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.