Ni Hao, Ni Hao!

The USA

2009-12-02T15:32:00.002+08:00

We're back! Back back, not just back in Taiwan. It feels so good, but also incredibly strange at the same time. It's cold, which is exciting, but... cold. The flight from Taipei to LA was terrifyingly turbulent (to me at least, no one else seemed to be bothered), but the flight from LA to Denver was nice and non-bumpy. It was so awesome to see both our families waiting for us at the airport. Feels good to be with family again.

Today I realized I didn't have shoes other than flip flops, so Mom and I went to Kohl's and I got really weirded out hearing the English all around. And the smiles! Everyone seems so nice here compared to the stoic Taiwanese on the MRT. They smile too, but you have to break through that wall. Then we went to the grocery store which blew my mind. I stared at the 50 types of yogurt in a daze, walked past odd packaged snack foods like vanilla oreo snack pack thingies, and really had to pull myself away from the bakery, where I stared at giant sheet cakes for too long.

So great to be back, but it's going to take some adjusting. Very odd. Very good but also odd.

Back in Taipei

2009-11-28T17:32:00.002+08:00

The trip's over! We're back in Taiwan, after three amazing days in Hong Kong. There were so many cool things there. We went up the Midlevel Escalator, which is a series of escalators that go up through all these neighborhoods up in the hills. Then we made our way to a cool little zoo right in the middle of the city. After that we took a tram to The Peak, where you can look out over the city lights. Beautiful. The next day we took a half-hour gondola ride (with a glass bottom) to the biggest bronze seated Buddha in the world. It was really cool to see up close. Then we had our Thanksgiving dinner at a nice Thai restaurant. It wasn't quite like the states, but we tried to choose a place that felt kind of homey. (There were lots of families there and a Christmas tree) Then we went back to Temple Street night market and had one last look around before turning in and getting ready for our flight the next day.
And now we're back. Sue was nice enough to let us stay with her for these couple days before setting off to the states. It's so strange to be back in the old place and not have it be our place any more! Tonight we're getting together with some friends to drink beer and eat seafood on a rooftop restaurant near Daan Park. It's SO sad to say goodbye to people we've grown so close to and have had so much fun with over the past two years. I don't think it's really sunk in yet that we're leaving for good in two days. I'm trying not to think about it.

Vientiane and Hanoi

2009-11-24T22:22:00.003+08:00

The tubing was everything we could have wanted. Incredible. Tubing is a bizarre water/party experience in Laos. We went with our British friends, Selina and Perry, who we've been traveling with for a few days. We got up early to fit it in before we moved on to Vientiane. We walked to the tubing place, where we signed a paper that excused the company of any injury that could occur while on the river. Then they scrawled a number on our arms in permanent marker and drove us up four kilometers by tuk tuk to the starting point, which was a bar. We met up with a couple of Germans and a taciturn Italian named Simone.

It was 9:30 in the morning, we were the first group, and we were offered a free shot of Tiger whiskey, which we all felt we had to accept. After that we all jumped in our tubes and floated by bar after bar, asking us to drink their beer and free whisky (and free bananas?). Some of the bars had slides and rope swings. The bar owners would throw ropes, life preservers, and bamboo poles into the water to reel us in. We stopped at a recommended one, famous for its enormous water slide and trapeze-like rope swing. Both were utterly terrifying and totally awesome. The water slide went up at an angle at the end, catapulting the slider high into the air, unable to control how they landed in the water. The trapeze was insanely high up. You had to climb a ladder forever, then teeter on the edge as the guy brought the trapeze to you. There were no harnesses or helmets, just the strength in your arms (which I don't have much of to start with). This was probably one of the craziest things we've ever done, and crazier knowing that it would be 100 percent illegal in the US, or just about any other country for that matter.

The last day in Laos we spent in the capital, Vientiane. Took the bus four hours from Vang Vieng, then checked into the Orchid Guest House when we arrived. We only had one evening there, but walked around a bit with our new British friend, Selina, and looked for lady boys. We saw a couple, too! The next day we were off on a flight to Hanoi.

We only spent one night here, also, but we made the most of it. We ran into a girl at the airport who was promoting her new hostel, called The Drift. We (John, Me, a couple from Britain, and a couple from Australia) got a free nights stay out of it. It was a really cool place with tons of information and an awesome rooftop bar, where we drank their specialty drink, the vodka bucket. It was a really great way to spend one night in Hanoi.

Today we got on a plane and now we're in Hong Kong, which is also totally awesome. It's like Taipei but way bigger, and with people always trying to sell you suits. We checked into our cheap but clean hotel and then visited the Temple Street market, where we ate some awesome wontons and talked for a long time to a Korean guy named Guan.

After so many days of going going going, we're excited to spend a few days in one place, just wandering. There's lots to see here, and we can't wait!

Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng

2009-11-20T17:21:00.003+08:00

We're in Vang Vieng! And it took some adventuring to get here for sure. We got to the Laos border town and got on a slow boat no problem, and met up with a really cool little group who we're now traveling with until Hanoi. There are three girls from New Zealand, two German guys, and a couple from England. We're all on the same page travel-wise, which makes everything easier and cheaper.

After we got on the slow boat it was a different story. We skipped the chance to sit on one of the wooden benches available and opted for the roomier floor at the front of the boat. We had all our pillows ready and settled in with books and ipods. After about an hour of clear skies and beautiful Mekong river views, we suddenly stopped in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. Eventually we found out (by way of sign language and deductive reasoning) that our boat had broken and were waiting for another one to take us the rest of the seven hours. After another hour, a significantly smaller boat showed up right along side of us, and there was a mad rush for seats. John and I waited too long and missed out on the seats. We ended up hugging our knees on the floor of the boat between two rows of people. Not fun. Not fun at all. We kept up a pretty positive attitude, I must say though. I wanted to complain so badly but there was just no one to be mad at. We were definitely excited to pull into the dock that night, and sleep in our glorified tent of a hotel room.

The second day was much better. We left at nine in the morning with about a third of the amount of people from the previous day. We all got nice spots (on the floor but with the ability to spread out a bit) and rode the rest of the eight hours to Luang Prabang. This day was really cold though, and we all spent the time trying to somehow make our pant legs and sleeves longer.
Luang Prabang was, yet again, incredible. The French had settled there at some point in history, leaving behind little French-like markets and cafes, and lots of baguettes. We had a great day walking around the town, watching the orange-robed monks everywhere, and visiting temples along the Mekong River.

Today we made the six hour minibus ride to Vang Vieng, where we are now. The scenery is breathtaking. Nothing but enormous jutting mountains everywhere, and really interesting villages along the road, and pigs and chickens and ducks constantly. We're all staying in these little bungalows by the river, and it's only costing us 30,000 kip (about three us dollars). We're planning on going tubing tomorrow, which is kind of the main thing you do here, besides explore caves. Might leave tomorrow for Vientiane, just three hours away by bus. Laos is amazing. We're loving it.

Moving on

2009-11-15T23:07:00.002+08:00

Our time in Chiang Mai is up! We're leaving tomorrow morning to travel to the border by van. We're staying in the border town Chiang Khong, which is supposed to be very cool. Then we're off to the slow boat to Luang Prabang in Laos.

