Deck the Harrs...Christmas in Taiwan

Coming to Taiwan, we knew that we would be faced with certain cultural challenges. That is to say, there are certain cultural "givens" in the U.S. that no longer apply to the Taiwan setting. A good example of this is Christmas. In the U.S. the Christmas season usually begins sometime during November and officially after Thanksgiving. Those of us who have spent time in the States know it is coming, we expect it, we feel it in our bones...though the sound of Christmas carols in November may feel a bit early, or like some sort of subliminal message encouraging you to buy something for good ole aunt what's her name, by the second week you know the season has come. All the lights, the songs, the decorations...they may seem like overkill or "commercial"...the truth is, they are part of the culture of Christmas.

In Taiwan they do recognize Christmas. That is to say, there are lights, decorations and even Christmas carols. However, the lights are usually up all year long (as well as Christmas trees in some places) and the carols are...not quite the same. Imagine that you are in a shop looking for a gift for a loved one. You need a push...just a small one, something that will lead your mind away from yourself and into the mindset of shopping for someone else. What you need is a Christmas carol...an old favorite...your ears perk up when you hear familiar notes sounding over the store's PA system. Then...there is a turn, a rather unpleasant one. Yes, in fact that is "Joy to the World" but is that a synthesizer beat? and wait...who is singing this...do they know the words or are they just mumbling something...and yes, it is a medley...a song joined to another by the strong dance beat..."We wish you a melly Chlistmas!"

So that happened at the High Mart last week as Katie and I were shopping for one another. At first it was funny...but the CD was on a loop and after the third or fourth time through (it was about 8 minutes long) we had to leave. We missed Christmas in America. So family and friends, when you read this please know we miss you!

We decided that the first week of December would be the beginning of the Christmas season for us. So when that first weekend came we realized that we needed to decorate our humble apartment to signify the beginning of the season...what we needed was a tree.

So we set out into Hsinchu with a song in our hearts and determination on our faces. Yes...we would find that perfect tree, even if it cost us $2.00. After some considerable effort we managed to find a large cardboard box in front of a store. There among the other imitations lay the one we were looking for: our Taiwan Christmas tree. After some real haggling with the owner, my superior bargaining skills won out and we walked away with a steal and the perfect tree. After fastening it securely to our scooter (and picking out some other ornatments fitting for such a prize) we began the perilous drive home.

Here is the tree tied to the back. Yes...that is a pink plastic bag holding it on...
Here is Katie with the tree on our scooter just moments after our arrival home...t'was a wonderful day!
I was faced then with the challenge that countless other "men of the house" have faced over many a Christmas: How to get the tree through the door, into the elevator, out of the elevator and into my living room. Good thing I am obsecenely strong, handsome and a genius (especially when it involves the physics of transporting Christmas trees across cities, through hallways, into elevators, etc...).

Here are I am carrying the tree effortlessly into our humbly waiting livingroom.
(In case you are wondering...the statement on my shirt comes in the form of a rhetorical question: When the beloved bangbangtang snatched, very angry? Yeah...)

With the tree triumphantly placed in the corner by the window, we proceeded to turn up the Christmas music and then went into a decorating frenzy. This included, but was not limited to cutting our own snowflakes and placing them on the windows as well as the forming of our own Christmas star for the top of the tree. Also, we managed to find some stockings that tied the entire process together in a nice red Christmas bow:

All sarcasm aside, we have done our best to make it feel like Christmas in our home here. The most difficult part has not been the decorating or the music, but just being away from home. Thank you so much to all who sent us gifts...they are all neatly placed under our tree.
Please know that we do miss you all.

The truth is this has been a good reminder of what Christmas is and how we are all joined together by it: That God so loved us all, He did something that only He could do...He came in Jesus Christ, to live the life that we could not, and then to die a death we deserve only to be resurrected so that we might be able to be called children of God.

That being said, "Merry Christmas to All from us in Taiwan!"

Kindy Events = Good Times

Most months tend to be filled with any number of fun/entertaining kindy events going on at our school. December has been no different. In addition to the regular birthday parties and field trips there has also been an event called "I Love Reading" (which actually should be called "I Love Performing"...more on that later), Sports Day (a Christmas party/Olympics conglomeration), as well as our big Christmas event coming up next week.

This month's theme has been animals so the field trips consisted of trips to the zoo for the older kids and trips to the pet store for the younger ones. Here are some pictures of my younger class perusing the shelves at the local pet store.

Here are Tim and Patty, waiting to get on the bus. Adorable, no?
And, here's Warren...
Looking at this picture, you'd never know how funny Warren can be. Last month, at the park he just whipped his pants off and started peeing right there, in the bushes, in front of everyone. The kid has no shame.

We got to see kitty litter...

