Monday, December 26, 2011

Christmas in Beitou 北投的聖誕節

We've just had our first Christmas in the house in Beitou 北投. Wow. It couldn't have been more different from every other Christmas we've ever had!

5:30 AM. The alarm goes off. Get up, get dressed, meet Santa Claus... no, wait. Check that. Actually, we went down to the pick-up point a few blocks away to join Baba and Mama to go to the memorial.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

A Couple of Hours of Daylight 還有一點日光

It's so easy to put off self care in favor of busyness. There's always something more to do. You can write one more email or look up one more thing for that project. You can clean something...because something always needs cleaning! But we need more than just to get things done.

Today, we realized that this week's One Day Of Good Weather was getting away from us! Why? We'd been busy. Right.

Ping said: "We have only a couple of hours of daylight left, not really much time to do anything. Should we just go take a walk?" Yeah, let's go. We grabbed jackets and headed out the door. Ping laughed because, as usual, we had no idea where we were going.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Progressive Dinner, Beitou Market-Style 漸進式的晚餐

Since we've chosen not to buy (and store) an artificial tree, we decided the only way to hang ornaments was to string them up. Somewhere. Mark stretched some speaker wire between hooks that he screwed into a couple of the bits of wood in the house, but we still had to get something with which to hang the ornaments themselves. Yarn would be just the thing. Sure. In Beitou 北投? Hey, let's go take a look!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

The Eye of the Beholder 仁者見仁

We walked home from grocery shopping at Carrefour 家樂福 tonight, heading back up the hill in the gathering dusk. Cool wind rushed down the street and tried to slip its fingers inside the jackets we never thought we'd wear in Taiwan台灣. Dark clouds scudded across the deepening gray sky and muted silver wisps of mist touched down and lifted back off of the heavily wooded mountains ahead of us. Ping and I both carried backpacks filled with yummy food, including our delicious biendang便當 for tonight's dinner. It was another good evening in a good life! We talked about how much we love all the different things we've been through: Christmas holidays in the Wallowa Mountains, trips to Lake Tahoe, and now our new home in Beitou北投.

It's all about appreciation. Whatever is right in front of us is what it is, of course, but how we approach it--how we see it--determines how we experience it.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Take the Long Way [From] Home

A few weeks ago, we started walking a lot longer, as we mentioned in other posts. It all started with Mark's Thanksgiving Day 10 km trek over the hill (hey, whaddya know: Mark is over the hill!) to go to Alice and YuChi's house in Zhuwei竹圍.

You never know what you'll run into. This is Mark's sketch of one of the spots on the route where he simply ran out of pavement and had to hope he could find the hidden path that threaded through the woods.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

A Different Perspective

Mark is known for his love of mountains, trees, rocks, water and sky, and solitude. Recently, he had an experience which gave him a new perspective. Stuff like this happens in Taiwan. We'll let him tell it. Thanks to Ping for the real Chinese names for these places!

Flora and More-a (Flora)

Mark has observed that there are two things the Taiwanese love above all. Number One is food, and they talk about it incessantly. No, seriously: incessantly, as in "without pause or interruption." You can join pretty much any conversation between any two or more Taiwanese simply by blurting out "How chi ma?" (Is it good food?) There is a 96.3% chance that you've asked a perfectly legitimate question at exactly the right moment. The other 3.7% of the time, you'll get a really good laugh. Mark does this all the time. The Taiwanese don't just talk about food, though, they eat it every chance they get. And they will talk about food with their mouths full! In fact, they will go to a restaurant and eat one food while talking about another food as the flat screen TV in the corner plays some cooking show about a totally different food.

But since Mark isn't Taiwanese, this post is about something else. (Besides food? Ping wonders what that might be...)

Friday, November 25, 2011

It's In The Bag - 非女人專屬

Mark has always loved backpacks. Every time we went into an REI or visited The North Face outlet, Mark had to check out the backpack section. Over the last ten years, he's gone through five or six backpacks, but he was always looking for the next great configuration. The standing joke with Mark and backpacks was: "Honey, I don't have one this size...!"

When we arrived in Taiwan, it became immediately apparent that the temperature and humidity levels made wearing a backpack hot and uncomfortable.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Look Who's Here! 老朋友

When we lived in Portland, we happened upon these various characters who became so dear to us, we had to bring them with us to California. They lived on top of our refrigerator. Though we pared down a lot of other stuff, these particular personalities had to come with us. Yesterday, we opened another box, and there they were! They've come with us all the way to Taiwan.

Mark's socks appear normal at first glance, but what lurks inside?

