Half Term Holiday Day 4 - Ice Skating

Today was nothing particularly exciting to write about. I mean, don’t get me wrong…each day can have its own challenges; however, today I simply took the kids ice skating. Brianna went once for a friend’s birthday party in California before we left and is now hooked. So, when we found out that Taipei has an ice rink, I knew this would be a fun activity (and also cheap…cost about $20 for us all including equipment for the entire day, of which we lasted about 3 hours!).

One of Brianna’s new friends, Heather, agreed to come with us. Apparently, Heather does NOT like getting her picture taken, as this was the only photo she’d allow! It was also lucky for us, as Heather is fluent in Mandarin and was able to help out once or twice in asking for information here and there (and who’s the adult here???). Brianna and Heather had a GREAT time skating round and round and trying to twirl around like some of the kids at the rink (I tell you, there were QUITE a few good skaters there!).

Elaine was content to stay with me and try her hand at skating. She did quite well and within a few tries was brave enough to go on her own. By the end of the day, she was able to skate the entire loop on her own (close to the wall for comfort of course!). Just by chance, a few friends of hers were there too, receiving their 3rd of 4 lessons. They joined us after their lesson and took turns seeing who could skate the fastest…quite fun!

This evening is Terry’s mom’s last night in Taipei. She goes home to California tomorrow. I’ve got mixed feelings over her leaving. I mean, it’s always challenging having my spirited mom-in-law staying so close for so long; however, I honestly do get along with her, most of the time. I will miss her quite a bit. Let’s face it…I will also miss having my laundry magically folded and all of my dirty dishes magically disappear! Mostly, though, I’ll miss watching her and the girls. It’s been so heart-warming to watch them all interact. There’s such an innocence to the way they show their affection…all of them. I will miss watching that. I can tell that she’s torn as well. She does enjoy Taipei and its conveniences and its exciting, happening culture. However, she doesn’t seem to want to rent an apartment (I think she feels it would be a waste of money as it’s not an investment towards anything), and purchasing an apartment seems too scary given that she’s not certain how ‘long term’ our stay will be. Ultimately, I’m trying to stay neutral and let her make her own conclusions. This way I save myself from having ANY blame in her decision!
So, it’s with mixed feelings that I sign off tonight. I suppose that now that we’ve just about hit the one-month mark, our honeymoon phase should begin to wear off and this culture shock I’m supposed to be experience should be setting in any day. I promise to keep you all posted!

Half Term Holiday Day 3 - Babyboss City

I am still getting used to how most Taiwanese spend their free time, which is primarily shopping and eating. It seems almost like a mini-Vegas the way the malls are constructed. Each shopping mall has its own unique flavor with one trying to outdo the other. They each have similar attractions, e.g. an upscale grocery store in the basement, a food court, a movie theater, and a play area for small children. But each one seems larger than life in its own way; whether it's the the world's 2nd largest tower, the world's 2nd largest ferris wheel, or a giant globe in the middle...each one seems unique and alluring.

I’ve often wondered what families do around here besides shopping...especially when it's raining. Isn't there SOMETHING else to do besides shop when it's raining? Even if it’s not raining, I'm noticing that the majority of people I speak with tend to stay away from the outdoors...even with the AMAZINGLY beautiful Yangminshan mountain range behind us! Which brings me back to my original pondering…what do most families do for entertainment BESIDES shopping? Today I got one answer….and of course it was INSIDE a shopping mall.

The shopping mall we went to today was called the ‘Living Mall’. I believe that this shopping mall is geared mostly to kids, as it had a jumpy house and several jumpy-water attractions in the front of the mall. Inside the mall there were floors such as ‘Cinderella Floor’. There was also a HUGE globe in the middle…not certain what it is for, but it looked really cool. On the 7th floor was our destination….BABYBOSS (http://www.babyboss.tw/english/).

I hadn’t heard of this place before Sunday when some friends mentioned it to us. Babyboss City is an entire floor with about 40 stations dedicated to various professions which children can ‘try on’ for about 30 minutes. Each child is outfitted with a costume of sorts, and then led through a series of tasks which each profession requires. Some of the professions represented were: dentist, hospital emergency room, surgery room, hospital nursery, space mission, airplane, hotel, bank, court, broadcasting, news reporting, runway fashion model, fashion designer, pastry baker, beauty parlor, dairy farmer, car rental, fireman, policeman, courier, etc. You can see the appeal?

We were invited to go today with another family, who happens to work with Terry…they have a 4-year old boy and a 7-year old girl. While we all started together as dairy farmers, it became QUITE clear that we all wanted to do different things. So, I took the girls to do ‘girly things’, and Richard took Justin to do ‘boy things’.

I have to remind people reading this that we took the kids on a WEDNESDAY at the end of October…a random week where our kids have no school, but the rest of Taipei DOES. We thought we’d have this place to ourselves! Unbeknownst to us, there are pre-schools out there who take their classes frequently during the day. So, there were about 2-3 schools there along with us. Each station has a fixed number of children which are allowed to participate. Each station also has set times when the 20-30 minute activity will begin. We found out the hard way that just because there is no line 30 minutes before the activity…a 20-25 minute wait was quite normal. In fact, a few were about 30 minutes +!

