ONE RANDOM DAY
So, it was around 10:00p.m. and I am sitting comfortably in my room watching t.v. when I hear this song playing outside. This is not any random song, but in fact it is the same song the ice cream man plays when he is trying to lure kids out to buy ice cream. Fortunately, I took time to read up on the country in advance so I knew that the song was not an indication of ice cream. Better yet, it was a signal for all of the residents to bring the trash out for the garbage truck to collect (odd indeed!). My roomate which is Taiwanese, but also speaks English informed me of the proper days to discard my recyclables and garbage. It just so happened to be the day to relinquish both, so I had my hands full, however the neighbors were more than willing to assist me carrying and sorting my items.
Now here is where the story gets really weird. After I got rid of my trash, I started to retire to my room until I was confronted by a middle-aged man walking along the side of the street. The man asked me if I was from America. So I thought to myself, "Should I say I am?", "What if he doesn't like Americans?", "Should I just smile and continue to walk?". Lots of choices to consider, but I decided to just tell him I was American. To my and his delight he was thrilled. He went on for about 10 minutes on how much he loved America and that I should join him and his friends for a drink. Being a social butterfly and all, I couldn't decline his offer, so I entered his restaurant/home and was greeted by a slew of his family and friends. They were all eating and drinking at the time and taking part in ....... yes, yes, I think you have some idea. What is the number one most popular activity to do in well Asian culture? Not skating, not bar hopping, not even dancing, but if you guessed karaoke you are right. His restaurant contained a giant t.v. made for karaoking. He had lights on the ceiling, I mean the whole nine yards. This guy definately did not spare any expenses when it came to karaoking.
Well, I was impressed to say thet least and he made sure that I enjoyed myself in his company. During my time at his place he offered me Johnny Walker, Taiwanese tea, and Taiwanese beer. I accepted all except for the Johnny Walker because you all know that I am a light weight and I didn't want to pass out in this guys restaurant. After drinking for a while and teaching everybody a little English (everybody asks you especially when they are drunk ;-) ) he requested that I sing a song. Now I thought I could get away with not singing since all of the songs that I witnessed were performed in Chinese. However, this guy was prepared and within seconds of his request he pulled out a book containing karaoke songs in English.
As I skimmed through the book, I did not recognize hardly any of the songs. I mean these songs were old, definately older than me and I am talking about a several decades. So, after spending a significant amount of time searching I finally decided on Frank Sinatra's, "Fly Me to the Moon". Now that was quite an experience to say the least. I am definately not an American Idol, but for some odd reason they loved it. It is a good thing that they were not honest critics because I am afraid after that performance I should have been expelled from the gathering.
After my less than satisfactory performance I decided that I should return home, so I thanked everyone and walked back to my place. On the way the man asked me if I would teach him English on a routine basis, but unfortunately I did not have the time in my schedule to do so. Maybe in the future, there will be another time. A time where I can teach him English and drink Johnny Walker :-).
Ok, that sums it up for me next time I will tell you about my Horrible Week (I was low on funds, sick, and almost attacked by a dog just to give yah a heads up). Until then take care and at the bottom of this blog is my address, also send me your phone numbers and addresses if you would like me to call or send something because I left most of that information at home.
Bob Cummerlander Jr.
7F-2, No.256 Wan-Jung Street
San-Min District, Kaohsiung
Taiwan, R.O.C. 807
NEXT TIME - MY HORRIBLE WEEK
Now here is where the story gets really weird. After I got rid of my trash, I started to retire to my room until I was confronted by a middle-aged man walking along the side of the street. The man asked me if I was from America. So I thought to myself, "Should I say I am?", "What if he doesn't like Americans?", "Should I just smile and continue to walk?". Lots of choices to consider, but I decided to just tell him I was American. To my and his delight he was thrilled. He went on for about 10 minutes on how much he loved America and that I should join him and his friends for a drink. Being a social butterfly and all, I couldn't decline his offer, so I entered his restaurant/home and was greeted by a slew of his family and friends. They were all eating and drinking at the time and taking part in ....... yes, yes, I think you have some idea. What is the number one most popular activity to do in well Asian culture? Not skating, not bar hopping, not even dancing, but if you guessed karaoke you are right. His restaurant contained a giant t.v. made for karaoking. He had lights on the ceiling, I mean the whole nine yards. This guy definately did not spare any expenses when it came to karaoking.
Well, I was impressed to say thet least and he made sure that I enjoyed myself in his company. During my time at his place he offered me Johnny Walker, Taiwanese tea, and Taiwanese beer. I accepted all except for the Johnny Walker because you all know that I am a light weight and I didn't want to pass out in this guys restaurant. After drinking for a while and teaching everybody a little English (everybody asks you especially when they are drunk ;-) ) he requested that I sing a song. Now I thought I could get away with not singing since all of the songs that I witnessed were performed in Chinese. However, this guy was prepared and within seconds of his request he pulled out a book containing karaoke songs in English.
As I skimmed through the book, I did not recognize hardly any of the songs. I mean these songs were old, definately older than me and I am talking about a several decades. So, after spending a significant amount of time searching I finally decided on Frank Sinatra's, "Fly Me to the Moon". Now that was quite an experience to say the least. I am definately not an American Idol, but for some odd reason they loved it. It is a good thing that they were not honest critics because I am afraid after that performance I should have been expelled from the gathering.
After my less than satisfactory performance I decided that I should return home, so I thanked everyone and walked back to my place. On the way the man asked me if I would teach him English on a routine basis, but unfortunately I did not have the time in my schedule to do so. Maybe in the future, there will be another time. A time where I can teach him English and drink Johnny Walker :-).
Ok, that sums it up for me next time I will tell you about my Horrible Week (I was low on funds, sick, and almost attacked by a dog just to give yah a heads up). Until then take care and at the bottom of this blog is my address, also send me your phone numbers and addresses if you would like me to call or send something because I left most of that information at home.
Bob Cummerlander Jr.
7F-2, No.256 Wan-Jung Street
San-Min District, Kaohsiung
Taiwan, R.O.C. 807
NEXT TIME - MY HORRIBLE WEEK
posted by Bob | 10:50 PM
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