Okay... so I did do a couple of hours of boring stuff since last time (when I first moved in): I got a new phone, I did some laundry, bought shampoo (so I can take showers YAY), went to Ikea... yadayadaya...
Friday. During the day I got to travel around the city with another GW student who I guess met me from either one of the talks I gave at GW or ACC. Anyway, it was amazing talking to him. He has been studying abroad in China for over a year now and is here in Taiwan for two more weeks on a grant from the Sigur Center at GW. Meeting up with him reminded me of how much I'm going to miss the Elliott School. So many students just head over heels, passionately in love with their region of study and a sense of intellectual curiosity so strong that it affects ones ability to carry out what some might call a "normal" conversation. You can't talk international politics, history, economics, culture for 3 or 4 hours with anyone you meet on the street. I've tried. Their eyes roll over. But at the Elliott School you can. If they weren't passionate about some issue, some place, some region of the world... they wouldn't be there. I'm sure the students at TaiDa will be like this as well (since I have been here at least four or five people have referred to it as the Harvard of Asia... a little intimidating) but I can already tell I am going to miss the atmosphere over at E Street NW DC.
Here are some of the sites I did on Friday:
228 Peace Memorial Park Commemorating the Victims of the 2/28 Incident:
After World War II, Taiwan was returned to China from Japan after around 50 years of colonization. As China was currently in a state of Civil War, Taiwan was handed over to Chiang Kai Shek and the GuoMinDang (the U.S. supported faction). Unhappy with the corruption of the KMT and its governance of Taiwan, locals harbored extreme feelings of resentment, perceiving the KMT as merely another colonial regime establishing itself on the island . On 2/28/1947, an old widow peddling cigarettes on Nanjing-West Road had her goods and life's savings confiscated by KMT military police. When she begged for their return, an officer hit her on the head with the back of his pistol. Already frustrated with unemployment, corruption, and inflation, the display of police brutality incensed the crowd and others came to the old woman's aid. Shots were fired and the city erupted in violence. Angry mobs attacked government buildings and the police station at Yidingmu was razed. Martial law was declared and strict curfews put in place. Historians estimates of the death toll range from as low as 10,000 to 30,000. The park commemorates their loss and the loss of the families of those who went missing. The construction of the memorial was controversial and occurred in the period after the lifting of martial law during Taiwan's democratic transition. The opposition party, the Democratic Progressive Party, successfully advocated for its construction and the park (which had previously been the site of a radio station) was rededicated in 1996. It is a reminder of Taiwan's painful history of terror and conquest by outside forces, as well as a testament to the miracle of its peaceful political transformation.
The Chiang Kai-Shek memorial is a hundred times larger and more grandiose than I had imagined from the pictures I'd seen. That is why I made sure to include a person standing next to it in my picture, so that you all have a reference. This is Taipei's version of the Lincoln Memorial. There is a huge gate in the front that marks the entrance to the "Freedom Plaza". Two halls on each side, in the same architectural style of the palatial buildings in Beijing's forbidden city. In the center is a pagoda which resembles Beijing's Tiantan (Temple of Heaven). After you climb the stairs, there is a giant seated statue of Chiang Kai-Shek. I was wondering why people would like Chiang Kai-Shek so much and build such an grand memorial for him... I don't like him... and if you read the part about the 228 Incident, well, then you know one of the many reasons why I don't like him. He killed a lot of Chinese people on the mainland - why would you expect him to behave any differently when he arrived in Taiwan? However, having spent a lot of time in Beijing, I got used to people romanticizing and worshipping crazy dictators a long time ago. Initially I just assumed this was a similar sort of phenomenon. However, after talking with some friends, it turns out people here are actually pretty critical of him. Some people have a respect for him as the father of their nation, some people do love him, but some people also think he was an awful person. ... and as it turns out, it was Chiang Kai Shek's son (who led Taiwan as a somewhat more benevolent dictator after his father's death) who built the memorial and not actually the people themselves. Funny though: amidst all the glory and splendor of this grand monument, they have a special dinosaur exhibit now going on for a limited time underneath the central pagoda. Its fully air conditioned with a whole bunch of fossils on display. Convenience I guess? Come see your nations founder and a T-Rex skeleton all in the same trip?
