Taipei Marathon - Post Report

Well as you all know I had some things going against me pre race. I didn't sleep all that well and for sure didn't get 8 hours. But that doesn't actually matter. I had a head cold - that didn't matter. Seriously, I don't think either of these affected me. Why? I didn't let them.

I woke up on race day and thought, aw my head cold, I feel like crap. Should I bail out -- "FUCK THAT, IT'S RACE TIME." Yes, that is how I talk to myself when no one is around. You have to be your own biggest critic if you want to be great at anything. It's not that I spent so much time preparing for this race (5 weeks is nothing to prepare for a marathon), it is that I decided to do it and unless running it was really going to hurt me, I was not bailing out. My pre-race photo:

Well it was cold, the temperature fluctuated in between 11 and 12 degrees Celsius. Not bad for a marathon, a couple degrees colder than I wanted. I wore a long sleeve black shirt under the racing jersey, then some nice racing shorts with long black spandex for bottoms. It was probably the best choice of clothing to have gone with. Then I ran, I was frustrated at first because I had a hard time finding the staring line and which way to run out. So I was actually at the very back, behind all the old people. Oh man and they wouldn't let me push my way forward too far, so the start was painfully slow. Fortunately it thinned out quickly, a lot quicker than the Boston Marathon does (there were much fewer people here). After maybe 10 minutes I was able to run comfortably, it was crowded, but I could maneuver around people and move at my own pace. I was really slow at the first split I recognized. Maybe it was the 10k mark and thought that was weird because I felt I had been going fast. Then I remembered the initial hold up and decided to keep pace.

Marathons are boring. By the way, I just wanted to race. But in a marathon you have to pace yourself. So it's boring, it takes forever, even the good runners. Anyway, I hit the halfway mark a bit fast. The race was boring and my competitive nature could no longer be restrained. I changed to a specialized, pre-made playlist on my i-pod. The "Resurrection" playlist. I made this to bring me back, if I hit a wall in the marathon. I had not hit a wall at this point, I merely decided that my initial goal of 3:30 was too slow, this race was boring, I should finish faster, and all those people in front of me, well I'm better than them and should beat them. That's my competitive nature.

Then I remembered the qualifying time for the Boston Marathon, for my age group, was something like a 3:10. Okay, lets pick up the pace and try to hit that. The music was good, I passed many people. Even when I was running slower and recovering I was constantly moving forward in place. I couldn't go any slower, I couldn't pace off of anyone else, I just needed to keep passing and moving forward. There were plenty of people to run by. It was great. Of course there were still many more in front of me, I'm not an elite marathon runner.

So I kicked it in. It was painful at the end, there were some downhills. I know what you're thinking, "running downhill is great!" NO, not after you've run over 20 miles. Your legs soar and every time they flex it hurts. When you run downhill your legs hit the ground harder and your muscles -those soar and aching muscles - they absorb the impact. In other words, each step hurts so much more when you have to run downhill.

I crossed the finish, running strong, in a time of 3:14 (unofficial). I didn't check the posted results, I figured I'd wait for them to post them online. So I don't know my place, although I'm eager to see my official place as well as the times that those elite runners crossed in. They were really good. After the race I was fine. I mean I was aching and in pain but it was nothing like when I ran the Boston Marathon in 2007. Back then I could hardly walk, going downstairs was torture. I feel that way now, but back then I couldn't walk down stairs - I had to fall down them. This year I could walk up and down all I wanted, it just hurt. That's what happens when you actually prepare for a marathon - it won't kill you.

All in all I'd say the marathon was good. The course wasn't great but whatever. They gave you a towel and medal after finishing. The racing jersey was sweet and the registration fee wasn't that steep.

This is how I looked after returning home:

Pre race report

The marathon is tomorrow. How do I feel, not really excited. I'm a bit sick and even though I haven't run since last Monday I had a weird spasm in my left calf around 6am this morning. I started moving to Taipei today and Taiwan just got hit with a wave of cold weather.

The jersey is nice, I love Taipei. I'm exhausted, though. At check in I was pumped, I remembered what it felt like to see the guys your going to race against. My instincts and desire for victory momentarily took over. But I'm not that excited now, I've been in a lot of races before. I'm just hoping to get through things with killing myself, really.

I mean when I'm out there the opinion will change. My racing instincts will kick in and I'll have to do my best to control my pace. Hopefully the weather's good and the race goes well. Hopefully I'll have something nice to share with you after the race tomorrow.

A weekend of weird encounters

I live a pretty ordinary life. My interests are running, Tennis, Kung Fu and culture. I don't spend lots of time out at night. Perhaps that's what makes this weekend so interesting.

