December 2018 - January 2019

1. What's Going On the Seventh Floor of My Apartment Building  我大樓7樓發生了什麼事

The garbage truck is coming.  垃圾車快到了.

Oh, wait.  I'm sorry.  That wasn't emphatic enough.  喔! 等一下.  不好意思,  我說的太小聲.

THE GARBAGE TRUCK IS COMING!!!  OH MY GOD THE GARBAGE TRUCK IS COMING!!!  EVERYBODY RUN TO THE ELEVATORS, BECAUSE THE GARBAGE TRUCK IS COMING!!!  垃圾車快到了!!!  我的天, 垃圾車快到了!!!  大家趕快去搭電梯, 因為垃圾車快到了!!!

There, that's better.  好,  這樣子好多了.

...and, aside from the garbage truck coming, what else is going on the seventh floor of my apartment building?  除了垃圾車快到了之外, 在我們大樓七樓還發生了什麼事?

Well, for one thing, the nice lady that lives down the hall isn't home yet.  She works at Chu Lu Ranch, and she usually gets home right after the garbage truck arrives.  What does she do with her garbage, I wonder?  Does she store it in her house?  Does she consort with other garbage trucks, on other roads, at other times of day?  How does she do it?  我在想走廊另外一邊的公寓的小姐還沒到家.  她在初鹿牧場上班, 她通常在垃圾車走掉之後才回到家.  我不知道她怎麼處理她的垃圾,  她把垃圾儲藏在家裡?  她在不同的時間丟? 在其他的馬路丟? 或丟在其他的垃圾車嗎?  她到底怎麼處理她的垃圾?

By the smell of frying fish I know that "Weird Guy," her next door neighbor, is home.  Weird Guy lives all alone, except for the "special days" on which his "special lady friend" comes to visit him (for a fee, I think).  Everyone in our building hates Weird Guy, and Weird Guy hates everyone in our building.  Weird Guy used to be a taxi driver, but now he's in construction.  Weird Guy used to walk around his apartment nude in the summer, with only the screen door to partially conceal his nakedness.  If Weird Guy is waiting for the elevator and sees anyone coming, he'll pretend he wasn't waiting for the elevator at all, and he'll start walking around the downstairs courtyard.  聞到炸魚的味道, 所以我知道初鹿牧場的小姐的鄰居(Weird Guy)在家.  Weird Guy自己一個人住那間公寓, 但偶爾會有一位 "特別的小姐" 來他的公寓 (應該是要付費的那種小姐).  我們大樓所有的住戶討厭Weird Guy, Weird Guy也很討厭我們大樓所有的住戶.  以前Weird Guy是計程車司機, 現在則忙著建造業的工作.  以前夏天的時候, Weird Guy在公寓裡沒穿衣服走來走去, 只隔道紗門遮掩他的赤身露體.  如果Weird Guy在一樓等電梯並看到其他住戶走近電梯, Weird Guy就假裝不等電梯, 只在一樓大廳散步而已.

On the other side of Weird Guy there's a nice man who I sometimes talk to in the elevator.  Yes, after dumping the damn garbage in the damn truck.  This man is nice but he's extremely shy, and we never have that much to say to each other.  I have the feeling he is or was a college professor somewhere, but I'm not sure if this is only an impression or because of something someone told me.  Weird Guy的另外一邊有一位很客氣的先生.  我有時候在電梯裡跟他講話.  對了, 在把可惡的垃圾丟進可惡的垃圾車之後,   這個先生很客氣, 可是他非常害羞,  所以我們二個人對彼此都沒什麼好說的.  我想他曾經或者現在是哪裡的教授, 可是不知道這是我的感覺或是其他人跟我講的.

Next door to me there's a couple with a dog.  The woman is nice, but she seems like the kind of person with low self-esteem.  Her husband (boyfriend?) seems to be doing his military service.  Either that, or he just likes wearing camouflage.  They have a thin neurotic dog that lives in their doorway, and this dog is very curious about the cats that live in our apartment.  The nice woman with the seemingly low self-esteem works in one of the Taitung County Government offices, though I'm not sure which one.  I don't know if they're home now or not.  我們家隔壁是一對男女和一隻狗.  那位小姐很客氣, 也像有點自卑的那種人.  她的先生 (還是男朋友?) 好像在當兵.  他如果不是當兵就是喜歡穿迷彩服, 我不知道.  他們二個的狗又瘦又怕人, 也很好奇我們家裡的貓.  這位很客氣的小姐在縣政府某一個處室上班, 我不知道是哪一個, 我也不知道他們現在在不在家.

A family lives down the hall.  I don't know them at all.  They just moved in not long ago.  They have small children, and an older girl who I see in the elevator during THE TIMES WHEN THE GARBAGE TRUCK IS COMING OH MY GOD THE GARBAGE TRUCK IS COMING.  有個家庭住在走廊的盡頭.  我不認識他們.  他們剛搬進去那間公寓.  他們有小孩, 我在"天啊!垃圾車快到了的時候"在電梯裡見到年紀比較大的女兒.

And that's just my half of the building.  There's a whole other half that you can only reach by going over the roof, or going downstairs and taking the other elevator up to the seventh floor.  這些人都住在我這一半的7樓.  還有另外一半.  到那一半的7樓要走上去屋頂或是下樓坐另外一邊的電梯上7樓.

But I don't know any of the people living on the other half of the seventh floor.  At least I think I don't.  I might have talked to one of them while... waiting for the garbage truck.  但是我不認識7樓另外一邊的住戶.  至少我覺得是這樣子.  很可能我等垃圾車的時候跟其中一二個講過幾句話.

Which reminds me: THE GARBAGE TRUCK IS COMING.  講等垃圾車這件事讓我想到: 垃圾車快到了!

I'd better go.  我得走了.

2. Hello, Taitung Person 台東人你好 6

In the Hello, Taitung Person entries I'll be interviewing local residents.  They decide what kind of biographical information to include.  Some people are more private individuals, and I respect that.  Others are happy to make their presence known, and I respect that too.  在 "台東人你好" 這些文章中我會介紹當地的居民.  這些資訊是他們同意分享的.  有的人比較重視隱私,  有的人則開心地讓他人更認識自己.  我尊重這二者不同的做法.

All numbered questions were chosen randomly from a list of 51 questions.  下列編號的問題是隨機由五十個問題中選出來的. 

The thoughts and opinions expressed below belong to the person offering them, and may not be shared by the person writing this blog.  下列是被訪問者的想法與意見, 與寫這個blog的我不一定一樣.

First Name 名字: Jeff

Last Name 姓: Pike

Chinese Name 中文名字: (It's a secret! 這是秘密!)

Employment 工作地點: English Teacher 英語教師

Country of Origin 國家: USA 美國

Age 年齡: (It's a secret! 這是秘密!)

Length of Residence in Taiwan 居住在台灣的時間: 9 years 年

Place of Residence in Taitung 住在台東地區: Across the Beinan River 卑南溪的另一邊
Favorite Colors 最喜歡的顏色: blue 藍色

1. Q: What do you like to do?  你喜歡做什麼?

A: "What do I like to do..."  Uh, wow, I like to play with my son.  Um, I like to exercise, like ride my bike.  I like to hang out with my friends and play music.  And sometimes I really like to teach!  "我喜歡做什麼..."  嗯, 我喜歡跟我的兒子玩,  我喜歡運動, 我喜歡騎我的單車,  我喜歡跟朋友一起聊天跟玩音樂,  有時候我真的很喜歡教書!

2. Q: What do you like to eat?  What do you not like to eat?  你喜歡吃 什麼?  你不喜歡吃什麼?

A: Um, I like to eat vegetables and fruits.  I'm mostly vegetarian, but I do eat fish.  Uh... I don't like to eat fried food... or like, pigs or cows, you know.  嗯, 我喜歡吃蔬菜跟水果.  我通常吃素, 可是我也吃魚.  嗯... 我不喜歡吃炸的東西... 並且像豬肉和牛肉.

3. Q: What do you like least about Taiwan?  你不喜歡台灣什麼?

A: "Least about Taiwan..."  Uh... I miss being in an English culture where, for instance this is a small town and maybe like if I lived in a college town in the U.S. I could join a theater group or something.  Where... and my Chinese skills are very poor, so I know I'm missing out on a lot of cultural, you know, happenings.  So I kinda miss that.  "不喜歡的部分?"  嗯... 我想念以英文為母語的文化裡.  比方說, 如果我在美國住在大學附近的小鎮的話, 我可以參加戲劇社團或其他的活動.  在... 我的中文很差, 所以我知道自己錯過了很多文化活動.  我有點想念參與活動的快樂.

4. Q: What is best in life?  生命中最美好的事情是什麼?

A: "What is best in life?"  Well being alive!  I think special moments. Like waking up to the present moment I guess.  Playing music with your friends.  Having fun with my son.  Just being in the moment, being truly alive.  Doing what you love.  "生命中最美好的事情?"  當然是活著這件事!  我想就像覺知當下.  跟朋友玩音樂,  跟我兒子玩,  就是享受當下, 真正的活著.  做喜愛的事.

