About Me

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Yilan, Taiwan
I just returned back to the States after 11 years in Taiwan with my daughter. Taiwan is an excellent base for us explore Asia, while living in relative (gun free) safety, while benefiting from a cheap and efficient national health care system. The people are amazing too. I have Taiwanese friendships that are 20 years old and I'm always making new ones! My coworker here in CO is from Taiwan.

Sunday, December 23, 2012



Seasons Greetings and Christmas Blessings from my little Dove and I!


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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

10/10 Happy Birthday Taiwan


Happy Belated birthday Taiwan. My class decorated a wall all based on the Taiwan flag.  We had a beautiful summery Wednesday off where I went to my friend's rooftop BBQ, complete with kiddy pool, garden, great company and hammocks.

 




Its not exactly the 4th of July, but I appreciated the midweek break. As I was taking my hammock making friend to the beach from our rooftop BBQ party, a car full of young Taiwanese were waving a gigantic red flag from their car and my friend (who is married to a Taiwanese woman) starts yelling fanatically, "I love Taiwan, go Taiwan!" To which the young men in the car explode with cheering. It was a fun 10/10. Last year we went to Tokyo for a long weekend, so it was nice to be here, with friends and support this most interesting process of Taiwanese sovereighty.


Thursday, October 18, 2012

Biker Ballerina

My daughter had her first dance recital the other weekend. Sadly she doesn't actually enjoy ballet class and often complains about quitting. Of course I wont let her, I tell her she can quit when she is 18. I'm not trying to live vicariously through her, I did more than enough dancing when I was a kid (I took ballet and tap and jazz for 13 years, M-F) and I can see how it teaches discipline, coordination, grace and flexibility. I'm waiting until her class becomes more interesting, its hardly ballet at this stage, more like body movement. I'm hoping as its gets more into technique, it will become more interesting to her. Anyway, at least both of agree that dressing up and putting on stage make-up before a show is fun.


Last year she did not want to perform, so this year I was happy for her. It was kind of an ordeal. One Saturday afternoon devoted to photos, another devoted to rehearsals and finally the final performance.

So much is lost in translation to me between my broken Mandarin, my daughter's teachers and other mothers. I thought I understood she didn't need her costume for the rehearsal (she did) and so every mom asked me where her costume was and I had to explain 17 times, its at home and I'm too tired to go and get it. (Then their look of shock and awe, but your kid is visibly upset she is the only one without her costume--its just a rehearsal.)





For her rehearsal I was able to film her whole dance in its entirety, unlike the actual performance where they made me stop recording. I still opted not to buy the overcharged DVD and we left after her performance to join a neighborhood Moon Festival BBQ. 


There was some drama the other night when I picked her up from ballet class. I had my scooter motor running and I just got off it to say hello to a mom and then before we knew it, Z was on the scooter, it fell over to the left side and she was freaking out, screaming and revving the ignition. I tried to ungrip her hand from the ignition, but she was white knuckling it and I had to literally lift her and the scooter up off the ground before she let go, and I turned off the key. All of use moms were a bit freaked out. She tried to drive it and if she would of balanced it, it would of gone through 2 moms, 3 ballerinas and the glass door of the dance studio.  I just thought after 4 years of practice and reminding, she already had it down not to ever touch the ignition.

 Needless to say she will never do that again. As for doing another recital, I am looking forward to the sequel.





Friday, September 14, 2012

River Tracing Virgins

Remember the last time you ever tried something completely unknown for the first time?? You're a little bit clumsy, a little scared and excited. Well I didn't know what to expect about river tracing. I figured it was like rock climbing over river boulders--and there was definitely a lot of that, but there was so much more for me in store. In fact for all of the buddies that I tagged along with, it was also their first time and everyone had their misgivings, expectations.



When I saw my friend Johan's Facebook invitation to go river tracing, I just felt a strong inclination to go and scrambled to find a sitter. Plus the price was reasonable (850NT). With no sitter (short notice), I basically gave up and then my  friend Michael said he could have Z stay the night and watch her the next day. (His kids and Z are beach playmates). I dropped her off at his place late and then woke up bright and early at 530 am. I barely made it at 6 to meet Christine and we found Jason and his girlfriend at this obscure bus stop (not on the street with all the buses) tucked on another street under a Nike store behind an arcade and bought 1 way tickets to Cishan 旗山 (625 am is the first bus).


My cool retro (kid) boots, reminded us of moon boots when we were kids.


