Last night in Hualien

sorry to disgust you, if i did, with my last blog/post thingy.
but nature is nature.

i find myself watching some old michelle pfiffer and al pacino movie... it's the only thing in engrish here, but i did get some spongebob in taiwanese which is funny...

now i'm on the computer, hanging out (and not talking to) a canadian, and somewhat having a conversation in french with a couple dudes from paris (yeah, i speak some french, so all other americans will rise in reputation). oh screw the french. just after that comment, i think i should add that i'm drinking out of the toilet mug i bought from the modern toilet i ate at in taipei.


but the taiwanese people.. i can't get over how completely helpful and kind and patient and honest and sincere they are.
everyone i have met, and i mean everyone, has treated me so kindly, been open.. for example, when i arrived at my hostel here in hualien, i walked over to the information center from the train station. i asked the woman at the desk if she could point me in the direction of the hostel i'm staying (i had the name and phone number written). she immediately called the hostel, said some things in taiwanese and hung up the phone. i thought she was going to draw me a map, but she said, "they will be here shortly". within ten minutes, this 22 yr. old named judy, who works at the hostel, pulls up in a scooter, and i hop on the back. she asks me if it's ok if she stops to get food. she hasn't eaten since lunch and it's 6pm. i say of course we can! i was surprised i was even getting a ride!

so we pull up to this stand and i can smell something so sweet and so familiar. i see a poster with a photo of something that looks like a light brown puffy tub of chewing tabacco. but they are being cooked in something that looks like a muffin tin, out in the open. i finally realize that what i'm smelling is an ice cream cone.

she buys three; one for me and two for her. they can be filled with anything from sweet potatoes to jam to chocolate, and she gets me something that tastes like sweet potatoes. it's warm on the outside and hot on the inside. i don't care for it much, but i take a few bites and tell her it's good because she paid for it and i don't want to offend her. i loathe sweet potatoes by the way.

we scoot "home" and i am so amazed at the hospitality here. i spend the next two days walking around town, shopping, eating goose and noodles and yes, mcdonalds. tonight, the woman who owns and runs the hostel, whom is very young and independent and swift, asks me if i need anything from the store. she is taking a fellow occupant out to see the night market. i am still amazed! no one has ever done that for me, and i have been around the block a few times.

right as she goes out and puts her helmet on, she notices it's raining, asks if she can go later to buy me food or anything. i say no thank you and we have a conversation about how she got to be where she is, and i learn she also has two hostels in taipei. i decide, i'm staying with this woman. so i booked my last night in taipei, where i fly out in about 6 days. i love it here, i love the people, i like how clean it is, i love how no one steals, how people smile, how they are confident on their scooters that take up the sidewalks. i like their tame and somewhat modest demeanor, how the country is, in one section, modern and bustling while just two hours away, there is tranquility, hot springs, giant gorges, mountains....

this will not be the last time i visit taiwan in my lifetime, hopefully.

Under the Taiwan sky

in two days, i'm going to the south for clear skies and warm weather.

i got lost today in taipei. and beneath the cloudy, rainy wet blanket, i was kind of afraid!
the voices of people were foreign, the sounds of sirens and speakers proclaiming political jargon were foreign, the food i ordered looked like the photo that describes it: faded, bland, average, like every other photo of rice, meat and boiled cabbage.

BUT ...

when i walk into a store and they say "ni hao", i reply with "ni hao", which means hello. i say "yi" meaning one, while pointing to something i want to eat. they ask if i need a bag. i say, "bu" (no). then i say something that sounds like "sheh shay" which means thank you. i have been clinging to these words since i arrived. it makes me more approachable, i think. i also get what i need. but i don't know the words for "i'm lost".