5. Q: Are you self-employed?  And if not, would you like to be?  What type of work?  你自己開業嗎?  如果不是, 你想要嗎?  哪一種工作?

A: No, I work for the government, so I guess I'm a Democrat Socialist, huh?  I'm a teacher, for the public schools.  I enjoy my job, so...  I'm fine with being employed by the government.  我在公家機關上班.  我大概算是民主社會主義者, 對不對?  我在公立學校當教師.  我喜歡我的工作, 所以...  我對政府的工作很滿意.

6. Q: How could Taiwan be better?  台灣哪裡可以更好?

A: Oh gosh.  Well I think Taiwan is great.  Glad I live here.  "How could it be better?"  Uh, maybe you know - we're pretty good here - some of the big cities - bad pollution, so if we could get off the coal plants and get more into, you know, alternative energy, stop burning ghost money, stuff like that.  It's slowly happening, but I think Taiwan could be better environmentally.  Less air pollution.  哇.  我想台灣很好.  我喜歡住這裡.  "哪裡可以更好?"  嗯, 有可能 - 我們這裡的狀況不錯 - 有的大都市 - 污染的問題很嚴重, 所以如果不再使用煤電廠, 多利用替代能源, 不燒金紙等.  這些事情慢慢的改變了, 可是我想台灣的環境還可以更好.  要減少空氣污染.

7. Q: Where are you going after this interview?  這個訪問結束之後你要去哪裡?

A: [Laughing]  You can put that laughing.  Not sure!  Where am I going?  I've gotta go fill up my water container.  Get some filtered water.  I'm either going home or going to the store.  [在笑]  你可以寫我在笑.  不確定!  我要去哪裡?  我要去把水桶裝滿.  買濾過水.  我不是回家就是去買東西.

8. Q: What countries have you visited?  你去過哪些國家?

A: Oh jeez.  About 14.  Which ones?  You want me to list all of them?  Well, I've lived in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Germany, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia. Lao, India.  Is that 14?  What is that?  Is that it?  ...thought it was more.  Throw in Japan, too.  I forgot about Japan.  Actually I've been to Philippines, too.  I've lived in Taiwan, the U.S., and Japan.  天啊.  十四個左右.  哪一些?  你要我說全部的國家嗎?  好, 我住過美國, 加拿大, 墨西哥, 危地馬拉, 德國, 台灣, 泰國, 越南, 柬埔寨, 寮國, 印度.  總共十四個嗎?  是不是?  還有嗎?  我想還有其他的...  日本也算.  我忘記了日本.  其實我也去過菲律賓.  我住過台灣, 美國跟日本.

9. Q: What do you like most about Taiwan?  你最喜歡台灣哪一個部份?

A: What do I like most about Taiwan?  People are very friendly.  It's a beautiful environment.  We live in a beautiful place, Taitung.  Beach and the mountains.  The food is good.  I'm mostly vegetarian, vegetarian food is great here.  So, I mean the people, the environment, the food.  Yeah, those three.  我最喜歡台灣哪一個部份?  這裡的人很親切.  環境很美.  我們住在漂亮的台東.  海灘跟高山.  食物很好.  我通常吃素, 這裡的素食餐廳很不錯.  所以, 我的意思是這裡的人, 環境, 食物這三樣都很好.

10. Q: Does Taiwan's history interest you?  Why or why not?  你對台灣的歷史有興趣嗎?  為什麼?

Yes, it interests me.  But especially the recent history, and the aboriginal history.  How the aboriginals... I've learned that the aboriginal culture came here first, if you go way back... and it spread out all through Austronesia, right?  So that's very fascinating to me.  You know how we have 13 tribes here.  And the recent political culture too.  How it's gone to democracy.  From a one party rule to a vibrant democracy.  對, 我有興趣.  特別有興趣的是近代歷史跟原住民的歷史.  原住民怎麼... 我知道原住民文化很久以前最先來到這裡... 然後發展傳到南島區不是嗎?  所以我認為很有趣.  你知道, 有十三個原住民族對不對?  還有近代的政治歷史.  如何成為民主政治.  從一黨制到現代化的民主國家.

3. 民族復興節 "National Revival Day"

The following was taken from the book "Chinese Holiday Stories 中國節日故事."  This book was published by ACME Cultural Enterprise Co., Ltd. 世一文化事業股份有限公司 in 2000.

民族復興節

"National Revival Day"

十二月二十五日

December 25

民國十六年, 日本軍人田中義一組織內閣, 執掌政權; 自從那時候起, 便積極展開對中國的侵略, 故意製造各種事端, 公然挑釁.  In the 16th year after the founding of the Republic of China, the Japanese military officer Tanaka Giichi** formed a cabinet, and took control of Japan.  From that time [Japan] was a continual threat to China, and the [Japanese] manufactured various "incidents" and publicly provoked [the Chinese state].

先總統  蔣公深深明白 "攘外必先安內" 的道理, 因此, 積極致力於國內的統一於安定.  The first President, Chiang Kai-shek, deeply understood the importance of "first achieving domestic [internal] tranquility before dealing with external threats."  For this reason he actively pursued domestic stability.***

在政府軍的努力下, 到了民國二十四年, 共黨勢力已被大為削弱, 國內逐漸呈現穩定狀態.  Thanks to the efforts of the military, in the 24th year of the Republic of China, the strength of the communist party was greatly diminished, and the domestic situation slowly stabilized.

不料, 民國二十五年十二月, 西安駐軍將領張學良, 楊虎城受到共黨的煽動, 竟挾持當時的軍事委員長  蔣中正先生, 並提出聯合蘇俄, 容納共黨, 推翻政府等八項極為荒謬的主張.  政府軍立即派兵北上征伐, 雙方僵持不下, 但在同時, 和平營救的努力也不斷在進行著.  In December of the 25th year of the Republic of China, the generals Jang Shui-liang and Yang Hu-cheng of the Xian Garrison somehow fell under the sway of the communists, and they held Generalissimo Chiang kai-shek prisoner for some time.  They wanted to align with Soviet Russia, and make accommodations to the communist party.  They wanted to overthrow [the KMT] government, and put forward eight absurd claims.  The government then ordered troops north to oppose them, and the two sides fought to a standstill.  At the same time, efforts at peacemaking were ongoing.

最後, 在宋子文等人的奔走勸導, 及張學良看了  蔣委員長的日記及文件後, 終於良知發現, 親自護送  蔣委員長回南京.  那一天, 正是民國二十五年的十二月二十五日.  In the end Song Dze-wen and others came to the rescue, and after seeing Generalissimo Chiang's diaries and other writings Jang Shui-liang finally came to his senses and personally escorted Generalissimo Chiang back to Nanjing.  The day [of Chiang Kai-shek's arrival in Nanjing] was December 25, during the 25th year of the Republic of China.

由於  蔣委員長的脫險, 才得以在次年領導抗戰, 復興中華; 因此, 後來政府便定那天為民族復興節.  Thanks to the Generalissimo Chiang's escape from danger, during the following year he was able to lead the battle to recapture China [from the Japanese].  Afterward the government declared this day National Revival Day.

4. Another Day in "Scenic Kaohsiung" 在風景美好高雄的一日

I'd like to think I know Kaohsiung pretty well.  I've never lived in that city, but during 19 years of living in Taiwan I've visited the place countless times.  It helps that my mother-in-law lives there.  It also helps that it's the closest big city to Taitung, where I live.*  我想我蠻了解高雄的,  雖然我沒有住過那個城市, 可是我在台灣的十九年內去了高雄多次.  我岳母住那裏, 高雄也是最靠近台東的大城市.

After parking our car near the Martial Arts Stadium we took the MRT to Shidzewan.  This picture was taken down the road from that MRT station.  Sun Yat-sen University is on the other side of that hill in the background, and the Old British Consulate at Takow** is on the ridge to the left.  我們把車停在技擊館附近之後坐捷運去西子灣.  這張照片是在捷運站附近的路上拍的.  中山大學在背景的山坡後面, 打狗英國領事館在山坡上的左邊.

During the Ching Dynasty Kaohsiung was just a sleepy fishing village.***  Later the Japanese modernized the port.  Later still a lot of factory areas sprung up in that area.  Nowadays it's one of Taiwan's largest cities.  清朝時候的高雄只是一個小漁村.  日治時期日本人將它建設成現代化的港口, 沒多久很多工廠在那附近出現.  現在高雄是台灣最大城市中的一個.

From the ferry terminal you can take a ferry to Chijin Beach, which is the mildly scenic spit of land on the other side of the port.  I've been there a couple times, and I feel the need to warn you that it's NOT awesome.  Want a somewhat interesting interesting place to eat seafood?  Sure, go to Chijin.  Just DON'T go there expecting Kenting.  從渡輪碼頭可以坐船到漁港另外一邊的旗津, 那裡風景不怎樣.  我去過二次, 我覺得那裏不怎麼好玩.  想去不一樣的地方吃海鮮的話, 你大概會覺得旗津不錯.  不要期待那裡像墾丁就好了.

Look at that smog.  Kaohsiung certainly has its share of air pollution, though the local government has been working on the problem.  Some of this smog may originate in Xiamen, across the Taiwan Strait.  看一下那邊的空氣.  高雄的空氣品質不好, 可是當地政府很勇敢的面對這個問題.  有可能部分的空氣污染是從台灣海峽的另外一邊的廈門來的.

