The World's Tallest Tower

This morning was kind of rainy, so after taking Michael to school, I decided to go clothes shopping. This is something that I never do at home, mostly out of a lack of interest in shopping. Jeremy was surprisingly well-behaved, except for wanting to be held while I was trying to look at pants in a mirror. I made a couple purchases and then we went home for a quiet afternoon.



After lunch, Jeremy napped, then we picked up Michael after school. We took a bus down XinYi Road to Taipei 101. It is the world's tallest completed tower, although the Dubai tower (under construction) surpassed it in height about a month ago. We walked around out front so Michael and Jeremy could look up and see how tall the tower is, from below. They also found some artwork to climb on.





We started in the basement at the food court. The boys looked at the plastified food at a couple of the restaurants. Then we bought some dinner at Jason's Marketplace. Unfortunately, they no longer sell the paninis that Trina and I used to enjoy. We ate in the foodcourt, then left our stroller in the parking lot (at the elevator) and went up a series of escalators. The boys really enjoyed that. I was astounded by the richness of the shopping and took the boys in a couple stores, just for laughs. I'm surprised they didn't seem to mind, but everyone here seems to love watching our boys. The mall contained De Beers, Versace, Mont Blanc, Kenzo, Dolce & Gabanna, Jean-Paul Gauthier, S. T. Dupont, and many, many more. We stopped at the toy store in the basement before picking up the stroller and going back up to the ticketing office for the observatory.

At the ticketing office, they asked us to lock up our bags, because we're not allowed to take food up. The lock boxes were free, and easy to use, but I was juggling two backpacks, two boys, tickets and a foreign language and in all the bustle I locked up the camera. So no photos this time. We took the world's fastest elevator from the fifth floor to the 91st floor in 45 seconds. My ears popped three times in succession. Michael and Jeremy didn't seem to mind.

The 91st floor is the outdoor observatory. It was daytime, but a little hazy. It was difficult for the boys to see (they're too short), so I lifted them up when we got to the observation stations. They have tall safety bars around the entire deck, but Jeremy can actually fit through, if he turns sideways. After I realised that, I decided to hold him back further. The next stop was the indoor observation deck, where we watch the city lights come on as it got dark out. That's not a great description, because actually I chased the two boys as they ran in different directions, climbing on benches and observation decks.

All in all, it was a fun time and we only got lost once, accidentally taking the stairs back up to the outdoor observation deck. There were many very helpful guards and service personnel and we made it back down only a few minutes late to meet Mommy at the Page One book store. I know that Michael really enjoyed it, because every time he sees it, he reminds us that we went up that tall, tall tower, called 101. Although he usually calls it 1-0-1-0-1-0-1-0-1, with the number of repetitions depending on how excited he is.

Taipei Children's Recreation Centre

It was raining in the morning, so we called a cab to take Michael to school. I had the driver drop us off at our breakfast place (for chocolate toast). Of course, the rain turned torrential a minute before he dropped us off and it let up to just a mild rainfall a couple minutes after we got inside. Armed with chocolate toast and a ham and cheese sandwich, I took Michael to school. He insisted on holding the umbrella, but for it to be high enough to cover Jeremy and I, I held him to walk two blocks.

Jeremy and I took a bus home and decided to walk up the hill to our house. I have wanted to take a picture of the rubber trees that grow really big here to give my little house plant some inspiration. On our walk home, we found a really hairy, bright yellow catepillar. It turns out that Jeremy didn't want to be in the picture... I guess he doesn't like bugs as much as Michael, who is learning about bugs in school.



After lunch, we decided to go to the Children's Recreation Centre. That was a lot of fun. We used 25 tickets on rides (one ticket per person per ride), with easily the majority on the electric train. Jeremy couldn't ride all the rides, but he liked the train and the carousel and he laughed a lot on the spinning teacup. Michael said the teacup was "hilarious". Michael also really enjoyed the bumper cars. The first round we were alone, but then three other groups came in, so we rode again. That was a lot more fun and Trina said Jeremy found it really funny every time we bumped another car. We went on the carousel and Jeremy had so much fun, he didn't want to get off, so we moved up to the upper floor for a second ride. After we were done, we went through the maze, which Jeremy seemed very serious about, then played on the playgrounds. It started getting a little wet, so the last slides weren't very slippery.

Children's Recreation Centre

Click above for the album.

We took the train back to Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall, near our old apartment, and decided to look for some of our regular restaurants. Trina has talked about Bellini more than once, a Japanese place that does Italian pasta, so we tried that first. The sign was still there, but it was gone. Then we walked up and down a few side streets until we found our old 69NT (each dish the same price) and our old Thai restaurant. The 69NT one wasn't open (probably too early, at 5:00pm?), but the Thai one was. The owner took a picture of us in front.



When I asked if she was still the same owner as four years ago, she said she might vaguely remember Trina. They don't have the English menu that we made for them, but their food is as good as ever. It was 100NT per dish and, walking back to the main road after, we found that they've even opened an identical restaurant a few blocks away. On the way home, we stopped at the wooden toy store where there's a train set that Michael loves to play with. He played nicely with Jeremy, but it got late and we needed to go home.

The National Palace Museum

In the morning, I decided to take Jeremy to the Taipei Flower Market. Since it's only open in the mornings, Trina and Michael won't get a chance. It was raining and the flower market's indoors, so that worked out well. Jeremy slept on the bus ride there, about 45 minutes, then just wanted to sit in his stroller. The aisles are very narrow and the picture below is one of the widest aisles.



Of course, many people fussed over Jeremy and how cute he is. I enjoyed looking at everything and, after a while, convinced Jeremy to let me carry him so we could explore some of the narrower aisles. There were many beautiful fountains, pots and vases, but I don't want to try transporting anything breakable. I also found this Japanese maple bonsai (the trunk is in the centre).



I would love to grow a Japanese maple, and found a woman selling little ones for 100NT. But she thought the chances of getting it into Canada without it dying or being confiscated are slim to none. I don't know how to say "slim to none" in Chinese, but I understood what she meant.

My response to Trina's previous hint: a dozen long-stem roses. Guess how much they cost? 80NT. That's about $2.70CDN. That'll have to do for Mother's Day, since I won't be here. A lucky thing it's the roses, and not the price tag, that counts with Trina. Michael had also asked for "little purple flowers" for his teacher (40NT) and was really pleased to be able to give them to her.



I got back in time to take Michael to buy some lunch. I chose steamed shrimp dumplings and he chose vegetarian noodles with cobs of corn in them. It also had mock chicken, which looked, tasted and felt like chicken. Michael didn't believe me that it wasn't real and Trina thought it was really good.