On Saturday I went to Taichung to buy some clothes. I went to this shop in the night market, near the Taichung boys high school. The guy working was very helpful, although he came off as super gay. So when he was friendly and telling me what looked good on me, well it was a little uncomfortable, but not too bad. I found a great jacket, hand made in Japan and everything. But I had already bought a couple shirts and another jacket so I was out of $$. I resigned to come back the next day.

On my way home I decided to take a cab to get me the one mile back to the train station. I had a date to get to at 6 and did not want to be late. The cab driver asked me where I was going and volunteered to take me the whole way for $500NT. No way man too expensive. I got the price down to $420, and by that time he had already changed his route. More expensive than the train, but worth it if I wasn't going to be late.

So we talked, obviously in Chinese. The conversation came to women and he spent some time telling me how the women here, Taiwanese girls, really, really like US guys, especially the ones like me: so young and able to speak Chinese. He tells me about how he overheard his daughter talking with her friends about exactly this.

Later on he asks for my number, saying he'll introduce me to some girls and then I can give him a red envelope. Red envelopes are traditional Chinese gifts given out at New Year's time: they contain money. Sometimes a lot of money. He says yea, I'll introduce you to some pretty girls and if you get married you can send me a red envelope, you know what I mean? Of course, yea, I know what a red envelope is.

I get out of the cab, after he gives me his phone number, I go to meet my friend. I tell her about my weird encounter - she reveals the cab drivers true identity: a pimp. OH MAN! I did not see that coming. Maybe you did, but come on, this is my second language and Chinese always ask strangers questions about girlfriends and marriage, so the conversation was quite natural. Then the hints he was dropping, I mistook them for questions testing my knowledge of the culture. Incredibly naive, I admit, but now wiser for the experience.

The weekend was not over yet. I returned to Taichung to pick up my jacket the next day. On the way in two guys approached me asking about who I was and if I liked to go out to bars and clubs in Taichung. Then asking for my contact info, hoping to take me out sometime. They didn't look gay, but I have two guesses: they are either into me, or they want to take me to a club and use me to attract women. Why else would two random dudes come up and try to make friends like that? Seems odd to me.

Back at the store the same guy was working, "帥哥" (Shuai Ge) - Handsome Brother, he announced with enthusiasm. He was busy helping out three Taiwanese guys shopping around. He engaged me in friendly conversation, a bit on the over friendly/ enthusiastic side. The Taiwanese guys all laugh.. "like look at the gay dude hit on the foreigner, oh man." ~Awkward~ It gets better, kind of. I pick up the coat and try it on again, nice fit. Okay, lets buy it. But the guy wants to get my photo taken first to post it on the website, oh man. He says he's going to put it on the home page if I don't mind. I'm flattered, but feeling a bit awkward.

I guess I should be flattered, right. But it's awkward to be hit on, or just think you're being hit on by guys. I mean, it'd be nice if women were just coming up to me and asking for my MSN/ phone number all the time. I guess that does happen on occasion, but this weekend was somehow off.

The Outsiders

Ethnicity cannot be changed. To study a foreign culture one must assume a role in the community and fully submerge. However, one can never become a true member of that culture, despite being able to put on a different skin, they cannot change their blood, their ethnicity and their own personal past. Despite these physical barriers, these outsiders are the most qualified to study the local culture, more so than those that make up and live the culture themselves.

Once immersed in a foreign culture the outsider learns not about his new environment, but about his original culture. “One cannot see the forest for the trees,” and this is the first time he has been taken out of the forest that is his culture. From this new perspective he is able to see and understand his way of life for the first time, not just bits and pieces, but the whole picture. At the same time he is immersed in a new culture giving him a comparison, but also forcing him to question the meanings behind various cultural differences. Experiencing a new culture enables the outsider to view how different cultures use different methods for interpreting the basics of human nature that we all feel. He is no longer just learning about the two cultures, but also about the underlying nature of humanity as a whole.

After immersion the outsider realizes the truths of their own culture they were previously blind to. They have learned how to learn about cultures in general and are qualified to study their new environment. They are able to see from a far enough perspective that they can get the whole picture. At the same time they can immerse themselves in it and dive in to analyze it firsthand. So the outsider has the unique ability to view the forest from afar, but also dive in and take a close look at the trees. Conversely the locals are limited to their “tree perspective.” The same people who believe a foreigner is incapable of understanding or fully appreciating their culture. Blinded by their own sense of pride, they are unable to understand their own culture and thus their own individual identities.

