Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Thanksgiving CelebrationSSSSSS


L
ast year, Thanksgiving made me homesick. I missed my family, turkey, pumpkin pie, football, etc. This year, even though I didn't get to celebrate by sitting down with my family over a HUGE turkey, I got to celebrate for 3-days-straight with many of my "new" friends. No matter how I look at it, I have much to give thanks for!

On Thanksgiving Day (Thursday), I decided to take a small treat for my class. Thanksgiving is a day to eat traditional food... so I bought some traditional Taiwanese candies for my classmates :-) Thursday evening, in honor of the holiday and to have some fun after our mid-term exams, a bunch of friends and I went to KTV! We sang songs and danced until the wee-hours of the morning.

After going home for a 'power-nap', I returned to Taoyuan city, where the director of our graduate school treated us to a "Thank You" dinner. Not to celebrate Thanksgiving, but to thank us for our help with the Ministry of Education assessment. :-)

Saturday evening, I was lucky enough to attend our church's Thanksgiving party (an outreach event for college students.) They had planned for about 150 people, but almost twice that number showed up. Although, each person only got a taste of the turkey and pumpkin pie, it was amazing to spend time with so many friends and meet lots of new ones! Eddie, Angel, and other friends from church did a great job planning and hosting the party and service! Afterward our "service" got underway and we had a wonderful time singing, praying and GIVING THANKS together!


Chinese Bible Online!

I just found the complete Bible online and in CHINESE!

The link below takes you to the International Bible Society website. You can download the Bible in .pdf version for FREE in either Traditional or Simplified Chinese characters!


http://www.ibsstl.org/bibles/chinese/index.php


I never knew that this existed! They also have free, ready-to-download .pdf versions in 33 different languages! :-)

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Cloud Gate Dance Theater

Tuesday night Ming Chuan played host to the famous Cloud Gate Dance Theater group. It was by pure chance that I and a few of my classmates found out about the performance... a friend of a friend told someone...etc. The best part is we got our tickets for FREE the day of the performance from the international office on-campus. (Ahhh.... the perks of being a 外國人)

It was a really interesting show. I have to admit I am not a huge fan of modern interpretative dance, however, the dances were a fascinating blend of ancient Chinese dance/martial arts and contemporary modern dance. The performers and the choreography was very well done.

One other interesting note, the "mayor" of Gueishan County was in attendance and said some encouraging words before the performance. I didn't catch much of his speech, but he seemed excited to be there and very supportive of Ming Chuan University.


Moon Water Dance -
"'Energy flows as water, while the spirit shines as the moon."
This description of a Tai Chi practitioner's ideal state was the inspiration for Moon Water. Accompanied by selected compositions from J.S. Bach's cello suites, Lin Hwai-min's choreography is derived from the graceful Chinese martial arts of Tai Chi."





- Wild Cursive - 

"...a lyrical dance with its title and movement ideas inspired by Chinese calligraphy."


Monday, November 24, 2008

Breakfast sign...

I MUST remember to take my camera with me at all times! I never know what I'll see!!

This morning I noticed a calligraphy hanging in the breakfast shop where I had my coffee and "Chinese pancake". The painting was special for two reasons: 1) I could read all the characters (YAY!) and 2) the proverb struck me as being incredibly true....

"話多不如話少,話少不如話好。”

Loosely translated: "It is better to speak less, and best to speak kindly."

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Cloud Gate Dance Theater comes to Ming Chuan

Tuesday night Ming Chuan played host to the famous Cloud Gate Dance Theater group. It was by pure chance that I and a few of my classmates found out about the performance... a friend of a friend told someone...etc. The best part is we got our tickets for FREE the day of the performance from the international office on-campus. (Ahhh.... the perks of being a 外國人)

It was a really interesting show. I have to admit I am not a huge fan of modern interpretative dance, however, the dances were a fascinating blend of ancient Chinese dance/martial arts and contemporary modern dance. The performers and the choreography was very well done.

One other interesting note, the "mayor" of Gueishan County was in attendance and said some encouraging words before the performance. I didn't catch much of his speech, but he seemed excited to be there and very supportive of Ming Chuan University.


