The people you never meet

Since being in Taiwan, I have been closely associated with hostels. I have lived in them, worked in them , and recently just hung out a lot in them. Today, I was reminded again that there are a lot of different people whom I would never talk to unless I was stuck together with them.

I am reminded again not to take my friends for granted as they are open minded, relaxed, easy going and social individuals who are naturally easy to get along with and don’t stray too far from the social norm (sexual orientation aside). 

Let me now account for all the memorable Hostel memories in my time in Taiwan.

- L who lived in a hole in the wall (literally) in EE. Live sex show due to him living in a hole cut out from the living room of the hostel. The curtain doesn’t help to cover up the show nor the sound.

- Guest getting drunk in the hostel and leaving it such a mess it took 2 hours to clean.

- Guest telling me to stop working to take me out and buy me dinner. (very rudely) “I will pay! come out with me NOW” …

Today though, it's been bugging me how there are so many people who are strange and just so socially inept that one wonders how they function in society.

Take a 60 year old man staying in the certain hostel right now. There is 1 guest computer , why would you spend everyday of your stay glued to it?!?! Writing a Sex Novel, copying nude photos of your sexcapades onto the desktop. And when another person is trying to use the computer , be blatantly rude is saying ‘ I have been patiently waiting for you to finish the computer’ and make all the accompanying nosiest to voice disapproval. Seriously!

Take another guest who pretends the fridge is his home and raid other guests food.

Take a previous guest who pretends that just because he stayed in the hostel in the past, it is his right to hang out in the hostel with his 20 new found friends.

All this and I still have to put a straight face! In another situation, I would politely avoid these people and am only sometimes reminded they exist. But today, I was reminded that they exist and are prevalent in society. Shame.

USA and Afghanistan: The math can be done better.

 

 

USA has announced an addition of 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. As of 2009, they already spend $60billion/year on the military stuff to ‘defeat’ Al-Qaida there and only $2billion/year on improvement of the people.

Sure , you can spend $60 billion a year wiping out Al-Qaida in Afghanistan, but WHAT IF(and that is a big if) you wipe them out; chances you they will just regroup and reform in a neighboring country that the USA does not have a large military presence on i.e Pakistan.

The first question the USA has to address is not how to wipe Al-Qaida out, but rather how to reduce the number of people involved with Al-Qaida.

Al-Qaida is like any army in the world, and why do people join the army in other countries? While some might really be for ‘Queen and Country’ , most join the army for COMFORT and SECUIRITY. In the USA ,most recruits aren’t from the elite politicians son or bluebloods. They are from down rural or poverty stricken towns where joining the Army is the only way out.

Why don’t bluebloods join the army, well, there are simply better alternatives than the Army. The costs of being injured/death outweighs the benefit of a stable job. As well, bluebloods tend to be highly educated and their human capital is worth much more in the business world, but anyways…

What USA needs to do is , as Jeffry Sachs stated, to redirect funding to developing a nation torn by war. Where life is uncertain, and the only insurance against hunger is joining the army. Blowing up deserts and sending marines to combat zone isn’t going to help the common citizen, and resources can be used in a much smarter way. It is hard to believe Obama does not see this. It is also, in the long run, a lot cheaper to build up infrastructure and human capital, than sending expensive Marines with their high danger pay where they end up doing nothing but patrolling and terrorizing .

According to reports, 30000 additional troops will cost $30billion/year! What if the USA government used only one year of this extra cost to pay for the wages of the teachers, rebuild schools, hospitals and provide food to the population? Send in administrators and a few engineers instead of troops that blow things up.  Lets see…

population of Afghan:  28 million.

As I stated above, I believe people join the army for security and food due to poverty.

1)  If the USA  used $30billion to feed everyone in the population. (assuming poverty line according to UN is living under $1/day) then with a population of 28million they could FEED EVERYONE FOR 1071 DAYS OR 3 YEARS.

Now lets start over, say the extra troops are planned to be there for 5 years in total. Each year will cost less than the first year due to sunk costs. So, it would cost (for sake of ease) an additionally 20billion/year for 4 years.

2) What other means could the $80+30billion (110billion total) be used for in a 5 year plan?

SECURITY (food)

i) everyone gets $1/day for 5 years for food: 1825days X population = $53billion

(still have 110-53billion= 57billion to spare!)

EDUCATION

ii) In a developing country, schools I think, are fairy low key and cheap to build. Lets say with corruption (which is inevitable), it costs $1million. Each school has 1000 students and teacher to student ration is 1:100. Now since the population distribution in Afghanistan will undoubtly be more children. lets say 40-60% distribution. Meaning 17million will be of school age. (I am now making wild assumptions) And the teachers make $10/day. USA pays for 5 years.

So: $1million/school , 17million students, 1 teacher per 100 student, 1000 students/school.

You would need: 17,000 schools and 170,000 teachers.