The outsider has to face many obstacles in the study of a foreign culture. Immersion is not enough. The frustrations associated with cultural differences must be conquered, the language must be learned and every aspect of the culture must be lived. May things are impossible to experience: I can never be a high school student in Taiwan. I can, however, teach English to children in Taiwan and study their experiences second hand. For many aspects of culture and life, second hand experiences are the best one can hope for. Full knowledge and understanding will require years of experience and immersion in the culture, approaching the learning process with an open mind and learning from the full range of people and classes in the culture. The culture needs to be studied on the personal and intimate level as well as the general and impersonal level: looking at the specifics of relationships and how they change with each generation, but also looking at the social norms and public behavior.

The outsider has to face many disadvantages when studying a new culture but by being an outsider they are in the ideal position for learning. After overcoming the initial obstacles they are able to learn not only about their new culture but also about their native one. Most importantly they gain an understanding for human nature common to all cultures of the world.

Ignorance equals bliss: Education equals isolation

Isn't it true that the more ignorant of the world we are the happier we are in it? It's easy to just go with the flow and live a care free life.

Conversely education, some of the things I value learning most in my life, have led to isolation from my peers.

The first time I had this experience was after I decided to become a runner. I put more energy and passion into running than I saw anyone else put in towards their endeavors. What it taught me was the values of hard work and long term commitment: the meaning of living for the purpose of achieving your goal. I made it my life for over four years. I also failed; I lost races I should have won. I know what it feels like to work for four years, pouring you heart and soul into something, and then fail. I also know how to stand back up and win the next time around.

Conversely I would see other runners. Perhaps they would set a goal halfway through one season, and after a month of focusing on this goal, with wavering ambition, fail. They'd be heartbroken. Are you kidding me? After putting in so little effort, how can you be so emotional? If your goals meant so much to you then you should have worked harder.

In the end I was left with a strong sense of dedication and ambition. The majority of people lack this much resolve, and so I am left, even to this day, feeling a bit segregated from them, as if they can't really understand or fully appreciate these values.

Going to college furthered my education and thus my isolation. Not only did I learn about the technical world of mechanical engineering, but I was exposed to city life in a bright and culturally diverse setting - Boston University. It was hard to return home. There was no good Chinese food, people were oblivious to some my new interests. They seemed to move around and think slower. My unique education had again led to segregation.

Now I'm fully immersed in a foreign culture. I've learned so much here to the point where I don't really feel like an American anymore. At the same time, I'm not a Chinese or Taiwanese. I'm not unlike an orphan. It's not that I wouldn't be welcome back in the US, or not that I'm not welcome in Taiwan, but my education of both cultures has brought me to a new level of isolation.

It's always been my personal belief that one should choose an unhappy truth over an ignorant bliss. I may be less happy, in some ways, but I'm certainly more satisfied living this way.

小虎燕 - Small Tiger Sparrow Form

Here is a video of me performing the small tiger form. This was back in October so I am late in getting it up. You can tell the form still needs some cleaning up but it's nothing I'm embarrassed about.

Announcement

I've made an official decision to run the Taipei Marathon. I'm going to be living in Taiwan for a year, as a former runner it would not be right to neglect this opportunity. I'll also have to soon stop referring to myself as a "former" runner.

Me running the Northeast Regionals for BU (the only Varsity Cross Race I ran) 10k through Van Cortland State Park in about 34:08

I've enjoyed two Kung Fu performances (for some mediocre pictures and videos please check my picasa account - link of the left) so far so it is time for me to train my body in a different way for a little while. That's not to say I will not be studying Kung Fu in the park anymore, it's just to say that while I do this my legs will pretty much be spent and it just won't be my primary focus for a short time.

The date is December 20. Given my current fitness level this should be enough time. For sure I have more time to devote to training than when I ran the Boston Marathon in 2003. That being said I intend to beat my time.

The Gauntlet has been thrown, now to work through the Chinese registration website.

Life’s about the Journey

Life is about the Journey. I was a runner. I won several high school races including some big invitationals and even our sectional championship. I set my high school track record for the 3.2km (2 mile). As a freshmen and sophomore I was not only the track team’s lead distance runner but also our number one Tennis player.

I feel sorry for someone who lists their high school accomplishments out like this and speaks with a great deal of pride. This short list of sports victories has little meaning. But my time in high school was not a waste, I can tell you what did have meaning: an intense and diligent training schedule that lasted the entire four years of high school, running 45 weeks out of the year, waking up at 5 am to run through the cold rain and snow, running through windy snowstorms, running down unknown trails, running on my own, desperately working to bring a greater sense of meaning to my life. This is what meant something. I’m not that tall and only have so much natural talent so I had to work that much harder to win those races. Winning those races, creating that list above meant I had to struggle through the training. The struggle that created the list, that is what has meaning.

