Consider this: Life

I guess since technically the journey has not yet begun, it’s not too late for a prologue:

Fall 08- I enter my 9th and final semester at New Paltz with plans to graduate with a degree in English. I had about as much of an idea of what I was going to do the following January as I did about what I learned at New Paltz freshman year, many beers ago. Nevertheless, I continued the semester watching idly for something to fall in my lap. Unfortunately, the only falling that was happening was the economy and the availability of jobs in the US. I had a moment of desperation and decided to go to the Career Resource Center. After a few meetings and a few tests I discovered a lot about myself: I would make a great Parks & Recreation Manager or Florist, but not a Physicist or Chemist. I know, right? After I found out that I didn’t land an internship at the local florist, thankfully somehow my career advisor set me up with an interview with Target. I prepped like a madman and nailed the interview; I had all the qualities they were looking for and had great answers to all their questions. With merely a few weeks until graduation, all I had to do was wait 7 to 10 business days.

Backtrack a few months- I see my friend Dave from swim lessons(whose blog you can access by clicking that link), Intro to Dance/Movement, and Literary Criticism, in the library. Being a fellow English major and projected December 08 grad, I asked the dreaded question, “So what are you doing after you graduate?” And instead of giving the all-too-familiar answer of pushing air through pursed lips (to make a “pfff” sound) and saying something along the lines of “Beats me,” “I have no idea,” or even worse, “Grad school,” Dave starts going on about how he’s going to Taiwan. I nodded through the conversation, pretended to know where Taiwan was, and told him “Wow, that sounds cool. I wish I could do something like that.” Little did he know, I walked away actually entertaining the thought of leaving the country and doing something amazing.

Fast-forward again- I had been mulling over this Taiwan idea for a little while and Dave sent me a few websites to check out. General thoughts: too extreme, I’m not ready to do that. I couldn’t get it out of my head, though. It was too exotic, too enticing, and too much like something I could really picture myself doing. December 19, 2008. In the midst of one of the biggest snowstorms of the winter, we graduate. Through the blizzard I found myself at Dave’s house, where we proceed to drink in celebration of the ending of a chapter. When things quieted down, I said to Dave, “Dave, convince me to go to Taiwan with you.” And he did. With the hope of an administrative position at Target dwindling as fast as the beer in the fridge that night, all I needed was a little push, someone to tell me that its okay to make big changes and do something out of the ordinary. That night I committed to going to Taiwan.

The next day, surprisingly I didn’t feel like Britney Spears the morning after she married that dude in Vegas. Instead, I felt free and empowered, ready to move forward and start planning my trip. There has been no greater feeling than when I realized that I had the guts to make such a decision.

[Follow-up: I still haven’t heard from Target, even after numerous attempts to contact them.]

Top 10

It's now 28 days away from takeoff. Just thought I'd share with you the Top 10 (in no particular order) reasons why I'm going to Taiwan:

1. Why not travel now while I still can? I don't want to be one of those "I wish I traveled..." people. Seize the day.

2. I love Chinese food. I know that there is a lot of American food over there (i.e. McDonalds), but I can't see myself passing up Chinese. I can't wait to start cooking it myself!

3. "On average Taipei, Taiwan is warmer than Port Jefferson, NY by 15°F," the weather. The effects of "Global Warming" aren't hitting New York fast enough for me. This was one of the coldest and snowiest winters ever, and everyone knows how much I LOVE cold and snow.

4. There are jobs in Taiwan. Sure, there are teaching jobs here, but I didn't go to school for that.

5. Asians don't hate Americans as much as the rest of the world does. I'm not sure why that is, but I hope perpetuate that idea.

6. I am a thrill seeker. Between buying a 1-way plane ticket to another hemisphere and the feeling I'm going to get stepping off the plane in Taipei (or Tokyo for that matter), that's my kind of adrenaline rush.

7. When I come home, I'd like to be able to order Chinese in Chinese. I think it would be a neat party trick, plus they'll never mess up my order.