We felt fortunate that we were able to do most things, although I did have one incident when I had to speak up and force my kids in. When I counted the number of children in line, there were 7…which was fine as my 3 made it an even 10, which was the max allowed. After turning my head for 2 minutes, I looked up and saw that somehow 3 more children snuck in…and I couldn’t tell which ones were the sneaky ones! To top it all off, my girls were already in the back, so at first it looked as if we may have to wait…but after speaking my mind…mostly in Chinglish (my broken Chinese mixed mostly with English), someone bowed out and we were allowed in. While I did feel slightly guilty, I did feel justified in speaking up. Boy, that’s one thing I detest…it’s people taking advantage!!

Thankfully enough, the rest of the day went nicely. In fact, at the end of the day, we had wanted to play ‘airplane’; however, there were too many children. While we were before a few children, given that we had already ‘won’ earlier in the day, we felt happy to give up our spot to someone else…it just seemed right (boy, does THAT sound pious or what!!!).

I do have to say; however….this was a ONCE ONLY kind of place. While it sounds like a lot of fun, it was mostly hurry up and wait for the adults. While the kids were inside their activity, we adults were relegated to simply watching or, as in my case, sleeping and playing on my iphone. It was SUCH a boring day for me, and to top it all off, my girlfriend had to rub it in that the weather was BEAUTIFUL outside (did I mention that we went to Babyboss rather than the hike that I had planned?).

In the end, it was the ‘right’ thing to do as the girls I’m SURE are getting sick of simply spending time with just me, and this was a chance to play with other friends, which is always welcome. The kids truly had a wonderful time, and we had a lovely dinner with our friends afterwards (Terry and Richard’s wife Grace were able to join us as well). I am now REALLY looking forward to our hike, which we’ve rescheduled to Sunday.

BTW...have to share my fun moment of the day. We were waiting in line (which you do a LOT of at Babyboss, btw) and Elaine wanted something. In Chinese I told her 'Dei-sha', which means 'wait'. Elaine looked at me plainly and said 'But MOM, I AM Dei-sha-ing!!' I laughed so hard I thought I'd pee my pants. I absolutely loved her 'Chinglish'. I am also glad that she is SLOWLY getting more comfortable with the language. While Brianna has a harder time with the outside things (such as missing her friends and the fall season), Elaine has a MUCH more difficult time attempting to speak Mandarin. Brianna is FEARLESS in her attempts at the language, but Elaine is more withdrawn about it. All things must come in time, so we're simply being supportive and patient (and practicing in the comfort of our home).

Half Term Holiday Day 2 - Beitou Hot Springs

I FINALLY got my wish. After being in Taipei for a month, I’m a bit burned out on big city-life. I’m a bit shopped-out and I’m ready for something other than concrete. Today, we went with Terry’s mom (Nai-Nai) to Beitou, an area on the outskirts of Taipei City best known for its hot springs. It is higher than most of Taipei City and borders Yangminshan mountains, which was EXACTLY what I’ve been yearning for (it sucks to see the beautiful mountains on a daily basis and not yet experience them, sigh).

Beitou was developed by the Japanese in the early 20th century (the Japanese certainly LOVE their hot springs, from what I hear!) and came to a heyday prior to WW2. It fell into somewhat of a disarray in the 1950’s-1970’s when it was best known for its prostitution! The turn-around began around 1996, when the Taiwanese government declared the Beitou Bath House a historical monument and began to restore it. It is now beautifully preserved as a museum. The area is now covered with various hotels, restaurants, and art houses mostly serving the hot springs. The entire area smells of sulfur as water flows openly in streams and creeks throughout the city. These sulfurous streams produce beautiful arrays of colorful stones, which we thoroughly enjoyed as we meandered through the streets (remember, we had my mom-in-law, the slow walker with us!). She enjoyed telling us stories of how she and her friends would come to the streams in their younger years and hard-boil their eggs in the hot water. I still find it odd that they could cook in the water and eat the eggs w/o getting sick?? I remind myself…different country, different times!

There are quite a few public areas to soak in the hot springs; which are segregated into 2 types…clothing required and clothing…optional. While I was tempted to bring the girls to a public soaking area, not knowing where the clothing required pools were, AND not knowing if the girls could stand the heat…we opted for a private room in a hotel. It seemed a rather odd experience to me going into different hotels and inquiring about their rooms for rent…by the hour! However, it is quite the norm there as many people prefer a more private experience. Come to think of it…with multiple families living together in places which are quite small compared to the USA, I’ll bet these places are QUITE busy year-round for those who need a bit of ‘privacy’!!!

We were not disappointed. While we had a hotel in mind, as we began to walk up a hill towards our destination, it became glaringly evident that a closer venue would be a better choice…given the mood Nai-Nai was in! We found a beautiful Japanese-styled hotel across from the museum which had decent rates (less than $30 USD for one hour). The four of us checked in and were immediately impressed by the elaborate décor of the hotel. It was very ornately decorated with wooden furniture, floral arrangements…just breathtaking. Then, we were treated to a room which overlooked the museum and its greenery. The grounds around the museum have been painstakingly preserved so that it felt as if we were high in the mountains.

