Most of the time, I am so grateful for the amount of English that is present in Taiwan. The government makes a huge effort to include English language directions, street signs and bus maps in an effort to be accommodating to the Anglo population. Similarly food items on a menu may come with a rough English translation but at the very least they come with a picture so one can kind of tell what the basic ingredients of a dish might be. And the plastic food for display industry is huge. Most restaurants have window displays that have life size glisteningly fresh looking plastic models of all that you might eat so your choice can be somewhat informed. The catch is you have to recognize a chicken testicle from a cannelini bean (one is bigger).
But sometimes the system breaks down in aural cognates and misspellings. To wit: the sign in our local gym reads. "Please arrive early for class so you can get your worms in." Okay...I can do that....I think.
I mean no mockery of these wonderful folks...just that mandarin is not the only tough language. Witness "aural" and "oral" or the classic "ghoti" or fish example.
These little oopses just add a certain humor to the day.
How many dual language signs in Sturgeon Bay or Green Bay with a large Latino population? Maybe we could do better for our fellow travelers?
We await the onslaught of swine flu. All members of TAS arrive to get there temp taken on their forehead daily and receive a colored dot to wear for the day. Somehow it never matchs any color you might wear.
Love to all
Bill
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Weather and flu
Okay, so we live in the tropics. As I have said when in the West one can hear the phrase, "If you keep digging, you will dig a hole to China." So I checked and if we dig too deeply here, we will end up in Havana Cuba area. So one can expect it to be hot but this is really getting oppressive. The heat index for the last several days has been 111 degrees F. It is so hot that there is very little milk in the stores because the cows refuse to give milk. Poor Carol has been doing at least 4+ shirts a day in the laundry and the air con barely pulls the temp down to 27-28 degrees C.
Hydration is a huge issue so we should invest in our water company given the amount of usage. This is a time when I wish I had hair so it could at least absorb some amount of liquid on my head instead of it just sitting there like a lake.
The stores are also running very low on fruits and vegetables as a result of the destruction from the typhoon. Many people can still not get into their villages and if they can, must do so on foot because the roads and bridges are gone. The government is still screaming invectives at its own pieces and parts trying to pass blame. One official was getting his hair dyed. Another was at a high end dinner party. And the president was no where to be found when they should have been meeting and being effective in crisis management. The whole issue with not accepting overseas aid when it was originally offered was to appease the PRC. If Taiwan accepted aid, then it would seem like it was a real country not just a province of the mainland. Evil.
And then there is the H1N1 flu.....We have been told that a school closure, either moderate or long term is all but inevitable. We have had 1 case so far and will start having mandatory temperature testing prior to entry into the school staring Thursday. We also have the capacity to "teach" and communicate with all our students via an online classroom so we are all getting that in fine order. How this will affect our current rehearsals for the musical is not a pretty picture, but what is is.
Pray for this little island.
More later
Bill
Hydration is a huge issue so we should invest in our water company given the amount of usage. This is a time when I wish I had hair so it could at least absorb some amount of liquid on my head instead of it just sitting there like a lake.
The stores are also running very low on fruits and vegetables as a result of the destruction from the typhoon. Many people can still not get into their villages and if they can, must do so on foot because the roads and bridges are gone. The government is still screaming invectives at its own pieces and parts trying to pass blame. One official was getting his hair dyed. Another was at a high end dinner party. And the president was no where to be found when they should have been meeting and being effective in crisis management. The whole issue with not accepting overseas aid when it was originally offered was to appease the PRC. If Taiwan accepted aid, then it would seem like it was a real country not just a province of the mainland. Evil.
And then there is the H1N1 flu.....We have been told that a school closure, either moderate or long term is all but inevitable. We have had 1 case so far and will start having mandatory temperature testing prior to entry into the school staring Thursday. We also have the capacity to "teach" and communicate with all our students via an online classroom so we are all getting that in fine order. How this will affect our current rehearsals for the musical is not a pretty picture, but what is is.
Pray for this little island.
More later
Bill
Monday, August 17, 2009
Taiwan Update Rain and Rocking
Hello dear friends,
We thought it best to let you know that we have arrived safely in Taipei and are happily doing well.
We arrived @ 5:45am on Friday the day typhoon Morakot hit. Basically, the airport closed behind us. We had no idea that there even WAS a typhoon until we began our descent. So no problem really. We immediately went to the stores to restock since we had nothing in the apartment for food, drink, or supplies. Therein ensued two typhoon days where everything is basically shut down.
Our area sustained only minor damage from the winds but as you know, the rain was intense. On the Friday we arrived we had 8 inches of rain from midnight to 8AM and that was before the typhoon actually hit. I think the total was somewhere around 1500 to 2000 mm of rain in the south.
The government response has triggered such intense anger and hatred by most all Taiwanese folks. Carol's friends are not sleeping and are in extreme mental/emotional distress because even with no relatives, "our people are suffereing and the government is not helping them." The political fallout from this could be a game changer.
It is too bad that the world sees only Taiwan's disasters because it again makes the country look like a 3rd world nation. This is so far from the truth. When we got back here, it was like stepping into the best of NY city or Gold Coast Chicago...abundant, rich in variety, and gracious in service. The mud and destroyed roads give a horrible picture of what was incredible beauty and highly productive communities.
It is anticipated that food prices especially on fruits and veggies will rise 40% if not more.
THEN, yesterday, Aug 18th I was in class with students when one of them said calmly, "Earthquake." Sure enough my butt started moving with a life of its own as I sat on my stool and resulted in lap dance moves that would have made a hooker proud. I told the students to get under the desks and then responded without question. It was over in a few seconds and many folks did not even notice the quake. Below is the news report. I will put more info after the report so skip down if you wish.
eTaiwanNews
"A second earthquake rocked Taiwan yesterday, the central weather bureau said, but there was no immediate report of damages or casualties.
A 6.1-magnitude quake hit at 06:10p.m. yesterday some 204 km off the east coast of Taiwan at a depth of 20 km and was felt even in the capital Taipei, the bureau said.
It came after a 6.8-magnitude quake struck off Taiwan's east coast at 9:06 a.m. yesterday, prompting Japan to issue a tsunami warning for its islands in the East China Sea, close to Taiwan.
Taiwan is regularly hit by earthquakes as the island lies near the junction of two tectonic plates. A 7.6-magnitude quake killed around 2,400 people in September 1999.
I will try to be more faithful in getting stuff posted here.
