An American Teacher in Taiwan

Looking For Love in 2012

2012-02-09T08:05:00.000-08:00

(I originally wrote this blog entry last month on my other blog, "From Taiwan to Texas", but I wanted to include it on this one too, to try to give my wife's friend, Ingrid, a little more exposure.)

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"It's easier to be killed by a terrorist than it is to find a husband over the age of 40."

-Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

For some reason, my wife loves that line from "Sleepless in Seattle." Whenever that movie is on, she has to watch it. Whenever that line is about to be spoken, she tells everyone in the room to be quiet. When I ask her why she likes it, she just gives me the throwaway response "I don't know, I just like it!"

Sometimes I think I should have majored in Psychology, since I get a kick out of analyzing the mind and behavior of people. This was just another thing for me to think about and analyze.

For women who are already married, I think they like this line because it makes them feel better. I'm lucky that I've already found a man and I'm not in this ratrace anymore. For the women that are single who like the movie, maybe they like it because it's re-assurance that they are not the only ones having trouble in the dating world. You see, I'm not the only one having trouble finding the right partner. Even Hollywood movies say how hard it is! Of course, I could be full of crap. You tell me.

Obviously, I'm not a woman, and I can't speak for women in the dating world. But as a man in the dating world, I can tell you that it sucks. I had periods of being single in my 20's, and in my 30's, and I can tell you that I'd rather be married (even with all the challenges and loss of social life that it brings) than be single.

Dating is brutal because you learn all your faults pretty quickly, and it can damage your self-esteem. When I would send my picture out to women, and then never hear from them again, I would assume it was because I wasn't attractive enough. One girl I briefly dated in America (a girl originally from Taiwan!), made me feel like I was too poor to be dating her. We went out on two dates, and I thought everything went pretty well. I then get an email from her where she basically dumps me, and the only explanation in the email was because I "didn't drive a Honda." (I was driving a Toyota at the time.) She may have been Taiwanese, but I think years of living in the USA had already done its damage. I can only hope the guy that she's married to now (and she is married now, btw) has a fat wallet.

I also attended a "Speed Dating" dinner once, where you talk to about 30 people for about 3-5 minutes each, then you write down who you liked and who you didn't. If you both write each other's name, you have a chance to hook up for a real date. This was a total waste of money. Obviously, you don't have enough time to know someone, so it's all about appearance. If you don't look like Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie, you're probably not going to get picked. I got an email back shortly after this event saying I "had no matches." I assume everyone I liked didn't like me, and vice versa. It's stupid.

I know three people who are still single over 40. My sister, my co-worker (and friend) Chloe, and my wife's friend (and former teacher) Ingrid (her picture is above). I don't really know Ingrid that well, so I can't really say why she's still single. My sister has a personality that's difficult to appreciate. As she approaches 50 years old, she still acts as if she is 21. 99% of the photos I see of my sister, she is in a bar or pub clutching a large glass of beer. Sometimes she just posts pictures of beer, and nothing else! She would probably do well dating a guy who was a former member of an 80's hair metal-band, like the lead singers of Ratt or Faster Pussycat (or something similar). But...those guys are probably already taken. Chloe, in her 50's, wants to date men who are ten years or more younger than she is, in some cases even 20 years younger. That is completely unrealistic. When I bring up names of people that I know who are older than she is, she is turned off completely, calling them "old men" and "grandpas." I think she, just like my sister, doesn't really accept what her age is, and it freaks them out to know that people in their age group are actually old!

I consider myself lucky to have found love for a second time. After my divorce in 2003, I seriously doubted myself. I didn't think lightning could strike twice. But it can, and it does. If I found myself single again in my 40's or 50's, I couldn't imagine going into the dating world for a third time. I'd probably just remain single and concentrate on being a father to my kids. That's a hard enough job as it is.

(Picture: my wife's single friend, Ingrid, who agreed to let me post her picture here. If any single guys out there are reading this who would like to meet her, email me, and I'll forward your info to her)

"Chinglish" and Language Sensitivity

2012-01-30T18:10:00.000-08:00

The picture above is pretty typical of signs all over Taiwan and China. I took a lot of pictures of signs like this one. I never really understood why the Taiwanese and Chinese governments didn't just hire a bunch of foreigners to proof-read before these were put up, although I think China did start to do that before the Olympics there in 2008. By that point, though, there were literally tens of thousands of "Chinglish" signs in Beijing.

My wife seems to think that they didn't proof-read these signs because "My people always think they are right." In other words, they are too proud to admit their English sucks. Either that, or they don't want to "lose face" to some foreigner who tries to correct their grammar.

Personally, I see no problem with someone correcting my grammar. I sometimes read old blog entries and cringe at some of the mistakes I see, which I then correct. I recently had to look up when you should use "laying on the bed" as opposed to "lying on the bed." So...none of us are perfect. My wife encourages me to correct her whenever she uses "Chinglish."

However, this issue is a very sensitive topic for other people. I had a Taiwanese friend on Facebook who recently wrote about her New Years Resolutions for 2012. Rather than use the word "resolution," she wrote "revolution." I responded by saying "I hope you meant 'resolution' rather than 'revolution'" I then added a little smiley face afterwards..... :) .... which meant I didn't want her to take my comment too seriously. Well, she did take it seriously, and deleted me as her friend! Wow. If she was an actual friend, and not a "Facebook" friend, I might have been upset, but this was someone I barely knew.

I once had my wife talk to a bank manager (in Taiwan) about some bad "Chinglish" on their ATM machine. He acted as if we had just insulted his wife. So, since you never really know who's going to be offended and who isn't, it's better to not say anything at all.

So if any Taiwanese/Chinese are reading this, what do you think? Do you like foreigners to correct your English? Or do you feel insulted? Feel free to comment.

Why Taiwanese Women Like Foreign Men (Part 2)

2012-01-24T07:12:00.000-08:00

About four years ago, I wrote a blog entry called "Why Taiwanese Women Like Foreign Men" and it has since become my most-read entry. I get more questions and comments on this topic (as well as the whole "Hess Vs. Kojen" thing) than anything else. Many have agreed with what I wrote, while others have disagreed quite vehemently.

First off, I'd like to say that what I wrote wasn't entirely my opinion. I had actually done some research on the topic before I wrote that article. I spoke to a small group of women, and I took note of their answers. Not all of the women I talked to were in relationships with foreigners. Some were just students of mine. Those were the answers they gave me. Let me just quickly go over the answers again, and I'll follow up with my own personal comments.

1. Taiwanese women think Americans are rich. I guess the word "rich" is open for interpretation here. Someone who grew up in the Taiwan countryside (like Nantou, where living conditions almost resemble third-world) will probably think a guy with his own one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles is rich.

2. Taiwanese men want their women to be like mothers, not wives. I have no idea if this is true or not. This is just what I was told by some of my Taiwanese students. Obviously this opinion doesn't represent 100% of Taiwanese men.

3. Foreign men are more "honest, open, and fun" than Taiwanese men. Again, see my response to #2. From my experience, it did seem like the men there are extremely repressed.

4. Taiwanese men prefer "mail order brides" from Vietnam, China, etc. I'd be curious to see the actual numbers on this, but it's probably not that high. My wife told me about this, as she has some relatives who have "mail order brides."

5. Taiwanese women want to win the "green card lottery" buy marrying a foreigner and moving to their home state. Judging by the comments I've received from men who marry an Asian woman, only to have her cheat on them after they get their citizenship, this is obviously still true.

6. Taiwanese women think foreigners are more attractive than Taiwanese men. In my original blog entry, this was the part I didn't particularly agree with. However, this is what several Taiwanese women told me. I accept that they're not representative of ALL Taiwanese women.

The comments on that old blog have gotten pretty heated, with some anonymous posters naming specific people who fall into these categories. Even more anonymous posters have suggested I remove comments they thought were "slanderous." There wasn't anything I read that I would consider slander, and as a rule I only delete comments that are "spam." Perhaps if "Anonymous" actually gave his/her real name and provided an impassioned reason why I should delete the comment, then maybe I'd consider it.

(Picture: My other picture of Eva, who I think has become pretty popular by now)

Letters - Dating in Taiwan (Part 2)

2011-12-13T07:17:00.000-08:00

Just received this letter recently, and thought I'd share it here:

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Hi Ken

My questions are personal nature and you maybe not want to answer it.

It has nothing to do with just with me

Here the story:

I meet a taiwan woman,, 28yo, i am 40, this year in october in Europe

she was traveling with another women from taiwan about her age

we got involved into each other and ended up traveling our self, without her friend through

germany and so on for one month and resting in my apartment in switzerland afterwards.

things got rather serious from a love point of view

myself, i have been to many countries in the world, the usa, canada

middle east and of course all over asia. in the past ten years i operated out

of bangkok and went all over the asian area for private trips and so on

so i have some experience with asian woman

however i never encountered a taiwan women. they seem, with underlining seem, to be

different then lets say the thais or japanese AND to some degree, to my surprise, the

chinese

i myself are from switzerland

in switzerland, and probably also in the usa, many women from asia and other places in the

world would like to go and work and live there

there starts my problem with judging the women. and when i came across your blog

i was thinking, lets ask Ken, maybe he has some tips.

how can i make sure, or at least try to access the real nature of interest of a girl

really getting involved with me. the least thing i want is to be a simple sponsor for

somebody to come to europe under a false statement to me.

i know its a difficult question and maybe not answered with one email.

but maybe you can show me some tips and feedbacks you brought back from there to

your place, and maybe you know the differences between taiwanese women and thais and

chinese and japanese and so on, and can give me some inputs

ok, think this is enough for now, i wait for your response

kind regards

phil

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To start off, I can't really tell you the differences between Taiwanese, Chinese, Japanese, and Thais because I haven't dated any Chinese, Japanese, or Thais. Only Taiwanese. I have a reader on my other blog that is married to a Japanese woman, so maybe he can write in and tell you his views on that.

I don't think you can tell the true intent of a girl after only two months (you said you met her in October). I would recommend that you visit her in Taiwan. Meet her family and spend some time with them, learning their culture. There is a 12 year age difference between the two of you, but 40 is still young, so I doubt she sees you as a "sugar daddy." It is possible that she only wants to use you as a sponsor for her green card. That is very possible, since there seems to be a lot of this particular type of woman running around Taiwan.

Take things slowly. If she is asking you to sponsor her after only two months, that is a bad sign. If she really loves you, she won't care where she lives, as long as it's with you.

Good luck

(Pictures: Two Taiwanese girls looking for fun in Kenting.)

No Tolerance For a Conscience

2011-11-05T07:44:00.000-07:00

It happened again. Just over a week after the death of Yue Yue brought international outrage, here is another case just as bad as that one.

A guy driving a BLUE TRUCK (the worst drivers I have ever seen) ran over 5 year old Xiong Maoke. The boy didn't die after being hit, so the driver, Ao Young, REVERSED his truck and ran over him again, this time killing him.

Why in hell did he do that?

"Because it was cheaper than paying for hospital bills." he told police.

All I can do when I read a story such as this is shake my head in disbelief that such behavior occurs in the world. What sort of country makes it a better scenario for someone to commit murder over a traffic accident? What sort of country allows for people to be punished for helping someone else?

China (and Taiwan, to a lesser extent) are backwards countries that need new laws. If people don't want to change, you have to start hitting them where it hurts the most, their wallets. If money is what they love the most, start taking it from them every time they do something that's idiotic on the roads (I sense a small fortune can be made here.)

A guy drives through a red light? Fine him...a lot. A guy makes a left turn from the far right-hand lane? Fine him. Not yielding for pedestrians? Fine him. Speeding...fine him. Hitting someone? Huge fine. Walking past a wounded pedestrian....fine. Make them pay through the nose for their selfish behavior.

How do you catch everyone? Just do what they do here in the US: put a camera at every stoplight. It's gotten to the point now in the US where there is rarely an intersection that doesn't have a camera. I remember once, many years ago, I ran a red light. Suddenly I see this bright FLASH. A camera that I didn't even know was there took my picture. I was caught. I wasn't really the type to run red lights, the light was actually yellow and I thought I could make it (I didn't). Since then, I don't take chances like that anymore. But this is how you get people in line. Make them realize that they will have to pay big money for driving like the selfish assholes that they are.

A Chinese professor recently said there is "No tolerance for a conscience" for the people of China. I guess that would explain why they put poison in their milk, dog food, toys, drywall, etc. Why they cut corners when building schools, allowing them to come crumbling down at the slightest tremor. Life comes in second place next to the almighty dollar.

(Picture: the "Blue Truck." when you see one of these, whether it's in China or Taiwan, get out of the way.)

Taiwanese Brides

2011-10-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

I received this email a few days ago, titled "Taiwanese Brides", and thought I'd share it here, with my response:

Dear Ken,
I've been reading through your blog and I found it a real eye-opener, very interesting, I do hope you get a publisher as I think your posts are worthy of a book.

I am Italian and got involved with an English man married with a Taiwanese woman, he told me he wanted to divorce her because she was too controlling and obsessive, but now he's back in Taiwan for his holidays.. I was heart-broken by the whole experience, hence my online search to find out more about Taiwanese women. I wondered if you had any advice to give to somebody like me, still pining over a man who is clearly still very much married to his Taiwanese woman, despite the fact that he lives in England and she lives in Taiwan (apparently living together didn't work out, they tried both London and Taiwan).

Hope to hear from you.
Valeria

Well Valeria, my blog isn't really meant to be a "Dear Abby" column, but since you wrote, I'll try to give you some advice (and take it with a grain of salt, as I'm not a pro at this.) :)

First of all, and I think any reasonable person will tell you the same thing: DO NOT GET INVOLVED WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE MARRIED. PERIOD. It doesn't matter what the situation might be, it's just the wrong thing to do, and usually ends up bad for both parties involved.

As for the "obsessive and controlling" part, your married boyfriend may have a point there. I obviously can't speak for all Taiwanese women, but many of the women I have known are like that. My wife is no different. She often goes crazy, and we'll get into arguments over things that I think are petty and shallow. When she asks me to do something, she will expect me to do it RIGHT NOW, regardless of whatever else I might be doing. I could be giving CPR to an old woman in the road, but if it's my turn to give the kids a bath, then screw the old lady. Ok, I exaggerate, but you get the idea. I had a friend/colleague at Hess who was married to a Taiwanese woman who once pulled a knife on him (can't remember the reason, but it must have been serious.) He has since divorced her and married another Taiwanese woman.

So, I guess what you want to know is: Why do we love our Taiwanese brides, and keep going back to them, even when they act psycho nuts sometimes?

I think many of us like the cultural differences we have with our Taiwanese wives. We feel like we have something we can learn from each other and that's always an interesting part of the relationship.

For me, I love my Taiwanese wife because she is honest, caring, loyal, dedicated, hard-working, and always puts the needs of the family above her own. She doesn't have a lot of the emotional baggage that many American women that I once dated seem to have. She is totally un-materialistic and couldn't care less about having the latest and greatest gadgets, jewelry, and clothes. I once knew a woman who would spend her entire paycheck on shoes. My wife can go a year on a pair of shoes she bought from Payless.

But...again, that's just me. I'm sure Taiwan (like the US) has plenty of overly-medicated gold diggers out there. Thankfully, though, I didn't marry one.

So..Valeria, move on and find a different, UNMARRIED man. There are lots of fish in the sea, as they say.

Why I'm Glad I Left Taiwan

2011-10-21T11:25:00.000-07:00

(I published this post on my other blog, "From Taiwan to Texas", but I thought I'd re-post it here, since it has relevance.)

I've seen a lot of sick things on the news before, but this about takes the cake. This video literally left my wife in tears. A 2 year girl in China wanders into the street, gets run over by a van (who I'm sure saw her), and over a dozen passers-by fail to help her. Then, to make things even worse, she gets run over by ANOTHER van. It's sick, sad, and it strengthens my disgust over the Chinese selfish attitude of "every man for himself."

This is EXACTLY the reason why I wanted to leave Taiwan. And before any Taiwanese write to me saying "This was in CHINA, not Taiwan." It doesn't matter. I've been to China, and I've been to Taiwan, and you guys drive and act exactly the same. I've stated on my blog a few times that when my daughter was a baby, I was pushing her stroller (in a crosswalk) across a busy intersection in Taiwan and not a single car stopped for us. Nobody gave a shit. My friend David was hit by a car in Taiwan (he was also in a crosswalk, and he was walking with a cane at the time).

You Taiwanese and Chinese really need to look into yourselves and examine your character. I know there are many who are good, decent people, but it's people like this that make the rest of the world feel disgusted with your country. Neither my Taiwanese wife nor I would ever want to raise our kids in such a place as this. To me, this is hell on earth.

WARNING: This video is somewhat graphic.

A Few More Pics From Taiwan, 2011

2011-07-20T06:57:00.001-07:00

My Return to Taiwan 2011

2011-07-18T04:36:00.001-07:00

Just got back from a two week trip back to Taiwan. My first time back in over 3 years. It was a good chance for Sara and Kyle to spend some time with their Taiwanese cousins. These are just some of the pics. There is also a picture of my friend David and his new wife Pi Chi.

More Letters, and Why Does Hess Suck?

2011-05-03T06:35:00.000-07:00

I just received this letter yesterday, so I've decided I'll just start posting them here on the blog and then answering them:

Hi Ken,

Can you please help my fiance and I out? We are struggling to figure out what we should do when it comes to teaching English in Taiwan. We know we want to live in Kaohsiung, and we also don't speakMandarin. We initially were planning on working in Taiwan through HESS but I have heard so many negative things about the company. We also have recently looked into Genius English Institute...are you familiar with them? We both have BA's, but Dan (my fiance) has no English teaching experience. I have a TESOL from a very small organization in Italy.. I'm not sure it would count for much.

Knowing that, what would you recommend? I really appreciate it, and I hate to bother you like this but we are really in a crunch. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Best,
Casey Siemasko

Okay, first of all, are you the same Casey Siemasko who was in Young Guns, Back to the Future, and Three O Clock High? Or do you just happen to share the exact same name? haha

I would recommend you go to the top left-hand corner of this blog and type "Hess" there in the search engine. Every article I wrote about Hess will come up, and most of it is pretty bad. Just last year I wrote a follow up about Hess called "Thoughts On Hess, 3 Years Later" I would strongly advise you read that one too:

http://taiwantotexas.blogspot.com/2010/06/thoughts-on-hess-3-years-later.html

It doesn't matter that your friend doesn't have any teaching experience. As long as you have a BA (in any subject), they will hire you. But you will have to do demonstrations before they hire you. These could range from 5 to 20 minutes, so you had better have something prepared. I wasn't prepared, so I just improvised using magazines, and it worked. My friend who came with me, who was also trying to get hired, did a terrible demonstration, and he bombed badly. So try to put some effort into it.

I don't know a lot about Genius, since I never taught in Kaohsiung, but I looked at their website, and they seem similar to most of the "bushibans" in Taiwan. If you work at a chain school like Genius or Kojen or Eagle, you will probably get paid when you're supposed to, and the school isn't likely get get raided. I've heard some very bad stories from teachers who worked at the smaller, independently run schools.

Don't worry too much about not speaking Mandarin. Most people can at least speak terrible English in the big cities. I wouldn't advise travelling too deep into the countryside though without a Mandarin speaker with you.

Good luck!

The Risks of Teaching Overseas

2011-03-22T07:20:00.000-07:00

"Ignorance and prejudice and fear walk hand in hand." - Neil Peart

I was just reading the story today about the first American casualty in the Japan earthquake/tsunami. 24 year old Taylor Anderson, an ESL teacher in Ishinomaki, was found dead amongst the rubble. The news is pretty tragic, but what is equally tragic are some of the comments I have read from others.

From "Yahoo! comments", one guy who called himself "Elvin Bishop" wrote:

"If she had stayed in America and helped her own race, the Caucasian race, instead of fleeing to Japan to help the slant-eyed Jap / @#$%, she'd still be alive. Too G_o_d d_a_m_n many race traitors among the White race"

George S wrote:

"Stay in your own country and this wouldn't have happened"

Dick Harder (nice name) wrote:

"Just like those hikers in Iran, I have no pity for people that put themselves in foreign lands in harms way."

Although these comments seem to make up the minority, I run into this type of thinking a lot. Are there risks of teaching in a foreign country? Sure.

The biggest risks from teaching in Taiwan doesn't come from tsunamis or earthquakes (although Taiwan does get earthquakes fairly often), but from the freaking traffic! With the exception of the plethora of bad drivers (especially those blue trucks), I always felt pretty safe in Taiwan. There is also the very slight possibility that China could start dropping bombs on Taiwan at any time, but that's probably not going to happen.

Too many people live their lives in fear. I can't tell you how many people thought I was "crazy" to go to Taiwan to teach English. Even my own family advised me against it, with my mom telling me "If you go to Taiwan, I probably won't see you again." It's pretty sad.

If you're thinking about teaching overseas, do it. Forget the racists and the fear mongers, just do it. You only live once, and you won't regret it.

I Get Letters....

2011-03-21T15:49:00.001-07:00

I don't live in Taiwan anymore. I left in May, 2008. But....I still get letters. Quite often, in fact. Some people write just to tell me how much they liked this blog. Others write to complain that I was either too harsh or too nice about a school or a city in Taiwan. Some just have questions.

Here are just some of the letters I've received.