I love boats.  There are hundreds (thousands?) of them around here.  我超愛船.  這裡到處都有.

Looking south.  If you're ever lost in Kaohsiung just look for the 85 Skytower, that building in the center.  Pretty much everything interesting in Kaohsiung is located within a few MRT stops of that building.  往南邊看.  如果你在高雄迷路的話, 只要找照片中間的85大樓就好了.  高雄大多數有趣的地點都在85大樓附近的捷運站旁.

This is the ferry terminal.  To the left of the entrance, down the street there are a few good restaurants.  One of these restaurants was selling "coffee fried rice."  I thought about eating it, but my courage failed me.  這是渡輪碼頭.  大門的左邊附近有幾家很不錯的餐廳.  有一家也賣咖啡炒飯, 我考慮過要不要吃, 最後不敢.

Shidzewan is not a bad area to walk around.  The hill at the end of the street is Shou Mountain, where the Kaohsiung Zoo is.  I STRONGLY recommend not going to the Kaohsiung Zoo.  It's second-worst zoo I've been to, the worst being a weird "zoo" I went to in Thailand where people hit monkeys with sticks.  在西子灣散步不錯.  馬路盡頭的小山坡是壽山,  高雄的動物園在那裏.  我強烈建議不要去高雄動物園.  那邊是我去過的動物園中最慘的第二名.  第一名是在泰國的 "動物園", 那裏的管理員用棍子打猴子.

In Shidzewan there are many interesting temples tucked behind houses and stores.  Aside from the smog, it wouldn't be a bad area to live in.  在西子灣有很多有意思的廟被房子和商店藏起來了.  除了空氣污染之外, 住在這個社區大概不錯.

After Shidzewan we went to a few department stores.  FE (Far Eastern) 21, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi and Sogo.  This picture was taken in the Jung Shing Night Market, close to the San Duo Shopping District MRT Station.  在西子灣之後我們去逛百貨公司,  大遠百, 新光三越跟太平洋百貨.  這張照片是在三多商圈站附近的中興夜市拍的.

I've spent more hours in this FE 21 than I care to think about.  Next to it is the good 'ol 85 Skytower, which looks ready to transform into a giant robot any day now.  我花過無數小時在這棟大遠百.  在百貨旁邊的建築是85大樓.  85大樓好像隨時準備變形的機器人.

And this is what the Kaohsiung MRT looks like at 5:30 pm on a Saturday.  So many people you have trouble breathing.  To be fair this is the Formosa Boulevard Station, where the two MRT lines intersect.  這是禮拜六下午5:30的高雄捷運.  人多到呼吸困難.  這是紅線跟黃線交會的美麗島站.

5. The Countries Next Door 鄰近的國家

Chinese New Year is on the way, and some of my friends are already talking about trips they're taking during winter break.  One foreign friend is taking his wife and son to the Philippines.  Another foreign friend is going back to the States.  A Taiwanese friend is going to the Maldives and Malaysia.  農曆新年快到了, 有幾個朋友已經開始討論寒假要去哪裡玩.  有一個外國朋友要帶他的太太跟兒子去菲律賓, 一個外國朋友要回美國,  還有一個台灣朋友要去馬爾第夫跟馬來西亞.

Me?  My family and I are going to the Kyoto/Osaka area for a little over a week.  We'll probably stay in Taipei on the way back.  We're coming back from Japan just before the Chinese New Year holiday, and a visit with my wife's relatives in north Taiwan seems likely.  我?  我們家要去京都和大阪一個禮拜.  之後大概會在台北幾天.  我們從日本回來時就快到春節了, 應該會在北台灣跟我太太的家人見面.

Thinking about my upcoming trip to Japan (and maybe Taipei), it's impossible not to think of all the other trips we've taken from Taiwan to nearby countries.  Thailand was the first, a country I've visited several times since.  After that I think we went to Malaysia and Singapore.  Still later, after my first daughter was born, we went to South Korea.  I'm not sure about the order of other trips we've taken, but we've also been to Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan (Okinawa), Hong Kong, and most recently Bali, in Indonesia.  Of course some of these trips were more fun than others, but I have good memories from all of them, and I wouldn't mind visiting any of those places again.  一想到要去日本 (跟台北) , 我就想起以前去過的鄰近國家.  泰國是第一個, 我們之後還再去了幾次.  泰國以後, 我們去了馬來西亞跟新加坡.   我的大女兒出生之後, 我們去南韓.  其他旅行的順序我記不清楚了, 我們也去過越南, 柬埔寨, 日本 (琉球), 香港還有最近的印尼峇里島.  當然有的國家的旅行經驗比較好, 可是每次旅行都有好的回憶.  我也願意再去這些國家旅行.

One of the great things about Taiwan is that you can visit all of these places in just a few hours.  They're all in the same neck of the woods, so to speak, and transit through Hong Kong or Kuala Lumpur makes even more destinations possible.  Countless international flights leave from Taipei and Kaohsiung, and I've even heard that you can now fly direct from Taichung to Siem Reap, in Cambodia.  台灣的一個好處就是去這些國家只要幾個小時的時間.  它們都在同一個地區, 在香港或是吉隆波轉機可以方便的去更多的地方.  無數的國際航班從台北跟高雄起飛.  我最近也聽說從台中可以直飛到柬埔寨的暹粒市.

I like sitting at work and thinking about all the places I could go.  It's nice to have that escape valve handy when life in Taiwan becomes repetitive, annoying, difficult and/or stressful.  Sometimes it's best just to press the pause button on Taiwan, and go mess around in the rest of East or Southeast Asia for a while.  It's not that hard to do, and in many cases it's not even that expensive.  我喜歡坐在辦公室想可以去玩的地點.  當台灣的生活變得很無聊, 很煩, 很困難或是壓力太大的時候, 能有逃開的機會真好.  有時候按一下臺灣的 "暫停鍵" 去東亞或是東南亞走走不是難事, 也不一定貴.

Not that anyone need feel too bad if they don't have the time or money to venture off the island.  Sometimes just leaving your city or county is enough, and Chinese New Year - aside from difficulties with local transportation - offers the opportunity to do just that.  Last Chinese New Year we didn't go anywhere, we just wandered around downtown Taipei and Keelung for a week, and that was fine.  Sometimes, I dare say, going to other countries is more trouble than it's worth.  Staying home is sometimes the better option.  我的意思不是時間太短, 錢不夠, 或沒辦法出國的人要覺得很失望.  有時候只要去外縣市就好.  春節 - 除了交通不方便之外 - 給所有人這種機會.  去年寒假我們留在台灣, 在台北和 基隆逛街.  有時候出國很麻煩, 留在家裡反而是最好的選擇.

Whether you're staying in Taiwan or headed elsewhere, I hope you have a good Chinese New Year.  Enjoy your family, if you'll be with them.  Enjoy your friends if you won't.  Try to do at least one stupid/embarrassing/dangerous/questionable thing, and if nothing else you'll have a story to tell.  Because that's all a trip really is, isn't it?  A story to tell, later on.  不管你是要留在台灣還是前往其他地方, 我想祝你有一個快快樂樂的春節.  跟家人在一起的人享受天倫, 離家人很遠的人要享受與朋友在一起的樂趣.  大家應該試著做一件笨笨/丟臉/危險/沒有意義的事.  這樣子才有好玩的故事可以分享.  因為我們都為了有故事才去旅行不是嗎?  有故事可以說就好了.

Happy 2019, by the way.  By the time your read this the four-day New Year's weekend will be upon us, and after that Chinese New Year is right around the corner.  The Year of the Pig (Boar) is coming, and having a good meal sometime this weekend would be a good way of getting ready for that.  最後祝2019快樂.  你看這文章時表示四天連假已經來臨了, 連假過後新年就快到了.  明年是豬年, 這周末吃大餐也可以算是為豬年做準備.

6. What's Going on in Taitung 台東最近發生的事 9

Local news from the past week or so. 上禮拜台東地區的新聞.

1. Local residents can stay in Jer Ben's Kao Ye Hotel for a reduced price.  The article says it's free, but it's not really free.  台東居民住知本高野大飯店有優惠.  報告說免費, 可是還是要付點錢.

2. Greater white-fronted geese been migrating into the area in advance of a cold front that's moving in from the northeast.  隨著東北季風增強, 白額雁遷徙過冬現踪台東.

3. A ceremony was held on Christmas at the Taitung County Arts Center to inaugurate the new County Magistrate, Rao Ching-ling.  聖誕節當天, 台東縣新任縣長饒慶鈴在文化處藝文中心演藝廳舉行宣誓就任.

4. With installation of new lighting for night games, professional baseball teams might be coming to Taitung's baseball stadium this year.  台東棒球場設夜間照明設備後將有機會再見中華職棒賽.

5. As is usual around New Year, the roads leading into Taitung and Pingtung Counties had their share of traffic jams.  每年元旦假期, 往屏東台東的路都會塞車.

