This post has 2 parts. The first is a brief explanation as to why wet shaving is a more practical and cheaper way to shave than using the latest Mach-whatever razor with “cream” from a can (in addition to being a far superior shave in general). The second part is a guide to getting started yourself – what you need to buy, where to get it, and how to use it. My hope is that this post will inspire many more to enjoy of shaving the way men have shaved for generations before ours – like a man.

Part 1 – Why Traditional Wet Shaving is Better Than Modern Conventional Shaving

Let’s start with some simple cost analysis.

Option A: An average can of “cream” costs $3, and a 4-pack of Mach-whatever razor cartridges costs about $8. Assuming you go through one can of cream per month and (because they’re so expensive and you are conservative with your blade cartridges), you only buy that 4-pack 3 times a year (so you get one cartridge per month). This option comes to an annual cost of $60 for a crappy shave every day.

Option B: The best shaving cream in the world (Proraso, imported from Italy) costs you $20 for an annual supply, and you can buy 300 safety razor blades for $10 on eBay (using a fresh blade every day is a little ridiculous, but let’s be conservative for our estimates and say you go through 300 blades a year). Your Merkur safety razor that lasts a lifetime costs $40, and your badger brush that lasts you 5-10 years if not longer costs you $30. This system costs you $100 your first year and $30 every year afterwards, for the best shave of your life every day.

By the end of year 2, you spend $120 with Option A, and $130 with Option B. By the end of year 3, you spend $180 with Option A, and $160 with Option B. By the end of year 10, you spend $600 with Option A, and $400 with Option B. Option B becomes more cost effective at year 3 and the returns only get better with time. The better option (from a pure cost perspective) is obvious.

Okay, now that we’ve realized the cost benefits, let’s look at all the other (and in my opinion more significant) benefits of wet shaving. First, there is no way to get a closer shave. Period. If your ultimate goal is a close, silky smooth shave, skip to Part 2 and get started wet shaving now. Second, wet shaving leaves my skin feeling remarkable. I used to dread shaving because of the irritation it caused, especially on really sensitive skin around my neck (as a violinist, it was an endless battle). Now I actually look forward to shaving. It’s like the feeling you get after that first sip of fresh coffee in the morning, or the smell of dew on a field of grass on a crisp morning. Shaving has gone from dreadful to refreshing and pleasurable. Not to mention that it’s how real men shave.

Now, to be fair, I will give some negatives associated with wet shaving. One, it takes a little bit more time (some view this as a positive as it forces you to slow down and not rush through everything in life). With practice, it can be equally as fast or faster than conventional shaving, but often it does take a few more minutes to do it right (maybe 8 minutes to shave instead of 5 to 6). It also takes skill, and is therefore is much easier to cut yourself. Like most things in life though, with enough practice you can master it. After the first few weeks, I got it down and now I almost never knick myself. It also can be a bit more troublesome for traveling, as the brush needs to dry and it takes a little more space for all the supplies. Other than these minor issues (which can mostly be easily fixed with sufficient patience and practice), I haven’t found any other drawbacks to wet shaving.

Hopefully this brief discussion has inspired you to at least consider wet shaving. If so, take a look at Part 2 and see what you’ll need to do to get started, and if it hasn’t, then I wish the skin on your face luck.

Part 2 – A Guide to Getting Started

If you are going to get into wet shaving, you will need to investment in some basic equipment first. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of not skimping on cost with this step. My razor and brush cost me $70 to start, which seems like a lost to invest just to shave, but remember, these things will last you a very very long time. If you’re worried about cost, just go back up a few paragraphs and look at the numbers again in Part 1. Trust me, it’s a worthwhile investment.

The Razor: If you want, you can buy a single, straight razor and, after a lot of practice and cutting yourself, have a quite literally razor-sharp shave every day (and be a total badass). You can also achieve the same results much more easily with a Merkur safety razor. These razors use single, disposable razor blades and hold them at the appropriate angle for easier and safer use. You can buy a very solid Merkur razor (the one I bought) that will last a lifetime on Amazon. There are many places to buy the blades needed for this razor, and the best deal is usually on eBay. I use Derby blades and found a deal for 300 on eBay for only $10.

The Brush: Shaving brushes are made with badger hair because it is soft, flexible, and has unique water-retaining properties, an important element in getting a good lather with traditional cremes. Some cheaper brushes are made with boar’s hair, but again, skimping on costs here is just not worth it in the end. Get yourself a real badger brush and it will perform better and last you years. I also emphasize getting a stand for your brush, because after shaving you want the brush to dry. If you just stand it up on the handle, it won’t fully dry. I bought a set including a brush, stand, and mug on Amazon and have been extremely impressed with its performance for the price. 6 months with it now, very comfortable, and no signs of wear at all.

The Cream: Proraso. Don’t waste time looking for something better, because it doesn’t exist. You can get it in 150ml tubes which last maybe 3-4 months at $11 per tube, or you can do what I did and buy a massive 500ml tube (intended for barber shops) for $20, which should easily last you a year. You can get the small tube on Amazon and the big one at Connaught Shaving.

