Bike Races and Beaches

We have decided that there are a few things that our car must always be equipped with: bottled water, umbrellas, and swimming gear. 

Just the other weekend we decided to attend a local bike race in Dajia hosted by Giant.  We started out in the city at the road bike race and took the kids to play on a small playground close to the action.  I believe I have mentioned in previous posts that the kids get a great deal of attention for not only their young age but also for their blonde hair.  This is especially true for Lilly as she has long blonde hair.  A few people stopped to admire, try to touch her, or take her picture.  This especially happened to both kids when we stopped for lunch at McDonald's to appease the kids who had put up with extreme heat for our gain.

A woman taking Lilly's picture at the park. 
Lilly tries to act oblivious because she is so shy.

A large tour bus caused a huge traffic jam.
These men got out of their vehicles to show their annoyance
and attempt to get the rest of the cars to back up.

After watching the road race for a bit, we headed up the mountain to watch the mountain bike races.  Once at the top, we were trying to find a parking space and ended up in a traffic jam.  A very large tour bus attempted to drive down a narrow street with cars parked on both sides and ended up getting stuck and could go no further.  The police had to come and individually back each car in the traffic jam out in order to allow the bus to back up.  This is evidence as to how narrow the roads can be. 

The start of a race up the mountain for some of the younger riders.

It's hard to tell but many of them are riding adult bikes.

The mountain was beautiful!!  There were beautiful sculptures, playgrounds for the kids and flower gardens.  On our way back down the mountain we drove by a very large garden and I just couldn't help myself.  Chris stopped the car (he was driving because at that time the steep, narrow mountain roads were very intimidating!) and I got out and hiked up halfway through the gardens.  Completely worth it!

A statue in a park at the top of the mountain in Dajia.

These pictures are from the top and the bottom of the hillside garden.

We decided that because Dajia is right on the ocean we would attempt to find a beach nearby.  What we ended up finding was a once thriving beach that had, for some time, been quite deserted by the majority of the public.  Along the shore is a medium sized amusement park and water park that are now abandoned and a few housing units that are also now abandoned.  Lining the shore is an old walkway and what appeared to be a dilapidated concrete dock no longer standing.  It seems that the water has receded back so much that to actually get to the water you now have to walk about 100 yards along wet and sticky sand.  Chris actually broke his flip-flop because as he pulled his foot up to walk, the flip-flop suctioned itself to the sand. 

Of course, we were up for the hike out to the water.  And as a result, we had the entire beach to ourselves.  We passed many families who had ventured out on to the sand to catch small and medium sized crabs and hermit crabs.  And as we walked along the sand we could see small clumps of sand, obviously from the crabs shoveling their way under to safety.  The sand squished under our feet and made sucking sounds.  One can only imagine the tunnel system that must have been under our feet!

This crab is about 2 inches long.

Drew is pointing at a small crab in a hole previously dug out by someone trying to catch crabs.

The water was extremely warm and as we walked through it large schools of small fish would jump along the water, avoiding the tide that would eventually beach them on the sand and avoiding the danger we apparently posed.  Lilly could "touch" for about 50 feet out and the kids loved playing freely in the water.  It was a great day!

 

A cute site on our drive home.  It is very common for very young children (age 1 and up) to stand in front of the driver on scooters (regardless of how fast the traffic is).  Typically, you will see a parent with their infant/toddler in front of them and their older child (age 3+) sitting on the back holding on.

Some Dining Experiences

There are so many restaurants in the city of Taichung that we could realistically eat out for every meal and never eat at the same restaurant twice over the course of a year (maybe longer) although we would probably be eating the same types of food over and over (dumplings, rice, etc.).  Restaurant styles range from traditional US sit-down restaurants with many tables to smaller restaurants with perhaps a table or two to small kiosks that don't have seating and are designed for take-out only.  Most restaurants are family owned and are very cheap.   However, you can still find expensive restaurants in the area.  We try to find a new restaurant every weekend to go to that everyone can enjoy.  Andrew and Lilly are fairly picky so we try to find restaurants with the basics (chicken nuggets, french fries, noodles, rice, or sometimes great pancakes like this picture of Lilly at Early Bird Cafe on ZhongMing So. Rd. near Chris' office) even though that is not always possible.

