jojo. in transit.

My Grandma is on the far right holding one of my favorite aunts. The others are some of my great-aunts and other uncles/aunts. (I have a hugeee family).

I wanted to write a little bit about what it was like growing up with..a more unique ethnic background and what has changed since I’ve gotten older.  

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Woolloomooloo Xin Yi (02)8789-0128
379 Sec 4 XinYi Rd. Taipei Taiwan
Operating hours: Sun – Thur 7:30-2400
Fri, Sat & eve of public holiday 7:30 – 01:00

台北市信義區信義路四段379號
營業時間:星期日-星期四 早上7:30-午夜24:00
星期五.六及例假日前夕 早上7:30-凌晨1:00

Ok, SO—I am always in search of a cafe or someplace where I can chill out for a few hours with a book or my laptop. For me personally, it’s really important that I get some mental health-alone time every so often. I like to just sit, collect my thoughts, and think about everything that’s going on and things I need to prepare for. I do this best at coffee shops. Now, I haven’t found a favorite place in Taipei yet, but I’m sure I will. One of the reasons why I love Taipei is because there are so many hidden gems and really cool places. When I’m looking for a cafe/a place to chill out in…These are the things I look for:
1) wifi
2) moderate prices
3) a relaxed and cozy atmosphere (doesn’t feel weird to sit there for 2+ hours)
4) outlets

And that’s pretty much it. The quality of the food and beverages isn’t vital, but it’s definitely a bonus. As long as there’s coffee or something to sip on, I’m good. For me, it’s more about the space. I‘ve found some places that fit some of the criteria, but no favorite establishment yet. Today, I decided to take some time for myself and try a new place. 

Wooloomooloo has two locations, but this one is much closer to my home. Apparently, the design is based off the style of Australian cafes. I loved the decor and the communal tables. I sat on the second level at a very long table. (It was actually much dimmer and felt much more intimate than the pictures make it look) There were groups of 2, 3, and 4 and several people sitting alone like myself doing work or reading. The lighting was cozy and it felt trendy without being..I don’t know..too trendy. I wasn’t that hungry so I just had some sour dough bread and the soup of the day with a iced latte. The prices aren’t super cheap, but it wasn’t terrible either. I’ll have to go back and try the pizza and pastas because they looked and smelled delicious! I thought it felt like a pretty good place for a low-key date. Like if you wanted a low pressure place that wasn’t too intimate, but would facilitate good conversation. Although….you would be sitting rather close to other people so, I guess it would depend on the level of privacy you wanted, but I digress………ANYWAY.

The wifi connection was great! No outlets, but luckily I had my netbook charged up. I would love to see the place in the daytime/afternoon. I bet it looks gorgeous with the wood tables and natural light streaming through. It seemed like they had a pretty nice balcony seating area. Another great aspect is that this location is open until 12am! A lot of other cafes I’ve been to close unusually early. It was a bit of a trek from the MRT (SYS Memorial Hall), but the walk is pleasant and I think worth it. I’ll have to go back with friends or again in the afternoon the next time I have a half day.  

*This is hardly an issue, but just a note. I ordered the “sourdough with dips” I didn’t know what dips they were referring to, but I assumed it was more than one. I was going to ask, but I figured I would just be surprised. It turned out just to be some hummus. Which is fine..but the menu should read “sour bread and hummus” or “Sour bread and dip”. (singular) Like I said, an extremely minor complaint, but perhaps there are similar errors in other parts of the menu. 

Lately, more than usual it seems, I’ve been getting comments about the merits of my work. It could partly be in my head or maybe it’s a combination—an accumulation of comments and my own thoughts, but in any case, what I want to talk about is more or less the value of my day to day work. 

I’ll be the first to tell you—my work is not intellectually challenging—by any means. I do miss being apart of academia and participating in conversations that push my own understanding of things and point of view. Definitely. I’ll be the first to tell you that what I do isn’t difficult and that yes, pretty much any native speaker with a bachelor’s degree could be hired to teach English. 

But…every native English speaker with a Bachelor’s degree should not be teaching English to preschoolers. I think it takes a certain person with patience and a sense of humor to be good at the job and more importantly to enjoy it. I LOVE what I’m doing. And I will sing this tune to my grave. If you’re going to spend most of your life ‘at work’…earning money..providing a service..you better love what you do. Enjoying my work life makes my life outside of work that much better. I’m not stressed or worried about it or dreading having to go. Sure, not everyday is rainbows and sunshine, but most of the time, I’m pretty psyched about seeing my kids every day. (side note- one of my favorite students is out on vacation all week!!!!!!) 

