Grant- Outbound to Taiwan
October 21, 2012
This is so surreal to looking on the RYE Florida page and seeing my name on
the side where the current outbounds are. I've been here almost two months
now
and I figured I was already late enough to catch you up to speed on what's
been
going on in Taipei. Let me just start off by saying that flying here is not
fun... At all it took almost 16 hours of air time to fly halfway around the
world. I was greeted at the airport by around 15 people including all of my
host
moms and dads my club counselor and his wife my host brother and then a
couple of
people who I am still not sure who they were. After that I enjoyed my first
dinner in Taiwan..... I dove into the culture pool head on for this, my
dinner
consisted of but not limited to: Stinky tofu-like the name says it smells
horrid-some boiled cow heart, then some what I thought was fish but it was
sheep
stomach. Let's just say that was an experience all of its own, it's safe to
say
I wont be trying that again for a while. So the whole first week I am here
my
little brother keeps saying on Saturday we go fishing, so I assume that we
are
going to go to a river or the ocean, but no again I was mistaken. Fishing
here
consist of a pool in which you stick a baited bobber in to catch, are you
ready.... Shrimp, yes we were fishing for shrimp in which after instead of
bringing home we cooked them right then and there. Speaking of which the
Taiwanese enjoy fresh fish at a restaurant, like you pick out the fish,
lobster
or shrimp out of an aquarium tank and they take it to they kitchen cook it
then
serve it to you, right then and there.
Speaking of food, well I can really indulge in too much because everything
has
ingredients I can't have which is upsetting because I was looking forward to
go
on an eating spree but sadly this cannot happen. But on the bright side I
joined culinary club at school and I am learning how to make and prepare all
kinds of interesting fare. On the list of things I can eat is called hot pot
in
which you sit at a table with a pot in front of you and throw everything you
want into the pot and cook it.... It's safe to say that it is delicious and
I
plan on eating it many more times. What I do not plan on trying for the
third
time is stinky tofu, all form of it, it is just not appealing to me a much
as it
is to others. Also on the lists of no need to try a third time: pig heart,
intestines, pigs blood cake, chicken feet and all types of animal stomachs.
I have made a lot of new friends here during my past couple of months and
some
of the guys I am just as close as people back home. Unfortunately I don't
get to
hang out with my classmates very often as they are always busy studying for
their next test which are a daily occurrence. Weekends are no better because
they have Saturday school and Sunday school.... So much school here. On the
list
of my favorite expeditions I have gone on is one day I decided that I wanted
to
go up in the mountains with a group of 6 other guys and go hike up a small
river. It was nice because even though Taiwan is a island I have spent
little to
no time at all in the water. Another one of my "genius" ideas was to get in
a breakdance battle with some students... Now I'm not saying we lost, I'm just
saying that we may or may not have technically "won" mainly because we just
kind
of ran away from the five guys all spinning on their heads. Also another one
of
my great ideas was to get an Asian haircut which consist of shaving the
sides of
my head and a whole lot of gel to hold it up there. It's safe to say I'm
currently letting it grow back out to normal length. My friend Braden is
exactly like me, he dives and pole vaults, the only difference is he is from
Pennsylvania which is far from similar to Florida. If you know me back home
then you know that if there were two of me then we'd do some crazy things.
Well that happens an example of which is we needed to see if we could come
home from the pool on the MRT shirtless because there is no signs that say
we can't. So the next thing i know i am sitting on a packed MRT with no
shirt and everyone was staring at me. Turns out you aren't technically not
allowed to do it, it is just frowned upon. Another thing we did was when we
went back to the river we ended up wearing speedos and water shoes on, yet
again we got some strange and perplexed looks from the locals(except for one
old man who was wearing the same thing).
My Chinese is progressing surprisingly quick. I can hear and read very well
but
I do not speak so well compared to the Taiwanese on any level. But my
listening
has gotten to the point where my host family will speak entirely in Chinese
and
I can comprehend it for the most part. When I can speak Chinese I do, and I
try
to seek new opportunities to try to perfect it in real world situations. So
I
get "lost" a lot and ask for directions even though I already know where to
walk
I just want to work on getting my speaking perfect. Reading actually is the
most
surprising thing to me because it is not that hard to remember for the most
part
the only major problem is writing it down seeing as my english handwriting
is
far from perfect.While my Chinese has grown my English is starting to fade
besides my ACT vocab, but the more colloquial terms seem to fade the most
because no terms are used in the same part of the country or world. A great
example of this is when I was at the beach with some friends I couldn't
think of
the surfing term for when you get held under by a wave, I later had to text
someone back home to relearn it is called being pinned.
My host family is now my family and I call my host mom just mom so when I
get
off the phone and say "alright mom i'll be safe, love you" the other
exchange
students think I am talking to my mom back home but I have to explain its my
host mom but it shocked me when I found out no one else calls their host mom
just mom. My family life is good when I eat dinner I talk about my day and
my
plans for the next couple of days and ask everyone how everything is going
with
them. I get along with my host brother and he an I go out sometimes ( when
he
isn't studying to get into a good high school). I also go to places with
them
such as the mountains, the beach and other Rotarians houses or events.
