I'm baaaaaack!!!!!

And it feels good to be back! Sorry for the long absence, but I’ve been taking some much-needed time off to relax and get reacquainted with American life. This has included lazy days of TV, video games, Papa John’s, shopping at Wal-Mart, and hanging out with friends and family. That was my pattern for about a week and a half after Christmas, but I did do some work during winter vacation. I finished my paper for my Cross-strait Relations in Asia-Pacific Security class on Taiwan-Japan relations and a job application for a fellowship position at the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR). I also had to make a syllabus for Political Science 101 (American Democracy and Citizenship), which I’m teaching one section of this semester.

School started on Tuesday because Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. My first class of the week was my PLS 101 class. I have to admit, I didn’t sleep too well the night before because I had a little anxiety about teaching a college class for the first time, but I think it went quite well. I decided to let them off easy on the first day – just a course introduction and overview of the syllabus. I thought about giving a lecture on the first day, just so they wouldn’t think I’m going to be a total pushover, but I decided against it because I always hated it when professors lecture on the first day.

I’m taking political science (PLS) classes this semester – “Quantitative Methods in Political Science” (statistics) and “International Organizations”. Both look like they will be a lot of work, but not extremely difficult work. I think the International Organizations class in particular will be very interesting.

I’m also taking Chinese this semester. I felt like I learned a lot in my three months of studying Chinese in Taiwan, but an American guy in our class spoke excellent Chinese (at least compared to mine) after only spending three months in mainland China. Our professor is Chinese, but she lived in Kyoto for 10 years, so she also speaks excellent Japanese and teaches both languages. Although I’m not taking this class for a grade, I still want to do well because I’m really interested in learning the language. Unfortunately, it seems like the students here have learned a completely different set of vocabulary and grammar than we learned in Taiwan. Our teacher had us ask each other questions at the beginning of class as a kind of review, but I didn’t know some of the vocabulary that they were using and they didn’t know a lot of the words I used. I am also unfamiliar with the simplified Chinese characters we’re using in class. It may sound strange, but the more difficult traditional characters are easier for me because they are more similar to the ones used in Japan.

The biggest problem I foresee with this class is the lack of intensity I’m used to from Taiwan. Although our teacher spoke English well in Taiwan, she refused to use it in class unless it was ABSOLUTELY necessary, which was very rare. She only spoke in Chinese, so we really had to listen to her pronunciation and try to figure out what she was saying from context. Our teacher here translates everything, so you don’t really hear the Chinese. You instinctively wait for the English translation, limiting the attention you pay to the real Chinese. Oh well, it’s better than nothing and I’ll stick with it anyway…

I’d like to get back to posting on a regular basis this week, but we’ll see how it goes. I’m going to be really busy with classes and work this semester, but writing posts is a nice way to take a break from more stressful activities. I still have a lot to post on from my overseas travels, so I will get around to that throughout the semester. As a teacher in a class about American government this semester, I want to try to get my students to pay attention to America’s role in the world. I think my experiences as an American abroad give me some credibility on this subject, but we’ll see…

Anyway, enough rambling for now. I think I’m out of practice at this blogging thing, but I’ll get the hang of it again soon…

See you soon!

Home at last!

I have sooooo much to write about, but soooooo little time right now! I got in last night safe and sound and will start catching up on this blog thing when I get some time. Until then, please enjoy catching up on my old posts!

Be back soon!

I'll be home for Christmas!

Well, this is it. I'm completely packed and ready to go. I'm leaving my room in about 30 minutes to an hour to go to a going-away party, then some of my fellow students are going to drive me to the bus station. I then have a four-hour bus ride to the airport, followed by twenty-some odd hours of flights, layovers, security checks, and customs. Fun!

Am I excited to be going home? Certainly, but I'm also sad to be leaving. It's been an amzing six-and-a-half month adventure and it feels like a major chapter in my life is closing. It may sound a little cliche, but I'm really trying to think of this more of a beginning than an end. I have no doubt that I will visit most, if not all of the places I've been again. I have met so many wonderful people in this past half-year that I plan on staying in touch with that it doesn't even seem right to say "goodbye"; "see you later" seems much more appropriate...

Anyway, the road home will be long, but my wonderful family will be waiting for me when I get there. (Right? You guys are going to be there, right???) I can't wait to see them again and, of course, eat some good-ol' fashion American home-cooking!

I've still got many stories to tell about Italy, Taiwan, and Japan that will keep me busy for another month or two on this blog, so be sure to keep checking for updates!

From MO next time! See ya!

Apologies!!!