A few weekends ago we drove by a restaurant that looked like it fit our criteria and had a fun atmosphere.  Of course, we decided this based on the outside appearance of the building.  Appearances can be deceiving!  Once inside, it was evident that the dining attire was not casual.  After attempting to translate into English what the seating host was trying to tell us, we realized that dinner was by reservation only.  We took a business card to make a reservation at a later date and turned to leave.  We were about to cross the street to try another restaurant when a woman ran out to tell us that they would go ahead and serve us and set up a table for us.  We were seated at a beautiful table with these plush pillows on both of the bench seats. 

Scene:  An American family of four with shirts and shorts on in a formal restaurant.  Both kids are now semi-throwing pillows at each other and parents, parents are frantically trying to discipline while the kids move on to playing with the china plates, nearly dropping them on the floor, causing the locals to stare in disbelief and the parents to want to hide under a rock.  Lucky for us, we later learned that restaurants are deemed "great" if children are running around and being loud.  There goes our attempts to teach Drew and Lilly restaurant manners!

Steamed Vegetables and Shrimp

Salmon

We ordered off of a completely Chinese menu using pictures and ended up with a plate of steamed vegetables and shrimp (very tasty!), a plate of semi-raw salmon with thin radish strips (pretty good), and a plate of seafood and crispy couscous that we still have yet to identify.  The last plate contained a type of seafood that resembled tad-poles (baby frogs).  I was thankful that the first two plates showed up first and that I had eaten enough as I soon lost my appetite!  Chris, who is very brave and would never let food go to waste, dove right in and finished off the plate.  I truly could not look at him the same for at least a day as all I could imagine were those things in his stomach.  HA!  We also ordered one beer (and were asked if we would like to order one for each of us) and it was a good thing we only ordered one as we were served almost 2 liters of bijou (Taiwanese Beer).  At the end of dinner we asked for our check and the waitress asked if we would like dessert.  We don't typically order dessert so we said, "No thank you" and she proceeded to send the manager over.  The manager insisted that we order dessert so not wanting to cause a scene and not really understanding what she was saying we said, "OK" and were served a type of ice cream/gelatin.  The top was fruit flavored jelly with a type of rice in it while the bottom layer tasted like ice cream with a gelatin texture (the kids didn't like it but Chris and I did).  Often times dessert is included with the price of the meal.  The Taiwanese culture love free stuff!  They tend not to understand when someone doesn't want what they are offering for free, which could be the reason the manager was sent over to explain dessert to us.  (Side note - If free samples are being given away at a grocery store, regardless of the sample, there will be a very long line.)  We signed our check and I put a tip on the table and we left.  We were about to get into our car when our waitress came running after us and exclaimed that we had left some money on the table.  What honesty!  We later found out that tipping is not common in Taiwan (even where there is space on the credit card slip).  However, you will find tip jars at some of the smaller restaurants.

Chris pouring a beer from our 2 liter tap

Couscous and mystery meat

The "unidentified" sea food/mystery meat that Chris was later told was probably raw oysters.

Lilly and Andrew at a Pizza Shop called Salute and owned by the wife of one of Chris' co-workers. The restaurant has kids toys outside to keep children entertained while their parents eat. The waitress even came out to play with the kids so we could enjoy our food.

Last week we were invited out to dinner with some of Chris' co-workers to a family-style restaurant called the Hot Pot.  The idea is that various vegetables and meats are placed into boiling broth (spicy or non-spicy) placed in the middle of the table and you take the items out of the soup that you want.  This was a really fun experience.  I tried plum juice for the first time (has a smokey flavor) and tried many new varieties of mushroom as well as clotted pig's blood (not much flavor beyond the seasonings used and has a jello consistency).  Chris tried cow stomach (has a rubbery, squid-like texture).  Chris' Taiwanese co-workers have tried to explain some of the Taiwanese customs and rules to me:  One of the customs, according to this group of individuals, is that you do not take a drink of your beverage without saying, "Cheers" and toasting someone or something.  Therefore, you are toasting throughout the entire meal.  When you make the toast and take the drink, you hold the glass with one hand and place the other hand beneath the glass (as if you are setting the glass on your open palm).  You make eye contact with the person you are toasting the entire time or it is considered rude if you look away.  The person being toasted determines when you stop drinking (when they put their glass down, you put yours down).  I was told that another form of etiquette is to never gesture with your chopsticks or take them away from the table with you.  The Taiwanese consider walking around with your chopsticks very dangerous, especially for children.  I was also told that you should never stab your chopsticks into your sticky rice as a place to put them while you get a drink, etc. (similar to placing a surfboard upright in the sand so you don't have to lay it down).  Doing this means that you wish death to someone at the table.  I suppose it's your call if you want to do that or not.  We all had a fun time, learned some new things, and the kids had a chance to play with a couple of Chris' co-worker's children and make some new friends.