We went on a day trek today. Started by taking an ox cart ride, which was a bit hokey, but still cool. They took us in a little 15 minute loop. Kind of a time filler, but it was interesting to be on these old rickety carts. After that we went on a stifling bamboo raft ride. Sun beating down but again, totally beautiful scenery. When that was done we rode elephants. Absolutely awesome. It was a very bumpy ride, and terrifying when our elephant seemed like she wanted to take a shortcut down a cliff, but once I realized that the elephants wanted to fall down even less than we wanted them to, I felt like I could relax. One of the elephants had a little baby that trotted along beside the whole time. Later when the ride was over, we were all playing with the baby, and it wrapped its trunk around the strap of my camera and almost flung it into the bushes. John had a little tug of war with it and eventually won. After the elephants we visited a mountain tribe village where all the women had elongated necks and wore metal coils around them. We bought a couple hand woven scarfs which are absolutely beautiful.

Once we got back we ate khao soi (maybe our last bowl ever) and walked around the Sunday market, trying to resist buying everything we saw. We ended up getting 60 bhat foot massages, which were pretty intense, but left us feeling like we were walking on air.

Now it's off to get a good night's rest before our travels tomorrow. Bye Thailand!

Chiang Mai

2009-11-14T15:33:00.002+08:00

So we left KK, and flew into Bangkok for one night before heading north to Chiang Mai. We stayed in the place we were in last year, right near Khao San road, which of course we visited and bought cheap clothes and good food from. Yesterday, we hopped on a V.I.P. bus from Bangkok and drove ten hours to Chiang Mai, where we are now. That bus was nice. Lots of leg room and an attendant who served us coffee and snacks. All for about 25 US dollars. I think we're spoiled now; trying not to expect that every time!

We arrived last night and found a nice, kind of sparse, but clean hotel within the town. We didn't have to walk far to find some amazing Thai food and fruit shakes.

We are now in the middle of exploring Chiang Mai, which is such an incredible place. It's much more laid back than Bangkok, of course it's much smaller, about a million people or so. The city center is in a square surrounded by a moat. The old wall is visible in some parts. This city is famous for its handicrafts, made by numerous mountain tribes that surround the area. Lots of silver, umbrellas, and textiles. All are so beautiful. We're heading to a night market later on, and hopefully tomorrow we're going to ride elephants and bamboo rafts on a short day trip out of the city.

We've also booked a van/slow boat journey to Luang Prabang in Laos for a couple days from now. That was a relief, because once we got here, we realized that it might not be so easy to find an easily accessible place to cross into Laos. So now that's out of the way, we're having a great time relaxing and wandering the town.

More later!

Wild Animals

2009-11-10T21:35:00.000+08:00

Let me just say, Borneo is probably the coolest place ever. We've had such a blast here; it's crazy to think we're flying out so soon! Have to talk about Sukau Rainforest Lodge....

So after we visited the orangutans, in the wild, no cages, no barriers, we were whisked away by speedboat two hours south to Sukau, where we got to our lodge. It's called Sukau Rainforest Lodge, an eco-lodge deep in the rain forest. This is the place. Our guide, Wan, was sure to tell us that this lodge was NOT a hotel and definitely NOT a resort. No air-con, many mosquitoes, all kinds of bugs. I was a little worried. But when we showed up, we were thrilled to find an absolutely beautiful Borneo longhouse-style lodge right on the edge of the river. The atmosphere was very relaxing, with the main area open to the rain forest, no walls. They even provided us with sarongs to wear to dinner, which was really nice.

We spent the next two days going on river cruises and a jungle trek in search of wild animals, which we saw plenty of. The river cruise was us six on the tour plus Wan, our guide. We went up and down the river, and took a million pictures of long-tailed macaques and the interesting proboscis monkey. We saw SO many of those, and apparently they only live in Borneo. There were also lots of colorful and interesting birds, egrets, storks, eagles, hornbills, and kingfishers of all sorts. It was SO incredibly cool to see these animals in the wild, I couldn't believe it.

The trek was fun, but a little more nerve-racking because we were brushing leeches off each other the whole time, and making sure our leech-proof socks (provided by the lodge) were staying up. Wan showed us lots of plants used by the indigenous people for all kinds of things.

We also went on two night river cruises, which were an entirely different story. Being on a rickety little boat in the pitch dark with a spotlight felt kind of like the beginning of the pirates of the carribbean ride, except if we fell out we'd probably be eaten by crocodiles. We saw so many awesome animals those nights. Our guide, Marvin, shone a spotlight all around the banks, looking for the reflection of the animals' eyes. I was incredulous at first, but Marvin delivered. Right away we spotted a kingfisher, and got right up close to it, because apparently they're blind at night, and can't see the light or us at all. We saw a civet cat climbing a tree, and three of the largest species of kingfisher. They were huge and so colorful. Then we saw an owl, a purple heron, and a baby crocodile.

The second night cruise was even more exciting. We saw a big kingfisher and a baby crocodile again, then another civet cat, a couple of owls, and then, the most exciting, we saw TWO western tarsiers! Marvin said he'd only ever seen four of these little guys in eight years before that night. He was seriously excited about it, and so were we. I got a couple of grainy pictures of them. Not great but proof that they were there!

Now we're back in KK after a six-hour bus ride, wishing we were back at the rain forest lodge. We were sad to not see any elephants like some of the other people staying at the lodge had the week before, but those tarsiers made up for it, I think. If I could only come back to one place from this trip so far, I'd go back there definitely.