Sorry to anyone who is looking forward to seeing new posts, but I'm going to be really busy this week, so I doubt I'll have much time to post. I will be sure to load pics on flickr at least once or twice more before I go home, but I have a final exam in Chinese tomorrow and a paper and a presentation to have finished by this weekend so I can enjoy my last weekend here. Early next week I have to pack, which will probably take a day and a half, so I won't make any promises about finding time to post.

I still have to post about last weekend's Japan-Taiwan Research Forum, my interview with Dr. Lai at the Taiwan Think Tank this past weekend, and all the mini going-away celebrations we're having. For now, please try to content yourself with some new pictures I've loaded on flickr. Check them out and I'll get back to this later!

Aloha!

Just some advice for travelers to Taiwan...

Why start off with a Hawaiian greeting you ask? “Aloha” is the name of my new favorite transportation company. There are many ways of getting around in Taiwan. If you want to go from Kaohsiung to Taipei, you can fly for about $70 U.S. (about a 50 minute flight), take the train for $20-$30 (slow or fast train), or you can take a bus for $15-$20 (which takes 4 or 5 hours, depending on traffic). If you are trying to save money, the bus is absolutely the way to go. I have come to the conclusion that the trains are almost completely useless, since even the fast train only gets you to Taipei an hour faster than the bus and it isn't as comfortable. Intercity busses have large chairs that lean way back – almost like sitting in a moving La-Z-Boy.

There are many different bus companies, but my vote is definitely with Aloha. Most bus companies charge $500 NT (New Taiwan Dollars – about $15 U.S.), but for an extra $150 NT ($4.50 U.S.) you can ride with Aloha. Why is Aloha so much better? Well, most busses have TV screens that play movies or TV shows on the long bus trips, but you usually don’t get to choose what you watch. Aloha has LCD screens on the back of every seat, so you have your own personal mini-theater. There is a volume control switch on your arm rest and the speakers are built into the left and right sides of your massive headrest, so you have a surround sound system that's loud enough to hear clearly, but quite enough to not disturb other passengers! You can choose from several channels that play Western movies, Chinese movies, Taiwanese TV, children's programming, a GPS image of where you are on the road, a “road cam” showing the road ahead of the bus, and one channel of fully clothed female models dancing or walking to cheesy music. There are two channels of Western (usually cheesy Hollywood) movies with Chinese subtitles to choose from, so the native English speaker doesn't miss out on anything. Your seat reclines waaaaaay back, so you can get very comfortable. An attendant (a girl in a green Aloha uniform) brings you a blanket, something to drink (coffee, tea, or water), a snack, and some wet wipes. There is a bathroom on the bottom level of the deck and a half high bus, but I imagine it is tricky for female passengers to use, since you are using a traditional “squat” toilet on a moving vehicle, but it's still nice to have. Although the movies they show are pretty standard Hollywood crud, they show them on two channels, so you at least can choose the lesser of two evils.

I'll write about the conference I went to last weekend some other time. I have to go to a farewell party for us exchange students in a few minutes, so I don't have time right now. Sorry, but I'm not one to turn down free pizza!

One more question...

To Ross and anyone else who might have wondered...

If you look at old maps of East Asia, you may find that the name of the "Hermit Kingdom" used to be Corea (spelled with a "C"). Both spellings (with a "K" and with a "C") were used in the past, but some Koreans (Coreans) claim that the Japanese promoted the "K" spelling during the colonial period because "J" (for Japan) came before "K" in the alphabet. The spelling "Corea" is now popular mainly with nationalist Coreans (Koreans), though "Korea" remains the official spelling.

Some questions...

I had a busy weekend. I will write about it tomorrow, though, because I'm pretty wiped out from 5-hour bus rides, a conference, and a 3 hour Japanese test. For now, I thought I'd try something different and ATTEMPT to answer some questions...

First of all, Ichigo - read my older posts. I'm not posting about Italy until I get back to the U.S. Don't worry, all the details are coming, just not right now!

Now for Ross' series of questions:


"I've always meant to ask but kept forgetting. What dialect of Chinese is spoken in Taiwan? Also, what do they think of America and Japan? How is Chaing Kai Sek viewed in Taiwan? Hero Worship or is he ignored by the populace? Is it taboo to criticize him?"

Forunately you started off with an easy question. The others are much more difficult, but I can say with certainty that I know the answer to the first one.

The dialect of Chinese spoken in Taiwan is... (cue the drum roll):
TAIWANESE!!!

Yes, Taiwanese is the name of the dialect spoken here. It is related to the dialect spoken in the nearby Chinese province of Fujian (which is called, strangely enough, Fujianese). It's not Mandarin and it's not Cantonese, but if you are looking for a better definition of what it is, then you should ask someone who knows more about Chinese than me.

