Lugang, Taiwan

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The learning curve

When learning a foreign language, I'm certainly spoiled. I was educated in French from kindergarten (grade 0) through grade 10. The first six years of that education were in an immersion program. Half of a day of class was spoken and written entirely in French. My middle school years (grades 6-8) were at a bilingual school that tried to place multi-lingual teachers in common subjects, such as math and science. That's how I found out that the Belgian way of counting is different than French, but only in certain sets of 10 (70,80,90.) The confusion about what to call dinner is another interesting difference. Now, in Taiwan, I see that the playing field of language is even further mingled. The mainland Chinese way of saying 一 or 1 is pronounced differently in some cases than it is in Taiwan, but not in normal counting. I've even heard that 0 is pronounced differently. In Chinese, the number 二 (er4) or 2 is pronounced differently once you count above 100, or when you are a
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Things to remember on New Year's Eve

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When travelling, its best to remember a few simple safety tips on New Year's Eve.  All the fun and enjoyment is great, but without some careful planning, you might end up in a bad state of affairs. 1. Know where your toilets are. They're usually hiding, inconspicuously, trying to blend into the crowd, occasionally dancing, and in rare cases, getting horribly intoxicated and flipping over.  You should probably stay at least 50-100 feet away from them at all times.  I recommend using an air horn for storing urine.  You'll find them everywhere. 2. Avoid Zombies New Year's Eve is a prime time for zombies.  They will usually hang out near the bathrooms.  Some of them may pretend to be "into the music" or "really like this guy on stage," or even be so bold as to "have no idea who that guy is hosting."  Remember to carry appropriate defense items such as crow bars, axes, and windshield washer fluid.  Zombies hate being clean. 3.
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Fengle Sculpture Park; Taichung, Taiwan. The sculpures are ugly, but the kids are cute. Above: A balloon of Open Jiang, the mascot of 7-11 convenience stores in Taiwan.
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