Baby it's COLD outside!

Well, it was 70-something degrees one day and then 58 the next. Guess I should expect radical weather in December! I laughed at myself for feeling cold...it was one of those moments that I realized I've been in Taiwan too long when 58 degrees seems chilly. I know that our families and friends up and down the east coast are absolutely freezing. Every time I move to a warmer climate I think, goodness, they should all join me here!

Regardless of the weather I still took Caitlin out to to the park burn some energy. She got a little frustrated with the wind blowing her hair into her eyes, but otherwise she had tons of fun moving around the jungle gym. The streets seemed so much quieter on such a cold day. Everyone must have stayed inside. Not us!

Thanksgiving

Looking back at Thanksgiving 2008 some day, I will probably find the memory tucked way back in the spot where I treasure all the thrills of roller coaster rides I've ridden.

The day started just like waiting in line for a ride. It was an ordinary Thursday here in Taiwan. All the local kids had school. No one was bustling around getting last minute ingredients and none of the food stores were crowded. Caitlin and I were out and about tracking down the last of our needed items. As we walked down the street I found myself desperately trying to "find" Thanksgiving. At this point I was willing to try catching it in a butterfly net, wrestling it to the ground and holding onto it for dear life. Despite my desperate search for the meaning of Thanksgiving in Taiwan, I was feeling rather confident (for the moment) as we were moving along. There was a cool breeze caressing our faces and wind in our hair. "Ah, now that's more like Thanksgiving." I thought. Yes, it was cool here that day. Perhaps a little under 70 degrees. It actually felt a bit like fall and Thanksgiving is in the fall, so there-mission accomplished! I found some Thanksgiving. Then I started to think about how we were going to celebrate this year and I arrived at a thought that brought me to the peak of my day. (So, if you're on the roller coaster with me, you're out of line, seated, seat belted and have begun to ascend the big, steep hill.) Tradition. What I have with me on this Thanksgiving day is tradition. It may not be MY tradition, but I have the privilege of sharing bits and pieces of traditions of many families from many different places all around one table in the spirit of thankfulness. In that moment I decided that as long as you've got tradition and people to share it with then all is well. And so it was...

On Thanksgiving day we met up with a few families and shared a wonderful meal with all of the traditional Thanksgiving yummies. So many of you were concerned that we would be eating duck and sushi for dinner...rest assured we ate American that night. Turkey, cranberry sauce, ham, stuffing, gravy, mashed taters, salad, bread, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie, apple pie, pumpkin ice cream pie...ah yes. Pair that with a few glasses of wine and you might even begin to picture my grandmother at the table! But it was missing something...there was no anti-pasta to roll and munch on. No fire in the oven from either sweet potatoes too close to the broiler or a 30 pound turkey over flowing onto an electric coil. No heated discussions between hot headed Italians about the Democrats winning the presidential election. I missed having a conversation with the person next to me and not really being able to hear what they said. No broken wine glasses. No apple cider. I sooo missed my grandparent's 5 loaves of Italian bread. No one snoring at the table. I couldn't hear my mother swearing at her stove/oven. On second thought, I do think that was audible from here...ha! Above all, I really missed my family. I missed seeing my baby brother come home from college for the 1st time. I missed seeing my other brother and having his girlfriend fix my crazy hair. I missed having everyone spoil our Caitlin. I missed my cousins, my aunts & uncles, my parents, my brother's girlfriends' parents, our neighbors, friends, grandparents and everyone else who fills our home each year. I miss the feeling of just when you think you can't fit anyone else around the table, the doorbell rings again. I almost missed the cold weather too! So the ride started down the steep slope of reality. I am in Taiwan for Thanksgiving. It's the first Thanksgiving I have spent away from my family. Ever. Ugh. Truthfully, I was actually happy to see the day end.

Friday felt a little more like Thanksgiving for me. For starters, I got to see everyone I miss so much on the web cam. My mother called around 9am. Everyone was in one room gathered around the computer! It was sooo heartwarming. Plus, by the time they called I had a pumpkin pie in the oven and pumpkin soup on the stove top. Now I can see Thanksgiving and I can smell Thanksgiving. So, my crazy little cart on the roller coaster of life climbed back up the mountain again. I decided that Thanksgiving falls into my new mantra - when in Taiwan, I get to make all the rules!!! Earlier this month, I declared that Thanksgiving should be on Friday. That way no one would have to go to work the next day! So, I moved our Thanksgiving to Friday. We invited expats from Iowa and a few Taiwanese friends who have never celebrated this holiday before. Our goal was to re-create the day for them. We recorded the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Dallas football game and slingboxed it over here to view when our company arrived. Funny thing about the parade that I never realized before - it is soo much about American pop culture. Worst part about that is I am in a pop culture vacuum right now and hadn't a clue who half of the singers/celebrities were! We told them all about the giant balloons and the Rockets and how cold it is there. We talked about marching bands and dancers and Santa Claus. I got all excited when I saw Kermit the Frog (I used to LOVE Kermit the Frog)only to realize that the Taiwanese haven't a clue who Kermit the Frog is!!! Oh well.

For dinner we had turkey, sage stuffing, cranberry relish, golden buttermilk mashed potatoes (which, for some reason the sweet potatoes here are yellow instead of orange. Either that or I bought the wrong ones...not that I ever really know what I am buying), salad, foccia bread, broccoli, pumpkin soup, cantaloupe wrapped in prosciutto, pumpkin pie and apple pie with vanilla ice cream. Some of the best smells ever came out of this apartment that day. It was glorious.

Our guests were troopers. I don't think that our Taiwanese friends had any clue what they were eating or had ever experienced some of the flavor combinations presented to them that night. I hope none of them felt as panicked as I tend to be when I don't know what I'm eating. If they did, they didn't show it! They tried everything and I think they enjoyed it. At least, that's what they told us. They seemed honored to be invited and showered us with so many kind words and gifts. It was a fun night...one that I might reach back and think about when I grow weary of being here. It was complete with that tingly feeling you get when someone reaches inside of you and touches your heart. The night was all that Thanksgiving is supposed to be and I was thankful for it all. So after this night I can truly say that my cup overfloweth...

Even though there were days of dishes left to wash, the night ended on the upside of the roller coaster. Which is good because I still have to do this again next year...

Giving Thanks

With Thanksgiving just a few hours away and our families a few thousand miles away, I feel compelled to express all the things I am thankful for in one of my happy lists...you know, since you won't be able to feel all my thankfulness in a hug.



*For good health.

*For this crazy, little, blond hurricane that bounces all over my life.

*For not having to drive 400+ miles on Interstate 95 with all the other Thanksgiving travelers and tractor trailers and a motion sickness prone 23 month old.

*For the Slingbox. Not only will we have a turkey in Taiwan, we'll have football and the Macy's Day Parade!

*For PACKAGES! I cannot tell you how much all those little pieces of home keep me going.

*For my grandmom's cookies, Velveeta & applesauce cake (yes, they do arrive here completely edible!)
*For my Matto.

*For Caitlin's smile

*For the webcam & Skype!!!

*For friendly people in foreign lands.

*For a zillion places to eat out when dinner goes awry.

*For our families & friends all over the world that we miss so very much.

*For the daily blessing of strength and courage to keep trying things.

*For Mom & Dad Heller and all they do to care for our house.

We wish you all a very blessed Thanksgiving. Hug & kisses to all!

Juming Museum

Note any similarities?

November 16th
On Sunday we all hit the road with Kirsten, Matt's assistant, to the Juming Museum in Taipei. Kirsten had our trip planned down to the minute...a dangerous expectation when traveling with a toddler, but we went for it. We took a tour bus up through the mountains of Yanmingshan National park to the other side of the mountain range where the museum is. It was about an hour long commute. According to this little pamphlet I have from the museum, the address says it's in Taipei, but I don't believe them. Perhaps it's Taipei County...hmmm. Either way, talk about scenic route! At one point we were so high up we were in the clouds. It was really awesome. I can only imagine what it would be like on a clear day.