From "Beth":

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Hi Ken,

I came acrossed your old blog from 2008 on teaching in Taiwan. I found it very interesting!! I am actually about to head off to Taiwan in May, and similar to what you went through, I am debating on teaching for either Hess or Kojen. It sounds like Kojen has been the more positive teaching experience for you, and it's more designed for someone who is independent. I know your blog shares a lot of information, but I would like to know more considering Hess/Kojen. I already taught english in Korea from 2008-2009, so I had the experience of teaching abroad, to middle school students (ages 11-14), and there were about 30-40 students to a class, but I was also assisting teachers in their classrooms, and not the one controlling it. I would be curious to know more information from you on regarding Kojen vs. Hess, and about more of your experiences, if you don't mind sharing/telling more. I see that you're back in the states now, are you and your wife planning on going back to Taiwan or just to visit?

Thanks for any help you can offer....

Beth

From "Wayne":

Hi

My name is Wayne and I stumbled across you blog yesterday while trying to get information on Taiwan weddings. I have been digging through and reading parts of your story but there is so much information it might take me a while to find what I really want to know. I am hoping you might take the time to assist me.

I have been dating a woman from Taiwan for some time and due to circumstances it ended up with us both living in the UK for the last 6 months. I want to propose to her and I am certain she will accept but I know her family are very traditional and the marriage customs are very different there. I am fairly certain she will wish to be wed in Taiwan so I kind of want to understand what my obligations are before hand. I have met her family once before (when we started our relationship) and they seemed quite conservative members of the middle class. I have not spent much time in Taiwan as we did not meet there and have just arranged things so that we could be together in various countries. I would welcome any guidance / personal insights you can share in relation to marriage and dealing with in Tai in-laws as a foreigner.

I would also like to congratulate you and Christy on making things work and wish you continued happiness and prosperity.

Wayne

From Julie:

Hi Ken,Today I stumbled upon your "From Taiwan to Texas" blog while Googling Taiwanese superstitions. I have been enjoying reading it, and am surprised by some of the funny, and sometimes eerie, coincidences that my experiences share with yours. My husband is Caucasian and I'm Taiwanese-American, and we can relate to your in-law stories all too well. I've lived in Southern California as well as Taiwan. The weirdest coincidence is that my husband and I also moved to Austin in 2008, and just bought our first house (I wanted to find something in Manor, but we ended up buying in Taylor). I also work in a hospital. So it's been neat for me to read about your journey these last couple of years, and to think, wow, we've been there...and been through that...and been there too. Except we don't have kids yet, so we haven't had to juggle our responsibilities as much.I look forward to reading more about how you and your family are adjusting to life in Texas. Maybe we'll run into each other around town sometime!

Julie

From Merrick:

Ken,

My name is Merrick , and I found a link to your "An American Teacher in Taiwan" blog on the Dave's ESL Cafe forums. I'm not certain whether it was a link given out by you, or if I found the link in a post made by someone else, but, whatever the case may be, I found your blog and I have really enjoyed reading it. It has been both entertaining and enlightening!I recently graduated with a BA in Psychology from California State University, Channel Islands, which is a small State school in Camarillo. I am 31, and though I was born in Kansas, I was raised in Southern California -- Thousand Oaks, in particular -- since I was three. I was browsing through my School's career center and noticed advertisements from various organizations regarding teaching English overseas. Teaching has been a career that I thought would suit me, and these advertisements really piqued my interest. Since then I have been scouring the internet for all the information I can find. This led me to Dave's ESL Cafe and subsequently to your blog.I recognized many parallels between us when I was reading through your blog. Though I am a college graduate now, I still don't entirely know what I want to do with myself and I thought that attempting to teach English overseas would be a good growing experience and that I may, perhaps, find that teaching English is something that I would like to do long-term. Who knows! I'm 31, single, and I have very little debt. I have absolutely /zero/ teaching experience. Teaching in Japan was my first choice, but it seems that it may be more difficult to get on in that country than in others. Teaching in Taiwan had never really crossed my mind until I did more research on the field and saw other posts directing people to include Taiwan in their list of possible countries to teach in. More digging into Taiwan led me to discover Hess. I was/am completely blown away by how professional and polished their website is. Videos, testimonials, savings calculators -- they seem to have it all. Even more digging (including your blog posts) revealed that maybe Hess isn't the best company to work for, and I know that you mentioned in your blog that you would not recommend them to others. Does that still hold true? I've heard others say that Hess may in fact be a decent place to work for the complete newbie who has no experience in the field.I guess I'm just looking for a little guidance, if that is possible. I want to try teaching English overseas for a year, but I have no teaching experience. The fact that Hess claims that they provide a comprehensive training program is very enticing to me considering that I have no experience and I would be deathly afraid to step in front of a class without any.From my research into Hess and other teaching opportunities in Taiwan, it seems that much of the teaching (at least with Hess) is directed towards Kindergarten children. I would certainly not be opposed to teaching children, but then I read that teaching Kindergarten is actually /illegal/ for foreigners to do? After finding that out, even after reading the good and bad about Hess, to say that I was bummed is an understatement. Is it true? On their website, they claim that the prospective teacher's employment will be legal. I'm just so confused now.I guess what I'm really asking is, if you had to do it all over again, with the knowledge that you now have, how would you proceed if you were me and wanted to get started teaching in Taiwan? Would you try your luck with Hess, would you go with someone else? Hess only looks so appealing to me because of their nice website. I've heard good things from people on forums and bad things, but the supposed illegality of teaching Kindergarten has me confused. I would not be opposed to choosing another company so long as they provide a comprehensive training course. I don't want to be dropped in the deep end with no life preserver, so to speak.Forgive me for being so verbose, I know you are busy with your wife, your children, and your work, but I would truly appreciate any advice you have to give.

Sincerely,

Merrick

From Ralph:

Hello Ken,

I've read your blog and found it very interesting. My wife and I recently went to visit
Taipei City and we found, being there was much of a relief from the chaos on the
streets of Manila.

We both are Canadians, living in Manila, Philippines for over two years now.

My wife was originally from the Philippines but moved to Canada in 1981. I am
also a foreigner who moved to Canada in 1977, from Belgium.

As we were in Taipei, we enjoyed that the people there had a lot more discipline
than in the Philippines and the roads are a lot cleaner. We were truly amazed of
the good road infrastucture and the good transportation systen (e.i. MRT).

That was our observation, but as you mentioned, you had also a in parts a different
view of Taiwan. This is understandable. We live in Manila and we saw Taipei, for us,
it was a relief to be away from total chaos.

The city is only a short distance with the plane from Manila and it we were surpised
of the difference of the behaviour and culture between the two countries.

My wife blends into the race there as many people thought that she was a local
of Taiwan, but my wife can not speak Chinese.

She is fluent in English and has been working for the last 25 years with the elderly
in a nursing home in Calgary, Canada, as she was constantly dealing with people
in a verbal way.

We were even thinking of moving to Taipei or Taiwan after we came back here
in the Philippines.

With this e-mail to you, and knowing you have 4 years of experience in the field of
teaching English to students, would my wife (49 years of age, but looks younger
as she is, as she is Asian), be able to find a job as an English teacher in one of the
English Teaching Schools in Taiwan and be qualified?

If she would be qualified, would I be able to join her right away and live there on
a permanent basis, too?

I know, she needs to apply for a certain visa and what kind of visa(s) does she needs?

What kind of visa would I need to join her?

Thanks and regards. Best of things back in the States for you and your family.

Ralph and Aida

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok, so that's all I'm going to print for now. I seem to get a lot of letters wanting to know more about which school is better, Hess or Kojen. Check out my blog entry "Hess Vs. Kojen"

http://kenberglund.blogspot.com/2008/04/hess-vs-kojen.html

There really isn't much more I can add to that than what I already put. For me, Kojen was a much better experience than Hess. Maybe Kojen sucks now, who knows. The economy was much better when I lived in Taiwan, so it's possible that the whole bushiban system has changed. Hopefully someone can write in and let me know.

Thanks again to everyone who wrote!

Link to the New Blog - "From Taiwan to Texas - Life in Mid America"

2008-08-23T08:56:00.000-07:00

I've decided to start a new blog, and if you're interested you can click on the link below:

http://taiwantotexas.blogspot.com/

The Last Blog......For Now

2008-08-16T09:41:00.000-07:00

It's been almost 3 months now since I left Taiwan, and since I am no longer "An American Teacher in Taiwan", I decided it would be best to finally end this blog. I wanted to wait until we had some sort of "closure" in our story, and I think we have it now.

I've been working at my new hospital job in Austin for the last two weeks and all is going well. I still haven't adjusted to waking up at 5 in the morning. As I clock in to work just before 6am, I say to myself: I don't think I can keep this up much longer. I feel like a zombie. I'm so tired. However, by around lunch time, my thoughts have usually changed: Actually, I'm lucky to even have this job. The way the economy is right now, I should be grateful to even have a good job.

Christy is also doing well at her new sales job. The babies are beginning to enjoy going to the daycare center Monday through Friday. It's a good school, and they're learning a lot there. I just wish it wasn't so damn expensive. The biggest expense we have right now is daycare.

I still talk to David pretty regularly through email. I just got another email from him today and he's going on a trip to Thailand this week. He's got a good life in Taiwan, and I doubt he'll ever give that up.

Right now our plan is to go back to Taiwan sometime in late 2009, after both of us have been working for over a year. It will just be for a short visit, maybe a week or so. I doubt I will ever live or work there again, unless things get really, really bad here. It's hard to say right now. My life tends to jump from routine to unpredictable at the drop of a hat.

After so many ups and downs I'm glad our story ends on a positive note. We achieved everything we set out to do. We moved to America, found decent jobs, found a nice apartment, found daycare for the kids, and still have enough left over to live comfortably. In three years, Christy will become an American citizen. After ten years of working here, she'll qualify to receive Social Security benefits when she's 65. She also gets retirement benefits from Taiwan. We've considered spending our retirement years back in Taiwan, since the money we'd be getting would go a lot farther there than it does here in the US, but that's still close to 30 years away, and who knows what's going to happen to the world in that time.

I plan to start a new blog sometime in the near future that will primarily be about Sara and Kyle. I'll post pictures and stories, so that way their family back in Taiwan can still see them grow up.

Thanks to everyone who wrote to me while I was writing this blog, both through my personal email, as well as posts on the blog itself. I'm glad (most) everyone enjoyed it. I only had a couple of negative responses to my blog, but I think those were from my brother and his wife (they posted anonymously, so I can't be sure.) I know it's helped a few people, and that was my intention.

Taiwan isn't for everyone. It has its charms, but it's also very dirty, polluted, overcrowded, confusing, and full of people who are even ruder than New Yorkers. There are also some very nice people there too, and most of the kids I met were really sweet. If I hadn't gone there, I wouldn't have met my wife, and I wouldn't have these two (mostly) great kids. So, at least I can thank Taiwan for that.

The Taiwanese In-Laws

2008-08-09T15:56:00.000-07:00

This weekend my Taiwanese in-laws bought a phone card for the first time. It took them a while to finally figure out how to work a phone card, but now that they've mastered it, they are calling here constantly.

Both of us wake up around 5am Monday through Friday. Saturday is our chance to finally sleep in, and around 7am we get a phone call from Christy's father.

"Hello?" Christy answers, still half-asleep.

"Oh, I'm just calling to check out this new phone card." her father answers, and that's the end of the conversation. The sound of the phone has woken up the kids, so now they're starting to make noise. The sleep we've been waiting for for the last 5 days has been rudely interrupted.

"Can you please tell that man the time difference between America and Taiwan." I instruct Christy. I'm not in a good mood.

He calls back again about 30 minutes later. Now he says that they are going to come out to visit us next year. We don't know when, just that it will be next year sometime.

I don't really mind them coming here, as long as they plan to take care of the kids while they're here. If they stayed for a month, that would save us over $1300. Not a bad sacrifice. Anyone who has read my blog from the beginning know that I have a very bad relationship with my in-laws, and my father-in-law in particular. I think, however, that once they are here in America, on my turf, they will be nicer to me. Of course, I could be wrong, so we'll have to wait and see.

Christy told me that her father would probably love America. She thinks he will be impressed with how easy it is to park your car here. That might seem like a strange thing to like about America, but it's true. In Taiwan, it's extremely difficult to park just about everywhere. Both David and I, even though we had cars in Taiwan, hated to drive, simply because the traffic always sucked and it was hard to park anywhere.

"When he sees how easy it is to park your car here, he won't want to leave." Christy told me.

I hope she's joking.

(Picture: my in-laws house in Nantou)

The New Job Begins, and the Kids Start Daycare

2008-08-07T12:36:00.000-07:00

I've been working at my current job for the last four days. I worked the 2pm to 10:30pm shift for the past three days during my "training period" but as of today I started my regular shift of 6am to 2:30pm. I've got to say, I really do enjoy getting off work at 2:30, but waking up this morning at 5:10 to be at work for 6:00 is going to be rough.

At around 7:00am my body began telling me that it doesn't like my new work schedule. I really felt sick. Imagine going from a life where you can sleep in all day, then work for a few hours at night. It's an easy life. Suddenly you're waking up while it's still dark outside and working an 8 hour shift at a hospital. It's a dramatic change.

"Waking up early can't be that dramatic." my friend Barry told me.

Yeah, he's right. Millions of Americans do it every day, so I really shouldn't whine about it. Either my body will adjust, or I will collapse and die. Regardless, everything will sort itself out soon enough.

I have four weeks of training. The first two weeks being "on the job" training, followed by another two weeks of computer training at another facility in South Austin. Over the last four days I've had two different trainers, both of whom trained very differently from the other, so that hasn't really helped.

Since I started working, the kids have started daycare. Kyle seems to really enjoy it there, but Sara goes into hysterics every time we drop her off. Plus, some unruly boy stabbed Sara in the hand with a pencil the other day. She'll survive, but we have to be really careful since our healthcare benefits don't kick in for another month.

So life is returning to normal for me. Other than the unhealthy hour I have to wake up in the morning, the work isn't much different from what I've done in the past. Taiwan is slowly becoming a distant memory.

(Picture: Sara and Kyle enjoying time at home.)

Publishing Companies (Part 2)

2008-08-05T10:20:00.001-07:00

About a month ago I received an email from "Dorrance Publishing Company" saying they wanted to read my blog in a book form. So I put the blog into an MS word file, made some edits, and emailed it to them. I finally got a response today, and it was exactly what I expected. Here are some excerpts from the letter they sent me:

"We are pleased to have been given the opportunity to promote 'An American Teacher in Taiwan.' The enclosed contract proposes to bring your manuscript into print in our Traditional Subsidy Program."

Okay, so at this point as I'm reading, I'm thinking "Okay, when are they going to hit me up for money....

"When the books are produced we will warehouse the finished books and implement a promotional plan which, in general, includes a publicity campaign (sending news releases and review copies, attempting to schedule radio and TV interviews, autograph signing parties, etc.) and the solicitation of book wholesalers, jobbers, and booksellers. We will fulfill all book orders and be responsible for all shipping and invoicing."

At this point, I'm thinking "There's a catch coming, they can't possibly want to do all this for nothing."

"There are a few spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors scattered throughout the text. We feel that with minimum revision our mechanical-editors could help technically improve the work, with your permission."

Wow, now they're going to correct my errors. How kind of them. So I keep reading, and I finally get down to the fine print of my contract.

"The author agrees to pay Dorrance the sum of $14,600 in consideration of this Agreement as follows: the sum of $5840 to be paid upon this contract's signature by the author. The sum of $5840 to be paid upon Dorrance's submission of the edited manuscript of the said Work to the Author. The sum of $2920 to be paid upon Dorrance's submission of the first set of page proofs to the author."

So they want $14,600. Are these people out of their fucking minds? I've always been told that writers should never have to pay to have their work published. Have things changed? Is the market just full of scams now and nothing is legitimate? Or is this just the way things are now?

I was burned once before a long time ago for around 300 dollars. That was for a publishing company that wanted to promote a screenplay I wrote. I consider that a lesson learned. This company can't possibly expect writers to come up with that kind of money. I mean, I could buy a brand new car for that. I know some people find my blog entertaining, but how many copies of this book would I have to sell to make that kind of money back? Probably a LOT. What I'm writing about is for a very niche market. It's specifically for people who are thinking of going to teach in Taiwan. There is no possible way the book would ever become a #1 best seller. Give me a break.

So there you have it. Would-be writers, avoid Dorrance Publishing Company (located in Pittsburgh), it'll cost you an arm and a leg.

Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather just keep writing for free. Free to me, and free to the people reading.

Final Day of Babysitting - Looking Back on July

2008-07-31T06:24:00.000-07:00

If June was a month of anger, disappointment, and uncertainty, then July was a month of hope, relief, and recovery. On the first day of July, Christy was hired for the sales job that she presently works at. She's still on probation, so anything can happen, but things seem to be going well. By the end of that first week I too was hired, though I wouldn't start till nearly a month later. It really worked out for the best that I didn't start right away, since I've had a lot to do to get us settled into our new apartment, and to find a decent daycare center for the kids.

The kids will start going to the daycare center as of tomorrow, Friday August 1st. I don't have to work tomorrow, but I thought I'd give myself a day off before I go back to work. I don't really have "days off" anymore. From morning till night it's all kids, all the time. If I'm lucky, they might sleep for an hour during the afternoon, but even this has become rare. I tried to watch some t.v. yesterday afternoon, but it didn't last long. The kids woke up, Kyle started crying, and Sara started screaming that she wanted to watch "Cinderella." Oh, the joys of being a parent.

Whereas July was a transitional month into our new life here in Austin, I expect August to be pretty routine. We'll both be working, and the kids will be in daycare.

I'm not really a person who likes routines. There's a song by Judas Priest that often comes to mind that has pretty much described my feelings over the years. It's called "Grinder." Here's some of the lyrics:

Never straight and narrow
I won't keep in time
Tend to burn the arrow out of the line
Been inclined to wander
Off the beaten track
That's where there's thunder and the wind shouts back
Got no use for routine
I shiver at the thought
Open skies are my scene
That's why I won't get caught
As the mighty eagle
I need room to breathe
Witness from the treadmill, I take my leave.

Now I won't say that listening to Judas Priest drove me to leave America and go to Taiwan, but I definitely can relate to those lyrics. I don't really see myself as becoming a suburbanite living in a house with a white picket fence. For a lot of people, including my brother, that's the dream. For me though, it's never held much appeal. I have come to accept the fact that moving around a lot isn't really a good situation for the kids. They need to go to school, make friends, and have some semblance of a life. So Christy and I are going to do our best to give them that.

Christy has asked me once or twice if I wish I were still single and didn't have any kids. Although I had to think about it, I told her no. Everyone I know who is still single complains about it all the time. Sara and Kyle, although they can often be a major pain in the ass, still bring me a lot of happiness. I have no regrets.

(Pictures: Sara and Kyle, July 2008)

Going Back to Work

2008-07-29T09:22:00.000-07:00

So my drug tests and background test came back okay and I officially start work next Monday. I knew everything would be fine, since I've never taken drugs in my life. The closest I came was possibly from a "contact high" at various Pink Floyd concerts that I've been to. When I was 17 years old, I was offered cocaine once by this old guy sitting next to me at Pink Floyd's "Momentary Lapse of Reason" tour at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in 1987. I didn't use it, but that's as close as I got.

This will be my first "real" job since 2003. It's hard for me to count Kojen and Hess as real jobs. I mean, yeah, it was a job. I didn't particularly enjoy playing games with children, and I got paid, so in some sense it was a job. But I never worked for more than 4 hours in a day. My days were always free, and I just worked for a few hours at night. It was a pretty easy life. Now I've got a job that starts at SIX in the morning, until 2:30. It's going to be a tough adjustment, but I think I'll manage.

I've noticed that when I have job interviews, I seem to do better when I just speak honestly and not try to say what the interviewer wants to hear. I remember going to a job interview once back in the 90's. I didn't want the job, I just wanted to practice my job interview skills. I decided to be as brutally honest as possible. I told the interviewer that I hate doing any kind of data entry, and I don't want to do any kind of job where I have to do the same thing over and over. I told him that I get bored easily and I don't like to work for management that is too uptight. Basically I said all the things that you shouldn't say in a job interview.

I thought for sure I wouldn't get that job, nor did I really care. However, as soon as I got home, the phone was ringing, and the company told me that they wanted to hire me. What the hell? I couldn't believe it. I ended up taking the job.

I had a similar interview for the job I start next Monday. Although I wasn't as carefree as that other job, I did speak more honestly and I made it clear to the interviewer what I liked and didn't like. Sure enough, I was hired there too. Before that interview, I had a another interview at a financial company where I said all the "right" things. I had taken notes on the company and I had answers to just about every question that I anticipated would be asked. To me, it seemed like a perfect interview, but I didn't get that job. I think maybe it was because my answers seemed too scripted.

So, if anyone out there would like some tips on how to handle a job interview, I'd say just be yourself and be as honest as possible, even if it means saying something the interviewer may not like. Honesty seems to be better than phoniness.

News From David in Kaohsiung

2008-07-26T15:01:00.000-07:00

Every now and again I get an email from my friend David, who's still living in Taiwan in Kaohsiung City. This is what he had to say lately:

"Things are fast-paced and hectic as always around here. They opened a new Carrefour very close to our apartment. It is a much smaller building than other Carrefours, but large
enough to have the actual store without all the crappy satellite stores and food court. I
have not been there yet but I am curious how long it can possibly last without a food
court. Maybe now when Pi Chi drags me shopping it won't take four hours just to buy
groceries.

You realize Austin is the most liberal city in Texas, don't you? The bumper stickers
there are not indicative of the state as a whole. All the experts expect Texas to go to
McCain. Outside of Austin not many shitkickers and good ol' boys are voting for someone
named Barack Hussein al-Terrorist Obama. Barack Albama backwards is "Am a blakc Arab". You'd have to pry the lever from their cold dead hands.

