Taiwan

Pardon the overdue post, but a couple weeks ago, I went to Taiwan. It was my second trip there, the first occurring back in late February, when I met up with a friend to celebrate our 29th birthdays (we share March 3rd as a day of uterine expulsion [classy, yeah?]). While that trip was only three days, this one - taking place during the Japanese holiday known as Golden Week - lasted a week. It was great!

By chance, a former JET, still friend, suggested I check out a home-stay called Small Swiss Home-stay on the west coast of Taiwan. He went there the year before and had a great experience. So I got in touch with the owner, a kind man named Charlies, and it turned out a fellow JET from Okinawa was planning on being there the same time I was. We worked it out and I ended up joining their 3 day/2 night tour.

Charlies started a home-stay on his family's property in the Ari-shan mountains of western Taiwan for people to experience the beauty of Taiwan. Like any country, while the cities might be the centers for commerce and progressive culture, the parts that lie away from the metropolises allow for some great experiences. It was here that Charlies shared with us his way of life, his passion for teaching people about the Chia-yi region of Taiwan, and his seemingly unending kindness. Whether it was the amazing food recommendations at local eateries, the delicious early morning breakfasts delivered to us, or relaxing while drinking fragrant tea on our last night there, Charlies was never without a smile and a lively attitude.

Workers at a tea farm in the Ari-shan Mountains

My ambitious 7-day trip had me leaving the west coast and getting to the other side of the island. Had I been a little more familiar with Taiwan before I went, I might have tried to catch a bus or a train across the island. Instead, I joined my group of new friends on a trip back to Taipei for a night. It was good to have some downtime on the trainride back and a night without worryin about getting anywhere.

The second part of my trip took me to a county called Hua-lien, on the east coast of Taiwan. By chance, I inquired about housing at a local hostel that some other Okinawa friends had stayed at just a night before, by coincidence. The owner, a 30-year old woman named Ya-chen, had started the hostel 5 years ago with some help from her family. She owns and operates the place by herself (I didn't see any staff, but it's likely they work during the day when most guests are out). One of the cool things about Ya-chen was how much she has learned from her guests. Not only English, but also surfing (Hua-lien is a surfers hangout, it seems). Her business got me thinking about how hostels - as far as I know - don't seem to be that big in the US. Perhaps there's a business opportunity there, as well as inter/intranational exchange.

Hua-lien is renowned for the Taroko Gorge, a natural wonder and national park area, especially considering the relatively small geographical size of Taiwan. The gorge has been carved slowly by a river, cutting through a predominantly limestone base. The composition of the rocks, and the erosion that takes place, turns the river water into a silvery-grey color. It was pretty amazing, especially coming from the turquoise seas of Okinawa. It was a great day trip, having rented a scooter and hiking through the various trails and caves scattered throughout the park.

One thing that's hard to express is the wonder of looking up a cliff face that reaches over 1200m. Even the pictures I took don't evoke the same feel of when I was standing there, the wind pushing through the gorge at high speeds, my head leaned back, taking it all in. I also can't tell you how much of a rush it was to have rocks falling from overhead (at the Tunnel of Nine Turns), landing only meters away. Even with the mandatory hardhats, the crack of a falling rock on paved road was enough to get my heart beating very quickly.

I spent my last two days in Taipei. I also made my first real step into the world of Couchsurfing, where people around the world host travelers and stay with hosts offering couches. It's a cool way to meet some interesting people (though you do get the occasional mooch/jackass). My first night's hosts were a very cool couple, the second night a college student who helped me with some Mandarin music selections. We even made it to the top of Taipei 101, the world's tallest building with the world's fastest elevator.

Taipei 101 from street level

I'm glad I went. Taiwan proved to me that it is a place worth checking out as the next place to live. Of course, studying Chinese would be a good idea. I've still got a year and a half left on my contract here (and the option to apply for another year in February), so I'm not going to decide on anything just yet. I'll see what happens.

Good Choices

Tuesday is a regular karate day, as is Friday. This Tuesday, I had a few more classes than normal and a headache decided to kick in sometime in the early afternoon. The mild tiredness and aching noggin got me to thinking about how it would be nice to just sit around at home and do nothing in particular.

I wrote my friend Cliff an email, something along the lines of "can't decide whether to take it easy or battle through it." He responded, "battle!"

And it's a good thing I did. Because Taira-sensei brought bo. It sounds a little strange in English, but all you have to do is imagine the ninja turtle Donatello.
Remember him? The one with the purple color scheme? Ok, the weapon that he used is a bo. According to sensei, the ones they use in competition (which doesn't apply to me, it's just a standard) are 1.8m long and 900g. Let me assure you, this is a very sturdy weapon.

We worked on basics, we worked up some nice bruises, and when practice was over, sensei told us to buy our own and bring them next time. I am very much looking forward to this type of practice.