- Moon Water Dance -
"'Energy flows as water, while the spirit shines as the moon."
This description of a Tai Chi practitioner's ideal state was the inspiration for Moon Water. Accompanied by selected compositions from J.S. Bach's cello suites, Lin Hwai-min's choreography is derived from the graceful Chinese martial arts of Tai Chi."







- Wild Cursive -

"...a lyrical dance with its title and movement ideas inspired by Chinese calligraphy."




Wednesday, November 12, 2008

A Freshman Again!

I'm back to being a freshman! Ahh... the good old days, you don't really know what's going on, or what you're going to do... but it is FUN!

The best part of my entire experience so far at Ming Chuan has been my classmates! Professors come and go. Assignments get written. We prepare for exams, write papers, and soon forget most everything... but classmates (or DOTmates- more about that later) are "forever!" :-)

Since we only have a short time together we're making the best of it... click below for pictures from our class BBQ (also Mervin's bachelor party!)

classMATES

Doing the warsh...

It must be hereditary! My grandmother would always include a detailed description of when and how much laundry she did in the weekly letter she wrote (yes, hand wrote) and mailed to our family.
The good old days of postage stamps and handwritten letters might be gone, but I can still talk about doing laundry!
The "point" of this entry isn't so much the laundry, but the fact that after 14 months here in Taiwan (and 4 months living here in GueiShan) I have developed a weekly routine. Unlike the semester I spent as an exchange student, when every week was filled with traveling and exploring, this time I am "living", being immersed in Taiwan's culture and learning to live Taiwan-style.
I can now "cook" a decent meal with only hot water from my water purifier, my toaster and my coffee pot. Ok- "decent meal" might be stretching it, but instant soup, oatmeal, various toasted sandwhiches, etc. can be very satisfying-- and a good change of pace from rice!!
Back to the laundry. I must coordinate my "warsh" with the weather, because just like millions of other people I don't have a clothes dryer. During the sweltering, hot summer months this isn't too much of a problem. Just avoid the typhoons! However, Taiwan's "winter" season can be tricky. It rains for days on end, and when it does stop raining the weather is still cool and HUMID. (Emphasis on HUMID) Wet to the point that sometimes you clothes just don't dry completely. A little creativity can easily overcome this problem. For instance, last year I hung my clothes up in my bedroom and let my trusty fan blow dry them for two days. The lack of clothes dryers in "regular" households explains why finding dryer sheets is almost impossible here! :-) There are washers and dryers available at the local laundry mat-- but I am too cheap (and lazy!) to use them (especially when I can do my laundry here for "free"!) Come to think of it, clothes dryers really do waste a lot of electricity! I'm "going green"!

Doing my "warsh"


Although I don't have a clothes dryer, I do use one ingenious invention, the "spin machine". This little wonder turbo spins your clothes, wringing out the majority of the water WAY better than the washing machine OR than you could ever hope to by hand! It's also a life-saver when you only want to wash one or two pieces of clothing... those of you who know me will remember that I am prone to spilling things on myself (especially anything that will stain when I am wearing white!) Now instead of soaking, soaking, soaking clothes and waiting for laundry day, I can wash them by hand (scrubbing out those stubborn stains!) and put them in the TURBO SPINNER before hanging them out to dry! :-)

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Mid-Autumn Festival...

Click on the photo album below to see pictures of my trip to "Sun Moon Lake" and celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival in Taichung with Eddie's family. (Even though there was a typhoon, we still BBQ-ed!)

Mid-Autumn Festival & Sun Moon Lake

Morning Market...

A morning market is an experiment in barely controlled chaos. Grandmothers carrying their little granchildren and pulling shopping carts haggle with shop vendors and pick through fresh produce. The smell of fish, herbs, ripening fruit and freshly slaughtered meat mixes with the exhaust from the scooters and the aroma of breakfast shops. The melody of hawkers luring in customers, vendors and patrons bargaining and the intermittent honking of horns produces a cacophony that overwhelms and envelops you.

As I meander through the market, I'm greeted with one of two reactions: curious stares or a quick glance and dismissal- "Just another tourist, not a serious shopper. Obviously not worth my time!'

The few stalls I do stop at compliment me on my Chinese (which I know is just politeness) and ask about where I come from and what I'm doing here in Taiwan.