Thanks to all our friends and loved ones we were able to see this summer and sadly, we did not get to everyone we wanted to be with. Please forgive us and let us hope for next summer.
From Taiwan,
Our best,
Bill and Carol
We thought it best to let you know that we have arrived safely in Taipei and are happily doing well.
We arrived @ 5:45am on Friday the day typhoon Morakot hit. Basically, the airport closed behind us. We had no idea that there even WAS a typhoon until we began our descent. So no problem really. We immediately went to the stores to restock since we had nothing in the apartment for food, drink, or supplies. Therein ensued two typhoon days where everything is basically shut down.
Our area sustained only minor damage from the winds but as you know, the rain was intense. On the Friday we arrived we had 8 inches of rain from midnight to 8AM and that was before the typhoon actually hit. I think the total was somewhere around 1500 to 2000 mm of rain in the south.
The government response has triggered such intense anger and hatred by most all Taiwanese folks. Carol's friends are not sleeping and are in extreme mental/emotional distress because even with no relatives, "our people are suffereing and the government is not helping them." The political fallout from this could be a game changer.
It is too bad that the world sees only Taiwan's disasters because it again makes the country look like a 3rd world nation. This is so far from the truth. When we got back here, it was like stepping into the best of NY city or Gold Coast Chicago...abundant, rich in variety, and gracious in service. The mud and destroyed roads give a horrible picture of what was incredible beauty and highly productive communities.
It is anticipated that food prices especially on fruits and veggies will rise 40% if not more.
THEN, yesterday, Aug 18th I was in class with students when one of them said calmly, "Earthquake." Sure enough my butt started moving with a life of its own as I sat on my stool and resulted in lap dance moves that would have made a hooker proud. I told the students to get under the desks and then responded without question. It was over in a few seconds and many folks did not even notice the quake. Below is the news report. I will put more info after the report so skip down if you wish.
eTaiwanNews
"A second earthquake rocked Taiwan yesterday, the central weather bureau said, but there was no immediate report of damages or casualties.
A 6.1-magnitude quake hit at 06:10p.m. yesterday some 204 km off the east coast of Taiwan at a depth of 20 km and was felt even in the capital Taipei, the bureau said.
It came after a 6.8-magnitude quake struck off Taiwan's east coast at 9:06 a.m. yesterday, prompting Japan to issue a tsunami warning for its islands in the East China Sea, close to Taiwan.
Taiwan is regularly hit by earthquakes as the island lies near the junction of two tectonic plates. A 7.6-magnitude quake killed around 2,400 people in September 1999.
I will try to be more faithful in getting stuff posted here.
Thanks to all our friends and loved ones we were able to see this summer and sadly, we did not get to everyone we wanted to be with. Please forgive us and let us hope for next summer.
From Taiwan,
Our best,
Bill and Carol
Friday, May 22, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
OH NO...NOT THE PANDAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
________________________________________
Published on Taipei Times
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2009/04/01/2003439917
Pandemonium breaks out at Taipei Zoo
Zookeepers became suspicious of the resident giant pandas’ true pedigree after Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan began acting strangely
STAFF REPORTER
Wednesday, Apr 01, 2009, Page 13
Taiwan-China relations were dealt a severe setback yesterday when it was found that Taipei Zoo’s “pandas” are not what they seem.
Zookeepers discovered at feeding time yesterday that the two pandas are in fact Wenzhou brown forest bears that had been dyed to create the panda’s distinctive black-and-white appearance.
The Taipei Zoo’s head of ursidae ex-procyonidae care, Connie Liu (劉長春), said she became suspicious when the pandas, Tuan Tuan (團團) and Yuan Yuan (圓圓), began to spend almost all of their waking hours having sex. Pandas are notorious for their low libidos, which make them difficult to breed in captivity.
“Let’s just say Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan would tuan yuan at every chance,” said Liu, referring to the combination of the panda’s names, which means “to reunite” in Mandarin. “They would do it doggy-style and every armchair zoologist knows that pandas favor the missionary position — when they do it at all. Their behavior caused chaos. Children screamed and parents became irate.”
Her suspicions were confirmed yesterday when she noticed that the animals’ new hair growth was discolored.
“Their roots began to show,” she said.
A zookeeper who asked to be identified only by his nickname A-diung (阿忠) because he was not authorized to speak with the media said he and his coworkers had long had their doubts, but were discouraged from publicly voicing their concerns by management.
“Whenever the moaning from the panda enclosure gets too loud we gotta go in there and hose ’em down with cold water,” he said. “After a while, parts of the animals’ black-and-white patches started to turn brown.”
He said he alerted senior zoo staff who dismissed his concerns.
“They told me pandas at the zoo in Washington, DC, get lethargic and sometimes lie in their own feces because they can’t tolerate hot weather, so it didn’t surprise them at all that their fur was turning brown since Taipei’s hotter on average than Washington,” he said.
The pandas arrived in Taipei last December as a gift from the Chinese government. The pair were first offered three years ago, but were rejected by then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). After the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) won the presidential election last May, the pandas were accepted, though critics continue to decry what they see as an attempt by Beijing to bribe Taiwanese with cute, cuddly furballs in lieu of a more meaningful gesture of goodwill such as removing some of the 1,500 missiles China has pointed at Taiwan.
Even the pandas’ most diehard supporters were brokenhearted yesterday. Some angrily compared the subterfuge to last year’s contaminated milk scandal, when melamine that had been added to watered-down milk sickened 300,000 victims across China and led to a recall of diary products in countries including Taiwan.
“First the milk scandal and now this. What are we going to hear next?” said Chang I-jun (張麗君), a Taipei resident.
Chang, who operates a souvenir stand near the zoo’s entrance, added that the scandal would affect sales of her stuffed panda toys, panda T-shirts, panda pens and notepads, remote-controlled pandas on wheels, caps with panda ears on top, panda fans, panda flashlights, panda mugs, panda eyeglass cases, panda face masks, panda slippers, panda wallets and panda purses.
“China certainly owes us an apology,” said Chang.
In a statement released yesterday evening, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang (秦剛) addressed the panda scandal.
“We understand that our compatriots in Taiwan are very upset. We wish to assure them that we have taken steps to address their concerns. We hope that our Taiwanese friends enjoy the gift of two extremely rare Wenzhou brown forest bears,” Qin said.
Local media reported yesterday that, in December, traces of melamine were found in Chinese bamboo that had been shipped to Taipei to feed Yuan Yuan and Tuan Tuan when the pair were rejecting Taiwanese bamboo and had each lost 3kg.
