Into the Hole!

Yet another complicated and long, boring and photo-less post. They say picture is worth a thousand words…. I guess that’s very true, because it will be quite a few thousands of words to tell this story.

Since I was 18, I am constantly being plagued by one thing, which is the duty to serve national service in Taiwan. Instead of getting it done and over with, I dragged it on and on until my passport won’t be renewed unless I resolve this matter. So I came back for it. During this 12 years, I could not make any long term decision for myself, including career decisions. It’s a constant psychological pain and regret. Therefore, the decision of coming back to complete it was one significant decision in my life. I can’t wait to get it done and over with.

Among the different choices( actually I only have two choices), I chose to apply to the “alternative service” instead of the standard military service. The difference being that the alternative service will serve the public in public sectors, like government ministries or schools. In my case, I will be teaching school kids English in remote schools that need lot’s of help. I am more than ready!

However before I begin serving in the specific school, I have to complete a 3-week basic training. It’s “basic military training”. This is the longest three weeks in my live. In the camp, the program is designed that you will not have a single second to think about anything other than what to do next. It’s so packed and chaotic that we had to pay attention to every command given. The first day was busy because we have lot’s of things to get accustomed to and forms to fill in. The first dinner was hard to swallow, and the first night sleep was sleepless, partly because of all the emotions that was running through my brain, partly because my bunk mate has the most thunderous snore ever.

The first week was strict. The officers wanted us to get used to the commands quickly so we don’t make mistakes down the road. Being thrown into a big bundle of people, the mix is interesting to say the least. We have people from different backgrounds and walks of life, however, once our heads were shaved and put on the uniforms, we were all the same. We face the same challenges, hate the same officers and anticipate the same end-of-week vacation. It was easy to bond with each other. We don’t need to have common interest, similar background or value. All we needed to know was we were on the same boat.

On the third day, I finally pooped. I guess others may find this funny, but being a rookie in the camp, people get stressed and constipation kicks in hard. On top of that, we are all dehydrated which doesn’t help the poop find its way out of the large intestine. Pee was dark and scarce. On one afternoon during a lecture, I had really bad stomach cramp which I later realized was also due to dehydration. Since then, I made sure I take water constantly, even thought out the night.

The night time was more than just time to rest, but time to finish things that we didn’t have time for in the day. Pooping being one of them. It’s such a luxury to poop without time limit and someone yelling at you to hurry up. Come on, we are all just humans.

The first week was also the opening ceremony for the training, which is quite lame. We had to rehearse for two hours just for a 20min ceremony. Stand up, sit down, salute, bow, put your right hand up to swear the oath etc… They say the army experience prepares one for the real world. I don’t really think so.

Military songs are another thing that I don’t understand. First of all, they are the hardest songs to learn. The tunes don’t flow well and the lyrics are hard to remember. Not only that, we are still singing anti-communist songs that referred to the 50s. Preparing youth for the real world? Get real!

The platoon leader said something that I can’t help but react to. During the night time assembly, the commander told us to have more confidence in ourselves. Don’t doubt our own decisions simple because the others aren’t doing the same thing. He was referring to how we react to commands because we tend to observe what each other is doing and follow suit, instead of trusting our own instinct on what we think was right. However, in this sealed and enclosed system where the rules are laid out black and white, that there is clear right and wrong, being different is nothing but risky (which is highly similar to corporate culture), so I really cannot agree to the commander’s point of view.

The rest of the camp basically comprises of lectures on various public service topics to help prepare us for the later days, basic movement training such as attention, at ease, salute etc, some lame aerobics and 3000m run in the morning. The night time activity was usually learning more military songs. So you can see how this is such a dreadful experience. We were basically a bunch of clueless sheep being herded around.

One disappointment I have with the program is the lack of physical training. Since most people who enter this alternative service is for reasons to do with physical disabilities, such as BMI, eye sight issues, breathing issues, joint issues etc, I still think more physical training should be included. We were basically treated like a block of tofu in the palm, afraid that we will break up. For the 3k run, we can choose to opt out of it, or walk the whole distance. There are ambulances on standby along the route. It wasn’t a fast run because the pace was controlled at 20min to complete the run. To me it was more like a warm up, but to most people, it was like climbing the Mount Everest.

Food was alright. Anything becomes edible when you are hungry. We were given stainless steel meal plates and chopsticks. We are not allowed to make any sound and should sit with upright posture. So eating was stressful too. Just as I forgot about the outside world, they turned up the TV in the dining hall…. Oh what a torture! It’s like being reminded that we are trapped here, a slap in the face!

Transportation was a really interesting part of this whole experience. On the first day, we were transported to the base by train. Waiting on the train station platform, it felt like a hit in my face when the charted train arrived and all we could see were fellow guys in the train with the most emotionless faces I’ve seen. It was like the train of death with its passengers being sent to a hopeless destination. My heart dropped.

Then came the first weekend when we get to go home for a short one day. Finally putting on our own clothes again, I waited at the high speed rail station. The high tech train arrived and it was a “wow” moment for me. It seemed that I’ve been away from the world forever and the first thing that greeted me was a high tech marvel. As the train departed the station heading north, it was such as peaceful journey with the rural but scenic sight passing at 290km/h. Rice paddies, winding rivers and mountains. I then realized that I don’t have my camera with me, that I am still not a free man.

So three weeks have passed. What a long three-week of my life. What follows is a two-week training camp specific to my upcoming duty. It won’t be as stressful or chaotic, but I still can’t wait to be dispatched to the real world already. Freedom seems to be so far away, but glad that I can still type this entry via the mighty internet.

The biggest reward out of this three weeks is that I made a ton of friends. My Facebook friend list exploded and I cannot imagine any other occasion when I can make this many buddies at the same time. What long three weeks, but what long lasting three weeks!