Could it be???...Halloween in Taiwan!

Well, it is that time of year again. 

The weather is finally cooling off to a pleasant normal high of 30*C (86*F), the windows are open, and Halloween is upon is.  I assumed that we would have to create our own Halloween celebration this year, because certainly it is not celebrated here in Taiwan. 

Oh, how wrong I was. 

Not only do costumes and decorations abound, but there was even a full-fledged Halloween festival for kids here in the Nanke Science Park tonight. 

The haunted house was especially fantastic, even though I had to go through it with six children under the age of 8, four of whom had never been in one before.  Lucky for me, we just happened to run into a pack of my students and their parents. J I told them, if you just scream at all of the monsters like you are trying to scare THEM it will freak them out and it will be less frightening.  The kids went in and immediately came back out stating that it was too scary.  I had just stood in line for 30 minutes so those kids could have a turn, so I took the lead and drug them in with me.   They immediately grabbed onto my waist and clung to me as if we were wading in a sea of slime.  I think a few of them had their eyes closed the entire time!  We meandered our way through the maze of possessed mummies and bloody monsters screaming at the top of our lungs and attacking anything that landed in our path.  We finally exited unscathed and I concluded that the screaming worked like a charm because I saw nothing but smiling, happy children as we stumbled out the door.  

Our school used the excuse of Halloween to have a spirit week and the kids dressed up five days in a row. 

Distracting? Yes. 

A much needed break from seriousness?  Definitely!

My favorite was dress like a teacher day.

C & P chose to dress up as the two coolest teachers in the school. 

Can you tell whom they picked?

Hmmm... who could they be?

I love the fact that P is stepping on C's toe.  I wonder if that is part of being 'in character'.

Marty was Music Sandy… who is pregnant… and on bed rest.

Go figure!

not much to say about this photo...

Moving right along...

Last weekend, Marty and I had a day to ourselves to celebrate seven years of marital bliss.  We ended up going to one of the oldest parts of the city, Anping.  It is the port of Tainan City and is the home of Fort Zeelandia, a Dutch Fort built in the 1600’s.  Of course, there is only one original wall that remains inside a reconstructed replica, but it was impressive nonetheless.  Anping District is apparently a hotspot for Taiwanese tourists and we finally found a street market riddled with ‘traditional’ artisan goods. Most markets we have found to date consist of stall after stall of inexpensive fashionable clothes and shoes, and terribly delicious food.  Not that this is bad, but it was nice to finally see more art on the streets. 

Oh yes, and jade.  Out of my price range jade as far as the eye could see. 

Have no fear… we shall be going back there soon.

Crab anyone?

Ladies shucking oysters

Shopping!

Nice!

We also went to the Matsu Temple where Marty picked us up a bag of ‘safe rice.’ This small packet of rice apparently keeps you and your family safe... we figured, why not? The Matsu Temple is quite beautiful and its most striking feature is the black, smoke stained ceilings.  Gold sculpted fixtures are attached to the ceiling and have been covered with incense soot from years of prayer.   It adds an eerie sort of mystical feel to the place.  

Lately, the family and I have gotten into the habit of doing the ‘bai bai’ when we go into temples.  We have watched enough people and asked to enough questions to know how to light the incense, where to put it, and what to do.  I imagine we look a tad odd, but that is nothing new.  

One last funny story…

So, we all eat the school lunch now, and like most days in Taiwan, each lunch is an adventure unto itself.  It has become quite the game for me to guess what the mystery dish (and mystery meat, mind you) of the day is.  I have even taken to praying to the noodle gods that at least once every few weeks we actually have something other than white rice. So far, I don’t think they are listening. 

Last week, there was a particularly curious dish that consisted of what appeared to be white and purple tofu.  I thought, … tofu… that is safe!  But then I overheard one of my students say, “Oh yeah!  Pigs blood, I love pig’s blood!”   Apparently, it was NOT purple tofu, but some gelatinous tofu-looking curd made from pigs blood.

Needless to say, I had white rice and vegetables, yet again.

I immediately thought of Pilar and wondered what she was eating for lunch. (most of you know how Pilar loves pigs and refuses to eat pork products)

The funny thing is… …at dinner I nonchalantly asked her if she tried the purple tofu.  

She said, “Oh yes Mommy.  It was delicious!” 

I didn’t have the heart to tell her. 

