Up to my old tricks....

Ah! I found them! Dancers to photograph! One of my teacher friends, Shu Fen (Dana), learned of a performance by the dance troupe from one of the local girl's high school s at the cultural arts center. Then she set about finding a way for me to attend the rehearsal and somehow managed to know someone, who knew someone else and so yesterday Pei-Ling and I spent a couple hours watching a private performance. Here are a few of the photographs. What fun! Next week my own school has a dance performance, but I have classes during the time they perform. I did photograph the students practicing a few weeks ago, but without lights, make-up and costumes... and with a cluttered dance studio, the chances of catching just the right moment are much slimmer. So, I was delighted to have the opportunity to photograph a rehearsal. I wish there was a way for me to be able to photograph Taiwan's premier dance troupe, Cloud Gate. From what I have seen, Cloud Gate is incredible. They will be performing in Chiayi in December and I have a ticket. Second row, front and center (my favorite), but of course, photography is not permitted during actual dance performances. It would take some real manipulation to be able to photograph their rehearsal, and I am not going to hold out any hope of sneaking my way in for that. A month or two ago I saw the Taipei Ballet. I was not able to photograph them either.... but, for some reason, I still have hope for being able to photograph them. Their performance was more like a work of art than a dance performance. Here in Taiwan, dance is just beginning to be accepted and appreciated by the Taiwanese. The heavy stress of academics has not allowed young people to dedicate enough time to the art. So that is how I have spent my weekend so far.... sitting at the computer playing with photographs. It was only hunger and an empty refrigerator that inspired me to take a break, grab my scooter and helmet and go off in search of whatever I could find for dinner. Rice, chicken, bamboo shoots (really good!) and several weird vegetables that weren't too bad.... plus some milk tea. It may be that by the time I get back to the United States, I might kick the coffee habit and drink tea instead. Tomorrow, I am going off to the mountains with some of the teachers. It should be a good time and of course, I am taking the camera along.

YES!

I was delighted to learn of the American elections last week! There IS hope. As an American living in Asia, I have to admit, it is often easy to forget some of the political issues back home. But the election results brought undeniable joy for me. The politics here are quite different. Taiwan is probably unique in it's complex identity to the rest of the world. As a foreigner, I've tried not to form too many political opinions. One opinion which I cannot escape though, is that I do not wish to see Taiwan become so "Westernized" that they take on the social characteristics of America. The "traditional values" here are genuine traditional values.... unlike the same label some of America uses to oppress people and thoughts different from their own. This blog is not the place to discuss too much on political viewpoint, though, so let it suffice to say that here in Taiwan, people are very kind to one another and respectful. Here, someone could turn his garage into an exotic bird sanctuary, walk down the street barefoot and in his underwear, carry all his worldly belongings strapped to the back of his scooter, or sit silently at the edge of the lake for hours contemplating the desire of Gods.... and he would be treated with all the respect and kindness offered to any other human being. Perhaps in the eyes of the ancient Gods, money is a temporary thing. Ghost money burns daily here. A symbol. And while Taiwan was probably never the "Garden of Eden" entirely, I can see that somewhere in this country, someone has tasted the forbidden apple, and innocence is being traded for the upscale high-rise super mall, and the culture of the lesser gods is being emulated. These photos are from a temple near where I live.... I visited it on Sunday when I was practicing driving my scooter. Ah, my scooter. I am not sure I mentioned that earlier. It has been a few weeks or perhaps a month now that I have had a scooter. I try to drive it every day, but so far haven't taken it too far from home... it would be fairly difficult to describe the driving and traffic situation here in Taiwan. The independence I feel at owning the transportation here is huge. But I can't help but remember the words of my grandma back in the my teen years... reminding me wear clean underwear and socks without holes each time I went off on a risky adventure.... and when I'm driving down the roads here where traffic laws are made to be broken and bumper cars come to mind as vehicles park in the middle of the street, cars drive on whichever side of the road that is empty at the moment, and four lane highways have 6 vehicles, Grandma's words seem a lot more weighty than back in the old days when I would joke at her worry as I kissed her goodbye.

Oh no!

