My Several Worlds

A few months ago, John decided to buy a second-hand car. He found one on Taiwan Yahoo auctions after several weeks of searching and contacted the owner in Taoyuan to go and have a look at it. The owner had an English-speaking friend who was kind enough to translate for John.  When John arrived, he spent several hours looking the car over and test-driving it.

After he had looked it over, the owner suggested taking it to a garage to get it checked out and certified, and because John was in Taoyuan, he wasn’t able to bring the car to our local mechanic.  He ended up taking the car to a mechanic that was recommended by the translator.   The garage certified the car as being road-worthy and the negotiating began.

John was ecstatic when he brought the car home. He immediately went to his own mechanic and they weren’t able to detect anything unusual with the car.  John spent exactly a day and a half driving around before it broke down. And I mean, it really broke down. He couldn’t even drive it home and had to have it towed back to our apartment.  Apparently, the owner had neglected to mention that the online dashboard was faulty.  It failed to indicate that the engine was completely f*$ked!  

John immediately called the owner, told him what the problem was and asked what could be done to rectify the problem.  He was neither rude nor demanding.   The owner told him the car wasn’t his problem any longer. It was at this point that we realized we might have been scammed. 

So, John took him to court.  He has had to ask several Taiwanese friends to accompany him to translate for him, since he is dealing with a court system he’s not familiar with.  At first, we thought the process was going to be simple.  John’s first court appointment in Banciao went well. The judge admitted during the preliminary hearing that he thought John might have been scammed.  The judge also indicated that the owner and the shop could be held responsible for the damages to the car because they had certified that the car was safe to drive and that the problem was not something that John could have detected on his own.  The problem had to do with the electronics on the dashboard.  He told John that he had a very good chance of winning the case.

John’s second court appearance was in Taoyuan.  Since the car was purchased in Taoyuan, he had to have the car towed back before his appearance.  At the end of the proceedings, the judge ruled that the owner of the car had to pay for the repairs because he had sold John a faulty car and had failed to mention the problem with the dashboard.  And get this, the owner flat-out refused (in court) to give John’s money back or to give him another car of equal value.  I think this is odd.  How can you tell a judge what you will and won’t do?  Isn’t that for the judge to decide? 

After this outburst, the owner was asked to repair the damage to the engine.  John was happy with the ruling and we thought the ordeal was over.  Unfortunately, it had just begun. Within two days, the owner had phoned to tell us that the problem wasn’t with the engine and therefore, he was not obliged to fix it. 

John went back to court again.  This time, the judge asked John to bring a mechanic to Taoyuan to look over the car and determine the actual cause of the problem.  Once this was done, John went back to court again.  All in all, he’s had half a dozen court appearances in the past eight weeks.   At the last hearing, the judge ordered the owner to have the problem fixed. Um, hello.  This is the third time the judge has ordered the car to be fixed and nothing has happened.  The final decision was this:  If the problem ended up having something to do with the engine, then the owner would have to pay, and if it didn’t have anything to do with the engine, then he and John would share the costs.  This seemed reasonable to us as we just want it all to be over.

Just today (eight weeks later), John got a call from the garage saying that the car was ready to be picked up. But, when he got down to Taoyuan, he found out that the owner had told the garage to go ahead and tune up everything on the car and then asked the garage to present the $12,000 bill to John!  

John was livid.  He’s the owner of the car. No one had any right to do extra work on the car without his permission. He managed to get the car out of the garage by telling them that the owner would be paying the remainder of the bill. However, at this point, he’s fully expecting to have to go back to court again.

We are sick and tired of having to deal with this.  Actually, I shouldn’t say we, because John’s the one who has had to deal with all of this.  I don’t often say that things would be different if we were back home, because I feel that we should learn to accept the differences between cultures, but this is just ridiculous!  If we were back in North America, surely we would have been presented with a reasonable option by now. 

Most times, I believe in”caveat emptor” or “Buyer Beware”, but just as there are laws protecting us from scammers like this in North America, you would think there would be such laws in place here to protect people from these kinds of situations. 

The owner and the garage certified that the car was safe to drive and it isn’t. This simple fact should have ended all dispute eight weeks ago.

