Taipei- leading by example

Hey all,

It's the middle of the night here and I am have been up since 6:30 this morning. However, I'm determined to get this blog up to speed. Two weeks ago, my friends (Ellie, Katie, and Betsy) and I were really trying to figure out a travel destination, but nothing seemed to be working. We were looking into Thailand and Vietnam, but we didn't have time to get the visa by week's end. Ellie noticed a deal on Zuji to Taipei. None of us really had considered the destination, and there were many skeptics among us. When everyone seemed to be making excuses not to travel, Ellie and I decided on Tuesday that we would book a flight for Thursday at midnight and see who would follow suit- assuming that nobody would.

The next day, people got wind of our travel plans, and people started ringing Zuji left and right. Since you need to book all trips three days in advance, people were on the phone for hours trying to puch their flights through. Betsy and Katie decided to join us, and eight other exchange students had booked the trip as well.

Since our flight was not until midnight, and our arrival was not until two, the four of us decided not to book a hostel for the first night. It was a brillient plan- we checked our bags at Central MTR station (in the heart of Hong Kong, but still pretty far from the airport) around dinner time, headed into Lan Kwai Fung for happy hour, and got a few drinks before our flight. Before we knew it, we were in the middle of Taipei Airport, and our plan not to book a hostel was looking like a poor decision in hindsight.

As we were pleading with the hotel booking representative at the airport (who spoke mostly Mandarin), our chances of finding somewhere to stay looked pretty slim. Suddenly, two other exchange students (one from HKUST and one from CUHK) approached us and offered a place to stay for the night. It is amazing the things that happen when you travel with two of the most attractive ladies around (Ellie and I are kind of a big deal). Anyway, this development made the rest of the trip what it was.

Jeff is from Emory and was studying at HKUST with us. Rob is from USC and goes to school with Betsy. He and Jeff grew up together and are great family friends. Rob's grandparents live in Taipei and had agreed to let us stay for the night. We arrived and were greeted by Rob's grandparents with various plates of local fruits. They were delicious. The grandfather used to be an architect, and had made his place by combining two or three of the apartments he had designed for one of his buildings. The place was incredible.

Initially, it was a little awkward to welcome ourselves into a stranger's home, but Rob and I soon discovered that we knew each other. When I was out playing USC in lacrosse last spring, I met up with Lizzie Dacey one night to go out. Rob actually came out with me that night, and he recognized me while we were introducing ourselves... small world.

There were a number of highlights to the Taipei visit- most of which were made possible by our new Mandarin-speaking friends. Despite a late start to the first day, we ventured over to the hostel and went to see some incredible temples (the name escapes me right now) and a place called "Snake Alley." After visiting the temples, we got reflexology foot massages before a great dinner. Then, we explored the night market there and went into the alley. Before leaving, Ellie and I had taken the snake blood combo platter. This included drinking snake blood, snake penis, snake poisen, ginsgeng, snake bile, and snake oil. I cannot tell you how interesting an experience this was, especially since we were being served the whole time by people who did not speak any english at all.

After a couple minutes of recovery time, we all made our way to the renoun hot springs, where we smuggled in plenty of alcohol and played our own version of red rover until our skin completely pruned over... time for bed.

The second day was filled with rain. We woke up early and tried to make a trip on our own out to see a castle at the end of the train line. The train took forever, and we ended up wandering through the torrential downpour for the better part of two hours without any luck. Again- Jeff and Rob were doing something with their families, and we were completely lost in a sea of Mandarin speaking people.

We had agreed to meet with some of Jeff's family for dinner, so we quickly saw the Chiang Khi-Chek (spelling?) Memorial before we were to meet. This was incredible, and we would return the following day to see the changing of the guards. The journey was highlighted by Ellie moshing by himself to a band that was playing- he looked really goofy and actually slipped and fell into a puddle. A great thing to happen before meeting Jeff's family for dinner- oh well.

