A personal blog archiving 2020 Fulbright-Wu Jing-Jyi Arts and Culture Fellow, Dr. Nick Bowman (Texas Tech University, USA)
MUZHA DISTRICT, TAIPEI — For about a week or so now, I’ve been bugged by a very annoying earache. Waking up with a bit of build-up and generally, feeling like I’ve gone for a sleep-swim every night. Fortunately, I’m one of the 99% of Taiwanese who are covered by National Health Insurance.
NATIONAL CHENGCHI UNIVERSITY, TAIPEI — Walking toward campus, a few final hurdles to clear. I’m up early and I’ve got a breakfast routine down. There’s a few coffeeshops dotting the campus perimeter: Starbucks, Louisa Coffee, and a really good spot on campus that I can’t quite seem to get the name of. They’re all pretty…
NATIONAL CHENGCHI UNIVERSITY — With delays due to COVID-19 concerns pushing us back one week, our first official day of the Spring 2020 semester at the National Chengchi University. I’ve been around universities for nearly 20 years, and the energy and excitement of a new semester never dull. The weather always seems a bit nicer,…
WENSHAN DISTRICT, TAIPEI CITY — No blogs for quite some time, as we’ve had a bit of a rough time with recent COVID-19 developments: the start of school was delayed, data collection plans are suddenly quite vague, and we’re adjusting course content for students unable to make it back to Taiwan. In the face of…
WENSHAN DISTRICT, TAIPEI CITY — A few days ago, I wrote about an afternoon over in the Ximending area, and some of the precautions that pubs and restaurants were taking against the 2019-nCoV: disinfecting customers, taking temperature readings, and generally just trying to make the best of an uncertain situation. It was a sunny Friday,…
WENSHAN DISTRICT, TAIPEI CITY — As we gear up for the scholarship ahead of us for the next six months, I’ve been pondering one aspects of my fellowship: an art installation in the Foundation for Scholarly Excellence offices here in Taipei. For a social scientist who largely engages publishes research based on statistical analyses, art…
WENSHAN DISTRICT, TAIPEI — As a non-native (Mandarin Chinese) speaker, living in Taiwan can be a bit isolating at times. So much of city is still inaccessible to me: billboards, restaurant ads, street signs, and the general hum of a metropolitan area quickly filtered out of my senses. I can’t make much sense of the…
BAR 58, XIMEN, TAIPEI CITY — I’ve had my ID scanned before. I’ve had to pay a cover. I’ve had to tell the bouncer what my zodiac sign was, or pass a sobriety test … even had to prove that I wasn’t under the influence of any prior drink (or anything stronger). A first? Passing…
WENSHAN DISTRICT, TAIPEI — Shopping in Taiwan is an accountant’s dream, because there’s always a paper trail. My personal favorite? A NT$9 receipt for a small package of roasted chicken-flavored Cheetos. To put this in perspective, NT$9 is the equivalent of about $0.30 USD. In fact, if you make a purchase — of nearly any…
CHIH NAN TEMPLE / TAMSUI, TAIPEI — The Lunar New Year season is a time for families and for many in Taiwan, this means time away from the city. For those of us away from our families, it’s a time to reflect.