Blog, Interrupted

Interrupted for good reason. You see, I'm leaving Taipei tonight. The city is crying and I'm a little reluctant to leave. This has been the longest I've ever stayed in Taipei since I moved to Canada when I was seven. It's been such a wonderful trip back and exceeded all my expectations. The best part has been reconnecting with my relatives and with my native country. I still regard myself as Taiwanese after all these years even though I said earlier that I had trouble fitting in with the culture. That is still true to a degree, but I'm sure if I lived here for a year or two, I'd feel a bit more at home. But, "real life" for me is still in North America and I have to head back to live that life. I know have the choice to move back to Taiwan to be with my family, but I know that that option is not the best choice for myself.

我今晚就要離開台北了. 台北正在為我哭而我也有點捨不得. 至重到Canada, 這一次回來是所有最長地. 這一次回來真的有感受到家人的團圓而且也再次認識. 雖然我以經跟台灣現代文化有點落差, 我還是台灣人. 如果再住了一兩年就可以容入台灣的社會. 可是, 我的"真實"生活還是在Canada而我必要回去面對現實.

So thank you Taiwan...the last three months have been memorable and eye-opening. There are still so many places I still need to visit in this tiny island of Formosa (and much more to eat). See you...soon.

謝啦, 台灣. 我會努力的每一年回來的!

2 more days!

Sorry for the lack of blogging recently but I've been feeling slightly lazy as well as busy. 我最近也好像都沒有寫中文 - 的確變懶也忙. There's been something going on everyday and I've also gotten some exercise in as the weather has warmed up. The weekend was quite busy, meeting up with old friends (yes I have some) and catching up. They returned to Taiwan to study and I really admire them for that. 我最近跟幾位高中同學見面. 這些朋友回台灣讀書其實我蠻欣賞ㄉ. To be honest, one of my biggest fears is moving back to Taiwan (if that were to ever happen). I know everyone can get accustomed to a new place after a few months or maybe years, but if I were to come back, it would be challenging and add a lot of pressure on me. I don't think I'll grow and mature as much as I could if I were on my own elsewhere. I digress. My classmates are well adjusted to life here in Taipei and they seem to be loving getting in touch with their roots while getting a great education.

As always, it's been a food-ful few days too. I had wonderful meals with my friends, which consisted of Japanese lunch, a western brunch, and an all you can eat sukiyaki. On Monday, my sister treated me to Shintori, this high end Japanese restaurant. Man I did a lot of eating.

In other upcoming news and the title of this entry, I'm leaving for my 19 day trip to South East Asia! Everything is booked and I just have to apply for a visa and confirm a flight with one hotel. So here is my itinerary for those who are curious:

(I should've labeled the locations on the map but now I'm too lazy)

1. Singapore 新加坡
2. Bintan, Indonesia 印尼
3. Penang, Malaysia 馬來西亞
4. Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
5. Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei 芠萊
6. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
7. Hanoi, Vietnam 越南
8. Halong Bay, Vietnam
9. Siem Reap, Cambodia 柬埔寨

I've been busy preparing things and looking up things to do in these places. It's going to be a pretty long trip but I'm excited to see these places! I was deciding whether to go to Europe or South East Asia for my graduation trip but I think I made the right decision with SE Asia. It's unlikely that I'll be updating once I'm gone so I shall try to blog tomorrow before my trip!

not ready for kids...

I am exhausted. The hot shower I just took has never felt so good. As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I took my cousin's two young children out around Taipei. They're visiting from Colorado and the children have never been to Taiwan before. Aged 5 (boy) and almost 7 (girl) are a lot of fun and some of the things that come out of their mouths are just too funny. However, they are also a lot of work! They never stop talking and are slightly obsessed with 7-11 and Family Mart convenience stores.