Christine went out the night before and had about a hour of sleep so I was impressed-especially by the end of the trip. It was supposed to be a 3-4 hour trek but was more around 6--which I don't mind. Its just that I told Michael that I would pick up my daughter at a certain time and I didn't want to be away from her too long.



We arrived about 745 and met Johan at Cishan's (only?) 7-11 at 8 am. By chance we met this extraordinary Californian guy buying coffee who was meeting some Shaman in town. And this 15 minute exchange was just a serendipitous encounter for me and for Christine (who just finished her MA in Parapsychology). We will be back in Cishan in very near future I think.




The guides picked us up and drove us for about an hour to our river site. After getting on all the gear, we really didn't get started til around 930. It started out calm enough, hiking on rocks by a river. And then it started. There was a little white water and we all lined up to trudge through the current and sit back and enjoy the bumpy, sometimes painful water slide. It was fun, I knocked my elbow good, the water was cool, felt great.

I was really impressed with the competency of the guides, they really knew the river (which happened to be the easiest). They were experts with all the technical aspects, fearless, I had complete trust in them. For me, it was just a matter of feeling comfortable in what my boots could grip onto or not, how slippery is slippery. Rope, helmets and helping hands were all necessary.



Our last "cliff" jump I totally chicked out. Behind that point, there was an incredible Polynesian waterfall, that no one took a picture of (we left our waterproof bags below). I just could not jump, it was so high. Eventually I had to go to a lower point to jump and joked on the way back I "lost  face."  Then there was Jason who was doing back flips off the cliff, he was my hero, they all were. It wasnt until I ripped the back of my beach shorts on a rock that I completely lost whatever face I had left. No but I am just joking, we all had moments when were laughing at ourselves which is not a bad thing.


At the end, we washed ourselves up and the guides prepeared some instant noodles and then we drove back to Cishan and waited a half hour for the next bus to Tainan. I was itching to get back to my daughter. She was totally fine at the beach when I picked her up around 7.

The outfitter is called  Mountain Goat (in Mandarin )"Cross-Country Adventure" and their contact person (and photographer) is June. Their email is yau907@gmail.com, telephone is 0972-006-054. I paid 850NT  for the trip plus another 150NT for them driving me an hour to the river site and back, so I think its a pretty exceptional deal. I am definitely going to do another river tracing adventure with this crew. They have friends all over Taiwan, some from Taipei joined us, so if I want to river trace up north they have the contacts.

Monday, September 10, 2012

The Circus Comes to Town: Saltimbanco

“Time is a circus, always packing up and moving away.” - Ben Hecht (playwright, writer)


Recently in KL, the friend we stayed with had a Cirque du Soleil DVD and Z and I watched it, she was
totally mesmerized. I decided then and there the next time they came to Taiwan I would take her. As Grace would have it the next week we saw an ad on TV that they were coming to Kaohsiung and Taipei and that was that. Tickets were going quick as we waited for friends to decided if they would go or not. After a week it was mutually decided to just buy them as all the cheap tickets were gone. We paid 2200 or 2400 NT for our tickets.
.

"Saltimbanco" means "street acrobat" or "entertainer' in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. It's also the title of the oldest major touring show of the bewitching (animal cruelty free) circus called "Cirque du Soleil" and has been running since 1992.



We by chance met some friends in Tainan train station who had a different way of getting to the Kaohsiung Arena MRT, so we all went down together. Z and I walked around the corner to a 7-11 and bought some snacks. We had made a mistake buying our ticket's so we weren't sitting next to each other but behind each other.The competent staff quickly remedied the situation and we were give better seats  together.  The row behind us was a group of foreign (western) women from Tainan --no not a very large group haha, but some  of whom knew, so between our chatter and comments we were a tiny riot of laughs and jokes. I'm sure the circus appreciated  our section's festive applause and praise, as the crowd seemed very shy until the end.






The clown/mime dressed as a kid, made sound effects with this mouth and was generously hilarious, he interacted with the  audience between acts. His last interaction he went around looking for the right person, and boy did he find him! This large Taiwanese man was his new comrade in arms and he was such a good sport and funny himself, it really was an entertaining dynamic duo.

The band, with a pretty dazzling jazz sax and excellent bass

You can watch the full show here.

My favorite was the ending performance of the first part, the boleadoras. They were this amazing couple doing flamenco like footwork and twirling these hard tops that would bang the floor until they were creating these synchopations  of percussion like an intense drum circle between two people--with the dancing. There were some point where I felt as if in a trance and I felt like they were in some trance of their own. Drums and dancing has that effect on me.