In 2007, thousands of dogs and cats in North and South America died and became sick after Chinese companies added melamine to wheat gluten that was used to make pet food.
The reports said blood samples have been collected from the bears and sent to a lab at Academia Sinica where they are to be tested for harmful adulterants.
Substances to be tested for include glycol, a chemical similar to antifreeze which in 2007 was found in Chinese exports of cough syrup; chloramphenicol, a powerful antibiotic that has been present in honey from China since 1997; and the banned antibiotic nitrofuran, which is often detected in Chinese “hairy crabs” and shrimp sold in Taiwan.
Published on Taipei Times
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2009/04/01/2003439917
Pandemonium breaks out at Taipei Zoo
Zookeepers became suspicious of the resident giant pandas’ true pedigree after Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan began acting strangely
STAFF REPORTER
Wednesday, Apr 01, 2009, Page 13
Taiwan-China relations were dealt a severe setback yesterday when it was found that Taipei Zoo’s “pandas” are not what they seem.
Zookeepers discovered at feeding time yesterday that the two pandas are in fact Wenzhou brown forest bears that had been dyed to create the panda’s distinctive black-and-white appearance.
The Taipei Zoo’s head of ursidae ex-procyonidae care, Connie Liu (劉長春), said she became suspicious when the pandas, Tuan Tuan (團團) and Yuan Yuan (圓圓), began to spend almost all of their waking hours having sex. Pandas are notorious for their low libidos, which make them difficult to breed in captivity.
“Let’s just say Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan would tuan yuan at every chance,” said Liu, referring to the combination of the panda’s names, which means “to reunite” in Mandarin. “They would do it doggy-style and every armchair zoologist knows that pandas favor the missionary position — when they do it at all. Their behavior caused chaos. Children screamed and parents became irate.”
Her suspicions were confirmed yesterday when she noticed that the animals’ new hair growth was discolored.
“Their roots began to show,” she said.
A zookeeper who asked to be identified only by his nickname A-diung (阿忠) because he was not authorized to speak with the media said he and his coworkers had long had their doubts, but were discouraged from publicly voicing their concerns by management.
“Whenever the moaning from the panda enclosure gets too loud we gotta go in there and hose ’em down with cold water,” he said. “After a while, parts of the animals’ black-and-white patches started to turn brown.”
He said he alerted senior zoo staff who dismissed his concerns.
“They told me pandas at the zoo in Washington, DC, get lethargic and sometimes lie in their own feces because they can’t tolerate hot weather, so it didn’t surprise them at all that their fur was turning brown since Taipei’s hotter on average than Washington,” he said.
The pandas arrived in Taipei last December as a gift from the Chinese government. The pair were first offered three years ago, but were rejected by then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). After the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) won the presidential election last May, the pandas were accepted, though critics continue to decry what they see as an attempt by Beijing to bribe Taiwanese with cute, cuddly furballs in lieu of a more meaningful gesture of goodwill such as removing some of the 1,500 missiles China has pointed at Taiwan.
Even the pandas’ most diehard supporters were brokenhearted yesterday. Some angrily compared the subterfuge to last year’s contaminated milk scandal, when melamine that had been added to watered-down milk sickened 300,000 victims across China and led to a recall of diary products in countries including Taiwan.
“First the milk scandal and now this. What are we going to hear next?” said Chang I-jun (張麗君), a Taipei resident.
Chang, who operates a souvenir stand near the zoo’s entrance, added that the scandal would affect sales of her stuffed panda toys, panda T-shirts, panda pens and notepads, remote-controlled pandas on wheels, caps with panda ears on top, panda fans, panda flashlights, panda mugs, panda eyeglass cases, panda face masks, panda slippers, panda wallets and panda purses.
“China certainly owes us an apology,” said Chang.
In a statement released yesterday evening, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang (秦剛) addressed the panda scandal.
“We understand that our compatriots in Taiwan are very upset. We wish to assure them that we have taken steps to address their concerns. We hope that our Taiwanese friends enjoy the gift of two extremely rare Wenzhou brown forest bears,” Qin said.
Local media reported yesterday that, in December, traces of melamine were found in Chinese bamboo that had been shipped to Taipei to feed Yuan Yuan and Tuan Tuan when the pair were rejecting Taiwanese bamboo and had each lost 3kg.
In 2007, thousands of dogs and cats in North and South America died and became sick after Chinese companies added melamine to wheat gluten that was used to make pet food.
The reports said blood samples have been collected from the bears and sent to a lab at Academia Sinica where they are to be tested for harmful adulterants.
Substances to be tested for include glycol, a chemical similar to antifreeze which in 2007 was found in Chinese exports of cough syrup; chloramphenicol, a powerful antibiotic that has been present in honey from China since 1997; and the banned antibiotic nitrofuran, which is often detected in Chinese “hairy crabs” and shrimp sold in Taiwan.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Bullet Point Updates on Life in Taiwan
Bullet point notes on Life in Taiwan
• We did not go to Luang Prabang Lao during Thanksgiving. It seems that a civil uprising trumps a trip. The protestors took over both airports in Bangkok and held them until the King’s birthday by which time there were close to 100k people stranded in the airport and in Bangkok. Our airport driver called us around midnight to say all flights were cancelled. After one night stranded in O’Hare, I have no desire to be a human shield during a civil war in an airport. We stayed home, rested, worked on our porch and said THANKS for not letting us get in harms way.
• Kindness….the young owner of a DIY bake shop who was so excited talking with Carol about baking that he gave her four books he wrote on Chinese baking. No way would he take an NT$: just come back so he might work with Carol baking.
• Traditions….for the third year we went downtown to the Xinyi shopping district near the 101 bldg to watch the multiple street performers entertain the cutest children in the world. There were 3 performers dressed as ET like aliens with blue costumes with 1’ fingers. They invited the little kids to come into their midst and shake their fingers. There was a band of young jugglers and acrobat contortionists who placed three young children between them, posed them in the traditional Taiwan picture pose with the V sign in both hands and then juggled bowling pins over their heads while the kids stayed still, absolutely frozen in smiles.
It is so hard to describe the joy of the many families who are strolling between high end shops with kids dressed with rainbow colors in multiple layers, animal backpacks, striped pippi longstockings, holding hands and speed babbling about the sugar blowing artist or the balloon bending artists or the terra-cotta warrior wooden clapper performer or the African drumming ensemble or the Disney ad-girls dressed in thigh high white boots, butt-showing white short shorts and Vegas headdresses. OK I know this is a RO sentence but that is what Xinyi is like…one beautiful sensory overload piled on another in a living collage of vibrant city life. Merry Christmas to us!
