Special to Kemptville Advance
Diana Leeson
April 2003
Our staff writer Diana Leeson will be
in Taiwan
Over the last
couple of days, we have been treated to an abnormally bright blue sky here in
Taiwan. Usually the cloud cover – or smog – is thick. The occasional sunbeam in
the classroom brings a gasp of delight from the students (and the foreign
teachers).
Dustin, the
self-proclaimed beach bum from B.C., said the blue sky brought him “back to his
happy place”. The mountains could be seen on three sides of us, a bright
emerald green dotted with wild pink and white impatiens. It was beautiful.
The blue sky is a
welcome sight, instead of the typhoon that we were warned about a few times
last week. The storm never actually reached Taiwan; it bypassed the island entirely.
Typhoon days are
like snow days back home; no one goes to school and the teachers still get
paid!
I had my first
ride on a scooter this week. It was quite an experience
The threat of
SARS seems to have waned a bit in Taiwan; it was never really that bad here and
only about a dozen people became ill with the disease. We did have a few deaths
among the frail and elderly but the general consensus is that it is now under
control. Most passengers on the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) subway and bus systems
are leaving their surgical face masks at home now, although the drivers still
wear them. I promised Mom I would keep mine on, for now.
We have a new
epidemic to worry about, however. The foot and mouth disease that hit England a
few years ago also came to Taiwan. At the time of the English outbreak, many
farm animals were put down and the carcasses were burned. In Taiwan, they
buried the animals but didn’t burn them, apparently. As a result, experts say,
the water has become contaminated and for the past few summer seasons the foot
and mouth disease has returned. What a shame to imagine that in a country that
experiences temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celsius with the humidity, all
of the public pools will be closed to discourage spreading of the disease.
The advice to
avoid contracting foot and mouth disease is to only drink bottled or filtered
water, and to eat fruits and vegetables only after they have been washed in the
same. Tap water is not safe. We can shower in it, but bathing in it is not
advised. I will be brushing my teeth with filtered water also, just to be extra
safe.
Of course, this
new illness is nowhere near as serious as SARS. It is curable but it takes
quite a toll on a person, and they have to miss quite a bit of work or school,
which is a big no-no in this culture.
The ‘renao’ or
practice of happy noise-making seems to have increased significantly as of
late. I don’t know if they are celebrating something or trying to ward off evil
spirits, such as the various diseases. Bright red banners proclaiming the
dangers of SARS are hanging all over the city, so I know it is still on
everyone’s mind. (Just let out a cough on a busy subway train and you will see
how quickly you can clear a section).
The noise-making
starts early in the day, both during the week and on the weekend. No sleeping
in here. Yesterday I tried to use my normal route to the subway station, down a
little alley no wider than a Volkswagon Beetle, when I noticed it was already
taken up by a convoy of small blue alley trucks.
In each blue
truck, a man played a big bongo drum, someone was clashing cymbals and someone
else was waving around burning sticks of incense. There was much wailing and
singing and happy renao going on. They were making their way down the hill from
the temple near my house, so I suspect the parade had some religious connotation.
When I tried to
squeeze myself past the trucks to get down the alley, someone set off a
firecracker, right next to my head. In Taiwan, firecrackers are used to scare
the evil spirits out of buildings when a new business opens. They are also used
on tomb-sweeping day, to keep the stirred-up ghosts away from residences.
During Chinese New Year celebrations, they are set off day and night, to get
rid of the old year and usher in the new. I think in this case they saw a
foreigner and decided they had better set one off, just in case I had any evil
spirits with me. It certainly scared the living daylights out of me, if nothing
else. I arrived at work a little shaken, and reeking of sandalwood.
Easter was a very
low-key celebration for us poor foreigners here in Taiwan, as we had no extra
days off. We taught the basic concepts of rebirth and Spring, with baby animals
and of course the Easter egg as the primary symbols of the occasion. The
religious celebrations pretty much stayed inside the churches. There are some
Christian congregations here, but they account for less than 5% of the
population of 23 million.
