The rooftop

A few pictures I took a few weeks back from 

the roof of my apartment building, another rather idyllic place that I will miss in the coming stressful months.

Laundry! When you sweat as much as I do in this climate, you use this a lot.

Taipei 101 at sunset.

More sunset

My favorite swing ever. The sun sets right between those two buildings.

Signing off

Wow where to begin? Final posts seem so conclusive that I've been sort of afraid to write this for a few days now. I'm sitting in my empty apartment, packing bags and doing laundry because I'm heading to the airport super early tomorrow morning. Most of my friends left this morning.

I suppose I should first say thank you to all those who expressed concern for me after the typhoon. Luckily Taipei only experience a lot of rain. No mudslides and other scary things that made the American news. I was in fact in Hong Kong last weekend when the typhoon hit so I was utterly unaffected except that my plane was delayed. I would describe my weekend in Hong Kong if we didn't have so many other things to discuss. Suffice it to say: Hong Kong is the bomb. I loved it. Everyone should go. 10 points for Asia. But seriously, if you can give anything to disaster relief organizations, please do. 

I feel really bittersweet about leaving Taiwan, which is a good thing I suppose. Kelly and Erica stressed that upon departure we would be at a low point on our emotional graph or whatever it was they showed us at orientation, but I'm really not. As time passed I only continued to improve and accustom myself to this place. 

Sei and I have gone to this restaurant next to our apartment at least three times a week since the beginning of the summer. I once jokingly dubbed it "the best restaurant ever" but the name stuck. Seriously though, best kung pao chicken in the world. While we assumed that our persistent attendance and endearing foreignness would create an automatic inroad to the heart of the woman who owns the place, we continued to be rebuffed. (Okay, not rebuffed. But she didn't exactly mother us.) But this week as we were leaving, she asked Sei if she was Taiwanese. Sei replied in the negative, but as I walked by I quipped, "I'm Taiwanese, though." She proceeded to smack me, but seemed to find me entertaining enough. (Lord knows I crack myself up.)

Anyway, this breakthrough came about eight weeks too late because we had to say goodbye last night. It was, however, a really fitting measure of our progress in Taiwan. We had a long conversation (about Korean jinseng of all things) and she seemed genuinely upset to see us go. Which was awkward when I showed up for dinner tonight, explaining that it was Sei's last night before, but this was mine. As I ate my fried rice all by my lonesome, she brought over some soup as a nice gesture. I'm really going to miss that place. 

[Probably skip the next two paragraphs: an evaluation of my Chinese program] On a different note, I think I will miss ICLP least of all. We had our last class on Friday and boy was I ready for it to be over. As the summer continues I grow ever more angry that I stayed in my original class assignment. I think I really missed an opportunity to learn more this summer by sticking with my teacher's recommendation. As a measuring stick for all of you, I was using the same textbook as the Yale kids who had just finished 1st year. (I just finished second year.) And they got further into the book than I did by the end of the summer because their classmates could handle a faster pace than mine. This makes me so angry I can't even really put it to words. I have to reassure myself with the knowledge that I made the best of my situation by taking on a third textbook. And improve I did. It would be impossible to go to 15 hours of class a week in the middle of Taiwan and not improve. They had us retake the placement exam that we took at the outset and my score went from 61 to 100.  I'll chalk a lot of this improvement up to the fact that I'd already taken the test once before. But nevertheless, I suppose I can't be too angry with the results. Plus, I'm heading into a really intense semester this fall so I've definitely enjoyed the lighter pace and the ability to explore Taipei. 

I think ICLP has potential to be a really strong program. My teachers were wonderfully competent and their textbooks are great. The school just accepted a record number of summer students for which they really didn't have the capacity. For instance, placing 130 students was such a mess that they got lazy and stopped allowing people to move around to their appropriate levels. Most of all, I just think that ICLP creates a really relaxed environment. Their goal doesn't seem to be to replace a full year of study at an American university, probably because most of their students aren't American university students. The summer seems to be a good time to take an easier course load and brush up before continuing with ICLP in the fall. I think that until they design the summer program to match the goals of summer students looking to study hard, I would recommend that Yale kids study somewhere else. There are other ways in which ICLP just didn't facilitate the creation of a more intensive environment. I was sometimes really frustrated that my classmates had prepared significantly less than I had, and a lot of my class time was spent catching them up, but my teachers never suggested that they put in more effort. The "Language pledge" which only took effect on two floors of a building slowly deteriorated through the summer. (I won't claim innocence on that one.) Its really the student body that makes a school and I think ICLP can't afford to accept so many students if it means such a disorganized and lax environment. 

