15 Months in Taiwan: Where I Live (Picture Post)

So having been in Taiwan for 15 months now, I wanted to describe the community where I live.

15 Months on the Same Island (No worries!)

As of this week I've been in Taiwan for 15 straight months, the longest I've been in Taiwan before and actually the longest I've been in this small of a geographical area for quite some time. Even not counting going to Chicago a couple times for training and other random trips, the last four years before Taiwan involved a lot of traveling between Alabama and Texas for seminary and then support raising, over 660 miles one way. (Randomly, that's a bit farther than from Paris to Vienna. The US is a big country..)

For comparison, Taiwan's main island is only 250 miles long in total. Taiwanese students often complain they feel that Taiwan is small and enjoy traveling off island when possible, and I can empathize. But I am less prone to feeling this kind of claustrophobia since a) I spent most of the rest of my life out in that world, and b) Taiwan is such a rich and varied place. Each area of Taiwan has a notably different feeling from other areas, and the abrupt transitions between busy crowded cities, peaceful farming areas, and rugged mountains help make it feel like a much larger place than it is.

Where I live:

While trips away are nice, typically I'm busy serving in this community. It's a former industrial area where most of the jobs went to China years ago, high-density and low-income. The population is divided into three major parts: local long-term residents, usually working class or lower middle class, sometimes struggling as the community declines; commuters, whose work and lives are mostly elsewhere and who live here because it's cheaper; and new arrivals, mostly higher-income and younger who work in the hi-tech businesses along a renovated corridor that follows a main road.

Factories in our community. The mountains in the background are across the river.

The large neighborhood at the core of our ministry area is pretty typical for Taiwan, though in the greater Taipei area it counts as a bit run down. Daoist shrines are clustered among the dense row apartments separated by narrow streets shared by pedestrians, dogs, bicycles, motor scooters, cars, trucks, motor-driven scrap carts, etc. Everything is old and dirty, but it's quite safe, and the front and backs of the row apartments are lined with narrow balconies often filled with potted plants that sometimes send flowers and foliage stretching out into the air above the alley ways. Lately during the frequent grey days of early spring, those flowers and the bright red Spring poetry banners (春聯) posted around the doorways of the buildings are the only bits of color amid the drabness.

It can be a little bleak at times...

See what I mean about the spring color?

But, on a blue sky day, it's not so bad...

Notably, outside our ministry area to the west the Dapinglin MRT (mass rapid transit, Taipei's metro system) station is only about seven minutes' walk away, and as you near the station things are notably different; it's a commercial area, with newer buildings, lots of restaurants, and generally feels more like what you'd expect in the greater Taipei area. The main road running up from Xindian proper and passing right by the station changes names to become the famous Roosevelt Road that is the main artery of SE Taipei City, continuing on all the way to the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial. The MRT station is also poised to become a transfer station by the end of this year, making further development a certainty.

At the MRT station intersection

It's hard to say how much that will affect our own community (other than property values inevitably rising), since investment follows main roads and MRT lines, and it's "tucked away" from these more influential areas. The community is bordered on the north and east by the Jingmei River, and seems almost a victim of that geography. Visualize a squarish area with the left and bottom sides formed by two main roads, with the bottom road especially being renovated, with luxury apartments in one spot, and the upper and right portion of the square not square at all but defined by the s-curve of a big lazy loop of river, with things getting poorer and older the further up into that loop you push, until by about 2/3 of the way in it's nearly all factories, some still open. The exceptions are where the river loop is punctuated in two or three places by bridges, and things are nicer right where the bridge enters the community, perhaps reflecting the fact that across the river (which has an amazing walking/bike trail that runs along it all the way up to the Taipei Zoo) is Taipei City proper.

A local garbage truck.. no trash cans in Taiwan, you take your garbage straight to the truck at certain set times.

The Jingmei River, boundary between Taipei City proper and former Taipei Country, now New Taipei City.
The yellow railings on the left are the beginning of that walking/biking trail.