Apparently it is a delicacy and Marty said I was a wimp for not trying it. Perhaps I am, but if I am going to try pig’s blood, it is not going to be from the school cafeteria.  There are just some things I won’t do.

We are planning to lay low this weekend and study for the fast approaching, ever ominous Chinese mid-term exam.  Feel free to light some incense for us… we will need it.  Ha!  I just realized I am saying ‘us’ like I have to take the stupid exam too. 

Oh, the agony of being a pseudo tiger mom!

Happy Halloween and may the candy be with you!!!!!

Has it been only 3 months???

Last week was our 3-month anniversary to arrive in Taiwan.  I do not mean this in a bad way, but it feels like we have been here forever.  I suppose it could be the fact that we are all learning so very much each and every day and therefore time is a blur. 

The girls and I are still in Chinese purgatory, and I have had to put on my “American” face a time or two with their teacher.  It is such a challenge walking that fine line between parent and co-worker…or perhaps it is merely my natural bubbly personality. J 

The girl’s language class is Chinese for Chinese speakers.  Therefore, we are in way over our heads and you can find us on any given night trying desperately to keep up.  I do realize that this is quite good for the girls.  Back home, school was very easy for them and now they are being challenged.  So many good lessons to be learned, so little time.  We are very fortunate to have people around us who adore the girls and want to help.  On Wednesdays, they tutor with another teacher, and on Mondays with a high school student.  I am sure in a few months when they are rattling off Mandarin like nobodies business, I will look back on all of this and laugh…. maybe.

Mr. Gao is now an international super star soccer coach!

… sort of.  

He went to Taipei again last week with 8 boys from his soccer team for a Futsal tournament.  (Indoor soccer with 5 players.)  Up until this tournament, the bilingual department had NEVER won a single soccer game.  Marty has been working those boys for weeks now, and it finally paid off.  They came in 7^th place and won two games against teams that later went on win the tournament.  Needless to say, the morale is high and the school has something to be very excited about.  They advanced to the Finals in April and there seems to be a new sense of pride among the kids.  I tell you, I have been teaching for 15 years, but that man puts me to shame.  He is a natural teacher and in a mere 2 months he has made an incredible difference for many kids here.  He was featured in the school newspaper, and parents continuously bring us gifts.  (Some of those I earned… I think) 

Yes, I miss home, but I know we are definitely doing the right thing for our family.  If SKYPE would only allow me to hug my mother… AND if I could just get a little Mexican food now and then… I might be OK.  (You cannot imagine what a part of your existence Mexican food is until is suddenly disappears…. and hugs from your mother.)

Tomorrow is our 7-year wedding anniversary. Wow, we sure have done a lot in seven years! Seems like just yesterday... no, no... not really. 

The girls are going to have an adventure with some of our friends, and Marty and I are off duty for the day.  Hopefully, we can stay out of trouble.   We shall see….

Taipei!!!

Happy Taiwanese Independence Day!!!  This weekend we trekked to Taipei, city of 2.6 million people.  I thought it was odd that people have likened Tainan City to the ‘backwater’ south, sort of like a rural hillbilly area.  Now, I understand.  There is a humongous difference between Taipei and Tainan City.  Taipei is not only teeming with humanity, it is just plain cosmopolitan.  The high-speed rail was a one hour and 45 minute breeze, and the MRT subway system made getting anywhere in the city a piece of cake.  The crowds of people everywhere you turned was a bit overwhelming, but then again, it was Independence Day weekend.  We dropped our bags off at the Charming City Hotel, and believe you me, with a purple whirlpool tub and an in-room sauna, charming is an understatement.  

Purple whirlpool tub!

First sight of the 101

Please read carefully.  One of my very favorite things about Taiwan are the translated signs.  

Sauna!

Martini and The Charming City Hotel

After a brief detour with the arctic air-con, comfy bed, and cable TV, we hit the Shilin night market where I was able to practice my ‘I am in a sea of people with no room to breathe and I feel like a cow’ walking meditation techniques.  The market was certainly a cultural experience with everything from hip-hop to country music blaring from the clothing stalls, to mouth watering food stalls that make your head reel.  That is, of course, until you pass the stinky tofu stalls and lose your appetite.  We bought bags of fresh fruit and took a breather on the steps of a temple just outside the market main street.  The best lesson learned at the market was that there are no public restrooms to be had, and if you try to hit up a nearby Starbucks or KFC to use the restroom, be prepared to wait for at least 30 minutes, as every other person who has to go is in the same predicament.