How to Shave: Now that you have all the right equipment, you need to learn how to use it. Every man has his own routine, but I found the following video very comprehensive and a great guide to wet shaving. The second video shows how to make a good lather.

You can see your current hard drive info by clicking on the “Apple” in the top left of the toolbar, then “About This Mac” and then “More Info” then “Serial-ATA.” Here’s  mine, a 320 GB capacity hard drive. 

Tools you’ll need: a tiny screw driver set, your macbook OS installer disk, Time Machine, and (if you want) some cue tips and maybe a tiny pair of pliers.

 Step 1 – Back it up. BEFORE you do anything, back up your whole computer using Time Machine. I’m not going to explain how to do this, because it’s a Mac product, brilliantly designed and easy to use, and if you can’t figure out how to do it, then you shouldn’t be upgrading your hard drive by yourself either.

Step 2 – Buy a new drive. I wanted to upgrade to a 500 GB size drive, so I bought this one for $50: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0047ZH0B6. Notice that this is not a “laptop hard drive” but rather a portable external hard drive. Guess what? Inside it’s the same thing, and these are cheaper for some reason, plus we’re going to use the case later.

Step 3 – Crack the case. Get at it and crack the thing. Yes, this will scratch your case. Yes, it will make a loud “pop” sound that sounds like you totally just wrecked it, but no, it isn’t broken. Be careful not to scratch the drive inside, but don’t be afraid to use some force. These cases are pretty solid and really well stuck together, but once you get in a corner, work at it and pry it open with a screw driver.

Step 4 – Remove the hard drive inside. The drive has a little connector piece on top that you must remove. It’s on there snug, but pull on the plastic (as shown in the picture) and work it off.

Step 5 – Get into your macbook. First, shut it down and disconnect it from the AC power adapter. Remove the backing by unscrewing the 8 screws. Keep an eye on those things too, they’re tiny and easy to lose. At this point I cleaned off a few parts with some cue tips. Dust collects on the fan and other parts, so I gently removed it. This is good to do periodically anyway.

Step 6 – Remove the hard drive. There are only 2 screws holding a bridge-like piece down, which holds the drive in place. Remove those screws and the bridge piece. The hard drive should now be free, so GENTLY lift it up, careful not to pull on the strip connected to the top of it! If you pull this thing out, you’re totally fubar, so be careful. Remove the connector from the top, and fully remove the hard drive.

Step 7 – Insert the new drive. Take off the 4 little pegs on the old hard drive and place them on the new hard drive. Connect the strip to the new drive, put it in place, and screw down the bridge that you removed from before. Put the backing back on the macbook.

Step 8 – Restore your macbook. Turn your macbook on, insert the install disk, and plug in your external hard drive with your Time Machine backup on it. You’ll be asked if you want to set up your macbook new or restore it from Time Machine. Again, just follow the steps and let Time Machine work it’s magic. It’s very straight forward and self explanatory, and again, if you can’t figure this out, you probably shouldn’t be doing this upgrade by yourself. It’ll probably take 2-3 hours to fully restore, depending on how much stuff you have to restore, but once it’s done, you’re back to normal, just with a larger hard drive!

Step 9 – Put that old drive to use! Take your old hard drive, connect the connector piece from the portable hard drive to it, and put it in the portable hard drive case that your new drive came from. Snap the case back together and voila – you now have a portable external hard drive! You can wipe the drive if you want using your disk utility, or you can just keep it as a separate back up of your macbook.

I’ve done this process twice now and it only takes about 15 minutes to make the swap. Works wonderfully, and I hope it does for you too!

Cheers,

John

Climbing in Bear Canyon

There’s no doubt that the best way to enjoy this place is to get outside, so once again I’ve decided to take advantage of my time and get out as much as possible. Last summer I spent most of my time hiking surrounding mountains, so this year I decided to spend more time rock climbing (though I did get to hike Livingston Peak again, one of my favorites). My roommate Sam is a very skilled climber, so I’ve gone out a few times with him to try and learn as much as I can and have a good time doing it. My friend Vanessa, a lindy hopper in Bozeman, is also an experienced climber and has joined for some climbs as well. While I have climbed in the past, I’ve never had so much time on real rock, and it’s opened up a whole new world for me. My first time on real rock was in Yangshuo, China, back in November 2010, and ever since I’ve been itching to climb more outside on the real thing. I also started learning how to lead and lead my first route (only a 5.7) just a couple weeks ago. I’m hoping to get to do a little more in the last few weeks here and then hopefully get to do some near Pittsburgh this fall.

View from Going to the Sun Road at dusk

The other great things about being in Montana is how close it is to some of the greatest national parks in the world. Last year I went through Yellowstone and Grand Teton, my first time in a national park. This year I decided to head to Glacier and Waterton National Park for my 24th birthday. Vanessa joined me for the trip and we decided we’d spend most of the time hiking some backcountry up in the Canadian side. We drove up from Bozeman on the 24th and fortunately were able to drive through the Going to the Sun Road at dusk (the road was just opened just 10 days prior having been closed due to snow before). That night we drove to a small camp site, cooked up some pasta, and rested for the morning.

