Hi all,
In order to drown out the sound of the horrible karaoke being broadcast across the neighbourhood in honor of some god or other's birthday, I am going to focus my energies on the continuing story of “Amanda in Taiwan.”
When we last left our heroine, she was sitting in a van travelling the twenty-minute drive to DaShe, a neighbouring village consisting of three streets, one giant temple, and several feral dogs. (Now changing from third-person back to first person because that will get annoying.) I got to Sarah's house Sunday night after we went out for sushi (when I deftly ordered the egg-fried rice to avoid the fish and seaweed) and we discussed our next day plans.
In order to drown out the sound of the horrible karaoke being broadcast across the neighbourhood in honor of some god or other's birthday, I am going to focus my energies on the continuing story of “Amanda in Taiwan.”
When we last left our heroine, she was sitting in a van travelling the twenty-minute drive to DaShe, a neighbouring village consisting of three streets, one giant temple, and several feral dogs. (Now changing from third-person back to first person because that will get annoying.) I got to Sarah's house Sunday night after we went out for sushi (when I deftly ordered the egg-fried rice to avoid the fish and seaweed) and we discussed our next day plans.
Her mom, Ruth, suggested the three of us go for a bike ride around the countryside to see the mountains and temples, etc, lurking about around the area. I laughed naively when she suggested we leave at 7 am until I realized she was sincere; the weather is so hot that you have to get a very early or very late start to the day in order to avoid being sizzled alive. Sarah is also a ginger, and her mom is pretty fair, so none of us really wanted to risk a mid-day sunburn. I managed to 
convince them to leave at 8 instead, 7 simply being against the laws of man and nature, and we wore sleeves and full facial masks (which made me feel like we were pulling off a daring train robbery on bicycle rather than horseback) to keep our faces out of the sun. The three of us lasted for about 40 minutes, peddling fast enough to get a bit of a breeze going, before we were all exhausted from the humidity so we stopped in the village at a little gazebo to look around. Riding past the mountains and river then through the little winding streets of the village really gives you an intimate perspective of the surrounding area that being in a car just doesn’t have.
On a bike, everything is closer; the mangoes 
growing on the side of canals, the chickens yelling at the herons in the rice paddies, the random strangers staring at you despite being covered head to foot. It was a unique, and very sweaty, journey. We decided to head back to the van and go get ice (as described in the last edition) to cool down.
growing on the side of canals, the chickens yelling at the herons in the rice paddies, the random strangers staring at you despite being covered head to foot. It was a unique, and very sweaty, journey. We decided to head back to the van and go get ice (as described in the last edition) to cool down. 
We also stopped in some local craft stores where they had hand painted umbrellas and fans, traditional instruments, and silk clothes to purchase. I didn't actually buy anything as my wallet was at home, but it was great to look around (and not feel guilty for just looking because Ruth bought something for a wedding present).
We struggled home and relaxed in the air conditioner and played a few board games. It's so nice to find other people who like card games!
After a while, we decided to go out for some Hakka noodles that night and got caught in a huge downpour just as we were getting ready to leave the store. The streets and the river were flooding, but we got home safely and were very glad we went cycling that morning as we had debated doing it in the evening instead. The rest of the night we stayed inside and read.
Tuesday Ruth and Sarah and I braved the rain to go to the hair dresser down the road. When Sarah suggested we go 'get our hair washed' I thought, ‘that's ludicrous, why would I pay to have my hair washed when I just bought shampoo???’ When we got there, we sat down casually, didn't say a word to the ladies working there (apparently Ruth and Sarah are regulars), and a lady came over with some random hair-care products and just got started. They begin by washing your hair in the chair, it takes a good 20 minutes, slowly adding bits of lovely-smelling tonics and massaging it in, gradually getting more and more suds piled on top of your head while you sit in the chair without any of it dropping onto your clothes or the ground. Once that's done, I went to the back to have it rinsed out and believed that was the end of it, but she dragged me back to the chair and gave me a scalp/neck/temples massage and then got out styling books and asked which one I'd like. Nothing super fancy, just basic styles which are part of the packaged. As she dried and straightened my humid-frizzed hair,
I found some little French braids I liked and showed it to her. They went under my hair so it got some of the hair off my face/neck and thinned it a bit to make the weather more manageable. Unfortunately, my hair is much thinner than the average Chinese person's so the braids were smaller than we expected, but they lasted about a week and really did help with the heat. Sarah got her hair cut and Ruth, who already has short hair, just got hers fluffed. 
Tuesday Ruth and Sarah and I braved the rain to go to the hair dresser down the road. When Sarah suggested we go 'get our hair washed' I thought, ‘that's ludicrous, why would I pay to have my hair washed when I just bought shampoo???’ When we got there, we sat down casually, didn't say a word to the ladies working there (apparently Ruth and Sarah are regulars), and a lady came over with some random hair-care products and just got started. They begin by washing your hair in the chair, it takes a good 20 minutes, slowly adding bits of lovely-smelling tonics and massaging it in, gradually getting more and more suds piled on top of your head while you sit in the chair without any of it dropping onto your clothes or the ground. Once that's done, I went to the back to have it rinsed out and believed that was the end of it, but she dragged me back to the chair and gave me a scalp/neck/temples massage and then got out styling books and asked which one I'd like. Nothing super fancy, just basic styles which are part of the packaged. As she dried and straightened my humid-frizzed hair,
I found some little French braids I liked and showed it to her. They went under my hair so it got some of the hair off my face/neck and thinned it a bit to make the weather more manageable. Unfortunately, my hair is much thinner than the average Chinese person's so the braids were smaller than we expected, but they lasted about a week and really did help with the heat. Sarah got her hair cut and Ruth, who already has short hair, just got hers fluffed. 