From the Philippines to Borneo

2009-11-10T21:29:00.006+08:00

So we leavc Boracay and take an extremely concerning ferry boat ride back to the island of Mindoro (the port town of Roxas). We are headed for Sabang beach in the north of the island, but first must make it across the tempermental sea. Aboard the ship we rock back and forth and side to side over the choppy whitecapped waves underneath. The boat literally leaves the surface of the water and crashes back down, sending giant bursts of white water up to the top of the ship. Perhaps it's my inexperience in the nautical arena, but I don't think this is a good thing. However, as you've probably guessed, we survived.
We make our way up to Sabang via very mini-van and jeepney. A nice lady named Puri takes us to a great little cottage that sits just a few feet from the lagoon's edge. It's a bit rough inside, but there's a wonderful patio in front where Mel and I enjoyed some drinks and song. (I brought the mini-guitar hoping for this kind of scenario.) The "touts" are quite prevalent and offer us various goods and services, but they always seemed to meet our declines with a "bahala na" sort of attitude. Quiet in the day here, but a bit scandelous at night with the strip clubs ( or "discos"), many bars, foreigner-seeking Filipino women....and ladyboys.
Off after a couple nights in this very interesting town and bound for Borneo. We meet Ronald Go, our trusted taxi driver in Batangas who escorts us back to the International airport in Manila. We didn't find him right away and found the local police a bit sketchy, what with the knife-sharpening friend and the police allowing us to use their phone if we paid a price that was "up to us." Not all fun and games in the Philippines. But, we arrive to the airport safely and are soon airborn toward Malaysia.
Safely landed, we deboard in both Mel's and mine first Islamic country. We didn't know quite what to expect of Kota Kinabahlu, the capital of the western state of Sabah. Met a German who met two Malaysian ladies who took us into town for a few Ringgit each (Ringgit being the currency here.) Stay at the Hotel Holiday, a nice bare necessities type place in the city center. We walk around and immediately notice the cultural diversity of this country. There are men in tunics, women in burkas, Chinese and Arabic signs, Indian restaurants, Filipino influences and so much more. The people are an eclectic mix and seem to be all smiles when you exchange a glance. We are greeted by quite a few "hellos" and "where are you froms", as well as, many waves from the locals. The city is also surprisingly well developed. The Malaysian economy, although apparantly not doing very well at the moment, is clearly superior to the Philippines. It reminds us a lot of Taipei with nicer buildings, fully-paved roads and artistic landscaping.
We start off the following day for Sandakan, a city in the Northeast part of Sabah where we are to begin our tour to Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center and cruise through rain forest along the Kinabatangan river, near the town of Sukau. In Sandakan we stroll the streets and take in the grittier, but possibly even friendlier, side of Sabah. It's a dusty little town center by the port and the smiles and waves are quite frequent. And the cultural salad is evident on every street corner. We had a nice dinner on the waterfront and headed to bed, early 740 rise the next day.
Morning came and we met our guide Mirwan who began the day by guiding us through a very interesting market outside of the hotel and to the van. He is a great guy, very laid back, but enthusiastic about his country. We also met our tour-mates Mark and Mel, Jocelyn and Di. All great folks, indeed. Mirwan or 'Wan' gave us the lowdown on the events of the day and some background about the Sepilok center.
Sepilok finds and rescues orphaned orangutans (which means 'people of the forest' in Malay) and rehabilitates/reintroduces them into the wild. It is a gradual process that takes years, but it is working to restore the numbers of orangutans in the wild. The deforesting through logging and palm-oil plantations has widdled down the population to endangered and left many orphaned. Sepilok, working with the government to help educate the country's residents, has done amazing things. The tour visits help bring much needed funds and increase awareness. Plus it's pretty radical for us, too.
Anyway, you walk along a boardwalk through the forest and find an open area that resembles a large house deck in the middle of the forest. Surrounding are several platforms, ropes and wild rainforest. No cages. No bars. Soon we spot a few of these incredible creatures swinging aptly by hands and feet. They seem so comfortable swinging from branch to branch. With incredible luck, an alpha male comes to the platform and gives everyone a rare treat. He is enormous and looks more like a gorilla than an orangutan. The crowd is stunned. A few pig-tailed macaques make their entrance, but don't get much from the big daddy. Wan tells us there would be more, but the other males don't dare come round when poppa is there.
Beautiful creatures.

Bahala Na!

2009-10-31T15:10:00.003+08:00

October 30th/31st- Boracay Island, Phillipines

We couldn't be happier to have arrived at our intended destination. As we walk along the beach path we are greeted by friendly faces willing to show us to their guest-house/hotel/or hostel somewhere nearby the stunning beaches on the island. We decide to stop into a place called Serge's Palace, nearby to Boat Station 3 (a bit cheaper, and closer to the port to and from Caticlan). It's a nice place with a hot shower and air conditioning. Glad to have some relief from the thick humidity that hangs in the air like a damp blanket, we decide this will work for us. Pesos are the way here, and we part with a thousand for a night stay here. Not bad at all.
With a place to ditch our exuberantly overweight packs, we quickly head out to a beachside restaurant for some much needed sustenance. Pizza and beer does the trick, although not great for our 'beach bods.' Sitting at the 'Nigi Nigi Bar' we scope out the local vendors selling necklaces, sunglasses, foot-sandal-triangles (no idea) and lots of delicious snacks. Woman walk around with baskets of fruit atop their heads. Boatmen and vendors offer sailing trips or ATV rides. Women offer various massages and henna tattoos, or corn rows! We also take notice of the many aging white men with their younger Filipino counterparts. Thoughts of sex tourism can't be helped from entering our minds. But, live and let live (Bahala Na)!
Swimming becomes very important as we take a stroll along the beautiful white sand beach, enjoying the clear blue waters of this part of the Visayan Sea rush over our feet. We change into our swimming duds and head out into the water. We continue to see the bottom even at chest level. Amazing! Easily the best beach I have ever seen (not that I'm an expert in the area or anything, but still...wow). Small white fish dart around and into our ankles. We watch and ponder their strange behavior, or maybe they are pondering ours. Swimming, sunning, swimming, Mai Tais, more swimming, sleep....and so on. Perfect opposite to the previous days activities.
Showers and new clothes and we're ready for a night out. We stroll along until we find an all-you-can-eat Mongolian Barbeque restaurant with interesting techno music bleating from the attatched dance-club. Very delicious meal, and cheap too. Afterwards we walk some more and feel the wind whipping stronger than before. We hear some good rock-n-roll coming from a slightly tucked away beach-bar called 'Charlh's Bar.' We grab a seat and watch the band playing behind the bar. Meet a great couple named Francis and Nena who live in Manilla and are on vacation due to the holiday of 'Unas.' 'Unas' is somewhat of an equivalent to Halloween. Some celebrate the passing of the dead with prayer and some celebration. These two are such wonderful people, and we pass the hours singing along with the band, talking music and drinking San Miguel (the beer of choice here). Several hours, songs and beers later we part company. Best of luck Francis and Nena! Great people.
We head back to Serge's and notice a strong wind blowing even harder than before.
The next morning is filled with the deafening sounds of strong wind and rain pounding on the roof of our hotel room. There is a typhoon slightly to the north. It will not hit Boracay too hard, it's the north on the island if Luzon that suffered so much from the last typhoon. We are hoping this one moves along quickly so no on else is hurt.
The rain clears so I stumble down the beach, with sleep still in my eyes, in search of a shake for Mel. She's been wanting one since we got here. Found Choco-peanut-banana...this will definitely do. Talk to a couple guys on the beach path, find that the wind is far less strong on the other side of the island.
Mel and I walk across the island past many deshevelled homes of the locals. It's a much different scene than the beachfront resort atmosphere of White Sand Beach. To be expected I guess. However, and this in all likelihood could be my own ignorance, the people still seem to be relaxed and living life for whatever it brings them. Bahala Na. Mel and I wonder what the impression is of the foreigners to the locals. Is our presence here liked? Despised? Not thought much about? We wonder and we wander. I guess we mostly just reflect on the knowledge that we are so lucky in so many ways. It may not always be so, but....Bahala Na.

Bye Bye Taiwan, Hello Philippines!

2009-10-31T15:04:00.003+08:00

So our time in Taiwan has actually ended. After two years, we've quit our jobs, sent home a big box of stuff we've acquired over the years, sold the scooter, packed up some clothes into a backpack, and got on a plane to Manila. We're taking a month-long backpacking trip around Southeast Asia, starting in the Philippines, then Malaysian Borneo, and after that northern Thailand. From there we will travel overland through Laos and into Vietnam. From Hanoi we're flying into Hong Kong, our last stop before returning to Taipei for a few days. On November 30th, we'll be on a plane back to the good USA in time for the holidays. I'm so excited to be eventually getting home after being abroad for so long, but right now, we're in the Philippines.

