For Chinese New Year, the color red is. SO. IN. Yes, that's right -- the name of the game this part of the year is to wear red for good luck. You'll see red envelopes, red lanterns, red paper scrolls, all because red signifies fire[crackers], which drives away bad spirits.
Yesterday my brother took me and my mom out for lunch and mom ended up lookin STYLIN' in Chinese New Year fashion! She looked like the belle of the ball, so I had to do an impromptu photo shoot (she quickly obliged, obvious with her calculated posing, hahaha). Let's see what we have here....
A red wool sweater layered with a black bolero with white trim. A cropped red quilted jacket with a silk "Lendi" black and white scarf. Red lipstick and a blingin' ring.
Oh just where did you get that fabulous ruched Prada bag? Someone with good taste, probably? Someone who knows your aesthetic? Someone very very filial??? Haha. :p
And wow, check out that that detailing on those black jeans, sparkly floral embroidery. A mix between high and low. Tasteful and low-key. Mom, you sure know how to play it up!
And of course let's not forget these red leather kicks! Seriously, who has red shoes like these? :)
To prove that he has "mad Photoshop skillz" (his words exactly), Ikea telekinetransmorphized me all over the world, including Azeroth! Ah, I feel like an internet meme, like this, this, and this.
Indeed, you gots skillz. But I'm still not going to be your photographer in Hawaii. :p
[Don't mind me if this is a bit of a ramble, it's pouring in Shanghai and I haven't left my apartment all day. A first!]
Chinese New Year is just around the corner, and I'm both mentally and physically preparing for the most important trip of the year -- New York bound!!! I've bought little gifts for people and I'm setting up my schedule already. I'm steeling myself against getting all emotional when I see my family, and then emotional again when I have to go. I have 10 days, but it won't feel enough.
Chinese New Year is the only time of the year when I can absolutely guarantee my family that I'll be home to see them. It's an inviolable rule, sacred because this holiday remains to be the only constant amidst all our life changes. It's important for everyone's mental health to have this yearly milestone so that we can comfort one another that no matter where we are, what we've become, we will always have each other. Otherwise, what currency does "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I'll see you soon." have? How can we look forward to empty promises? Particularly in this day and age of continual distractions (and opportunities), despite the ease of communication tools such as Facebook and What's App, I think it's easy to lose touch with the most important people in your life if you don't deliberately take the time to set your priorities.
I perform a litmus test on what "home" is each time I go back to New York. Right now, "home" remains firmly in New York because it's where my mom, dad, grandparents, and brother live (so far). It is also where I was born and continually spent 25 years of my life, so seeing familiar places is comforting. But it backfires a little when your local bodega turns into a Duane Reade, when you hear that your 3rd Grade teacher has passed away, when the dirty Flushing canal is turned into a brand spankin' new mall. I can see myself adjusting my origin point more and more as the intangible factors that keep me rooted start to change, like when my best friends move away to different parts of the world, or when my dad spends more and more time in Taiwan... and the big moment will come when my grandparents pass away one day. When all that happens, my mom and my brother will be the only reasons why I absolutely need to come back to New York, and I think by then they'd prefer to take them on holiday instead.
Now this may sound a little outrageous, even presumptuous of me, but maybe because of my own displacement, I truly and deeply sympathize with China's migrant workers' struggle to procure ways to get back home during Chinese New Year. Chinasmack and Chinahush have been publishing articles that are worth reading... they'll pull at you if you're not a cold-hearted ogre. These stories turn me into mush.
After living in China for over a year (especially after being in a 2nd-tier city like Nanjing and doing graduate work in China Studies) I think that I have a pretty solid grasp on modern Chinese societal problems. There are a couple of stand-out examples that helped me understand why China is the way it is (aka, really fucked up). The most poignant and personal example was when I got my wallet stolen during rush-hour on the way to school. The person reached into my bag and fished out my wallet, took the money and dumped the remains in a garbage bin right next to the bus stop. When I found out, I felt so violated and disgusted. I've been lucky to never been pickpocketed in my life so far, and despite the many parental warnings ("Keep your bag zipped up! Put it in front of you! Are you listening?!?!!!!!") I was shocked that it actually happened to me, and I lost all that allowed me to survive in China (my keys, ATM/credit cards, school ID, driver's license, etc). At that moment I painted everyone on the bus as low-life scum, and man... you should know that I give the best evil eye. Truly Medusa-like. But afterwards, a Chinese student told me that pickpocketing and crime peaks the month before Chinese New Year. I was just another statistic in this trend. I thought about the reason behind this sudden upsurge, and realized that it is because these people succumb to the pressure to buy gifts and spend money in preparation to see their families. The person who stole my money may not be a serial thief, but someone who was desperate enough to resort to thievery to solve his problems. For example, a migrant worker (mostly 18-45 year old men) spends the entire year away from his parents and children, and is the hope and lifeline of the entire family. He brings home money to send his children to school, electric blankets, snacks, and toys. He never sees his children grow up, but he knows that he must work in the city so his children CAN grow up. He never sees his parents grow old, but he must leave them alone so they can grow old in comfort. The weight of it all would crush us first-world citizens. From my personal experience, when I ask people in China where they're from, 80% of the time I don't get "Shanghai". China may seem homogeneous to outsiders, but there is practically no where else in the world where society is as striated and fragmented as it is here.