I went to tea with Lu Laoshi (my former Middlebury teacher) this afternoon as well as a few of his ICLP students. He and I compared the two programs a bit and he seemed to have similar impressions of ICLP's comparative lack of organization and pace, but he did say that the ICLP teachers were generally more experienced. Anyway I got to ride to the tea house on the back of his motorcycle which was really exhilarating and something I think you have to do before you leave Taiwan. There are bazillions of scooters on the streets of Taipei and now I've seen the view from atop one. (Sorry Mom, but I'm alive and I'm leaving tomorrow so you don't have to worry about any repeat offenses.) Again it was one of those really encouraging experiences where we had a long afternoon of conversation in Chinese. I'm really glad I've been able to connect with Lu Laoshi through both summers, because he's been able to watch me progress from someone who spoke no Chinese to someone who speaks... well, some Chinese. Haha, likewise I've seen him progress from a pretty nervous teacher to a pretty confident one.

Probably the most relieving aspect of this summer is that I actually really love Asia. Had I decided that Chinese culture just wasn't for me, this would have been a big waste of Chinese classes. But I'm pretty strongly considering declaring a double major in Chinese when I get back, which seemed really unlikely heading into the summer. This means I'll definitely be back to this continent sometime soon. Now is probably a good time to give my hearty thanks to the Light Fellowship. I would absolutely not have come without their financial support and travel advice and they really did provide me with everything I could need in terms of funding. I genuinely thank you, and not just so I can start sucking up to reapply next year. :-)

Bittersweet is I think the best word for my feelings all of today. I videochatted with Jake for about two hours this morning which got me really excited to see family and friends again. But I'm straight up terrified for school this semester. Trying to balance Yale Daily News editorial board elections and a cappella auditions is already an insane task. Trying not to fail out of Yale while doing so, so that I can continue to be involved in both organizations is another thing entirely. I think I will most miss the regularity of this summer. I really learned the rhythms of this place. The weather here might be hot and humid, but at least its always that way. New Haven never lets you know what's ahead. But humid or not, I suppose I must leave. So thank you everyone who made this summer so wonderful, and all of you for following me and this blog. I've missed you all and cannot wait to see you all soon. 

-藍瑞康 (Eric)

Pictures!!

Yet another picture post. The first few are from the weekend, the last few from my family's visit.

OK, Chinese names for family members are insanely complicated, (think: oldest daughter of my father's brother vs. younger son of my mother's younger sister, etc.) I will not attempt them. From left to right: Andrew, me, Andrew's cousin, and Andrew's other cousin's wife (or ex-wife. I was confused.)
We visited a koi pond, not for the scenery, but for the smoothies. As I said, our only purpose this weekend was eating.
I won't use this picture to reinforce any stereotypes about this continent's preoccupation with photography, but I will say that Andrew's cousin had some interesting demands for photo taking at this very random train track. (A train raced by about two minutes later. We scurrried.)
My kind of wine vendor.... 
Proof my sister Emily was in Taiwan. ^She and I laughing at something that i do not remember, but which was most certainly inappropriate.
Another entry in my long-since abandoned favorite crazy sign contest. This was a map in the Yangmingshan Park.

(Photo credit to Sei for the crazy signs. She donated them to my contest.) 

Double Double Taizhong and Trouble

Dearest Reader,

Welcome once again to my wondrous blog of adventure and trial. Sit back and relax as the tales of a hapless waiguoren overwhelm you with a sense of pity. 

Just kidding, I had a pretty good week so no need to feel any sort of regret. Monday through Friday passed as usual so i don't have much to report there.

Anyway, on Friday, Andrew invited me to stay with his aunt and his cousins in Taichung (台中）which is Taiwan's third-largest city (and a sister city to New Haven CT, according to Isaac.) Lonely Planet described it as less than a must-see for the short term visitor but a nice weekend away from Taipei for the long-term expat. I don't know what category my 9 -week stay qualifies me for, but it was certainly fun. My teachers agreed that one goes to Taichung to eat. And eat we did. Andrew's family spent Saturday essentially driving us from restaurant to restaurant. I took the opportunity to try some traditional Taiwanese food that I hadn't had before. Most notably I ate a bite of stinky tofu which is a big deal for me. This tofu is prepared in some sort of rotting sewage marinade to which it owes its name. (Sei actually didn't believe that it was food rather than open sewer when we walked by it once.) Luckily, it tastes a lot weaker than it smells. I wouldn't order it on purpose, but I will no longer cringe when my teachers mention it. (I think they mention it because they enjoy my instinctual facial tic.) Other strange offerings included this weird caked duck blood thing. Also not that flavorful and rather palatable. 

Otherwise it was just a weekend of hanging out in the air conditioned room of their apartment or the movie theater. (I saw "Up." Pixar, I love you.) and feigning understanding of Chinese. 

