Monday, November 21, 2011

\ I.. Tijuan-hua ..I /

We have finally found an apartment! It's taken over 2 months, but I'm glad we waited. We were actually able to find a 2 bedroom apartment right in our budget. (There's even a stove!)

Another prayer answered by Jehovah: All of the specifics I prayed for have been met. It's affordable, there's two rooms, a stove, and the lease is short. Of course it's like the WT study on Sunday pointed out... Jehovah will provide our necessities but what he provides might not be what we personally are inclined to like or want. Thus... we have moved to Wanhua. Or as the Mexicans refer to it... Tijuanhua. It is the ghetto. Taipei's entire homeless community lives here, and it surely deserves the description of slums. But! It's very affordable, so many of the young brothers and sisters who have moved here from other countries live in the same building as we do, which will be great. It's nice to know you have good neighbors.

The landlady: Our new landlady is a tiny, elderly, Taiwanese woman with dementia. She is not sister, but she refuses to rent her apartments to anyone but Witnesses. Hurdle number 1: Her dementia means that she doesn't always remember that you've already paid rent. So she carries a diary with her and we have to make sure she signs it whenever she picks up rent money. Hurdle number 2: She doesn't speak a single word of English, she doesn't even speak Chinese! She speaks Taiyi which is a very old language that the aborigines spoke here before Mandarin Chinese was ever adopted. So our interactions are more like a game of charades than actual conversation. But she is patient and seems to be very nice. She even took Melissa to the hospital and paid for the visit yesterday when Mel sliced her finger open.

The space: The apartment itself isn't very big, but the fact that we each have our own rooms makes a huge difference. My room is simply a small box with a little garment rack, Melissa's is a slightly larger box with a cupboard. And in traditional Taiwanese style nothing has been properly fixed or replaced probably ever. Walls are patched with the same faux wood laminate flooring as the actual floor... giving the illusion that some of the floor got put on bits of the walls. The stove vent has eroded, but instead of being replaced it has been rebuilt out of layers of tin foil. The whole place sort of makes you want to blast it with clorox bleach and bristle pads. It puts the 'home' in 'homely'.
But we're happy enough just having a place of our own. I will be grateful to finally get to unpack my suitcases and have a place to put groceries. And it will be the first time since I've been here that I won't be sleeping within arms length of another person. These are all comforts you take for granted until you have to live without them for 10 weeks. Not to mention the location is closer to my job and Melissa's KH.

The leftovers: It just so happens that a handful of our friends here are having to move back to America this weekend. We are very sad to see them go, as are they. But they have been very generous in giving Melissa and I two of their bicycles. So soon we will be picking those up and will be able to get around town for free!

It's not long before we will bid our sisters here farewell and occupy a new space. (Just as soon as we can find beds) And thus opens a new chapter of the adventure. I will try to remember to take some pictures of the new place later.

Until next time... (stay tuned for Melissa and Katy do the Philippines!)

Where's weirdo: Asia

... can you spot the weirdos?

(This series may require that you click to enlarge, some weirdos may be rather well hidden. To enlarge even more click the image which will open the viewing window, then right-click ON the picture that is being viewed & select 'open in new tab'- this allows you to really zoom)


























Saturday, November 19, 2011

My scooter baaadd part II...

A few more delightful scooter models to add to the collection.

The 'Lets'... (really not so much a name as it is a suggestion)

the "Fiddle"... (sure that makes sense... )

and my personal favorite...
the "Man Boy"... (What do you ride? ... *yikes*)


Also noted but not pictured...
The "Herself" ...
The 'Taking"...
The 'Dink 150' and 'Grand Dink'.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

My Scooter baaddd...

Taipei is FULL of scooters... thousands of them dominate the roads, hundreds of them parked on the sidewalks, by far the most common mode of transportation other than public trans. I would imagine the scooter manufacturers here do VERY well. But there is something I've noticed that is a bit odd...
In America most vehicle manufacturers do their best to pick a stupid name depicting either power, size, luxury, or eco-friendliness.. but most of the time you get the idea behind what the manufacturer wants you to associate the name with.
In Taiwan, because having things written in English is considered to be 'cool', they have decided to name the scooter models in English. (And as per status quo... accompany the name with a poor translation of an inspirational thought) My guess is that they turn to a random page in the dictionary, throw a dart at it, and use whatever word they happen to land on... print the name in some 'extreme' looking font, and call it a day. Here's just a sample of some of the more common models available here...