I feel your pain as far as buying new furniture and appliances goes. My old cell phone
died and I had to get a new one. It's pretty much the same thing."

In case you couldn't tell already, David has a bit of a sarcastic sense of humor. It's also gotten him (and me) in trouble more than once. I remember going to an art show once. The artist came up to us and asked us what we thought of her paintings. David replied "It looked like somebody threw up on a canvas." The artist, shocked upon hearing this, slapped David across the face and walked off. If there is one thing I can always count on from David, it's brutal honesty.

(Picture: David, in Penghu.)

"Where Are You From?"

2008-07-23T07:43:00.000-07:00

Christy is still enjoying her new sales job, but she's beginning to feel a little frustrated that her English isn't as perfect as she would like it to be.

She works for a company that provides anti-virus software to other companies. Her job is to call those other companies and try to get them to renew their software for another year. It's a job that requires her to be talking all the time...in English. She may occasionally have a customer who is Chinese, but that's a rare occasion.

"This is probably the best English class I'll ever have." Christy told me. She's right. What she learns on the job is a hundred times better than any class she could take at Kojen or Hess or Global Village or any of those Taiwan bushibans.

"Yeah, " I agreed "but it's also your job. You're not going to be treated any differently because English isn't your first language."

Christy is no longer "in training." Now she's making calls like everyone else. So far she seems to be doing pretty well, at least on par with all the other new people that work there, and they are all native English speakers. Before they let her start on the phones, she had to complete an online exam at home that was ridiculously hard. I saw the test myself, and even I couldn't really help her with it. She completed it before anyone else in her group.

She's had a few ups and downs while working on the phone. Her biggest problem seems to be pronouncing peoples names. She didn't know the rule that when pronouncing Mexican names that start with "J", it has an "H" sound, such as Jesus or Juan.

"Hello, can I speak to....JOON?" she asked someone whose name was actually Juan.

"Where are you from?" Juan asked her back, clearly annoyed. Christy obviously felt embarrassed.

I've told her that if she has any problems with names she can always call me, although sometimes last names are difficult even for native speakers. And nowadays people like to take common names and pronounce them differently. For example, I knew a girl whose name was "Sharon", but she pronounced it "SHA -RON" The "Ron" part was pronounced like the name "Ronald." Pretty wacky.

"I think either I'm going to get fired, or my English is going to improve a lot." Christy told me recently. I'm hoping it's the latter.

Becoming a Texan

2008-07-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

As of today, I am officially a "Texan", or more specifically, an "Austinite." I now have my Texas driver's license, and our car is now registered and has Texas license plates. It wasn't a particularly easy process. I had to keep going to the same places 2 or 3 times because I didn't have all the necessary paperwork. The DMV, which in Texas they call the "Department of Public Safety" told me I needed my birth certificate to get a drivers license, something I don't remember ever having to provide before. Luckily, I still have it. I think Christy will have a harder time getting her license than I did. The whole process cost us around $250.

This is something I would never have thought possible 10 years ago. I'm a southern Californian, and I've been one for about 34 years. But something has happened in California in the past 10 years. It's not the same place I grew up in anymore. Southern California has become much more "elitist", just like it's eastern counterpart, New York City. If you want to live comfortably, and in a good neighborhood, you have to make a LOT of money. It's not really worth it anymore. California also has the worst traffic congestion I have ever seen. The 405 and 91 freeways are monsters. Every year, when I would come back from Taiwan for Christmas vacation, I would have to deal with these hellish freeways.

"Oh yeah, this was the reason why I wanted to leave L.A." I reminded myself. Here in Austin, I've seen traffic congestion, particularly on the I-35, but it's never been nearly as bad as what I had experienced in L.A.

So what does it mean to become a "Texan"? I'm not sure. I have no intention of buying a gun or wearing a cowboy hat or eating a lot of bar-b-que, or riding a mechanical bull on the weekend. That's not me, nor will it ever be me. I don't think most Austinites are into that either (except maybe the bar-b-que.) Most of the people Christy and I have met here so far aren't even originally from Texas. This city seems to made up of people from all over the U.S. (and other parts of the world). So basically, we fit right in.

(Pictures: The Texas "Department of Public Safety")

"Do You Miss Taiwan?"

2008-07-18T06:43:00.000-07:00

Now that we finally have a decent kitchen to cook in, Christy has started to cook more traditional Chinese food lately. Her Kung Pao chicken is still as great as always, and I even bought chopsticks the other day to help ease her transition to American life. It turns out it wasn't really necessary.

"Do you miss Taiwan?" I asked her the other day while we were eating.
"Not really," she replied. "I just miss my family."

Christy sees many aspects of America as the way Taiwan should be. Cleaner, friendlier, and offices that are run far more efficiently.

Friendlier? Are American people really more friendly than Taiwanese people? Taiwanese people, after all, are supposed to be well known for their friendliness. Shortly after we moved into our new apartment, our next door neighbor came over to introduce herself to us.

"This would never happen in Taiwan." Christy told me. "The neighbors never want to know you. They won't even talk to you."

She also mentions the view that we have from our windows. To me, it's really nothing special. You can see grass, several trees, and other apartments. It's a typical American apartment complex.

"I've never had a view this nice before." she told me, and having lived with her the past four years, I know what she is talking about. In Hsinchu, we had a view of a parking lot. In Taichung, we had a view of many dirty buildings, some of which I photographed for a previous blog.

"The big cities in Taiwan are just not pretty at all. If you want to have a view like this in Taiwan, you have to either live in the countryside or pay a lot of money for the most expensive apartments." she said.

I think most Americans take their lives for granted. They don't know how good it is here compared to other countries. I occasionally talk to my ex-wife, Amber. She often complains about how terrible her life is, and how she would love to leave America. I told her to try going to Taiwan for awhile to teach English.

"Go live overseas for a year or so. It'll clear your head, and when you come back you'll have a whole new appreciation on life." I wrote to her in an email. I also pointed out at how cheaply she could live in Taiwan, but she seems to prefer Russia or Spain. I don't think she realizes that those two countries would be far more expensive than Taiwan, and finding a job may be a lot harder. I could almost guarantee she could find a job easily in Taiwan. She can speak English, and she's female. For many Taiwan schools, that's good enough.

Christy hasn't yet asked me if I miss Taiwan. I think she knows the answer. At this point in time, the answer is no. Yes, I enjoyed living in a three bedroom apartment for the equivalent of $300 US dollars. I enjoyed having a relatively easy work schedule. However, I knew there was no way I could teach kids forever. Even if there was no age discrimination in Taiwan (which there is), I was really starting to get burned out on playing "Super Pig" and dealing with unruly children every day. I have to deal with unruly children at home, so having to do that at work as well is a little too much.

When I first started teaching, I wasn't very good. I sucked, actually. But by the end of my four years I had developed into a pretty good teacher. Most of the time I had a very strong passion for teaching, and I enjoyed it a lot. But the passion was beginning to fade and the work was just starting to become a job for me. Just a way to pay bills. Once it gets to that point, it's time to get out. It's better to be remembered as a good or great teacher, than a bad or mediocre one.

(Picture: This is the view from our apartment window. Nothing special, really, but Christy likes it.)

Helping the Economy

2008-07-15T06:07:00.000-07:00

I received something in the mail yesterday that really took me by surprise: an economic stimulus check from the government for $300.

I realize that just about every American who has paid taxes was going to get one, but I haven't actually paid any taxes for the last four years. I still filed a return, but all my earnings in Taiwan were exempt from taxes. I'm still waiting to get my final rebate check from Taiwan on the taxes I paid there. Most foreigners working in Taiwan get almost all of their tax money back.

I was pretty lucky to have even received the money at all. The address on the check was for my brothers house, but I had just recently submitted a "change of address" form to the post office. Since my brother isn't talking to me anymore, he is not notifying me of any mail that I have received. I assume he is just throwing everything away that has my name on it, even if it's something really important, like DMV records, Auto Club membership cards, or even checks. Luckily this check arrived after the post office started to forward my mail.

So what do I do with this $300? And actually I thought it was supposed to be $600 for single income filers? It's too bad they didn't do this next year, when I can claim a wife and two kids. I guess I'm supposed to use the money to help the sagging American economy. I think I've already helped enough since we've been here. We've bought a couch, a TV, a computer, a dining table and chairs, kitchen supplies, bathroom supplies, and everything else you can think of that an empty apartment would need. I've helped the economy a LOT. When we moved in, we were able to carry everything in our car. Now if we move again, we're going to need a U-Haul truck.

This is the second time that Dubya has sent us free money. I remember getting a check back when he first became president. It almost seems like he's trying to buy his popularity back. It's not going to work.

I think Barack Obama is going to win the election this year. Here in Texas, in Bush's home state, I have seen more anti-Bush bumper stickers and signs and more pro-Democrat/Obama signs than any other state I have traveled in this year. I even saw one pickup truck yesterday that had an old sticker which said "Support the GOP." Just above that sticker, however, was another one which said "Obama 08". If Texas is turning against the Republican party, then there is no hope for them this year.

Three Weeks With the Kids

2008-07-14T06:38:00.000-07:00

Today I have to go back to complete my "pre-employment" medical exams. I took my drug tests last week, now I have to find out if I have tuberculosis. I'm pretty sure I don't have tuberculosis. They told me that if I did, I would have some red mark on my arm where they started the test. There's nothing there, but I need to go back anyway so they can see that there's nothing there. Actually, if there was anything physically wrong with me, I think they would have found it in Taiwan. I had to get checked out in Taiwan every year, and sometimes even more than once a year. Taiwan doesn't want any sick foreigners living in their country. America is the same way. Christy had to have a pretty extensive medical exam before they issued her a green card.

Now, assuming everything is fine with my health exam, I will start work in exactly 3 weeks. Since Christy is now working, this means I am stuck watching the kids for the next three weeks. I watched them last week as well, and I can tell you, anyone who tells you that being a full-time parent is not a job doesn't have kids. They have no idea.

A few years ago I took some time off to raise Sara. I wouldn't say it was easy, but it was definitely easier than taking care of two. When I was watching Sara, she could walk, so I would often take her out places and I was able to focus all my attention on her. With Kyle thrown into the mix, it gets a little more complicated. I have to find a balance where I can watch both of them and try to give them equal time. That's not easy. If I start to pay more attention to Kyle, then Sara will start to go crazy and start demanding things. Once I direct my attention to Sara, then Kyle will start crawling around looking for things to put in his mouth. Sometimes I feel like the only way to keep Kyle safe from all the potential dangers in the apartment is by putting him back in his crib. However, once I put him in the crib, he will start screaming his head off. It's a no-win situation. Either I let him crawl around looking for ways to either damage the apartment or himself, or I let him scream in his crib. It's frustrating.

I have to admit that I'm looking forward to putting the kids into daycare and starting work. I don't feel totally comfortable with my parenting skills when I'm alone with them. I really need Christy to be here too. Also, I think they'll have a lot more fun in daycare. I checked the place out last week and they have lots of activities for the kids. Sara started to cry when we left the daycare center the last time, so I know she will enjoy herself. I just wish it wasn't so damn expensive. $1400 a month for the two kids. Insane. Even though I don't really get along that well with Christy's mother, I wish she was here right now.

So now, for the next three weeks at least, I'm in the role of full-time dad again. I hope I have the energy to handle it.

(Picture: Kyle in the bedroom, eating watermelon.)

Adapting to Life in Austin

2008-07-12T07:43:00.001-07:00

We've been living in Austin now for about a month and a half. Now, however, it no longer feels like we are just guests or tourists here. We have both found jobs, and we have an apartment. Now we actually live here.

Our apartment is nice, but a little small. When we got the apartment, only Christy had a job, so we had to get something that we could afford if we had to live on only one salary. The rule here is that your salary must be three times your rent. So, for example, if one of us was interviewing for a job that paid $13 an hour, we would calculate it this way.

13 X 8 = $104 per day
104 X 5 = $520 per week
520 X 52 = $27040 a year
27040 / 12 = $2253 a month
$2253 / 3 = $751

So, $751 would now be the limit for our apartment rent. If the pay was $12 per hour, our apartment rent limit would be $693. And so on. Thankfully, in Austin you can actually get a decent apartment for this price. In Los Angeles, you'd be lucky to find anything in this price range. You might be able to find a one bedroom at this price in one of the worst parts of the city. I used to live in Downey (not one of the greatest cities in L.A.), and a one bedroom there was going for $1200 a month. It's no wonder that Californians are flocking to Austin.

We're paying $675 for our one-bedroom apartment here. We've converted the dining-room area into the kids room, and we set up a small dining table in the corner of the living room. It's not an ideal situation, but it works for now. Since we both have jobs now, we'll upgrade to a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment once our 1 year lease expires. Luckily the kids are still babies, so they can't complain about not having their own room yet.

Since we haven't been here that long, it's hard to rate Austin as a city. The locals seem to really love living here, so there must be something. I just haven't seen it yet. One of the most famous parts of Austin is downtown "6th Street." This is the spot where you can catch all the live bands. Austin is known as "The Live Music Capital of the World." I've been down there a few times but haven't really had a chance to check it out. With two kids, you have to consider the things that they would enjoy. So, for now, unless we can find a babysitter, going to a live concert is not something that we'll be doing anytime soon.

If I have one major gripe about living here, it's the heat. I think the temperature has been over 100 degrees every single day that we've been here so far, and this is only July. I expect it's going to stay this hot for at least the next few months. It's really unbearable and limits our outdoor activities that we'd like to do with the kids, like going to the zoo or the park. When we're in our apartment, we have to have the air conditioning on all the time. We only give it a break at night, and then we've got fans blowing all night. It's rough.

(Pictures: 1. and 2. Views of our new apartment. 3. The pool at our apartment complex. 4. Kyle in the living room.)

Things Getting Better

2008-07-11T13:43:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, July 9th, I finally got a job here in Austin. It's the hospital job I had mentioned in a previous blog. Yesterday I had a "pre-employment" drug screening and TB test. I also need to get immunized for Hepatitis B again. I never finished the series of 3 shots before I left for Taiwan, so now I need to start over.

After waiting a week to get back online, the guy from Time Warner Cable finally showed up today, so now my blogs will continue, but probably not on a daily basis like before. There just isn't as much drama as there has been these past few months, and I don't really want my blog to turn into something where I'm writing about what I ate for breakfast or the dream I had the other night.

I begin my new job on August 4th, so I've been looking into daycare centers for the kids. We finally found one, and it's going to cost us $1400 a month for the two kids. It's a lot, but with both of us working, we'll be able to manage it. Had we lived in California, I'm not sure we would have made it, but luckily rent here in Austin isn't that expensive.

I promised some new photos and I'm planning on putting them up tomorrow. It's good to finally be back online.

Starting Over

2008-07-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

Last night the kids experienced their first 4th of July in America. We went downtown and watched the big fireworks display, accompanied by the Austin Symphony Orchestra. (I'll have pictures once we finally have the internet set up in our apartment.) It was fun, and we we're finally at a point where we can just relax and enjoy ourselves.

It's amazing how much money we're burning through just starting over in a new apartment. We have no furniture. We only came with suitcases full of clothes and other miscellaneous crap. We've already bought a bed, a TV, stuff for the bathroom and kitchen, and we've easily spent over a thousand dollars already. We still need a sofa, a dinner table, chairs, end tables, lamps, etc. We have cell phones now, but we still need to set up internet and cable service. We have electricity, but I was told by the Austin power company that our first bill will have a $200 deposit charge on it. What the hell?? Had we not sold our car in Taiwan, we'd probably be broke by now.

Christy seems to be enjoying her new job. She now seems grateful that the other job at Wifi-link didn't work out.

"If I had worked at Wifi-link, I would rarely have a chance to speak English, and Lilliane would have treated me like crap the entire time." Christy said.

I thought about that, and she's right. The office at Wifi-link was very small, and it would have been just the two of them working together all day, five days a week. I could easily see Lilliane assigning Christy to do demeaning tasks that weren't part of her job assignment: cleaning toilets, picking up after her dog, washing windows, etc. I think Christy would have been miserable had she worked there. Sometimes bad things happen for good reasons.

(Pictures: coming soon)

Breakthrough

2008-07-02T10:37:00.000-07:00

On July 1st, 2008, Christy finally got a job. On the same day, we also got an apartment. For now, things seem to be looking up.

It looked as though Christy would be going with the department store job. She had already gone through six interviews with them and it was just a matter of time before they hired her. Instead, she had an interview for a sales position at a pretty big company on Monday, and they told her to start the next morning. It was very fast.

My only concern about this position is that, like most sales jobs, she is expected to meet a certain sales quota, and she's on probation for the first 90 days. I'm sure she will do a good job, but there is still the lingering possibility that she could be out of work after the 90 days. But that time allows me to find a decent daycare center for the babies, and pursue my work options as well. I think, in the slight chance it doesn't work out for her, I will have already found a job by the time her 90 days is up.

We decided to get an apartment close to where Christy works, so we found one that's only about 5 minutes away. She could walk to work, or even ride a bike if she wanted. The apartment is small, but sufficient. After a year I'm sure we will need something bigger. Unlike apartments in Taiwan, the apartment is not furnished. We will have to buy all new furniture. Bed, sofa, TV, dining table, chairs, etc. A large chunk of our budget is going to be going to this stuff.

June didn't seem to be a very good month for us, but July is starting off pretty good.

Looking Back on the Past Month

2008-06-30T16:05:00.000-07:00

Today is June 30th. We arrived in Austin exactly one month ago, May 30th, 2008. A lot has happened in the past month, and some progress has been made, but we still face an uncertain future.

Of all the places that Christy has had an interview, only one place has actually said "no." That was for the "shoe store manager" job. She had to take a "personality survey" to be considered for the job, and she was told that she didn't pass it. This was not a test of her skills, but rather just a series of questions like "What would you do if saw someone stealing?" or "Do you prefer a job with many different tasks, or a routine job?" These questions were then followed by multiple choice answers.

Of course, my question to Christy was "How could you fail a personality test? That seems like a hard thing to do." She couldn't understand it either, but she did admit that she didn't answer every question. Not because she didn't understand the question, but because she didn't always like the answers given. Oh well. Not a great loss in my opinion.

Every other job she's being considered for (and right now there are about 5 of them) are inexplicably on hold for whatever reason you could think of. Either she has to have another interview with another boss, and the boss of that boss, and his son, and his mother, etc. etc. etc. Or the application is "pending", or someone is supposed to call her back (which they never do). Or the budget needs to be approved. It's always something.

What I find odd are these jobs that tell us "We need someone to start right away." This has happened a few times. Then, after the interview, the job is on hold. Why tell someone you need them to start right away if you don't? At least my potential job was up front with me and said the earliest I could start was in August. Honesty is always better, even if it's bad news.

We've looked at tons of different apartments, always wondering when we're going to actually be able to move in. I looked at another one today that was very nice and not very expensive. We could move in right away, if only one of us had an offer letter. The ever-elusive offer letter. Once we have one, we'll be free of the hotel scene.

In looking back, I have to think about that Taiwanese woman whom I met a month ago, Lilliane Salazar. Although in the end we will probably not end up suing her and her company, Wifi-link, I will never forget just how truly wicked she was. She's really the only one to blame for turning our lives upside down. Had she just been a halfway decent person, we'd be living comfortably in our own apartment right now, rather than trying to survive on a tight budget in a studio motel.

I believe in karma, that when you do something bad to someone, something bad will happen to you. For Lilliane, I can only imagine what might await her in the future. Someone like her is probably mean to everyone she meets, so she's probably built up a lot of bad karma during her life.

It's a short week this week, since Friday is Independence Day. We've got three more days to try to get an answer from someone. We still have hope.

On to the Next Hotel

2008-06-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

We've just arrived at our next Extended Stay hotel, Studio 6. It's just as small as our last hotel, but I like this one better. Not only is the kitchen bigger, with a full size refrigerator, but it also has a bathtub (the other hotel only had a shower, and it's hard giving the kids a bath in a shower.) Although the best thing about this hotel is that it's over a hundred dollars cheaper per week than the last hotel.

Our plan was to head back to California this weekend, but we decided to give it one more week since Christy seems to be inches away from getting the department store job. This afternoon she had what we hoped would be the last interview. We were wrong. She now has to have a SIXTH interview by phone on Monday.

Can you believe this? Six interviews for a department store job that will likely pay less than 10 dollars an hour? I wonder how many interviews it takes to get hired to work for the C.I.A.

"Why do you need another interview?" I asked Christy. It seems the first four interviews were with the department store managers, and the second two were with the vendors of the product that she would be selling. It seems excessive, but I guess when you have an economy that's currently in the toilet, employers are being much more picky.

So, we're here for yet another week in boiling-hot Austin, Texas.

(Pictures: 1. & 2 - The Studio 6 Extended Stay Hotel. 3. Sara exploring the new kitchen.)

We're Movin' Out

2008-06-26T15:21:00.000-07:00

Christy and I are moving out of the Extended Stay America hotel on Saturday. It's costing us $410.00 a week to stay here, and we recently discovered the "Studio 6" Extended Stay chain. Their weekly rate is $268. So, it doesn't really make sense for us to pay around $140 more per week to stay someplace that isn't all that great to being with. They don't even have a pool here.

"Studio 6" is a branch of "Motel 6", except that the rooms are designed for extended stay, meaning they will have kitchens. So it won't really be that much different from where we currently are, except cheaper, and that's the whole point.