The girls immediately loved the tatami-style mat in the middle of the room with the tea set; however, as we had one hour, we ran a bath (not too hot, as they’re both wimps with the heat!). Nai-Nai decided against joining us in the fun, but was nice enough to take a few pics for us. The girls loved playing around in the stinky water and taking turns showering off outside the tub. I think they may have had more fun playing with the shower-part than the actual tub! I managed to kick the girls out of the tub long enough to turn up the heat to really get the effect of the hot springs. They decided to play tea-set and hotel while I soaked. After we checked out we were treated a walk on the 3rd floor. This is where the hotel’s spa is, complete with its own stair cases, private garden and public hot springs (nude of course, but separate for men and women). We were amazed that the view of the hotel’s private gardens was equally as stunning as ours from the 5th floor!

Feeling very refreshed, we headed home (perhaps slightly stinky as I don’t think I managed to quite rinse off all the sulfur water!). As the girls’ behavior was SOOOOO good today (esp compared to yesterday), I treated them to dinner at ‘Tea Time’. This restaurant, which is right at the train station closest to our apartment, you sit on swings rather than benches. The pictures posted outside also show some delicious treats for drinks (tea with whipped cream and cookies on top). The girls have been itching to eat there for quite some time. Bri had spaghetti and Elaine and I had stir-fried beef. Their dessert was milk-tea with whipped cream and cookies. For just about $20, we were surprised that the food was quite good. I was quite thankful that I have another incentive to offer to the girls besides the Hello Kitty restaurant!

Can you believe that all of the above was ours today for less than $60? It amazes me that there are still places in Taiwan (apparently, most of them outside of Taipei city) that are very reasonable. I tell you, this is something we’ll definitely do again….although hopefully with Terry next time!

Half Term Holiday Day 1 - Chinese Opera

Today was the first day of ‘Half Term Holiday’. Apparently the British school system takes a one week vacation in the middle of each semester. So the girls have no school all week, which is fine, but challenging, as Terry has to work all week and we can’t leave the country (we have to stay here for 4 months in order to acquire our health insurance card from the Taiwan government). So, we’re exploring Taipei!

Thankfully, there are lots of moms from the girls’ school who had plenty of ideas, so we're pretty well stocked on things to do! On today’s agenda was a trip to the National Taiwan College of the Performing Arts (http://www.tcpa.edu.tw/). Every Monday and Thursday morning, the students of this college put on a short show for mostly school-aged children. For less than $30, we were treated to a 30 minute Acrobat show, a short 20-minute video on the art of Beijing Opera (which explained many of the details behind this seemingly strange art form); a trip to the upstairs museum (which contained heirloom costumes and headpieces); and a 30-minute opera.

Our first challenge of the day was to find our way there. The website said to take the MRT (the subway); transfer to a bus and look for a Girls’ high school for our exit. We gave ourselves an hour, took the phone # and address and set off on our adventure! The MRT was the easy part…we’re pros now! The bus…not so easy. We found the right #, but the bus drivers didn’t know what we were talking about when we gave them the name of the high school. Not wanting to tempt fate (we heard that they start the show promptly at 10am), we decided to catch a taxi. All was going well until our cab driver didn’t understand that I needed 177 Neihu Rd Section 2, and not Section 1. As I had NO idea what the Chinese word for ‘Section’ was, he proceeded to drive in a circle. As I was starting to get frustrated, I called in the cavalry and phoned Terry (yes, I FINALLY got a cell phone…an iphone which I’m enjoying thoroughly!). With one simple word, the lightbulb clicked with our taxi driver and we were able to find the college with no problems :). Despite my stress over time, we arrived JUST as the show was starting.

We entered into the theater and found very few people there…great, I thought…a REAL amateur show. I did NOT have high hopes and just prayed that it would at LEAST be worth the $30 or so that I paid. Once the lights went down, the acrobatic show started a bit slow with some basic tumbling and very basic fire throwing. However, as the act wore on, we were treated to some beautiful traditional Chinese acrobatics. My personal favorite was when 12 women glided onto the stage with 3 sticks, about 3 feet long in each hand. On top of each stick was a bowl which they proceeded to twirl…how they did this w/o dropping the bowls was a mystery (I actually thought the bowls may be glued on somehow until 2 performers dropped one set of bowls). The beautiful part was that they made up a pond of lilies while 2 dancers performed a ‘pax de deux’ (sp?)…a ballet duet. Just lovely!

As time went on, I became more and more impressed by this gem of a find. What a perfect way to introduce us all to this particular art form! Apparently the college accepts performers at age 10 and they study for 12 years before they 'graduate'. At that point, much like any other university, it is up to the individual to pursue the art form professionally. While it was obvious that the performance was an amateur show, it was not painfully obvious. I am happy to report that it really did meet my expectations.

After the acrobatic show, we watched a video which helped explain the Chinese opera, which has always seemed ridiculous to me. After the video (which was in English, thankfully), I had a much better appreciation for the art form and found myself actually looking forward to the performance later. The tour of the museum was ok and Elaine began to get bored. I tried to keep her entertained by handing her the phone and asking her to take some pics :).