• Bread…as I have said before, we are awash in fine bakeries, sometimes 6 in two blocks all displaying chocolate, fresh fruit and cream laden fantasies that are sculptural wonders of sweet design. But then there are the specialty breads encasing wieners, pork floss, onions, cheese, shrimp, peanuts, pineapple ……and the flours based on taro, green tea, red beans and yes, the pitch black squid garlic bread. As with all Chinese cooking, there is nothing wasted in baking even the black briny ink of the squid. Uh…….Yum I think?
• Christmas cookies…Carol had just said, I do not think I have time to bake cookies this year when her Tai Chi class reminded her that she had “mentioned” having them over for real American style cookies (never a date suggested). Well, they , the class, told Carol when they would come over. No negotiations. Just “family lunch” at the American’s house. And besides, this gives them a chance to inspect and pass judgment on our apartment for any additions or new design elements. Very important that her friends know everything about her…How old are you…really?
• HUGE spiders…Carol said she is warming to the 4-6” inch spread-hand sized hairy tarantula-like spider that we can not catch in our apt. I am telling you, this is a monster spider, the stuff of which nightmares and C-grade movies are made. It hides someplace in the living room and occasionally migrates to my office and scares the sh.t out of me when it pops up. But, and here is its virtue, it eats the 2-4” cockroaches that are natives of Taiwan. So, it is balance of life, Yin-Yang, whatever. Sigh
• Fruit excess…Papaya, mangos, guavas, 5 different kinds of bananas, bowling ball sized asian pears, square watermelons, pineapple, sugar cane, oranges, rose wax apples, chermoya (Buddha head), durian, jackfruit, lychee, dragon eyes, pomegranates, mangostens, rambutan, cow-eye size grapes, blueberries, strawberries, kumquats, calamancie, …..can I stop yet? These are fruits we have available to us almost all year long. Some are imported but most are grown on island and sold in the street wet markets or off the back of trucks double parked along any street. Yet, I regard our Sunday breakfasts on our balcony with fresh cut passion fruit to be the height of indulgence. Passion fruits are deep purple 3” diameter thick skinned balls sold in a bag of 12 for about USD $2. One lets them get all wrinkly and shriveled before cutting them in half to scoop out the deep yellow loose flesh and grayish black seeds cushioned in orange juice colored liquid. The taste….oh my…slightly tart with a saturated sweetness that is knee-droppingly wonderful. It feels like health coursing through your veins to lustily suck down one of these wonders. The flavor absolutely vibrates you with pleasure. Oh,, and if they are available in the states, they are about USD$3 each!
• Temples…..There are approximately 10,000 temples on this little island. We have posted pictures of some including our own local one. The worshipping population at this temple is particularly active sponsoring imported Taiwanese operas (presented only for gods, no audience required), puppet shows presented in a rented theater space built over the sidewalk and part of the major street in Tien Mu, and feast days that end with block long strings of firecrackers lining both sides of the street as well as the median strip. There is always lots of activity with brown robed choirs chanting to bored, cigarette smoking drummers and erhu playing accompanists. But it has been especially interesting to watch the members repaint all the dragons, relacquer the inlaid offering tables and re roof with ornate ceramic tiles. No expense seems to be spared as real gold leaf is applied to all the dragon scales and gods’ robes. Not only is it good luck to walk through the temple on the way to school but fascinatingly instructional as well.
• Winter—we know winter is here, kind of, by the way folks dress, kind of. The two biggest clues that it is winter are the boots and the rabbit fur scarves that pop out as if by secret message between women. You can not begin to imagine the variety of boots that are here; knit boots, white boots, thigh high boots, boots with bling, boots with leather tassels, Hello kitty boots, everywhere boots. The guys are pretty dull in their down stuffed parkas. But wait…I am still happy in shorts and a tee shirt and there are many girls in provocative short short short shorts and off the shoulder expensive ripped shirts that create a quandary about perception and reality. Whether it is winter or summer,Taiwan fashion is a wild and all over the map, over the top, cute, weird, cacophonous, collaged and a jumble of disparate elements that seems to work on the locals folks but does not translate to westerners at all. Oh well, OshKosh bibs look out of place on them…But That is the ONLY thing.
• Offerings…the porch kittens and their vicious mom Mei Mei are great hunters as most feral cats are. They live on our porch and love to pull down the broom so they can sleep on the broom head. They race up and down and momma sits on our chairs and outdoor table making many tableaus, Mama avec kittens. In gratitude for the kitty munchies which we supply daily, they brought us a rat, a big rat, a big, thank you, dead rat and laid it between the food bowls so we would step on in and notice it when we opened the sliding porch doors to go outside. It was so obviously an offering for us, so completely displayed as to not be missed, that all we could say was, “Thanks a lot ladies.”