I've only made a reservation for a week, because I believe that's all the remaining time we need. Christy has about three different job offers right now, and it's all a matter of picking the right one and the one she feels is going to be the best fit for our situation. Her first option is the "Department Store" job. This is just a basic sales job in the cosmetics department. The pay isn't that great, but she would get 3% commission on everything she sells. The second job is an "office job" where the pay is decent, but the location is kind of crappy. It's at the very south end of Austin, and there doesn't seem to be anything in the surrounding area. It's just miles of open fields everywhere. To go to the store would require us to drive about 20 minutes. Actually it kind of reminded me of Murrieta, California. In Murrieta, you have to get onto the 15 freeway if you just want to go to a restaurant for dinner. The third job is a "manager-in-training" job for a well-known shoe store chain.

I had an interview today at an Austin hospital. It went well, and it looks as though I may get hired, but the job wouldn't start until August. It's a long time to have to wait, but if Christy begins her job soon, that will get us out of the predicament that we are currently in. Our #1 goal right now is to get an apartment. Once that happens, everything else will slowly fall into place.

Of course, there is always the possibility that everything could go wrong. There have already been numerous times when a job was right within our grasp but it somehow fell through. We're still at the point where nothing is 100% guaranteed, but things are looking up.

Just one more week in these hotels. That's all I think it's going to take.

(Picture: the back of the "Hooters" restaurant that's in front of our hotel. Note the sign which reads "Smile! Your on camera." Did Taiwanese people write that sign??"

"The Light Was Brighter..."

2008-06-24T17:49:00.000-07:00

This is our fourth week in Austin, Texas. This is also the busiest week in terms of interviews and job prospects.

Now Christy has two very good job prospects, and the one that happened today was unexpected.

Both Christy and I are always getting emails from "recruiters," people who get paid to find jobs for other people. We get them so often that whenever we open our email and we see 6 or 7 new messages, we just say "Oh, it's probably all recruiters." Usually, it is.

This morning, Christy had an interview to meet someone that she thought was a recruiter. The appointment was for 10am, and it was in South Austin. We are currently in North Austin, so it's a bit of a drive to get down to the southern end. We had planned to leave about 9:00am to make sure we had plenty of time to get there, but our enthusiam to talking to yet another recruiter wasn't that high, so we actually didn't leave until close to 9:30.

"It's just a recruiter." I told Christy. "It's okay if you get there right at 10. It's only for real job interviews that you should be there ten minutes early."

We still managed to get there with plenty of time left, and I noticed the office didn't look like a job agency.

"Are you sure this is a recruiter? This looks like an actual office with a real job. Not a recruiter." I said to Christy. Sure enough, I was right. She was going to be interviewed for an actual job.

She came out about an hour later, and she looked confident.

"This interview was for a real job. A sales job, and it's very similar to what I used to do in Taiwan." Christy said.

She had spoken to three people in that one interview, and now she only needs to talk to one more person tomorrow (Wednesday) to find out if she has the job or not. She also has her third interview at the department store in the morning as well, which I advised her to still go to, even though she prefers the office job. As they say, "don't put all your eggs in one basket."

This office seems much more efficient than the department store in terms of timing. It will probably take about 3 weeks for Christy to have completed her 5 different interviews at the department store. The office job will take a total of two days. At this point, the first place that says "You're hired." is the winner.

I have my interview on Thursday. The best case scenario, obviously, is that we both get hired this week. I'm not really expecting that, but it would be nice. What is likely to happen is that, after I have my interview, I will have to wait for either an answer, or no answer. It seems there isn't any company these days that will give you an answer after only one interview.

Anyway, the chances of us getting out of this dreadful hotel are getting better and better.

Light at the End of a Long Tunnel

2008-06-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a good chance that Christy has found a job. It's not a great job, but it's a start, and a start is all we need right now. It looks like she may be working in sales for a major department store. The only problem is that this particular department store requires her to go through 5 (!) different interviews. So far, she has successfully passed two of the five interviews. The next interview is set for Wednesday morning.

I couldn't believe it when she told me that she had three more interviews to go.

"Three more? This is just a department store, it's not Dell Computers." I said to her. I don't think I've ever had a job that required me to go through five interviews. Sometimes two, or three at the most. Five seems excessive.

As for my job search, I've been getting replies from places that don't seem very reputable. One company was trying to recruit me to be an "Entry Level Ninja" (I kid you not.) Obviously they were just trying to be funny. It was a sales company that wanted me to travel from place to place trying to sell their products. Their ad stated "compensation based on performance" so I assume that means I will only get paid if I sell stuff. Screw that. Sales is not my strong suit, that's Christy's line of work, not mine. I also have another interview on Thursday at a local hospital, so there's still a chance that things might turn out well here. Again, we'll have to wait and see.

My friend Barry in San Francisco sent me an online message today which said "People in Texas generally hate Californians. Every other state is okay, just California."

I've actually had these same thoughts for quite a while, but Austin isn't really like the rest of Texas. I recently went to the local DMV here in Austin, and I saw a huge protest against George W. Bush. People were holding signs which read "Let's try to drop gas prices down to Bush's IQ level." There were also protesters trying to get people to sign a petition to impeach Bush.

I was pretty surprised by all this. I've also seen a lot of "Vote for Obama" signs on peoples lawns. I thought Texans loved George W. Bush. Apparently a lot of people in Austin don't.

The Taiwan High Speed Rail

2008-06-22T12:14:00.001-07:00

If there is one thing that Taiwan can feel proud about, it's their new High Speed Rail (THSR). It's fast, clean, efficient, and not too expensive, and on every occasion that I had a chance to ride it, it was never late. It was when I was riding this that I realized just how small Taiwan really is.

You can go from the Northern point of Taiwan (Taipei) to the Southern point (Kaohsiung) in about 90 minutes. This is if you opt to take the fastest train that only makes one stop in central Taiwan (Taichung). Along the way from the North to the South, you can get a great view of much of Taiwan, particular the rice fields that dot the landscape (and there are many of them).

There have been a few mishaps here and there. By the time it actually opened to the public, it was about a year late. When you bought your ticket using the automated machines, it would only give you back your change in coins. So if your ticket was NT 1,100 and you paid 2,000, it would give you 900 in coins. Often it would sound like you were in a Las Vegas casino. They seem to have finally worked out all the kinks now.

The last time I rode the HSR, I took a video just to show you how fast it actually goes, and some of the landscape you will see on the way.

(Pictures: The Taiwan High Speed Rail and the HSR Station. Video below: footage from the train.)

Jerry Yen and the Days of the BBS

2008-06-21T18:02:00.001-07:00

I've mentioned Jerry Yen numerous times in these blogs but I just realized that I haven't yet dedicated a blog entirely to him. So.....here it is:

I met Jerry around 1989-1990. There wasn't really much of an internet back then. We were both on a BBS (Bulletin Board System) called "Clockwork Orange." It was basically just a black screen with a lot of text on it, mostly just messages that people left to each other in a public forum. There were only four lines, so only four people could be on the BBS at one time, but those four could chat with each other if they wanted to.

Jerry went by the screenname "Greyhawk" and I went by the screenname "Pink Floyd." Everyone had some sort of strange name back then. I actually had more than one screenname, most notably "Sea Biscuit." I used "Sea Biscuit" when I wanted to write outrageous statements or say crazy things to other people that were online. Yeah, it was immature, but I was 19, so what can I say?

The first time I met Jerry was when many of the users of "Clockwork Orange" got together for a party. This was the first party I ever went to that was entirely made up of "computer people." The hosts of the party were two morbidly obese women. They were flirting with everyone, including me. There were a lot of people at the party who fit the stereotype of "computer geek." There were "Dungeons and Dragons" aficionados there; people who called themselves names such as "Lord Soth," "Gandalf," "The Mage," "Poppinjay," "Jester," "Dances With Coyotes," etc. I think the reason that Jerry and I started talking to each other was because we both seemed like the more "normal" people there. I guess we both were curious as to who these people were that we had been talking to for so long.

Jerry was the first Taiwanese person I had ever known. I would never have realized that Taiwan and Taiwanese people would soon be such a big part of my life. I remember a few days before I left for Taiwan, he took me to the local Chinatown in his neighborhood. We went to a supermarket called "Ranch 99" and he showed me all the things that Taiwanese people eat. He explained their customs, and he told me what to expect when I arrived. I even tried to practice speaking some Chinese to him before I left, but the only words I knew then were "Ni Hao" (Hello).

Jerry has been around for almost every major event in my life. The first time I ever got married, he was there.

"Dude, you're too young to get married." he told me. I was 21 at the time, and yeah, he was right.

Jerry came to visit me in Taiwan when both Sara and Kyle were born. He let me stay at his house during the Christmas season 3 out of 4 times. He even picked me up at the airport when I couldn't get anyone in my own family to do it. When Christy and I try to return the favor, by offering to buy him dinner, or buying him a gift, he usually refuses, saying "You're the one with two kids. You need the money more than I do." As a friend, you really couldn't do much better.

I've asked Jerry if he ever wants to go back to Taiwan. His reply was,
"And do what? Open a bushiban?"

I don't think he'll ever go back.

One More Week To Go

2008-06-20T15:13:00.000-07:00

We're at the end of our third week in Austin, Texas. Still no job yet for either of us. We decided to give it one more week, and then we're going to head back to California. If we were really sure that something was going to develop here, we might stay a little longer, but right now there isn't anything that seems guaranteed.

I could be wrong, but I get the feeling that there may be a bias here against Californians who want to relocate to Austin. I think maybe when they check my resume and see that I'm from California, they feel reluctant to respond. Why hire someone from California when there are plenty of local Texans here willing to take the job? I like Austin, and I don't really want to leave, but we can't continue like this for much longer.

I went to Apple One employment agency about three weeks ago. In California, I always had a positive experience with them. Whenever I was out of work, they always managed to find me something within a week. The Apple One branch in Austin, however, hasn't offered me anything, not even a temporary assignment. Maybe it's just the economy right now, who knows?

I told Christy to start expanding her job search beyond the borders of Austin. I told her to go ahead and apply in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, etc. Basically anywhere that we can drive to within a few hours. By the end of next week, if she doesn't have any responses, I will tell her to start applying in California.

Of course, our biggest problem with California is: where to stay? My brother's house is out of the question. Even if he and I got along, his house is about two hours away from the civilized world. To drive back and forth from Murrieta to Long Beach, or Los Angeles, would run up our gas bill to astronomical levels. There's always Extended Stay America again, but in California it costs $100 a day, not $50 like in Austin. There is, of course, Jerry Yen, the one who has helped us out the most over the years. When my brother and his wife refused to let me stay with them, he has always offered to let us stay there. His help has been invaluable. I'm sure he isn't particularly thrilled with the idea of us freeloading at his place again, but recently we introduced him to a Taiwanese girl that he seems to be hitting-it-off with. If things work out with that girl, then maybe Jerry wouldn't mind if we stay with him for a short time. Right Jerry? :)

To not have a home and have to rely on the kindness of others is not something we planned. It's just something that happened. Who knew that the office manager at Christy's job would be the incarnation of Satan? Who knew we would be stuck in a hotel for nearly a month? Who knew that every promising job would be held up in management limbo? With our luck, we'll be back in California by the time these jobs respond to us. I think there are forces conspiring against us to leave Austin. I wish that wasn't the case, but it sure seems like it.

Interviews (Part 2)

2008-06-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

Both Christy and I have had interviews this week. Both of us are still waiting for answers.

Last week I had an interview with a health insurance company. It was my first American interview in over 10 years, and as I had mentioned in a previous blog, I didn't think it went that well. I assume that is the reason why they didn't get back to me.

I had another interview on Wednesday. The first of what I'm told could be "three or four interviews." At the end of the interview, I was told I would be contacted in "three to five business days" to see if I could move on to the second interview. This is for a pretty decent job at a very high-class financial company, so I can understand why they want to take their time. I think I did better this time. I was able to answer every question reasonably well, and I had questions for them once the interviewer was finished with me. But, you never really know with these things.

Christy, on the other hand, hasn't been turned down by anyone. She's got three different employers who seem to like her and want to hire her, but for some reason her applications are stuck in management limbo. In one case, it's all about getting the accounting department to approve the budget for the job. In another case, it's about a manager getting around to approving a new hire.

I feel pretty confident that something will happen sometime. If we were actually making some money during all this waiting, I wouldn't mind so much. I've made some money here and there selling dvd's, both in stores and on Ebay, but that doesn't amount to much. I think you can see how this can be frustrating.

Christy told me she doesn't want to call her mother again until we've got our own apartment. Every time she calls, her mother just gets worried and wants us to get on a plane and head back to Taiwan. It's kind of funny because my mom said the exact same thing to me when I called her after I first moved to Taiwan. I took me about a month to get hired at Hess, and my mom kept telling me to come home every time I called her. I think mothers are alike no matter where they're from.

We spend a lot of time in our hotel room. We're emailing resumes, making phone calls, searching the web for jobs. The kids seem to accept this place as their home now. Thankfully they're too little to complain. Sara, who used to push and hit Kyle all the time, is beginning to bond with him. Now they're playing together all the time. It's very sweet. Sometimes they really cheer us up at the end of a bad day.

(Pictures: 1. Christy playing with the kids. 2. Kyle and Sara.)

Publishing Companies

2008-06-18T19:17:00.001-07:00

If you go back to my very first blog, I mentioned that this blog originally started as a book. I wanted to write a book about a foreigner living and working, getting married, and raising two kids in Taiwan. As far as I knew, there weren't a lot of books on this subject. The only book I'm aware of that even covers some of what I have written about is one that's called "Culture Shock - Taiwan." It probably didn't sell that well, and I have no delusions that even if I had a book published, I would make any money.

There is one publishing company that did express some interest in publishing my blog into a book. The name is Dorrance Publishing Co, located in Pittsburgh. They recently sent me a letter, which read, in part:

"When you send us your manuscript, we will go over it and get back to you within 21-30 days with our response. There is no cost or obligation for this service."

So, I put a large portion of my blog into an MS word file, edited and re-wrote parts of it, and emailed it to them. I assume they will get back to me eventually.

Do I feel excited about this? Actually, I feel indifferent. I've been burned once before by literary agents. Many years ago when I was in college, I wrote several screenplays. My first screenplay was a real piece of crap called "The Pumpkin Patch." It was crap. It truly was. When I go back and look at it now, I feel embarrassed by it. When I wrote it, however, I thought it was great. I thought it could easily be the next great horror film. So I made numerous copies of the script and sent them to literary agencies, in the hope of getting representation. Only one place responded. It was a place called the "Deering Literary Agency." They said they enjoyed the screenplay and wanted to present it to numerous independent film studios, as well as major ones such as HBO and Showtime. All I had to do was send them around $300 for their services.

Like a naive fool, I sent them a check! I paid the money. I still kick myself when I think about this. If there is one thing you must learn in the business of writing, it's this:

If someone asks for money to publish your work, they are most likely not legitimate.

Once I sent them the money, I got letters from them now and then. They told me that they had sent my screenplay to several different studios, but they all passed on it. I'm sure had they sent my script to those studios, they would have passed on it, but I didn't believe that they sent my script anywhere. I felt I was the victim of a scam, and actually getting in touch with anyone at their office proved to be very difficult.

So now I'm waiting to hear from Dorrance Publishing Co. If they start asking for money, then it's over. I've learned my lesson. As the saying goes..."Fool me once. Shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

I think one of the things I'd enjoy most about having something published is just to be able to call myself a "published author." Sure, anyone can be a published author now in the world of blogs, but to have something on paper that is sold in stores is totally different. It's also nice to show to the naysayers you come across during your life. Those people who tell you that you will never succeed, that what you do is a waste of time. People who tell you to "get a life." If I ever do get published someday, I plan to mail the first copy of my book to my brother and his wife.

Thoughts on Taiwan and Culture Shock

2008-06-17T16:20:00.000-07:00

I've been writing to a guy who recently went to Taiwan to teach English. From our emails he sounded a lot like me four years ago. Like me, he started to write a blog about his experiences: http://eat-the-fruit.blogspot.com/ . His name is Than Jude.

However, he is now giving up after only a few weeks. I wrote back to him and told him he should try to stick it out. I believe that he's going through "culture shock" right now, and for some people, it's too much to handle.

I only knew one other person who suffered culture shock bad enough to go back after less than a month. His name was Robert and he worked with me at Kojen. His case, though, was much more severe. He cut off all communication from everyone, barricaded himself in his apartment and waited patiently until he could fly back to America.

Robert lived in Taichung. Taichung is the third biggest city in Taiwan, and the city where I lived for over a year. It's not that bad. A foreigner can find almost everything they need to make them feel more at home. I'm not sure why Robert cracked.

Than, however, against my advice, took a job in Ilan county, in a township called Luodong. Luodong is like Nantou, where my in-laws live. I would never, ever want to work in the small towns of Taiwan. You are truly isolated from everything when you live and work in the small towns. There isn't anyone who can speak English. There isn't anything to do. There are no major stores or restaurants. Nightlife is non-existent. So it really doesn't surprise me that Than wants to leave.

My friend David, who lives in Kaohsiung, spent nearly two years in a small-town, Lumpei. David is a bit of a loner who never craved the nightlife scene, but even he hated it. I think the people who choose to work in those towns are most likely real loners, or their previous life was so terrible that this is actually a step up for them.

Culture shock affects everyone differently. For most, it's the dirty air (the smell), the "third world" style buildings everywhere, the food, the rudeness of the locals, the insane drivers, etc. It's nothing like America, and the sooner you realize it, the easier it will be to move on and adapt to the change.

My advice to Than is to either stick it out, or try to work for a school in one of the cities. This type of experience is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I'll admit that when I first arrived in Taiwan, I seriously considered going back on many occasions, but I told myself I had to try and make it, no matter what. Now that I'm in Texas, I'm having the same feelings again. I keep telling myself that we have to make it here, and we can't go back to Taiwan. To go back to Taiwan would be too easy. Yeah, I could easily get another teaching job and my life would most likely be a lot less stressful than it is now, but I've never given up on anything that easily.

I recently read a quote which said, "If you never try to learn anything beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow."

I liked that quote.

(Picture: a milk-tea shop in one of Taiwan's small towns)

A Good Person

2008-06-16T20:42:00.000-07:00

A Good Person

This is the title of Christy's blog. She just started writing it the other day.

"That's an odd name." I told her. "Why do you want to call it that?"

"Because I've met some bad people." She answered.

I gave her some other ideas for a title of the blog. "How about 'A Taiwanese Immigrant in America' or some similar name?" Something of a companion to my blog. But she didn't want to do that. I can understand. She wants it to be seen as totally separate from mine. I even asked her for the link to the blog so I could promote it on mine, but she didn't want to tell me. She wants to wait until she's written several entries.

The purpose of Christy's blog is to help other Taiwanese people who are considering moving to America. She wants to let them know what the process is like and what it's like adapting to American culture. The blog is in Chinese, naturally. I think it's a good idea.

I seriously thought I would be ending my blog once we arrived in Austin. I assumed that Christy was going to get the job that was promised to her in Taiwan, then I'd find a job, and our lives would just become a normal routine like everyone else. In my opinion, it wouldn't really be that interesting writing about Austin on a blog that's titled "An American Teacher in Taiwan."

However, I want this blog to have an ending. A real ending, just like a book. But, like a book, there are continuing twists and drama that's unexpected. I never invited this drama, it just happened.

I guess my ideal ending for this story is that "we lived happily ever after." That's the ending I'm waiting for. I just don't know how long it's going to take.

Father's Day in Austin

2008-06-15T16:53:00.000-07:00

Compared to spending Mother's Day in Nantou, Taiwan, Father's Day was much more pleasant.

I decided I wanted to spend my Father's Day having dinner at a nice restaurant. Not somewhere very expensive, just someplace nicer than Denny's. My standards weren't that high. We decided we wanted to try some local "Texas food." What is local Texas food? In my opinion, that would be Bar B Que ribs, and particularly, steak. While driving through Texas on our way to Austin, I would see large billboards that would read "EAT BEEF." That's it. Nothing more. They didn't tell you where to eat beef, just to eat it. I think Texans are really proud of their steakhouses here.

Texas, for those who might not know, is famous for its "72 ounce steak." I typically eat an 8 ounce steak. If I'm really hungry, I might eat an 11 ounce steak. Any more than that, and I'm likely to get sick. You can find several restaurants in Texas that will let you eat your meal for free if you can actually finish their 72 ounce steak. Here's an example of one: http://www.bigtexan.com/72ozlive.htm

I've never tried it. I assumed if I ate a 72 ounce steak, I would probably drop dead immediately after. I'd be curious to find out just how many people have died trying to eat this.

We ended up going to a restaurant called "Texas Road House" which claimed to be owned by Willie Nelson. Yes, the Willie Nelson. I really enjoyed it. It was just as good as Outback or any of the other steakhouse chains, and quite a bit cheaper too.

It was a nice end to another week in which our futures were still uncertain. Neither of us has found a job yet. Several companies that we've applied to are supposed to give us an answer next week. If we find ourselves in the exact same situation next weekend as we are in now, we will seriously start to rethink our options.

(Pictures: 1. The "Texas Roadhouse" restaurant. 2. Christy at the Texas Roadhouse. 3. Kyle at the Texas Roadhouse, and no, that's not his meal.)

Waiting and Wandering

2008-06-13T12:39:00.000-07:00

Neither Christy or I have found a job yet in Austin. We are still looking and waiting. The two of us together had three interviews this week. None of them have said yes or no. It's simply a matter of waiting. We've been doing a lot of waiting this past week.