Winning those races was nothing more than superficial compared to the training, but it also gave the training direction and a purpose. Without the goals I set for myself I would not have had any need for the training. Life is about the journey, but a worthwhile journey requires a worthwhile goal.

Fast-forward to today and the time I am spending in Taiwan. I have a very real and meaningful goal: the pursuit of fluency in Mandarin and to study as much modern culture as I can. These goals are leading me on a new journey. I am meeting friends and getting thrown into awkward situations. I am able to view this culture and the world in a new way.

In contrast with most of the other foreigners I meet, my goals are very different. Typically their reason for leaving their own country is an escape. Life wasn’t great back in their respective country, family troubles, girl problems, and crappy jobs without a clear or bright future... so they came to Taiwan for a change. They have come here for an escape.

Escape is an end. Escape is the goal. Once you have arrived in the foreign country you have already satisfied your goal. They no longer have an objective; they no longer have a direction or a compass. Instead they are left drifting; they are controlled by the external forces that they encounter.

Typically these people don’t learn the language, not past the most basic and childish level. They are exposed to only one side of the culture and are never actually able to immerse themselves to a point learning. They end up forming a community with other foreigners and isolate themselves. Their interaction with the locals is limited to English speakers. They are severely limited. Most men end up indulging in women and never really accomplishing anything significant. The journey that is their life has no depth; they are just being guided by the waves that are their most basic desires.

By resisting the superficial pleasures I’ve been able to develop a lot of real friendships with a variety of people. I meet very few people my own age but through my job (teaching English) I’m able to study how children behave and grow up in modern Taiwan. I get to study Taiwanese parenting culture.

By studying Shaolin Kung Fu I’m able to associate with the older generation. The only way this is even possible is with my Chinese since they can’t speak English. My interaction with them grants me a view into a piece of Taiwan that very few foreigners would have a chance to experience. I am daily acquiring invaluable knowledge, knowledge much more valuable than the superficial fun and games that most foreigners enjoy.

Life is about the journey, no, life is a journey. If your journey lacks a goal then it lacks direction. You are as good as a person drifting in a small boat out at sea with no paddle. A goal, a compass, a direction – this is your oar. You don’t necessarily have to reach your goal, but you now have the ability to take control of your life for yourself, you have the ability to add meaning to your life and truly live well. The meaning of life is to live.

What it means to be an American

Before I came to Taiwan

America is a sad country full of people who have an undeserved sense of entitlement. The result is our economic recession. How can we have unions in the auto industry "protecting" our uneducated factory workers and their $70K+ a year salaries while a fresh engineering graduate in Japan may make $30k. How can Ford afford to pay so much more and expect to produce the same quality product when our employees will be gone right at 40 hours a week while 40 hrs a week to those same Japanese workers sounds like a holiday. How can the CEO of a company claim a 7 figure salary while the company is not able to earn a profit? I had heard about people working to death in Taiwan and Japan fairly often, but not so much in the US. Why? Too lazy to work to death?

What's more we are far too dependent on credit, especially empty credit. I know plenty of personal examples. What happens when bills come due? Despite learning about the roaring 20's and America's entrance into the great depression, we never really learn.

America thinks they're on top. Wrong. European and Asian fashions are far more trendy. We've been looking up to Japanese technology for the past several years. What do we have? A better economy, well how long can that last with the above mentioned comments? Population power? Not with China and India. If America is number one, they are too fat and dumb to stay there for long and I'm thinking we're not actually number one at all.

After living in Taiwan for four months

I'm proud to be an American. I am proud to be an American. Yes the above comments remain true, but our own arrogance is double sided. We have an over-sized ego and an undeserved sense of entitlement. This drives us to only accept the best, to push ourselves and demand high quality. Even our cheap merchandise is high quality. I'm in Taiwan and when you buy something cheap here... well you better not be attached to it. If you want something good, you can definitely get it, but be prepared to pay as much as, or perhaps more than you would have if you were still in the US (with exceptions of course).

Even as I'm visiting friends and examining lifestyles of some of the more wealthy here in Taiwan, I'm left with a great sense of American pride. Looking at things like how buildings had been built, yea those uneducated workers in the US are doing a much better job than the ones here. Our final products (I'm specifically talking about buildings here) have a different style and, while I prefer the Asian one, it's obvious which has a higher quality.

What about the working conditions? Well, I have Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese friends and I have been exposed to a lot of different opinions towards work. Americans are among the hardest workers in the world. That doesn't mean they spend 100 hours a week working. But perhaps in 40 hours they used more effort than others did in twice that time.

