Adjusting

OK, so I'm experiencing a little cognitive dissonance.  On one hand, I really do believe in the value of living simply.  I read Duane Elgin's book "Voluntary Simplicity" way back on my first sabbatical in '97, which supported what was already a tendency toward frugality on my part and strengthened my growing conviction that those of us living in the so-called "developed" world need to significantly reduce our consumption in order for global society to become sustainable.  Especially when I travel, I tend to avoid expensive hotels and resorts and am satisfied instead with more basic, inexpensive accommodations.

So I'm trying stay positive about my room here, despite a number of factors that are challenging my comfort zone.  First, the bed is hard -- I'm intending to rectify that by trying to track down some kind of memory foam or other additional layer I can add between me and the wood.  Second, the bar in the closet collapsed today, from the weight of all the clothes I was hanging from it.  (Yes, some guilt about how many clothes I own and brought with me!)  I suspect the screw was already old and loose in the wood, so after borrowing a screwdriver from the CHASS staff, I pulled out the one end of the bar and re-attached it in another place.  I hope that will hold, but for now all my sports coats and dress slacks are hanging from hooks in the wall of the room itself.  If I end up not wearing them much while I'm here, I guess they'll suffice as wall art!  Third, I woke up at 4 AM this morning aware of a low humming noise that was just loud enough to be distracting and annoying.  I'm still adjusting to the time zone difference and waking up early, so I trust once I'm adjusted I will easily sleep right through that buzz.  Fourth, the one shower I've taken so far was not too hot -- one of my indulgences, my primary guilty pleasure, is a nice long, hot shower.  I'm not happy about the prospect of having to go without those for nearly four months.  Maybe time of day matters -- I'll experiment to see if hotter water is available at other times than mid-morning.  Finally, the lightbulb in the bathroom burned out this morning.  A trivial thing, easily fixed (by someone who came by to do so), but on top of all the other things, I hope it is not a portent of further "breakdowns" to occur.

I think the building I'm staying in is labeled the "Dormitory for Single Faculty and Staff."  What that means, I assume, is that some of the people staying in the other rooms in the building essentially live here full-time, long-term, whatever that might mean for them.  In other words, to some extent, these are "normal" accommodations for at least some professors here, which gives me cause for pause when I start to think that the room isn't good enough and I deserve something better.  I'm definitely tempted to ask about an "upgrade," to see if there's another option that would be a little more comfortable if also more expensive.  But I'm hesitant, not just because I don't relish the thought of packing up all my stuff again and moving it all somewhere else, but because I'm reluctant to send the message to the folks that lined this place up for me that it isn't good enough.  Thus, my cognitive dissonance.  I'm not sure yet what I'll do.

What I do know is that I'm not going to do anything til Yungnane gets back to town.  Prof. Yungnane Yang, the Director of the Department of Political Science in the School of Social Sciences at NCKU, is the guy who invited me here for the semester.  Yungnane comes from a background in the Taiwanese police, with undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Chinese Police University outside of Taipei.  His first job as a professor was there too, but he was successful enough as a researcher/scholar/professor that he made the jump into the National university system, which is not necessarily an easy thing to do.  Now he has made his way up into an administrative role, which gives him some leverage to be able to put the funds together to support my visit. 

Yungnane was one of, maybe the first student whose dissertation committee I chaired after I got to USC in 1989.  I guess in Taiwan there is a traditional belief that personality type is related to a person's blood type, and Yungnane wanted to investigate that issue empirically.  I have a suspicion other faculty had told him already that it wasn't an idea worth doing his dissertation research on, so I think he was grateful when I said that it was fine with me if that's what he wanted to study.  I don't think he found much in the way of significant correlations, but I guess 20 years on now it's clear that doing that study didn't get in the way of him having a successful career! 

Anyway, Yungnane was in Hong Kong when I got here and won't be back til Friday.  So I'm pretty much adjusting on my own, although the CHASS stuff are certainly helpful if I have any questions or needs.  (I think they're now trying to track down some pots and pans that I can use to do some cooking in the common kitchen four floors down!)  I haven't eaten a lot yet since I've been here, but today they told me where to find a nearby supermarket, so I perused that and bought a few things that will hold me over til I learn a little more about the food options in the area.  There are certainly plenty of them, from the McDonalds that I walked in and out of last night (I just couldn't bring myself to eat there even though I was hungry and wasn't ready yet to just go buy something without knowing for sure what I would be getting), to the very nice, upscale restaurant that Terence took me to yesterday for lunch.  One of the more abundant options are the many sidewalk stands where people prepare one or another kind of food, ranging from those apparently serving mostly fruit-smoothie kind of drinks, to those frying up some bready kinds of things that look pretty yummy, to those serving more hearty egg, meat, and/or noodle dishes.  Once I get a little more info from Yungnane about what's good and safe, I look forward to trying some of them.  And then there are the innumerable small sit down cafes and restaurants whose menus are entirely in Chinese, which so far has intimidated me from walking in and trying to place an order.  Based on my previous experiences, the food in Taiwan tends to be quite good, so I'm looking forward to exploring more of these options!