Culture Shock Again?

I've been in the country for 10 days now and what a long strange trip it's been so far. My first day in the country was about finding a place to live. My recruiter, David, and I checked out a few places available and we settled on something that was close to my school but still a 45 min walk away. It was basically a dorm room with a bathroom, bed, fridge and TV. Thank God for the TV for it was my saving grace over the next four days. We went out and bought a few necessities then I was on my own until the next day when David would pick me up to go meet my new school. I didn't sleep well at all. I was awake at 3:00am and would battle the same schedule for the following few nights. The fluorescent light right outside my only window made it feel like daylight all night long. Eventually I taped my Thermarest sleeping pad and an African sarong over the window to win that battle but it only dented my sleeping issues.

After meeting my "go to teacher," Irene, at the school I signed my contract and we secured my start date for the following Monday which turned out to be a painfully long week away. On my way out she reminded to wear a knee-length skirt to accommodate the dress code. I was frozen in my tracks. A dress code? I brought 17 pairs of pant with me. Eleven of them being nice, professional looking slacks to go with my new dress tops and big girl bras. I tossed in a few skirts just in case but certainly not enough for everyday. Nor would I ever consider a job that required that. So I set Irene out to negotiate the dress code for me with the principal. David was in on the negotiations too. In Taiwan there is no wiggle room for a tradition such as that. So I decided to have David look for another job for me. Did I really think I would be happy in a place like that?

Over the next few days I was completely paralysed by my current situation. I was living in a white box, sleeping on a mattress barely softer than the floor, watching TV that was 80% Chinese, limited to where I could get to on foot, completely alone with no phone, no computer and trying desperately to find food that tasted even remotely close to home in my escalated state of hunger, stress, loneliness, fatigue and homesickness. Not to mention I couldn't, still can't, and never will be able to read anything. Illiteracy is very humbling. And when no one around you speaks any English everything you want, need and do requires 10 times the effort and awkwardness. Then, after five days of what felt like the worst days of my life (yes, even worse than adjusting in South Africa) the universe smiled upon me. Just when I was ready to throw the towel in (give up, quit, surrender) I got an email for another foreigner living in the area. He got my address from someone who got it from someone who got it from someone at David's office. Some how he thought I was a "dude" and said he was looking for a roommate. Dude or not, we called Tom and went to meet him. I moved in the next day. The bad news was that there were no other teaching jobs available at daytime schools, only "cram schools" which are English school after regular school and the owners treat their foreign teachers like slaves. And since I'm a certified teacher I can teach at regular schools and enjoy the benefits of paid holidays and vacations. So David convinced me to reconsider the first job and he even took me skirt shopping. No joke. He even told me what colors looked good on me and helped me to decide what style worked for me. I went into this last weekend still with a lot of anxiety about starting school but Tom let me hang with him and he introduced me to some other foreigners (that's what they call us English teachers from away) and English speaking locals. One guy took me on a hike my first morning at the apartment. He lives on the first floor.

Since I moved things have been much better. I cleaned the bachelor pad kitchen so I could start to cook my own food. I have found stores with food I recognize and I'm gaining strategies to get what I need when I can't read labels. I bought a new mattress for my room. I paid extra for a soft one. I still have no phone, computer, TV or transportation but that will be changing over the next weeks. School is a total trip and worthy of a post all on it's own. I'm slowly meeting people and many of the teachers at school have befriended me and are making me feel at home and guiding me through some of the cultural things I don't know. I won't start teaching until after the winter break so no news on that yet. I'm glad I'm here and am looking forward to what is on the horizon. It's so true that what doesn't kill you makes your stronger and I'm getting stronger every day.