Farewell Kaohsiung!
Trip Start
Jul 05, 2008
1
2
30
Trip End
Aug 30, 2008
Kaohsiung,
Taiwan
Friday, July 11, 2008
* my students. so much. I cried like a baby today.
* the fast drive around the lake, through swarms of butterflies
* the gym.
* typhoons. I love them.... and all tropical storms
* cheap rent, big apartment
* eating out for every meal every day.
* buddhist food
* Taiwanese efficiency and organization
* green tea. I drink about 2 litres a day.
* my school. I really lucked out.
* large tax returns and high pay
* big clean swimming pools
* hiking Monkey Mountain
* all the people at my school
* cheap travel, on the island and around the region
* unflappable support within Taiwanese families
* everything is cheap
* helpfulness of the locals
* geckos on the walls
* lion dances and dragon dances popping up along the street.
I am glad to leave behind....
* narrow-minded people
* air pollution. I have scarred lungs.
* a society lacking a love of athleticism (in general)
* Taiwanese education system
* lack of creativity in education system
* foreigners who think they're gods
* rudeness: stare or talk about you like you're not even a person
* cockroaches and stray dogs
* public littering
* a society way too selfish to consider their environmental "footprint"
* the concept of face
* the love of whiteness. breaks my heart when my beautiful little students think they're ugly
* selfish, callously dangerous drivers
* lack of sidewalks
* being stared at like I'm a freak when I run/bike/swim.
* population density of 9,500people/km2 in Kaohsiung.
Despite all that, I am infinitely grateful for all the time I had here and all the people I met. Taiwan may not be the best fit for me, but it certainly is a wonderful country full to the brim of wonderful people. Leaving is very bittersweet and almost unbelievable in a way. I certainly have a re-envisioned idea of where home is and a new appreciation for it.
Enough i'm-okay-you're-okay. Let's go to Bali.
