I desperately needed to get my eyebrows waxed. Desperately! I don't know when they started growing in, but this morning I woke up and realized they spanned from hairline to hairline (straight through-no break in the middle...yes, seriously I was sporting a uni brow). It's not like there is a shortage of places to go or that it's a major expense, I just manage not to notice until things have gotten way out of control. So, I booked myself an appointment at the American Club (so I could put Caitlin in the nursery) and arranged to meet Matt there for dinner (so I could take the night off from making dinner). What a perfect plan!
Hmmmm...so it's fair to say that most things don't go as planned when you are planning life around a toddler. Caitlin would NOT stay in the nursery. This was really no surprise to me, but somehow I thought I would have the will to just leave her there and let her figure it out for 15 minutes while I took care of myself. I couldn't. She took one look back at me with tears streaming down her face and a look of total devastation and I completely caved. "Okay Caitlin, you can come with Mommy. But you have to be a good girl." Up the stairs to the salon we climbed. Wiping tears from her eyes and in between gasps for breath she said, "Caitlin be a good durn Mommy. Caitlin be a good durn Mommy."
I put her on the floor with a sippy cup and Cheerios and told her she had to stay seated. I laid down on the bed and the eyebrow girl got started. Caitlin popped up to investigate the situation. Listening is not her strong point. She was quietly munching in my ear, rubbing my arm, holding my hand and putting my shoes back on until the eyebrow girl put a towel over me.
"What's towel doin' Mommy?" When I didn't reply she yelled, "Mommy, wake up!"
"I'm getting my eyebrows waxed Caitlin."
"What's eyebrows doin' Mommy?"
"I'm getting them fixed Caitlin. So they look nicer."
"Fixin' um?"
Then the eyebrow girl started to apply the wax.
"Soap Mommy? Is the boy have soap on dere Mommy?"
Cailtin referes to everyone as a boy regardless of gender.
"No, Caitlin not soap. She's using wax."
"What's wax doin'? Wax come off Mommy?"
The questions went on and on and on! Caitlin was trying to wrap her little mind around what I was doing. It was hysterical and I had a really hard time NOT laughing! I assume the eyebrow girl couldn't understand Caitlin because she never cracked a smile.
Overall, Caitlin handled the whole situation really well. And we managed to leave there without spilling the cup of Cheerios (bonus!). When we were through I took her downstairs and gave her some fruit. While we were seated at the table she said, "Mommy's eyebrows are red. Red like Elmo." Well, at least now I know she knows her colors!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
She loved it!!!
DO RAVE REVIEWS GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS?Caitlin ate my pudding today and LOVED it! Happy girl, happy mommy.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Pudding
I made pudding today. My most memorable and coveted childhood snack! I can clearly remember coming home from school and seeing the small, plastic, blue tinted, cone shaped, pedestal Tupperware containers sealed with their matching plastic lids lined up in a row on the bottom shelf of our brown refrigerator. Brown refrigerator - can you imagine? Gotta love those left over appliances from the 70's. But when you're 6 years old and there is pudding in fridge you are the luckiest kid on the block.
I love that Caitlin is old enough to enjoy foods that bring back so many warm and fuzzies. Some of my greatest joys of motherhood are putting together pieces of my childhood and incorporating them into our lives...especially now that we are so far away from "home." As I recently told a visitor, when you step into this apartment you are on US soil...even though I have witnessed our daughter turn carrot sticks into chop sticks and try to pick up pieces of grapes with them. She also boasts a proud "peace sign" in her latest photographs. Next she'll be asking for a face mask when we go outside! I guess we'll compromise on US/Asian fusion here.
Anyway, I looked in all the usual import places for the boxed JELLO pudding mix, but much to my dismay, was only able to come up with vanilla or butterscotch (eeewwww). So I made my chocolate pudding from scratch. Chocolate is the way we roll around here. Poor Caitlin has been "blessed" with my sweet tooth and I just can't help but feed her fancy. Chocolate pudding it is. Or, well...sort of.