I must admit that I was really nervous about taking Caitlin on another bus trip. During the week she had another "episode" in a cab. She was reading a book while we were moving and that tripped her little motion sensor and she got sick. What a mess! Luckily, she handled this leg of the trip well.

The Juming museum is named after the artist, Ju Ming who was born in 1938. He is dubbed a "traditional craftsman" who has dabbled in all sorts of media to carve sculptures. Although an artist from day one, it wasn't until the late 1970's that his career took off. The museum is home to many different collections of his work. About 75% of the displays are outdoors. What fun! During the late spring, summer and early fall the grassy areas are open for recreation. Although we didn't get to lounge on the grass, we still had a great time. Here are some pictures from our travels:
This one reminded me of Caitlin and myself playing.

The Taiwan Army marching uphill

Matt joined the army! This pose got a laugh from a nearby group.

The zipper pond. The entire zipper was made out of concrete.

This was really neat. There were a whole bunch of them suspended over a stream.

I believe Juming is most well known for these TaiChi sculptures

Yingge

November 12th
Caitlin and I hit the road again last Wednesday with an American Club group trip to a town well known for its pottery, Yingge. I am not completely positive I am spelling the name correctly, but can't seem to find much information on it. You'll just have to take my word for it!

Yingge is the first place I've been to on this island where I can honestly say my mother would like to see. Yingge doesn't have that signature Taiwan, "I'm too hot to care what I look like look." There was no yucky city smell of overheated grime, exhaust and trash. Instead there were clean cobblestone streets with welcoming glass storefronts each holding unique hand made crafts. There was so much to explore! Plus, we were there on a cool day so it was refreshing to move about. I didn't go into a lot of shops because they were small and I was afraid the stroller might not fit, but I managed to find a few treasures to take back with me. I keep thinking about all that I saw and wish I bought more.

It was a fun day and Caitlin was perfect! She slept through most of the trip so we made it through without breaking anything. Whew! This is one place I must get back to.

Our Everyday Life

We've been away from the US long enough now that we don't seem notice how different our plain old, everyday lives are from what they used to be. My aunt reminded me of that the other day when she asked me what we eat here. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what the BIG difference is, since its all so darn different. I could start with our living quarters. As a family, we regard our "home" quite the opposite from the way we used to. While we want to be comfortable in our living space, we won't go to great lengths to improve it or decorate it. I'm sure it will fill up with a collection of treasures from places we've been, but for now it's a little bare. There is no lawn to mow, weeds to pick, rooms to paint or basement to finish. At best we'll change a light bulb here and there, but that's it for home improvements. In the spirit of maintenance free living, I hired a cleaning lady. I figured if Matt doesn't have to mow the lawn then I don't have to clean the bathroom! It's a nice little benefit of living here. While the maintenance is low, we do spend more time doing dishes by hand. The only time in my life when I didn't have a dishwasher was when I lived in Philly by myself. I didn't accumulate many dishes since I really wasn't cooking a whole lot. Now we actually spend a couple hours each day cleaning, drying and putting dishes away. It's a huge pain! We've just gotten to the point where we may ask our landlord to ask the owner of this condo if he/she will consider installing one. Heck, if they're the same price as in the US, we'll buy it for them! The other that seems to take a lot of our time is the trash. Hard to say whether actually taking out the trash is the time sucker or all the complaining we do about who should be taking out the trash. Hmmmm...perhaps a combination of both. Trash is a big thing in Taiwan. Taiwan used to be a very dirty place. Over the last 10 years or so there has been a huge initiative on reducing waste and cleaning up the city. Every household or building handles their trash differently. Here's what happens at our house. We separate kitchen food waste into a compost container, separate recyclable plastics, metals, cardboard and paper and then anything that is left over goes into a regular trash bag. For us, this is mostly diapers. Trash is collected every night except Wednesday and Sunday. It behooves us to get our trash out every night so that it doesn't smell up the entire building (those diapers can be lethal), but this rarely happens. From here, our building hires people to open up all the sorted bags and sort the trash even further. God bless the poor soul that opens up some of our trash! I don't really know what they are taking out of it, but they're doing something. Hate to put it this way, but rather them than us. We have a hard enough time getting the trash out of our apartment. Imagine if we had to sort it more???

Let's move onto shopping. To successfully food shop here you need to come to terms with a few things. One is to detach yourself from the currency. If you are in the habit of drinking milk each day and you want to continue to do that, then you need to purchase milk regardless of the cost. Second, you need to realize that your label reading days are over. Even if you can read the label, there is often a large sticker with the nutrition and ingredients on it stuck on top of the English version. Third, at some point you will just have to be thankful to find sour cream or chicken stock even though it is not fat free or low salt. And finally, in the US you can purchase cards, gifts, food, personal items and go to the pharmacy all in one stop. Not here. Especially not expats in Taiwan. The local food store closest to me is called Wellcome. They have most of the staples that we need and if you really dig around the store you can find some fun imports. Right now they have a huge line of Gerber products that they never had before. The produce is okay, but it is usually on the verge of over-ripeness and it is pre-packaged so you can't pick and choose the best produce. The best place to go for produce is a local wet market. For meat, ice cream, oj and cheese you need to go to Costco (wayyyyy across town). For canned imports, McCormick spices, cake mixes, mayo, salad dressing, baking needs, and other kitchen staples you can go to Jason's Market and pay a ton of money or visit some local mom and pop shops where you must spend some time checking out the expiration dates on the different products. For example, they may have a whole bunch of Campbell's soup, but the Campbell soup delivery guy is not stopping by regularly to rotate the cans or remove the outdated products. Since the products are imported and all in English, I assume that the store workers can't really read the information on them anyway. I once bought Oscar Meyer bacon that expired in 2006. It was frozen so we ate it anyway and are still alive to talk about it...For lunch meat I go to a little French deli or to another small mom and pop shop called G&G's that happens to have all sorts of things...frozen pie crusts, frozen spinach, cheeses, all sorts of deli meats, actual ice cream, Triscuts-you name it! All sorts of tastes from home! I went to that store for the 1st time with another IBM expat that had never been there before. The two of us were almost excited to tears. Bread is another story...there are fewer preservatives used here so it is sold in small quantities. Often it is not sliced like sandwhich bread because I don't think the locals make many sandwhiches. It's sold in a bakery usually separate from the market even if they happen to be in the same building...there's that lack of convenience thing again! Overall, milk continues to be the hardest thing for me to buy. The brands seem to be constantly changing and the labels are not in English. This week I accidently bought a yogurt drink instead of milk. YUCK!! I usually cannot tell the whole milk from the skim unless it's this one particular brand that I've memorized the cap colors for the different types. I must spend 50% of my shopping time in the milk area just trying to figure it all out.

Wellcome has a few personal items like soap and shampoo, but for shaving cream, 1st aid supplies, razors, band aids, etc. you need to visit either a pharmacy or another type of shop that is like a pharmacy, but minus the drug distribution.

Ugh. Then there are greeting cards and gifts. This is still a mystery to me. I just don't have a clue. Every time I need a gift for someone I totally panic.

On the up side, I have found a little bakery supply shop a few feet from our apartment that sells bakery equipment (extremely helpful since I forgot a lot of mine in the US), flour in large quantities as well as odd spices and things. The shop owner is getting to know Caitlin and I pretty well! I also found a little art supply shop and a dry cleaner on our road too. I can now maneuver around the post office pretty well , found a flower shop that sells plants and a flower stand that sells cut flowers and I found a lady that sells pearls in a market. I found a couple great wine shops and and English speaking book store. If all else fails, I have the American Club and the Community Services Center to fall back on for suggestions.

