I would have posted this blog last night, but something completely unexpected and crazy happened! You'll have to read to the bottom to find out - I wanted to stick to chronological order.
The previous weekend was a long, four day weekend for a national holiday in Taiwan called the 228 Peace Memorial Day. Basically, there was an anti-government stand by the Taiwanese people against China. The Chinese government violently suppressed it which ended in thousands of people being killed. It all began on February 28 (228), 1947. To honor the deceased and what they they stood for, it has become a national holiday which all the people here respect.
To enjoy the long weekend, my friends and I saw some wonderful sites in the Taichung area. The first was Rainbow Village. The village was home to a war vet who wanted to brighten things up. He started indoors and painted beautiful color popping pictures of animals, plants, and people. Then he began to paint the outsides of all the small houses. Even though the village is only comprised of six smaller sized houses, to fully cover each in creative paint is a huge feat. The city wanted to demolish the area, but it the village was already growing in popularity. Many people protested, and it became a protected area and great tourist attraction. It was bustling when we visited, complete with ice cream stands and a children's playground. I was truly impressed!
The fun news is that I started my Chinese language course! It is really a different language, but a welcome challenge. Repetition, repetition, repetition! Some differences between Chinese (Mandarin) and English are: no plurals, no feminine/masculine, no past/present/future tense, it's tonal, and symbolic, along with some other differences as well. And this is why a lot of Chinese speakers have trouble with the English language, and sometimes don't put plurals or make other similar mistakes. One week in and we have learned numbers, the pronunciation of vowels and consonants, and how to introduce ourselves. Again, I am looking to the future and can't wait to see how far I will make it in four months.
Hand in had with this, are the number of diverse accents around me with all the international students. Switching back and forth between them is sometimes difficult, and my brain is working hard. I can feel it! Everyone says things slightly differently with different tones and pronunciations, and if you are expecting one way it can throw you off. Now, when I call my mom or friends back from the U.S. I feel like conversation is just so... easy! It's definitely is a good exercise.
Now, time for the insane story you've been waiting for!
Since midweek the weather has entered a world of perpetual rain. Last night I was at my friends apartment watching a movie when we heard two loud bangs. At first we were confused because locals light off fireworks here frequently, but these bangs were strangely loud so we went to look out a window. That's when we saw that there had been a car crash across the street from their apartment. People were stumbling out of the two smashed cars. We quickly we ran downstairs and outside to see if we could help. As we arrived to the scene we were trying to tell the few people we passed to call the police, but none seemed to understand, and even as we pointed at the crash and they realized what happened they just went back to their business. There was a convenience store across the street and there was a guy just sitting there playing games on his phone. Did they not want to help? Maybe it was because it was 12:30am or maybe it was just a cultural difference. Regardless, I found it strange.
We rushed into the convenience store to try and get the cashier to call the police, but he didn’t speak English. As my two friends went to see if the people at the site of the crashed needed help, I googled the emergency number for the police on my phone and showed it to him, which he then understood and finally called. I then ran across the street to catch up with my friends to see if the people needed help - and remember it is pouring rain. In one car was a father and a daughter, probably a teenager, and the other was just one man. The daughter was freaking out and limping, and crying and only saying the words "I scared." The dad and the other guy seemed okay, and were talking on their phones to what I am assuming was the police. The single guy was just standing in the rain so I gave him my umbrella, and then proceeded to help the crying and shaking girl across the street to the convenience store to sit down. Everyone came back under the overhang of the convenience store, and we were trying to reassure her and make sure the police were coming.
Looking back at the vehicles, we noticed one car was on fire under the hood. I immediately thought that if the car blew up we would have more of an issue, and headed into the convenience store to ask for a fire extinguisher. Again, the cashier didn't speak English, but thankfully a woman who was at the check out spoke a little. She came outside with me and I pointed at the fire and made many different hand signals for a fire extinguisher. At last, she got it and asked the cashier for one. He gave me the extinguisher. -And this is where I am truly so happy I had chemistry lab prep training on putting out fires.- I ran across the street, with a friend holding an umbrella over me, and successfully used it to put out the fire under the hood from a safe distance. I never in my life thought I would use that chemistry training, never.
We went back across the street, and comforted the girl while the police and other first responders arrived. The lady who spoke a little English helped tell the police what all happened. They checked the father, daughter, and other man for injuries. Thankfully no one was badly injured - only bumps, bruises, and scrapes. They checked out the cars, and filed reports. The lady told us the police were thinking that the other man had been drinking, and the rain probably didn't help his impairment while driving. We asked if they needed statements, which they didn't. The people thanked us, and we parted and headed back to the apartment.
I had never been in a situation like that before. There was no time to think. It all went by so fast. And this all happened in less than 45 minutes. We were all soaked and a little shaky afterwards!
Nonetheless, your past experiences prepare you for the future. Whew!
Be safe out there,
Ayla
