Incredible (poverty, sites, transportation, trash, cows) India

I’m in India now.
I’ve been waiting to write this for a few reasons. The main reason is that I don’t really have Internet, and when I do my blog doesn’t want to load. In a way that’s okay (I can hear my mom saying, “how is that okay?”)

I wanted to get a bit more settled, and be in the right state of mind before trying to attempt to explain India. Whenever I told people about my trip they would nod and smile until I told them I was going to India… then they would tell me to be safe while questioning my sanity.
India's tourism slogan is "Incredible India." I would like to propose they change that to "Overwhelming India." I realize they lose the benefit of alliteration, but I think it's more accurate. As I sit here there is music that is so loud that I have a hard time thinking. Standing outside my house, there are probably 60 women in saris as part of the second day of a wedding ceremony. In a nearby neighborhood trash heap there’s two cows enjoying the leftovers while dogs try to steal some scraps. I’ve seen all the things people told me about—the poverty, the trash, the rats, the stares, the cheats, and of course the incredible sexism. Yet, there's a beauty to this country I can't quite quantify. I can give so many reasons for why I should hate it here or be miserable-- but I don't and I'm not. As one of my friends here told me, “India can be beautiful, you just have to give it a chance.” I just hope it gives me a chance too.

Might as well set up a celebration near our gate... 

Things to Do in Kathmandu

Nepal was uneventful-- one of my favorite words now! I spent my days writing in cafes, writing on rooftops and wandering around. I have to say, I highly recommend Kathmandu. The people were great-- I was only bothered a bit (once by men holding hands, which is just a thing friends do here but threw me off.) English is surprisingly well spoken and it's insanely cheap. For a complete breakfast with tea I would pay on average $3.
One of my favorite experiences was visiting a monetary-- I even got to sit in on a class. When the teacher, a monk, came in everyone stood and bowed. There were a few things going on, more kneeling, then standing then some thing with the hands. I tried to follow and hoped I wasn't insulting someone in some way. Then there was chanting. I sort of felt like I was at foreign language catholic mass for the first time never knowing when to stand, sit or kneel. However, other than that I don't really have many stories... unless you want to read about my harrowing experience filling out the same form for five hours because my internet kept dropping off. (A thrilling read to be sure.)

I do, however, have pictures:




















The street outside my guest house.

Some Taiwanese Memories

These adorable Taiwanese students spend their nights having to learn English. I spent my night teaching them while wearing really stunning footwear. When I first walked up to the school all of the students were standing outside and said, "Welcome to our school." Each of them then had to introduce themselves to me in English. When the teacher tried to urge her toddler niece to do so, she started crying, and (in Chinese) screamed that she was scared of the "ghost." I'm in need of a tan, or something.

 Traditional indigo dying. It smells absolutely terrible. However the results really are beautiful.

 The Skybridge. (Un-pictured: The largest spider I've ever seen in my life)

A gorgeous rice field. This was the day I went to a cultural village. I went to a pottery factory, went on a tour of the facilities, then made pottery. I managed to get clay all over myself. Then, on my bike ride to the rice field I went through the thickest cloud of soot I had ever seen. Good thing I went straight to a dinner afterwards. I was a mess, but a very happy one.

This is a pineapple wearing a hat. Umbrellas, hats, sunscreen and even veils are used by Taiwanese women to make sure their skin is protected from the sun. (My favorite is the raincoat + visor combination.) Their fruit gets the same treatment. Each city in Taiwan has to have a certain number of "products." Two of the most common are tea and pineapple cakes. 

I didn't want to get in trouble with the teacher for disturbing class, so I took a early morning picture. The girl pictured in front was my host. She was so adorable. I brought her and her family a few gifts and in return got more gifts and a pile of food that could have kept me alive for weeks. The first night she took me to meet all of her family and each one asked for a picture with me. On subsequent nights we did a variety of things. She showed me one of her assignments for English class-- a hour long movie about a boy who had four girlfriends and their subsequent revenge. It featured a really well executed choreographed hip hop dance number along with lines such as, "Sorry I can't abide your childish behavior" and "All of the girls are evil things." Another night we went to a night market. We played some games like archery, and a ring toss thing (at which I dominated.) As always, I got asked for many pictures but after one was given free chicken. That was just the type of thing that happened so frequently that I no longer considered it to be strange. 