Our last little link to the US is the slingbox. It's set up at Matt's parent's house. We pay them to add an additional DVR box to their existing cable and we can control the DVR from this slingbox that is connected to it. On our end, it operates through our computer. We are now able to hook up our computer to our TV here so we can even sit on the couch and watch it!! Something we haven't done in a while. It's so nice to see the news in English, favorite shows and even commercials! There is little Christianity here so there are few reminders that the holidays are approaching. I saw a commercial the other day and got a little sad...I suddenly realized that we won't be decking the halls this year. No Christmas trees or lights, no Manger. I really don't have a place to put it and I knew that so I didn't bring it (I'm going to have to find a paper one or something). I started thinking about all those years we moved half the furniture in our house just to accommodate a Christmas tree and then that got me thinking about this beautiful house we have that has plenty of room for a tree and we're not going to put one in it! Perhaps I should lay off the slingbox till this holiday craze passes.

Figuring out new stores, places to go and people to meet keeps me floating through this experience. It's like being on a wacky, very long and sometimes bizarre vacation. For anyone on their way here, pack good walking shoes and a sense of humor. They both will take you a long way!

So there's a glimpse of our regular lives. I really miss home, but I also really like living here. For me, not having conveniences available has somehow helped to put things into perspective. Can't purchase a card, then make one. Color a bag for wrapping paper. Make a cake for a friend's birthday. Two liters of milk too heavy to carry home? Take an empty baby stroller. It's hysterical how people look at you funny! Can't speak the language, do sign language! Pointing and signing work sooo well. I care a lot less about some of the things I used to and I find myself not as frustrated with those pain-in-the-ass moments in life because I'm growing used to working around things instead of just ploughing through them. As with most things in life, its all here, I just have to reach...

Danshui Take 2, Italian Tea Party, Climb Every Mountain, The National Palace Museum & "Shit!"

Caitlin with the bridge to Fisherman's Wharf behind her

As you might imagine, my title for this post suggests the order of the events I'm about to share. It's been a fairly busy week!

On Thursday, Caitlin and I took a trip with the Community Services Center to Danshui. Those of you who have been reading this blog since its inception may remember the post titled, "The Danshui Experience." Oh, what a day. I am happy to say that we've come a long way since then. We've found all the right people to ask questions to and all the right guide books to read up on destinations before we arrive. Whenever I sign up for a trip, I call the guide in advance and ask if I am crazy to bring and almost two year old on "such-and-such" trip. I think they secretly want to tell me yes, but always say no and reassure me that there will be plenty of people there to help. And they are always right (even though by the end of the trip I am the one who is confirming that yes, indeed I am a little crazy for dragging this child around the way I do.). But seriously, after the first experience in Danshui, you may wonder why I wanted to go back. Well, for one thing it is November and it is supposed to be much cooler than August. Unfortunately, it was 90 degrees last Thursday. So much for fall weather. Also, going in the morning on a weekday is sure to have less of a crowd than a weekend afternoon. Finally, I hear so many people talk about the history and beauty of Danshui and I didn't get that impression at all, so I needed to see what I missed.

So, Caitlin and I hopped the 280 bus (which she so proudly announces at the top of her lungs throughout our entire bus ride...not that we needed anything else to draw attention to ourselves...blond girl, backpack, stroller and one mommy to carry it all...people here do look at me funny.) to the MRT (train) station which we take to the end of the line. We met up with our group 10 minutes EARLY (this is HUGE for me) and hopped on another bus to Fisherman's Wharf. The wharf boasts a giant, white cable suspension bridge built in 1996 that connects the island of Taiwan to this giant strip of docks, shops, eateries and decks that offer superb views of the sunset. It was a bit of a hazy day and I was there in the morning so all I could see were mountains and the new port being built there. Unfortunately, this bridge is arched and terraced in stairs, so the stroller had to be carried and so did Miss Caitlin. The design crew also forgot to baby proof this bridge. The railing was at least a foot high off the walkway and the the slats were a good body width apart from each other. Very easy for a little one to take a quick hop off the bridge while looking for "bubbles" from the boats and "fishies." I couldn't take a moment to let my eyes find more wonder in the obvious beauty surrounding me. My arms were full, some sweet German couple I didn't know was carrying part of my load and we were baking in the sun. This would be the first moment I decided I was crazy to do this.

After the wharf we hopped back on the bus to Ft. Santo Domingo, the campus of Taiwan's first all girls school and a brief visit to one of the universities in Danshui. All of these places were one on top of the other up on a big, giant hill that overlooks the waterway. It was breathtaking! The gardens were beautiful and the architecture was so pleasantly familiar. This area of Danshui was built up by the Dutch and then the Spanish and finally the British so they used building materials that were familiar to them - bricks! I haven't seen red bricks in a while. In addition to the bricks were giant old trees that provided shade enough to cool us down for a while.

Lastly, we stopped off at some local eateries for ice cream (which, as I've mentioned before, is totally different here than in the US. It's missing the cream, but its not flavored ice.), tea and pastries (which are also quite different here). Let me elaborate on the pastries a bit...the official food critic of Taiwan is at it again! At every street corner I think to myself, my grandfather is just going to love it here. I am convinced it is from him that I inherited my sweet tooth (according to the September issue of "Cooking Light" can indeed inherit a sweet tooth). Pretty much everywhere you look there is a little bakery of some sort. Some of these "bakeries" just make me laugh. They have a big sign out front in Mandarin and then somehow include the word "bake" in English (just so everyone in town will know what this establishment is supposed to be) and then a little display case (often smaller than the sign itself) with perhaps (on a good day) 5 of the same baked good in it. Hardly a bakery in my eyes, but around here you can go ahead and set up a restaurant in your apartment and have a thriving business, so why not? I came to Taiwan thinking I would find myself into the land of omega-3's. Much to my surprise, this country on a caffeine buzz likes a little something sweet to go with their tea. The yummy confections run the gamut of sweet breads to elaborately decorated three layer cream or fruit filled cakes. Most of them are so fun to look at that you just can't imagine eating them! The local place in Danshui had a lot to choose from, but no English. I have no idea what I ate, but it was so good I needed to sit down to enjoy the rest. Something cran or raspberry filling with cheese in a sweet dough. Hmmm...that doesn't sound as good as it tasted. Really, it was good. Paired with the spot of tea they served with it and I was in heaven.


Truly, the most exciting part of the trip was all the fun people I met. Turns out the tour guide happens to live one lane away from us-even saw me on the bus stop, but didn't realize I was going on the trip. Her name is Michelle and she is a potter and glass designer/maker (not sure the proper name for a glass artist). She is also a certified tour guide through the Taiwan travel bureau. She's a wealth of information and fun! Another person on the trip recognized Caitlin and I, but couldn't place us. Soon we realized that we're neighbors! She lives one building over from us. Rita and her family are expats from Italy. I HAVE AN ITALIAN NEIGHBOR!!! Yay! What a great island this is!


While we were at the bakery, Rita overheard me declare my love for tea and invited Caitlin and I for tea at her house that afternoon. I was soo excited! We rode the train and bus home together and then parted ways to wash up and drop off our gear from our travels. I had 45 minutes to shower myself, bathe Caitlin (we were beyond gross) and get us redressed. Time was extremely tight, but who thinks twice when invited to a tea party? The moment we stepped into Rita's home, I realized I should have had my head examined. Rita and her family have lived all over the world. Her boys are 19 and 14. Her babyproofing days are long past her. Me and my "destruct-a-ton entered Rita's apartment that was decorated with beautiful animal skin rugs, leather couches, glass coffee tables, treasures and trinkets from all their travels. Caitlin was like a bull in a china shop. It took mere seconds before Caitlin's busy little body was everywhere examining everything and I couldn't get to her fast enough because my legs and butt were so sore (from riding the horse the day before). Oh, she was so excited to explore all of these things! In her wake was spilled milk (for the tea), an attacked sugar bowl, a slimed up portion of pastry that was then returned to the serving dish, after which she proceeded to leave sticky finger prints all over the glass coffee table. It was a banner moment. Rita kept telling me to relax, but HOLY COW was this a bad idea! By some act of God, we managed to leave without breaking anything and luckily Rita's cleaning lady was coming the next day so I didn't feel so bad about all the finger prints and crumbs.