i've never been more estranged from a culture, within a climate of people who reach out to understand me and find out who i am and where i came from. maybe it's the language. the food? the fact that i get stares on the street? i'm a foreigner but every city feels the same, only with different people and laws. even the little guy on the "walk" signal at the stop light is different. he's a little green guy that starts out walking when the light turns green then runs faster the more the seconds count down to cross the street. the scooters and cabs wait for no one. here, you are second to traffic. you are stalked until you order food, but you are appreciated by everyone, almost.

let taiwan be an example of kindness. i could have asked someone for directions, or found a way to do it, not knowing the language. i could have gone into a hotel and asked for a map, like i did when i first got here and was lost, not being able to find the hostel. today was different. i was alone and a bit afraid, but at some point, i have to learn a sense of direction. i saw a 7-11, which means nothing in terms of a landmark, because there is one on every corner. but i saw a school that i recognized and was able to find my way back from there.

going south is an even scarier prospect since even less people speak the language there. maybe i can get lost and be back in time to catch my flight.

"Life isn't one big party"

That's what my mother always used to tell me growing up, and it always put a damper on my day.
I never thought of every day as one big party, but it should be! It should be a celebration of life! What are we here for otherwise? Yes, some days are work. But within my contribution to the world, within that one trade I have to give in return for food and goods, I am still celebrating.

But today is one of those days where celebration didn't make it onto my google calendar. I came to Hualien to see the famous and majestic Taroko Gorge that is accessible by a bus ride and a long long hike where you are constantly watching for falling rocks and trying not to slip off the edge of a ridge. When you finally arrive, there are crystal blue hot springs and you can see the floor of the gorge and your feet on the ground through the water. Sounds like a party to me!!!! But not for me. Not this time. Mother nature has suppressed me by reminding me I'm not allowed to have fun. Not only can I not go into the water while menstruating, there are no bathrooms on the footpath for a long while. There would be nowhere to "attend" to Mother Nature.

Well, you won this time. But I'll be back into full swing before you can say "wet blanket".

Twelve days left of eating in Taipei

a couple of days ago, i took a bus to the coast, up north with a new friend. she's from taiwan and she's staying in my room at the hostel. her name is yi-jen. she's showing me around. we had the BEST MEAL. probably one of the best meals in my life: it was at one of those places where they have the live fish all waiting for you in the tanks out in front of the restaurant, which was right on the water (kind of a hole in the wall place) next to all the fishing boats. huge tables that fit ten people filled the room, and each table has a lazy susan in the middle so that people can share easily.

two types of crab, langostines, salmon in soup, sashimi, lobster and sea cucumber (it was repulsive) are served. sea cucumber is this gelatinous and muscular clear and green animal that's cut and served with blanched cabbage leaves. its texture is like chewing a rubber hose. remember water weenies? it would be like chewing one of those. but the rest of the food was absolutely out-of-this-world delicious. one type of crab is what we're all used to in the states... but you have to crack the shell with your teeth since they don't have any cracking instruments. there's no butter but it's all served with wasabi and soy sauce and red pepper chili oil. the other type of crab has a light brown translucent shell and the legs are still on. it's about as big as a golf ball and you have to peel the shell and legs off to eat the meat, which i can say tastes even better than lobster. the langostines also came with their shells, eyes, legs and all. you just peel and dip and eat! then, this grilled fish comes out. i'm guessing it tastes like trout. my new friend eats both the eyeballs. ewww! i had a bbq-ued fish eyeball in brazil and i won't have another. the sensation of it popping in your mouth like a tomato once any pressure is put on it, and the repugnant fishy flavor is enough to leave me with "memory aftertaste".

the salmon soup comes at the end. simple broth, salmon and some scallions thrown in, and it's a good way to end the meal. traditionally, the taiwanese bring out a plate of orange wedges to cleanse the palette. oh, and there was plenty of beer to go around! the man who is treating us to this meal (yes!!! everything was free!) is yi-jen's boss at the school nearby. he keeps filling my glass and telling me "bottoms up" in taiwanese. then he takes us to a dessert place where we have green tea tirimasu and a caramel custard pie. delicious!