Me and Nancy, one of Chris' co-workers, enjoying our soup.

Another one of Chris' co-workers, Sandy, and her son, Kevin, who is a few years older than Drew.

Strips of raw cow's stomach and raw carrots ready to be thrown into the boiling soup

My Take on Corporate Culture in Taiwan

As to be expected Chris has come home with some different stories from work.  His first day at the new office his co-workers were extremely nice and decided to take him out to lunch to help him get to know the city.  They went to a local Taiwanese restaurant where he was able to order 20 mini-dumplings for 40NT (New Taiwanese Dollars) which is about $1.30 US.  If you know the right locations, you can get food for very cheap, which is why some expatriates (non-citizens or expats) claim they can go months without using their kitchens and still pay no less than they would for groceries.  For our family, we have found that while Taiwanese food is good, we miss home cooking too much! 

Upon returning to the office after lunch that first day of work, Chris sat down to get things done.  Shortly after that the lights went out and a stunned Chris stood up to see what was happening.  All around him his co-workers were sleeping at their desks.  He called me in a whisper voice to tell me all about it.

Daily Timeline for the Taiwanese people we know (I'm sure this varies for others as it does all over the world):

• 8:30 - 9:00am  Arrive at work  (Schools in the area start around this time as well)
• 12:00 - 1:00pm    Lunch  (Very few individuals choose to eat their lunch at work.  Instead they take advantage of the local markets and restaurants.) 
• 1:00 - 1:30pm  "Rest Time"
• 5:30pm  Leave work  (A great deal of work is done from home at night and some individuals do go into the office earlier or come back later in the evening to video-conference with the US or other countries they may be working with.)  **NOTE:  There are quite a few companies that workers don't leave until much later in the evening.  Trek is an exception.
• 6:30 - 10:00pm  Night Life and Night Market (Many individuals grab dinner out at restaurants because of the good deals.  Also, this time of night is when the weather cools down and families can enjoy the outdoor shops, parks, and socializing during the warmer months).

I believe the weather drives much of the daily activities and as a result of the later night life school and work start later in the morning.  Everyone needs their beauty sleep right?  And, of course, there are also jobs (such as our security guards and the individuals working at the local markets and shops) who work odd hours and do not follow the time lines above.  But in this city that never sleeps, it seems, from an outsider's perspective, that the timeline above holds true for quite a few. 

With regard to the 1:00 nap time:  Seriously, why don't we do this in the US?  As a result of the mid-day "rests", according to Chris (and this may be specific to his office), employees seem happier and the day is more productive.

English Names for Taiwanese Employees:  Everyone in Chris' office has an English name (Jerry, Nancy, Steve, etc.).  I'm still trying to determine if each individual comes up with his or her own name, if the company gives them the name, or if they are born with an English name as well.  I think it's a little of all three.  While sipping my tall iced Carmel Macchiato at Starbucks a few weeks ago (yes, I am that girl) a man approached me and told me that he noticed my Trek sticker on my laptop.  He works for a company that does business with Trek and so we started talking.  During our chat he mentioned that he used to go by a different name until he found a new job and changed companies.  His new company asked him to change his name so he chose the name Derek Jeter as he is a baseball fan.  Another example.  I recently went out to eat with a few individuals from Chris' office including one who recently had a baby.  They named their baby Arichie and plan to make his English name, Richie. 

Regardless of how each person gets their English name, this is one American who is very thankful for this trend!

Taiwan "Green Space"

"Green Space" in Taiwan is referred to as any area that has grass.  While we take grass for granted in the US, the Taiwanese consider it a privilege to live near these areas and pay a high price to do so.  Most green spaces consist of a large space (anywhere from 1 to 3 city blocks) of grass and trees.  (The picture to the right is Andrew holding up a large leaf from, what I believe is a Bodhtree - part of the fig family). 

Green spaces are bordered by a wide sidewalk made of granite or cobblestone and have multiple areas carved out for morning/evening exercises (when the weather is the coolest) or Tai Chi classes.  Seeing large groups of individuals doing Tai Chi in the morning is very common.  There are typically a few rock garden areas as well and some of the green spaces do have children's parks.  We spend quite a bit of our time at these spaces and tend to go closer to dusk in the warmer months.  One of the parks is located a few blocks from our apartment and the kids love it there.                                                                                                                   

 At every children's park there are also areas for adults to "exercise".  There are many stretching areas and twisting areas.  The "contraption" the kids are on allows you to swing both your legs in different directions or stretch in a leap position.  Of course, this tends to be the kids' favorite part of the park.  