In the West we're more focused on outcomes. Here they are focused on "how hard did you work." Well the most common measure of effort is time. We don't usually say, I burned 10,000 calories working on that report. No, we say I spent all night from 8pm till 7am this morning. We use time, even in the US. But I don't care how long you spent on your report. I care about the content. In the US the focus is on the end product and this is how our hard work is judged. In Asia the focus is more along the duration of work spent and this determines whether or not you are a hard worker.

I want the world to know that I was, and continue to be, a big critic of the US. Despite that I am proud to say that I am an American and I have faith in the future of the US. Can we be number 1 forever, of course not. Maybe we aren't even number 1 right now, but that's not to say we don't have potential.

Studying Chinese Language and learning the culture -- studying the culture to learn the language

Studying a foreign language is a gateway into a new culture. Thoughts and ideas are expressed, and phrases are structured to directly reflect the culture. Learning the language is the gateway to understanding the people.

Chinese, however, requires more than just the study of the language. Often times proverbs consisting of only 4 or 8 characters (words) entail a great deal of meaning. They are the profound morals of ancient tales. If you were just to hear or read the proverb without knowing the story, you'd be missing meaning. To understand the language and be fluent, you have to study the culture. Now the language is insufficient for communication and studying the culture becomes equally important.

For example if I were to translate one proverb I just studied: Towards oneself spear shield. 自相矛盾。 The meaning is that someone is being a hypocrite or is contradicting themselves. The story behind this phrase is that a salesman was boasting about his spears and shields. He said there's no shield in the world that his spears couldn't penetrate. Naturally his shields were also the strongest in the world and he boasted there were no spears able to penetrate them. When asked what would happen if one of his spears were used against one of his shields, the man had no answer. A foolish and blatant hypocrite, the moral and meaning of the story is summed up in those four character above, literally: self, towards, spear, shield.

This is a relatively simple example of the entanglement of culture and language. Often times only the first 4 characters of an 8 character proverb are written somewhere. If you know the proverb and the culture behind it, this is all you need to grasp the meaning. Take someone like me, however, who is proud to recognize these characters but can't decipher the meaning: People before earlier come. Well it ends up meaning, after you know the rest of the proverb and the culture behind it: "Greater than all who have come before him."

Now Chinese love to quote and reference these proverbs. They've been learning them for years and it's totally common for them to bring them up when talking about business. So if you truly want to master the Chinese language and communicate without hindrance... studying Chinese culture and history is a requirement. As if studying the language itself wasn't a daunting task, now we've all got more work to do. The good news is that the study is quite rewarding.

New Shaolin form

Today it has been 9 full weeks of learning Shaolin Kung Fu in the park. I've just now begun to learn a new form. My teacher says I'll learn it quickly: in three days. I spent over two months on the last form and now I'll begin learning a second one. This is fitting. I believe there will also be a performance on the 26th of this month. Look for a relevant update around that time.

Ghost Month in Taiwan: A silly superstition -- a sensible faith

Early last month I was surprised on a morning run. I had retreated, from running against traffic on the road, to the sidewalk. I expected a haven. I found a woman burning what I thought to be garbage outside of her front door and in the middle of the sidewalk. I was frightfully forced back to the road where I decided the oncoming traffic was less of a threat than random sidewalk fires. On later runs I noticed people setting up tents in the streets. They put tables out and filled them with food. I paid little attention to them, assuming that this must be a season of graduations and weddings and the tents were for hosting celebrations.

My coworker was later advised not to buy a new scooter as it was Ghost Month. Ghost Month is a time when the deceased ancestors of the past are released and run through the world of the living. It is a time for the living to pay respect to those who have come before and ease their suffering. The woman I saw outside burning had been burning ghost money on the street as an offering and I would later see many more people doing this. The tents were not for family celebrations: they were offerings to the ghosts. These offerings included a lot of Chinese foods, but also Coca Cola, Heineken and many other fairly common things we eat all the time.

If you are thinking the same thing I was when I learned about these offerings then you are no doubt wondering: “So what happens to the food?” I asked my friend exactly this. The ghosts don’t eat it… so how long is it left there? After a couple hours the living will then eat the food, but that’s not the point. The food serves as an offering for the ghosts and so later eating it yourself can bring good luck. My initial impression of Ghost Month: utterly superstitious. But this holiday is celebrated widely across Taiwan and China, so are all Chinese really superstitious?

Our first impressions need always be reconsidered from a different perspective. I imagined the life of a traditional Chinese raised here and then moved to the US to see the holidays I experienced growing up Catholic.