It's not fun to be stuck inside a small hotel room when you're waiting around for a phone call or an email. I often find the need to go outside and take walks around the neighborhood. This particular neighborhood, though, isn't that exciting, and it's usually so hot outside that you can feel your flesh burning the minute you step out of your room.

There is a Hooters restaurant right in front of our hotel. We've been thinking about going there but Christy doesn't think it would be a good place for the kids. I went to a Hooters restaurant once a long time ago, and I seem to recall the food there wasn't particularly good. You really only go there to look and talk to the waitresses.

There is also an "Alamo Draft House Cinema" next to us. This place was pretty cool. I took Sara to see "Kung Fu Panda" there the other day. I had heard of this theater chain before on the "Ain't it Cool News" website. It's like a combination beer hall, restaurant, and movie theater all in one.

We're going to give ourselves another two weeks in Austin. We're hoping we can find something in that time. I think a month is long enough. After that, we might move on to someplace else. We've thought about a lot of different places: Florida, Nevada, Ohio, back to California, and even Kansas. Kansas has probably the cheapest rent I've ever seen (under $500 for a two bedroom), but if you can't find a job, what's the point of going there?

I know that Christy doesn't really want to go back to Taiwan. She told me that she's gone through so much just to get here. With all the time, trouble, and expense it has cost us just to get here, it would be a major letdown to go back.

(Pictures: 1. The Hooters restaurant in front of our hotel. 2. The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, which is a block away from us)

Interviews

2008-06-12T09:19:00.000-07:00

The other day I had a job interview here in Austin. It was my first American job interview in nearly 10 years. The position was for a government job in the medical industry. This is the area where I had the most experience prior to my going to Taiwan. I won't know if I got the job until the end of the week, but I did get a good idea on what to expect in future interviews, should I have them.

There is a lot of information online about how you should prepare for a job interview. I knew certain questions would be asked, like "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" and "What are your long term goals?" but other questions that were asked kind of threw me off guard.

There was one question, "Tell me about one of your biggest mistakes and how you learned from it." I couldn't really come up with an answer right away. I sat there, thinking. It's not that I haven't made mistakes, I have. I just didn't think my mistakes were necessarily work related, and I didn't really want to tell him about my personal problems. So I just came up with a cornball answer, and I realized right away it wasn't a good one. It was a lame, preachy answer about "always respect the people you work with" and "when you give respect, you will receive respect." I don't think this answer had anything to do with the question. I just didn't want to sit there silently. I had to say something.

I'm not sure whether I'll get the job or not. I guess I'll know by this weekend. Christy has a job interview today (Thursday), so we still have hope that one of us will have a breakthrough. We're getting to the end of our second week here at the Extended Stay Hotel. Our luck needs to change soon.

My Brother Declares Me Dead

2008-06-11T18:12:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up, I often thought that I was adopted. I was what you would call the “black sheep” of the family. Whatever my family wanted me to do or expected me to do, I would usually do something completely different.

If you look at a picture of my brother Craig and me, you will see no similarities whatsoever. Not only do we have no physical characteristics in common, but our personalities couldn’t be further apart. We are polar opposites. If it weren’t for the fact that we share the same parents, we would never even have an opportunity to know each other. So it doesn’t really surprise me that he took no pains in recently declaring me “dead.”

I never told him about my blog, but he somehow managed to find it by accident. I’ve mentioned him a few times in my blog, but I think the only entry that he read was the one titled “Four Days in California.” In that particular blog, I mentioned that he and his wife were a bit overly concerned about keeping a clean house. He took it to mean that I was calling him a “clean freak.” I never used those words, but that’s how he saw it. Apparently, it really offended him, because he then sent me this email, an email he titled “Death in the Family”:

“I read your blog today (very sad)Kristi and I are not clean freaks, you are a slob and we were always cleaning up after you and your kids.When you stay at someones home, you should make it a priority to clean up after yourselfs. Lots of people have decorative towels, I guess you are very low class, not to know this. We have tried to help you and your family, by letting you stay here and helping Christy get her citizenship. you are very disrespectful to Kristi and I and our home. Your mom is in the rehab center because her doctor wants her there, so that she can get stronger, it was not our choice. If you are so worried about her care, then why are you moving to Texas? Can't you come here and find a meaningless job, like you have always had? OH WAIT!! your wife is supporting you, how cavalier of you. Hell..you are such a loser, you had to go to Tawain to find a wife, because no nice american girl would want anything to do with you. If you think Murrieta is hillbilly, wait till you get to Texas, there will be lots of them there, and they will be staring at you and your family, they are very prejudice there. You are no longer welcome in our home. I never want to speak to you or see you ever again (lose my number) As far as I am concerned you do not exist. Go FUCK yourself...CB”

Wow. Pretty harsh words. He makes a few valid points here and there, but I think in other areas he is a bit off the mark. Interesting how he titled the email "Death in the Family." When I first saw the title of the email, my heart dropped, thinking that my mother had passed away. It wasn't until I started reading when I realized he was referring to MY death. Did he want me to see the title and think that my mom had died? Was that his intention? If so, it worked. Very clever. Anyway, on to the specifics of the email:

I don’t always pick up after myself right away, so I can see how some might consider that a “slob,” but I don’t think I’m a slob. I don’t always watch the kids 24 hours a day, so it’s true that they may make a mess and I might not know about it. However, if I do see them making a mess (especially at my brother’s house) I will clean it up. To me, a slob is someone who never cleans up after themselves, leaves dishes in the sink for so long that bugs start to appear, and only takes a shower every now and then. So basically the definition of “slob” varies from person to person.

I do know that lots of people have “decorative towels.” In my blog I just pointed out that I rarely get along with people who own decorative towels. Most of the people I know are poor and wouldn’t spend money on towels they wouldn’t use. I didn’t really consider this a knock to their character, but rather I was pointing out an observation about myself.

Yes, they did help Christy get her citizenship. Both Christy and I are very grateful for that and we’ve both told them that numerous times. My friend David, who still lives in Taiwan, however, pointed out that “Of course they want her to become a citizen. If you both move back to America, then you don’t have to stay at their house anymore. That’s the reason they want to help you. So they don’t have to see you.” David, of course, always likes to look at things from the most negative side possible. He could be right, but who knows.

Now, when he starts talking about my mom, this is where he and I have very different opinions. As I mentioned before, he and his wife put my mom into a “nursing home.” I’ve seen the place. It’s not a “rehab center,” it’s a nursing home. There is no rehab involved here. Every day, my mom goes to play bingo, watches old movies, has “ice cream socials” or some other random activity to keep the seniors occupied. On the several times I went to visit my mother, she was playing bingo. I felt really depressed. The place reminded me of something out of “The Simpsons.”

I hate that my mom is in this place. I really hate it. My mom does not have dementia or Alzheimers or some other mental problem that would make her impossible to take care of. Her main problem is that she cannot walk, and this was enough for my brother and his wife to put her away.

Every Tuesday, they allow my mom to return to her home for a couple of hours to have dinner with them. On the particular Tuesday that I was there, I noticed that they had some trouble getting her wheelchair through the front door.

“You should put a ramp there to make it easier.” I hinted to my brother.

“Nah, there’s no need to do that.” He replied.

I really don’t think it would have been that hard to install a small ramp, nor would it be that expensive. My brother was telling me about how he spent his “economic stimulus” check on a new desk for his computer room. So it kind of bothered me that he spent hundreds of dollars upgrading his computer table rather than making a simple ramp for my mom.

“The doctor says that the nursing home is the best place for your mom.” My brothers wife tells me.

I somehow don’t buy it. My mother hates it in that nursing home. Every day she was asking me “When can I come home?” It really is heartbreaking to me. I spent over five years at a job where I had to deal with senior citizens every single day. They don’t want to end their lives in a nursing home. They want to be in their own home, in their own bed, with the family around them. I am almost certain the doctor realizes this.

In Taiwan, they don’t put the elderly into nursing homes. They hire help (usually Filipinos) to come into the house and take care of them. I am certain my brother can afford to get part-time help for my mom. If they have no problem spending $300 dollars in a single day on toys for their daughter Karli, they could afford help for my mom. His wife doesn’t work, so it doesn’t seem difficult to create a schedule where someone could be watching my mom during the day.

Next, my brother mentions that I have always had “meaningless” jobs. Yeah, I’ve had a few meaningless jobs, mostly when I was in my 20’s. I didn’t have much direction then. My last two jobs, however, were not meaningless. Teaching English to kids in a foreign country isn’t meaningless. If you can teach a kid to go from “ABC” to actually speaking full sentences, that is something you can feel proud of. Even though some of my classes were a joke, I made real progress with others. To this day I still keep a card that one of my best students gave me on my last day of class. It reminds me that I did have a few students whose life I truly made a difference.

Also, my wife isn’t supporting me. We support each other equally. When she was earning a higher salary than me, I took a year off to raise the kids. Then when I was making more money, she stayed home to watch the kids. It has always been about what is best for them. Now both of us are looking for work. I’d prefer one of us to stay home and watch the kids, but right now we need the money.

Then he says I had to go to Taiwan to find a wife because no American girl wanted anything to do with me. Well, I was married to an American girl for 10 years, and it didn’t work out. I've also dated quite a few American girls with varying degrees of success, but for some reason either they weren't what I was looking for, or I wasn't what they were looking for. Why should geographical borders prevent us from finding our true "soul mate."? Why is someone a loser because they want to marry someone from another country? Is he implying that Taiwanese women are not as good as American women? I’m not sure. Personally, I’ve always thought that Christy is an American trapped in a Taiwanese body. I’m lucky if I can get her to do anything I ask of her. Also, I never went to Taiwan looking for a wife. At most, I thought I would have a girlfriend, but I never imagined I’d have a wife and kids. It just happened.

I’ve thought a lot about why my brother and his wife hate me so much. We didn’t always have a bad relationship. Prior to my moving to Taiwan, we were pretty cordial with each other. I thought maybe it was jealousy. He once wrote me an email when I first went to Taiwan which said, basically “If I were single, I would do the exact same thing that you are doing.” I’ve been around the world. I spent a summer in Europe. I lived overseas for four years and have seen much of Asia. (sorry if it sounds like I’m bragging, that’s not my intention here.) I don’t believe my brother has ever left the US, with the exception of Canada and Mexico.

I’ve actually lived. I’ve had a life that I can look back on as an old man and say “I’m glad I did that when I was younger. It was crazy, yes, but it was the best time I ever had.”

I never really wanted to follow the rules that society tells us to follow: Go to college, get a job, get married, have kids, retire and die. I always believed that there should be more to life than that. You only have one chance at life, why not try to spend at least some of that life doing something totally crazy and unexpected? When I went to Taiwan, I was single and had no attachments to anything back home. It was the perfect time. Now that I’m back and have responsibilities, my lifestyle has to change, and I’ve accepted that. My kids come first. If I have to go back to living an average life as an average guy so my kids can have a good life, then so be it. They are my priority now.

So, will my brother hold this grudge forever? Maybe. Only time will tell. If he’s an old man and still going on about how I implied that he was a “clean freak” many years ago, then that’s pretty sad. I’ve put up with a lot of abuse from him over the years that I’ve overlooked in an attempt to “keep the peace.” I put up with losing many of my childhood possessions when they held their “garage sale” while I was in Taiwan. I put up with losing any inheritance I might have had so they could take care of my mom, which they only did for two years. I put up with racist comments about my daughter. (They offered Sara some “dippin’ dots” ice cream. Sara said she didn’t want the white dots. My brother said “You don’t want white ones? You probably want yellow ones. Well I’m sorry but there aren’t any yellow ones.”) I put up with all of Kristi’s “asshole” emails that she sent me, even when I hadn’t even done anything. I’ve put up with a LOT, and accepted it, all to keep the peace. If anything, I should be angry with them.

My brother may hate me, but I don't hate him. I really don't. I think he's an okay guy and he seems like a really good father to his daughter. I'm sure he believes he is doing the right thing with our mother, even though I don't think so. If he never wants to see me again, I've accepted that. I actually assumed this was inevitable once our mother had passed away. Without her, there really is no reason for us to even contact each other. So...it's a death I can live with, so to speak.

I sent my brother a letter apologizing to him for discovering the blog. Not for what I wrote, but rather for him having discovered it. I never invited him to see it. He just found it, like many others have. I’ve been told by my friends that I shouldn’t apologize for anything I’ve written, as that would merely justify his anger towards me. So, I’m sorry that it upset him so much, but I’m not sorry I wrote it. It was just my feeling at the time, and my feelings change day to day. If he had actually read my entire blog, he would know that.

(Picture: My brother, before he declared me dead.)

To Sue or Not to Sue

2008-06-10T08:15:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we went to the Travis County courthouse here in Austin, Texas. We got the paperwork we need should we decide to file a lawsuit against WIFI-Link, and in particular, the office manager, Lilliane Salazar (who is Taiwanese.)

I sent an email to the head boss in Taiwan, Jacky, and I told him that we were seriously considering filing suit if he doesn't reimburse us for our travel expenses to Austin. He never responded. I think they are now just ignoring us and hoping that this matter goes away.

Christy has mixed feelings about suing this woman. Her parents don't want us to. They say that it would just cause more trouble than we need right now. I think they are right, but it is kind of hard to just let it go.

This is a situation where our two cultures really clash. American people want justice and revenge when someone wrongs us. Taiwanese people just want to "save face" and turn away from their problems.

I called David in Kaohsiung, Taiwan and asked him for his advice. He's been though the court system a few times so I value his opinion. He told me that, because it was a verbal contract, and because the contract was done in Taiwan, we don't have much of a chance. He said our best chance would be to get on one of those court TV shows. In that forum, it would just be Christy's word against Lilliane's word, and the judge would decide who she believes more. In this format, I believe that, yes, Christy would win by a landslide. I also posed the question on "Yahoo Answers" and about 70% of the people who answered said we probably wouldn't win. Most of them agreed that Lilliane was right in not letting my wife work due to her lack of a Social Security Number. However, the fact of the matter is that she did have that letter from the Department of Homeland Security that said she COULD work. If Lilliane had just bothered to look at that letter, or just do a small amount of research on it, there would be no problem today.

It costs $92 dollars to file a small-claims suit in Austin. That's not a lot, but when your current income right now is $0, you really need all the money you can get. For $92 I can fill the gas tank in our car, and have money left over for about 3 meals. If the odds are against us at winning this case, I might not be willing to gamble at the moment.

I stongly dislike Lilliane for the way she treated my wife and our family. Whenever we tell someone what happened, they cannot believe it. They cannot believe someone can be so heartless. I really feel like she needs a wake-up call that her behavior just isn't acceptable. I'm not sure we'll go through with the lawsuit, but I haven't yet reached the point where I'm willing to let it go.

Life in a Hotel

2008-06-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

We've only been looking for a job for about a week, but today I asked Christy:

"If we have to go back to Taiwan, do you prefer to live in Taipei or Kaohsiung?"

I mention those two cities because they both have fairly efficient subways (although Kaohsiung's MRT is still a work in progress.) We no longer have a car in Taiwan, so we'd be better off in a city where we don't need our own transportation. I don't really want to go back to Taiwan, but I always tend to look at the "worst case scenario." We have enough money to get by in the US for a little while, but if we have to go back, we can't go back with nothing. So we have to save at least some money for an escape plan. Actually, we're lucky that we even have an escape plan. There are many people living here that don't even have that. I've seen many homeless people on freeway offramps who have clearly exhausted all their escape plans.

Both Christy and I have pretty good prospects for a job, it's all about waiting. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Christy had an interview on Friday that she thought went well. They told her they would contact the head office and call her back next week. So we're waiting on that. I'm supposed to have an interview this week as well, but whenever I call to try to arrange the interview, I just get voice mail. They will call me back.

I'm a pretty patient person, but sometimes I wish people could just make decisions right away. It always seems to be a long, drawn out process. I think I'm just getting tired of staying in this small hotel room. It really is too small for a family of four. Kyle is still an infant, so he is happy wherever he is, but I can sense that Sara is growing restless. She doesn't really like staying in this hotel either.

This hotel always seems to be pretty busy, and I've noticed that most of the people here seem to be staying long term like us. There are people here from all over the US. I sometimes wonder if there are other people here in our situation. People looking for work, trying to relocate. Or maybe they are just people who can't get their own apartment for some reason. Maybe their credit is too bad, and this is all they can do.

So I continue to wait. Wait for the phone call. Wait for the email. Wait for something...anything to get us out of this hotel.

(Picture: Kyle, feeling happy as always, in our hotel room.)

Celebrating Dragon Boat Fesitval in Texas

2008-06-08T11:28:00.000-07:00

Today is Dragon Boat Festival in Taiwan. The day when people eat rice cakes and watch boat races and remember the poet who threw himself into the ocean. It's a big holiday in Taiwan.

In Austin, however, it's no big deal.

We went to "Chinatown" in Austin today. It wasn't very big, just a small shopping square with several restaurants and a supermarket. We weren't expecting much. From what I have read, Austin is 65% White, 30% Latino, and 5% other. So in that "other" category you have Chinese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Indian, Filipino, and just about everyone else. So, it's not a particularly big market for Asian people.

We ate lunch at a place called "Wok on Fire," which is owned and operated by Taiwanese people. They had a lot of the food Christy and I enjoyed eating in Taiwan: Kung Pao Chicken, Lo Bo Gow (radish cake), and even the traditional rice cakes. Both Christy and I agreed that their food was okay, but not up to the same level as the food we can actually get in Taiwan. Once again I think that too much effort is made to "Americanize" Chinese food in Taiwan. Christy seems to think that if Americans tried "real" Chinese food, they wouldn't like it, but I totally disagree.

After lunch we visited the Asian supermarket and looked around. They had a lot of imported food from Taiwan there. I told Christy she was lucky she had this kind of market. She can pretty much buy everything she needs here to make her feel more at home. When I lived in Taiwan, I'd often have to travel half way around the country just to find a can of Mountain Dew. I'm not kidding. I once drove from Hsinchu to Xinbeitou in Taipei just to buy a few cases.

I'm glad Christy can celebrate her holiday here. I think she's starting to feel a little homesick. She's been through a lot already. First the long travel, then the total betrayal by her own people, and now possibly getting involved in a lawsuit. I can imagine it's pretty tough on her.

(Picture: The Asian supermarket in Austin's Chinatown.)

Exploring Austin

2008-06-07T20:04:00.000-07:00

This weekend Christy and I decided to be tourists in Austin and go and see some of the sights. The last week had not been very good to us, so we needed to have a "family day" to forget about our troubles for awhile.

Other than the horrendous heat out here, I like Austin. The people all seem friendly and laid back. You don't really see any of the Texas stereotypes here. I haven't seen anyone wearing big cowboys hats. I think I've only heard two people say "Y'all." To me, living in Austin doesn't seem that much different than living in L.A. (Except, of course, there is no beach here.)

We decided to go to Barton Springs today. It's listed as one of the top attractions here. It's a huge park with a huge lake and a swimming pool (although it's more of a swimming lake). I took Sara swimming but the water was really cold, so she just complained the entire time. We also rode on the train they have here, and that was kind of fun.

After that we drove downtown and saw the Capitol building, followed by dinner at a rather strange restaurant called "Marakesh." Whenever we wanted to order something, the waiter advised us not to, saying that he wouldn't recommend it.

All in all, it was a good day. I only wish we didn't have the stress of an uncertain future lingering in the back of our minds.

(Pictures: 1. The Capitol building. 2. Kyle at Barton Springs. 3. Sara at Barton Springs. 4. Saint Mary Cathedral Building. 5. Dubya's picture at the Capitol.)

Day 5 - Meeting the Dragon Lady

2008-06-06T11:50:00.000-07:00

On Friday, May 30th, we finally arrived in Austin. It took all day, and we were exhausted, but we were happy to finally be at the end of our journey. Or so it seemed...

Christy was supposed to work for a company called WIFI-LINK and begin work on the following Monday. We wanted to make sure we got to her office before it closed so we could meet her co-worker, LILLIANE.

Lilliane, as it would turn out, would be the most cold, heartless, evil woman I have ever met in my life, and I've met a LOT of people.

We show up at the Wi-Fi Link office around 3:30, and Christy greets Lilliane. Lilliane sits at her desk, holding a small chihuahua like dog. I see images of "Blofeld" from the James Bond movies (the guy sitting in his wheelchair petting his cat.) She never stands up to try and greet us, she just sits looking at us as though we are a major pain in her ass.

One of the first things Lilliane says is:
"You can't start work until July because you don't have a social security number."

Christy, very politely, begins to tell her that she can, in fact, start working, and that the customs official at the airport gave her a letter which states:

"WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES
The stamp placed in your passport is evidence of your admission as a Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States. The stamp will serve as your temporary Form I-551 (Green Card) until you receive your permanent card in the mail. The stamp is valid for one year, or until you receive your card in the mail. With this stamp, you may also obtain your Social Security number. Employment is authorized as well."

The letter is very clear. Christy tried to show the letter to Lillane, but she refused to accept it. We knew we would have to go to the Social Security Office to try to get the number as soon as possible, since Lilliane wouldn't budge.

"Ok. Can you at least write us a letter to say that, once I have my Social Security number, I am hired to work here? We need an offer letter to find an apartment." Christy then asks her.

"No, I can't do that either. If you need to find an apartment, just use your husbands social security number." Lilliane replies.

At this point, I speak up and tell Lilliane,
"I don't have a job right now. No one will rent us an apartment without a paycheck stub or an offer letter."

