The Decision

Earlier this week, I received a bit of news that finally puts an end to the rumors and speculation: I will be taking my talents to The Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, as part of a Substitute Military Service program that will allow me to complete my required service.

To give a little bit of background, I, being a Taiwanese-born male, am subject to the conscription laws of this country. Being an American citizen does not exempt me from having to serve. There is a loophole some overseas Taiwanese use to avoid service that allows them to simply leave the country for a day and come back every four months. This works for people born before 1985. I was a year too late. Also, I believe there is a height minimum that would free me from doing service. I checked myself and I was half a centimeter over.

Another option was to relinquish my Taiwan citizenship. Not happening.

The thing is, I like this place too much to be restricted to staying only 183 days out of a year, until I’m 35. I would much rather just get the service over with and be free to stay as long as I choose. Luckily there exists the Substitute Military Service that, instead of having me stand guard in a camp in the countryside (or worse, getting sent to some  forsaken island like Kinmen), I could work at a government agency or teach English somewhere. The hassle I went through to apply for this is a story for another time.

So, I’ll be starting the end of August, and it lasts for 14 months. The veil is off.

To the ones that mockingly told me “I hope you get drafted”- you got what you wished for. And I guess I did too.

Cheers to the Next Episode.

(P.S. I might be allowed to visit home before I start, we’ll see)

Read Full Post »

Round 1

This week marks the end of a chapter in the Chronicles of G.

The last post I’ve made here was in March. A brief rundown of how this week went/will go down shows how shits changed since then:

Tuesday– Went to class, gave a hastily patched-together presentation about Mackay, a Canadian missionary who came to Taiwan. Afterwards, went with class to have a celebratory lunch, as it was our second-last day of a long semester. Once lunch was over, I raced to catch the bus to head to my part-time job. I’m now working at an international patents office, mainly corresponding with clients who have unpaid debit notes. I think of myself as a glorified collections officer… although at least collections officers can employ scare tactics.

I’ve been working there since the end of April. My bosses are great and coworkers seem cool too, though I haven’t had time to meet all of them yet. With my school semester wrapped up, I think I will work full time in June.

After I finish work at 6, I hopped on the MRT to meet up with a new student to tutor. I was introduced to her by my friend’s fellow Rotaract club member. I think it was in the Tipping Point that I read that most of your hookups are through acquaintances rather than your close friends. Seeing how my part-time gig was basically introduced to my by another student, I think this idea holds merit.

I’m now tutoring three students a week, mostly engaging in conversation to pick up their listening/speaking skills. Luckily they’re all around my age so I don’t have to deal with little brats.

Wednesday was the last day of class. As I mentioned, it’s been a tough semester. It was nowhere near as fun as the last semester and there’s a lot of reasons for that. Mostly it was the teacher, who at times I found unbearable, and probably was the cause for some of my classmates to basically stop coming to class. My own attendance record took a hit towards the end as well, somewhat due to having the side jobs, but also because her teaching method was boring and she had a terrible sense of humor. Classmates also weren’t as fun as in the last semester, to be honest.

The last day of class saw a rather cheerful mood, as one of my classmates brought some French snacks and wine. Drinking wine before noon is always fun. My teacher was prepared to give a lesson but we ended up just chatting jovially all the way to the last minute.

After three semesters at MTC, I can say that the experience was priceless. I’ve met friends from all over the globe, and it’s sparked an interest in visiting Europe, which I’ve had no interest in doing whatsoever in the past. Of course, I’ve learned a little bit of Chinese during this time. I’m still far from my goal of fluency, however.

Thursday– With no more class, I can finally take this morning to relax and reflect before I head off to work. Tonight, I’m also meeting up with my Asian and Asian-American studies professor from college, Professor Kaldis. He’s in town to give a conference this weekend, which I unfortunately can’t attend because I’ll be out of Taipei, but I’m meeting up with one of my original inspirations to come to Taiwan tonight. I’ve updated him here and there on the progress of my journey, and it seems fitting that we’ll meet right as my last semester came to a close.

Of course, none of this holds a candle to the news I received early this week. It’s so big that I’ll have to write a separate entry for it, so please stay tuned.

P.S. I’ll be celebrating the close of this chapter this weekend in 澎湖 (Penghu), an island just off the coast of Taiwan.

Read Full Post »