It wasn't the easiest thing I've ever done leaving my family and friends
behind
to go to a place halfway around the world. I was never really homesick but
some things back home got me really upset like the passing of one of my
friends,
but I knew I was going to pull through it I had to pull though because I
know it
is for the best. Home is here now, streets that were once so foreign to me
are
now so familiar, the same goes for sights. I am no longer weirded out when
my
fish still has a head on it, I actually think its wrong without one. I don't
think twice when I order things in Chinese because I am confident in what I
am
saying. I feel that my new Rotary family here isn't just confined to Taiwan
any
long but has merged with back home to make one single family. I look back at
myself a year ago and can't believe that I am now the one in Taiwan, no more
research about the island, no more anticipating where I am going to live in
my
new home, no more questioning myself if I made the right choice to come
here. I
realize that this year I going to be perhaps the most life changing year in
life, and I am so appreciative of it. Thank you Rotary Youth Exchange
Florida
for allowing me to come to where I now call home.扶輪社台灣. Thank you mom and
dad
promise that I will not let any of you down.
Sincerely,
Grant Zwolinski(賴和平）
January
24, 2012As you all already know the holiday season is dwindling down and
things will return to normal once again. The thing is in Taiwan western
holidays have a very strange place in this society. The holidays are openly
displayed from Halloween all the way up to Christmas which may seem normal
but the thing is nobody celebrates these holidays. There were no little
children running around apartments dressed as their favorite super hero. No
turkeys or mash potatoes, for the most part there are no ovens in this
country so these dishes are not easily made. There was trees and lights
everywhere for Christmas but no Santa in the mall. The biggest surprise is
how fast stores transform themselves from one holiday theme to another.
There is a general merchandise store by my school and I was walking down
there to get some Halloween stuff on sale which would be usual in America.
To my surprise the shop has already been transformed into a thanksgiving
shop, the next day. Meaning there was no sale the store just simply took
down the items and stored them for next years ex-pats.
I realize that it is not cold in Florida for Christmas but it is still much
colder than here. It has been in the mid 70's this winter except on some
rainy days where it will dip down to low 60's. Yet everyone here is bundling
up with 3 jacket when they step out the door. My host Mom is convinced that
I will be cold as I walk out of the house with only my hoodie on in 70
degree weather, no matter what I say I normally leave the house wearing the
scarf she puts around my neck. The only thing is it rains…. A lot we had
three straight weeks of rain, its not nice rain it is whipped at you from
all directions due to the wind tunnel effect the buildings have in this
city. The sun is not really out here because of overcast and when it is it
is not out long because sunset is around 5:15, I miss the Florida sunshine I
will say that.
I am now officially on winter break now and I will have to admit it feels
weird not having a long time off of school since August. Seeing as I haven't
had much time off I really haven't traveled much around the island but I am
really hoping that I get to during this next month. ,Although I have not
traveled to much I have learned a lot about Taiwanese culture through
countless classes but more importantly through the art of calligraphy. This
alone has been a huge experience to see the almost ceremonial set up for
this ancient art. I expect to do a whole lot more because of Chinese New
Years coming up and we rewrite the seals of the household. I did get off for
the western new years, which was really unique because exchange students
from all over the country came to Taipei to see the fireworks around Taipei
101. There was around 200 exchange student in the same general area which
was nice for us but the Taiwanese people near us were very confused because
large groups of foreign teenagers were together. We also had a little mini
Florida reunion I got to see Dakota and Gentry. Unfortunately we didn’t get
to see Nicole because she was away with her host family but she had a good
time and that is all that really matters.
Since I last wrote I have also moved host families which was one of the more
emotional periods of my exchange thus far. It reminded me much of when I
left Florida to some extent. My mother after taking care of me in the
beginning where I was much like a child had realized that I had to move on
to what was next in life for me. I really enjoy my new host family, they are
very kind people and they speak almost exclusively in Chinese to me so my
Chinese skills have improved. I do not have any host siblings in this new
family which is a new experience because I am the youngest of three in my
family back home so not having siblings is kind of strange to me. I enjoy it
though because my family likes to spend time with me and help me.
On the opposite side of that I had to make my first rounds of goodbyes by
acknowledging that my two Australian friends would no longer be with us. It
was hard on us to see them leave but then I thought about how hard on them
it actually is. They have to say goodbye twice since their exchange is
January to January. Once to the friends that would be leaving them and once
when they are leaving their friends. But that is the exchange cycle so we
all knew it was going to happen eventually. It is still weird going to
rotary events and looking around to find them but of course they are not
there.
I am really excited for Chinese New Years, it takes place in the beginning
of February this year. Everyone is telling me about how much fun it is and
how much it means to this country. I can't wait for all of the festivities
that the Chinese New Years celebration brings in. It is going to be very
nice to spend a lot of time with my host family too, and I feel that I will
grow closer to them. As of right now my host parents are keeping me out of
the loop for what is going to happen and what we will do on New Years
because they want to surprise me.
Well that’s it for now I will be sure to update once my vacation is over
with plenty of pictures and stories to tell.