My tone to Lilliane is not argumentative, but rather I am just exhausted from 5 days of travel. I feel frustrated that she doesn't seem to understand our situation, or she just doesn't care. If she doesn't give us that letter, we have to go back to motels. With a letter, we could be in an apartment within a few days.

"Sorry, I can't help you." Lilliane tells us. I feel very, very angry, but I don't say anything. We decide to leave. We stay at the Marriot Hotel for one night. It's really nice, and has free internet. Christy gets in touch with the boss back in Taiwan, Jacky, and tells him what happened. He seems to be totally oblivious to what is going on.

"I run a lot of companies all over the world, so I leave it up to the people in those offices to make all the decisions." he tells Christy. So basically he's telling Christy that it's entirely up to Lilliane.

On Monday morning we go to the Social Security office, and they tell us that Christy will have a number in two days. So now we're feeling hopeful that Christy can start work later in the week. We drive back to the WIFI-Link office. As we walk in, I hear Lilliane murmur the words "Oh great." For about 5 minutes, Lilliane just ignores us and does her work, her back turned to us the entire time.

"I just wanted to let you know that I will have my Social Security number in two days." she tells Lilliane. Lilliane then asks me and the kids to leave the office. She wants to talk to Christy in private.

"I don't like your attitude. I cannot work with you. I don't like that you went over me to talk to Jacky. I don't want you to work here." she told Christy.

"Jacky was the one who interviewed me. He was the one who said I was hired. I thought he was my boss." Christy replied.

"No, I'm the one who makes the decision." Lilliane answered, and with that, Christy left the office.

I had witnessed nearly every interaction the two of them had, and Christy never did anything wrong. All she did was try to explain that she was allowed to work, and Lilliane kept refusing her every step of the way. I really don't know what the problem with this woman was. She had a serious attitude from the very first moment we met her.

Christy talked to Jacky again on Wednesday, and he then said he would talk to Lilliane to try to work things out. But on Thursday night, Lilliane sent Christy an online message saying "Stop harassing Jacky. NO means NO." After that, Jacky stopped taking calls or messages from Christy.

Of course, I was extremely mad about all of this, and I told Christy that we should sue them for "Breach of Verbal Contract" and try to get back all the money that we spent traveling to Austin. We wouldn't be here in Austin if it wasn't for this job. We didn't spend a lot of money, but still enough to warrant a small claims case. I strongly believe we could win our case if we pursue it. I could definitely see "Judge Judy" ripping Lilliane apart.

So now, because of this really evil, unsympathetic, cold hearted Taiwanese woman, we are living in the Extended Stay America hotel. We're back to square one, looking for work.

Entering Texas

2008-06-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

Driving to Austin - Day 4

By day 4, I had had enough. I was sunburned and exhausted. I didn't even want to drive anymore, but I had to. Christy had forgotten her international driver's license. Had she been pulled over, she would have been in big trouble.

On Thursday, May 29 we left Lordburg, New Mexico and headed to Texas. It was in the scorching afternoon heat that Christy told me something I didn't want to hear.

"I don't have my passport. I think I forgot it at your brother's house."

At this point I became very upset.

"What do you mean you forgot your passport? That's one of the most important things that you need to find work. You won't be able to work without it." I told her. I pulled the car over at a rest station somewhere near El Paso, Texas. We sat at a picnic table that, luckily, had shade. I started to bring out each suitcase one by one and told her to go through every inch of each suitcase. I didn't want to have to call my brother's house unless it was absolutely, positively necessary.

She went through every suitcase and the passport just wasn't there. The idea of calling my brother to help us find her missing passport was not a good one. My brother and I were now on probably the worst possible terms you can imagine (something I'll talk about in a later blog). I didn't think he would want to help us at all.

Finally, I check the small backpack where we put our laptop computer, and, sure enough, the passport was there. I still felt very angry that Christy would be so careless about where she was keeping her important documents. You should always know where you keep passports and Social Security numbers.

We stopped for the night in Fort Stockton and stayed at the Super 8 Motel. I decided to pay an extra 30 dollars so we could get a "jacuzzi room." I really, really needed it at this point.

(Pictures: Sara in the "jacuzzi room" in Fort Stockton, Texas.)

Driving to Austin - Day 3

2008-06-04T11:10:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday, May 28th, we left the Grand Canyon. We knew we had to get to Austin by Friday, so we took the quickest possible route. We drove straight south until we got to the 10 freeway, and then we headed East, passing Phoenix and Tucson, and eventually working our way into New Mexico.

Anyone who has ever driven long distances knows that as you're driving, you pass a lot of small towns. We had to stop in a lot of these towns to have lunch and dinner. If it was just me, I'd probably skip a meal here and there to make better time, but that's impossible with kids. They have to eat. What bothered me was that the only places to eat along the roads are total crap. McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, Dairy Queen, Sonic, Jack in the Box, etc. It seems like our only choice is Hamburgers and French Fries. To be honest, there are Subway's as well, and we did eat there several times, but kids don't really enjoy submarine sandwiches.

We went to Wendy's one time. The absolute smallest hamburger we were able to order there was a quarter pound burger. I just wanted a small hamburger, not a quarter pounder. To get the small hamburger, I had to order the kids meal. So the whole family ended up eating kids meals.

I think there is a big problem with obesity in America. A major problem. Nearly everyone here is overweight to some extent. Maybe just a little, or maybe a lot. I'm not thin either. I'm at least 10 pounds overweight. If I wasn't sharing every meal I buy with my family, I'd probably be a lot heavier too. I just don't see the logic in selling Americans hamburgers that have 3 patties, or the new McDonald's "Angus" burger that is 3/4 of a pound. This is all contributing to the problem. I really can't wait until we get our own apartment and we can start cooking our own food at home.

We finally stopped at a place called Lordburg in New Mexico, it was one of the first towns we came across when entering from the east. There was actually a Chinese restaurant there called "China Inn." I thought Christy would enjoy eating there to get the feeling like she was back at home. Nope, didn't happen. The food was awful. Probably the worst Chinese food either of us had ever had. We ordered Kung Pao chicken that looked like it was covered in gravy. Not Kung Pao sauce, but gravy. Pretty odd, considering that the place was run by asian people. Do they think that American people won't appreciate real Chinese food? They have to try to Americanize it? What the hell?

(Pictures: 1. On the road to Austin. 2. Kyle feeling happy in the back seat. 3. Sara, getting ready to complain in the back seat.)

Living in Limbo at Extended Stay America

2008-06-03T15:35:00.000-07:00

I had originally written a blog detailing our experience with a company that Christy is supposed to be working for right now, but isn't. I had to delete it, because there is still a chance that she might work there. However, my confidence in this company is at zero right now. I'm currently looking into filing a small claims lawsuit to cover the travel expenses of getting to Austin. It all depends on how the next few days go.

We're currently living in an "Extended Stay America" hotel here in Austin. The four of us are all here in a studio sized room until we can find work. I went to an employment agency today and Christy is going on Thursday. I was amazed at how low the pay is here in Austin. I realize that I have to consider that the cost of living is much, much cheaper here, but this is kinda crazy. Some of the jobs they have presented to me sound like they should pay around $20 dollars an hour, but often it's barely above half that amount. The salaries that they're throwing around at me are amounts I haven't made since the early 1990's. My ex-wife Amber's father, Larry, used to work for Hughes Aircraft and made somewhere between 50 to 60k per year. When Hughes went bankrupt, I remember he took a job at Radio Shack, probably making about 10 dollars an hour. I can imagine this kind of thing can really make someone feel depressed.

Life right now is a bit similar to when I first arrived in Taiwan and stayed at the Happy Family Hostel. Although, Extended Stay America is a bit nicer than Happy Family. We have a refrigerator and stove in our room, and we have our own shower and TV (Happy Family didn't have any of this). My only regret is that we are dragging the two kids through this. When I stayed in Happy Family, it was just me and David. I really had no responsibility for anyone. Now I'm responsible for a whole family. I just hope things will change soon.

(Picture: The Extended Stay America hotel that we're staying at in Austin.)

The Grand Canyon

2008-06-01T20:24:00.000-07:00

Driving to Austin, Day 2:

On Tuesday, May 27th, we arrived at the Grand Canyon. This was my third visit there, but only the second time I had actually seen the canyons. The last time I was there it was snowing so badly that visibility was nearly zero.

The Grand Canyon is something that I don't think any pictures can do justice to. The pictures you see naturally look pretty, but it's much more awe-inspiring when you see it in person. Anyone who has seen it will know what I'm talking about.

The admission into the park was $25, and that's for a 7 day pass, but we were only there for less than 4 hours. I wish we had more time, but we had kids with us and we were on a tight schedule.

Christy loved the Grand Canyon, but also regretted that we couldn't stay longer. I told her that maybe when the kids are older we can go back again. We can even hike down to the bottom and stay at the hotel they have down there. Although, from what I've heard, you have to book your reservations far in advance.

If there is a downside to this place, it's the outrageous prices of the local restaurants in the area. McDonalds was charging nearly $6.00 for their Egg McMuffin breakfast, something that should only be about 3 bucks. We ate dinner at a place that charged us $14 for a plate of spaghetti. Just a friggin plate of spaghetti!

(Pictures: 1. The Grand Canyon. 2. Christy and Kyle. 3. Me and Sara. 4. More Grand Canyon. 5. Family picture.)

Social Security and Immigration Laws

2008-06-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I was on the US governments Social Security page, trying to find out what Christy can do about her current situation with her employer. I found this:

If your employee applied for a Social Security number but does not yet have it, indicate the number has been "Applied for" on the employee's Form W-2. When the employee receives his number, file Form W-2c, "Corrected Wage and Tax Statement. "

Her boss keeps telling her that she can NOT work until she has her card, but it states very clearly here that she CAN work. She can start work on Monday if she wanted. Her card is on the way, so it just makes no sense that we should have to live in limbo for the next few weeks while we wait for that card.

Driving to Austin - Day 1

2008-06-01T07:40:00.000-07:00

We left for Austin on Monday, May 26th. I had visited my mother for one final time in the nursing home, and we were on our way.

We're driving in my mothers 1999 Toyota Corolla. Since she couldn't drive anymore, she sold it to me for $1500. She didn't drive it much, so it only had about 28,000 miles on it. It seemed like it would be a good deal, but time will tell how much work it might need on it in the future.

The first time I had to fill the tank it cost me $52. This was when I fully realized just how bad gas prices had become. I know there are many people who pay a lot more to fill their tanks, even up to $150. But this is just a small, economy car, and $52 is a lot. Before I left Taiwan, I was able to fill my tank for less than $20.

When we left Murrieta, it was pretty cold, but once we started to hit the deserts of California, it became hotter and hotter. The babies starting crying. Sara started complaining about her belly, and it really started to become a nightmare. If I've learned one thing from this trip, it's this:

I will never go on another long road trip with an infant and a toddler again.

We stopped for lunch in one of those "one horse towns" you pass quite often while travelling on the freeway. I believe the town was called Ludlow. We ate lunch in a restaurant that looked very old-style "Americana", with two old women wearing pink dresses serving the food. As is typical in America, they give you WAY too much food here. So typically Christy and I will just order two meals and share everything with the kids. There is always more than enough.

We stopped for the night in Kingman, Arizona, and Christy had her first experience with the "Motel 6" chain. Motel 6 is cheap, and there are often bizarre looking people hanging out the hotel. Still, it's not too bad if you're on a fairly tight budget. The following night we would be staying at the Grand Canyon, and the price of our room would be 3 times what we were paying for this.

(Pictures: 1. The insane price of gas in California. 2. Kyle in front of the restaurant. 3. Motel 6 in Kingman Arizona. 4. Christy at the hotel.)

A Week of Total Hell

2008-05-31T05:51:00.001-07:00

We're finally in Austin. We've been driving for the past 5 days to get here. Normally it shouldn't take 5 days to drive to Texas, but since we took a detour to the Grand Canyon on Tuesday, followed by the constant stopping for the kids, this drive has seemed endless.

Every day, I'm barely 30 minutes into driving when Sara starts saying "I don't feel comfortable!" and she repeats this over and over and over. So we typically have to stop every couple of hours so she can get out of the car and walk around. I'm so glad this was only a one way trip.

When Christy arrived at the office she was supposed to be working at, her co-worker (the only other person in the office) told her that she couldn't start working until she had a Social Security Number. Not only that, but she refused to write any sort of letter indicating that she had been hired at this company, which meant that we could not get an apartment either. I couldn't believe the attitude of this woman.

It is legal to work in the U.S. if you have a valid Green Card Visa, which is what Christy has. This Taiwanese woman just does not understand this, and we tried to explain it to her until we were blue in the face (or red, actually, from anger).

Finally Christy spoke to the head boss in Taiwan, and he said he would talk to the woman at the Austin branch and get her to write a letter showing her employment. Still, it's already Saturday, and we're still going from hotel to hotel waiting for these people to get their act together. I know if this were an American company, it wouldn't be this unprofessional. I have very little confidence in them right now. On Monday, I'm going to look for a job myself, and I told Christy that maybe she should consider finding a different job, since these people really suck.

4 Days in California

2008-05-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

I've been staying with my brother and his wife for the past 4 days. We leave for Austin, Texas on Monday the 26th. I feel glad to be leaving.

Staying with my brother and his wife is something I can only do for short periods of time. My mother used to live with them, but they recently moved her into a nursing home a few miles away. I still have mixed feelings about this. My mother paid for a great deal of the house they are currently living in, and I had always thought that they were going to take care of her until the day she died. I didn't realize that she'd be out of the house two years later. Still, since I was living in Taiwan, there was very little I could do about it.

One of the problems with staying with my brother and his wife is their constant need for the "perfect, clean" house. The first night I was here, I washed my hands and used the wrong towels to dry them. I used the "decorative" towels instead of the real towels. The "decorative" towels looked like real towels, so how was I to know? I generally just don't get along well with people who have the need to own "decorative" towels. If I buy towels, I plan to use them. Also, I had received several phone messages while I was staying here. I wrote the messages down on paper next to the phone, only to find them thrown away the next morning. I don't think this was done out of spite, but simply because they can't stand anything but a perfect counter-top.

If there is one positive aspect about staying with brother, it's that Sara and Karli (my brothers daughter) do enjoy playing together. They love to dress up as princesses and run around the house. It's very cute.

I had always been telling Christy that in America, nobody would stare at her. She'd be just as anonymous as I am, but that wasn't the case the other day. We went to a small post office in the "historic downtown" area of Murrieta and people were looking at her as though she was an alien. Yes, there were no other Asian people in sight, but come on!

On Saturday, we visited my friend Jerry, and finally Christy was able to be around her fellow Taiwanese people. I think after being in hillbilly country, she felt much more comfortable here. Sunday night my brother had a typical "American bar-b-que" at his house. She ate hot dogs and potato salad and all that stuff Americans like to eat.

Tomorrow we head off to Texas. We're going to stop at the Grand Canyon on Tuesday. Christy has never seen it before, and I've told her that it totally blows away Toroko Gorge in Taiwan. Then we continue heading east, passing Albuquerque, New Mexico, then down south to El Paso, and then on to Austin.

(Pictures: 1. Sara and Karli dressing up as princesses. 2. Sara, Kyle, Christy, and my mom having lunch. 3. Kyle in his crib, with Sara and Karli. 4. Princess Sara)

Hello America

2008-05-23T17:20:00.000-07:00

The trip back to America has been hell, and we aren't even finished yet.

Essentially, right now we are homeless. For the past week, we have been living in other peoples homes. For over a week, I have gone from the in-laws in Nantou, to David's place in Kaohsiung, back to the in-laws, and then to my brother's house in Murrieta. It's not very fun to live out of suitcase.

Since Nantou is practically in the center of Taiwan (and in the middle of nowhere), it took us about 3 hours to get to the Taoyuan airport. About 30 minutes into the drive, the kids started crying and complaining. We had to stop at a rest station just to calm them down.

We've only just left Christy's parents house, and already the kids are driving me crazy, and we still have an 11 hour flight ahead! Could it get much worse?

We're flying on China Airlines. They're better than Eva Air, but not as good as Singapore Airlines. The food is absolute shit. For dinner, it's pork-rice. For breakfast, it's a cheese omelet. However, this is not an omelet like you would expect. It's "airline food omelet" and I can't get past more than one bite. Any more and I'd be vomiting.

After a grueling 11 hour flight, we land in Los Angeles. Since we have a huge amount of luggage, there isn't anyone that can pick us up at the airport. We have to rent an SUV from Enterprise. So now we have to take another shuttle to get the car. Once we get the car, we have to drive another 2 hours to get to my brothers house. The whole process of going from Nantou to Murrieta takes nearly 20 hours.

I'm about as exhausted as you can possibly imagine, and we still have to drive from Los Angeles to Austin, and we don't have an apartment lined up when we get there. Still, it feels good to be back home.

(Picture: My brother's house in California)

Goodbye Taiwan

2008-05-22T08:16:00.000-07:00

After leaving David and Pi Chi's place, I was off to Taipei for one night. I was hoping to visit many of the places I saw on my first few days there: the Shi-lin night market, BBQ party, Happy Family, etc. I wanted to take some more pictures as well. But, as is usually the case when I go to Taipei, it was raining heavily once I arrived there. The weather just wasn't cooperating with me, so I picked a hotel very close to the Ximen station.

With the rain coming down hard, I didn't have much choice but to just go and see a movie. Ximen station is one of the best places to go if you want to see a movie. There are theaters everywhere. I saw a movie called "Doomsday", which wasn't great, but better than I expected.

I then took the High Speed Train back to Taichung, and Christy picked me up. She had to go to several banks to get all of finances in order for our trip to America. At one point we had to race to Hsinchu (about an hour drive from Taichung) to deposit money so it could be sent to America. We literally finished everything at the last possible minute.

We got back to Nantou that evening and I spent my last night with the in-laws. It was pretty uneventful until the following morning, when Christy's mom started crying. As the van picked us up, she began crying uncontrollably. It was difficult to watch. Her child was leaving. I'm sure this was the day that Christy's mom had been dreading ever since I married her daughter.

We then drove off to the Taoyuan airport in what would be a very long and tiring journey.

(Picture: Christy, Kyle, and Sara at the Taoyuan airport)

Random Pictures From Taiwan #7 - Kaohsiung

2008-05-18T03:04:00.000-07:00

Picture 1: David and Pi Chi.

Picture 2: The "Dream Mall"

Picture 3: One of the new Kaohsiung MRT stations.

Picture 4: Another view of Love River.

Picture 5: The 85 Sky Tower.

One More Trip to Kaohsiung

2008-05-17T17:35:00.000-07:00

After Christy had her job interview in Tainan, she decided to give me a ride out to Kaohsiung. I was going to arrive there a day early, so I was hoping that David and Pi Chi wouldn't mind too much. I had already spent Wednesday night with my in-laws in Nantou, so I couldn't really take another day. Whenever I'm in Nantou, time seems to stand still, and a minute seems like a lifetime. I had to get out of there.

When I arrived, David was at work, so I only saw Pi Chi. She invited me to dinner and I accepted. During dinner, she asked me a lot of questions about David. She wanted to know a lot more about his past, since David didn't really like to talk about it. I told her a little about his past, but not a lot. I felt uncomfortable saying too much, since I felt that David should be the one to tell her everything, not me.

On Friday, I went out to explore Kaohsiung much more thoroughly than I had before. The new subway system, the KMRT (Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit) had just opened, so I wanted to check it out. Many of the stations were closed, and they were still doing a lot of work at many of the stations. Still, it looked pretty nice.

David was home on Saturday, so we hung out together. We went to our favorite restaurant in Kaohsiung, Smokey Joes, and then we went to some of the famous landmarks, like Love River and the Sky Tower 85 building.

On Monday, I'll be heading off to Taipei for one last trip to see the sights. I'm sure Christy would prefer I stay in Nantou with her parents, but that's not going to happen. I considered staying at the "Happy Family" hostel when I go to Taipei, to complete the cycle. To go out the way I came in. I decided not to do it.

(Pictures: 1. The Mega shopping mall with the 85 Sky Tower in the background. 2. Love River. 3. Smokey Joe's. 4. Downtown at night. 5. The view from the top of the 85 Sky Tower)

We're Moving to Austin, Texas

2008-05-15T04:46:00.001-07:00

About an hour ago, I found out the direction that our life is going to head, and that's Austin, Texas.

I drove with Christy to her job interview in Tainan. The office didn't look very impressive, but then again, this was Taiwan, not America. We walked in and we briefly met the manager of the company, who then got in a car with a very young girl (hopefully that was his daughter) and drove off.

"Why is he driving away when he's supposed to be doing an interview?" I thought to myself.

Finally, a woman told Christy to go upstairs to another office for her interview, and she wanted me to go with her. I thought this was very strange. Why did I need to be with her for the interview?

"Maybe they just want proof that we're actually going to move to America." Christy would later tell me.

For the next 30 minutes I sat and listened to Christy and this woman speaking Chinese to each other. I had no idea what was being said, so I kept looking for face and body language. Christy was always smiling so I assumed there was some chance that she was going to be hired.

Finally the boss came back, and then he talked to Christy for another 30 minutes. Once again, no English was spoken, and I only could make out a few words here and there, like "bonus" and "Ebay." This was probably the most unprofessional interview I had ever seen. The woman was chewing gum during the interview, and the boss was drinking milk tea. I could tell this was an extremely laid-back company.

Then the interview ended, and I waited until we got outside before I asked: "Well, did you get the job?"

"I don't know. They're going to call me back tonight." she replied.