Of course, there's also the possibility that my thief isn't a migrant, but even city residents encounter a lot of pressure to meet expectations. My real estate agent in Nanjing, a young man 23 years of age from a small village, told me that he is incredibly stressed everyday because he has to save enough money to buy a house, and then only then can he get married. He makes probably 2,000 RMB a month. My apartment in Shanghai is 5,000 RMB a month. A 80m2 apartment in Nanjing is on average 800,000 RMB. In his current situation, there is zero chance that he'll meet this basic goal, and that reduces man into a twisted helpless state. He always wanted to hang out and be friends, but I just didn't feel comfortable given our different lifestyles. I didn't want to accidentally flaunt my privileged background in his face, which would have inevitably happened since Chinese LOVE asking the question "How much does that cost?" (and the answer would have been just awkward silence, whatever I say will be no good for me). A few months ago he emailed me out of the blue asking me for help. I said sure, I'll help you in any way I can. He said that he lost everything, his girlfriend of 5 years broke up with him because he had cheated on her, and he didn't know what to do. Now that's not something that I can help him with, nor do I have any sympathy for that sort of behavior... so I never replied. From a moral standpoint, the guy made his bed so he has to sleep in it. But I thought about the situation, and why he reached out to me, someone that only met him twice (both times so I could close the deal on my rental) and a smattering of email exchanges. It was probably a desperate move to find some answers, and given what he told me about his outlook on life, he's become a financially-strapped young man... with no mate. One of millions and the bottom of society.
Everyone needs a reason to live. But the way Chinese society is currently structured certainly doesn't give its people a lot. Chinese people can take a lot of shit in general, but through the annual degeneration of the ability to go home makes me feel like something's gonna break real soon. It makes me genuinely sad to know that it's impossible for many people to go home and spend time with their families for the most important holiday of the year. The government needs to continue to work on this short-term by improving its transportation network, long-term by closing economic disparities through the promotion of rural income growth.
If someone like me misses home and family under very comfortable surroundings, then it blows my mind how migrant workers must feel. Their problems are exponential compared to mine, but the worst part is that there's not much of a way out. As people say, problems that money can solve aren't real problems. I'm glad that I know that all it takes for me is about a thousand bucks and a plea for vacation time.
Stumpy the Strawberry enjoying a healthy fibrous meal of questionable origin.
mmrgghhh.... brains....
First week of 2012, and no impending doom yet. Work is work, I'm happy with the nature but a little scared about the upcoming challenges that I'll have to face this year. It's gonna be a crazy ride... exactly what the doctor ordered, with a side of ulcers. We'll see.
I'm going back to New York on January 18th to celebrate Chinese New Year with my family, coming back on January 29th. I then stick around Shanghai through my birthday, and then fly back to New York February 9th for work. I don't really mind the travel, especially since it's the only time that I can catch up on all the movies and TV series that I've missed... 15 hours goes by real quick when can finally watch the complete season 6 of HIMYM!
I'm adjusting quite well to life here in Shanghai and find myself very settled here. There's always something to do, people to see. I'm also 99% done with putting personal touches in my apartment, with the painting that I ordered on Taobao due to arrive in the next 2 days and the repairman to patch up the ceiling where he installed the new light fixtures I bought. Once these are completed I would like to have a housewarming party, but with a meager 54 sq. meter apartment I daresay this may be too ambitious. I guess no showing off for me. :) It'd probably be better that way, because Stumpy is a very dangerous fellow is also quite territorial with the couch. Beware, mad fruit! Hahahahahaha.
So where were we? :) Ah yes, a rough start on Green Island... but with a bit of sun, my dad and I found the place immediately transformed into what seemed like a real life Jurassic Park! The island's colors were sooooo incredibly vibrant under the sun, and we found ourselves having the time of our lives exploring this island's nooks and crannies.