My mom and I took them to the Taipei Fine Art Museum today and the little one fell asleep on the way there and couldn't be awakened. Had to borrow a stroller at customer service to push him around. He missed the whole thing. His sister seemed to enjoy it enough I think. On afterthought, it was probably good that the little one was asleep because he would've been quite loud in the exhibits haha. The special exhibit on Paul Gauguin was just alright to be honest. I couldn't stop and look closely at the pieces or rent a explanatory headpiece but from what I saw from the small exhibit was mostly landscapes, still life, portraits, and some sculptures - which I suppose compose of the majority of art in these museums.

After the art museum, he finally awakened and we headed to Mos Burger...my favourite fast food joint. One wanted a hot dog and the other one doesn't seem to want to eat anything... The hot dog and chicken nuggets I ordered (all made from real meat) did not suit the tastes of the American kids unfortunately, and I was stumped and frankly a little frustrated! I love Mos Burger for their fresher and slightly healthier take on fast food! Most of their burgers are less than 500 calories and their portions are adequate but not oversized. Anyhow, the children did not eat too much and we headed to a nearby park where they had a swell time on the slides and these "exercise" machines for the elderly. Please see Exhibit A from my prior experience on these exercise machines:

These exercise things are available in most public spaces where the elderly frequent. 

We brought them to my place for a little while and they didn't want to leave. We had to entice them with the subway (the little on was wanting to ride the MRT) and 7-11 to leave. Anyhow, we got them back to where they were staying and I was exhausted. They just don't stop going. I think scientists need to study why children have so much energy and transform the findings into some revolutionary battery or transferable energy source to those lacking energy.

I can't imagine myself with children right now...my mom and I handled them alright and my aunt thought I took care of children quite well from her observations when we got back to their place. But nonetheless, I'll play with children that are not my own for now. I suppose if I have children of my own one day, I'll love them enough to have the patience for all the good and the bad. As my cousin noted, witnessing the "horrors" of others' kids is the best form of birth control. Haha....

I shall bid thee all good night as I am worn out!

Happy Love Day

Seems like this whole weekend has been full of Valentine's Day celebrations or something. No wonder it's called Single Awareness Day because I felt like I was drowning in a sea of couples. Never mind that. This weekend was pleasant enough and I had a pleasant time having lunch at my childhood nanny's on Saturday, followed by some shopping with my sister before the violin concert...which turned out to be a bust. I wanted to leave after the first song after the intermission. There was no cohesion in the program and it was mixed with some contemporary/interpretative and latin dance. It was just odd all around. Sunday, I went to the Science Museum with my mom and sister to this 3D art exhibition. Yeah I know, art exhibit at the science museum. It was pretty fun but crowded. The picture below is my version of the Mona Lisa. I gave her eyebrows, bangs, a better smile, and some jewelery. Unfortunately, I ran out of ink. :( Afterwards, I had a somewhat awkward dinner with some distant family members but got to see my cousin from Denver that I haven't seen in a while!

Today proved to be quite enjoyable. As my mom and I were heading out to the MRT, I was walking a bit ahead and when I turned around, my mom was on the floor! Turns out she had slipped on some canine excrement...yes dog poo. It was pretty hilarious. Luckily, it didn't get on her clothes but I giggled all the way to the MRT station. Did some more shopping with my mom and her friend in the afternoon before dinner surrounded by couples couples couples.

This being Valentine's Day and all, I got to thinking (as I always do) about love and marriage. There still seems to be an imbalance in Taiwan between the sexes. During Chinese New Year, it's still customary to celebrate the main dinner with the male's side of the family. The day the woman goes back to her home is the second day after the New Year. I understand that this is tradition, but it just seems unfair for the woman that she always has to go to the in-laws before her own.

Then, I got to thinking about Chinese marriages. I've been to two Chinese weddings here and some receptions. There are also lots of wedding receptions are large banquet restaurants that I've dined at. The most recent one was quite fancy and seemed to have over 200 guests. However, it seemed that a large portion of the guests are friends of parents and not directly friends of the bride and groom. It's customary for the parents to invite their friends to their children's wedding receptions...and I'm not sure why. I made it clear today to my parents that if I do happen to get married in Taiwan, they can only invite their friends that I'm familiar with. I'm still quite far from this whole marriage business but it's important to have this sort of forethought.