Cost: $17billion + (170000x$10x365daysx5years) = $20 billion

(still have $37 billion to spare)

HOSPITALS

iii) 1 hospital for every 100,000 people. Wage of doctors to be $50/day. 4 doctors for every 100,000 people.  Just need to worry about wage. Hospital cost $2 million.

You would need 280 hospitals, 1120 doctors

Cost: (280x $2million) + (1120 x $50/day x 365 x 5 years) =$600,000,000…….lets round this up to $1billion. for wage.

MEDICINE

iv) lets say medicine is 6 billion

still $30 billion to spare.

INFRASTRUCTURE

v) for the next 5 years we build infrastructure and employ 25% of working population. i.e. 11 million x .25= 3 million people. Also pay them $3 a day. (in addition to food)

3million x $3/day x 365 days x 5 years = $5.5 billion

now for the roads, canals, irrigation!

lets add another $10billion for roads.

Now we have $15billion left.

vi) lets give everyone seeds, a bucket to water, and a plow.

There, now everyone is happy and a much better way to spend that $110 billion dollars:

 

and why is it a better way?

i) everyone has food!  

2) minimal things blowing up

3) health care

4) kids have better things to do (school) than being desperate and looking for security i.e. joining Al-Qaida. Education gives them something to look forward to, think better.

5) People are working/ planting.

6) once the economy starts churning along, people will become entrepreneurs. $1 will turn into more, people will be too busy making money to care about some Jihad , or blowing up stuff. In the end what do we all want in life? but stability, a family and not worry about food on a day-to-day basis.

 

AN EXCELLENT PLAN :)

now if only people would think the same.

a weekend in Taichung

Over the weekend, my LE invited me over to his home in Taichung 台中。 It turned out we didn't even need to take a bus there as his cousin was coming down as well.

Everything was slow and dandy … looking at the view (unspectacular if you ask me as the city is small and flat), eating at the night market, adoring his child… till he until he pulled out a bottle/vase of alcohol. On closer inspection and introduction it turned out to be: Kaoliang, or 高粱酒.  Which is a cool 58% his friend bought over from 金門。

It tasted terrible. But slowly and surely it was drunk by 4 people on the rocks or straight up. Everything was going well, chatting until A. having just eloquently explained her view-point of Cross Straight Taiwan China Relationships (who would have thought an American to be so well informed about this!) passed out. Next thing I know, I have puke all over me.

I must remember this as the first time anyone had puked on me.

 

(Hard to carry a girl when there is a skinny guy and passed out LE… I ended up dragging A)

My LE and Cousin, L are fairly drunk as well… in the meantime I manage to break my LE glasses by stepping on them.

We (or more I) decided to put her outside as she was still puking..puking..puking. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have told LE and Cousin L to put her outside, but we were all fairly drunk. (58% on the Rocks is pretty tough).

A. continues to puke throughout the night…next morning…next afternoon…into the next evening. O dear.

The next morning (of afternoon), my LE was to attend some function so left early. I was left with A. and Cousin L. A, was in no mood/ ability to leave the toilet seat having developed what I believe to be a severe case of alcohol poisoning. As I was also nursing a slight hangover, and wishing to see more of the city'; me and Cousin L left A in the toilet of LE house and continued our day, punctured by comments of A.

You would think hanging out with a 30+ year old guy who I have only met once before for the whole day would be awkward. But it was good and generally very chill, especially when the whole conversation was in 中文。Normally, when I am stuck with a person I don’t know I either don’t talk (which makes it extremely awkward) or talk non-stop. This was neither, so thank god.

We spent a few hours biking the 潭雅神鐵馬道 or Tan Ya Shen bikeway. As it was a beautiful day and a weekday, it was packed packed packed. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful ride to cure a hangover with fresh air and such.

I had hoped A. would join us at night as she had not had the opportunity to leave the house or see any of Taichung for that matter. But she was still in no physical condition to leave  the toilet. So off we went to a hot spring. Just me, 3 30+ year olds and a 1 year old infant!

It was nice and relaxing but midway through I got a call from a rather desperate sounding A. asking when we would get home.

Finally arriving back to Taichung and freezing my ass off (my clothes were covered in puke and therefore very 髒！)

I was surprised to find all the 50 years old (LE aunts) being merry and drinking. Apparently my LE had told his aunties I could drink and was quickly poured some mixed drink and told to 港杯！ In an hour, I had 5 drinks >.<

But it was late, and we had to head back as other people had work. I slept most of the way as I was tired/drunk and went home at 2am. LE having drove me to my front door.

All in all, a very memorable trip, especially for A. who didn’t step out of the house the whole Sunday and lived in the bathroom the whole day. I was hoping to let this be a ice-breaker to my LE so that when I leave, she could be my replacement. But this probably failed as i) he got her very very drunk ii) perhaps she is too embarrassed to ever see him again 

but a nice visit nonetheless. Although the Aunties were insistent I come back so she could introduce her son to me (o dear). The wife probably dislikes me as a random drunk who gets her husband wasted. And I , having barely spent more than 200NT , must pay back 賠償 my LE for the Hot Spring and more importantly, his glasses.

Until next time.