On my list of place to go was the National Palace Museum. When the communists chased the nationalists from China, the nationalists stole as many national treasures as they could and brought them to Taiwan. They also brought much of the culture (cooking, religion, writing) and saved it from the Culteral Revolution. The museum is huge and the last time I was here, it was under renovation, so I didn't get to visit much of it. This time, with the boys, we decided to limit ourselves to the gift shop. That way the boys were more free to move around and touch things. They didn't break anything and actually had a pretty good time. Trina bought me a book called The Treasures of the National Palace Museum, which will allow me to see the most interesting pieces at my leisure, with an explanation, and we bought a couple reproductions of famous paintings for ourselves and a DVD describing the famous painting Along the River During the Ch'ing-ming Festival for Trina's mother (who got the painting during our last visit). Given Trina's love of horses, I was surprised that she chose not to buy a copy of One Hundred Horses. Like she said, where would it go in our house? Here is Bamboo and Orchids, one of the scrolls we bought. (The website where I found this copy charges about ten times what we paid at the museum gift shop.)



Coming out of the museum, Trina spotted a building shaped like a European castle, across the street and up a block. We went to see what it is... it's a kindergarten (ages 2 - 6) that was built about two years ago. With a "farm" in back and a swimming pool on the sixth floor. When Trina suggested she might be interested in teaching there, the principal was happy to tell us all about it.



Since the kids had been so well-behaved during our museum visit, we decided to do something for them. We took a taxi to Yu Kids Island, which wasn't far away, and ate dinner while they played. When it got dark (remember, around 6:45), we went across the street to the giant ferris wheel. Trina stayed on the ground with our possessions and Michael got really excited about the ride. I felt a little nervous with Jeremy knocking on the windows and climbing all over the place, but the view of the nighttime city was spectacular. What North Americans call "light pollution",
Asians call "a beautiful view." Trina had the camera in her bag, so I have no pictures, but from the Miramar mall website, you can get an idea of what we saw.

Sun Moon Lake and TaiZhong

We started the trip at 7:00am, when a driver came with a 12-seater van to pick us all up. It actually had three rows of bucket seats, where the middle two buckets each has a fold down section that could be a table and cup holders, or fold up into a seat. It was a long ride and Michael and Jeremy weren't happy with just the books and cars and dinosaurs we brought. Fortunately, we also had their swimwear.





We stopped at a rest stop for breakfast, and it was crammed with restaurants selling excellent food. The first stop to visit was the ZhongTai Chan Buddhist monastery. The building is massive and their treasures are amazing. I felt a little funny when a woman gave us a flower to place in front of the Buddha statue and said, in English, "make a wish." Do we respect them, by doing as they do, or do we refuse on the grounds that we aren't Buddhist? In the end, I placed the flower without making a wish. I do like their four tenets, however.



After viewing some of the treasures and statues, we enjoyed the gardens with the many types of trees and plants. The had quite a few potted bonsais that I found especially interesting. Michael had the most fun ringing the bell.

ZhongTai Chan Monastery

Click above for the album.

Afterward, we had lunch at a vegetarian restaurant. It seemed that many of the monks ate there, so it must be in respect of their beliefs. It was interesting to try the "beef" dish and the "pork" dumplings that were each made to resemble meat in taste, look and feel. The food was very good, but I enjoy meat in my dishes.

Our goal was Sun Moon Lake and we drove about half way around it to Ita Thao docks. It was one of two villages on the lake and obviously survives on tourism. We weren't very interested in the knickknacks they were peddling, but if you ever need to buy souvenirs of Africa or Thailand, but are stuck in Taiwan, that's where you can find them. When we made it down to the docks, Michael suggested a boat ride. We didn't want to take too long, but it was supposed to be 45 minutes and cost less than $10 per person. We invited May's family to join us, and we all enjoyed ourselves. It was nice and cool and we got to see different parts of the lake. We also stopped once and got out to climb up to a temple with representations of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. Finally, we cruised around the one island in the lake, that is probably only 100 square metres. Trina said that the Japanese, during the occupation, had built a dam, which increased the depth of the lake from six metres to 27 metres, covering all the other islands. This one has two trees on it.

Sun Moon Lake

Click above for the album.

The drive to the Resort & Hotel was supposed to take 40 minutes, but ended up closer to two hours. Fortunately for everyone, the two boys slept. When we arrived, we went to dinner: Joseph and May at the fancy restaurant and the rest of us at the buffet. I was unimpressed because the live music was way too loud, but all was forgiven when we found that the food was very good. It was western food, so there was roast beef, tomato and mozzarella salad, home fries, cake, ice cream, and much, much more. Fortunately, the band took a break after two songs and only came back on ten minutes before we were finished.

Then we discovered our room. Michael was so excited about the "swimming pool bath" in our room. It was about six feet by four feet big and three feet deep, filled directly from the hot springs. Michael enjoyed making a "waterfall" with the spring water because instead of a faucet was a horizontal opening. He swam around it quite a bit during the evening, after which Trina and I turned on the hot water, filling it close to the top, and just relaxed. The next morning, Michael and I swam in it for at least another hour. Here is the hotel website, prominently picturing the bathtub (and a female bather): http://www.freshfields.com.tw/eng/index.htm

Michael and Jeremy also spent a lot of time in the children's games room downstairs. It was very large and clean and had many books and toys, including a kitchen and a garage and a train table. There was also a large ball pit.



After checking out, we had a shuttle to the high speed train, which traveled at 300 km/h to take us back to Taipei in just one hour. Michael still talks about the "big, fast train". It's a really nice way to travel.

From the train station, we rode the bus home. I'm glad there was a bus that went directly from the main station to our doorstep. That way we didn't have to fight with the luggage and the boys to make changes. It was hard enough, with both boys wanting to climb up and down and change seats. Here's a pictures (near the beginning of the ride) of us boys sitting on the ledge at the back of the bus. The sign behind Jeremy's head says something like "Please don't climb up here".

A Day Out

Friday is Trina's long day at school, which meant that I would spend most of the day just with Jeremy. I decided to spend a little more time with Michael in the morning and then pick him up before after school care. We took our time at home, then took the bus into town. We got off at the wrong stop, though, so we walked all the way up DunHua S Rd, stopping twice to buy drinks (once for Michael's lunch) and once for Michael's favourite breakfast: chocolate spread on toast.

