Coming out to Taiwan was a big step, but one I was fairly relaxed about. Having spent a month of 1998 in St. Petersburg, Russia and my third year of university in St. Petersburg and Yaroslavl, I was used to living outside the UK. Russia had been quite a culture shock, not so much from a language point of view but because it was clear how hard life was for most Russians. In 1998, in particular, the rouble had been devalued and the shelves in the local supermarket were pretty bare. Buying a postage stamp required a pocket full of lose change in itself! Oh, and the language was pretty tricky too...
I knew a little of the 'difficulties' between Taiwan and China (Beijing firing missiles into the Taiwan Straight during the 1996 presidential elections, for example); apart from that, I knew Taiwan had a strong, manufacturing-based economy and, thanks to the video I was shown at my interview in London, had typhoons in the summer. That was about it. Lujou in Taipei County was to be my destination, so I had visions of green countryside, trees and perhaps a river...
My flight arrived in the evening and I was sleepy, so I didn't really pay too much attention to where we were going. So it wasn't until the next morning that I had my first real sight of Taipei County in all its glory. Pulling back the curtains, I was met with the picturesque panorama of... appartment blocks? Taipei County looked just like a city - not AT ALL what I was expecting! Fortunately, my roommate Paul took me to the roof of our block and pointed out Yangmingshan mountain in the distance. I was in the city, but nature was not too far away. Maybe this stay wouldn't be so bad after all!
The other teachers in the school - Katinka and Paul - were a great help to me in the early months. Corina, the school manager, helped with organizing health checks, paperwork and so on. At times, it seemed like the only thing she didn't do was teach the classes for me. She was ably supported by a great cast of assistants: Carol (secretary), Lucy, Lily, Vivian, Daphne and Ann (all teaching assistants). The school had a very home-like feel to it, so it was hard to feel homesick. I was taken to Taipei Zoo and Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall in my first week or so, but much of Taipei (and Taiwan) remained to be discovered!
9/11, Typhoon Nari & Goodbye, Uncle Peter
I had only been in Taiwan a week when 9/11 happened. The Hollywood-esque images of planes flying into skyscrapers were replayed so many times on CNN that one became almost numb to the horror after a while. Less than a week later (17th September), a big typhoon hit Taiwan. I guess most of the damage must have been done during the night, as I don't recall any high winds or torrential rain. I do remember seeing water flowing down the appartment block stairs into the basement car park, not to mention water being pumped out of the Taipei Main Station MRT. The damage there was pretty bad - floodwater had messed up the electrics and trains didn't stop there for a couple of months.
A shock of a more personal kind came along soon after, with the news that my uncle Peter (Dad's brother) was suffering from motor neurone disease and didn't have much longer to live. That news certainly made sense, as something had clearly been 'up' with Peter for a while. However, in true British "mustn't grumble" style, he'd kept the truth from his closest family until the very last minute. I didn't have too long to get used to this news, as Dad called a few days later to tell me that Peter had passed away. So it was goodbye to a wonderful, kind man who had really treated the Jackson children as his own. Dad and I spoke to him on the phone at least once a week, so his rather sudden departure was a big shock. 8 years on, I still miss him and wish Joelle and Samuel would have had the opportunity to meet him.
It was impossible to get back for his funeral, so I wrote a small tribute for Pip (my brother) to read during the service.
Tribute
With a selflessness so typical of Peter, he was concerned more in recent weeks about his brother, neice and two nephews than with his failing health. Pip, Rachel and I were, as far as Peter was concerned, like his own children.
I admired him for his inventive mind, wicked sense of humour, and what Russians would call his "golden hands". Whether in the garden or at the workbench, he displayed a mind-boggling ability to create so much out of so little. It's such a tragedy that the illness he fought prevented him from doing all the things that he loved to do. His garden, however, remains a testament to an extraordinary amount of work and love.
In my childhood, he was Roald Dahl's BFG. In my late teens, he was one of several Goon Show characters that he could impersonate brilliantly. He was always someone that I loved and admired enormously.
Peter, I, like many, never had the chance to say goodbye, so I'm saying it now. Goodbye, and Rest in Peace.