Taiwanese is spoken by those descended from immigrants from Fujian province several centuries ago, but there are other indigenous languages here that should be mentioned. Hakka is spoken by the approximately 13% of Taiwanese who are descended from immigrants from southern Guangdong province. There are also many aboriginal languages that are still spoken in small villages along the East coast and in some of the smaller islands, but there are relatively few people still using these languages today.

Mandarin is still the language of education and most people here understand it, though older people often don't speak it. Citizens of the Republic of China (Taiwan) who came from the Chinese mainland at the end of the Chinese civil war and their descendents often speak Mandarin only.

As for Taiwanese opinions of America and Japan, overall they are very positive. The Taiwanese are unique among the East Asians in their refusal to continue to hold Japan accountable for it's wartime aggression six decades ago. The Japanese did oppress the Taiwanese during their occupation, but they also built schools, hospitals, and other infrastructure that never existed in Taiwan before they came. China, on the other hand, pretty much ignored Taiwan throughout most of history, considering it a rural backwater filled with barbarians - a fact that you are unlikely to hear coming from the mouths of contemporary Chinese historians.

Tens of thousands of Taiwanese died in the service of the Japanese Imperial Army during the war. The Japanese introduced public education and made Japanese the official language. Many older Taiwanese who were educated in this period still speak Japanese more or less fluently. Lee Teng-hui, Taiwan's former president, once claimed in an interview with a Japanese reporter that he considered himself more Japanese than Chinese. (He answered all questions in this interview in eloquent Japanese.)

The brutal, disorganized, corrupt, and incompetent rule of the KMT (Kuomintang - Chiang Kai-shek's "Nationalists") that followed their evacuation to and occupation of Taiwan reinforced the positive image of the Japanese. Many Taiwanese began to look back at the Japanese occupation with nostalgia - especially after the 228 incident, in which tens of thousands of Taiwanese citizens were brutally massacred by the KMT government.

Not all residents of this island hold such positive views of the Japanese, but there is little hostility toward Japan like you will find in China or Corea. Some of the "mainlanders" (KMT members and their families who came here at the end of the civil war), however, fought against the Japanese during the war and still hold a grudge. Recent opinion polls, however, show that the younger generation of this "ethnic group" do not differ in their attitudes toward Japan from their Taiwanese counterparts. Most younger Taiwanese also have a fascination with modern Japan - they love Japanese pop culture, fashion, and food and admire Japan's economic power.

Another reason the Taiwanese like Japan is because it is allied with the U.S. Taiwan relies on the U.S. to deter the PRC from invading. Convincing Japan that Taiwan is worth defending has been a policy priority for Taiwanese leaders for decades. Should a war ever break out over the Taiwan Strait and the U.S. got involved, Japan would have to face the difficult decision of going to war with it's big, bad, scary neighbor or losing it's close and fruitful alliance with the world's only superpower. It's a tough choice and the Taiwanese are unlikely to allow much anti-Japan sentiment to fester here for long.

I think it goes without saying that MOST Taiwanese are very pro-American. Nobody else in the world sells them weapons or hints at coming to their defense if Beijing threatens to attack, so most feel that not liking the U.S. is not an option. This has probably caused some degree of underlying resentment among Taiwanese who dream of a day when they can be independent of foreign influence, but for the most part, it seems unlikely that many Taiwanese would be willing of throwing away close relations with the U.S. if it meant the chances of forced unification with the PRC would increase.

As for your question about Chiang Kai-Shek, I have talked to a few Taiwanese about this, including a fairly long conversation with my roommates just now, and they seem rather ambivalent toward him. He did some bad things and was very strict, but some of his policies helped benefit Taiwan. His insistance on keeping American support strong helped keep Taiwan from being swallowed up by the PRC. Some Taiwanese don't really think of him as being that important of an historical figure. For most of his reign, he focussed almost exclusively on planning and preparing for his ultimate objective - taking China back. He didn't really care too much about Taiwan since he didn't plan on spending too much time here. He left most administrative decisions to bureaucrats and kept a more or less hands off approach. According to my roommates, his wife, Madame Chiang, was more important - she was more personable, more intelligent, and better liked by the Taiwanese. I don't think it would be too taboo to criticize him, but I doubt anyone really cares that much to spend their breath talking bad about him now. There are plenty of corruption scandals in modern Taiwanese politics to focus on!

I hope these at least halfway answered your questions. It was certainly much more than I planned to write. Be back tomorrow!