6. Members of the Forest Management Bureau sent into the southern part of Taiwan's Central Mountain Range near "Little Devil Lake" recently discovered a stand of Taiwan cypresses.  台東林區管理處的13人小組在中央山脈小鬼湖附近發現上百棵紅檜.*

7. The wet, cold weather has had an unexpected benefit - plum trees are blossoming longer.  天氣濕冷有好處, 台東梅花陸續綻放.

8. In related news, 2018 passed us by without a single typhoon alert for the Taitung area.  Climate change is... good for us?  相關的新聞, 台東2018年沒有颱風警報.  氣候變遷對台東有好處吧?

9. There was a flag-raising ceremony to commemorate the founding of the Republic of China (Taiwan) near Tie Hua Village.  鐵花路附近舉辦了108年升旗開國紀念活動.

10. Over the four-day weekend a serious traffic accident occurred near Pete's Pizza.  A 20 year old man on a scooter was killed.  四天連假的時候, 披薩阿伯附近發生了恐怖的車禍.  一位20歲的機車騎士被撞死了.

11. In line with the County Government's focus on travel and tourism, the head of the local Office of Agriculture announced new policies to help local farmers increase profits.  台東縣政府農業處長說今年將結合農業與觀光, 讓新的政策幫農民賺大錢.***

12. The Huai Ren Buddhist Association has donated emergency and service vehicles to both the Taitung County Government and local township health offices to help those in more rural areas requiring medical assistance.  佛教懷仁基金會捐贈偏鄉的各衛生所一輛醫療巡迴車及台東縣政府一輛公務車.  目標是提升偏鄉醫療.

13.  Earthquake!  There was a 4.7 magnitude earthquake at around 2 am this morning.  The article doesn't say so, but there was another one later in the morning.  地震!  早上2點發生規模4.7的地震.  報導沒說的是幾個小時之後又發生了一次地震.

14. A Panamanian container ship was blown off course near Chang Bin.  It was later taken to Hualien Port.  巴拿馬籍貨船在台東外海故障漂流.  拖船把它拖去花蓮港.

15. The department of agriculture and local firefighters are helping residents deal with bees and snakes.   農業處與消防局合作為民服務捕蜂捉蛇.

7. The Three-Character Poem 三字經 4

The first part of the Three-Character Poem can be found here.  The second part can be found here.  The third part, with an introduction, can be found here.  The Three-Character Poem (or "Three-Character Classic") consists of 1071 characters arranged in three-character sentences.

This entry brings us most of the way through the Three-Character Poem.  The next Three-Character Poem entry will bring us to the end.

三字經 The Three-Character Poem (4)

五子者
The five philosophers

有荀揚
Are Shun and Yang,
文中子
Wen Jong-dze,
及老莊
Lao and Juang. (1)
經子通
Once the Thirteen Classics and other books are understood, (2)
讀諸史
One can begin studying history.
考世系
They must be studied in order
知終始
From beginning to end. (3)
自羲農
From Xi, Nong,
至黃帝
To Huang Di (4)
號三皇
Known as the three kings
居上世
Lived in ancient times.
唐有虞
Tang and You Yu
號二帝
Known as the two kings
相揖遜
Relinquished their power (5)
稱盛世
For the good of the country.
夏有禹
The Xia had Yu,
商有湯
The Shang had Tang,
周文武
The Jhou had Wen and Wu,
稱三王
They are called the Three Kings. (6)
夏傳子
During the Xia kingship was passed from father to son,
家天下
And the country was like one big family.
四百載
In 400 years
遷夏社
The Xia passed away.
湯伐夏
Emperor Tang defeated the Xia,
國號商
The nation became Shang.
六百載
In 600 years
至紂亡
It passed away with Emperor Jhou. (7)
周武王
Emperor Wu of the Jhou,
始誅紂
Killed Emperor Jhou.
八百載
At 800 years
最長久
It was the longest.
周轍東
The Jhou moved east,
王綱墜
The prestige of the emperors diminished.
逞干戈
They grew warlike,
尚游說
And advisers were prevalent. (8)
始春秋
From the Spring and Autumn Period,
終戰國
To the Warring States. (9)
五霸彊
There were five strong lords,
七雄出
And seven states were born.
贏秦氏
Emperor Chin won out, (10)
始兼併
Absorbing smaller states.
傳二世
It lasted two generations,
楚漢爭
Battling Chu and Han.
高祖興
By their revered ancestor
漢業建
The Han Dynasty was established.
至孝平
The line survived until Ping,
王莽篡
Until usurped by Wang Mang.
光武興
Guang Wu established
為東漢
The Eastern Han.
四百年
It lasted 400 years,
終於獻
Until Xian. (11)
蜀魏吳
Shu, Wei and Wu (12)
分漢鼎
Contended over the Han spoils.
號三國
Called the Three Kingdoms,
迄兩晉
Up until the Eastern and Western Jin.
宋齊繼
The Song and Chi rose to power
梁陳承
Succeeded by the Liang and Chen.
為南朝
These southern dynasties
都金陵
Had their capital in Jin Ling.
北元魏
The northern Yuan Wei,
分東西
Was split into east and west.
宇文周
Yu Wen-jhou
與高齊
And Gao Chi. (13)
迨至隋
Up until the Suei
一土宇
Controlled everything.
不再傳
They had no successors,
失統緒
And their nation disappeared.
唐高祖
The revered ancestor of the Tang,
起義師
Restored order.
除隨亂
Ended the disorder left by the Suei,
創國基
Founded a new nation.
二十傳
Twenty generations,
三百載
300 years.
梁滅之
The Liang extinguished them,
國乃改
The name of the country changed.
梁唐晉
The later Liang, the later Tang, and the later Jin, (14)
及漢周
The later Han and Jhou.
稱五代
These are called the five eras,
皆有由
Fell for various reasons.
炎宋興
The Yan Song Emerged, (15)
受周禪
Succeeding the later Jhou.
十八傳
18 generations,
南北混
Disorder to the north and south.
遼與金
The Liao and the Jin,
皆稱帝
Both crowned themselves emperors.
元滅金
The Yuan destroyed the Jin, (16)
絕宋世
Bringing to an end the Song empire.
輿圖廣
The realm was vast,
超前代
Exceeding previous dynasties.
九十年
In 90 years
國祚廢
This dynasty's day had come and gone.
太祖興
The honored Tai arose,
國大明
Founding the Ming dynasty.
號洪武
From the time of Hong Wu, (17)
都金陵
The capital was in Jin Ling.
迨成祖
Up until the honored Cheng,
遷燕京
Moved the capital to Yan Jing,
十六世
16 generations
至崇禎
Up until Chong Jen.
權閹肆
Courtiers and eunuchs indulged themselves,
寇如林
Unrest filled the land.
李闖出
Li Chuang set forth,
神器焚
And burned it all to the ground. (18)
清世祖
The honored founder of the Ching dynasty,
膺景命
Appointed by heaven.
靖四方
Peace reigned,
克大定
And order pervaded.
由康雍
From the reign Kang and Yong,
歷乾嘉
To Chien and Jia.
民安富
The people were prosperous,
治績誇
They were ruled wisely.
道咸間
Up until the reigns of Shian and Jian,
變亂起
When disorder started.
始英法
England and France appeared,
擾都鄙

Menacing the capital from afar.

8. Assorted Thoughts at the End of the Semester 2

Hold on, this is going to be LONG.  My job is getting easier and easier as the semester winds down, so the nonsense you wade through below represents several days' worth of boredom.  Feel free to abandon this post before my weirdness infects your brain.

Tuesday, December 11

1. Facebook continues its slow death.  I usually log in when I'm at work just to avoid wearing my phone battery down when I use Messenger.  Granted the fact that I have far fewer FB friends since my old account got blocked, but almost none of my current friends have posted or liked anything.  One person keeps posting cat videos - the bane of many ex-Facebook users - but that's about it.

2. I've been trying to learn Python.  For those who don't know, Python is one of the two major programming languages in use today.  Most computer programmers learn either Python, which is newer, or Java, which is older and works better across different platforms.  I've got Python and Pycharm running on my home computer.  I've studied computers off and on throughout my life, and I'm finding Python fairly similar to Visual Basic.

3. It doesn't feel as cold as it should be.  The weather here's still warm.  Taitung never gets that cold, but for December it's pretty strange weather we're having.  The temperature at the time of writing is 27 degrees Celsius, or 81 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Deepika Padukone is so beautiful.  I was watching Chandni Chowk to China last night, and I couldn't help but feel a little lovesick every time she appeared onscreen.  Chandni Chowk to China is, by the way, one of the worst movies ever made.  Padukone was also in this year's Padmaavat, which is a much better film.

5. I had to renew my U.S. passport recently.  I can do this through the mail now so it's not so bad.  I just wish they'd hurry up and send me the new one.  After I get my new passport I also need to renew my ARC (Alien Resident Certificate), which expires next semester.  I'm eligible for the 10-year APRC (Alien Permanent Resident Certificate), but I think I might just renew for 3 years because it's less work.  The 10-year APRC is the same price per year, and would involve gathering extra documents.

6. I should also file back taxes with the U.S. soon.  I want to do this in case I should ever want to move back to the States (in the distant future).  If I ever do so my wife will need another green card, and that would require backfiling taxes.  I'm also tired of being paranoid about how much money I have in banks in either country.

