Reflections on my time in Taiwan

As many of you know, I am no longer living in Taiwan and returned to the states. I was injured in an accident in March that resulted in a broken collarbone. The break was near the shoulder joint so I was in a sling for 11 weeks which led to frozen shoulder. The therapy I got in Kaohsiung ended up displacing my shoulder blade and hurting my ribs so I decided to stay in the states to get healthy and to take care of my shoulder so that this doesn't become a lifelong problem. I returned on June 16th and have been in therapy 4-5 times a week for the past 9 weeks and last week was the first time since March 21st (when I was hit by that scooter) that I wasn't in constant pain. Small steps but I'm getting there.

Anyway, I made the very difficult decision to stay in the states for treatment and not return to Taiwan. This was truly one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made about my future and I'm so missing everyone there, especially the students. I so enjoyed meeting such incredible young adults and I'll miss the people of Taiwan.

As I reflect on my time there, I thought I'd end my blog by discussing what it was like moving and living as an expat in Taiwan. A college  friend suggested I do this and I thought it would be both a good way to end this wonderful part of my life and to share what it was like moving halfway around the world.

First, the difficult things about living abroad:

• Feeling lonely - it's bound to happen since you move away from everyone in your life (unless your family is going with you). I spend an amazing amount of time alone. Not that I mind my own company but at times it got to me. I have two incredible daughters and some wonderful family and friends. These people know my story and know me. In Taiwan, I met so many great people but we don't share those memories and stories yet and it isn't always easy building those new relationships. I spent so much time alone that when I did have a chance to hang out with adults, I became overly self-disclosing and probably seemed like I was self-centered. I was so happy to be sharing something in my life and became a bit needy. That's not a personality trait I normally have so this was new to me.
• Not to give a hard time to my friends and family but some people are much better at keeping in touch. My daughters, thankfully, were so good about touching base and technology helped us stay part of our daily lives. Some of my friends and family were good to keep in touch but so many people didn't keep in touch at all. Honestly, I was surprised by this but then I realized that moving away from everyone can change and end relationships. It's inevitable. This realization didn't make it easier to deal with but it's part of growing up. I chose this path, not them.
• It's hard to find a certain balance in your life when working abroad. Everything in my life there was connected to the school...my job, my apartment, my social life and my adventures outside of school. You never seem to escape work when so much is centered around your job. This isn't healthy for me. I found that the longer I was there, the more I craved building relationships with people outside of my job. That was when I felt most like myself.
• It's hard being so far away from the people you love most. This was my adventure and I'm so very happy I did this (and wish I was able to complete my time there) but I did miss my daughters and I know it was hard for them too. When I got hurt I know they felt terrible that they couldn't be there for me. They never made me feel bad or guilty for not being there for them; they told me they were proud of me. But I know they are happy I'm back (at least I hope so).

The positives about living abroad:

• I can't begin to list all of the wonderful things about working and living abroad but the first that comes to mind is the people I met. The Taiwanese people are so warm, friendly and giving. I miss them every day. One couple, Kei and Leyang, made me feel so welcome and took care of me when I was hurt. They became my favorite people to be with and I miss them all of the time. I can't thank them enough for their friendship. I also met so many great teachers and staff at KAS who are so fun, talented and generous. I was so lucky to work with such an incredible group of people. And the students! I loved teaching middle school students and so many of them touched my heart. I smile just thinking about them and miss them each and every day. They are the biggest reason making this decision not to return was so difficult. They made my going to work each day a gift.
• A new culture, history and area to explore and learn about...what an amazing experience. I have always been interested in learning about the world around me but living in Asia was the best way to learn about the amazing things this part of the world has to offer. I can't wait to go back to explore some more!
• Everyone should live where they are in the minority. It gives you a perspective unlike any other. If you have read my posts you know that I was stared at ALL the time while living in Taiwan. I get it...I'm tall, red hair, big blue eyes and I don't look like 99% of the people who live there. It's challenging but also so rewarding that I could live in a place where I didn't know the language, had to learn the etiquette and culture and had to navigate living a life I had never lived before. Doing some of this was incredibly challenging (especially when I was hurt and couldn't communicate or advocate for myself as a patient) but I learned so much about myself during this year living abroad. I won't get on soapbox here but everyone, especially Americans, need to get a new global perspective and living abroad is a sure way of doing that.
• I became a better teacher. I was teaching in a school where 99.9% of the students are English Language Learners. I had to not only teach a subject, I had to begin learning a new language and figure out a way to teach students who didn't speak any or little English. I had done some of this in the states but not like this. I learned so very much as I went through the year. Also, the educational culture is so strong in Taiwan and it was such a change to be truly appreciated as a teacher. I will miss that!

