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!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
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.
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
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
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...
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...
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Danshui Take 2, Italian Tea Party, Climb Every Mountain, The National Palace Museum & "Shit!"
Caitlin with the bridge to Fisherman's Wharf behind herAs 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!
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!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Hannover Equestrian Club
November 5Alas, 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.
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