Taipei Day 2 and 3.

I woke up to a bright sunshine filled day my second day in Taipei.  Needless to say it wouldn't last.  Anyway, after a quick breakfast I got directions to the nearest MRT (subway) and set off.  The subway was an interesting experience for me at first.  It took me 2 tries to figure out the token system but once I managed that getting around wasn't too hard.  You use the machines to figure out how much you are going to spend getting to where you are getting, the machine gives you a charged token which you flash at the turnstile it lets you in and then you hop as many trains as necessary to get to your destination before flashing the token again.  The trains were crowded but everyone was perfectly polite.  I stood the whole time because you are supposed to leave the seats for the elderly, the expecting, and parents with small kids.  Trains came every 10-15 minutes and it was cheap to ride so I ended up not spending a lot of money on transportation.

My first stop of the day was Taipei 101.  I arrived at the station and was immediately put on a shuttle bus which took me to my destination.  The building was huge. It is after all the 2nd largest in the world.

Taipei 101

 Once there I went to 5th floor where I purchased a ticket to go up to the 89th floor where the observation level was. The views were amazing.  I could see the whole city.  The 91st floor had an outdoor observation deck which was awesome and dizzying.  The 88th floor held the wind damper which prevents the building from swaying too much. 

The damper.

Damper baby.. the symbol of the tower.

Before getting to the damper however, one has to pass through this really cool hallway that makes you feel like you are in wherever it is showing you.  It started with a beach, went to a forest, and then some clouds.  It was trippy and cool.

The trippy hallway

After Taipei 101 I headed off for the Chiang Kai-Shek memorial.  It was spectacular... and wet.  It had started raining fairly heavily while I was on the subway.  But I wasn't about to let that stop me as I was leaving Sunday and there was no way I was missing anything on my list. 

The actual memorial is up a series of stairs I was not climbing that weather, so I went to the under section where the museum was.  It was fantastic.  I knew next to nothing of Chiang's life outside of what he did during WWII and founding the new government in Taiwan.  I got to learn a lot.  He was an interesting character to say the least. 
After the museum I headed to my last stop, the Longshan Temple.  Longshan is an active Buddhist temple that also houses Taoist deities.  In addition to tourists people go there frequently to worship.  It is gorgeous and peaceful and the scent of incense hangs in the air.

The outer temple

Waterfalls in the inner enterence

the inner entrance

  Due to the activity at the temple I did not take many pictures of the inside... it felt wrong, like I would be disturbing something I shouldn't.  So I just stood and watched, and offered up a few prayers of my own.  Despite all the people it was very peaceful and I have every intention of returning sometime in the future.  After hitting the temple I went to a nearby underground bazaar and looked around.  It was sort of like a mini mall and it had MRT access which got me out of the rain.  (In Taiwan you build up and down due to limited land.)
After Longshan I returned home and took a nap before heading out to NingXia one last time.  I was planning to eat my way through the night market and managed to do just that.  I had a great time at the market and I am looking forward to visiting it again sometime in the future.  After the night market I went home and went to bed, having had a long day. 
The next morning brought my departure day.  After breakfast I got my stuff and took the quick taxi ride to my station... and then back to my hotel because I forgot something and back again to the station.  Thankfully, I left at 10am and my train wasn't until 11am.  While at the station I wandered around and found some water and munchies for the trip home.

Tasty waffle cookies: chocolate, honey and mystery flavor.

The mystery flavor was very good. 

Taipei's main station was  labyrinth of interesting things and one could honestly spend a day exploring just it and the surrounding areas.  However, I was soon on my way home to rest and begin exploring Taichung again.
My trip to Taipei was a wonderful adventure and a bit of an eye opener for me.  I never thought I was brave enough to explore an entire city on my own.  As a matter of fact when I was in Italy in 2008 I would never have done that.  Now I not only did that but I did not get lost or have any trouble doing things on my own.  I am no longer nervous about going places like Hong Kong and Korea because now I know I can handle it.  Japan may take me awhile to get the guts to hit but I know I'll visit there eventually.  I also realized I'm okay traveling on my own, I don't need a group to go with me.  Would I have had more fun traveling with others, you bet.  But now I know that I can still have all the fun in the world by myself.

My trip to Taipei Day 1.

So Friday afternoon I took a taxi to Taichung's high speed rail station in the Wuri District.  It was a half hour trip, and cost me less than 20 dollars.  Once I arrived at the station, I was as thankful as ever to Taiwan's hospitality.  All around were signs in English as well as Chinese.  The ticket agent spoke English and was able to not only assist me with getting my ticket for the trip to Taipei but also one for the trip home and directed me to my platform.  Once I got up there I was struck by the amazing view as the platform was a raised one showing off the nearby countryside.