And puppies...
And dogs being groomed (I don't think the lady was too thrilled about having her picture taken)...
Here is the Bear class, eagerly raising their hands so they can win a can of dog food...
And, here I am with my class and my HRTs, Anna and Lily.
Next on the agenda was a trip to the Hsinchu Zoo with the Rabbits, my older class.

Some of our friends had been to various zoos in Taiwan and all came back with the same opinion. Being that they don't quite measure up to the standard of most American zoos, all of our friends left feeling a little depressed (like the animals). So, I went, wondering what I would find. All-in-all, conditions for the animals weren't too bad and the kids had a good time.

Here are some of them on the "happy bus" as it is so aptly named.
Here is a really big ostrich behind a really low fence. That thing probably could have done some damage if it had the will-power.

Here are the kids looking at something...I forget what.
Here are the tigers. I'm guessing it doesn't quite measure up to the grasslands of Africa? But, that painting on the building behind them sure is nice...
And here we are before heading back to school.
And, one more...sleeping on the happy bus after a long day. Ahh...peace and quiet...
Another event we had was called "I Love Reading!" Each kid has to choose a story to read in front of the class. Sounds simple, right? You would think but this actually involved so so so much more than we thought.

Let me tell you, it was cutthroat. Kids came in wearing full-on pig costumes, carrying mini-living room set-ups and bags and bags of props. The poor things couldn't even keep half the props straight and would get so flustered in the middle of it that they'd completely freeze up. It was survival of the flashiest and only five could move on in the hopes of becoming Jubei Kindy's Next Top Performer, er, I mean Reader.

But, all sarcasm aside, some of these kids are four years old and they are reading, memorizing and presenting a book in a foreign language. It really is pretty amazing what they are able to do. I think that we forget sometimes how intelligent and confident these kids have to be to be able to do this.

There were some really awesome performances and let's be honest, some real flops. I think it all depended on how much the parents wanted their child to win.

Here is Andy, getting set up. He is by far the smartest kid in my Rabbit class. He can actually read and isn't just memorizing.
This is Alen. He took it very seriously as you can see. He held his own and sure was cute in his t-shirt with the tie pre-printed on it.
Here's Yo-Yo. She's one of my favorites.
And, this is Benjamin. He was HILARIOUS. He was laughing so hard you could barely understand him and had all of us in tears.
And, here's another of the whole class at the end of the day.

Pingxi: Tastes of Coal

This blog has given the impression that we have wonderful adventures every weekend. That there are a myriad of places that we can go off to escape the noise, smells and dirt of the Taiwan city. Honestly, that isn't really the case. Though weekend trips are exceptionally easy to take in Taiwan, they don't always end with us finding our way to picturesque places. Some things here are just plain dirty and ugly and there is no getting around that. However, that being said, it has been a major goal of ours to find places in Taiwan that are beautiful, and that haven't been affected by the island's massive growth and constant construction. Of all the places we have gone so far, I have to say this weekend we discovered one of the best.

We read about an old railroad line called "The Pingxi Line" in our tour book some weeks ago. There wasn't a lot said about it so we just left it on the back burner for when we had no other trips planned. Well, with the coming of the cold weather, our ability or rather our desire to go out on long scooter trips has significantly diminished. So we have gone to looking into easy train trips. Naturally the Pingxi Line found its way on to the planning board. We did some quick research (mainly to be sure the line still existed as things tend to disappear rather quickly) and then set out on Saturday morning north toward Taipei.

Here is Katie in a traditional Taiwanese outfit, complete with Converse...

So what is the Pingxi Line? Without sounding too much like a tour book, the Japanese did some coal mining on the island before WWII and the Pingxi railroad was established to move the coal out to the coast for shipping. After the mines were closed, the small towns established on the lines remained relatively untouched by the massive growth of the rest of the island. The government bought the line a few years ago and opened it up for tourism. The line boasted a small three car train that stopped at each small town for a minimal fee ($1.75 for an all day pass) and a rather large waterfall known as the "Niagara Falls of Taiwan."

Enter us.

The route to the railroad looked simple enough and we caught a train from Taipei east toward the town of Ruifeng. Supposedly we would catch the Pingxi train from here and it would be no problem. Well, we managed to buy our tickets for the train but apparently it didn't actually come to this town. Or so we were told...

One of the most interesting parts of living in Taiwan, is that whenever you are lost or confused, someone will be there to help you. Whether you want that help or not. After we (and others looking for the train with us) were told to wait for the train, a lady beckoned us over and told us to follow her. Apparently, the train wasn't coming to this station, but she would take us to the right station. We agreed to follow her and she promptly gave us a some kind of foul-smelling meat on a stick to chew on while we waited.

I nibbled on the meat and tried to swallow some. Without trying to be rude, Katie and I quickly began to look for a way to get rid of it. There are very few public trashcans in Taiwan.

