I guess this is the way it goes, when one has time to write, there’s really not much to write about. When there is lots going on to write about, there’s no time. So, I’m going to try and give some sort of glimpse into what I’ve been up to for the past 2 1/2 months and my adjustments and challenges of living in Taiwan.

Living

So, first things first. When I was first presented with the possibility that I would be moving to Taiwan to work, one of my primary concerns was housing. I really couldn’t get an answer from my company on what I could expect. My greatest fear was that the company I work for simply rented a floor or a block of apartments or whatever and I would be living with the people I worked with. That fear turned out to be completely unfounded and I’m pretty happy with where I’m located. My company already had a leasing agent set up, and she focuses primarily on housing everyone in one certain area, which I have come to refer to as “special white-man village“. Don’t get me wrong, the housing in this area is exquisite. Spacious luxury apartments with many of the conveniences and amenities one would expect in any modern city. This area is set far away from the hustle and bustle of downtown, suburban high-rise living if you will. Through some quick networking and expression of my desire to have a more authentic experience during my time here led me to an alternative to the pre-programed leasing agent and I found an apartment much nearer downtown. So, here I am, on the 24th floor with a wicked view of Kaohsiung Harbor, the Dream Mall and its famed “Hello Kitty” Ferris Wheel. I LOVE my view, especially at night and I’m fairly happy with this location.

Working

Well, my parents always taught me if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all, so I guess I shouldn’t say anything at all about work, but here goes. A job’s very nature is that it sucks. I’m pretty o.k. with that and actually get quite a bit of amusement from kvetching and grousing at and about work. The suckage at my current job, however, is several orders of magnitude worse than anything I have experienced previously. The good news is that it’s only 40 hours per week and the paycheck is a pretty hefty one, provided I can find fulfillment in my personal life, I will probably be able to survive this job.

Eating & Drinking

One of the things I was really looking forward to was Taiwanese dining. My first foray into street food here was hugely disappointing and really put a damper on my willingness to explore further. I’ve never been one to let language barriers get in my way, but I’m finding learning to read a menu to be a nearly insurmountable challenge. I’ve really allowed myself to slip into old routines in this department. There is no shortage of western style dining here in Kaohsiung, so that’s what I’ve done mostly. I do live very near IKEA, having never set foot into one before it was one of the first places I visited. IKEA has a cafeteria serving Swedish Meatballs and the like. The ease of it all, combined with the novelty made it an early favorite, but the novelty has worn off a bit and visits are less frequent. Mexican food is quite easy to find, and much to my surprise, is done quite well here. This is the first place outside of North America that I’ve found Mexican food done right. Other familiar restaurants and fast food options exist. McDonald’s, T.G.I.F., Outback Steakhouse just to name a few. And then, there’s “The Brickyard” a rathskeller near Central Park which serves up some of the most delicious food around. Seriously, if you’re in Kaohsiung and hankering for a deliciously filling meal, good music and service staff that are just out of this world, The Brickyard is where you want to be.

Daily Challenges

So, I live in Kaohsiung, but work in Pingtung. Pingtung isn’t that far away – perhaps 23KM but driving there is a hassle. Traffic here in Taiwan is pretty heavy. And the scooters, what a pain in the ass those things are. I really can’t describe the utter mayhem that is my daily commute, suffice it to say that the traffic rules that I was accustomed to in the U.S. don’t apply here.

So, my experience with trash has always been either pitch it in the dumpster, leave it on the curb on specified days or throw it in the back of the truck and take it to the dump/landfill. None of these seem to be an option here. Trash trucks seem to be on a continuous route through the city and pass my building at a prescribed time 6 days per week. This is very unsettling for me for several reasons. Everyone is taking their trash out at the same time, so it’s just awkward to be in an elevator with four or five other people all toting the day’s trash. Taiwan is an island and as such is taking a very proactive stance on recycling. Due to all of my seasons on The Ice sorting trash into recycling categories is pretty much second-nature now and judging from the huge “thumbs-up” gesture I get from one of the people who takes my trash(*) I must be doing it right – or maybe he’s just happy to be getting all of my empty beer cans – at any rate, imagine yourself carrying a translucent trash bag in an elevator in a country where you already attract way too much attention – it’s as if my neighbors are examining my trash to try to decipher how I live. It feels a bit invasive. And probably the biggest bummer about the way trash is handled is that I have to be around at a certain time of day to deal with it. If not, that smelly whatever I threw away last night is going to get smellier.

(*)I’m not sure how things work, and my assumption is based pretty much on “dead-reckoning” and context cues, but I’m not actually handing my trash over to the trash truck guys. I hand it over to a group of elderly. I believe they are freelancers of a sort and act as surrogate trash handlers in exchange for the recyclables for which they are paid for. As Taiwan has no social-security I think this is how the elderly “make it” if they have no other means of support.