Milk here is not like milk in the US. It is reconstituted from a powdered form. It tastes a little different too. We've found one brand that is a little more pleasing to the palate, "High Quality Milk." The rest of the label is in Chinese. I carry the labels around in my wallet so I know which is low fat and fat free because like most things, I can't just figure it out by looking at it. So, through the heating process the milk got a little funny - I guess you could say that it curdled. Ugh. But, it tastes normal so we'll give it a shot. We'll see what our littlest food critic thinks of it later.
I love that Caitlin is old enough to enjoy foods that bring back so many warm and fuzzies. Some of my greatest joys of motherhood are putting together pieces of my childhood and incorporating them into our lives...especially now that we are so far away from "home." As I recently told a visitor, when you step into this apartment you are on US soil...even though I have witnessed our daughter turn carrot sticks into chop sticks and try to pick up pieces of grapes with them. She also boasts a proud "peace sign" in her latest photographs. Next she'll be asking for a face mask when we go outside! I guess we'll compromise on US/Asian fusion here.
Anyway, I looked in all the usual import places for the boxed JELLO pudding mix, but much to my dismay, was only able to come up with vanilla or butterscotch (eeewwww). So I made my chocolate pudding from scratch. Chocolate is the way we roll around here. Poor Caitlin has been "blessed" with my sweet tooth and I just can't help but feed her fancy. Chocolate pudding it is. Or, well...sort of.
Milk here is not like milk in the US. It is reconstituted from a powdered form. It tastes a little different too. We've found one brand that is a little more pleasing to the palate, "High Quality Milk." The rest of the label is in Chinese. I carry the labels around in my wallet so I know which is low fat and fat free because like most things, I can't just figure it out by looking at it. So, through the heating process the milk got a little funny - I guess you could say that it curdled. Ugh. But, it tastes normal so we'll give it a shot. We'll see what our littlest food critic thinks of it later.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
The joy of grilling (Matt's first blog)
Matt here. There have been many occasions on this Taiwan journey when I wanted to blog, but today marks the first such occasion where it was paired with the opportunity (Tara's giving Caitlin a bath and my work calls have ended for the evening. Yes it's a Sunday night so why should I have work calls, don't ask).
I dedicated~5 hours today to grilling and the result was spectacular. Why 5 hours? Shouldn't grilling take 20-40 minutes depending on what you're cooking? Not when you're beginning from scratch and living in a 5th-floor apartment in Taipei! But lets start from the beginning.
Last Sunday Tara, Caitlin and I went to dinner at the home of new friends of ours in Taipei (a new expat couple who just got settled into their apartment). To our delight, they cooked steak! It was amazing... first time we've tasted steak in Taiwan that was worthy of anything we've had in the USA. They had purchased a mini charcoal grille, briquettes and lighter fluid, and some fantastic looking USDA steaks from Costco. When we arrived the charcoal was glowing red and they threw on the steaks. This is all happening on the utility porch of their 4th-floor apartment so the ambiance is air conditioners and washing machine, but that made it all the more special... anyone can grille when you have an acre of land and a propane Weber. The porch saturated with smoke... part smoky charcoal smell, part beef drippings burning on the coals. It about knocked us over but it was such a novelty we wouldn't go indoors until the steaks were done. I even lavished in the smoke smell that my clothes picked up (Tara calls it "grillogne"). I wasn't very hungry before we arrived but it was so good I ate every morsel.
Fast forward to Friday when I needed to make a Costco run on the way home from work to get a key ingredient for our traditional Friday night pizza (you can't get good mozzarella cheese anywhere else in Taiwan). While I was there I spotted the grilles my friends had purchased.
I don't recall the price - it didn't matter - I had to have one!!! I grabbed one. But the charcoal only came in huge 6-bag multi-packs and I didn't think I could carry it home, so I passed that up thinking I could get some closer to home. Since I had the grille I also picked up some steaks. It's Costco so steak only comes in jumbo packs I was betting this whole grill thing was going to work out. But I hedged my bets by getting cheaper steaks than the New York Strip steaks I'd get back home. Yet I paid double, but that's a topic for another blog.