View from the platform

The train arrived precisely on time and was quickly loaded and we were on our way. The train I found out on the way home hits speeds of about 277 kph (roughly 172mph for Americans). It's wicked fast and a very smooth ride.  Actually you really don't feel like you're moving at all... well if it wasn't for the scenery speeding by.
I arrived in Taipei about an hour after I left Taichung, the trip took less than half the time it would have taken if I had taken the regular train or the bus.  Of course it had decided to start raining while I was traveling, something which would set the tone for the rest of my trip.  The taxi driver was nice and helpful... although he smelled terribly of betel nut (not something uncommon with taxi drivers).  Betel nut is this nut that people (mainly men) chew, kind of like tobacco only smells better a little.   Anyway after he got turned around I arrived at my hotel.  My hotel was actually kind of difficult to find.  It was the 3rd floor above a series of shops.  So in order to get there, I first had to find the elevator which I then took to my hotel.  The staff at King Plaza was very nice and most spoke some English.  I was quickly given a key to my room and sent off to get settled in.  My room to say the least was small but it was nice and I was not planning on hanging out in it much.  In order to get the lights to work though I discovered I had to place the card attached to my key into a slot by the door.  This let the room know someone was there and that I was allowed to have power.  The room also came with a massage chair which I made of use of Saturday when I returned from my touring.

My bed... in true Taiwan fashion it was hard as a rock.

Oh great massage chair, how I love thee.

It had a tub!!! 

After settling in I decided to explore the immediate vicinity as it had stopped raining.  Therefore I grabbed my stuff and off I went.  I managed to find one of my desired destinations without even trying.  I found Dihua Street first.  Dihua street is home to traditional shops filled with all sorts of goodies that I could not even begin to name.  The smell was fascinating and the items within the shops were equally as interesting.  

I also found DaDaodong warf.  Something I didn't even know I wanted to see.  It was a small pier with ferries and all sorts of ship like things.  It wasn't too busy as it was still threatening to rain but there were a lot of people out taking pictures of the storm. 
After the warf, I headed back to my hotel attempting to locate some food along the way.  The issue was finding someplace with a picture menu that I could point to should they not know any English.  Eventually I stumbled by accident on a Vietnamese place off a side road.  It was delicious.  I had something similar to a spring roll only deep fried with this awesome dipping sauce. It was fabulous.  I returned to my hotel after planning on looking up things on my tablet to make sure I knew where I was going.  That plan lasted all of a half an hour when I discovered that Ningxia Night market was extremely close to where I was staying.  So I headed out again and found the market (it was only a block away).  It was so different from the one I'd been to in Taichung.  For starters it was smaller, it also had some fun carnival games at the front of it for kids and adults to play.  For the first night, I walked the streets trying some chicken on a stick and getting myself some wax apples.  I also stopped to play one of the carnival games.  The goal was to catch shrimp on a hook.  I stunk.  I think I broke like 10 strings.  But because I was having so much fun and drawing a bit of a crowd the guy let me keep going.  Eventually I caught 3 shrimp.  I was so proud.  After catching the shrimp they were skewered and cooked.  I was then given the shrimp heads and all to chow down on.  It was interesting attempting to dehead them when they were so hot but I managed.  I think they were the best shrimp I've ever eaten.

shrimp ready to catch.

I caught 3 the guy running the place caught the other 2.

Tasty treat. 

And that wrapped up my first day. I went back to my apartment and got some shut eye... I was in for a long day the following day.

WenXin road part 2

Okay today I went exploring down WenXin again only this time the plan was to stop at one of the restaurants along the way and have some lunch.  The first place I thought of going I found yesterday, it looked like a place devoted solely to dim sum... then I looked again and I saw a bunch of very traditional dishes so I got intimidated and kept driving.  Eventually I found Shark Bites Toast.

The most awesome restaurant I've found yet.

I was drawn in by the papaya milk sign (one of my co-workers got me addicted).  The restaurant is quite charming, a small family friendly place that had a few toddlers running around having fun.   After some pointing and confusion over payment I had an order in and waited patiently.  One thing about Taiwanese dining you might not know is that they take their time making the food and serving it to you.  Dining is a social experience and since you don't tip your waiter is not bugging you every 5 minutes to see if you need anything.  Anyway the papaya milk came first.

Nummy goodness!

After the milk came it took a bit but my meal finally came. Shark Toast specializes in unique waffles.  They are almost as good as my daddy's.  I got one of the less ornate ones which just had nuts and honey on it.