Moreover, we feel as though we have been taken advantage of because we are foreigners. Some of our Taiwanese friends who have tried to help us out of this mess have indicated that a case like this is extremely rare in Taiwan.  Some of them have shown genuine embarrassment about this, and I want to stress that for the most part, I believe that most of the people we meet here are friendly, honest and generally willing to help.  We try to extend these same courtesies to the people we meet each day.   This isn’t a post to hammer away at all things Taiwanese.  Nor is it a post to say one country is better than another.  It’s simply a post to let you know that we are extremely frustrated with the system.  It stands to reason that this system should be in place for everyone.  I can’t see the point in dragging it on and on and on.

The fault we will accept was not taking a friend along at that very first meeting to help us negotiate. Perhaps if we had done that, none of this would have happened.

And my question is this:  How does anyone get legal problems solved in this country when it takes so long to get anything accomplished?  I’m completely blown away by the disrespect shown towards the judge and his rulings.  I’m also surprised to learn that when a judge makes a ruling here, it seems to be completely worthless.  Even if John does win this case now, he’s wasted so much time, energy and money that it will render what should be a sweet victory into something incredibly bittersweet.

Whew! My mother is right. I’m like a cat with nine lives. Throw me off the roof and I always land on my feet. Summer has arrived along with torrential downpours every day, but things are really happening fast around the Kellenberger/Marshall household. Two months ago I was in the doldrums and now I’m back on top again and in fighting form.

I’m still seeing a doctor once a week for my ear, but I’m healthy again and I have my strength back. My immune system is no longer telling me to STOP! My doctor is confident that things will be almost back to normal in as soon as a month. Since this has been going on for almost five months, I figure another month isn’t going to kill me if it means my doctor and I won’t be attached at the hip anymore. Two weeks ago, I reached the point where I didn’t need to see him before he needed to see me! I can’t tell you how good it feels to know that I won’t have to give him an invitation to the wedding just to keep me in good health! LOL.

So, what’s new and exciting? I’ve signed on for another year with my school, and they’ve given me a good incentive to come back to them for another year. Plus they are working around the wedding, which takes a load off of my back.

Two weeks ago, I started another short-term contract. This one’s kind of cool. Apparently, my voice is dull enough to record a dictionary. Yep. Those electronic dictionaries that my students can’t seem to live without will have my voice talking to them even when they aren’t in class! A teacher’s ultimate revenge! It’s a nice change from teaching, and I’m hoping it leads to more promising work for television jingles or radio work. You just never know.

John and I are deep in the land of flight reservations. We can’t believe how much airfares have shot up over the past few months. I’ll report more on our travel itinerary later this week when the 10th roles around and then it’s FIVE MONTHS TO GO!

Yours truly has also broken into the world of dance. I started taking belly dancing classes about two months ago, and I love it! It’s so much fun. I wish I could take two classes a week, but my schedule doesn’t permit, so this little lady waits on pins and needles each week for Saturday afternoon to come around so she can go and shake it with the best of them. Fun fun fun!

Last but not least, I’m finally, FINALLY, meeting up with my on-line Flickr friend, Yu-fen. I’ve dying to meet this lady. I featured her work earlier this month as a guest author, and we seem like two peas in a pod. I’m terribly excited.

So that’s it in nutshell. The final countdown has begun and we’re both getting really excited to go home. Summer is going to fly by. I hope you all enjoy your summer holidays. I know we will!

A reverse effect with life imitating art. Or is it? This photo looks like an old oil painting to me. I love the contrast between the tiny little Vietnamese fisherman’s boat floating in a wake of capitalism.

My Chinese teacher asked me today how I think I’ve changed since I moved to Asia over six years ago. This is something that’s been on my mind quite a lot lately. My mom has always told me that I think too much and I suppose she’s right. Six years! Sometimes I don’t recognize myself at all. There’s a huge difference between the Carrie who moved here six years ago and the Carrie you know today.

Since moving to Taiwan, I’ve realized how little I knew when I moved to Asia. Looking back on those years I realize how young, inexperienced and naive I was. Somewhere over here, I made the jump between being a girl and becoming a woman. I was still very much in my wild 20’s. Now things have mellowed a bit. I’m more interested in pursuing my creative interests. Music, art, photography, travel, language and a keen interest in culture all play a major role in my life these days.