Along those two main roads things change to mixed residential-commercial, with the bottom and sometimes upper floors of the buildings occupied by numerous restaurants and businesses. To the south is the hi-tech corridor I mentioned earlier, which begins abruptly as you walk out of our community and are suddenly facing large new corporate buildings, notably HTC's well-designed new headquarters. Past that is a parking garage for Carrefour, a French "hypermart," which shares its huge building with a foodcourt, spacious gym, and rooftop driving range, but within a stone's throw of it there's a large lot with overgrown shacks and banana trees. (All this is at the bottom left corner of that square I mentioned earlier.) Across from that are some newish higher-end car dealerships and a Starbucks.

One of the entrances to our community. The archway sign is for the temple on this side of it.

Just a couple minutes' walk away, the upscale area. Not shown: Gigabyte's corporate HQ is here too.

Keep walking and you're back in another neighborhood quite similar to ours. Across one main road from our community (the "left side" of our square), the street is lined with multistory apartment buildings with shops down below, but the community back behind them feels even older than ours.

The "left side" road, past those rows of apartment buildings and getting to the expensive area up ahead.

A quieter street in the "hidden community" back behind the apartment-walled main streets

This street, quiet in this picture, is often lined with vendors. To the right is a "grey water" (waste water that's not sewage) ditch lined with houses that aren't much more than shacks. It smells sometimes.

Older communities in Taiwan can be like mazes, with roads not featured on google maps (which has done a very thorough job in Taiwan in general), and passages between buildings not even wide enough for a person on a bicycle. There's an old day market, usually deserted, which is the fastest shortcut between where I live and the main road with the 24 hour McDonalds. If anywhere in our community is haunted, it would be that deserted market in the lonely hours of the night...

Turning to the right leads out to the road, keeping to the left leads deeper into the market. Creepy at night.

To the left: The mysterious passageway. Behind those covered walls to the right is that drainage ditch.

I have said before that old Taiwanese communities are bigger on the inside than on the outside. What I mean by that is the actual area of the community might be less than half an acre, and it's flanked all around by modern multistory apartment buildings. Yet get back behind those, and you'll have these little passageways and alleys and "you can't get there from here" sections that remind you that you are indeed in Asia.

And That's It For Now..

So that's a little glimpse of my community. Scroll back up and you can see it's a diverse place. Lots of lifestyles, lots of income levels, lots of challenges for the work we're doing, and lots for me to continue adjusting to as I experience life over here.

Is there anything you're curious to know more about regarding life or ministry over here?
Most people comment on FB where I link to these, but feel free to do so here as well..

12 Days of Christmas - Taiwan Version

Just for fun...

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Taiwan 2014 Version

On the first day of Christmas, in Taiwan I did see:
1. A blue magpie in a flame tree.

Taiwan Blue Magpie (borrowed from wikipedia- someday I'll get a shot this good..)

On the second day of Christmas, in Taiwan I did see:
2. Two metro hubs
1. And a blue magpie in a flame tree

Hub is one of those words that starts sounding weird if you say it a lot

On the third day of Christmas, in Taiwan I did see:
3. Three black hens
2. Two metro hubs
1. And a blue magpie in a flame tree

The bones are black too

On the fourth day of Christmas, in Taiwan I did see:

4. Four uncommon herbs
3. Three black hens
2. Two metro hubs
1. And a blue magpie in a flame tree

Also borrowed from wikipedia. I need to get Taiwan traditional market pictures

On the fifth day of Christmas, in Taiwan I did see:
5. Fiiiiive mangguo biiiings
4. Four uncommon herbs
3. Three black hens
2. Two metro hubs
1. And a blue magpie in a flame tree

Mang-guo Bing (Mango shaved ice)

On the sixth day of Christmas, in Taiwan I did see:
6. Six weeks a raining
5. Fiiiiive mangguo biiiings
4. Four uncommon herbs
3. Three black hens
2. Two metro hubs
1. And a blue magpie in a flame tree

There's a rainy season in late Spring. Endless rain...