I don't recall the price - it didn't matter - I had to have one!!! I grabbed one. But the charcoal only came in huge 6-bag multi-packs and I didn't think I could carry it home, so I passed that up thinking I could get some closer to home. Since I had the grille I also picked up some steaks. It's Costco so steak only comes in jumbo packs I was betting this whole grill thing was going to work out. But I hedged my bets by getting cheaper steaks than the New York Strip steaks I'd get back home. Yet I paid double, but that's a topic for another blog.Now it's today (Sunday) after lunch and Caitlin's just gone in for her nap. I started with plan A for getting charcoal and lighter fluid. I walked ~10 minutes in the light rain to the grocery store nearest our house (Wellcome) which both Tara and I thought had charcoal. After a thorough search for charcoal and another thorough search (anything to avoid asking for help) I broke down and asked someone. He didn't speak English but he ran off and quickly returned with a lady who also didn't speak English (another topic for another blog). I said "charcoal" a few times, nothing. Then wrote it down and showed it to them. Still nothing. I said "barbecue" and "grill". They both discussed in Chinese and then shook their heads. Either they didn't know what it was or they were telling me they didn't carry it. Either way, a "Xie xie ni" and on to plan B.
Back out to De Xing East Road and another 15 minutes walk in the light rain to Carrefour, the big grocery store that's similar to a Wal-mart in its variety of products. 20 minutes of light rain adds up to being quite wet, but I can handle it. I got pulled into their newly remodeled wine area which was very nice -- I was impressed enough to grab a bottle for our Taiwan collection which is now up to 2 bottles. Oh wait, make that 1... I'm enjoying a glass right now. I didn't spend as much time searching before I asked someone. Again, she didn't speak English or didn't know what the heck charcoal was. But she knew how to say something like "please wait" and she literally ran away zig-zagging around countless, crowded customers (refer to one of Tara's earlier posts on what Carrefour is like on a weekend). A minute later she returned zig-zagging with a lady who looked like a customer (no uniform or name tag) but who spoke really good English, so I didn't ask if she worked there. I showed her my paper where I'd written "charcoal" at the prior store. She said in perfect English "what's that?" I described that it's used for barbecue outdoors, blah blah blah, and then it hit her! She exchanged a few words in chinese with the employee and then they both turned to me and said in unison "upstairs!" "Xie xie ni."
Upstairs I found the camping aisle and voila! Kingsford charcoal. Hallelujah. But right next to the Kingsford (English and Spanish packaging, ahhh) was the Carrefour generic brand (French and Chinese, booo) but it had to be the same thing, right? And at 1/3 the price! And since I'm cheap, I got that. Now where's the lighter fluid? I looked all over that section and no luck, so I asked (my don't-ask-for-help manhood was just about gone by now). She didn't speak English (seeing a trend?). But she quickly returned with someone who did. This lady was the customer relations manager and was from Long Island but was Japanese, so English was her 3rd language. Either way she knew what I was talking about, but not really... she heard what I was describing but she'd never heard of such a thing. She called to another employee who ran down the aisle and returned with a bag of what looked like Hershey's Kisses except the aluminum foil was wax paper. She said to light a couple of these under the charcoal. After she saw the puzzled look on my face she explained that here in Taiwan (and in Japan), where most people live in apartments, they don't use lighter fluid because of the initial high flames (bad combination when there's a roof over your head). Made sense to me. "Xie xie ni."
I exit the Carrefour with a heavy bag on each shoulder and pray to see the 280 bus coming. Instead I see it leaving, which means the next one will be between 5 and 40 minutes away. It's raining whether I stand there hoping or walk so I walked. I walked 15 minutes in the rain with sore shoulders (those shopping bags need shoulder pads) and the 280 bus never passed me, so it was the right call. Got soggy wet again, but who cares - I'm barbecuing tonight, baby!
Now think about the last time you grilled on charcoal... How long did it take for the coals to get ready to cook on? I guessed 30 minutes, so I started setting it up at 5:00 so we could eat at 6:00. Little grille assembled and set up on the non-flammable porch - check. Two wax Hershey kisses in the bottom - Check. Unzip the Carrefour generic store-brand charcoal briquettes - What the heck? Not briquettes. They're chunks of burned wood. It even smelled like burned wood. Maybe that's what Kingsford briquettes are made from in the first place - I never pondered it. Oh well, lets give it a try. I made a pyramid out of the wood pieces, sorta. Then I lit the wax kisses. They burned. 15 minutes later I returned expecting to see red coals but instead I saw nothing... the wax had burned out but the charcoal stuff hadn't caught. OK, lets re-think this.... I grabbed four wax kisses, put them close together, lit them all at once, and put charcoal pieces on top right into the little candle-size flame... thin pieces first (early 1980's campfires weren't wasted on me) then bigger pieces on top of them. I waited until I saw the charcoal turning gray and red. Then I went away for ~15 minutes. Do you think it was burning nice and hot this time? Of course not, but it was burning. A tiny little area had 'caught'. I stoked it, and returned after another 15 minutes. Then another. Then another. Finally after 90 minutes I had enough heat to maybe cook a steak!