[Btw, all the pictures below are with my dad's camera, also a Canon Powershot G11. He likes to include the time/date in his photos because he'll forget when he took the pictures otherwise. For me this is a complete faux pas, but what can I do... we had completely used up my memory card when he spent it on a 17 minute video of our scuba dive!!! So I took pictures keeping in mind that the date would show up on the bottom, hoping that I could crop it out when I got home. Some failed, some succeeded. Just wanted to put it out there. I don't like dates. :p]
I forgot to mention in the last post that we had soaked in the sea salt hot springs (Zhaori Hot Springs 朝日温泉) the night after we went diving... I can't tell you how perfect the temperature was, and I could feel every muscle going "ahhhhhh..." even my scalp! :p The area was unisex and people had bathing suits on, so even the shy can participate. We bumped into only ~10 other bathers through the entire night because it was off-season, but after our hostel host told us that it's common to have 6,000+ tourists land on the island per day during high-season, I imagine that this place would be utter chaos then. I would not like that.
We had also gone to the hot springs at night, so we couldn't see the ocean, but we could hear the waves crashing onshore. It was like having one of those ambiance sleep machines lulling you into la-la-land. I'm not sure what health benefits soaking in saltwater has vs. freshwater, but I imagine that it's mostly sanitary (and it probably turns you into a pickle). Entrance tickets were 200 NTD (around $6-7 USD) for one full-day use. We had also brought a few eggs to cook in the "super-hot" pool, which obviously are not meant for human soaking! I hate hard-boiled eggs by the way, with a passion. Anyway, the hot springs lived up to the hype, and is a must-go if you ever travel to Green Island. Multiple times!!!!!!!!!
Not my photo since I didn't bring a camera with me, but here it is in daylight.
We woke up at 7am in the morning to go on a hike through the island's "Ancient Path", where we encountered at least 3 giant spiders spinning webs that completely blocked the road. I almost face-planted straight into these creepers a few times. NOT. AMUSING. They are as big as your palm and are truly scary ugly motherfuckers. After Googling "Green Island spiders" I found out that they're called Golden Orb Spiders and are among the largest kinds to build aerial webs (hence faceplant close call... -_-;;;).
"[Their size] is probably a reflection of the large size of much of the prey they capture, for even the remains of birds have been recorded in their webs (Raven 2000)."
GROSS. I'm so disgusted... yet weirdly fascinated. BUT YEA GROSS.
After hiking through the mountains, my dad and I went to explore the shoreline. The hostel provided us with a scooter to ride around the island, which was just basically one road circling the perimeter and no traffic lights. Great for noobies (me)! I looked so badass scooting at 5mph (with my dad hanging on for dear life?). Bad to to the bone!!! :D
Nothing but you and the road.
You have to love the low-season.
Simply gorgeous.
This is exactly what I was hoping to see, and I am so grateful that the sun finally came out the last day.
Self-shot, because Dad happily pranced off somewhere like a kid in a candy store.
When the low tide exposed the shoreline, we were able to see a ton of creatures just doing their thang. Fish, slugs, crabs... it was like an animal treasure hunt. I like saying hello [poking] to them. :)
[top] Hermit crab in shell -- This dude got the right idea.
[bottom] Hermit crab in floating plastic cap??? -- FAIL. Darwin will come and claim you, little fella.
[top] Super large seaslug very actively munching on seaweed. Was about 7-8 inches long, and surprisingly not that easy to flip over. It also kind of didn't give a shit when I kept on poking it (to test its density, obviously).
[bottom] Super adorable baby seaslug doing something cute like pooping little pellets probably.
Crab that attacked my dad. o_o
Would a Chinese person eat this crab? Most likely.
Green Island has a prehistoric and raw undeveloped landscape due to its lava formations and petrified coral sediment. It is truly amazing, one that feels magical. I felt transported into another world, and I imagine that adventurers in the past must have had this same feeling when they stumbled upon an environment that exceeded their imagination. It was the perfect playground and I highly recommend you all to go explore this place if given the chance. :)
Don't mind me, I'm just harassing some sea residents.
(Poor starfish rather give up 2 of its arms than play with me!)
Petrified fossilized coral. This stuff was everywhere.
Just freaking mind-blowing. You feel real teeny tiny when you think about the "circle of life". How old do you think it is? I'd like to say AGE OF DINOSAURS!!!!