• Body percussion…Alright I admit it, I am a hedonist and one of the many joys of here is that massage is a part of normal life. We mentioned that we have the beautiful Megan come once a week to hurt us sweetly. But the new ritual we are trying to start is a Friday afterschool music department communal foot massage at a new local parlor followed by a Bombay martini and an evening activity. So far we have had 4 regulars who troop into the 6 Stars Foot and Body Massage parlor near our house and sign up for the 50 minute foot and shoulder massage session. The most important task is choosing your therapist. Personally I am partial to #28 because he has just the right balance of firm but not excruciating touch that leaves you breathless yet breathing. One starts with proper disposable slippers while attendants whisk you your shoes and socks to a locker and then offer you your choice of teas to have during the session…somewhat akin to the old rope between the teeth trick of the old west amputation days. I am partial to the lemongrass tea. Then is it on to the massage station for a good soak in warm water while the therapist finds every knot in you neck and shoulders and applies every once of body weight to replace your old pain with new pain. You know it will only last 13 minutes because you have been shown the timer that says “13” on it. At least you can hope they hear the alarm on time, One has to straighten up every now and then just to see if you still can. Then it is time to switch to the leather chair with the side mounted TV in case visual diversion might distract from the uplifting (read rising out of your seat) actions of #28. He will dry you feet, calves and thighs and apply a lotion. I rather hoped it had novacaine in it but no such luck, just slippery soothing gel to let his hands glide over every single muscle, fiber, tendon, blood vessel and bone you have in you lower body. At least sticks are not used like in Thailand but let me tell you a thumb on the hand of a person who knows how to use it can be a near lethal weapon, so do not underestimate the power of 1…..;thumb that is. Okay so after 35 minutes of intense focus on every minute aspect of legs and feet (remember the timer… it was reset to say 40 minutes with the new round of stimulation.) one is then wrapped in warm towels and the party begins. Each therapist has his or her own signature drum tattoo that they beat out, and I do mean BEAT out on you legs and thighs. I think it has something to do with circulation or some such. In any case, once #28, #13, #52 and old what’s his number found out that we all were musicians, they really bent (us) to the competition of who could have the most complex repeated rhythmic pattern applied to our lower body. I really do mean the are coming down on you from about 3 feet away and not pulling their punches. Listen, Stravinsky would have been proud of the rhythmic layering that goes on at the end of our sessions. And the number people look at us waiting for approval of their minimalist ensemble. Out of the haze of pain, one looks up and gives them a warmish sort of grimace at which they smile and carry on past the 40 minutes just to show you how much they want you to be satisfied…. wipe off legs and feet, hobble down stairs, land with no dignity on the stools, on with the shoes that somehow do not seem to fit you as well they did before, take the business card from you guy (I already have #28’s card) and then it is out the door and on to the martini. Only after the martini does one assess the quality of the experience and the relative merits and characteristics of each #. I still think my #28 is going to be my choice next week. And rest assured we are strong. We WILL be back next week on Friday, after school, before the martini, before the adventures of the night.
• Whiskey samples…Go to Carrefour (French) or Costco (US) stores and you can have samples of Glen Livet, McAllen (sic) , any other single malt scotch whiskey or red wines from Chile, white wines from Australia or heavy malted beer from Germany from the time the stores open until the time they close. The beer girls are in their ubiquitous thigh high white boots with the skimpy plastic everything but the scotch ladies are in gold ( scotch colored) dresses with 4” high heels. The only thing you don’t get is a cigarette after you drink the scotch and look at the girl. Ah well… Wait there is more…whilst on the XinYi expedition, outside of NEW YORK NEW YORK mall, the scotch ladies kicked it up several notches by serving samples on the sidewalk BUT in overstuffed leather chairs on a royal blue carpet, I repeat, on the side walk. Because they were outside and because it is winter, remember winter?, their skirts and dresses were modestly an inch below the knee, but who was looking?
• Advertising…next to the scotch ladies was the outdoor sales pitch area for COLDSTONE CREAMERY. I know, you are getting confused with all these familiar US iconic names, but we really are in Taipei not Santa Fe. Anyway, there were long lines of fathers and daughters lined up to buy a special Coldstone ice cream treat and then get fitted from a special rack of Coldstone logo’ed, stuffed down parkas before they could” EXPERIENCE THE FEELING OF -9 C TEMPERATURE” in a special sidewalk freezing cabana. It should be noted that in honor of the occasion, the replicated stature of liberty outside NY NY held a dripping ice cream cone instead of the torch. As the kids came out they were met by the spouse who was too frightened to go who consoled and tried to warm them after their ordeal. Ya, just gotta laugh.
• Carols…on a concluding tender note, it brings tears to our eyes to hear familiar Christmas carols sung in the stores by choirs of little children who neither have any idea what they are singing nor how to pronounceate the words. The Chinese accent on Jingle Bells is truly charming in its innocence and just for a moment, reminds us that we are not in Kansas or Wisconsin. Sniff.
We hope we will have time to post more before the Holidays. We will try again to go to Bangkok for a week and then on the an island south of Bangkok to see just how many massages one can have in a day before OD’ing. Please know we do miss you and offer you our thanks, best wishes and hope for peace during this season and in the New Year. Change We Can Believe In!!!
Our best,
B and C
• We did not go to Luang Prabang Lao during Thanksgiving. It seems that a civil uprising trumps a trip. The protestors took over both airports in Bangkok and held them until the King’s birthday by which time there were close to 100k people stranded in the airport and in Bangkok. Our airport driver called us around midnight to say all flights were cancelled. After one night stranded in O’Hare, I have no desire to be a human shield during a civil war in an airport. We stayed home, rested, worked on our porch and said THANKS for not letting us get in harms way.
• Kindness….the young owner of a DIY bake shop who was so excited talking with Carol about baking that he gave her four books he wrote on Chinese baking. No way would he take an NT$: just come back so he might work with Carol baking.
• Traditions….for the third year we went downtown to the Xinyi shopping district near the 101 bldg to watch the multiple street performers entertain the cutest children in the world. There were 3 performers dressed as ET like aliens with blue costumes with 1’ fingers. They invited the little kids to come into their midst and shake their fingers. There was a band of young jugglers and acrobat contortionists who placed three young children between them, posed them in the traditional Taiwan picture pose with the V sign in both hands and then juggled bowling pins over their heads while the kids stayed still, absolutely frozen in smiles.
It is so hard to describe the joy of the many families who are strolling between high end shops with kids dressed with rainbow colors in multiple layers, animal backpacks, striped pippi longstockings, holding hands and speed babbling about the sugar blowing artist or the balloon bending artists or the terra-cotta warrior wooden clapper performer or the African drumming ensemble or the Disney ad-girls dressed in thigh high white boots, butt-showing white short shorts and Vegas headdresses. OK I know this is a RO sentence but that is what Xinyi is like…one beautiful sensory overload piled on another in a living collage of vibrant city life. Merry Christmas to us!
• Bread…as I have said before, we are awash in fine bakeries, sometimes 6 in two blocks all displaying chocolate, fresh fruit and cream laden fantasies that are sculptural wonders of sweet design. But then there are the specialty breads encasing wieners, pork floss, onions, cheese, shrimp, peanuts, pineapple ……and the flours based on taro, green tea, red beans and yes, the pitch black squid garlic bread. As with all Chinese cooking, there is nothing wasted in baking even the black briny ink of the squid. Uh…….Yum I think?
• Christmas cookies…Carol had just said, I do not think I have time to bake cookies this year when her Tai Chi class reminded her that she had “mentioned” having them over for real American style cookies (never a date suggested). Well, they , the class, told Carol when they would come over. No negotiations. Just “family lunch” at the American’s house. And besides, this gives them a chance to inspect and pass judgment on our apartment for any additions or new design elements. Very important that her friends know everything about her…How old are you…really?
