英文大會

There are a ton of reasons why Taiwan frustrates me and things that I don't like, BUT for some reason I don't want to leave. I really wasn't expecting to feel that way! 

This weekend we had the 英文大會 and it was just wonderful. All the foreigners come out of the woodwork for a weekend of wonderfulness. Most in attendance were Pinoy, so it was great to be back in the company of Pinoys! As ever they were so cute, friendly and loving. At lunch they had cooked tons of food which they shared with anyone that walked by! And the spiritual food was just as yummy as the Filipino food! There was about 500 in attendance and everyone just introduces themselves to each other and are so excited to meet new people...there were ones from Thailand, France, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Malaysia, Philippines, England, Scotland, Canada, US...another case of a bunch of cultures under one roof, which is something I just love experiencing! After the program a lot of us went to a mall nearby and swarmed the food court. Every where you looked there was a table of us. It was great mingling around and hearing everyone's stories of how they ended up in Taiwan, how long they've been here, how long they plan to stay and all that jazz! It's always encouraging to be surrounded by people that have similar goals and stuff in life as you. Such a wonderful experience.

Just like when I was in my last few days of living in England about to come here, I didn't feel as if I was going anywhere, I feel the same about returning. I can't believe I am actually coming back to England. I'm not gonna lie, I am super anxious about no longer being surrounded by so many cultures, going back to the rat race and other such boring things that must be faced in England life. Just thinking about being able to walk into a store and speak English and be understood just blows my mind. I'm gonna leave Taiwan with a bang though...I have the most insanely busy week planned with all my friends. It just amazes me that my friends now are literally from all over the world...look how many more opportunities are available to me now with countries and people to visit! The travel bug has bit me hard and there is no doubt if plane tickets weren't so expensive I would be here, there and everywhere! It makes me chuckle that for a long time I had wanted to travel but always felt that I couldn't do it on my own and blah blah blah. But the thing is, now experiencing it...with all the beautiful people you meet along the way, you are never really alone! And even when you are alone, it's a great time to reflect on the things you've learnt from the experience! It's not peachy all the time, but that's going to be the case whether you are in your home country or any other and it's just life as we know it right now.

I still very much live by my motto of take every opportunity that comes your way. Who knows where the next opportunity will take me?! Exciting times.

Pinoys at the front sharing their yummly food!

還有兩個星期!

One thing I have come to appreciate from Asian culture is a strong family bond is important. Truthfully, sometimes I am quick to judge the culture and feel they're a little too much in each others pockets...but on the flip side all too often in Western cultures families are no longer units, and that's just as sad. In the Philippines divorce is not allowed, so families very much stay together as a unit. No doubt they have their struggles, but with divorce not even being a legal option, the only thing they can do is learn how to make it work. 

I still feel a balance is needed so as not to be in each others pockets. But I think it's definitely admirable to keep a family close. In Western culture it's all to easy to forget about people -with out even meaning to - because life gets so hectic and busy, just from the basic and necessary things. But I'm hoping that with a new perspective I will be able to try and combat that a little better, and keep better focused on the more important things. 

Changing the subject completely...I have always known there are big spiders in Taiwan but I have never actually seen one. Well that all changed the other day! As I was about to walk in to the bathroom, straight ahead of me was the biggest spider I have ever seen! Needless to say I ran out! But I was also curious so I grabbed my camera...kept my distance and zoomed in on the camera...there was no way I was gonna get too close to that thing! When I came back from the meeting I was hoping it would be gone, but no he was still sat there guarding the bathroom. I know a lot of people will be all - how can you leave it there, I couldn't sleep knowing it was there. Well, the spiders eat the cockroaches and other bugs so I figure I would rather have a spider that up until now I had been blissfully unaware of than gross, evil cockroaches running around causing havoc! Also at this point I wasn't sure what kind of spider it was and whether it would get angry at me. I would much rather him stay there instead of me attempt to catch him and him run off into the unknown! After investigation turns out he was a huntsman spider. He sits patiently waiting for his dinner to come near and then he makes a run for it and sprints over to them and enjoys his supper. So chances are, if I did try to catch it, he would have outrun me! I laugh to myself, why does a spider freak me out? I'm way bigger than he is. Just because he has more legs and eyes than I do, I get intimidated by it! The spider has discovered there is nothing to eat in the bathroom and has moved on. 
I really don't like sharing a house with pests! At least the common house spiders of England shouldn't be a problem for me any more! 

I can't believe it's 2 weeks until I come home. It's all very weird.

Tune of the day...Ben Cocks - So Cold. Stunning piano!

