Category: Travel

And Then Came the Rain – Taiwan Day 4

Like all big cities of the world, Tai Pei is more a collection of small boroughs that come together to create one metropolitan area. Each little corner has its own distinct flavor and attractions, and people make their way to spot to see what they have to offer while never really leaving the loving embrace of the city. I wish I could say the same of Xinbeitou, but when I took the subway to this part of the Tai Pei, I felt as if I had traveled out of the city and found myself in a small mountain town on the island of Taiwan. It had more of a sense of community than other places I have seen here, and it gave off a slower vibe than the heart of the city.

There was probably two reasons for this feeling. The first was because of the rain. This little corner of Tai Pei is really a touristy part of the city, and I am sure on nice sunny days, I would be able to see people wander all over the paths that this place has to offer. But like all rain storms, more people found the shelter of indoor activities instead of braving the weather and coming out to this place.

The second reason is because of the hot springs that are located here. If you have never immersed yourself into these healing waters, you never have understood what it means to unwind and let the problems of the world disappear. There are public pools that can be found by taking a short hike up the hill from the subway station, and it houses three different pools with varying levels of heat to them. Unlike other natural hot springs, this one does not smell of rotten eggs, and the waters here are so relaxing.

Granted, being one of the few people that come from the western part of the world, I had many people stare at me, wondering what I was doing at this location, but it was the perfect outdoor activity to do on a rainy day. While I soak myself in the water, the cooling rain beat down on my head, and I was constantly in balance between the two varying ways that water can cleanse. It also helped with what would have been an overcrowded situation. I am sure if it was not rainy, there would have been more people at this location.

I am sorry that I was unable to get pictures from inside of the hot springs, but the place has a strict no picture policy that makes sense to me. People are going there to relax and they probably do not want to be a part of many people’s vacation photos, so in order to respect their privacy, nobody takes any pictures. If you do ever go, you need to make sure that you bring the right kind of swimsuit. This mean that the fabric has to be a swimsuit and not beach shorts. They checked my suit before I entered, and I did not have the right one. Luckily, they sell the right kind of suits at the place, and are willing to let you buy one after they yell at you a bit for not bringing the right swimsuit, but I am used to this. It seems to be something that happens to me on a regular basis while I live in Asia. I am always doing something wrong based on the customs out here, and they are quick to let me know this.

Even with these minor stresses, it was still the place that allowed me to breathe for a moment from this busy life that I live. It wasn’t only the hot springs that made the voyage worth it, but the small town feel, and the beautiful sights that were around every corner. This is a must do thing for anybody coming out to Tai Pei, and it doesn’t matter what the weather is like when you go. I would assume that the colder and wetter it is outside, the better the experience will be.

Sights from Street Level – Tai Pei Day 3

One of the dangers of being in Tai Pei during this time of year is the fact that at any time you might be caught in a rain storm. We have already been caught in a couple of them, and we have learned that it is important to always carry around an umbrella just in case one of these storms breaks out. But on the other hand, when it is beautiful outside, it is important to take full advantage of it an enjoy the weather while it lasts. This is what I did yesterday as I wandered the streets of the city, and saw some of the older sites that it has to offer.

Even though, Tai Pei is not as big of an international city as some of the other ones in east Asia such as Bangkok, Hong Kong, or Singapore, there are a lot of east Asian influences that have come to this city and shaped it into the way that it is right now. It has at various times been occupied by both the Chinese and the Japanese and at one time, I think that the Dutch controlled this little island. You can see this influence in the city’s architecture, culture, and food. There is also a mix of old building that blend in with the more modern skyscrapers to give this city a lot of character.

But it is the culture that really stands out when you walk through the older streets of the city. Many times on my walk, I came across temples and shrines that marked the older Taoist spiritual connection. Even though each one of these temples had a specific deity that was worshipped there, many shrines were set up to various entities that people could come to worship or give offerings to. The Lungsham temple was a great example of this. The main focus of the temple was meant to be for Guanyin, but many people came to pay their respects to some of the other shrines. The more popular ones were for the god of literature and the god of war, but by entering the place, you could feel the respect that was given by the people who came here to worship.

But even though there were many Taoist temples in the city, there were still many places where old Buddhist monuments still stood. They were not as prominent, but it showed that blend of eastern Asian cultures existed in this town.