FRIDAY NIGHT:
As much as I love history, Friday night is a different story. Nighttime on the weekends is when I make my own history - not study other peoples.
One of my classmates and coworkers from when I taught in Ningxia and Inner Mongolia last summer is teaching here in Taipei. He moved here a little over a month ago and was kind enough to introduce me to his group of friends. One of his best friends was celebrating his 22nd birthday on Friday night and was kind enough to welcome me to the celebration. My 22nd birthday was relatively uneventful. In the states, 21st birthdays are so big and then your 22nd feels somewhat anti-climactic. Here, 22nd birthdays are bittersweet for a lot of people. Taiwan still requires of all able-bodied males one year of military service. Needless to say, not everyone's passion is for military service (boot camp is not for everyone), and my new friend is not exactly thrilled to be going. I've only just met him, but he is such an amazing, funny, and friendly guy. I pray for his safety and that he will come back unchanged next year. That's another thing I'm lucky about. I will be here two years, so I look forward to hanging out with him again after his service is complete! A whole group of us had dinner and then went out for some drinks and some clubbing. Here's a picture from dinner... the late night pictures will be staying in my private stash...
HSINCHU:
You would think that after coming home at 3:30 AM I would not want to wake up at 7:30 AM to get to Taipei Main Station for a 9 AM train to Hsinchu. Wrong. I did... and the excitement managed to keep me from feeling the lack of sleep.
(Photo Cred: http://www.taiwanfun.com/pics/maps/north.jpg)
Taipei is central north, Hsinchu is the county in purple
The ride to Xinchu was about 1 hr 20 min. My friend Yiling, a Chengchi University student and another volunteer in Ningxia province, was already there to meet me. Her sister lives there. Together, we all went to NeiWan, which was in a slightly more rural area. It reminded me a little of like a town fair, or something of that nature. There were all sorts of snacks and fun food, as well as games and even some rides. There was also a small river that we spent some time by.
Highlight of the trip however - I finally tried stinky tofu! Stinky tofu is a delicacy throughout China, but is especially popular in Taiwan. I got away with 8 months in Beijing of not trying it, but I didn't even make it a week in Taiwan. To be honest, it smells like horse shit. Exactly like horse shit. There is some kind of chemical additive/flavoring in the tofu that makes it so that when you grill or fry it, it literally smells like you are frying a piece of poop. It is served with garlic, pickled radish, some spicy and salty sauces. I actually really liked it. I was just a little paranoid after eating it about how my breath might smell.
Neiwan
Neiwan felt even more tropical... I had some awesome pineapple treats and fruit drinks!
Yours truly
Yiling (she makes the funniest faces), her sister, and her sisters friends
Shaky bridge!
Lunch
Oh ya... and that cute little thing from Gremlins was there... remember that movie from the 90s?
I took a 5:30 train back to Taipei and was back by 7 PM. You'd think I would rest and perhaps go to bed early. Nope, I met up with some of the people from the birthday party and the birthday boy himself to go to Ximen, a huge commercial district in Taipei that has a lot of stores, snacks, and bars that are all open late. At around 10:30 I started making my way home on the metro, but on my way back I got a text from another new friend I had made asking me if I wanted to go out again. ... and so I figured why the hell not!
... and after another night of being out until 3:30 I decided my hyped up caffeinated adventure was finally coming to an end. The fatigue had finally set in and I slept until about noon. When I awoke at noon, I realized that it was kind of typhoon-ing outside, so I decided since the weather wasn't good that I would just go back to sleep for another hour or two. I'm feeling re-energized now and I'm ready to go! My next post will probably be about night markets, since I'm going to my first one in a few hours. Taiwan's night markets are famous throughout Asia and I'm excited to try all of the local specialties.
Ta-Ta!
Tim I need a nap just reading about all you are doing. Whew!!
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