Community Compass Page 4

TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2008 • TAIPEI TIMES COMMUNITY COMPASS P A G E 4 co m m co mu es. nity@taipeitim Surf ’s up as waves gain in popularity HAZY, CRAZY DAYS: Gone are the days when a handful of people on the beach would be a ‘busy day.’ But as surfing gains in popularity, some are concerned about safety �merican storyteller Michael Lockett gestures while relating a story at a press conference last Wednesday promoting BY JENNY W. Hsu two storytelling evenings at Howard In- STAFF REPORTER ternational House in Taipei this Friday Clad in a black bikini with shin- and Saturday night PHOTO: CNA ing water beads trickling down her light caramel skin, the American girl with the sun-kissed hair stuck out like a sore thumb on the beach. Storytelling master But as soon as she picked up her board and paddled out to sea, Jennie Miller of Texas looked like to share his talent she was in her element, as did the hundred other surfers at Jialeshui at English festival (佳樂水), Kenting. “It was love at first surf,” said BY JENNY W. Hsu Miller, describing her first encoun- STAFF REPORTER ter with the increasingly popular Parents and teachers can bring sport in Taiwan. children to see a master story- “I have wanted to learn to surf teller in action this weekend. for a long time and when I saw the Award-winning storyteller Mi- opportunity, I grabbed it,” said the chael Lockett of Normal, Illinois, Tamkang University MBA student is in Taiwan for “Grandpa Mike’s at last month’s Third Annual Kent- Summer Story Festival” at the in- ing Cup International Open Surf vitation of publishing companies Contest. and is also conducting workshops Miller, who had never surfed be- for English teachers on using the fore she came to Taiwan two years art of storytelling in classes. ago, was among the handful of for- With his white, straw hat and eigners who in recent years have hearty smile, Michael Lockett, says discovered the thrills and spills the secret to unleashing the “inner Taiwan’s waves have to offer. child” in most people is getting Taiwan may be considered a them involved in the storytelling tropical island, but contrary to the Canadian Terry Meysen, who lives in Hengchun, Pingtung County, surfs in an undisclosed location — the old-time surfers want to keep it to themselves — ��in southern Taiwan in ��ugust of last year PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE HEARD process. Indeed, not many peo- typical image of Pacific islanders, ple can lead a room full of adults Taiwanese are not known as water touted the waves here as “world expensive,” he said. “etiquette” among surfers. around the globe. I have seen some — including two US officials — in sports enthusiasts. class,” albeit quite inconsistent. Neil Narbonne, another fan of “It is rare to find a lifeguard You must be small skirmishes that were calmed making monkey sounds in a mat- In fact, many adults born in the “Seventeen years ago, there Taiwan’s waves and who grew up on beaches, and even if you see once the non-local apologized. Af- ter of minutes as Lockett did last 1950s can hardly swim without the were maybe two or three Ameri- both in Taiwan and the US, attrib- one, they are often not properly physically,“ mentally and ter all, this is still Taiwan and the Wednesday on the top floor of the aid of a floating device. can surfers. Six people sharing the uted the growing popularity to the equipped,” Parrish said, recounting ‘face’ issue still exists,” he said. Taipei World Trade Center Inter- Seeking to explain the paradox, beach was considered a crowded fashion industry. how he and MacDonald rescued emotionally balanced so All the talk about the possible national Trade Building. Soochow University political sci- day,” he said. “Clothing manufacturers made two or three unskilled surfers in perils of surfing Taiwan seem to “Storytellers can take [their ence professor Luo Chih-cheng (羅 “Now there are too many peo- a big push into Taiwan, some are recent months. you can be focused and be lost on younger surfers like audience] to another time and 致政) said older generations had ple,” he said. pure surfing brands [OP, RipCurl, A surfer should be able to swim Narbonne, however, who says another place,” Lockett says. been raised to dread the ocean Hawaiian Duggar Par- O’Neill, Stussy, Billabong] at least ��1km without touching the centered. that surfing in Taiwan is “perfectly The lifelong educator has because the Chinese Nationalist rish, 49, said he relished while others are just out- ocean floor before he can hit the safe.” been telling stories all his life and Party (KMT) regime had deployed the good old days when door manufacturers that waves, he said. — Michael