On the seventh day of Christmas, in Taiwan I did see:
7. Seven shrimp a swimming
6. Six weeks a raining
5. Fiiiiive mangguo biiiings
4. Four uncommon herbs
3. Three black hens
2. Two metro hubs
1. And a blue magpie in a flame tree

These shrimp were swimming only shortly before they became part of this delicious seafood porridge

On the eight day of Christmas, in Taiwan I did see:
8. Eight maids a trilling
7. Seven shrimp a swimming
6. Six weeks a raining
5. Fiiiiive mangguo biiiings
4. Four uncommon herbs
3. Three black hens
2. Two metro hubs
1. And a blue magpie in a flame tree

If not trilling then at least making a joyful Christmas noise

On the ninth day of Christmas, in Taiwan I did see:
9. Nine aunties dancing
8. Eight maids a trilling
7. Seven shrimp a swimming
6. Six weeks a raining
5. Fiiiiive mangguo biiiings
4. Four uncommon herbs
3. Three black hens
2. Two metro hubs
1. And a blue magpie in a flame tree

Dance off! Aunties vs. Highschoolers

On the tenth day of Christmas, in Taiwan I did see:
10. Ten toddlers squeaking
9. Nine aunties dancing
8. Eight maids a trilling
7. Seven shrimp a swimming
6. Six weeks a raining
5. Fiiiiive mangguo biiiings
4. Four uncommon herbs
3. Three black hens
2. Two metro hubs
1. And a blue magpie in a flame tree

In Taiwan, toddlers wear shoes that squeak every time they take a step
so their parents can keep track of them. I don't have pictures of toddlers
so this picture of an adorable child in scuba gear will have to suffice.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, in Taiwan I did see:
11. Eleven bikers biking
10. Ten toddlers squeaking
9. Nine aunties dancing
8. Eight maids a trilling
7. Seven shrimp a swimming
6. Six weeks a raining
5. Fiiiiive mangguo biiiings
4. Four uncommon herbs
3. Three black hens
2. Two metro hubs
1. And a blue magpie in a flame tree

Ok, I know these are less like "bikers" and more like "cyclists" but the giant rubber duck has to count for something...

On the twelfth day of Christmas, in Taiwan I did see:
12. Twelve drummers drumming
11. Eleven bikers biking
10. Ten toddlers squeaking
9. Nine aunties dancing
8. Eight maids a trilling
7. Seven shrimp a swimming
6. Six weeks a raining
5. Fiiiiive mangguo biiiings
4. Four uncommon herbs
3. Three black hens
2. Two metro hubs
1. And a blue magpie in a flame tree

Students drumming in a Daoist parade

Merry Christmas from Taiwan!

10 Things I Miss about America: After a Year in Taiwan

I wrote, before leaving America, things I expected to miss about the place. I then checked again 6 months later, to see how accurate my original guesses were. Now, a year later, as I am getting more fully adjusted and settled in for the medium-term, I will take another look.

 

Original List (not in any particular order) of things I expected to miss:

1. Driving                                                     (6 months later: confirmed)
2. Spring and Autumn                                   (6 months later: partially confirmed)
3. Wardrobe flexibility due to summer heat    (6 months later: busted, it was fine)
4. Being able to make jokes people get         (6 months later: partially confirmed)
5. Real southern food and Tex-Mex               (6 months later: confirmed)
6. Pop culture/movie references                    (6 months later: confirmed)
7. Political discussions                                 (6 months later: busted, did anyway, heh)
8. No garbage cans                                      (6 months later: confirmed)
9. Not having to worry about water quality     (6 months later: busted, a very small issue)
10. Blending in                                            (6 months later: confirmed, of course)
11. Added in the 6 month post: Being able to flush toilet paper!

Updated List: Things I Miss After One Year

It turns out I did a pretty good job of guessing, overall. (I don't blame myself for the talking-about-politics one, too many interesting political things happen in Taiwan not to at least discuss them. And I discovered refusing to participate in that kind of discussion irritated some people more than simply expressing an opinion.)

A year later, a few of the original list deserve a second look:

2. Spring and Autumn (Yes I still miss them, but keep reading)

My impression of Taiwan last time I lived here was that there was winter, a rainy period in late Spring, then a typhoon-filled summer and a nice few weeks of Autumn (hard to call it Fall when very few leaves do) before it got cold again.

That's not far off, but what I think has happened this time around is that I've begun to accept that Taiwan, for geographical reasons, simply doesn't have 4 seasons. America might not either, really. If you watched the weather patterns closely for a few years, then set about to define your own local seasons, I bet you wouldn't come up with 4, and they wouldn't be all the same length. People who have lived in the same place for decades/have family roots there often know the ins and outs of the yearly weather patterns.