I got back pretty late Sunday night. Now I'm heading into the final stretch of ICLP. Two weeks! This week my classmates and I will be preparing a skit which will constitute my final oral exam. There is no written exam which is a huuge relief because I won't have to relearn thousands of characters. Instead they are asking us to retake the placement test to gauge our improvement. 

Alrighty, pictures to come soon!

Okay blogger just deleted this entire post which I had written out. So now I'm really really pissed off. This will be reflected in the post to follow.

Anyway, hello dear followers. Sorry for my long absence but I had a really hellishly busy two weeks. 

This past week was defined by midterms, family, and unhealthiness. So my sister Emily and my mother decided that they wanted to visit Taiwan, using my presence as an excuse. They booked the tickets awhile ago before anyone knew that my midterms fell on the same week. Since tickets are cheapest from Saturday to Saturday, this meant we had to do all our quality time on weekdays. Which was fine except on Sunday my ear began to throb. Being afraid of the Taiwanese hospital, I took some advil and hoped for the best. 

Anyway, despite the stress, having the two of them here was really fun. It gave me an excuse to do my work really quickly and then get out to see parts of the city I hadn't gotten around to seeing yet. Like the zoo. Giant pandas are sweet it turns out. The zoo is only two subway stops from me and really cheap. Win. 

Also the two of them were staying in this sick hotel between school and my apartment which meant I could take advantage of the really really cool rooftop pool which had an incredible view. Double win. 

Anyway, although my ear ache wasn't getting any better, it became the least of my problems when Wednesday lunch I went to a fried noodle place. Walking back to the hotel, my face started to feel funny and when I got to the room, my eyes were swollen nearly shut and I began to rather unpleasantly 瀉肚子。(No translation on that one.) I began to freak out since I have no known food allergies. My mother took pictures and Emily made us cringe with her suggestion that I was probably just "finally becoming Asian." Anyway, the Benedryl eventually fixed things, and I'll just cross my fingers that it was some fluke and that I'll get through the summer without another incident. Anyway at this point I was feeling pretty low, but whatever. We took a trip up to the mountains to have tea which was pleasant. 

On Friday though I finally broke down and went to see the ENT doctor at Wangfang Hospital which is like a 45 second walk from my apartment. After a strugglicious conversation where I tried to register and book an appointment, I received one for about two hours later. The doctor spoke English, took one look in my ear, pronounced that I had an ear infection, gave me pain killers and antibiotics, and sent me on my way. The whole visit cost about $400 NT or like $13. Sweet. I don't even think I'll apply for reimbursement with insurance. 

So yeah, I wrote this post (the first time... grrrr) while lying on my side with ear drops in. I've taken my exams and seen my family off. It was really nice having them around because it gave me the chance to see how comfortable I've become here in Taipei.  Now I'm about to start my third to last week of class. How the time flies!

Oh, Jianada!

Hey all! 5-day a week class really provides a regularity to life that detracts from epic blog post opportunities so this one is more stream-of-consciousness than anything else. Anyway, on Friday David and I continued our Friday swim tradition at the pool which was fun as always. Then we went to the Marimar Mall with a group of Yalies. After dinner in the food court, we took a ride on what is billed as the world's second largest ferris wheel. The trip up was pretty serene until people started shooting off fireworks from the street right below. Looking down on the fireworks I felt a bit disconcerted, as in "please don't aim to your left..." but it was a nice belated 4th of July event. The mall itself was enormous and well lit. It sort of resembled a Vegas casino. Sadly it was closed when we got off the ferris wheel. 

Next, we caught up with some ICLPers at a club called Luxy. Although my U.S. club going experiences are limited... I imagine that Taiwanese clubs aren't all that different. People danced. People drank. The bartenders did a cool fire throwing routine. Yeah. 

Anway, Saturday night I went to Taipei 101 (once the world's tallest building for those who don't know... is it still? I can never keep up) for the view and for dinner. We got there at dark and the city looked really nice all lit up. Although it seems to me that once you've been up a tall building, you've been up them all. I've been to the Sears tower, and this was similar. I'd like to go on a clear day though so I could see further out into the mountains. Illinois has less of that to boast. There was a really weird coral museum slash store at the top of the building. Probably the coolest part was the ride up in the world's fastest elevator which took forty-something seconds to get us all the way to the top. You couldn't even really feel it accelerating which was incredible. So after descending, we had dinner in the food court and then walked around the district. Sei waited in line for about half an hour for Cold Stone. We saw a fake statue of liberty right outside the store. Lady Liberty had apparently partaken a bit too much in the ice cream because she was a lot chubbier than the original. The weather was breezy and cool which was an INCREDIBLY welcome change so we sat around a bit before returning home.

Anyway no more exciting excursions to report so I'll just post some general observations: 

Before arriving, I read in the guidebook that the Taiwanese are incredibly gracious hosts, perhaps because they are so happy that a foreigner has chosen to come to their often unrecognized island. This I've found to be true in a lot of cases. Although, while polite in conversation, people are often horrific when it comes to waiting in line or yielding on a crosswalk. That's okay, I forgive easily.

