Friday, January 16, 2009

BRB

Dear loyal (and intermittent) readers,

I am going to Thailand tomorrow. I do not anticipate updating TaiMeiTaiwan. Please check back Feb 12. That is all.

Sincerely,
The most high and relatively exalted,
Tox

Sunday, January 11, 2009

The juice guy and the hot springs

Every morning I go and get a glass of freshly made juice from this shop near my house. It is goooood. They put like spinach and pineapple and apples and all kinds of crazy fruits and vegetables in there and just blend it all together. Mad healthy. Anyway, the husband and wife who own it are super nice. When I got sick last week, the dude invited me to go to the hot springs with him because he says, "its good for your body." And its getting cold here now, so I'm like, "perfect."
Now, I've been to hot springs in Taiwan before. I went with my roommates Paige and Mary a month ago. It was cool. There was different colored water, we had to wear showercaps, and they had this pool where small fish ate the dead skin off your feet. I was like, "I got this hot spring thing."
But when I talked to the Juice Guy on the phone I was like, "should I bring my bathing suit?" and he was like, "sure, maybe on the ride back you can change into it." That's when I should've got suspicious.
Anyway, we get to the hot spring. It was different from the other one I went to in one very significant way. I walk in, and immediately there are 50 naked Taiwanese men staring at me. So while the first 2 minutes were kinda uncomfortable, the following two hours were extremely enjoyable. I just took a "when in Rome" outlook to it and relaxed. It was a beautiful night and I talked to some interesting people. And not to flatter myself, but the Taiwanese men seemed very interested in my American body. I'm just sayin.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Haikus

Taiwan is my home.
What a strange experience
to eat with chopsticks

Rap in the classroom.
Rice and noodles with tofu.
I am Teacher Brett.

Old women ride bikes
Stray dogs roam the streets freely
It is rush hour

"You are so handsome."
The funny American
is laughing again

"Do you speak Chinese?'
"Yes, a little," I reply.
Confusion follows

My motorcycle
Although it is fun to ride...
no Taiwanese girls

I enjoy the beach.
I contemplate the ocean
and the beer is good.

To belch at dinner
is not rude or impolite.
What a great culture!

Speed limits: not real.
Traffic lights: a suggestion.
I did not know this.

My students are great
The food and the people, too
I am happy here