2 Years in Taiwan

June 9th was a special day for me. It marked 2 years of living in Taiwan.

Living and working here has been an unbelievable experience. But at the same time I cannot say if it surpassed my expectations. Mainly since when I arrived all I expected was to work and to live here. Part of that was I had minimal idea of what to expect and little guidance from my boss beyond being told where to go. I was ok with that.

In short, Taiwan has been amazing.

I won’t thank specific people here since most of the people I need to thank have already been thanked in person. Still looking back makes me truly humbled that so many people here in Taiwan have been so kind to me and done so much to show me guidance and take me under their wings. Almost without exception, the Taiwanese people have been wonderful toward me. Even more so now that I have been dating one for 7 months.

I have done my best to adopt the local manners, languages, culture, customs, and feeling. Taiwan has become my second home and I’ve become Taiwanese.

When I come back to Taiwan after my summer trip there will be a lot to consider in my remaining year. What I can be sure of is that I will continue to have great experiences here.

Highlight Reel

In the last 18 days since I have updated this blog there have been a lot of things that have happened. So over the next few days I’ll try to turn this into a highlight reel of sorts and go through those that stick out the most to me.

2 Years in Taiwan
Dragon Boat Festival
A mini ND dinner
My upcoming trip

NBA Finals

A lot of people cast election votes for the person who is the least bad. I feel that way about the NBA finals.

As a Blazer fan I completely detest the Lakers. Every little thing about them. On the other hand, I can't stand Sheed and Garnet on the Celtics.

I just want this over and Greg Oden to come back. Sigh...

Siesta and Chiptole (Kinda)

This weekend both my girlfriend and I were a little worn down. So instead of our usual weekend, which packs tons of things into those 48 hours, we decided to take a siesta and take it easy on Sunday. Even then the day before both of us had tests and I went out to get some tailored pants

It was a good choice. Just hang out at my place, watch tv shows, eat (lots), and rest.

Then that evening we went out to a newly opened Mexican place that was assisted in business planning by a ND MBA that I know and some of his cousins. I expected a nice sit down place with good Mexican food. Instead, I got Chipotle. Not that this is a bad thing. But I was surprised since I expected something different.

Basically, the restaurant was similar to Chipotle in all but name and interior design. Still the food was good. It is a little out of the way for me but I'll probably make it back there sometime.

How to Surprise a Taiwanese High School Student

This weekend I was out in the Ximen Ding area of Taipei to see Shrek 4 (like the others it was pretty good). It was there that I inadvertently learned how to surprise a Taiwanese female high school student.

In public areas in Taiwan students will often stand there with clear boxes asking for your receipts. Each time you buy things there is a standard numbered receipt and the number on the receipt is put into a lottery style drawing. So the kids are there to collect them for whatever cause they support. They will stand there and say in unison their pitch and ask you to give them your receipts.

As I walked by one group of two students in an especially crowded area they started their pitch in unison and a little too close to me (~2 feet away). I snapped my head around to see the source of the sudden intrusion. When I looked at them they stopped cold for a few seconds then mumbled (that's the best word I can think of for it as they said it at a normal speed and volume but they were just saying gibberish) the rest of the line before breaking into nervous giggles.

Yilan!

This weekend I took a short trip with my girlfriend, her high school friend, and 3 friends of the high school friend to the Northeastern Taiwanese city of Yilan. I had never been to the city before and I did zero prep work to know the sights and attractions I wanted to see (such is the great benefit of having a girlfriend who is an amazing party/trip planner). After we first got there everyone went out to a traditional "museum" spread over a huge area of land with lots of shops and stores. We were able to see the guy below pulling sugar to make traditional candy.

I also got quite a view of one of the local hotties while I was in Yilan/Luodong.

After a quick stop at a riverside park and a roll down a hill it was decided that we would venture out for a night of shrimp fishing. Now, I had been shrimp fishing before. It is a very Taiwanese activity that tacitly encourages you to drink, smoke, and chew betel nut while you do it--maybe like bowling in the US minus the betel nut). Basically, you grab a pole and sit around a small cloudy pool put a little bait on your tiny hook and test your luck. Somehow these guys are more than slippery and despite your best efforts you dont land many of them. When you do land them then you have to be careful since they have some decent pincher claws.

When you take them off the hook that means you have to be careful. Then again you can just use my strategy of just ripping their claws off as you take them off the hook.

Once you have used your allotted time you take the catch to be cleaned and barbecued. We had 6 people and not many shrimp. But we were beyond lucky. A little Taiwanese lady who had been using what I can only imagine was super bait handed us a basket full of shrimp. Instead of having 12 shrimp we were suddenly in the great situation of having about 35 more. With the glut of shrimp we found that they made fantastic toys.

The next day we didnt do too much before going back to Taipei. As we dropped off our rented scooters we went inside a store to get some gifts. The owner and her daughter, below, were facinated by the black girl with us and her braids. So much so that they asked her to braid the her hair. The thing was the owner was really nice but the little girl was incredibly shy--to shy to even talk to us or say thanks.

As we left the owner/mother spoke to me in Chinese and said the daughter was too nervous since she could not speak English but after seeing us her goal was to be able to learn English when she got older so she could talk with foreigners.

Half a Year

Increbible really. It has been over six months since I started dating my girlfriend. In the long run of things, that really isn't in a long time and hopefully in terms of the total of our relationship that isn't a long time either. In the short run of things, it is a long time. Currently, I have been living in Taiwan for almost 2 years. So for more than a quarter of my time here I have been dating my girlfriend.

The time in the Taiwan and the last 6 months have flown by incredibly quickly and I'm sure that trend will only accelerate. Still the last 6 months have been an incredible adventure and a wonderful journey with my girlfriend. For those of you who read still occassionally read this thing, you will have to take my word for it until you are able to meet her in person; she is a great gal.

When I came back from Thailand and Cambodia I had to work on that Saturday then meet my boss for a business dinner. Even though I was tired, there was no question in my mind that I was going to meet her for KTV.

Then the next day we had our long awaited date day to celebrate 6 months. We were both tired and had a lot of work to do, but it was a great little escape to go visit Danshui for the day.

I'm looking forward to the next 6 months.