Writings & Ramblings

A husband, a father, a cyclist, an ESL teacher, a Canadian, and a long-time resident of Taiwan writing about life and all of the above.

[foreigncyclist]

Morning Walks

Most mornings, due to a combination of having to take my kids to school and myself having to go to work, I get up and exercise. If I don’t have to work in the morning and my wife agrees to take the kids to school, I can hopefully go for a bike ride. But on those mornings I don’t exercise or go for a ride or when we are all free and so I have a lot of time, I like to get up and make myself a cup of coffee and then take that coffee, connect my earphones to my cell phone, and go outside for a walk.

I should tell you that first that I like to get up early in the morning, quite early. I aim for between five and five thirty, maybe six on the weekends since I have more time I need more sleep. I don’t like sleeping late; I feel like I’m wasting a big part of the day that way.

I also don’t like waking up in the morning and being sedentary. I think it’s a good way to promote laziness later in the day. Getting up and getting moving is a good way to get things done.

Also, early in the morning is quite possibly the only time I have to myself all day. My children are asleep so I don’t have to worry about them needing me for something. Once they wake up or I go to work, I don’t have time when it’s just me until late at night.

So, I like to go out for a walk. It’s quiet; it’s peaceful; it’s very relaxing. It can be a little boring because I’m looking at the same things again and again, but the reality is that it isn’t the walk or the scenery or the coffee or the comedy podcast that I am listening to that I really enjoy.

What I enjoy is the solitude, the quietness, the feeling. It’s the feeling of a brand new day, the thought that a whole new day awaits me. It’s a chance to to think, to order my thoughts, to plan my day, to clear my mind.

I find myself looking forward to these walks, to this time to myself. It’s a time when I don’t have to worry about anything, not children, not family, not work, not students, not money. There is just me, my coffee, and my thoughts.

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[foreigncyclist]

I often get asked why I enjoy cycling so much. It is a difficult question to answer; it is hard to put into words and I don't really understand it myself. But look at this. How often do you get to see stuff like this, especially if you live in the city (and even more so if you live in the city in Taiwan) if you don't ride a bicycle? I get to see scenes like this all the time, all from the saddle of a bicycle.

[foreigncyclist]

On Family, Riding, and Work

I was supposed to ride my bike this morning. The group ride this morning was a good one; it is one that has been scheduled a number of times over the past few years and one I have always wanted to do but have yet been able to do. I told my wife in advance — over a week ago — that I really wanted to do this ride. I thought I was all set for this morning and able to get out.

I had been looking forward to this ride for quite a while. It would probably be about one hundred kilometres of riding. There would be flat roads and there would be climbing. There wouldn’t be any mountains, but there would be some good hills, some long, some steep, and some both long and steep. There would be beautiful scenery and other beautiful things — like temples — to look at. It would have been nice.

But my son has an art class Sunday mornings. That means that someone has to take him to his class and someone has to look after my daughter. Or my daughter has to wake up early and go in with her brother and spend the morning out. That was the plan: I would go ride my bike and my wife would look after the children for the morning so I could do so. (Don’t worry, I most likely would have been looking after them all afternoon and evening, so it all works out.)

Except, you know, family life always gets in the way. My wife sometimes has trouble getting out of bed early in the morning and to take our son to his class this morning she would have had to be up by about seven o’clock. On top of that she hasn’t been feeling great the past couple days and is therefore a little tired and wants to sleep. My son and daughter were out for most of the day yesterday and by the end of the day my daughter was very, very tired. It wouldn’t have been fair to her to make her wake up so early — she tends to sleep a lot — so it was decided that I would stay home in the morning and then take my son to his class in the morning.

So I am resigned to doing that. No bike ride, I guess. That is fine; family comes first. I get up in the morning and do some exercise at home in lieu of riding my bike. I take a quick walk outside with a coffee to cool down. I go back inside and discover that my wife and son are both awake, even though it is well before the time we would have to leave. I take a shower and start to get ready. Then my wife tells me that she’ll take our son in to class because she wants to do grocery shopping in town anyways.

My plans go from going to a bike ride to taking my son into town and sitting in a coffee shop waiting for him to finish to staying home all morning with my daughter. My plans change a lot. I sometimes joke with my male students that if you don’t like your plans changing often or quickly, don’t get married.