I was hoping they would tell her right away. I assumed they would. The boss had been complaining that they had a lack of qualified candidates for the position. He said that many people wanted the job just because they wanted to go to America, but had no green card or any feasible plan to immigrate. Other candidates just simply could not speak both Chinese and English fluently. So here was a candidate that was totally qualified, but still they want to make her wait.

Christy thought that maybe they wouldn't hire her, so we started to think of back-up plans. There was a lead in Brea, California. There was another lead for a job at a travel agency. We were just trying to put the best spin on what might have been a real letdown, since we were really starting to get excited about moving to Austin.

Finally, the call came, and they told her she got the job. She'll start in the beginning of June. Now we have to go through the process of getting to Austin, which will include a grueling drive from Los Angeles to Texas, with two kids in the back seat. It's going to be an adventure, I'm sure.

Random Pictures From Taiwan #6 - Places

2008-05-13T22:19:00.001-07:00

Picture 1: Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei.

Picture 2: The "famous bridge" in Shilo.

Picture 3: Christy at the "mini Stonehenge" exhibit at the "Window on China" park.

Picture 4: A temple in Tainan.

Picture 5: A Chinese opera in Lugang.

"And When You Feel You're Near the End" - Leaving Taichung

2008-05-13T00:33:00.000-07:00

The future is still uncertain, but one thing is for sure: on Wednesday, May 14th, 2008, we’re leaving Taichung. Everything is packed and we’re ready to go. Our internet, phones, and cable will all be shut off. Seven days later, we’ll be out of Taiwan for good. The coming week will be all about goodbyes.

Christy’s interview is in Tainan on Thursday afternoon. After this, we’ll know a little more about our future. Will we be living in Austin, Texas? Or will we be living in Los Angeles? Everything is still up in the air. Christy told me she’s about 70% sure she will get the job, but anything can happen. They might tell her that they don’t have the budget to hire her right now. Or maybe they found someone else. I once came within inches of working for a company in San Francisco, only to be told that they didn’t need to fill that position after all. If you get your hopes up too high, the fall down really stings.

Regardless, it still hasn’t stopped us from looking online at apartments in Austin. I can’t believe how much cheaper it is there compared to Los Angeles. We saw a 2 bedroom, two bathroom, completely furnished apartment for only $760 a month. This type of apartment would be at least double that price in L.A. When I lived in Long Beach I was paying $840 for a one bedroom, and that was almost five years ago. I think that even if Christy doesn’t get the job in Austin, we should seriously consider NOT living in Los Angeles. Our very survival could depend on it.

I’ll be spending this weekend saying goodbye to David and Pi Chi. David and I have kicked around the idea of taking a trip to Green Island, just off the coast of Pingtung in the southeast of Taiwan. It’s the only place left here that I haven’t seen. After that, I’ll spend my final night in Nantou with Christy and her family, then back home.

(Picture: The "Peoples Park" in Taichung, a park I often went with Christy and the kids.)

The Sounds of Taiwan

2008-05-13T00:09:00.000-07:00

Normally I wake up to the sounds of chickens, roosters, dogs, or other strange animals or crashing scooters. This particular morning, however, it was extremely loud parade music and people setting off firecrackers. The only thing was that this wasn't even a holiday. It was just a regular morning, and people were going crazy outside. This was about 8am, when a lot of people are still sleeping. I couldn't really find where the music was coming from, but it was extremely loud.

Congratulations

2008-05-12T19:22:00.000-07:00

“Congratulations!”

This is the word that Christy has heard a lot lately. “Congratulations.” My Chinese boss at Kojen said it to her, her friends said it to her, even people who work for the credit card company have said it to her when she told them she’s immigrating to America. When Christy and I first got married, one of her co-workers at Elan told her “Your life is like a dream come true.”

Why?

Is it really the “Taiwanese Dream” to marry an American, have children, and immigrate to America? Or is it just the dream of Taiwanese women? I think the dream of Taiwanese men is to be rich, and that’s it. Nothing else. I don’t think they care whether or not they live in America.

I asked Christy if she really felt like immigrating to America was her dream come true.

“No.” she quickly responded. “And if someone points a gun in my face, I want to come back.”

I think Christy is a little worried that America is going to be like the wild west, with people getting into gunfights on every corner. I tried to tell her that America isn’t like “Menace II Society” everywhere you go. You just have to be careful, like you would in any big city.

The movies and television have given Taiwanese people a very strange view of America. Either they think everyone is rich and living like the “Friends,” or they think that it’s a hellhole where people will kill you if you look at them wrong. I guess it all depends on what they’re watching.

Two people who haven’t said “Congratulations” to Christy are her mother and father. Naturally, they’re worried about her, as any parent would about their children. I’m worried about her too, since I’m bringing her into “my” world. America. Will she be able to adapt? Will she want to go home after her first night, just like I did my first night in Taiwan? Will she understand the freeway system? Will she be getting lost every time she goes out? She’s got quite an adventure in store for her.

(Picture: Christy gambling in Las Vegas, Nevada. I hope she doesn't become a gambling addict when she moves to America.)

Restaurants in Taiwan - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

2008-05-12T05:15:00.000-07:00

I think eating is the number one pastime of the Taiwanese. They really, really, really love eating. So it’s not surprising that there are thousands of restaurants here. Wherever you live, you don’t have to walk far to find a restaurant.

There are quite a few “Western” restaurants in the big cities. Outback and T.G.I. Friday’s are here. There’s even a Sizzler in Taipei. These restaurants are very overpriced, though, especially TGI Friday’s. 400 NT for a chicken quesadilla. Come on, that’s like 12 bucks! I didn’t really like the Sizzler here either. It didn’t taste anything like the Sizzler I remember from the states. Outback is good though, and the food there is exactly the same as you’d find in any other Outback around the world.

Korean, Japanese, Hong Kong, Thai, and just about every other Asian food is extremely easy to find here. They’ve also got Italian, French, German, and Mexican restaurants here, but not so many. Actually, Italian food is kind of popular here, but I have yet to find anyplace that has a simple “Spaghetti and meatballs.” The concept of the “meatball” seems to totally elude the Taiwanese.

Chinese food is, of course, the main attraction here. If you don’t like Chinese food, then why come to Taiwan? I had a colleague at Hess, Martin, who HATED Chinese food. He would go to McDonalds, MOS Burger, or KFC every single day. I would see him in the teachers lounge with his hamburger and French fries every afternoon, and it puzzled me why he wanted to live here. He was married to a Taiwanese woman, and I can imagine what she has to go through to cook for him.

When going to a Chinese restaurant with Christy, I can be a bit of pain. I don’t like to go to restaurants that look dirty, and there are MANY restaurants in Taiwan that look dirty. They call themselves restaurants, but they aren’t really restaurants. They are more like outdoor eating areas with stools. I only like to go to restaurants that look clean on the inside and out, and have a pleasant atmosphere inside, not a bunch of people eating together at a communal table, with a TV on in the corner.

Sometimes, though, even the nice restaurants can fool you. I found a cockroach in my food at a restaurant in Hsinchu once. Thankfully, that restaurant closed a few months later.

So what restaurants would I recommend to the newcomer to Taiwan? In Taipei, there’s an Italian restaurant called “Woodstone” that I really liked. In Taichung, there is Chun Shui Tang, a well-known teahouse restaurant. In Hsinchu, there’s Skylark and Outback (yeah, I know it’s not Chinese food). If you’re on a tight budget, the “Four Dragons” restaurant is good for dumplings and hot and sour soup. That will cost you less than 100 NT. If you decide to eat from street vendors, good luck, and don’t’ forget to get your Hepatitis A shots first.

(Pictures: 1. The entrance to a very traditional Chinese restaurant. 2. Inside Chun Shui Tang teahouse. 3. The overpriced TGI Friday's in Taichung. 4. A Taichung restaurant that I call the "3 Women Resturant" because of the artwork at the front of the building. 5. A Peking duck restaurant in Hsinchu.)

Keelung and Yehliu

2008-05-12T04:23:00.000-07:00

Keelung and Yehliu are two towns at the Northernmost point of Taiwan, less than an hour north of Taipei. Unless you find yourself with a lot of free time, I wouldn't really recommend going to these places.

At the southern end of Taiwan, you have the beach resort of Kenting. I was hoping that maybe Keelung would be the beach resort of the north, but it's not. They have a harbor there that isn't very clean, as well as the usual display of shops and restaurants.

Yehliu is famous for its rock formations, particularly the "Queen Head" rock. I really liked the sign promoting this attraction: "THE SPECIAL PRODUCTS OF THE SIGHTSEEING AREA"

If you have a car, there is a very nice, scenic, coastline drive between Keelung and Yehliu. It reminded me a lot of driving on Pacific Coast Highway in Los Angeles.

(Pictures: 1. and 2. Keelung Harbor. 3. Downtown Keelung. 4. The Yehliu sign. 5. The Queen Rock Head.)

Pi Chi

2008-05-12T03:50:00.000-07:00

I think that Pi Chi (David’s girlfriend) is probably the best thing to ever come into his life. David had been married twice before. His first wife, who I believe that he truly loved, was an emotional wreck. She was one of the most extreme introverts I had ever seen. In the several years I knew her, I think she only spoke about 3 or 4 sentences to me, and even less to my ex-wife, whom she hated with a passion.

His second wife was even worse than the first. He married her after only knowing her less than three months, and their marriage was annulled less than a year later. When I asked him what he was thinking when he married this woman, he just replied (quoting a Pink Floyd song) “It was a momentary lapse of reason.”

The next significant woman in his life was Pi Chi. He met her about nine months or so after I started going out with Christy. The two of them came out to visit me in Hsinchu. I liked Pi Chi, but I was really shocked at how bad her English was. It was really bad. I kept thinking to myself that if she were my girlfriend, I don’t think we would make it. But David didn’t seem to mind, and it was funny to watch how they communicated. He could understand what she was trying to say, and they would often hurl insults at each other over their language differences.

“Why you have that think?” Pi Chi asked him once. (Translation: “Why do you think that way?”)

David would usually answer her using even worse English than she would use.

“I have that think because I be down with the wizazz.” This would be his typical response. Just gibberish. I think Pi Chi quickly realized that if she only wanted to be with him to help improve her English, this was the wrong person.

David proposed to Pi Chi a couple of years ago in Paris. She said yes, but they still haven’t got married yet. They are still officially engaged. Whenever I go over to visit them, they already act like a married couple. They argue all the time about meaningless stuff just like Christy and I do. The honeymoon is already over for them, and they still haven’t tied the knot.

The last time I went to visit them, we went to see Pi Chi’s parents, and they were probably the nicest Taiwanese people I have ever met. They tried very hard to talk to me, and were very sociable and considerate. Pi Chi’s mother had even learned quite a lot of English just for the sole purpose of talking to David. I was impressed. These were the in-laws I wished that I had.
“That’s the difference between city parents and country parents. City parents actually want their children to marry foreigners and move to America. Country parents hate foreigners.” David said. He could have a point there.

(Pictures: 1. Pi Chi. 2. With Sara and Christy.)

Night Markets

2008-05-11T08:59:00.000-07:00

I would recommend that anyone who comes to Taiwan visit a night market. If not to try the food, just for the sheer spectacle alone. I occasionally eat the food at the night markets, but not often. It always looks extremely fattening and greasy. When you see the kinds of food the Taiwanese people eat, it’s amazing there aren’t more obese people here.

The Shi-Lin and Xuaxi Night markets are probably the most famous in Taiwan, but you can literally find them all over the country, even in the smallest towns.

Night markets remind me a lot of American swap meets. A place to by a lot of cheap crap and eat bad food. You can also buy a lot of porn at the night markets. There are thousands and thousands of porn dvd’s and vcd’s for sale. For such a repressed society, they really like their porn.

What shocked me the most about these night markets was the wide display of animal cruelty I observed. At the Xuaxi night market in Taipei, the famous show there is the gutting of a live snake before your eyes, followed by the drinking of the snakes blood. I also saw a live turtle hanging from a hook, trying really hard to escape. I wish I had taken a picture of this, but there are signs everywhere that say “No photographs.” The killing of chickens is also very common at night markets. Just this afternoon we went to a night market to buy some chicken and I watched as the guy took a chicken out of its cage, broke its neck, and then threw it into a barrel of water. I haven’t seen any pigs being killed, but I do see pig parts all over the place, including the legs and head.

It’s quite different from going to Ralphs Supermarket in the states, that’s for sure.

(Pictures: a local market in our neighborhood)

Random Pictures From Taiwan #5 - Hsinchu

2008-05-11T04:22:00.000-07:00

Picture 1: Me standing outside a rather colorful temple. At first I thought this was a funhouse.

Picture 2: A popular spot in dowtown Hsinchu.

Picture 3: Me at the Hsinchu beach. Yes, they do have a beach, but it sucks and nobody goes there.

Picture 4: This was a trail that I used to ride my bike on all the time. I liked riding here because you can see all the rice fields and there is very little traffic.

Picture 5: This is the view from the "Royal Hsinchu Hotel," supposedly the best hotel in Hsinchu. I stayed here the night before my wedding.

Mother's Day at the In-Laws

2008-05-11T01:52:00.000-07:00

If there is one place in Taiwan that I absolutely loathe going to, it’s my in-laws house. I think I would rather sit in a dentist’s chair than go there, that’s how bad it is.

Today, though, was Mother’s Day, and my wife insisted that I go with her to pay her respects to her mother. It’s a lose-lose situation for me no matter what I decide. If I go, then I have to spend hours in a place where I don’t feel comfortable or welcome. If I don’t go, then I look like an ass for not showing up on Mother’s Day. So, to make my wife happy, I decided to go with her.

I hadn’t been to Nantou in quite a while, and I had forgotten how bad the mosquito problem was there. The first time I went to Nantou, I was bitten by mosquitoes 52 times. I counted. I was in total agony. I had been wearing shorts and the bites were all over my legs, toes, arms, fingers, everywhere. This time I was wearing jeans, so I only got bit on my arms. I only got about 10 bites. It’s kind of ridiculous, really. I only spent a few minutes outside walking from the car into the house, and I could already feel myself getting bitten. My daughter didn’t get bit at all. Perhaps it’s just my pale, Caucasian skin that attracts these mosquitoes. Otherwise, I have no explanation for it.

Next, we had lunch. I don’t really enjoy the meals I eat there, either, so I try to bring my own food and drinks with me from home. They usually serve food like squid with mayonnaise, or bamboo. Sometimes they will make something I can eat, like fish or tofu or eggs, but I normally eat very little when I’m there.

Christy’s father, as usual, did something that upset me again. While my son Kyle was eating, he began coughing and choking, and spitting up food. My father-in-law thought this was funny and started laughing. I couldn’t believe it. My first reaction was worry and panic, and this guy was laughing. Christy started to hit Kyle on the back, and I got some water for him, and eventually everything was okay. I just don’t understand how the sight of an infant choking could provoke laughter. Truly bizarre behavior.

We only spent about three hours there in total, but to me it seemed like an eternity. Christy is going to spend her last week in Taiwan with her parents. I, however, have other plans.

(Pictures: 1. My bizarre father in-law. 2. Sara in Nantou. 3. Christy in front of her parents new house. 4. The kids who live in the house next door.)

David

2008-05-10T20:12:00.000-07:00

My last weekend in Taiwan, May 16-18, will be spent in Kaohsiung, with David and Pi Chi. My in-laws are having a farewell party for Christy that weekend, so I won’t be there. I mean, do I really need to be there? I think I’ve already said a lot about my in-laws, so it’s no surprise I have no desire in spending more time than necessary at their house.

I have a lot of “friends,” but David is probably the only friend I have that I could call at any time and talk about anything. Christy doesn’t have a friend like that, and she’s told me that she feels jealous that I have such a friend. When she feels angry or depressed, and she needs to talk to another female, she doesn’t have a friend that she feels close enough to to call them. Her friends are mostly just fellow classmates and co-workers that she might see once a year, or less.

David has no desire to go back to America. I’ve asked him several times what his long term plans are in Taiwan. He wants to continue to teach in Taiwan for as long as possible, until he becomes too old that he can’t find a job anymore. After that, he thinks he’ll have enough money to retire, whether that be in Taiwan or some other Asian country, who knows, but he won’t go back to America. The only way I could ever see him going back would be if his girlfriend, Pi Chi, found a high-paying job and talked him into it. Other than that, it’s not going to happen.

America wasn’t particularly good to David, so I understand his reasons for not wanting to go back. He had lost everything there; his job, his home, his car, his wife. At one point, David was even homeless. For a while, I let him stay with me in my apartment. His two sisters, both with houses, wouldn’t take him. I couldn’t believe it. This was his family. I wrote them an angry email, saying, basically:

“David has been living on the streets for the past two weeks. If someone in his family doesn’t want to help him, there is a very good chance he is going to die.”

His sisters became so upset with me. How dare I talk to them like that?! It’s their personal family business and since I’m not part of their family, I have no right to tell them they have to take care of David. I didn’t have much choice, though. I didn’t really have the room or the resources to take care of him.

My email was forwarded to David’s brother, Paul. I had never met Paul before so I didn’t even think about him. Paul wrote to me and told me that he would come to my apartment and take David back to his house. Paul was a lawyer who had a very nice house in Yorba Linda, California. I didn’t tell David that he was coming because I thought he might leave if he knew. It was going to be a surprise.

So Paul showed up and David looked at him as if he had seen a ghost. There was a brief reunion of sorts, as David explained to him what had happened over the past several months. David then packed up his stuff and left with his brother.

David lived with his brother for about six months in Yorba Linda. It wasn’t really the ideal place for David to live. Yorba Linda is a very conservative city in Orange County. It’s the birthplace of Richard Nixon and crawling with right-wing Republicans. David was a bleeding heart liberal. Not a good match. Since he didn’t have a car, he had to find a job that he could walk to. The only thing he could find was a job at a bowling alley. A bowling alley, a job that was so clearly beneath him.

I began to present the idea of going to Taiwan to him. It wasn’t an easy sell at first, but I think he realized that his life was going nowhere if he stayed in the US. After some time, he knew this was his best option.

I truly believe I “saved” David, but I don’t think he would admit that. He’ll say he didn’t need to be saved, but I think he did. Now he’s got a fantastic 3 bedroom apartment in a high rise building in Kaohsiung City. He’s got a good job and a very nice girlfriend who’s a head nurse. He’s doing pretty well.

(Pictures: 1. David at a camera shop in Hsinchu. 2. On the MRT in Taipei. 3. In the "earthquake room" at the Science Museum in Taichung. 4. At Toroko Gorge. 5. In Penghu.)

Betelnut Girls

2008-05-10T09:11:00.000-07:00

I don’t think any story about living in Taiwan can be complete without mentioning the “Betelnut Girls.” Betelnut girls are exclusive to Taiwan and have gained a pretty notorious reputation.

The first time I saw a Betelnut girl was when I moved to Hsinchu, about a month after I came to Taiwan. I was on a bus, and my boss at Hess, Steve, was showing me how to get to the office. As the bus drove by the betelnut stand, I quickly caught a glance. The glass booth and glowing neon sign. A very beautiful girl in the skimpiest outfit imaginable.

“What’s that?” I asked Steve. “Are they prostitutes?”
I immediately assumed they must be prostitutes. They certainly looked like prostitutes.

“No, those are betelnut girls.” Steve replied. “They sell betelnuts to people driving by.”

So this was the beginning of my betelnut history lesson. The reason I never saw any of these girls in Taipei was because the government had decided that these girls presented a bad image of the city, so they were banned. However, you can still find them in pretty much every other city in Taiwan. You can usually find them near all the major freeway on-ramps. I’ve also noticed that when you get further into the country, the outfits get more and more skimpy. One of my fellow teachers told me that he had even seen a topless betel-nut girl. Unfortunately, I have never seen that.

Personally, I think chewing betel nuts is totally disgusting. I feel the same way about chewing tobacco. It’s just a nasty habit, and the people who chew it regularly are not pleasant people to look at. Their teeth become stained red and they are constantly spitting. It’s not attractive at all, and on top of that it can give you oral cancer. Christy once told me that her aunt used to give her betel nuts when she was a small child. Her aunt, I’m sorry to say, is one of the most unattractive women I have ever seen, her mouth completely destroyed by chewing betel nuts her whole life. I couldn’t believe she would be giving a child this stuff. This is just complete irresponsibility on her part. It reminds me of the time David told me that his father used to give him Nyquil when he was just a baby so he’d stop crying.

Selling betel nuts is a big moneymaker for Taiwan, so I don’t think that will ever stop. They might stop using the “Betelnut Girl” though, and that would be unfortunate.

(Pictures: 1. Betelnut girls. *pic by mista666* 2. and 3. The betelnut stand in my neighborhood.)

Christy Says Goodbye to Her Friends

2008-05-10T04:20:00.000-07:00

Christy just pushed up the date we will leave Taichung and go to her parents house in Nantou. Now she wants to leave on Wednesday, May 14th instead of the 15th. I’ve only got 4 more days left in Taichung. So instead of having to stay with her parents for six days, we are now staying seven days. I quickly decided there was no way I’m going to stay at her parents house for seven days. For at least three days I’ll be going to visit David in Kaohsiung. I might even spend a day or two in Taipei and do some “touristy” stuff before I leave. At most, I will only spend two days in Nantou. Her parents don’t really care about saying goodbye to me, they just want some time with their daughter and the grandkids.

This Saturday afternoon, Christy wanted to say goodbye to her friends and classmates. We went to the “famous” Taichung ONE building. The tallest building in Taichung. The building whose management boasts about their spectacular views of the city. Well, on this particular day, the view sucked because their windows were extremely dirty. If they expect people to pay inflated prices for their food, they should at least keep their windows clean, since we’re basically paying for the view.

