is imperative not to waste your time, in order to avoid wasting your tomorrows. When we see the flowing river pass us by, when we see the sun setting in the west, when spring passes into winter, when one year passes into the next, we must step back a moment and consider our mortality. After all, how many tomorrows does one person's life possess?
讀過明日歌, 再讀今日歌, 更能凸顯"今日"的重要. 今日就像流水, 一去不回頭. 今天的事, 如果不去做, 何時才能完成呢? 人生在世, 能有多少個今日? 白白浪費"今日"寶貴的時間, 不是十分可惜嗎? 有人說, 姑且等待明天再做吧! 可是明天還有明天的事啊! After studying the "Song of Tomorrow," and after studying the "Song of Today," we can understand the importance of today. Today is like flowing water, passing on without any return. If today's business is not concluded, when will it be concluded? People live to die, so how many todays do they have? Isn't it a great pity to waste all of the precious time in today? It is said that we can always wait until tomorrow! But tomorrow has its own demands!
Grade 6*
中秋節前後, 就是故鄉的桂花季節. 一提到桂花, 那股子香味就彷佛聞到了. 桂花有兩種, 月月開的稱木樨, 花朵較細小, 呈淡黃色, 台灣好像也有, 我曾曾走過人家圍牆外時間到這股香味, 一聞到就會引起鄉愁. 另一種稱金桂, 只有秋天才開, 花朵較大, 呈金黃色. 我家的大宅院中. 前後兩天片曠場, 沿著圍牆, 種的金是金桂. 唯有正屋大廳前的庭院中, 種著兩株木樨, 兩株繡球. 還有父親書房的廊簷下, 是幾盆茶花與木樨相間. In the village, the growing season for osmanthus flowers occurs at about the same time as Mid-Autumn Festival. At the mention of osmanthus flowers, it is as if the remembered smell of these flowers returns. There are two kinds of osmanthus flowers. The variety that opens every month is called sweet clover, its flowers are smaller, and it is a pale yellow. I think Taiwan also has this variety**. When I walk by people's outer walls I can smell this smell, and it causes homesickness. The other variety is the gold osmanthus, and these only open in the fall. The petals are bigger, and it is gold in color. In the big yard of my family's house the petals open during two days, and spread along the outer wall. The gold osmanthus is a kind of gold you can plant. There is a big courtyard in front of my family's house, and there are planted two strains of sweet clover, two strains of hydrangea, and in my father's library there are pots of sweet clover and white camellia.
3. Method of Instruction ***
As I am writing this at the end of the semester, I only had the time to observe two classes. The first of these classes was a first grade class, and the second was a fourth grade class. A short outline describing each class follows.
First Grade:
The teacher began by placing several character cards on the board. These characters are to be found in Unit 8 of their textbooks, and the students are expected to practice writing them at home. They are: 要, 山, 洞, 穿, 原, 平, 過, 快, 排, 車, 火, 八, 去, 回, 哪, 你, and 搭.
After the students were all seated, their teacher asked them to take out their books and turn to Lesson 8. Students then recited a chant several times together. The teacher placed a larger copy of this chant on the board, and referred to it during subsequent discussions.
The remainder of class alternated between repetition of the chant and discussion of the Chinese used in the text. The teacher discussed words with the 火 radical, how to use the character 過 with several verbs ("我去過台北."), how to make sentences longer (from "他走" to "他慢慢走"), verb phrases using two characters ("上學," "開車," etc.), putting these two-character phrases in context ("我每天自己坐車上學"), matching the mode of transportation to its destination, and using the right verb with the right mode of transport ("開車," "騎腳踏車," etc.)
During the last five minutes of class, students completed a textbook grammar exercise together, and the teacher circulated through the room, answering their questions.
Fourth Grade:
The students began class by reciting a passage that their teacher had copied. The teacher then called upon individual rows and individual students to recite the passage.
The students then read through a play. Students were asked to read different parts, and they were told to show the proper emotion and use the correct body language (表情跟動作).
As the class read, they discussed idioms (成語) in the text.
Then the class discussed the characters in the play, their motivations and feelings. They were asked to provide examples of when they felt the same way, and to provide details of the situation that made them feel that emotion.
The students were then asked to memorize parts of the play after class, and class concluded with students completing a section in their workbooks. This section asked them to match idioms with the corresponding emotion. The teacher discouraged students from helping one another find the answers, and told students who didn't know to use their dictionaries.
4. Conclusions
I found the first grade class much more interesting to watch, probably because it was more different from what I've seen in American Language Arts classrooms. Both classes were taught by excellent teachers, but aside from side discussions of Chinese idioms, the fourth grade class just felt too much like English class in the States.
After watching the first grade class, which was very grammar-oriented, I couldn't help but wonder how one might go about having that kind of class with Taiwanese kids in English. To use an English chant punctuated by grammar discussions at that level would be an unheard-of thing, especially with students in that age group. I have come close to doing this in a private school setting, but to maintain that kind of dialogue with kids in a public elementary school would be an impressive achievement.