From this point forward the night was glorious. Two thick USDA steaks sizzling over red hot coals, 5 minutes per side. Bam! The rest of dinner that Tara had made was keeping warm in the oven and Caitlin had been appeased with back-to-back Elmo DVD's, so everyone was hungry. And it was good. It was amazingly good. We ate every morsel, even Caitlin.
Indeed it was worth all the time I had put into it, from Costco to Wellcome to Carrefour and back. In the rain. On foot. I would do it all again if I had to, but I don't. Next time I think I can get the fire going in under an hour. And maybe next time I'll spring for the Kingsford. And with any luck I'll find some lighter fluid.
Tonight was a turning point in our Taipei lives: We found a way to barbecue. Life in Taipei is great.
Monday, March 9, 2009
I'm Back!
Just a quick photo to prove to you that I'm still here...Yes, I know. Its been a while. A llllooooonnnggg while. No time for excuses. Where did I leave off? Hmmmm....oh yeah, the holidays. THE HOLIDAYS. In a word, WHOOSH! Okay seriously, ZOOOM! But really, they flew by me so fast even I find it hard to believe they were impressionable enough for me to remember them 2 months later. Was Christmas really over 2 months ago? I feel like it was yesterday. A quick look in the mirror the other day reminded me that the time has actually passed. Yes, those wirey gray hairs I had camouflaged on December 27th by my now future sister-in-law are beginning to boast their silvery shine. And that inch or so she cut off this insane head of hair is back with a vengeance...do I wait 15 more weeks for a haircut or brave a haircut in Taiwan? Decisions, decisions. Back to the holidays.
We left for the US on 12/19 at 11:55pm and arrived some 25 hours later in Raleigh Durham on 12/20 at 10:30am or so. Caitlin was the best she could possibly be (she slept the entire time) and we miraculously made all of our connections despite random snow storms in southern California and Illinois. I cried tears of joy when the landing gear hit the runway at the Raleigh Durham Airport. I could have popped a tent right there and called it home. Anywhere in the same time zone as our families was good enough to call home at that point. We were tired and smelly (Caitlin threw up on the landing in CA...2 flights earlier), but Matt's parents embraced us anyway and brought us to our house. And so it began - "it" being the race to see everyone and do all the things we miss doing AND the holiday season was now, truly and officially upon us. I still get goosebumps and tears when I remember feeling the air on my face in Raleigh. My thoughts were something like, "I have arrived Lord. Let the spirit of this miraculous season fall upon my thoughts, my dreams, my actions and my family." And so it did. More than ever before, it did.
The spirit of Christmas is something I haven't felt in ages. There seems to be more obligations, productions, commercialism and less festiveness and Matt and I haven't really found the time to carve out traditions of our own because we're so busy running from family to family each year. So, here we are away from everyone and everything familiar to us for a while and then suddenly plunked into the middle of a seasonal wonderland-complete with the frenzied buzz of both the Christmas Day gift gathering deadline and our own personal grip on those few precious days that we would actually be living in our house. Oddly enough, it was perfect. It was an absolutely perfect way to feel. We kissed and hugged our family, ran through each room of our house just to make sure it was still there, then kissed and hugged each other. It was hard to believe we actually owned that house! We lallygagged through Harris Teeter (our local food store) at 1:00am and hugged boxes of Cheerios, canned tomatoes, organic milk and fun food treats that we haven't seen since August. We sorted through the piles of boxes of gifts we ordered online, wrapped and prepared packages for "the big day." We drove around and looked at lights, smiled at people and soaked it all in. Time stopped for us a little bit. We didn't experience the rush. We just basked in the glow of it all. It was beginning to be my most favorite Christmas EVER.