Anyhow, taking my cousin's little kiddies out tomorrow so I should sleep now if I'm going to have enough energy for all their pent up energy haha.

P.S. no Chinese in this post. Got too lazy to translate some of my important phrases.
P.P.S. Listening to Far East Movement's album right now is making me want to party -__- I don't lead that sort of life here in Taipei.

cultural distinctions

I am once reiterating my inability to fit into Taiwanese culture - especially among the youth. I don't know if I can really classify myself as youth anymore now that I'm in my early 20's. 我又注意到我跟台灣的年輕人環境格格不入 (I only got this sentence right thanks for my sister). But nonetheless, I shall categorize "youth" as late teens to mid 20s. Why the sudden return of this insecurity? 為什麼又想到這些無ㄝ謀ㄝ的? This afternoon, I went to a popular youth hang out spot - XiMengDing 西門町 - a pedestrian zone known for the trendy and usually affordable shops. I left my mom this afternoon from SOGO and departed to meet a friend (finally!) at this popular spot. Once I MRT-ed there, I was instantly surrounded by young people...whom I believe are probably younger than me by their appearance and behaviour. Anyhow, I never really enjoyed going to 西門町 before because of all the people, smokers, and the 怪叔叔, but I went today since I haven't been in a while and to hang out with my friend. The shopping actually was just so-so. Bought some stuff at the Korean Body Shop equivalent called Skin Food and bought a pair of pretty warm gloves for about 8 CAD. Other than that, I didn't see any jewelery or clothes that I liked.

While walking around, I just couldn't help but notice all the young people smoking and swearing. I thought youth have progressed to become a smoke-intolerant cohort, but that wasn't what I witnessed today. From what I remember from my prior trips to Taiwan, the youth seemed more naive and down to earth. Now, the youth seem obsessed with appearances. Call me old fashioned. Maybe I've just outgrown this sort of thing. Maybe I shouldn't be classified as youth anymore. It's no wonder that my friends call me an old soul, 奶奶, 45 year old, etc. There's also no reason why I have to fit in either. But I suppose it's mainly driven by the fact that I don't have many friends here in Taiwan. People identify with a location when there are existing, similar types of people. I love having family here, but I still need people my age that I can identify with to hang out with.

Anyway, I've had my emotion spillage of the day. Before heading to 西門町, I went to XingTian Temple 行天宮 with my mom to "bai bai" (I've mentioned this tradition in my Chinese New Year post). 行天宮 is a temple devoted to Guan Yu 關羽, the patron god to businessmen (thank you wikipedia). It happened to be 關羽's birthday today so there were many people and employees there to wish for good business and obviously fortune. It was extremely crowded and my hair smelled like incense. I'm not sure if I believe in "praying" for good fortune as I find it slightly superstitious. But it's one of those instances when people aren't sure, but do it anyway just in case it does work. It was interesting to see how many people still believe in this tradition and I see it as a distinct part of Taiwanese culture.

People rushing to be the first to stick their incense in at the start of New Years...

OMG Anthony Neely was there!! <3

After 西門町, I had a lovely Indian dinner with my parents in 天母 and it was so delicious. It's been a while since I had such delicious Indian food since Masala Bay in Waterloo. The dessert was the best part. It was this carrot mash with some spices topped off with vanilla ice cream. Sooo goood....I have to go back for more.

Tomorrow, I'm going for lunch at my childhood nanny's house. Can't wait for Peking duck 北京烤鴨! Night time, I'm off to a violin trio concert with my sister at 中正紀念堂.
It's going to be a great weekend hopefully!

Enjoy the fro.

Happy Chinese New Year (in 2 days)

Again, I apologize for the lack of updates. But honestly, I'm running out of things to say. I've been home most of the time yesterday and today, so really not much to say.

I'll be gone tomorrow to the south of Taiwan for a few days. Be back then. Until then, eat and be merry!

jour dix

Tis the end of the weekend and predictably, it was full of shopping and consumerism with a tinge of appreciation for the arts. I was feeling a bit lazy the last two days to blog about my shopping ventures. It was quite delightful to be by myself for a few hours on Friday after my mom left on the High Speed Rail to the south of Taiwan. I did quite a bit of shopping in 4 hours time and even managed to read a short story in my Alice Munro book, Too Much Happiness.

