Halfway Mark
Rats...this thing keeps deleting my entry as soon as I finish it! Here goes again...for the third time...
Today, we didn't really do much. Spent the morning at home, then went to Hian Ying's host's parents' jewellery shop, and then to Xi Men, which is basically an enlarged version of Heeren's Annex and Cine's Level 2 combined. There were lots of shops for youths selling labels from Adidas to Giordano, and things from shirts to accessories. Except for the streetside hawkers who kept moving around with the tide of the patrolling police, I think that place can be called Little Orchard Road, though it is more colourful. There was a shop, though, who could transform your photo into a caricature doll for $60. But really, it wasn't much different from Singapore...though I did buy a CD of songs from musicals, and a T-shirt, one of the few on sale in winter Taiwan, and at quite a bargain price =P
Hian Ying's host's parents are perfectly hospitable. In fact, I think they take the hospitality thing a bit overboard. They not only stuffed us with pizza and fried chicken (from Dominoes, a US brand), but also provided almond milk and peppermint tea (tastes like Mentos) for afters. And absentminded me stupidly forgot to top up my wallet, and had only NT100 with me, so her dad just lent me NT2000 straight off. And he went on to top up my EasyCard with a whopping NT400 (considering that a trip on either bus or train costs NT18 regardless of distance)! It's quite discomfiting to have money practically thrown at you. But the thing is not that I don't want to be in debt, but that I'm not sure whether they'll allow me to repay them. It's not nice to feel indebted when you know that you don't need to be in debt in the first place.
But Hian Ying is an interesting character. I think a bit more self confidence will do her quite a bit of good. I always get the impression that she's behind a defensive wall of some kind, though something more warm and natural breaks through occassionally. She's quiet, restrained, but clearly eager...reminds me a bit of myself in Primary 6 =P This trip should be quite enriching for her, I reckon.
Anyway, tomorrow, I shall find myself a church and then try my hand at using the buses and trains by myself to go meet some of the RJ people to watch the Incredibles. I'm still determined that before we go, we get a chance to wander around independently for at least an afternoon. I want really to get to know the real side of this city intimately.
In This City
27 Nov '04
Lorries decked with slogans cruise the streets shouting the names of election hopefuls
The only hieroglyphic language still in use bedecks transplanted raised roads of America
Cleaming Nike does it between a flour-grey bakery and a grime-grey coffee shop
People move in the mirror-image of home traffic (and I stand on the wrong side on secalators)
Trains, blue-decked, are a long-distance facsimilie of home
Lonely-Planet yellow-cabs cruise through the glamourous grykes of Hong Kong advertising avenues
Walt's characters have a whole building to frolick in
The States' ideals are embodied in green circles and coffee liberally scattered
Warmth sinks to street level
Those who live with their heads in the clouds may as well be elsewhere
Life is as socially stratified as a tropical rainforest
And the steam rising to smog is because people burn joss sticks with gasoline
You can live on instant everything
But it's more worth it to find the nooks where the scents of yesterday subsist like moss
There are echoes from all the places I have been
Making every snapshot a quilt of memory
Perhaps it is uncanny because Everywhere looks like Everywhere Else
And home is different
Pitstop
Mmm...finally I get the time to put something online! =) Heh, and there's a heck lot of stuff to say...but I've also been writing in my sketchbook, during some of the more...unnecessary lessons. I'll type them up and add em here when we get back. But anyway, it's been quite an exciting four days. And to think that it's already been four days, and that today is already Thursday...on the one hand, I'm very happy with all that's happened so far. But on the other hand is the awareness that time is running out.
The last few days, we've visited the Shilin Night Market (wholly different from our Food Street or Pasar Malams), Taipei 101, the brand new Miramar Centre (a brilliant shopping mall with the most modern designs and a huge ferris wheel built in, and it only opened last week!) and Taipei City Hall. It's most intriguing to see the mix and combination of clearly Asian city sprawl and the more stylish American influences.
But besides being nice things to look at, these places aren't much (except for Shilin). Taipei 101 and the Miramar Centre are all Taka-class shopping malls, only better because they have a lot more space to play with and these buildings are younger. And Taipei City Hall, the Astronomical Museum and their Childrens' Culture Centre are basically organs of a big Discovery Centre type propaganda machine. And the school lessons, those that are not class sit-ins or hands-on stuff, are just like SS, and really, they don't tell us anything that we don't already know or could find out easily for ourselves.
There's been a bit of a feeling lately that I'm wasting my time, cos going to school is only to pass away the morning and afternoon in order to get to the outings at night. What I would really like to do is to eliminate all the lessons they organised for us that they think will improve our understanding of Taiwan, and just immerse in their classes totally, or at least have a tour of the back streets and secret corners. Or even better - some time to wander around by ourselves. Hosting and hospitality is all well and good, but there comes a point when the well-meaning safety precautions become quite annoying.
And we have so little time here. It would be such a pity to leave CKS Airport on the 8th without understanding the real side of Taipei. The key to appreciating the city is not only to see the good side, but to see all sides.