• HUGE spiders…Carol said she is warming to the 4-6” inch spread-hand sized hairy tarantula-like spider that we can not catch in our apt. I am telling you, this is a monster spider, the stuff of which nightmares and C-grade movies are made. It hides someplace in the living room and occasionally migrates to my office and scares the sh.t out of me when it pops up. But, and here is its virtue, it eats the 2-4” cockroaches that are natives of Taiwan. So, it is balance of life, Yin-Yang, whatever. Sigh
• Fruit excess…Papaya, mangos, guavas, 5 different kinds of bananas, bowling ball sized asian pears, square watermelons, pineapple, sugar cane, oranges, rose wax apples, chermoya (Buddha head), durian, jackfruit, lychee, dragon eyes, pomegranates, mangostens, rambutan, cow-eye size grapes, blueberries, strawberries, kumquats, calamancie, …..can I stop yet? These are fruits we have available to us almost all year long. Some are imported but most are grown on island and sold in the street wet markets or off the back of trucks double parked along any street. Yet, I regard our Sunday breakfasts on our balcony with fresh cut passion fruit to be the height of indulgence. Passion fruits are deep purple 3” diameter thick skinned balls sold in a bag of 12 for about USD $2. One lets them get all wrinkly and shriveled before cutting them in half to scoop out the deep yellow loose flesh and grayish black seeds cushioned in orange juice colored liquid. The taste….oh my…slightly tart with a saturated sweetness that is knee-droppingly wonderful. It feels like health coursing through your veins to lustily suck down one of these wonders. The flavor absolutely vibrates you with pleasure. Oh,, and if they are available in the states, they are about USD$3 each!
• Temples…..There are approximately 10,000 temples on this little island. We have posted pictures of some including our own local one. The worshipping population at this temple is particularly active sponsoring imported Taiwanese operas (presented only for gods, no audience required), puppet shows presented in a rented theater space built over the sidewalk and part of the major street in Tien Mu, and feast days that end with block long strings of firecrackers lining both sides of the street as well as the median strip. There is always lots of activity with brown robed choirs chanting to bored, cigarette smoking drummers and erhu playing accompanists. But it has been especially interesting to watch the members repaint all the dragons, relacquer the inlaid offering tables and re roof with ornate ceramic tiles. No expense seems to be spared as real gold leaf is applied to all the dragon scales and gods’ robes. Not only is it good luck to walk through the temple on the way to school but fascinatingly instructional as well.
• Winter—we know winter is here, kind of, by the way folks dress, kind of. The two biggest clues that it is winter are the boots and the rabbit fur scarves that pop out as if by secret message between women. You can not begin to imagine the variety of boots that are here; knit boots, white boots, thigh high boots, boots with bling, boots with leather tassels, Hello kitty boots, everywhere boots. The guys are pretty dull in their down stuffed parkas. But wait…I am still happy in shorts and a tee shirt and there are many girls in provocative short short short shorts and off the shoulder expensive ripped shirts that create a quandary about perception and reality. Whether it is winter or summer,Taiwan fashion is a wild and all over the map, over the top, cute, weird, cacophonous, collaged and a jumble of disparate elements that seems to work on the locals folks but does not translate to westerners at all. Oh well, OshKosh bibs look out of place on them…But That is the ONLY thing.
• Offerings…the porch kittens and their vicious mom Mei Mei are great hunters as most feral cats are. They live on our porch and love to pull down the broom so they can sleep on the broom head. They race up and down and momma sits on our chairs and outdoor table making many tableaus, Mama avec kittens. In gratitude for the kitty munchies which we supply daily, they brought us a rat, a big rat, a big, thank you, dead rat and laid it between the food bowls so we would step on in and notice it when we opened the sliding porch doors to go outside. It was so obviously an offering for us, so completely displayed as to not be missed, that all we could say was, “Thanks a lot ladies.”
• Body percussion…Alright I admit it, I am a hedonist and one of the many joys of here is that massage is a part of normal life. We mentioned that we have the beautiful Megan come once a week to hurt us sweetly. But the new ritual we are trying to start is a Friday afterschool music department communal foot massage at a new local parlor followed by a Bombay martini and an evening activity. So far we have had 4 regulars who troop into the 6 Stars Foot and Body Massage parlor near our house and sign up for the 50 minute foot and shoulder massage session. The most important task is choosing your therapist. Personally I am partial to #28 because he has just the right balance of firm but not excruciating touch that leaves you breathless yet breathing. One starts with proper disposable slippers while attendants whisk you your shoes and socks to a locker and then offer you your choice of teas to have during the session…somewhat akin to the old rope between the teeth trick of the old west amputation days. I am partial to the lemongrass tea. Then is it on to the massage station for a good soak in warm water while the therapist finds every knot in you neck and shoulders and applies every once of body weight to replace your old pain with new pain. You know it will only last 13 minutes because you have been shown the timer that says “13” on it. At least you can hope they hear the alarm on time, One has to straighten up every now and then just to see if you still can. Then it is time to switch to the leather chair with the side mounted TV in case visual diversion might distract from the uplifting (read rising out of your seat) actions of #28. He will dry you feet, calves and thighs and apply a lotion. I rather hoped it had novacaine in it but no such luck, just slippery soothing gel to let his hands glide over every single muscle, fiber, tendon, blood vessel and bone you have in you lower body. At least sticks are not used like in Thailand but let me tell you a thumb on the hand of a person who knows how to use it can be a near lethal weapon, so do not underestimate the power of 1…..;thumb that is. Okay so after 35 minutes of intense focus on every minute aspect of legs and feet (remember the timer… it was reset to say 40 minutes with the new round of stimulation.) one is then wrapped in warm towels and the party begins. Each therapist has his or her own signature drum tattoo that they beat out, and I do mean BEAT out on you legs and thighs. I think it has something to do with circulation or some such. In any case, once #28, #13, #52 and old what’s his number found out that we all were musicians, they really bent (us) to the competition of who could have the most complex repeated rhythmic pattern applied to our lower body. I really do mean the are coming down on you from about 3 feet away and not pulling their punches. Listen, Stravinsky would have been proud of the rhythmic layering that goes on at the end of our sessions. And the number people look at us waiting for approval of their minimalist ensemble. Out of the haze of pain, one looks up and gives them a warmish sort of grimace at which they smile and carry on past the 40 minutes just to show you how much they want you to be satisfied…. wipe off legs and feet, hobble down stairs, land with no dignity on the stools, on with the shoes that somehow do not seem to fit you as well they did before, take the business card from you guy (I already have #28’s card) and then it is out the door and on to the martini. Only after the martini does one assess the quality of the experience and the relative merits and characteristics of each #. I still think my #28 is going to be my choice next week. And rest assured we are strong. We WILL be back next week on Friday, after school, before the martini, before the adventures of the night.