View from the top of Lineham Ridge

The next day we drove up to Waterton in Canada and found a trail to hike in the backcountry for the next 2 days. The only multi-day hike listed was the Tamarack Trail, a 35 km stretch with a few different camp sites along the way. Most people do it in 3 days, be we decided we’d push hard and get to Lone Lake on day 1 (17.5 km in) so we could hike out on day 2. We got on the trail at about 11 am and started in, carrying all our gear (tent, food, sleeping bags). The first part was relatively easy, but after about 6 km it got significantly harder, with switch backs through the snow through a 2000 ft climb. Just as we hit the snowy part, a rain storm swept through with some pretty serious winds. It was about a 45 minute stretch of loose footings and cold rain, but as the storm past we crested the peak of Lineham Ridge and came upon this view:

From the top of Lineham Ridge

Descending into the forrest from Lineham Ridge

After a break at the top, we descended the other side of the ridge, back down another 2000 ft. or so, into a forrest in the valley. The forrest provided some refreshing shade and fresh glacier melt water at a stream, but after several hours of hiking back and forth up and down switch backs, we were getting pretty ready to get out of it. Eventually the trail brought us out of the valley and back up yet another huge climb of switch backs to another peak. At this point we were getting pretty exhausted, and just as we were getting ready to sit down and make camp anywhere, we saw Lone Lake just on the other side of the peak, the camp site we were shooting for. Down more switch backs and some snow and we finally made it to the camp site.

Hail

We set up the tent and decided to take a break for a bit and relax before dinner. About 30 minutes later, we heard thunder, and decided maybe we should have gotten on dinner right away. Sure enough, about half way through boiling some pasta, the storm hit, but what came was more than anything we could have anticipated – golf ball size hail! It started as little pellets, but sure and steadily grew to huge balls falling insanely fast. Fortunately the camp site had a wooden outhouse, so we sought refuge there and brought the pasta inside. Together we enjoyed a nice pasta meal over a plastic toilet seat to the sound of golf balls pulverizing everything. All I could think of was how our tent was holding up.

Lone Lake at Sunset

After dinner and the storm passed, we checked the tent and found that despite the hail, it held up rather well. We filled up on water by the lake, hung our food from the bears, and finally crashed. In the middle of the night, another storm hit, with lightening, thunder, and rain most of the night. We woke to more rain, and after waiting for an hour for it to pass, we just gave up and accepted that it was going to be a long, wet day. We packed up camp and headed on north towards the next camp site, Twin Lakes. The 8ish km between the two sites, while relatively flat, was the most snow-covered of the whole trail, and we were hiking in snow at least half the time. At a critical point where we totally lost the trail in the snow, we came across 3 people hiking in the opposite direction. Had we not ran into them right then, we probably would have wandered for a few hours searching our way back to the trail. After passing Twin Lakes, we ran into some park trail workers that were burning an old outhouse and enjoyed the warmth for a moment by the raging fire they had started.

Fire

From that point on, the rain slowly dissipated and the trail became very wide and flat. We hiked the last 8 km sopping wet, but in the sun, slowly beginning to dry. At the end, we came out of the trail head and ran into a crowd of tourists from all over the world, several asking how the trail was, and we shared our story of the past day. We started walking down the road looking to hitch hike back to the other side of the trail where we parked the car and fortunately ran into the same trail workers. They beat us back because they rode bikes, but they gave us a lift back into town. From there we hitched another ride up to Vanessa’s car and then got dinner at Subway.

View from Many Glacier Hotel

We only had one more night, and since all our gear was completely soaked, we decided to drive back into Glacier and just sleep in the car. We came into Many Glacier and washed up a bit at the hotel there, warmed up by the fire, and then slept in the car. Once again it rained all night, and in the morning we drove back down the Going to the Sun Road.

Going to the Sun Road at dawn

This time the sun was just breaking through the mountains, so the views were completely different. The clouds drifted through the valleys like a fog and made for some surreal scenery. A few hours and a few stops for road maintenance later and we came out the west side of the park and began our drive back to Bozeman. On the way back we stopped at a diner and had the biggest breakfast we could find. We got back at around 5 pm and had to shower and get ready for a dance class I had to teach at 7, though I wanted nothing more than to sleep! I got home late and completely wiped. In the end, the trip was a serious test of the elements and the shape we were both in, but the scenery and wonder brought by the time spent out alone with just the mountains and the snow is a memory that will last forever.

Hand Stand on Going to the Sun Road

Beijing

I spent 4 days in Beijing, and while I was originally not planning on making a stop there, one thing changed my mind: The Cangelosi Cards. One of my favorite jazz bands of all time, it just so happened that the Cards were in town that weekend and were getting ready to play two shows back to back in Beijing. Since the last time I saw them was in Virginia Beach back in 2007, I decided I couldn’t miss it.

Tianjin Eye

The first day in Beijing, I joined in the Rocky Horror Picture Show party being put on by Beijing Swing, which was a riot to say the least! The next day was the Cards’ first show, and as soon as I entered the venue I ran into Tamar, the singer, who instantly recognized me. I couldn’t believe it, but she remembered seeing me the last time in VA Beach, because at that time we had talked about how I had just started learning Chinese. Here I am 3 years later and we meet in Beijing! The rest of the night was incredible, dancing away to their music till late in the morning.