In Taiwan I generally ate more than everyone else. This was because I was both really excited I could finally use chopsticks and I couldn't contribute to the conversation. Therefore, I'd eat. Then I'd get served more food, then I'd eat some more. Then after feeling rather sick, I'd try to convince the people feeding me to please not give me any more food, while also assuring them that I loved the food... because of guilt and politeness I gained weight. (But of the problems to have, this wasn't a big one.) My last night at the home I guess I had not eaten enough Chinese food to satisfy my host mother. Having woken up at 5 am, by the time she came into my room at 11 pm I had wet hair, was in pajamas, without contacts or glasses (mine had broken) and was fast asleep. She woke me up and told me to come downstairs (but in Chinese.) I dutifully went. Downstairs there was a mountain of Japanese food (all for me), and of course some relative who wanted to take a picture with me. I didn't eat enough... which considering there were 7 containers of sushi, was understandable.

In the morning-- tired, sick and questioning what everyone was going to do with pictures of me I went back to school. On my way to the school assembly I was told I was giving a speech... to all of the students, teachers and staff. Thank you Hamilton for having that go alright. The principle of the school gave me a towel, but he held it at a weird height so when I went to reach to accept it he put it around my neck, thus creating one heck of an awkward interaction. I sort of did a weird bow, shook his hand and then (wait for it) had our picture taken. If there's one thing this trip is teaching me it's how to better accept some things will just be awkward. 

My friend and I on the top of Taipei 101, one of the tallest buildings in the world. Unfortunately, it was cloudy when we went... so there wasn't the opportunity for pictures. This bamboo shaped icon was still amazing. The elevator that takes you up to the 89th floor takes all of 37 seconds.

Cliffs in the East. I would later whitewater raft down a nearby river to the pacific ocean (not exactly by choice.) For someone who doesn't like them, I went on a shocking number of boats in Taiwan. In order to get the rafts to go in the right direction, men in motorized rafts would ram our rafts. The problem was, they would actually go on top of the raft crushing the person on that side. Guess who was in prime location for this to happen to her every single time... and I didn't understand the warning if there was one, I would just suddenly have my face on the ground and a raft on my back. I now know how useless leadership skills are if you don't speak a common language.  I was the only person who knew how to swim, how to paddle or knew English. No one else seemed concerned about the fact that people were being thrown from boats while there were large boulders and cliffs all around us. In fact, for most of the time I was one of three paddling while the others started water fights with neighboring boats. The only part of the introduction that was in English was about how the rafting today was going to be "very, VERY dangerous due to Typhoon!"

I now have an idea of how I would act in a life or death situation, because that is what this felt like. It didn't help that after we were done, once we took showers, within two minutes all of the girls had gorgeous dry, shining straight hair while mine looked like a comfy home for birds. If I sound bitter it's probably because I still am at least a little bit.

However, I'd take a dragon boat any day. This one was fun-- plus I got to wear a cool hat.

This is for you Roddy. This is the center of the city of Chiayi (I believe.) Right in the middle is a baseball player surrounded by a fountain. Just giving you remodeling ideas.

China for 22 Hours (That Story I Tell My Kids One Day #2)

If you ever need to check that your body is producing adrenaline, just travel through China. My flight to Nepal featured a 22 1/2 hour layover which gave me many opportunities to do something stupid. I was successful.
I was heading to Nepal because I had to apply for my indian visa from my country of residence. I couldn't apply before I left because their visa validity starts from date of issue. Yet I needed the visa before booking my flight and I needed a flight out of Taiwan when I entered. (I feel like I'll be able to be a travel agent by the end of this.) So the cheapest way was to fly to Nepal for two weeks during which I'd apply to graduate schools.

After booking I found I was allowed to leave the airport on a visa free 24 hr transit, so I booked a hotel with a free airport shuttle. I called to confirm my shuttle and hoped I was all set.

The flight was uneventful. I just thought it was a bit funny that my window seat in row 37 was actually a wall seat in row 9. But my flight was uneventful.