I continued to apologize for the wreckage the next morning when Caitlin and I met Rita and Michelle (the tour guide) to go on a "walk" in an area that "is like a driveway" where we could purchase some locally grown produce. All the words in quotes are quoted from Michelle. Rita and I show up in casual clothes. Rita in flip flops and I in sneakers. Michelle is in some serious workout clothing and sneakers. She asked us if we had water...clearly Michelle knew where she was going, we did not. We took off just a few feet from De Xing East Road (the road in which we live) and were face to face with one of the most vertical streets I've ever laid eyes on. I knew that there were mountains behind our apartment, but I didn't realize they were that close! Apparently we were about to climb up part of Yanmingshan, one of the tallest peaks in Taiwan. Yanmingshan is not one mountain in particular, but a string of mountainous land that is a national park. It took two of us to push Caitlin's stroller up this hill. It felt like someone took my 25 pound baby and replaced her with a zillion tons of lead. I looked over at Michelle, (who was helping me push the stroller), and said, "I thought this was going to be like a driveway!?" She laughed and said, "It is like a driveway. It is just as wide as a driveway, (which I couldn't argue with her, it was) and it is paved like a driveway." Ooooo, bonus. Really, would the rough gravel have made this trek any more difficult? Seriously, I was DYING. Sweat, thirst, burning muscles, the whole nine yards. I always thought I was in pretty decent shape until I pushed a lead weight up a mountain.


It was totally worth the work out. When we got to the top of the path we could see all of our village, Tianmu. It was also a few degrees cooler. We saw lemons, mangoes, bananas, pineapples, cabbage, lettuce, persimmons, peach orchards, pears, dragon fruit-you name it, it was growing up there. All sorts of neat, terraced little farms with farmers decked out in those cute Chinese hats that sell their produce to all who can make the trip. It was glorious.


We arrived home very hot, hungry and tired. We both showered, ate and went to bed. I honestly didn't think I could move my muscles anymore.


On Sunday Matt, Caitlin and I met our friend (Matt's assistant) Kirsten at the National Palace Museum. The National Palace Museum is an absolute "must see" according to every printed document on Taiwan and everyone you talk to. The museum is a place of great pride for the Taiwanese people. It is the home of literally zillions of artifacts from China when the Chinese were fleeing the mainland and built into a mountain to protect them. There are too many treasures to display at once, so the exhibits are constantly rotating. The highlight right now is the calligraphy display. These scrolls date back over 1,000 years ago. The interesting part of this is not the actual calligraphy itself (because few people can actually read it), but the fact that the Chinese had a working written language.


After a few hours in the museum, we headed out for traditional Chinese dinner at a nearby restaurant called the "Silk Palace." Wow! This restaurant is probably the only one that I've been to in Taiwan that had both ambiance and delicious food. With the help of Kirsten, we had a delicious dinner. It wasn't traditional in fashion because that would have been too much food for the 3 of us, but it was sooo good! Mmmmm...so what did we have? Well, we started with beef & rice noodles, barbecue pork, marinated asparagus, eggplant with crab claw casserole and of course, dessert. Caitlin and I had Swedish ice cream that was TO DIE FOR, Kirsten had mango flan and Matt had these crazy mashed red beans in fried dough covered in sesame seeds. Weird, but tasty. I could go into more detail with the food, but the tastes were so different that I don't have good comparisons to help portray them to you. You just need to come visit and see for yourself!

After dinner we made our way to the bus to head home. The buses only stop at their designated stops if they think someone is going to get on. So, you need to wave a bus down just like you would a cab. The bus we needed to get on barely stopped so we had to run to catch it. Caitlin though this was VERY funny! As we stumbled onto the bus the drives said, "Welcome to Taiwan" in English. We laughed and got into some seats before he took off again. Part way through the trip the driver encountered a traffic jam right at the intersection he needed to make a turn at. Since it is rather difficult to make a timely detour, he yelled out "SHIT!" at the sight of it all. This struck me sooo funny! I couldn't stop laughing. Here we are in a land where we understand so little of what is being said around us and all of a sudden we hear a word we can understand and what does that word happen to be? Shit! I guess frustration expressions are universal!

So that should get y'all up to date for a little while. Ciao!

Hannover Equestrian Club

November 5
Alas, here I am. My apologies for the brief reprieve, I know all of you were just chomping at the bit to hear more of my Taiwan ramblings. Consider it writers block combined with a case of acute homesickness, (brought on by a destination I have not yet blogged about), but now I am back in the saddle again. Quite literally, I might add.

A few weeks ago I was wrestling with a bout of insomnia. I chalked it off to an odd phase of culture shock, which by the way, did you know that the term culture shock is an actual condition? I just thought it was a gross exaggeration my mother is constantly referring to. So, culture shock exists and I seemed to be unable to sleep. One day I was in the nursery at the American Club playing with Caitlin and the babysitter in there, Jean, told me I looked tired. I explained that I had not been able to sleep for the last 3 weeks. She asked me if I got enough exercise and I do exercise, but it's not the huge giant workouts of my childless days. Given the limited English she speaks/understands, I'm not sure how much of that information got through to her. She then asked me if I liked to ride horses. My mind instantly ran off to wonder what a horse would be doing in Taiwan...not that there's any shortage of animals here, (heck, I've got a neighbor that walks her giant pig on a leash each night), but we're in a city here and I just can't imagine a place for them to run. Not that it's any easier for you to imagine this pig on a leash in a big city. It really is a riot to see in person! Anyway, this whole conversation got me a date with Jean and Caitlin to take me to the horses so I can exercise and sleep well. She said that she would watch Caitlin while I work out on a horse. Jean thought for sure this would help me sleep.

Jean called this morning to tell me that she has a car, so I need to bring a car seat. Already, this is turning out to be a great day! We met up with Jean and her husband at the American Club. They load us into this beautiful, pristine clean Lexus and we hop on the highway to the other side of Tianmu, (the village where we live), with the most spectacular view of the mountains. Picture me now feverishly praying that Caitlin doesn't have any sort of gut spilling episode in this beautiful car. Thankfully, all went well. A few rounds of "Row, Row Row Your Boat" and the ABC's and we were at the Hannover Equestrian Club. Immediately I giggled to myself - they were riding English style. I only know how to ride Western style. Not to mention that I haven't been riding since before I was pregnant...what on earth did I get myself into?

Whatever it was, it was an absolute TON of fun. We were given a tour of the facility by Tiffany. I think Tiffany is an executive there, but now I can't remember exactly what she said. You have to understand, none of these people speak really good English. Not even the horses! They only understand commands in Mandarin. As we started to realize the limitations the language barrier, Tiffany laughed and told me I need to learn Mandarin. Jean's husband said that she needs to learn more English and I told them that my husband said that I need to learn more Mandarin, so I think we are going to work something out where we can teach each other. We were all laughing at how this well intended little plan just didn't go at all as planned. I did explain to Tiffany that I did not know how to ride English style. I know she understood this because she did an imitation of a lasso and said, "Woo-hoo!" Yee-haw girl, now you're speaking my language!

As you can imagine, Caitlin was a hit at this place! She was quickly swooped up and popped on a horse for a few rounds of the corral. I think she was a little nervous, but loved to touch the horses. She understands that they are soft. One of them smiled at her, (showed his funny teeth), and she just started laughing! Everyone thought that was a riot! Wish I had a video camera! Then it was my turn. They outfitted me in chaps, gloves and a helmet. Very cute (ha!). They put a little stool out in the corral to help you get on the horse (none of that fend for yourself, swing your leg western business!) and off I went. The saddle was totally different and the way they hold the reigns was totally different, but I was working with a patient coach who knew about 10 words of English (combined with my 10 words of Mandarin, we were a team!). I learned how to steer two handedly, give a couple commands and how to ride with that little bouncy thing that they do. I suppose it's all the same, you're moving with the rhythm of the horse, but its more of a pop instead of a flow. Caitlin cheered me on! It was a blast!