I've been in Taipei for over a week now, and I don't get that same feeling as I did during my prior visits. I don't see myself identifying myself with Taipei as much as I did before. Sometime in the last two years, there was a turning point - a transition - that made me identify with North America more than ever. It's ironic because during that time, I was longing to visit Asia but now that I'm here, I feel like a foreigner in my native country. Maybe it's too soon to feel "at home" here. There has been a lot of lifestyle adjustments within the last month and it's seemingly hard for me to make up my mind to what I'm used to.

Another factor is that Taipei has changed a lot in the last two years both physically and culturally. The youth have become much less naive and are open about a lot of topics that were more hush hush. They've also slathered on a lot more makeup and care a bit too much on their appearances in my opinion. The planning nerd in me of course, has noticed new MRT (metro/subway) lines, bike-sharing, more HOV/bus only lanes, new architectural development, and somewhat innovative ways of mitigating on-going building construction. I'll discuss the planning pros and cons another day once I have more material to write about. :)

Anyway, onto some of the things I've been doing the last few days and it can be summed up in the following sequence: Shop. Eat. Shop. Eat. Shop. Eat. Cook. Museum. Eat. Shop. Eat. Cook. :P

The visit to the National Palace Museum today was just alright. I always go there whenever I'm back so we just went to see the special exhibit today. The exhibit was called, The Body Beautiful in Ancient Greece. There were Greek sculptures and pottery visiting from The British Museum. It was just really crowded and stuffy in there, which makes the experience a bit less enjoyable. The marble sculptures were really amazing though.

Anyway, here are some photos from the last few days :)

  Chinese Ikea haha..

National Palace Museum

I cooked.

I ate out (a lot)

Wow Day 6 already?

This morning I went to the open air market with my mom. I never had fond memories of the market growing up - the crowds, the smells, the noise, the rude old ladies. Did I mention the smells? Well, that remains unchanged and I accept it as a part of Chinese culture (and probably similar in many other cultures). For those who have never been to one of these open air markets, it's really not THAT open air. It's not nice and pretty like a farmers market in North America. The one I went to had a skylight throughout the narrow strip of road with vendors and shops on both sides and even in the middle of the narrow road.

When I was there, I just wanted to get what we needed and get out. I didn't want to linger or anything. My mom just had to get her produce from the vendors furthest from the entrance we entered from (but closest to the exit). While struggling through the crowds, I noticed a cluster of people slowing down. I realized that there was a man on the ground. My first reaction was that he had fallen but no one was helping him. Then I realized he was handicapped and crawling on the ground begging. What was worse was that people were just disregarding him and stepping over him. I almost burst out in tears in the middle of the market. I know it's a common occurrence in many markets, but the disregard for his presence felt so cruel. Unfortunately, I didn't have my wallet on me so I wasn't able to contribute to his cause. I think many people also take this with a grain of salt because there have been incidences when people fake it or are used by "owners" as beggars. But still, the act of crawling on the dirty market floor and begging feels so undignified from my perspective. I don't even know what the man feels, but it must take a lot of courage.

After the exit (more like escape) from the market, I just stayed home, had some lunch, and planned my South East Asia trip with Denise. It's going to be a pretty fabulous trip! I also got a phone call from a friend I haven't seen in a while! The day withered away very quickly at Beard Papa's with a cream puff and a latte. Then it was time for dinner with my parents and another family friend.

 Beard Papa's! 

So delish

dinner.

Finally going to get my hair did tomorrow. I hope it'll look okay.

Day 5 - What did I do today?

I watched TV. A lot of TV. Started off the morning with a classic - Doraemon. I proceeded to watch Mythbusters on Discovery where they were busting some of the stunts/blowups in The Green Hornet. Then I started watching this other Japanese cartoon called 小红豆...I think it's called Azuki.