Despite all this, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything at the moment. My friend, Beka, just got married earlier this week. My best friend, Joanna, has just left for the summer. Another good friend of mine, Sarah, is five months pregnant. Most of my friends are married with kids and a home and I’m sitting here wondering where all that time went and how we all grew up so fast.

I’ve always been the kind of person who goes against the grain. My life choices have brought me to some pretty unique places and I’ve had some incredible experiences because I haven’t been afraid to take risks. Yet the biggest risk I’m taking right now is against time. John and I are quickly reaching that point where we need to make a decision about where we want to be. Do we stay in Asia or go back to North America?

If I had to answer this question today, I’d say I want to stay in Asia. I love my life here. Asia is deep under my skin. But knowing the answer to this question makes me wonder if I’ve made a mistake with this life I’ve chosen. I’m coming to terms with the fact that I’m not going to be one of those people who settles down with kids, a husband and a house, and I’m finding that idea a little harder to let go of than I thought. I don’t want it, but I feel like I should want it. I wonder if there’s something wrong with wanting to be able to do what I’m doing for the rest of my life, or if I’m going to regret it later on when it’s too late to do anything about.

Do I play it safe or keep taking these wild leaps?

Time for some summer link love. We’re not the only who have had an exciting couple of months. Here’s the latest on what’s new and exciting in my world.

Friend and fellow blogger, David Reid was recently interviewed in Traveler Luxe Magazine. David’s site, David on Formosa, is the go-to site for all things Taiwanese. If you want to know what’s what in Taiwan, he’s the man to ask. David is riding high this month as his photography was recently featured in Sky Couch Magazine. Congratulations David! It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy and it’s nice to see you on the receiving end instead of always doling out accolades!

Ashlin of Tumbling in Taiwan goes to Hualien and writes about his adventures there. As usual, he includes loads of interesting photos and gives us a teaser….these are just from Part One! I’m excited to see more.

One of my photos was featured as photo of the day over at Fotozon.com. This terrific website is a lot like my own Taiwan Photographers site, but there are three times as many gorgeous photos to look at! Fotozon features a photo a day from some lucky photographer here in Taiwan. The photos are truly spectacular and there’s a nifty code included if you want to feature daily photos on your website. You can even nab a code for Fotozon’s facebook application to include on your wall! This post comes just in time to celebrate Fotozon’s one-year anniversary. Congratulations and keep those photos coming!

Writer Josh Clark, for How Stuff Works featured my photography from the San-zhi Pod Village earlier this month in his article on Five Modern Abandoned Cities.

Attention aspiring ESL teachers! Teaching Tips has picked up my post on Dealing With Culture Shockand has included it on their list of 100+ Tips and Resources For Teaching Abroad. No stone has been left upturned in this compilation, and if you’re considering teaching abroad, be sure to stop by and take a look around.

The Bushman and HC are back from their trip to the US. There are loads of new photos and comments about their travels, served up Bushman-style, of course!

A new-found friend and kindred globetrotter, Matt Kepnes, is a recent and most-welcome addition to my blogroll. Matt is the author of Nomadic Matt. If you haven’t stopped by his site yet, please drop by and say hello.

Life around Taiwan’s northern coastline is a treasure trove of scenic spots and possibilities. Providing the weather is nice, it’s one of the best scenic drives in Taiwan for motorcycle enthusiasts, because everything is easily accessible and within a day’s ride.

If you’re looking for an interesting day trip, you don’t need to go much farther than Yehliu Geo-Park (野柳) in Wanli, Taipei County. At $50NT ($1.64US) per person, you can spend the entire day wandering along the paths of this gorgeous stretch of mountain and time-eroded rock. I don’t think you can find a better deal in Taiwan.

Yehliu is truly unique because the rock layers near the seashore contain substantial quantities of limestone, which are subject to sea erosion, weathering and earth movements, thus making the 1,700 meter-long peninsula almost lunar-like in many ways. The wild-looking landscape leaves little to the imagination. It’s easy to imagine what life could be like on another planet.

The area is studded with seawater-eroded holes teeming with sea-life, as well as unusual rock formations, which make the surrounding environment rich in ecological resources. Sun, wind, rain, waves and strong northeastern typhoons all make a major impact on this narrow strip of land.

