What a great day… first, a long Skype call with our friends Kelly and Houston and then (drumroll, please)… we received our first care package!!! Woo hoo!

So this post is hereby dedicated to Meredith Gregory, who is directly responsible for a box with four pounds of Starbucks coffee enclosed (and a hilarious card) arriving for us today. We are so immensely grateful, and I’m certain that the coffee will be put to good use. (= Starting tonight, in fact.

Even though we’re not in some remote village somewhere and we can locate most anything we might have a craving for (though sometimes at a price!) here in Taipei, it’s still so amazing to get a care package in the mail and know that we’re remembered and loved. Thanks so much, Meredith. We’ll think of you every time that Starbucks smell wafts through our apartment.

Actually, I think I’ll go brew a pot right now…mmm. (=

Sometimes Westerners living in non-Western places witness little bits of history that they’d otherwise miss.

Were you aware of what happened in Uganda this week? Cheryl, who lives in Fort Portal about 7 hours west of Kampala and who is a great writer, had this experience in the wake of Uganda’s recent events. I won’t type details here, other than that link is to a really interesting post.

You may have heard of the rhetorical and bureaucratic rumblings this week re: Taiwan and the Mainland. I imagine (in my disturbingly unrefined political opinion) that it’s all probably mostly just politicians running their yaps and posturing, but it’s big news here. Here’s some links to stories from today – does that make it tomorrow’s news for you?
The Mainland’s news:
“Taiwan’s Chen abolishes unification council, guidelines” – from China Daily
“Chen’s move ‘will trigger serious crisis’” – from People’s Daily Online
Taiwan and AP news:
“DPP plans protest to support scrapping NUC” – from Taipei Times
“Taiwan Terminates China Unification Body – AP” – CDT.

Apparently Taipei might not get those two Pandas (named from the Chinese word for ‘reunion’) from the Mainland anymore.

填鸭式教学 means, “stuff duck style teaching” or “force-feed duck style teaching.” “Stuffing the duck” is a well-known description of traditional (and widely used) Chinese teaching methods, sort of the Asian equivalent to our “drinking from the firehose.” It’s where teachers try to cram inhuman (and inhumane) amounts of content into their compliant unquestioning students. The students try to absorb as much as they can for the purpose of regurgitating it on college entrance exams. There’s precious little creative brain activity involved.

“Stuffing the duck” also aptly describes what I’m about to do to myself from now until April 9th. In the process of making a weekly time-allotment calendar (so that the time and place in my life that I give God, Jessica, and other priorities actually reflects my beliefs… what a concept!), I also made a little reading calendar, parceling out the remaining assignments and readings for this semester. And a dark cloud descended upon Yonghe.

The upside is that the schoolwork shouldn’t supplant my relationships with God and Jessica, since the time needed to nurture those is already set aside. The downside is that this duck is going to drink from the firehose from now until April 9th.

As of tonight, I’m starting a new series of posts called “Clueless”. These will be short posts that we’ll share from time to time telling you about moments when Joel and I look at each other and realize (again and again) that we are absolutely clueless.

Here’s tonight’s:
We attended a fellowship group meeting tonight, and thought we’d bring along something to contribute to the meal. So, we stopped at a bakery and picked up a cake. It looked like some kind of sponge cake, or angel food cake with a few layers of filling (strawberry? whipped cream?). Our host kindly receives our cake, but toward the end of the meal we notice that no body is really eating any of it. So, we try a piece….only to realize that it’s not cake.

Instead, we’ve purchased breakfast food and brought it for dessert. Our “cake” is really a loaf of pastry bread with a layer of ham, a layer of cheese, and a layer of pork shavings (quite popular in local breakfast foods…imagine pork flavored sawdust and you’ll be pretty close) inside.

(Before i get on with the post, check out Ruth’s blog post about skyping with Jessica!)

We’ve read a lot of books written to Westerners explaining/warning us about the way Chinese typically negotiate and get things done… about understanding how “yes” can mean, “no,” “maybe,” “I don’t know,” “that depends on,” “we’ll keep repeating this conversation until you change your mind,” “I like you but I don’t want to do it the way you’re suggesting but don’t expect me to ever come out and actually say that,” etc., depending on non-verbals and context.

I think we’re getting our first little dose of this in some of our planning conversations at the school. I imagine we must be driving them crazy: “What is the deal with these wai4 guo2 ren2! How do they expect to get anything done?”