I was AMAZED that the girls sat through the 30 minute opera as well as they did. Mind you, the ‘opera’ had very little singing. From what I gather, traditional opera involves so much more than singing. It involves dance, acrobatics, acting and singing. The performers are extremely talented and made the opera more interesting with their many fight scenes (and the hero in the story was a female warrior, which was fun too!). At the end, I was thankful for the brief introduction, as it very much achieved the objective of educating the audience and introducing us to the opera without overwhelming us.

We left, or at least, I left, feeling productive and culturally fulfilled as this was an unexpected thing to do on vacation. I would very much recommend it to anyone visiting as it's relatively short and was very informative!

The best highlight after the college was that we managed, after 2 tries, to find the right bus to get us from the college to the Miramar shopping area, which contains the world’s 2nd largest ferris wheel (2nd to London, supposedly). We would have found the right bus faster if I could pronounce Miramar correctly. I discovered that just because the shopping area we were looking for is labeled ‘Miramar’ in English, this apparently is NOT what the Taiwanese people call it. One phone call to Terry again provided the right pronunciation, and we successfully navigated our way there (the pronunciation, btw…is ‘Mei Li Hua’). Unfortunately, after that, some demon came over each of my children throughout the day and we cut our afternoon of movies and fun entertainment short. I will spare everyone the gory details, but let’s just say that I am truly hoping that tomorrow will be better!

Spending Time with Terry's Mom

One of the nicest things about having a Taiwanese husband whose mom re-married a Caucasian man is that she is conveniently Asian or Western, depending on the situation. Most of you who know Asian culture know that when your parents come for a visit, it’s not for just a week. These visits typically span MONTHS at a time. Recognizing that we may need a hand, Nai-Nai (Terry’s mom…Chinese for grandma) graciously agreed to change her schedule and come to Taiwan for the entire month of October. However, having lived in the USA for the past 30 years and knowing that she and I enjoy a fabulous relationship, she also recognized that staying in our small apartment for the whole month may cause a few issues. Hence, she has been staying with friends Monday through Thursday and coming to our home on the weekends. How amazingly perceptive and wise she can be sometimes!

This has worked beautifully. While we don’t have an extra room for her, she is quite comfortable on our couch, and especially appreciates the TV options here in Taiwan (LOL). For me, I get to come home and find that my dishes have magically been washed, and my laundry has magically been folded. She’s also been very helpful at the market…buying all kinds of food I would never have tried on my own!

Watching the girls’ reaction to her stay has been especially endearing. Brianna, in particular, seems to understand the value of having her grandma (Nai-Nai) here. During our walks together, Brianna frequently walks with Nai-Nai, holding her hand. Brianna was the first to volunteer up her pillow to Nai-Nai…even her blanket! One evening, Brianna became a bit frightened as Terry and I went out for a walk. She decided to come into the family room and sleep on the chair next to Nai-Nai. She was very comfortable and was upset in the morning that we had moved her.

We enjoyed a trip to Nai-Nai’s home town of Dansui, which can be seen highlighted in the old movie, Sayanara, with Marlon Brando. Nai-Nai enjoyed showing us her old stomping grounds, sampling all the food options, and enjoying spoiling the girls with little treats here and there. While Elaine enjoys her here, Brianna seems to really take this time with Nai-Nai to heart. It’s been very charming to watch all of this transpire.

Like all mother-in-laws, of course there are down-sides. For example, tonight Brianna came home with a fever. She’s clearly not feeling well; and to top it all off, her teacher was confirmed with the H1N1 virus last Thursday (8 days ago). He came back on Wednesday, free and clear; however, there was one other confirmed case in her class. Of course, we are all concerned. Unfortunately, we handle this concern in different ways, which can be frustrating. I’m thankful that we want the same thing; however, it can be a challenge trying to deal with a sick child and wind my way through the medical system. Nai-Nai’s approach, which is simply…’take her to the emergency room’ doesn’t really work for me. I’ll keep you all posted. Thankfully, the fever is not too high, so we’re hopeful that Brianna’s amazing immune system will conquer her illness quickly.

Shopping with Nai-Nai is quite the challenge as well. Nai-Nai is among Taipei’s ‘slow-walkers’ (I’ll blog about this another day)…and more slow than most. I found out the hard way that I have to set aside the entire morning to go to the market. What I thought would be a 30-minute trip to the market to buy some beef turned into a 3-hour shopping excursion. My refrigerator is now stocked full of bizarre foods I’m not confident we’ll all eat! In all fairness, I did receive a wonderful lunch, her treat, in return.

All in all, given the down-side of having an opinionated, strong-minded, conveniently Asian mother-in-law stay with us….I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Typhoons

I hear people speak often of typhoon season. To be honest, it wasn’t until we moved here that I really knew much about typhoons, and still don’t. For example, what is the difference between a hurricane and a typhoon? Apparently they are the same thing, except that hurricanes refer to the storms on the Western Atlantic and typhoons are the storms around the Philippines and China.

Now, in my naïve state, I have NO idea whether I should be nervous about them or not. My experience with them thus far is that, outside from heavy rains, they’re not THAT bad. I mean, Terry and I came here and landed on the day that typhoon Morokat blazed through Taiwan. While I had no idea what to expect, most seemed to think that we’d be shut in the hotel with the windows boarded! It turns out that the meteorologists miscalculated the path of the typhoon and Taipei didn’t get NEARLY the damage which was anticipated. The south, on the other hand, was not so lucky (we continue to see collection drives to help those still devastated in the southern regions of Taiwan).