Anyway, I used to have big goals about a certain career—and I think that’s great if you find something you love, but somewhere during college and working a couple desk jobs, I quickly realized that I was NOT cut out to sit at a desk. It literally makes me want to cry if I do it for longer than two hours at a time. And a lot of jobs require a ton of time at a desk—in front of a computer. So, as I have gotten older, my work life goals have changed. The two most important things to me are that I a) enjoy it and that b) my work helps other people in some way—even if it’s in a very small way. (And ok, c) that I have enough to live relatively comfortably) And for me, right now, in this stage of my life—this works. I am helping people. Little people. Some may say that I’m a glorified baby sitter, but I like to think that there’s a little bit more going on than that. Maybe they’re not learning advanced things, but because they’re so young, it’s easier for me to see their progress. And let me tell you, it is very rewarding to see my students slowly master “I am” instead of “Me is” haha and to start regularly using vocabulary that simply was not there a few months prior. They surprise me every day with what new things they’ve put together. I get to be a stable figure in their little day to day lives. I get to be someone who teaches them new things and encourages them. Maybe they won’t remember me when they get older, but I get to be the person who forms the very foundation of their future education—English and otherwise (I teach math and social studies too, you know! haha) 

In short, maybe what I’m doing isn’t that interesting or high paying or impressive, but it keeps my spirits high…it keeps me optimistic…and I enjoy it immensely!

In a foreign country.
In a second language.
Without your family/boyfriend (well…boyfriend at the time..haha -__-)

I put off writing about this for all this time because it was too fresh and I thought it might be TMI, but I do in fact think that health matters like this are important to talk about. I think it was sometime in January or early February because it was right before Chinese new year—but I was chillin’ out, relaxin’ real cool, shootin’ some b-ball out side of the school when I found a suspicious lump on my right breast. It was….weird. About the size of a pea, quite hard, and not entirely round. After some quick googling I was in FULL ON panic mode. Everything I read said that this lump was bad, bad, bad aka probably cancerous.

Cysts are common in women, but they are usually round, movable, and not hard. I called in sick immediately and went to the hospital. I googled around for where would be best to go and made an informed decision to go to Taipei Medical University Hospital. The hospital was really great. It even had a Starbucks inside! haha. But seriously, everyone I interacted with there was super friendly and helpful to this freaked out foreign girl. Also, the place had free wi-fi. The first day I went there, I made an inquiry about getting a breast exam at the help desk and one of the volunteers helped me go to a machine, insert my insurance card, and get a number. The number was my place in line to see the doctor the following night. I came back with a book, Starbucks, and my itouch in tow. I had to wait for over an hour, but it was pretty enjoyable. When it was finally my turn, a nurse did the exam on me. She felt my lump and then called the doctor in. He felt it, asked a few questions, and did an ultrasound. (They’re not kidding—that gel is cold!) I changed and then he called me into his office. My lump was at a Bi-rads 4a which meant that it was mildly suspicious. So we scheduled a mamogram and a biopsy in which I would go under local anesthetic and there would be several small incisions made to get tissue for lab testing. Unfortunately, they couldn’t do the biopsy until one week later. 

That was one of the scariest weeks of my life. I was freaking out..to say the least. It doesn’t seem that serious in retrospect, but at the time…I was so scared. I read that breast cancer is quite rare in a woman of my age, but it’s not impossible—and if you do get breast cancer at my age, the chances of beating it are much smaller (that scared me the most). Also, I have really small breasts, but the thought of having to chop one or both off was very sad to me. 

The mamogram hurt like hell. It was like someone wanted to take my 3D boob and squeeze it until it was 2D. And for whatever reason—because of the lump’s position—they had to take SOO many x-rays. Which meant a lot more painful boob smashing. I shed a tear because it hurt so bad and I almost had to scream at one point. Maybe I just have a low threshold for pain? The biopsy was fine. There was a pinch of pain for the anesthesia, but the rest of the procedure was completely painless. And the doctor was great. It didn’t feel awkward at all. And I got to wear this cool draped covering that just had one perfect boob hole. haha.

Anyway, during this scary time, I wanted nothing more than to hug my mom and dad and have them tell me that it would be okay. But, unfortunately I couldn’t do that. I have friends here, but I didn’t feel comfortable telling anyone, but my best friend, Ariana. She was great about it, helped me keep my mind off of it, and treated me to nice things like fancy grilled cheese. Another comfort was the online community of women that I found. While I was waiting for results, I trolled several breast cancer forums. I made a post describing my situation and lump and got so many supportive and helpful responses from women who have had breast cancer. They all told me that waiting was the hardest part, that I had done a great job at finding the lump and immediately seeking treatment. These strangers told me that they were sending me good vibes and hoping for a good outcome for me. It was great to talk to women who had had similar experiences. And it was one of the only things that helped me sleep at night. 

Obviously, I eventually got my biopsy results telling me that the lump is benign. But, having this kind of lump does increase my chances in the future for developing breast cancer and I should keep an eye on this lump (which is still there by the way). 

Overall, I’m proud of myself for dealing with this issue in a foreign country far away from my loved ones and primarily using Mandarin to communicate with my nurses and doctor. I am also really pleased with the medical treatment and overall experience I had at Taipei University Medical hospital. I would definitely recommend them.

Lastly…check your breasts, ya’ll. I don’t care how young you are. Check ‘em. I feel like I was really lucky to have found my lump. Ut would have been really easy to miss. Immediately following the ordeal, I felt really motivated to live life fully. I’m going to be honest, that crazy zeal for life wore off a couple weeks later. I got back into my normal routine…but it did make me appreciate my health and I can say that since that time, I have made some tangible, positive life changes. The lesson I learned was not to take my health for granted at all. I may not always have it.