Taiwan
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The Taiwan Diaries
Volume 6
(01.23.03)
Well, I survived my trip home for Christmas. I think I could do a whole diary about that disaster: had a car wreck in LA, lost my wallet with my alien card inside, and missed my flight back to Taiwan. It could have been worse I guess. I just haven't figured out how yet. Due to all the disasters and just being too rushed I wasn't able to scan in any pictures. However, I got a digital camera for Christmas and am working on a website. It's slow going but progressing nicely. I will send the link out in the next diary or maybe before. Sorry for the delay.
Little Bush means Big Laughs
Well, I was doing an activity in my class with my older children. We were studying school subjects and were playing jeopardy. I was asking them math questions and biology questions. It was pretty fun actually. When asked what a koala eats they had a pretty tough time saying eucalyptus. We had some good laughs out of that. However, the funniest moment occurred when I asked a Government question. Who is the president of the United States? They all looked at each other and said they didn't know his name in English could they say the Chinese. I said okay, thinking it would be pretty similar like most other names when translated. Nope. His name in Chinese is Shou (ou is like ou in ouch) Bushie (the u is like oo in cool). It means small Bush. Every kid started laughing hysterically. I tried to no avail to get them to say George Bush. All twelve kids were saying Shou Bushie, Shou Bushie over and over and over while laughing. One kid fell out of his seat he was laughing so hard. I asked my Chinese TA if George Bush was a joke in Taiwan. She said not for adults. They like him a lot and think he is a good leader. He just has an unfortunate name that all children find hilarious. I took me a good 10 min to restore order to my classroom.
Brrrrrr!
Okay, My city in Taiwan is on the same latitude line as Havana, Cuba. You would think it would be hot all the time. Especially since I told you we only had two seasons: hot and hotter. Well apparently I was wrong. You see we had a cold front blow in last week. It was awful! It was 48 degrees outside and VERY windy. The cold front blew in from Mainland China and brought the cold air and winds from Siberia! No lie, Siberia must be like walking in a freezer. Since I drive a scooter it was especially bad. If you aren't careful, the wind will blow you into the car lane, possibly into a car. It's pretty scary. Also, I have no coat and no heat in my house. I barely have any long sleeve clothes but every night I put on almost everything I own and crawl under my little sheet and small, thin blanket. I look hilarious and very pitiful. However, this whole situation was amusing to me because I wasn't the only one who was freezing. All my Canadian friends were cold! I found this a little bizarre because isn't 48 degrees almost like their summer? Winter for them is usually below 0. I don't know how they were cold or if they will survive when they go back to Canada. But hey, on the up side, they laid off making fun of me for saying y'all for whole week because they knew I would laugh at them for being
cold.
How do you say "HELP, I'm stuck" in Chinese?
Well, I don't know but I really should learn how after a recent ride in my elevator. It was going right along and then it just jolted and stopped between the 7th and 8th floor. I tried to open the door. It didn't work. I rang the bell and my guard came on the phone and started talking in Chinese. Obviously, I had no idea what he was saying and so I kept saying Elevator boo how! Gee low Bah low. I had no idea how to say elevator in Chinese but the rest means elevator bad. 7th floor 8th floor. It was the only thing I could think of to say that I could communicate in Chinese. It was awful. I was stuck for about 15 min and some man finally opened the door and had to pull me out by my armpits up onto the 8th floor. It may not sound bad but 15min is a long time to wait when you don't know if you've effectively communicated the problem. So that is my latest adventure and now I think I should at least learn how to say "HELP" in Chinese.
Factoid--Chinese New Year
Since it is time for Chinese New Year, I thought my factoid could be to tell you about it. Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade. New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The entire house should be cleaned before New Year's Day. On New Year's Eve, all cleaning equipment is put away. Sweeping or dusting should not be done on New Year's Day for fear that good fortune will be swept away. Shooting off firecrackers on New Year's Eve is the Chinese way of sending out the old year and welcoming in the New Year. On the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, every door in the house, and even windows have to be open to allow the old year to go out. On New Year's Day, we are not suppose to wash our hair because it would mean we would have washed away good luck for the New Year. Children are given little red envelopes with crisp bills for good fortune. While many Chinese people today may not believe in these
do's and don'ts, these traditions and customs are still practiced. These traditions and customs are kept because most families realize that it is these very traditions, whether believed or not, that provide continuity with the past and provide the family with an identity.
Well, I'm off to Thailand tomorrow. For our Chinese New Year vacation we wanted to escape from city life. So I'm off to ride elephants, float down rivers on bamboo rafts and bake on the beach. It's gonna be great. Maybe next month I'll have to send out The Thailand Diaries instead. As I know that February is still cold, even in Texas, you can think of me Feb. 1 working on my tan and checking out some awesome fireworks. Until next month...