I hope to return to Taiwan in the future and also explore other parts of Asia. I will do this because my world adventures have just begun. Thank you to all who have read my blog posts during the past year. It was so much fun sharing my life and I hope my reflections and adventures brought you some insight on Taiwan, made you laugh and gave you a glimpse into what it is like to live abroad.

Rice Dumplings

Two of my favorite people I've met here are Kei and Leyang Chen. They are the parents of one of my fellow teachers and I've had the privilege of spending quite a bit of time with them visiting places in the city, eating local food, enjoying Kei's cooking and just hanging out.

Last Saturday they took me to a family member's home to watch a group of women making traditional rice dumplings (zongzi). These dumplings are traditionally eaten during this time of year so women get together to make dozens upon dozens of them to both eat and freeze for use during the year.

They start out with bamboo leaves that have been washed and soaked so they are pliable. They make a cone shape out of it and stuff the bottom with rice. Depending on the area, the rice is either cooked or uncooked and may include different ingredients. In this case they had lightly fried rice with peanuts.

They were sitting on low stools around this center pole that had hooks with string. Each bundle will have 10 dumplings so 10 strings. Each person fills the bamboo cone with rice and then little surprises before wrapping, tying and hanging the dumpling.

Some of the ingredients they were filling the dumplings with were walnuts, tiny cooked shrimp, pork, mushrooms, and salted duck egg yolk (those are the golden orange things below).

After the bundle is complete, they are boiled (or steamed) for over an hour. You could smell the bamboo and all the ingredients in the steamy air in the apartment. They had 3 pots boiling to handle all of the dumplings being assembled.

I was so impressed with the speed of the wrappers. One woman was able to make a dumpling in about 30 seconds before moving onto the next one. She just had a handle on exactly how much rice and tidbits to add without overfilling it.

Another traditional item I got to both eat and drink involved local plums. This is the season to get these tiny plums that are preserved in sugar. Those on the left have been recently preserved in layers of sugar. The jar on the right is filled with plums that were preserved a year ago. You both eat the plums and then put the syrup in either hot or cold water to drink. I had both and they were delicious! The plums were both crispy and chewy and not as sweet as you would think. If they left the liquid ferment, then this would become plum wine.

I have been so lucky to experience so many amazing things during my year here in Taiwan. Next year, more adventures!

Lychee Picking

A couple of weekends ago my friend Lulu and her parents took us to do some Lychee picking outside of the city near E-Da Theme Park, which is this huge amusement park to the east of Kaohsiung. It took us only about 20-25 minutes to drive there and we entered a world so completely different than the city we live in. It was so hot and humid as we made our way around this lush, deeply green and bountiful farm.

First of all, the lychee trees were so much bigger than I expected. I'm not even sure what I expected but not this. Each branch was loaded with lychee with the weight bending each branch down so it was easy for us to break off and collect.

We each loaded bags full of lychee as we tasted samples along the way. What is amazing is that each tree had fruit that was slightly different in taste. Kei, our host and this is her father's farm, said that the fruit can be different on the same tree depending on what side it is on and how much sun it gets. Crazy right?

It's hard to describe the flavor. You peel off the tough outer skin to get to the grape-like center. There is one big seed in the middle and you eat around it. The flavor is a cross between a grape, watermelon and strawberry with a distinct finish that is all lychee.

The hill surrounding the property were green and lush with workers picking lychee and trimming the trees all around.

There weren't only lychee growing here but bananas, pineapple, guava, papaya, mango, bamboo and other plants I didn't even recognize.

This is a fruit related to lychee but called longan. This is in a lot of local dishes and is similar to lychee. Look at how big and loaded the longan tree is!