Jeremy and I ate our breakfast at the playground, where Jeremy enjoyed playing near the other small kids. I'll leave out the diaper story. We walked to DaAn park, two major streets away. I say "we", but I did all the walking and Jeremy wanted to be carried. I had decided not to bring the stroller because some exercise would be good for Jeremy. I ended up getting the exercise. Jeremy had quite a bit of fun at the park and we decided to come back with Michael at the end of the day.

The library was on the way home, and it's somewhere that I had enjoyed during our last stay in Taipei. Jeremy isn't quite as fond of books as I am, but we still spent about half an hour.




Heading back home, Jeremy and I were hungry, so we found a "big wonton" noodle soup. The woman was kind enough to take a picture for us. There were about 4 tables in this tiny place.



On the way, we stopped to shop for swimwear. Jeremy amused himself carrying things around in the store, and even the employees commented on how busy he is. I think we left the shop the way we found it. When we got home, Jeremy was pretty tired and tucked himself in for a nap...



One of our favourite bedtime stories is Blue Hat, Green Hat, in which a turkey wears his clothes all wrong and says: Oops! That is what I thought of when Jeremy tucked himself in all wrong. Oops! I was still proud of him, though. As soon as Jeremy woke up from his nap, we ran out to catch the bus. We just missed one, but usually they come really often. We live near the end of the loop, and I think they turn around and so when we saw four more buses go up the hill (almost in a row), I expected one to pick us up any minute. 40 minutes later, we hailed a cab.

We picked up Michael a little later than I would have liked, but he was still happy and we all went to DaAn park again... this time with a stroller and with sand toys. The boys made a little friend, whose father saw this as a great opportunity to push his son to practice his English. The boys had fun anyway.



When Trina was done work (6:15), it was starting to get dark (sunset at 6:20). I told Michael why we needed to leave and he cupped his hands to his mouth and announced: "Nighttime! Nighttime!" so that all his friends would know it was time to go home. When we met Trina, we went to a Cantonese (Hong Kong) restaurant not far from her school. You can always recognise them by the roast ducks hanging in the window. She had always wanted to try it, but didn't want to brave it alone because she can't speak Chinese. It turned out that they have a bilingual menu, and they make a really good Singapore noodle and a wonton noodle soup the way Trina likes. We ordered too much food because we wanted to take some home and because the boys didn't eat as much as we thought. That's okay, more for later! Trina said she'll definitely go back there.

A Cold Day

If you can believe it, 19C counts as a cold day. I had strangers suggesting that I put something more on Jeremy, because he was surely too cold in his short sleeves. They probably meant well, but I was thinking that it was pretty balmy compared to Canada.

Trina wanted to take the boys to the Children's Recreation Centre, but it was a little wet out, so she changed her mind. In the same direction is a community sports centre, so we went there. Michael got upset about something (probably about not getting to push an elevator button), so Trina decided we were all going straight back home. Michael calmed down and Trina changed her mind. We made it to the sports centre and found the children's play room:



We had been hoping for more, but it was indoors and dry and warm. The boys were happy for about 30 minutes. There was a nice-looking pool there, but they have strict rules: you must wear a swimming cap and goggles and a speedo. Since we had come unprepared, we decided to leave.

Michael had gotten excited about swimming, though, so Trina promised to take him to the water park. That's where we headed next, but since it was a cold day, the water wasn't on. It looked really nice and at least we now know where it is. There were huge schools of goldfish in a couple of the pools, which entertained the boys for a while longer.

For dinner, we found a Thai restaurant. All four of us really liked the food and it was so cheap, at less than $5 per dish. That is hard to beat. Coming out, we were in a really busy night market across from the National Taiwan University, so we had to fight our way to our bus stop. Our bus stopped at the bottom of the stairs, and we climbed up all 216 of them. We made it home without losing anyone, so that counts as a successful day.

A Quiet Day

I can write a long post, even for a relatively quiet day. That's because when I was at home, I would write Trina multiple emails a day to tell her everything that we were doing. She enjoyed them and I've developed a habit.

Jeremy and I seem to be mostly over our jet lag, since we both slept until 7:00am (only waking up once). Now we just have to deal with it again when we return home. Knowing that Trina would be working a full day today, I offered to bring Michael to school. Trina left at 7:30 and us boys ate some melon for breakfast, then I let the boys play together for a while. At 8:15, we decided to walk down the hill to catch the 902 to avoid having to switch buses later. The bus arrived as we were crossing the street to catch it, so the driver had to wait (anathema for bus drivers in Taiwan) while I unbuckled the boys, folded the stroller and climbed on. A gentleman helped me lug the stroller up the steps, for which the bus driver was grateful because it save a few precious fractions of a second. We rode up to the school and then went hunting for (second) breakfast. I learned how to say toast in Chinese (transliterated: "too-sss"), but French toast here means two slices of white bread, crusts cut off, toasted on each side. Since it had chocolate spread in the middle, Michael loved it. I also got a hamburger (hold the egg) for me, but Jeremy ate half of it. Michael was so excited about school, he ran off without even saying goodbye. I guess that's a good thing.

Jeremy and I walked over to the playground, which was dry today, to finish breakfast and stretch our legs. Since I made Jeremy stay in the stroller so long yesterday, I thought I'd let him out more today. That lasted until his was done at the playground 45 minutes later, because we walked up another morning market. This was the busiest one yet, so I was glad for the cool weather and light breeze. There is no way to describe the number and density of people and variety of goods. Clothing, fruit, dumplings, vegetables, kitchen wares, and on and on and on. Probably three blocks of it, and up some of the side streets as well. Jeremy decided part way through the first block that he wouldn't sit in his stroller or walk holding my hand, so we had to take a break. After we had both calmed down, he decided to ride the rest of the way in the stroller. Because we had walked Michael to school, we had the extra-wide double (front-back) stroller and it was a pain to squeeze through. At the end of the market, I bought Jeremy a hanging trinket for $1 CDN, which he can just barely wear on his wrist. We stopped at another bakery (I sense this may become a trend), then walked back to the main street to catch the bus home. Jeremy seemed tired this morning, so he'll have an afternoon nap. While waiting for the bus, he chased some pigeons around then, when it came, refused to sit in his seat.

We went to meet Michael at school at 3:30, just time for Jeremy to join the older kids for snack. He's lucky the Teaching Assistants think he's so cute, he can get away with anything. Then we went to play at the playground until Mommy was done work at 6:15. When the boys got tired of the first playground, we found a new one to play at. Here they are taking a quick break. I don't know why, but Jeremy seems to have started sucking his thumb more. Maybe it's security in a new place. You can see his trinket hanging from his wrist.