Bet you wish you had smell-o-vision right now!

To say it was fantastic is an understatement.  They were amazing!  And somehow I managed to eat it all..

I am such a pig.

After stuffing myself, I decided to head home. There is a typhoon south of Taiwan right now and it's been sending some rain my way even if it isn't hitting the island directly.  So it was drizzling most of the way home and indeed as I write this it is raining still.  I hope it stops about dinner because I was hoping to hit either MOS burger or the hot pot place for dinner.  I'm becoming braver about going to restaurants by myself here even if I don't speak the language.  A lot of them have menus with English on them or pictures so I can just point to what I want.  I'm slowly learning to speak the language but I don't know if I'll ever be able to read it. 

Exploring WenXin Road

So today I went for what amounted to a two hour scooter ride down WenXin  Road.  WenXin is one of the main roads.  It's also one of the busier roads in the area once you hit downtown.  There is so much to see and do along this particular road.  And as with many of the places that I have explored in Taichung yet again I was struck by how much Western culture blends with Taiwanese culture.  I couldn't go very far without running into a 7-Eleven (they're everywhere here) and I eventually found a KFC (which delivers, why don't ours?), Starbucks (more than one), and of course a couple of McDonald's.  Streets signs were in Chinese and English and so were some of the advertisements. The drive was very nice, hot and humid but nice.  There was a lot of traffic and I am glad I've gotten into the habit of looking behind me when driving because there were a few times people didn't show up in my mirrors. 
I also found a Carrefour on my drive, and I pulled in to get in the air and do a little exploring.  There were other shops in the store it was sort of like a mini-mall.  Carrefour for those of you who haven't been there is kind of like a Walmart.  When you want to park and are driving a scooter you actually go up the handicap ramp of the sidewalk and pull onto the sidewalk in front of the store.  To leave you do the same thing in reverse.  I picked up some things for my apartment (a bigger cooking knife, measuring cups, a hanging basket for my shower, some paper towels, Kleenex and a thing to hang on my mirror to hold my toothbrush).  After Carrefour I turned around to go home.  In order to go in the right direction I first had to pull onto the side road kiddy corner to the road I wanted to be on then wait for a green light.  When I got it I then drove forward to a specially marked box at the head of the lane on the road I want to be on and wait for the next green light to go in the direction I wanted to go in. 
On the way home I stopped at a fruit juice store I had spotted on my way past and got a banana milk thanks to my lovely offline dictionary.  Banana milk is essentially milk, bananas and honey blended together with ice.  It's fantastic, especially on a hot day.  I also stopped at my favorite street vendor on my way home and got my favorite treat.  It's a waffle like batter with black sesame seed and sweet custard inside.  It's amazing especially when it's fresh.  I put it in my bag and it was still warm when I got home.  It was an amazing treat after a good drive. 
All in all I had a great tiring day.  And I am looking forward to repeating it tomorrow.  I may try and explore some side streets and hopefully not get lost on my way home. 

Horseback riding, the end of summer school, and other things.

Okay so with riding lessons ending this week I thought I would start there and then talk about the end of summer school and anything else that comes to mind. 

To get to horseback riding I take my students via van to the stable which is about a 5minute drive from campus.  It's literally in the middle of the city and is a fascinating contrast between something I think is a country activity and an urban one.  Once we arrive we go down some cement stairs into the arena area.  The kids then go off to get their horses ready to ride.

The tacking area.

The stalls are outside with fans in the back to help keep the horses cool.  The kids ride English in order to prepare them to jump.  3 students to prepare one horse.  After the horses are fully groomed and saddles they go and get their gear.  Every rider wears a helmet, padded vest, and depending on if they are in shorts or pants leg guards. The people who teach the students put on the reins and off they go. 

Some of my students riding.

One of my newer riders.  He was so proud when he finished.

My most experienced rider

The barn has a couple of dogs running around who are very friendly.  After riding the students give the horses a bath most days along with a bucket filled with water to help them cool off as it's usually really hot here.

Mr. Attitude Philip gets a bath (he's tried to nip everyone at some point)

The horses are then left to dry and we go home.  Below are pictures of some of my favorite horses there.

This guy is so beautiful, I love his blue eyes.

This is Leo the biggest horse in the barn. 

Today ended summer school.  I am of two minds about this.  One I'm glad it's over because I haven't had a break since I got here.  It's been go, go, go.  Which led to a very short jet lag period I will admit.  I was too tired to be jet lagged.  But at the same time, I'm sad.  We all got very attached to our kids and not all of them will be coming back in September.  I know most of my middle school students won't because they are only in 6th grade and we don't accept til 7th grade during the school year.  They were such sweethearts and I will miss them dearly.  Some students attend other schools (one of my riding girls lives and goes to school in Shanghai) and will not be coming back.  Our prefects are going off to college, two in the US and one in Taipei.  I'm going to miss all of them. 