The first thing that came to mind was the weekly receiving of the sacrament. Imagine explaining how, after undergoing a service and prayer it is time to drink the blood and eat the body of your savior? Your savior died almost 2000 years ago. Of course even non-Christian Americans are familiar with the meaning behind the body and blood of Christ and its well know that it is a symbol. But taken out of context it seems as if we are cannibals that believe eating our savior will lead us to salvation: a glorious life after death. It would be foolish not to ask: “Are you some cult of want-to-be vampires?” (This is not meant as an insult to the Catholic faith; I’m demonstrating the profound meaning surrounding relativity)

Now contrast the existence of ghosts with the existence of an omnipotent god. Americans are primarily monotheistic. It is commonplace among Western faiths to think of only one god and anything else is old fashioned. In general this god’s beginning coincides with the beginning of time itself – his origin is unexplainable. Conversely the gods that are worshipped, or the ghosts here in Asia have a distinct origin. They are the spirits of our ancestors. They came before us and have an easily defined, dare I say, easier to believe origin.

My first impression was that these ghost-fearing Chinese are silly and superstitious. After a bit of thought I realized these superstitions are less surprising then those I’ve grown desensitized in the West. Ghost Month is not superstitious in the least, it is religious. I am not of this faith, yet it seems more logical than my own estranged faith.

---These are just the opinions of an Engineer working abroad as a foreign teacher. Don’t be offended but I invite you to offer me any criticism; be it constructive or otherwise.

2 months -- Foreigners in Taiwan

I've now been in Taiwan for two months. It's been great and I've been treated very well. I've learned a lot and my Chinese has certainly improved, although I'm still quite the novice.

Although I may have experienced a slight racist experience today, I want everyone to know that I have been treated well here: in many ways better than I deserve.

My coworker and I went out to lunch at a local steak house. This is a nice looking place, although it is affordable (for steak, keeping in mind that there are no cows in Taiwan). It had just opened about a month ago. My coworker and I were led around by the hostess, she first brought us to the left and, despite seeing an open table quickly turned around and led us to a larger table in the back. We were the only ones there.

Later a large group came in and sat next to us... but got up before settling and presumed to change their seat. I was baffled: did they just request not to be seated next to the foreigners? Was there another explanation? I wondered and conversed with my colleague. Later, an older man and his wife sat, briefly on the other side of the room and then had the same reaction. No way! I must have been a coincidence or something we were overlooking. But the feeling was that we had been stuck in the back of this restaurant and no one wanted to sit next to us.

As a white male I've been exposed to very few racist comments. A black girl called me "White boy," with a snear once or twice. I distinctly recall hearing this once with her friends reply saying, "Leave him alone." Regardless, any kind of racism can really make your blood boil. Just thinking that we may have been segregated to the back room and that people didn't want to sit next to us... the idea infuriated me. Of course my ignorance of the situation was more than enough to calm me down, but...

Let me remind you, we were in a steak house. We ordered NEW YORK STYLE STEAKS! I am a New Yorker!

I encourage everyone to rid their lives of racist actions, to the best of your abilities and within reason. I also thought the steak was okay, at best. If you plan on traveling to Taiwan, get your fill of steaks before your trip.

Taiwan Vs China

There are many differences between Taiwan and China. There are also a lot of interesting similarities. Whatever your opinion on Taiwan's independence is, you cannot argue that Taiwan is a Chinese place. I've heard mainland Chinese people say that Taiwanese were more traditionally Chinese than those in the mainland. I've also heard from a rather educated tourist, that people in the mainland will see a foreigner and try to put up a front... basically they want you to think they are very traditional. Likewise the people in Taiwan had no need to put up a front, they simply lived and breathed traditionally.

This is interesting because Taiwan is more modernized, and has developed faster than China.

But the difference I want to focus on is one my friend often received in her emails. She is Taiwanese and would often receive chain letters comparing Taiwan and China. They always depicted China as a crazy backwards country that new no manners. For example, pictures of kids peeing on a tree in the newly built Disney Land. Or photos of the most disgusting toilets you could ever imagine, with captions like, "Do you really want to go to the bathroom in mainland China?"

Today, as I was walking home from a main street I passed by a toy shop for children. I heard a woman's voice behind a car parked right in front of the shop. She muttered something and then... "right here" (I'm translating of course). I looked over and in plain sight I saw her son with his pants down around his but as he was aiming his pistol. What the hell!? This was two feet from the stores front door and on the side of the road. They didn't even take the couple steps to get all the way behind the car. I was tempted to take out my camera and take a shot right there, but, well, that would have been hard to explain.

In any event, I'm a bit critic of how childish and absurd politics and national judgements are made these days. Think twice before you make a racist or nationalistic statement looking down on another place; and take a better look at the people around you first. This is a valuable lesson for everyone, not just Taiwan.

