Hey Folks,
This new entry is long overdue and seeing as I don't have class today I figure it's about time I wrote it. Last time I told you about typhoon Sinlaku and the craziness that came out of its visit toTaiwan. Well, typhoon Jingmi is outside my window right now, hanging around like an unwelcome guest. Yesterday the wind was gusting anywhere from 70-100mph+ depending on where you were. I personally witnessed this as me and a couple other guys sat at the "typhoon checkpoint"; a picnic table outside the OK mart down on the street. Crashes and bangs in the distance were frequent, tree branches flew by us a few times, and a scooter tipped over. The sign for the Ji- pai dude (deep fried chicken breast) was shaking and shucking and jiving in the ridiculous wind the whole afternoon to the point where we moved the table in case it fell over.
Which it did about two hours later.
I spent a good hour standing in my bedroom with my camera ready, staring out my windows for anything wild. I got a few photos worth mentioning, like the dude up the street who was arc welding steel framework behind a billboard to keep the rest of it upright (some was already lying on the sidewalk). I guess he got paid enough money to stand on a second story roof in the middle of the worst typhoon of the year in the howling wind and driving rain. Kudos to him.
Aside from that I just saw a lot of debris floating around/kicking around the streets. A few nut bags were out on their scooters, having to slow down and stop every fifty feet so the wind didn't level them like a linebacker on a busted screen pass. There were a couple times something went zipping by and crashed into a roof or a building nearby and all I had time to say was : " What the heck was that?" Things that aren't bolted to the ground tend to move rather quickly in a typhoon.
Anyhow, no classes today! Which is nice in the respect that I get to be lazy and lounge around and not really worry about work...but then again that money I don't make and a Chinese class I miss. Oh well.
Two posts ago I promised some new stuff and I have yet to deliver, so here it is! A few weeks ago I was scootering home from work when I got to a police roadblock. These are not uncommon, especially on weekends as they aim to nab drunk drivers and other scum that inhabit the city, if they can. This roadblock was like any other, except for the fact that one of the three cops standing in the middle of rush hour traffic was casually cradling an M16 assault rifle in his arms. For those of you not in the know, click the following link:
http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/247464/2/istockphoto_247464_m16_assault_rifle.jpg
Yea. Big gun. Ah, the little differences from back home.
Now, the market. It was a weekend afternoon and Jon and I had just had lunch at Fingas, a western style restaurant that allows us to keep our sanity by offering delicious cheeseburgers and the like. Jon wanted to make guacomole and I assented that was a good idea. I followed him down a few side streets and across a canal or two and we were there. Now, I remember seeing farmer's markets back home, usually in the fall to sell apples and corn and butter. But this...this was a completely different animal. Besides the loads of fresh veggies (which make AMAZING guac) there was a whole host of other crazy stuff. Big plastic bins with bubbling water in them housed hundreds of live prawns, which people were purchasing by the bag full. Want some chicken? Sure thing, just choose which one you want from the cage and they'll behead and de-feather it for you right on the spot. Squid? No problem, choose the one you want and the hulking Chinese guy weilding the meat cleaver with eerie precision with dice and bag it up for you. There was any kind of fish you could want, thousands of live clams, tofu, freshly made dumplings, and then the jello weirdness. I'm still a little out of the loop as to what its made out of, but it looks like regular home made Hi-I'm-Bill-Cosby-Let's-Make-Dessert kind of stuff. Except the really dark red kind is made out of blood.
I don't think you can get that one at Hannaford.
Very cool place. Makes me wish I had a kitchen so I could cook.
Ah, yes. Late night Taiwanese TV. Now, I know most if not all of you have witnessed what comes on a lot of channels late at night back in the U.S. and A; even if you won't admit it. Ads for girls, those cheesy sex-talk hotlines, male enhancement pills etc etc. Here, it's not too different...at least in some respects.
Now, bear in mind I don't watch this stuff, really, but its always good for a laugh.
Here, late night TV consists of really graphic male enhancement pill commercials. I mean explicit stuff. As in, the dude is sitting on his bed looking mopey and his wife/girlfriend (always way younger than him) is also looking morose. But, fear not! Pop this magic pill and all will be well. These commericals are as close to softcore pornography as you can get. Not much nudity, really, but lots of under-the-covers humping and focused in camera shots on the girl's face. Really weird. Not quite as odd as the adds for girls, though. These are similar to stuff I've seen back home, except on a much lower budget. They usually consist of an emaciated asian girl who is either scantily clad and walking along a lake front or something, or dancing really, really awkwardly in what looks like someone's basement with a strobe light and some sheets hung up. Weird. And funny because they always look so damn serious about trying to be sexy, and they aren't. One of these days I'll have to get Jon loaded enough to call one of the numbers. Now that would make for a good blog entry.
In general, things are going pretty well. I'm usually the first to get to work and the last to leave, and I don't think that has gone unnoticed. I'm becoming steadily more comfortable with the curriculum material, which is awesome because now I can focus more on classroom management. It's an interesting feeling when I see a student spacing out and all I have to do with stand next to their desk, and instantly, *pow!*, they are so engrossed in their books you'd think their life depended on reading it. I also just recently discovered that I can have them redo parts of their homework if they really botch it, instead of just penalizing them points. Nice.
I'm going to update my Flickr stuff today too so check that out.
Next time: Why Australian football is kickass even if you don't fully understand the game. The bakery near my work and the craziness/deliciousness within. The car accident I witnessed, and anything else of note that happens until next time.
As always, you take it easy campers. Many days and pleasant nights, say thankya.
Fun Facts:
-McDonalds delivers.
-Almost no one here eats cheese.
-I've lost 20 pounds since I got here.
-Spiderman 3 is one of the biggest, multi-million dollar piles of rubbish I've ever seen.
-I can count to 20 in Chinese.
-Betel nut trees are really horrible for the environment as they have extremely shallow roots which in turn cause erosion and mud slides.
-Taiwan's national sport is Baseball.