We’re heading out with some friends overnight to Wulai, which is apparently a famous mountain hot springs place. Our friends aren’t sure if it has the public swimming pool type springs (where people wear clothes) or the segregated, everyone’s nude kind of springs. Should be interesting. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been naked outdoors in a foreign country. We haven’t kicked these colds yet, but we’re feeling a little better. We should have lots of photos when we come back.

Well, it’s Chou-chou here again. My apologies for, and a brief explanation of, my long absence in posting on the big cat’s blog. It began this summer, when the big cats departed for Cat-nada, leaving me to room with Doodoo. In spite of his hairlessness, Doodoo actually turned out to be a pretty decent old chap (a little stuffy, but otherwise alright). We actually got along pretty well. However, we didn’t want his big cats to suspect that we might be okay roomies, so we put up a good show of dislike and held a perpetual stand-off between us. Apparently, we were pretty convincing too….within three days, I had been returned to my own home, under the care of a new big cat.

Unfortunately, it turned out that the new big cat prefers dogs and birds and was not-so-fond of small cats. She was okay, but I sank into a depression that didn’t lift until my own big cats returned from the far reaches of Cat-nada. I didn’t even write any haiku during this time period, and my opinion pieces were decidedly dark and satirical in nature. Overall, I would’ve preferred to stay with Doodoo. What a relief when the big cats returned, and I was able to resume my rightful sleeping place in their bed and have my every need attended to by cat-lovers. I whined at them for almost a month solid, as a means of claiming my revenge for having been left so long. Eventually, we all got settled back into our old patterns and routines. It was wonderful and I started to contemplate my next post on the blog.

However, believe it or not, this has been my first opportunity to sneak onto the blog in months! The big cats were MAJOR computer hogs from September all the way through December, claiming that they had too much homework. HA! I know the truth…I saw both of them playing on kittenwar.com multiple times. To their credit, they were trying to find my picture, and vote me as cutest kitten in the world. Not that a vote is needed, as the truth is self-evident…but I appreciate their loyalty. The amount of whining I’ve had to put up with from them has been insufferable, and definitely a testimony to my patient and tolerant nature. Most other cats would’ve shredded their books, chewed their computer cables, or slashed their faces while they were sleeping in an attempt to make the whining stop.

Recently, there has been another new cat added to the house. This kitten is a little odd….hardly a proper tail, sneezes all the time (especially under the blankets at night), and what a name! “Fire Chicken,” said in any language, is hardly a proper name for a kitten. But what can you expect from big cats that named me after the aroma of a certain popular food here in Taiwan? I really think they need to learn more Chinese, so that they can begin picking better names for their small cats. Anyway, after an initiation period, in which I had to teach the new kitten everything of importance (tail chasing, playing, covering one’s evidence in the litter box, proper form for haiku), I’ve decided she’s okay (though I’m not sharing the password to the blog). I’m not sure how permanent the arrangement is for her to live here, but for now she keeps me company while the big cats are away all day long. Plus, I now have somebody closer to my own size to wrestle with and bite. It’s kind of fun tearing around the house and stomping all over the big cats while they’re trying to sleep.

So that’s an account of my life for the last few months. Thanks to my loyal readers who kept inquiring as to my whereabouts. Don’t forget to vote for me on kittenwar.com. As a Christmas gift to you, here are two haiku. One from my poetic prodigy, Fire Chicken, and one from myself.

Here is Fire Chicken’s (she shows promise, doesn’t she?):

I think that one has to do with her stealthy, slimy sneezes on the big cats at night under the blankets. And here’s my own, an attempt to reflect the peaceful holiday ambience of our household, now that the big cats have stopped their whining and Fire Chicken is keeping me company. Here goes:

Happy Holidays!

We experienced our first Taiwan earthquake… at least, the first one that one of us noticed.

Around 8:30 last night we were sitting on the couch and Jessica asked, “Do you feel something shaking?” I didn’t, but I was so dizzy and stuffed up that I didn’t really feel anything anyway. Later that night Steve asked over gmail, “hey, did you feel the earthquake there?” I didn’t know what he was talking about until he sent me a link to a CNN report:

Tuesday’s quake was felt throughout Taiwan. It swayed buildings and knocked objects off the shelves in the capital, Taipei, in the northern part of the island.

Then Jessica looked up Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau and sure enough, a 6.7 at 8:26pm!

It was the second anniversary of the big tsunami, which was also Chairman Mao’s birthday.

Some of our friends here felt it, too. I guess it’s not all that uncommon.

Merry Christmas!

When we interviewed for our Taiwan job last Christmas, they told us that Christmas isn’t that big a deal here and that we’d be working on Christmas Day. That’s what we were expecting. But Mingdaw rescheduled our classes so we wouldn’t have to teach today. He didn’t have to do that, and we’re glad for the break.