Fruit!

Oh...so...many...people...

Check out the roasting squid on the left

Eating fruit on the steps of a temple.  After this, we went inside and gave thanks!

On our way back to our hotel, we headed to the Taipei 101 just to have a look around.  It is the 2^nd tallest building in the world (1,671 ft.), and lit up at night, it was quite impressive.  Meandering the streets back to our hotel, we stopped off for a late night adult beverage that rhymes with cheer, and ended the evening staying up way too late watching documentaries on National Geographic.  Oh how I love cold hotel rooms and cable!

Tall girls... tall building.  The 101 at night.

Late night fun... with children!

Sunday morning, we hit the free buffet and then made our way two blocks to the 101.  Adult tickets were about $13 USD, but the elevator ride alone made it totally worth it.  I had read that it was the fastest elevator in the world, but it is not until you climb 89 stories in 36 seconds that you can fully appreciate what that means.  Can you imagine?  The elevator goes dark as you ascend, and the ceiling turns into a lit up replica of our universe.  Your ears pop a little, but at the end of 36 seconds when you emerge onto the 89^th floor with the entire metropolis of Taipei in front of you, it is really quite staggering.  We walked around the observatory deck taking in the views of the city, but the most impressive was the wind damper.  It weighs 730 tons and is 18 ft. in diameter. It apparently reduces 40% of the building's movement during strong winds and earthquakes.  From what I understand, most very tall buildings have wind dampers, but this is the only one on display for the public.  They have affectionately named it ‘Baby Damper’, fashioned a toy in its likeness, and have provided a myriad of opportunities for you to take your picture with it.  I felt obliged, so please see below.

Taipei from above

Martini and the girls

The wind damper

The wind damper and the Baby Damper

One more photo!!!

As you exit the 89th floor, you are made to go through red coral and jade museums and jewelry shops.  The carvings were terribly impressive.  Aunt Krysti, I think I know where all the red coral had gone!!!

Am I coming in clear???

For the remainder of the day, we made it to the Contemporary Art Museum for a photography exhibit, the Chen Kai-shek Memorial Hall, and another night market close to our hotel.  I cannot fathom a guess at how much we walked, but the muscles in my legs tell me it was enough to not feel guilty about the amount of food and goodies we consumed.  The girls are quite the seasoned travelers now, and I have learned that as long as you stop every once in a while for milk tea and pastries, they will be up for just about anything.  Two days was certainly not enough time to see all that we wanted, but considering that it was such a short train ride away, I am sure we will be heading back there soon enough.  Tainan City may be thought of as small and not as progressive as its larger cousin in the north, but it is just right for me.  It is great to visit the ant bed every once in a while, but for the moment, it feels good to be back ‘home’.   

The Chen Kai-shek Memorial Hall

Feeling the effects of fun!

So you say you want to go to Monkey Mountain?

I am quite the fortunate woman.  I have a child obsessed with monkeys and a husband who makes friends by just breathing.  When you combine the two, you get a Sunday morning trip to the elusive Monkey Mountain. 

As you might recall, we have been trying to make it to Monkey Mountain for about 2 months now.  I came across mention of it in a blog, but have been unsuccessful finding anyone in Taiwan who has ever heard of it.  We went to a zoo in Kaohsiung in August and thought we had found it, but alas, that was just a zoo.  Apparently, it is not in the foreigner guidebooks, and it is not a must see destination for locals.  It is just a mountain that happens to also be a macaque monkey nature reserve.

Our downstairs neighbors have become fast friends with Party Marty.  They meet him outside late in the evenings and chat with him while he practices his soccer moves and he has just begun to give their son art lessons.  Somewhere in their conversations, it came out that we wanted to find Monkey Mountain, and they said they would love to take us.  We were able to locate it on a map in the Nanhua diststict of Tainan County.  It is called the Wushan Macaque Reserve and we set Sunday morning as the big day.

We headed out as rain began to fall upon Tainan County.  The misty drive up into the mountains was serene and before we knew it, a large sculpture of a monkey was looming straight ahead.   We turned off onto a small road, and spent the next 15 minutes climbing straight up incredibly winding hairpin turns.  Of course, there were no guardrails, and large buses and trucks seemed to be hidden around every corner.  Finally, it appeared as if we had reached the top, only to discover that we had taken a wrong turn and ended up at one of the many breathtaking temples nestled within this mountain.  We piled back into the van and descended a few kilometers to another temple, this one with a 50-foot statue of a Buddha overlooking the valley.  Apparently, many temples are a mixture of the Buddhist and Taoist faiths, and this particular temple was built for one of the many Buddhas.  (You know, because of reincarnation, there are quite a few Buddhas.)

