Anyway, here goes...
1. What's your name?
My first name in English is one of the Bible characters who's not Jesus. Let's just say that this character is near the beginning?
My middle name in English is one of the apostles. Google lists 12 apostles, so you have a 1 in 12 chance of guessing what my middle name is.
My last name in English can be traced back to Prussia. It's one of the many forms (or pet names) of "Matthaus" or "Matthias," of which there are many. Both Matthaus and Matthias are, in turn, forms of the name Matthew.
My last name in Chinese is a mythological animal. I chose this part of my Chinese name because I thought it looked and sounded cool in 1999. From the perspective offered by 2025 it's not a family name I would choose to self-apply now, but at this point in time it's part of my legal Chinese name and I've already passed it on to my daughters.
My first name in Chinese translates into something like "strong mind flying." When Taiwanese people see it in written form the first thing they usually say is: "Wow, that's difficult to write. Why didn't you choose an easier name?"
2. Are you hungry?
At the moment no. I didn't have breakfast today, but I wasn't hungry when I woke up. The hot weather tends to suppress my appetite, especially with regard to breakfast.
Our school lunch, by the way, is better this semester. Last semester was a rough four months, but this semester I find myself enjoying the school lunch almost half the time.
The school lunches in my previous school, Hengchun Junior High School, were terrible. So much squash in everything. So many days when they added shrimp to something, which immediately made it off-limits to me. Then again, the plus side to working in Hengchun JHS was that there were plenty of restaurants near the school where I worked. In my present school it's 7-11, a tiny restaurant with uncertain hours, or nothing.
3. What's this?
This is my cat Mango. He's sitting and purring on the floor while I'm typing this blog entry. I think he's purring because he gets to be alone with me in the back room of our apartment. I'm Mango's favorite hooman because I was the one who rescued him and his sister from the cemetery where we found them.
4. What color is it?
Mango is white and orange. His sister Milky is black and white. Mango and Milky like to fight a lot, but in the end they always forget about their quarrels and decide to be friendly.
Mango is named Mango because he's orange, and because many people in Jiadong and surrounding townships grow mangoes. Milky is named Milky because we were thinking "mango milk" or something like that. Or maybe it's just that she's mostly white. I can't remember.
5. Is it a frog?
Mango is certainly not a frog and he's insulted that you would make such an insinuation.
One thing I always remember about our two years living and working between Jiadong and Fangliao townships, the area where we found Mango and Milky, was the empty field across from the house we were renting there. This field was full of dried, desiccated, seemingly deceased frogs that would magically come to life when it rained enough to flood the field. During such times our neighborhood would become loud with the croaking of these frogs.
6. Can you dance?
I'm not a dancer, sorry. When I think of times that I "danced" in college I burn inwardly with shame. It's amazing what two or three long island iced teas will make people do.
7. Who's he?
I'm at work again. Do you mean that guy who passes by the doorway every few minutes? He's one of the two kindergarten teachers. Besides him there's a lady who teaches/manages most of that kindergarten class. I don't talk to the kindergarten teachers that much (they're busy), but they're both very nice and they sometimes offer me food.
The kindergarteners across the hall are the older class. They're super cute. Many of them like to call out to me while they're washing their hands, cleaning their utensils or headed to the bathroom. Their favorite thing is the weird sound I make after they give me a high five or a fist bump. Many of the kids I teach in the elementary grades are their older brothers and sisters.
8. Is he a teacher?
Yes, he is. I can't remember what his name is at the moment, but I know he's a teacher.
9. How's the weather?
Today it's very cloudy. It rained a bit this morning, but since then it's gone back to being cloudy and humid. The weather will probably be like this for a while.
Yesterday, in Kaohsiung, I woke up to a thunderstorm. I'd originally planned on riding my bike around the city, but with the rain and lightning I was only able to put on my too-hot raincoat and walk down to the local convenience store for a coffee.
Later the same day, as we took the train back to Taitung, the weather seemed to follow us back over the mountains, a dark front of clouds turning a sunny day rainy. By the time evening fell the rain was coming down hard, and by the time I'd finished walking to a nearby Family Mart my clothes were soaked through.
10. What time is it?
At the present time it's 2:05 in the afternoon. I took a nap not long ago and I feel very awake now.
11. Is this your pencil?
All of the pencils in that wooden box are, in a sense, my pencils. Most of the students who left those pencils in the English classroom did so a long time ago, and I'm sure they'd be unable to remember, much less reclaim, their lost pencils now.
12. Where's the eraser?
There's a tiny nub of an eraser at the bottom of the wooden box. As for any other erasers I cannot say with any certainty.
Or were you referring to the whiteboard erasers? There are several on the big whiteboard, one on the tray underneath the smaller whiteboard in the corner, and many more inside the plastic jack o' lanterns on the bookshelf near the rear windows.
13. Where are you?
It depends. I wrote this entry during several different times, so I could be in any number of places. Near the beginning and end of this entry I was in my school in Beinan Township, Taitung County. Near the middle of this entry I was in an apartment in Gushan District, Kaohsiung City. Between my school and the apartment in Kaohsiung I was in my apartment in Taitung City, the Taitung Train Station, two express trains, various restaurants, convenience stores and coffee shops in Taitung City, a beef noodle restaurant in Central Taimali, Highway 9 and then Highway 11 between Taimali and Taitung City, the Carrefour in Taitung City, Baosang Junior High School, the Fengshan Train Station, the RT Mart in Fengshan District, a taxi, the Kaohsiung Hospitality University, downtown Xiaogang, the Xiaogang MRT Station, the Kaohsiung LRT, Dream Mall, the Neiwei Train Station, the "New Taiwan Original Flavor Nostalgia Restaurant," various convenience stores in Kaohsiung, the Good Rolling hamburger restaurant, the FE21 in Kaohsiung, the Kaohsiung Train Station, or the night market on Ssewei Road in Taitung City.
14. What are you doing?
At the moment I'm typing. Later on I'll be doing something else.
Or did you mean "what am I doing" in a larger sense, as in: what am I doing with my life? These days I'm teaching English in a public elementary school, hanging with my wife, having beers with friends when it's convenient, and attempting to maintain relationships with friends and family members through texts, phone conversations and moments when we can be together.
How about you? What are you doing?
15. What do you want for lunch?
If we're talking school lunch then I'd have to say that the pig's feet/pork knuckle is the best. If we're talking about eating out I'd have to state, a second time, that there's not much around here, and what is around here might not be open right now. Dinner is a much easier proposition. There's a restaurant just over the hill, on the other side of the Family Mart, that's pretty good. I like their minced pork rice.
16. Do you like bears?
Not especially. They're alright I guess. Whenever I hear "bears" the first thing that pops into my head is this lyric, from a Lou Reed song on his Transformer album.
"Cause you know what they say about honey bears
"When you shave off all their baby hair
"You have a hairy-minded pink bare bear."
17. Happy Dragon Boat Festival!
Same to you. Three-day weekend, and then it's June. I'll be in Hualien for two days, then I'll be back in Taitung. Here's to another school year almost finished!
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