The dinner was one of the most memorable events since coming over here in Janauary. It was perfect. Jeff's uncle took us to a local seafood mart/restaurant where he knew the chef. They sat us at two big tables in the back and all of the adult men of the group vanished for about a half an hour. When they returned, they said something to Jeff in Mandarin, and he erupted in laughter. He then asked me if I was interested in eating Rooster testicles. I said I would try them if they were brought out. They never ended up coming to the table, but a whole lot of other dishes did. Here is a list of all that I consumed that night. Keep in mind that each of these that sounds like an entree was an entree...:

Drinks (rating out of 10):
Orange Juice mixed with Guava Juice (10- a local favorite)
Plum Juice (4)
Oolong Tea (7)
Apple Soda (6.5)
Jasmine Green Tea (9)

Appetizers:
Cooked peanut dish with Ginger (7.5)
Plate of fried rice (9)
Plate of fried noodle (9)
Plate of steamed prawn (10)
Cold clam dish (9)
Mussel, tomato, and asparagus with mayonaise drizzle (9)
Steamed Rice (7-it was good, but I've seen it before)
Sauteed spinach with garlic (8.5)

Entrees:
Hot clam dish stir-fried with seasoning and vegetables (9.5)
Steamed white fish in brown sauce (10)
Fried Jumbo Crabs (6)
Steamed squid with vegetables (9.5)
Braised shark stomach dish (9)
Deep-fried fish strips (5)
*break here for about 30 minutes and ask if we are ok to continue
Raisen-fried salmon cut (10)
Enormous pork finale (8)

I cannot tell you how long it took me to physically recover from this meal. The amount that I had for the majority of the dishes (appetizers included) could have constituted their own separate meals. In total, we spent 3 hours eating in the restaurant. It was pheonominal. During the meal, Jeff's family also taught me some new Mandarin vocab words. They were a great group, and I really enjoyed getting to know them and their culture.

After the meal, un kids headed to Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world and the fastest elevator in the world. The weather and view from the top were pretty awful, but the trip itself was a great thing to have done.

We finished off the night by hitting the highly acclaimed night market, where we took on the elements until two in the morning. Betsy and Katie, who shared in my passion for the local tea tradition, were relentless and successful in finding themselves tea sets.

After a brief nap that night, we got up and rushed to see the museum and the Chiang Khi Chek memorial in the morning. Our friend from the hostel, James Chang brought us over to the museum. He was great- he was a Taiwanese native who had just returned after recieving his PHD in Australia. The man loved interacting with everyone, in all sorts of languages. He was simultaneously showing about 10 of us around the city. A really great guy. His personality and friendliness characterized the Taiwanese people that I met on my trip. Amazing sites, amazing food, amazing people. I had a blast in Taipei.

It's been a while

My God,
Time seems to fly by here. It's been so long since I have had the chance to post. There have been so many crazy things going on, that I don't really know where to begin.
Life on campus is going really well. I am doing all that I can to really live the experience. Those of you that know me understand that I like to become immersed in whatever culture I'm in. I dress and act a lot differently when I am in Boston than I do when I am in New Canaan, New Jersey, California, or Europe (most radical transformation until now). I have come to realize the distinction between what is natural and what is strictly cultural. People who have not had the chance to travel, or those who are very close-minded, often fail to make this distinction and are comforted by labeling what is different as "weird." This is an awful thing.
Anyway, how has my tendency to adapt manifested itself in Hong Kong thus far? Well, I first joined a Puntangua Language exchange in order to begin my study of Mandarin. My roommate and I are working with a Chinese mainland exchange student named Raymond. He is a great guy, and we are learning a lot from him.
I also joined the School of Management soccer team. We have only played one game (against the highly acclaimed Civil Engineering Team), but it was a lot of fun. There were a lot more fans than I would have guessed, and it was fiercely competitive. I was sidelined for a few days afterward, having suffered a nasty turf burn. I guess I was destined to play college soccer after all.
Now, the really fun stuff.... I have taken on the challenge of Chinese Martial Arts. I joined the Wing chum Society here at HUGEST- one of the most respected Wing chum Societies in the world. Wing Chun is a Chinese Martial Art focused on street fighting. The concept is very cool. Basically, it is about speed and conservation of energy. Rather than waste energy swinging really hard for a punch, Wing Chun teaches participants to keep the body relaxed until the point of contact. Once mastered, the result is a much harder punch that devastates the opponent. There is a lot more to it, but that is one of the fundamental principles. Just for the record, I definitely have a Wing Chun uniform that I wear to our bi-weekly two and a half hour practices.
In case Wing Chun doesn't satisfy my urge to learn Chinese Martial Art, I also am taking a Tai Chi class. Tai Chi is the exercise that you often see local residents performing in the parks around here. The health benefits to this regimen are profound, and I am thrilled to be learning an art that I can bring back with me to the States. Special shoes are required... Do I have them? Is that even a question...? Be back soon- when you look in the mirror, you can pretend to be doing cool things like Chinese Martial.

