I wake up at 9am most days. It’s cold at night now and there is no central heat in most apartments. I use two portable heaters (used, found on Tealit) to heat my bedroom and living space. I get up, have some hot tea, make my lunch (usually a chopped salad and fruit). NOTE: my two new favorite fruits are the rose apple and passionfruit. I shower, dress, and get ready to leave. Often that means I am packing all sorts of stuff (lunch, stuff I have to take to work, workout clothes for after work). I have to leave two windows open for ventilation and am out the door. I walk downstairs and to the little store next to the temple where they make me a mocha protein shake and fill a GIANT pitcher with guarana tea. Then, depending on the weather, I either walk 17 minutes to work, or take the 235 to the Anhe street stop. At work, I hit the ground running – there is ALWAYS something going on, not always strictly related to work! I take a lunch break maybe once a week. Today one other vegetarian and I went to the “Green House” on Heping where I had a vegetable soup, pesto rice (yum!), and roselle tea (made with some flowers I have yet to identify but turns the water a lovely deep ruby color and tastes a bit sour). Total for lunch: 209 NT (<7USD). After work, I go to yoga, eat dinner (mostly I fix something on the one-burner stove) and then relax (read, watch TV, play Words with Friends). On the weekends I sleep in, shop, do laundry (when it’s humid outside it can take DAYS to dry), clean the apartment, and dream of warmer weather…
Daily life….
08 Jan 2012 Leave a comment
in Daily Life, Taipei Tags: chopped salad, daily schedule, rose apple, tealit, weekend schedule
Christmas in Taipei
21 Dec 2011 Leave a comment
in Daily Life, Taipei, Taiwan Tags: Christmas, Christmas tree, holiday, LED lights, made in Taiwan
I finally got all my packages and cards mailed out last week; lord, I hope they make it safely to their intended recipients! People here are so trusting. I have no doubt the packages will make it across the water. I am, however, worried about what happens to them once they land stateside (that’s a sad state of affairs, isn’t it). The postage was outrageous, but then again, the packages are travelling 10,000 miles and I had them insured. I carefully selected the gifts – all made in Taiwan. The Taiwanese pride themselves on their workmanship. And their pride is well-placed; it’s amazing to see how much care goes into even the simplest of items. I was invited to a co-worker’s house for a Christmas Eve party and to Yingge for Christmas day. It’ll definitely be a different celebration this year…
I found a live Christmas tree, all bundled up in the florist shop across from the bus stop. I wrapped my arms around it and breathed its smell in. Ah, such a lovely scent! I made the mistake of asking the price….are you ready for this? 20,000NT, the shoplady said with a straight face. That translates into nearly 700USD – for one 6’tree that won’t last one month. Yikes! Instead, I went to the “everything” store and purchased a small fake white tree and some LED lights (both made in Taiwan). Total cost: less then 500 NT (18USD)! I can still smell the spendy pine when I turn the LEDs on…
Merry Christmas 2011
Thanksgiving in Taipei
24 Nov 2011 1 Comment
in Daily Life, Travel Tags: Anhe, fruit basket, post office, Thanksgiving
As you might guess, it’s just another workday for us here in Taiwan; at least the sun is shining! Also, very few people have an oven so no turkey this year! I think Wellcome had some whole turkeys for sale last week but I walked right on past. (I haven’t had turkey in years, seeing as I’m vegetarian but still, it’s the thought.)
When I got home yesterday, a note (in Chinese, of course) appeared in my mailbox. On my way to work this morning I stopped by the 106 post office on Anhe and showed them the note. I was made to understand that something from meiguo (may-goo-ow), America, was sent to me. Apparently, whatever it was, was on a truck out for delivery so the clerk called the driver and had the delivery guy return to the post office. Such great customer service! Turned out to be a wonderful basket of dried fruit from my parents. What great timing! I took the basket to work to put on the “feeding” table and sent the following message (a co-worker composed it) in Chinese:
我的家人從加州寄了一份水果籃要和大家分享，感恩節快樂！My family sent a fruit basket from California to share with everyone! Happy Thanksgiving!
Needless to say, it was devoured by my hungry co-workers (and me)! A happy day indeed!
Thanks Mom and Dad!
A slice of antique HEAVEN!
19 Nov 2011 Leave a comment
in Daily Life, Shopping Tags: antiques, Community Services Center, Guting MRT, hat box, hat stand, Roosevelt, wooden box, wool hat
I was talking with one of the volunteers from the Community Services Center charity auction about antiques and how I enjoy hunting for antiques back home and had yet to see any actual antique stores/malls/estate sales/ secondhand stores here. She told me about a place on Roosevelt that was known for it’s great selection and low prices on antiques. I’d been meaning to go and finally today I did.