On top of having lots of fun, this outing was filled with generosity and kindness that I just haven't experienced anywhere else in the world. Everyone wanted to help with Caitlin and give her time to stop and explore. They offered us treats and bananas and translated the election news for me. They did not charge me for my lesson and prepared me an English brochure so I can easily return. I know I was not their easiest customer, but they worked with me patiently and made it fun for Caitlin as well. Then Jean offered to make us a traditional Chinese light meal (which I kindly refused, I had to get home) and even drove us all the way home.

We were both pooped, hot and tired. I'm a little sore in the behind tonight, but that shouldn't keep me from sleeping. Speaking of sleep, I have noticed a remarkable improvement over the last week. What a relief.

Yehliu GeoPark & a few other stops

October 23, 2008

There is an excellent resource for expats here in Taipei called the Community Services Center. I found it a couple of weeks ago and marveled at all the things they have for us to do as well as all the things they've figured out...they've even written a book that they update every 2 years that I now swear by. Its my bible for living here and I consult it daily! I love sightseeing with Matt and Caitlin, but there is so much to do here that if I wait for the weekends alone I'd be missing so much. Besides, I need to get to all these places so I know where to bring our guests. So I signed Caitlin and I up for a trip to the northern coast of Taiwan, about an hour from here, to see the Pacific Ocean from this side of the world, the beaches of northern Taiwan and trek around the Yehliu GeoPark.

Yehliu GeoPark is a long cape in northern Taiwan formed by the Datum Mountain. It is surrounded by a very prosperous fishing village. Squid fishing to be exact. The cape itself reaches far into the sea. With the help of sea erosion and more recently weathering the rocks formed in this area 10-25 million years ago have turned into fantastic geological works of nature. The rocks themselves are rather intriguing taking on the shapes of candles, Cinderella's slipper, mushrooms, whales and the Queen of England herself!

So Caitlin and I packed our lunches and supplies into a backpack built to hold both toddler and "stuff" and we boared the bus to Yehliu at 9am. For those who know me well, you understand that getting us both out the door by 9am was a feat within itself! Caitlin had her own seat on the bus which made the commute extremely comfortable for both of us. I hate that car seats are not the norm here in Taiwan, but felt some assurance in knowing that size rules the roads in this country and we'd be a little safer on the bus (than in a cab). This bus also had seat belts so we were both strapped in for a change. She sat still on the bus with the help of some stickers and paper and snacks and songs...

The town of Yehliu boasts fish the way Taipei does dumplings. There are fish markets and stands every few steps. There are prepared-to-eat fish and fresh cut fish (should I say fillet?) and then the super fresh ones that are still swimming around. Y'all know me and fish - it really gave me the heebie geebies. Luckily, (and rather miraculously) it didn't smell like fish. After a short trek through the village we arrived at the geopark. The park was picturesque with the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean sporting the most crystal/mystical blue I've ever seen. The sandstone structures took center stage, but if you took a moment to look away you'd notice that they enveloped in rolling hills of lush greenery. Deep inside the green someone carved trails to hike or stone tables and chairs just sit and enjoy the view.

Being with a group has it's advantages and disadvantages. I think the disadvantage here was the agenda and time limitation. There was so much more to take in and I would have loved to take a ton of pictures of Caitlin, but I just didn't have enough hands or time. Speaking of hands, I have to mention that I was with the kindest group of strangers you'd ever meet. Our group spanned the globe and all were eager to help out in some way. They made me feel much more comfortable with my decision to "strike it out on my own."

Here's that beautiful Pacific Ocean

This is supposed to be Cinderella's slipper. I have a hard time with this one...

This is the Portrait of the Queen. Posing next to it is a British lady on our tour.

Girls on a hike!

From the geopark we moved onto another national park, but I didn't get to see any of it. Personal choice. Caitlin and I, as well as a few other travelers, found a shady spot and sprawled out for lunch. It was a well timed idea, but not an easy execution. As mentioned in previous blogs, Caitlin tends to attract a lot of attention. We seemed to do okay at the geopark because she was hard to spot on my back with the sun canopy over her. When we arrived at the next park she was no longer in the backpack AND there was a tour bus full of Taiwanese senior citizens who just wanted EVERYTHING to do with her. Thankfully, no cameras. However, the interest level grew too aggressive and she just couldn't eat (and neither could I) so we moved to another, more secluded, spot. I would absolutely hate to be a celebrity!

The last stop we made was at the most creepy, disgusting, run down, dirty, ghetto-ish place I have ever been in my life. However, it is home to the most popular and sacred temple in Taiwan (or so I'm told) and has a happening night life if you're in the market for a hooker or a bowl of snails. Yeah, nice place. I'll be sure to bring all my guests here! Seriously. We were here to see the sacred Temple of the Dog. As the story goes, zillions of years ago some fishermen went out to sea and never returned. One of the fisherman's had a dog that stayed behind. He waited and waited for his master to return and after days of waiting, the dog jumped into the ocean and died so that he could be reunited with his master in another life. So, they built a temple for him. It is common for worshipers to rub gold paper on the dogs nose. I'm not sure if this is for good luck or just a sign of worship. Either way, I rubbed my gold sheet of paper on the dog's nose. I felt lucky enough to get out of there unscathed.

Aside from seeing awesome wonders of nature, it was an empowering day. Empowering because I now know that both Caitlin and I are able to get through a little adventure together alone and won't have any hesitation about doing it again (which is a good thing because we're signed up for a few more trips already!). Oddly, it was also a day of reflection for me. Caitlin fell asleep in my arms on the bus ride home (it was naptime). As I gazed at her sweet, sleepy face I was so thankful to have these arms to hold her, a body capable enough to haul her around on my back, for people to open their hearts and help us and as always, the opportunity to be here to begin with. Creation, whether it be human or nature is a marvelous thing. I am blessed to be witness to it all.

Here is a link to all of my photos from our travels. Enjoy! http://picasaweb.google.com/taralheller/20081023TripToYehliuGeopark?authkey=IgnKW1xik2Q#

Oktoberfest!

October 19th
One of the last places on earth I'd ever expect to have any sort of German influence is Taiwan. Of course one of the last places I ever expected to be living is Taiwan so you see, strange things do happen. And then of course, strange is in the eye of the beholder. Howevery, I suppose that the idea of a German bakery is not so much strange as it is the last little bit of home I ever expected to find here. And I mean home home. Like the home where I grew up. Gazing through the window takes me back to my first job at Nussex Farm and their glorious German baked goods. All the same pastries greet me here only they are smaller and fancier. Perfect for trying a whole bunch at one time!!

From what I understand, Wendel's is a 4th generation German bakery that is very well known here in Tianmu. Matt and I stopped there for lunch when we were here on our survey trip in July. It's about a mile up the road from our house. Our friends, Adam & Sara, had never been to this area of town. They heard about Oktoberfest and found that to be excuse enough to get over here. So we got a hold of our favorite local babysitter and joined them. Thank goodness I thought up the babysitter idea! This was no place for Caitlin!! There were rows and rows of tables crammed under this tent. Everything was really crammed in there with little room to move. There were smokers (yuck!) flanking either side of us and it was very, very loud. Not to mention the fact that you just can't consume vast amounts of alcohol and chase your toddler around. Compared to our dear friends that went to the actual Oktoberfest in Germany this year, we really didn't drink much, but it was more beer than I've had in one sitting since college. Or maybe since I lost my shoe in the Schuylkill River in Manayunk one night. Ahhhh...those were the days.

