snapshot from a lazy tourist

This was honestly one of the strangest vacations I ever went on. Strange because I was in another country and should have been interested the unique cultural activities and sites it has to offer, but actually if you were to ask me about Taiwanese food, history, culture, aboriginal communities, etc. I would have absolutely nothing to say to you. Maybe this was because the dumpy beach town I stayed in had absolutely nothing distinctly or uniquely Tiawanese about it- the food and tourist kitch was mostly from Thailand, everything else was kind of generically East Asian. Maybe I've just kind of become dull to East Asian art, culture and cuisine because I experience it everyday, but I really couldn't be bothered with another taoist, confucian or buddhist temple; the roasted innards, smelly tofu or squid-on-a-stick that you can find at the street stalls in night markets; the cultural relics or even the fine art.

All this is not to say that I think all East Asian cultures are the same; for to say that would be a great error that would prove to the world that my stupidity and arrogance have gone beyond the levels of your average Western tourist. But can't a girl be bored by it after three years and numerous cities in several countries? I have, after all, visited Seoul, Busan, Fukuoka, Osaka, Beijing, Ghuangzhou, Macau, Hong Kong and Taipei, not to mention a very few southeast asian cities (which are in some ways more markedly different from notheast asian cities).

All that was just to say that this was possibly that laziest vacation I've ever taken and my curiousity about Taiwan was rather limited to discovering its natural beauty as opposed its cultural beauty. And Taiwan, when you leave the polluted cities and suburbs, has quite a lot to offer in the way of natural beauty.


This is the southern most tip of Taiwan in an area called Kenting National Park. There is no public transportation around here, so I rented a scooter in the dumpy, generic beach town that reeked eerily of Ocean City, Maryland and that scooter brought me here, to a point which overlooks the coastal mountains and coral reefs that can be found not far off the coast of the island.





I spent four days on beaches like this, and I didn't even get a sun tan! Seriously, for the first time in my life I wore so much sunscreen that my white skin is nearly the same color as it was in the winter- that's after spending a week in a tropical country! Guess I've decided that cancer is not the way I want to go out.

As you might imagine, I did almost nothing last week, as it was really too hot to move much during the day (unless it was out of the ocean and into a shady cafe). The beaches in the main town are run by the eight year old urchins of the hotel gangsters. The urchins patrol the beaches on atv's and try to charge tourists exorbitant fees for using the beaches. That kind of sucks, but after one day, you can easily avoid them and at night, the beaches are totally empty and may be even more pleasant than they are during the day. Especially since it is past the urchins' bed times.

I've just run out of steam.... I did have more to say, but more bad news has reached me via telephone, and I'm distracted... more later. maybe.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jog

As it turns out, I did make it back to Korea on Monday with few problems. I made a phone call to Korea on Monday morning and talked to my boss who told me that I was flying stand-by and that I should get to the airport as early as possible. Well, I didn't even know that you could fly stand-by on international flights, but I ran to the airport, got to the check-in desk (where not a person was stationed because there were no outgoing flights for that airline until much later in the day) and then searched the airport in a panic to find out what my status was. I located someone who was a little confounded by my panic; she checked the computer and informed me that my boss was an idiot, I needn't have run to the airport and that I had a seat that I could check in for 4 hours later...

So I spent a beautiful Spring day inside the Fukuoka airport instead of outside, but at least with the security of a confirmed seat (11A, thank you very much) and just enough money for lunch. So I guess all is well that ends well.

When I arrived home, my phone was ringing off the hook with bosses and managers and co-workers and friends who wanted to make sure I arrived. I walked in the door to find a tired roommate and crying cat with no food in her bowl and a cat box that hadn't been scooped since the day before I left. The floor hadn't been vacuumed, the dishes hadn't been washed, and all of my laundry that I had just washed (but apparently never dried) was filling my room with the smell of mildew. I was already tired and stressed out, and now to add to it all, very annoyed.