It made for an interesting day of seeing the different corners that Tai Pei had to offer. It was refreshing to see the city was not all about shopping and eating, but also was about that spiritual connection that all of us search for to give our lives meaning. There were many times on this walk that gave me that slight respite that allowed me to feel that the connection I was making was not only about the culture that was here, but was a more personal experience that allowed me to slow down and understand the world better from my perspective. This is what a day of seeing the city from the perspective of the people brings.

And of course there was always a moment to find some food as well. You are also able to finding the blending of cultures here as well. We stopped at a sushi place in the heart of the shopping district during lunch. I’m not sure, but it looked like all of the signs were in Chinese even though this is a typical Japanese dish. We were also asked to talk in the limited Mandarin that we knew to order even though what we were ordering came from a different part of east Asia. It made me think that even though there is not a huge western influence in this little corner of the world, it is nice to know that they are still willing to blend cultures together to create a new one that is fun and delicious at the same time.

Tai Pei 101 – Taiwan Day 2

One of Tai Pei’s greatest landmarks is Tai Pei 101, the large skyscraper that looks over the city. It wasn’t always here, but it has become one of the most recognizable buildings ever since its completion in 2004. It is not only because of its unique architectural style, but also because it is the eighth tallest building in the world. It begs for anybody that comes to this town to come and visit it and see what it has to offer in the inside.

Of course when you get inside, you are only allowed access to three of the top floors where the observatory is, and the bottom six levels where the mall exists with its pricey shops and amazing food court. Many people who come here head straight up to the top level to overlook the city. It is a great way to get your orientation to the sprawling landscape, and look at the little neighborhoods that you might want to visit while you are out here. It is also a great place to watch the weather that comes rolling through this city next to the ocean. It apparently gets battered by mother nature quite a bit, which makes this place a bigger marvel because why would they create such a place if they knew that a huge storm might take it down at any time.

But that is what makes this an engineering landmark as well. When they designed the building, they installed a wind damper. I had no idea what this would be, but looking at it made me understand how something like this could make a building like this safe from typhoons and tsunamis. Basically it is a huge ball that is supported in the inside of the building by steal cables and a hydraulic system, so when wind does batter the building, this 660 metric ton weight will take the brunt of the force. They claim that by having this device at the top of the building, it makes it 40% safer against the forces of nature, and you won’t even feel the building sway during one of these storms.

How do I know about all of this you ask. Well, like all other places in Asia, whenever something needs to be explained, what better way to do it than create a couple of cute cartoon characters to explain it to the world. Cur the Damper Babies, a collection of strange characters that tell all about the wind damper in a video constantly playing and switching through different languages right behind the wind damper.

All of the excitement of being so high above the landscape can make anybody hungry, and the food court on the bottom level offers many options for meals that should satisfy any person. The most popular place is easily the dim sum restaurant, Din Tai Fung. During lunch, there is a two hour wait to even get a table in the restaurant, but you can always put your name in and go wandering around the rest of the mall while you wait.

It is worth the wait to because the food is amazing. The danger is that you will always want to order more than you need, but I would recommend getting a won ton, a dumpling or two, and some type of soup to supplement your meal. You will leave the place satisfied even though you had to build up an appetite while waiting for you food to appear.

Tai Pei 101 is the perfect start to an adventure out in this city, and I would recommend going there first to get a little taste of what this town has to offer.

Why I Travel – Taiwan Day 1

Do I think traveling is important? Do I think that if a person stays within the confines of their home and their community that their view of the world is limited and they really do not understand it even though they may claim that they do? Do I believe that it is important to feel uncomfortable in a new society in order to find out who I really am and what I really believe in?

Of course I do.

Many people have told me that I am lucky to be able to live the life that I have, but I live this life because it is the one that I chose to do. I love being able to take off from time to time to go to crazy places in the world and look at the weird way that they perceive humanity. I love the fact that when I go to these places and meet the people there, I meet more people like me. These people have the same hopes, the same dreams, the same fears, and the same preconceived notions of how the world should be run.

I have learned that the more we think we are different, the harder it is to realize that in actuality, we are all the same. Yes, our customs might be different, and we might look up to different gods, and follow different structures within our governments, but when you get down to the heart of it, we all are the same. There is only one way that you can realize this as a person, and that is to get on that big plane, and visit a place that you know is going to be dramatically different than the one you are from. If you really want to learn this, you should pick a place that scares you a bit. You might see some weird things as you wander around, but in the end, you will be a wiser person because of it.

