"Hell on Earth"

Today marks the 50th anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising against China. As you've probably read in the New York Times, the Dalai Lama has harshly condemned Chinese authorities for cracking down on Tibetans since a series of riots one year ago, saying that Tibetans have gone through "hell on earth."

It's also worth checking out Chinese coverage of the Dalai Lama's speech. Here's a teaser from Xinhua, China's main news agency: 

Commentary: For whom is Tibet a "hell on earth"?
www.chinaview.cn 2009-03-10 22:28:56 Print
By Xinhua Writer Zhou Yan

LHASA, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Tuesday is a special date for Tibetans. For the 2.8 million residents in the southwest China autonomous region, it marks 50 years since feudal serfdom was abolished; but for the 14th Dalai Lama and his "government-in-exile," it marks five decades of futile attempts at independence.

....

In a speech to mark the 50th anniversary of his exile, the Dalai Lama abruptly shook off his pacifist outlook and smiles to give some gibberish far below the intelligence of the "spiritual leader" himself, and poles apart from truth.

I take it back

Once upon a time, more specifically February 14, 2009, I wrote a slightly bitter Valentine's Day post on this here blog.

But I take back all the bile--thanks to Sexy Beijing for showing us all how sweet Valentine's Day is in China!

CASTRATION!

When my roommate Katie picked up our dog from getting neutered last week, the vet asked, "Would you like to keep or see his testicles?"

What if she had kept them? Would she keep them in the fridge? In the common room for everyone to enjoy? As a paperweight on her desk?

This episode puts a whole new spin on the "When in Taiwan, do as the Taiwanese do" philosophy.

Lucky Me!

Sesame paste is the Asian equivalent of cheese. It's high in fat and makes everything taste better.

Goes well with leafy, green vegetables and noodles. Haven't tried it with crackers, but I'm feeling optimistic.

"So, what are your plans for next year?"

Thinking about the next step has gotten this far:

As Shitty as it Looked

Novelty restaurants always seem like a good idea at the time.  Here we are eating at The Modern Toilet, where you can eat poopy-looking food out of toilet-shaped containers while sitting on a glitter-blasted loo.

Dan and Liz are the All-American couple. They are both smart, attractive, athletic, tall and blonde. They also both hail from Southern California and bring that "Can-do!" attitude to the dinner table. It doesn't get more American than that!

Matt and I are neither a couple nor particularly American*. He might know more  Chinese than English, and I don't like sugar in my tea.  Also, look at my shirt.  No American adult in her right mind would ever wear something so silly.

I'm never eating out of a toilet ever again.

*This is a lie. If there's one thing I've learned about myself over the past few months, it's just how American I really am! 

You Can't Take It With You

I thought of two ways to write about these photographs:

1.  The scooter is (as far as I can tell) the most popular mode of transportation in Kaohsiung, and it's amazing how much stuff they manage to fit onto one little vehicle.  It's not uncommon to see a family of four riding together--older child standing behind the steering column, dad in front, mom in back holding baby.  My roommate claims she once saw five dogs on one scooter--a small one in the front basket, a large one hanging over the streering column, one sitting on the (human) driver's lap, two in cages strapped to the back.  Since these spectacles tend to zoom by before I can dig my camera out of my purse, this elementary school student and his science project will have to do.  Plus, he's way cuter and seemingly less dangerous than some of the more outrageous scooter balancing acts seen around these parts.  

*Note: I hear that scooter-packing in India and Vietnam makes Taiwan look, well, safe.

2.  Taiwanese education experts constantly bemoan the state of "Creativity"
 on the island.   At least one of the schools that host Fulbright English Teaching Assistants has a "Creativity Center" (oh, the irony of building a center for creativity is not lost on me) where either a bunch of teachers plan events to encourage kids to be creative or kids go to be creative, though it's unclear which of these options is actually the purpose of the center.  One of my co-workers is apparently working towards a masters degree in "Creativity Studies," but his failure to explain what that actually means makes me suspect that Creativity is some sort of meaningless buzzword in the Taiwanese education field, sort of like "green" or "all-natural" in the United States.

Regardless of what Creativity actually means to a person living in Taiwan, perhaps educators who see this photo might breathe a sigh of relief knowing that their children are not actually robots.  Judging from our young hero's mother's expression pictured below (and her yelling, "This is much too big!  How can we possibly take it home!"), I assume that his project was unique among his classmates, at least in terms of size.  So worry not, Taiwanese Education Officials, your kids are not doomed to crunch numbers for the rest of human history!

3. In the spirit of creativity, I'd like to host a little contest--how would you write about these photos?  Leave all your ideas in the comment box.  I'll check them out at the end of the week.  Best entry gets a special postcard from Taiwan (and they're good ones, believe me!)  If you're timid about submitting, just think that if you're the only one who submits, you automatically win!