Anyway, this leads into the somewhat hard to notice but omni-present tenuous political equilibrium Taiwan has reached with the People's Republic. I make the following comments not to offer original or in-depth analysis but rather an on-the-ground. This situation fascinates me because it seems like such an odd position for the two countries to have reached. For instance, Lu Laoshi took me out to lunch this week (he was my level one teacher at Middlebury) and mentioned that one needs a visa to travel to mainland, which I found so counter-intuitive to the ROC's official claim that Taiwan is part of China. But yeah, you make new rules and overlook certain things I guess for the sake of peace.

Sei also pointed out that the airport in Taipei changed its name from Chang Kai Shek airport to Taipei International Airport when it started making flights to the Mainland. Good burn, Taipei. Good burn.

Last week, I was sitting in the computer lab at school and incredibly loud sirens started sounding. I sort of looked around at the other people in the lab to discern what one does in the case of nuclear annihilation but apparently what one does is continue to do homework. Turns out they have these drills a lot and  I missed the memo. I asked my one-on-one teacher about it and she seemed surprised to hear that we didn't have regular bomb drills in the U.S. (not for half a century anyway) but I pointed out that China is quite a bit further away from us than it is from Taiwan. She laughed, but I guess it wasn't really all that funny.

One other curious thing I've noticed: A common question that teachers ask in class just by way of practicing various grammar patterns is which countries you've been to before. I'll start listing "France, Italy, Mexico, Canada..." and at "Canada" the teacher, no matter which one, invariably gives this sort of incredulous look or snort that means to say "Canada? No, no, I said foreign country not 51st state. Silly waiguoren." It is in these times that I like to write a rhetorical letter. It reads: "Dear Taiwan, you are in no position to judge Canada's sovereignty ... Love, Eric." Maybe I'm developing some weird Canadian pride because I've been asked if I were Canadian at least three times. (???) At Carrefour, a free sample lady just pointed and David and me and said "Jia na da?" ("Canada?") I responded "No we're American," in Chinese to which she responded that we spoke very well. Oh, what would I do without the lowered expectations for white guys who speak Chinese.  This can be another example of the extreme politeness of strangers here in Taiwan toward foreigners. (Would we Canadi- sorry - Americans ever compliment an Asian tourist in a supermarket who managed to stumble through the sentence "I'm from Taiwan" on their superb English? Maybe we should start.)

In other news, a little boy got on the subway with his father and loudly announced, "爸爸，後面有一個外國人!" (Dad, there's a foreigner behind you!) The dad slowly turned around and politely smiled. I made no attempts to reveal that I understand Chinese to avoid embarrassing the dad. Anyway, Erica warned us that this would happen but I'd gone a very long time without it and was starting to worry. Too many of us in Taipei to be all that notable I guess. 

Okay, until next time...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFyAJhueDJA&feature=related

Pictures of the 4th

Pancakes with banana and oreo. Our forefathers put it all on the line so someday we could make insane dessert-breakfast fusions... while not on American soil.
They also put it on the line so that I could look like a tool. What could be more American than vintage cars, double-stuff oreos, remnants of faux-hawks and completely incomprehensible text? I don't know.

Confessions of a Faux-hawk

Hello dear readership!

Much has tanspired since last we spoke. (Well, I spoke. You listened.) Okay, actually not a lot has happened, but I thought you'd keep reading if I made it sound more exciting. Its what we in the business call a "grabber." (The "business" of course being 7th grade English at Hingham Middle School.)

Week 2 passed much as the week before it. I attend classes, prep in the afternoon, go home, try to do work in the evening, instead watch Ugly Betty, wash, rinse, repeat...

No but actually classes were getting sort of frustrating because Chai Laoshi's class that she didn't allow me to switch out of was just not very engaging. We were moving faster but my classmates couldn't really keep up with the out of class prep, so classtime was spent helping them. In fact, I made it a vengeful mission to extravagantly prepare for this class even if it meant inadequately prepping my other classes. This so that I could have the lesson entirely memorized and recite it with a childishly bored look on my face as if it had taken me three minutes to commit to memory. Its a little game Chai Laoshi and I like to play called "Eric tries to make you rue the day you didn't let him switch out of your class." She'd drop in passive aggressive sentences via "grammar patterns" such as "Some people say this book is too easy, 其实(actually) it isn't too easy." I would then glare at her and repeat, even though I learned that grammar structure in first year Chinese.