This is my hope as I explore Taiwan on this break. The first day has only been a train ride to my apartment, and a quick dinner before bed, but it has already proved to me that this will be a weird and wonderful place to explore. I will share more of that experience in the days to come.

The Ultimate Boon – Experiential Education Day 3

I love teaching the Hero’s Journey, not because it is really cool to see how many stories fit into the archetype, but because it is fun to think about how it applies to our lives. We all get to go through the journey so many times, and if we look at each adventure we have from this perspective, we can grow so much as individuals. But the only way that we can do this is by looking for that ultimate boon every time we leave our houses to go on one of these adventures. This is the thing that makes the experience worth our time. It is what we can look at as a symbol of how we have grown. Sometimes it is something physical that we can hold on to, but most of the time, it is held within a memory of how we were before the experience, and how we have changed because of it.

This is why the experiential education trip I went on with my student became so meaningful. It was an adventure that they needed to go on. They could not avoid the call to adventure, and there were many trials along the way that pushed all of them to their limits. I can’t remember how many times the students came up to me and told me that they had reached the apotheosis. Keep in mind that they are teenagers, and they all believe that they have reached that they have reached the moment when they have died, ready for the moment when they could experience their rebirth. And they all wondered when they would get to cross the return threshold and go back to their bed. But none of them thought about what they brought back with them. This is the thing that will last the longest from the trip, and for each of them, it was something different from the trip that allowed them to connect with the reality of who they really are. This is really applying what they learned to the real world. It is that ultimate boon that will make them resilient to the problems of they face in the future, and overcome them.

So as the trip closed down and we finished up the final moments, I enjoyed the fact that I got to see so many of these young men and women grow as individuals. I could see them make those connections as well, but that was because we framed the trip under the context of Joseph Campbell’s monomyth. It forced them to look for meaning on the trip, and when you are looking for meaning you usually will find it. This is the type of education that transcends the traditional classroom, and should be implemented in more schools across the world.

So the next time you go out on your next trip, I challenge you to look for your ultimate boon. Like many heroes before you, what you find might not be what you are looking for, but it will definitely be what you need. It is what will make that adventure one of the most memorable ones you have ever been, and you will find a little piece of yourself that you never knew existed before. It will make your next trip, more than just a vacation. It will become an epic adventure.

The Changing Weather – Experiential Education Day 2

One of my favorite memories from all the times I have been camping comes from when I was in my early twenties, and on a whim, a couple of friends and I decided to brave the outdoors. We quickly loaded up the car with what we thought was the appropriate gear, and headed up to the mountains of Colorado to find a place to pitch our tents. Unfortunately, our lack of planning and the fact that we did not look at the weather forecast closely left us in the middle of the woods without much of what we needed as we got rained on. But we were determined to make the camping trip a success and our motto for that experience turned into “Adapt and conquer”. We ended up using the strangest things from speaker wire to pulp fiction paperbacks to make it through the evening, and in the process had probably the best experience ever. It really proved to me that we are at our best when we are struggling. The same thing happened on the second day of my Experiential Education trip with my students.

The hurricane that hit Hawaii earlier in the week had traveled further in the Pacific and ended up hitting Japan, and even though it officially never hit the Korean peninsula, they were still experiencing a lot of rain that came from the storm. The first day of the trip, we did not see a lot of the rain, but the second day of the trip, we went through this cycle of nice dry weather, followed by rumbling thunder, followed by a torrential downpour. It meant that we had to constantly make adjustments with our plans in order to make the trip meaningful for the students that we brought with us.

There were many outdoor activities planned for the day. Students were to go through three different rotations where they would learn how to shoot traditional Korean bows and arrows, go through a series of challenges on a low ropes course, and battle each other through another series of challenges on boats made from recycled material. The kids were having a really good time at the rotations, and we were able to get through one and a half of them before the rains that we were promised started to arrive. We were able to wait out the storm and go to finish our final activity, but the rain pretty much washed out our afternoon activity, a hike up to the top of the mountain that overlooked the camp. It was time for that old saying of mine, “Adapt and conquer”.

