Reflections of An Aussie in Taiwan

Lost childhood?

2010-07-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know it's been forever since my last entry, but that's because everything is become more 'normal' the more time we spend here so it's kind of exciting to have found something else that ignites my curiosity.

It's summer here and we've taken to cooling off at the beach for some fun. The first time I noticed the phenomenon of the Taiwanese teenagers burying each other in the sand, I wrote it off as one odd group on one odd day. We've been back to the beach almost weekly and it happens every time. We're talking about older teenagers and young adults, circling around one person in the sand, building a huge hole together then burying a mate in it up to his neck and taking ridiculous amounts of photos. Sometimes they are wearing jeans and high heels. Do they know what a beach is???? What is with the burying??? One theory offered by a friend here is that they are so busy studying during their childhood that maybe they never had fun so they're making up for it now. I don't know. It's a mystery to me and I don't have any photos to share with you. Next week I'll try and get one because this really should be captured.

Adios.

Sabrina

Amazing What You Can Fit On A Bike

2009-11-16T03:50:00.000-08:00

Not a lot to say today, a picture says a thousand words. I see this woman almost every morning strapping on as many plastic bottles to her bike as she can. I don't know how she hasn't toppled over in the middle of the road by now!

Pregnant Woman Walks The Streets Alone At Night

2009-11-14T04:47:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, it's been a hell of a long time since I posted anything here. I guess the longer you live somewhere the less weird everything seems. 'Tis the evolutionary nature of human beings to adapt. Now I simply swerve the pram to miss oncoming traffic and my heart doesn't miss a beat. I'm localising I think you could say.

But last night I was struck by something really special about this place. I went dancing at a friend's birthday party and, like cinderella, was having so much fun I lost track of the time and had to go running home at 11.30pm. The house is a little off the main drag so I had to walk a little to get a cab, I didn't think I'd have to walk more than one block but it turns out it was a quiet night up that way and I had to walk about five blocks to find a taxi to take me home. Let me draw you a picture... I'm dressed to the nines (given that there are very few occasions for me to do so, I make the most of them when they come around) in a slinky black dress and a face full of make up. If I wasn't five months pregnant (but looking seven) I might have passed for a street worker. As I walked my way to a cab, it suddenly hit me me that I did not for one moment feel unsafe. There I was strolling the quiet dark streets in the middle of the night and if I could whistle, I would have been whistling a tune. There are very few places and times in my life I can say that I've done that. This country offers me something I never had in Australia, a feeling of trust and security in the community around me. For a woman who is often alone at home with one (almost two) children, this is something I cannot put a price on.

A local told me once that someone who ends up in prison in Taiwan for crimes against women and children is dealt with in a very special way - and not by the law. It is so heavily frowned upon here that you never ever see it happen.

It was a great night and I took a moment to say a prayer of gratitude.

Sabrina
http://www.life-coach.net.au

The Singing Garbage Truck

2009-07-02T04:50:00.000-07:00

As I was heating my dinner tonight (at 7.30pm) I heard the sweet song of the garbage truck coming down the street and I remembered that I hadn't noticed it for some time. I've been here so long already that I'm tuning out. These are the kind of quirky things I'll remember when I'm gone from here.

Every evening the garbage truck has a little tune going, a bit like an ice-cream van at home. You can hear it coming for some time which is your reminder that you must take your rubbish out to the street and wait there to put it into the truck in correctly divided categories: general rubbish, recycling and compost. It's almost a little social get together when you head out there and see everyone else on the street.

Whilst on the topic of quirky street things, the other thing I'd like to take with me and introduce to the rest of the world is a traffic light that counts down how long it has to go before changing colour or how long you have to go to walk across the road. It's awesome! Do I run and try and make it or not? I've got 15 seconds, yep... lets do it!

Aaaahhhh, must remain conscious of my surroundings, must remain conscious of my surroundings, must remain conscious of my surroundings.