8. Coming back to the States with foreign language and teaching experience gives me a leg up in the job market. Take that recent college grads!

9. I don't feel I can fully know myself until I leave my comfort zone. I'm preparing for what I think and hope will be a life-altering adventure and an inspirational soul search.

10. I've always liked teaching/coaching. Helping other people achieve is a satisfying feeling, and teaching a language is a really easy way to see results.

Other things: I have a Skype account and webcam now. Everyone should sign up for Skype so we can talk for free!

coming soon... Top 10 things I will miss!

5 weeks!

In 35 days I will be somewhere between New York and Taiwan (I think I will be flying OVER the world, rather than AROUND it, through Alaska. Does anyone know if that's true?). I'm assuming the reality hasn't really hit me yet, as I'm not scared or nervous at all. Or perhaps the excitement is masking any other feelings. It might start being more real in the next few weeks when I am seeing people and saying goodbye for a very long time.

Update: I have a TEFL Certificate! This past weekend I had my final lesson plan practicum evaluation, which was good enough to earn me the cert. The class was very enlightening, but at times was very long and tedious (Sat & Sun, 9-5ish x 3 weeks). Anyhow, I feel much more prepared to teach now that I have learned the fundamentals of English from a different point of view. Putting yourself in the place of a language learner really brings to light a lot of quirks that English has. A few of my favorites:

"Do you know what a buck does to does?"
"With every number I read, my mind gets number and number."

Bear, fear, pear, clear... heard, beard...

Tricky stuff.
Things to do still: get a visitor's visa

Tallest building in the world in Taipei, Taiwan:

Taipei 101

First post!

Hello all and welcome to my blog!

Since you are here, you probably already know of my journey to Taiwan. On March 11, I will be flying from New York to Taipei, Taiwan (with a layover in Tokyo). I'm traveling with my friend Dave, who is also an English/Creative Writing New Paltz alum. This weekend we will both be finishing up our TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) seminar, which is a teaching certificate that will allow us to teach English in Taiwan.

Anyway, I hope to keep updating so please save my blog link as a favorite so you can check out what I'm up to!

6 weeks until takeoff...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0QtdpgT41k

They Have Never Been One

Dear Friends,

Two miracles have happened in Taiwan in the past twenty years. First, due to vigorous economic growth, Taiwan’s GNP (Gross National Product) now surpasses those of Southern European countries such as Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece. Second, passionate political movements have made Taiwan one of the most democratic countries in the world. Progress in both economy and democracy can be attributed to not only the diligence of the highly educated Taiwanese people but also the free markets in the U.S. for the Taiwanese goods and the inspiration of the U.S. system of democracy.

As a result, the prosperity of Taiwan makes it very tempting for China to claim sovereignty. However, history reveals Taiwan has never been a part of China. Enclosed please find my discussion of Taiwanese history entitled They Have Never Been One as well as another article, The Murky Tale of Taiwan: Island With an Unruly Past written by Nicholas D. Kristof for the New York Times, which I used to support my assertions.

We must acknowledge the truth about Taiwan and China and make U.S. foreign policies accordingly. As the leader of the democratic free world, the U.S. must show the world its commitment to its allies in supporting free trade, democracy, justice, freedom, and regional stability. So, please write to your congressmen and women and ask for support for Taiwan. Thank you.


Sincerely,

Alfredo Sennhauser


THEY HAVE NEVER BEEN ONE (TAIWAN-CHINA RELATIONS)
Alfredo Sennhauser, New York, NY, U.S.A.


Taiwan and China have never been one in terms of anthropology, idealism, history, or politics. Therefore, it is absurd to say that Taiwan is a renegade province of China and talk about “reunification;” rather, Taiwan is a victim of the Chinese Civil War. We need to learn the Taiwanese history in order to understand why the Taiwanese have a legitimate reason to seek sovereignty.