But what struck me most forcibly were the similarities between Chinese instruction, as practiced in my school, and English instruction, as myself and others have practiced it in the States. As I watched the two classes, it became clear to me that aside from linguistic differences we are - despite appearances to the contrary - members of the same culture. We might be using different sets of vocabularies to describe our world, but many of the thoughts, feelings, and impressions I gathered from my time in the Chinese classroom were very similar to things I'd hear in an American classroom, with kids the same age.
4. Keelung 基隆 and Uninterrupted Sunshine (February 2014)
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| Keelung River |
During most of Chinese New Year we stayed in my brother-in-law's house. He lives in Bai Fu 百福, a small community south of Keelung City 基隆市.
We drove to his house from Taitung City 台東市. We crossed the mountains on the Southern Cross-Island Highway 南迴, and from Ping Tung County 屏東縣 we took Freeway 1 all the way up to Bai Fu. The traffic going north was very light, but there were many traffic jams going south. Traffic was at a standstill north of Kaohsiung 高雄, Taichung 台中, and Hsinchu 新竹, and I was very glad we were going the opposite direction.
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| One of many abandoned factories in Bai Fu |
During our stay in Bai Fu, we left our car parked near my brother-in-law's house. Neither my wife nor I had any desire to drive around that part of Taiwan. Instead we took trains, taxis, or the MRT. My brother-in-law's house is not far from the train station, and it was only a few train stops away from Nan Gang 南港, the nearest MRT stop.
We spent a lot of time walking around the Xin Yi Shopping District 信義商圈 in Taipei. This is something we do every time we're there. They opened up a new Krispy Kreme near the 101 building, and the lines in front of that place were unbelievably long. All that waiting in line for donuts. Why?
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| The "Little Yellow Duck" |
We also had dinner at my wife's aunt's (aunt-in-law's?) apartment near the Jong Shiao 中蕭 Sogo. My wife's aunt is a tailor, and it was a bit crowded in her little shop. Altogether there were 12 of us trying to eat a large dinner in that little workshop. My wife's uncle (uncle-in-law?) is a good cook, but it was hard to get comfortable.
On the day before we drove back to Taitung, we went to Keelung City, and it was astonishingly crowded. Even the train to get there was packed, and there were so many people going to Keelung that the trains were all running behind schedule. It is only four stops from Bai Fu to Keelung Station, but just going four stops away took us nearly one hour.
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| Downtown Keelung |
And why was it so crowded, you ask? It was so crowded because the "little yellow duck" - really a giant, inflatable duck - now resides at Keelung Port. A lot of people felt an uncontrollable desire to be near this duck, and this is why I might as well have walked there.
While in Keelung, we visited the Yangming Oceanic Culture and Art Museum 陽明海洋文化藝術館, which was surprisingly interesting. We also ate lunch in a coffee shop, walked through the terrifyingly crowded Temple Night Market 基隆廟口夜市, and had Western food at another restaurant before fighting our way back onto the train. The crowds were thick everywhere except the museum, and by the time we finally got back to Bai Fu we were all exhausted, and in desperate need of showers.
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| The temple for which the night market is named. |
On the following day we drove back to Taitung, a trip that took us 7.5 hours. The traffic from Bai Fu to Hualien City 花蓮市 was not bad, but the traffic from Hualien City to Taitung City was terrible. We would have made much better time if I'd taken Highway 11 instead of Highway 9, but I had no way of knowing this at the time.
All in all it was a good trip, and a pleasant Chinese New Year. I enjoyed Keelung and Taipei, and I am getting to know Keelung much better. I spent a lot of time walking around Bai Fu, and aside from the high rainfall it seems like a nice place to live.
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| Keelung Night Market |
5. Not So Festive Lanterns (February 2014)
Last weekend was Lantern Festival 元宵節, so there were fireworks exploding all over town. We dragged ourselves downtown to see this year's lanterns, but as it turned out there wasn't much to see. Only six lanterns in all, and some of them were broken!
We also passed by the Triangle Park while the big "fireworks fight" was going on, but this year's crowd wasn't half as large as last year's. Last year's Lantern Festival transformed the entire city into a single, massive traffic jam, but this time around most roads were clear. Apparently the Taitung County Government 台東縣政府 has decided not to funnel so much money into this festival, and this may be why this event was so distinctly unimpressive.
Aside from the haphazard viewing of local religious festivals, I didn't do a whole lot last weekend. I dusted off my road bike and rode up the coast on Saturday, and on Sunday I did laps on my mountain bike behind the Forest Park 森林公園. I would have loved to go swimming, but the weather is still too cold. After the amount of eating I did on Chinese New Year, exercising seems like the right thing to do.
