Taiwan, one of the last bastions of pro-Americana?

I was walking home from school today, listening to my iPod, when someone tapped me on my shoulder. I looked back to see a Taiwanese man with thick-rimmed glasses smiling back at me.

"Are you a student at Shida?" he asked in Chinese.

"Yes," I replied, somewhat cautiously. He didn't seem ill-willed, just a little nervous and excited at meeting a foreigner.

"Are you American?" he asked.

This last question took me off my guard. What if I said yes? Would this lead to more questions and pestering? It's not that the guy was unfriendly, just that I didn't see why being American should be the basis for meeting someone. So I decided to be French.

"No, I'm French," I said.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am in no way neglecting my American side. It's just that this is not the first time someone has tried to strike up a conversation, or ask me several personal questions in an interview format, just because I'm American.

It's not necessarily a bad thing that some Taiwanese look up to the USA. I met an American at a bar last week who was on vacation here. He said he was thrilled that he would get a positive reaction when he told people he was American, as opposed to when he visited Europe, and people would give him an answer like "Oh, you're alright, even though you're American."

Mind you, playing the French card doesn't always work. Once, in a similar encounter, a man (or should I say kid, as he was fresh out of high-school) wanted to do la bise with me after I told him I was French (and, after I declined, insisted on giving me a hug).

Anyway, after I replied, the man excused himself and said "oh, sorry, I thought you were someone else," and promptly left. I was relieved.

Doctor

I must've eaten something bad in Hong Kong because I've had the worst case of the runs in years.

Finally today I decided to go visit a doctor. I took my National Health Insurance card, some money, and my English-Chinese dictionary and walked to the closest possible clinic.

The doctor gave me four different kinds of drugs. The nurse next to him gave me helpful advice like drink sports drinks (to replace the electrolytes), don't eat oily things, and no dairy.

I just hope the medicine works. My stomach has been aching for days.

HK Visa Run

Last weekend I went to Hong Kong on a visa run with Paris. I took the opportunity to stay and see some of the southern Chinese city. I found it to be a lively, modern, cosmopolitan metropolis, thriving and bustling with people from all over. Imagine London's chinatown (with double-decker buses and trams), with New York-style skyscrapers, with hot and sunny weather, and you have a pretty good idea of what it's like.

On a tram (or ding-ding) at night on one of the main thoroughfares, Des Voeux RoadIn the Lan Kwai Fong nightlife district

Dusk and nighttime views from 'the peak' (my camera got busted so the pictures are a bit fuzzy)

Summer Session- Back To School Blues

Well, after a one-month break from anything remotely resembling studying Chinese, I got back to studying Chinese on Wednesday morning. Early morning, I add. 8AM is a hard time to start class, particularly when you are accustomed to not being awake for at least another two hours.

Since there are not many people who arrive in the beginning of July, I was put in a class which started at the beginning of the regular quarter, in June. When I got there, short of breath from walking quickly to avoid being late, I was met by a tall blond foreigner.

"Are you here for the class with Yan laoshi?" I asked (and may I add that the teacher's name "Yan" is the first character for the word "strict").
"Yes," said the young man.

We entered the empty room and exchanged our attendance papers so we could check we were in the right place. According to the paper, we were. The bell rang. I found out he was a new student at Shida, unlike me who is a returning student. He is a Dutchman who is to start his doctoral studies at Taida in September.

To make a long story short, we went down to the administrative offices, only to find that the classroom had not changed. When we got back, we found the teacher and one student, and slowly students filed in late. I should have known better.

To tell you a bit about the class, there are three Indonesians, one Vietnamese, two Koreans, as well as me and the aforementioned Dutchman.

Anyway, after the initial shock (what? writing test the first day!?), I think I'm getting back into the swing of things. At the same time I'm in a kind of visa limbo as I messed up when I went to Japan and just got a landing visa. I'm also trying to figure out what kind of job I should get. Now that my scholarship is over, I have to find some way to sustain myself.