(click to zoom and read the wonderful details...)

the "New Refined... close to nature"
(I think the only part of this scooter close to nature is the mildew growing around the seat)

the 'So Easy 100... the scooter is all my life'
(that's sort of sad)

the 'Jog Cute'
(If that's any indication of it's speed capabilities... I think you'd be better off riding the bus)

the 'Movie 12.... high quality scooter'
(12? this might be the vehicular equivalent to Land Before Time)

the 'Hot 50.. on-off road multi-purpose'
(the only off-road driving they do here is on the sidewalk)

the 'Fuzzy... urban trend'
(This is the most common scooter I see. I wonder how many people are aware that they are driving an adjective that describes kittens.)

the 'Fever... a scooter you can live with'
(you may not enjoy having a Fever but you can live with it)

the 'Tact'
(the inoffensive scooter)

the 'Cabin... with fashionable feeling'
(I know I'd feel fashionable driving a 1997 Cabin around... who wouldn't?)


Tuesday, November 1, 2011

and the saga continues...

Krista and I arrived in Taiwan after a full day of trains, planes, bus rides, and walking. We finally arrived at the apartment around 2 am exhausted, and were greeted by the infamous BauBau right away.
The next day Krista got to meet my current room mates (who for some reason were expecting me to bring back a Japanese person, so were quite surprised to find a blonde american girl in their living room) And had the beginnings of true cultural shock. Taiwan is a little rougher around the edges than Japan.
The weather could have been better, but then it usually has a tendency to change dramatically overnight, which it did a few times.
I took Krista to the Maokong Gondola ride up into the mountains which was nice. Stunning views of the mountains and the city below. We hiked around and had tea at a tea house on the cliff side. We also saw signs for some legendary 'pothole', so we spent the last of our energy hiking down a path in search of it. The result was that the path ended at a small creek, and the only things that even resembled a pothole were the small holes that the river had carved in the rocks. Still not sure about this alleged 'pothole', but it turned out to be a nice little hike off the beaten path through the mountain side.
Krista also got to come to two of my meetings which was very nice. We had some really good food and spent some time shopping around some of the districts in Taipei.
Then we took a trip to the coast to the town of Jiu Fen. This is a quaint town situated on the side of some small mountains that overlook a coastal harbor. The views were pretty awesome, and every turn on the ride up revealed more and more ornate temples and shrines peeking out of the misty mountain side. The town itself is a total tourist attraction. There is this crazy market that winds it's way along the cliff sides. It gives you the distinct feeling that you are in a very foreign place. The market is full of random little shops, and vendors selling a variety of unpleasant looking food. The road is packed with buses, scooters, and cars. However the road is steep, winding, and only about 10 feet wide so there are many times when you think... "that oncoming bus is either going to crash into us or it's going to take out all those pedestrians and buildings'"- but of course they never do. They just come within centimeters of it. We enjoyed some of the best tea I've had yet, and fresh squeezed apple juice.
Finally we got to karaoke! We went with Melissa and another Melissa to one of many KTV's, which includes a buffet and private karaoke rooms. These places are deluxe! The selection of English songs is limited, but we found some gems none the less. I blew my voice out within about 5 min., but made the most of it by singing the male vocals and Toni Braxton songs for the rest of the night.
Krista's visit to Taiwan was quick, but fun. Anything I'm forgetting? ... ah pictures!
(these aren't in the best order but I will attempt to dictate locations, etc above the photos)

Jiu Fen






View from the gondola...





Oncoming traffic yield to stray Americans



Hi-fiving a mountain bug






Kristas fresh squeezed apples on top of Jiu Fen










... who wouldn't want to buy mystery meat on a stick from this fine young lady?







Karaoke, Taiwan style...





Tea fields at the top of the gondola ride











Ordering beverages by 'cc's is going to take some getting used to... who knew 500 cc's was so big?!



BauBau sulking because his wife beats him


Garbage duty... rain or shine