I've been watching a lot of movies too. On Saturday I watched 1982's "Swamp Thing," and on Sunday I watched 2004's "Catwoman." "Swamp Thing" still holds up pretty well, despite the fact that it's now 32 years old. "Catwoman," a much more recent production, is so bad that it's good. I loved the part where the cats bring Halle Berry back to life, and Benjamin Bratt's character has to be the most clueless detective ever. We need more superhero(ines) to save us from dangerous beauty products. This is a niche market that The Avengers have yet to consider.
In more personal news, I've had more than one friend mention the word "divorce" lately. While everyone's situation is different, I can't help but wonder at the coincidental fact that three (count 'em, three!) different people mentioned marital difficulties in the same, two-week timeframe. Is it some kind of vibe I'm giving off? Something inappropriate that I'm saying? Something related to Valentine's Day?
Anyway, I've got a race in Guanshan 關山 this weekend, followed by a trip to Kaohsiung 高雄. Hope you all had a good Lantern Festival, even if you were far removed from lanterns, fireworks and festivals. Spring is here, and there are many reasons to be happy.
6. Nightlife in Taitung City 台東的夜生活 (March 2014)
Take what I say below with a healthy dose of skepticism. I go "out" maybe once a month, and when I do I'm not looking for girls, drugs, or even a particularly awesome time. If I was looking for those things, I suppose I'd find Taitung very frustrating. 我以下說的話不必太當真. 我差不多一個月去一次酒吧, 我去那種地方不是為了找美女, 毒品, 或是期待特別棒的時刻發生. 如果我是那種尋找那種事的人, 我會覺得台東是個蠻無聊的地方.
Taitung City is developing, but it's still a very rural place. There aren't many foreigners living here. There aren't even that many Taiwanese people, so I guess the lack of foreigners isn't that surprising. 台東市正在發展, 但是這裡仍是一個很鄉下的地方. 這裡的台灣人不多, 而這裡的外國人也不多. 所以這裡的外國人數少是可以理解的.
Taitung City is also very small. I live near the city limits, and I can ride my bike from my house to the city center in about ten minutes. In a city this small, your options after 11 PM are limited. 台東市也很小. 我家靠近卑南, 可是我騎腳踏車到市區只要10分鐘. 在這麼小的城市裡, 超過晚上11點營業的地方不多.
If you're looking for places where foreigners hang out, there are a few points of interest. A lot of people like Uncle Pete's Pizza, though the "crowds" in this place - like anywhere else in Taitung - are pretty subdued on the weekdays. 你如果想找外國人常去的地點的話, 這裡有些地方給你參考: 很多人喜歡Uncle Pete's Pizza(披薩阿伯), 只是這家餐廳跟台東大多數的餐廳一樣. 周一到周四來的客人並不多.
Kasa, a bar located downtown, is another place frequented by local expats. I tend to visit Kasa more than Uncle Pete's, only because it's a more convenient location for me. A lot of the crowd from Pete's pizza usually moves over to Kasa during the later hours, so you're likely to see many of the same people in both places. 台東的外國住民也喜歡Kasa. Kasa是在台東市區的酒吧. 我常常去Kasa, 因為它的地點對我來說比較方便. 通常比較晚的時候, 在Uncle Pete's的外國客人會過去Kasa. 這兩個地點有很多共同的客人.
Texas Jo's, a new bar next to the Tai Ping River, is just off Jung Hua Road. They serve food as well, but I've never eaten there. The owner of that place is very nice, and it's a more outdoor kind of bar, more like something you'd see in Kenting. Some foreign friends of mine play cards there once in a while, but the clientele tends to be more Taiwanese. Texas Jo's是在太平溪旁邊的酒吧. 它也靠近中華路. 他們也做德州式料理, 可是我還沒有在那裡吃過飯. 老闆很親切. 這家酒吧很像墾丁那裡的酒吧. 我有些外國朋友喜歡去那邊玩牌, 它大部分的客人是台灣人.
There's also the Railway Art Village, which most local foreigners refer to as "Tie Hua." This place is near the Starbucks/Eslite complex, and features live music. It's a bit pricey, and I'd have to really like the band to pay the cover charge. In the summer the mosquitoes are formidable. 還有鐵花村. 這裡的外國住民都叫他"Tie Hua." 它靠近星巴克咖啡跟誠品書局, 這裡也有現場的音樂表演. 我覺得有點貴. 我一定要好喜歡那個樂團才會買門票進場. 夏天時那附近的蚊子很可怕.
If you're gay or bi you'd probably like Red House, a bar not far from the Carrefour. I know hetero guys who also like that place, but the downside to Red House is that they're always wondering if the "hot women" they meet in Red House are really men. 同性戀或是雙性戀的人應該喜歡Red House這個酒吧. 它靠近市區的家樂福. 我知道有些喜歡女人的男人也喜歡去那裡, 可是風險是他們在那裏遇到的美女到底是女的還是男的!