I met a few other parents and they all seem to love practicing their English with me. We picked up Trina from work, then went out to dinner. The restaurant had a salad bar and we shouldn't have bothered buying the boys a meal, because they just ate the canteloupe. About eight pieces each. By the time we got home, it was 8:00pm. There was just time for a short bath and a couple stories, because Jeremy was really tired. I don't know what it is about his bed, because the moment we tucked him in (with Michael), he woke up and started climbing and jumping. Michael lay quietly and eventually Trina had to go in to keep Jeremy quiet. An hour and a half later, I think he fell asleep.

The Land of a Thousand Smells

I'd be lying if I said I weren't still jet-lagged. I'm just not waking up until after 3:00am. Trina told me it took her a week to get over the jet lag, waking up about a half hour later each day. I guess I still have a few days to go. Jeremy's doing better than I am, although he was up a little before 6:00 this morning and fell asleep on the bus around 6:30 this evening. I hope it's not too hard on him, although he seems happy during the day.

Michael and Trina left for work at 7:30am, like usual. Jeremy was disappointed not to be leaving with them, and tore around the house while I washed dishes (very few, since we don't eat at home often) and shaved. At 8:30, I could contain him no longer. We went out and walked around for three hours. We started at the morning market nearest our house. For breakfast we bought a pancake sandwich with red bean paste in between. Fortunately, Jeremy saved half for me. There were fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, fresh fish (still twitching), kitchen cleavers and a few items of clothing. And lots of people. It was at least five degrees hotter in the narrow side streets that held the market, on top of the 23C at 85% humidity. We got back on to the main streets and I got a green onion oil cake for myself. Jeremy didn't really like it and, after eating half of it, I thought I should avoid that much oil early in the morning on a hot day that I plan to walk a lot.

We walked up towards Trina's school and stopped at an indoor morning market. Live chickens, fresh pork, more fish, steamed buns, fresh noodles, fruits and vegetables, sweets, fake jewelry, clothes, snacks and more. And jam packed with people. Pushing a stroller through there was a real feat, but Jeremy was very good about it. Especially after I bought him some dried mango to keep him from reaching out and grabbing things as we passed. As I wheeled Jeremy down, and ancient old man was being wheeled up in his wheel chair and he tried to get Jeremy to take his thumb out of his mouth and fold his hands in his lap. I would love if that worked, but I have very little hope.

We walked all around Trina's school past a few more of the places I used to know, before stopping at a playground for Jeremy. His shoes were still wet from the previous day, so we left them at home. And the equipment was wet. So Jeremy played in bare feet on the swings and the climber and the slide. He had a great time and I rested for about half an hour before going to pick up Michael. After lunch, we stayed in Trina's classroom (that smelled like cranberry-scented paint) and played puzzles and blocks before deciding to head out.

We decided to brave two train transfers and go up to the ShiLin night market. The market atmosphere persists through most of the day, also, but we hoped to avoid some of the worst of the crowds. Well, at the first train transfer, Michael noticed that Sogo was open and reminded us that we had promised him little sandwiches (on Sunday) and we could get them now. That's how I wish it had happened. It was more like a tantrum. We agreed that if he calmed down and asked politely, we would go. After a visit to the bakery, we went up to the top floors to see the zen garden and ride the escalator up to a catwalk-style walkway above the garden.



It had small potlights in the floor that changed colours. The boys had fun up there and also looking out the 10th floor window at the cars and people and trains way below. I know this was Michael's favourite part of the day because his prayer tonight was: Thank you that Daddy and Jeremy could come, thank you that we could play at school and outside and play and play and play and go to the garden and go way up and see the lights. Amen. Well, there were a couple more segments I couldn't make out.

Then two more trains, then off to the night market. The first stop was for chocolate "ice cream", which was actually very finely shaved ice mixed with chocolate and milk, for Michael and Daddy and a mango-flavoured one for Jeremy and Mommy (that Daddy helped finish). Michael and Jeremy ran around with some "friends" near Michael's age. It's amazing how well the kids play together, even when they don't speak the same language. The grandmother grabbed Jeremy and tried to bounce him on her knee and rub his cheeks and hands. Fortunately, he's pretty strong willed and ran off. Moving on, Michael asked for candy-covered cherry tomatoes and I couldn't say no because when will he ever get the chance outside of Taiwan? And tomatoes are healthy, right? And I spoil him.



We bought Jeremy some sandles and bought me a $7 watch and Michael a $2 watch. They run and we won't feel bad if we ruin them. Mine looks quite nice, but Michael's is way more fun, with Pikachu on it. Then we stopped in a shoe store to buy me some sandals. Michael tried on some "big boy shoes" (girls shoes) and dust mopped the store, while he was waiting.



Then we headed down the food alleys. Trina got a pancake filled with red bean (different from the breakfast ones) and I got a falafel. These were made in a small alley between two large temples burning incense. We walked past a stand smelling "stinky tofu", but weren't tempted a bit. Afterward, we noticed that the boys were getting tired (read: unmanageable) and started walking back. We let them play in a ride-on toy for a short rest (found a restroom for Michael and changed Jeremy's diaper) and then headed back home. I won't mention bathroom stories again (I hope), but changing diapers in public is almost as bad and I'll be happy when it doesn't happen again.



I was amazed Saturday night on our bus ride across ZhongXiao Rd at the sheer number of people streaming across the street while our bus waited at the light. You need to remember that everyone comes out at night because they're done work and the temperature is a little cooler (the sun is down) and because the city is just lively. It was the same leaving the night market and crossing the street back to the bus stops. The lights were set to allow people to cross both directions on both sides, as well as diagonally in the middle and the intersection was full of pedestrians. And this is fairly early on a weeknight of a regular day.

Both boys fell asleep on the way home and I can't blame them. The final smell I'm going to mention is exaust, since the city air is pretty bad, due to all the traffic. It's nice to get back to our house on the mountain with the cleaner air.

Still Jet-lagged

I'm still waking up at 2:00am. Jeremy seems to be adjusting a lot better than I am, because he's sleeping until 5:00am. Getting up early isn't too bad, because I can read or write, but falling asleep at the same time as the kids is a little embarrassing. I'm sure Trina's not impressed, since we haven't spent any time together without the boys. It's a good thing we have so much fun with them.

We all went to school together this morning. Michael and Jeremy played together while Trina set up her classroom. Then I told Michael that I would come back at lunch time and Jeremy and I left. I hadn't really decided what to do, but I knew I wanted to revisit some familiar places. So I just turned right and walked up the street, the way I always used to after dropping Trina off at work and walking to my work. But I never had a stroller then and it reminded me of how uneven the sidewalks are.