The following day we did it again, and this time even better! The Cards gave an epic performance, and some of the dancers performed some routines live to the music. It was two of the best nights of dancing in a row that I’d had in a long time! The next day I headed to Tianjin to visit for a day and met with some professors at Tianjin University who showed me around the city. At the time I was considering working with them come spring of 2011 (though I ended up working in Beijing where I am now). I found Tianjin to be an extremely beautiful city, one very different from others I’ve visited, and it seemed a lot less crowded. It seemed like a city I could enjoy living in for a while.

Guilin

Guilin

I left Beijing in the morning, but my flight to Guilin was booked from Shanghai, so I spent one more night in Shanghai surprising all my dancer friends when I showed up. I flew into Guilin airport on November 5th and took a bus to the middle of the city where I went to Guanxi Normal University to meet with my buddy Robert’s girlfriend who was letting me spend the night while he was out of town. Robert and his brother run a school there, the Chinese Language Institute, and showed me around. I have to say I am very impressed with the program they have set up, and if I had the time I would considering studying there myself. I explored a tiny bit then crashed and prepared to visit Yangshuo in the morning.

Yangshuo

On the Li River

In the morning I went down to Yangshuo along with some of the CLI students, accompanying them on a field trip. We rode motor boats down the Li River marveling at the Karsts, then hiked through the small town of Xiping on our way to Yangshuo. We arrived in the evening, dropped our bags, and headed to a grand theater built on a lake where we saw Zhang Yimou’s famous show “Impression” (刘三姐). It was quite a fantastic sight to see, as most of the performance was done on small boats on the water. The choreography was breathtakingly complex and timed to a perfection that can only be achieved in China.

Climbing the Wineglass

The next day we rented bikes and rode around all over town seeing the many beautiful sites Yangshuo had to offer, including a famous mud cave where half the students stripped to their bathing suits and jumped in the mud. I opted to chill in the hot springs myself instead of freezing mud! Later that day, the students all went back to Guilin, but I decided to stay for one more day so I could do some rock climbing. I found a small climbing store, “Black Rock Climbing,” and booked a day with a couple Norwegian girls also looking to climb. In the morning, our guide, Weihua, brought us out to a cliff face called Wineglass and showed us the ropes. We spent the whole morning climbing, and in only a few hours we were pretty beat. It was an incredible experience though, because as you climb higher and higher you can see a remarkable view of the hundreds of karsts surrounding you. I now understand why the whole world talks about Yangshuo as a mecca for climbers.

On top of Moon Hill

Moon Hill

In the evening I headed over to Moon Hill mountain, famous for the huge hole in the middle, which was also full of climbers. I hiked past the “warning don’t go here” signs and got all the way to to top, where I caught an unforgettable sunset amongst the karsts. Later that night, I went over to The Giggling Tree hostel, a place I had heard of the very first time I visited China and had been wanting to see for years. It is a small place owned and run by a Dutch couple who bought the land and converted 17 different farm houses into a hostel. It is on the outskirts of Yangshuo in the middle of farms, and by far one of the most unique hostels in the world. It was also one of the nicest places I’ve ever stayed at in China, and quite affordable for a dorm room (only 50 RMB a night!). A night at The Giggling Tree was the perfect end to my 2010 backpacking adventures in China.

The Giggling Tree

I headed back to Guilin and hopped on my 20 hour train back to Shanghai, and while everything started nicely, things took an unfortunate turn for the worse. About 10 hours in, I got horribly sick…vomiting sick. Throwing up on a Chinese train for 10 hours has got to be one of the worst physical challenges I’ve endured in my life…and things only got worse. When I arrived in Shanghai, I at least had a day to recover at Bruce and Julia’s before boarding my flight for Taipei in the morning. In the morning, with nearly no strength left in my body, I managed to make it to the airport, only to find my flight had been delayed 3 hours. We boarded the plane, and waited another 2 hours before even taking off. By the time I landed in Xiamen, my connection to Taipei had left, and I was stuck for the night, sick, weak, and frustrated. Luckily I still had one extra day on my visa, and the airport put me up in a nice hotel. All in all it took an entire 24 hours until I got back on a plane for Taipei. When I landed, I was extremely relieved to find JC and Mindy waiting on me in the airport, and my Taiwan adventure began.

While it was a rough last 2 days traveling from Shanghai to Taipei, the previous month was full of incredible experiences and moments I will cherish forever. I had danced for 9 days in Shanghai and visited Hangzhou, Huangshan, Nanjing, Beijing, Guilin, and Yangshuo. I experienced so much in such little time I had to write about it in 4 parts, and didn’t finish it until now, 4 months afterwards! When I look back at the time I spent, I realize how lucky I am to have been able to see so many amazing places in this world, and it makes me very thankful to have had these experiences.

It started with the violin. In my first 2 weeks in Taipei, I asked around and looked for an opportunity to play with a local symphony. I quickly found Apo Hsu and the National Taiwan Normal University Symphony who adopted me into their ensemble (and even lent me a violin!). Two weeks later, I performed with them at the National Concert Hall! I would have never imagined in my life that I would have this kind of opportunity, but within my first month in Taiwan is showed up at my doorstep. I wrote about the concert in detail in a previous post.