Anyway, the point of this is that I won our game. She gave us a new schedule today and noted that we were slowing down significantly. She held me after class and told me she was giving me an extra textbook to prepare on my own and review with my dan ban laoshi. (One-on-one teacher for those who don't read carefully.) Victory! Except the kind of victory that gives you more homework? oops. Chai Laoshi and I have come to terms. (She's actually a very competent teacher, its just the level of the class I have a problem with. Also she talks really loudly.)

Okay, so in other news, Saturday was Meiguo de shengri. (July 4th.) Friday, David, Ethan and I sallied forth to the Carrefour to pick up some America gear. We got Busch Light, sausages, oreos, pancakes... it was a weird mix but their American options are limited. Also carrying the 24 pack of beer back from the subway (probably like two miles) was the most strenuous thing ever. This after David and I had swam laps for like an hour (in our skimpy new bathing suits. Well, David's is pink and skimpy. Mine is conservative by comparison. The pool makes you wear speedos for some reason.) So on the actual day of the 4th, a few Yale students and other cool people journeyed to David's for revelry. We celebrated many things that day. Sarah Palin, Oreo pancakes (very good), freedom, the usual.

But before going to David's I bit the bullet and walked into the hair salon near my apartment. Given the wealth of terrifying haircuts I have seen on the locals here, this was a considerable act of bravery. First of all, they served me green tea (plus one for Taiwan haircuts.) The woman was very nice and we got to talking. probably more than I ever talked to my barber in the U.S. (plus two for Taiwan haircuts.) She told me it was the first white guy's hair she'd cut in three months. (Minus one for Taiwan haircuts.) So they used this weird textured scissor the whole time which was clearly for hair much thinner than mine. Also I couldn't quite figure out why she'd left it so long in the middle until Sei caught a glimpse of me in profile and exclaimed that I'd been given a faux-hawk. (MINUS 100,000 for Taiwan haircuts!!!) I'm not sure if it was my Nantucket red shorts, my polo shirt, or my Sperry topsiders but something seems to have convinced her that I am the type of person who sports this type of coiffe. For those who don't know me (why are you reading this?) I am not.

No photographic evidence of this was obtained, so sorry. But Sei and I ran to the 7-11 and bought scissors. We then cut my faux-hawk off in the middle of the sidewalk. We actually got fewer stares than one might imagine.

Okay so I had a sort of shaggy haircut. Also at Carrefour I found this rack of sleeveless t's with trashy designs on them for like $1.50 each. I bought one that said "Vintage Car" and has a whole lot of random letters below it that do not spell any words in any language with which I'm familiar. I felt it would be appropriate for the 4th of July and indeed it was. (I'm at school now but I'll attach a picture when I get home.)

Otherwise uneventful weekend. I just got back from lunch with Lu Laoshi who was one of my six first year teachers at Middlebury last summer. It was very fun, and we spoke completely in Chinese. Its nice to think back to being a first year under the language pledge and eating lunch with the teachers in the dining hall. Needless to say our range of topics of conversation has widened significantly in a year. That was heartening. Anyway, he's teaching at Williams College next fall so hopefully I can show him a good time in America.

Alright, pictures are forthcoming. Goodnight.

Picture post!

Okay so first off, sorry but I am not a very prolific photographer. I feel like it interrupts actually seeing places so I generally never bring my camera anywhere. For the sake of the Light Fellowship, I will take at least two photos a week. Below are photos from the first week or so of wandering through Taipei. Above however, is a picture of my room at Yale before I cleaned it and packed it. It happened to be on my camera and it is so disastrous that I thought it needed documenting.
I think I will have an Eric's favorite ludicrous English sign of the summer contest. Place your votes on the comment board. This is my first entry. "Big shoes for Ladies." This store could really use some PR consultation. 
Here we are at Long Shan temple which I describe in an earlier post. These people are lighting incense and worshipping.
More of the temple altar. 
I think the roofs of these temples are especially cool. 

This is a rock outside the temple. The engraving just says "Long Shan Temple." 

Entry number two. We did not eat here. 

We did eat at the Taipei Main Station's ENORMOUS food court though. This is my lunch. Be jealous.
This is the fried rice Sei ordered at the huge food court in Taipei Main Station. Mmm.

This is the walkway to the National Palace Museum which I visited awhile ago and talked about in a post I think. Very beautifully located near some hills. 

Okay that's all I've got for now.

Week 1 we hardly knew you...

Week 1 of class has seen a lot of things. The passing of 8 dozen celebrities, apparently a lot of rain in Boston, crackdowns in Iran, Jon and Kate announcing their divorce... oh wait. This blog is about me you say? Oh, okay. 

Well class is a week underway here in Taiwan. I guess I'll put a brief disclaimer at the top of this post. I studied year 1 Chinese at Middelbury College's intensive summer program so a lot of my assessments of ICLP here in Taiwan, also an intensive summer Chinese language program, will be made in comparison to that experience. Remember that character from the Magic School Bus Series, Phoebe, who started every sentence with "At my old school..." as in "At my old school, cracked out redhead teachers didn't take us to the moon..."? Well, Pheobe and I are soul-sisters. 