It was raining lightly when I hopped on the 235 and got off at the Guting MRT. I didn’t know the name of the store, only that I was to turn right onto Roosevelt off of Heping and look for a green and yellow building I couldn’t miss. From looking at a map I knew that Roosevelt was the main street adjacent to the Guting MRT but when I double-confirmed (Taiwanese-speak for double-checked) on my phone’s GPS, I didn’t see the name “Roosevelt” where I’d expected to. Hmmmm, now what? I used a life line and called a friend. Turns out I was on the right track, I just needed to cross the street and look for a storefront with “old stuff” out on the sidewalk. And then, there it was!
Wow! I felt like I’d just won the asian antiques lottery: two floors of room after room of every imaginable item. Furniture, pottery, masks, artwork – each one more strange and wonderful than the last! The icing on the cake was that the super friendly staff spoke English. And when I used the hackneyed ” is possible be cheaper a little” phrase in Chinese, the owner laughed, pointed to a sign (“one-price” store she told me) and then offered a 10% discount. Sweet! That’s certainly better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick! I ended up with a Japanese hatbox (complete with a gorgeous black wool hat), a “crystal” ball + stand, a gorgeous handmade wooden box with red and gold painted design, and what looks like an aluminum funnel with a old-fashioned corkscrew on top – to be used as a hat stand.
this is so "me"
Ahhhh, I don’t even know the name of the store but I know I’ll be back!
Morocco in Taipei?
07 Nov 2011 2 Comments
in Daily Life, Foreign Food, Travel Tags: eggplant, mint tea, Moroccan cuisine, Morocco, north Africa, pita, tagines, Tajin
As one of my co-workers and I walked home on Friday after work we took a wrong turn trying to avoid the traffic headed towards Keelung, and, as often happens, it turned out to be a serendipitous detour. We had intended to eat dinner at Swenson’s (I can’t tell you anything about it because we never made it there). Instead, we saw a brightly lit store front with exotic lettering: Tajin, Moroccan Cuisine. It looked intriguing (and for some reason I thought it might be something close to mediterranean food) so with visions of lentil soup and tabbouleh, we went in. The walls are painted bright white with niches holding colorful Morrocan cookware: tiny jewel-colored glasses encased in silver with ornate silver lids, and ornate traditional tagines (or tajin).
Moroccan Tea Glasses
who wouldn't love a meal made in one of these?
There were only two other groups of diners so we had our choice of tables. I was surprised when the ladies bringing us water and menus didn’t look Taiwanese!
The menu looks appealing although there were only a few vegetarian options – and all had onion or garlic listed as an ingredient (not good options for me). After the waitress went to ask for the chef’s recommendation, he came out and I explained my dietary needs. He graciously offered to leave the onion out of the veggie tagine and suggested an eggplant appetizer.
who knew eggplant could taste this good?
Both were simple dishes, served with fluffy pita-like (not sure if that is really pita) bread, warm out of the oven.
Pita and Veggie Tagine
The Moroccan mint tea and almond rice pudding were unusual and delicious.
A colorful ending to a delicious meal
On the way out, the chef was outside, chatting with some Frenchmen and I asked if he’d consider adding hummus or baklava to his menu and he said “This is a north African cuisine, not Mediterranean.” – oops! Despite my geographical culinary gaffe, this is definitely a place I’ll visit again!
Chunghwa update…
31 Oct 2011 Leave a comment
in Daily Life, Taiwan Tags: Chunghwa Telecom
After I’d signed up for Chunghwa telephone services and requested a bill be sent in English, I received a nice, if grammatically incorrect (I believe it began “Dear Sir”), letter from them informing me that they would send me a bill in English.
Since I thought they’d want to know (the letter was signed by Chunghwa’s president) I sent back a note with my suggestions for a correctly- (I didn’t use that word) written letter they could use for future English-speaking customers. I also included my business card so that they’d know I knew how to write a letter in English! I thought that would be the end of it.
Today, via REGISTERED mail, I received a letter from Chunghwa’s president, addressing me by name and thanking me for my “valuable” assistance:
“We especially appreciate the information and advice you have shared with us. It is our great pleasure to know that you enjoy our services. Once again, we highly appreciate your kindness.”