We then went on a stroll around the farm and went through this group of workers who were cleaning and packing lychee for sale. This was at the tail end of the process and harvest so I can't imagine how many lychee have gone through here.

As fruit grow on trees, workers will cover each fruit to protect them from insects and other elements. Those are guava above but they do this for each and every mango too! Much more patience than I have!

There were chickens, roosters and this loud and welcoming group of geese who were not to happy to have us wandering around.

As the pineapple grow they are covered with branches or each gets a little "hat" to protect the fruit from the sun. Again, so much patience needed to be a farmer.

It was a hot and humid trip but leaving the city, even for a couple of hours, was such a nice way to spend a Saturday morning. And now I have a big bag of lychee to enjoy! Yum!

It's all about the waiting...and waiting...and waiting...

Taiwanese people are amazingly good at waiting. Waiting in lines, waiting for appointments, waiting in traffic (most of the time they're good at this)...I'm impressed. I'm a patient person but I'm not even close to being as good at this as they are.

With a city this big there are lines for pretty much everything but it's the waiting in a long line at Costco for a little bite of food or a taste of a drink that amazes me. There could be 20-40 people in line and people just stand there patiently until they get their little morsel and then go join another line for a different tidbit. Honestly, I don't know how they do it. I can't even stand in one line for that long without becoming a bit antsy let alone line after line. Then, when they're done shopping, they stand in another line to pay and checkout. A quick trip to Costco can take hours! (One of the many reasons I avoid the place).

Doctor/hospital visits - more waiting! You are assigned a number like at a deli counter and you get to see the doctor when your number is called. Now, if you can read Chinese, you can log into the hospital website to see where they are in the numbers and show up when it's close but I can't do that so I just go and wait. Last Monday I waited for over 7 hours for about 35 minutes of time with my doctor, a PT consultant and the physical therapist. When I was told the physical therapy department could see me right away, that meant waiting for 2.5 hours in the waiting room for a 10 minute consult, 30 minutes waiting in line to pay before I could see the therapist, but by then they were closed for dinner, so waited another 1.5 hours to be seen by them. Everyone is very patient and relaxed while sitting there. It doesn't hurt that I seem to offer an endless amount of entertainment just by being there. All eyes are on me and little kids are especially fascinated. They even come up to touch me to make sure I'm real. No joke!

Supermarkets are okay during the week before 5 but after that or on the weekends, I often feel like a salmon swimming upstream. So many people and they all end up waiting in a really long line to checkout. Trust me when I say I don't do much shopping on the weekends and when I do I go when they first open. That seems to be pretty safe (except for Costco).

Night markets on the weekends are again with the long lines to get food. At least it's for cool things like snake, stinky tofu, chicken butt or fish balls but it's still incredibly long lines and people do it. It's so crowded and hot and sweaty yet they patiently stand in line to order their treat. I don't have it in me. I don't care how good it is, I won't be standing in that line. I just go to the night markets when they first open (around 5ish) and no problems. After 7:00? Good luck and no thanks!

What I will miss and not miss about Taiwan this summer!

I'm heading back to the states for 6 weeks this summer and as I wind up my school year and prepare to head home, I've been thinking about the things I will miss/not miss about Taiwan while I'm gone.

First I'll start with the easy list...what I won't miss.

1. The weather - It is so freakin' hot and humid here. The past few days have been in the high 80's to low 90's but with the humidity, the heat index is in the 100's. Not a fan. I never knew I could sweat so much. Gross!
2. The traffic - I'm still not riding a bike yet so I'm walking everywhere (yes in the freakin' heat!) and even then I have to dodge traffic. Scooters come up onto the sidewalks to not only park but many drivers use it as their own highway to bypass the traffic up ahead. Royally sucks. I've had to jump out of the way on many occasions as they fly by on their scooters. Also, pedestrians don't have right of way so crossing the street is an adventure all on it's own. Won't miss that even one little bit!
3. Being stared at - I'm good at ignoring it and going with the flow but I will not miss having all eyes on me as I stand waiting for a train or at a crosswalk. It's ridiculous. I recently went to the movies with a bunch of my students and the couple sitting in front of me literally turned in their seats to take a good look at me. Then they tried, not so discretely, to take my picture while pretending to take a selfie. Come on! I eventually just made a
   
   face, they snapped a picture and left me alone.
4. Juggling living alone with an injury - Let's face it, it sucks! I am still on the road to recovery and being here without a support group has been a challenge. I'll be happy to relinquish some of my independence while I continue the healing process at home.