Okay so we received our schedules on Friday. Looking through one of my textbooks I was a little worried because the first few lessons seemed to deal with similar subject material to the 2nd year textbook at Yale. My other textbook didn't worry me at all because I couldn't really read it. That's a good sign.

Sure enough my initial suspicions played out. ICLP is divided into three 50 min. classes a day. (1) The first one is your main "da-ban" class and "da" (or "big") is used liberally here since its only three students. Our teacher told us that this was our most important class and we should prioritize the work for it above the other class because we would be focusing on it in our tutorial. 

(2) The second class is also a "da-ban" class which also has 3 people but uses a different textbook and has no correlation either with the first class or with... 

(3) The "dan-ban" class which is just 50 minutes of you and a teacher. This is incredibly helpful because all that lazy pronunciation that built up at Yale where my class size was much larger and my tutorial leader was much more lax cannot escape you when your teacher is only responsible for you. Already my simple interactions with taxi drivers, waiters, etc. is much less fraught with confusion because my tones are sharper. 

Nevertheless I was unimpressed with the level my classmates were at in my first da-ban class (the important one) and felt like I was ahead both on material and on classmates. Without even mentioning this to my one-on-one teacher she asked me if I was going to look into switching levels because she thought I was a bit under-placed. (ICLP has accepted a record-breaking 130 students this summer which means that a lot of students were complaining about being over or under placed. I think the administration is still having trouble adjusting to so many students.) So I went to Chai Laoshi, my da-ban teacher, to see what was to be done. She categorically refused saying that even if the vocab was a little too easy, I had stuff to learn in this level and she would not switch me. She also said that the other sections studying the same textbook were moving much slower than I was (which seems impossible to me. We only learn like half a lesson a night at this point. It only takes me an hour to prepare.) so there was no point switching sections. She did however tell me she would redo the curriculum to move us at a faster pace and that if I was still dissatisfied she would give me another textbook and I could review it with my dan-ban laoshi in addition to the easier one. This seemed satisfactory to me and in fact the new pace is much better. (We are literally now studying twice as much material in a night as originally planned, a change which I will not tell my other classmates I was responsible for.) 

As for my other da-ban class, I like the laoshi a lot more. She's really young and fun and the material is much more interesting and conducive to discussion. Next week I have to go to a restaurant to interview patrons and waiters, which I think will be fun. 

So anyway, overall its been a lot breezier than Middlebury last summer (which was mind-crushingly difficult.) Even the "Language pledge" here made me laugh. Midd's language pledge is famous (they even copyright the phrase "Language pledge"... seriously.) because the stakes are high (you get kicked out after two warnings) and the rules are strict (you aren't supposed to use English on the internet, on your ipod, etc.) ICLP on the other hand handed us a contract asking us not to speak English in the ICLP campus (which is two floors of a building) and to devise a punishment for ourselves. I didn't sign it or hand it in and so far no one has followed up with me (when you are writing your own punishment why bother?) Anyway, that's not to say I'm not following the rules so much as to point out the half-assed manner in which they carry out the pledge. I think a more relaxed pace is fine. Although at Middlebury we had 4 hours of class a day and an all-encompassing immersion environment and I still placed into level 1 back at Yale. (Then again, I think Yale's placement test is a bit harsh. I enrolled in year 2 anyway and got great marks. Suck it Yale.) So I'm worrying that given the three hours of class and less strict environment I won't place out of a year of Yale study. Oh well. I'll still be 8 weeks better at Chinese than I would be without the Light Fellowship. 

Friday they gave us a great welcoming reception for lunch with tons of free food. I stuffed my face, especially with the fruit because eating out all the time means I eat a lot more fried pork than fresh produce. It was very nice of the school to provide all of it for us.

There isn't much to report here in other news. I've discovered that Taiwanese television is epic amounts of fun. Fellow-fellow David D. recommended the Cartoon Network which I'm loving! Its really easy to understand, and they have subtitles in Chinese characters for dialect speakers so its both a great listening and great reading exercise. This is one of those ways in which being abroad just really reinforces what you're learning in the classroom in a way you can't emulate in the U.S.  I laughed last night when some cartoon character used a grammar structure I'd just studied. When I was being drilled on it for 50 minutes I was thinking "do people really use this?" Turns out they do. Also I watched Finding Nemo dubbed into Chinese and it was great because I knew what was happening already. Also some of the Chinese translations were even funnier than in English. (The "shark bait hoo-ha-ha" chant is hilarious.)

Okay anyway, its Sunday which means its back to real listening comprehension homework. Until next time... 

