Ya live... ya learn

Sunday- February17th- 1p.m.

It has been threatening to rain all day... so Pei and I decided to stay close to the hotel. The Lamb Restaraunt was close and the food there wasn't bad... also we have to be ready to leave for the tour so we couldn't afford to get lost today... HOWEVER... That's where the where the story gets interesting. Since I didn't want to have the same thing twice. Pei and I ordered Lamb and Melon. Sadly, there was alot to be said for my preconcieved notions of what I was about to partake of. Never the less we waited until our meal had been prepared and placed in to go boxes. I had to wonder what this would taste like, because to me melon is a sweet thing... so... we took our lunch back to the hotel room. Of course Pei was willing to guard it because it was lamb and that is tasty. Never the less we opened our treasure and at first glance were intrigued but not alarmed. At first bite I realised that this was made with what is called bitter melon. It gave the dish a kind of bite kinda like cold strong coffee, but not quite flavored that way. I mixed it with the rice unwilling to rule a food out just because it was a little out of my comfort zone. The next threat to my comfort zone occurred when after the third time of

coming acrossed something not really flavored except kinda briney but both rubbery and crunchy at the same time. I had cleaned off the first small bit so digging some more out,. As I was putting more on my plate, I took a good look at the colors and textures. The bitterness of the dish had already ruled out a repeat performance. Then I found these little devils... I began to laugh really hard and then finished my plate before it all sunk in. You can't see it very well in the picture but they are little fish... heads and all. Not unlike an anchovy, but certainly not as strong in flavor... oh and they were crunchy. In my head the first rule of any cultures cuisine is that they eat it and it doesn't kill them so I'll live. However, eating like a native here is NOT for the timid! Again, I did finish my plate, but sadly I did not finish the whole take out box. Tried it Kept it down- sounds like a success to me. I don't think that it is something I would try again. Not so much because the fishies had their heads but more so because the bitter melon did not have a flavor I liked. Pei didn't seem so willing to guard it after all. Maybe the stuffed lion has more wisdom then I give him credit for. Well, can't say I am not willing to try something. However, pray for me... it sounds like I am gonna need it.
Love,
Heather

My Breakfast Faux Pas

Well, it would seem I made my first slip in the OH I shouldn't have eaten that column. Apparently, the sauce on the Chilli Bean Curd was a wheat product... hrm... but after spending most of the morning recovering from THAT... I have booked a tour of the city this afternoon. Pei and I took our morning tea in the hotel room. But I am feeling better now and am having some coffee. Then thought I would share this.

Of course THIS gives me a chuckle. and while I am not entirely sure what Love milk is but strangely it tastes like fresh milk and it is heavy on the cream factor. YOU JUST can't get milk like this at home unless you go to a farm. Its really good. However, the name is once again a tribute to the strangely-almost english- product names and advertisements. It served to amuse me. Hope you got a kick out of it too! More Later-

Love,

Heather

A message from Pei- Night Market Fun

I waited for my turn to use the computer. Now, I get to tell you all about the rest of our day!

After a nap, it was time to go back out exporing. We went out and about to see the sites and sounds of Taipei at night! Here is a picture of Heather and I out shopping. It was kinda crazy because there were so many people. Taipei has a population of 2,630,872 people, so you see it really is a large city. There are lots of signs that are written in Mandrin and some that are in English. Sometimes, though the english doesn't make much sense to people who speak English every day. Like this sign for shoes. Which says Fancy Holiday... There are lots of signs and shirts which say things in English just to be in English even if they don't make much sense.

After our trip to the market it was time for dinner. It was pretty easy to figure out what they were selling. They sell goat and lamb. They even have goat horns in the window on display. Which doesn't bother a lion like me. Not sure Michael would like it though. We got our dinner to go and I could hardly wait to dig in because Lamb and green onions didn't sound too bad to me. It smelled really good too. I even got a good sniff from inside the bag. So, I was all ready to have dinner and get ready for bed. It has been a really long day and tomorrow afternoon Heather and I will be going on a city tour. That should be fun and we will have to tell you all about it. *yawn* its time for good little lions to be asleep.

So good night-

Love,

Pei

Marcus here

Just a quick note to say that we've had a good time here so far, and all is well. I taught class today, and had 15 students. There is a real range of background and experience among the students, so class is interesting. For lunch we went to a Japanese place, and I had tempura (flash fried vegetables and seafood).