7. I also need to re-register to vote.  My parents moved away (and sold) the house where I was born, and I believe I need to fill out the absentee voter application (again) for this reason.  I'll look into it, anyway.  I'm not sure if re-registering is really necessary.  With Trump up for reelection soon you can be damn sure I'm voting.

8. China.  My thoughts on China could take (and have taken) and entire blog entry by themselves, but let's just say that I'm thinking more and more about the reality of China, and how I might go about adjusting myself to that reality.  For me the first step will be applying for a 10-year tourist visa after I get my passport back, and provided I have enough time I want to visit Xiamen, the part of Fujian Province nearest Taiwan.  I feel the need to see more of China with my own eyes.  Like a lot of people in Taiwan, I've been relying on the opinions of others' on China for far too long, and I think I need to start experiencing whatever's over there for myself.  Provided I go, I'm sure I'll end up writing about it here at some point.*

9. Been watching a lot of Lars von Trier's movies lately.  I started with Antichrist, and from there moved on to Melancholia and Nymphomaniac.  I'd already seen Dogville not long after it appeared in theaters.  I don't know if I can call myself a "fan" of von Trier, and his more recent movies definitely aren't for the faint of heart, but there are a lot of interesting ideas in them.  Trier has a new movie, The House That Jack Built, which I've heard is his most disturbing yet.

Wednesday, December 12

10. The courier brought my new passport to my apartment building last night, but I wasn't there to pick it up and I'd forgotten to leave the delivery fee with our building's security guard.  I called the courier on the phone, and he said he'd be bringing it back tonight.  Hopefully the security guard remembers the money I left with him yesterday.

11. Going to see Aquaman at 7 pm.  I'm not super excited, but I'm expecting it to be good.  Anything's bound to be better than Justice League - which was terrible.  James Wan is a good director, and the movie looks colorful if nothing else.

12. Interviewed Jeff Pike at 85 Coffee after I got off work yesterday.  It didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would, and his answers to my questions were the most succinct so far.

13. There's a new duck restaurant near the corner of Geng Sheng Road 更生路 and Sse Wei Road 四維路.  Small portions, uncomfortable seating, and it's just not very good.  I doubt I'll ever go back there.

14. Shaved off my beard and got my hair cut last night.  The beard was too damn itchy in the (unseasonably) hot weather, and it would have been weird to shave off the beard and not cut my hair, too.  I feel much better now, even if my face is a little cold.

15. I'm starting to hate my English club, but there are only three more of them.  Today we'll be doing our textbook (Side by Side) for the last time.  Next week we'll be doing art, probably Christmas or Chinese New Year cards.  The last class will be a DVD, so that lesson will take care of itself.

I had to kick a kid out of my English club last week.  It was the first time I've had to do this.  He was leaving class, and as he was leaving he said, "Goodbye, stupid teacher!"  I immediately ran out behind him and told him he was not welcome in class anymore.  After that I told his homeroom teacher, who agreed with what I'd done.  I'm thinking this kid is only going to grow more annoying/rude as he approaches the sixth grade, but for now I'm happy that I don't have to see him on Wednesdays.

Thursday, December 13

1. Busy morning.  Spent the first period correcting papers, the second period doing a lesson on fruit, and the third and fourth periods making Christmas cards.  After that I went to the local Department of Immigration to ask whether or not I need to renew my ARC before going to China.

The answer to my question was yes, I need to renew it.  The reason was that I have a new passport - with a different passport number - and now my ARC and my passport don't match.  So tomorrow I have to go back there and apply for a new card.  It's a pain in the ass but I was kind of expecting it.

The guy behind the counter said the fastest I can get a new ARC is seven days.  This should be enough time, but we'll see...

2. Aquaman is terrible.  Don't bother.

3. After work I'm going to eat McDonald's.  I'm going running this evening, and I could use the calories.  I like McDonald's breakfast - in my opinion the best breakfast around - but their other menu items don't do much for me.  The thing about McDonald's is it's the only restaurant where I can load up on MEAT at 4 p.m.  Besides fast food my only other option is the vegetarian restaurant on Jeng Chi road 正氣路, and I'm pretty tired of that place.

Monday, December 17

1. Saw Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse yesterday.  That movie is awesome.  The battle inside the "singularity" at the end was one of the coolest-looking things I've ever seen.

2. Thinking about not swimming until next semester.  It's much colder today, and I doubt Friday will be much warmer.  I suppose I'll decide on Friday.

3. Spent Saturday trekking around Kaohsiung 高雄.  I've noticed that no matter what construction we encounter on Highway 9 or the Southern Cross-Island Highway 南迴公路 it always takes about 3.5 hours to get to Kaohsiung.  Why this is I cannot say.

We parked the car near the Martial Arts Stadium MRT Stop as usual.  From there we took the MRT to Shidzewan 西子灣, because in my mind the skies over Shidzewan were clear and everyone was having a good time.  After I arrived at Shidzewan I realized I was wrong about the clear skies and the everybody having a good time, but we walked around there a bit and I took some good pictures which followers of this blog would have seen already.

I was planning on taking the ferry across the harbor to Chi Jin 旗津, but one look at the smog dissuaded me.  Instead we found a place to eat lunch, found another weird abandoned place to walk around, and then headed back downtown for the usual round of department stores.

After we went to the department stores we wanted to go to this Japanese restaurant I found on Google.  We walked, and walked and walked, only to find that they didn't open for another hour.  So then we turned around and went to a Vietnamese restaurant that was almost all the way back where we started, and ate there.  Not awesome food, but I thought the chicken soup was good.

The MRT ride back from the San Duo Shopping District 三多商圈 was horrific by the way.  So many people.  Thankfully those people started to disperse after the Formosa Boulevard Stop 美麗島站, and every stop between Formosa Boulevard and the Martial Arts Stadium had more people leaving than were getting on.

4. Still thinking about China, air tickets and other options.  The second person at the Department of Immigration said it would take two weeks, NOT seven days to get that ARC, but at this point it doesn't make a lot of difference.

Tuesday, December 19

1. They're renovating the school's activity center, so dodgeball is out.  Guess it's movie time.

2. Any visa for Mainland China is $140 U.S.  I'm asking myself how bad I really want to go there.  This, and the government of Emperor-elect Xi reserves the right to determine whether this visa is single entry, double entry, or multiple entry.  Who knows what the criteria is?  There's no such information on their consulate's website.

3. That double salmon burger at McDonald's is surprisingly good.  I think I'll be having another one for dinner.  I sure do like salmon.

4. So where else could I go?  Jinmen 金門?  Matsu 馬祖?  Thailand?  Japan?  Laos?  Myanmar?  Philippines?  I've already been to Thailand and Japan on multiple occasions, but I wouldn't mind revisiting them.  Just going to Jinmen and/or Matsu sounds kind of boring, but those places would be ok for a short trip.  Almost went to Laos last time we were in Thailand.  Myanmar has always interested me, and my brother-in-law and his wife might be there.  I'm a bit skeptical about the Philippines, and even though it's really close I've never found the idea of going there that interesting.

I suppose that in the end you have to decide what aspects of a place really interest you.  The culture?  The food?  The shopping?  The natural places?  The cost of going there?  I'd rate Thailand and Japan very high in terms of culture and food.  Japan wins easily in terms of shopping.  Laos, Myanmar and the Philippines would win in terms of outdoor recreation.  The Philippines probably wins in terms of cost, though Laos is pretty close.

Decisions, decisions.  But it's always nice to have that kind of decision to make.

5. One of the people I work with is so stupid I start to get a headache every time I talk to him/her.  I will not say who this person is in case they happen to read this.  You just never know!

6. The Seahawks lost to the 49ers.  Of all teams, the 49ers.  They're still in the running for that wildcard, but I'm not optimistic.  However things go they'll be playing the Rams again at some point, and the Rams have already beaten them twice this season.  The Steelers are playing better, but they're also inconsistent.  They beat the Patriots yesterday, and they're 4th seed in the AFC.  I have trouble imagining the Rams NOT winning the Superbowl, but as a friend says it's football and anything can happen.

Thursday, December 20

1. Got invited to two Christmas parties and one New Year's party.  When did I become so popular?  Why would anyone want to waste their time hanging around me?

I can't go to either of the Christmas parties because we already reserved a table at the Sheraton 桂田飯店 for Christmas.  We figured treating ourselves to Peking duck was the right thing to do.  Maybe not the most Western thing to do, but of course it's Christmas in Taiwan and - even worse - Christmas in Taitung.  There's just not that much Western stuff to go around.

2. I'm really f*%king tired of cutting up sheets of construction paper.  Last week, this week and next week we're making Christmas and Chinese New Year cards, and the making of these cards requires that I spend a lot of time cutting red, green and yellow paper into small card-sized sheets.  The actual Christmas card lesson takes care of itself, but I'm getting real tired of cutting the paper for it.

3. I don't like to think about what the powdered Starbucks coffee is doing to my insides.  I drink it anyway.

Saturday, December 22

1. This whole day is an extended journey into boredom.  We have to work today to make up for December 31, a day that turns next weekend into a four-day weekend.  I despise working Saturdays, and I'd rather just go to work on December 31.