A couple weeks later, my friend from Montreal (and girlfriend for a short time) Amanda came to visit for Christmas and New Years. Within a few days, we confessed our feelings for each other and decided to start dating, even though we knew it would be 5 months until we could see each other again. Nonetheless, we had an incredible 2 weeks together, and we celebrated both of our first Christmases away from home as well as Taiwan’s 100th New Year together! It was a very special time to be in Taiwan, and it was particularly special to me to have someone I loved to share it with. However, in March we broke up after I left Taiwan and moved to Beijing – the distance was too much, and it simply would not work. Though heartbroken still, I will always remember Taiwan as the first place I truly fell in love with someone.

In January, I flew over to Hong Kong for the Hong Kong Swing Festival and had a blast dancing all weekend long and catching up with old dancer friends from all over Asia. Another fantastic weekend, and also a chance to renew my Taiwan visa since I had left the country and re-entered!

A few weeks later and it was Chinese New Year, so I hopped down to Kenting with Vlad (my Russian/Dutch classmate) and spent a few days surfing and driving scooters in the most beautiful place in Taiwan. It was a paradise down there! Imagine surfing during the first week of February! Afterwards we headed north into the mountains and spent another few days searching for hotsprings, only to find out most had been destroyed the past few years due to typhoons and landslides. We did have some unique experiences though, including dancing in a traditional aboriginal wedding ceremony and exploring an old abandoned and destroyed resort club.

One more week of classes and then I was done. I still had two weeks until I would move to Beijing, so I took advantage of my last bit of time in Taiwan to do make a few more memories. On February 25, Taipei Swing threw a party for me and we danced the night away. The next morning all the dancers and I visited Jiufen, a tiny town that has now become a huge tourist area filled with many traditional Taiwanese snacks and souvenirs. A few days later, I took a day trip down to Taroko National Park drove through the entire park all day on a scooter. It was one of the most beautiful days I’ve seen in Taiwan, and I even got to spend a few hours relaxing in an old abandoned natural hot spring.

The very last unique experience in Taiwan was on my 2nd to last day – I got to be an extra in Ang Lee’s new film “Life of Pi” based on the novel by Yann Martel. The movie was being shot an the old airport in Taizhong, and on March 3, I got up at 2:30 am to catch a bus down to the studio. Along with about 40 other foreigners, we were dressed up in 1950′s sly swimsuits and places around a pool, the scene being the famous “Picine Molitar,” where Pi (the main character) got his name. I got in several close up shots and even got to chat some with Li An himself as well as a couple of the lead actors! We had to spend a lot of time waiting around, and it was a pretty freezing day with a constant cold breeze (and barely any clothes on), but it was still a very unique and memorable experience. I left with a pretty bad sunburn, a bit of cash for doing it, and the hopes that I might actually be in a movie for a few seconds! Check it out – Life of Pi, 2012 (if I’m in it, I’m the one in the skimpy brown and white striped swimsuit).

Oh I almost forgot to mention – the last couple months in Taiwan, I had the pleasure of jamming with the David Chen and the Muddy Basin Ramblers, a New Orleans style jazz band in Taipei. As a group of expats, we played several performances together, one specially with the Taipei swing dancers. Our time together was short, but I had a blast playing with the Ramblers. Thanks David for the awesome times together!

Well Taiwan, that’s all for now. Who knows when I’ll get to visit again. I have to say, you gave a whole lot in just 3 months, many amazing experiences that I will never forget. It’s too bad we couldn’t have stayed together longer – who knows what could have happened!

While the effort is impressive, what I found more interesting (and slightly entertaining as well) is how waste is taken care of from home. In many countries, you simply take the trash outside and put it in a bin. It sits there for however long it takes for someone to come by and pick it up, but either way it doesn’t matter to you as a citizen – you just put it outside and forget about it.

Here, things are quite different. First, you divide up your waste into recyclable categories, so in your home you will often have 5 or 6 bags full of sundry waste. Then if there is something left that doesn’t fit into the categories, it goes in the actual “trash” category. But this can’t be just any trash bag – you must put non-recyclable waste into special blue bags (see right) that you can buy anywhere (and of course, you can find them at 7 Eleven). Now what do you do with all this trash? Well, you don’t put it outside in a bin. You sit at home and wait, and when you think you hear the ice cream man coming, then you grab all of it and run outside.

Strange, I know, but how it works is the trash people come at various times in the evening and play a little jingle. It’s the same jingle everywhere, and you would swear it was taken right off of an ice cream truck. The jolly little tune tells the neighborhood that it’s time to take the trash out, and FAST, because they only stick around for about 5 minutes before going to the next place.

The amazing part is to see how the community interacts during these evening trash sessions. When I hear the jingle, I grab the most recent bag of stuff and run outside to find a whole bunch of old Chinese people with bags full of stuff to throw out. They all smile and chat a bit as we wait to hand over our recyclables to the trash people. Everyone does their part, and as odd as it is, I’ve met a lot of my neighbors by taking out the trash! They all recognize me now and smile and say hi when I pass them in the street.