All things aside, Taiwan may not be the most sophisticated place, especially since I'm living out of a major city, but it is still a great place to live. The people here have all been great.

功夫 -- update

I try to keep this blog more meaningful than a simple list of updates on my life... but there may be some people interested in my Kung Fu training and if not, well I'd love to talk about it anyway.

I've continued to practice Kung Fu on weekday mornings before class. I finished learning the general movements of the first form some time ago, maybe 3 weeks ago by now, but I've only been working on that thus far. I have no complaints whatsoever: I'm being taught really well about the movements and their meanings. I also get two points of view to learn from: my teacher who teaches me a more traditional style, and his grandson who practices a more elegant and modern style. I'm thinking the difference is primarily that the older style is more focused on actual use and the modern style is more focused on competition. Either way it has been great to learn so far. Here is a video clip of Huang Po Sheng practicing the entire form in a performance:

Too bad this video isn't better quality. Po Sheng actually gave me a few vidoes from differnet performances. Here he is doing a different form:

This was the form that they originally started teaching me. After one day Huang Grandfather said this was for children and that Po Sheng would finish teaching it to me, but that he would teach me the above form. Keep in mind my Chinese is still limitted so the message your getting from me is a weakly translated one.

Here is one more video of some guy I don't even know, but he looks good throwing down this open hand form:

I don't know if I'll learn any weapons myself, although they did mention it. As for now, I prefer just to learn the open hand forms, but if anything develops I'll post it. Of course I'll post a video of me doing the form once I have learned it well enough, and then can find someone to video tape.

Typhoon Morakot hits Taiwan

The end of last week was full of rainy days as Typhoon Morakot approached the island of Taiwan. A typhoon is basically nothing more than a hurricane, just located on the Eastern Hemisphere... same thing, different location and therefore a different name. Morakot ended up hitting the island on Thursday night and schools were shut down all across the island, for both Friday and Saturday. Now the storm, as I experienced it, in Taichung (on the western side of the island and near the middle in terms of latitude) was not impressive at all. There has been a lot of rain and there were some strong winds on Friday. However, this is nothing out of the ordinary, we didn't lose power and while I stayed inside all day, there were some people out and about, not many, but a few.

It was a serious storm, but nothing I haven't seen before from living in New York or Boston. Based on the wind speed, it would have been classified as a level 1 hurricane back home. Nothing to shake a finger at, but nothing to get too worked up about either... not in Taichung any way.

The Typhoon was actually quite devastating. It was larger than the entire island of Taiwan and came from the South East -- heading North West. The East side of Taiwan was devastated as well as some places in the South. Since the center of Taiwan is so mountainous, that provided a great deal of protection for the East and the location I am in as well. With that said, most of the damage was due to flooding from intense rains. In one particular case some flooding rose up from a low level drainage path... and then eroded away the foundation of a building on one side. The building ended up collapsing on it's side.

The flooding was really serious in many places and caused a great deal of trouble. Some people did die, too. If you're interested in reading more about the typhoon just do a google search for Typhoon Morakot and you'll be sure to get the updates. Photos are available through the following link:

http://tw.news.yahoo.com/photostory/morakot.html?p=63

Two sides to every story

It's important to remember, when you're reading anything at all, that there are two sides to every story. When you come across an emotional article, or an emotional person, and you start to get caught up in the content of their story... perhaps it seems too outlandish to be true... take a step back, it probably is.

In fact, I've found myself reading serious articles in well known newspapers and then said wait, this is crazy, it can't be true. You're left with a "the sky is falling" sense of the world. So my habit is to go back into the article and find the sources, what in this article is solid truth that they have evidence of and how much is speculation.

I'll give you a brief example of an article I only read briefly and am by no means an expert on. It was in the Taipei times last week and had a headline that really caught my eye: "US says Taiwan should be prepared to stand alone in case of an invasion," I am certain this was not the actual title of the article, but it had this sort of feeling, at least when I read it.

So my first impression was holy crap, why... who is invading... mainland China? Now? Shouldn't the world be more focused on North Korea? Wait is North Korea attacking Taiwan... why? So I started to read and I got to the statement from the US. It said something along the lines of Taiwan should be prepared militarily to stand on it's own for at least a little while in the face of an invasion.

This doesn't mean the US is abandoning Taiwan, it means be prepared, just in case. Of course what would happen if Taiwan was invaded by mainland China? I asked my boss, he's a hard core Taiwanese patriot.... that would never happen. That wasn't my question.. you can't just make up answers for stuff like that (my girlfriend does the same thing when she's upset ;)). But what would happen?