Nimen hao,

Computer update: All systems go. So I located an Apple Repair store in Taipei. Turns out my hard drive decided to die and they replaced it (for free with my Apple Care plan!) Macbooks may decide to delete everything you own on a whim, but trust their company to really reliably repair anything that has gone wrong even halfway around the world. Besides, they upgraded my os x software. At least this happened in between terms and not in the middle of a term paper. 

I've been attending some of the ICLP sponsored excursions of which there have been two. It is a helpful way to meet program mates. A few days ago we made it out to Danshui which is a nice coastal suburb with arcades and food stands. After most people headed back, a few of us sat around and watched the sun set until later in the evening. Having spent nearly every summer sailing, swimming, or making trips to the Cape, I felt a bit nostalgic sitting by the ocean. I'll probably try to head back there a few more times just to get some semblance of summer. Sei and I are also planning a beach day tomorrow.

The next day we had orientation which was pretty poorly run. The teachers just talked at us in Chinese for nearly three hours which was grueling and repetitive. Overall not much was said except attempts to convince us to attend ICLP... a little late. I'm so far unimpressed with the administrative side of this program. We sat for our placement test on June 11 and we don't receive our class schedules until tomorrow morning. That's work that Middlebury did in about six hours. We didn't get student IDs until yesterday which means i couldn't even sign up for the gym. Meanwhile we've been twiddling our thumbs. I'm getting pretty antsy. Anyway, I hear reviews that say the program makes up for organization flaws in its actual class instruction. Okay, onto more positive matters.

Today, ICLP took us to Maokong. Usually you can take a gondola up the mountain but it is in disrepair so instead we took a very fast but treacherous bus. I was standing in the aisle holding on to the handles for dear life. Miraculously none of the 30 students got bus sick. When we arrived we went to a little tea house in the side of the mountain where they grow their own teas. It was incredibly beautiful (I hate taking pictures so I'll defer to Sei's blog. Never fear, Dr. Light, I'll get my minimum two pictures up once I get settled with my computer.) You don't notice how bad the air quality is until you remove yourself from it. It was cooler in the mountains and really pleasant to walk through the tea garden or whatever you call it. Anyway we had one of those traditional tea ceremonies which is far more complicated than putting a tea bag in your mug, but very rewarding in the end. I'll definitely be taking my sister and mom up there when they arrive in July (or pointing the way while I go to class... whatever.) 

I did manage to pay for my gym membership and go for the first time this morning. Finally! Nothing kept me more sane at Middlebury last summer than taking a break from memorizing characters and getting some exercise. Its a very nice facility, and its way too hard to exercise without air conditioning. 

Other than my daily excursions I've just been relaxing. The food as always never keeps me bored and never costs me much. I finished River Town by Peter Hessler and I highly recommend it. Now I'm on to a John Irving book, which is a must every summer for me. When class starts I will no doubt have a lot less time for pleasure reading so I guess I should thank ICLP for their forcing me to get here excessively early. 

Until next time,

Lan Ruikang

Hello dear readership. Sorry for the long delay, it has been a busy week. First of all, my computer has died. I am freaking out a lot because I'm not sure I'll be able to get it repaired here. I'm going to explore stores that do apple repairs but I don't think they will be able to tell that I have a protection plan and I don't want to pay for repairs. I don't think I felt like I was on the other side of the world until my internet access was limited to asking Sei if I can check my email. (Note to parents: Yet another reason why having an iPhone would improve my quality of life so much it'd be like a chubby kid coming back from fat camp all skinny and happy. Still no? We'll talk.)

Okay so Sei and I decided on an apartment and moved in. It is small to say the least. One room plus a bathroom but it has a little kitchen area, couch, refrigerator, television, and the roof has laundry. We've been here for a few days and I don't feel claustrophobic yet. Its only a short walk from the MRT station which is only four stops on the same line to school. Also the neighborhood is really lively with tons of restaurants, clothing stores, random stores, etc. Basically we were out looking for a pillow which seemed an unlikely find on the street but we wandered into this hodgepodge store right next to us that had everything, including a pillow. Overall, it is just really nice to have a sense of permanance. All my clothes are in drawers, etc.

We had our placement test earlier this week. It was hard. I don't really want to talk about it. The oral test was nice though because finally people were speaking to me in Chinese that I could understand. The locals tend to be pretty forgiving when they realize I can't speak Chinese (which is usually upon seeing me) except for this one lady at a pizza place who didn't seem to get it and just kept babbling. I swear she was speaking Taiwanese and not Mandarin. Anyway... the point is, teachers know to speak more deliberately. I'll get my schedule later this week.

ICLP inexplicably gives us an enormous amount of time between the placement test and the first class. (Like 10 days.) It seems like a luxury at the outset but I've been having trouble filling the time. Sei and I have seen a bunch of the sights and done some reading in the apartment.