I spent Saturday in Taichung, Taiwan with 4 other foreign teachers from the United States. As I flipped through the photos to post some for you to see, I realized that 85% of them could probably be mistaken for photos taken back in the States. With the exception of a few tropical trees, some Chinese signs, and an abundance of Asian population, many of the photos could have been taken in a quaint little upscale boutique area of Columbus, Ohio, or in an artsy metro park there. I don't really know what to think about that. Maybe the people I was with were feeling a bit homesick for the good old USA. But as close as it was to election day, I wasn't feeling too nostalgic. The few photos posted today show more typically Taiwanese influenced things such as the "jen jew nye cha" (as it sounds, but not as it's really spelled) which is milk tea with "bubbles" of large circular tapioca. And, honest, this is a photo of the fire department we walked by as we were leaving the restaurant where we had lunch. As you might imagine, I prayed no fire would develop during the night in our typical big city hotel in the budget range across the street from the train station. I am not sure how much trust one can put in the seriousness of fire fighters who look all too much like cartoon characters.
We did see some cool statues at a park and listened to some Taiwanese music in a very nice area near the park as we had bubble tea and just relaxed. I was fascinated by some artists who had wandered outside their gallery to hear the music. The shop appeared to be ceramics and paintings or calligraphy. It was quite beautiful and I daydreamed of "someday" when I can spend my days creating art. Sadly, I am beginning to realize that those days may never come. That's not an easy thing to accept.
Then we visited another area of Taichung which is a pedestrian shopping that resembles Europe (I am told). I woke before sunrise and took a few photos from the hotel window overlooking the train station. This weekend was also the weekend of the All Soul's Procession back in Tucson, Arizona. Last year I spent a few days at the procession and the day leading up to the procession. It's an incredible thing the artists do there. Ah, sounds like I also was feeling a bit nostalgic and missing some of the things I remember about America.

Mt. Alishan, Taiwan

Early in October my school had testing for the students so teachers only had to work in the mornings. Because I don't speak Chinese much more than to give my address, buy bubble milk tea and say "I'm sorry," --- and I'm not a homeroom teacher, I got to take a day off right before the Moon Festival, also known as the Mid Autumn Festival. I decided to go on an adventure to Ali Mountain, 阿里山, as the locals know it. Mt. Ali is in the same county as Chiayi City, where I live. Because the area where I went to adventure, Zhongzheng Village, is 7,461 feet above sea level, it took hours to get there and the climate changed drastically during those 2 and 1/2 hours. As it turned out, I went even further up into the mountains to watch the sunrise at Yushan National Park on the following day. It was a wonderful experience, with a mystical beauty and a history going back thousands of years. Apparently, the Tsou aborigines were the earliest known inhabitants of the area. During the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, much of the cypress forest area of Alishan was logged. In order to transport the logs back down the mountain, a railroad was built. Today, that railroad is a huge source if pleasure to all who ride the Alishan train (including me). This is not your ordinary train or train track. I'm told there are only 3 of these narrow gauge railroads in existence in the world. While I took the bus to Ali, when I returned to Chiayi City, I took the train. A foreign teacher from Tainan City joined me in the adventure. That's probably a good thing. With my sense of direction, I would probably still be wandering around them mountain if Linda hadn't been along. Oddly, there was a school in the midst of the forest there..... maybe I could have gotten a job there teaching English. ;-) The whole time I was at Alishan, fog (clouds?) came and went. Back in the US, I never had much opportunity to spend more than a few hours in the mountains, or simply went through them getting from one place to another. So this trip seemed all the more mystical and beautiful. The temples and ancient trees scattered through the forests helped intensify the experience. One of the temples I saw in the forest, Tzuyan temple, has a Buddha which was a gift from king of Thailand to the Japanese emperor while Japan occupied Taiwan. It is said that the bronze statue is filled with gold dust. In the temple where the Buddha resides, is a garden with twisted vines and orchids. Much of the area still holds considerable Japanese influence, from the gardens to the temples and monuments, as well as the railroad itself and the cherry trees they planted after logging the cypress. If there was any possibility whatsoever that I thought this haven reminded me of America, it was completely forgotten when I came across the monkeys. Although not "tame" by any means, monkeys here will walk right up to you and extend a hand in hopes of a treat. I would imagine that people who explore deeper into the forest are able to catch glimpses of rare animals, birds, plants and other wildlife. I hope one day I can come back to Alishan and Yushan when I am more free to explore, but I will never be able to hike the steep trails or cover any great distance on foot. There is a Chinese legend which is listed in the Taiwan Insight Guide about the mountains here. Being a romantic at heart, I will take the liberty of quoting it here. "In ancient time, clouds and rain symbolized the mating of Heaven and Earth. It is said that a king of Sichuan made an excursion to Wushan, or Sorcery Mountain, where he grew tired in the middle of the day and fell asleep. He dreamed that a woman approached him and identified herself as the Lady of Wushan, saying, 'Having heard that you have come here, I wish to share pillow and couch with you.' When the lovers later parted, the woman told the king, 'I live on the southern slope of Wushan, on top of a high hill. At dawn I am the morning clouds; in the evening I am the pouring rain. Every morning and night I hover about these hills.'" Okay, okay, so that legend isn't romantic at all, is in fact rather sleazy. And just where would a mountain hiker come across a pillow and couch anyway? I do like the part about the woman being the morning clouds and the evening rain. We sometimes need fantasy to let us stop for a minute and look closer.... become those things which bring us joy and delight in the experience. If it takes a legend to cause us to pause and breathe in our environment, appreciate it on different levels, then let us share legends. Pictured here also is the Tree Spirit Pagoda, or Shuling Ta, as it is better known as in Taiwan.