• Whiskey samples…Go to Carrefour (French) or Costco (US) stores and you can have samples of Glen Livet, McAllen (sic) , any other single malt scotch whiskey or red wines from Chile, white wines from Australia or heavy malted beer from Germany from the time the stores open until the time they close. The beer girls are in their ubiquitous thigh high white boots with the skimpy plastic everything but the scotch ladies are in gold ( scotch colored) dresses with 4” high heels. The only thing you don’t get is a cigarette after you drink the scotch and look at the girl. Ah well… Wait there is more…whilst on the XinYi expedition, outside of NEW YORK NEW YORK mall, the scotch ladies kicked it up several notches by serving samples on the sidewalk BUT in overstuffed leather chairs on a royal blue carpet, I repeat, on the side walk. Because they were outside and because it is winter, remember winter?, their skirts and dresses were modestly an inch below the knee, but who was looking?
• Advertising…next to the scotch ladies was the outdoor sales pitch area for COLDSTONE CREAMERY. I know, you are getting confused with all these familiar US iconic names, but we really are in Taipei not Santa Fe. Anyway, there were long lines of fathers and daughters lined up to buy a special Coldstone ice cream treat and then get fitted from a special rack of Coldstone logo’ed, stuffed down parkas before they could” EXPERIENCE THE FEELING OF -9 C TEMPERATURE” in a special sidewalk freezing cabana. It should be noted that in honor of the occasion, the replicated stature of liberty outside NY NY held a dripping ice cream cone instead of the torch. As the kids came out they were met by the spouse who was too frightened to go who consoled and tried to warm them after their ordeal. Ya, just gotta laugh.
• Carols…on a concluding tender note, it brings tears to our eyes to hear familiar Christmas carols sung in the stores by choirs of little children who neither have any idea what they are singing nor how to pronounceate the words. The Chinese accent on Jingle Bells is truly charming in its innocence and just for a moment, reminds us that we are not in Kansas or Wisconsin. Sniff.
We hope we will have time to post more before the Holidays. We will try again to go to Bangkok for a week and then on the an island south of Bangkok to see just how many massages one can have in a day before OD’ing. Please know we do miss you and offer you our thanks, best wishes and hope for peace during this season and in the New Year. Change We Can Believe In!!!
Our best,
B and C
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Thanksgiving Break Trip
Hello all,
We are off for our first trip together of the year. We are going to central Lao to the small town of Luang Prabang on a tiny peninsula in the Mekong River. We obviously will have more information and photos when we get back but I wanted to give you an opportunity to preview what we will see.
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=oYck1-duuWA
Above is a 5 minute YouTube site that has good information. The New York Times also ran one of their 36 Hours in.... here is the link
http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/travel/18hours-1.html
We are staying at a small hotel called the APSARA so that can also be googled. We look forward to resuming our Asian adventure.
We wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and pray that the chaos will somehow improve so we can face the future with optimism and hope for renewed but more enlightened progress and prosperity.
Our best wishes,
Bill and Carol
We are off for our first trip together of the year. We are going to central Lao to the small town of Luang Prabang on a tiny peninsula in the Mekong River. We obviously will have more information and photos when we get back but I wanted to give you an opportunity to preview what we will see.
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=oYck1-duuWA
Above is a 5 minute YouTube site that has good information. The New York Times also ran one of their 36 Hours in.... here is the link
http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/travel/18hours-1.html
We are staying at a small hotel called the APSARA so that can also be googled. We look forward to resuming our Asian adventure.
We wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and pray that the chaos will somehow improve so we can face the future with optimism and hope for renewed but more enlightened progress and prosperity.
Our best wishes,
Bill and Carol
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Notes from Carol
Hi at last, I’m still trying to come down from today and yesterday….what an experience! Saturday Ivy met me at the Arena (new, gorgeous, and huge!) and I got registered, etc. and then she says to come with her because she is one of the board members of the Tai Chi Federation and sit with her on the dais! I tried desperately not to, but it was the only way she could explain things to me. Fortunately, I later realized no one could actually make out who you are from so far away, and the President introduced me as being from Germany, so I think I’m still incognito. The opening ceremony was like a small Olympic event with all the teams and contestants (except me, of course) marching in behind their country sign and assembling on the floor. The following hour and a half was devoted to a Taiwanese passion –speeches with loud reverberating microphones, LOTS of dignitaries, including the mayor of Taipei, who I got to meet, interminable comments by EVERYONE who could be remotely considered important and finally it got going with about an hour and a half of performances, both Chinese theatre and folk exhibitions, lots of great drums, etc.
Following a ubiquitous “bin dan” lunch, which is a cardboard box filled with a lot of things, recognizable and unrecognizable and a yogurt drink to calm your stomach, exactly 3 ounces of it, we were back for the Master Exhibitions and the beginning of the group competitions. This is when I realize the competition is not in a nice little room, you and the judges, but on the floor of the arena where there are 6-7,000 in the audience! It was fascinating to see the various forms demonstrated and I took lots of pictures and some videos. One master stood in one place, or sat in a chair and could literally “throw” attackers 15 feet away from him without any apparent movement of his hands or body. At one point, he did 3 at one time in opposite directions, and once, a line of 5 men braced against him in a line, every one of them went flying!! These masters are not young, but one of my favorites who did the old Dao Yin style literally floated to the floor held himself horizontally and floated back up again without so much as a finger to the ground!
After my return home Saturday, I completely melted down at the level of this thing, had a full-blown panic attack, couldn’t feel my hands, knees shaking, a total 61-year old mess.
Didn’t sleep, couldn’t eat breakfast, met Ivy at 7:00AM to warm up and dress, and just went over and over and over it to warm up. Finally, sheer exhaustion, I think, won and I got control of myself. We had to wait until all the men went in the event, so lots of time to worry, but still OK. Then…the big moment, Ivy had had to leave to teach in Tainan, so she arranged for a nice official to make sure I got to the appointed spot on the floor, and there it was. Not until then did I find out I wasn’t in a “Foreigner” category like I thought, but in my group was competing beside the last World Cup 42-Form Champion! It was way too late to flee, so just had to do it.