 

  

The picture below is an area that locals use for Tai Chi, rollar blading classes, and/or entertainment purposes.  In my opinion, placing an area such as this so close to the children's park is genious!  This gives parents a perfect opportunity to get in some exercise and let their kids play where they can see them.

Our first "road trip" in Taiwan -- To Ikea in Taipei

The second morning in our new apartment we were all still adjusting to the time change.  As a result, the kids woke up at 3:30am and that meant that one of us had to get up as well.  Chris had taken the previous "night shift" so I got up with the kids and a couple hours later we watched the sun come up out of Andrew's bedroom window.  It was quite beautiful.

 

After moving into the apartment, although it is furnished, we realized there were quite a few things we needed to live comfortably (sheets and dishes, for example) so we decided that this nice, now long day, could be productive.  We took our first "road trip" to Taipei to go to Ikea. With every street sign in Chinese we ended up having to use both our Garmen and IPhone to find Ikea.  It was an adventure!  I had mentioned in the previous post that stores out here are taller than they are wide.  So as a result, you either park on the top of the building or under the building.  For convenience (rather than everyone using an elevator) they install these wide escalators that you take your cart up and down with you.  I've found these to actually be somewhat of a workout as by the time I get to the top my calves are already sore.  So now I can add shopping as my daily workout, right?!?

On our way home from Ikea I noticed while looking at the map that the ocean was really close so we decided to be even more adventurous and veer off course.  After listening to "Please make the next legal U-turn" and "Recalculating" more than a few times, we turned off the Garmen and followed our instincts.  Down highway 61 you can see bits and pieces of the ocean to your right as you're driving South.  Most of the coast has been turned into farming property or has not been kept up so vegetation grows right up to the water.  Where there are open spaces the beaches tend to be quite rocky.   

We did happen to look out in the distance and see what resembled a beach and so we thought we would drive in that direction.  We ended up in a very rural location.  Chris turned to me and said, "this is creepy, I'm turning around" I replied, "just a bit further, we have locks on the doors if we need them".  And we couldn't turn around if we tried, the street was so narrow.  So, we drove down a dirt road with the most beautiful canopy of trees and it opened up to a "local" beach. (this picture does not do justice to how beautiful the road really was!)

Although the beach was not extremely beautiful, the atmosphere was amazing!  There had to be over 100 people there and a type of outdoor flea market.  You can only imagine what the locals must have felt seeing this blonde hair, fair skinned, English speaking family pull up. It is not very common to see young white children here which means that we get stared at quite a bit.  And I'm sure they didn't see a family like ours everyday at this beach as it was very much off the beaten path.  And to top it off, we didn't have any bathing suits or towels. 

The beach ended up being a black sand beach and the water was about 85 degrees (like bath water).  There was no sea weed on this part of the beach and the levels dropped off here and there so we had to be very careful where we let the kids play.  We waded out into the water and before long, our swimmer, Lilly, had plopped down in the water with her dress on.  We gave Drew a nod and he was next.  The kids had so much fun splashing around (much more fun than we had trying to clean and dry them off afterwards) and the locals had a good time watching and laughing at us.  They must have thought we were crazy!  The most beautiful site was when two men showed up on their horses and ran them along the beach.  The day was super packed and after waking up at 3:30 in the morning and then swimming, the kids were beat.

 

(On the beach a man had about 6 four wheelers that he rented out.  To his left was the flea market where locals sold various food, drinks, and trinkets.  Also, large water trucks were parked on the edge of the sand and you could spend 40NT to wash up).

As I sit and type this post I'm watching a man sweap leaves out of the bushes in front of our apartment and I can't help but think about the pride that the Tiawanese have in their country.  Although the streets are blackened and dirty from use they are swept every morning, there seems to be less litter along the streets than in larger cities in the US, it's very rare to see grafity in most places, and most restaurants and stores have recycling bins.  I can count the number of frowns I have seen on one hand so far (amazing) and at night the buildings are lit up like Las Vegas.  Families walk around until midnight taking advantage of the night markets and cooler air and the streets are safe, being patrolled by the police constantly.  I am reminded over and over again what a beautiful place I have been given the opportunity to live in for the next year. 

What a difference a week makes!

It goes without saying that life literally on the other side of the world is completely different.  Last week me and my family were living in Waterloo, WI (population 3,100).  This week we are living on the 4th floor of a skyrise building in the middle of downtown Taichung (population 1,000,000+).  There are so many things that I realize now that as an American I took for granted.  Grocery shopping and being able to read street signs are among those things.  The cool climate of WI is yet another one. 