With that as my background in typhoons, when the meteorologists predicted a typhoon on Oct 3-5, I had NO idea what to expect. The first most pleasant thing I noticed was a considerable drop in temp. For a change, while it was still humid, the winds moved the air enough to make it almost pleasant! The air didn’t seem so suffocating and the temperatures were much more bearable. There was a bit of rain, but, at first, it was mostly misty. Of course, Murphy’s Law would prove that the heaviest rains would occur on the day that the girls were out of school (teacher’s work day).

It is an interesting thing to see how people here handle the weather. For example, in California, during a major storm (such as the one which happened the week of Oct 11) most people stay indoors or at home. Outdoor activities are cancelled and the smell of wood-burning fires fills the air. In Taiwan life goes on as normal. There are still tons of people crowding the streets, and the scooters continue to ride around on the street like little ants weaving all over the place. The only difference is that it is more ‘colorful’ as people wear ponchos to cover their bodies and whatever they have strapped to their backs (children included!). I do feel bad for the traffic officers who are out directing traffic during rush hour…they don’t get a break due to the weather.

I will confess that I have learned one valuable lesson. During a typhoon, the best weather gear to wear is NOT an umbrella, but a rain coat. Terry and I wanted to take the girls on the bus to the grocery store so that they could help stock up our pantry with snacks. Typhoon or no typhoon, we needed to get out for a bit. So, we took the bus and then walked the short way to the grocery store. Luckily for us, the path was covered for most of the way. However, there was a stretch where Bri and I got soaked as we did NOT have a rain coat. You can see that we attempted to buy her a poncho, but the ‘children’s’ size was not quite right! The nice thing is that we let Brianna keep her oversized poncho, which she then cut down to size and decorated it so that it was a bit more fashionable (note to Bri…next time MEASURE your body before cutting and the poncho may fit!).

First time at the Gym

Shilin Sports Center (http://www.tms.gov.tw/2008/english/slsc.asp)

I hit the gym for the first time this week (the week of 10/12). Terry and I found it Sat night. It’s a 10-story new building with archery, swimming pool, rock climbing, ping pong, basketball and badmitton. You’d think for something this nice that they’d have a bigger gym. There are plenty of treadmills and stationary bikes, but the free-weights are dismal. There is only one set of free weights. There are a number of nautical-type machines for use…and some weird ones.

It seems that a popular item is this funky stool…well, it’s not really a stool. You see it at Brookstone in most U.S. malls. You sit on it, and it wiggles all over the place. It almost seems like a mini-mechanical bull. It’s hysterical to watch people on it. We saw one in a mall on Friday night and Terry proceeded to entertain the kids by ‘riding’ it, much to my embarrassment as the sales people were simply staring in disbelief at his antics…until the kids decided to follow suit. I just thought that these contraptions were for show…apparently people REALLY believe that by wiggling your belly, perhaps some of the excess fat simply wiggles off!

Most of the people at the gym I found to be rather old. I was surprised by the number of people over the age of 65 ‘exercising’…well, stretching mostly. There were not a lot of young people, and definitely not the stereotypical gym-goers I’m used to seeing in the US. The other odd thing is that the people at the gym wear street clothes. As if I don’t stick out enough, I REALLY stood out in my running shorts and tank top. People were REALLY staring at me running through the streets of Shilin (Taipei district) on my way to the sports center, then going into the gym in my gym clothes. I am not certain what the protocol is; but one thing for sure is that my attire makes me stand out more than EVER.

I took an aerobics class today. It was more of a dancing class, and I didn’t really burn that many calories…but I did look hilarious as I REALLY found out that I suck at dancing, and I’m DEFINITELY not the typical petite Asian woman who takes these classes. Thankfully, having taken aerobics in the past, the moves weren’t that difficult, but the combos were a killer! I stood in the back and was spared from most of the embarrassment at being the worst in the class…except at the end when apparently we were supposed to be partnered up to stretch. Oh no! I had NO idea what was going on when a woman approached me and, mercifully enough, in English explained what was going on. Phew! SAVED!

Everyone was nice enough and a few people asked me where I was from, why I was here, etc. I do find the Taiwanese people to be very hospitable and I was thankful to have a few people to help me out when I was completely lost.

Oh yeah…did I mention the cost?? The way this gym works (and all public gyms) is that, as it’s subsidized by the government, I pay 50NT/hour, which is about $3.50. I paid more for the class (300NT, or about $10), but that cost will go down if I buy a package. If I pay for 10 classes, the cost is 2,000NT, or $62. That’s right, $6.20 per class. While I don’t anticipate going to 3 classes per week, I think that 1/week or so would be quite nice. And who can beat the pay-as-you-go mentality? I LIKE IT!

Shilin Night Market

Terry’s been ITCHING to get out ever since we arrived. Taipei’s oldest night market, Shilin, happens to be in our backyard, about ½ mile away. The market has been around since the early 1900's and it’s quite the happening spot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shilin_Night_Market). Things don’t typically pick up around there til about 7:30 or 8pm and the market runs every night til midnight. You’d think that being an open, outdoor market that it would be affected by the weather; however, people here in Taipei are so used to the inclement weather that nothing really keeps them away.