Today I went grocery shopping.  Apparently there was a sale on.  That made the store much busier then normal and more overwhelming.  I bought rice for the first time since I got here and I never thought I would be intimidated by the rice section in a supermarket.  Of course it didn't help I couldn't find the bloody section for 5 minutes and had to use my poor Chinese to ask someone to tell me where to find it.   There were so many different kinds and styles I don't know what I bought but it looked like white rice and that was enough for me.  I also got a rice maker that I think I know how to use... if I don't I'll find out soon enough.  At the grocery store somehow I was talked into buying three bags of peanuts at a discount instead of the 1 bag I wanted.  Not sure how that happened as I don't speak the language.  But it did, the sales guy also tried to hold a conversation with me but it failed however I did manage to confirm I was an English teacher so you know progress.

I also went to my first restaurant by myself today.  It was a teppanyaki place my boss had recommended.  It basically is a hibachi diner.  It was awesome.  The menu was in English and Chinese and the staff spoke a little English so I was able to communicate.   I felt so at home, like I was at one of those diners from Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives (I wonder if Guy Fieri would do an overseas episode...).  I got shrimp, salmon, veggies (cabbage and bean sprouts) and an egg with green onion (very good, I must pick some green onion up). I must confess I ate all of it.  I couldn't stop myself.  Of course I didn't take any pictures because well I was the only white person in the place, I wasn't standing out any more then I already did. 

Tomorrow's plan after sleeping in, is to clean and rearrange my apartment.  I may post a new video showing what I've done with the place after. 

Sun Moon Lake and My First Night Market Trip

Yesterday I was on duty to supervise the students on their field trips.  Which meant I was required to go to Sun Moon Lake and the Night Market (not that this was a hardship, I wanted to go anyway).  The trip to Sun Moon Lake is actually the same as if you were going to the Aboriginal Village.  They're right next to each other.  But where as the Village is a theme park/museum.  Sun Moon Lake is all about tourists.  It reminds me of Lake Geneva honestly; only less boating traffic, a bigger lake, and no swimming. We arrived and were immediately taken to our boats (we needed two) to go to our first stop, a shopping district on the other side of the lake.  The water was this beautiful blue color, it was absolutely gorgeous.  And since it was so hot, wind from the boat travel felt nice.  When we got to the district we were given a time to be back before heading off to explore.  I was hungry so I got some pork on a stick from one of the nice street vendors and proceeded to explore with a couple other teachers.  It was quite clear, quite early this place was designed for tourists.   A lot of tourist type stuff, street vendors, and other interesting sights.

A couple of teachers and I lost track of time at a tea shop where the owner made us tea the traditional way.  And then a version sweetened with ice.  It was amazing.  I ended up buying the tea and the honey she used to sweeten it.  After buying my tea I had to run to the dock to make the boat.  Thankfully some of the students were late and I beat them there so all was good.

Our next stop was the entrance to the temple.  You have to go up a winding path of steep stairs to get to the top.  At the bottom was a guy pretending to be a statue and moving around to surprise the tourists.  The kids loved him and according to them his sign said he was deaf.  His reactions were amazing.  I gave one of the kids who wanted  a picture some money to put in his collection and he interacted with the boy giving me one of the best moments of the day (this was after we got back down from the temple by the way).  Anyway back to the climb.  I didn't even get past the first section of stair when a woman comes running up to me pantomiming taking a picture and grabs my arm so she can take a picture next to me.  Apparently this is a right of passage for all expats as it happens quite frequently.  I don't know it was a strange experience.  So I managed to escape after 2 pictures and made my way to the top of the mountain.  It was gorgeous and well worth the climb.

I went inside the temple with some of my students.  I was instructed not to step on the threshold but rather over it.  Not sure why but since that was how it was done that is what I did.  The temple was small but lovely and I enjoyed it immensely.

Back on the boat we then went back to the main part of the lake where we began and were give 2 hours to explore.  I met up with 3 of the school prefects and the younger kids (grades 6-7) who are not allowed to wander on their own. We all went to lunch together and I had some amazing pork wonton noodle soup.  After lunch we went exploring and of course being middle school students they immediately found the claw machines and began trying to win mini-key chains and stuffed animals.  Thankfully for the teachers across the way was wonderful drink shop where we got banana milks and chilled waiting for them to finish.  Banana milk is just what is sounds like bananas blended into milk.  It's very good.  We did some more exploring before heading home on our buses.