But yet, that's not to say that it's been a complete loss. Far from it...actually, this trip is turning out to be the most enjoyable ever! Hehheh, firstly I have my Digicam, which gives considerable freedom when it comes to photos. I've taken tons of great shots of night scenes and candid scenes. Heh, of course, lots of shots also got deleted =P
But mostly I think it's because I did make friends before coming over. That was the biggest lesson learnt from Frexprog. And I guess that's also why Thong was a bit apprehensive about coming over without knowing any Taiwanese, but it seems like things are going very well for him. And the people, Taiwanese and Singaporean included, go a long way in contributing to the enjoyability of this trip.
Hehheh...some interesting stories...Moh was taking a piss when suddenly this Taiwanese girl walks into the toilet. It seems that it's normal for girls to go into the guys' toilet because it's too inconvenient to get to a girls' toilet =P And today, we spent an hour traveling, another half hour training, and half an hour cleaning up, all to play three minutes' worth of paintball guns =S And the biggest thing is that because of our status as exchange students, we get away with breaking a ton of school rules. Of course, we don't purposely go find rules to break (at least I would like to think not), but sometimes it does get iffy when it becomes clear that they're tolerating our demands out of only the obligations of courtesy...
We met up again today, some of the RJ people, at the Miramar Centre. Heh, it was good to see them again, and to swap stories and experiences in the different schools, like to what extent the teachers are lax, and how they see Singaporeans. Hehheh, I've never been in a place where there are people who look up with so much admiration at my inferior Chinese abilites =P They think that our ability to speak any Chinese at all is great, and they are endlessly amused by our fast-paced English. Oh, and as a side note, I think their English obsession with grammar and rules have made their English so perfect that it's unnatural...and their English teaching and examining methods are distinctly odd from the Singaporean point of view. But more on that another time.
Right now it's time to go eat some rice burger. Hehheh, the adventure continues, and I'm still looking forward to what will happen tomorrow. Here, history is made every day! =)
Arrival
Hehheh here I am in Taiwan! And it's great to be back in the cold again =D
Heh on the plane I was watching the Thin Red Line, though SIA does have a huge selection of movies. They even had a few French films in their repertoire! But I was watching the war movie firstly cos Ms Ong recommended it, and secondly cos it conveniently satisfied the conditions for the Hist S reviews =P But it was like how long...I was stuck on that movie for the whole duration of the flight, and as it were, I hardly managed to finish it.
Hmm...the movie raises some interesting questions about the conflict between political history, social history and personal history, who tend to override each other in certain circumstances. Especially the so-called 'big' history and the personal history. Most of the time the personal history just takes place under the formal history, and is lost in time because no one has the time or the avility to record the lives of normal people, and not history-movers. And in the movie, the personal histories of the soldiers from both sides of WW2 in the Pacific are brought into the limelight, and juxtaposed with the political and military shifts that were taking place above their heads. But more on that when I get back.
First impressions...well, the first bit of Taiwan we saw was the huge concrete slab of Chiang Kai Shek airport. But we had our first surprise there too...the Nangang people jumped out from behind some planters and surprised us with their welcome =P Me, I was nearly bowled off my feet. Hehheh, it's really good to see everyone again.
Taipei city is quite like Hong Kong, with the colourful street signs sticking out everywhere, and the winding roads. Except that there aren't many skyscrapers here...in fact, Taipei 101 is just a tower sticking out of a forest of medium-rise buildings. Heh, that and the fact that everyone drives on the other side of the street, and at, shall we say, invigorating speeds =P In that, there are echoes of Lea Till speeding down that French highway...
I think the thing is that life here is more down to earth. It takes place at street level, while in Singapore, where HDB flats are ten storeys high, it takes place in the clouds. And because of that, the colourful and cheerful life that is my first impression of the Taipei lifestyle risks being obscured by the grimy facade of Taipei. And that's quite a pity, that the buildings here are old. But then again, it does add character, and what's inside the buildings is most comfortable!
Young has a great family. The mum and dad are super friendly, and he has an older brother who reminds me of me =P Their house is modest, but eminently comfortable. It does exceed my expectations somewhat, the extents to which they are going to make my stay comfortable. And the thing is that I don't expect we'd be spending that much time at home. Ah well, but their family is nice. It looks like I struck it lucky again =D
Ah...and it's good to see all of them again. Young, Yvonne and Enlai, and the others from the other schools. We all met each other again at the welcome dinner yesterday, where I got royally stuffed with all kinds of delectable seafood =P Heh it seems like we just picked up where we left off in Singapore three months ago - has it already been three months? It's most cool, to be back in their company again!
Heh I expect that I may not have the time to type so much here from now on...though this place is impressively wired up, but like I said, I think we'll be out most of the time. There's still my sketchbook to record the stuff that happens, though. Heh...later we're going out to see more of the city, and to eat. Yesterday we went to watch Quill in this enormous cinema...think Cine-sized building stuffed with nothing but cinemas from one company =) But today, there'll be more happening. And I'm eager to get going, so toodles, everyone!
The Brink of Tomorrow
Less than twelve hours till it's time to fly off, and finally, the adrenaline's kicking in! Heh I think the most defining thing about this time's buildup to departure is how I haven't really had the luxury of time in which to get all excited. These few weeks have been mostly taken up with planning for somethingood, which I strongly appeal to all of you to join! =) 10 Dec to 24 Dec, 11am to 7pm daily. Contact somethingoodenq@yahoo.com for more info!