So I do still miss Spring and Autumn, especially early Spring and the warm days/frosty nights part of Autumn, but I think we should embrace the richness of our local climates which never line up with the astronomical seasons anyway. (Where is it not summer weather until June 21? Alaska?)

This was about as close to Autumn leaves as I got this year. They didn't really crunch...
I hear there's a bit of leaf change in the mountains though, something to check out next year

5. Southern food and Tex-Mex

I think I mentioned in the 6 month update that this was true but not a problem because of all the good local food. And Taiwanese food is -amazing- so that's not wrong. But I think it's seasonal too. Over the summer I was fine (I think if it came down to a contest, Taiwan would beat America for warm-weather food), but as the holidays have arrived, I've begun to miss some of the tastes of home. Fried catfish, BBQ baked potatoes, etc. I think maybe it's not so much the taste itself, as enjoying that taste with other people who also know the same food and are anticipating enjoying it just like you are. Then there are the little rituals of "ok, it's cold enough, we can start drinking hot cocoa and making neiman marcus brownies," that sort of thing.

Then the Tex-Mex is just a personal preference. We had some great Tex Mex restaurants in Alabama, and even better ones in Dallas, and from time to time, I am really in the mood for some good tacos de lengua, pollo loco, or steak quesadilla. I have yet to find a good Mexican restaurant in Taiwan. I went to the one that was supposedly the best, and it was very "meh." They had some of the basic dishes, but they were bland, mild, and lacked any piquancy. Maybe they were worried about people not being used to the stronger flavors and heat; I might go back and ask them if they can spice it up a little.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Go to your favorite Tex-Mex place (Or mine, for those of you who know what that is) and enjoy a meal there (pray for Taiwan when you bless the food, if you please), and take a picture, and send it to me or tag me in it. I won't be mad that I can't eat the food, I will enjoy the experience vicariously that way.

Like I said, Taiwanese food is amazing, so I cannot complain whatsoever. I think my revelation over the past  6 months has been the thing about sharing familiar food (family recipes, seasonal dishes) with people who know and anticipate them like you do. I expect that might change over the long-term in Taiwan as I also begin to recognize seasonal dishes here and look forward to them, and share them with friends.

For now, I am both loving Taiwanese food and also really want a good taco. I might go looking for some ground beef and spices later... (I think an international store might have corn tortillas...hmm...)


6. Pop Culture/Movie References

This is very slowly changing. Your Chinese has to be pretty amazing to really 'get' pop culture in Taiwan and know what's going on and what's popular. (Obviously, not everyone keeps up with that sort of thing in their own culture; I certainly didn't in America. But you catch things by osmosis, by articles you don't bother clicking on, that sort of thing. My Chinese is not good enough to do that yet)  So Facebook is my best source of that kind of information for now, but I've seen at least a couple movies here now and when I reference them, people can at least figure out what movies I'm talking about. (It's a start!) Watching a couple Taiwanese TV series has been interesting and helpful as well, though it's incredibly slow if I really want to try to pause it and figure out everything everyone is saying.


8. (+ 11.) No garbage cans, no flushing toilet paper

This is still occasionally frustrating, but I've noticed that as I get used to the lifestyle here, I start remedying the lack of trash cans in various ways. A lot of the trash I need to take out of my house is recyclable, so the old lady down the street gets it. I've gotten better about throwing things away outside the house when I get the chance, and not bringing trash home with me so I don't have to deal with it later. The no flushing toilet paper thing is still weird, though it's instinctive at this point. (I'm definitely going to need to hardcode that switch in my brain and switch it off next time I'm in the US, heh) The biggest result of it overall is that bathrooms are generally much less pleasant places than they are in the US. Though, ironically, it's partially a result of having adopted western toilets. You don't normally need as much paper after using a squatty. (They're all around more efficient... I'll leave it at that)



10. Blending In

"One of these things is not like the others..."
(The bags are me helping someone carry their stuff, I think it was houseplants, oddly enough)

I will never blend in here, barring some kind of historically unprecedented situation where tens of thousands of Westerners want to come live permanently in Taiwan and Taiwan lets them do so. So it's deceptive to even say I 'miss' this, because it's so obviously impossible. It does get tiring to be permanently treated as an outsider and according to different rules, though in Taiwan at least this is both polite and obvious. (Taiwanese people who don't know you are typically either shy or warm and effusive; there are far worse places to be an outsider)