To make things worse, the fourth graders are on their field trip to Jer Ben Forest Recreation Area 知本森林遊樂區 today, so I only have one class, in the afternoon.  Until then I'm jockeying the 'ol computer with little else to do.  I'm not alone in this situation, but it doesn't make it any less boring.

I spent a lot of this morning writing about the von Trier movies I watched.  I also took a couple walks around campus.  We're at work but many of us have very little to do, so we're all suffering together.

2. When I get off work today I need BEER.  Yes, that's what I need.

3. Oh, and today is the winter solstice.  This means that most Taiwanese people will make an effort to have "glutinous sweet soup balls" or 湯圓 at some point today.

Monday, December 24 (Christmas Eve)

1. Decided on a trip to Japan.  Our visas for China would be too expensive (up around 10,000 NT for the three of us), and with my wife's ambivalence toward that country it seemed best to rule it out for now.  We've been to Malaysia, and Myanmar just looked to undeveloped for the four of us.  Other options were quickly ignored for one reason or another.

So at the end of January we're flying to Osaka, and from there taking a train to Kyoto.  We already have a hotel room reserved in Kyoto for the first half of our trip, and later on tonight we'll probably be looking at a hotel room in Osaka for the second half.

Kyoto has "ancient stuff," so of course we'll be seeing that.  There's also a place in Kyoto called the Kyoto Ninja Experience that I'm morally obligated to go to on account of being obsessed with ninjas when I was little.  Kyoto will be cold, but it should be fun.

I'm a lot hazier about what we'll do in Osaka.  There's an aquarium there we'll probably visit.  I'm not interested in Universal Studios Japan.  I'd like to check out the Asahi Brewery in that area, and also this shopping/food area by the name of Dotonbori.  I envision myself eating a lot of sushi in the near future.

2. Time for class.  I'll get back to this later.

3. It's later.  Having bacon sandwiches for dinner after work.  I sure do like bacon.  Speaking of bacon, have you heard about the pork sickness in China?  Someone sent me a video of some place in Fujian where they'd slaughtered all their pigs.  Looked like something out of a nightmare.

4. Before the bacon sandwiches, and after teaching another class I'll be watching the Seahawks/Chiefs game.  Also the rest of the Steelers/Saints game.  If either the Seahawks or the Steelers win their game I'd say they have a fair shot at the Superbowl.  If not, I'm guessing they don't make it past their respective wildcard games.

5. Watched The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford yesterday.  Surprisingly good movie.  Casey Affleck is awesome in a lot of films.

Tuesday, December 25 (Christmas)

1. Today I downloaded the "Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad."  It's FASCINATING reading, I can tell you.  My plan is to file for this year and the two years previous.

2. We're going to have duck (an entire duck) at the local Sheraton for our Christmas dinner.  After that our daughters will probably tell us what store they want to go to, and we'll buy whatever Christmas gifts they select.  Buying gifts for ANY of my family members ahead of time just isn't working.  This year all we sent my family in the States were Christmas cards.

3. The Seahawks won their game, the Steelers didn't.  The Seahawks play the Cardinals next week, and after that they'll face the Cowboys in the Wildcard game.  The Steelers are still in the running, but I doubt they'll make it to the playoffs at this point.

4. I keep thinking I should sign up for a half marathon or triathlon next semester, but then I start to feel lazy and don't do it.  The thing is I'm in pretty good shape right now - exercising hasn't been a problem - but when it comes down to picking an event, signing up, and paying the money at the local 7-11 I just can't get motivated.  Is it wrong to enjoy exercise for its own sake?

5. When I look back on my younger self I think I was an arrogant prick some of the time, and that my ego got in the way of many things I might have otherwise enjoyed doing.  I've noticed that those in love with their own talent or their own intelligence are often just shrinking the world down to make their perceived talent or intelligence seem bigger, rather than scaling up their talent or intelligence to fit the world around them.  Is that my deep thought for today?  Yes, I believe it is.

Wednesday, December 26

1. Ongoing argument on Reddit over Taiwanese independence, and the feasibility thereof.  Some KMT types insist that "one day" China will magically become democratic, and on that day Taiwanese people will join hands with their Mainland brethren in a rousing rendition of "It's One Nation After All."  Other KMT types think that Mainland China will somehow collapse in the near future, and that Taiwan will be able to take advantage of the situation.  I think waiting around for Mainland China to become (more) democratic is just as ridiculous as waiting for Mainland China to collapse.  While all of these people are sitting around waiting, Taiwan's room to maneuver is getting smaller and smaller, and the time in which the government here can effectively act to preserve itself is getting shorter and shorter.  They seem strangely unworried about the time factor, almost as if the righteousness of their opinions will forestall any disaster.

2. My friend's having a party at his house on New Year's Eve.  I guess I'm going.  Given the number of children/infants at that party I doubt it will be the kind of event you don't really remember, but it should be alright.  I just need to remember to go easy on my bottle of Monkey Shoulder (if I bring it).  Once I start into the whiskey I have trouble stopping.

3. Bought a book about the Osaka/Kyoto area yesterday.  It's fun to flip through.  Did you know they have an entire store dedicated to Ultraman in Osaka?  Gotta go.

4. Besides the Osaka/Kyoto book, I've almost finished Kevin Kwan's "China Rich Girlfriend."  This is the sequel to his "Crazy Rich Asians."  It's a lot more uneven than the first book (and the third, which I've already read), but it does have its moments.  There's a particularly funny scene where a woman attends church in Hong Kong for the first time, and a congregation full of women is yelling: "Jesus!  Come inside me!  Jesus!  Fill me up!"

5. I'm still hungry.  Lunch today was terrible and I didn't eat much.

6. They remodeled RT Mart to look more like an American supermarket.  I find the change disorienting.  I go through RT Mart as usual, buying the same stuff, and then at the end there's this little bit of an American supermarket sitting there, as if I'd been in a Seattle Fred Meyer the whole time.  They even have a self-service checkout, staffed by people wearing similar uniforms.

Thursday December 27

1. I'm glad tomorrow is Friday.  I was in class just now and I got that feeling of "How many times have I done this before?  How many times have I done Powerpoints like this?  How many times have I passed out papers this way?  How much time have I spent waiting for students to finish their assignment?"  When I start thinking about "how many" I know I need a break, and thankfully a four-day weekend is coming.

2. Trying to chill on the coffee.  It's not easy.

3. They installed two more air conditioners in our office just now.  You know the thing about the air conditioners?  We'll probably never turn them on.  The County has enough money to buy them for the schools, but the schools don't have enough money to pay the electricity to keep them on.  I'm sure that seeing the two new air conditioners in the summer will depress me.  Cool air just a few steps away, but we can't turn them on.

Wednesday, January 2

1. Coming off a four-day weekend.  The word for the day is CHILL.  I was testing students this morning and that's super easy.

2. Drank a fair amount of beer, wine, and whiskey this weekend.  Didn't get sloppy drunk, but I did spend Monday night lightly toasted.

3. The traffic during the four-day weekend was easily double what it usually is.  A lot of out-of-towners.  Many of them got dangerously drunk and used this as an excuse to drive even more dangerously, but perhaps more on this later.

4. On Saturday we went up to that pizza place in Dulan 都蘭.  I can't remember doing anything else on Saturday.  I must have watched my share of movies.

5. On Saturday I hung out with R, M, and P for a bit at Pete's Pizza.  A traffic accident took place just down the street from there, earlier in the day, and a guy driving a scooter was killed.  It was a good weekend to be careful on the road - or to not drive at all.

6. On Monday R had his New Year's party.  I had dinner (hot pot) at home and went there after.  It was a strange event.  The living room was full of foreign guys nursing beers and talking about surfing.  The bedroom between the living room and the kitchen was full of screaming children.  And the kitchen was full of wives and girlfriends having conversations about whatever it is that wives and girlfriends talk about.

I stayed until midnight, but I have to admit that some of the conversation was getting by me.  It felt like some of us were moving at the wrong speed.  Or perhaps we were just dealing with different levels of intoxication.

Nothing against anyone there, but I think I should have left earlier.  I had something I wanted to say to someone not in that living room, and I should have gone and done that.

7. Yesterday was Tuesday and I was recovering from a slight hangover.  I also rode my bike up to Dong He 東河.  We had lunch at this place I'd never been to near the ginger duck restaurants on Geng Sheng Road 更生路.  NOT a good lunch.

8. Bringing me to today, of which I have already spoken.  And yet!  And yet, and yet...

I found my old copies of Jo Jo Lion, the Japanese manga (comic book) in a plastic bin after we cleaned out our bedroom.  Did you know the hero of that manga has four balls?  I'm not sure what you would do with four balls, but there you go.  I should catch up with this comic before I go to Japan.

Our coffee machine also broke, right at the time I was reading Jo Jo Lion.  I used another coffee machine, a gift, for the first time, and the coffee thus produced made me HIGH.  Seriously.  I feel like I could put my face through a pane of glass right now and not feel anything.  High, I tell you.  High!

Thursday, January 3

1. So today the guy with amnesia in Jo Jo Lion discovered that he's not really "Ji Liang Ji Ying" 吉良吉影, but that he's really someone else.  He managed to catch the guy lurking in the apartment above him after finding out how the guy's "stand" worked.  I believe the stand's name was "Fun Fun Fun."  You might think I'm making that up but I'm not.