Well, my point is if you read this article and take it as it is written you may find yourself extremely paranoid, not only of an upcoming invasion, but also of a lack of support from the US. What the hell? But in reality there's a lot more gentle politics going on behind the scenes and this was a comment that was blown out of proportion and made into a real spectacle, for what purpose? To sell magazines. Such is the power of the almighty $.

It's not that you shouldn't read the news, or the opinions of others, in fact you can read them and learn a lot from them. You just need to learn how to separate truth from reality with everything you are exposed to, especially if money is involved.

Once again, as a disclaimer, I only read the article in passing and really only skimmed over it, before realizing that this was probably a comment that got blown out of proportion and then dismissed the rest of the article. My statements on the actual subject matter are therefore subject to be completely erroneous, but my purpose here was not to critique the article, I was merely using it as an example.

Henceforth I will try my best to clearly distinguish between fact and opinion in my posts so that you all have a clear idea on what I am actually observing here, but do remember that I still have my biases.

Solar Eclipse

I never posted photos from the partial solar eclipse in town the other day:

Actually I took oversized photos and the moon was rather small so when it's this size, actually seeing the moon is quite hard.

Here is a photo from Kaohsiung, courtesy of Sandra's family:

For more photos check out my galleries: http://picasaweb.google.com/TMDurk

This is where all the good shots go.

Kaohsiung (高雄)

I spent the past weekend in Kaohsiung: Taiwan's second largest city and Sandra's home town. I stayed with her parents after arriving late on Friday night. On Saturday morning we woke up early and they dropped me off at chung hsing lake and let me take a look around while riding along on one of their bicycles. It was great, I ended up taking loads and loads of photos. That doesn't mean I took a lot of good ones, but it was really a nice park. It was actually a rainy day and I was attacked by mosquitoes craving "white meat," despite this it was a great morning to walk around.

Here is the side entrance to the park where I went in.

The first path I went down, before wondering off and being eaten by mosquitoes.

The 7-story pagoda I had to fight my way to the top of. Bruce Lee had it easy, only 5 stories for him.

The view from the top.

My version of Kareem-Abdul Jabbar, he may not look it, but he was no push-over. He was actually very talkative. He told me he had been practicing qi gong here and had just finished. Then he presumed to show me videos of qi gong and tai chi on his i-touch and then talk to me about why it's important to practice Tai Chi slowly and how most people don't know how to use it... then he continued to tell me how people who are around teaching martial arts are usually bad and not needed. In order to learn properly you should watch videos on the Internet, those experts are much better than anyone in Taiwan... so Asia has these types as well: the type who learns martial arts from the Internet and then swears by it . He sure was nice though.

After spending more time at the lake I went out to eat lunch with Sandra's parents, in an apartment owned by her uncle (father's older brother). Currently no one is renting the place but it is amazing, overlooking the entire lake from I don't know how many stories up, but the place was incredible! I will upload all of my photos to a different website later, this blog isn't suited for these kinds of photos.

Afterwards we went back home and relaxed before eating a family dinner with the grandparents. Sandra's grandmother insisted on telling me time and time again that my Chinese was great. No matter what I just said or how well I said it, instead of answering my questions or continuing on the conversation I would get a big thumbs up, a large smile, and a serious compliment on my spoken Chinese. She was so funny.

After dinner it was time to go home and go for a nice walk on "Love River," just outside of Sandra's home. I went with her mom and got some great photos.

The view on Love River at night - this is near the top of Love River so it's only natural that the river is tiny here, but it is much larger downstream.

The view of Kaohsiung from Love River, I'm still learning how to use the camera at night but some of these shots come out great!

Bear pretending to be a Panda, in Eric's room (Sandra's brother). This is where I slept :).

The next day we went to Lotus Lake, here are Sandra's parents leading the charge. Chinese walk so fast...

The Dragon Tiger Pagoda!

View of the tiger side, from the dragon side.

Just showing him who the boss is...

Inside of the mouth's of both creatures was some portraits telling a traditional Chinese story. I will upload them to a picture sharing site later on.

The view from atop the dragon side

Looking down on the tiger

It is a big tiger.

Sandra's Mom with the Tiger.

One of the many Taoist temples across the street.

A different pagoda with a huge dragon, just a bit farther down the lake.

This guy is big

It's big too.

Just chillin' out on the mushroom thingy.

The Confucius temple at Kaohsiung-entrance.

One of the gates on the way in.

A park just outside of the main attraction.

Me knocking on the gate to the Confucius temple... let the white guy in all ready, the front gate had English.

The temple, unfortunately they were preparing for a performance at night so there is all kinds of scaffolding and other stuff hanging around.