This evening, Heather and I (and Pei) went to the Shida Night Market. Heather got some cool photos to show this very densely packed, very Chinese location. We'll probably make it to she Guaxi Night Market later this week -- also known as Snake Alley. It's right next to the Longshan Temple, so we'll go there first, and then go get a foot massage at the Night Market. Lots of fun things for us to do here, but first, I have another full day of teaching tomorrow. So we're having a late dinner of Lamb with green onions, and noodles, and then it is bed time!

A Message from Pei- Cool things

Breakfast time!!! Yummy! There are all kinds of foods here in Taiwan, some of them Michael would eat and some he might not like so well. For breakfast we had: Scrambled Eggs, Fried Rice, Grapes, Grapefruit and Cabbage. Do you think you would like any of these things? I liked the scrambled eggs- yummy!

After breakfast it was time for Marcus to go teach, so he left us

to go do that- Wave bye! He will be back later today after he teaches his new Master Degree students. Then tonight we will go to something called a night market. Do you think they sell Nights there?

After Marcus left Heather and I had to decide what to do... We looked out over the city and it was huge. But we took off for a walk and decided that we would need some snacks for later and it would be nice to go get some lunch. Before we left though we accidently scared the lady who came to make our bed. She was very sweet though. So... we went off to get some lunch. I was hopping for a nice big steak... instead.. we got TEA EGGS... with seaweed... hrmmm... We tried them and they were pretty good But I think I would have rather had a steak. We walked 2 miles around the city and went to the family market and the wellcome market. We got sugar and milk and cornflakes and cookies and because it is still part of the Lunar New Year celebration and the Lantern festival we got a special rice cake to celebrate. I haven't eaten any of it, but I sure hope its better than tea eggs. Heather liked them but she doesn't think Michael would. I think I would agree with Michael! We also got Seaweed Sushi potato chips (yuck what is with Heather and seaweed today?) THEN, we got chips ahoy chocolate chip cookies, which Heather says Marcus and Michael like alot. I have to agree with them! Good thing we didn't find any seaweed cookies. All in all though we saw LOTS of scooters... and some really cool things! (just not the tea eggs)

Greetings all and happy lunch time!!!

It is lunchtime- Saturday Feb 16th-

Marcus is in class so you get to hear about MY morning adventures. I have been out and about today learning as much as I can about my surroundings so that I am not relying on the kindness of others to get me back to the hotel. Perhaps not surprisingly, several people were happy to practice their English on me. The housekeeper in particular was very friendly, but that may have been because I scared her.

Lunch today was a coke, a banana and two seaweed wrapped tea eggs, which aren't bad. The flavors of the foods here are already very different. So, I got "lunch" from a little "cafe" down the street. Incidentally, lunch was 40 dollars Taiwan i.e. about $1.26. The largest part of that was the coke at $30.

I have learned the symbols which mean wheat. Allergy labels are in red at the bottom of the products. So I look for my little symbols at the bottom to know if I can eat that or not. At breakfast there were dishes called sweetened gluten. Doesn't that sound like something yummy;) It was interesting, but not something I was willing to do. I figured lunch could be more exciting, but lets start breakfast easy.

Anyway, while I was out, I also stopped in at "family mart" which ALSO had tea eggs... so not an entirely uncommon food. At the little store I got coke, which tastes really great though not quite the same as in the states. I also picked up sugar. I am perfectly fine with tea in the mornings, but I am not a tea purist and tea without sugar is not something I savor. Refined sugar is available readily, however, don't look for the fine granular stuff you have at home. Its kinda like rock sugar. Oh and forget the salt shaker, you can request salt, but it comes like sea salt and the grind it for you like pepper.

Today, I have learned that:
Ni Hao- means hello (pronounced knee how)
Bu Ke Chi means you are welcome (pronounced boo kay chee)
Xie, Xie means thank you (pronounced shay shay)
mayo wen ti means no problem or its ok (pronounced mayo when tie)

The last one was a good one to know when the maid came in and found me at the desk. She said that she was sorry several times. I had at least that phrase in my arsenal of badly spoke Mandrin to use. Never the less, tea egg now eaten and coke now drank, its time to get back out and about. Tonight, we are going to go to the Night Market and see what treasures we can find.
So, more later.

A Message from Pei- We've Arrived

We made! Although, Heather looks a little pale and was kinda air sick, but, we made it safe and sound... Its nighttime here, but they tell me that its lunchtime back at home... but as for me I think its time for some sleep