Cosby,” a surfer Typhoons make the sand shift believes strongly in the power of barbed wire and gigantic cement he started surfing in Tai- also include a surf line “But most importantly, you from Seattle frequently, he said, but even then, storytelling to teach children and blocks along the shores to turn the wan 11 years ago. [Reef, etc] tied together must learn to first understand and it remains very smooth and the stimulate their imagination. beaches into military bases during “There was hardly with the media promoting respect the ocean,” Parrish said water covers the rocks. Storytelling can help children the Martial Law era. anyone here,” he said. surfing as a cool sport, as Surfing is also about maintain- surfing “code of ethics.” “Over the past few years the learn to read faster, broaden People were not taught to swim, “Back then, there were well as a general liberal- ing an inner balance of peace and Surfing etiquette, among other Coast Guard has been actively is- their vocabulary and maintain he said, while recreational beaches only a few local boys. The surf- izing of the youth as can be seen at learning how to coexist with Mother things, is knowing when to leave suing warnings and tickets to those a higher retention rate of what were only open to a select few. ing scene in Taiwan has definitely local night spots,” he said. Nature, said Michael Cosby, a sexa- a wave alone, especially if another who defy warnings to surf during they’ve learned, Lockett says. By no means a major destina- changed.” Moreover, girls today are more genarian surfer from Seattle. surfer is already riding it, he said. typhoons after the government has Lockett will perform again tion on the world’s surfing radar Looking “cool,” Parrish said, is willing to wear bikinis and both “The surfers must be in har- The lack of surfing etiquette can issued official typhoon warnings,” on Friday and Saturday from screen, Taiwan has nevertheless the main reason behind the sudden boys and girls are more willing to mony with the waves, the wind, the sometimes be the source of friction he said. 7:30pm to 9pm at the Howard been gaining in popularity among boom. try action sports, he said. board and most of all with yourself between locals and foreign surfers, Her eyes firmly glued on the International House on Xinsheng locals and expatriates. “It’s the surfing lifestyle that is For some seasoned surfers, [sic]. You must be physically, men- Narboone said. ocean, Miller said she does not S Road, Section 3. Comparing the waves in Taiwan attracting the young people. The however, Taiwan is still off their tally and emotionally balanced so “The locals feel there’s a need worry about safety because the For more information, visit with those in Hong Kong, Indone- surfing equipment industry in Tai- recommended list because of the you can be focused and centered,” to protect their local turf. This sport is more exciting without the www.cet-taiwan.com/story2008. sia, Australia and the UK, Neil Mac- wan is also pumping up the excite- dangers of surfing — mainly the he said. tends not to be a problem if you lifeguards. All stories will be told in Eng- Donald, a 52-year-old Englishman ment. And most all, surfing is fun, result of poor supervision, under- For MacDonald, the danger remain courteous and adhere to “Hey, it’s more fun to live on the lish, except for animals sounds, and long-term resident of Kenting, relatively easy to learn and not that qualified swimmers and lack of arises when people violate the surfing etiquette, which is the same edge, right?” she said. of course. PIGEON POST Being the change we want to see in the world MAKING EVERYBODY’S EYES GREEN: Robin Winkler vironment, in addition to produc- Nigerian ‘fraud ring’ busted envisions a greener world that starts with opening our ing research and translations of Five Nigerians — four men and a woman — were important works in a variety of eyes to the problems around us, then making changes related fields. Winkler Partners, detained in Taipei and Tainan counties on Thursday CRIME meanwhile, donates 3 percent of and Friday last week for allegedly swindling money BY Meggie LU tells us and then trying to apply its earnings to environmental and from would-be investors, Hsinchu City police said STAFF REPORTER that information in the context of a social organizations. on Friday. Police tracked down the five suspects, who included It’s a hot, summer morning at the modern law office,” he says. Winkler and WaH are also work- one naturalized Taiwanese, after receiving information from a office of Winkler Partners in Taipei. We take the stairs from the 12th ing on a long list of projects.

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