That's it! Short list right? Now let's get to what I WILL miss while in the states.

1. The food - I love the food here. There are so many different things to try and discover just walking down one block. I've had many food adventures here and I can't wait to have more.
2. Tea - grapefruit green tea, bubble milk tea (just plain on milk tea frankly), honey lemon tea...the list goes on. I am not a coffee drinker so for the first time in my life, I'm living in a country that's all about the tea. Happy me!
3. Taiwanese people - I am so lucky to work with and know some incredible people. Included in this list are locals who have made my life here that much more enjoyable. Taiwanese people are kind, generous and fun. 
4. My students - Okay, I'll admit it. I won't miss ALL of my students but this is one of the best groups of students I have ever worked with. I really love middle schoolers too!
5. The cost of things - overall the cost-of-living here is so much less than in the states. I can go to an amazing dinner here and pay less than $10. On Sunday I got two huge bags of groceries (enough for the week) and the total cost was less than $30. That's not happening in the states. 
6. Outdoor markets - I love walking around and buying all of the local fruits, veggies, meats, etc. and the cost is incredibly low. 
7. Fruit - I know we have fruit in the states but not Taiwan fruit. I've never been much of a fruit eater but I've completely changed that here. Mangos, dates, pineapple (the best ever!), little bananas, guava and a long list of tropical fruit I had never even seen before. I will miss this each and every day.

Yes, more food!

One of my favorite things about Taiwan is the food! This food adventure took place at a wonderful Japanese restaurant on Mingcheng called Syunraku. YUM! I would have to say that Japanese food it easily in my top 3 if not #1 on my list and this place was incredible.

 First they brought out sashimi that was so delicate and fresh...

 then a salad that was crisp and beautifully presented.

 It's hard to tell but those a scallops served with sheets of nori. You just wrap the scallop and enjoy.

 This was a rice dish (almost like a glutinous rice) with quail egg on top.

 The fruit salsa on top of this was so crazy flavorful and tangy. 

 This jumbo prawn was dipped in egg white and lightly cooked. On top is a dollop of salmon roe. Delish!

 This beautiful bowl was filled with a type of savory custard with little shrimp on top. I have never been a lover of gelatins but in this country I've become a big fan!

If I need some comfort in my life, I'll always head to a place like this. It makes the whole world seem a little bit happier.

Healing...

Healing after an injury takes on new meaning when living in Taiwan.

First, seeing my doctor (or anyone medically) can be challenging because I don't speak Chinese other than numbers, several phrases and many words out of context. I can ask for a glass of water or beer, no problem. But telling a doctor what the pain is like is a whole other thing.

Second, acupuncture here is so much cheaper and easier to do. I go to see my Chinese medicine doctor every other day for acupuncture and it costs me about $3 US each time. I just walk in, have never waited more than 5 minutes and I'm usually out the door within 30 minutes. Hurts like a bitch but I do see some improvement. I cry each and every time because he doesn't stop pushing those needles until he hits that spot just right. Bingo!

Here's the conversation I had with him on Monday about the pain. (I'm red, he's blue.)

How do you know exactly where to put that needle? Is the point to inflict the most pain?

I know when I reach the pain I am doing it right. When I was a student, I had to practice on myself.

That's crazy! Do you know what the word "sadist" means?

No, what is this word?

It means someone who enjoys inflicting or giving pain.

The pain is part of the healing. I know BINGO I am doing it right. (he had a little smile on his face here and he really said "Bingo")

I understand that but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it. If you are a sadist, then that makes me a masochist. That means that I take the pain you give and I keep coming back.

That makes us the perfect couple.

I have to say I'm looking forward to breaking up with you.