The night market is completely JAM packed with everything you can imagine…from underwear to hats, from shoes to pirated DVD’s. It seems that all a person needs is a clothes rack with wheels and a few pieces of clothing and wha-lah…instant entrepreneur! However, buyers beware…most of the items on the night market are cheap for a reason :).

Given that space is a premium, many people just open up shop in the middle of the walk-way. I suppose that this is technically illegal, as once in a while all the vendors w/their clothes racks will start running. They all move in the same direction, shouting at people to get out of the way as the police are supposedly around the corner, ready to shut them down. Terry tells me that in all his years here, he’s never seen the police actually shut anyone down; however, it does make for good entertainment.

Amidst all of this, interspersed throughout the market are small stands of the most amazing food you’ve ever seen. There’s food EVERYWHERE. Most stands are designed for take-out, as most people tend to stroll and eat…then drink and stroll some more…then eat…you get the idea.
Given that we had been putting the girls to bed between 7pm (for Elaine) and 8pm (Brianna); when the girls seemed to be quite energetic one night, and hadn’t eaten dinner…Terry was quick to suggest we take them to the night market. While I had my reservations as I knew it would be a late night, I knew that he’d been aching to show the girls. Wanting them to connect with Taipei and really enjoy it here, Terry lobbied hard to bring them out for a night. How could I argue with that? So, reluctantly, on a Thursday night around 6:30pm, we headed out to the subway for the short ride to the Shilin night market.

We first began our trip at the food court, which is about ½ mile long. It seemed the longest line was for this fried chicken Terry and I had last time we visited. You can get a piece of chicken about 12 inches long, 6 inches wide and about ¼ inch thick for…….$0.50. That’s right…$0.50. And it’s GOOD chicken, hence the long line J. As the line was about 15 people deep, we decided to pass on the chicken this time. We did find a tebanyaki place (think Beni-Hana) and had some decent rice, fish and chicken. The girls thought the food was ok, and Terry and I worried for a brief moment if the girls would find the beauty in the night market that we saw.

We then headed out to the ‘arcade’ area. If any of you watch Andrew Zimmerman’s Bizarre Foods show on the Travel Network, check out his episode on Taiwan (http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Bizarre_Foods/ci.Taiwan.show?vgnextfmt=show). In it, you’ll see his trip to the Shilin night market. We went to the same stand he did…for 100NT (about $3.30), you get 7 tries to hook a live shrimp. Once hooked, the merchant then skewers the shrimp live, dredges it in Panko bread crumbs, and BBQ’s it for you. The girls thought this was GREAT! They each tried to hook the shrimp and almost got it. It wasn’t til out 7th try that Terry finally caught one. We just watched as he ate it.

We did take the girls into the rest of the night market so that they could experience the crowds, the chaos, the fun. Along the way, we sampled some strawberries which were glazed in candied sugar, a sausage wrapped in another type of sausage (some kind of rice-sausage), and a grass-jelly drink Terry happens to love. We felt it a bit too much for that night to introduce stinky tofu to the girls. We’ll save that for the next time!!!!

Brianna thought it was a great time, and she is still dreaming of bringing her wallet and doing some shopping of her own there. Elaine went along for the ride, but became tired real quick, so we grabbed a bit of shaved ice to cool off (it’s still hot here) and grabbed a cab to go home.
We felt good at giving the girls a glimpse of the night market; however, I did pay for it as they didn’t get to bed til 9pm and were really tired the next day. Thankfully enough, the girls have a whole week off school during the last week of October. I fully plan on spending at least one night taking in the sights and smells (some nice, some not so nice!) of the night market!

Misunderstandings

One of the many disadvantages of living in a country where I don’t speak the language is that inevitably there are going to be misunderstandings. This doesn’t necessarily mean that all of them are bad or detrimental…on the contrary, some of them can be quite hilarious. Thankfully for me, I have enough people around me who do speak the language, so I find that misunderstandings are few and far between…thus far.

I’ve been in the country now for about 12 days. In the morning, it is quite common for people to greet each other with ‘Tsao’, which is short for ‘Tsao An’, or ‘good morning’. The girls and I, in trying to blend as much as possible, greet people in this same manner. In some department stores, restaurants, and other places of business, they say ‘Good Morning’ in English. However, I found that the way that they say ‘Good Morning’ was very nasily and sounded as if one would mimic a child, ‘Good moah-neeeeeeeng’. Additionally, I found that this nasily greeting tended to follow the girls and throughout the day. We’d go into a store around 4pm after school and be greeted in this same way, ‘good moah-neeeeeng’. I found it very funny that the Taiwanese people, in trying to greet the girls and I in English would choose a phrase that is not necessarily appropriate for the time of day. Each time we would walk in and hear this greeting, the girls and I would secretly giggle to ourselves. I have been tempted a few times to correct people, but I have felt it would be rude unless someone asked.