Mushroom rocks

Yehliu’s famous rock formations run along a thin sliver of land jutting out into the ocean. Upon entering, visitors must walk through a plant nursery before emerging out on the bare stretch of rock running parallel to a low-slung mountain range, making it a wonderful habitat for sea-birds. The immediate area boasts a large cluster of candle, ginger and mushroom rocks, all of which gain their names from their odd-looking appearance.

The Queen’s Head Rock is the park’s most famous attraction.

The majority of the rocks in this area are mushroom rocks. There are about 180 of them in different states of erosion. Some of them have no neck, while others have a broad or extremely thin neck. Yehliu’s most recognizable landmark and claim-to-fame perches majestically among her subjects. It’s known as the Queen’s Head Rock. Not only does it play its role well over all the little mushroom rocks, it really does resemble a queen’s head when looking at it from the right angle.

Another fascinating aspect of the landscape are these seawater-eroded holes, which teem with sea life. Pebbles and rocks brought in by the waves cut into the soft limestone rock and nestle deeper and deeper to form these lovely little puddles. Seaweed, fish, crabs and other small insects make their homes here.

Visitors have two options upon entering the geo-park. We opted not to follow along behind everyone else and did the whole area backwards. Rather than head directly to the Western side of land, we veered right and wandered out along the sea-eroded puddles before heading in-land a bit to traverse along the bitten, mustard-colored landscape.

A candle rock.

The entire eastern side of the peninsula is dotted with funny rocks of all shapes and sizes. It’s easy to tell the difference just by looking at their appearance. Candle rocks have a ball-shaped core standing out from the rest of the rock in a candle-wick shape. Sea erosion creates a circular trench on top. Honeycomb rocks are mushroom shaped, but the surface of these rocks is covered with sea-eroded holes of different shapes and sizes. Ginger rocks actually look like giant pieces of ginger root.

Honeycomb rocks.

There are several sea caves to explore and it’s easy to become entranced with the gorgeous patterns created in the rock by the weathering rings. I never knew stone could be so brilliant or colorful. We didn’t see another soul as we wandered along the long stretch of land. When we reached the outer-most tip, we climbed up a set of stairs leading to a lone gazebo on the mountain running adjacent to the land. We sat and enjoyed the view for awhile before heading inland along the mountain paths running along the Western side of the peninsula.

This stretch of rocks on the West side is called Bean-Curd Rock. These rocks were squeezed together as a result of weathering and have developed a lattice-like appearance. Even more interesting are the number of fossils embedded in the rocks, which tell ancient tales of creatures from a not-so-distant past.

Things You Need To Know:

Hours of Operation: 8:00am to 5:00pm

Admission: $ 50NT

How To Get There By Bus: Information Dated: June 3, 2008

From Taipei City, take a Kuo Kuang Hao bus bound for Jinshan from the Zhongxiao-Fuxing MRT station 9exit 2). Buses come every 8-10 minutes.

From Tamshui, take the express bus bound for Jinshan at Tamshui Station (near Tamshui MRT station). It comes every 30 minutes from 5:50am until 8:20pm.

From Keelung, take the express bus bound for Jinshan or Tamshui at Keelung Station (near Keelung Railway Station). It comes every ten minutes from 5:50am to 10:00pm

How To Get There By Car/Motorcycle:

Note: Be sure to check which routes are appropriate for your bike. We take option number four because it’s scenic and we can make pitstops in Tamshui and at San-zhi Pod Village.

• 1. Sun Yat-sen Freeway - leave at Jinshan/Badu Interchange - Provincial Highway No.2 - Wanli - Yehliu.
• 2. Second Northern Freeway - leave at Keelung/Wanli Interchange - Provincial Highway No.2 - Wanli - Yehliu
• 3. Yangmingshan-Jinshan Highway - Jinshan - Provincial Highway No.2 - Wanli - Yehliu
• 4. Tamshui - Provincial Highway No. 2 - Sanzhi - Shihmen - Ginshan - Yehliu — OUR PREFERRED ROUTE.
• 5. Keelung - Provincial Highway No. 2 - Feicuei Bay - Yehliu

This is Teresa’s first narrative paragraph and it was written during her first month in class. Teresa is eleven years old. She wrote this in January 2008.