Anyway, the evening was a funny mix of German/Asian fusion meets the eyes of a girl who just can't believe what she is seeing, hearing or eating. Based on what Matt has told me, Asians don't drink all that much alcohol. So I think a lot of the people there really didn't know what to make of all this. When the German band started to play, they asked everyone to link arms with their neighbor and sway and cheer to some beer drinking song. I think we were the only "swayers" in the tent. No one understood what we were doing! Language barrier. A few beers later our neighbors raised their glasses to us and started to sway along. Gambe! (That is my phonetic spelling for the Mandarin word "cheers.") So along the line of other funny things was the band playing many rounds of "Happy Birthday" to random people and a few locals chugging beer...they did about as well as I would. It wasn't a pretty sight - although there was this one skinny little thing that got up on stage and absolutely housed her beer! Rather impressive. We also noticed that the bakery had imported some actual Germans to work the tables. They dressed them up in lederhosen and other traditional garb. The Germans took the food/beverage orders and the local workers delivered the food. There seemed to be some confusion built into this system, but in the end we got our grub and all was well. Speaking of food...

The pork knuckle turned out to be a rotisseried portion of pig that simply fell off the bone when served. The meat was very tender and the mustard was every bit as good as I remembered the mustard being when I was in Germany. Mmmm. It was served as an appetizer along with the German cheese platter I decided I needed to have. Matt & I enjoyed bratwurst with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. Also quite good. I finished off this culinary experience with a delicious piece of chocolate cake topped with gooey raspberry sauce and some sort of crunchy-crumbly stuff on top. It was the best chocolate experience I've had in Taiwan thus far. Can't say it pairs well with beer, but it was a great way to end the night. Matt topped off the eveing with a big soft "bretzel" which I swear is a pretzel spelled incorrectly. Either way, it was yummy.

Here is a link to our pictures from Oktoberfest. Enjoy!
http://picasaweb.google.com/taralheller/20081019Octoberfest?authkey=nOu2ArF-pjI#

CKS Memorial take 2, jade market, flower market & famous dumplings

October 18-19, 2008

Another weekend has passed without raindrops or typhoons or even toddler naps to dodge! While there is still about 6 weeks left in typhoon season, those wicked storms seem to have quieted down for the time being. The "fall" weather is still in the mid to high 80's, but the humidity is low and the tropical breeze helps keep us cool. We've been out and about making the most of this optimal weather. I hear we won't see much more of it until this time next year.

On Saturday we set off to the Chang Kai-Shek (CKS) Memorial again in hopes to see it sparkle in the sunshine. What a difference a few days make! The grounds were alive with the flutter of a carnival. There were floats, costumed dancers and drum lines. Of course we weren't there long before Caitlin's paparazzi arrived and it was through an English speaking photographer that I learned what we were witnesses was a carnival. I asked what the purpose of it was, but I don't think he knew. Anyhow, the festivities took place on the entrance grounds where there was absolutely no shade to be found, so we scooted off to the gardens where there was lots of tree cover to protect us from the heat. And far less paparazzi.

Video of the drum line (top) Video of Caitlin's paparazzi (bottom)

For an out-of-towner, or perhaps better stated, an out-of-countryer, I find so much wonder when I walk out our door. My eyes rest upon architecture that is just so uncommon and I find myself in a constant state of amazement as I take in all the layers and details and know that there are probably more delicate details too embedded into the culture for me to ever find alone. For example, Fung Shui is quite popular in Taiwan and it's not like they label it so you know why there's a pond here to perhaps drown your sorrows in and a mirror there to reflect good luck upon your family or that the building is facing east because your spirit rises in that direction...It truly is fascinating. Thankfully, the grandeur of these sights helps to relieve my disappointment in the simplicity of the gardens at the CKS Memorial. Given the popularity of the memorial I had envisioned gardens straight out of Longwood Gardens or the Duke Gardens or the Hershey Gardens. It's not like that at all. The gardens are well kept, but very low maintenance. There are very few flowers and no intricately carved bushes. No bonsai trees either. Still, there was much to be amazed by. I've included a link to our pictures from this outing. You'll see what I mean.

From CKS we moved onto the flower & jade markets. These two markets spring to life on the weekends. They are each about one very large city block in length and they are located under the Jianguo flyover (basically, a highway...or so I think). The flower market consists of hundreds of small booths staffed by growers from as far away as central Taiwan to sell their blooms. Everything from the simple cut sunflower to the exotic bonsai tree can be found as well as seeds, vases, compost, pots, garden tools and ornate wooden plant stands.

The jade market is dubbed northern Taiwan's "mecca for jade lovers." It's set up exactly like the flower market and boasts some 900 or so sellers of the stone. According to the Discovery Channel's guidebook on Taipei, this jade market may be one of the largest in all of Asia. There is jade in all forms, statues, jewelry and au naturel. Antiques and contemporary-a little something for everyone can be found here. The downside...well, we don't happen to know all that much Mandarin. In addition, we really don't look Taiwanese either. it's really helpful if you speak the language and look Asian. I believe the prices the vendors typed into their calculators were jacked up for us western-looking folk, so ultimately, I walked away with nothing. I think I'll convince my new Taiwanese friend to come along with me someday and help negotiate.

While Matt & I were navigating our way in the markets under the highway, Caitlin took a 2 hour nap! This totally worked out in our favor because I'm sure she would have torn that jade market apart. All of the tables were right within her reach and there was little room to distance her grasp. She woke up shortly after we were out in the open again...on our way to get the most famous dumplings in Taiwan!

All about Din Tai Fung...

I'm not even going to try and restate the facts. This passage is straight out of Wikipedia. "Founder Bingyi Yang was born in Shanxi, China but moved to Taiwan in 1948 as a result of the Chinese civil war. After working 10 years at Heng Tai Fung, a cooking oil retailer, he found himself unemployed due the store's closing. Thus, he and his wife, Penmei Lai, founded Din Tai Fung (also a cooking oil retailer) in 1958. Around 1980, tinned cooking oil became prevalent, and business diminished drastically. In order to survive, Bingyi Yang and his wife began making and selling steamed buns, commonly known as dumplings to westerners, on the side. The buns/dumplings were so popular that the store stopped selling oil and became a full-fledged restaurant in the 1980s." In 1993, Din Tai Fung was named one of the best restaurants in the world by the New York Times.

And Tara says...

The New York Times was really onto something here. I really do not care for Asian food. It's not like anything we have in the US. In some ways I think it might be healthier over here, but then you factor in the common use of MSG and the fried you name it, it's fried and stuck on a stick (sort of like in the south, minus the fried Snickers bars). I really don't think it's all that much healthier. Overall, I don't like the smell of anything cooked here and I find most everything I eat unsatisfying and start craving my grandmother's macaroni and meatballs. Nothing like culinary satisfaction in good old Italian carbs! Mmmmm, I haven't had those in a while.

Din Tai Fung may have fooled me into thinking that they are the best and the healthiest dumpling establishment in Taiwan. First of all, they serve spinach. Spinach is something I can't seem to find here. Either that or I don't know what Taiwanese spinach looks like, because it sure doesn't resemble anything I would label as spinach. Whatever the case may be, this place serves spinach in all of it's crisp, bright green wonder sauteed in garlic. (You could probably win me over with anything sauteed in garlic.) For those of you nodding off over my obsession with spinach, hang on there's more. You might want to grab something caffeinated here...I'm about to get all long winded about food. I think in a former life I was a food critic. I should rename this blog to, "Tara eats her way through Taiwan." Okay, enough of that.