There are of course many other small bars and KTVs around town, but nowhere that's as consistently popular as the places mentioned above. Some friends and I used to visit this super weird KTV near the Seashore Park, but I haven't been to that place in over a year now. I've seen a couple other places that look interesting - a bar with German beer and a sports bar - but I have yet to visit those places. 當然還有其他的酒吧跟卡拉OK, 可是其他的地方沒有那麼熱鬧. 之前我跟一些朋友喜歡去一家海濱公園附近的卡拉OK, 可是我已經一年多沒去了. 我也看過些市區的酒吧. 一間賣德國啤酒, 還有一間很像美國的那種運動酒吧, 只是我還沒進去過這二家.
If you have a car or a decent scooter, Dulan is a second option. On weekends the bar inside the Dulan sugar factory can be lively. WaGaLiGong, a bar up the highway from there, is a nice place to hang out. I was there a couple weeks ago, and had a great time. 有摩托車或是汽車的人也可以去都蘭. 有時都蘭糖廠裡的酒吧在周末的時候很熱鬧. 靠近那裡的WaGaLiGong也是一個很好的酒吧. 我兩個禮拜前去過. 我那時候玩得很開心.
If you are new in town, don't be surprised if you find some or all of these places nearly empty. Nightlife in Taitung City is sparse in the best of times, and you can be satisfied if you walk into a bar and see more than three customers present. If a given bar is too depressing, you can always do what I do, and head to the nearest 7-11 or Family Mart. In Taitung City, this often the most sensible option. 如果你是第一次來到台東, 很可能你到這些地方會發現客人不多, 那不用太驚訝. 因為台東的夜生活連假日時也不是很熱鬧. 在酒吧裡看不到超過三個客人是平常的事. 如果酒吧太無聊, 你可以跟我一樣去7-11或是全家. 有時候在台東這個是最好的選擇.
7. "The Belowground People" 地低下的人 (March 2014)
Here is a story from the A-mei tribe. It is here because I thought it was cute. I have translated it from "Taiwanese Folk Stories," 台灣民間故事 a collection that appeared in 1996. The Chinese text was written by 洪淑英, 區世皓, and 謝桂芳, the English (of course) was written by me.
地低下的人 "The Belowground People"
大家都知道, 天上住著神仙, 地上住著人, 那麼地低下, 住著什麼呢? 小朋友絕對想不到, 地低下也住著人呢! 這是流傳在台灣阿美族的一個故事. As everyone knows, the spirits dwell in heaven and people dwell on the earth. But what about below the ground? What lives there? Children will certainly not realize that people also live below the ground! This is a story passed down through Taiwan's A-mei tribe.
很久很久以前, 地上和地下都住著人. 地上的人地下的人很好, 有時候, 地上的人就到地下去玩, 地下的人也經常到地上頭來玩兒. A very long time ago, the aboveground people and the belowground people got along very well. Sometimes the aboveground people would go below the ground to play, and sometimes the belowground people would come up to play.
有一天, 有一個地下的人到地上頭來買東西. 地上的人惡作劇, 裝了一袋子的蜜蜂, 騙地下的人說袋子裡有希罕的寶貝, 回到家才能打開來看. 地下的人聽了, 高高興興的把袋子背回家去了. On one day, a belowground person came up out of the earth to buy things. The aboveground people played a trick on him, and filled a bag full of bees. They told the belowground person that there was a great treasure inside the bag, but that he should wait until he got home to open it. After the belowground person heard this, he happily shouldered the bag home.
地下的人回到家, 興匆匆的把袋子打開. 啊, 不得了了! 袋子裡飛出黑壓壓的一群蜜蜂! 蜜蜂用屁股上的針, 螫地下人的眼睛, 鼻子... 地下的人全身腫起一個一個大包, 痛得拼命的跳. 這些腫起來的包, 後來變成一個一個的疔, 有時候痛, 有時候不痛. After the belowground person arrived home he hurriedly opened the bag. Ah! This was too much! A dense swarm of bees flew out of the bag! The bees used the stingers on their bums to sting the belowground people in their eyes and noses... until the belowground people were covered from head to toe in boils. It hurt so much that they jumped as if their lives depended on it. Sometimes afterward the boils would hurt, and sometimes they would stop hurting.
痛起來的時候, 可真要命, 地下的人忍不住痛, 用力的跳. 轟隆! 轟隆! 地上就開始搖搖晃晃起來. 從此, 地上就有了地震. When the boils started hurting it was almost too much for the belowground people to take, and they could not stand it. They would jump with all their strength. Boom! Boom! The land above them would begin to shake and shudder, and from this time there were earthquakes on the land.
8. Semicoherent Thoughts on China (March 2014)
If you live in Taiwan, it's impossible not to think about China. Taiwan was, after all, once part of China, and many people in Taiwan and China claim that Taiwan is still part of China, or that China is still part of Taiwan, or something like that. It all gets very confusing, and when I think about it too hard I get a headache.
Taiwan's economy is heavily dependent on China's economy. Many Taiwanese factories have relocated to the Mainland, and all Taiwanese banks now handle transactions in Renminbi, China's currency. I think that Taiwan's businessmen are, on average, quite good at hedging their bets between China, Japan, and the US, so I'm not too worried about Taiwan's dependence on China. In some ways, the US is even more dependent on China than Taiwan is.