Probably my most fond memory of Christmas 2008 is a little trip Caitlin and I took to Target. I have always loved Target, but I can't begin to tell you how much more you will love Target when you are away from it for a while. We went stocking and supply shopping for our return trip to Taiwan. The first 2 novelties came all at once - 1 being the fact that the shopping cart actually had a little seat in it for Caitlin to sit and 2 is that I was able to use my "Floppy" which is a little cloth wrap around thing so that Caitlin doesn't have to touch the drooly, germy, fecal matter coated handle while I shop. I LOVE THE USA. First hit the snack bar for a giant soft pretzel and juice to share. We munched and lingered down every isle reading all the labels just because we could. We shopped kids clothes and shoes and greeting cards that I could read and books and toys and food (don't you just love that Archer Farms line of food they have there? Fun stuff to pick on!) and then came the Christmas isles. Keep in mind here that Caitlin hadn't really seen that many Christmas lights. When she saw the trees all lit up she started screaming, "Merry Christmas! Look Mommy, Merry Christmas!!" Then we would go down another isle and she would start up again, "Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Birthday!" For her, it works that way...Christmas, New Year's, birthday (her birthday is on 1/1). Boom! Talk about one stop celebrating. People were looking at us like we just fell off the turnip truck...which in some ways, we had. She unabashedly expressed sheer joy - the kind that made her baby blue eyes sparkle with all the wonders and magic of childhood. Yes, for me the spirit of Christmas had arrived. I was so filled with Christmas cheer that I wanted to wrap myself in "Jersey bulbs" and dance around in the yard. Finally, I didn't care about all the travel and the gifts and packing (ugh!) and decorating and not having a Christmas tree and creating a feeling that was just never quite there...finally. It was a freedom and a happiness that I wish to unleash into my everyday life, (although I must admit I haven't), but at least perhaps into each Christmas from here on out. I believe that in those moments at Target (of all places!) God smiled at me and said, "Merry Christmas Tara."
Just for fun, I thought I'd type out a chronological log of what we packed into 2 weeks...
12/19 at 11:55pm - Depart for LAX
12/19 some 11 hours or so later - Arrive at LAX, go through customs, eat and board plane for Chicago.
12/20 really, really, stupidly early - Board a plane for Raleigh.
12/20 around 10:30am or so - Meet Matt's parents at RDU Airport. Head home.
12/21 at 12:00pm - Matt's family comes to our house to celebrate the winter birthdays (Matt, Denelle and Caitlin).
12/22 at 8:50am - Caitlin's 2 year well visit at the doctor!
12/22 - Wrapped presents!
12/23 at 9am - Matt & Tara go to the dentist.
12/23 at 11:am - Caitlin visits Miss Jeannie for her 2 year portrait.
12/23 - shortly thereafter Caitlin and I went to lunch at our favorite spot (Whole Foods), had yogurt parfaits and chocolate chip cookies!
12/23 - sometime after lunch we went to Target.
12/24 - Packed our overnight bags and headed to Matt's parents' house to drop off our gifts and then dinner at Denelle's house and then off to church. Slept at Matt's parents' house because they had a tree for us to celebrate with.
12/25 - Heller Family Christmas!
12/26 - Packed our bags and flew to PHL for Hunter Family Christmas!
12/27 - Had my hair done by Leslee and hopped in the car for a trip up to NY for the Della Torre Family Christmas!
12/28 - Drove back to PA.
12/29 - Caitlin had a really high fever so we brought her to an urgent care center and found she had an ear infection.
12/30 - A much needed pajama day! Mom and I went shopping in the afternoon.
12/31 - Drove up to NJ for the family New Year's Eve party.
1/1 - Caitlin's 2nd birthday! Party at the Gigi's!
1/2 - Another pajama day.
1/3 - Flew back to Taiwan.
Whew. See what I mean? Attached is a link to our pictures. Enjoy!
Here are some shots from Caitlin's 2nd birthday (up north):
And then some from her southern party:
Sunday, December 7, 2008
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!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
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...
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
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!
*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 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.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Yehliu GeoPark & a few other stops
October 23, 2008There 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#
Monday, October 20, 2008
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#
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