Spring 2002 - Big Changes Afoot...
It would be fair to say I was on the verge of abandoning my Taiwan adventure in March 2002. I didn't really enjoy the Friday night bar-then-club culture that most of the teachers I knew loved. I started to get pretty moody at home and work, and starting to get on Corina's nerves. As I discovered later on, she was actuallt considering asking me to leave. 2 events happened that brought about a real change in the weather: I went on a 3(?) day trip to Taiwan's east coast, taking in Taroko Gorge and Taitung. The Taroko part of the trip relaxed me an incredible amount; it was great to have 'escaped' from the noisy city and be surrounded by beautiful scenery. I began to realise that the main problem wasn't teaching in a cram school, or even being in Taiwan. I knew the answers were to be found in God, and it was essential that I found a good church on getting back to Taipei. That's pretty much what I did, having been refreshed by these few days away and having made my peace with Corina.
There had been a church bulletin on the teachers' room bookshelf at Shane ever since I'd been there. My predecessor, a South African girl called Helani, had been to Grace Baptist Church, so I thought I'd give the place a try. I don't remember the exact details of my first visit there, other than it was a morning service. Either on my first or second visit (don't remember which) the pastor invited those who wanted to become Christians to raise their hands. I did, and the rest was history as they say. I very quickly changed to the service in the evening, and wasn't even put off by the presence of a guitar and (probably) a tambourine. Can't have been too "happy clappy" then! About a month later, I started going to a Chinese-English bilingual fellowship on Saturdays called Evergreen. Filling my weekends with things to do seemed to be the best way of properly settling down in Taiwan.
The other big change: enter a South African guy called Tim! He was a Christian too, as well as being lots of fun. Hearing him speak was an experience in itself - English, mixed with the odd word of Afrikaans and plenty of surfing lingo. We learned to understand the language before long! Tim was a huge encouragement to me as I found my way in the faith; without him, this new life would have been pretty hard. While it was great to meet up with all my new friends at the weekend, how was I to cope with the rest of the week? Tim chatted with me a lot, prayed with me, and gave me lots of sound advice. Oh, and I'm also indebted to him for introducing me to good Christian music. The great discovery: Christian music didn't have to sound cheesy; some of it actually rocked! Thanks Timo! (Although you can keep the heavier stuff, thanks very much!)
I knew a little of the 'difficulties' between Taiwan and China (Beijing firing missiles into the Taiwan Straight during the 1996 presidential elections, for example); apart from that, I knew Taiwan had a strong, manufacturing-based economy and, thanks to the video I was shown at my interview in London, had typhoons in the summer. That was about it. Lujou in Taipei County was to be my destination, so I had visions of green countryside, trees and perhaps a river...
My flight arrived in the evening and I was sleepy, so I didn't really pay too much attention to where we were going. So it wasn't until the next morning that I had my first real sight of Taipei County in all its glory. Pulling back the curtains, I was met with the picturesque panorama of... appartment blocks? Taipei County looked just like a city - not AT ALL what I was expecting! Fortunately, my roommate Paul took me to the roof of our block and pointed out Yangmingshan mountain in the distance. I was in the city, but nature was not too far away. Maybe this stay wouldn't be so bad after all!
The other teachers in the school - Katinka and Paul - were a great help to me in the early months. Corina, the school manager, helped with organizing health checks, paperwork and so on. At times, it seemed like the only thing she didn't do was teach the classes for me. She was ably supported by a great cast of assistants: Carol (secretary), Lucy, Lily, Vivian, Daphne and Ann (all teaching assistants). The school had a very home-like feel to it, so it was hard to feel homesick. I was taken to Taipei Zoo and Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall in my first week or so, but much of Taipei (and Taiwan) remained to be discovered!
9/11, Typhoon Nari & Goodbye, Uncle Peter
I had only been in Taiwan a week when 9/11 happened. The Hollywood-esque images of planes flying into skyscrapers were replayed so many times on CNN that one became almost numb to the horror after a while. Less than a week later (17th September), a big typhoon hit Taiwan. I guess most of the damage must have been done during the night, as I don't recall any high winds or torrential rain. I do remember seeing water flowing down the appartment block stairs into the basement car park, not to mention water being pumped out of the Taipei Main Station MRT. The damage there was pretty bad - floodwater had messed up the electrics and trains didn't stop there for a couple of months.