He also assured us that once we get bo skills down, we can move on to another weapon: nunchaku.

晴れ はれ ha-re

It means "clear weather" in Japanese. And what clear weather it has been for the past few days.

I spent my weekend on Zamami with Dave, just hanging out and making a few social rounds on Saturday night. Sunday we took off on a mid-day bike adventure to one of the lesser visited parts of the island, a little hamlet called Asa. We visited the nearby beach, and since the tide was out, we walked around more so than we would have been able to otherwise. I got a little sunburned, too.

Monday was Higashi school's annual 海の体験学習 Sea Learning Experience Day. I made sure to cover my face well and apply thick layers of sunscreen to keep from repeating the exposure on Sunday. In general, it was a much better day than last year, with only occasional clouds and wind. It was a perfect day for getting into the water and herding fish into a net (追い込み), cleaning and cooking our fish on the beach (this years catch was much better than last), and just generally enjoying being outdoors for a day.

The weather has held up well this week and it has been sunny so far today. The forecast also shows sun tomorrow and even into this weekend. Here's hoping the skies decide to stay clear for me as I make my way to Taiwan next week for Golden Week. I'll be heading to Alishan, a mountain famed for its delicious tea; Taroko Gorge National Park for some exploring and hiking; and two nights in Taipei staying with Couchsurfers who have graciously decided to host me. One of my hosts is a couple who love to bike and compete in triathlons. Seeing as I'm doing the Izena 88 Triathlon (biking portion of 66km), I'm sure we'll have a lot to talk about.

Deep Blue

This past weekend, I went deep sea fishing for the first time. Several weeks ago, my friend Dave sent out an invitation to join the trip on a charter that he was organizing. I jumped right on the chance to go. It had been so long since I’d done any sort of fishing and I was really looking forward to what I heard was supposed to be a great time.

Okinawa at 5:30 in the morning.

And it was. For about half of us. Seven of us started the trip out to sea on Saturday morning, leaving port at around 5:30 am. The sunrise was beautiful, the sea was calm, and the weather turned out to be fantastic ? clear skies and warm weather. Unfortunately for some, the inner calmness didn’t last. While four of us were doing just fine, the other three were alternating between lying on the deck, leaning over the side of the boat, and in one case, fighting sickness long enough to pull in a few fish.

Eric with his first catch.

We fished for about 8 hours and, though I stopped counting, pulled in lots of fish ? mostly tuna, but also some smaller bonito. Kerri even managed to snag a flying fish, but threw it back (I learned a few days later than they are apparently really tasty).

Dave cleans the first fish on our way back to port.

It was a blast! My freezer is now full of thick fish fillets. I made a nice dish last night. I roasted tomatoes, onions, olive oil, garlic, and seasoning for about 10-15 minutes at 200 C, then added the fish for another 10-15. Topping that off with a bowl of rice, it was a nice dinner.

At the very least, I learned something important about myself ? I like providing my own food. Granted, we chartered a boat and had to travel pretty far out to sea, but the feeling of reeling in a fish by myself was something I needed. It’s got me wondering what other sorts of things I can do on my own.

Money...well, spent

Don't be fooled - not all of Japan has access to the latest internet technology (I'm talking about hi-speed fiber optic networks). While this technology has reached as far north in Okinawa as Nago, it has not come past there into the villages of Higashi, Ogimi, and Kunigami. The reason? Perhaps, revenue versus cost. It's my guess that there are not enough people up here that would use internet to make it worth building a network. Which leaves me confused as to why some of the outer islands have better internet access than we do - who decided to build networks out to those islands?

But speed is only part of the point here. I've come to accept my slow internet. During downloads and page loadings, I do other productive things, like study or run. The other aspect of my internet service, one that I'm reminded of monthly, is cost. I pay around $90 US a month for slow ass internet. It's more complicated than that, so let me explain.

I use what is known as ISDN, the technology that emerged after the introduction of the dial-up modem. For some of you younger readers, you might be thinking, "what's a modem?" or "what's dial-up?" I remember talking to my friend Cliff one day about how I used dial-up modems and bulletin board systems (BBS) back in high school - he had no idea what I was talking about. Anyway, it's not fast and it requires a phone line. And this is where NTT (the phone company) makes a killing (I assume).

The internet connection fee is around $25 US a month. The phone line rental is $65 US. So with about twice the money it took to wire my Chicago apartment with relatively fast cable, I get internet that kind of sucks.

This doesn't really bother me anymore, except when I can't connect. Yesterday, the phone line refused to connect despite all my attempts to get it to dial. I eventually gave up and during errands in Nago stopped by the internet cafe. But I was starting to get a little pissed off at NTT and I had this months bills on my desk, ready to call them with threats of cancellation and a loss of revenue. So of course, this morning, I connected and everything's back to normal. Close one, NTT. If it wasn't for my study habits, which require internet resources, you might have one less reason to build that network in Higashi.