All of this is fine. At one point in my life stuff like this happening might have upset me. I have always been a person who has thought to himself, “Okay, tomorrow I’m going to do this and then this and then this…and when I finish all that I’m going to do this…” and then when I woke up the next day I would review in my head my plans for the day. Changes to that mental and internal schedule make me not that happy. But over the years of my marriage and subsequently of being a father, I have learned to accept those changes. They don’t upset me anymore. I just roll with them now.

No, my thought on all this have to do with the fact that today is Sunday. I’m off, off as in I don’t have to work today. I am therefore free to do whatever I want. Within reason, of course. That is, I think, part of what makes me so melancholic about going to work. It’s not the work itself, it’s not the classes. It’s the fact that I can’t do this and I can’t do that and nothing ever changes. Yes, every class is different and, at least for me, every day is different from the last, but, even so, it is the same thing week after week. It’s not just the monotony, the fact that nothing does change, it’s the fact that nothing can change.

And that, I think, defines why it is that I don’t want to work. Even though I know I have to. But it’s why, even though since I’m paid by the hour I lose money that way, I really look forward to having days off and holidays. It’s the chance to do something different, something that maybe wasn’t planned, something that may change from one minute to the next.

It’s a chance to live and not just exist.

[foreigncyclist]

"Sun gi removable toilet paper" I'm glad it's removable; is there any point to toilet paper that can't be removed?

[foreigncyclist]

Weather and Clothes

One of the things that baffles me about Taiwanese people is the way they dress for the weather. Although, it is probably more accurate to say that Taiwanese people don’t dress for the weather. A lot of people here, it seems, dress according to the calendar as opposed to the actual weather. Many of them, apparently, think that since it’s January it is cold — by Taiwanese standards, at least — and therefore a sweater and a jacket are required when going out. These are worn, it seems, regardless of what the actual temperature is. It’s winter, and therefore I need a sweater and jacket.

Either that, or they dress according to what the weather was like when they left the house in the morning. Quite often I see people walking around in the middle of the day wearing jackets — and gloves and scarves, actually — while I am wearing a short-sleeved shirt. When I ask them about it, they respond with It was cold in the morning. Fine, I’ll give you that, but it isn’t morning now. Now, it is hot: You can take the jacket off!

(That logic, however, might be lost on some people here. Once while getting gas for my scooter a guy pulled up behind me at the pump and turned off his scooter. After the attendant had finished filling up my scooter, I moved my scooter forward so the guy behind me could move his up to the pump. He then got on his scooter, started it, and rode it about one scooter length, and then turned it off again. I have seen something similar two or three times. Apparently some people are not aware that scooters can just be pushed forwards quite easily without the need to turn the throttle.)

This has been especially noticeable this winter as it has been, in general, quite hot this winter. Yes, we have had a few cold spells, but on the whole it has been quite hot. There have been quite a few days where around lunchtime it has been warm enough to walk around in shorts. In December and January. And still, even though I was outside wishing I were wearing shorts, I see people walking around in jackets.

The reason I mention all this is that I am just wondering if Taiwanese people just feel the temperature the same way I do. I’ve thought of that before, but I started thinking about it more this morning while out on a bike ride. I noticed there was a ten degree difference between the time I started my ride to the time when I finished. That’s a big difference. That’s enough of a difference for me to want to start removing some layers of clothing or else I’m going to be hot. But Taiwanese people seem unaffected and are out walking around with the same clothes they had on when they left the house in the morning.

To me, quite strange. I’m also a little envious: I wish the change in temperature didn’t affect me so much or that I didn’t notice the change in temperature so much.

[foreigncyclist]

Could we say "a river runs through it?" Well, at least it would if it had rained and there were some run-off rainwater to flow between the mountains and the tree-covered valley. Nevertheless, beautiful. #cycling #cyclingintaiwan (at 嘉義番路大湖)

[foreigncyclist]

Feeling Strange

Even after all these years here it still sometimes feels strange. Strange to be here and not there, strange to be living half-way around the world from where I am from, from where I grew up. It's not a bad strange, just something that feels different.

Last night after supper at my in-laws as part of the Lunar New Year festivities, we all went out for a walk outside. While we were out there I saw this field of pineapple and the feeling struck me again. The feeling that I am here, in Taiwan, in a place that is far removed from where I grew up. I want to say "from my home", but that is not true. And that is part of what feels strange.

Here I am living in a foreign country. I'm living in a place with a lifestyle and culture that is totally different from what I grew up in. And when I think about that, I think that I should feel something, that I should feel strange, unusual, out of place. But the thing is that I don't. Yes, I do feel strange, as I said, but that strange feeling comes from the fact that the fact I'm living here doesn't feel strange. I don't feel out of place.