Racially, the Taiwanese are not pure Chinese; rather, the Taiwanese are a mixed race made up of Chinese, native aborigine, Dutch, and Spanish. First, in 1600s, the Dutch and the Spanish military as well as the Chinese settlers in Taiwan were predominantly male and they all mixed with local aborigine females who were ethnically closer to the Filipinos and the Malays. There is nothing wrong with having more than two races or cultures in one nation, but forming a Chinese colony was not the motive some of the Taiwanese ancestors emigrated from China 400 years ago. These travelers were seeking a new shelter for their future generations in much the same way that the European immigrants came to America. Movements for the independence of Taiwan did not begin only in this century. They were born hundreds of years ago when the first Taiwanese set foot on the island.

The history of Taiwan is wrought with colonization under different colonial powers. Before 1543 when the Portuguese sailors named the islands in Portuguese, “Ilha Formosa e Pescadores” or the Beautiful Island and the Fishermen’s Islands, Taiwan was savage. For 38 years, between 1624 and 1662, the Dutch and the Spanish controlled Taiwan in the south and the north respectively. It did not fall into Chinese hands until 1662 when the exiled pirate general Koxinga (or Tei Seiko) of the waning Ming Dynasty expelled the Dutch and the Spanish and occupied Taiwan. Sitting on Taiwan, Koxinga had an eye on the Luzon Island of the Philippines and planned to expel the Spanish there. 21 years later, in 1683, the Manchurian China, allied with the vengeful Dutch naval power from Indonesia, finally defeated Koxinga’s exiled regime, and then China had the chance to rule over Taiwan accidentally and reluctantly for the first time in history. During the next 150 years of Manchurian Chinese domination, the Taiwanese sporadically rebelled against the Chinese colonial government’s overt discrimination against the Taiwanese people by arbitrary taxation and other types of exploitation. The Chinese had hated the endless Taiwanese uprisings.

It was not until 1887 that the Manchurian China officially made Taiwan a province. However, 8 years later, in 1894, after the defeat of China in the first Sino-Japanese War, China abandoned Taiwan and conceded it to Japan in exchange for the possession of Liao-dong Peninsula of northern China near the Korean Peninsula, which Japan had originally demanded during the armistice. It was simply too difficult to govern the rebellious Taiwanese. The Chinese officials declared with scorn that in Taiwan, “Flowers are without fragrance, birds without song, men without righteousness, women without compassion. To discard it is without regret.” The Taiwanese took the opportunity seeking independence by establishing “Formosan Republic” but was crushed by the mighty Japanese military in 150 days.

Following the Chinese concession to Japan, the Taiwanese continued their struggle, actively opposing their treatment under Japan’s brutal colonial policies. However, after a half-century of Japanese assimilation, the Taiwanese, who now spoke only Japanese, were drafted to serve in the Japanese Imperial Military fighting against, ironically, China and the Allied forces in the battlegrounds in Mainland China, Indochina, the Philippines, and Okinawa during the second Sino-Japanese War, or World War II. The Taiwanese-Japanese fought and died loyally for their “imperial country” – Japan and the ultimate head of the Empire, Showa Emperor, Hirohito. At the end of the war in 1945, Japan ended its 51 years of ruling and also “renounced” Taiwan in the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty.

In 1949, 4 years after the Japanese left and after he was defeated by the Communist leader Mao Ze-dong in the Chinese Civil War, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek of Chinese Nationalist Party or Kuomintang (KMT) fled to Taiwan with his notorious, illiterate, and barbaric soldiers and followers and established an extremely corrupt exiled regime called “The Republic of China” which opposed Mao’s “People’s Republic of China” in the mainland. Many Taiwanese, then Japanese-speaking, and those who survived and returned from World War II were labeled Japanese collaborators and slaughtered at home. The younger Taiwanese generations, who now were forced to give up speaking Japanese, start to learn Mandarin, and pledge their loyalty to the ultimate dictator, Chiang Kai-shek, were drafted to serve in the military to fight for their new “country,” this time, “The Republic of China.” This was the second time that the minority exiled Chinese oppressed and ruled over the Taiwanese majority, thus inciting a new round of rebellions by the Taiwanese. Every time a new foreign regime attempted to control the island, scores of native Taiwanese were killed. Now, Communist China is taking its turn intimidating Taiwan and claiming, “You are mine!”