I'm thankful for a few contexts where due to my previous experiences in Taiwan I've been around long enough to be an "old friend" or "familiar face." The attempt to eliminate discrimination in America may be a praiseworthy goal, but personally I don't think discrimination itself is wrong; it's simply recognizing difference. I am different here. I do stand out. To be treated differently is not anything to be offended about. To me the question is not whether we discriminate, which is natural/instinctive behavior, but whether we are loving or not towards those we treat differently because we perceive them to be different.

So now...

Would I add anything to this list? After a year, I could add maybe two or three things I miss:

A. Literacy

I often get polite compliments on my Chinese (that's not bragging, you will get those at any level of Chinese, and they taper off when you're really good), but I'm only conversational, and barely that after missing a lot of sleep. But even being conversationally fluent, which I should be able to achieve some time next year, is not the same as being fully literate. This is where being highly literate in English actually hurts me. I'm used to the written word being something I utterly take for granted, like shapes or colors, not something I have to stare at for a moment and actively think about before I get it. It's humbling in a good way, but I'm hoping there comes a day when I can be sort of aware of what's written around me without having to focus on each thing.

B. Not Feeling Guilty for Leisure Time

This is not so much a Taiwan thing as a missionary thing. Taiwanese work very hard, usually, and I find that work ethic inspiring. The hard part is working the weird hours of a missionary, when there's no clear "at the office/at home but on call/on vacation" distinctions. In my previous incipient career as a computer engineer, I would work 40+ hours a week, attend a couple Bible studies and Sunday morning and evening services at church, and (being single) no one criticized how I used the rest of my time. Saturdays were mine, and I enjoyed them. I don't really get criticism from anyone here (I'm staying quite busy with ministry as it is), but what I miss is that "off the clock" feeling. But I really wonder now, is that right? If I really am a believer, called to the Great Commission by Christ as the whole Church is, isn't it true that I'm always "on duty" for the gospel, and wrong for me to have thought before that my secular employment set the hours? I'm still thinking about this. Another aspect of it is that, as a missionary, you always wonder, if I spent a little more time working on that ministry, making more contacts at that school, etc., would I see more fruit? I did not wonder this as an engineer, as my company was pretty adamant about not paying me for more hours than they'd asked me to work. But as a missionary, my hours are the 24 that come with each day. What does "free time" even mean anymore?

A resulting problem is that I end up needing rest and recreation time and taking it anyway, but feeling vaguely guilty about it. Or, I don't "rest hard/play hard" when I have the chance, and so my working times start suffering, and I fall into the trap of time-wasting activities that aren't all that fun but don't make me feel guilty like "having fun" would. I'd be curious to hear people's thoughts on this; I have a feeling there are lots of books and articles addressing this exact phenomenon. (I know part of it is resulting from something I discussed in my look back at this past year, not having the friendship networks I thought I would.)

The problem is, though, that even resolving it for myself, it's nearly impossible to explain to my (much older) Taiwanese coworkers, who have expressed their appreciation for missionaries in the good old days who didn't play around but were serious about the work. (Not aiming that at me, as far as I could tell, just reminiscing)

And I can't really imagine The Apostle Paul deciding to sink a few weekend hours into a TV series he missed, or go visit a nearby town "just for fun,"... so I don't know. Maybe it's me that is immature, or confused by an immature culture (Americans all are to some extent, that's for sure), and I should simply apply myself more diligently. I would appreciate any reflective thoughts on the subject.

A Year of Missions in Taiwan - Part 3 (Dec to June Photos)

Funny thing, I just checked the dates and I'd forgotten I didn't spend a whole year in Taiwan last time, I was there exactly 50 weeks. So I have actually already been here over a week longer than I was here that year. And here I was going to do a whole Samwise Gamgee from the movie analogy with the "one step further and I'll be farther from home than I've ever been," thing. Ah well. I'm still celebrating the actual one year mark.

This post will be a sort of photo journal of my work here from last December until June, then we'll continue on from June and catch up to now in the next photo post.