I have a lot more to say, but I’ve lost motivation to continue writing right now. I’ve been working on another project which will hopefully become a regular augmentation to this blog. It’s called “What up Kaohsiung?” and if you haven’t already seen the premier episode via facebook or forumosa, check it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_IMEy2NvpQ

One of the great things about traveling the world is, of course, experiencing different cultures. Now, I say that without ever having given a great deal of thought to what the word “culture” really means. I just think of it to mean that people who live in a certain place tend to have similar ideas on spirituality, values, beliefs etc. The dictionary definition that best fits the word culture in this context is this:

the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.

Looking at culture and trying to define it for myself brings up some interesting thoughts. First, I truly believe that individuals can be defined more clearly through their culture than they can through their race. This is significant for me because lately I have found myself rejecting the label “Caucasian” when referring to my own race, as I have no knowledge of any ancestry from the Caucuses. The other popular choice seems to be “White”, but that conjures immediate images, not of race, but of the culture of suburban America.

Image: who needs variety?
lars hammar

A few days ago, I started what will be a few weeks of airports/airplanes and hotels/chain restaurants en route to Taiwan. My current leg of this journey has me visiting the mainland U.S.A. to say goodbyes to loved ones and close friends. So, right now, I’m in the suburbs of Salt Lake City, UT and I’m realizing that the more time I spend away from this type of setting, the more I loathe being around it. It seems that the culture of suburbia is to consume. The preferred method of self expression is to show off what you have purchased. Secondary to this, it seems that producing large numbers of offspring and getting them involved in as many things possible, i.e. soccer, dancing, hockey, this team, that team is some sort of pinnacle of success in this culture. Making up for one’s own empty existence by trying to live vicariously through your children? Is that what this behavior is all about? There appears to be, perhaps three different hairstyles amongst the women in suburbia, and the only acceptable choice for the menfolk seems to be a short-cropped haircut and goatee (yes, this is STILL popular?). Caked-on make-up seems to be very definitive, and don’t even get me started on the [complete lack of] fashion exhibited in suburbia. It is the cult of the soccer mom. This is a culture demands its followers become wage-slaves. An existence that I am happy to be free from and have no desire to return to. It would appear that I am in the minority in rejecting this type of lifestyle, so I suppose I probably have it wrong, but in the end, I can say that I have truly found happiness in rejecting the pursuit of consumable goods and placing freedom at the very top of my list of personal values.

This brings me back to the question of race/culture. I guess I still don’t know what groups I belong to, but I damn sure know which ones I want no part of.

Vagabumming in Asia perchance?

Yes. I’m in absolute awe at the possibilities that life has presented me. I mean, I’ve had it pretty good for a long time, but I’ve really found myself appreciating that fact for the past year and a half or so. I’m so completely blissed out for such long periods of time that sometimes I begin to worry that I’m manic. But no, no mania here, I’ve just been blessed with a wonderful life.

So, this fact that life is wonderful, I’ve found, can’t be taken as a small piece. It can’t be isolated from the rest of my life. That’s to say that decisions that I’ve made and actions that I’ve taken all came together to put me exactly where I am right now at this very moment. While there have certainly been rough patches in the past; and I often think that if I would have known then what I know now that I would have done things differently, well, I think I’ve abandoned that line of thinking too. All of those events that I may have resented before have contributed to my current state and I am unwilling to give this up, regardless of what any alternate past may have produced.

Right about now, you’re wondering, “what the hell, Will, what are these possibilities you speak of and why all the introspection?” Well, wow, where to start? As you likely know, I’ve been doing contract work in Antarctica for the past six years or so. I’ve done some amazing things, including spending a winter at The South Pole, a winter at Palmer Station and several seasons at McMurdo Station as well as visiting quite a selection of field camps and research sites on the continent of Antarctica. I can remember, very clearly, how completely overjoyed I was when I the possibility of working in Antarctica was first presented to me. Something that I hadn’t ever even considered before, something that was far beyond my wildest dreams ended up becoming a reality and is now a huge part of who I am. I remember last winter at Palmer Station when, for just a moment, my mind was able to really grasp how utterly privileged I was to be doing what I was doing and getting paid for it. Sailing INSIDE a volcanic caldera who gets to do that at their job? I never thought I would, that’s for sure.

