More dogs.

My friend Iwen is looking for a home for two more dogs. One is a husky and the other a beagle. If you know anyone who would be interested in adopting one or both of these dogs should contact me, and I'll provide you with details and contact info.

The last dog of hers that I posted about on this blog (Elsa, yellow lab) was sucessfully flown to some friends in Estonia.

The Gasman Cometh

We've had our gas shut off for about a week now. Something about the gas line being too old, slow gas leak, something or other. I finally got around to calling a repairman to come and fix it (with a little help from Ariel.)

The repairman showed up this morning a full 30 minutes early, and started to speak to me in a rapid mix of Chinese and Taiwanese. I assume he was asking about the gas lines and such, but he could just as easily have been trying to discuss the best way to flip an omelet without it breaking. My comprehension of Chinese is okay, as long as the other person speaks slowly, and sticks to the script of questions that I know how to answer.

How long have you been in Taiwan?
Over one year.
Ah, your Chinese is really not bad!
Thank you, I don't go to class.
So, do you like Taiwan?
Yes, I like it here. The people are friendly.
What do you do for a living?
I am a buxiban teacher.
What do you think about our current political climate?
Err...what...umm...nice weather today.

Finally, after realizing that I was just smiling and saying "yes, okay" over and over, the guy got to work on my gas line. He was trying to wrench the sink from its anchor on our kitchen wall, and after a lot of effort, finally broke down and called a coworker for backup.

This gave him a break to come over and sit with me in the living room, where I had been reading a book. He produced a small plastic bag from his coveralls and offered me a piece of "Taiwan ko-shiang tang" or "Taiwan chewing gum." It was, of course, not chewing gum at all, but betel nut, a palm nut wrapped in palm leaf and chewed by working class Taiwanese as a stimulant.

photo from wikipedia

He was surprised to hear that I knew about bing lang, and that I knew to remove the cap before chewing on the pulpy seed. Normally, when chewing bing lang, one will spit the resulting red juice into a cup (or on the ground if one is truly uncouth.) This gentleman suggested that I swallow it, in order to gain the warming properties that betel nut chaw has on the body. I opted out of that, since I really only accepted it out of politeness in the first place.

We had a chat, and chewed our nuts, and then his coworker arrived. They fixed the gas line, he showed me the fancy new on/off valve, and he left. Working the same schedule every day leaves me little time, or maybe just little will, to change anything about my daily routine, so having something different happen in my pre-work hours was kind of nice.

Political Turmoil on the Island

There has been a lot going on in Taiwanese politics in the last couple of weeks. Former president Chen Shui-bian was arrested last week on money laundering and corruption charges. It's a big deal in the local media.

Also, a visit from Chen Yun-lin, a diplomat from mainland China, to Taipei sparked protests from thousands of students. They are upset not only about president Ma's strengthening ties to the communist mainland, but also about the unnecessarily large and hostile police presence in Taipei surrounding Chen Yun-lin's visit.

You can read more about it in the news, and Michael Turton does a good job chronicling the developments on his blog.

Halloween

My school. 21st Century, celebrated Halloween on Wednesday. We took an hour or so to walk around the neighborhood with the kids and trick-or-treat. It sounds like fun until you consider the differences between this and actual, American-style trick-or-treating.

We were going to pre-determined locations that we had spoken to in advance and supplied with candy. This was necessary, as it was the middle of the afternoon, it wasn't actually Halloween, and because the holiday gets very little attention here except for English schools and bars that throw parties on Halloween.

Our stops included two banks, a McDonald's, a Huyndai dealership, a 7-Eleven, and a store that sold essential oils (labelled 'chemical srtore' on our itineraries.)

The fact that we had to go to these businesses, in the middle of a business day, with a gaggle of candy-hyp[ed kids in costume was bad enough, but on top of that, the kids were supposed to perform a song to the employees at each stop. I will tell you, seeing the faces of the customers, especially at the banks, was both amusing and a bit embarassing. They were not amused.

Anyweay, on to the photos. I didn't get any during the actual outing, since my costume had no pockets for my camera, and since I was told that there would be another teacher taking photos for all of us.i'll upload those to the album when I get them.











You can see more photos of Halloween, and of my school on other days, in this album.

Lunchtime

Haven't updated in a while, but I've been adding albums to my Picasa gallery. Check them out (link on right hand side of this page.)

Here's an average lunch for me. I eat with the kids at school, and we get a buffet style lunch from a local restaurant. Always Taiwanese style food. In this photo you can see my drink of choice, duo-duo green tea. It's a mix of green tea and Taiwanese sweet yogurt drink (duo duo, 多多). The fish are small somethingorother fish, and they're pregnant with thousands of eggs. A bit gross, but they tase okay. Other days I'll get more average fare such as sweet pork or fried chicken cutlets. there's always veggies and some tofu, and usually some egg and soup.

 

 

A closeup of the fish. This is why I prefer eating a small part of a big fish. as opposed to all of a small fish. Not bad, if you can get past the gore.

Couches

Nick and I got some new couches this weekend. "New" is not exatly right, as these couches were bought from a neighbor, a Canadian fellow who lives across the street from me. They're big, they're black, they're pleather. They are not new. Plenty of cracks and holes (haw) and a bit of dirt, but a lot better than the stiff, lopsided hulk we had until last week.

That thing was a pain to get out of the house. It involved lots of lifting, moderate to severe cursing, removing the hinges of our screen door, and two tall, sweaty foreigners squeezing a piece of furniture down four flights of dark steps.

Well, we got that damn thing out of there, and now we have two comforable (and surprisingly light) replacements that didn't cost but a few dollars.

We left a note saying "please take me" in English and Chinese on the old couch and chair and put them out on the street. They sat there for a few days as merely ornaments for the alrady beautiful building we live in. And then, yesterday they were mysteriously gone.

Also,I got Dad's Sling Box up and running on my TV. Now, via an internet connevted PC, I can control and watch cable TV from at&t cable in Cleveland. It's just for typhoon days, I swear.

Toxic Milk

There's been a big scare in Taiwan recently over tainted powdered milk from China. Apparently, the Chinese were cutting the milk with some other powder containing melamine, which can be toxic.

Babies were getting sick all over Asia, and the powder found its way into products produced in Taiwan, the Phillipines, and Malaysia. Some treats like chocolate and milk tea (photo below) are risky to eat right now.



I'm sick of having to worry about all of these products from China. It seems as though every few months, Chinese manufacturers cut some corner and a bunch of people get sick or die. It's difficult to keep up with all of the forbidden items, and I've been encouraged by many Taiwanese to just avoid buying anything made in mainland China. That's easier said than done, however. They make so damn many of the products I use every day. Even American brands such as Colgate are made in the depths of toxic China.