The last day passed real quick, and made the whole trip to Green Island a major WIN despite the initial troubles. The most important thing though is that Dad and I got to spend quality time with each other, and that we had the opportunity to create some wonderful memories that will make us smile even when we're far apart. It's definitely okay to travel alone, and it's easier too most of the time, but this Cap'n always needs her trusty mates... and for this leg of my journey I couldn't find a better one than my dad. :) 爸爸，我爱你！
I have never gone on a trip with just my dad before... and so especially now that my family and friends are mostly scattered all over the world, I have this weird self-imposed urgency to make each reunion count to the fullest. This year, I flew to Taiwan to spend Christmas with my dad, and took him on an adventure to Green Island (綠島), located just off the south-eastern city of Taitung (台東).
So why did I select Green Island for our first father-daughter vacation? To be honest, I had originally envisioned us going somewhere that would totally open his/my eyes (like Cambodia or Burma) but things just didn't pan out... and so Green Island was the only place that felt adventure-y enough that was still located within the country of Taiwan. I had heard about this place through friends who have been, documentaries, and also from my scuba instructor in Taipei. This place is supposed to be A-MA-ZING. I wanted to soak in one of the three saltwater hot springs in the world, check out its untouched sealife, and explore its prehistoric looking igneous rock formations. A perfect Cap'n Miffy Adventure!!! So yea... I had a lot of heavy expectations, which was then compounded by the filial pressure of showing my dad a grand ol time. Good thing I was proven right at the end! But all that pressure made me a bit of a grouchy traveler for the first day when lots of things went down the shitter... starting with [his] brilliant plan of taking the overnight train from Taipei to Taitung...
Taitung Train Station after enduring a 7.5 hour ride on an upright seater train. Not a happy camper. You don't want to know what was going on in my head, from aggravated assault to arson (typical range of felonies that is).
We arrived at Taitung at 5:50am, an hour which you will NEVER find me awake unless due to jetlag or some unshakable superhero duty to save mankind. Unlike China, Taiwan doesn't have trains with sleeper bunks because you can basically get anywhere on the island in less than 6 hours. The sleeper train drove extra slow to allow its passengers some shuteye, but all the lights were left on. The seats were as comfortable as they could ever be without being full reclining, similar to business class on an airplane, but my neck and back felt like rigor mortis. Then came the question of -- what to do now??? In a place where we have 6 hours to kill but everyone is still asleep???
Thanks to my trusty iPhone and international data roming (Thanks boss lady, sorry for the extra charges!), I found a list of places to eat in Taitung compiled by foodies. One of the must-gos was a local breakfast joint called Breakfast King (早點大王), similar to Taipei's Yonghe Doujiang (永和豆漿). We ordered warm sweetened soymilk (豆漿), a couple sticks of fried dough (油條), and a Chinese pancake (燒餅). I'd need to do a side-by-side to figure out which joint takes the grand prize, but my dad said that soymilk at Breakfast King was incredibly rich (not watery) and very good. So there you have it, go to Breakfast King in Taitung if you have a craving for traditional Chinese breakfast or are looking for the one store open at 6am. It seems like everyone in Taitung descends on this joint for breakfast too!
Then Dad and I headed over to Taitung Airport, where we attempted to board an earlier flight (full) and then I passed out for like 4 hours. Even though our flight was at 12:10pm and we got there at around 7:00am, we still somehow managed to miss our flight and my dad was forced to board the last plane of the day at 3:50. We are geniuses. Seriously, how did we manage to do that?!
Well international travelers usually assume that when you buy a ticket that you're guaranteed a seat. You know, you can check in anytime before the flight takes off and then you get assigned a seat? Well not so for Daily Air (德安航空) and their tiny 16 seater planes. If you don't check in hours before your flight, they give your seat away... fuckers!!!!!!!!!!!!! So imagine my reaction when I learned that there was only ONE seat left on our plane when we checked in again, after we had already taken an overnight train from Taipei to Taitung, spent nearly 5 hours in the airport with no duty-free shopping to amuse us, and that we'd have to wait another 4 hours for the last flight to Green Island WHICH WASN'T EVEN GUARANTEED. Oh, I flipped major shit. It could have progressed to Youtube-worthy footage but my dad told me to calm down since there was nothing we could do about it (except firebomb Daily Air). So I took the one seat that we had so I could go arrange everything with our hostel hosts. I did so dragging my feet and with a heavy heart, feeling like a total FAIL for not taking care of my dad well.
The 15 minute flight to Green Island was a bit scary, but everyone else on the plane seemed very nonchalant so I assumed they were mostly Green Island residents. Like with small planes you don't have to ramp up much speed before you take off, you just take off. That was weird, like it took literally 3 seconds to be in the air. It was sunny in Taitung when we took off, but raining when we arrived at Green Island. SIGH. Just another reason for me to feel like a total failure in planning this whole trip. Rainy days are really really bad on small sea islands because of the wind chill factor, plus we had gone during low season so all the shops were closed too. It just looked like a mess and I was mentally punching myself in the solar plexus for picking Green Island... all I wanted to do was bring my dad somewhere nice to relax. And it wasn't looking very good. :(
5 hours in Taitung Airport.