As I walked along, I noticed almost every single girl ogling Jeremy. I flatter myself that I used to get noticed like that, but not anymore! Strangers come up to me and tell me: "hao ke ai!" (so cute), and some even touch his face and hands. Most are pretty good about looking, but not touching. And Jeremy has started waving at anyone who looks directly at him for more than a moment. He seems to think he's a real star.



We stopped at a bakery for a custard bun for Jeremy and a breakfast stand for a hamburger for me. I guess it counts as breakfast because it has a fried egg on it. We continued up to a major street where the best way to cross was a pedestrian overpass. That was way too many stairs for our stroller, so we turned up towards the apartment where Trina and I used to live. We walked through a street market which was relatively quiet because it was a day off. I bought Jeremy a mandarin orange, and the woman, after weighing it, called back to her daughter: "Shi kuai zenme jiang?" (how do you say: ten NT dollars?), and the daughter said to me: Ten dollar. I feel a little bit bad for making these people feel awkward, but I'm impressed at the effort they make to communicate in my language. I have never done that for a recent immigrant in Canada.

We stopped at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall, which is quite a landmark. There's a massive hall, surrounded by a concrete square with a small park and pond at the south side. Jeremy enjoyed climbing the fence and playing in the puddles.



We come half way around the world, and he plays in puddles, just like he does at home. On the other hand, I can't expect him to understand the teaching of Dr. Sun Yat Sen (with which I'm not even familiar), so I might as well let him have his fun. I asked a lady to take a picture of us before starting her taichi routine. Older people also stand around the park and gossip, or practice ballroom dancing with their portable tape players. Kids ride bikes, fly kites and play badminton.



After that, it started to rain and we had less fun. Jeremy had to get back in his stroller and we bought an umbrella before making our way back to the school for lunch. Jeremy fell asleep and then I stopped at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant to order boiled dumplings and beef noodle soup. Very typical. We got back to the school just as the parents were picking up their kids. I could hear through the door that Michael was super excited to be lining up with his friends to be picked up by a parent for the first time. Normally he just stays in the kitchen to eat his lunch while Mommy works. When the door opened, he came flying out and gave me a big hug. But then the door locked behind him, so we had to wait a minute to be let back in and eat lunch in the kitchen. Michael and Jeremy ate lunch together, then played while Trina finished work. We took a taxi home for a well-earned afternoon nap.

Because we slept so long in the afternoon, we decided to take the boys to Yu Kids Island to play. I asked the guard to call a taxi and he asked where we were going. I don't know the Chinese name for Yu Kids Island or for Miramar or for Geant, so we got out Trina's map while we waited. The guard read it for us and told the driver where to take us. It turns out that Miramar is "beautiful empire" and Geant (a French grande superficie store) is "love to buy". The boys had a great time (despite a few bumps) and Trina got to shop for a few minutes by herself.

Yu Kids Island

Click above to view the album.

The taxi that took us home from the school took the long way, which annoys Trina, so she asked me to try and figure out how to direct taxis, in Chinese, to go around left, through the tunnel and up the mountain. With my broken Chinese, I was able to do it on the way home from Miramar. I felt proud, but mostly grateful for the driver's patience in trying to understand me.

Oops

Sunday was the day that just didn't work out the way it should have. Trina suggested we go to the flower market, the big one, and invite Joseph to come with us. He was working, either because of the time he took off to pick me up from the airport or because of the time he's taking off next Saturday to show us other parts of the island. It's very kind of him.

We took the bus half way across town, wondering if we would recognise our stop. We did, but the flower market was obviously closed. I don't know how to say "You're closed, huh?" in Chinese, but the guard figured what I wanted and said they're open every day but Sunday. So off to our next stop.

I somehow got the idea, before coming, that TaiChi class would be an interesting part of Chinese culture to see while I'm here. The most famous is held on Sunday mornings in the courtyard of a junior high school. There were three groups, of older students, younger students and children. I spoke with the woman at the front for a few moments (in Chinese) and she invited us in to observe. I didn't want to annoy them, so we only stayed for a few minutes. Watching the kids was cute, and funny, because their movements seemed so weak and awkward. I bet they could throw me on my butt, so we didn't laugh.



We hopped on the train, which Michael was excited about, and went to the Sogo stop for sandwiches. But Sogo was closed. I guess stores don't open until 11:00am or 12:00pm, but they stay open later. Okay, Trina thought she knew of a yoghurt place that sold waffles. We didn't find that, either. We did find a food stall selling green onion pancakes and a playground, though, so Michael and Jeremy and I played while Trina went and got snacks for church at the supermarket. I realised later that I got a very faint sunburn while we were playing there, but that sure beats the 25cm of snow Trina said that Calgary was expecting.

Other than the taichi class, Church was the only thing that went right. I got to speak with Bishop Chiles for a few minutes, which was nice. I got no sympathy for my jetlag, because he had arrived from a US trip at 6:30am that same morning. I don't know how he does it and I'm impressed by his energy and optimism.

Annie was supposed to play with Michael in the afternoon and then take him for supper. I think she had a friend over, but she came and rang the doorbell (a bone-jarring buzz). Michael went outside to the basketball court and, of course, Jeremy followed. So I went, too. They threw the ball a bit and Michael brought out his "bike" for him and Jeremy to take turns. The four or five older kids (around 12 years old?) also had their bikes and basketballs, so the boys felt like they were part of the fun. For about 15 minutes. That's when they wandered off home and that was the end of Michael's playdate. The four of us ate supper together and then I spent quite a bit of time playing trains with Michael and Jeremy. Us boys are sure happy to be together again.

After bathtime, I couldn't keep my eyes open another minute and I fell asleep on Michael's bed. In the middle of a bedtime story. He prodded me to finish it, then we both went to sleep.

The Sleepless Wonder

Jeremy is the sleepless wonder. After hardly sleeping on the trip out here, we woke up at 2:00am. He then refused to nap and wanted to stay up the rest of the day. From 2:00 until 6:30 we tried to stay quiet in the bedroom, with Jeremy rolling and climbing around the bed. At 6:30, Michael got up and we decided to go for a walk. That would hopefully let Trina get a little more sleep. We just went out the front door with the stroller and down the long stairway through the jungle. The stroller got pretty heavy, but both boys walked all the way down. We took about two hours to walk around the street and back up, stopping at two very small playgrounds along the way. I had been hoping to find somewhere to buy breakfast, but was disappointed. I think the boys had great fun, though, so it was all worth it.

