Betel nut girls, seafood, the tropic of cancer and transliteration
I have just arrived back from Tainan in the south of Taiwan where I visited a friend. I crossed the imaginary line known as the tropic of cancer on the way here. This line marks the northern most point at which it is possible for the sun to be directly above your head. This phenomena occurs at 1200 on the summer solstice (22nd June) due to the 23.5∘(almost) tilt of the Earth. People here speak Taiwanese as opposed to Mandarin so again I understood nada! We visited salt mountain which does exactly what it says on the tin. A 20m ‘mountain’ made of salt. They used to mine the white stuff from the plains around here. Apparently this activity is no longer economically viable (sounds like Thatcher in the 80’s talking about the black stuff) so now it is a salt mining museum (sound familiar?). There was even a house made of salt. I visited some magnificent Chinese style temples. These were huge and decorated as ornately and as impressively as any Buddhist equivalent you might see in Thailand/Myanmar. I ate the most incredible seafood I have ever tasted in the old part of Tainan city. Here, oysters are a staple dish and I ate many of these omelet style. The mussels here are gargantuan – the size of your fist. I had a massive bowl of them – absolutely delicious. Loads of fresh oysters and mussels for about 3gbp for two people – mmmmmmmmm! Next we went to Jiading beach for a ‘splodge’. I watched the sun go down over the watery horizon and lamented the fact that I am stuck in Shulin when I could so easily have been here. People were constructing huge bamboo frames on the beach but I could not work out why. There were a few people kite surfing here but it was not as spectacular as the displays I saw in Vietnam. The ubiquitous kites were here in there hundreds too – Asians love flying kites man!
With a sad heart I caught the 4hr bus back to Taipei. I feel compelled to comment on the bus. A return ticket for this four hour journey costs 1000ntd (about 15gbp). Expensive? No way. For this you get an extremely comfortable sofa style single seat with air-conditioning. It reclines electrically and can even massage you at three different speeds. You have your own TV display where you can choose from about 10 channels (yes, they even have English movies!). There is so much room, it is like sitting in your house. Sometimes I think the UK is years behind Asia in many ways. I think their standard of living here is better than home. For example, my rent is 90gbp/month for a smart new place with AC/fridge/cable TV. I eat out every meal for around 1gbp a go. In fact everybody seems to eat out here. It is the done thing. A great way to spend the warm evenings. In the UK rent is extortionate and it is seldom that people go to restaurants. I earn much less than I would in the UK but the money goes a lot further here giving you an ultimately better lifestyle. I pay a scandalous 6% income tax. Council tax? Don’t be stupid.
Some men here like to chew the infamous betel nuts (though not on the scale of Myanmar where a white tooth is a rarity). The peculiarity here though is that young sexy La Mei (spicy girls) sell them from roadside glass cabinets wearing bikinis. It is awesome – really brightens up a long trip. However, rather disappointingly for me, the Taipei council has banned it in Taipei county. They reckon it projects a negative image or something. The rest of Taiwan can sell betel nuts in bikinis until their hearts are content – another reason to lament being in Shulin which happens to be smack bang in the middle of Taipei county - Arse! This was an unexpected pleasant surprise on my trip south!
I was teaching the other day and I was trying to engage the older kids in conversations on global affair topics like terrorism, globalisation and climate change etc. etc. I was confounded when it transpired nobody knew George Bush or Osama Bin Laden. After drawing the ‘9/11’ Twin Towers and maps of the World (highlighting Washington DC and Afghanistan) the penny finally dropped. However, the confusion arose from the way the Chinese transliterate (change (letters, words, etc.) into corresponding characters of another alphabet or language) from English. It turns out English is a far more flexible language for transliterating. Our language can give a fair representation of most Chinese words and sounds eg. 台北 = ‘Taipei’ which does sound like how the locals say it. However, this ease of transliteration is not reciprocal. Some words and sounds in English are very difficult to say with Chinese characters. My name does not really sound like Stephen when represented in Chinese. Goerge Bush becomes Goergee Bushee! Of course the kids know who George Bush is but you cannot say his name as we would say it in English. This provides a few challenges when I am trying to explain some names of people and places. There you go, some more useless information for you courtesy of my brain which is over flowing with bollicks.
On Friday night I have to dress up as a pumpkin and compere a Halloween party for 150 kids. We have a paddling pool and about 300 apples for all the kids to try apple bobbing. I have to go to the night market and hand out fliers for the party (and try to drum up some more business for the school). This is all very well but I am cringing a bit with embarrassment – dressing up as a pumpkin and speaking over a PA system to 100’s of Chinese kids and adults! I also set up and installed the school’s new PA system with amplifiers and wireless microphones etc. This job gets more bizarre the longer I am here! Also, the kids have all voted that I will win the apple bobbing competition – why? I have no idea.
Georgee Booshee (George Bush??)
牛肉麵 – niu ro mian - my favourite dish (Beef noodle soup)
大 – da - big
水 – shui - water
小 – xiao – small
炒飯 – chao fan – fried rice
fengshui – this means wind/water and spiritual types reckon that putting a plant pot on the tele can help you win the lottery.
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