We then went to a store which has traditional styled cotton shirts and I found two which actually fit and were suitable colors (purple and green) so I got them on sale and accidentally haggled my way down even more.
I had to go home that night because I had my placement test the next morning back at the university. Kim kindly came and got me and took me to the test center where I took the listening exam and talked with my morning teacher, Tsai Laoshi. Unfortunately, the class is a little too easy. Most of the vocabulary I already studied when I was in China, though some of the grammar is new. The problem is that since I only studied simplified characters, it drops my reading level down quite a bit to be studying in traditional characters so my teachers explained I need to use this as sort of a refresher course before beginning (hopefully) the advanced class in the fall. Once classes started, the book we were reading was so pathetic (which kind of TV shows do you like? Really??? I did that my first semester at CC...) and I whined enough that we found a book which at least had interesting topics (Asian economic crisis, Chinese history and philosophers) so that even though I still new most of the vocabulary at least the discussions could be interesting and relevant.
The weekend was quiet; I looked up routes to the school by subway. Kaohsiung is not a very convenient city for one without a scooter. Although the MRT (subway) is extremely new, modern, and clean (no food or drink allowed) and mercifully air conditioned (as are the buses) there are only two lines, one going north/south, one east/west, and there are few stops so you have to walk for quite a while in the heat to reach one or brave the bus system which doesn't have very clear time tables. From Ansy's house I ride my bike 15 minutes, take the MRT for 20 minutes, then get on a bus which takes me up the mountain for another 25 minutes. On a scooter, this whole process would take about 15-20 minutes depending on traffic. I therefore have seriously started looking for a new place to live (I am actually writing from my new room, but to discuss it further is too anachronistic).
On Monday morning I woke up dizzy and fevery with an ear infection, which did little to help my listening comprehension on the first day of class. It also made it impossible to sleep due to the pain, so rather than continue to use up my stash of Ibu profen, I asked David where a doctor was and he got me in contact with Leanne, a Taiwanese lady, who took me to a doctor friend of hers. He gave me three days’ worth of antibiotics and pain killers, all for only 100 NT (about 3 USD/2 GBP). For some reason he couldn't just give me the whole nine days' worth because of his insurance or something, not really sure, but Leanne took me back two more times to get it all taken care of. She also started helping me look for a house, which ended up being a long-drawn out ordeal which I shall describe next time.
Hope you all are well! It seems that the karaoke has turned into incessant drumming and some obnoxious woman literally yelling into a microphone, just to let you all know. Look forward to hearing from you soon.
Love,
I had to go home that night because I had my placement test the next morning back at the university. Kim kindly came and got me and took me to the test center where I took the listening exam and talked with my morning teacher, Tsai Laoshi. Unfortunately, the class is a little too easy. Most of the vocabulary I already studied when I was in China, though some of the grammar is new. The problem is that since I only studied simplified characters, it drops my reading level down quite a bit to be studying in traditional characters so my teachers explained I need to use this as sort of a refresher course before beginning (hopefully) the advanced class in the fall. Once classes started, the book we were reading was so pathetic (which kind of TV shows do you like? Really??? I did that my first semester at CC...) and I whined enough that we found a book which at least had interesting topics (Asian economic crisis, Chinese history and philosophers) so that even though I still new most of the vocabulary at least the discussions could be interesting and relevant.
The weekend was quiet; I looked up routes to the school by subway. Kaohsiung is not a very convenient city for one without a scooter. Although the MRT (subway) is extremely new, modern, and clean (no food or drink allowed) and mercifully air conditioned (as are the buses) there are only two lines, one going north/south, one east/west, and there are few stops so you have to walk for quite a while in the heat to reach one or brave the bus system which doesn't have very clear time tables. From Ansy's house I ride my bike 15 minutes, take the MRT for 20 minutes, then get on a bus which takes me up the mountain for another 25 minutes. On a scooter, this whole process would take about 15-20 minutes depending on traffic. I therefore have seriously started looking for a new place to live (I am actually writing from my new room, but to discuss it further is too anachronistic).
On Monday morning I woke up dizzy and fevery with an ear infection, which did little to help my listening comprehension on the first day of class. It also made it impossible to sleep due to the pain, so rather than continue to use up my stash of Ibu profen, I asked David where a doctor was and he got me in contact with Leanne, a Taiwanese lady, who took me to a doctor friend of hers. He gave me three days’ worth of antibiotics and pain killers, all for only 100 NT (about 3 USD/2 GBP). For some reason he couldn't just give me the whole nine days' worth because of his insurance or something, not really sure, but Leanne took me back two more times to get it all taken care of. She also started helping me look for a house, which ended up being a long-drawn out ordeal which I shall describe next time.
Hope you all are well! It seems that the karaoke has turned into incessant drumming and some obnoxious woman literally yelling into a microphone, just to let you all know. Look forward to hearing from you soon.
Love,
Amanda
No comments:
Post a Comment