I often wonder if and when China will implode. I have the feeling that China's government is attempting to maintain itself through economic growth alone, without considering the individual rights and freedoms that make countries such as Taiwan more attractive to live in. I cannot help but think that China's less privileged classes are going to make their voices heard soon, and they are going to want the rights denied them.
If the result of economic "progress" is that everyone in China gets to live a Western lifestyle, what does that mean for the rest of the world? The environmental repercussions of this drive towards a Western lifestyle are already making themselves felt. Air pollution is an increasingly large problem there, with correspondingly negative effects on public health. Food safety is another issue of mounting importance, as Chinese producers turn to factory farming to supply a population hungry for beef, pork, and chicken.
Some foreign commentators are very satisfied over this development, but let us remember that smog does not just remain in China - it goes wherever the wind carries it. The same could be said of whatever pollution China is creating in the oceans, whatever diseases may be incubating there, and whatever political unrest might be fermenting because of bad government and bad living conditions. Sorry to welcome these foreign commentators to our global village, but a problem for China today will be a problem for everyone tomorrow.
I've been to China proper for about 5 seconds altogether. I've been to Hong Kong a few times, and of course I live in Taiwan, but I've gone into the "real" China exactly once. I took the train from Hong Kong north into the Mainland, to Shenzen, which is a big industrial center. It was hot, it was dusty, and I was understandably unimpressed by what I saw.
The only Mainlanders I tend to see are at the Family Mart near my house, where the tour buses stop on their way around the island. They spend a lot of time milling around the Family Mart, many of them amazed by the most commonplace items. I feel sorry for the lady that works in the Family Mart, because they often try to argue down the price on items that are already very cheap. "How much are these cigarettes?" a man from China says, "50 NT? Do you have any cigarettes for less?" "No," says the Family Mart lady for the hundredth time, "These are the cheapest cigarettes we have..."
It's hard to blame people in China for being ignorant. Their media is heavily censored, and their government does everything it can to skew their picture of the outside world. Hopefully the kind of economic progress embraced by the Chinese government will have a corrosive effect on all this censorship. The people of China need to be better informed. For that matter, so do most Americans.
I would like to go to Yunnan in China, but yesterday I was reading about these people that ran into the Kunming Train Station and stabbed 29 people to death. Not in a big hurry to go to Yunnan now!
China has sent two probes to the moon. Neither of these probes has accomplished much, but it's good to see people bothering with space exploration. The US seems very threatened by the Chinese space program, but this might be a good thing. Given the rate at which we are exhausting many of the Earth's resources, looking beyond the Earth for some of these resources might become more practical in the future.
I think a strong Japan is better for Taiwan. Japan has no military ambitions with regard to Taiwan, and a strong Japan distracts China from other territorial disputes. Right now the Chinese are threatening Japan over China's newly declared "no-fly zone," which covers much of the waters between Japan, China, and Taiwan. Taiwan has wisely stayed out of this argument, which might otherwise threaten more concrete Taiwanese interests.
Many Westerners like to point their finger at China and say something like: "You people are destroying your environment, and you people are oppressors, and you people are all just bad, bad, BAD!" But let us not forget that many of the companies doing the polluting in China are exporting to Western countries, and that much of the oppression goes hand-in-hand with the Chinese "economic miracle" that has made goods in places such as Wal-Mart so cheap. China bears much of the political and environmental cost of Western economic activity, and those living in Chinese houses shouldn't throw stones.
Especially if those stones were also made in China.
9. Hengchun's "Old City" 恆春古城 (March 2014)
Here are few pictures I took of Hengchun's Old City. Hengchun is a municipality in Ping Tung County, and the Old City is just a few minutes' drive away from Kenting National Park. 這些照片是在恆春古城拍的. 恆春鎮位於屏東縣, 靠近墾丁國家公園.
Hengchun has a bit more history than most other parts of Taiwan. It was fortified at the end of the Ching Dynasty, as part of their bid to "lay claim" to Taiwan. The city walls were built after 1874, in response to the "Mu Dan Incident" involving an altercation between a group of Japanese nationals and local aborigines. 恆春相較於台灣其他地區來說有較久的歷史. 這座古城蓋於清朝末年, 在日本人跟原住民之間發生牡丹社事件後, 在1874年以後完成城牆建設.
Pictured above is the South Gate of the city. This is in downtown Hengchun. During the Ching Dynasty, this gate would have been connected to other gates by a wall that encircled the city. There are similar gates in Hsinchu and Tainan. 上面是恆春的南門. 南門位於恆春市區. 清朝的時候這些城門都有城牆連接鞏固城內安全. 新竹市跟台南市也有這種城門.
This is a closer look at the South Gate. I would have loved to walk up to the top, but there is no way to do this. A small placard near the entrance explains the history of this gate in Chinese and English. 這張照片可以更近地看到它的樣貌. 我那時候很想爬到上面去, 可是沒辦法. 城門前面有中,英文牌子介紹這個城門的歷史.