First stop: Boracay, known as one of the world's most beautiful beaches. Boracay is quite a ways from Manila, and we decided to take the cheaper route overland instead of fly there. Flying would have taken two hours. When we finally got to Boracay it had been about 24. Probably wouldn't take that same route again, but the trip was really interesting.

Our flight out of Taipei took off at 1:30am and landed in the Philippines at about 3:30am on October 29th. We didn't sleep before that, so we were pretty tired when we got in a cab that took us two hours to a port called Batangas. We hopped on a pumpboat that ferried us to Sabang beach in Puerto Galera, which is in the island of Mindoro. It was about 8:00am at this point, and we were already feeling wrecked. We didn't stay long in Sabang. We asked the locals how to get to Calapan, the next leg of our trip to Boracay. They directed us to a jeepney, which is like a small bus with bench seating on the inside. At first glance, it looked able to hold about eight people. After being on the road for a while, picking up people here and there, we ended up completely crammed in with round about 20 other people. This jam-packed ride lasted about two hours through twisty, wet, terrifying jungle roads. John and I were so tired at this point that we could not keep our eyes open, despite being constantly jostled around, weaving through the dirt road.

When we made it to Calapan, we had to find a way to get to the next town, Roxas, still on the island of Mindoro but quite a ways south. A couple of ladies on the jeepney were headed there too, and said we could follow them. Let me just say that the Filipinos are probably the friendliest, most genuine people I've ever met. We really had no idea how to get to where we wanted to go, and without everyone else's help, we would have been utterly screwed. There were many times when we could have gotten scammed or led in the wrong direction, but that hasn't happend at all. So we followed the ladies and got into a van (a welcome change from the jeepney) and headed two hours south to Roxas.

We arrived in Roxas in the afternoon, about 2:30 or so. From there we wanted to take a ferry to Caticlan, the jumping off point to get to the elusive Boracay. We thought we'd get to Roxas, get right on a ferry, and be in Boracay by 7:00 at the latest. Turns out the next ferry away from Roxas was at 8:00pm. We were so incredibly wiped out at this point that we got a small hotel room for a few hours to pass out before the four hour long ferry ride at 8:00. The hotel was sparse but did the trick. There was a bed and a toilet with no flushing mechanism, and all for just about 4 US dollars. The hotel owner said we could stay the night for about 8 dollars if we needed to, but we wanted to get on that ferry.

So after a much needed nap, we got on a really big ferry and made the four hour trip to Caticlan. The ferry ended up leaving Roxas at about 10:00 instead of 8:00, so we got to Caticlan much later than expected. The ferry was really nice though, not jam-packed, with nice, big, soft seats. I was so afraid that the boat to Caticlan would be some creepy pumpboat like the one we took earlier that day, and thank goodness it wasn't. The pumpboat was fun, but probably not for four hours over open ocean.

We finally landed in Caticlan at about 2am on October 30. We got in a tricycle that took us to a 24 hour hotel, which was a welcome sight after not knowing if we would be taking turns sleeping in some port terminal. The hotel was a hilton compared to our napping house from before. It was a little bigger than a shoebox, but was clean and had a flushing toilet. No hot water, but that didn't really matter. We were just happy to get a full night's rest after 24 hours of jostling, uncomfortable travel. We got up at about 10am, jumped on a small pumpboat, and took the 10 minute ride across crystal clear water to Boracay. Finally, we were there!

Like I said eariler, if given the opportunity to come to Boracay again, we'd definitely spring for the airplane, but I'm glad we got the experience of the overland route. I was amazed at how helpful the people were, and I'm reminded of their friendliness and openness constantly. People also don't seem to be phased by diversity at all. Even in the small dusty town of Roxas, where we were the ONLY Westerners in sight, nobody treated us like the weird foreiners we were in Taipei. They'd say hi and go about doing their thing. You don't get the glazed over stares, and unabashed gawks like in Taiwan. It's a nice change, that was starting to get old.

We're planning on staying in Boracay for a few days, not quite sure yet. There's a place west of here called Donsol where you can swim with wild whale sharks. We're hoping to get to do that. But man, Boracay is so laid back and beautiful. White sand and clear water, we could easily end up staying here for much longer than we first expected. We'll see!

Lantern Festival

2009-04-26T20:17:00.001+08:00

MOV02054
Originally uploaded by MelanieC518

This video is from February; the lantern festival is held every year in Pingxi. People write their wishes on the paper lanterns and then send them up into the air.

a few pics of me in action

2009-02-17T23:47:00.004+08:00

My manager took a few pictures during a promotional event (at a KFC!) and during class. Thought you might like to see some of my crazy kids!

Taipei 101 Satellite pic

2009-01-12T02:02:00.002+08:00

View Larger Map
Thought this was pretty cool. See how close you can zoom in!

hao keng bu!

2008-12-15T01:43:00.002+08:00

So I had something really scary happen to me on the MRT the other day. I mean really horrifying. I was on my way home on Friday, finishing up a crossword in the newspaper and getting excited for the weekend to come. I was sitting on the end of a row of three seats and there were two other women next to me. The woman in the middle was carrying a bag full of persimmons and oranges and things. So as I was sitting there, continuing the crossword, I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye from the woman with the bag of fruit. I thought it was some bit of hair moving, but when I finally looked over at her sleeve where the movement was coming from I found that it wasn't a chunk of hair at all but a gigantic freaking centipede crawling around! She must have noticed it at the exact same time I did because right when I saw it, she jumped up out of her seat, throwing the entire bag of fruit into the air and furiously started beating at her shirt to get the insect off as quickly as possible. Me and the woman who was on the other side of the fruit lady immediately started searching for the bug, which was now nowhere to be seen. The train started slowing to the next stop, and the woman and I shared this moment like, "Oh man, where is that thing?" As the fruit lady was picking up her oranges which were rolling all over the place, the other woman and I were desperately searching our own clothes and and bags and hair, wanting to know where that horrendous thing was, but definitely not wanting to find it anywhere close. Finally, just as the MRT doors were opening, I saw it right there on the front of the other lady's shirt! Without thinking, I took my newspaper and totally beat this woman with it, causing the centipede to fall right onto the now vacant seat. She immediately was like, "Oh! Xie xie!" and I was breathing this sigh of relief saying, "Oh my god!" and everyone else around us tried to get a good look at it as they exited the train. The centipede was seriously, maybe five inches long and had a million of these long, comb-like legs coming straight out of the sides. I don't know for sure if it had the capability of stinging or biting, but it looked like it could most definitely kill a full-grown human being. For the entirety of my walk home from the MRT station I could feel things crawling on me and had to reassure myself that I indeed did knock it onto the seat and that it indeed did not jump back up in an amazing feat to hide inside my bag. So that was my Friday night story. Hao keng bu!

Exercises

2008-10-28T01:49:00.003+08:00

Now that I've been here for a good while (about a year...yikes!) I've found myself starting to wonder what stuff is totally unique to Taiwan, and what stuff occurs in the US as well. The line's becoming fuzzy, and I catch myself thinking, "Wait, do they do this back home too and I just don't remember, or am I witnessing something seriously weird here?"

Example: The Exercises.