After dinner it was time for the night market.  To say it was overwhelming was an understatement.  I managed to get one thing to eat octopus inside these dough balls topped with sauce and seaweed.  Very delicious and very hot.  After that the sheer amount of people, and burning my esophagus, kind of put a damper on my appetite. However, one of my coworkers was nice enough to buy me and the other 2 people we were with some papaya milk.  It's made the same way as the banana milk and is absolutely amazing.  After checking in the students it was decided rather than getting ourselves back into the crowd we would go enjoy some time in the nearby mall.  It's taller than the mall that we went to earlier in the month but it was just as cool.  I was shown an amazing bookstore by one of my students, I got lost in it for a half hour.  It takes up 2 levels on the mall and is then split in to 2 levels on the second floor.  It had a huge English section.

After heading back downstairs to wait for the kids and bus so we could head home, I stopped at the Starbucks and got a green tea cream... it's kind of hard to describe but it is amazing! I have a new addiction I am sad to say.  After this we went home and and my boss was kind enough to send me home 30 minutes early to go to bed.

Today we are playing water polo (and by we I mean the kids are) and having a barbeque.    It should be a nice relaxing day, the perfect way to wind down the weekend.

Doctor's Visit

So today was my health check for my visa application.  I will say Taiwanese hospitals are in many ways just like American ones and in many ways worlds different.  Our escort, one of the secretaries, drove me and another teacher to the hospital.  We parked in a garage with narrow spots and low ceilings.  Quite a feet for our mini-van, but we managed to find a good parking spot.  We then walked out to the hospital.  Along the way our secretary shielded her face/skin from the sun.  She explained to us that people in Taiwan do not like to get tan (at least the women don't) it's a sign of prestige to have pale skin.  If you have tan skin it means you work outside on a farm or some other such menial job.  The opposite of America. 

After we got inside the secretary took us to get checked in at some tables off to the side where they had us sign some things in Chinese.  (My co-worker and I joked we were signing away our first born children.) After which we went down to the basement.  The clinic was a little two room closet type experience.  We gave them our paperwork and waited for them to call us at which point they took our blood pressure (mine was a little high, excitement or nerves or machinery I couldn't tell), got our height (179.6cm) and tested our eyes and checked for a fever.  We were then given a number and asked to sit in chairs by a room where the doctor would examine patients.  Our number was called, we went in he asked if we had any health issues listened to our hearts and sent us off.  Then it was up to the cashier to pay (our appointment cost 1460NTD, which the school reimbursed us for this afternoon it comes to about $5 American).  The we were off to the lab for a blood draw.  Again taking a number and waiting to be called.  Then you go up to a little window they look over your paperwork and take the blood... all in view of everyone else.  After that it was off to x-ray for a chest x-ray.  It was a very cement filled radiology department with heavy metal doors that closed when taking x-rays.  Honestly you could go in one of those during a nuclear apocalypse and be just fine. They had us change into gowns (literally gowns no openings in the back) took one x-ray and sent us on our way after changing. 

Needless to say the whole experience had a DMV like feel about it.  The paperwork will be sent back to the school when it is completed.  So I am now one step closer to my ARC (alien registration card), which I have been told will have a Chinese name for me on it. They will either make one up that is close to my actual name or just use some random name for me.  I'm curious to see what they come up with.

In class today my students helped me prepare for my experience at the night market tomorrow, telling me I want to skip dinner and try everything.  They also showed me the words for stinky tofu (something I am told is actually good), fried chicken, and egg cake.  And they gave me the pronunciations.  I'm excited to see what some of that food is like.  Tonight after work I'm heading out for a hot pot and my weekly grocery trip.

It's been 3 weeks...

My how time flies.  It's been 3 weeks since I arrived in Taiwan and life has been so different since. I'm beginning to adjust to life here and have been working on finding my groove.  Here is what I've learned so far:
1. Food is an adventure and a half. Since I can't ask what is in it I have to guess and sometimes I win sometimes I loose. 
2. Driving is not for the faint of heart.  Laws, lanes, and speed limits are all suggestions.  You must go the suggested speed limit or you risk injury.
3. My students are amazing... nough said.
4. Teaching ESL is the hardest thing I've  ever done, and I'm not only enjoying the challenge but feeling like I'm thriving.
5. My coworkers are amazing and very quickly becoming friends.  I can't wait to see where this year takes us.
6. I'm much braver than I thought, and this adventure ismshowing me that.
7. I can and will  make the most of every day here.

Tomorrow we're off to Sun Moon Lake and my first night market.  I'll post about them later.