Half a World Away, Half a Year In

Friends,

Given that this month marks six months Carolina and I have been living in Taiwan, I thought I’d use this newsletter issue to document the pros and cons I’m feeling about the experience so far. It’ll be a nice broad picture, but more importantly, I’m very curious to see how the list compares to my thoughts and feelings further on down the road.

I’ll start by saying that like most big decisions that have longterm ramifications, of course I’m positive about it. My mental well-being couldn’t afford not to be, but I still think it’s a genuine positivity. You can find a lot of writing out there about how moving to another country broadens your perspective, etc., but it’s hard to be specific about why and how. I’ll sum it up by saying that being surprised and outside of your habitual comfort zone every now and then seems to be healthy and helpful and growth-inducing. Just like the giant balloon of a man’s head (it’s supposed to be The Rock, but it’s not the most realist portrayal) beside my school is surprising and uncomfortable yet somewhat inspiring. Of course, it helps that I’ve found a good job and everything has been pretty smooth. So, without further ado…

Big Pros

The aforementioned personal growth.
Public transportation. I haven’t driven a car in six months. I never sit in traffic. My commute is RELAXING. It’s amazing.
Education is much more valued here across the board. The students, the parents, and the society writ large all take it more seriously. This comes in many forms, from paychecks to naming bus stations after the closest school, and it’s a very welcome change. Again, caveat that my perspective is a little skewed due to working for a wealthy private school, but I think I’ve seen enough to say this is true.
Participating in a society whose values with regard to guns, healthcare, education, and the environment align closer to my own is just nice. You’d be surprised at how many small reminders you get about this on a regular basis.

Big Cons

The move involved leaving our dog behind and our current situation makes getting pets unfeasible (not Taipei specific, but international move specific).
Making friends who are not coworkers, though I think this would be an issue even if we moved to another American city. The language barrier is there but it’s not bad.
Living in an apartment has a few pros over home ownership, but man does it have a lot of cons. If someone knows a surefire way to test sound insulation before moving in, please let me know.
The weather is not great. So far the six months have been 2/3 miserably, miserably hot and 1/3 rainy. Add to this that we don’t have a clothes dryer and our patio doesn’t get a lot of sun… The humidity does have some positives when it comes to my skin and scalp though!
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Little Pros
There’s no longer a tiny corner in the back of my brain that’s worried about being involved in a mass shooting, or a bad car accident, or being robbed.
I’m healthier overall from a lot of walking and stair climbing. This is only partially Taipei-specific, but the city does promote a better lifestyle.
I’m definitely gaining a broader understanding of what a career can look like for me.
Financial math in general.

Little Cons
I miss a lot of heartier vegetarian options. Grains (besides flour and rice) and legumes are uncommon in everyday meals here.
Most coffee shops don’t have nondairy milks and open unreasonably late.
I have not found a good casual place to have a beer yet. The bars I’ve visited so far fall under three, often overlapping categories: Loud, semi-creepy expat, or expensive. It seems like casual beers happen primarily over meals, but this might be me having not explored enough. Mainly I miss a place like Black Star Co-op in Austin.
At any point China might decide that imposing some sort of martial or economic threat to Taiwan is feasible and life here would become very interrupted. I worry about this very little as I trust Dell and the other many multinationals who continue to invest heavily here to know better than me, but it probably should be said!

Mixed Bag
The food overall. Some days I am very sad that cooking is not easier and more financially prudent. Some days I am very thankful that my options for eating out include the cheap and healthy.
The language barrier. Learning Chinese is stimulating my brain, but there are a lot of little interactions that become so much more difficult.

I think the #1 sign that I’m embracing living in Taiwan is that I rarely have a drink with a meal (and if I do, don’t worry, the only cold drink allowed is beer) and I have soup at least once a day.

Your Chinese lesson for the month is one that is driving me nuts. The two main presidential candidates in next month’s Taiwanese election are Tsai Ing-Wen and Han Kuo-yu. Their names sound the exact same as the words for “English Vegetable” and “Korean Fish.” This has become their nicknames on some websites, and it has caused my students to think it is HILARIOUS to write either phrase on anything they possibly can. Of course, it makes me think back to the stupid jokes I wrote on things for school when I was a student and I’m pretty sure that teaching is my karmic retribution.

Further reading:

• I didn’t read anything this month because I was sick for a week and Carolina was out of the country for a few weeks and I played video games until my eyes physically pained me. Plus, I love my job, but I’m still figuring out the work-life, personal reading vs. work reading balance. My apologies for the lack of reading recommendations.
• Did you make my favorite autumn/winter pie yet? You should. Sweet potato pie is not only for Thanksgiving.
• The Instagram account blvckvarchives is a wide-ranging portrayal of black life in America and is one of those Instagram accounts that interrupts the endless scrolling of modern life in a very positive way. Highly recommend you follow, thanks to TNC for the recommendation.
• Socialist Meme of the Month .
• The lo-fi hip-hop universe continues to expand for me, and is now drawing in the spirit of Christmas, including significant sampling from Charlie Brown. Here is the Charlie Brown inclusive one, though I think this second one is a better listen overall. Oh, neither of those are enough for you? Shockingly, lo-fi mogul ChilledCow has not gotten in on the action, but College Music has.
• If anyone wants to get me a Christmas present, I’ll take this t-shirt .
• SELF PLUG! A long time ago when I lived in a different country, I interviewed the Kentucky author, organizer, and activist Robert Gipe. That interview was finally published by Guernica this month. Gipe is a supremely affable guy who is impressive in how he makes cutting hilarity seem so easy. Everyone should know more about him. Thankful to the Southern Foodways Alliance for introducing me to his work.

Christmas in Taipei is a very commercial affair. It’s a mash-up of American Mall Christmas and Valentine’s Day. Every single business (I’m not being hyperbolic, every single one) has Christmas decorations and most large businesses (hotels, malls, banks) have super large displays with tons of people taking pictures every night. Gift-giving is largely between couples (outside of people with western connections due to work/family/etc.) and apparently it’s a very popular fancy dinner date night.

Which is to say it’ll be a very familiar background. Just a little wetter and a little more work (our school break doesn’t start until mid-January). Hope your holidays are what you need them to be.

-g