Yesterday I went to Kaohsiung, South of Taiwan. I rode the bullet train with the top brass of Davids. They were checking the progress of the construction of another Davids English Center. The progress seemed to be going well. I noticed that in Taiwan and Japan the construction is noticeably sturdy. For instance when you walk up a flight of stairs, it's perfectly solid. Zero creaking and when you step down its a thud, like your stepping on a boulder. The ceilings commonly have hidden light effects. Sometimes you see lights hidden under the table tops, shining down. And the front desks themselves are beautiful. The feel of the interior spaces are tastefully brought together.

 

The new school will be officially open after the first of Chinese New Year although there are already a few students that are taking lessons now. The demand for English instruction is like wild fire. If anyone is seriously thinking about teaching English please contact me. I promise you won't be sorry. You'll have an attractive standard of living and easily pay your student loans off.

 

Anyway the climate in Kaohsiung is super sweet, at least in the winter. They say all of Taiwan is sizzling hot in the summer. Kaohsiung is south of the tropic of Cancer, which basically means coconut trees grow there. We hung out at the beach and the sea breeze was sweet tasting, you know that balmy, salty, tropical sweet taste of the ocean air. Very refreshing and healthful. I liked the city as well, the roads were roomy so traffic flowed smoothly. I think I even saw sidewalks along the roads, it's been a long, long time since I've seen a sidewalk.

 

I haven't spent very much time in Taipei so it's hard to compare the two cities. Taipei in the north, is the largest. Kaohsiung is second largest, about 215 miles South. It took 90 minutes by high speed train, and we made at least 6 stops along the way. Having a system like that really simplifies things, I really hope that America is bold enough to build something like that so people aren't forced to drive all the time. I returned to Jhong Li late at night, just as the Drunk Driving checkpoints were in full swing. The police stopped the taxi I was in and asked to see my Passport which I didn't have. I wanted to ask the cop if I was being detained and for what purpose. But I just kept quiet and they let me go after about 2 minutes. No big deal, besides the cops here all know Kung Fu.

 

We had our School Anniversary on Saturday. All the teachers and staff got together and ate fancy Chinese food. Terrific seafood, there was roast fish, lobster and sea slugs. I ate my share of sea slug. I'd never heard of sea slugs before. They looked like a sausage or kielbasa and the texture is very soft like jello jigglers. Not bad. It's the weirdest thing I've had…so far. 

The next day we wend to a Meow Ling in the mountains to pick strawberries. The weather finally behaved for a change. The whole town is a monument for strawberries. We picked a box of ripe, juicy strawberries each. The farmers were definitely proud of their crops too because not only did I have to pick them, but they charged me about $12 U.S. for my box full. It was fun and pleasurable to do that. We went in the town later and I got the point pretty soon. Strawberry sausage, strawberry cookies, strawberry egg rolls, strawberry tea, strawberry shaped balloons and hats and toilet paper. I looked for the hot girl strawberry wrestling pit but couldn't find that. I bought 6 little bottles of strawberry wine for special occasions.

 

Last Wed. I went to Taipei for a few hours to visit one of the administrators. I wound up at a foot massage place with her and I received one of the most relaxing treatments ever. First, they asked me to put my feet in this tub of "hot" water. It was more simmering then hot, like they were preparing my feet for dinner. I had to go to a safe place within my mind and concentrate on a peaceful floral meadow landscape because my feet were in wretched torment. "Is that too hot" they asked…."no, it's fine - thanks" I said. A foot massage in Taiwan apparently includes your shoulders, neck, and head. I'm not going to tell them what the English word "foot" means because then a foot massage would just be too expensive. Overall it was blissful. Funny enough, a violent Harrison Ford movie that was silently playing on the enormous flat screen T.V. People were getting tossed off buildings and beat up in the movie. All this playing in a feng shui like atmosphere with running water and incense while people are lounging in robes getting professional massages.

 

Hello! Everything is great in Taiwan.

 

Yesterday, 3 of the students, 1 teacher and myself all went to the beach and hung out all day. We rented a 6 person bike and peddled around checking out temples, drinking coffee, singing karaoke and eating.  Ac cross the water was mainland China. It was way too far away to see but it was definitely there. All along the beach there were caltrops to repel invading Chinese tanks! Those are the 4 pointed obstacles where one side is always pointing up. Each one was about 10 feet tall and there were hundreds of them. There were also concrete bunkers dug into the sand.

 

There is no danger of a Chinese invasion, those military installations were only remnants of the past. Even if the Chinese did want to invade there isn't much Taiwan could do about it. People here are very sweet, thoughtful, generous and comically determined. For instance, when we finished riding the bike and turned it back in…we where all in the car less then 10 seconds later on our way to dinner. Seriously.

 

Chinese New Year is apparently just around the corner in 2 months. Already people shoot off fireworks…all…night…long. Not just the crackers, I'm talking about the big artillery shells at 4 o'clock in the morning. It's just going to get worse, people say that the 3 days of the new year the fireworks are absolutely constant. That should be fun, I think Chinese new year is bigger then any holiday in the world.

 

People here are focused on simple happiness. There isn't a lot of extravagant luxuries like, you know, refrigeration. They sell raw meat in the shade. I don't know how that works but the food is great. I might forget how to cook because it's is so cheap and convenient to get food on the go. I think it's very common to do that. When it's laundry time I will whip out the washboard and actually wash my clothes by hand. They have all the appliances and electronics, etc. And they are also cheap. It's just that many people are fine without them.

 

One thing that is uncomfortable is the traffic because people drive fast. There are many, many personal scooters. More then cars and trucks. All the traffic goes too fast for me. Pedestrians do NOT have the right of way. They will pass by close to you when you are walking. If they drove like that around me in America, I would probably step out and knock them off the bike and tell them never do that again; but I'm just going to have to get used to it here. It's unnerving. People are aggressive to get around for sure. Oh and traffic lights aren't the law, just a suggestion.

 

A few years ago they banned eating dogs in Taiwan. Everyone I've talked to loves dogs as pets and have never eaten one. There are lots of homeless dogs running around. They believe that if a dog comes to visit your doorstep it's a sign of good luck so people feed them. Many people feed the dogs, and you aren't allowed to eat them anymore so guess what…Lots of dogs. Large, homeless, dirty dogs. I like dogs and everything but walking in a narrow alley with dogs laying around watching every move can put you on your toes. So far, they always have love in their eyes and haven't growled. Nobody I've talked to has ever been bitten.