Monday, November 14, 2011

Top Ten Taiwanese Traffic Rules - Human Powered 台灣交通規則

We recently published Mark's list of the Top Ten Traffic Rules here. Marcos Del Aguila suggested that the rules for human-powered traffic might be different. Indeed, they are!! Here are Mark's Top Ten Taiwanese Traffic Rules for Humans/Human Powered Vehicles:

10. There is no "right of way." It's not right of way, it's "right away." If you do it right away, it's done. He who gets there first wins, whether his power source is flesh and bone or a reciprocating engine. This also applies to dogs.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Alishan Maple - Art Within Limitations 八色挑戰

We've been working on learning to live well, whatever our current conditions may be. I [Mark] have been learning to work with fewer tools. I'm used to having a "studio" with a nice, big easel, and many colors of soft pastels at my fingertips. Most of those things are still packed in boxes, and I no longer have a dedicated room for a studio. (Plus, why should I have lights on in another room when there's plenty of room where Ping's already sitting with the lights on? Hmmm....not very "green.")

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Convenience Store 便利商店

With a bit of research, Ping figured out how to buy event tickets online. While that process is relatively recognizable, paying for and picking up the tickets can be a bit different here in Taiwan. Here, if you like, you can also go to the local 7-Eleven.

Really? Really.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Top Ten Taiwanese Rules of the Road 台灣十大路規

I think anytime you go to a different country, you get the immediate impression that "these drivers are wackos!" In time, though, you learn the local driving rhythm and flow, and you figure out how to fit in. I (Mark) am lucky that I grew up in Ecuador where drivers were borderline homicidal, so I have figured out crazy driving patterns before. Since I am not driving these days, I get to observe a lot more. Here are the Top Ten Taiwanese Rules of the Road as observed from the passenger seat and as a pedestrian.

10. There is always room for one more; it doesn't matter if we're talking about lane splitting scooters or how many trucks can turn left after the light turns red. If you can squeeze an ant in there sideways, someone is trying to jam a scooter in next to it. Heck, someone's trying to squeeze a BUS in there!

Monday, October 31, 2011

Yangmingshan with the 523, and a Night Market to Boot! 陽明山與夜市

Two hikes in the same week! Hurrah!

While we were still in the States, we found a hiking and mountaineering club in Taipei that goes by the name "523 Mountaineering Association." They have a Facebook group you can join. Of course, we joined it! Right away we got invitations to various hikes. They do about one a month. Ping remembered it and we made a point of going on this last one to Yangmingshan National Park. Sunday looked kind of iffy, weather-wise, but again...let's go take a look!

Friday, October 28, 2011

This is Our Backyard! 後院

We want to get this up as quickly as possible, so we may update it later. We just wanted you to get an idea, as we are, just how cool it is to live right at the base of Da Tun Shan, the mountain that dominates the skyline in Beitou.

In the true spirit of "Let's Go Take a Look," Ping said, "You feel like going for a hike today?" YES! It took us a bit to decide what to wear, what to bring with us, etc. We haven't been able to take a real hike for MONTHS so it's been a long time. Plus, we're in Taiwan. How different should that be from any other hike?

Monday, October 24, 2011

All Our Stuff! ...and a Kitchen! 東西到了,廚房也來了

We've been very busy, so busy I've not had time to post. The good news is...OUR STUFF MADE IT HERE! Oh, and the other good news is...OUR KITCHEN IS IN! Wow. For us, this is huge.
We had a string of beautiful days, no rain, cool temps: very nice. Then when the day came to get all of our boxes from the States delivered, it got cloudy! Mark worried about the boxes getting soaked at the last minute. Mold is a real issue here. Amazingly, the rain started up after everything was safely inside the house! This is one more example of how this trip has been. So many things have "just worked out." Not everything has, but many things have!

Saturday, October 22, 2011

IKEA in Taiwan 台灣的宜家

Amazingly, we have IKEA in Taiwan. We've been looking for storage--a BIG DEAL in a small space--and trying to come up with something that is good enough quality, decent price and flexible enough to work for us. It came back to IKEA. Since we don't want to spend the money on custom furniture, modular will be our next best bet.

So we've spent hours and hours doing the design work and the math to see which systems will work best for us. Imagine trying to put together a house in Swedish, Chinese and English! We get a bit slap happy after awhile.

"Are you still talking about Billy or is this Besta?"
"Besta? No, this one is Balståd."
"Ballstud?"
"Well, it was either that or Dombås, right?"
"Dumbass? I don't remember that one. Weren't we just looking at Stoûpud?"
"No, the Stoûpud system didn't have the doors we like."
"Oh, right...how about this one from Rëddikulis?"

In the end, we'll probably go with Sumfriggen or Hunohswat...

Wish us luck.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Finding Our Way Around 找路

If you look at a map, you'll see that Beitou is on the north side of Taipei. In fact, it literally means "North Head."