It seems like most people don’t observe Christmas at all, though the MRT (subway) was so packed Christmas Eve that Joel actually couldn’t reach the camera in his pocket to take a picture (lots of parties/dinners out, we guess). And for the people that do observe it, it seems more like a one day thing, rather than a whole season. But the church where we do the English class on Sundays makes a huge deal out of Christmas. They put on a Christmas program at a local community centre on the 23rd, and then another program at church on Christmas Eve. Lots of people put a lot of work into it. They let Joel play with the band, our English class sang two songs in English, and we sang an English song. There was a Christmas Pageant (with very cute little sheep), lots of music and singing, ribbon dancing, candle light, and even some caroling.

After the English class sang, the MC made two of the students say some stuff in English on the stage. After our song, he got us to try and say some things in Chinese. Jessica went first, and used up most of what we know to say that fits such occasions, and Joel was left trying to make stuff up. But it was lots of fun for us and everyone laughed, and we probably made our English students feel better!

Jessica is making Mexican food for Christmas dinner, since we’re sort of Mexican food deprived over here. For the next two days we’re hibernating and trying to get over our bad colds before the weekend, when we take a long awaited trip to Hualien with some friends.

You can see lots of photos from the Christmas shows here.

Somehow, Calvin’s expressions seem to capture perfectly my emotions and the way my brain feels right now….beyond exhausted, and feeling more than a little goofy. My last few papers were a little rough…but I don’t really feel bad about it. Given that it feels like every single academic tendency or urge I once had has been sucked out – far past the point of dryness, it was the best I had to give. And, for once in my life…that’s good enough!

But, I’m very happy to report that after months of seemingly endless homework, I’m finally finished. That probably makes all of our friends and family happy, because now we’ll have some more interesting posts and no more than whining complaints about our homework. :D Thanks for bearing with us. Joel is close behind, with one more paper to go.

Now, on to the baking of Christmas goodies!!! :D

“benevolent mythological creatures… slim, inoffensive… the symbol of Chinese culture.” Really?

(Click the dragon to show/hide our local dragon photo collection.)

I’ve been asking about the origins of the dragon motif in Chinese culture for a while now, but haven’t researched it yet. Just this week I was talking with Houston about how – to us – the traditional Chinese dragon art (seen everywhere, but especially in the temples and the National Palace Museum) gives the impression that they’re on a crazed rampage, eyes bulging, claws extended, teeth bared, ready to shred and devour everything within reach, smoke and flames curling out of their mouths and noses. I assumed it was intentional.

But CNN reports that Shanghai professor Wu Youfu is in the middle of a cultural debate involving dragons, or, I should say, “loongs,” because of this common perception among Westerners.

Fire-breathing monster or supernatural symbol of harmony? When it comes to the dragon, East and West don’t see eye-to-eye.

Chinese culture mavens alarmed by the prevailing Western image of the dragon as a terrifying, fire-breathing monster are urging that their country seek a less intimidating national symbol, provoking a debate over the whole issue…

The latest brouhaha arose after a newspaper, the Shanghai Morning Post, cited a local professor, Wu Youfu, as saying that the dragon’s image in the West was too negative.

Wu wants to replace the word “dragon” in English with “loong” when referring to a Chinese lóng (龍 / 龙). Dragons are mean, destructive, winged, fire breathing, dark, and evil. Lóngs aren’t any of those things. He spells it “loong” instead of “long” so as not to confuse English speakers who’d be thinking measurement, “How long? Yeah, dragons are real long, esp. the Chinese ones!” He’s set up this website to educate foreigners. But the Chinese version has more pictures.

I didn’t believe it at first. I thought, surely this is just a P.R. move. Aren’t dragons supposed to be scary? Isn’t that the point? But Mingdaw, our reasearch practicum supervisor, says no. He doesn’t have any scary, fire-breathing, violent associations with lóngs. They’re powerful, but they’re not the kind of thing little kids would have nightmares about. I asked my class today if lóngs were the same as “American dragons.” They said no. Lóngs are good. And they’re long and skinny, wingless, and don’t have fire. Only one student said lóngs were bad, but he couldn’t explain why.

I asked what a bad monster was and they immediately replied 年兽 (nián shòu – year monster), the monster behind many of the traditions at Chinese New Years. It has the head of lion, the body of an ox, lives in the sea, and comes out at CNY to devour people. It doesn’t like red or loud noise, hence the fire crackers, and it’s not a dragon (picture).

In this famous “U.S. airforce photo” (right), which is still displayed in homes and temples, Guanyin, the Chinese bodhisattva/goddess of mercy, has a nice lóng ride.

And what about dragon alternatives?

One scholar, Huang Shouyu, proposed the “pig” as a possible substitute, given the animal’s reputation in China for being clever, wise and brave…

“Well, the word panda has a nice ring to it, but you’d better watch out or Westerners will confuse it with Prada,” a contributor to the Sina.com bulletin board wrote.

You gotta watch out for those disarmingly cute third culture kids. We plan on breeding a few ourselves. These ones live in Uganda, I think, and are involved with the Kibo Group project.

This is us – our present and future for the next several years, captured in less than two minutes of video. Only we do this in Chinese, and play both roles on a regular basis. I used this in some of my English classes and the kids busted a gut laughing. Personally, I feel for the guy.