I could explain what a stand is but I'd rather refer you to the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure page on Wikipedia.

2. Feeling a little sick today.  I'm hoping I feel better later so I can go running.  I want to keep my exercise schedule going to at least the 17th.

3. My older daughter got a seasonal job at Carrefour yesterday.  I'm hoping she likes it and she gets hired there permanently.  With us going to Japan at the end of this month it's hard to say.  Whatever happens I'm proud of her.

4. Tried watching "I'm Not There," a movie about Bob Dylan last night.  It didn't help that I've never liked Bob Dylan.  I got about halfway through and had to tap out.  Seemed like a lot of pretentious nonsense.

Friday, January 4

1. It's Friday!  I'm done with my classes!  Time to go!

Monday, January 7

1. Didn't do much this weekend.  Went bicycling twice, watched the Seahawks lose their playoff game, read some more Jo Jo Lion, had terrible food at this new restaurant near my school.  On Saturday night we went to the Dong You Ji (Journey to the East) hot spring 東遊季溫泉渡假村, and that turned out to be a pleasant evening.

2. I have so little to do this week it's ridiculous.  I test three classes today, two classes tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday are the school test days, there are softball competitions for the fifth and sixth grade on Thursday and Friday, and on Friday there's also another activity for the sixth grade.  Aside from the classes I'm testing, I figure I have at most nine classes, probably less.

3. The recent political rhetoric between Taiwan's President and China is scary and... encouraging?  On the one hand hearing Xi Jin-ping 習近平 talk about "getting the PLA into a state of readiness" is scary, but on the other hand hearing Tsai Ying-wen 蔡英文talk about Taiwan's sovereignty in unequivocal terms is refreshing.  I'm never sure which side to believe in these discussions.  Would China really invade if pushed to it?  Or is it all bluster?

4. Yet this said, the other day I realized that all the political articles I was reading were making me depressed, and I decided to chill out on the news for a while.  I felt like keeping up to date on this discussion wasn't doing me any good.

5. After finding a comic book rental place that actually had the issues I was missing, my goal is to read the rest of Jo Jo Lion before the end of the semester.  My other goals is to finish reading the handbook for U.S. expat taxpayers.  A third goal might be not getting into any serious arguments with anyone.  

6. It's kind of fun to be in the Jung Yi Variety Store 正一百貨 on Chuan Guang Road 傳廣路 when the latest group of tourists from Mainland China arrive at their hotel.  After settling into their rooms they POUR into the Jeng Yi, speaking a mixture of Mandarin and who-knows-what dialect of Chinese.  It's interesting to hear them talk about the items on sale there.

Tuesday, January 8

1. What happened in the most recent issue of Jo Jo Lion?  Well, there was this street that was inexplicably alive, and the street had its own stand that could move people to other places without their remembering being moved.  Then Ding Jhu's brother (?) discovered that his stand had the ability to turn people into living Ikea furniture that fell apart.  I would like to expand upon all of that but I really can't.

And oh yeah, Ding Jhu's kind of, sort of girlfriend made a discovery about the lineage of the Joestar family.  It seems that after earning second place in the Steel Ball Run Johnny Joestar went to Japan to teach the Japanese about horsemanship, and while on the boat to Japan he met a Japanese girl and fell in love.  He was later killed under mysterious circumstances, and they erected a statue of him wearing a sailor hat (?) on a hill above town.

2. Only two classes today.  Was going to have lunch as Sam's Burger with D but he has a second grade class after the break.

3. Almost done reading the tax guide.  Nothing mysterious there.  I think whatever exemptions and/or deductions I claim, I don't owe anything.  I still want to go home and look over my old tax returns.  After that I'll have to decide whether I want to fill out the form myself or pay an accountant to do it.

4. I can't stand that term "straw man."  It's such a lazy way of arguing.  Instead of actually pointing out the flaw in someone's argument, someone just says "straw man" as if that explained anything.  It's a very juvenile way of sounding smart.

5. I could kill someone for a bacon burger right now.  I think it must be the running.

6. My sister's getting married on July 6.  She's getting married in Brookings, Oregon, which is not far from the California border.  In case you don't have a map handy, Brookings is far from just about everything.  My mission this summer, should I choose to accept it, is to get from Taitung, Taiwan to Brookings, Oregon in time for my sister's wedding.  This will involve:

     a) Getting a ride to the train station (5 minutes).
     b) Taking a train to Taipei (4 hours).
     c) Taking the plane to either Seattle, Washington (10.5 hours), or Portland, Oregon (13 hours).
     d) Either getting a ride to my parents' house in Port Angeles, Washington (two hours) or my brother's house in Vancouver, Washington (fifteen minutes).
     e) Either getting a ride from Port Angeles, Washington to Brookings, Oregon (ten hours) or from Vancouver, Washington (six hours)
     f) Managing to stay awake through said wedding with an extreme case of jet lag.

One can only see how it goes!

Wednesday, January 9

1. I think I'll wrap this LONG entry up today.  I'll look it over tomorrow, maybe add a couple things, and then click "Publish."  I have zero time to write on Friday, and I'll like to put this up before the next "Hello Foreigner" entry.

2. If you are somehow reading this, good job.  I'm not going to post it on any social media.  I'd rather that those who are going to find it find it, and those who aren't going to find it don't.  Can't be jumping up and down waving your hands all the time.

3. About ready to file my taxes.  I contacted three CPAs, one in the States and two in Taiwan, about preparing my tax return for me.  No response as yet.  If they ask for too much (which I think they will) I'm going to do it myself.  After looking over previous returns last night I'm pretty sure I can do it no problem.

4. In the most recently read installment of Jo Jo Lion an old man told the story of what happened to Johnny Joestar after the conclusion of Steel Ball Run, and how Johnny's Japanese wife contracted some horrible disease that turns your skin to paper and eventually kills you.  Overcome by grief, Johnny journeyed back to New York and stole the corpse of a saint (also from Steel Ball Run) with the power to drive out sickness.  Unfortunately the corpse drove the sickness from the body of Johnny's wife to Johnny's son.

Johnny then did the noble thing and used the corpse a second time to drive the sickness into his own body, and was thus killed (?).

5. Had lunch at Mos Burger with D.  It was kind of loud on the second floor, but it was good talking to him.

6. Work was easy today (no big surprise).  Watched two classes take their semester test, and taught a review lesson to a third.

7. About a week left until winter vacation.  Hallelujah.  Japan is not far away...

Friday, January 11

1. It's a sunny Friday and I have only two classes.  How about you?  What are you up to this weekend?

9. Hello, Taitung Person 台東人你好 7

In the Hello, Taitung Person entries I'll be interviewing local residents.  They decide what kind of biographical information to include.  Some people are more private individuals, and I respect that.  Others are happy to make their presence known, and I respect that too.  在 "台東人你好" 這些文章中我會介紹當地的居民.  這些資訊是他們同意分享的.  有的人比較重視隱私,  有的人則開心地讓他人更認識自己.  我尊重這二者不同的做法.

All numbered questions were chosen randomly from a list of 45 questions.  下列編號的問題是隨機由五十個問題中選出來的. 

The thoughts and opinions expressed below belong to the person offering them, and may not be shared by the person writing this blog.  下列是被訪問者的想法與意見, 與寫這個blog的我不一定一樣.

First Name 名字: David

Last Name 姓: Hays

Chinese Name 中文名字: 海大衛....吧

Employment 工作地點: English Teacher 英語教師

Country of Origin 國家: USA 美國

Age 年齡: 36 歲

Length of Residence in Taiwan 居住在台灣的時間: 7.5 years 年
Place of Residence in Taitung 住在台東地區: Dong He Township 東河鄉

Favorite Colors 最喜歡的顏色: No favorite color!  不是特別喜歡什麼顏色!

1. Q: Have you ever had Tunnel 88?  What was your experience like?  你喝過八八坑道高粱酒嗎?  你的經驗如何?

A: Yes, I have had Tunnel 88 and my experience was... ah... drunken.  [Laughing]  I didn't necessarily like the taste too much.  It was probably the second year I was in Taiwan and I drank about a bottle - a small, medium size bottle of Tunnel 88 and... my memory got a little foggy and I don't recall feeling very well the next day.  對, 我喝過八八坑道高粱酒.  我的經驗是... 很醉吧.  [在笑]  我不是很喜歡那種口味.  大概是我在台灣的第二年, 我喝了一小瓶 ,中瓶大小的高粱酒...  之後我的記憶有點模糊, 隔天身體不舒服.

2. Q: What do you like to drink?  What do you not like to drink?  你喜歡喝什麼?  你不喜歡喝什麼?

A: Well currently I'm not drinking alcohol for the past 6 months.  So, prior to that I ah... enjoyed drinking Kirin beer.  A lot.  And now I'm kind of on the tea.  我最近六個月沒喝酒了.  所以, 以前很喜歡喝麒麟啤酒.  很喜歡.  我最近比較喜歡喝茶.