To find out more about this super writer, please visit our About The Author Information page, which includes Teresa’s personal bio and other examples of her writing.

Today, I wanted to find some new words on my word list when I suddenly remembered the wonderful time we had when I was in P10.

At Gram English School, Jamie, Helen, Vivian, Kitty and I were a team. When Carrie played spelling games with us, we helped each other so we could get good grades on our quizzes. We taught each other how to study for the word quizzes. We had some great ideas for getting good grades on all the tests.

The spelling games were very exciting and they made us feel happy. When Carrie played this game, we all had time to study the words together. If I forgot how to spell a word on a quiz, I would think of the spelling game and try to think of the right word. The first time we played the spelling game, I couldn’t spell any of the words. Everyone on the team helped each other to answer the teacher.

Now, Helen, Vivian and I are in Carrie’s Super Writer Class. We help each other like we did in P10-P12. I think Jamie and Kitty are too busy, so they aren’t here now, but the team is still happy, because everyone still helps each other and has fun.

Last August, I was contacted by Dr. Scott A. Hipsher, a university lecturer at Bangkok University in Thailand, about being a case study for a book called, “Expatriates in Asia: Breaking Free of the Colonial Paradigm.” Dr. Hipsher is also the lead author of “The Nature of Asian Firms” as well as numerous book chapters, academic articles and conference papers. He has spent over a decade in Asia and is currently working with ZOA Refugee Care to provide educational support to individuals from ethnic minority communities fleeing violence and political conflicts.

Dr. Hipsher was kind enough to send me an electronic copy of the book before it goes to the presses. His book, “Expatriates in Asia: Breaking Free of Colonial Paradigms” came off the presses at Chandos Publishing in May and is available for purchase.

Here is the excerpt in the book from our interview.

Carrie from Canada
Carrie is a 30ish Canadian teacher who lives near Taipei City in Taiwan. She met her American fiancé, who is now also in Taiwan, while working at her first overseas teaching assignment in Changchun City in northeastern mainland China. Prior to leaving Ottawa she worked as a regional manager for a jewelry supply store and gift shop. Carrie is an extremely energetic individual who, in addition to her job teaching, has her own business where she designs custom-made wedding jewelry for sale in Canada. She is also an artist and entertainer, and has been ‘singing professionally, doing radio work, book editing, television programs, commercials and modeling’ since moving to Asia. If these activities do not keep her busy enough, she tries to find time to enjoy ‘blogging, photography, painting, art and music’.

Like most independent expatriates, Carrie did not come to Asia primarily for professional reasons, but for the adventure and the experience. ‘Moving to Asia was a great excuse to indulge in my newfound freedom
and chase my rebellious side a bit. I thrilled at the thought of traveling on a regular basis and yearned to explore the unknown and expand my own horizons.’ Prior to moving to Asia, Carrie spent hours on the
internet searching out information that would affect both her professional and personal life abroad, and took an English teaching preparation course to ready herself for her new occupation. She also spent a lot of time with others who had lived and worked in Asia; she was ‘entranced by their travel tales. They were sophisticated, worldly and knowledgeable. They encouraged me to experience Asia for myself and gave me the boost I needed to make the jump.’

Carrie expected to stay abroad for one year, but that was over four years ago. She claims she did not have any specific expectations before moving to China, she ‘just wanted to have a positive year, meet new
people and travel. I was excited to learn about a new culture and a new language.’ She experienced some difficulties and loneliness at first: During my first year, I often felt like I’d moved to a different planet.
Everything was different. Try to imagine a normal day in your life back home and change every little thing about it and you might get an idea of what life was like in China for me during my first year.
I wasn’t expecting to be on parade all the time. People were constantly coming up and touching me. They would stand at my window in the mornings and evenings and watch me. They dug through my grocery cart while I was shopping. Every little thing was a challenge, from riding the bus and mailing a letter, to
ordering food and making phone calls. However, the adjustment and homesickness soon faded. She reported: ‘I chose to move to Changchun in north-east China because I wanted to immerse myself in Chinese culture. At the time, there weren’t many expats living in the city, so I was forced to learn the language and customs. It was an immensely rich and satisfying experience.’ Carrie found language and culture barriers to be the biggest challenges to overcome while living in Asia. However, she has made significant efforts to learn about her new environment and these efforts have paid off; she ‘never expected to like living in Asia so much’.

