This has been a fabulous weekend, my second, in Taiwan. Friday we completed a week of teacher training and met the former director of the Fulbright program in Taiwan, as well as the new director. Dr. Wu and Dr. Chen are both renowned throughout Taiwan and are quite humorous men, as we discovered when they took us to dinner at the Horny Pig. After the meal, several of us Fulbrights went out to Latin Night at the Join Us club near the elementary school we visit during the week.
One day this past week, as we were walking to the MRT (what they call the metro here), a 20-something American guy ran over to us and invited us to visit the nightclub he co-owns. Being new to Kaohsiung (pronounced Gow-shung), we took him up on the offer and the night turned out well. We participated in salsa lessons and then put our skills to the test with a live salsa band.
Saturday we headed to City Hall in the early afternoon to volunteer by packing and loading supplies for those hurt by the typhoon. We were advised not to travel to any of the damaged cities at this point because our language skills are insufficient to meaningfully contribute during these early stages of chaos, but we weren't much more help at City Hall. Unlike most volunteer events in the US, there were hundreds of local volunteers at City Hall when we arrived. We basically stood around for a couple of hours in the volunteer vests while everyone gawked at us. But it was fascinating and really moving to see how many people came out to help victims of the typhoon. We hope to contact the American Insititute in Taiwan or the Red Cross to see if there are other ways we can help typhoon victims or volunteer in our communities in general during the next year.
Today, Sunday for me, I went with a couple of the local teachers to the Sin JyueJiang clothing market near Kaohsiung's Central Park. I didn't bring many clothes or shoes to Taiwan because I knew I'd want to look for cheap, Taiwanese style clothes and ones that are made for the extremely hot and humid weather (it has been 105 heat index all week with near 100% humidity). I love how Taiwanese girls dress. Everything is mixed and matched, loose and comfortable. Skirts and Converse tennis shoes are a perfect match here, as are jumpers and tshirts.
My company during the market trip today was also fantastic. The local teachers, Winnie and Firefly (their English names), brought some of their family with them and I really enjoyed getting to know them better. Firefly brought her Hungarian husband, Frank, and Winnie brought her two daughters, Lily and Angel (ages 6 and 4). I also received a couple of AWESOME belated birthday gifts from my new friends. Bob Dylan's Freewheelin' album (his second ever produced and one of the best) and a handmade, beaded bracelet. Not to be repetitive, but the Taiwanese people are so welcoming to us and I really feel at home with the cashiers at our local 7-11, our security guards at our apartments, and the local English teachers we will be working with this year.
While I wish I had photos of all these great experiences, the accompanying pictures are currently lagging behind. I do not have a well functioning camera and I have not retrieved any of the many photos that Fonda (our Fulbright coordinator extraordinaire in Kaohsiung) has taken of everyone. Hopefully I can paint pictures with my words until the actual photographs make it to this website!
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