Now, if the job itself isn’t special enough, what about the time off and travel? During my long periods of time off I have been privileged to surf in Mexico, ski in Canada, Wyoming, Colorado, France, Norway and even Kashmir. I’ve seen what is surely one of the most macabre churches in the world, traveled all over central Europe by rail, visited the lochs of Scotland, gazed upon Big Ben, communed with nature at Machu Picchu, been amazed at the passion exhibited by Tango dancers in Buenos Aires, stood in awe at the power of nature at Iguazu Falls, been fascinated by the remnants of an ancient society at Easter Island, surfed in Ecuador and found a home (of sorts) in Hawaii.

I was all set to try and get myself hired to go on an overland traverse on Antarctica for this upcoming season. Yes, 80 days of staring through a windshield at barren, flat white, eating T.V. dinners and pooping in a bucket sounded very appealing to me, like a grand adventure even. But alas, the universe has thrown something even more exciting in my direction. So, it looks like I’m taking at least a one-year hiatus from The Ice.

What’s Next Then?

Well, I pursued and have been offered a position in Taiwan. I’m not entirely comfortable posting much detail here, but the position is at least related to the same type of work I’ve been doing and is almost exactly what I was doing in Korea (if you knew me in those days think BIG TRUCK!!).

So, there you have it. Brand new adventure coming up and I expect to post more details about my upcoming move as they become available to me. For now, if you’re interested in the exact location you can see it on a map here: Kaohsiung (pronounced “COW-shung”). If you haven’t already, might I suggest you subscribe via RSS or you can even get email updates. Both of these services are free, don’t include any advertising and are a great way to keep up to date with what I have posted.

P.S.
I am SO looking forward to taking a surfboard with me to my next job!

My travels in South America wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Easter Island (a.k.a. Rapa Nui or Isla de Pascua depending on your preferred language). Few places on the face of the earth offered me what Easter Island did in mystery and intrigue. The statues (called moai) have had a great deal of appeal to me ever since I first became aware of their existence. I rank Easter Island right up there with Stonehenge in my “great mysteries of the world” list.

Moai in the quarry

I had seen pictures of the iconic moai of Rapa Nui before and was very intrigued. Of course, I have read snippets about them here and there so I had an idea of what learned scholars figured them to be, but nearly everything that is known about the existence of the moai and the original residents of Rapa Nui is based mostly in hypothesis and theory. I think that it is wonderful that the true meaning behind the statues on Easter Island may never be known and will be kept a secret from humankind for the rest of eternity.

Rapa Nui is a relatively small island about 2500 miles off the west coast of Chile. The island is all by itself and is often touted as the most isolated place on earth. To give that some perspective, in these modern times, that’s a five-hour flight with nothing between take-off and landing but open ocean. During that five hour flight I remember being slightly annoyed by a crying baby on the airplane and I remember being a bit uncomfortable due to the lack of legroom. Annoyed and uncomfortable only until I start to think about the ancient people who first came to Rapa Nui. I have no frame of reference to help me even get a vague understanding for what these people must have gone through to get there. How many days (weeks, months even?) must one spend on a canoe to go…2500 miles on a previously uncharted course? If I was uncomfortable and annoyed on a five hour flight, these people must have been absolutely mad after endless days at sea in a canoe. Being exposed for that long on the ocean, they surely encountered bad weather. Inevitably they lost people, supplies, and food. What about water? Where does one get drinking water on a crossing like that? And after the ordeal of getting there…they find…NOTHING! Easter Island is fairly small and rugged. Sure, there is evidence that it was much more forested when the original Rapa Nui arrived but beyond trees and lava there isn’t much to the island.

So, after much suffering they land on an isolated island, have no external stimulation…what better way to pass the time than carve some statues out of lava. Oh..and then, after the monumental task of carving them, they move them to their platforms (called Ahu)…which are MILES away from the quarry. Madness. Pure Madness, I’m sure, is what drove these people to do this work and eventually de-forest themselves nearly out of existence.

photo gallery works best when viewed at vagabumming.com

On my final day in San Pedro de Atacama I took a trip to the El Tatio geyser field. This particular outing was highly recommended by other travelers that I had met in San Pedro and Chileans absolutely raved about the greatness of the geysers of El Tatio.

A hot spring at El Tatio

This tour departed at 4 A.M. in order to get to the geyser field at sunrise – when the air is cold and the light is soft, lending dramatic effect to the steam rising – which will lose much of its appeal as the ambient air temperature climbs. The day’s highlight was swimming (or “hotpotting” as it was called when I did it in Yellowstone) in a hot spring – and at El Tatio it is a sanctioned event! (unlike Yellowstone). This geyser field is at very high altitude and as such, the air temperature is pretty cold – so getting out of the hot spring wasn’t all that enjoyable.

photo gallery works best when viewed at vagabumming.com