Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten

good bye taiwan

over the course of 48 hours this week , i packed up my apartment, sold my car and scooter, wired money home and got on a plane back to NYC. i arrived saturday afternoon.

it was a very difficult decision but one that needed to get made. i miss my students and friends there tremendously but i am happy to be surrounded by the love and warmth  of the city  i love and with my family and friends here.

since  i have gotten home, dozens of students have friended  me on my teacher facebook account thanking me for being their teacher. i am so touched but so sad.

Here is a note from one of my 11th graders after i wrote her an email saying i was not returning to the school:

I was so shock this morning when I heard this news, and also feeling pity that we didn't really have a chance to say goodbye to you... We all like you very much and we will miss you a lot, you really brought us a positive impact to all of us, we founded the travel experiences you shared with us are so amazing! And you were a really good teacher, you were always been very kind and patient when we couldn't finger something out, even that we knew you have teaches the whole day and feeling very tired :SAll in all, instate of a teacher I think u r more likely our friend, you really teaches us a lot of things but not only on math, and I hope you can have a wonderful and happy life in USA, and keep sharing ur amazing life experiences to some other students, and keep brining some more positive influences to more children in this world:) I guess that's why u r so passion about teaching:) We love u so so much!!! And we will miss you!!!

awww

my neighborhood

the park a block away from my house

check out the pollution. kaohsiung has one of the highest pollution indexes in the world. eek!

When you get into a car accident in Taiwan:

1) you have to find a taiwanese friend to come to the location of the accident to translate your statement to the police.

2) you have to wait 3 weeks for the police to determine who is at fault

3) it is understood that if a car gets in an accident with a motorcycle, the car driver is blamed. the report places you 100% at fault, even though the motorcycle driver was speeding.

4) the victim has 6 months to claim damages. he must try to contact the victim

5) your mechanic calls the "victim" after the police report comes out and  the "victim" demands $5000, more than the retail value of the bike. the mechanic says you are away from taiwan at the time and that he should try to call you on your number.

6) the "victim" never calls back

7) 4 months after the accident occurs, you get a letter in the mail from a lawyer demanding $6500, $1000 of which are for psychological damage. you must meet in a court for a mediated negotiation.

8) you have to hire a lawyer to write a document to the court explaining your side of the scenario.

8a) you take the motorcyclist's repair estimate to  a mechanic and his estimate is 40% lower than what was being demanded.

9) you stress out for 3 and a half weeks, waking up in the middle of the night, worried that, if a settlement is not reached, you have you will be taken to criminal court.

10) if taken to criminal court, you could spend at minimum 30 days in jail. the get out of jail free card is $30 for each day in
jail.

11) you show up at the court and the lawyer tries to hustle you out of all the money. you negotiate and bring the price down 25%. While you try to keep your cool to negotiate, the lawyer keeps threatening to take you to criminal court. you reach a settlement that is tolerable but still was more than necessary.

12) you are relieved that this 5~month headache is over.

13) throughout this whole debacle, you only understand about 20% of what is happening because you cannot read or speak chinese. must have someone to help translate at all times.

Dulan and the East Coast

Drove over to the east coast with my friend Monica on Wednesday night and stayed in a quaint hotel overlooking the mountains from one side and the ocean from the other. The east coast is much less developed than the west and the scenery is just magnificent. Calm beaches, varied plantlife, surfers, tree-covered mountains and a very relaxed vibe. The owners of the hotel were eager to chat with us and offered us a tour of their farmland and tastes of the fruits growing on the property. We spent the morning at the beach, took a drive along the coast, chatted over lunch with a French baker, hiked over the "eight-legged bridge" to a quiet island then joined some colleagues for a South African dinner and some Stella. Yesterday we had a leisurely breakfast, went swimming then headed back home. Good start to a 4-day weekend that is continuing to be relaxing.

Jialeshui

Secluded beach town. Surfers. Swimming. Tanning. Setting up camp. Pizza at the night market. Bonfire. Wine. Fireworks. Sleep. Brunch. Beach. Tea. Drive home.