There's a big cultural difference in health and fitness here, one of them being these peculiar exercises people do. These are most often seen in a park or other outdoor area; sometimes on a busy sidewalk. I remember people in the US stretching in public or maybe raising their arms a bit to squeeze in as many health benefits as possible into a morning jog or brisk walk. Here though, they go all out. Aside from the Tai Chi seen quite frequently, you also will see people rhythmically slapping themselves on the arm, under the chin, or right on the butt. I've seen people do it standing still or walking. Self-slapping is huge here. They slap their bellies, legs, and back (like they're giving themselves a pat on the back...it's nice). I saw some partner slapping the other day as I was jogging through Chiang Kai-Shek memorial hall. A woman was standing with her arms out like a T, and a man was standing behind her, patting her on the hips. It reminded me of one of those 1950's fat shaking machines. Oh and probably the best one of all in the slapping category is tree-slapping. It's exactly what it sounds like. Somebody standing there, slapping the trunk of a tree. I don't know if it's supposed to be good for the person or for the tree. Maybe it's mutually beneficial.
In addition to the slapping, there's also a variety of circling and flailings. I've seen some people, while walking very fast, instead of bringing their arms in in a jogging/speed walking position, just throw them out straight in front and behind, as high and flail-y as possible. John told me about a woman he saw on the sidewalk with her arms straight out to the sides, making small flapping movements like a bird. He said he tried it to see what it was like.
I know people like to jog in place at a red light to keep the momentum up, but a couple months back as I was waiting to cross the street, I noticed a woman next to me...I'm not sure how to put it any better...just flailing. Her whole body, flailing. Legs were kicking out in all directions. Arms moving nonsensically in huge motions, every which way. And in case you're wondering, she didn't yo wen ti (have problems) she was just exercising.
There are so many more; I love when people jog backwards. What does that do? I've wanted to get pictures, but I'm always too nervous to do it. When I ask Taiwanese people about these exercises, they either look at me like I'm crazy and the only one seeing them, or they simply say, "for health" like how could I not know that slapping oneself on the shoulder is healthy, duh!

Hope everyone's good at home. Oh yeah, we're going on our contract break vacation this week for two weeks. We're flying into Bangkok first and staying there for a few days, then we're meeting some friends and are going to travel through Cambodia with them for about a week. After that we're heading to Vietnam and will fly out of Ho Chi Minh back to Taipei. We're so excited! Will definitely be posting pics to Flickr right when we return!
Love you all,
Melanie

2008-09-08T00:05:00.002+08:00

Here's my TV debut...the Shane Commercial!

T.I.T.

2008-07-26T20:30:00.003+08:00

I want to tell you all about something John and I call "T.I.T." Don't be shocked. I'll explain.

T.I.T. is actually John's phrase, which was born from the movie Blood Diamond, where Leonardo DiCaprio explains unfathomable situations to people by saying "T.I.A....This is Africa." Of course, T.I.T. means "This is Taiwan" and we say it when there are no other words for something, no possible explanation for a situation, nothing to say at all but to shrug and say, "T.I.T."

John began to say it early on, when we started noticing things you would never, ever see in American daily life. Here are a few examples of where uttering T.I.T. is appropriate:

When you order a pitcher of beer in the bowling alley, and the cups that accompany it are tiny, glass mugs that hold about one sip of beer each.
I've mentioned it before, but the trash trucks that blare Fur Elise around the neighborhood when it's time to get rid of your garbage.
When people walk so slowly in front of you that it's uncomfortable and your back hurts.
When trying on clothes in an un-air conditioned dressing room when the rest of the store is air conditioned. It's great in 100 degree heat, trying on dress pants that are sticking to your legs while your hair slowly becomes plastered to your forehead with sweat.
When trying on clothes in that same dressing room without a mirror. I've only ever seen one or two stores that have mirrors in the dressing room!
When you order for three people in a restaurant, and the food comes out all on one plate, leaving you to your own creativity to figure out how to eat lunch.
When you get a look of total confusion after asking for water with a giant, sodium-rich, dim sum dinner.
When waiting at the bus stop. As the bus approaches, everyone waives wildly to catch the driver's attention until it comes to a complete stop in front of them.
When riding on the bus, and you know the driver is just stomping on the gas and the break, causing people to completely fall over.
When eating at a restaurant and your waitress takes your order wearing thigh-high stockings, high heels, a mini skirt, and a trucker hat that says only, "FU** THE WORLD." (only no asterisks)
When you arrive at a huge, beautiful beach, and notice that everybody, like a hundred people, save a few, are crammed into one tiny section of water, roped off like the shallow end of a swimming pool. The few that are not in the ocean/pool are westerners who have walked down the beach a ways and decided to find their own place, away from the zillion people, to hang out.
When you order breakfast in a restaurant and are forced to choose a little cake from the glass case.
When you eat breakfast in that same restaurant and notice that every single one of the waiters are standing just a few feet away, staring at you (the whole time!).
When you go to the bathroom and find a porch swing and a couple lawn chairs in there.
When you are asked to do a TV commercial and you do it.

These are just a few situations; the list keeps getting longer. Sometimes they're amusing, sometimes maddening. It really depends on your state of mind. When we're wandering around the city, some of these things can make us laugh till we can't breathe, or at least make us furrow our brows at each other in confusion. When I'm in a hurry going to work, that's when they're not so funny. That's when they make me want to scream instead of laugh.

The best example of T.I.T. though, was maybe a month ago, when John and I were walking near our house. We rounded a corner, and there, enormous, on the side of a building, was a huge poster that said simply, "TIT." We just stared at each other. This is Taiwan.

Gettin Scooter Savvy

2008-07-05T16:23:00.002+08:00

You sit waiting, breathing deeply as you try and relax your fingers. Gone from one caravan to travel amongst another that seemed so mystical and frightening. That's right, man, I finally bought a scooter and am learning to traverse the insane city streets of Taipei! I think its name will be Satchmo cause she's like Jazz on wheels. For seven months we have been using the public transport here, and trust me, it has been unbelievably good. But there was something missing.
I've always loved the feeling of independence that comes while cruising with the windows rolled down, the sun shining down and the cool breeze blowing across your face. I've missed that. Course, Satchmo has no windows. And the air in Taipei is anything but cool here in early July. But that doesn't mean that it aint one of the most liberating feelings I've had in my whole life. The city jungle can seem pretty inescapable at times, a little suffocating. In only three days Mel and I have been able to find places of refuge that I never knew were literally "around the corner."
It still remains a bit sketchy, especially when a taxi is pulling away from the curb as the bus races towards it while you are somewhere in between. But you get by. Have so far. Plan to in the future. We've yet to leave the city on ol' jazz wheels but I imagine we'll be gone tomorrow. Mel and I went down to a place called "the Diner" that serves Western style breakfasts, had some pancakes and then cruised back home. Unreal, reminds me of Denver in a very Asian way. Denver with palm fronds.
Oh yeah Mel bought a Tamagotchi egg! Yeah, remember those. She couldn't pass it up, a bit of nostalgia for four dollars! No way to pass that up.
Anyways we hope you are all well and in good health. Love you

The Smells

2008-05-28T23:18:00.003+08:00

Another month here. Six months in total. I've said this a million times but sometimes it feels like we've been here forever and sometimes it feels like it's been just a few short days. Whenever I get a whiff of some smell that takes me back to the first few days...that's when it feels like forever.