(Look away if you don't like spiders. Very big, brown spider below.)

i think he ate my gecko friend..

The Super Bowl...

It's become clear I love experiencing different cultures, and I love it even more when things from different cultures catch me off guard. I have a fair few American friends here, so I often get to have American days with them. Today being the day of The Super Bowl I got to experience American football and why the Americans love it so! I've heard of American football of course, but that was about as far as my knowledge of it went until today. 

The guys had paid for a package so we could watch it live...so whilst it was evening time in the States, it was pretty early in the morning for us. So we had an American brekkie whilst watching the game. Why have eggs on toast or pancakes, when you could have both...on the same plate. (And we wonder why there is an obesity problem?! Puzzling!) My friends explained the rules to me, I had previously assumed American football would be similar to England's rugby. Ohhhh, not so! I guess it has a few similarities but completely different. But it's really cool! I was surprised to see myself get pretty into it and rooting for the 49ers. As with all things American, everything was big and in your face, Beyonce performing at half time, with an insane amount of lighting and other such frills. (Way too much in my opinion.) Also the Americans make a massive effort in the commercials that are played in between the game, so every one is watching for the commercials almost as much as the game. That baffles me!  

Whilst all the 'glitz and glam' doesn't appeal to me, at all, I do really like that something as simple as watching a football game can make you feel at home. (Not so much for me, but the Americans for sure.) When we were in Palawan there was a English football/soccer game on, and just seeing the short bit that I did, made me feel that England wasn't so far away. Though, I never really feel like England is far away, and I guess I have technology to thank for that. Sure there are certain things and ways of life I miss, but I've not really ever felt home sick. I don't know how all these fangled, technological gadgets work and have no interest in finding out how...but I do appreciate those who have and allow me to have small measures of home life, when in reality I'm over 6000 miles away! I think for the first time in life, I am finally appreciating technology...it's saved me a fortune on stamps at the very least! Though I still hold true to the notion that there is nothing quite like a good ol' handwritten letter! Signed Sealed and Delivered. 

Tuneage...Beyonce - Halo. I previously wasn't overly fussed by big vocals...but after singing with 808 band, I have a new found appreciation. It's tough keeping vocals clean and big without drowning out behind a full band!

International Art Street

I am still wishing I was back in the Philippines ha! (I even attempted making adobong manok...) So today in attempts of trying to find the fun in Taiwan again I went to International Art Street. I had tried to find this place a little while ago, but in typical Abi fashion I got lost and ended up going elsewhere. Though when I got home I looked on a map, only to see I had done another usual Abi thing and took a right instead of a left and in my lost state I was in fact very near. So today, completely sure of where I was going, I made my way there. 

It's just a street that has a few cafes and restaurants of different cultures and your general clothing and homey stores. It was ok. But just ok. I did find a cute place that had a red telephone box outside of it and looked kinda country cottage like, so I went in. The owners were friendly and Puff the Magic Dragon was playing in the background. Cute. 

One thing I find slightly amusing shopping in Taiwan, is when you enter the store the worker will stand up and kinda follow you around. They don't say a word but if you have a question they are right there. I've now learnt when I'm shopping I tend to be a little unpredictable...I will be walking one way, spot something out of the corner of my eye and quickly change my direction to go check it out. Well when you have a small Taiwanese person following you around this poses the slight issue of always bumping into each other. 

As I walked through the street there was mosaics on the ground and paintings on the side of the walls. Music playing through the streets. Nice to see a slightly more creative side of Taiwan. 

It dawns on me every day that I'm another day nearer to returning to England. And it freaks me out! Which is crazy considering as much as I like Taiwan it doesn't feel like home. I think what freaks me out the most is that I have become used to a 'if it's not broke don't fix it...and if it is broke, patch it up and keep using it up anyway' mentality and I enjoy living an extremely simple life, even if it means being a little uncomfortable at times. So to return to a materialistic country is just going to seem so unjust. When thinking that what Brits earn in one hour of work is well over what a Filipino will earn in one day, it's gonna take some getting used to. And the thought of going to a supermarket and being able to buy all the types of cheese I can imagine, just blows my mind at the minute! And just the idea of driving a car, sitting in a little box, being on the wrong side of the road, the wrong side of the car...I'm looking forward to that challenge! They say that reverse culture shock, returning to your home country, is sometimes worse than general culture shock. Well, we will find out soon enough! For all I know, it might not be as bad as I imagine. I am excited to come back and see everyone though. 

Throwing out a real curve ball with my tune of the day today...Nicki Minaj feat Rihanna - Fly. 

funny chaps outside the store...