When we got back, Trina decided that Jeremy and I should have a morning nap. I was too tired to argue. When we got up, we decided to go to the Taipei American School spring fair. We don't know nearly as many people there now, but still thought it would be fun. We took a long bus ride and then, instead of switching to another bus, decided just to take a taxi. Quicker and more comfortable and no need to guess when to get off.



The spring fair was intensely crowded and noisy. Add to that the hot weather (near 30C) and it was a typical Taiwan outing in my mind. As soon as we came in the gates, Michael ran and climbed on a "train" ride, so what could Trina do but pay the man. Well, the whole point of coming was to have fun, so at least Michael didn't make us guess what he wanted. A couple stalls down was a woman from Edmonton, trying to adopt out stray dogs. I talked to her for a while and found that she and her husband (teachers at TAS) had decided to teach in various areas around the world, starting with Latin America (two locations), then Asia... then I don't know, because they stayed in Taipei 15 years ago and never left. I've heard more than once of people who come here for a short while and never leave. We came for a year (five years ago), ended up staying two years, then coming back for four months, so I guess we're not so different.

There was a horse ride that Michael really enjoyed (except waiting in line), but Trina was finding drinks, so there's no photo. Then we had to find food. It was toward the end of the fair, so they were all out of hot dogs (Michael was disappointed, but Mommy was secretly glad). We got a lasagna, which was good, but may not have passed for lasagna in North America, a green papaya salad and a ham and cheese sandwich. Then Michael and Jeremy went and climbed in the bouncing castle.



Jeremy should have been sleeping and got a little out of control after that, so we started walking toward home. Away from most of the noise (other than traffic, which is still significant, given the number of scooters and horns), Jeremy still refused to sleep. Trina found a bus that would take us all the way across the city to our house, and we hopped on. Jeremy finally went to sleep for about half an hour, but Michael realised that he needed to go potty. We were still a good 20 minutes or more from home and we were not in a familiar area. Fortunately, we came to AsiaWorld (the mall with Toys R Us and IKEA) not too much later and got off. Poor Michael had to ride up the escalators all the way to the 7th floor before we found a bathroom, but then we let the kids play at Toys R Us for a while before going down to the food court for take out. Trina told me that the people at her favourite restaurants recognise her now.

We finished our "bus tour" and, as we crossed ZhongXiao East Road, I was amazed at the throngs of people. The boys enjoy the bus and, all things considered, are pretty well behaved. Then another jet-lag-induced early bedtime.

Michael's First Prayer

Michael said his first unprompted prayer today. He asked to do all by himself. Here's what he said:

"Heavenly Father. Thank you we can play. Thank you Daddy, Jeremy. Amen."

They grow up so fast...

First Impressions All Over Again

Our first day in Taipei is a bit of a blur. I recall that the traffic from the airport into town was pretty heavy, but it's the driving that struck me. In Calgary, drivers are pretty cautious and leave plenty of room compared to Taipei. Drivers, especially taxis and buses, are continually forcing their way in front of other cars or driving between lanes when someone won't let them in. I have a theory that it's everyone's responsibility not to get hit, as much as not hitting someone else. As we drove through the city, we mostly took the freeways and I saw very little that I remember from four years ago. Except Taipei 101. It had been completed while we lived here the first time, but I think it's no longer the tallest building in the world. I know North Korea was working on a taller tower, Dubai has a gigantic one under construction and Joseph, who was driving us, thought somewhere in mainland China another is being constructed. I would believe it.

If anyone tells you time travel is impossible, I would disagree. It is and it isn't. Coming to Taiwan is like travelling to the past. Trina's aunt pointed that out when she came from Hong Kong to visit us in 2003. She said Taipei is like Hong Kong was 40 years ago. As I saw all the old buildings, masses of concrete, bars on windows, I recalled what she said. And all day long I was reminded of things I'd forgotten. Three doors to get into the apartment, each with a heavy lock and a different high-tech key. Terribly uneven sidewalks. Don't drink the water, without boiling it. Don't flush the toilet paper, or it'll clog the toilet. The showerhead at shoulder height.

We got back to the apartment and I was impressed at the size... for Taiwan. Last time, we lived in a bedroom with a bathroom. That's all. Because Michael was sick, he and Trina stayed home from school. It was nice for a couple reasons. I got to spend some time with them. Michael and Jeremy were SO happy to see each other. Trina put Jeremy and Michael to sleep and I got to have a nap. I took a video of Michael (in just underpants) and Jeremy first playing together on their bed:

After lunch, Trina suggested we go out. We hopped on the bus and rode it down to DunHua Rd, right by our first apartment. I was a little surprised by all the noise, mostly traffic, especially when trying to talk. We put both boys in the stroller and walked up DunHua Rd. to Trina's and Michael's school. I had walked up that street many, many, many times four years ago, and I was interested to see it again. I think Trina got tired of hearing me say: "That's still there... that's new... that's the same... that's changed..." But she let me go on. The Far East Plaza Hotel. The apartment where I used to teach grade 2 in the kitchen. The bank we wired money home from. The people selling t-shirts and hair clips and fruit on the side of the road.

Like I said before, many things are the same, and today was about reliving it a little. I'll find a lot of differences over the next few weeks, which is why you can never really travel back in time. Happy Kids is a good example. I came almost every day to meet Trina for lunch. We would eat in the kitchen behind her downstairs classroom, just the two of us. Now the downstairs is a coffee shop... and we have two kids. We took the two boys up to the third floor and let them play in the recess room.



Theresa thanked me, in person this time, for letting Trina come to the school. I had to thank her for taking such good care of Trina and Michael while they've been here. Theresa asked if there was anything particular I planned to do, while back in Taipei. I told her about a restaurant I wanted to try, and she said she would research it to find out if it's still good (she hasn't eaten there for awhile, although it was quite famous some years ago), and which location is the best. When we went upstairs to see Miss Jane and show her the boys, Theresa mentioned the restaurant to her and I got a funny feeling that we may be invited out and not allowed to pay the bill. These people are just too nice.

We decided to leave, even though the boys would have continued playing much longer. They are so happy to be together! But Michael and I were getting hungry and we were planning to eat at DinTaiFeng, so far my favourite restaurant. They specialise in steamed dumplings and, while it's a bit expensive by Taiwan standards, it's worth it. We stopped at a 7-Eleven along the way, which reminded me of stepping inside on a really hot day, just for the air conditioning, and we bought the boys a drink. Then we navigated the uneven sidewalks the rest of the way and got to the restaurant well before the dinner crowd. They were so polite, they made a cook come carry our stroller upstairs for us and seated us at a large table with high chairs for the boys. It's a good thing, because they were contained while we enjoyed the food. It was delicious.