There is still inflammation in the muscles around my shoulder and not using those muscles for the past 8+ weeks has made motion a challenge but the acupuncture is releasing those muscles and the levels of pain have gone down. I'll suck it up and look forward to NOT crying when I visit him and to not having to go see him every other day.

Finally, I was introduced (thanks Linda and Maurice) to a Taiwanese man who is a healer. I can hear you right now. Acupuncture? Healer? What a bunch of hooey! Well, don't knock it til you try it. David, that's the healer, is this thin and gentle man that has healing powers. How do I know this? Well, the first time, all he did was cup his hands gently around my shoulder and I could feel the warmth. After a few seconds, his hands became hotter and hotter and then I could feel this pulsing of energy coming from his hands into my shoulder and down my arm. It was crazy! For the first time since this accident, I felt a release of pressure in my shoulder. He did this for about 20 minutes and I had less crazy pain for about 24 hours.

I saw him again 3 nights later because I was in lots of pain on Sunday. He spent about an hour working on me trying to balance my energy and releasing my chi gates. We have these energy centers in our body and an injury can block the flow of that energy. Some of this is actually painful. At one point he was pressing into my sternum while pressing into my spine and then he did the same on my wrists and fingertips. Ouchy but the relief after is amazing!

I know this might sound crazy to some of you but after spending about 90 minutes with David both with him working on me and us chatting, I felt better. The pain was less and I felt balanced somehow. Here's an example. I have this one spot on my back near my right shoulder blade that hurts pretty much all the time. It's where stress and tension live in my body. My daughters know that spot well because, since they were little, I have had them rub, press and elbow this spot to give me some relief.

Well, David found that spot and pressed on 2 places - my neck and the shoulder blade. He only pressed for a couple of minutes on each spot then cupped his crazy warm hands over both spots. I literally felt that spot release. I have spent hours in massage and yoga trying to do just that and he found it and dealt with it in less than 10 minutes. He said the release wouldn't last forever but that with time we could get it where it lasts for longer and longer periods of time. Yay to that!

I see him again tonight and will for the next few nights.  Here's hoping that those healing hands get me on my way to good health.  Western medicine was only doing so much and all I got in response to still having pain is, "Here, take some pain meds." Or, "You need to be patient." With acupuncture and David, I feel like the pain is less and I feel a little better every day. I'll do whatever it takes.

Time to go home me thinks...

I don't ever want to be that bitching and complaining person that we all know and don't love. I try, to the best of my ability, to be positive and to enjoy all that life presents me. Operative word...I try. I don't always accomplish this but overall I think I do a pretty good job.

Well, this post isn't going to be all roses and sunshine. For the first time since I moved to Taiwan almost 10 months ago, I want to go home (meaning the states). Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love it here. The traffic and the heat & humidity, not so much, but everything else is incredible. I love the culture, food, people and my job here. But in the past few days I've gotten to the point of wanting to go home. Why? It's this damned broken collarbone. That's why!

Almost 8 weeks in and this damned thing is still incredibly painful and it is affecting absolutely everything in my life. Sleep, getting dressed, brushing my teeth, walking, getting groceries, pulling my pants up, cooking...everything is impacted and I cry UNCLE!!!

I truly am trying to keep a positive attitude and a "suck it up and deal" frame of mind but I admit, it's getting to me. Yesterday I needed to get groceries and things like toilet paper, detergent, etc. Normally, in the states, I'd make one trip, bring things to my car, drive it home and make a few trips to carry things into my house. Oh no! Not here. I am a walking fool so I made 4 trips to the market to get what I needed. 4!!! Why, because I can only carry things with one arm and if it's too heavy it makes my shoulder and collarbone feel like it's being stabbed. I even made a trip, by cab, to a bigger supermarket to buy a new iron and a few things for my kitchen. Now it would normally be great to take a cab to this amazing store, get absolutely everything I need and take a cab home. But nooooooo! I can't do that either. Sure, I can take a cab there and back (even though it just pisses me off to have to pay for a taxi when I could normally just ride my bike there) but the problem is I can't carry everything I need to the cab and from the cab to the apartment. So I spent 4 1/2 hours of my day going back and forth to the market instead. IT SUCKS!

I know, complain complain! You can stop reading if you want. I understand.