And, really, I should. I stick out, most likely. While I can't see myself when I am with Taiwanese people and I have no idea what they are thinking or what they see, I imagine I do stick out. My light skin, my blond hair (or, at least, what's left of it), my green eyes are all probably very obvious to other people. I am very obvious to other people, no doubt, and yet in my own mind I am not out of place.

Even though I am in a foreign country, nothing feels strange, unusual, extraordinary. It might have to do with the amount of time I have been here, but right now I feel comfortable here, I feel accustomed to life here. I feel like I belong. And that feels strange.

It feels strange to feel that way. I think I should feel out of place. This is, after all, a foreign country. And not foreign as in another country, like how someone going from America to, let's say, France or Italy might feel. No, this is foreign as in completely different. This isn't even Western society or culture. It's totally different.

And, at this time, it is home. This is where I live. This is where I work. This is where I spend my time. When I go to bed at night, I am here, in Taiwan, in a country that is far, far away from where I grew up. When I wake up in the morning, I am also here. This is my home.

I haven't been back to Canada in a long, long time. Considering how long I have been here, how much I have become accustomed to life, culture, and the food here, I sometimes wonder if I actually am Canadian anymore. Yes, my passport says I am, and no one in Taiwan would think so because of how I look, but sometimes I wonder if I am more Taiwanese than I am Canadian.

[foreigncyclist]

Just a picture of a rice field with the freeway — not visible in the picture, sorry — in the distance. (at 大埤鄉三結社區稻香園)

[foreigncyclist]

I'm hoping someone can explain this to me: The top says it's from the U.S., but the bottom says it's from the U.K. #BadChinese #Confusing

[foreigncyclist]

Strange Question

I had to go through a police roadblock (the Taiwanese equivalent of a RIDE program) on my way home from work tonight. The police officer asked me: "Have you been drinking?" Well, you've got to be pretty drunk — or stoned — to say, "Why, yes, Officer; yes, I have."

[foreigncyclist]

Introduction

I am trying to write. That’s nothing noteworthy or shocking, I know; a lot of people are trying to do the same thing. But I need an outlet, something to get me writing. That is what this is for. This blog is an outlet meant to get me writing.

As such I don’t promise that content on this blog is necessarily good. This is not meant to be writing of publishable quality but more of a means to get me writing and to get it out there. Most of what I put on here will not be edited that much at all. It’s just me getting my thoughts out there instead of keeping them in my head where they tend to linger. Then, once again, I can get writing instead of just thinking about it.

There are probably a lot of similar blogs out there, I know. I do think, however, that mine is a little different, a little special. The difference between me and a lot of other people, I think, is that most of them are people who have come to this country — Taiwan — or, possibly, some other foreign country and found things interesting or strange or something similar, and then started taking pictures of them and writing about them. Well, that’s not quite me. I did not just arrive here; I have been here a long time already. As of the time I am writing this, in January of 2017, I have been in Taiwan for sixteen and a half years. I am now a permanent resident of this country; I have been married to a local woman for thirteen years and we have two children together. Moreover, I really enjoy living here and feel I am better off living here than I would be in my native Canada. In fact, a lot of my posts on here will most likely have the tag “BetterOffHere” because I do feel that life is better here.

I have been here so long that I think I have, in some ways, become Taiwanese. I am quite — not totally, but good enough to hold a conversation with anyone — fluent in Mandarin and can read enough Chinese to be able to tell what’s going on and to order food in a restaurant. I prefer eating with chopsticks than with a fork (except steak, of course). Most of the people I know and interact with are local people and the majority of them don’t speak English. I am used to life here and no longer think of the things I see as being strange or stupid or backwards: they’re just normal and the way things are. I think I have lost of a lot of my Western habits and mannerisms. I have been assimilated, I think.

As such, my views on my experiences are quite different from other people’s. I see things a different way, I think. Sometimes I don’t agree with things, sometimes something happens that annoys me. At those times you may think that I’m not happy, that I am complaining. While there may be some truth to that, there is also the fact that no matter where a person is, there is probably something that makes him or her unhappy, something that he or she complains about. Quite often I look at things in Canada and America and don’t agree with them and once again feel that I am better off here.