Skipping ahead a bit...

So far I have not really mentioned my job here in Chiayi City. I haven't done that because I'm not sure I have it all clear in my own head about the job. I don't even know where to begin. I'm not even sure I can explain the job with any accuracy at all. I can give you the facts. I teach English as a second language to 557 students in 7th and 8th grade. I have between 18 and 20 classes per week. There are 38 students in each of the 7th grade classes (14) and 11 and 12 in the 8th grade classes. I am also supposed to have a class of Taiwanese English teachers on Friday afternoons, but frequently we have meetings instead. That isn't really a "class" as I am just supposed to talk to them so they can hear a "native" English speaker talk. That is sometimes difficult because I don't always have something to say and I am never entirely certain that the teachers understand that I am simply one American who has been a teacher in the Midwest for over 15 years. I don't represent all teachers in America and probably am not even "typical" in the way I think or in my values about education. Okay, okay.... if you are reading this blog you are probably laughing right not because you know me and you know that "probably" is a word I shouldn't have used in the previous sentence. I am not a typical Midwest Amerian teacher. When it comes right down to it, "typical" probably isn't a word that comes to mind when you think of me at all. But these people don't know that. To them, I represent America and I represent teachers in America. So... I take that responsibility very seriously and I take this job very seriously. What that all boils down to is that I am literally working my ass off trying to figure out what makes these kids tick and how to turn them into English speakers. At orientation, we were told not to expect miracles. If you recall, the name of this blog is "Why not?" And that should give you some idea of what my job is about. I get up in front of these 7th graders and "act out" their vocabulary. Try it sometime. Pick up a kid's book (early reader) and first act out the story. Then go back and act out the meaning of each of the "new" words. Remember, all of these kids already have words for every thing you are trying to teach them. Different words. What you are telling them is excess... added baggage to store in their heads, so you have to make an impression to make it worthwhile to hold on to that added term. "Groan" was a great one! Imagine 38 preteen and early teen kids all groaning at the same time after watching your dramatic examples. They are all taking this very seriously, too, hanging on to ever word or utterance. Those groans were sincere! And the best part is this.... none of the teachers walking past the classroom think a second thought about all the groaning floating out the door and windows! Ah, well, you would have had to have been there.... but here's something you might enjoy .... nap time! That's right! Nap time. Honest. I've been here in Taiwan since August 14 and I still haven't gotten over the "wonder" of nap time. Students nap. Teachers nap. Administration naps. Everyone naps. First time it happened I had been busy at the computer and oblivious to everything around me. I was working in the teachers' office. I got up, turned around, and was more than a little shocked to see all the teachers sacked out at their desks. Walking down the hall, peeking in the classrooms, my mouth dropped open to see all the students equally indisposed. Just last week during nap time a teacher informed me that we shouldn't run the copy machine while everyone was sleeping... it might wake them. Hee-hee. Probably around January I will be knocking some zzzzz's about 12:45 in the afternoon myself. I don't know how well that will go over back in the states when I return though. Another thing that really surprised me was the fact that there are no janitors to clean. The students do the cleaning themselves and the school generally looks very nice. Only once can I remember seeing any litter in the school yard and the hallways are often spotless. With 3,000 students, that is a real accomplishment. Hey, I did a nice job of avoiding to directly mention my "philosophy" about education, didn't I? And I've given no comparison of Taiwanese education to American education either, have I? Not really. I guess the cards are still out on that one. But at the moment, I will have to simply say that it is much easier to teach Taiwanese kids than it is to teach American kids.... at least from my Midwest school experience. That's a strange thing to say when I don't even speak the same language as the kids I am teaching..... but give us time. We will teach each other.