Climate:  We stepped off the plane to 92 (F) degree weather with 78 percent humidity.  You know that feeling you get in the winter when you step outside in 0 degree weather and it takes your breath away, literally?  Well, in extreme heat you get the same sensation.  In the summer months the clothes I have lived in are light-weight shorts and light-weight tank tops.  If you end up having to purchase clothes here you will pay much more (about $30-40 for the equivilent of a Wal-Mart brand T-shirt).  We visited the area last March for a week and found that the weather was a bit cooler (around 60 degrees F) but with 84 percent humidity.

During the winter months, although the weather is still about 60 degrees F, the weather tends to feel cooler.  The humidity keeps the chill in your bones and most buildings are not equipped with heat.  Also, as the buildings are typically built with concrete or some type of rock they stay very cool.  We typically wear warm socks and sweats around the apartment to stay warm in the winter months.
Grocery Shopping: Not speaking Mandarine Chinese or Taiwanese has been difficult.  I have found that patience and a big smile are the best ingredients for getting help from the locals.  Prior to moving out here I had been told that it was difficult to find certain items like milk, cheese, and basically anything resembling good old fashioned WI food.  So far, I have been able to find basic cheddar cheese and milk.  However, these items are a bit more pricey than we were used to in the States.  Feeding the kids has been a huge task!  As much as I hate to admit this, currently, my 2 year old is living off of french fries and yogurt.  (She is such a picky eater).  We have slowly been introducing various veggies and fruits into her diet.  And boy, are the vegetables and fruits here delicious!!!  And inexpensive!! 

Stopping at the grocery store is actually a lengthy task.  The majority of grocery stores are also connected to department stores.  As most buildings are taller than they are wide you enter the store on the department store level and then take a long escalator (that can carry your cart with you) to the next level.  Generally, the grocery store is on the third or fourth floor.  This makes 10 minute stops for a loaf of bread virtually impossible.  The best and fastest way to shop is by going to the local markets.  You can find all sorts of vegetables and fruits, fish, pre-cooked meals like pot-stickers and sushi rolls, and fresh meats (chicken, beef, pork, etc.).  The markets are typically less expensive than the grocery stores and open at about 4pm every night.

While you can get most of the items you need at a grocery store or the market, some people also prefer to purchase products like bread and pastries at specialty shops.  We found a great little shop that sells delicious bread called Fingas (a restaurant and store).  The store is owned by a woman who's sister lives in Texas so she has quite a few selections of products you could find in the US (spagetti noodles and sauce, brownie and cake mix, gold fish crackers, etc.). 

Going out to eat:  Eating out seems to be the preferred choice of dining for most expatriates in Taiwan.  You can get a pretty good meal and spend very little.  For example, we spent $20 at a popular tea house and fed the four of us with an entree each, drinks, and cookies for dessert.  Not bad!  Of course, you can also find restaurants that are more expensive.  The nice thing about Taiwan is that you can find just about every type of restaurant from traditional Taiwanese to Italian.  We have also found a few American-style restuarants that we like if we feel like we need a taste of home.  And, of course, we have also seen KFC, McDonalds, Chili's, TGIF, and our favorite Starbucks.

Nancy (Chris' co-worker) showed us around some of the restaurants and introduced us to Pearl Milk Tea (the black pearls are large tapioca that you suck up through the straw - quite chewy like gummy worms).

The kids at a local tea house near our home in Taichung.

Navigating:  This one I am still trying to figure out and will keep you looped in as I learn the various laws of the road.  First of all, you drive on the right side of the road.  At first glance, it appears as if laws do not exist for drivers and the cars sort of flow in and out of lanes like a dance.  Upon second glance, you will notice that the rules are fairly similar to those in the US.  There are a few differences.  One difference is that it is illegal to make a right hand turn on a red light. The main difference is how crowded the streets are.  Picture New York City except all of the cabs are scooters.  Rule of thumb:  the larger vehicle gets the right of way and with every vehicle traveling at a fairly low speed, the streets are rather safe.

(The large square in the picture behind goofy Andrew is for the scooters driving towards us in the picture who want/need to make a left turn.  To avoid accidents they drive to the square and stop there to wait for the light to change so they can drive across the street and towards their desired direction.)

**If you know more about Taiwan, I would love to hear it.  Also, please correct me if I am mistaken!  Any and all help is greatly appreciated.