Category Archives: cultural

Linsanity

Posted on by
Reply

I may have bought about $200 worth of jerseys last night. It could be because I really shouldn’t wield credit cards while surfing the internet late at night. Or it could be because I have been caught in this Jeremy Lin craze. But as an Asian-American, it’s kind of hard not to with the LINsation that’s sweeping this nation and Taiwan’s.

Jeremy Lin is just living his life as an Asian growing up in America, just like the rest of us. Despite whatever obstacles being Asian has had for him, especially being in the basketball world, he hasn’t let discourage him and now look where he is. He’s succeeding at something that he loves to do, and both Asians and Americans and most definitely Asian-Americans have absolutely fell in love with him, because he is excellent at what he does. At the end of the day, it’s really just about what he can bring to the table, and not really about what he looks like. He just happens to have a bigger fan base because of his background. That’s the inspiration for me. That and it’s nice to see my parents being interested in something so inherently American.

And it definitely doesn’t hurt to have a last name that can be worked into about 80% of the English words.

Looking Forward To…

Posted on by
3
  • Watching movies/tv without Chinese subtitles (It’s really hard not to read them. So distracting.)
  • Having access to a kitchen (especially an OVEN!)
  • Central air-conditioning EVERYWHERE
  • No humidity
  • Getting to drive again! ROAD TRIPS
  • Taco Bell, Fat Mo’s, Papa John’s, Mexican food, real HOT DOGS
  • Buying a variety of soda that’s not triple the price
  • Getting a cell phone I can actually understand and that does more than texting and making calls
  • Having a backyard
  • Living in the suburbs where I can go running without worrying about getting run over by cars
  • More green stuff = cleaner air
  • Buying things online again and not having to pay for international shipping ($2 cheaper for Kindle books!)
  • Getting my southern drawl back
  • Desserts with real SUGAR
  • Being tanned without feeling ashamed
  • Listening to country songs (kind of a closet fan)
  • Libraries with more selection of books
  • Seeing my friends again!

Family Visit, Week Two

Posted on by
Reply

The family has gone back to the states. It was a hectic two weeks crammed with visits and meals with friends and relatives that my parents haven’t seen in at least ten years. I took three days off work the second week so I could spend some quality time with them.

We traveled to Ilan, where my mom is from, and saw the beach and sand castles.

We stayed at the Shangri La Leisure Farm Hotel, which was located on top of a mountain, so it had an amazing view with trails throughout the orchards filled with fun surprises like swings and drums on a cliff.

At night, the hotel provided sky lanterns that we could write messages on and send off into the sky.

Back in Taipei, we also did the obligatory trip up Taipei 101, but this time, I got to go out on the 91st floor outdoor observatory. It was always closed all those other times. But there really isn’t much of a view. You mostly see big bars.

All in all, it was a good time. I don’t know when I’ll get to see my parents and brother again. Hopefully, by the end of this year!

Thai Massage & A Wedding

Posted on by
2

I enjoy busy weekends. Although it does mean that they end faster, and Monday will be here tomorrow.

Anyways, I got a Thai massage and went to a wedding on Saturday.

I highly do not recommend getting Thai massages if you’re looking for a relaxing, spa-like massage where you can drift off to sleep as they oil and massage your body with their soft kneading hands as Enya plays in the background and the scent of lavender in the air. Unfortunately, that was what I was looking for so I chose the Thai oil massage over the traditional Thai massage. You know how in the commercials for tourists to Thailand, you see people getting relaxing massages with satisfied smiles on their faces in those cute little wooden huts by the beach? Yeah, it’s not like that at all.

HOWEVER, if you’re looking for a massage where the masseuses use their elbows and knees to pummel you to death, and then pull your arms and legs in every direction while holding you down and standing on your back, or pull you airborne over their knees reminiscent to a WWF move, then by all means, I do highly recommend a Thai massage. There was oil involved but only to help the masseuse locate all the supposed knots in my muscles and literally squash them to death with her hammer of a thumb. There were also many groans and yelps of pain involved. At many moments throughout the two hours, I thought she had mistaken my bones for  knots and was trying to massage my bones away , but no, she said that I had many many knots all over my body. Today, I am very sore. It hurts to move.

Long story short: Don’t think I’ll be getting another one of those any time soon.

After the fun two hours, Michael and I went to a wedding of a friend’s sister. It was a traditional Chinese wedding with the typical 10 dishes and lots of red wine. (Fun Fact:) Here in Taiwan, when one gets married, there are no registries, and the guests don’t buy presents. They just show up to the reception with red envelopes containing money. The amount of money is given in increments of even numbers and no 4′s (cause 4 sounds like death in Chinese so it’s a bad number). For example, you could give $800NT, 1200NT, 1600NT, etc. The amount also depends on the venue (a nicer venue would probably require a higher amount) and how close you are to the bride and/or groom.

(Notice the hint of an Asian flush?)

The bride and groom had photo sticker booths set up so the guests could take pictures and then exchange them in the little books that the bride&groom had provided. It was a great idea, and we had a lot of fun with those.

(The two on the right are with the bride’s brother/our friend.)

FUN TIMES

Illnesses Galore

Posted on by
2

I get sick about every two weeks here in Taiwan. I’ve probably been to a doctor more times in the past year than in my entire life in the States. My biggest moments were probably the ten-day hospital stay due to a bacteria infection and getting H1N1 aka swine flu, which I caught from my students.

My allergies have also gotten ten times worse due to the humidity and the mold in all the old buildings so I’m always getting sinus infections.

And let’s not even get started on stomach problems. I always seem to have monthly stomach problems, and if it’s a bad day, it’ll result in a stomach virus like it did a couple of days ago, but thankfully that passed quickly.

But that’s living in a country without health codes for you. Boy, do I miss those pieces of paper with a big number hanging in restaurant windows, telling you that their place is fit for human consumption. I need to hit up the night markets soon so I can build up my immunity again. (Just saying that sentence kinda disgusted me a bit.) If you completely forget how tasty night market food is and really think about how clean they keep everything, you might not eat there ever again. But the tastiness level of those candied tomatoes and blood-on-a-stick easily lets you forget about all those insignificant details such as how often they wash those cutting boards and how much foot traffic goes by their stand hanging out in the open air.

Readjusting to a whole new climate and bacterial system is tough on a body. I suppose another factor of me not taking vitamins or not exercising at all doesn’t help, which is why tomorrow I’ll be hitting the gym after the winter hiatus. (Not only for health reasons, but also for the fact that I’ve been told that I’ve gotten fat by about half the residents in Taipei this week. Especially from the lady who does my nails whom I haven’t seen in a few months, and she even narrowed it down to “gained at least 2-3 kgs”. SIGH)