Two apologies: 
1. A lot of the pics are not super high quality, I only have my phone (HTC One) to take photos...
2. I don't have those great close up pictures of interesting-looking people's faces. Since I don't have a camera with a good lens, I can't focus from far away, and getting up in someone's face to take a picture of them because they are picturesque may be acceptable for tourists far from home, but not when you live here!

Winter 2013-Early 2014

The first non-rainy day, over two weeks after I arrived
(Shot of our Community Activity Center)

Exploring our neighborhood - the old part

Exploring our neighborhood - the new part

Christmas/Baptism Service 2013

Delicious snacks... (I won't put many food pics in here, there are too many to even start trying to choose between them)

Christmas, 2013 - Went to look at the place on Lishui where I lived last time. A bit sad...
Already blocked off and slated for demolition, the area is being redeveloped

With a team that visited to do Christmas outreach ministry, great group

Firework show at the Taipei 101 for New Year's Eve

The Taipei 101 building was the world's tallest from 2004 to 2010

Inside the metro station, at whatever the opposite of rush hour is

This is a newer Metro station in Taipei, but they are all very clean and efficient

Also, this happened

Yes, there is a giant inflatable rubber ducky in Keelung harbor

I climbed Yangminshan (Mt. Yangmin) with some old and new friends...

Highest point

The view was worth the climb

Looking back over Taipei

It's a dormant volcano - here's a sulfur vent

Chinese New Year Time!

Our Chinese New Year spread

Man burns paper money as offering to ancestors

Red envelopes! Happy Year of the Horse
(Gifts of money for CNY or any time traditionally are given in red envelopes)

"People mountain, people sea" (huge crowds) at Danshui, north of Taipei

Kite flying at sunset

Winter VBS! This kid really loves his french fries...

Winter VBS - Making invitation cards

Winter VBS - An attending middle schooler made the smallest paper crane I've ever seen

Winter VBS - Playing in the community center park

Winter VBS - Preparing for our recital for parents

Someone's blurry pic of our winter VBS finale
Often you only get a few quick, blurry shots of actually important moments

Pingxi - home of the lantern festival

Our sky lantern!

And up it goes

You really have to be there to experience it

Someone borrowed this tradition for a movie or something

The river that forms the northern boundary of our target area

It's a working class industrial neighborhood with some renovated areas along main roads

Having a good time in our weekly bible study

We live near a famous spot called Bitan, "Jade Green Pool"

"I said I wanted a 'nice' massage!"

A noodle turtle with the blessing for a long life

Spring 2014

So many pandas... and in the background, a protest for support of traditional marriage
(They were going to change Taiwan's constitution to redefine marriage as a union between two partners
instead of a man and a women. Due to the protests it was delayed for now.)

Spring Comes to Taipei... This and above is Freedom Square at the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial.

National Theatre Hall

The Formosan Black Bear is a symbol of Taiwan to many people

Early morning trip into the city

Outside of one of the new metro stations in Taipei. Stunning fountains

I did morning devotions here once, it was pretty amazing (but too long of a trip to do often)

Meanwhile our ministries have been going on every week...
Here's our special Easter activity day

Hard at work...

Bible lesson

Coloring some eggs

"Because He died for us, to give us life"

Another week: Prodigal Son

In May we welcomed a short-term team from California for 3 weeks of service
(Figuring out what to order at what would become their favorite Taiwanese restaurant)

Great turnout for our Mother's Day event

They came prepared with gospel skits for it

Elementary school activities - we covered the entire second grade the weeks they were here

Seeing off the team - they did a great job and are welcome back anytime!

We actually do a smaller English outreach at that elementary school every week

One of our several classes

Writing carefully

They're not out there now, but this school has about 3000 kids in total

Students are required to clean the school themselves, sweeping, mopping, etc.

Noah's Ark Lesson (This is from later but I don't have a picture of me teaching in the Spring)

Wind catchers on the last day of the school year... summer "break" has arrived!

That's only scratching the surface of all the things that happened in the first six months, but hopefully you get the idea. And we got busier from here on... but the next post may be shorter because after the summer (when there were other people to take pictures), I've been too busy to take as many myself.

Note: Comments tend to get left on facebook, but if you leave them below here I'll read them too!