Anyhoos, I realise that writing formal letters isn't all that big a deal once you get into the swing of things. It's just rearranging the same phrases in different combinations for different recepients. Actually I much prefer this to actual talking to the officials we have to ask for permission to use their venues and stuff. Anyway, now that I'm leaving, everything's been transferred to other people. I hope they can handle it. Feels a bit like I'm leaving them in the lurch here, what with all the venue contacts starting to respond to our enquiries...
Heh well, this time tomorrow I should be in Taiwan, perhaps having dinner or unpacking in Young's house. Man it will be good to see them all again, especially that trio, Young, Yvonne and Enlai =D Hehheh I'm bringing some gifts over for that exchange of gifts ceremony tomorrow...an RJ brick, Young's slippers that he left here, some souvenirs that he ordered, and a huge kueh lapis that my mum got for his family.
I wonder what it'll be like this time, in Taiwan. It surely won't be very cold...the temperature isn't expected to go below ten, let alone anywhere near zero. That means no snow this time round =S And that also means that I don't have to pack as much as for Frexprog, which feels weird, cos now there's lotsa space in my luggage. Gives one the impression that one is forgetting something important at home. But Mel is right...all that space will come in handy when I have to pack all my shopping =P And anyway, I've more or less run out of winter clothes to take along...gotta leave the warmer stuff for Greg, who'll go to Boston/NY on the 6th.
But I guess lots of things will be the same. Taipei is still a very Asian city, probably most like Singapore, globalised and modern. And there'll be skyscrapers this time...Young lives in an apartment, and there's Taipei 101 (that's the thing that's sticking out of the top left of this webpage =P). We'll go to their schools, which will probably not be too different from our JCs, and they'll be having exams when we're there, which means that definitely some things will be eerily familiar =P
In fact, I think Taiwan is quite conceptually close to Singapore. Not much likelihood of a culture shock on the scale of Yunnan or Lyon. But I'm always ready and willing for surprises! Heh I hope there's some quirky tradition that we can import back to Singapore...like the French bisous =P
Hmm but I guess I should stop trying to compare Taiwan with France. They're in wholly different continents, after all, and the experiences they will offer will be different. Indeed, who's to say that one of the experiences is better than the other? The thing is to keep an open mind, and be willing to be surprised. And of course to jump into everything head-first, barring suicidal escapades =P There'll be some things I learned from France that I want to put into place in Taiwan, but beyond that, I don't think it'll be fair to either party for me to compare from my unique standpoint.
Hmm...and the most important thing that I learned from France, which is to make friends before going, has, I sincerely hope, been accomplished already. And rumour has it that I'm living quite close to school, and quite close to Ying Shan too, so there'll be a source of company. And the other RJ pple going to Yang Ming, Ben Moh and Kevin, will be good company during the lessons. And the other JC people look most amicable =) It's time for the fun to begin, man!
Oh well...but one thing is that I won't be here to see either Yvonne or Greg off on their trips. I hope that they'll have a good experience in France and the US respectively. Heh, I hope they'll be able to appreciate as much of the experience as possible, and bring back lots of stories to tell. And it's all quite exciting...so many people hanging on the brink of tomorrow, and with tomorrow promising so much.
Godspeed, you guys. I'll be waiting for you guys when we all get back.
And finally, I find myself at this juncture, a place which I've been anticipating since Pre U Sem. Nothing between me and Taiwan now except one more night's sleep. Heh, and though it started late this time, I'm glad that I'm all excited again. It feels good to be here.
Well, wish me luck, guys, and stay tuned. I'm determined to keep complete records this time round, and no flamers are gonna detract me. Taiwan, here we come!
Sunrise
"...when we endure suffering, agony, disappointment, despair, betrayal, insecurity,
uncertainty, when our allies seem to have left us without hope of closure or resolution, it is
Resilience, our Resilience, that would deliver us to the stars..."
I just want to take some time to look over this virgin cyberscape before more people discover it.
This nomad, travelling the cybernetic highways, and spotting a patch that seems to him more
binary than everywhere else, and deciding to make the same patch of virtual realty different again, stops here to set up a home. But he understands that this home only exists as pulses of energy in a metal cranium taht he can't perceive but knows is there. Whoever saw the server where all these memories are stored? The best service staff are, after all, so subtle that you never notice them.
And imagine, stretching in all directions, a blanket of digits coming in two flavours only, but with the power of permutation, they can come together to form facsimiles of memory that dissolve away to leave a chrysalis of truth. As these entries mature, the subjectivity that defines them becomes the only thing, the most concrete thing, that remains of a faded biologic echo.
It is ironic that this nomad chooses something as ephemeral as binary emotions and photons on an anonymous fluorescent screen to create a concrete record of whatever happens in his
real world. But it still feels safe, and that is enough, to gather together as much dust as possible, a nucleus of reality in a blizzard of experience. One hopes that one grasps enough to retain an impression of what is important, what is worth holding on to.