But there was no time to deal with any of that because I had to wake at 7 the next morning so I could get to work early because I had an inordinate amount of catch up work to do due to my prolonged stay in Japan. I walk into a confused, disorganized office and tried to get going only to find that the copying machine was broken, none of the computers in my office were connected to a printer and I had left my personal jump drive at home and our office had nothing I could use. So I spent the day fighting over our limited computers (which we all need all day right now), emailing documents to myself so I could print them downstairs, and trying to pacify the worries of our 2 new teachers who have never taught before, never planned a lesson and who have received no training for their brand new job in a brand new country.

I worked at the kindergarten until 6 and then rushed off to teach my 3 hour middle school class from 7-10 pm. It was a brand new, unbroken in class and really hard to teach. Middle school students can really just suck the life out of you. So by the time I got home at 11:30 pm I was feeling broken and tired and so my house is still pretty much in the same state.

And Wednesday? Pretty much the same as Tuesday. Except on Tuesday night the GS finally picked up on my weariness and did some laundry and took care of the cat poo so our house is a little bit less disgusting.

And today? It's a national holiday so I finally got some much needed sleep, prepped for my class tonight (for the middle school students at the school that does not observe national holidays) and should be finishing my lesson plans for the kinder school, but instead I just feel like complaining. Sometimes life just feels like boot camp, but I'm not sure what I'm training for.

Tomorrow is our first day of teaching. Hopefully it'll go more smoothly than the week of preparation has been...

Stranded in Japan, but trying to appreciate it

maybe a little unsuccessfully...

I know. It could be worse. I could be stranded in Iraq. Or Afghanistan. Or some other war torn god forsaken place, but instead, I am in the most expensive country on the planet with almost no money. No credit cards. No ATM cards... That's right folks, I've got nothing but my wits and we all know that can only go so far in a place where you can't speak their language and they can't speak yours. For real though, Japan is like the least English-speaking country I have ever visited (and I didn't count on being here for more than 24 hours so have no phrase book or anything). I have never had to point. nod. smile. so many times in my life. I am frustrated. This is getting old.

But let's keep it real here. The reality? Well, it's actually a sweet one. I'm here on a free trip. One that was supposed to last 2 days (one overnight) so that I could get my work visa for Korea, but due to dense fog in the Incheon Airport area, my flight was delayed by 6 hours, thus making it impossible for me to get the embassy on the same day that I arrived in Japan. So here I am, spending a wonderful, long weekend in a lovely city that is experiencing an early spring. All at the expense of my employer. The only problem is that I don't know when it is going to end and I'm starting to feel a little stressed out about the fact that I don't have a plane ticket home yet and I'm not sure that my money will last if I have to stay past Monday.

I have to admit that coming out of the airport, my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when I saw the ground and trees bursting forth with color. Plum trees are in their peak, cherries are starting, the grass is green, bulbs are poking out of the ground and they've already put many of their SUMMER plants outside... Fukuoka would be heaven if I didn't feel so nervous about running out of money and landing myself a nice card board box on the street Monday night.

To give you some examples of the outrageous cost of Japan:
2 pairs of *cheap on sale* underwear-$30
one pair of socks, not on sale- $10
one subway ride, 2 stops- $2.50
lunch- average $9
one *happy hour* beer- $5.25
admission to a very bad art museum (as in almost no permanent collection and a super badly curated temporary collection)- $9
international phone call (to nearby Korea)- $1 per minute
internet- $1 for 10 minutes

And oh I wish, I wish, I wish I had some extra cash on hand because I LOVE japanese fashion. I could spend a million dollars on clothes here, but instead I have to wear the same exact thing for 5 days because well, I thought I was only going to be here for 2....

I'm torn between complaining about how I don't like to travel alone anymore, feeling lonely and moneyless, and basking in the glory of a beautiful foreign city, japanese food, sake and plum blossoms...

Life is hard, I know.