Top 10

These are a few of my favorite things...

...about Taiwan. now that I'm counting down my days left in this "island Formosa," I thought I'd make my own "best of" list just to break down all the highlights of this wonderful place. While there are many things i'll miss, here are the biggest ones:

10. English names. Some of my students have pretty standard American names, like Steven, Peter, Tina, and Janet. Others though, get creative. I have no idea how these names originated, but it is a true fact that I teach students who go by the following names: Bottle, Deadbody, The Rock, I Am The King, Monkey, Puma, and Small Pig. It's great calling on them during class, "I Am The King, please read sentence number two," or "Deadbody, please put your Chinese homework away."

9. The red-light jump. There are few good things that one can say about how the Taiwanese drive, but one that I have come to love is "the red-light jump." It works like this: suppose you are stopped at a red light. You must wait for the light to turn green before proceeding, no? WRONG. Instead, simply look at the traffic light of the cars who currently have the green. When their light turns yellow, it means you can go. This has, over the course of 10-months, saved me at least several seconds.

8. Trash music. One of the great things about Taiwan is that even taking out the garbage is an experience. Here, you can't leave it curbside, you have to physically hand it to the garbagepeople. How do you know the truck's outside? Because they play Beethoven's Fur Elise at full blast every time they come around (which is everyday at 5 and 7, depending on where you live). Don't believe me? check out the youtube video here.

7. Fruit stands. I once got into a lively discussion on "fruit stand loyalty," for instance, which fruit stand is the best, which is the cheapest, which gives you the best samples, which fruit stand people are nicest, etc. These places always have good in-season fruit (the mangos right now are on point) and they are almost as plentiful as the 7-11s in Taiwan (which, btw, are more numerous than Starbucks in the U.S.).

6. I'm a celebrity. I don't need Twista. As someone not of East Asian descent, I am (in Yilan at least), instantly recognizable everywhere I go. Sometimes teenage girls will come up to me on the street and ask to be photographed with me. Parents will encourage their children to start conversations with me. But best of all, it is super easy to make friends. Everyone is interested in you. This has a flip-side too, and while it's not good for my pride, for the most part I've enjoyed sticking out like a sore thumb.

5. All-you-can-eat vegetarian buffets. Enough said. For about $3 American, you can eat like a king, or to be more exact, a king who is particularly health conscious and who really enjoys tofu. I can't get enough of these places, and it's some of the best food I've ever eaten. It's the exact opposite of the old joke, "the food was terrible...and such small portions!"

4. Speaking Chinese. I am lucky to have had 3 fabulous Chinese teachers who have helped me to gain a basic grasp of the language, which has in turn been vital to my ability to make friends in Taiwan. It hasn't always been pretty, from the time i confused the word for "young woman" with the word for "dumpling," or the time one of my co-teachers told me that my rendering of the Chinese character "I" looked "like an ugly worm." But I love speaking Chinese, and their is something very liberating about trying to communicate in a language you know you are deficient in. It's all about making yourself understood.

3. KTV. A Taiwanese staple, a karaoke excursion can be for a birthday, going out on the weekend, or even just hanging out in your house. Once you've done this a few times, you will become intimately familiar with songs like "Hey Jude," and "House of the Rising Sun." Can be done with or without copious quantities of Taiwan Beer. Just make sure you rock the mic.

2. generosity. The generosity of the people I have met in Taiwan is absolutely unbelievable. Our first week in Taiwan, a bunch of Fulbrighters were walking in the rain. A car pulled over and a woman hopped out, handed us her umbrella, and drove away before we knew what was going on. Last week, a woman in front of me at a fruit stand bought a melon, looked back and saw me in line, and handed me the melon she had just bought. These are just two examples.

1. My students. you expected something else? Students like Yo-yo, Janet, Sandy, and Yuki can always bring a smile to my face. Even with the language barrier, I have come to appreciate the earnestness, sweetness, and general good-naturedness of the students I teach. I wish I had more time with them. I wish i could have taught them more. But I am thankful for all the time we've spent listening to the Backstreet Boys, playing basketball after school, and starting everyday with, "Good morning, Teacher Brett!"