Also, as a means of introduction, you should probably know that I am an English conversation teacher. That is my job while I am here; I have been doing that ever since I got here. It’s a good job mostly, but it does require me to work long days. For example, most days I have to work during the morning and afternoon and then again in the evening. I have to work most evenings and even on Saturday afternoons. But it’s a relatively easy job and at times enjoyable one. I just don’t like the time it takes me away from home and my family.

One more thing: I am a cyclist. At least I think I am: I don’t get the chance to go riding much anymore, what with work and family commitments. I didn’t start riding until I came to Taiwan, so all of my experiences with cycling are biased towards riding in Taiwan. But it is what I enjoy doing the most, and so — assuming I can get out on my bike more — a lot of what you see and read on here may come from time on the bike. It’s a great way to think since most of the time it’s just me, the bike, and the road when I’m out there and so I tend to do a lot “mental writing” when I am riding. My problem up to now has been finding the time and opportunity to put those thoughts I have while riding down somewhere.

Hopefully setting up this blog will help with that.

[foreigncyclist]

This isn't from this morning but I was going through my pictures and realised I had never posted this anywhere. So here's a nice picture of the #sunrise coming over the mountains, complete with some #fog and a tree in the foreground. #BetterOffHere #ViewFromHome

[foreigncyclist]

To Ride or Not to Ride

The opportunity was there this morning for me to ride my bike and I didn’t take it. I could have gone, everything was ready. My wife and my son — my daughter is away at a camp — knew about my intention to ride my bike. But as early as last night, I wasn’t sure if I was going to go or not.

A big problem was the weather: It got a little cold last night. One of the nice things about living in Taiwan is that it is possible to ride a bike twelve months of the year. It is never too cold to ride a bike, not if one is dressed properly. But just because it is possible does not mean it is necessarily that enjoyable. Last week I was out for a ride and even though I was enjoying the ride, I was a little bit cold and kept thinking that it would be nice to be sitting at home with a nice hot cup of coffee.

So after waking up this morning and going outside to check the weather, I decided that it was too chilly — not cold, just chilly — to go out. It wouldn’t be that much fun since I was going to be cold on the bike during the ride. And then when the sun came out I was going to be hot and sweating and wearing too much, but taking certain layers would have exposed the lower layers — which are now wet from sweating — to the cool air and would have made me cold again. No, not fun.

I can’t wait until March when the weather turns warmer and I don’t have to worry about this. I try not to complain about the heat in the summer (and it gets really, really hot in the summer) because the heat is, in many ways, much better. As long as one remembers sunscreen and to keep drinking water, then the heat isn’t so bad. It is definitely easier because then one does not have to worry about what to wear: some bib shorts and a jersey are all that’s required. No jackets — not even for going down a mountain. Coming down a mountain on a bike in the summer in Taiwan is never cold. After the heat of everywhere else, descending a mountain is refreshing. In the summer one just gets on the bike and goes.

It will be much easier to ride in the warmer weather. As much as I really want to ride my bike — and it’s something I think about almost all of the time — I don’t really like riding my bike in what passes for winter here because of the weather. Given a choice between going for a ride and being cold or staying home and being warm, as much as I want to be riding my bike, I’m probably going to choose staying at home.

But there’s another reason to stay at home and it’s a reason that might not make it easier to ride in the summer: my family. I like staying at home with them. Sometimes it’s hard to get out the door on my bike beecause I’m thinking I want to be with them. That’s why I kind of like it when my wife decided to take the children somewhere: If they’re not at home, it’s a lot easier to go out and enjoy the ride. If they’re at home, I feel something pulling me towards home the whole time I’m out.

So sometimes I wonder about being a cyclist, sometimes I wonder if I still am a cyclist. On those days I can’t ride I think about cycling all the time. I look forward to the next time I can ride my bike. I plan my next ride. I get excited. I start thinking, “Yay, this Sunday I can ride my bike!” But then Sunday comes and I start thinking that I would rather stay home.

It’s hard to get out sometimes. So I hope my children can soon grow up. Once they’re older they might annoy me so much that I won’t want to be at home and it’ll be easier to get out on my bike. Or when they’re older they’ll be able to ride with me and I’ll be able to both enjoy a bike ride and spend time with my family. I also just hope that by that time I won’t be too old to go cycling.

[foreigncyclist]

Coincidence?

There’s a big line-up and a lot of people ordering coffee, so a lot of people waiting in line. So every one is given a number. Is it just coincidence that besides being the only one who wasn’t given a number that I’m the only foreigner?