We went during their “Afternoon Tea” period from 2 to 5pm. This basically just consisted of tea with several different types of cakes. That was it, and it cost NT 530. 530 for tea and cake. This is about $16 US dollars. Not worth it.

I normally don’t like to go with Christy when she meets her friends. Although her friends are generally nice to me, everyone speaks in Chinese and there isn’t anyone there that can speak good enough English to try to talk to me. Usually they just try to impress me with their job title, and they give me their business cards. Today, for example, one of her friends told me he was an “Advertising Engineer” and he gave me his business card. If I ever have the need for such service (in the next 1 ½ weeks) I guess I’ll give him a call.

I also learned today that it’s not a good idea to take small children to any nice restaurant. Actually, I knew this before, but today just reinforced it. Kids just like to think of restaurants as their personal playground, and it’s a pain in the neck trying to control them. It happened once before at an upscale steak-house restaurant (also in Taichung) called “Ruth Cris.” We spent a lot of money on that meal, and the kids basically ruined the experience. It’s definitely worth it to just pay for a babysitter.

(Pictures: 1. The Taichung ONE building. 2. Christy's farewell party. 3. Sara and Kyle enjoying the party. 4. Another picture from the party. 5. The terrible view that we paid over NT 1,000 for.)

Taipei 101

2008-05-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

The "Taipei 101" building is, as of this writing, still the tallest building in the world. It's probably one of the most impressive things you will see in Taipei. On the bottom floors of the building is a shopping mall, but everything is very overpriced. The only store that I had any interest in was "Page One," a bookstore that sells both English and Chinese books. I remember I found Nick Mason's biography "Inside Out: A History of Pink Floyd" in this store. That was something I didn't think I would ever find in Taiwan.

David and I went to the top of the 101 building and took some pictures. As expected, it was very cold and windy up there. I believe we paid about 400 NT to get to the top, then they charged us another 100 NT for access to the roof. A bit high, but we figured we would only do this once, so why not?

If the air pollution isn't too bad on the day you go, you can get some great views of Taipei up there. Unfortunately, going on a day with no air pollution isn't easy. It would have to be a very windy day.

The Taipei 101 builiding claims to be even taller than the World Trade Center in New York, but it didn't seem like it. I went to New York City in May 2001 and went to the top of the World Trade Center, just 4 months before they came down (a story I like to tell my students). I was with my ex-wife at the time, and I remember she didn't want to go with me. She told me that she had a bad feeling about going up there. A premonition, maybe? Who knows. Maybe she was just afraid of heights.

What was really impressive about the WTC was that when you looked down from the top, you could see the clouds and airplanes below you. You were actually higher than the clouds and planes.

All comparisons aside, the 101 is still an impressive sight, and if you go there on New Years Eve they have a very spectacular fireworks display. I would put this in my top 5 of things to see in Taipei.

(Pictures: 1. Taipei 101 in all its glory. 2. 101 from a distance. 3. David taking pictures from the top. 4. The bottom of the 101. 5. The "world famous Taipei 101 damper" I took a picture of this only because they kept telling me how famous it was.)

10 Games You Can Play In Class

2008-05-09T00:43:00.000-07:00

If you are planning to teach English in Taiwan, you are going to have to play games. A LOT of games. If you are a serious teacher who feels that games are above you, turn back around right now. You might be able to escape playing games if you decide to only teach adults, but then you probably won’t make very much money.

As with every job I’ve had in the past, if I find things are becoming too repetitive, I tend to get bored. So I needed to come up with some original games that my students would enjoy. When I worked for Hess, the textbooks they used had many suggestions for games, but I hated about 75% of them. Many of them were too complicated and it would take too much class time just to explain the game. So the majority of the games that I came up with were very simple, and only took a minute or so to explain. The kids loved most, if not all, of these games:

1. “SuperPig”

Probably the easiest of all the games. Just draw a pig on the board and give points for each part of the body. If they miss the pig entirely, then deduct points. This game can also work using other animals or cartoon characters. I’ve also played this using the “Doraemon” character.

2. “Kill Doraemon”

Draw two “Doraemon” characters on the board in two different colors (for example, blue and green). The green team will throw the ball at the blue Doraemon. The blue team will throw the ball at the green Doraemon. Whatever part of the body the ball hits, you erase that part. For example, if the balls hits the head, you erase Doraemon’s head. Then the body, arms, legs, hands, etc. The winning team is the one who completely erases the other teams Doraemon. If you have a lot of time, this is a good game to play, since it may take a while to hit every body part.

3. “Kill the Students”

This is one of the most popular games I have played in my class, because it involves writing the names of the students on the board. You draw a brick wall on the board. In each brick, you write the name of a student. In the unused bricks, you write the words “You Live” or “You Die.” Students will throw the ball at the students names. When they hit a students name, that student is “dead.” He can only be revived if someone hits the “You Live” brick. If a student hits the “You Die” brick, he is dead, and his name is crossed out on the wall. The winning team is the one who wipes out all the students on the opposing team.

4. “Gunfight”

This one is simple, but very violent, so this might not be appropriate for every class. Draw two people pointing guns at each other. Students will throw a sticky ball at the two men, creating bullet wounds in each person, complete with dripping blood. The winning team is the one who has the least amount of bullet holes in their characters body. You can also play this game with your characters holding swords instead of guns. Instead of bullet holes, just draw sword slashes.

5. “Catch the Ball”

Another simple game that the students seem to like. Students stand on either side of the classroom and throw a ball back and forth 10 times. If they catch the ball every time, they get 10 points. If they catch the ball 5 times, they get 5 points, and so on. As soon as they drop the ball, their turn is over. Most students don’t make it to 10 points.

6. “Blindfold Race”

Draw a racetrack on the board, complete with curves going up and down. Students have to stay within the lines and make it to the finish line. If they touch the lines, their turn is up. The catch is that they have to do it wearing a blindfold. The students really love this one too.

7. “Basketball”

Okay, I didn’t really come up with this one, but it’s simple and easy. Use a basket and set it on the floor, and students have to toss the ball into the basket. The farther away they stand, the more points it’s worth.

8. “Soccer”

Another one I didn’t come up, but I works. Set the basket so that the open part is facing the students instead of facing the ceiling. Students have to kick the ball into the basket. Of course, you’re going to get idiotic students who will kick the ball as hard as they can, and it may hit another student in the class, but you’re going to have to deal with that kind of thing no matter what game you play.

9. “Doraemon’s Pyramid”

One “Doraemon” character from each team has to climb steps to get to the top of a pyramid to get a prize. This is a sticky ball game. They throw the ball at the pyramid, and each level of the pyramid will have a number. For example, “+1” “+2” or “+3”, or a negative number like “-1” “-2” or “-3”. That will tell you how many spaces their character can climb.

10. "Bowling”

This one requires that you have some small bowling-pin props, but usually the school will have that. I personally only like to use two bowling pins because it’s too much work to set up 10 pins every time. If a student knocks over one pin, they get 5 points. If they knock over two, it’s ten points. Very easy, and they like it.

So you might be asking: How do these games incorporate learning English? That’s very easy. Before the student can even take a turn playing this game, they have to answer a question that you prepare for them. I always use a spelling, sentence pattern, or vocabulary question.
So there’s 10 games you can try if you feel stuck. I’m sure there are many, many more that other teachers have created, but these 10 have worked very well for me.

(Picture: The "Doraemon" game)

My Last Day of Teaching

2008-05-08T10:20:00.000-07:00

I started my final day of teaching the way I always to. I arrive at the Kojen office about an hour early, make all the Xerox copies that I have to for the lesson I’m teaching. I go to the computer printer to print out the lyrics for the song I’m planning to play that day. In today’s class, I’m playing two songs. Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb.”

Playing “Comfortably Numb” as the final song in my final class is a no-brainer for me. To me, this is the greatest song of all time, and it can never get enough exposure as far as I’m concerned. I’ve only played the song twice in my classes. Once for teenagers, and once for the adult class I was teaching tonight. It kind of surprises me how many students say the song is “great” or “excellent.” I think even Taiwanese people (who have notoriously bad taste in music) hear a good song, even they have to recognize that is good. Still, one adult student, Ivy, told me the song was “too long.” She said the same thing about “Hotel California” by The Eagles. I guess she should consider herself lucky that I didn’t play Pink Floyd’s “Echoes”, which runs 23 minutes long.

The class went by very fast for me. I had made some Kung Pao Chicken to bring to class, and they seemed to enjoy it, after looking at it for a good ten minutes. I had to eat some of it first to show them that it was actually okay to eat. They also brought in pizza and tea.

We talked about jobs, listened to the songs, and played a game with a “sticky ball.” The game was very similar to the “SuperPig” game that I came up with when I first started teaching. So I had basically come full circle. I don’t normally play this kind of game in my adult class, but one pre-adolescent student in the class insisted we play a game.

In between the last time I saw the class and this time, my students discovered by blog. What amazed me is that I didn’t even tell them about my blog. One of my students, Angus, just went home one day and typed in the words “Ken” and “Kojen” and my blog came up.

Why are my students sitting at home in front of their computers typing “Ken” and “Kojen”? These must be some SERIOUSLY bored people.

I had mentioned that Angus was the student who had hit his son with a stick. He wanted to clear the record by saying that it was only one time that he did this, and that was because his son was laying on the floor in a McDonalds restaurant. I guess that’s a good enough reason to bring out the stick.

At the end of the day, I talked to my boss, Ian. He offered to write me a “Letter of Recommendation” for my next job and I took him up on the offer. I imagine when I move back to America, I’m going to need all the help I can get.

This is it. I will probably never teach another class again. Was it worth it? Yeah, it was. I’ve enjoyed it. Am I glad it’s over? Yes, I think so. I can’t see myself staying in Taiwan forever doing this job. It’s time to move on to the next chapter in my life. It’s time to go back home.

(Pictures: 1. Kojen, my last job in Taiwan. 2. My students getting ready to eat. 3. One of my students, Kris, receives an award from my boss, Ian. 4. Another student, Steven, also gets an award. 5. Class photo, complete with food.)

(Video below: This is my class rating me on my Kung Pao Chicken. They say they like it, but they could be lying.)

Christy

2008-05-08T01:24:00.000-07:00

I was pretty certain I would have a girlfriend in Taiwan. I was having more dates then I ever had in my life once I got here. However, I wasn’t certain that I would be able to find someone that I could have a long-lasting relationship with. There was always the communication barrier.

I remember having a conversation with David once about the type of Taiwanese woman I was looking for. At the top of my list was that they MUST be able to speak very good English. I can handle a few grammatical errors here and there, but if they can’t understand a word I’m saying, or they just nod and say “Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh” all the time, that’s not going to work.

I went out with a girl named Alice who just smiled all the time whenever I asked her a question. It was awful. I knew the relationship was doomed. I really had serious doubts that I would find the perfect woman.

Then somehow Christy appeared, and I was really impressed with how well she spoke. It wasn’t just her English ability that drew me to her. It was also her very un-Taiwanese personality. She wasn’t selfish at all. She cared about the state of the country. It angered her whenever someone would throw their garbage onto the street. It angered her when someone would drive through a crosswalk without slowing down. She had the personality of a foreigner who was living in Taiwan, even though she had lived here all her life. She agreed with every complaint that I had about Taiwan.

Even though she had some bad relationships with foreigners in the past, it didn’t seem to deter her from continuing to go out with them. If I were to put myself in her shoes, I probably wouldn’t go out with foreigners. They’re too unpredictable. They could leave the country at any time, either voluntarily or involuntarily. The chances of getting your heart broken are a lot greater than if you date the local people. When I mention the risk Christy took by being with me, she just says, simply, “I don’t like Taiwanese men.”

I think Christy is an American trapped in a Taiwanese woman’s body. She can be loud, opinionated, and a real pain in the neck sometimes, just like American women. She’s nothing like the image I had of small, Asian sub-servant women who are on call to my every need. If I were to ask her for a back massage, she probably would tell me she’d only do it if I gave her one too.

Sometimes she has very strange logic. She asks me if I’m going to cheat on her once we move back to America. This makes me laugh.

What is she thinking? Women didn’t want to date me in America. I didn’t make enough money or have a nice enough car. Most American women that I’ve met are so materialistic that they wouldn’t even look at someone like me. If I really wanted to cheat, I’d just stay in Taiwan. I’m like Brad Pitt in Taiwan!

I’m actually more worried that SHE might cheat in America. I know there are a LOT of American men who have Asian women fetishes. I met a Taiwanese girl in America through Match.com. She told me that she would get about 50 emails a day from guys wanting to date her. FIFTY per day. Asian girls are popular in America, it seems. Maybe American men have the same illusions as I once had. But trust me guys, these illusions will be shattered once you finally get married.

I don’t really think that Christy will cheat. She’s a very faithful wife and devoted mother. She would do anything for her family. She’d make any sacrifice she had to. I can see that just in the way she treats her own mother. Before we got married, she was giving her family half of her salary just so they could live comfortably. Her father had made many bad financial decisions when she was growing up, and the family was very heavily in debt. Christy had paid off his debt for him almost entirely by herself from years and years of hard work. She could be a Saint. If my daughter grows up to be like her mother, I’d be very happy.

(Pictures: 1. At home. 2. At my mom's hold house in Downey. 3. Enjoying her favorite pasttime. 4. On an escalator in Taipei. 5. With me at the Getty Center in Los Angeles.)

Sun Moon Lake

2008-05-07T18:44:00.000-07:00

Sun Moon Lake is one of the nicest places in Taiwan. This is the place where Chiang Kai-shek would go on his vacations, and I can see why. When you're here, it almost feels like you're not in Taiwan anymore.

I only went to Sun Moon Lake once, with David, Pi Chi, Christy, and Sara (who was about 1 year old at the time.) Should you decide to come to Taiwan, this is one place I would definitely recommend.

Random Pictures From Taiwan #4 - Taipei

2008-05-07T06:10:00.000-07:00

Picture 1: Christy at the "Xinbeitou" MRT subway station.

Picture 2: Xinbeitou. This is the place to go for a great outdoor hot-spring bath. I had a hot spring bath twice there. The first time I was alone, and that was kind of strange because everyone was staring at me the whole time. Here's the white guy among all these old, hairless men. The second time I went was with a girl named Nancy, who I met at Happy Family.

Picture 3: This was our view from the Happy Family hostel. Every morning we would awake to the sound of hundreds of scooters outside. These were just a few of them.

Picture 4: The Presidential Palace.

Picture 5: "Lover's Bridge" in Danshui. Danshui is probably the nicest place in Taipei. In some ways it reminded me of the Santa Monica pier in California. When I was dating, I went on several dates there.

Sara

2008-05-07T01:04:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I look at Sara, I can tell that she is going to be a very beautiful woman when she grows up. It’s kind of scary to me, actually. I know the nature of men, and I know what she will have to face in the world when she gets older. It’s the kind of thing that makes you wish your children would never get older. I know at some point I’m going to be dealing with boyfriends, and if they expect my approval, they’re going to have to meet some very high expectations. Luckily, I probably have about 12 or 13 more years before I have to begin worrying about this. Right now, Sara has just started potty training.

We trained Sara to start using the toilet by showing her some videos and using her “Elmo” doll. The Elmo doll says “Elmo’s thirsty! Please give Elmo his drink.” I’m not sure why Elmo always speaks in the first-person. That’s just his way, I guess. After you give Elmo his drink, he says “Uh oh, Elmo has to go to the potty!” and if you put Elmo onto the potty, he plays a happy song. It didn’t work right away, but Sara is getting better. She’ll occasionally urinate on the floor, or in her bed, or on our bed, but most of the time she makes it to the toilet. She’s really cute when she’s on the toilet. Once, when she was finished on the toilet, I went in and started to pull her underpants back up. She said “No, I need to wipe first!” Then after she wiped, she put the toilet paper into the toilet and said “Bye bye pee pee!”

Sara can also be very annoying at times. I’ve never told her to “shut up” but I’ve often wanted to. Sometimes Christy will take Kyle out and leave Sara alone with me, and Sara will follow me everywhere, into every room, asking question after question. A typical conversation with Sara goes something like this:

SARA: Where is mama?
ME: She’s out buying food.
SARA: Oh, why does she want to buy food?
ME: Because we need it.
SARA: Oh, mama and Kyle need it?
ME: Yes.
SARA: Oh, why do they need it?
ME: Because we need to eat food every day.
SARA: Oh, why do we need food every day?
ME: Because we need it.
SARA: Oh, why do we need it?

And this goes on and on and on and on. Yes, I realize it’s cute, but the cuteness does wear off. Believe me. After the same question is repeated a hundred times you really do want to say “Can you just shut up now?” But I’ve never said that to her. If I can’t take it anymore, I just stop answering her, or I’ll walk into another room and lock the door, but then she’ll knock on the door and ask me what I’m doing. If she happens to notice that I haven’t shaved, she will tell me that “only Santa” needs a beard, and that I don’t need one.

I think when she becomes a teenager and starts talking to boys all the time, I’ll really miss our meaningless conversations.

(Pictures: Sara, Sara, and more Sara)

Chiang Kai-shek

2008-05-06T20:37:00.000-07:00

Chiang Kai-Shek
That no-good, low-down dirty rat
Who used to order his troops to fire on the women and children
Imagine that? Imagine that.
And in the Spring of ‘48
Mao Tse-Tung got quite irate
And he kicked that old dictator Chiang out of the state of China
Chiang Kai-Shek came down in Formosa
And they armed the island of Quevoy
And the shells were flying across the China Sea
And they turned Formosa into a shoe factory called Taiwan

-Roger Waters
“Watching T.V.” 1992

Before I came to Taiwan, this song was pretty much the only history I knew of the country. I knew the situation between China and Taiwan, but not the history behind it. I knew that by coming to Taiwan, I was taking a risk that China could attack the country at any time, and I could be caught in the middle of it. However, I didn’t think it would actually happen. Thankfully, it didn’t. Not yet anyway.

I knew almost nothing about Chiang Kai-Shek, but once I arrived here, his presence was everywhere. There are statues of him all over Taiwan. His portrait is on all the coins. One of the nicest places in Taipei, the “Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall” is named after him.

In some circles, particularly the elderly KMT generation, he is viewed as a great hero. In others, the younger DPP generation, he’s seen as a tyrant and they are slowly trying to erase his existence from Taiwan.

The current president, Chen Shui-bian, has ordered the removal of many of the statues. They also recently changed the name of the “Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall” to the “National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall” The main airport in Taiwan, once called “Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport (CKS) is now called the “Taoyuan International Airport” I can imagine this has angered a lot of people.

Taiwan is no longer a “shoe factory” as mentioned in the song. Today it’s more of an “electronics factory.” I think the “shoe factory” mantle can be passed to China, now.

I’ve learned a lot more about Chiang Kai-Shek over the past several years. I’ve visited the places he liked to spend his vacation. I’ve seen his gravesite, which is guarded by soldiers 24 hours a day. I’ve seen his cars, his favorite chair, and his numerous statues.

Whether he will be remembered by future Taiwanese as a hero or a tyrant remains to be seen, but his presence here is beginning to diminish.

(Pictures: 1. One of Chiang Kai-shek's many statues, complete with bird feces. 2. The Chiang Kai-shek park. 3. Chiang Kai-shek's tomb. 4. CKS Memorial Hall. 5. The giant statue inside the CKS Memorial Hall.)

A Possible Job...In Texas

2008-05-06T00:09:00.000-07:00

There is a Taiwanese company that’s based in Austin, Texas that Christy might be working for. She has an interview next week here in Taiwan. She’s been talking to people at this company for the past several days, and they seem very interested in her. They said the other candidates for the job can’t speak proficient English, and they need someone who can speak, in their words, “excellent English.” Christy started to panic.

“They want someone who can speak excellent English. I’m not sure they will accept me.” Christy told me.

I don’t think that Christy realizes that her English is already excellent. She worries far too much. I’ve met people in America, people in positions of management, who speak worse English than she does. Everyone who has ever met Christy has told me that they think her English is very good. Sometimes she will pronounce words incorrectly, and occasionally we will have communication issues. I once thought she said “Fifth floor” when she was actually saying “internet explorer.” But this doesn’t happen often.

The money they want to pay her isn’t bad for Austin, Texas. Everything is cheaper there, so our money will stretch further than if we lived in Los Angeles. But the question is: Do I want to live in Austin, Texas?

Texas. A “red state.” A state that overwhelmingly voted for George W. Bush in both elections. The state where Bush lives, for God’s sake! A state that has the highest execution rate of any state in the country, and people can freely carry guns around.

I called my sister, who lives in Dallas, and asked her about Austin.

“Austin is very nice.” She told me. “It’s more of a college city. It’s actually very liberal. You’d probably like it.”

Everyone that I’ve talked to has said that Austin is a nice city. I remember driving through Austin once or twice, but I don’t think I ever actually stayed there. I’ve been to El Paso, Amarillo, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. I remember I liked San Antonio the best, because they had that nice River Walk.

Other than my sister, I don’t know anyone in Texas. Dallas is a 4 hour drive from Austin, so I don’t think I’d be able to visit her that often. So we’d have to do it all on our own, without any help from friends or family.

I told Christy to go for it. Try to get the job if she can. I don’t need to live in Los Angeles again. I already lived there for the first 34 years of my life. Change is good. If that’s where our destiny takes us, so be it. If she doesn’t get the job, then something is telling us we need to go back to L.A. We’ll find out next week.

(Pictures: The only pictures I have of Texas. 1. Me at the Alamo in San Antonio. 2. El Paso.)