Just Add Water...

Back home we have all manor quick, cheating type foods. I mean those little boxes of pancake mix that say just add water, those boxes of cake mix that say just add eggs, mexican food kits all ready for you to assemble. I have always, always much preferred to cook/bake from scratch...but I admit it...I have used those types of evil boxes. 

Here, if I want pancakes I don't have the option of a little box that tells me to add water...or if I did, it would be in Chinese and all I would be able to do is read a few characters here, miss a few, then read a few more...having no clue what I was actually supposed to do. Instant noodles and instant Taiwanese food are abundant, but not so on the Western front. I've enjoyed it being this way. If I fancy pancakes, from scratch it has to be. I previously despaired because we have no weighing scales. But when a girl wants pancakes bad enough, she thinks outside the box and into cups! Cups! How could I be so dim! Recipes can always be converted from grams to cups! I don't have measuring cups, but we have real cups. Turns out they do the job just fine. So it got me to thinking how much do I actually use stupidly pre prepared things to cook back in England. Not very much but enough to make myself feel silly now. I swear making pancakes from scratch took just the same amount of time it would to use a pre prepared mix. Why use taco mix, or fajita mix...I have most of the spices myself, what stops me from mixing them together? Do I really need hot chocolate powder to make hot chocolate...nope, just hot milk and a bit of chocolate. Why use curry paste if I have the spices to make it myself? Do I really need a little individual packet of oats to make porridge?...no I just need a cup! Why bother with a frozen pizza or a frozen pie? It is more than possible to whip it together. A culinary epiphany. I will be very pleased when I am reunited with the oven back home and can much easier try out all these things...and not be chased out of the kitchen by bugs! 

Thinking outside of the box is one of my favourite things about travelling. It's a real eye opener when you are no longer in your comfort zone. Back home, if anything out of the ordinary happens, I pretty much know where I can go to sort it, or how to get around it. In another country you don't always have that ...everything is out of the ordinary! But it's wonderful as it really keeps you on your toes. It's fantastic opening your mind to alternative possibilities. I think a lot of the time we do things out of habit, or because it's the only way we know how. I find it funny to think there are likely some things I would have previously done a certain way...but now after living a totally different lifestyle I might have a new fangled method. Which in reality isn't new at all, it's just another way of thinking! I'm intrigued to see what happens next...in the UK will I revert back to British ways or will I be even more of quirk, doing things a mix of a Brit-Taiwanese style? We shall see...

Eeh in 6 days time I will be leaving for the Philippines!

India Bourne - In His Arms. I love her awesome skills on bass and harmonies with Ben Howard. And now she's totally rocking in her own right. Super talented lady. 

even though I now personally won't be buying a ready made cake...that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy this ready made pumpkin pie from costco any less! it was que rico!! it just means I'll be making one from scratch back home!

2012 wasn't the end of the world then...

Well it's 2013 and we're all still here. The world did not explode or come to a climatic end as many mad men told us it would. 2012 came and went in a blur. I sometimes feel like I'm not achieving anything, or doing much with life and that I could be doing way more. Then I take a step back and try and look at the bigger picture. 2012 saw me living not only in England but in Taiwan (and 2013 will also)...so how can I feel like I haven't done anything?! As I've mentioned before I think it's really important to remember all those little successes and victories we have in life.

This weekend I got to see how a party is done Taiwan style as we had a 會眾交往. I will be honest, I was a little dubious about it when I first heard about it. From my experience, I've come to realise that Asians love to be super organised, everything is planned, structured and you stick to what you've planned. (We all know that is not my style...at all. It's not uncommon for me to decide to do something last minute, or to find my plans changed at any given moment. I like adapting and uncertainty!) So I was kinda unsure how a party could be fun whilst being structured. But I was proven wrong! 

It started out with song and prayer before eating a buffet kinda meal. Noodles, rice and many different dishes. And here I go again raving about all the different cultures in one place...Taiwanese dishes, Korean dishes and the Westerners brought the sweet side, with cookies. I really do love having an eclectic mix of cultures all together! 

After the buffet, an American friend sang, accompanied by a Taiwanese on guitar. He had prepared a couple of songs. One of the songs he had prepared was 'Stand by Me'...he then decided he didn't wanna sing it alone. Sooooo...somehow me and three of my friends ended up being his backing singers (complete with finger clicks and dances moves.) Really wasn't expecting that curve ball, but it was good. 