When I walk by "The Love Hotel" aka our first home here, I get that feeling. The whole alley has the same smell: one of really thick flowery perfume covering up sewage. It changes smell ratio, too. Sometimes I smell the perfume more and sometimes the sewage. Everything comes flooding back when I smell it. I see John and I in the taxi just an hour after we landed, staring out the windows and staring at each other, not knowing what to say. I see myself saying "xie xie" (shey shey) for the first time and noticing how weird it felt to make those words. I see myself looking out the hotel window, trying to will the sun out from behind the clouds, hoping it would make the world outside feel just the tiniest bit like home.

The smell of head office does the same thing, too. It makes me think of those days when I made a mental note of everything I saw on the way there, trying desperately to familiarize myself with Roosevelt Road, always forgetting where the good dumpling place was. It makes me think of looking dumbfounded at my bank card for the first time. There's a cartoon character on there! Crazy!

The 7-11s all have a distinct smell. I think it's the eggs. They all have these crock pots full of black-shelled eggs. I think they were once white-shelled, but become black after stewing in the black liquid for some time. You would think they'd smell awful, but they actually smell kind of cinnamon-y...like Christmas. Christmasy or not, though, I still haven't mustered up the strength to fish one out and give it a try. I'll stick with just smelling them. For now.

I've heard that smell is the sense strongest tied to memory, and I believe it. This city is full of smells. Smells that creep up on you slowly and make you think, "Wait, what am I smelling? Are you smelling that?" And others that stomp right up to you and slap you on the face making you say, "Oh, man! What IS that?!" Even though most are strong, not all of them are bad. Just different--SO different. I think some of them I'll never be able to describe in more detail than just, "Wow, it totally smelled like Taiwan just now."

Purple Mountain's Majesty

2008-04-30T08:17:00.007+08:00

Well we've returned from the vacation that ate all other vacations! A 10 day trek from Taipei, Taiwan to L.A. to Denver to Montana (Glasgow, fifty miles from Canada), back to Denver then on to L.A. and finally, back to Taipei. The goal? Surprise an unexpecting sister shortly before her wedding day. Did it work? Not exactly.
It is still my belief that there was a twinge of doubt in her mind as to whether or not Melanie and I were in the States. However, I must concede that my sister is far more clever than I gave her credit for. Having not logged onto Skype (a free internet phone service, fricking awesome!) since we left on the 19th, in combination with a minor slip-up from one of our accomplices my sleuth sister became quite certain of the facts and the perfect plot was foiled. But it was still a great ride and she didn't let on that she knew until the last possible moment. Kudos sis!
The wedding was a really great time. The ceremony was wonderful and Faith and Scott Redstone (whoooaaaa!!!) transformed the old Elks lodge club room (equipped with Elk's heads) into a classy and beautiful reception hall. The food was fantastic, the live country band rocked and the conversation was great. One of the best parts of the evening was the auction for the garter. This is a Glasgow tradition to collect start-up cash for the bride and groom. We stood barely able to stop laughing as the cattle auctioneer collected bids for over an hour! "Twenty-five,twenty-five a little bit more money, thirty and a thirty and a little bit more..." and so on. In the end, a little boy won with one dollar and a grand total of $3100! So basically, Mel and I are having our wedding in Montana.
The trip was an amazing race through the land we can truly call home. After five months in a different reality we caught a glimpse of what it will be like when we finish this journey. And while we aren't sure when that will be, we are more certain now than ever that our true home is with family and friends. Our desire for adventure compels us to continue onward and discover more about this country, the language and culture and ourselves. But we do know that one day we will be back in beautiful Colorado nestled somewhere amongst the rugged pines and aspen groves.
It was a rushed vacation and our only regret is that we didn't get to spend time with everyone and only a small amount with some. Please don't be angry with us, for we would have loved to spend everyday with everyone and we all know this can't ever be the case. But take the knowledge that you are all in our hearts and thoughts everyday. You know, flying in the air at 15thousand feet, there is no other choice but to familiarize oneself with a total lack of control. When you have no control, you have to let go of all those things that bind us everyday. So my wish to you all is that you find happiness everyday with no boundaries. Give up some of the control and enjoy the ride. Don't worry, the captain has turned off the fasten seat belts sign.

just a little reflection...

2008-02-22T03:14:00.003+08:00

Not writing to describe some great trip we went on or wonderful place we saw, I was just looking through my journal, back at the beginning before we left, and noticing how much things have changed in these past couple months.
It's funny to think that the place I'm in now was what I was desperately longing for a while ago--being in Taiwan for a couple months, knowing the ropes, feeling less scared and more calm. And it does feel good. I find myself sitting on the MRT, looking around and suddenly noticing, "Wow, everyone's speaking Chinese."
I didn't even know what the MRT was three months ago, and now I'm overhearing Chinese phone conversations, understanding a word here and there. I know a few characters, know how to ride the bus (which is scary), know how to pay. I know how to order a coffee (pretty much), and don't feel embarrassed for not knowing the Chinese and having to gesture and draw pictures. It usually makes for a good laugh anyway. I have new favorite foods that I know I wouldn't have liked if I tried them in the States. The staring, which used to always make me feel self-conscious and like a complete outsider, doesn't bother me as much. It's not as scary to try something new, since I have to try something new every day just to get by.
Of course, these are things I'm thinking when I'm having a good day. When I'm having a bad day, well, that's different. That's more like, "Of course my MRT card isn't scanning. Why would it when there's a line of ten people waiting behind me? What are you staring at? Why do you have to stare for so long? Can't I order something that doesn't have pork in it? And why do my students have to scream every thing they say?"
But at the end of the day, it's these little annoyances that I love.
Teaching English in Taiwan is a unique experience, and what fun would it be if it were easy? It's also a lot of fun to gripe about the the peculiarities of Taiwan life with fellow waiguoren (foreigners). For example, there have been many conversations about this mysterious, psychic ability people in front of you have for knowing exactly where you want to go, and walking (very slowly) at a perfect angle so as to thwart you from getting around on either side. This can go on for five minutes before you find an opening somewhere to escape through; usually between two closely parked scooters.
It feels good to be learning so much every day. And not learning by reading about something or listening to someone talk about something, but by actively doing. Learning things that are actually important in my life right now, like where the ATM is, how to say 'sorry,' never buying starfruit juice again (you'd think it would be good, wouldn't you?), and more English grammar than I ever knew existed/can handle.
So my advice to someone feeling rather stagnant: pick up and move to a foreign country, or just try something new today.

Tainan Vacation

2008-02-09T16:22:00.000+08:00

So we've just come back from our very first vacation since we've been here and it was awesome. We went to Tainan which is way down south, about two hours on the HSR (high speed rail) with our friend, Debbie. It was similar to Taipei in some ways, but definitely had a different feel. Things weren't as bustling, there were lots of trees, and the people were SO friendly.