Last night, Terry and I took the girls to a nice Italian restaurant which happens to be 3 doors away from our apartment, Café Grazie (which was pretty good and inexpensive…more on that later). We were greeted in the same way, and the girls and I began to giggle. When Terry asked us what was so funny, I told him our ‘inside joke’. Then Terry started to laugh hysterically at us. When I say laugh at us, I mean specifically laugh AT us and not WITH us. At my confusion, amidst tears of laughter, Terry informed me that it was the girls and I who misunderstood, and not our Taiwanese greeters.

It turns out that the nasily greeting I heard as ‘Good moah-neeeeeeng’ was in fact ‘Hao Gualien’, which means ‘Welcome’!!!!!!! I couldn’t believe it! Again, this reminds me of how naïve and egocentric I can be. Imagine that, 2 weeks here and I didn’t realize that I was being welcomed! Well, at least this misunderstanding was benign. Others have not been as benign.

While this week has been very mild in terms of temperature, last week was rather hot and humid, with the weather being in the mid-high 80’s with VERY high humidity. The girls get out of school at the hottest point of the day, around 3pm. It gets tiring and hot for them to walk to the MRT (subway) station and then the 3 blocks home. I’ve discovered that there is a bus stop rather close to our home, and I thought it would be quite an adventure to take the girls on the bus, even though it’s only 3 blocks. I thought it would save their little legs a bit to take a break.

Last Friday, October 2, when we got off the MRT, the strategy was to find the first bus available, as they all go down the same road towards our apartment. We found a rather large looking bus, which at first glance looked like a tour bus; however, it had a number like all the other buses, and we saw people from all walks of life boarding, so we thought it would be fine. As we approached the bus and prepared to board, the bus driver looked at me and said something rather stern in Mandarin. Then, he shook his hands at me in such a way that I was to believe he would not let me on the bus. When I tried to push it, he became more stern with me. I can’t begin to describe the humiliation and embarrassment I felt at being treated this way, in front of my children nonetheless! It left me speechless and I wasn’t sure what to tell the girls. As I wondered out loud why he would not let us on the bus, it was Brianna who read my mind and asked out loud ‘is it because you are white’? What was I to say? I have to admit that was the first thing that crossed my mind, yet it was counter to the treatment the girls and I have had since our arrival. We’ve had nothing short of open arms since our arrival, and everyone we’ve greeted have been quite sincere and eager to help. I wasn’t certain what to say.

We eventually did find a bus to take us home, which worked out fine. Our apartment is just 2 stops away, which will save our legs a bit, but given the traffic and street lights, I don’t think we’ll be saving much time. The rest of the day; however, I felt stung and had a difficult time letting it go. I kept thinking to myself, if I’m annoyed and still stung at not being let on the bus, I wonder how minorities must have felt in the USA as few as 50 years ago in being treated the same way? I wonder if it still occurs today? I have to imagine that there remain parts of the world which remain still divided? Do they feel the same way I do? Do they feel the humiliation and embarassment I felt, or do they feel frustration? Like most in the USA, I studied the civil rights movement in school and I can recite all the important events and figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, etc.; however, until that moment, these had simply been facts and historical figures I had recited. I have never felt a more powerful connection to something so important. It was like getting slapped in the face, feeling stung as I did and not knowing how to respond. What a brand new perspective I had...and not in a good way.

While I carried the sting of rejection with me all day, as with most things, it faded over the coming days. Yesterday, October 6, I met a friend who graciously agreed to help me find a Mandarin program which would suit my needs. While eating the BEST American breakfast I had had yet, I recounted the events of last week to my friend. She was just as shocked as I was, as she could not imagine someone from her home country treating us this way. She asked me some very specific questions so that she could better understand the events which led up to our rejection. When I explained what the bus looked like, a wave of relief washed over her face. She asked me to confirm that the bus we tried to board looked like a tour bus. I explained that it was a 2-decker bus, like those I had seen weaving through the streets of Taipei all week.

She explained to me that what had looked like a major rejection was actually an act of kindness (although the driver could have been MUCH less stern about it!). It turns out that the buses which are 2-deckers and look like touring buses are COMMUTER buses. Apparently, much like the Bay Area, there are many people who commute into Taipei from the surrounding rural parts. These touring buses are like the buses in CA which take commuters from Modesto into the Silicon Valley. The driver wouldn’t let us on as he could very well tell that the girls and I did NOT belong in the rural parts surrounding Taipei. Can you imagine what would have happened if we did get on the bus and couldn’t exit? I can just see the panic and anxiety in all of our faces as the bus would have travelled outside our protected little bubble of metropolis!

I felt relief that my intuitive feeling of the Taiwanese people remains in tact. That moment made me realize that learning and conquering the language is as high a priority as ever. Thankfully, there are a few programs here which provide exactly the intensive Mandarin study I am looking for. I am still surprised at how many westerners reside in Taiwan who do not learn the language. Then again, I don’t wish to be harsh or judgmental. There are certainly enough people who speak a bit of English that it is quite possible to live here, get around, and do the necessary domestic duties without learning the language. However, that defeats the goals which my family set out for ourselves in agreeing to move here.

I am quite relieved that I have help to navigate my way around, not just geographically, but through life in general. It helps to keep any loneliness and thoughts of missing CA at bay.

Thank you to Judy and Terry for helping to keep my mind open and helping me realize that there is still so much I don’t know.