The concept that Taiwan is a part of China is a deception. Taiwan is the only nation in Asia that is made up of all kinds of immigrants. The Taiwanese do not support separatism, because Taiwan and China have never been one. The Taiwanese do not carry hatred and animosity toward the Chinese. A Chinese proverb says, “Under one heave, we are family, and all races are brothers within four Seas.” “Reunification” is contrary to the Taiwanese ancestor’s choice. The motive of the so-called “reunification” is disrespectful and unethical and an insult to the efforts of the Taiwanese founding fathers. The Chinese should understand the Taiwanese history and accept the fact that Taiwan and China have never been one in history. The Chinese should uphold the fact that Taiwan is a state with sovereignty. Furthermore, the Chinese should support Taiwan’s entry into the United Nations as well as other international organizations. Taiwan and China should be true brother states because the Taiwanese also cherish and practice Confucianism on the island. The democratic Taiwan is, in fact, an independent state that does not antagonize China, which is beneficial for both the Chinese and the Taiwanese. An independent Taiwan needs the best wishes of China.

Kansas City Islanders

They should stop serving alcohol in venues where the team hasn't won 20 games by the All-Star break.

Being a Devils fan from Long Island, I was more than inclined to go the see them play at the Coliseum last weekend. It was a short drive, and I wanted to see my Jersey boys get some confidence going into the home stretch of the season.

About midway through the 2nd period, the Devils were already down 2-0, and I was growing tired of hearing the 1 die-hard Islander fan in section 229 shout "LETS GO ISLANDERS" more often than Danis was making saves. My attention was drawn to the row behind me, about 4 seats to my right, where a group of 5 kids sat making asinine comments. There was one Devils fan, saving face for the group. I noticed there was an exchange of words between him and a man sitting 2 rows in front of me, maybe 2 seats to my right.

"You want me to come up there?" The man yelled up 3 rows to the pre-pubescent Devils fan.
"You can't do anything." "You don't think I'm gonna do anything??" "You can't do anything."

Let's face it: the kid was right. The guy can't do anything to a kid. Or so we thought.

The man jumped out of his seat and climbed over the 3 empty rows (we were at an Islanders game, after all) that separated them, now standing in my row within arms reach of me.

"You don't think I'm gonna do anything??" He yelled once more, this time inches from the child's petrified face. Scared as he may have been, the kid held his ground.

"No." After being doubted one time too many, the man did something. He spat into the kids face. A nasty, beer-filled loogey. The young boy flinched, and looked like he might cry. Instead, he returned the favor and sent a loogey right into the angered Islanders fan's face.

The man didn't like that. He swung and struck the kid. I moved to get up, but paused momentarily to see if this was for real. It was. He lifted the kid out of his seat and threw him on the ground in my row, his head was about a foot in front of me. Then there was a series of events that resembled Semin on top of Staal, minus the open hands and plus the fists of Cam Janssen and the size difference between Chara and St. Louis.

Not because he was wearing a Parise jersey, but because I'm a good person, I rushed to try to remove the grown man pummeling a small child. I tried to pull the boy out and push the man off at the same time, and I caught a punch right where my helmet should have been. Without thinking, I punched the guy in the side of the head and grabbed the kid by the armpits in an effort to yank him to safety. After only a few inches of progress, a security guard lifted me and placed me aside where he took care of the rest, taking people away.

The man hopefully is in jail for at least the night. The boy, however, being the true Devils fan that he is, made it back in time for the 3rd period.

As if the Islanders don't have enough to be ashamed about this year already...

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