The boleadoras

I recently just finished Charlotte Bronte's Villette. In Chapter 38 the heroine Lucy is drugged with opium  and has this surreal vision of a midnight street carnival which of course reminded me of Saltimbanco.





Saturday, September 1, 2012

Zen's First Day of School

Can you recall? Do you remember your first day of school? The world felt so big and wide or perhaps stifling.  I was anxious the night before her big day, wondering if we could make it on time, wondering if every morning is going to be some mad scramble to get her to school by 730. Getting to kindergarten by 840 was always a mad dash for me to clock in for work.


Z was all smiles at home getting ready, putting on her uniform. I was happy for her and a little sad myself. So many unknowns. I didn't know what would happen to her in the afternoon and last minute found an anchingban. 


In Taiwan, first graders go to school a half day except for Tuesdays, that's a full day. They also wear uniforms. Since most parents work, the children have to go to an anchingban after school. This is a kind of cram school where a Chinese teacher makes sure the kids do their homework and teach them if they have any problems with the material. For me this is a necessity on 2 fronts. 1.) I work until 5pm  and 2.) I wouldn't be able to help her with her homework. I found a good place, they pick Z up at her school and walk right around the corner.She naps there and they provide snacks from the bakery of one of the kid's Dad (he studied baking in Germany so it has to be good.) It costs me 4000 NT a month.



Her elementary school is called Yitzai and its a beautiful campus across from the pretty Eternal Golden Castle Park  億載金城, (Yìzǎi Jīnchéng).where her school gets its name from.There are 11 first grade classes this year. Her class has 26 students. She is the only foreign kid. The school is huge by American standards--looks more like a very large high school or small community college. There are 5 floors, a track, tennis court and lots of kids.

Reality is setting in
The first day of school started last Thursday so she has only had 2 days and so  far so good. She saw friends from her kindergarten on the playground so she is not totally alone. I  tried to take pictures of her but she wouldn't have it. In fact she was kind of mean to me, telling me to leave and not wanting to hug or kiss (so unlike her.) I understood she was freaking out a little and felt safe enough to let it out on poor old mom. I'm counting on her feeling better about school  on Monday, at least enough for a hug and smile goodbye.

This day was a rite of passage for the both of us. "All things must pass", the Early Takes was playing in the back of my head the whole time. I'm still processing this.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

You Scream, I Scream, We all Scream: Ice-cream in Tainan



Summer is slowly, very slowly fading. We couldn't have made it without regular intervals of ice cream treats. Ice cream in Taiwan is fun, there are some funky flavors. The ones I like that are normal flavors are, peanut, pineapple, green tea and green tea mixes, red bean, green bean, and  taro (purple potato), just to name a few. On Penghu we had yucca which was exciting.

If all these flavors seem too exotic--like red bean and green tea one of my favorites, there are the more common flavors chocolate, strawberry, vanilla. There is Haagan Daaz at the supermarkets, if you miss that creamy decadence. There is Cold Stone at  Mitzokoshi and Frozen Yogurt (our personal favorite). Recently, I noticed RT-Mart selling Russian ice cream, which I am meaning to try. If you are ever in Kenting, go check out the Aquarium, there is a Turkish guy who works the crowds, probably the happiest guy I've seen selling gooey Turkish ice cream.



One of our favorite places for ice-cream besides the Frozen Yogurt place at the mall is on Nanmen Road  across from the Confucius Temple. There is a small mom and pop's place next to a used book store cafe, that makes some refreshing ice-creams. They must use skim milk, as its not very creamy to a westerner's palate but flavorful nonetheless- and cheap. Three scoops sets you back like 30NT (1  buck).-

Across from the Confucius temple on Nanmen Rd.

An off the wall place to have a cold treat is just literally down my street. Inside an American naval, battleship that since retired in the port by my house, there is an ice cream shop. They sell it by the pint or stick. Today I bought a pint of red dragon fruit for 25NT, Z had her favorite mint chocolate chip.



Nice place for an ice-cream and catch the sunset

Taiwanese people in accordance to Chinese Traditional Medicine, do not really eat so much ice-cream as eating cold foods is considered unhealthy and makes disease. Half the kids in my class are not allowed to eat it (a crime against humanity!). Z lives for ice-cream so I don't make it forbidden (like soda, which I might let her have half a can of root beer twice a year). But ice-cream? If she is healthy I don't see the harm, especially in this humid heat.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Father's Day in Taiwan

Today is Father's Day in Taiwan because  the 8th day of the 8th month  ( ) sounds the same as the word for Daddy ( ba ba). The number 8 is ba .  My daughter made me a Father's Day card at school (which she left there), but I am looking forward to seeing what she created. She has got used to giving me her Father's day crafts and gifts.

