Impressions upon Returning to America

We're back in California for the summer! Here are some of the things that have stood out to Floyd and me in the last few days since we've returned to the States:

Wow, everything is so much more expensive than it was last summer. You know it's bad when even the 99 Cent Store raises its prices!

Look at all the sidewalks everywhere! Why aren't there cars parked all over them?

There's so much sky visible (because all the buildings are so short)!

It's so quiet here. Sometimes at night we can't hear a single sound.

How does everyone manage without a 7-Eleven on every corner?

Most of the streets have only cars on them. Where are all the motorized scooters and wandering dogs?

Speaking of dogs, all the ones we've seen here are naked! (See my last post below.)

Speaking of cars, why are they so HUGE?

Why aren't there more vegetables on the menus at restaurants?

So many people speak English. It's weird to understand what's being said all the time, and to actually be able to read all the billboards and street signs.

The trash trucks are so quiet and boring. Why don't they play Beethoven's "Fur Elise" loudly enough to be heard for blocks away while everyone in the neighborhood comes running out with bags of trash?

Where can we get REAL Chinese food????

It's a Dog's Life!

Ever wonder what a dog's life is like in Taiwan? I'll give you a hint: scooters and clothes both play a big part!

Chinese New Year

The Year of the Ox is upon us, and oxen (in various forms) are everywhere in Taiwan. I took these pictures at the Shui Nan Market the Saturday before Chinese New Year.









Decorations (mostly red and gold and cow-themed) are for sale or on display everywhere. Even fruit (designed to be given as gifts) comes with bows and ribbons this time of year!

Tasty snacks are one of the most fun things about the season!

Christmas Dinner... Sort Of

Our friends and co-workers, Dondi and Liana Peleo, invited us to their apartment building's Christmas party last night. It was in the form of a twelve-course Chinese banquet! The dishes were brought out one at a time - none was huge, but most were delicious, and several looked very fancy. I took pictures of most of them, so here they are.

This appetizer platter had a number of cold meats and fish, including sashimi. Floyd and I both tried some for the first time ever! It was better than I'd expected. The fish above was tasty too, although not much to go around for our table of eight. Oh well, when you have twelve courses, you don't need more than a tiny serving of each!

This crab and rice dish was one of my favorites. See the little white things on the fake leaves around the edges of the plate? They're sweet, glutinous globs with some kind of dark filling. I know that doesn't sound very appetizing, but I really enjoyed them. We were surprised to have a hot pot burner on our table - part way through the meal, the waitor brought a cast iron pot full of whole crabs, mushrooms, veggies, and some other seafood in broth for us to cook ourselves.

What an impressive lobster! To his left are some little fried lobster cakes; to his right is a pile of lobster meat smothered with mayonnaise and candy sprinkes. (Not an uncommon way to eat seafood here in Taiwan.) In the foil was a very tasty pile of lamb ribs in a flavorful sauce. Another of my favorite dishes.

This dish definitely earned the prize for the most unusual food item of the evening. Can you guess? That's right... it was snow pea and chicken testicle soup! As you can see, Floyd and Dondi and I each tried one... but only one. What was it like? Trust me, you don't want to know.

The final course of the evening was a typical Taiwanese dessert: a fresh fruit platter with oranges, grapes, and bellfruit. A tasty and refreshing way to end the meal.

Bizarre Laws

It's that time of year again. My 5th graders handed in their "Terabithia Projects" a few days ago. We just finished reading Bridge to Terabithia in class, and they each had to create their own imaginary world and write up a report about it. One section of the report calls for them to make a list of rules or laws that must be followed in their world. There were plenty of the usual ones that you'd expect (don't steal, don't kill, etc.), but like last year, there were some pretty unusual ones. Here are a few of my favorites:

No advertising. -Kent

Never take down other people's houses. -Ben

Never have more than one house in each family. -Ben

Do not argue. -David

NEVER eat plants or other unhealthy things. Only eat ice cream and fish. -Haven

Make sure to throw anyone who litters or breaks a law in the garbage can. -Haven

No kidnapping. -Judy

Kid's can't go out of the castle themselves. -Judy

You have to take good care of your garden. -Deborah

Do not go without clothes to other places. -Deborah

At war times, every male 18 and 40 must report to the army. -Benjamin

Defend enemies. -Joyce

Don't drink wine while you drive. -Joyce

No killing animals except for dairy products. -Selina

Kids can't do work (like at a restaurant) until they're 12 years old. -Austin

Look both ways before crossing the street. -Austin

Say hello to people you know. -Austin

If you are a dragon, no breathing fire for no reason. -Annie

Do not free the people in jail. -Jon Jon

No going to the king's palace for no good reason. -Hannah

You can't make too much noise. -Jonathan

Take discipline responsibly. e.g. If you get sent to jail that's what discipline you get so don't be whiney about it. -Malachi

Hong Kong!