Carrie, unlike corporate expatriates, did not have a professional support network to rely on; while this was a challenge, she also found it a chance to prove to herself what she was made of. She found living abroad alone ‘was a good excursion into self-discovery’. The experience has changed her and made her much more self-confident, and has also changed her outlook on life to some extent. While living in China and Taiwan, she has ‘learned not to be so worried about time and money’. She also believes she has ‘become more adaptable and accepting in most situations’. Furthermore, she has been ‘living more of each day in the
moment’.

One of the reasons Carrie has had such a positive experience in Asia is that she loves her job as a teacher and really has enjoyed her interactions with her students. Carrie stated: Every year thousands of people move away from their homelands to live and teach in foreign countries around the world. Why teach
abroad? Hands down, it is the best way to broaden your horizons. There’s no better way to see the world, try different things, make money, learn about culture and learn about living an entirely different lifestyle which most people only dream about. Although she and her fiancé are not currently making plans to return to North America, Carrie believes when that time comes, her experience abroad may not be viewed by others back home in as positive a light as she has seen it. She wrote, ‘I hope my language studies can be put to good use in North America. I hope my experience abroad will be considered an asset, but realistically, unless I remain in education or the travel business, my experience probably won’t count for much.’

About living abroad, Carrie’s opinion about the experience was: I highly recommend it. I wish everyone could try it at least once. But, I’ve also learned that the pressures of living abroad are not for everyone. Some people are content in their own backyard while others feel the irresistible urge to roam and explore. I’ve grown immensely in the past five years. I’ve found courage where I didn’t think I had any. I’ve learned new things and had adventures every day. My successes and accomplishments feel extra special because
they were achieved in a foreign country against all odds. Her advice to others considering moving to China or Taiwan is: ‘Keep your eyes open and learn from all your experiences. Remember you are a guest here. A little courtesy goes a long way. Explore and inquire as much as you can.’

Gah! Six months to go! Time is flying now. Wedding. Wedding. Wedding. Wedding. That’s all we’ve talked about this week. In six months, I’m going to be a Mrs!

We’ve decided on our return date. I’ll be back on Canadian soil on the 12th of November. Wee! I can’t wait. I’m already super-excited to see everyone. We’re going to start booking our tickets this month, including our tickets to China at the end of the summer.

This time around, I’ll be doing most of the flying. Get ready for this one. Count ‘em….8 flights! Taiwan to the U.S to Canada to the U.S to Mexico to the U.S to Canada to the U.S. to Taiwan. Can you keep it all straight because I sure can’t! I’m really glad John is taking care of all this. Even better, four of these flights will be free because we’re using our air miles. Thank God for air miles!

We’ve accomplished quite a bit this month. Our travel schedules are sorted out. Wedding invitations are going in the mail TODAY! Thanks very very much to my dear Mom and sister, Shauna, who addressed and stamped for our guests in Canada. You two are the bestest!

My dress is paid off and speaking of dresses, here is the one I am looking at for my bridesmaids. I love the color and I’m just waiting for the girls to get in touch with me for sizing. Queenie and I are also going to take a day or two and do some shopping around Taipei just to make sure. You never know.

John and I spent the day shopping for rings yesterday. We have a few options and found it much easier than shopping on-line. I had my heart set on one particular style and when I tried a similar style on at Hearts On Fire, I hated it. We’ve narrowed the search down to two styles.

We have also decided on our wedding favors, which is also a big relief. I wasn’t at all sure how we were going to get party favors to Mexico after finding out that the airlines have reduced baggage allowance. The situation is under control though. We’ve found the perfect thing for our guests to remember our special day by.

Over the next month, I need to get in contact with the resort to find out what our options are for music and I need to get paperwork sorted in advance. Arranging a wedding in Mexico for an American boy and Canadian girl who live in Taiwan is not easy. We’re keeping on top of things and praying nothing sneaks up on us too fast.

Thanks to everyone for the emails and constant show of support. We love you!