We took a transfer bus from the high speed rail station into Tainan city, and the guy sitting next to John said the people in Tainan were the friendliest in Taiwan. That definitely proved to be true as we explored the city. Any time we gathered around the map to see which street we were on, someone was always right there, asking if we needed help. Once, when we were looking for a street at an intersection, a woman standing next to us noticed us looking lost and asked where we were going. When she wasn't sure exactly where the street was, she asked a guy in a car that was waiting at the red light next to us. The guy got out, followed by his wife and kids, and they all figured out the best way to get to the street we were looking for. By the time we said our goodbyes, a policeman had also wandered over and offered his knowledge of the city, as well.

We spent three days and two nights in Tainan, ate some amazing food, and practiced our Chinese a lot. The first night, after we grabbed some dinner in an interesting hot-pot type restaurant, we found a pub and met some new friends. A guy who later introduced himself as "Mr. Chang" sat down with us at our table with all his friends. They spoke about as much English as we do Chinese, but that didn't stop us from hanging out for about three hours and having some great laughs. We were all thankful that John brought along the Chinese-English dictionary. It got some good use.

The second day we decided to do some sight-seeing. Tainan was originally the capital of Taiwan, and is full of history. We saw more temples than we could keep track of. After a long day of historical site after historical site, we decided to go to a bar and grill called "Willie's Second Base Bar and Grill" which is owned by ex-LA Dodgers pitcher Steve Wilson. We took a cab and it ended up that the bar no longer existed, so we asked/mimed to the cab driver to take us to any good restaurant. We ended up in a very nice dim sum restaurant which was yet again another great opportunity to use our Chinese/English dictionary. It turned out to be a great meal.

After dinner, and some walking around, we found (again!) a really nice little bar. Everyone seemed a bit nervous when we walked in there, and communicated that nobody really spoke English except one waitress who we ended up having a great language exchange with. Her name was Ting Ting and she said she was looking for an English name. We offered to help think of some and it was really fun coming up with a long list of names. She also wrote our names in Chinese and told us what they meant.

The last day of our visit we stumbled across an incredible curry restaurant called "Pumpkin Curry" which served all things pumpkin and curry, of course. After that we went to Anping, which has some of the oldest streets in Taiwan. We saw an old Dutch fort and went up in a tower that gave us a great view of Anping. We also saw a really great Eagles/Air Supply cover band who played "Take it Easy" for the Maegworens (Americans...us).

We ended our trip with a walk down a night market in Anping which was by far the most intense and crowded night market over any we've been to. We collected some nice stuff to take home-charms, fans, whistles, and some great pineapple cakes.

So our first trip out of Taipei was a fantastic one, and we're all looking forward to getting out again! We also took about a hundred pictures if you want to see Tainan.

The Year of the Rat!

2008-01-07T00:35:00.000+08:00

No folks I'm not speaking about Melanie. 2008 is the year of the rat! It doesn't technically begin until February 6th but I figured that it is close enough. So we've been here for a while and things are getting a little easier. We now have a microwave, making our noodle creations far easier to generate. We are cruising the MRT like it were the beautiful highways of Colorado. And we are teaching children the best Spanish that money can buy. Well okay, we don't have it all together but we're getting there.
I think that some of the wide-eyed amazement is beginning to wear off, and slowly but surely Mel and I are becoming a part of the bustling city, not so much two honkeys with our jaws dropped. The jobs are getting easier, and more challenging at the same time. Teaching, as some of you well know, is a wonderful experience that is truly rewarding, that is if you're not pulling your hair out (as long as its not the kid's hair, right?). But we are both enjoying the challenge of it all and taking it one day at a time. It has been consuming more time than we'd planned on, but so far we don't seem to mind it much. Just yesterday I played the role of Dr. English that consisted of giving free English level tests to Taiwanese kids on the street in a labcoat! One little girl had never spoken to a Westerner before! It was cool, but she must have been scared silly. Some crazy white dude smiling and speaking in some strange jibberish, dressed in a long white coat with "monkeys jumping on the bed" playing sadistically in the background. Sorry, bit of a tangent there.
Anyway, we went to a place called Dansui that is right at the river mouth that opens to the East China Sea. We had a great time walking by the river, experiencing a little fresh sea air and, of course, eating very strange and delicious foods. We heard a man playing a saw, very Appalachian, saw a freak museum with a dog fetus in a bowl of water, and went into our first Buddhist shrine. Su has been really great and has been showing us around, ordering good food for us, and explaining what many things mean. We have been blessed to have found good people so quickly.
We miss you all and love you lots! Hope that your New Year brings you the best of luck and boatloads of money!

Another week!

2007-12-29T13:19:00.001+08:00

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! It didn't feel too much like Christmas here. There was Christmas stuff everywhere, but the feeling just wasn't the same. We had a good one, though, enjoying our day off and unwinding.

We've just finished our third week of teaching and are settling in to the routine. It's still extremely challenging, but going well overall. I think I mentioned in a previous post that the kids are very energetic and rambunctious. It makes sense because they come to language school after they've already gone to their regular school all day. So they are in school from probably 7am to 8 or 9pm.

The classes are a lot of fun. I've quickly realized that the only way to keep the kids' attention spans is to turn everything into a game. Games are the entire basis of teaching English here, and we are constantly having to invent some bizarre relay race on the fly. One of my classes really likes the "foam block tower" game, where if they answer a question right, they get a foam block. When I say go, the kids race to the front of the class and build up their blocks into a tower. The first team back to their seats with their tower still standing gets points. It takes a lot of cooperation and they love it. All the teachers who have been here for a while have hundreds of interesting games up their sleeves, and we're constantly getting new ideas and trying things out.

The kids have English names along with their Chinese names, and some are very interesting. You get a lot of Kevins and Annies, but there are some different ones, too. There is a kid named Popeye at John's school, and at my school we have a Tweety. I heard of a teacher who got to name his students himself, and a brother and sister ended up as Ike and Tina.

The job is a lot of fun, but it takes it out of you. Being on the active end of education is an interesting and exhausting experience! We are excited for New Years and another day off. They shoot fireworks off from Taipei 101 and I think we'll be going to a friend's house who has a great view of 101 from his balcony.

Hope everyone's doing well and we're still missing everyone so much! Talk to you soon and Happy New Year!

Updatin, not hatin!

2007-12-15T16:21:00.000+08:00

Hello everybody!
So we began our new jobs as English teachers in Taipei this week. Man, that sounds too far fetched to be real. But apparently it is a fact, though I'm sure I will always have my doubts. Mel is teaching at a school called "Banqiao" and I am at a "Wen Hua." These are just two of the seven or eight schools that Shane Language Schools runs around the city. We nearly pulled our hair out with the amount of preparation and teachers anxiety that we felt this week, but we made it over one hurdle. Only several thousand more to go. Haha, I make stupid joke. It already feels easier to both of us, and the other teachers have congratulated us on making it through the most difficult week of the experience. Thank God!