Fortunately, I was no longer that foolish idiot that decided to go camping without bringing with me the supplies that I needed. I knew that there were rumors of terrible weather on the way, and I brought back-up plans to the back-up plans. I just needed to make sure that there were places where these activities could take place. I needed a group of people working with me that were flexible enough to make the sudden changes so the kids we brought with us could still have fun and get something out of the challenges. The trip would have been a failure if it wasn’t for those fellow teachers that were with me who took on the challenge that the weather presented. I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with them.

Even though I would have liked for the trip to have gone as planned, and we could have enjoyed the challenges that Boramwon has at its facility, I was still happy how the second day went. I did go through pretty much all of my clothes that I brought with me because of the on again/off again that I got experience that day, and I was through with always being wet, but the crew I was with was still able to pull off one of the greatest trips that I have been to ever since I was asked to put these things together in the first place. It turned out to be not only a hero’s journey for the students, but for all of us as well, and we all came through the day stronger people.

Getting Out of the Classroom – Experiential Education Day 1

Being a teacher, what I am about to say my be considered blasphemous to others in the profession, and there is no way that I will be sharing this post with my administrator because I am pretty sure that she feels the opposite way. But the classroom is a toxic place to the education of modern students. Tests do not teach anything except how to fill in bubbles. And in order to prepare these students to solve the problems that will grow in their futures, we need to quit thinking about the way that we have thought about education and need to move it beyond the confines of the four classroom walls.

Even though I say these things often, there are not many people in the profession who agree with me, or if they do, they are not willing to make that change to a messy form of education that might be more conducive to create the skills that their students will need in the future. I would even admit that during the belly of the school year, I fall into the same trap of going back to what is easy and more familiar. In others words, I do not always practice what I preach.

The school I do work at right now does recognize that it is important to move beyond the classroom in one of the programs that it does promote, and I love the fact that I am a part of creatine one of the experiences for the students at that school. Every year, three weeks after the first day of school, we pack all of the sophomores in the school into a bus and ship them out to the center of South Korea to a camp called Boramwon. There we have created challenges for the students that get them to think outside of the box more, and learn those skills that they will need to take on the challenges they will face later on in their lives. We structure the experience around Joseph Campbell’s monomyth and it has grown into a greater experience every year that we have gone out to this. There are still some holes in the story, but the fact that the evolution of the trip continues to grow, and the students get experience the hero’s journey for themselves shows that they start to internalize the experience more than just get ready to fill in the right bubble when it come up for them on a test.

The trip is designed to take the students out of their comfort zone, and learn about the real world. They start to learn that they do not learn from only their teachers but from every person they encounter, and every moment that they live. It helps to shape them into who they are. We started our first day by visiting various retirement homes around the Boramwon area. There the students put on a performance for the residents, and then they taught them about an American game that many of them had never experienced before, Bingo. This was a great opportunity for both the students and the residents. Because of the language barriers, and the teaching of this game, the students were forced to interact with the residents. There is a lot that they can learn from these interactions. The people that they are working with become the mentors to them, and eventually teach the students what it means to be a mentor in the first place.

We also were able to take students out to show them a little bit about their Korean heritage. The school I teach in is an international school with a predominately American curriculum, and sometimes American values and culture is prioritized over the culture of Korea. Not all of the students that attend the school are Koreans, but there is a huge portion of them that are, and they do not learn much about their history or culture. I believe the opportunity for them to learn a little bit about where they come from is essential and this opportunity becomes their special weapon that they can take with them into the future.

The cultural experience that we took them to on the first day was a pottery museum near Boramwon. Here, they not only got to look at traditional Korean pottery, but they got the opportunity to create their own piece of pottery using clay from the region. They were really able to learn about where they are from while getting their hands dirty working on a creative project. Yes, some of these same activities are available within my school, but students do not always look for the creative classes thinking that the ones that lead to a test that proves their worth with bubbles is more important. Sometimes, the act of creating something from scratch can be more rewarding.

It was the perfect set-up to the bigger adventure that these students would go on, and I am happy that I was able to be a part of it once again. It shows me what education can be and how the future of this world depends on educators getting their students out of the classroom more often.

