Warmth....finally...

It has been downright cold most of the past two weeks. No, it hasn't snowed, nor has it been anywhere near freezing (mid 40's at night) but that doesn't mean it isn't cold. Think about sleeping and waking and living in temps like that without heat anywhere. Anywhere. Anywhere. There is no central heat, there are no radiators, nothing. They sell fans that have a heat source in the back and then blow out the heat but are only good for an immediate area of 3-4 feet and they're expensive too. That being said, it's gotten warmer recently. We have had horrible pollution and haze the past three days, all the pollution from China blows across the Taiwan straits and hits us. The weather has been stagnant so it just sits, and visibility is a mere 200-300 meters. Beyond the weather (wow, I sound too much like my old man) things are good. New Years was great. Watched the 101 shoot off fireworks with some friends, and had a good time over Xmas with some locals. Went to hot springs and did some hiking in the mtns. Chinese New Year is coming soon and I have almost three weeks off. I'm headed to China and Xiaoshan (near Hangzhou, ok, near Shanghai) for almost a week then back to Taipei and off to Thailand and Cambodia. Really looking forward to a vacation as it's been a while and Taipei is starting to wear on me.
On another note I have to say, as Americans we can't begin to imagine the inherent advantages and opportunities we have accessible to us in the world. We speak English, we understand our culture as well as others (the lack of universal knowledge in Asia is appalling) and we are privy to the best educational programs in the world (at least University wise). As anecdotal evidence my friends and I were drinking beer outside of a club when we heard a taxi driver listening to a Spanish audio tape in his cab. We found it interesting as you don't hear anything outside of Chinese, Taiwanese, English and Japanese here. As we talk to him he tells us he speaks Chinese, Taiwanese (a completely different dialect), Japanese, and English, and is learning Spanish obviously. Nice, honest, driven man. Well the conversation quickly degrades as he tells us he can't afford his rent as a taxi driver, his wife left him, and he lives out of his cab. Sad story, yet he told it with such conviction and courage, it was depressing. Imagine if I or anyone American grew up in his shoes, and all things considered he isn't really that bad off. He doesn't skip meals, he has a place to sleep (so to speak) and is well-informed. Nonetheless, why am I here, or better yet, why I am able to come here and live and work? Taiwanese/Chinese are hardworking, industrious, studious, and most students are bilingual in not trilingual. As a proud American; I have the stars and stripes hanging on my wall, I wonder, do we need to begin to realise the reprecussion of globalisation and maybe change our ways? I'm not an alarmist, I know how far China and India lag behind, but we can't continue the way we are and expect things to remain the same. Even in a country of benevolence such as Taiwan, whose people are quick to point out that a war between themselves and China would be quick and decisive because of America's support, the people hate Bush and realise what he has done to our country and our reputation. Is this the kind of support we need in a country as friendly as Taiwan?
I apologize for the rant and I know this isn't the forum for such diatribes, but I hope that people realise what we have and don't take it for granted as we have for so long (myself included). For some reason I can't add any new pictures, sorry. I will attempt to do so post New Years, in what promises to be a varied lot.