A shock of a more personal kind came along soon after, with the news that my uncle Peter (Dad's brother) was suffering from motor neurone disease and didn't have much longer to live. That news certainly made sense, as something had clearly been 'up' with Peter for a while. However, in true British "mustn't grumble" style, he'd kept the truth from his closest family until the very last minute. I didn't have too long to get used to this news, as Dad called a few days later to tell me that Peter had passed away. So it was goodbye to a wonderful, kind man who had really treated the Jackson children as his own. Dad and I spoke to him on the phone at least once a week, so his rather sudden departure was a big shock. 8 years on, I still miss him and wish Joelle and Samuel would have had the opportunity to meet him.
It was impossible to get back for his funeral, so I wrote a small tribute for Pip (my brother) to read during the service.
Tribute
With a selflessness so typical of Peter, he was concerned more in recent weeks about his brother, neice and two nephews than with his failing health. Pip, Rachel and I were, as far as Peter was concerned, like his own children.
I admired him for his inventive mind, wicked sense of humour, and what Russians would call his "golden hands". Whether in the garden or at the workbench, he displayed a mind-boggling ability to create so much out of so little. It's such a tragedy that the illness he fought prevented him from doing all the things that he loved to do. His garden, however, remains a testament to an extraordinary amount of work and love.
In my childhood, he was Roald Dahl's BFG. In my late teens, he was one of several Goon Show characters that he could impersonate brilliantly. He was always someone that I loved and admired enormously.
Peter, I, like many, never had the chance to say goodbye, so I'm saying it now. Goodbye, and Rest in Peace.
Spring 2002 - Big Changes Afoot...
It would be fair to say I was on the verge of abandoning my Taiwan adventure in March 2002. I didn't really enjoy the Friday night bar-then-club culture that most of the teachers I knew loved. I started to get pretty moody at home and work, and starting to get on Corina's nerves. As I discovered later on, she was actuallt considering asking me to leave. 2 events happened that brought about a real change in the weather: I went on a 3(?) day trip to Taiwan's east coast, taking in Taroko Gorge and Taitung. The Taroko part of the trip relaxed me an incredible amount; it was great to have 'escaped' from the noisy city and be surrounded by beautiful scenery. I began to realise that the main problem wasn't teaching in a cram school, or even being in Taiwan. I knew the answers were to be found in God, and it was essential that I found a good church on getting back to Taipei. That's pretty much what I did, having been refreshed by these few days away and having made my peace with Corina.
There had been a church bulletin on the teachers' room bookshelf at Shane ever since I'd been there. My predecessor, a South African girl called Helani, had been to Grace Baptist Church, so I thought I'd give the place a try. I don't remember the exact details of my first visit there, other than it was a morning service. Either on my first or second visit (don't remember which) the pastor invited those who wanted to become Christians to raise their hands. I did, and the rest was history as they say. I very quickly changed to the service in the evening, and wasn't even put off by the presence of a guitar and (probably) a tambourine. Can't have been too "happy clappy" then! About a month later, I started going to a Chinese-English bilingual fellowship on Saturdays called Evergreen. Filling my weekends with things to do seemed to be the best way of properly settling down in Taiwan.
The other big change: enter a South African guy called Tim! He was a Christian too, as well as being lots of fun. Hearing him speak was an experience in itself - English, mixed with the odd word of Afrikaans and plenty of surfing lingo. We learned to understand the language before long! Tim was a huge encouragement to me as I found my way in the faith; without him, this new life would have been pretty hard. While it was great to meet up with all my new friends at the weekend, how was I to cope with the rest of the week? Tim chatted with me a lot, prayed with me, and gave me lots of sound advice. Oh, and I'm also indebted to him for introducing me to good Christian music. The great discovery: Christian music didn't have to sound cheesy; some of it actually rocked! Thanks Timo! (Although you can keep the heavier stuff, thanks very much!)
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