Good night.

Sabrina
http://www.life-coach.net.au

Guanshe - what is it and who has it?

2009-06-26T21:27:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a long time between drinks. We've been home to Australia and back to Taiwan since the last entry. Back in time for the sweltering summer... woo hoo!

When you come from a famously friendly country like Australia some things, like manners and consideration of others, are just part and parcel of life. Sometimes we don't even notice we're doing the things we do, until we find ourselves in the midst of several million asians who do not follow the same rules.

There is a Chinese concept called 'Guanshe' (I've spelled it phonetically as I have no idea of the correct spelling). It effectively represents the connection you have with another human being, but not just any human being. The Chinese have Guanshe with certain people close to them or people they feel a sense of obligation to. The rest of the world go to hell. The social symptoms of this fascinating cultural behaviour are: running you over on a pedestrian crossing - even when you're pushing a pram, pushing past you in lines to check outs and escalators, not moving out of your way when you're sharing a small space and need to get by. I was beginning to wonder if they simply have different peripheral vision to caucasians but they don't, they just don't have any Guanshe with me so I don't matter. Sadly, I've sunk to hitting them in the heels with my pram or pushing them out of the way with my elbows...not something I'm proud of but at least I feel like I'm fitting in :)

It's been brough to my attention that the Taiwanese are actually EXTREMELY polite and kind compared to the mainland Chinese, so I guess that's one thing to be grateful for.

So, how do I get Guanshe with them? I'm working on it and will let you know if I ever find out.

Happy days.

Sabrina
http://www.life-coach.net.au

Morning Calisthenics, Dance & Tai Chi

2009-03-15T19:32:00.000-07:00

There isn't a lot of activity in Taiwan in the early morning. Most days I walk the streets with Xander (because he didn't get the memo about sleeping in!) and it's a bit like a ghost town. All shop shutters are down, nothing opens until at least 10.00am, sometimes 11.00. Then we turn a corner and find one of the local park areas absolutely full of people! So that's where they all are! It's an amazing ritual of morning calisthenics, dance and Tai Chi that is so beautiful to watch. The photo here of my ladies in red is a bit blurry but they're all carrying bright yellow hand fans which they incorporate into their movements. Some groups are doing serious Tai Chi, some are doing group exercise and some are getting down and funky with 80's pop music. The dancers are crazy, some are on the older side of life and they're all wearing sequins and mini skirts over pants and they groove baby groove. This morning I witnessed coreographic artistry whilst listening to 'Oh Micky You're So Fine'. Absolute classic.

So now I know why nothing opens until later. They're all busy busy busy getting their chi moving before the day begins.

Me, I'm ready for a nap now...

Sabrina

http://www.life-coach.net.au/

Travelling Baby Circus

2009-02-15T02:46:00.000-08:00

Tip of the day: NEVER TAKE A CUTE CAUCASIAN BABY TO A TOURIST ATTRACTION IN TAIWAN ON A WEEKEND.

I ventured out today with a friend, another Aussie, who has two gorgeous blonde girls and my blonde son. We thought it would be a nice thing to get out and about and see some of the sights of Taiwan...little did we know that we would be the star attraction.

Ever since we moved here we've known that the babies cause quite a stir amongst the Taiwanese. There is constant photo taking and gooing and gaaing and the occasional poke and prod. And for some reason, whenever they're talking to babies, they do this weird clucking noise that none of us can figure out. We've even come to recognise the Chinese term for 'so cute' because we hear it wherever we go. Some days, however, you just shouldn't leave the house.

There must have been a thousand people walking through these gardens today, looking at a memorial and just having a day out with the family. Here we are pushing prams through the throng and hoping for a nice quiet picnic somewhere. If we stopped for too long we were swarmed...talk about upsetting one's aura!!! The kids were being video'd and photos taken and when we finally found a spot in the grass it felt like we were Santa Clause waiting for the line of kids to take photos with us at Christmas!!! People were literally gathered around us, several deep and lining up to see the crazy white people. They were peering over fences and sending their children up to talk to us and take photos. We were only there an hour and we were exhausted, not to mention the poor kids. Now I know what the poor animals in a petting zoo must feel like.

