# 2 - Penny!

1. Describe the most homesick experience of your time in Taiwan.

Homesick is really not the prevailing emotion I have in Taiwan. I spent over 2 years traveling in Europe by myself, so I hit some pretty low moments there. It was there that I imagined a hug from my brother and the sound of his voice and cried myself to sleep. It was there that I really went through the personal shit and had to do it on my own. There is stuff that I will never tell my immediate family because I know that it would make them too sad and I have since dealt with it myself....
Here I have my Leah for family, and James for love, and Dave for laughs and to make our bubble complete...I have wonderful friendships and a home with a puppy. The thing that Taiwan has that I never really felt in Europe is culture shock. A year later I still feel it.
I guess if I look at the question on a broader level and look at it as homesick for all things familiar and normal and not backwards upside down and inside out to how I am used to them then....
I think it would have to be the driving. I can not emphasize enough how fucked up it is here. They are not just bad drivers, there is a complete lack of any common sense WHATSOEVER!!! Left hand turns into on coming traffic as the light switches green, from the far right hand side, cutting in front of all the other vehicles going straight. Stopping and reversing in the middle of the road, I just can not get over it. Someone pointed out that they really believe in good fortune. So they will turn right onto a busy street without looking because the gods are looking out for them!!! I am a little nervous about coming back to drive in Canada!!

2. If you could be a band, what would you call yourself, what music would you play, what position would you hold in the band, what would the names of your top five chart toppers be and what would everyone know as your trademark?

It would definitely be a 'the' name....looking around, I like "The Socks!" Although that sounds a bit like a baseball team....It would definitely be a punk band and I would definitely be the bass player. The hard popping rhythms but with a lot more glory and spotlight than the drummer.
I am in a bit of a creative rut right now...I can't think of chart toppers let alone trademarks....I am going to have to let this one go. I have answered all the other questions and am at a total wall with this one....I will have a brain wave in the middle of the night and give you a much better answer, I promise!!!!

3. If you could cure the world of cancer or aids, which would you chose. Explain or Justify..

Well on purely selfish reasons I would cure Cancer. My mom has Cancer, as have several other people close to me. I am also a lot more likely (like almost certainly) to be diagnosed with Cancer than I am of AIDS.
On a broader level it would still be Cancer. With education and on a personal level, behavior modification, AIDS can mostly be prevented. I know that this doesn't help the people who already have it, but I am trying to look past this generation and long into the future. Cancer is going to touch all of us at some point and I don't think that I can see past how it has already touched me...

4. Explain why it's wrong to eat dogs, but not cows.

It's not...in a culture where dog's are companions it seems abhorrent to eat them, but as we all know, in India cows are sacred, and it is unthinkable for them to eat a cow. I don't really eat either animal, but if I were in a country where it was the practice to eat dog, I would not turn my nose up. I certainly wouldn't order the lab chops or anything but I would give it a try. It is a daily struggle here to get past my cultural biases, and the dog thing is just another one!! I grew up on a dairy farm, and have had a few cows as chatting companions at 5am milking time. Cows are an under rated species, and are actually a very amusing animal!!! Maybe people should start having pet cows....


5. If you could be anyone for a day, who would you be and what is the first thing you would do?

My first thought was that I have always wanted to be a boy for a day. I am dying to have a wank, write my name in the snow, get in a bar fight, pick up a hot chick and shag her senseless.
My second thought was something political like George Dub and repent for all my evils, make some major changes then commit suicide. But then I thought, why not combine the two....
I would have to time it really well so he slipped back to his body, and me out, just in time. I could just see the headlines...."President of the Free World (whatever that means anyway) Dies in Erotic Asphyxiation Mishap!"

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