Hello Kitty Restaurant

Nothing in Taipei yet has excited our girls more than the thought of going to the Hello Kitty restaurant. Ever since my girls saw Judy Hodowany’s post and pics on Facebook (a friend here in Taipei), they’ve been itching to go. As extra incentive, as I posted earlier, the girls were tasked with ordering one full meal for our entire family in Mandarin. Brianna was VERY motivated and ordered breakfast for us on Tuesday and has hounded us day and night to take her to the Hello Kitty restaurant as her reward. So, on Saturday afternoon, the day of the Harvest Moon Festival, we took the girls to this famed place.

At first glance, it appeared exactly as I had pictured. The outside was decorated much like an old-fashioned ice-cream parlor, with a giant pink sign outside announcing that Hello Kitty was inside. The window on the store-front was stocked full of those beautiful Asian cakes that one can find at the Soho bakery (for those of you back in CA), except that they ALL are in the shape of Hello Kitty. The girls were positively electric with excitement as soon as they got out of the taxi.

The store inside looked like a princess’ room. It was entirely PINK, with glass chandeliers adorned with dangling Hello Kitty dolls, over-stuffed Hello Kitty chairs (in the shape of HK’s head!), pink tulle-wrapped stair railings, bedazzled tissue boxes, and waitresses in frilly costumes (which were so short that even the slightest bend left little to the imagination…which I found VERY odd given that the clientele is mostly female!).

We were seated right away downstairs at a booth with the HK-shaped cushioned seat. Terry and I quickly realized our mistake in not giving Brianna limits as she was soon overwhelmed with the choices and was whining about what lunch entrée to order, and which dessert, as she was ADAMANT that she have her own and not share (which is our family’s custom). Trying very hard not to spoil the mood, but also reign in her over-sized expectations, we decided that Terry and I would order entrees and she and Elaine would order their own desserts. That seemed to appease everyone, which helped get the mood back on track.

We didn’t stay in our seats very long as there was so much to see when we arrived. As a matter of fact, I believe it took us about 15-20 minutes to order our food as we were so distracted by everything going on around us! There was the barista station behind us, where they make latte’s and hot cocoa’s…of course, the frothed milk is stenciled in cocoa with the HK logo in such a flawless way that I wondered if it was real. Off to our side was the pastry station with windows low enough that we could see them making their famed desserts. While perhaps not as fancy as a high-end patisserie, these desserts were a mix between a high-end Disneyworld treat and an upscale SF pastry shop. All of the custards, cakes and crème brulees, etc., were adorned or shaped like HK and then embellished with the most intricate chocolate and fruit work. All of this was then dusted with powdered sugar. Amazingly beautiful!

Brianna ordered a chocolate mousse and some sort of passion-fruit soda, which came with what appeared to be fruit inside. A closer look revealed not fruit, but fruit-shaped flavored ice. The drink was beautiful, tasting both sweet and a bit tart at the same time. Elaine ordered a cheesecake of sorts (I think…couldn’t really tell), which came decorated with a dark and while chocolate piece. It was complimented with a fruit decoration (peaches, oranges and strawberries dripping with simple syrup and whipped cream) and a crisp sesame wafer, affixed to the plate with more whipped cream. Upon seeing Elaine’s delicate dessert, Brianna was positively teeming with jealousy. Thankfully enough, Elaine is a generous soul and happily shared with all of us.

My salad was probably the most plain-looking dish of all, but boy did it hit the spot. After weeks of eating hot, greasy, heavier foods, this refreshingly light salad was exactly what I needed. It was served with smoked salmon to ensure that I didn’t get hungry later on. Terry’s burger was, yes, shaped like Hello Kitty. The burgers here in Taipei, I’m discovering, do not taste like your average burger. The burgers here taste more like the Salisbury steak TV dinners one can find back in the USA. I have a feeling I’m going to be craving a real burger sooner than I care to admit! The French fries were the highlight of Terry’s entrée as they were flavored in garlic, and were perfectly seasoned and very crispy. The girls enjoyed nibbling off both of our plates and we found the tension and excitement we brought in with us waning with each subsequent bite. You may have noticed in the pictures that both girls are tired. I made the mistake of letting them both stay up VERY late the night before as Terry’s mom was with us, and I we went out for a late dinner. I don’t think I’ll be letting them stay up that late anytime soon!

I think it took us twice as long as usual to eat as Terry kept taking picture after picture of the food…it truly did look too good to eat! Normally, I would have felt somewhat embarrassed by the sheer number of pictures we took (I’ll probably post a web album later as there are simply too many to post here); however, EVERYONE in the restaurant was snapping photo after photo of the scenery and the food. Terry was simply green with camera-envy as many of the clientele had cameras with special lenses designed for taking food pictures (yes, there are such things, and many people in Asian cultures take food-pictures very seriously!).

With our bellies full and the memory card in our camera approaching full, it was time to leave. I think that Terry was feeling the strong desire to work out and lift weights afterwards…not so much from the sheer amount of food that we ate, but more to be around a bit of testosterone after all that pink! What a real man, hanging out with his favorite girls amidst all that girly-stuff!

I think the girls are already scheming to see what they have to do next to earn a trip back. Hopefully for me, it won’t be anytime too soon…I don’t think I can handle that much frill and lace for quite some time too!