(Yeah, we know: "Toe" = "Head." Go figure. Also, a "Shoe" here is actually a "Tree." "Poo Boo" has nothing to do with having a lousy Halloween; it means "Waterfall.")

Back to the original point: we're learning how to get around on public transportation and on foot. The good maps are all in Chinese.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Wonders Underfoot 新地板

It's amazing what a new floor can do for a house! When we arrived at the house in Beitou, we spent hours mopping up concrete dust from the original floor.


This is what the original floor looks like. You can see where the cement guys working on the walls didn't totally clean up the floor. The floor itself is ground down with a machine that almost nobody has anymore. To take care of this floor, you have to wax it, apparently. Everyone we talked to said it was so outdated no one knew how to properly maintain it.
Hobbit feet for relative size reference. (Which relative, we wonder...)

Thursday, October 13, 2011

New Use for a Bear Canister 舊物新用

When we were packing to come to Taiwan, we sold off a lot of stuff, including Mark's beloved (if lightly used) ice axe, our snowshoes (<sob!>), our camping chairs and our two burner camping stove. Little did we know how handy all but the ice axe and snowshoes would be during our first weeks in the new house!
One of the items we actually didn't part with was our bear canister! We picked up a "Bear Vault" a couple of years ago because we were going in and out of Yosemite, Lake Tahoe and Sequoia/Kings Canyon a lot, and needed something to keep our food safe. It's got a clever lid that bears can't open, even with four-inch claws, and it locks the scent of food inside very effectively. Since we still had it after all the boxes were packed, Ping suggested we bring it in the luggage. Okay. But what kind of bears would we find in Beitou?

Garbage Night Update! 垃圾夜(續)

We did another garbage run last night and learned something from the tall, friendly guy in No. 9 across the street.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Garbage Night Meets the NFL! 垃圾夜

Garbage Night Meets the NFL

Tonight! Live from Beitou, Taiwan… Let’s Go Take A Look Productions brings you…
GARBAGE NIGHT!




Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Registered Marriage in Beitou 婚姻註冊

The doorbell rings. Who should get it? That's kind of moot at this point since Mark doesn't yet know enough Mandarin to say more than "Dung yi shya!" which means "Just a minute" and then go get Ping.

So when the doorbell rang around noon today, Ping answered it. Turned out to be a nice lady on a scooter. She delivered the special marriage gift we were promised when we registered our marriage the day after we arrived here. Special, indeed!

Monday, October 10, 2011

How does it work?? 怎麼用呀

Michael Olsen was wondering how the washer worked.

It's self-explanatory. Just read the labels...

(That's what Ping says, anyway.)

Got it.

Halloween in Taiwan 台灣的萬聖節

Ping's parents took us out to dinner to celebrate Double Ten with her older brother Terence last night. There's a nice Japanese restaurant right next to their place in Zhuwei. We took the bus to the MRT which drops us off right across the street.

This pumpkin is an example of how Taiwanese celebrate Halloween.

It says: "Attract fortune, enter treasure." They put it in front of the door to the restaurant.

How interesting to contrast this with the phrase "Trick or Treat!"

And here's our Halloween treat! Mark "zinged" himself pretty well with the wasabi--and loved it!

Baba, xie xie! ("Thanks, Dad!")

Art Happens! 隨手畫

It's been awhile since I've drawn anything besides room dimensions and furniture layouts. Today, I finally sat down with a sketchbook and started drawing again.

The trees in Taiwan are so interesting! Everywhere we go, we see gnarled, bumpy, draping, broadleaf trees that just fire the imagination. I have wanted to draw Taiwanese trees since we went hiking on our last visit.

I'll draw some from life when I get a chance; there's a nice park with plenty of them not far from our house. In the meantime, it was great to do one from my impressions so far.

To me, this attempt is a bit closer to the wonderful Alan Lee trees which I've aspired to emulate for so long!

--Mark

Random Shots of the New House in Beitou 北投的家



Folks have been asking for pictures of the house. Well, it's definitely a work in progress. Here's a quick sampling. As you can tell, it's a holiday here, and Mark's taking it a bit more slowly today.

We got there around midnight, came straight from the airport. I opened the luggage, took out my camera and...Why is everything so foggy?... oh, yeah...It's Taiwan!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Beitou Flyover for Double Ten 雙十國慶

I forgot to include the pictures of the Double Ten flyover from this morning! I was able to get the camera out quickly enough to catch a few shots!

Like I said, the mosquitoes here are awesome!

Hello, from Beitou! 大家好 - 從北投問安

Hi, all! Folks have been asking us if we're going to start a blog on our adventures in Taiwan. We've been saying "yes" for awhile now... We're finally getting started!

It's been quite a ride so far!