3. Q: What are your thoughts on Taitung's environmental situation?  你對台東的環境現況有意見嗎?

A: I'm not super educated on that environmental situation.  I do notice quite a bit of trash on the beaches.  I spend a lot of time on the beaches* where I see a lot of plastic and that type of thing.  But, that being said, I think it's getting better.  Um, from what I have witnessed, but I'm not sure what we're comparing it to.  I know, compared to home where I live in the States... here there's a lot more pollution, like trash on the ground, but uh... the environmental situation as a whole, I don't know if I'm really qualified to comment on that.  我不是很瞭解現在的環境議題.  但我在海灘上看到了很多垃圾.  我常常去海灘, 我在那裏看到很多塑膠類的垃圾.  但大致來說, 我覺得環境現況越來越好.  嗯, 就我的經驗來說, 我不知道我們現在是在跟哪裡做比較...  我知道, 跟我美國的家鄉比較來說, 這裡的環境汙染更嚴重, 例如地上的垃圾, 可是以台灣全國的環境來說, 我不知道我是否夠資格評斷.

4. Q: What do you think about the Cross-Strait situation?  About Taiwan and China?  你對兩岸的現況有什麼看法?  台灣與中國間的關係?

A: Ooh, again,  I mean I'm not that involved politically.  I wish it would just go away, and that Taiwan could be its own country, without China constantly, like claiming that it's theirs - claiming that Taiwan is theirs - and I find it just to be a little redundant, after 8 years of living here.**  Still hearing the same bullshit about Taiwan and China.  And then I've heard that prior to me living here that same discussion - whether it's changed or not over the years I don't know - it's been an ongoing thing forever.  I haven't seen much difference between the constant... banter.  喔, 再說.  我也不是很瞭解最近的政治現況.  我希望這種問題能馬上消失, 中國不要再一直說台灣是他們的, 台灣可以是一獨立國家. 我只是覺得中國一直說台灣屬於中國的這個情況很煩 , 我住在這裡八年了.  還是一直聽到台灣與中國的這件煩人的事情.  我也聽說我住這裡之前已有人討論這個問題 - 我不知道這問題隨著時間有沒有改變 - 從開國到現在這個問題都一直存在.  我沒看到這個討論有任何變化.

5. Q: Which is better, Kaohsiung or Taipei?  Why?  高雄, 台北哪一個城市比較好?  為什麼?

A: I like Kaohsiung a little more, right?  Neither city have I explored that in-depth, but uh Kaohsiung I like the fact that it's on the water, and I've seen the university*** down there by the ocean.  It looks pretty cool, and the Love River's fun to walk along.  Whereas Taipei to me just seems like a big mall, both on top of land and under.  But, that being said, Taipei is very impressive with the MRT and the infrastructure.  So Taipei is an amazing city, but personally I think Kaohsiung has a little more, like, on offer.  But I don't really know!  我比較喜歡高雄.  我沒有留在這二個城市很久, 可是我喜歡高雄靠近海的這一點.  我去過靠近海的那所大學, 看起來很酷.  走在愛河邊也很好玩.  我覺得台北比較像一大棟購物中心, 地上地下都是.  可是, 話說回來, 台北的捷運跟基礎設施都是驚人的.  所以台北是個滿好的都市, 但是我自己認為高雄的優點比較多.  我才不是很確定!

6. Q: What has been your greatest moment in Taiwan so far?  你在台灣最棒的時刻是?

A: Um... "My greatest moment in Taiwan so far."  It would probably be ah I mean, there'd probably be three greatest moments, there'd be marrying my wife, and then... the moment my son was born, and then the moment my daughter was born.  嗯... "我在台灣最好的時刻."  那大概是, 我的意思是有三個最好的時刻: 跟我太太結婚, 我兒子的生日, 最後還有我女兒的生日.

7. Q: How has your time in Taiwan caused you to reassess your home country?  你在台灣之後, 你對美國的看法有什麼改變?

A: Um, it really has brought to light some of the things that I love about my home country, and some of the things that I don't like about my home country.  And it's the same for Taiwan.  It makes me realize some of the things I love about Taiwan and some of the things that I don't, so it really makes me realize the bonuses in America, and also some of the problems and some of the things I don't like.  I mean there are... the list is pretty long when you get into that type of stuff.  嗯, 我住這裡之後更瞭解我喜歡自己國家的哪些部分, 和不喜歡哪些部分.  對於台灣也一樣.  讓我發現我喜歡和不喜歡台灣的部分, 比較下看出美國的好還有那邊的缺點跟不喜歡的部分.  我的意思是... 這種事情可以講很久.

8. Q: Do you feel you are paid enough for the work you do?  Why or why not?  你覺得你的薪水夠了嗎?  為什麼?

A: Uh... yeah, I feel that I'm paid enough for the work I do.  Especially in comparison to the local teachers.  I... I feel like it's definitely enough to live comfortably in Taitung, I don't know what it would be like being paid this salary and living in Taipei.  I feel like it might be a little tougher.  And... one thing that makes it difficult is that the salary we make here makes it hard to save enough to move back to the USA and live comfortably, so if you... to live in Taiwan - if you plan on living in Taiwan the rest of your life - this salary's fine, but if you had desires to move back to the country of your origin and that country the cost of living here then the pay here is kind of insignificant.  嗯... 沒錯, 我覺得我的薪水夠了.  跟當地老師比一定夠了.  我... 我的薪水可以在台東舒服地生活, 不知道一樣的薪水住在台北如何.  那樣子比較困難吧.  還有, 比較麻煩的部分是這薪水要搬回去美國有點困難, 所以... 住在台灣 - 如果打算永遠住台灣 - 這種薪水是可以的, 可是想搬回原來國家的人沒辦法用這邊的薪水支付那裏比較高的生活費的.

9. Q: Is it useful for you to know Taiwanese?  Why or why not?  你覺得學會台語有用嗎?  為什麼?

A: [Laughing] Uh, you're talking to someone who's barely learned any Chinese, so yeah, it's probably useful to learn Taiwanese.  You could probably speak to some pretty interesting people with some pretty historical knowledge of Taiwan, but... I couldn't really tell you.  It hasn't been useful for me because I don't know it.  [在笑]  嗯, 你在跟一位中文很差的人講話, 所以呢?  學會台語大概很有用.  這樣子應該有機會跟一些有趣並比較懂本島歷史的人聊天.  可是我不是很確定.  我不會那個語言, 所以對自己來說沒有用.

10. Q: Are there any leisure activities you would love to do but find too difficult here?  在你喜歡的休閒活動中, 有沒有是在台灣比較不方便的?

A: Yes.  Definitely.  I would like to play soccer in an adult league, along with other sports, but I... that's one of the things that I, that goes back to an earlier questions about the States, it seems like in the U.S. there are lots of sports teams you can join as an adult - or for that matter as a child -  I don't see that many recreational sports leagues in Taitung and that is something that I miss a lot.  So that's one thing that comes to mind, like being able to play in a soccer league for adults, or a softball league for adults, or something.  Maybe they have here but I just don't know about it.  有.  一定有.  我想加入成人足球隊踢足球和參加其他的運動, 可是...  那是一種, 那又回到之前與美國有關的問題, 好像在美國有很多成人的運動團隊可以加入 - 也有小孩子們的 - 但我在台東沒看過那麼多休閒運動團體, 也很想念這種活動.  所以, 那是我想到的一件事.  參加成人足球隊或是成人壘球這類的活動.  可能這裡也有, 只是我沒聽說罷了.

10. Jo Jo Lion, Comic Books, and Comic Book Rental Shops

I suppose I've liked/loved comic books for most of my life.  For me the desire to read them comes and goes.

When I was little I was obsessed with American superheroes.  As soon as I was old enough to read (and maybe before) I was pouring over comic books.  My fascination with them only abated with high school and the advent of girls.

From the end of high school to my early college years I don't remember buying or reading comic books.  I think by that point music had kind of replaced them in my heart.  The early to late 90s comics are a mystery to me, which would seem to indicate that I wasn't reading them then.

After moving to Taiwan I read comic books on and off.  During my third year here, after I started studying Chinese, I remember renting copies of Doraemon, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, and other comics from the local comic book place.  I studied Chinese fairly intensively during that year, didn't read anything in English, and the Japanese comics I was reading (in Chinese translation) were a nice break from my textbooks.

In taste I'm pretty evenly divided between the American and Japanese comics.  I can remember owning copies of Shonen Jump when I was very little, though at that time they were all in Japanese and I could only gaze at the pictures.  Sometimes I prefer the allegory and relative seriousness of American comics.  Sometimes I prefer the art and more lighthearted nature of Japanese comics.  It depends on my mood.

One thing's for sure, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is one of my favorites.  No other comic in the history of comics - either Japanese or American - quite matches Jojo for sheer weirdness.  I recently started a campaign to read the issues of the newest Jojo, Jo Jo Lion, that I hadn't gotten to yet.  I'm on issue/book #10 at the time of writing, and I should be able to finish the last book, #18, by the end of next week.

By the way, if you're interested in this kind of thing - and if you've got a year or so of Chinese under your belt - I highly recommend checking out the local comic book rental shop.  With the popularity of online comics these shops are dying a slow death, but the people operating them will be overjoyed to see you.  These places rent novels too, so if you're looking for something more challenging/serious there's that too.  Just remember to bring your ID and some money.