That was nice of them/him. I feel I should frame this letter. (Darn it, why didn’t I save the original letter?!) Does this mean that my MOD won’t go out on the next scheduled holiday?
Junk Mail
24 Oct 2011 Leave a comment
in Daily Life, Taiwan Tags: junk mail
What’s annoying and clogs the mailbox? Junk mail! Most people throw it out – but not me. I save mine and take it to Chinese class. I really do want to know what’s being sold, what’s on offer, and where all the good deals are! Usually I can get the gist of any circular by reading, re-reading, and reading yet again, scouring the symbols for patterns and any recognizable numbers or words. I’ve figured out “2-for-1” and how percent-off works: if something is 20% off, the price is listed at 80%. Maybe that makes it easier to do the math and figure out the price? One nice thing about shopping here – there is no tax, so the price you see is the price you pay (unless it’s on SALE!).
so colorful!
Humidity 1, Me 0
15 Aug 2011 Leave a comment
in Daily Life, Taipei Tags: haircut, lavender, Paul Mitchell salon, scalp massage
I give! I’m crying “uncle”! Enough is enough! I cannot stand the humidity one second longer! So…I made an appointment and had my hair cut REALLy short! Halle Berry I said and after some internet searches by the stylists (it took three) the cutting began. An hour later, a lot more of my hair was on the floor than on my head. But boy did it feel a whole lot cooler. I love it! It takes no time at all to style in the mornings and I especially love that I only paid 600NT (20US) for the cut, shampoo (which was essentially a 15-minute scalp massage with some lovely lavender-infused Paul Mitchell product), and blow dry. I’ll post a pic soon!
Getting it down to a system
09 Aug 2011 Leave a comment
in Daily Life, Taipei Tags: a day in the life
Everywhere you look, something is happening. The sun crosses the horizon around 5am, the folks in the Temple downstairs start their chanting soon thereafter. I wake up gradually, in time to fix breakfast and get ready for work. Buses run on-time. Stores are just opening up as I walk to work (mostly along the same route so I don’t get lost). Shopkeepers are cleaning the sidewalk outside their shops, cooks are chopping foods (yes, on the sidewalk!), laundry is dripping dry on balconies above the sidewalks, scooters are zipping by. Taiwan wakes up! And it’s hot enough to literally fry an egg on those clean sidewalks. Women with umbrellas shade themselves from the sun. People walk their dogs over to whatever tiny patch of green-ness will accomodate their bio needs. Lunchtime and the sidewalks are crowded with the hungry masses – very few people bring their own lunch (very few people cook because very few people have an actual kitchen!). The post-lunch lull: lights are off at work for those who prefer to sleep rather than eat. By the time I leave work, it’s already dark. (The sun goes down before 6pm.) I sometimes head down Heping to stop off at several organic health food stores and try to remember the way home, seeing a lit-up Taipei 101, in front of me, getting closer. As I cross the street and walk past Watsons, people stare. I turn left into the narrow passageway, past the Temple, and the folks placing offerings on red plastic plates stop and stare. The weekends are for travelling around, cleaning house, doing the laundry. On Monday night I follow the trail of people carrying trash to the blue trash truck. Weeks fly by.
Mela adventure, part 2
07 Aug 2011 Leave a comment
in Daily Life, Foreign Food, Taipei
I stand in the front area of the Mela store. I’m obviously the only white person and I’m sure I look like I wandered in off the street. I’m here because I I’ve run out of some of my favorite health supplements and need some cleaning products too. I found out that Melaleuca has an Asian branch so I’m here to purchase what I need, only I have no idea how the Taiwan system works! A nice young lady fluent in English asks if I need some help and proceeds to help me shop! Many products are familiar to me but there are some clearly designed for an Asian market: drinkable collagen, skin care products with “whiteness” in the name, and RICE! for purchasing a certain amount I get a “free” gift – some sort of hibachi. (I’m exactly sure what it is because the entire box is in Chinese.) I get a lot of curious looks but I’m used to it by now. I smile and nod when I catch someone looking. The taxi ride back takes less than 15 minutes and costs 140NT (< 5.00 US). Next time I’ll try taking the train…
After cooling off at the apartment I head to Wellcome for groceries. More curious looks or people turning their necks to see where the tall white girl is going. In the store, so many interesting products, so many labels I can’t read! I end up spending about 28US for a cornucopia of organic goodies (Danish butter!! Bisquik! Longan honey! Coconut “just add hot water” powder!). Check it out:
Wellcome groceries
Asia's best kept secret... 