Azuki is really cute because it reminded me of elementary school crushes! Except the main character, 小红豆, gets a lot closer to her crush than I ever did haha. 

I then went up the Mountain (陽明山國家公園) with my mom to help her clean. It was freezing up there. Houses in Asia are generally constructed out of concrete, which is a terrible insulator. It's been "cold" for Taiwan standards but up in the mountain, in a house with no insulation, it is quite cold inside. After I cleaned, I watched some more TV - National Geographic. It didn't last long because I fell asleep on the couch. 

Time passed and I headed out to dinner with my parents and their friends. I really don't have many friends in Taiwan...so I hang out with my mom a lot since my sister works. I think it's time I make some friends. Unproductive day but I found out about a Wedgewood Cafe where they use Wedgewood china and such. I also found out that my favourite clothing store, Club Monaco, is open in Taipei! 

Anyhow, that's it for today. Shower and sleep. I think I'm gaining weight already. By the way, check out the cover of Damien Rice's The Blower's Daughter by the oh so cute Anthony Neely: 

Day 4 - in photos

I was supposed to write last night but I got lazy and tired. BUT I did take photos so that will be sufficient for my activities yesterday :)

 Puppies at a nearby pet store! Adorable! 

 Chinese New Year treats! 

 The street filled with Chinese New Year goodies! 

 Classic/colonial style architecture of Taipei

Ended with vegetarian hotpot!

Day 3 - eat shop eat groove eat shop eat

Yes...today was a day of eating and fruitless shopping with my sister. Did some window shopping at Mitsukoshi department store, looking for a nice winter coat and a pair of riding boots. The clothes were just really untasteful and I couldn't find anything I really liked. Shoes - overwhelming. Too many styles all clustered in a small square footage. I'm going to have to take my time with the shoes.

After a lunch at...Ajisen ramen (blah did not come all this way to eat this), which was unbeknown to me until we sat down and I saw the logo on the menu, went  to the Taipei Cultural Center to attend a free jazz concert. The description called it "French gypsy jazz", which is somewhat vague. It wasn't until they started that I knew that it was django - named after the founder of the style - Django Reinhardt, who himself was a gypsy of sorts growing up. I really do enjoy this style and I remembered the amazing performance I saw at the Vancouver Jazz Festival by Van Django. There were a variety of people who showed up to the performance, although there were many seniors (I think the Cultural Center was more like a seniors community center). There was a very supportive and enthusiastic uncle in the audience who clapped the loudest and was yelling "Bravo!" and "Encore" after each song. Yes, he yelled encore after each song. I really did enjoy this performance because as the band pointed out, there is a lack of a django band presence in Taiwan that are Taiwanese.



Headed over to Taipei main station to meet up with the parents at this new-ish mall to walk around and have some dinner. My dad really wanted to check out this new hotel next door, Palais de Chine. It was really beautifully designed inside. Afterwards, just window shopped and had some decent Thai food for dinner!

Now, I'm home. Showered. Brushed. Watching the American Idol equivalent. There's this really cute mixed competitor, Anthony Neely, singing Jason Mraz's "Lucky". Oh my he is really good looking and tall! I shall leave you with photos of him...as I did not bring my camera out with me today. Will borrow my sister's camera tomorrow when I head out!

Day 2 - a day of a censored event, applications, jetlag, and the beginning of family

OMG. I am incapable of staying up any longer. Jet lag is kicking me in the ass right now and I have to go out to dinner with family in 10 minutes when all I want to do is stay home and snooze. So what's up with me on day 2? No, I haven't gotten that straight perm, in case you're wondering. My hair is still tied up to prevent chaos in public. I woke up today with some great news from a friend who got a job at Translink! What a great start to my morning and quite energizing. The censored event ensued (not related to the good news haha) but I survived and rewarded myself with a cheap espresso which used fructose as sweetener (weird). Lunch at a family friend's vegetarian restaurant was great - smelly tofu pot! I proceeded home and Skyped with RMak for around 2 hours.