I make my way to the fruit vendor where I do my weekly shopping. This week fresh passion fruit is in season, so I buy a half-dozen for later. The vendor assures me they're sweet, even if they aren't I will still enjoy eating them - it's something that's rather hard to find in Michigan!

Sunday Morning Market

Field Trip to 小人國!

I really didn't get a break from school all summer as I got (had) to go to Mandarin classes! Having class all summer can be rough-- especially when all of your friends are on vacation. So we my class decided to spice things up and we did a variety of activities and took some field trips.

One of our field trips was to "Window On China" (小人國) a very eclectic park in Taoyuan County. I'd never been anyplace like it before! It was fun taking lots of silly pictures with all the mini-statues. Even better were the water rides and small amusement park in the "second" half of the park.

We made lots of good memories that day, including:

1) Small children staring at me (some of them cried when I tried to say "hello"!), but the Junior High School students were so curious! They tried to guess where we were all from (few of them guessed successfully!) But everyone said our Mandarin Teacher, Annie, was definitely from Thailand. She is Taiwanese!

2) My Korean classmate, Nancy, teaching me how to correctly imitate Buddha with the "Give me money" hand gesture!

3) Getting soaked on the log ride--- drying out in the HOT HOT HOT sun, and then going back and getting soaked again!

It was such a fun day! And definitely made having to go to school all summer bearable!

小人國

Sunday, June 1, 2008

"Sin! Sing! Swing!"

Back to Shih Hsin for the Senior Graduation English Play.
It was great to see old friends! (Even "G.I. Jeff" who got a weekend off from the army!)


Classmates (Natalie, Fanny... Lorenzo)


Handsome Guys!! Go David!! He can DANCE!!


Messing with David! I LOVE the bow tie!
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Arts & Crafts

"Arts & Crafts Day"
Thursday was the last day of the semester! Prof. Huang decided to give us an "easy" day- so she taught us how to make these beautiful Chinese-style books. (Perfect for journals... in Chinese of course! :-) Making the books essentially consists of folding lots of paper and cardboard and then sewing it all together (punching holes and cutting precisely helps too!) The hardest part is making the Chinese knot-- but even that is simple! (See here!)

The book I made in class...
(I'm keeping it for myself, sorry!)

When I showed Eddie the finished product, he seemed unusually interested. It turns out that we were invited to Ginny and Andrea's birthday party on Saturday night, so if I could just make them the same thing, it would be the perfect gift! I agreed, with one small catch-- he would have to help me make the books! Below are the finished projects. Ginny's is on the right and Andrea's is on the left. Can you guess who made which one?

Eddie made Ginny's and I made Andrea's

Saturday morning Eddie and Lisa had a class research project to do. (Very interesting, more about that later...) in the evening we all headed to TGIF's for the birthday party. It was great to see so many friends I hadn't seen in a long time! (好久不見!)and to sample some "American" food. We had a great time!




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My Roommate, the "bi hu"

I came home the other day and found out that I have
a sneaky, little new roommate, a gecko lizard!


This tiny little dragon has been living in our apartment since I got here. The first time I saw it, I was getting ready to take a nice long shower when something went scurrying across the floor in the bathroom and climbed up the wall. It froze, lurking in the corner, deciding whether to fight or flee, it's beady little eyes staring at me. Assessing the situation, I decided that while he had me on speed, I outweighed the little bugger; so I chased him out of the bathroom. I won the battle, but he won the war: it was a quick shower and I kept seeing imaginary lizards popping out of every corner.

About once a week or so, I'd see the lil' guy and we'll both run the other way. I've been assured that he's not harmful... he's actually considered a helpful house guest because he eats our mosquitoes!! I've gotten used to seeing him around, and even remained calm in the face of my baby dragon.


BUT yesterday I came home and walked into my room, and there he was, clinging to the wall over my bed. I took one look at him and told him in Chinese, "我給你一分鐘走開,好不好?或是我會打你!” Roughly translated, "I'll give you 1 minute to get out, or I'm coming after you." (I had to use Chinese as he doesn't understand English.) I came back a minute later and sure enough he was gone! Although I checked my under my covers really well before I went to sleep!



See the black speck in the corner, there's my "pet"...

Ahh, well... just another day in Taiwan! :-)

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Sunday, May 18, 2008

Chicken Dinner! (NOT ZEHNDERS!)