Row 37: I'm guessing this is to make the plane seem bigger

T Minus 22 Hours
I'll spare you the details but basically upon landing I was passed around to a series of officials before finally being given to a man who stood up on his little platform looking both menacing and annoyed as he handed me my passport and said, "You have 24 hours in China. No more."
Point taken sir.
T Minus 21 Hours
Luckily for me I had an iPad and Skype so theoretically (or so I thought) I would be able to connect to the Internet and call for my shuttle. Unfortunately for me, not being Chinese I'm not allowed to access the free wifi at the airport. I called via a payphone (yeah, those exist in China) and settled in to wait for the shuttle that never did show up. (In all fairness they did send me an email that they were waiting at domestic departures, but without internet I was still at international arrivals.)
T Minus 19 Hours
About two hours later I gave up and decided to try my luck with a taxi. Little did I know my hotel was in some bizarre location that no gps could find. So, I was refused.
"No problem" I thought "sure it's not ideal, but there's an entire floor of this brand new airport devoted as a traveler's rest area." Oh my optimism. The traveler's rest area turned out to be a dimly lit large room 3 floors underground with hundreds of single plastic chairs. I only wish I had taken a picture. It also seemed to double as the Chinese military's break room. I lasted about 45 minutes.
T Minus 18 Hours
There was only one more option I hadn't tried-- the local taxis, that group of people that ask you if you need a taxi when you leave the terminal. I walked out and was immediately swarmed. I tried being smart about it going with the one woman who offered, though her price was higher. She took my bag and lead me to the parking garage. After she put my suitcase in the trunk and I opened the back door of the car to find that it was already full of people. Panic.
I tried to get my case back, and was unsuccessful so I wrote the license plate number on my arm and we were off. The man driving immediately started screaming angrily (or at least it sounded angrily) into his phone. I frantically tried to think of a good excuse for why I had done something so stupid as we went to the outer skirts of the city on a dirt road where we pulled over, much to the anger of the other people on the road. A van pulled over in front of us and the people in the back of our car got out and took my bag putting it in the van. The driver looked at me and started screaming "money, money!" Horns were honking, my bag was in a different car, and I was worried I was being robbed or kidnapped without knowing it. Not ideal.
T Minus 17.5 Hours
I paid him, and petrified got out as they sped away. I got into the other car and after about 10 agonizing minutes I thankfully realized it was the long awaited shuttle from my hotel. The shuttle driver probably wondered why I went from being so scared to looking so happy. The hotel owners apologized and took money off my bill. I took a quick shower, and fell asleep to the low murmur of English CCTV and my neighbors who sounded like they were dying by slowing coughing up their lungs.
T Minus 6 Hours
In the morning, I hiked over a small mountain of bricks and plastic to get to the shuttle. We picked up two men, one of whom tried unsuccessfully to make conversation in Chinese with me. Once I got to the airport I sat down and was swarmed. I had about 5 elderly Chinese men on my left and about the same number of young Chinese men on my right all trying to make conversation via elaborate hand signs. I got "your smile *thumbs up*" but it wasn't working too well until iPhones were pulled out and translation apps were used. While they tried to convince me to come to Bangkok with them and ask me what I did for a living, I tried to explain my fellowship to them. It didn't translate very well. I ended up leaving them thinking I worked for the U.S. government and they no longer wanted me to come to Bangkok. Close enough.

Out of the Mouth of Teens

As you might remember (though you probably can't tell by reading this blog) I'm doing a research project on arts education.
After talking to numerous students in both Australia and Taiwan, and reading many papers, my findings as to how students in these two countries seem to perceive the arts can be basically summed up by the difference between these two answers. After confirming their interest in art I asked both why.

"I love art because it gives me a chance to express myself. I learn so much from it, and it makes me feel so happy and alive."
"A" 15 years old, Melbourne, Australia

"At school (on Saturdays only) we have to choose between sports and art. I hate sports and in art I don't have to think. I just get to not use my brain."
"S" 16 years old, Chiayi, Taiwan

Project = Done

Just kidding.