Perhaps the most significant aspect of this system is that is has implanted a sense of community responsibility in everyone’s mind. I see very little liter in the city (especially compared to things like highway liter in America). And the strangest part is, there are VERY few public trash cans! It is kind of a psychological thing I think. If there are lots of trash cans, that invites you to throw away lots of things instead of recycle them because it’s just more convenient. This makes your opinion of trash in general a bit more lazy, so this invites littering. On the other hand, very few, small waste bins makes you really consider what you are about to throw away and think about whether its recyclable or not.

It makes sense to have such rigorous waste disposal procedures on an island, where land is a far more precious resource than in vast countries like China or the U.S. Regardless, I am still amazed at how far ahead Taiwan is in waste removal. It is a less convenient system, but a far more responsible system.

For many, 2010 was a year to forget, bringing nothing but a constant stream of disappointment and troubles.  While I had my fair share of the same, I figured I’d look back and note the good I encountered this year.  Apart from several significant events this year (including graduating from Virginia Tech), 2010 had 3 recurring themes: nature, serious dancing, and travel.

Nature

By far, I had the privilege of seeing more amazing landscapes in 2010 than any other year in my life.  I never planned things to be that way – it just sort of happened, probably mostly because I just travelled so much and kept finding myself in amazing places.  It started in the middle of the year right after graduation.  I took a road trip in June up to Montreal and on the way back visited Niagara Falls (the Canadian and American sides).  The falls have been on my list for a very long time, and I never thought this would be the year to see them.

I followed that trip with a whole summer working in Livingston, Montana, one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been for an extended time.  Up in the north eastern Rockies, this is the view I saw from our townhouse everyday (right). Throughout the summer, my coworkers and I hiked many of the surrounding mountains and soaked up the landscape, including Livingston Peak, Sacajawea Peak, and Cottonwood Lake.  Here are some of the views we enjoyed:

Being only an hour north of Yellowstone National Park, I couldn’t leave Livingston without a visit, so I picked a weekend in August and visited both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park.  I spent two days driving through both parks and can’t describe how amazed I was at the landscapes and wildlife I encountered.  The pictures don’t even come close to capturing how spectacular this region of America is.

At the end of my job in Montana, I began my current trip to Asia and flew to Shanghai.  After a week there, I spent three more weeks backpacking and visiting many places I’ve wanted to see in China, including Huangshan, Hangzhou, Guilin, and Yangshuo – 4 destinations packed with breathtaking natural surroundings.  Anyone in China will agree that each one of those places are what people dream of seeing, let alone visiting all 4 back-to-back in 3 weeks!  Yangshuo marked the end of my natural landscape adventures for 2010, but in just a few weeks I am planning to continue the trend by visiting the rest of Taiwan, including the national park in the middle of the country famed for its unbelievable landscapes!

Serious Dancing

I add “serious” here because 2010 was the first time I noticed that my dancing has now become a major part of my life.  Before then, dancing was something I just loved to do (albeit do A LOT!).  Several events in 2010 made me realize just how important swing dancing has become.  First, I attended my first ever all blues event called “Steel City Blues” in Pittsburgh, PN back in March.  Before then, blues had been a dance I knew rather little about, and mostly all I did know was from social dancing.  At STB, I took my first ever workshops with professional blues dancers, and a whole new world of dancing was opened.  I learned a tremendous amount that weekend, and I even competed and made it to the final round in the open Jack and Jill, my first time ever making it to any J&J final. 

Travel

After reading the first two themes, it’s clear that I traveled a lot in 2010, and I mean a lot in addition to the normal amounts of traveling I do.  All in all, I visited over 10 states in America, 4 different countries, drove from VA to Montreal and back, flew from VA to Montana and back 5 times, flew from America to China, and traveled to 8 cities in Asia (and most of that travel was between June and December).  Between working in Montana for 4 months, traveling for dance events, and starting my current trip in Asia, I have probably covered over 50,000 miles in the last 6 months alone.  Besides the frequent flyer miles I’ve been racking up, I’ve learned a few things doing so much traveling.  One, I am an expert at packing now and am ready for just about any situation you can imagine on the road.  Two, my navigational skills have never been sharper – getting lost is not something that happens easily, and I will never be caught without at least one compass on me.  Three, I miss my friends and family.  While constantly seeing new places and making new friends is exciting and fun, I also realize how much I am missing out on back home.  There are so many people that are important in my life and I barely got to spend any time with them in 2010.  It is something I regret, but also the unfortunate reality of life on the road.  I learned this lesson clear in 2010, and I will keep it in mind as I look towards future decisions I will have to make about where I will be and what I will be doing next.  As a visual, here is a map of all the places in Asia I have travelled to in the past 2 years:

As I said, so far 2011 is starting off with many similar trends as I just got back from an awesome weekend dancing in Hong Kong.  I am learning and learning and still going and going, but it feels good to sit down and remember the good times from a very scattered and crazy 2010!  Here’s hoping 2011 will be full of just as many memories – it is the year of the rabbit after all (my year!!!)!