I think it's time to start charging.

Sigh...it's nice to be sitting at home in the quiet.

Sabrina
http://www.life-coach.net.au/

This Year’s Must Have Accessory: The Dog

2009-02-04T02:54:00.001-08:00

I’m an animal lover so you can imagine my thrill when I realised the country I’ve moved to allows animals inside restaurants, taxis, doctor surgeries, trains... virtually any public venue. Pups in pubs, birds in banks and cats in cafes. I’m in heaven, or so I believe, right? Wrong. As an animal lover I’m now quite distraught to see that pets here are not their owner’s best friends, they are their owner’s best accessory (depending on that day’s outfit of course. You don’t want to be seen in red pants and a brown poodle, no no no.)

I’ve passed a number of stores that I thought sold baby accessories and upon closer inspection revealed themselves to be pet accessories, of the most extreme! The dogs here get around in hand bags (especially designed) or their own ‘prams’. It would be awful if their designer outfits were to be soiled on the ground when walking so they are kept away from all things dirty.

The flavour of the month is brown poodle. I’ve seen a few schnauzers but I think they must be last year’s colour as they’re owners tend to hide them rather than wear them proudly. How embarrassing to be seen in last season’s dog!

Some mornings as I walk along the roadside with my own pram I see groups of owners meeting up and allowing their dogs some social time, which I think is very generous in light of the fact that everyone here lives in apartments.

Most distressing of all is how early they are sold in the pet stores. I know in Australia there are laws stopping animals being sold before six weeks of age but here it looks like they’ve just popped out of the womb, been cleaned up and stuck in a cage on display. Makes me want to ‘awwwww’ and cry at the same time.

So if you hear any rumours of a crazy white woman breaking into pet shops and releasing/stealing all the animals...it just might be yours truly.

That's all

Sabrina
http://www.life-coach.net.au

Saving Face

2008-12-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, don’t expect all my emails to be this close together but today is different... today there was an ‘incident’. As incidents are few and far between in my life, it would be remiss of me not to write about it immediately!

When Mick first took the job here he used to describe to me a trait of the Chinese commonly known to the rest of us as ‘saving face’. This means that they are taught never to question hierarchy or systems, they are never to embarrass or shame themselves or others. They must always keep up appearances. This applies to their visual appearance as well as their character. Until today I had not seen an example of this for myself. Until the ‘incident’...

You need a small amount of background to understand why I am making such a big deal out of this: Every day we take our lives into our own hands here. On the road the drivers do whatever they please. Zebra crossings mean nothing, they’ll squeeze a car between the pram I’m pushing and the curb if they think they can. The scooters are even worse. The Taiwanese in general live in their own little universe and have zero concern for anyone around them. In all public spaces we are amazed everyday at how they can move through the world without once considering someone else’s situation. They have no peripheral vision, or if they do they choose not to use it and if a pedestrian wants to use a space on the footpath that is the only area a pram can go... they will use it anyway. So...