Despite how important the arts seem to be culturally, in Taiwan I found little regard for them in schools. The difficulty in explaining to people that I have a bachelor's in art was just one of the many "cultural differences" I faced.
The approach to education was different in general. Students face incredible amount of pressure at home. One student I talked to told me about a time that they brought home a B+ and had to stand outside the door the whole night... they were 10. Students at Concordia School, where I got to attend classes, arrived at school at 7 am and went to school until 5 pm. Then most went off to cram school.

When I started teaching a class at a local university in Taipei (because that happened...) I planned what ended up being "a very American" class. I planned games, and asked questions to the class as a whole. I got silence, and a lot of wide eyed expressions. I responded by making them learn a dance. Whereas we place more value on independent thinking, and participation, speaking out in front of the class is seen as boastful.

But my goodness the students were cute!
Here's a few of them at Concordia... as you can tell they were just a little welcoming.

Taiwanese Bowling

Written earlier:
Tonight I did what I have to describe as "Taiwanese Bowling." The bowling is in atmosphere only. To play this, you enter a large arena and are given a razor blade, a raw chicken liver and a long piece of bamboo. Oh yes, indoor shrimp fishing, with a bowling atmosphere.

I'll admit, when I was asked if I wanted to go fishing I first thought of a river, when they said it was indoors I envisioned a few probably older men around a small kiddie pool. No, this was serious. There were three ponds, and probably about 50 people, a majority of them around my age. My favorites brought their own poles and bait (and were much more successful.)

Now,  I've never been fishing, though I was once taught the basics of fly fishing on a rugby field (thanks Colyer.) If I'm bad at this, where they literally dump gigantic amounts of shrimp the the pool as you sit there, I feel like fishing might not be my thing. But hey, it was fun.

Taiwan Catch-up

Normally I'm good about not procrastinating... But we all have our moments. About 5 weeks ago I arrived in Taiwan, it seems so much longer, and yet it flew by. It's now time to catch up.

1. "Detention"

I spent my last night in Malaysia sleeping in a renovated shipping container. I can add that to my list of interesting sleeping arrangements. It was quite tight, but it was decent as a hostel and I had a good few hours before hopping on board my flight. Though uneventful, the real fun began once I got off the plane. This entire trip I've been dreading the possibility of being detained... not that I have reason to be detained, except when I'm stupidly honest. Upon arrival I made two mistakes-- 1. not knowing my address in Taiwan and 2. Telling the truth that I didn't know my address in Taiwan. The woman next to me offered to have me write down her address, but she only knew it in Chinese and thought that might be suspicious.

I was detained. It was the third time in my life in detention. My first detention was due to wearing long earrings in 8th grade and my second was in high school because I parked in the teacher's lot. I spent my third with a Taiwanese customs official. Much to my surprise he spent it quizzing me on current events. I was doing well in this strange version of jeopardy until he asked me the result of the Scottish independence (it had been decided midflight.) He went to get his cell phone to look up the result. He asked quite a few questions about details surrounding the vote and once we discussed it a bit more he stamped my passport.

Credit: Zark An

2. "Angie"

It was soon after I met Angie who would spend countless hours showing me around. Not only that, but she is also one of the most lovely people I have ever met. When people ask me my favorite thing about Taiwan I have to give the cliche response, "the people." I met so many outstanding people who were so welcoming and generous. The Chen family, who I stayed with during my time in Taiwan, were perfect examples of this.

3. "珍珠奶茶"

Not only is it one of the only things I can say in Chinese, but bubble tea it is also amazing. I had quite a bit of it. I also seem to have an alarming number of pictures of Angie, myself, and bubble tea.

Some examples:







4. "The Subway"

An honorable mention needs to go to the subway. Imagine an incredibly clean, efficient metro system. All the people stand on the right and walk on the left on the escalators, and wait in the "waiting lines" for the train. Overhead play little love stories of people falling in love due to the "kindness she demonstrated while being a good citizen on the Taipei Metro."

Source: blog.myfatpocket.com

5. "My Weekends"

Having just been to New Zealand I thought few places could rival it in beauty. The east coast of Taiwan does. I went there during one of my weekends that I joined a group, VOIS for trips around Taiwan. My trips need an entire post for themselves!