As for my class of 4 year olds they made a gold trophy for their Dad's that says "World's Best Dad". I also taught them a little song that goes to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle,

Daddy Daddy let me say
I love you in every way
I love you for all you do
I love you for being you
Daddy Daddy let me say
Have a happy Father's Day!


Saturday, August 4, 2012

The End of a Beginning Chapter

Z at her graduation performance
The night before our 2 week holiday began, and Z and I would leave for Malaysia, it was her kindergarten graduation. This is always a seriously big deal for our school and any respectable private kindergarten in Taiwan.  As a teacher at this school I have had 2 graduating classes myself which means when they leave me they are fluent in English and can write complete sentences and are pretty much cognitively prepared for their suffering career as elementary school students in the rigid, competitive, soulless Taiwanese educational system. (As for their souls that's an entirely different matter, but I try to be as holistic a teacher as possible).


It was a bit of a different experience as a parent--and worker. For example, during her flawless performance when she was the feline reporter Kitty Mitty in her class' play, I was "backstage" behind a curtain. My sole job was ushering the kids from the stage to the back door and hallway. An hour of that (speeches+ 3 class performances) I was then the parent and watched her receive her "diploma" from  the school's founder.


Z's official grad photo

I  always thought the Taiwanese even having a graduation ceremony for kindergartners was a perverse superficial sentimentalism, or a cheesy demand of parents who fork over a substantial amount of their salaries to schools who at the end of the ride have to prove their worth.  And it is that.  But there is also this deep human need for ceremony for marking within the bond of community different phases of our life's growth, stages, transformations.  I happily was denied kindergarten. I stayed at home or rather I ran around wild most of the day in the rattlesnake infested fields of  the outskirts of a blossoming Phoenix Arizona, taking rides with the neighborhood teenagers on the back of their dirt bikes, playing with my best friend Brandy where development met the desert. My mom taught me how to read and I didn't go to school til I was  in 1st grade in Aurora, Colorado.


A few months after we moved to Tainan

 But that  wasn't Z's reality. We moved to Tainan when she was 2 1/2 and she went to nursery school until  present. She is still going to my school (my place of work) in their summer program. I hope she will be weaned from here once she starts elementary school so I can start saving what I pay in her tuition.

I admit that on that graduation night I was overwhelmed by thoughts that kept well under the surface had made their way to the forefront of my mind's eye. Namely, I asked myself if this would be my only child, my first and  last baby. At age 6 she is still so baby like, her chubby cheeks and pot belly. She is going to real school soon, growing up and I might loose this "babyiness" forever. I asked myself things like if I would ever nurse a child again. If her father and I had worked out, what other beautiful children we might have had. Crazy things like figuring out how many child bearing years I have left (that would be 5, my cut off age is 42, but that might change).  I didn't have so much time to process these thoughts, the next day I was taking us both on an early am bus to Taipei to catch a flight to Malaysia and our return to Borneo. That's ok, I'm gentle with myself and nonjudgmental. As I have learned in my young life so far, a whole lot can happen in a year.  I hope I am savoring her childhood more.

Seafood Satisfaction









Before I  left on holiday my friend Vicky (and Saturday language exchange buddy) invited me to a seafood restaurant in Tainan County. It was a 30 minute drive NE of Tainan on some saltwater fish farms literally on the coast. You wouldn't think twice from the front of this building except for the cars. Walking inside there were no people. We walked through the kitchen to the back where the large patio like restaurant was full of diners.


The owner was very outgoing and spoke Taiwanese so I couldn't understand most anything he said. But he was kind enough to indulge Z and Jeremy's (Vicky's son) curiosity with his gigantic crabs and fish.


We got to pick and choose some of what we ate. Then according to the weight, the bill was calculated.



In pure Taiwanese fashion, the table was round and never empty, plate after plate was dropped on the table, as we tried to make room for another dish. Used to this, I tried to pace myself. The afternoon was hot, there was cold Taiwanese beer to wash it all down.





Z was into the cuttlefish balls and prawns. I love prawns but they are so messy! Feeling brave I had some snails, which looked nasty, but tasted pretty good, they were seasoned with black pepper and had a nice bite to it.  I couldn't get enough mussels and scallops. Eventually I did.


At the end of this enormous lunch I was stuffed. I couldn't even finish my beer. It reminded me of lunches in Spain (the main meal) when afterwards everyone (including the women) would unbuckle their belts before an espresso and/or descanso.