On Monday I saw both my "regular" doctor and my Chinese medicine doctor (acupuncture). The first one told me I have to wear the damned sling for another 4 to 6 weeks and can lift my arm no higher than 60 degrees and to slowly work up to 90. Absolutely NO LIFTING MY ARM UP ABOVE THAT! The bone is healing but not quite healed yet and, yes, I know, it's close to the freakin' joint and it complicates things. Blah, blah, blah. Also, my messed up body has made the healing a bit more challenging. I totally cried in front of him and I don't think he knew what to do. Four to six more weeks! Are you kidding me! That will bring me to over 3 months in the damned sling. Then my acupuncture guy (who's adorable by the way) told me I need to be patient and "No pain no gain". The guy speaks passable English but this is what he know how to say!? Really?!

Anyway, I walked home and on my way I bought a really good bottle of bourbon, some vermouth and bitters and made myself a very cold, very tasty Manhattan (the first since I got to Taiwan). I had a good cry and pity party and let myself wallow it all of it. Then I gave myself a good talking to - "Get over it!"

Yes this sucks but I do know it will get better and the acupuncture is actually helping, thank god! I have less than 5 weeks left in Taiwan and I'm flying home to spend time with my daughters and besties. I can let go and let myself be taken care of and pampered for a few weeks before I return. I love you Taiwan but it's time to go home. I need some TLC!

First acupuncture in Taiwan!

I've had acupuncture in the states but had not experienced that here until just yesterday. As you all know I had a run-in with a scooter 6 weeks ago that resulted in a broken collarbone and hurt shoulder. The break isn't terrible but it's so close to the shoulder joint that it still is incredibly painful and makes healing a bit more complicated. Having a messed up skeletal system to begin with isn't helping any.

Anyway, I've been experiencing a lot of pain in the shoulder and I'm sick and tired of taking pain meds, muscle relaxants and ibuprofen. Enough already! I feel like my whole body, inside and out, is out of whack. I've always been a believer in holistic medicine and that we need to treat the whole body, not just the symptoms so I decided to visit a local Chinese Medicine Doctor. I went to the Ming-Dao Clinic, which is located right across from the hospital I was treated at. I've walked by this place many times and heard, through several friends and locals, that this is a great place and the doctor there speaks perfect English. That's a major plus because the language barrier has definitely made this process more challenging.

My friend Annie drove me there (she's been there before and highly recommends it) and all I had to do was give them my insurance card, pay $100 (about $3 US) and I waited for less than 5 minutes to be seen by the doctor. He thought acupuncture would help with the healing and after looking at my xray and checking out my arm, he walked me to a table, I layed down and within minutes I was sporting at least a dozen little needles from head to toe.

Now, from what I understand about acupuncture, it's all about creating balance in the body...yin and yang.  We all have a natural flow of qi (pronounced chee) that travels through the pathways of our body. When this is unbalanced or interrupted, it creates illness or pain. The placing of tiny needles influences the functioning of the body. There are 365 acupoints on the body and he knew exactly where to go. It's truly amazing!

He started out with my left leg and when he inserted the first one,  a current of electricity shot right through my body. My left foot contracted and I could feel it travel up my body right to my shoulder. Crazy! He then put in about 6 or 7 more down my leg and in my foot. Each one was more intense than the last but I could deal. No problem. Then he moved up to my shoulder. The first one he put right where I still have bruising and the most shoulder pain. This is a tiny needle but it felt like stabbing fire. Tears started flowing and each subsequent needle was almost as painful as the first. I knew this wasn't going to be easy. I'm a hurting puppy and I need something to happen to get this healing process jumpstarted.

The last needle he placed on the left side of my skull. You wouldn't believe how much I felt that travel through my body. It just shows how much our body systems are connected.

So I go back every two days for a while and I'm hoping that some of this pain gets under control. I see the "regular" doctor on Monday and I'm hoping to hear that the bone is well on it's way to being healed so I can start moving my arm up a little and use my shoulder. Between traditional Chinese Medicine, massage and western medicine, my goal is to be out of this damned sling, able to raise my arm and be in less pain by the time I return to the states in June. Wish me luck!