I gave a talk in Mandarin!

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NTNU library

Thursday, I achieved one of my long-term goals: To give a professional speech in Mandarin! I gave a talk to 30 faculty colleagues and a few students and staff at National Taiwan Normal University. It was a simple 10-minute speech about my my current Fulbright project on discrimination and educational challenges of Atayal aboriginal students, my family and cultural background, my professional history, and my research interests. My students and friends helped me with the new vocabulary and pronunciation. I showed various slides on powerpoint to match my speech. The faculty generously laughed at my jokes, were very forgiving with my mistakes, and seemed to appreciate my effort. I was really nervous but I am so proud I did it.

Why are there so many 7-Elevens in Taiwan?

Variety of pork buns at 7-11

winter meals at 7-11

7-11 quick meals

Taiwan has 4,800 7-Eleven (7-11) convenience stores, making it the third highest in the world regardless of geographic size (Taiwan is about the size of Connecticut!), and the densest internationally. There is a 7-Eleven at almost every single gate of Taipei Main Station (TSR) and many neighborhoods in Taipei have them on every block. Why are there so many? Coming from the US, I was accustomed to thinking of 7-Eleven as a desperation road stop for directions, a dirty bathroom, lottery tickets, or for a giant slurpy. But in Taipei, 7-Elevens offer services and quality goods that are impossible to imagine: order a 10-course Thanksgiving dinner, you can pay all your bills,  buy tickets to a remote village, purchase tasteful winter clothes, find rare California wines, obtain a rental agreement, send a fax,  develop pictures, mail packages, or surf the web. Apparently, 80% of people in Taipei visit 7-Eleven at least once a week. I buy my tickets to Nan’ao using the Chinese-only ticket machine (took me 3 times to memorize the characters), for  prepared salad (hard to find), and freshly-cut papaya and guava. My cell phone plan is with 7-Eleven. One time I was looking everywhere for shoe polish, I searched at least 20 stores. Where did I find it? 7-Eleven. A Fulbright colleague once told a group of us that 7-Eleven shipped a large live fish to a remote mountain so his friends could make sashimi! I am definitely partial to using the independent shops and food stalls in Taipei for my meals and goods and I don't think anyone wants 7-Eleven to take over the quaint and unique aspects of Taipei markets. But for paying bills, buying tickets, and the occasional salad it’s wonderful.

Atayal patterns and design

photo by Mikael Owunna

Atayal (泰雅) art can be seen in everything: their clothes, buildings, murals, hats, jewelry, weavings, and vases. It is simultaneously bold and intricate. It is not only beautiful and unique, but Atayal patterns, design, and colors have deep cultural significance. For example, there is an old story in Atayal culture called Rainbow Bridge. It is said that ancestors live in a beautiful mountain. In order to get there you must complete the tasks that are important in your life. For an Atayal man, it means to be a good hunter and be able to protect your home. For a woman, it means to be a good weaver and take care of her family. If you fulfill your mission while on earth, the ancestors will take you to Rainbow Bridge, which leads to this mountain. If you look at Atayal weavings, they often include horizontal lines and bright colors which represent Rainbow Bridge. Diamonds are important because they represent the ancestors eyes. The eyes are watching you and protecting you. The color red represents blood, life, and strength. In our most recent session with the Atayal children, we taught them how to replicate meaningful Atayal symbols using clay. Their designs were beautiful and culturally relevant.

mural behind Nan'ao Elementary School

How to eat Xiaolongbao!