TODAY, i was looking for my favorite dumpling stand. they also serve noodle bowls/soups, wantons, and tons of other stuff, and the entire place is vegetarian and each plate costs about a dollar. their dumplings are legendary. a woman stands behind the street stand and has a vat of boiling water. inside this huge cylindrical vat are about six baskets. different ingredients are put into each basket as people order. she has bags of noodles, cabbage, onions, dumplings, wantons and some random stuff i don't recognize. there is also another vat of oil where they fry tofu and other food that is supposed to resemble meat. inside the small restaurant, there is a giant serve-yourself buffet table of veggies. you pay about a little less than two dollars for a full plate. this place is a block from where i'm staying and today, they were closed!

so i walked around, right past the sushi place i went to when i first got here, because it was pretty flavorless and run-of-the-mill. (the type of place that stamps a card every time you take out). then i found, on a little alley, a restaurant with fresh fish. they had the tanks on the inside, and they serve sashimi! i ordered salmon and cuttlefish. cuttlefish... texture is really chewy. clear white-ish fish with a little sweetness, but again, hard to chew and swallow. the salmon is melty delicious. the bill came to about $8.50 for six pieces of salmon sashimi and two large pieces of cuttlefish (i could only eat one of those).

i can say i have been having a wonderful culinary experience here. yi-jen is going to take me to an authentic chinese restaurant on monday when they have their special. i can't wait!!

Modern Toilet, Jan. 8th

a couple of days ago, i went to modern toilet, a restaurant here that is bathroom-themed and serves their food out of toilets and urinals....seriously.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85nwqhaCIgU

i spent about an hour trying to find it, but i went and it was really fun!

yesterday i went to the flower expo here. i spent about 4 hours looking at plants, veggies, fruit, horticulture, green living, means of production of livestock, pavilions from different countries displaying their native foliage... all interesting stuff, but it was so overwhelming.

i think in a couple days, i'm going to get out of taipei and visit other parts of the island. it's a small island, taiwan. it's only 200 miles long, and there are buses that can take me to beaches and hot springs and to mountains where i can hike. a local gave me the insider tips :) so in a few days, i will be heading out to see the northern and eastern parts of the island. there are no hostels there, so i will have to foot the bill on a hotel, but why not treat myself, right?

i have yet to eat at the food court in taipei 101 (the second tallest building in the world where they had new year's eve). i hear it's really good local stuff. i have been eating weird food. i ate a month old black egg a couple of days ago. ok, i took a bit, and it was nauseating. i went to the shilin night market, a 100 yr old market, one of the oldest in taiwan. i ate goose head and goose tongue, chicken butt, chicken uterus and stinky tofu, which is taiwan's national dish. all were not as bad as they sound.

the food here is great! lots of noodles, wantons, dumplings, fried meats and sushi. you can find food anywhere. there are many stands and restaurants on every block.

i have developed a cough. i thought it was because i have been smoking. but after coughing a bit overnight, i think it's because i spent all day in the cold yesterday, or it could be just that i'm in such close proximity to people who are sick. people on the subways are wearing masks. i'm not sure why they don't do this in other cities, but taipei has people all over wearing masks to prevent illness or because they are sick and don't want to spread illness.

well, that's all the news this time. cheers!

Another rainy day in Taipei

and how many more of them will there be?

i could just watch a movie. that will keep me entertained for a couple of hours. then it will be 4 p.m. what to do for the remaining 8 hours of my day? tapping fingers together.

oh! i know! i can blog!!!