I forgot one small part (age and short-term memory –what a surprise!) but even though I have done it hundreds of times, I was so thrilled that I had held the big extensions, that I lost concentration for a split-second, and that is fatal. Overall, I think it was a solid C, but given my inexperience compared to the other competitors, I’m very happy. I don’t think I disgraced Ivy, and it was a “dancing bear” thing anyway. If I ever do it again, I think it will be much easier. I truly expected to just crash and burn on the difficult moves. Needless to say, I couldn’t even eat for about 4 hours afterwards, my knees starting shaking again after it was over, talk about adrenaline poisoning! Bill got the video…. A bunch of my Chinese tai chi class friends came down to cheer me on, which was incredibly sweet, and I got to meet people from all over. There were more than 30 countries represented and communication occurred in a whole lot of ways. It was so amazing to see people everywhere doing all these different forms and weapons and groups, at two times there were demonstrations of over 300 people all doing the same routine. My friend Kathleen and her friend Cecile, who is a Jamaican-born Canadian doctor (talk about your multi-cultural moments) did one of those, and were avidly following the fan events, which is their particular interest. There were fans, and swords, and staffs, and hand-to-hand fighting as well, so lots to see.
All in all, it was an unforgettable life experience, but I’m really looking forward to getting the play opened this week and a little more quiet appreciation of culture. It seems that the essence of tai chi is really not competition, but I have really learned that it is the practice of it, alone or with others, that makes you grow, your heart sort of “stretches” as you learn more and more.
Our Taiwanese friends had their baby 3 weeks ago and he is so much fun –almost as cute as a kitten!-OK, as cute! We’ll put a picture on the blog. Katrina is doing the traditional one month confinement. Her mother came from the south of Taiwan and she and the baby are staying in one of their apartments for 30 days. Roger goes home at night to take care of the two older boys. She cannot wash her hair, which is driving her crazy, use warm or hot water to wash, must eat special food which is catered in every day three times a day and just recuperates and bonds with the new baby. It is really a civilized custom and if modern moms want to do it and do not have an older female relative to take care of them, there are now special “maternity” facilities which provide all the services after the new moms leave the hospital.
Midsummer Night’s Dream just closed last night. The kids were just great. Shakespeare is always magic, nothing like getting the best material you can! Some pictures follow. I miss the fall colors but we are nesting on the porch like made, we just enjoy the fact that stuff grows so much longer here that at least I have something blooming most of the time! Leaves in colors would be very nice, though, everyone enjoy them for me!
Following a ubiquitous “bin dan” lunch, which is a cardboard box filled with a lot of things, recognizable and unrecognizable and a yogurt drink to calm your stomach, exactly 3 ounces of it, we were back for the Master Exhibitions and the beginning of the group competitions. This is when I realize the competition is not in a nice little room, you and the judges, but on the floor of the arena where there are 6-7,000 in the audience! It was fascinating to see the various forms demonstrated and I took lots of pictures and some videos. One master stood in one place, or sat in a chair and could literally “throw” attackers 15 feet away from him without any apparent movement of his hands or body. At one point, he did 3 at one time in opposite directions, and once, a line of 5 men braced against him in a line, every one of them went flying!! These masters are not young, but one of my favorites who did the old Dao Yin style literally floated to the floor held himself horizontally and floated back up again without so much as a finger to the ground!
After my return home Saturday, I completely melted down at the level of this thing, had a full-blown panic attack, couldn’t feel my hands, knees shaking, a total 61-year old mess.
Didn’t sleep, couldn’t eat breakfast, met Ivy at 7:00AM to warm up and dress, and just went over and over and over it to warm up. Finally, sheer exhaustion, I think, won and I got control of myself. We had to wait until all the men went in the event, so lots of time to worry, but still OK. Then…the big moment, Ivy had had to leave to teach in Tainan, so she arranged for a nice official to make sure I got to the appointed spot on the floor, and there it was. Not until then did I find out I wasn’t in a “Foreigner” category like I thought, but in my group was competing beside the last World Cup 42-Form Champion! It was way too late to flee, so just had to do it.
I forgot one small part (age and short-term memory –what a surprise!) but even though I have done it hundreds of times, I was so thrilled that I had held the big extensions, that I lost concentration for a split-second, and that is fatal. Overall, I think it was a solid C, but given my inexperience compared to the other competitors, I’m very happy. I don’t think I disgraced Ivy, and it was a “dancing bear” thing anyway. If I ever do it again, I think it will be much easier. I truly expected to just crash and burn on the difficult moves. Needless to say, I couldn’t even eat for about 4 hours afterwards, my knees starting shaking again after it was over, talk about adrenaline poisoning! Bill got the video…. A bunch of my Chinese tai chi class friends came down to cheer me on, which was incredibly sweet, and I got to meet people from all over. There were more than 30 countries represented and communication occurred in a whole lot of ways. It was so amazing to see people everywhere doing all these different forms and weapons and groups, at two times there were demonstrations of over 300 people all doing the same routine. My friend Kathleen and her friend Cecile, who is a Jamaican-born Canadian doctor (talk about your multi-cultural moments) did one of those, and were avidly following the fan events, which is their particular interest. There were fans, and swords, and staffs, and hand-to-hand fighting as well, so lots to see.
All in all, it was an unforgettable life experience, but I’m really looking forward to getting the play opened this week and a little more quiet appreciation of culture. It seems that the essence of tai chi is really not competition, but I have really learned that it is the practice of it, alone or with others, that makes you grow, your heart sort of “stretches” as you learn more and more.
Our Taiwanese friends had their baby 3 weeks ago and he is so much fun –almost as cute as a kitten!-OK, as cute! We’ll put a picture on the blog. Katrina is doing the traditional one month confinement. Her mother came from the south of Taiwan and she and the baby are staying in one of their apartments for 30 days. Roger goes home at night to take care of the two older boys. She cannot wash her hair, which is driving her crazy, use warm or hot water to wash, must eat special food which is catered in every day three times a day and just recuperates and bonds with the new baby. It is really a civilized custom and if modern moms want to do it and do not have an older female relative to take care of them, there are now special “maternity” facilities which provide all the services after the new moms leave the hospital.
Midsummer Night’s Dream just closed last night. The kids were just great. Shakespeare is always magic, nothing like getting the best material you can! Some pictures follow. I miss the fall colors but we are nesting on the porch like made, we just enjoy the fact that stuff grows so much longer here that at least I have something blooming most of the time! Leaves in colors would be very nice, though, everyone enjoy them for me!
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