After dinner, the boys played at a small park. No grass, only concrete and rubber tiles under the slides and ride-on toys. Then we went to Ice Monster for dessert. That's where they invented Mango Ice, probably the greatest dessert ever. The girl looked a little concerned when I came to order, but I ordered in Chinese and she was relieved. I don't think I'll ever forget how to order Mango Ice in Chinese.

Then we played at DaAn Park for a while before returning home. I walked through that park many times, but never stopped at the play structure. Michael and Jeremy had a lot of fun and I spoke with one of the other "foreign" parents. He's been in Taipei for a couple years with no plans to leave. It seems to me that there are more white people here now than I remember, and May agrees. At home, we sometimes talk (or worry) about immigrants. It's a little strange to think of people emigrating from Canada, the States, Australia and other developed countries to settle down in Taiwan.

And once again, we turned in early, thanks to jetlag.

We're Here!

Trina invited me to contribute to her blog. Actually, she said that writing isn't her favourite thing to do and, since I enjoy it, I'd be responsible for the blog while I'm here. And it'll work out, at least while I'm jet-lagged, because I'm up before the birds.

The executive summary of the trip from Calgary to Taipei with Jeremy: It was worth it. When we walked out of the airport, he was so happy to see his mommy, he was all smiles. He was really tired, so he just cuddled on her lap and went to sleep, perfectly content I'm sure, during the entire car ride back to the apartment.

Now for the gory details of the 18 hour trip. Although the story starts at the start of the day on Wednesday. Get comfortable, because it won't end until Friday morning, due partly to the 14 hour time change.

I dropped off Jeremy with Stacey, the sitter, for the last time. Because their house is unstable, they have to move and I had to find someone to take Jeremy full time after I return, at least until Trina returns. Jeremy was so happy at Stacey's, with other kids his age but mostly with the dogs and the kittens. I said a heart-felt thank you to her for taking good care of him for so many months. I went in to work for a few uneventful hours and my mom picked Jeremy up from Stacey's to go out for the morning together. I met them for lunch and then Jeremy and I drove to Trina's parents house. It's nice to spend time together with family, especially when we'll be apart for a while. Jeremy fell asleep in the car, then refused to nap at their house. It was 4:00pm before I got him to sleep and he slept until after 6:00pm. I didn't get the nap I was hoping to have, but I hoped it would get Jeremy ready for the big trip and 14 hour time change.

We left for the airport at 8:30, checked in the bags, had my paper tickets re-issued (thank you, Canada Post), and said goodbye to Trina's dad, who had driven us to the airport. Jeremy played in one of the kid zones for a few minutes, then we went through security. I don't remember it ever going so smoothly... I guess Jeremy just flashed them a winning smile and the turned down the metal detector, because my belt usually sets it off. Since I was carrying Jeremy, I was thankful not to have to strip off my belt and shoes and submit to the wand.

It was a bit of a walk to our gate in section B (where the security is closed, so everyone goes through A), but we had a Hummer of a stroller for Jeremy and my massive backpack. When we got there, most everyone was already waiting, but Jeremy found a kids' activity station and another boy to play with. The other boys father told him to be careful of "the baby", but he needn't have worried. Jeremy was pretty excited, either to be in a new place or to be allowed to stay up past 10:00pm, and he was climbing all over. The boy said to his dad "Jeremy's wild today!" Just wait, I thought to myself, he's supposed to be sitting on my lap in the plane because, at under 2, I didn't pay for a seat for him.

We boarded at 10:30pm and it looked for a while like the plane would be only 2/3 full. After all, who wants to fly to Vancouver at 11:00pm? It turns out that everyone flying from anywhere in Canada to anywhere in Asia does, and there were no empty seats. Jeremy was impressively well-behaved for a boy who hates to sit still. All the way until we began our descent. I gave him a squiggly fruit snack before we started down, but his ears must have really bothered him because he just squirmed and screamed all the way down. The stewardess (who has a young child herself) came and suggested that I not be embarassed, the crying would help clear his ears, so I just tried to keep him from getting off my lap. As soon as we got on the ground, I tried to get off the plane as quickly as possible... but the stroller wasn't unloaded yet, so I got to stand at the exit of the airplane, holding Jeremy, while everyone walked past giving my sympathetic smiles. At least they were sympathetic. One lady told me I should give him something to suck, didn't I know that? Didn't I? I tried to tell her that I had tried, but I should have just thanked her for her concern. She wasn't trying to annoy me, but I felt a little frustrated that I hadn't been able to help Jeremy with his discomfort and a little apprehensive about the much longer flight coming up.

We walked all across the Vancouver airport, and I knew something was wrong when a bunch of people (who obviously recognised me from the previous flight) were walking back towards us. One couple asked if we were on the China Airlines flight and, when I said "no", muttered "lucky." Grateful for the stroller now, I found our departing gate and found a semi-circle of chairs to settle into. We were right by the departures board and Jeremy, excited to be someplace new, started running around. I found out what the trouble was. A flight from L.A. to Hong Kong had been forced to land in Vancouver and stay for about 8 hours. A China Airlines flight to Hong Kong had been cancelled. And another one had been delayed from 2:00am to 4:00pm. Then, the gentleman who was sitting near us told us that his flight to London wouldn't be leaving until 12:00am... I think 10 hours late, and he had been there all afternoon. He played with Jeremy for half an hour before his flight was ready to go, then Jeremy spent the next two hours climbing over tables and chairs and running and jumping. Even when we had to exchange our boarding passes, Jeremy wouldn't stay still in my arms.

Finally, at 1:15am (Vancouver time), Jeremy started acting tired and I decided to put him to sleep. He didn't agree, but couldn't resist when I carried him around and sang his bedtime song. We boarded 10 minutes later and he slept straight for seven hours. What a relief! The stewardesses on EVA Air were very accomodating. They had seated us at the second bulkhead since Jeremy had an infant ticket. I laughed when they offered to bring a bassinet, because at 26 pounds, there's no way that would work. The armrests didn't go in our row, even though there were two empty seats beside us and they told me he couldn't sleep on the floor, so would I mind moving upstairs? They assured me it was still Economy class, but I'm not sure why because I would have been just as happy if it were higher class. Anyway, there were about 12 rows of 3 + 3 upstairs and only about 20 people. We had two rows of 3 empty seats to ourselves (one behind the other), with a big empty space behind that where the emergency exit is. Having so much space was a real relief. I slept for about four hours, and Jeremy woke up for two hours, slept for one and a half (gravol has no effect on him), then woke up for the last four hours. By the time we were two hours from Taipei, I was begging him to go back to sleep so I could get some rest. But he would climb across our seat, climb up onto the storage compartments between the seat and the window, crawl up and down there, run up and down the ailes and basically have a lot of fun.