THINGS I NOTICE WHEN I WALK AROUND

signs in taiwanese, people with masks, lots of 7-11's, lots of noodle bowl restaurants, everyone holding umbrellas, then closing them when they walk under a building overhang, only to open them twenty feet later. young women in leggings with long sweaters over them, and fluffy boots and jackets, older women in slacks and flats with heavy jackets, sometimes bonnets. men dressed in slacks or jeans with black shoes and members only jackets, tall buildings everywhere, both residential and commercial. taxis everywhere, scooters everywhere. there are special boxes for scooters at the stop lights. they are for the scooters in the opposite line of traffic, who would normally be turning right in the states. instead, they cut across the first row of traffic flowing perpendicular to their lane, and wait in a box in front of everyone until the light turns green.

i see lots of mcdonald's, lots of kids in uniform with backpacks and cell phones, walking to and from schools and universities. there are men smoking outside their cabs and places of business, people on corners handing out flyers for restaurants or trying to get the passerby to sign a petition. the streets are clean. there are alleyways between each tall building with potted plants on the ground and clothes hanging from lines above. there is a row of scooters on each side of the alley, making the passway very narrow. most of these alleys are one way.

in the 7-11's, there are juices in plastic bottles that range from generic vitamin water to asparagus juice. there are two crock pots of brown boiled eggs with the shells on, slightly cracked, floating in brown water. there are signs for noodle bowls that are instant, and people are eating them at a counter at the window. they are looking at me and i am looking at them. there is a small section on the shelf toward the back that has bottles of sake, jim beam, some fancy bourbon in a box, and bottles of wine. at the front counter, there is no queue. people walk to the front and put their money in front of the cashier, and they are served. the cashier will take your trash for you since there are no receptacles outside. supposedly, the city made a rule so there would be fewer trash cans on the street because the smell was stinking up the city. people allow themselves one small bag that they take around with them all day.

walking around, i smell food. i smell steamed food, fish, beef, fried food, the scent of perfume on some women and men as they walk by. i see young couples holding hands but other than that, no public display of affection. on the metro, people are pretending to be asleep, looking at each others' shoes or on their cell phone, texting. that's nothing unusual. when people get out of the subway, they are in a rush to get to the escalator, yet once they're on it, they don't walk. they let the ride take them up. they have (and i have) a plastic card that is put up against a sticker to validate the ride. there are also one-way plastic tokens you can but for a dollar, that you scan upon entry and deposit upon exit.

there are underground walkways that link the two sides of major intersections. some temples and govt. buildings are gated, and usually grandiose. the cost of an average meal is $1-5usd. most street food and average mom n pop stands accept the money prior to giving you the food. there are stands with doughnuts, fried pastries, grilled, stuffed buns, soups with beef and pork that is poured over noodles and topped with cabbage and scallions. when they eat noodles here, we are given a soup spoon and chopsticks. the noodles are gathered with the chopsticks and laid in the spoon. they are then eaten from the spoon with the chopsticks. making slurping noises is ok. showing the food in your mouth or letting it fall out of your mouth is impolite. this can be a difficult thing to avoid, as noodles are not the neatest food.

there are shops with delicacies, packaged food and tea. there are stores with miniature handmade tea cups and pots. there are a lot of clothing stores, phone stores, cafes, sushi restaurants, electronics stores, bakeries, hair salons, hardware stores, brand-name stores, jewelry stores and cheap textile shops. what i don't see are a lot of bike shops. not one, actually. people rarely lock their bikes up. i see them against fences, or just parked with a kick stand. there are receptacles for umbrellas outside many stores, and no one steals them. i don't see a lot of people eating while walking, but there is a lot of coffee and tea consumption.... all types of tea. green tea, tea with milk, bubble tea, soy and tea, etc. the men seem to stick with the men and the women seem to gather with the women.

as far as i can see, it's like any other city, besides the signs being in a different language. it's reassuring to be in a place where i feel comfortable enough to step out of the window of my eyes and into the world of the people who live here.

