My Taiwan Adventure

So yesterday was a national holiday for the Moon and I went to Danshui for the first time! It's a large port city. I got to see the famous Dutch fort San Domingo, the old British Consulate office, and walked around the Old Streets. I tried iron eggs and a-gei. They were both interesting but not my favorites: "Iron eggs (鐵蛋) are eggs which have been repeatedly stewed in a mix of spices and air dried. The resulting eggs are dark brown, chewy and, about half its initial size. The famous Iron eggs store is Grandma's Tiedan (阿婆鐵蛋) - 135 Zhongzheng Road (Old Street). A-Gei (阿給) are deep fried tofu that have been stuff with flavoured crystal noodles and sealed with fish paste (surimi). It is often served with a spicy sauce. Many places serve this, but one of the original A-Gei restaurants is on Zhenli St. (真理街) - the last one on the right as you walk up this steep, narrow street." Wikipedia   I'll upload pictures later when I have more time on the computer! It was...

This weekend I had my first ever typhoon! I was SO excited. I wanted rain and wind and thunderstorms and blackouts, and a nice relaxing day indoors. (Plus a day off on Monday) But... in Taipei it didn't happen. I guess the mountains surrounding the city kept us from most of the damage. I got to see some rain and some winds. So I'm a little disappointed on that account.   The South really got it bad and it created a LOT of damage, so I feel really sorry for them. Here's the story in our newspaper if you want to read more. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2010/09/20/2003483316 Other than that, I feel really swamped, because I want to do a good job, especially now that I only have to go to one school. There's just a lot to be done. EEEK! But anyways, it's looking nasty outside and I should be going home before it starts raining!!!

(Written Weeks Ago) So today I encountered a brand new English teacher from America, and, because of him, I'm reminded why we are sometimes called "foreign devils" here. It's because for some people egocentrism gets in the way of cultural sensitivity. This guy was telling a story to a group of English teachers wherein he saw a lizard fall out of a Taiwanese lady's umbrella and into her shirt. She tries to get the lizard out frantically, and this guy's reaction was to stop and laugh . So he tells this story and ends it saying that she now gives him an evil look every time she sees him, but he feels no remorse because, "It was funny." Now I can't help but get really annoyed at hearing this, because laughing out loud at someone's discomfort is rude in American culture as well as Taiwanese. A mature person should know better, and as a brand new foreigner to the island a little sensitivity and respect for Taiwanese people is a must. In Taiw...

So this happened not last weekend, but a few weekends ago. My computer has been fussy so I couldn't get the pictures up till now. Albert and I went to the Picasso- Manet Art Exhibit in Taipei. It was pretty good! I love going to art exhibits! Right now my hair is CRAZY. It's so thick and poofy on tip and on the bottom layers it's still super straight from when I got it permanently done. After the museum we discovered only the best bookstore: Caves Books! There were a lot of English books about language learning- learning English or Chinese. I bought one on teaching a second language to children. This sculpture was on the way to the museum. It's for the Taipei Flora Exhibition. Every year there's a big show all about flowers. It's going to be awesome!!! Peace out!

My battery fried the motherboard so I don't know when I'll be able to have regular access to a computer again. Albert might let me use his under supervision. :fingers crossed: I'm not really trustworthy with electronics. Love to everyone, Rachel

I've been taking Chinese class Tuesdays and Thursdays 7-9pm and it's awesome!! Learning a lot! :)