Bug Bites, Beggars, Beauty, and Blending

I’ve already had a medical incident! An insect bite on my arm became infected—I didn’t think anything of it and simply treated it with hydrogen peroxide and Neosporin. Well, apparently that wasn’t enough because one morning I woke up with a completely swollen arm! It totally freaked me out! Naturally, I thought I was going to have to get my arm amputated! Greg, the INCREDIBLY resourceful Ph.D student, took me to the National Chengchi University (NCCU) medical clinic and I was able to see a doctor immediately. Greg is amazing—I’m not even an employee of NCCU, and he convinced the receptionist I was a professor there, I barely had to fill out any forms, and I saw a doctor and received meds for FREE! So my arm is much better—I’m very relieved!

While at Taipei Main Station waiting for my Chinese Culture University bus, I saw something for the very first time in my life: A Taiwanese beggar! I, myself, have NEVER seen a beggar of Asian descent! I commemorated the occasion by giving him a $10 coin (about 33 cents, USD). Anyway, this beggar was in REALLY terrible shape—obviously crippled and mentally affected; I honestly felt sorry for him. BUT, you should have SEEN the looks of DISDAIN on people’s faces. Everyone was visibly disgusted with him, even the students! They all had looks of, “HOW CAN YOU DISGRACE YOURSELF IN THIS WAY?!!” They probably thought I was a loser for giving him some money, but I didn’t worry about it too much—I can play the “naïve foreigner” card!

Eating well is very important in Taiwan, and I found this to be true in China as well. And in Taiwan, the food is especially excellent with tremendous amounts of varieties and nationalities. Sushi is very popular here, as are Thai, Vietnamese, and Indian cuisine. This would explain the massive food courts everywhere. Taiwanese and Chinese people firmly believe in eating 3 significant meals a day—sandwiches are considered lame. Basically, if you don’t require utensils to eat a meal, then it’s lame. Even the 7-Elevens offer hot breakfast foods. Lunch breaks are substantial—usually at least 90 minutes, and no classes are held during this time to make sure students eat. However, the Taiwanese are generally thin! All I can say is that I’m SO GLAD I didn’t come here RIGHT AFTER I had my children, or I would have been considered OBESE! So far I have not seen a single obese person here, absolutely nothing comparable to what I’ve seen at the Super Wal-Marts in upstate South Carolina! And many women here are Paris Hilton SKINNY! BUT globalization has shown some consequences—SOME children/college students are pudgy, and I’m suspecting it’s because of the Western chains. Also, the Taiwanese and Chinese perception of beauty is quite narrow compared to the United States. I’m hypothesizing that since the U.S. has more diversity, the definition of beauty has a larger scope. In Taiwan, I’ve noticed that all the models in the ads and magazine covers LOOK EXACTLY THE SAME. There is DEFINITELY a type of face you must have in order to be a model/actress in Taiwan or China. Asian actresses that are considered attractive in the U.S., such as Lucy Liu or Sandra Oh, would NOT be considered beautiful here. I suspect that in order to be beautiful here, a woman must look something like Zhang Ziyi, the actress in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon—she definitely has the right kind of face.

People are also very respectful of the elderly, pregnant women, and women with children. On busses and subways, people willingly give up seats for these people. We experience this ourselves whenever we bring Lauren and Luke on the busses and subways, and this is causing them to become SPOILED. It’s to the point that when we get on a bus/subway and all the seats are taken, Luke yells, “I WANT A SEAT!” and somebody immediately gets up and gives it to him! NOT GOOD!

This week-end we took the children to Taipei Municipal Children's Recreation Center, an outdoor facility that included rides, several playgrounds, a giant sandbox, and many other activities. John enjoyed this place more than Kiddyland because it wasn't as obnoxious--since Kiddyland was entirely indoors, it was REALLY loud and over-stimulating! We had perfect weather--it was not too hot--and the kids had a great time. Best of all: NO MELTDOWNS!!

John has concluded his participation in reviewing potential Fulbright candidates. He found the entire process extremely fascinating and was intrigued by the different perceptions of everyone concerning the review of the Fulbright candidates. John turned out to be the one of the tougher reviewers, which didn’t surprise me! For those of you who are not familiar with John’s style of teaching, let’s just say that in his department at University of West Georgia, John’s classes represent the “rite of passage” for the music majors! My perception, and I may be wrong--people at University of West Georgia may correct me on this—is that the students at West GA greatly respect John, but they’re highly intimidated by him! I wish I could garner this kind of respect! Anyway, he has upheld his reputation during these reviews!

I recently read a blog of a German piano professor who teaches in Taiwan and I found everything he said to be true. He believes that the culture of Taiwanese and Chinese students is to BLEND and NOT bring attention to themselves. As a student, individual expression is not a priority. This is completely true, which presents a problem in music, where individual expression is ABSOLUTELY a priority. Definitely there are advantages, especially when playing in an orchestra or wind ensemble—the students are extremely respectful, they follow the rules, they’re disciplined—but when asked to completely go out on a limb, take a risk, and be completely original, this can be a challenge since they feel uncomfortable bringing attention to themselves. I have the OPPOSITE problem—I tend to take TOO many risks in my musical judgment! However, I hope this is one issue I can focus on while I’m teaching in Taiwan and really convey the benefits of risk-taking—it’s the only way you can grow as a musician!

Next up….shopping in Taipei, field trip with Lauren, getting ready for “double 10” holiday…..