Last weekend, before we started we had the chance to go to a wonderful riverside carnival/market in an area called Bitan. We took a fantastic seafaring adventure with Simon and Debbie in a paddle-boat. The highlight was when several young Taiwanese folks took our picture. We obliged, giving them a Chinese photo by putting our peace signs in the air and smiling with enthusiasm. Before this we decided to cross the river and explore some very green mountains. There is a great footbridge over the Danshui river that leads to some "hiking trails." I put those words in quotations because on one hand you are surrounded by thick lush foliage; bamboo, ferns, giant prehistoric leafie thingies (that is the technical name thank you very much.) And on the other hand, the trails are paved with asphalt and the sound of a jackhammer thumps majestically in the distance! Perhaps once you get out further into the countryside there are some more natural trails, but we've yet to find out. We'll let you know.

We will be posting more photos in a while, but our free flicker photo trial has expired and we must wait to get paid. Take care of yourselves and we love you all so much. May you all be blessed this holiday season (that sort of sounded like a Hallmark card? but I mean it sincerely.)
Ho!Ho! Ho! or as they say in Taiwan, Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!

Kooky Stuff

2007-12-07T12:59:00.000+08:00

So I've been making a list of all the weird/funny stuff you see here on a day to day basis. Here are a few:

1. The Trash Trucks.

They play really loud ice cream truck-type music and come almost every night. They don't come to you, you run to them, with all the other people on the block scrambling with their trash bags to the street corner. It's a pretty funny sight; sometimes I can't help but laugh as I'm running down the street with a bunch of trash. You can also get fined 6000NT if you are caught throwing away recyclables.

2. Receipts.
All the receipts here are part of some kind of lottery. Each has a number on the back and apparently you can win up to 1000000NT. Most people donate their receipts to charity, though. There are clear bins on just about every street corner to take them off your hands.

3. Collectible Toys.
Every 7-11 and Family Mart (of which there are thousands) has some kind of toy you can collect. If you buy a certain amount of stuff from their store, they give you stickers. Once you have 8 or 10 stickers, you get a little toy. Most of the time it's Hello Kitty. I have to admit, it keeps me coming back.

4. Bathrooms.
There are no shower curtains here. The entire bathroom is a shower. The shower head just kind of sticks out from the wall and when you take a shower, you're really cleaning your entire bathroom.
The toilet paper is not on a roll, either. It's just squares of tissue stacked up, and you put it in a waterproof container attached to the wall.
Oh, and there are also no closets here, either. At least none that I've seen. You buy wardrobes instead. I'm waiting for ours to be delivered right now, actually.

5. Advertisement Trucks.
Every once in a while, you'll see a truck go by with speakers on the top blaring Chinese. Su told us they were just advertisements, though they sound rather militaristic.

6. Lack of Road Rage.
Everyone drives like crazy here, with traffic lights and signs acting as suggestions of what you should do. You would think people would always be upset with one another, but I haven't once seen anyone get angry or yell. Losing face here is really a big deal, and if you become upset in public, it makes you look really bad and you're pretty much shunning yourself. It's a nice change to live in a place where getting along with people is the number one priority, not doing whatever it takes to be right and get what you want. (Though figuring out what someone wants can take quite a while.)

7. Respect of Property.
In such a huge, bustling city, you would think people wouldn't ever leave anything unlocked or just sitting outside. That's not the case, though. I've only ever seen a few scooters and bikes locked up. People mostly just leave them outside on the sidewalk. Also, things like fire extinguishers and plants are everywhere, and you could take them if you wanted, but nobody does. Things aren't chained down or put inside at night.
One night we walked by a construction site with a chain link fence surrounding it. It was near a walkway, and someone had put hanging plants along the fence in about six-foot intervals to make it nicer. They all looked healthy, too. None had been stolen or destroyed! I've also only seen graffiti a couple of times.
I'm sure stuff gets stolen or vandalized every once in a while, but the general feeling here is one of respect for people and the surroundings.

So there are a few things I've noticed. John and I are both really loving it here. We get homesick sometimes, of course, but also feel like we've already found our niche in many ways.
Our apartment is beautiful, though it's a bit empty right now. You can see pictures on our Flickr link. We're having a blast living with Simon and Su. We've seen many hilarious and bizarre British comedies.
We're also excited to be starting our jobs soon. I've sat in on a couple of the classes I'm going to teach, and the kids are very enthusiastic and boisterous! Not what I thought at first. John and I also have Saturdays and Sundays off together, which is really lucky. We're all thinking of going to the mountains or the ocean this weekend to do some exploring.
Well, hope you're all doing good back home and we miss you all!

Four days in Taiwan!

2007-11-24T15:14:00.000+08:00

Nihao Everybody!
We are landed. We are manic. And we are loving every minute of Taipei! We arrived at about 630am on Wedenesday here, that would be 330pm on Tuesday for most of you. We were short a bag (Melanie's clothes,AGGHHH!!) but it was returned to us the next day by the airport, phew! After landing we were checked into a hotel called the Hotel Longlife which is what the Taiwanese call a "Love Hotel." Yes, that means mirrors and red pleather, small but relatively comfortable. However, Mel and I are excited to get an apartment with our new friend from Leighton Buzzard named Simon. We have been exploring Taipei with Simon, his Taiwanese girlfriend Su, another new teacher named Debbie from Manchester and our Welfare liason Kitty Shao (a Taipei local who works at Shane Language School). Just last night we went to the Lehua night market with Su, her friends, Simon and Debbie. Su bought us "famous traditional" items such as barbequed squid, and stinky tofu (a lot like a dirty gym sock). There were vendors selling anything you could ever not need, and so many wonderful sights and smells to take in, it was great. The food has been absolutely amazing and the people even better. This city feels so clean, patient and friendly. I mean people just leave their scooters and bicycles unlocked on the sidewalks. Speaking of scooters, there are tons of scooters that whiz around every street and sidewalk in Taipei. You have to be on your toes at all times, but people will wait and maybe cough a bit if you are oblivious to their motorized presence. As far as the job goes, we have been filling out a lot of paperwork, setting up bank accounts and getting a health check at the National Taiwan Hospital (chest x-rays, needles, and other fun things). We begin a week long training on Monday and then start into teaching the following week! Mel and I are getting very excited to begin this part of the adventure as it will surely be a rewarding challenge. We miss you all and wish that you could be out here in the midst of this brilliant city! Please e-mail us and let us know how you are doing. We'll post again soon. Love you all.
John and Melanie

A message to the people

2007-11-09T06:32:00.000+08:00

Hey!
I would like to echo Melanie's sentiment of giddiness and terror by saying HoorayAGGHHHH! Yes, there is much that is uncertain in our future yet we can't wait to be in the thick of it all. We will truly miss all of our friends and family and hope that some of you can get out here to visit us, except Gomez (haha!). Good luck to all of you in everything that you encounter. Please keep in touch, and we'll see you when the fates allow! Auf Wiedersehen (damn, wrong language).

gettin ready to go

2007-11-08T09:00:00.000+08:00

So we have our job, we have our tickets, and in a week and a half we'll be on a plane. I can't speak for John, but I know I'm feeling a combination of giddy excitement and pure terror. It was sad to have Japan slip out of our fingers, but the more I learn about Taiwan, the more excited I get. The city looks amazing and the tropical landscape beautiful. The food looks incredible, too. I know we're both excited for that. There's this dish I've heard you can get there called "stinky tofu" and it sounds quite interesting. Apparently you can smell it from a block away and it tastes even worse. I think I'll have to work my way up to it, but I guess we'll just have to see....