Lost in translation and other interesting observations

it's a dreary, cold new year's day and i am staying in, but i do need food. so i venture out to find food. i know what i want. it's that thinly-sliced beef on rice, like sushi, that i had the first day i was here. but it's across town and i don't want to go that far. maybe i can find it nearby.

so i walk downstairs and a few blocks away, around the corner, i see it. it's a photo, along with many others, in the window of a small restaurant. i walk in and say hello, how are you, in mandarin,proud to have learned four words in total, and as always, am immediately greeted in english. i do appreciate that. so i point to the menu and say "one" in mandarin. i try. it's a photo of that carpaccio on rice with some scallions and seaweed and sauce on top. it's just what i am in the mood for. it looks exactly what i ate at that restaurant two days ago.

but what comes out is a hot pot (exactly how it sounds) with random seafood and some beef and cabbage and carrots. i look at the hot pot, then return to the photo. look at the hot pot, return to the photo. they're two completely different dishes. one is cooked, the other is not. one looks like sushi, one looks like a bunch of food piled on a steaming pot of broth. i specifically pointed, and even did a circular motion with my finger around the photo to specify it's what i wanted. so i return to the front and point to the photo again, then point to my food, like a caveman (uga uga).

i return to my seat and show the woman at the counter, my food. the woman who perhaps owns the restaurant, seems upset. she takes my chopsticks out of my hand and begins to stir my food into the hot broth. she thinks i wanted cooked food and that i didn't know how to do it because i was pointing at the raw beef on the menu! at first, i say "thank you" and make a waving signal to stop. then, i realize, she's just trying to help and i'm not communicating. so i let her show me how it was done and graciously ate the delicious food that only cost me $5. note to self: learn the names of food.

it's also not uncommon to see one out of about 20 people wearing masks.

when i got to customs in taipei, i noticed there was a booth doing fever checkups. one guy went to the booth and they started to observe him. i didn't know what it was about, and i was wondering if it was mandatory to be checked for some kind of flu that was going around.

then i plop down my bags at my hostel and start walking around the city. i see people on corners with babies, wearing a nurse's mask. and even the baby has one. i can't figure out what it's about. is there something in the air, like pollution, that people are trying to protect themselves from? i it because of the cold air? i see people on their scooters, of which they are many, with even makeshift masks with different patterns, you know, for style.

then a friend from taipei tells me, they are because people get sick and don't want to spread it, or they don't want to contract anything. but it looks so ridiculous and bizarre. what is more bizarre is that the asian culture has a tradition of sharing food and drinks. doesn't that contract viruses and bugs?

another thing i noticed when i went out to new year's eve at taipei 101 is that people are incredibly tame. i have been to my share of new year's festivities, and i have to say, seeing people on the ground with newspaper under them, playing cards in a circle and eating snacks, is not what i had expected.

i am used to parties, mayhem, pre-new year's fireworks and screaming, throwing pottery off balconies, shooting bottle rockets into the crowd. i am used to tradition. the spanish eat twelve grapes. the brazilians all wear white and dive into 7 waves in the ocean and walk out backwards for good luck while throwing flowers and money out to the sea as a donation to yemanja, their sea goddess. i'm used to the united states where people kiss each other at the count of midnight.

although a ton of people showed up for the production, there was no tradition, that i could see. i had to ask for a hug from my friends. they just show up, play cards, watch a 5 minute spectacle, and go home. there's no pre-gaming, just little wands of sparkly light you can hold and a pair of tinted cardboard glasses to give the kids. it was surprisingly tame, yet there was nationalism in the air, especially this year, since taiwan is celebrating their 100th year of independence as "the republic of china".
you would think they would want to go a little crazy. but then again, the asian culture is seemingly subtle, and i appreciate the gentle nature of the people who live here.

the firework show itself was something different though. i had never seen fireworks blown off of a building, let alone the "second" tallest in the world. and most of all, i appreciate the kindness of the people here. i was told that it's because they are such a small country (around 200 miles long as an island nation) and tourism is necessary for their economy. but i believe it has to do with the people, how they are raised, what's in our blood. racism rarely exists here, and although i may be stared at because i look "different", there seems to be no judgement and people have welcomed me with open arms everywhere i have been.

bless these people who make life easy while i'm on a road to nowhere in a country where i, with my simple language skills, are at their mercy.