Job applications followed and my cousin, aunt, and uncle dropped by before heading to the Cirque du Soleil show (Varekai). I'll be going myself in February and I'm quite looking forward to my...4th Cirque show! My aunt wants me to send her my graduation photo so she can play matchmaker for me. Yeah. Never gonna happen.

Now I have to keep my eyes wide open and walk through the streets, keeping an eye out for dog shit on the sidewalk. Merde!

I apologize for my brief and irritable tone in this entry. I am attempting to kick jet lag in the ass back.
A demain tout le monde.

I'm in Asia - Day 1

I decided that I could really blog about my travels here in Asia. It's only been two years since I've been away but I don't know what it is about my first day here that feels like a culture shock in the country that I was born in. I'm going to be travelling around Asia until early April so I thought it'd be interesting to write down some of my observations now that I'm older (and wiser).

Current location: Taipei. My flight was long (12 hours) and turbulent but I got some sleep and watched The Social Network and The Switch. As an aside, I'm not sure The Social Network deserved all those Golden Globes but I'm no film critic. Anyhow, I arrived at 4:30 AM and was one of the first off the plane and through the customs (I walk much faster than regular people). The downside is that I waited forever and a half for my luggage since I checked in 2.5 hours before my flight. My parents were waiting for me as I walked out and I was ravenous. I had only had one meal on the flight (of congee) and it was lunch time PST. Got a couple of onigiri (yum) at 7-11 and an americano (bland) and set off back to my sister's place.

Maybe I've been studying urban planning too long or been living in North America too long but I felt like I was in a foreign country that I've never been to before. I think it was the fact that there were ongoing infrastructure expansions that did not exist when I was in Taiwan last. When I got to my sister's place, it wasn't really what I expected either. I've been spoiled by the North American vastness and square footage and also by my parents' significantly larger place in Taipei. I suppose for one person, her apartment is a good size, but I thought the bedrooms were so tiny.

I have not yet mentioned the humidity that is Taiwan. I felt my hair expanding as I walked off the airplane. This humidity keeps everything damp. It's time to get that straightening perm sometime this week because I doubt my efforts to straighten my hair will result in lasting results!

My Dad took me for a walk around the neighbourhood to get me acquainted and I quite liked it. I live across from an elementary school and there's an open-air market and several eat-in places and conveniences nearby. I can't wait for the rain to stop so I can go running along the river. I took a nap after some breakfast and unpacking and then headed out with my Mom to the Home Depot equivalent of B&Q looking for a new showerhead. Maybe it's because I'm jetlagged, but all the noises of cars was amplified. The air felt toxic and I was just a cesspool of negativity. I was nodding off a couple of hours later and was in desperate need of caffeine to keep me awake and fix this jetlag. Finally found a Starbucks and ordered a tall Americano. Then the guy asked me if I wanted it hot and I gave him a bit of unnecessary attitude: "Uhh, of course" I said in Mandarin. I guess people usually get more cold drinks in Taiwan so I was shocked that he would ask me such a silly question. I was then a bit more high-maintenance because apparently, people in Taiwan only add coffee cream to their drinks and not milk or soy...so I had to ask for their non-fat milk. The guy asked if he could add it for me but I wanted to add it myself! Ok, so I'm a bit of a coffee snob but I'll tone it down in the next few months!

When we got back to my sister's place, we had an ordeal with the key. The alarm kept going off and my mom rushed off to get the locksmith to come figure it out while I waited. While waiting, I observed the kids in the school across the street. The boys baseball team was still hard at work training and doing laps and cheers. It's weird seeing and hearing children after being in university all this time!

The next few days will be focused on getting rid of this jet lag and getting acquainted with this new neighbouhood. This initial shock will go away too after a few days. It's weird seeing high school kids now and how they dress, walk and talk. It's also hard to judge the ages of non-students on the streets. I just feel so out of place! I think I need to make some friends...maybe my sister can take me to work or something.

In the meantime, I'm going to stay awake for a few more hours and have some dinner! It's really been a wonky day. Honestly, I'm mostly irked about my hair!!!!

(Better) pictures...to follow.