The whole thing began just a few weeks after arriving in Taipei. I discovered the ensemble online and decided to ask the conductor, Maestro Apo Ching-Hsin Hsu, if I could come audition for the orchestra. I did not even have a violin, but Apo had one I could borrow. We met on November 25 and within just a few minutes of checking out the violin she agreed to let me play. It was a daunting task because we only had about 2 weeks to prepare for the concert, so she put me in the back of the 2nd violins and handed me some music.

Over the next two weeks, I joined the orchestra in rehearsals preparing for the concert. At the first rehearsal, Apo actually made me introduce myself in Chinese, so I got up and in rather broken Chinese told my story, that I was studying Chinese at NTU, have played the violin for a long time, etc.  At first, I kind of got the vibe from other students that they were wondering just what business I had in this orchestra, and given how talented the group is and how hard each student has had to work to get there, I could understand. But after a few rehearsals and a bit of chatting in between with some of the students, I found the group to be a fun and welcoming bunch just like every other person I have met in Taiwan.  In particular, I have found Apo to be the kind of conductor that I wish every musician could have the opportunity to work with, bringing a sense of humor and warmth to the group that sets an atmosphere for making amazing music. She embodies the spirit of the music in the room, making rehearsals as much a joy as they are work.

It has been a blast and such a unique experience as the only foreigner in the orchestra.  Rehearsals are all in Chinese, which while at first was a little intimidating has now become one of my favorite aspects.  I am now at a level where I can understand most things being said and speed really isn’t much of a problem.  The most interesting part of rehearsals that I discovered was just how little you need language when you have music.  If I paid attention, I almost could predict exactly what Apo was going to say because I could tell what she wanted from the orchestra. Music itself truly is a language, and while I’ve said it before, I gained a much deeper understanding of what that means through this experience.

About the Concert:

The title was “天使之歌 (Songs from the Angels),” and the lineup included:
Samuel Barber: Symphony No. 1, Op. 9
Samuel Barber: Adagio for Strings, Op. 11
Tsang-Houei Hsu: Nu-guan-zi, Op.14
Tsang-Houei Hsu: Duex Mouvements pour Orchestre a Cordes, Op. 24
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G major

The soloist for the 4th movement of Mahler and Hsu’s Nu-guan-zi was NTNU’s professor 陳允宜. The two pieces by Tsang-Houei Hsu are based on traditional Taiwanese themes and sound very “Asian” in that they use a lot of pentatonic scales and interesting percussion.  I found it quite interesting because it reminded me of how Dvorak took a lot of native themes from North America and put them into his New World Symphony.  Hsu’s music had many similar elements in that it was classically structured but filled with local melodies, only very different themes which were often more rhythmically based.  In general, the contrast of Mahler’s romantic symphony with Barber’s one-movement symphony and Hsu’s traditional Chinese themes was one of the most international concerts I’ve experienced and a suprisingly good match together.

The next morning I visited the Johns Hopkins Nanjing Center at Nanjing University, where I am considering studying this fall. I began a tour of the school by sitting in on a couple lectures – one in English on business economics in the Enron case and the other in Chinese on modern US/China relations. Both were quite interesting, and I could tell from the Chinese one that this program was serious about language. Afterwards, I met with Liz Muller who showed me around the campus and answered questions. Walking down the hallway, we passed two American students carrying violins dressed in suits. It turned out they were heading to a dress rehearsal for a performance that night with the Nanjing University Symphony Orchestra, and they invited me to join! The show was all traditional chinese music, and it was mostly a celebration of the 20th anniversary of their music program. The 2-hour performance included mostly older men and women singing Chinese songs, and then the orchestra joined in for the last 45 minutes. Afterwards, we went up on stage and got a photo with the director (right) who reminded me of a Chinese Gene Wilder. On the metro ride back, I got a great glimpse of the study body at the Nanjing Center. All of them came from different parts oft he US and from all different backgrounds and majors, yet they were all here working hard at their Chinese while having a blast living in China. By the end of the night, I decided I would definitely be putting in an application for the Nanjing Center.

The next morning I started out by heading to the house of John Rabe, a German who saved thousands of Chinese during the Japanese invasion of Nanjing in WWII by establishing a safe zone. Unfortunately, the house was only open on weekdays, so I went on to the Ji Ming Temple, and active temple with a huge pagoda from where you can see the whole city. After passing through, I continued onto the old city wall and walked along it for a bit before going down the the lakeside park and exploring around there. I was definitely one of the most beautiful parts of Nanjing and it reminded me of NYC’s central park, this huge green space in the middle of a metropolis. Later on I visited the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum (中山陵) on Purple Mountain. Known as the Father of China, Sun Yatsen (a.k.a. Zhong Shan) is kind of like a Ben Franklin figure in Chinese history, laying down the foundation for establishing a Republic after the fall of the Qing Dynasty. Although the Communists fought and eventually beat him during the civil war in the 20s and 30s, the whole country still honors him as China’s first great modern leader. His tomb and memorial clearly shows it too – an epic temple with deep blue roof tiles at the top of hundreds of steps on a mountain. It was quite an honor to finally see the Zhongshan himself.