Taipei the day before NYE

MEETING XIAOCHOU

xiaochou is the name of my friend who is a tour guide for a living. his name is pronounced "chow-show".
i met with him yesterday and learned quite a few things.

we first went to get soy milk. i thought, ok, i'll bite. we're going to get milk, but he knows what he's talking about so it could be really good. turns out, we go to the oldest soy milk place in the city. but it's not milk. it's a creamy soy milk soup that you can either order sweet or savory. i ordered the savory and it comes with an egg mixed in with scallions. it's really pretty good! the sweet one was only slightly sweet and creamy--without eggs. they came with these fried puffy sticks that resemble churros without the ridges, and they have no flavor, just air to absorb the milk in each soup. we also ordered these light fluffy light buns pronounced "pow" but they came with an omelet inside. everyone has probably seen these buns that are usually filled with pork or some kind of "surprise". needless to say, i'm saving snake alley for a different day.

he then took me to a really remote mountain area that has natural hot springs. the little town has a huge wooden eco-friendly library thatt has a sloped roof with plant growth on top to monitor the teperature innside the building. it is a stunning example of how the taiwanese culture is very progressive. he then footed the bill on a luxurous hotel and we had a huge marble bath that we could fill with either hot spring water or regular water.

he also taught me some rules about taiwan, which explains also why the city is impeccably clean.

1. no smoking indoors, and no smoking in public. you can't smoke if there are more than three people present....meaning ?? how close in proximity do they have to be?

2. you can only smoke if you can see the full sky. if you step half way under a roof, you can be fined by the police.

3. no.chewing gum, eating or drinking on the metro. you wil be fined up to $1500 if they catch you chewing gum.

4. and this one is good: you are allowed to sit on other peoples' sccoters while they are away, then you leave when they return.

5. you can drink anywhere on the street.

i also learned about the chinese characters and how they came to look like they do. it has to do with a description of the object you're spelling. for the word "bright", for example, the character is a drawing
of the sun and the moon. the sun gives light and even at night, it lights the moon. that is described as "never dark", hence the word "briight". it's really surprisingly poetic, being that cantonese is not a romance language.

tonight, he's taking me out for a surprise for new year's eve.

day one in taipei

i'm going to make this short. i arrived safely, got here around midnight last night. i woke around 6am and headed out to walk around while it was a bit empty. i had an egg mcmuffin for lunch bc there was nothing else open. great first meal, right? i have already gotten lost a few times but i've worked out the metro system for the most part.
with little mandarin, the people are still very very friendly and helpful. it's amazing how far a smile, a how are you, lots of pointing, and a thank you can go. i am determined to learn more of the language. i had an unbelieveable sushi lunch. i thought i was getting your average two plates of sushi with a bowl of miso soup. oh no, they kept bringing more and more food out. i had to bring it back to the hostel, and i'm going to TRY to eat it. i don't want it to go to waste.
i was given the DL on where to go new year's eve. it's called taipei 101, which until this year was the largest building in the world. they have a food court that was featured on bizzare foods that i can't wait to try. the elevator alone goes 37 miles per hour, and 400,000 people will be there to watch the fireworks. pretty exciting!

anyway, i have this hostel for 5 days, and it's fine. it's a run of the mill hostel, but at least they speak english.

the taiwanese people i have met are very curious about me. i stand out like a sore thumb with my hair and my obvious foreignness. i didn't think i would be as open to the culture as i have been the past day. i have heard so many stories of people blowing snot rockets and pushing you out of the way. so far, i think this is one of the CLEANEST cities i have ever been to!! no one throws trash or cigarettes on the street. not at all. surprisingly, there are very few trash cans. i obviously haven't seen the gritty parts of the city. the people are well dressed (mostly in black) and they like their markets with food i've never seen.

if today is any indication of what i have yet to experience, this is going to be a great trip!