Puppets at Ilan

I asked 4 people to tell me about these puppets and I never did get an answer that brought me beyond confusion. As you will see in the photos below the puppets/marionettes, there are actors who dress up in costumes resembling the puppets and stage plays to tell stories of the characters. I would tell the local people about what I saw at Ilan, describe the puppets and the performance and even show photographs. The locals simply nodded their heads and said, "Yes, that's right." I would ask for a "name" or "label" for what I had seen and a look of confusion would come over their faces. They did not understand what I was asking beyond what I already knew. "It's Japanese, right?" I would say. And their response would be, "No. It's just a tradition in Taiwan. Puppets. Like Taiwanese opera. A tale. I don't know the name of this one. Very popular in Taiwan." So I have no information for you. I will keep asking. The shop where these were displayed kept each of the puppets under glass....hence the glare of sunlight off the glass in the photos. While I watched and took photos of these, many Taiwanese came and looked at the puppets. A few also photographed them. What you see here is only an example of the puppets on display. There were many others but the space here is limited and I am not sure how interesting you will find them. I was totally taken in by the beauty and craftsmanship of the puppets and their costumes. I wanted to know more. I wanted to see a puppet show with these puppets, but that was not to be. I wanted to know their stories... what were the tales to be told? My surprise came later in the day when I discovered a live performance by actors dressed in costumes A crowd had gathered and music was playing. Because I arrived at the performance "late" I was unable to get a spot close enough to the performers to see them well or to photograph them without distractions. Hopefully, you will get the general idea of what the performance was like. As you might imagine, even watching the characters acting out the stories, I still walked away without a good idea of what tale was being told beyond the basics. The narration was not given in English. Most likely it was told in Taiwanese. As I have mentioned before, for the first time in my life I understand a little of what it must be like to be illiterate. Additionally, I can't even understand the common language of the country where I am living. I can't read directions on packages at the "grocery" stores here. I can't read instructions for simple things like programming an electronic telephone or using a long distance phone card. I only guess at the windows on the Chinese software computers here and sometimes I guess wrong. I can't tell a taxi driver where I want to go or ask for directions. It took me weeks to get a straight answer on exactly what my address is for mail as even the translations varied from Taiwanese to Mandarin. Even still, communication can be made in most things and it is always a delight to me when I have been able to successfully negotiate a challenge.... such as purchasing the perfect seat at a dance performance of the Taipei Ballet when the ticket seller spoke no English and I spoke only several sentences of Chinese. I have since befriended a Chinese language teacher and we will meet on occasion trying to teach each other our native languages. I WILL learn this language.
UPDATE: Gloria Fung (an English teacher in Penghu) has emailed me and given me information about the performers in the images you see here. She believes these are "cosplay" (costume play, a Japanese term for costume play) as people dress up in costume portraying the characters from anime. Thank you Gloria!

Calligraphy

At the National Center for Traditional Arts, I stopped in many of the shops where artists and artisans were working on their art. One of the first shops to catch my attention was a shop where ink brushes are made. This shop had at least two artisans in front making brushes by hand. Inside, a calligrapher was demonstration her craft. When you consider that this type f brush has been used for at least 3,000 years along with the belief of Chinese artists to maintain the highest quality workmanship, you know much care and skill goes into their creations. One of the teachers at my school, Pei-Ling (who I will tell you much more about at a later time), told me that it is a recent practice of parents to use the first haircut of their children and have it made into a set of calligraphy brushes, or just a single brush, depending on the amount of hair the baby/toddler is blessed with. These brushes are called fetal or foetal brushes and are treasured by families. Ordinarily, the ink brushes are made from the hair of goats, rabbits or weasels, depending on the purpose of the brush. As you can see, there is quite a variety. These brushes were beautiful to look at and the calligraphy was outstanding. Brushes give the calligrapher much more flexibility than using a pen and ink, but additionally, it takes much more skill and practice to use a brush and ink. I have many regrets that I didn't buy myself a brush or two and some ink and paper... but, it was only several short weeks ago that I was in a mad rush to empty my 14 room house of decades of collecting possessions. Had it not been for four very dear people, I would never have been able to leave the United States in August. I will forever be grateful to those four very important people in my life. Heck, at the very least, I should have bought each of them a set of calligraphy brushes. ;-) Here in Taiwan, I have almost no possessions. I think I can grow to like having the freedom of not owning and worrying about what to do with my belongings should I want to go somewhere new when my stay in Taiwan ends.
Now, on to the sculptor shop a few doors down. What a delight it was to watch the clay work being done here. The man who graciously smiled for the camera worked steadily beside a little girl who was no more than 4 years old. Ordinarily I have no problem photographing children and even though the man here had already given me permission to photograph them, something inside would not allow me to photograph her directly. Perhaps it was because I considered her to be an artist even at that young age and it didn't feel as if her father's permission was quite enough. The sculptures in this show were truly incredible as the tradition was carried down so beautifully. In looking at these sculptures, many were able to transport me back to my perception of ancient days and ancient lives and I was lost in the stories that inspired the creation. Well, either that or my imagination was in high gear that day. ;-) A few of those images are here for you to see. I do not know the stories behind the sculptures as no one was near who could translate them to me.
Next I will show you some puppets from the traditional arts and then I will try to skip to my school and students and let you know my perception of education in Taiwan. After having taught in the United States for around 17 years, Taiwan is a very different look at education.