The dumplings...there are all different kinds of dumplings. We'll start with the different shapes. There are cute round ones that are about the size of a donut hole. They are stuffed and twisted at the top so they look more like a creamy white, dainty, sweet confection rather than a doughy meat and veggie filled salty wonder. Then there are crescent moon shaped dumplings that are equally as intricate in the folding of the dough at the seam. It's a fanned sort of twisting...hard to explain. You'll have to take a look at our pictures to really get the idea of what I'm trying to explain. These, too look pastry-like, but the dough is thinner and you can see the colors of the food stuffed inside. Then there are steamed buns which is a bigger, thicker, doughy-er bun-ish thing filled with saucy meats of your choice. They too are neatly twisted at the top and look like cakes. Then there are won-tons...most of you have seen these before. They are similar to those in the US, but the dough is less pasta-ish and quite thinner. I'm probably missing something here, but you get the idea. Onto the stuffing! Well, there's your choice of pork, shrimp, crab, mushrooms, spinach...you can even have "soup" in your dumplings! My memory is running short on the stuffings. They probably had more fish and therefore I skipped over it and didn't commit it to memory. We mostly ordered pork and veggie stuffings and then dipped our dumplings in one part soy sauce, 3 parts dark vinegar, fresh grated ginger and (of course) some oily hot pepper concoction. Pure salty heaven. The menu also has fried rice, all sorts of soups and steamed cakes, but unfortunately our stomachs could only hold so much. We stuffed ourselves silly and had a hard time sucking in our full bellies on the train ride home. Mmmmm.

I think that's enough blogging for tonight. Here's the link to our pictures from Saturday. Enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/taralheller/20081018CKSMemorialFlowerMarketJadeMarketDumplings?authkey=OQ25DDlCMV4#

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial

October 14, 2008
As usual, first comes the history lesson...
You know, the one you've all been waiting for. Born on October 31, 1887 and died on April 5, 1975, (although Matt & I would like to argue with this "fact." The memorial said that he died in 1979. I even saw an award he received for his 90th birthday in 1977. Hmmm...). He served as Generalissimo (Chairman of the National Military Council) of the Nationalist Government of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 to 1948. When Sun Yat-sen died in 1925, Chiang took control of the Kuomintang (KMT). To end the Warlord era and unify China, Chiang led nationalist troops in the Northern Expedition. He became the overall leader of the ROC in 1928. Chiang led China in the Second Sino-Japanese War, during which the Nationalist Government's power severely weakened, but his prominence grew. During the civil war after the Japanese surrender in 1945, he attempted to eradicate the Chinese Communists but ultimately failed, forcing his KMT government to retreat to Taiwan, where he continued the struggle against the communist regime. Serving as the President of the Republic of China and Director-General of the KMT, Chiang died in 1975. Or 1979. Depends on who you believe, the ROC or non for profit Wikipedia? I'm with the ROC. Those folks wouldn't mess around with such an incredible historical figure.

We met our Raleigh friends, Brian and Chandra (the ones we met in Hong Kong), at the Hyatt in Taipei. Brian's assignment in mainland China has ended and he and his wife are traveling around before returning to the US. Being newcomers to Taiwan, it's still hard for us to decide what the most valuable, quick Taiwan experience is. Matt decided to take them to The Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial. I was very excited to see this, although my desire stems from my love of Chinese gardens and architecture, not the historical value or to pay homage to a leader. I think Matt has told me a dozen or so times the significance of CKS and still I needed to look him up in Wikipedia. Perhaps now I'll remember.

According to the guide books I've read, traditional, bold, arched, and architecturally exquisite Chinese gates front the grounds of this beautiful memorial. I, personally wouldn't know because for some reason we were dropped off at a side entrance and by the time we got to the front entrance it was pouring. I did get to walk through the gates on our way out, but really couldn't study them because I was dodging raindrops with Caitlin on my back and holding an umbrella. No time for fascination.

Built in 1980, it is set in a classic Chinese park and houses an imposing 25 ton bronze statue of the late leader (picture the Lincoln Memorial). Under the statue is a museum which features a chronological photographic synopses of his life as well as some of his possessions. It gives you a glimpse of the Nationalist view of 20th century Chinese history.

The gardens are supposed to be a hot spot for wedding photographs, strolls and everthing in between. I would loved to have stopped to stay a while, but it will have to wait for a dryer day.

Our visit to the Taipei Zoo

October 12, 2008
It was a rather clear, cool leisurely Sunday and we decided to take the Muzha line (that's the name of the railway) out to the Maokong Cable Car and take a look at Taipei from up in the sky. Matt and I tried to do this during our survey trip here back in July, but we went on a Monday and apparently a lot of domestic tourist attractions are closed on Mondays. We were really looking forward to it! We packed up and were on our way by 11am.

About a half hour later we arrived at our destination, stepped off the train and came across this announcement (see photo above). Are you kidding me? Safety inspection? Now what? We can't just go home! Ah, what luck. The Taipei Zoo is right next door and there will never be a more perfect day to walk around a zoo than today. As a matter of fact, I don't think either of us ever broke a sweat the entire day. Now that's a happening in Taiwan!

The Taipei Zoo displays more than 1,000 animals in a large park with meager landscaping wide pathways to accommodate the crowds. It also includes several hiking trails, a shuttle train, connection to the gondola (the very attraction we thought we were going to see today), a water garden, nocturnal animal house, insectarium, children's theatre, children's zoo and lots of other attractions. Although there is no comparison, the zoo was designed by the same company that designed the San Diego Zoo.

The monkeys were Caitlin's favorite exhibit.

This is when we became an exhibit at the zoo!

It was a fun and unexpected experience! We hear that the zoo is going to be a bit more famous in the near future as they prepare to receive a panda bear as a gesture of good will from mainland China. We'll have to go back and see.

Here's a link to all of our pictures from our visit. In a way, when you've been to one zoo, you've been to them all. Our pictures tell a better story and show Caitlin's expressions best. Enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/taralheller/20081012TaipeiZoo?authkey=jA9WGdkgaoc#

Everyday achievements

My Aunt Jane told me to do something scary each day. Taipei is such a safe, crime free city that I don't feel at all threatened in my daily "doings." I'm probably more of a hazard to myself than anyone else. Things are starting to become "normal." I've worked Caitlin into a bit of a morning routine of Cheerios, multy (that's milk in Caitlin's special English), and "talk to Mima." Yes, we do this all at the same time...it's the only way to keep her still on the video cam. Anyone who has talked to me not during mealtime knows of the chaos. Then we're off to playtime in either the park or the ACC depending on the weather. Oh, and speaking of weather - let me say that the month of October is an absolute blessing! There is a bit of relief from the fury of this closer to the equator relentless sun and even some clouds. Oh, I am so thankful for clouds. Clouds mean less overall sweat and perhaps a sweet rain to cool things down a teensy-tiny bit more. And the heavenly breeze...it only hits you when you're in certain directions. Between all the tall buildings and the mountains it can really pick up and cool you down - if you're in the right direction. Either way, it's more of a breeze than Raleigh, NC has to offer! So, I've achieved normal. Now what?

Well, I am pretty sure I conquered "Public Enemy Number 1."Public Enemy No. 1

Looks harmless and rather modern, doesn't it? Yeah, that's what we thought too. Matter of fact, this very stove and oven are two of the items high on the "what we need in an apartment list" (There's one of those lists again!) and since this apartment had both and a nice office, the deal was sealed. See, one would think that a stove and oven are common components to any kitchen, regardless of culture, but apparently that's just plain old wrong. VERY WRONG. Kitchens in foreign countries are peculiar places...I won't go into all the details of the 15 other apartments we toured. Just take my word for it. 4 burners on a stove and an oven are not common in Taiwan. When we arrived here in late August we found an added bonus - this oven was never used! It's brand new. Somehow I found that wildly exciting. And I hugged my Kitchen Aid mixer when I saw it for the 1st time in 6 weeks. What does that say about me? I suppose that's neither here nor there, but imagine just for a moment my visions of savory pizzas, decadent chocolate birthday cakes, juicy Thanksgiving turkey, chocolate chip cookies and roasted chickens so I can have both dinner and my own low sodium chicken broth (and not have to bother with this $5.00 per can business)...all this in a brand new oven! No one else's "funk" to burn away at 500 degrees. Now, very quickly wipe those images from your mind because I can't get the damn thing to light. Ugh. Gas. I don't know how to work a gas oven. I don't know how to work a gas stove. I am so afraid I'm going to blow up the entire building. Oh, how the balloon deflates. But, there's an upside...see if I lose the battle with the stove, I get to go out to eat. So, I win again and all is right in the world.