First Week

Hey There,

The first couple of classes are now over, and the nightlife has yet to tame. We are all having a really good time exploring the city and experiencing the culture. The day before classes began, I ventured off to the year's inagural horse race at one of the Hong Kong Jockey Club venues. It was an amazing place, filled with tons of locals wagering on pretty much anything. I went down there with a Dutch kid named Collin. Neither of us saw another white person the entire trip, which was pretty interesting. As we walked by the masses, the locals often had a decifer which view was more exotic: the horses or us. Anyway, it was fun.

The classes here all seem really great. Unfortunately, BC is the only school where the grades transfer- so all of the other 165 students are taking all of their courses pass/fail. That makes it kind of difficult to travel as freely as my peers. Also, I just realized yesterday that I will be missing one of my midterms to go to Vietnam. After e-mailing the professor a number of times, he remains adamant that I cannot make-up the exam before or after the trip (I legitamately leave the night before). Therefore, my final is pretty much my grade. Oh well, I can't wait to hit 'Nam with my dad and two sisters.

Yesterday, I revisited Stanley market, The Peak, and Lan Kwai Fung with all of the exchange students. I met a couple of girls that go to USC, one of which knows Lizzie and Courtney. The other one, coincidentally, grew up in New Canaan- they were a lot of fun to hang out with. Ok, I'm off to do my first load of laundry, so I'll catch up. Adios.

Chinese New Year

Yo Yo,

It is Chinese New Years out here and it is quite a trip. Each year, every working man and women in the city takes a 4-5 day hiatis to spend with their families. That said, the only people that have been around campus are the 170 international kids, who are out and ready to have a good time. The 170 of us are keeping the security guards quite busy. They are not used to Americans, Canadians, and a mixture of Europeans coming back drunk from the Lan Quai Fong district. They will learn.

So far, there have been some cool cultural aspects of the New Year. There are different events going on every day, so we have all been trying our best to make it to as many events as possible. Two days ago, we went to what is called the Flower Market. This is an enormous market set up in Victoria Park, where the locals all visit to buy their “good luck flowers” for the New Year. My favorite flower was the “panty rose,” which is a red little thong rolled into what looks like a rose and is attached to a stem. I’m still unclear whether the panty rose would make an acceptable gift, or be an appropriate first date gesture, but I still found it quite amusing.

I cannot describe to you how packed this market is. There are wall to wall people in a space equivalent to about 20-25 football fields. In fact, the police force tries to regulate the crowd by making the sidewalks all one way. When people cross the street, the cops frequently use a rope to lasso the crowds in order to let the traffic get by. It is very humorous.

Another funny thing is that all of the locals prefer umbrellas to raincoats. This is very dangerous since they all stand at a towering 5’4”. The hoisted umbrellas all are at eye level, and become a true health risk. It began to rain while we were in the market, and if a satellite shot was taken, there would have been a few gaps in the crowd where there were not umbrellas. Each of those gaps definitely represented packets of Americans. It’s a classic case of Where’s Waldo.

Last night, we headed down to the Chinese New Years Night Parade. This was a lot of fun. We didn’t arrive too early, so we were stuck a couple of rows behind the gates. However, being Hong Kong, we were able to see pretty well since we are a few inches taller than the locals. The parade was filled with exhibitions from all over the world. America definitely represented very well, sending the UCLA marching band and cheerleaders. While this performance was a showstopper in itself, the Americans came through again when the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders came strutting by. It was ridiculous. All of the locals were drooling. I love America.

I will threw up a couple of pictures so you can get a sense of what the parade was all about. The theme of the night was “Po- Po,” which is Cantonese for “hug.” One of the favorite cheers of the group was “We will, we will, Po-Po-Lo.” This phrase was legitimately echoed for 45 minutes before the parade started and consistently throughout. It was really funny.

After the parade, the International kids all met up with each other unintentionally outside of Club Seven. This is one of the more exclusive clubs in the city. They actually have it in the States as well. At home, it is better known as Seven Eleven. It is really funny. It is the only cheap way to get a decent beer, and you are allowed to drink in the store and on the streets before heading to the bars. It’s really a great thing. I’ll be in touch soon. Stay classy, San Diego.