The English
teachers at my school worked together and came up with several class activities
however, such as an Easter egg factory where the kids could dye their own eggs,
and a huge Easter Egg Hunt. Chocolate is pretty hard to come by here, but we
managed to find some Kinder Surprise Eggs from Germany that served us quite
well.
Mother’s Day is a
huge holiday in Taiwan
Of course, it all
just makes us think of our own Moms, and how much we miss them.
We hope that all
is well back home, and that everyone had a good Easter.
-30-
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It was 4 o’clock in the morning Ontario time but I
needed to speak to someone who knew me. So I called Stephen. He answered the
phone after a couple of rings with “What do you want, Leeson?” In just seconds he had
me smiling; fifteen minutes later my sides ached from laughter. He always knew
just what to say. And I could feel the love right through the sandbox to the
other side of the world.
Phone calls to Canada on my beloved purple Nokia cell cost
just three cents a minute - thank God, because I called often. When mom heard
about my new single status, she hoped I would cancel my plans and return home
to Canada, but I had just begun to realize the incredible freedom and
opportunity of living alone in an environment where no one knows you. The
situation offers a fresh start—and that was exactly what I was looking for.
Part of the appeal was that I got married at 19 and spent my 20s raising children and looking after other people's children in the suburbs. Now, at the age of 35 in a strange place surrounded by people I didn't know, I was finally getting the opportunity to live alone. To take each day as it comes, without a schedule or plan.
When I spoke to the girls and told them that TN and I were no longer together, they didn't beg me to return. They explained with excitement their plans for summer holidays with their Dad and his girlfriend and her two kids, in rambling, long-winded, side-tracked stories that went on for days. They laughed, got on the other extension and teased and interrupted each other, and once my youngest even walked away from the phone to get something and forgot me there. Left me hanging until I finally gave up. I wasn't hurt. I took it as a good sign. Even when they started calling the new one Mom. I had been there for them, a stay-at-home mom since they were born. It was an adjustment, this new life, but I knew they were happy and loved. And our relationship was solid. Or at least that is what I told myself, that first year of three.
I
answered an online ad at www.tealit.com and immediately moved into the top floor bedroom of a three-storey townhome at the foot of a
mountain on the east side of the city. It was literally at the end of the line. The subway line. The little community on the riverbank was separated from the rest of Taipei by a huge footbridge that had a steady flow of pedestrian and bicycle traffic. My two new roommates, Ron and Ben, gave me both
the physical and figurative ‘space’ I needed, while also making me feel less
alone in the world. Ron was from Birmingham, England. I don't know if it was the accent or the funny sayings that were so foreign to me but each time he opened his mouth he made me laugh. I can't remember where Ben was from. One of the bible belts in the States. He was the sensible, steady, reliable one. Ron was the entertainment factor.
In my garden home apartment, there was a large gap under the
front and back doors. This, I was told, was so that flood waters coming down
the mountain could just wash through the home instead of smashing it down. That
is why all the floors and walls were tiled. The problem with this scenario is
it also allows every manner of creepy crawly to roam freely into the house.
“I don’t
like spiders and snakes, and that ain’t what it takes to love me, you fool…”
(Jim Stafford)
I was on the phone to Canada with my mother one evening as I
was applying makeup for a night out. I had treated myself to a luxurious soak
in the deep Japanese tub in the main bath, instead of my usual shower. As I
leaned in toward the mirror, I noticed a small furry leg hanging onto the edge
of it - and then two googly eyes peered out at me. As always when I’m startled,
I caught my breath and said nothing. Just froze and watched. My mom kept
talking as a huge, hairy mama spider - the size of my hand - poked her head out
from behind the mirror to peer at me.
Just then Ron walked in and began,
“Have you seen my…AH! What in the bloody hell is that?!
Spider!!!” A blood-curdling scream ensued, interrupting my phone call with my
mother. I still don’t know what he was looking for. He ran like a little girl
downstairs and out onto the porch, stamping his feet and brushing at his hair.
“I thought you said you had male roommates, Dee?” my mother
asked.
I asked around and discovered these large hairy Taiwanese
spiders are quite harmless. I still danced her out the door on the end of my
broom.
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