Truly, you can only go out to eat so many times. Eating out of the house with Caitlin is an exercise in every way you can imagine. For the most part, it's just not worth it. Somehow the joys of eating out have withered away since our parenting journey began. I'd rather the civilized world not see that my daughter is on a fork strike, that she winds up wearing most of her food and that milk in a cup with a straw is just a disaster waiting to happen. Just for the record, I bring her sippy cup, but once she sees the straw its all over. And I bring a bib, Wet Ones, utensils - you name it, I've got it. None of these tools actually get me anything more than a cold dinner. I need to figure out how to work my kitchen.

The best piece of advice I've received to date is from my grandfather...take the pot/pan off the burner you're trying to light. Once it's lit, then put the pot/pan back on the stove. I tried it and it worked! Thanks, Pop. So, I've been pan frying everything we eat. No more dinner making tears and fits of rage. No more spare of the moment, "Honey, we're going out to eat tonight." No more defeat! I have mastered the stove. Soon, very soon I will master my kitchen once again.

The day came. Last Friday I lit the oven. Turns out the lighter thing that I'm supposed to stick into the oven to get it to light does not actually produce a flame. It just shoots out tiny sparks. I think it may officially be called an igniter not a lighter (like the one I use to light the grille in Raleigh). I thought that the "lighter" was broken and that's why I couldn't light the oven. Turns out I was doing everything wrong until Matt showed me what to do. Now, if I just knew what temperature I was setting it to we'd be in great shape. I guess I'll figure that out eventually.

My last and most greatest success to date happened today. I spoke Chinese to a cab driver and got myself home all on the 1st try! This may not seem like a big deal to anyone, but it's an immeasurably huge accomplishment for anyone who is living here and does not speak Chinese. Chinese is a tonal language. Every sound can be made at least 4 different ways through the pitch of your voice and each tone means something totally different. Usually I hop in a cab, say hello and hand the driver a piece of paper or a business card with my destination written in Chinese. This works like magic. Today I actually spoke my village name, street name, lane number and building number in Chinese and made it home! All my sounds were correct. Caitlin and I did a happy dance in our courtyard!

So that was my something scary today. Truly, I could have wound up anywhere, but I made it home safe and sound. Now I don't need my beat up piece of paper with my address anymore. Go me!!

IBM Sports Day!

Saturday, October 4th
Each year IBM Taiwan hosts "Sports Day" for all the employees and their families. The employees participate in the sporting events while the families cheer them on and eat local delicacies such as grilled squid on a stick. Now really, who wants to miss out on that? But seriously, this was a very nice event. Sports Day took place at National Taiwan University of Education (NTU). My family has dear friends who went to school there - what are the chances that I'd wind up in that very spot?! I am not sure where the students were that day, but the grounds were opened up to hundreds of IBMer's, vendors, a DJ, gamers, cheerleaders, etc. They were totally set up for fun!

This is the main logo for "Sports Day 2008." Each team had an animal mascot, color and gathering place. Matt's team was the panthers. They had gray shirts and hovered under orange tents to keep out of the sun. Some poor soul even dressed up in a big, woolly Pink Panther costume for a little while (this was no small task as it was at least 90 degrees out!). How's that for team spirit? Speaking of spirit, there was a cheerleading contest that was taken VERY seriously...costumes and 10+ hours of practice per week. There was definitely no shortage of spirit here.
You can see a couple of the different colored shirts here.

Matt & Adam, (Adam is the biggest guy in Taiwan and everyone wanted him on their team!), looking out onto some of the fun stuff for kids of all ages! Matt is already geared up in a pinny for his 1st event, tug of war.

Caitlin made a new friend!

Human foosball. I've never seen this before and found it hilarious!

Matt & Robert Parsons (fellow expat) leading the way to the team's 1st tug of war victory!

Everyone is all lined up and ready to go! Matt is number 19.

This is Kirsten, Matt's assistant. She loves to hang out with Caitlin and is sooo much of a help to us!

Come on guys, pull!!!

Wooo-hooo! They won! Matt also participated in dodge ball, but quickly found that the rules of the game in Taiwan are totally different than those in the US. He really didn't get a lot of playing time...maybe next year (if they let him back on the team!).

Other fun, neat stuff...

Caitlin & I arrived after the festivities were in full swing. We weren't really sure what kind of an event this would be so we hung at home until Matt gave us the final go-ahead. Should I bring the stroller or not? Do I need food, water, etc. or are there supplies on site? Now that we've been on excursions where we were super prepared or not at all, sometimes it's best to send one of us out to assess the situation ahead of time. Stroller - check. Snacks and drinks for Caitlin - check. We hailed a cab and were on our way.

Paparazzi. Despite all the activities going on around us, as soon as we arrived on site Caitlin had become the new center of attention. There were people and cameras everywhere...almost unable to escape it without the rescue of a fellow expat. It's flattering and very strange all at the same time. Luckily, Caitlin doesn't seem to care all that much. She doesn't sit still for pictures, but these people were determined to get a good one so they pressed on. We should start charging a small fee for these Kodak moments. I can't imagine how many random people have pictures of our little girl...I guess that's okay until we see her on a billboard somewhere in Taiwan.

Concessions. Well, they're not what you'd find in the US. There were dumplings (not sure what was in them, but pork is most common), grilled squid on a stick, fried mushrooms (they just can't touch the ones at the little league games in Kennet Square, PA...and the shrooms were totally different), fried stinky tofu on a stick, fried squid balls on a stick, cotton candy, pop corn, sausage on a rice & bean bun with some sort of sweet sauce, fresh grape tomatoes and some sort of apple/pear thing all sliced up, a whole bunch of stuff we couldn't figure out and fruit juice. We tried the fruit juice and with a stroke of luck we wound up with passion fruit juice and something lemony with probably a prune floating around, but it looked like a turd to me. Caitlin just loved the passion fruit juice. Her outfit enjoyed it too!

Making friends. Caitlin met up with this little girl who didn't speak English. They played with a ball, held hands and ran around on the field together. It was very sweet. Caitlin tried to share her snacks with her, but the girl didn't know what they were. I told Kirsten what they were and she translated for us. The little girl accepted the snacks and would then run off to ask her mother if she could have them. It was funny. I was so busy keeping Caitlin safe on a stool that I didn't really notice if she ever ate them. I wonder if raisins, Goldfish and animal crackers are familiar flavors for kids on this side of the world?

Sights & sounds. Sometimes I feel like I'm in an alternative universe when I'm out and about in Taipei. I can't understand what people are saying. I usually can't read the expressions on their faces either. People here are not quite as animated as those in the US. So I usually pay attention to what Caitlin has to say (and she is always saying something) or I fall deep into my head and tune everything out. Here we are at this huge social event. There's loud American dance music - although they only play the same 4 songs over and over and over again. Above the music-well noise better suits it-is someone speaking in Chinese. We have no clue what they are saying. She could be keeping the teams updated on everyone's score or where the next event is going to be, or what the next event is going to be or what is going on...or screaming FIRE for all we know. This goes on, nonstop for hours. If you stop ignoring it for a little while it sounds so bizarre and then you realize that the fact that you are where you are is a little bizarre so it's best just keep on ignoring it. Every once in a while it's funny to step back and take it all in, then shake your head and smile.

Teamwork. Matt's team won the entire competition! They also won a participation award! Go grey panthers!

Yes, he ate squid on a stick.