Sincerely Grant Zwolinski.
P.S Some photos go along with last entry.
Me and my new family
Some of my classmates asked me to draw the Americas.
My best friend Braden
When i had a crazy haircut
Happy New Year !!
"Christmas" Store
The same store two days later
Grocery Store preparing for New Years
April
11, 2013 You know it's crazy, I never thought that I would be able to
stand in front of a
Chinese restaurant that I have never been to and read the menu as if it
was
English. I didn't even think it was gonna happen the first couple of
months in
Taiwan, but now I can as if I have known all along what it meant.
Chinese
doesn't seem foreign at all anymore I know that at first I thought it
all
sounded the same and looked similar but now I can hear the differences
in each
word while it may not be as apparent as English but it is there. It
finally
just clicks for me and it is really amazing to know that my hard work
has
started to pay off. My speaking could be better but it's close for sure
it is
not a very forgiving language when it comes to that.
My winter break was, relaxing to say the least not very eventful because
we
didn't leave taipei much. But I got to spend a lot of time with my
second host
family and learn about all of the traditions and customs of Chinese New
Years.
Such as writing the new seals for the doors on our house, leaning about
my host
ancestors and many other things. I got to travel to the south of Taiwan
in the
mountains for a few days and visit my host grandparents. I stayed in a
200 year
old house in the mountains and learned how to pick star fruit and betel
nut from trees. Well
not actually pick you just kind of shake the tree until the nuts fall
off, I got
hit in the face a couple of times for looking up to see if there were
any left.
We went to temples for nine days and they showed me the way to pray
while
holding incense. It is really funny because the first day my host
parents say we
wake up go to the temple to say what I heard as bye bye so I thought I
was going
to a funeral the next morning. As it turns out they did not say bye bye
but the
Chinese word for pray which sound very very familiar and it seemed
fitting at
the time.
Also I ate.... A lot, we had a mini feast for every meal for nine
days. I
gained about 4 pounds in the course of the new years festival.
Everyplace we
would go to that had shrimp my host mom would tell everyone not to worry
Grant
will finish all of them, she did this as a joke but as it turns out I
probably
had about two and a half dozen shrimp every dinner..... Thanks
Mom.Overall it
was a unique opportunity to learn about the largest, most extravagant
festival
of the lunar calendar. It's safe to say I said 新年快樂 over 1000 times (it
means
happy New Years) while the break may have been relaxing I barely slept
the
entire New Years because people would stay up and light huge fireworks
in the
middle of the street you would hear a drunk man scream 新年快樂（xin nian
kuai le)
then see a huge firework followed by a even bigger boom. Now I know what
you are
thinking "Grant we have big fireworks in Florida", yes but these are
bigger much
bigger after all they did invent them.
I moved to my final host family and it is very different but nice. I
have a host
brother who is about the same age as me and we get along very well,
which is
good because we share a room. I also have my first host pet it's a
cat... That
weighs about 20 pounds who always is talking and sleeping on my pillow
when I
want to go to sleep. I try to move him but he is just soo large it is
hard to
grab him to pull him off so I just kind of poke his belly until he
moves.I also have two older sisters that are not home very often an a
grandma who likes
to tell me I'm too skinny and I need to eat more(in that respect she is
very
similar to my real grandma). My host brother is a really nice guy it's
just a
shame we do not get to do much together because he is always busy
studying for
his next test or at cram school because his school doesn't offer a
course. I do
take up every opportunity I can though to hang out with him.
Recently I went on a trip to Kenting ( pronounced kending) for a spring
break
sort of thing. The beaches were beautiful the water was so clear and the
coral
was beautiful and this is all 20 feet off of the beach. We ended up
staying in
tents which was a really good bonding experience for us and we met some
other
foreigners that were down there as well. One of them from Spain actually
came to
Saint Augustine through a sister city program and knows some people I
do. We
both found this crazy because the world ain't as big as some people make
it out
to be. I keep forgetting the sun is stronger down here so I keep on
getting a
little bit toasty after the beach or a day on the river. The most
relaxing part
of the trip was just to get away from the big city and rain to settle
for some
wide open spaces and blue skies. I will be returning there shortly for a
class
trip and hopefully this time I can go surfing ! It's been way to long
since I
last was on a surfboard so it will be funny to see if I can pick it back
up
quickly
Overall Things over here seem to be winding down a lot as I approach my
final 60
days in Taiwan. I'm making new friendships that I know won't last long
but they
will be worth it. Trying to do more because I know that there are
something's I
haven't done yet an places I haven't seen. Trying to absorb the last bit
of
Chinese I can before I leave here because I know it will not be the same
once I
am home. Everything is just falling in to place and before I know it I'm
gonna
be landing in JAX airport. So for now I am going to live in the current,
And
live in the wise words of Ferris Bueller.
Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in
awhile, you
could miss it.
Thank you Rotary once again,
Grant Zwolinski
My second family
The whole place was covered with people and smoke
The betel nut tree
Mine and my dads calligraphy
A close up of my calligraphy
Me just hanging out in Kaohsiung
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