It’s strange. Although it’s kind of annoying to be on the receiving end of this high-context, indirect form of communication, it really appeals to my passive-aggressive side. Learning to play that game – or a least be on the giving end of that kind of treatment – seems like it’d be kind of fun, like some kind of passive-aggressive sport. I’m not saying these are necessarily good motives for cross-cultural adaptation, just that part of me still finds passive-aggressiveness attractive (the part that likes to play Risk).

And I don’t want to give the wrong impression: that stereotypically Chinese indirect communication is always what we negatively judge as passive-aggressive in the West. It’s only bad (‘passive-aggressive’) when it’s abused. We’re only getting a minor dose of the nice kind at the school. These conversations are all English, our boss here has spent a lot more time around Westerners than the average Taiwan resident, they’re really nice and accommodating to us, and we’re new to the culture so our radar is still pretty weak when it comes to picking up on all the cultural factors at play. But the last couple weeks I’ve been paying attention to the different ways “yes” is said, and now I’m at the point where I’m starting to ignore the actual word and look for other non-verbals or where the conversation goes immediately following the supposed affirmative.

Sorry it’s taken us so long to post anything concrete about our trip to Hong Kong. We left on February 12 and were there through the 14th, so we had 2 nights and 2 and a half days in Hong Kong. That is not nearly enough time to explore a city of that magnitude, but we sure gave it our best shot.

We started exploring Hong Kong at around 12:30 on the 12th, shortly after checking into our hotel and finding a map. First order of business was to find some lunch, so we wandered through the market that was behind our hotel. Amidst the pig head skins, giant snails, and fresh fish jumping out of their buckets, we found a little noodle shop. One of the items on our list (provided by our friends in Taiwan) of things to try in Hong Kong was a drink called “yuanyang.” Yuanyang is the chinese word for some kind of waterfowl that always come in pairs, but the beverage is a mixture that is half coffee/half tea. This noodle restaurant had it, so we tried it out. It’s really good, but different…it doesn’t really taste like coffee or tea and it has a lot of milk in it. Yuanyang is kind of like Hong Kong…a mix of Western (coffee) and eastern (tea) flavors.

From lunch, we found the closest MTR (subway) station and took the subway from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon (which is connected to the mainland, but is still part of Hong Kong). There we walked along the waterfront, where you get the best view of all of the office buildings and on the Hong Kong Island side. While we were walking around, some guy in a turban came up and told Joel that he had a “very lucky forehead” and wanted to tell him why, for a small fee. It took a few minutes for the guy to realize that Joel wasn’t going to go for the offer. I saw Mr. Turban a few minutes later, examining another tall white guy’s forehead. Hmmm. Must’ve been lots of lucky foreheads running around in Kowloon that day. We also went down the “Avenue of Stars, which is sort of Hong Kong’s version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, commemorating famous Hong Kong film stars, directors, and producers. I put my hand in Jet Li’s handprint (Ooooo)…and my hand is the same size as his!!! Between Joel’s lucky forehead, and my almost famous hand…aren’t you guys glad to know us?

Kowloon has one of Hong Kong’s most famous shopping districts, located all along “Nathan Road.” I was surprised to see how upscale it all is, with tons of world famous brands like Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Manolo Blahnik, etc. All along this route, there were Indian guys hanging out trying to look casual. When we’d walk past, they’d kind of walk along side us for a few seconds and say, “Hey, would you like to buy fake Rolex? Very cheap, good quality.” It was kind of funny, because it looked like they were trying to be inconspicuous, but everyone knows what they’re up to. We (of course) didn’t buy anything there, either in the stores or from the Rolex salesmen, but pushed past all of the high-end shopping to find a couple of the local markets. There was a “ladies market” that we went through, which had all kinds of stuff for women – from bikinis and baby clothes to designer knockoff handbags. We also found the “Temple Street Night Market”. This had some interesting stuff, but there were mostly tourists shopping there. Joel tried to bargain with a couple of the guys, but didn’t really get anywhere.

By this time, it was getting late, and our feet were tired so we decided to head back to the hotel. Instead of taking the MTR over to the Hong Kong Island side, we got aboard the top deck of the “Star Ferry” and enjoyed the view of the city lights all the way across. Back to the hotel to collapse…

The next morning, we found a little bakery in the same market and grabbed some yummy coconut filled rolls, and ate them at a local coffee shop. Then we went and turned in our visa applications in time to start exploring by 10:30 am. This time, we explored the Hollywood Road area of Hong Kong (as well as many other streets that I can’t remember…all in the same general area). Hollywood Road was lined with antique shops, and there was a little antique market on a neighboring street. Of course, the market was more “tourist antiques” than the real deal…but we still picked up a couple of items. Another street was the “Ginseng and Birdnest Street”, where nearly all of the shops sell birdnests (I still don’t know what they really are…I’ll tell you when I know) and ginseng for various medicinal purposes. Then there was the Traditional Chinese Medicine street, which had everything from dried seahorses, starfish, and jellyfish to dried tongues, dried lizards stretched out on a stick, and a ton of stuff that we couldn’t even begin to recognize. A very weird and interesting place. I wish I could capture the smell of it in a picture and post it here for you. It’s not a bad smell, but it’s definitely nothing you’ve ever smelled unless you’ve been in a traditional Chinese medicine shop. The last weird street was the “Dried seafood street.” Pretty much anything that can be found in the ocean can be found here, dried.