The sections of the wall that once encircled the city are still intact on the other side of Hengchun. Many tour buses stop through here, but it isn't that crowded. The weather was very nice that day, and it was a good place for a walk. 恆春的另外一邊還可以看到部分城牆. 很多遊覽車會停在這裡, 只是人並不多. 那天天氣很好, 很適合散步.
This is in the same location, looking in the opposite direction. 同一個地點, 從不同的方向看過來.
A view of the mountains from the city wall. I don't know of any trails in the area, but I'm sure there are a few. It looks like a great area for hiking. I've also heard of a triathlon that passes through here, though I have never joined it. 從城牆上看到的山景. 我不知道這附近有沒有步道, 看起來滿適合爬山的. 聽說恆春也舉辦鐵人三項賽, 可是我還沒參加過.
I knew what this thing was but now I have forgotten! Don't go in there unless you like snakes! 我忘了這是做什麼用的了. 不喜歡蛇的人不要進去.
This thing with all the poles is used for a local festival. Apparently they tie ropes to the metal girders, and everyone climbs to the top. 這個東西是當地盛典使用的. 看起來好像很多人會利用繩子爬到最上面.
Oh, and if you visit Hengchun by car I would highly recommend driving into the mountains along highway 200 from Hengchun, or along highway 199 from Che Cheng. You can even do a loop around both highways, and it's a pretty drive. Near the Mudan Township Office, off highway 199, there is a memorial for the "Mudan Incident." It isn't exactly awe-inspiring, but it's definitely historic. 你如果開車去恆春的話, 建議你從恆春開公路200線或從車城開公路199往山區, 你也可同時走這兩條路繞一大圈. 這附近的風景很漂亮. 在199上, 靠近牡丹公所有一個牡丹社事件的紀念牌. 它雖不是美的讓你目瞪口呆, 卻是實實在在的充滿歷史感.
10. Mixing Memories (March 2014)
For a while my main hobby was mixology. Mixology, in case you didn't already know, is the practice of mixing alcoholic drinks. This is what bartenders do for a living, and this is why many bartenders must attend - you guessed it - mixology school before they become bartenders.
I'm not really sure what got me interested in mixing drinks. When I first came to Taiwan I wasn't a big consumer of liquor, though I have always been fond of gin. I couldn't stand whiskey for the longest time, and it wasn't until I tried some of the single malt scotches that I developed an appreciation for it.
Whatever got me interested in mixology, I remember buying my first book about mixed drinks when I lived in Hsinchu 新竹. From that point on I was visiting every liquor store I came across, in search of any brand of any liquor that I hadn't already tried. I realize that this makes me sound like a major alcoholic, but I was really quite moderate in my consumption. I was happy just to taste a new liquor, and I wasn't trying to get drunk.
After a few months of careful purchases, I had a pretty good selection of liquor in my house, all housed within a wooden shelf behind my living room TV. I had two kinds of gin, several kinds of whiskey, tequila, two kinds of vodka, bottles of wine, and a considerable selection of other spirits such as triple sec, creme de menthe, midori, and so on. The bottles looked very pretty in my living room, especially when we lit the candles.
I'd like to think I got pretty good at mixing drinks. To this day I can make a bloody mary from memory, without resorting to a mix. In my time as an freelance bartender, I probably made dozens of screwdrivers, old fashioneds, and margaritas for friends and acquaintances. One of my favorite things was making a "new" drink for someone, and having them enjoy the results.
Sometimes my Taiwanese friends would grow very intimidated in the presence of my liquor cabinet, but once I made them a drink or two everything was understood. It really wasn't about getting drunk for me. I just enjoyed mixing drinks. Mixing these drinks at home was also much cheaper, and I tended to enjoy a higher quality of liquor. If you've ever looked at the labels used in most Taiwanese bars, you'll know that what they're offering is the cheapest option available.
After moving back to Taichung 台中, I carried my bar with me. At one point my bottles covered an entire huge table in our little apartment, and when mixing drinks I actually had to think about what brand of liquor to use in a particular drink. Friends, aware of my new hobby, started giving me bottles, and the whole thing got kind of crazy. After a while I managed to pare down my collection, but it took a lot of willpower and polite refusals to do so.
Getting rid of all the liquor made my life less complicated, but I do miss my liquor cabinet at times. It was a nice conversation starter, and a nice way to break the ice with new friends. Perhaps one day I'll amass a similar collection, though nothing, I hope, so dauntingly large as what I had in Taichung.
If you live in Taiwan, it's impossible not to think about China. Taiwan was, after all, once part of China, and many people in Taiwan and China claim that Taiwan is still part of China, or that China is still part of Taiwan, or something like that. It all gets very confusing, and when I think about it too hard I get a headache.