After that it reverted back to be being a very typical Asian party...interviews! They love to interview people here. I hear this has come mainly from the Koreans, but on the whole the Asians enjoy a good ol' interview. So 4 names were called out of people to be interviewed. Unbeknownst to me I was one of them. I was merrily chatting with friends, laughing away. Heard my name...and that laughter quickly turned into a look of panic upon my face. So us chosen ones had to go to the front and be interviewed...why were we here, why learning Chinese, our plans and goals and the like were the kinds of questions asked. My friend translated the questions for me and to my shock and surprise, I managed to answer them in Chinese myself! (Not perfect Chinese I am sure.) I was super stoked! This kinda interview thing happened to me on a much smaller scale when I first arrived. It was just in a persons home and there was hardly anyone there. At that time, I had to answer the questions in English with the odd sentence in Chinese and have a friend translate. The immersion technique really works with learning languages! I'm not fluent, I'm not amazing...but I know my survival Chinese and enough to hold a little conversation. My responses are basic, but with time I hope to get better! 

Then came the time for the party to turn to Latino roots. The Mexicans taught us some dances. Think line dancing with flair and finesse. Great fun. 

After that there was a few games. The Asians aren't late birds though, we were done by 9pm. It was a really great experience. It's amazing and such a privilege to have been able to meet so many beautiful people. And in such a short amount of time, to have made lasting friendships.

Benjamin Francis Leftwich - Is That You On That Plane? Ah this song is so emotive. I love it.

anxiously waiting to be interviewed...hoping no one asked me anything weird!

but at least there was enough edamame to console myself with. (reminded me of work back home, as edamame was on the menu. Back then I thought it be somewhat special, but here you can get it by the bucket load!)

四個月

I was reading the latest Awake! magazine recently on the website (which on a side point is amazing!) anyhow as I was reading the article on Immigration it sounded soooo much like what I see here on a daily basis. Many women from the Philippines and Indonesia come over to Taiwan and work as a carer for the 阿媽 and then send the money back to their families. So these ladies have had to leave their children and husbands behind in order to just be able to give them the basics in life. It is a thought provoking point as of course the children are raised never really having a true relationship with their mother, but you can see why it is this way. It's really sad to see, we were speaking to a Filipino lady recently and it tears her up that she isn't at home with her children. For us from the Western world, we are fortunate enough to be able to own a laptop and afford internet we can keep in touch with friends and family wherever we are. We have become so accustomed to it that we view it as a necessity. In reality it is a luxury. Many of the women that come over here are not able to afford laptops and internet, so for them staying in touch with the family they left behind is a real mission. I book a flight to the Philippines from here and think it's cheap. To many of the Filipino's coming over here, it takes them all their savings to be able to get here. It makes me very grateful to have been born in a Western country just because I have options. Yes everything is expensive, but you get what you pay for. 

Just because of being born into a rich country I have the option of saving up money to go travelling. How crazy is that...just by where we are born we are automatically given certain advantages or disadvantages. And we have no say in where we are born! Many regular people in Taiwan only earn enough to cover the general cost of living. Travelling is not an option unless you are rich. It fascinates me that both of my Taiwanese housemates have never ever been abroad. Their whole life has been spent on Taiwan!! Back home I know people that get antsy if they don't go abroad at least once a year. We really don't pay attention to how fortunate we are to even have the option of affording a flight somewhere and the opportunity to explore other cultures and open our mind to other ways of living.

Four months has gone so fast! I knew time would fly but it seriously only feels like a few weeks ago that I was on the aeroplane in a bit of an oblivious daze. Every so often I think back to the night I arrived here. At the time it was all very overwhelming and I felt like it wasn't happening and I was in fact just looking down on an alternate life of mine. But no, it did all happen...I did wait and wait for a Japanese sister at the airport, we did get on a bus (that had a tv screen at the front of the bus and was playing planet of the apes), I did get picked up by my crazy housemate who insisted on giving me guava and honey and bombarded me with a host of new Chinese words. And ever so slowly 'I think I'm turning Taiwanese!' (Sung to The Vapors - Turning Japanese...erase Japanese and sing Taiwanese.) I am still very much a British lass, but after spending a while in another country you start to integrate into the way of living. I will still always have things I do the way I know best. I will always cut food with a knife, whilst the Taiwanese use scissors to cut stuff...seeing eggplant being cut with scissors always catches me funny. But every so often, by choice, I will do things a Taiwanese way. Sometimes I even crave Taiwanese food. What?! I know, madness! It hit me today that when I come home I won't have the option of being able to buy dumplings by the bucket load, and my favourite Taiwanese food that I can buy on any street corner, it just won't be available. (But I have found recipes for 蛋餅 and 燒餅 so I can attempt to recreate them.) But I take comfort in the fact I will be able to fill my self with cheese and hummus until it's coming out of my ears! And that milk and bread will be que rico (yummy) and cheap! And I will be especially excited to go back to my wonky house, where I won't have a battle with mosquitoes trying to fly in my ears at night and I won't have a kitchen entering routine with battles against cockroaches, bugs and lizards. Though, in a round about way I will probably miss it all. These crazy quirks have become a sort of normal to me.