Seista Selfie – Around the World Day 46

I have finished the circle and made it all the way around the world. The last leg was a long one, but I am happy to be back home. I got in late last night, and Seoul is hot and sticky like it always is in August, but I was too tired from traveling to worry about it. I just found a soft space on my bed and went quickly to sleep. Thank you for everybody that followed me as I wrote about my travels during the summer. I won’t be posting as much in the future, but if you are interested in reading some more of my work, there is always Tag: A Cautionary Tale that is available right now at Amazon for either a hard copy or a ebook. If you want to get a copy there is a link down below.

Thanks again, and I will see you soon.

The Last Leg – Around the World Day 45

I haven’t gotten into all of the lines yet or shuffled my bags from one plane to the next. That is what today is for. I am going to complete my voyage around the world today, and the only thing left for me is the long flight home. I am not a fan of airports, or planes, or air travel in general. Airlines sit you in tight spots and shuttle you around like cattle all so you can eat bad food, and land feeling like you have spent the last twenty-four hours running a race that never ends even though all you ever have done is sit in a seat. I am aware of the fact that it is the quickest way to get from one point to another so I should not really complain about it. If it wasn’t for air travel I wouldn’t have been able to see all of the things that I was able to see this summer, and for that I am grateful, but there is a different feeling about getting on that last plane then there was about getting on that first plane.

The trip is now coming to an end, and the adventures are all in the book as opposed to just beginning and the mystery of the trip still ahead of me. I will have to get back to doing work on a regular basis again as opposed to relaxing during the day and looking for some fun way for engagement some time throughout the day. It is the knowledge of this that makes that last flight a bitter pill to swallow.

But there are all the memories I created on the way to keep me company, and the fact that I got to visit people I love along the way. It was great to spend time in the United States again, and to see a part of the world that I had never experienced. I am also getting tired of living out of a suitcase all of the time, and there is a different feeling of being in your own home, living life according to your rules instead of trying not to step on the feelings of those who have been kind enough to share their homes with you during the time you were in their part of the world. In those cases, I am happy to be taking that last flight. It will also feel nice to be doing something that is more important than supporting the local economy by being a tourist, and in that case, I am ready to get back to work.

So, I guess it is time to say goodbye. Thank you for all of the people that shared their homes and their lives with us while in America, and thank you for all of the people that made our experience in Europe such a memorable one, but it is time to take that final step onto my final leg back home.

Thanks.

At Target – Around the World Day 44

As I start to collect all of the little things I have collected on my travels around the world, and prepare to take that final leg back to where I started, I have a little addiction problem that I would like to address. I do not get to spend much of my time in the United States any more, but when I am out here, I like to spend a some of my time at Target. I might even say that it is my favorite place to go shopping. There are many times when I am sitting in my place in Seoul and talk about how much I miss Target. I do not know why I have such a love for this store. It is only a department store after all, but I get all excited when my plane lands back in the states because that means that very soon I will get to visit one of its many locations. In fact, considering I have spent just over three weeks in the States, I have visited five different locations. It is like I see that big red dot on the horizon and I think that I need to stop there and get all of the little things that I cannot get anywhere else.

To my defense, I do go to Target a few times because there are certain things that I like to bring back with me to South Korea that for the life of me I cannot find there. The brands of toothpaste that they have are not as good as the ones I enjoy out in the United States, and it is really hard to get cold medicine. Movie candy absolutely does not exist and I will have to admit that another addiction of mine is to Mike and Ikes. Clothes fit weird for me if I buy them in Asia because of different body types out there, so I do always look for new clothes while I am out in the United States. I get to browse through a whole new set of media that is not in display in the city where I live, and there are thousands of other odds and ends that I can only find there. It is for this reason that I go to Target.

But do I really need to go five times in the short amount of time that I am out in the States? No, I do not, but I do feel a little at home in one of these stores. I know I go in for one little thing and leave with a basket full of crap, but I can’t help myself. Out of the corner of my eye I spot something that I forgot I needed I have to grab it before I forget. And even though I hadn’t been in the one in the town I used to live in before I moved across the sea, I still know where everything is in that store. How could I not feel at home?

I know that I sound pathetic, and as I pack my bags, I start to look at the collection of Target bags I have collected and wonder how I will get all of that stuff back to Korea with me. There is only one answer to that question, and only one solution. I need a new bag so I can check all of this stuff, and there is only one place that I trust to get a great bag that I can use over and over again. Thank God for Target.