Taiwan's economy is heavily dependent on China's economy. Many Taiwanese factories have relocated to the Mainland, and all Taiwanese banks now handle transactions in Renminbi, China's currency. I think that Taiwan's businessmen are, on average, quite good at hedging their bets between China, Japan, and the US, so I'm not too worried about Taiwan's dependence on China. In some ways, the US is even more dependent on China than Taiwan is.
I often wonder if and when China will implode. I have the feeling that China's government is attempting to maintain itself through economic growth alone, without considering the individual rights and freedoms that make countries such as Taiwan more attractive to live in. I cannot help but think that China's less privileged classes are going to make their voices heard soon, and they are going to want the rights denied them.
If the result of economic "progress" is that everyone in China gets to live a Western lifestyle, what does that mean for the rest of the world? The environmental repercussions of this drive towards a Western lifestyle are already making themselves felt. Air pollution is an increasingly large problem there, with correspondingly negative effects on public health. Food safety is another issue of mounting importance, as Chinese producers turn to factory farming to supply a population hungry for beef, pork, and chicken.
Some foreign commentators are very satisfied over this development, but let us remember that smog does not just remain in China - it goes wherever the wind carries it. The same could be said of whatever pollution China is creating in the oceans, whatever diseases may be incubating there, and whatever political unrest might be fermenting because of bad government and bad living conditions. Sorry to welcome these foreign commentators to our global village, but a problem for China today will be a problem for everyone tomorrow.
I've been to China proper for about 5 seconds altogether. I've been to Hong Kong a few times, and of course I live in Taiwan, but I've gone into the "real" China exactly once. I took the train from Hong Kong north into the Mainland, to Shenzen, which is a big industrial center. It was hot, it was dusty, and I was understandably unimpressed by what I saw.
The only Mainlanders I tend to see are at the Family Mart near my house, where the tour buses stop on their way around the island. They spend a lot of time milling around the Family Mart, many of them amazed by the most commonplace items. I feel sorry for the lady that works in the Family Mart, because they often try to argue down the price on items that are already very cheap. "How much are these cigarettes?" a man from China says, "50 NT? Do you have any cigarettes for less?" "No," says the Family Mart lady for the hundredth time, "These are the cheapest cigarettes we have..."
It's hard to blame people in China for being ignorant. Their media is heavily censored, and their government does everything it can to skew their picture of the outside world. Hopefully the kind of economic progress embraced by the Chinese government will have a corrosive effect on all this censorship. The people of China need to be better informed. For that matter, so do most Americans.
I would like to go to Yunnan in China, but yesterday I was reading about these people that ran into the Kunming Train Station and stabbed 29 people to death. Not in a big hurry to go to Yunnan now!
China has sent two probes to the moon. Neither of these probes has accomplished much, but it's good to see people bothering with space exploration. The US seems very threatened by the Chinese space program, but this might be a good thing. Given the rate at which we are exhausting many of the Earth's resources, looking beyond the Earth for some of these resources might become more practical in the future.
I think a strong Japan is better for Taiwan. Japan has no military ambitions with regard to Taiwan, and a strong Japan distracts China from other territorial disputes. Right now the Chinese are threatening Japan over China's newly declared "no-fly zone," which covers much of the waters between Japan, China, and Taiwan. Taiwan has wisely stayed out of this argument, which might otherwise threaten more concrete Taiwanese interests.
Many Westerners like to point their finger at China and say something like: "You people are destroying your environment, and you people are oppressors, and you people are all just bad, bad, BAD!" But let us not forget that many of the companies doing the polluting in China are exporting to Western countries, and that much of the oppression goes hand-in-hand with the Chinese "economic miracle" that has made goods in places such as Wal-Mart so cheap. China bears much of the political and environmental cost of Western economic activity, and those living in Chinese houses shouldn't throw stones.
Especially if those stones were also made in China.
9. Hengchun's "Old City" 恆春古城 (March 2014)
Here are few pictures I took of Hengchun's Old City. Hengchun is a municipality in Ping Tung County, and the Old City is just a few minutes' drive away from Kenting National Park. 這些照片是在恆春古城拍的. 恆春鎮位於屏東縣, 靠近墾丁國家公園.
Hengchun has a bit more history than most other parts of Taiwan. It was fortified at the end of the Ching Dynasty, as part of their bid to "lay claim" to Taiwan. The city walls were built after 1874, in response to the "Mu Dan Incident" involving an altercation between a group of Japanese nationals and local aborigines. 恆春相較於台灣其他地區來說有較久的歷史. 這座古城蓋於清朝末年, 在日本人跟原住民之間發生牡丹社事件後, 在1874年以後完成城牆建設.
Pictured above is the South Gate of the city. This is in downtown Hengchun. During the Ching Dynasty, this gate would have been connected to other gates by a wall that encircled the city. There are similar gates in Hsinchu and Tainan. 上面是恆春的南門. 南門位於恆春市區. 清朝的時候這些城門都有城牆連接鞏固城內安全. 新竹市跟台南市也有這種城門.