I finished the day by going all the way across town to the Nanjing Massacre Memorial, established to commemorate the 300,000 lives that were brutally and mercilessly taken by the Japanese rape of Nanjing in WWII. The crimes committed were so atrocious and so unspeakable that even Nazi German soldiers who were posted in Nanjing and witnessed the events wrote in their journals about how disgusted they were with the inhumane acts of the Japanese! China is often spoken of as the forgotten front during WWII, and it is rarely mentioned in any western history books, even though the whole war essentially started there. As the sun began to fall, I took one last solemn look at the memorial and then headed back to the hostel.

To my surprise, I returned to a very different place than from where I had left. Through all the traveling, I had forgotten that the next day was Halloween, and the hostel was throwing a party to celebrate. All of the foreign students at Nanjing University showed up and partied until late into the night, not something I was too thrilled about considering the 5:00 am get up I had in the morning to catch my flight to Beijing!  In the end, I found the city to be charming, calm, extremely welcoming, and bursting out the seams with history. Spending a year there (if I got into the Nanjing Center) would definitely be something I would like to do.  In the morning I caught a flight to Beijing, where part IV of my trip begins.

1.  Taiwan is “nice”

…or maybe I should say, “nicer” than mainland China.  When I lived in China, nearly everyone I knew who had been to Taiwan always used the same phrasing to describe it.  It was always, “oh you’ll love it – it’s much nicer there.”  I never knew what they meant, but after one week it is quite clear.  In general, things seem a bit cleaner here and better kept, but it’s not the physical setting that makes it nicer–it’s the whole culture of the city.  Here are a few examples:

• Cars don’t continuously honk their horns (in fact, they rarely use them at all, like in the States).
• People are more polite.  They don’t shove in a crowd, and they actually cue up for things!!!  Getting on the metro is such a pleasure compared to China.  Here, they follow the international convention of standing aside while people get off the train, and then in single file fashion getting on, even during rush hour (proof that it can be done, so the whole “there’s too many people” argument in mainland just got ousted).  If someone does bump me, they often will politely say sorry, and if I ask for directions they will gladly help and sometimes even walk me there if it’s nearby!
• People smoke politely.  Yes, there is a polite and impolite way to smoke.  Polite is to actually obey the no smoking signs everywhere, and even if there is no sign to perhaps step outside if you are in a crowd or public area.  In mainland, people smoke wherever they are whenever they feel like, regardless of any signs, restrictions, or other people (I’ve seen students light up in the classroom before!).  It’s really nice to not have all my clothes smell like cigarette smoke all the time for a change.
• People say thank you.  In mainland, it took a long time to adjust to not saying thank you, and in many ways I never got used to it.  Often times, especially in service-related circumstances (such as waiter-to-customer in a restaurant), you never say thank you.  You just take your food, and then try and look for something to complain about.  I always felt so bad for waiters or people in any service job in mainland China because they get treated so poorly.  In Taiwan, it’s like the States – you say thanks, and it’s nice.

2. Language Adjustments

There is of course the obvious problem:  mainland uses simplified characters, Taiwan used traditional.  I didn’t think it would be too big a problem, and so far it really hasn’t been, but I can tell once classes get going it is going to be difficult to read and write at a normal pace.  I’ve been preparing by studying a dictionary, and it has helped a lot so far, so that will come with time.

The harder thing I’ve run into thus far is all the different vocabulary.  I find it to be remarkably like the differences between the States and England/Australia.  We say “trash can,” and they say “rubbish bin,” and if you studied English in one place and went to the other, you would sound funny to the locals (but they would still know what you meant).  It’s just like that here (in fact, both places use entirely different words for “trash can” as well).  Other completely different words: “subway” (like metro vs. underground), “bicycle,” and “landlord.”  Many common day nouns are called different names, so I am having to adjust a lot of vocabulary to sound more normal.

3. Weather

It rains. Everyday. Always. And not like Florida rain where it comes and goes in and hour – it’s been raining for one entire week now.

4. Kings of the City:

Transportation King:  Scooter.

Gas-powered scooters are everywhere in the city!  I’ve never seen anything like it.  At red lights, they all scoot (no pun intended) past cars to get to the front, and when it turns green a symphony of buzzing is released into the air like a thousand weed-wackers harmoniously cutting grass.  At times there are hundreds waiting at the lights, and the streets are lined as far as the eye can see with parked scooters.

Convenience Store King: 7-Eleven

7-Eleven: Taipei King of Convenience Stores

Go figure, 7-Eleven has conquered yet another territory in the name of “convenience,” but this time they truly stand by the word. Besides the fact that at any moment a 7-Eleven is probably within a half-kilometer radius, 7-Elevens here are literally your everything one-stop shop.  You buy your phone card there.  You get cash there.  You get food there.  You even pay your bills there!  You just hand them the bill with cash and they give you a receipt and boom!–bills paid.  I’m telling you, if someday I’m married and living here and my wife is pregnant, I know where I’m going when the baby is due.

I’m sure there is much more to the city, the people, and the culture here, but these observations and experiences will always remain my first impressions.  They’re quite different from those of mainland China (and much more positive), but perhaps that’s because I lived in mainland first.  I can’t help but wonder how people who’ve never been to mainland China experience Taiwan?