Another train station...

We followed the lady onto another train and took it to the next stop. Thankfully we came up with a paper bag to throw the meat into so we managed not having to eat it and we were off to the next stop for the next stage of our adventure with the lady talking our ear off the whole time. I am proud to say our entire conversation was in Chinese and I understood most of it!

We got off at another stop then finally caught the Pingxi train.

The train was small and almost as soon as we got on we began to feel ourselves moving away from the hustle and bustle of Taiwan living. The ride wound into the mountains, following a river the whole time--which gave us some nice views of small waterfalls along the way. We got off at the first major stop: a town called Shifen (pronounced Sher Fun).
Shifen is a very small town with only a few roads and the train track running right through the middle of it. This was a little unnerving as you could meander onto the tracks at any point you felt like it, but the train that came through was so small and slow-moving it actually added some charm to the place.
After walking through the town, we began to search for the waterfall. We walked along the river for a few minutes and came to one of several suspension bridges. We found that each town we came to had these footbridges going over the river.

After walking over the bridge we came to a park with a waterfall and the path leading to the larger waterfall. The park was beautiful.

Oh yeah...Spectacle Cave was there too...
Oh yeah...spectacle cave was there too...
This is the first waterfall we came to.
We followed the path further over yet another bridge and then straight onto the railroad tracks.

Here comes the train and yes those are little kids two feet from the tracks...
We walked up the tracks a bit and came to the park with the huge waterfall. Sadly, the park was closed AND we were unable to see the falls except through a small hole in the fence. It sounded huge and from what we could make out through the barbed wire it looked amazing. We don't know why the park was closed and it was kind of a bummer. Oh well...we will be back another time.

Here are some shots from the walk back...
We walked back to the small train station and hopped on the next train down and took it to the last stop: Jing Tong.

At this point the sun was going down and the temperature was dropping so we weren't able to see much more than the town itself. It was set up in a similar way to Shifen and we read that there are a number of great hiking trails leading into the mountains from here. Another reason for us to head back.

Finally we took the train back toward Shifen but hopped off in Pingxi to see what the town is also known for: Flying lanterns. We were only there a few minutes when we got to see a few people setting them up and sending them into the air.

You can buy these lanterns for about $6 and then you can write some kind of message or blessing on it. Once you are finished, the fire is lit and it takes off in a matter of seconds. Apparently there are thousands of these sent off at once during Lantern Festival. In January we are hoping to make it up there to see this.

With the sun down, Katie and I decided to start the trek home. As we walked toward the train station we came across this cafe...
Looks like the Cafe was closed...I can guess why.

We got back on the train and since we knew the route back it felt much quicker than the trip in. While we sat on the train we reflected on how nice it was to be in a quiet place breathing clean air for a while. We both agreed that the Pingxi line will definitely be worth another vist.

Night in Hsinchu

So, we've spent a lot of time talking about all the different places we've been in Taiwan so far but haven't mentioned much about the city where we are living. This is probably for two reasons:

1. Other places always seem more exciting than the one you're living in, and...
2. While still a major metropolitan area, Hsinchu/Jubei is smaller than most big cities in Taiwan so there actually is less to see.

While this sometimes leaves us wanting to get out rather than explore our own city, we prefer it on a day-to-day, living-life basis as it's much less crowded, congested and crazy than the bigger cities.

Recently, Luke and I decided to head out one night and try to snap some night pictures of Hsinchu. They're not the best quality, but you can get an idea of what some of the more interesting parts of the city look like.

Welcome to Hsinchu's East Gate and "Circle of Death" as I like to call it.
Hsinchu was first established in the 1700's. Back in the day it came complete with a moat and a sweet wall to keep all the bad guys out. The East Gate is the last remaining part of that wall. Just that the thing is preserved and still standing is amazing considering that most historic buildings can be found in varying stages of dilapidation. This can be pretty depressing to a lover of fine and historical architecture like myself. Well, ce la vie...here, if it doesn't have some utilitarian purpose, away with it! We have no need!

Oh, and the "Circle of Death." Looks fun, right? There are about eight streets that all empty in to the circle at once. This means that at any moment about a dozen scooters, ten large tour buses and maybe twenty cars are all entering at the same time. You, on your scooter must not only navigate your entrance, your journey around the circle but also your exit while other said automobiles do the same. Some times are crazier than others, but I leave the driving to Luke and he does swimmingly. I'm just there to lend moral support and another set of eyes. Oh, and also the occasional "watch out!" and white-knuckled grab on his arm.