Little planes. O_O
When I touched down at Green Island, several people from the hostel that I booked (its called "Love in Sanasai" 戀戀火燒島) came and picked me up. They were absolutely fantastic and cheered me up instantly. The boss who runs the hostel was going to Taitung for a supply run, so he met up with my dad at Taitung Airport and then brought him around the city for several hours (even treating him to a meal) before heading back together to Green Island. That definitely eased my worries, but then I was told that it had been raining continuously for the last 2 weeks. Uh oh.... so now I realized that it was wet and cold and windy and we were stuck on a small island with no stores open except for 7-11 for the next 2 days. I mope.
THE NEXT DAY -- overcast with intermittent showers. Our host brought me and my dad on a tour around Green Island, which was famous for its... prisons. O_O Yup, it all makes sense... where else to construct prisons for all those repeat felons and political no-gooders than on an isolated tropical island? The Japanese were the first to build jails on Green Island, but its infamy comes from the heyday of Kuomingtang martial law when they imprisoned thousands of political criminals (政治犯) for the fear of Communist spies and internal uprisings. There was a saying that the government was willing to put away a thousand people if it eliminated one Communist threat. Yea, so that's goes against human rights. But still, I think we all have to reflect upon the situation that the KMT faced... we're quite lucky to never have personally experienced a wartime environment.
A faded propoganda wall painting.
"堅定反共", Staunchly Oppose the Communists.
"I love the country, I love the flag"
Haha what's with that expresssion, dad? Don't miss your military days??
After checking out the prisons, we checked out some of Green Island's most famous geological formations. People just love using creative names to define lumpy stones... I think it's healthy for your imagination and healthy for tourism. :) Regardless of whether you see what they see, Green Island's landscape is breathtaking even under cloudy skies.
The view at the end of the path.
The lumpy rock on the left is called "哈巴狗" (Pekinese Dog) and the one on the right is called "睡美女" (Sleeping Beauty).
So I was told that Green Island has amazing diving, so I came with every intention to experience it myself, especially since getting there was SUCH a pain in the butt... but there was one problem. I was with my dad, I wasn't about to ditch him, and he has never dove in his life. Imagine my surprise when it took little convincing for him to try a discovery dive! A discovery dive is one where you actually do not need a license (Padi, SSI) to dive. Instead, you get a one-on-one instructor to go walk you through basic moves (breathing, expelling water from mask, head pressure regulation) and stay by you in the water. I was soooo happy that he was game even at the age of 62 -- MY DAD is a freaking badass!!!
Also, in Taiwan there's a rule where discovery divers are not allowed to wear fins. That's really no fun since other countries don't have this rule, but they want to prevent first-time divers from wandering off and somehow endangering themselves. So instead the instructor holds onto your back the entire time, basically walking you like a dog (or as they poetically put it, "your shadow"). I found this hilarious, because my dad ended up being "carried" by his instructor for about 45 minutes, didn't even have to move at all. So leisurely.
Children, cover your eyes!
Dad, don't kill me for posting this, but your expression is priceless. I know that putting your suit on backwards and then putting it on again was a truly harrowing and traumatizing ordeal. But I don't care. :)
Feeding the fishies with sliced white bread.
Watch out for your fingers... o_o
This is my favorite photo of the dive.
1) Shows the beautifully preserved and rich coral environment that we saw. I was more interested in the "trees" than the animals. Green Island >>>> Thailand.
2) Shows my dad moonwalking through the ocean
As we head back to the hostel from the dive shop, dad asked me "How long does it take to get a scuba license?" That was seriously the best thing I heard all week, because I knew from that comment that he had a grand time. Great success. :) Dad then took the time to edit the dive video (they gave him a camera to play around with while he floated around) and post it on Youtube -- if you can read Chinese at the speed of light (my cousin Sunny couldn't even read the text fast enough), his comments are quite funny but you may find it a bit boring to watch me swim around for 10 minutes. It was fun for us! :D
I really want to make another Green Island trip to see the hammerhead sharks, but it's an advanced dive at ~35m and I don't have enough experience to do yet. I really need to start logging my dives more consistently and then take another course. With due time... :p
Miffy commands a band of ferocious and uncouth pirates. Armed, dangerous, and wildly unpredictable, the marauders commonly prowl the uncharted waters of New York and are often seen near St. Alps teahouse. Her parents could not be reached for comment.
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