Really large Buddha

Getting back to monkeys…  We bought some bananas at a roadside stall and headed to the area that was apparently the entrance to the Monkey Mountain trail.  

Buying bananas

We set off walking down the road and the minute we turned the corner, someone shouted, “There’s a monkey!!!”  For the next twenty minutes, we just stood in a parking lot surrounded by about 10 Macaque monkeys.  They came and sat next to us, took our offering of bananas, and let us check them out. Some of the older, larger monkeys were missing limbs, and we figured that this was a place for them to live out their days in the peace and safety of a natural habitat.

Carmela, the monkey expert... a dream come true!

When the bananas were gone, we bought a few more and headed up to the trailhead.  The banana vendor warned us that because of the rain, the trail was incredibly slippery. We heeded his warning and set off.  I think incredibly slippery might have been a slight understatement.  In the constant heavy drizzle, the lush green trail that was covered with algae and moss had been turned into a quasi-vertical slip and slide.  We walked for about 10 minutes and within that time, each of us almost met our demise at least three times.  We saw a couple of monkeys on the trail and in the trees, but decided that we would put the broken tailbones on hold and settle for monkeys in the parking lot. 

Going up!

An incredibly large fig tree

On our way back down, we stopped for a rest under a pagoda where two older couples were having tea.  Apparently, they live in Tainan City and meet here on the weekends to have tea together and eat at the free vegetarian buffet at the temple. (Donations accepted, of course.)  They invited us to join them, and suddenly we found ourselves at a real live tea party.  The girls played with snails as we sipped tea and chatted while the rain fell around us.  The couples invited us to the temple for lunch, and that is how we ended up walking down another path and finding ourselves in the midst of an amazing celebration.  

Coming down

The tea party

After a delicious vegetarian lunch, we strolled into the temple to have a look around, and perhaps light a few incense.  Little did we know that a group from another temple in Tainan City had just arrived to partake in a ‘multi-temple’ pachanga. (Spanish for big partyJ)  

Fireworks erupted with such deafening force that I felt like I must be in Beirut… or East Austin on New Years Eve.   Clouds of smoke billowed through the air and when it began to clear, a parade emerged out of the fog.  First the drummers, then the dancers, and finally a statue of a God itself, being carried on a bouncing stretcher that danced in time to the beat.   More fireworks, more smoke, more drums.  It was one of those instances where I felt like I was watching a movie instead of being a participant.  That is, of course, until I looked down and saw Marty and the girls standing in the middle of it all taking pictures and looking as if they totally belonged there.  My lovely family, they just make themselves at home wherever they are!

A new dragon sculpture at the temple

Notice the firework remains on the ground.... so... very... loud!

After the ritual of welcoming the God into the temple, we headed back down to the monkey parking lot to see if we could get rid of our remaining bananas. 

Right.  That was definitely not a problem. 

As soon as I approached a monkey, he quickly came after me and tried to take the entire bag.  I don’t know why, but that made me freak out a bit, and before I knew it, about 5 monkeys were following me trying to get my bananas.  Seeing as being calm is not always one of my strengths, I started throwing the bananas into the air in the general direction of the monkeys and they actually jumped up to catch them.  I quickly relinquished the bag to my much calmer husband, and he put an end to the madness.  When in doubt, give the bananas to Marty.  Check.

After about 30 more minutes of doting over the monkeys, we said goodbye and made our way to another nearby mountain that had a coffee shop perched on top.  We ended the day with mango ice cream and caffeinated beverages in the clouds.  Our lovely neighbors were amazing guides, and we enjoyed practicing English and Chinese while getting to know one another better.  It could not have been a better day.

Pilar contemplating the monkey

The monkey contemplating Pilar

Monkey mischief

This monkey has standards... notice the missing arm and leg.

Coffee in the clouds

With another three-day weekend ahead of us, we have decided to make the most of our time here and keep on exploring.   Next stop….Taipei.  I can’t wait to see what sort of mischief Mr. Gao and his little chickens can get into there.  Wish us luck!!!!

The Gao's