The part of the moat in front of the East Gate has since been blocked off and drained and is now used for concerts and emerging Asian boy bands practicing their break dancing.
Is that photo crooked, you ask? No, just the platform that all those people are standing on...
Here is the rest of the moat. It no longer goes around the entire city but only runs through a part of it. There are plenty of nice(r) restaurants and shops to peruse as well as a walking path on either side of it. Walking path, yay! I say this, because a sidewalk that continues unobstructed for more than five feet is a rare thing indeed.
Also, on our wanderings that night we stumbled on a sign telling us that we were entering "The Dark Street." Woooo...sound scary? Not really....apparently, the first street of Hsinchu, it looked to us like any other street in Hsinchu except for a bunch of these lanterns. They were pretty (prettier than the street), so here's a picture.

Little Island Awesome

After the Halloween extravaganza we felt compelled to get out of town for the weekend. After some e-mails and a little planning we decided to head south to the island of Liuchiu. It is a very small island (5km across) just south of Kaohsiung. The trip was being organized by some friends living in Kaohsiung and they offered to let us crash at their place before setting out early Saturday morning.

So Katie and I, with a friend from our branch made our way to the Hsinchu train station to catch the 3.5 hour "non-stop" train to Kaohsiung on Friday night. The train wound up being fourty-five minutes late and packed to the brim. In Taiwan, you can almost always get on a train going anywhere, but that does not mean you will get a seat. So for the first hour and a half I was standing in the aisle among many others hoping to slip into a seat as soon as possible. This was amusing only because there were seven other men from Indonesia that insisted on listening to the Scorpians rather loudly on their miniture MP3 player.

With Katie safely in a seat, I found myself ready to laugh as I was being pressed at all sides by bodies of random people with the Scorpians playing in the background. Without any real events, we made it to Kaohsiung late that night and to our friend's house.

We were up early to make our way to the port to catch a ferry to the island. Our friends had to teach that Saturday, so the three of us planned to go on ahead and meet the others there later on. So after some quick negotiations we arranged a cab to take us to the ferry...everything was going according to plan.

With the ferry filled to the brim with everything from supplies, to scooters (yes they even fit them in on the boat) and people we began the hour boat ride to the island.

This guy looked like he had a rough night.

The sky was heavily overcast and to be honest in Kaohsiung, the air quality can be so bad it is difficult to tell when the smog ends and the clouds begin. That being said, we were hopeful there would be a breakthrough from the sun as soon as we got out into the water a ways. This wasn't the case however...
This was our "clear" approach. I am guessing if the sun was out this temple would have been quite impressive.

Which was probably the case for the whole island. The clouds did not break and after we rented a scooter and began to explore, periodically we felt small drops of rain on our faces.

We stopped at the first beach we came to hoping to lay around for a while when the rain started. It was a harmless sort of rain and we were certain it would pass. So we made a small little camp next to some jagged coral rocks and tried to enjoy the beach.
Here is our "campsite"...
Here is the beach just as the rain began.

It became clear that the rain was not going to stop immediately, in fact it was starting to rain harder. So doing the best we could to stay dry we made our way to a covered area that our friend saw on the way in.

This area seemed to not only be a suitable place to stay dry, but possibly a place to camp for the night. So as the rain began to pour, we happily got out our towels, books and blankets then got comfortable for a peaceful and lazy afternoon.
The rainy day wasn't so bad...

Then came the lightening. Which was a little disconcerting and the rain came down in buckets. Suddenly our dry area was being flooded and we scrambled around trying to keep dry. All our stuff wound up on our backs and we needed a plan B. After some quick deliberation we made the logical choice: the three of us would pile onto the rented scooter and I would drive it through the pouring rain to drier ground.

So, that's what we did. Let me tell you, it is not as easy as it may sound and honestly it was one of the funniest things we have done in a while. I don't know how exactly we didn't die, we just kept moving and as long as we were going fast and straight balance wasn't really an issue (except when we had to make a 6 point U turn near the edge of a cliff...I mean...just kidding mom and dad...)

Needless to say we made it in one piece and tried to wait out the storm. I recieved a text message from our inbound friends explaining that there was a tropical storm in the area and the rain was not likely to stop. They were going to stay in Kaohsiung. It seemed un reasonable to stay there as well, so we rushed to catch the next baot back and just like that our mini-vacation on the island was over.

This however, turned out to be a blessing in disguise. While our friend went back home that night, Katie and I decided to stay in Kaohsiung with out other friends. They are wonderfully hospitible people and we enjoyed a restful evening drying out and enjoying their large three bedroom apartment overlooking a large lake. Katie enjoyed playing with their blonde, minature dachsund Roxie.
The next day was still rainy but we decided not to let that ruin our time in Kaohsiung. The four of us went to Lotus Lake to have a look at the various temples. Needless to say more it was very impressive. Below are many pictures from that all-day excursion:




So despite the rain and the storm the trip was very relaxing and we had a great time with our friends. As always many of these pictures do not do justice to what we saw, but we wanted to share as much of this as we can with you.