By the time we finished exploring all of those streets, it was time to go check on our visas, which were approved with no problems. We were so worn out that we decided to find dinner near the hotel and relax. Our friends in Taiwan had recommended that we try a certain type of restaurant, something like a “teahouse,” which would be the least touristy and most authentic place we’d eat. We found one a street or two away from the hotel, and had some of the best duck I’ve ever eaten. We also tried octopus tentacle (or something octopus-like, anyway) on a stick. Not a bad flavor…a little spicy, but it takes a lot of chewing.

Tuesday, Valentine’s day, was our last day. Hong Kong is world famous for its “dim sum” and we still hadn’t tried it. So, for brunch we found a nice little dim sum restaurant. This place had the coolest atmosphere. It was like a big party, everybody was eating and laughing, drinking tea, reading the newspaper, and hanging out. Dim sum is kind of hard to describe (a lot of little small foods, like dumplings and rolls with fillings and stuff) but if you ever get the chance to try it, go for it. We loved both the food and the atmosphere.

We still had a few more items on our checklist of things to try, so we ran around the neighborhood in search of them before catching the shuttle to the plane. There is this mango ice drink, which is incredible. Joel got the mango one, with coconut milk and I got the strawberry ice, with coconut milk. Soooooo good. We also picked up a few more treats at the local bakery to eat at the airport.

All in all, a great trip. Sorry this recap is so long, but it was such a cool place. So many sights and sounds (and smells and tastes) that I wish all of you could experience. The only thing I didn’t write about in this is the “Man Mo” temple, which we visited on Monday. That deserves it’s own post, so hopefully I’ll get that up before the end of the week.

The previously mentioned rush of inspiration was only good for about 4 pages of that paper; I’m not sure if I should feel guilty about the other 8 or not.

Either way, we’ve got a little breathing room now to get our lives in order. Moving to Taipei + two weeks of Winter Camp + Hong Kong + grad papers =’d messing up our lives. Now – for the first time since we left West Texas in August – we can start a sane routine that should last for more than two weeks! It’s nice to actively and routinely engage our spiritual and married relationships, clean our apartment, stay on top of our assignments (more reading in the park!), get organized with the Mandarin learning, learn the local markets, get to know the food stand owners we frequent beyond their names, and hang out with our new Taiwanese friends! We do have time for all that now – this month even.

Some little things:
- new photos, video, and audio (on the photos and video pages)!
- If you haven’t yet ditched Internet Exploder for Firefox, now’s your chance. Firefox is safer, more secure, easier to use, faster… and CHL works better in it! =)

Why is it that you can flounder for two weeks in an agonizing, frustrating, debilitating stew in which the primary ingredient is lack of creative thought, and then the sudden rush of inspiration and clicking-into-place-of-ideas doesn’t hit you until 12:26am of the morning the paper is due?

Why does my brain wait for the GPA-destroying weapon of Due Date to be loaded, aimed, and cocked before producing anything I want to turn in to a prof? Who cares about the GPA!

I mean, I’m thankful that this happens at all, I’d just like to adjust the timing.

Is it bad if, hypothetically speaking, a foreign English teacher expects his students — who come to his school late at night after already sitting through a full day in their regular school — to do their homework, yet at the same time that teacher is also an M.A. student who is already falling behind in his own studies? I’ve just turned in two weekly assignments late and my first two major papers are due this weekend — papers for two different classes, one with the due-date already extended.

What happened to the days when life was an add-on to school? Adding school onto life is a whole nother deal. Working a job to help you get a degree (the ‘professional student’ days) was way different than working a degree to help you get a different job (Ni hao, China!). C-c-c-rrrunch! (down-shifting from keener gear to survival gear). And I really need to get back to work…

Made it back from Hong Kong in time to wake up, throw some lessons together and begin the first regular semester at PEI. Jessica will write more on the Hong Kong experiences, but I don’t know when since we’ve got the first week of class combined withour first major paper due Sunday. HK was tiring but really fun and interesting.

There are photos up on the photos page.