Sunday afternoon chicken dinner, sounds familiar... here it is Taiwan-style!



Step 1: Pick your favorite bird.



Step 2: BBQ!




Step 3: Enjoy!

*Note: That's Eddie getting ready to tuck into a truly WHOLE chicken*

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Wednesday, May 7, 2008

MOFA: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

I never miss a chance to
dress up and skip class!!! :-)

(對不起老師!)

Tuesday was a very eventful day for Eddie. In the morning he (finally) found out that he was accepted to National Chen Chi University's Master's program (International Communications). He was especially happy because 1)all the hard work he put into preparing for the test/interview paid off, and 2) he can postpone his mandatory military service until he finishes his studies (and hopefully won't be assigned as a Marine!)

At MOFA awards ceremony

We're both very amazed at the amazing way our Lord has blessed us!

Who knows what He has in store for our futures!



Eddie with the head of Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

In addition to the scholarship awards ceremony, we got to watch performances by the newly appointed MOFA officers (basically junior diplomats). It was very unexpected and delightful! It's good to know that although these professionals have very serious , high-stress jobs, they also take time to relax and enjoy different cross-cultural activities. (Pictures and video at: http://picasaweb.google.com/cardinalchica/MOFAAwardCoda )
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Sunday, May 4, 2008

GuangDu Nature Park!


Taiwan's Mandarin Test of Proficiency (TOP) was on Saturday. So EVERYBODY had get up early on a beautiful Saturday morning and go take a standardized test. This time around, I elected to take the Basic Level Test. (I passed the beginner level last fall.) The test wasn't too hard, but everyone agreed that we all needed more time to finish the grammar and reading sections!

After the test, Eddie met me at the nearest MRT station and we walked to ShiDa night market to Mary Jane's pizza for lunch. I have been craving good pizza for a while now, so it was a delicious treat after a morning of critical thinking!!


Mary Jane's pizza
(The Greek: Feta Cheese, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Olives and Green Peppers: YUM!)

After lunch, I needed to get out of the city, so Eddie and I headed for Danshui with the intention of renting bikes and biking along the river. Instead, we ended up getting off the MRT at GuangDu Station and visiting the GuangDu Birdwatching Nature Park. There weren't many birds-- early spring and late fall are peak migration times-- but we still had an enjoyable walk in the sunshine.


Scenic pond in GuangDu Nature Park.

After our walk, it was time for me to head home and take a well-deserved nap!
Just another weekend in Taipei :-)


Sunny Day!
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Friday, April 11, 2008

My 24th Birthday!!

This year I got to celebrate my birthday 4 times! Definitely a first for me! When I went home for a week in March, I had cake with my family at home. (Yum!) Annette gave me Starbucks* coffee beans and a grinder to take back to Taiwan with me-- so I should be all set with coffee for a few months!!
My birthday weekend arrived and Eddie did a really good job of surprising me! He took me to the Taipei flower market on Saturday afternoon. It was spectacular! I've never seen so many orchids in one place at once! Unfortunately, he wouldn't let me buy anything because I'll be moving to a new apartment in a few short months and it would be pointless to buy plants now!


Taipei Holiday Flower Market
That evening, I knew we were meeting some friends for dinner-- what I didn't know is that they had found a Spanish Tapas restaurant in Taipei!! It was delicious!! Really made me miss all the good food I got to eat everyday in Spain!! (Dr. Yien once told me you can find any kind of food in Taipei-- I'm starting to think he's right!) I thought the birthday celebrating was complete. But on Sunday, Eddie dragged me to the "middle of nowhere" in Taipei - a inconspicuous street and address- which just happened to be a dance studio. My birthday gift from him was a month of Salsa classes for the two of us! (We had our first lesson last week and it was a blast!)


Tapas (jamón serrano & queso)


My birthday cake (I LOVE the "??"s!)
As if that wasn't enough, my classmates surprised me with cake and 'champagne' (really lemon green tea) on Monday! We had a great time singing "Happy Birthday" in different languages!

Party with my classmates!
I'm really grateful for the thoughtfulness of all my friends here! I had a WONDERFUL birthday!

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Monday, April 7, 2008

Green Island Spring Break Adventure!