I just got back from a 4-day trip to Hong Kong to attend a teachers' conference. The conference was great, but Hong Kong was even better. It was my first time there, and I had decided I was going to squeeze in all the sightseeing and fun I possibly could in whatever spare time I could scrounge after and between conference sessions. Fortunately, Hong Kong has an efficient subway system, and almost everything is in English as well as Cantonese, so it was easy for me to get around. My favorite thing to see was the waterfront (see the picture above). It was more gorgeous than any picture can show - you just have to be there to see the amazing buildings with their multicolored lights, many of which flash and swirl and change colors like a Christmas light show. Everything I've seen in my travels has confirmed that big Asian cities are the best in the world when it comes to making buildings works of art, and I think Hong Kong has most of the rest of them beat hands down.

Speaking of Christmas, it was fun seeing all the decorations in malls, subway stations, and the airport, and hearing soft instrumental Christmas music in public places. Because of Hong Kong's British heritage, Christmas is celebrated as a big event there - unlike Taiwan, which puts up gaudy singing Christmas trees in some public places but doesn't do much else to acknowledge the season. Hong Kong had large life-size displays of various kinds all over the place.

Another thing I enjoyed was a brief visit to the Nan Lian Garden (picture at right). It was almost funny to have such a beautiful, tranquil setting located right in the middle of a bustling metropolis. (If you look to the left of the pagoda, you can see skyscrapers trying to hide behind the trees.) I spent an enjoyable hour or so walking around the garden on little paved paths, enjoying the flowers and ponds and trees, before I had to hurry and catch the subway to get back in time for the last session of the conference.

On my own one evening, I decided to visit Hong Kong's Museum of Culture. It was okay - not nearly as elaborate as most of the museums I've been to in Taiwan, but interesting none the less. I especially enjoyed the exhibit on Cantonese opera. (Note the life-size costumed figures on the stage behind me.) Yes, picture-taking was allowed inside the museum - the security guard herself took this picture for me!

One of my last little adventures was to find and ride the world's longest escalator. At least, the Guiness Book of World Records supposedly calls it that, but it isn't continuous, so I don't know if it really counts. But it's a covered escalator that goes up and up right through the city streets in a hilly part of town. There were some interesting views looking down, though my camera stinks at night shots, so I couldn't capture most of them. But here you can see one segment of the escalator (at the front right of the picture), and then another segment beginning below it. There was nothing in particular at the top, which was a bit disappointing, but it was fun to ride anyway. But the escalator only goes up, so at the end I had to take the stairs all the way down.

My last dinner in the country was in a wonderful little Chinese restaurant. I have no idea what most of the dishes were called, but every one was delicious, and the style was a little different from the Chinese food we get in Taiwan. The shrimp in the big dish at the front were wonderful, but my favorite was Peking duck. (It was the last item to arrive, so it didn't make it into this picture.) The waiter cut off little tender bits of meat and sizzling skin, and we wrapped them in things that looked like extra-thin tortillas. Add some slices of cucumber and green onions, and a dab of plum sauce, and it was just heavenly.

Autum Arrives in Taiwan

The weather here is finally starting to get cool in earnest. When I say "cool", I mean it sometimes gets all the way down to 21 (degrees Celcius, that is) on our indoor thermometer. A couple times now we've even been able to sleep all night with the AC off and the windows open, and today I think I can get away with wearing a long-sleeved shirt for the first time this year. Last night we went out to dinner and I actually got a little chilly in short sleeves. It seems that autumn is finally arriving in Taiwan! Not that leaves are changing or anything, but we know it must be autumn because the fruit-seller guy on the corner wears a shirt nowadays.

It rained last night for I think the first time since the last typhoon, and right now I'm listening to the wind wail its way through the wind tunnel formed by our apartment buildings and courtyard. We like this kind of weather! If only it could last longer.... Another six or eight weeks and we will be gripped by winter's inexorable chill, followed in a couple months by the inescapable mosquitoes of spring, and a few weeks later it will be back to the sauna-like heat and humidity of Taiwan's long, long summer.

Oh well, we're enjoying the fall while it lasts!