Today Xander and I are at the local supermarket doing our shopping. I actually use my peripheral vision and am always aware of other people in my space. A woman in front of me hesitates as to which direction she is going to take and then launches sideways and her foot catches on Xander’s pram. She goes head over heels, shopping items all over the floor. I gasp and run to her to help her up. I gather her shopping ready to hand it to her, expecting her to brush herself off, check if anyone else saw the incident and with an embarrassed smile say ‘it’s ok’ and walk away (that’s what a mortified woman would do in Aus). No... she lays on the floor for a good two minutes (perhaps contemplating how to deal with her embarrassment) then she gets into seated position and begins rubbing her knee. I wait. She continues to do this for about five minutes. I’m standing there with her shopping in my hand asking her if she’s ok. She still hasn’t made eye contact. She breathes heavily and continues to rub her knee. I look at Xander and roll my eyes... this is getting a bit melodramatic I think. Finally she gets up, still not addressing me directly and proceeds to gather as many people in our near vicinity as possible. Now, even with the language barrier I can tell that she is asking them all if they witnessed the incident and is asking for something to be done about it. I give her my phone number in exasperation and try to walk away and she stops me. She now has a crowd gathered and she turns to me and says ‘not ok’. I am completely in shock at this point. Not only was it not my fault but everyday I negotiate my way around these obnoxious people and SHE’S accusing ME!!!! No-one around us seems to want to support her, they’re all listening but not doing much, a few smirks here and there so I shake my head and walk off. I snuck out of the shop and saw security guards gathered at the door. I’m not sure if they were there for me or not but we were gone before you could say spickeldyboo!

Sigh... I have no photos to share of that one... I’m not convinced she would have been too happy if I started happy snapping J.

It wasn’t until I took a few deep breaths and got a little way down the street that I realised I may have just witnessed my first example of ‘saving face’. It was more important for her to gather the attention and pass the blame than to simply get up and move on.

Aaaahhh, it’s the little cultural differences that make international travel so fascinating.

That’s all.

Sabrina
http://www.life-coach.net.au

Mr Xmas

2008-12-26T04:53:00.000-08:00

Some of you have asked for details on what life is like over here in Taiwan. I’ve tried to fill in some blanks but everyday I wonder around this new home of mine and realise it’s the little inconsequential day to day things that make it really interesting so I decided to begin emailing my reflections. If you are not interested in receiving these, please let me know and I will be in no way offended...I’m just not sure who exactly would enjoy these. So... here goes...

When we first arrived here on 30 August, the air conditioners were never turned off. It continued that way until the last week of October and then they were intermittently used until early November. All of a sudden it turned cold. No Autumn...just Winter. Having said that, Winter isn’t so straight forward. Some days I’m shopping for puffy jackets and woollen undergarments to keep Xander and I warm then some days we’re in shorts and singlets. We literally have to walk out to our veranda each morning to work out what to wear that day!

Most days I draw back the bedroom curtains to receive the daily weather announcement...grey and polluted or crisp, clear and blue? Thankfully Winter is bringing more of the latter.

As Christmas draws near my focus is on the enormous, yet unexpected presence of this seasonal celebration. When I moved here to this heavily Buddhist country I expected the word ‘Christmas’ to draw blank looks from people. To my surprise, it is everywhere. It’s taken me three months to realise that whilst Buddhism might be the dominant spiritual path, Commercialism is the dominant religion and the Taiwanese are cashing in on this holiday season! One block away from us is the phenomenon known as ‘Mr Xmas’ - see photos attached. This store is open all year round and none of us expats can figure out how that works exactly. How does one base an entire business on a holiday celebrated once a year???? In true Asia style though, weeks before Christmas arrives, a healthy competitor has opened up...not in another suburb or even around the corner...but directly across the road. A bit unfair I think...he’s not toughing out the whole January – November downtime! But it wouldn’t be Asia if all the same businesses weren’t bunched up in the one place. Anyway, I had no idea how incredibly wide and varied Christmas trees could be until I found Mr Xmas. There are pink ones, green ones, blue ones, purple ones, black ones and white ones and they all look FABULOUS! My personal favourite (and I’ve been trying to convince Mick to buy this for our veranda) is the set of heavily lit up three coconut palm trees (you can just see them poking out above the others in the slightly blurry photo I took).

Meanwhile, we still have our 12 inch high tree from last year (that Mick bought to brighten our home when I was being bah humbug about the whole thing...thanks honey J) and we love it.

Happy silly season!

Sabrina
http://www.life-coach.net.au