Last week I had my first visit to a real tropical Island. Kay, Lorenzo, David, Eddie and I went to Green Island, about a 45 min. ferry ride from the south-east coast of Taiwan. We had a wonderful time exploring Taidong and Green Island.


We spend a day in Taidong County enjoying being in "country". Our hotel in Taidong included a hot spring/spa area. So we relaxed in the hot springs in the morning and again before bed. We visited a pre-history museum that introduced ancient archaeological sites in Taidong. We also visited Taiwan's most famous dairy farm-- it reminded me of spending summers in Wisconsin. :-) Finally, I got to eat yet another exotic fruit called a "shi jia" -- or Buddha's Head fruit-- I'd never seen anything like it before, but my translator says its English name is a "sugar apple"??!!??





(Picture compliments of Ian Maguire at http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/fruitproducts_sw.htm)



The ferry ride to Green Island on Thursday was an adventure! There was strong wind, rain, and the sea was pretty choppy. Fortunately, we'd all taken motion sickness medicine, so we had fun getting wet and flying over the rolling waves! Thursday afternoon, I got to go snorkeling for the first time in my life, and it was incredible. Seeing the fish and coral reef was exactly like on the Discovery Channel only much better in person!! After snorkeling we relaxed in natural salt water hot springs while enjoying the beautiful scenery and listening to the pounding surf.

The last day of our vacation, we took our scooters and drove around the island, stopping to take pictures and enjoy scenic spots. Before long it was time to board the ferry and head back to Taiwan, then take the train to Taipei. It was an amazing trip that I'll never forget... and maybe someday I'll go back again!

Pictures of our trip are online at:
Green Island

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Ming Chuan's 51st Anniversary!

Happy 51st Anniversary MCU!


This week was crazy! After a great week at home, I left Michigan on Monday afternoon. I arrived back in Taiwan late Tuesday night and had normal class on Wednesday... then on Thursday we had a "field trip!"

Thursday was Ming Chuan University's 51st Anniversary, so since no one else had to go to class- we decided to practice our Chinese in the "real world"-- A.K.A. attend MCU's birthday party!



Quen and I decided to embarass the tuxedo boys!





All of my classmates (minus the only boy Michael).
6 nationalities represented!!


And I can never make fun of Eddie for being a "cheerleader" again. (Well.... yes, I still can ;-) But it turns out that "cheerleading" in Chinese can also mean like a hip-hop dance squad/aerobatic team. Somewhat more "manly" than what I had pictured! Each of MCU's departments put together a different act for the annual cheerleading competition. I was really impressed by how creative their themes and costumes were! It's great to see that kind of school spirit!
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Thursday, February 21, 2008

Happy Lantern Festival! 元宵節快樂!

Falling just on the heels of Chinese New Year is the Lantern Festival.
One Saturday afternoon in between going to the park for some exercise and going to the grocery store, Eddie and I stumbled up this local exhibit for 元宵節!


Because it's the year of the rat, Mickey Mouse & friends are extra popular!

No resemblance there!?!?!

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National Palace Museum...

First off, it's never a good idea to visit a museum on an empty stomach. You'll be too busy thinking about your next meal to enjoy the art!

Taiwanese sausages...


"Where are the buns?" you may ask...
The larger white "sausages" are actually made from rice (duh!),
when sliced in half they take the place of what we normally think of as a bun.

Visiting the National Palace Museum is always a pleasure. The collection contains so many fine artifacts that it can be overwhelming, but the newly renovated museum makes the collection much more accessible. Unfortunately, photography is prohibited inside the museum (understandably as many of the art is over 1,000 years old!). If you have time I suggest renting the digital headset with prerecorded guide and exploring the museum on your own. I was not impressed with the English-language tour. *TIP* Visiting the museum on a weekday morning is your best bet to avoid large crowds!

For more information about the museum click here!
This is one of the most famous artifacts in the NPM.It's so impressive because the artist used the natural color of the jade
to carve a very realistic looking Chinese cabbage.

(Photo courtesy of NPM http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/collection/selections_01.htm?pageno=3&catno=12)

In addition to many wonderful examples of Chinese art the museum also regularly hosts visiting exhibits of art from different parts of the world. You never quite know what you'll find!

Pictures in front of the National Palace Museum.
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