Circadian Eyes - Finding Silence. Ah this song outstanding! Every so often I come across a piece of music that makes me stop everything I am doing and just take in the musical moment and really listen. This was one of those songs!

enjoying the battle between cars and scooters...

Deliciosa comida y muchos receurdos!

Everyone always asks me what my favourite thing about living in Taiwan is. For a long time I wouldn't be able to tell you. I knew I liked living here but I couldn't put my finger on anything specific as to why. I have now realised that what I love most here, is being able to embrace different cultures. And I don't just mean the Taiwanese culture. I mean tons of different cultures. I think I'm just particularly fortunate to experience it here because of being so near to the uni. I know that not all of Taiwan is like this. But I had never imagined that not only would I learn about Taiwanese culture, but also a little bit of Latin American, Korean and Japanese culture along the way.

Last night was a prime example of experiencing different cultures. Our Chilean friends are leaving Taiwan this week and heading home. (They arrived around the same time as I did, so I am really sad to see them go, we were the newbies together.) So in their honour we had a Latin American inspired party for them, complete with margaritas, mole, sour cream, quesadillas, tortillas, guacamole...yummly yummly food indeed, authentically made by our Mexican friends. And singing songs in Spanish at the top of our voices. It's wonderful being transported to various countries whilst only being in one place. A Mexican teaching you how to make mole, a Korean teaching you how to make scallion pancakes are just some of the unexpected experiences I've been able to enjoy. Variety truly is the spice of life! 

El Simbolo - Uno, Dos, Tres. One of the songs they had us all singing. How bizarre...a Spanish song will always remind me of Taiwan. Can you get much more random?!

Small victories and Bugs!

I'm now learning that we must take great joy in the small victories we achieve. I will not be able to speak Mandarin fluently overnight. But today I managed to have a little conversation with a friend who doesn't speak English. It was nothing amazing, but it's something I couldn't do two weeks ago! Partly due to the lack of confidence. So HURRAY!

I always thought that when one visits another country, one should get completely involved in the culture. I always thought that if I were to live a Western life in an Eastern country, then this is cheating and you're not experiencing culture. Whilst I still think this is true to a point, I'm realising that it is sooooo important to have some sort of 'normality' in your home life, but still enjoy the culture and live in and amongst it. For some people, their constant thing they need is home food, for others home tv...for me it's music! I realised that if I can't get by in British life without music as my constant...how on earth could I manage in another country without my constant?! 

The bugs are bugging me now! There are ants everywhere! It's like when you go out on a picnic and then end up having a battle with an army of ants, except it's constantly! Then we have the jumping spiders, they're pretty small so no big deal, but you go to swat them and then they outwit you and jump away. I'm pretty sure I saw a cockroach the other day, but it scuttled off and I don't know where it went (a little perturbing!) But I did see a very interesting gecko looking lizardy thing the other day, that was pretty cool. And oh the mosquitos...the first week they left me alone, not a single bite...now they've decided I taste good. Though I'm doing pretty well compared to a lot of my friends, I only have a few bites. So I can't complain. I am happy to report I have not seen any silver fish...they were my nemesis back home, so I am glad they don't seem to be around over here! 

The Paper Kites - Drifting. Seems kinda fitting for the thoughts here. I spent the day listening to this on repeat...I love the lyric 'there's no way of showing if we, ended up where we planned' Genius!

no i'm not off to play tennis today. just gonna smash those mosquitos! this is an amazing device, very satisfying when you see the fizz from catching a mosquito.

1 more sleep...

Eeeeekkk!

How did time go so quickly?! I'm pretty sure when I last looked at the clock it was 2010 and I was thinking about moving to Exeter. And somehow that's all old news and I've found myself here, on the brink of going to live in Taiwan for a bit. Hmmm....(I still don't feel like I'm going!)

So here it is guys. And there it was, my final post from England! Mental!

Packing, packing and more packing...

After much procrastinating,I eventually cracked on with packing! Packing became so much easier whilst listening to good music. The song of the day today belonged to Ben Howard with Keep Your Head Up. It helped immensely in cracking on!

So weird to see 6 months of life crammed into a couple of bags!