We saw Longshan temple which is really ornate and beautiful. I was surprised that on a weekday morning there were a lot of people, young and old, lighting incense and worshipping. I think I need to pick up a book on modern Buddhism because it shocked me to see religion so alive here, especially with China right next door.

Then we saw the National Palace Museum which is really cool. Basically when things weren't going their way, the Nationalists exported a lot of the artifacts and art work from Mainland to Taiwan. Good thing because some say the artifacts wouldn't have lasted the Cultural Revolution. We had a free English tour but Sabrina our sassy old tour guide wasn't so skilled at English. I mostly just wandered around and read the signs. My feet were still killing me from all the walking we'd done in the past few days.

Next up was Shilin Night Market which is... a market you go to at night. It had a ton of food and clothing stores. I haven't bought anything yet because Asian style is a bit loud for my taste. Speaking of which, all of the guys have this ridiculous haircut. Its like an Asian Adam Lambert? I don't know I'll take a picture or something. It is ridiculous.

So far my favorite sight has been Ximending, which is this huge walking district of more upscale shops and food. If you go to the allies though it gets a little seedier with tattoo and piercing parlours and stuff. I swear I didn't see anyone over the age of 30. It was a really young district with a cool vibe.

The best part of Taiwan though? The food. I am continually amazed that so many restaurants can stay afloat because the sheer number is incredible. It is incredibly cheap too. However I'm starting to feel ready to cook for myself because much as fried rice, fried wantons, fried dumplings can be delicious, I feel I'm lacking some balance in my meals. Sometimes I just need the comfort of American food too. I've so far been to McDonalds and to Subway. I know, I feel guilty. But after Sei and I failed to get McFlurries when we said "McFlurry" (She was handed green tea and I got some vanilla ice cream. At least I was close.) we looked it up in Chinese and successfully ordered it on our next visit. Victory! (If you are curious it is bingxuanfeng or icy glittering wind.)

I've been reading a book called River Town on Ellen's recommendation. The author did the peace corp for two years in Fuling. I'm really enjoying it. His experience in a remote area of mainland China in 1997 makes my foray into Taiwan seem a lot smoother!

Anyway, everyone cross your fingers that my computer turns on soon.

First post

Well, here I am in Taiwan. I always wondered what makes someone interesting enough to merit a blog. Heretofore I have never qualified but I guess spending my summer in an intensive Chinese language program in Taipei makes me interesting enough. That and the fact that I am being forced into it. (I see you, Kelly.)

I arrived last night after a pretty easy flight. In fact I was bumped up to business class during the flight from New York to Tokyo (long story) so I had a really cushy ride. They provided sound blocking headphones which are essential, as well as a ton of food. The seat reclined nearly to lying down position, and I had my choice of movies and television. I watched like seven episodes of "Friday Night Lights," which I didn't have time to watch this year, and after that I watched the incredibly classy film "Confessions of a Shopaholic" which I have concluded was totally overlooked by the Academy.

I met up with Sei at the Happy Family Hostel and because I'd barely slept throughout the plane rides, I was able to go right to bed at midnight and woke up at 8. Jet lag ain't got nothing on me.

Sei and I had a very productive first day. We checked in the ICLP program, paid our tuition, ate lunch (mm its like upgraded Ivy Noodle every day...) bought a cell phone, viewed some apartments, ate dinner, etc. etc. Now my shoulders hurt (from carrying my backpack with most of my valuables. Can't trust hostels.) and my feet hurt more.

I'm really impressed with Taipei. The subway station trumps New York, and pretty much eats the T for dinner. The signs and announcements are in Chinese and English. The stations are incredibly clean and modern. There are graduated fees so that you don't have to pay as much if you are only traveling a few stops. People form lines because the car doors always open in the same place. And there is even a spot close to the car where women can wait at night because it is under camera surveillance. We shall henceforth dub it the "Rape Free Zone." (My mom will probably suggest that I always stand there...)

In general one could probably survive here without any Mandarin. I encountered some struggles when trying to buy a cell phone and order lunch. Luckily I overcame it with my towering command of the Chinese language... and a lot of hand gestures. But being a racial minority for the first time in my life has been fun. While Sei can usually get a few sentences of Chinese out before they try their English on her, I don't even get the benefit of the doubt. Yet, I don't really feel like I turn heads like I might in a less international city.

Basically today was all business. Hopefully I can rest up for tomorrow so that I can view some apartments but also see some of the sights. My placement exam is Friday and although I continue to pretend I will study hard beforehand, we all know the more likely outcome.

Oh also, facebook has revealed to me that my Middlebury teacher from last summer is teaching at ICLP this summer. Wouldn't it be funny if I got him as a teacher? He's a pretty cool guy so hopefully we'll meet up and he can help me navigate the ins and outs of this crazy place.