This is a closer look at the South Gate. I would have loved to walk up to the top, but there is no way to do this. A small placard near the entrance explains the history of this gate in Chinese and English. 這張照片可以更近地看到它的樣貌. 我那時候很想爬到上面去, 可是沒辦法. 城門前面有中,英文牌子介紹這個城門的歷史.
The sections of the wall that once encircled the city are still intact on the other side of Hengchun. Many tour buses stop through here, but it isn't that crowded. The weather was very nice that day, and it was a good place for a walk. 恆春的另外一邊還可以看到部分城牆. 很多遊覽車會停在這裡, 只是人並不多. 那天天氣很好, 很適合散步.
This is in the same location, looking in the opposite direction. 同一個地點, 從不同的方向看過來.
A view of the mountains from the city wall. I don't know of any trails in the area, but I'm sure there are a few. It looks like a great area for hiking. I've also heard of a triathlon that passes through here, though I have never joined it. 從城牆上看到的山景. 我不知道這附近有沒有步道, 看起來滿適合爬山的. 聽說恆春也舉辦鐵人三項賽, 可是我還沒參加過.
I knew what this thing was but now I have forgotten! Don't go in there unless you like snakes! 我忘了這是做什麼用的了. 不喜歡蛇的人不要進去.
This thing with all the poles is used for a local festival. Apparently they tie ropes to the metal girders, and everyone climbs to the top. 這個東西是當地盛典使用的. 看起來好像很多人會利用繩子爬到最上面.
 |
| Upper Left: Plaque Explaining the "Incident," Upper Right: Monument Erected by Japanese expeditionary force, Lower Left: Memorial for the "Incident," Lower Right: Mudan Train Station. |
Oh, and if you visit Hengchun by car I would highly recommend driving into the mountains along highway 200 from Hengchun, or along highway 199 from Che Cheng. You can even do a loop around both highways, and it's a pretty drive. Near the Mudan Township Office, off highway 199, there is a memorial for the "Mudan Incident." It isn't exactly awe-inspiring, but it's definitely historic. 你如果開車去恆春的話, 建議你從恆春開公路200線或從車城開公路199往山區, 你也可同時走這兩條路繞一大圈. 這附近的風景很漂亮. 在199上, 靠近牡丹公所有一個牡丹社事件的紀念牌. 它雖不是美的讓你目瞪口呆, 卻是實實在在的充滿歷史感.
10. Mixing Memories (March 2014)
For a while my main hobby was mixology. Mixology, in case you didn't already know, is the practice of mixing alcoholic drinks. This is what bartenders do for a living, and this is why many bartenders must attend - you guessed it - mixology school before they become bartenders.
I'm not really sure what got me interested in mixing drinks. When I first came to Taiwan I wasn't a big consumer of liquor, though I have always been fond of gin. I couldn't stand whiskey for the longest time, and it wasn't until I tried some of the single malt scotches that I developed an appreciation for it.
Whatever got me interested in mixology, I remember buying my first book about mixed drinks when I lived in Hsinchu 新竹. From that point on I was visiting every liquor store I came across, in search of any brand of any liquor that I hadn't already tried. I realize that this makes me sound like a major alcoholic, but I was really quite moderate in my consumption. I was happy just to taste a new liquor, and I wasn't trying to get drunk.
After a few months of careful purchases, I had a pretty good selection of liquor in my house, all housed within a wooden shelf behind my living room TV. I had two kinds of gin, several kinds of whiskey, tequila, two kinds of vodka, bottles of wine, and a considerable selection of other spirits such as triple sec, creme de menthe, midori, and so on. The bottles looked very pretty in my living room, especially when we lit the candles.
I'd like to think I got pretty good at mixing drinks. To this day I can make a bloody mary from memory, without resorting to a mix. In my time as an freelance bartender, I probably made dozens of screwdrivers, old fashioneds, and margaritas for friends and acquaintances. One of my favorite things was making a "new" drink for someone, and having them enjoy the results.
Sometimes my Taiwanese friends would grow very intimidated in the presence of my liquor cabinet, but once I made them a drink or two everything was understood. It really wasn't about getting drunk for me. I just enjoyed mixing drinks. Mixing these drinks at home was also much cheaper, and I tended to enjoy a higher quality of liquor. If you've ever looked at the labels used in most Taiwanese bars, you'll know that what they're offering is the cheapest option available.
After moving back to Taichung 台中, I carried my bar with me. At one point my bottles covered an entire huge table in our little apartment, and when mixing drinks I actually had to think about what brand of liquor to use in a particular drink. Friends, aware of my new hobby, started giving me bottles, and the whole thing got kind of crazy. After a while I managed to pare down my collection, but it took a lot of willpower and polite refusals to do so.
Getting rid of all the liquor made my life less complicated, but I do miss my liquor cabinet at times. It was a nice conversation starter, and a nice way to break the ice with new friends. Perhaps one day I'll amass a similar collection, though nothing, I hope, so dauntingly large as what I had in Taichung.
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