Xiaolongbao chefs at Dintaifung

Dintaifung's traditional pork xiaolong

What is the proper way to eat xiaolongbao (xiao long bao 小籠包)? Xiaolongbao are a type of baozi or steamed bun originally from Shanghai. They are steamed in bamboo baskets (xiaolong literally means "small steaming basket"). I always assumed they were dumplings, but in fact they differ in many ways from traditional jiaozi 餃子; xiaolongbao are made from raised flour so the texture is more translucent and fluffy, they are also created with a circular twist at the top of the bun, whereas jaozi are folder into a semi-cirle and pinched on the sides. Xiaolongbao are especially delicious and unique because they are filled with juice (often referred to as soup). According to Wikipedia, the juice in the buns are "created by wrapping solid meat aspic inside the skin alongside the meat filling. Heat from steaming then melts the gelatin-gelled aspic into soup." I had no idea! I kept picturing some sort of elaborate injection technique to get the delicious broth into the buns.

Like many people living in Taiwan, I have been on a quest to find the best xiaolongbao in Taipei. I have been to 7 XLB places so far and enjoying this type of comparative research tremendously. So far, there is not a definitive winner. Din Tai Fung is the most famous xiaolongbao place in Taiwan and definitely has the large presence and loyal following. Their xiaolongbao are incredibly fresh, perfectly created, and unbelieveably juicey. They also offer efficient and educational service where they teach you how to properly eat the xiaolongbao for optimal flavor and how to avoid the oh-so-embarrasing premature puncture and release of the juices! To avoid juice splatter, follow these steps on how to eat xiaolongbao--see also this helpful youtube video:

1). Add soy sauce and vinegar to ginger
2). Gently lift the xiaolongbao with your chopsticks and dip in soy sauce mixture.
3). Place xiaolongbao into soup spoon.
4). Use your chopstick or teeth to create a small hole in the bun so a little juice comes out into the spoon. This also cools the bun a little to the best temperature for eating.
5). Fee free to add some ginger at this point.
6). Lift the spoon and eat the whole thing including the soup.
7). Enjoy!

I also like putting the whole bun in my mouth and hoping I won't leek juice or squirt my neighbor! One place I have been researching and really like is Fangs restaurant in Tienmu. Fangs has a wonderful family atmosphere, a low key but authentic and clean xiaolongbao assembly area, and a fresh and flavorful menu. Their xiaolongbao are beautifully created, bursting with juice, and always fresh. I think they are a strong contender for best in Taipei but I need a larger sample size to base this decision on. My quest continues....

Atayal words and language

photo by Mikael Owunna

photos by Mikael Owunna

For the past few weeks, I have been teaching an incredible group of Atayal (泰雅) students in Nan'ao (南澳) with my Fulbright colleague, Mikael. The program focuses on using creative activities and exercises to foster cultural pride and empowerment. The first session focused on teaching students to write their own name in Atayal. Most of the students did not know how to do this since they typically write their name in Chinese characters in school and they are unfamiliar with the English alphabet (used to write Atayal). In the second class, they learned several Atayal words and they selected one to begin to describe themselves as an Atayal. Each week, they also perform an art project using Atayal designs, and symbols to incorporate their learning with creativity. These activities will culminate in a project called "I am Atayal" in which the students take photos of themselves and their cultural lives and use Atayal and English words to describe themselves. Mikael is teaching them how to take photos that have cultural relevance and my University of San Francisco colleague Professor Leyla Perez-Gualdron generously donated disposable cameras to all the students. 

photo by Mikael Owunna

While there are between 85,000-90,000 Atayal living in Taiwan, the Atayal language is perhaps only spoken fluently by about 35,000. In fact, while the younger generation may hear Atayal at home, they are required to learn Mandarin Chinese and English in the classroom at school. Only a few school programs--such as one in Wulai--offer Atayal as an extracurricular option for students. While the pronunciation is similar to other Austronesian languages, it does take a fair amount of practice. Here are some interesting words:

對人正面形容的泰雅語

編號	泰雅語	國語	English
1	ms’su	正直	honest, disciplined
2	mkala	活潑	active
3	qniyat	勤奮	diligent
4	mhoway	慷慨	generous
5	mintunux	聰明	smart
6	sgalu lungan	充滿愛心	caring, attached
7	myasa lungan	善良	nice, good
8	klokah lungan	意志堅強	strong-minded
9	baq r’maw	熱心助人	helpful
10	raban skutaw	有骨氣	undying spirit
11	ini sbrus	真誠	sincere
12	lokah s’yapas	幽默	humorous
13	hopa lungan	膽大	bald
14	r’ro	帥氣	handsome
15	minmyasa	美麗	beautiful
16	hopa	高大	tall
17	ciput’	矮小	short
18	lhbaw	輕	thin
19	usuw	重	heavy
20	mhekan	瘦	thin
21	mthwey	胖	fat
23	klokah	健壯	strong
24	tmlux	安靜	quiet

There are limited resources about the Atayal language written in English. I have been reading Atayal-English dictionary by Søren Egerod (1995), but it focuses more on documenting the language, rather than teaching it. Here are some Atayal language games, and a youtube video of student speaking Atayal. Given that Atayal is primarily a spoken language and is not being systematically taught in schools, it is unclear how much longer the language will last. The fear of diminishing indigenous languages is present all over the world and we need to actively join forces to raise awareness and fight for students to be able to learn in their native language. 

I love my Ukulele!

I just got a new concert ukulele for my birthday and I am stoked to start playing. I have been thinking about learning a new instrument for a few years and after hearing some amazing ukulele in Hawaii and Samoa, I thought I would give this a try. Although I am a lefty, I decided to try to play right-handed since the strumming feels more natural that way. I'm going to join a group class on thursday nights and will try to pick up tips on line. This five-step guide is awesome with a great video. Today, I selected my first song--Stand by me--and am following this online tutorial. Some of my favorite songs on youtube include Jake Shimabukuro's Bohemian Rhapsody (crazy good), Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's What a wonderful world, this baby playing Jason Mraz's I'm Yours, and anything by Sungha Jung! I also met some incredible ukulele players at a shop in Shilin and they let me try out a shiny red electric uke! I've only been playing a few days but so far the hardest thing has been "chucking" a strumming technique that makes a percussion sound. According to many ukulele players, it replaces the beat of a drum. I've seen some cool chucking tutorials online but like this one in particular.

Atayal facial tattoos

photo by Mikael Owunna

The Atayal (泰雅) or Taya, or Tayal (aboriginal tribe in Taiwan) place great cultural significance on their facial tattoos (ptasan). According to legend, a stone called Pinspkan split open and three people emerged. One returned to the stone and the other two fell in love. However, the man was too shy to tell the woman he loved her. So the woman put coal on her face to change her appearance so he could speak openly to her. It is believed that facial tattoos are used (like the coal) to symbolize maturity. Girls receive them when they are "ready for marriage" and have learned how to weave. in fact, like the Truku (太魯閣族) and Sediq (賽德克族) tribes, the intricacy of the tattoo design can reveal the expertise of the weaver. However, there are few living Atayal women with tattoos. You see, in the 1930's when the Japanese ruled Taiwan, they outlawed tattooing because they believed it was barbaric and a symbol of headhunting. So women who have this special tattoo are around 100 years old. Facial tattoos are viewed negatively by many in Taiwan because in the dominant Han society, facial tattoos have been used to mark people as criminals and outcasts. 

There have been recent attempts to preserve this important tradition. In 2008, an Atayal woman and her husband got Atayal tattoos; the first Atayal facial tattoos in nearly a century. Atayal elders have also called for the preservation of this tradition and many cultural events include temporary facial tattoos. My Fulbright collaborator, Mikael Owunna, recently photographed a student at Nan'ao elementary school wearing a tattoo for an Atayal dance performance (photo above). See the rest of his beautiful photos here. Some people, like Kimi Labal (Atayal photographer) have spent years documenting the remaining elders with Atayal facial tattoos. Unfortunately, the disappearance of the Atayal facial tattoos is symbolic of the numerous ways that aboriginal communities have been forced into assimilation and hence lose critical aspects of their culture. 

note: the image of the Atayal woman above is from http://www.culture24.org.uk/art/art13151