All in all, I can't complain. I would have liked Jeremy to sleep more and I would have liked more sleep myself. But Jeremy was very little trouble and hardly cried; our flight was basically on time (compared to many others), we had lots of space and we arrive safe and sound... and sane. Jeremy fell asleep 10 minutes before we began our descent, so his ears didn't even bother him. After getting off the plane, we had to wait for our stroller, where we met a couple with a child about Jeremy's age, who had come from Montreal and were continuing to Vietnam (I think). I was so glad that we had arrived. Their stroller came first, and I listened to them speak to each other in a mix of French, English and Vietnamese (I think). Whenever I was tempted to feel sorry for myself, there was always someone who had a harder trip.

Customs was jam packed, and Jeremy had woken from all the jostling, but there was a really nice kid (probably mid-20s) behind us who took a liking to Jeremy. He ran and got us the forms we needed and the line moved quick enough that I just finished filling them out when it was our turn. The immigration officer was polite and I spoke my first Chinese of the trip. Welcome to Taiwan, Jeremy!

The rest is a bit of a blur. Our bags were already there, so I grabbed them, tried to balance one on the stroller and drag the other, while pushing the stroller. I wanted to get out of there quick, but I don't know if I saved time by not getting a baggage cart or if I took longer struggling with the bags. It wasn't far and we were both very happy to see Trina. I got a kiss, but Jeremy got a big snuggle and he sat on her lap the whole way back home.

They're Here!

Michael woke up at 2am with a fever and a cough. He slept very fitfully from then on, and therefore, I didn't sleep at all. At 4:50am, I had to call May to ask her to come over and stay with Michael while I went to the airport with Joseph. She came over in her PJs and slippers. I was glad to have an experienced mom with him while I was gone.

We arrived at the airport when Robert's flight was due to land, but it was delayed. So, we had to wait for over an hour and a half. I bought Joseph and I some breakfast (I had to get out my guidebook to ask him if he wanted beef or chicken) and then walked all over the entire airport to use up some more time.

May phoned around 7am because Michael had said that he wanted to talk to me, but once she had me on the phone, he refused to talk. How typical. She said he had gotten up to go to the bathroom and looked a little better, although he still had the fever.

Then they arrived! Jeremy came right to me, no problems. And all that time that I had spent worrying that he had forgotten me... He stayed in my arms the whole way back and fell asleep in the car. He sure is heavier!

Despite Michael's fever, he was super excited to see his daddy and brother. I can't imagine what he would have been like without the fever. He was running and jumping all around. I had to calm them all down by giving them a bath and putting them all to bed at 10am.

Robert is going to take care of the blog while he's here, so you can read about the rest of the day from him.

Getting Ready for the New Arrivals

Michael threw a tantrum today because I went into his classroom to pick him up. He wanted to wait for me on the bench outside his classroom. So, I left and he waited on the bench. Everytime I came by, I asked him if we wanted to leave yet, and he said no. He was having too much fun playing with Ms. Janus by the front door.

The parents of the twins in my class offered me the use of one of their strollers for while Jeremy is here and dropped it off. It's really nice and light, so I didn't have too much trouble carrying it around for the rest of the day. Just as long as it didn't rain...

We went to IKEA and stock up on food for Robert and Jeremy, and for Michael to play in the kids area. Then we went home - me trying to balance all my purchases, a stroller and a three year old on Taiwanese buses. The buses here deserve an entire blog entry of their own. One day, I'll get around to it.

I spent the rest of the day cleaning up the apartment and rearranging things to make it more toddler friendly. Michael was getting really excited and refused to go to sleep until after ten. Joseph had said that we would be leaving at 5am to go to the airport. He'll sleep in the car, right?

The Filthiest Little Boy You Ever Did See

I borrowed a small shovel and rake from the school and headed off to Da-An Park today after school. Michael was so excited to have sand toys. As you can see below, he collected a few more...


One of his favourite activities was running over to the water spouts to "wash off" his sand toys. Of course, he would get soaking wet in the process and then run back to the sandbox and start rolling around. He was so wet and dirty, that after awhile I had to ban him from the sandbox in order to let him dry off a little.


He hopped on the swings and I spent quite a bit of time pushing him. He's still learning how to pump himself, but he often gets it backwards. He chants "Out. In. Out. In." at the correct times, but doesn't actually put his feet out and in as he's saying it. Kids have to learn so much, so quickly.


He then played around the playground for awhile and after he had dried off, I allowed him back in the sandbox, but not near the water spouts. Guess how long that lasted? At least he wasn't soaked this time, so it was back to the playground to dry off.

He found a little playmate. A half-Chinese boy who was turning three that week. His father had brought a soccer ball, so Michael and the little boy took turns kicking it around. Us parents spent most of the time yelling across the field to our child to let the other child have a turn.

Then Michael found the only muddy spot in the whole very large field. It was pretty wet and made a little splash when Michael threw the ball in. Needless to say, the attraction was too strong for Michael. He was jumping in there and slipping and sliding. By the time I had gotten over there to get him out, he was muddy, muddy, muddy. Mommies always ruin all the fun.

Here's a picture of Michael with his little friend. It was really cute how they wanted to sit beside each other in that tiny chair. They had so much fun that the boy's parents couldn't tear him away even though he was late for a playdate with his best friend.


After three hours, I had had enough, even if Michael was still going strong. The playground was full of high school students who were too busy showing off to each other to watch out for the little kids, and I was getting hungry.

I took Michael to Din Tai Fung, voted one of the top ten restaurants in the world according to Reader's Digest. It's definitely in our top ten. They make all kinds of steamed dumplings, and although expensive by Taiwan standards, definitely still affordable. And the service there is wonderful.

I figured Michael would be starving after so much exercise, so I ordered twenty dumplings and a bowl of wonton noodle soup. Michael ate a few noodles and half a wonton. Although he did finish his entire glass of warm water, using his spoon. Good thing I was hungry...

Only Four More Sleeps!

Robert and Jeremy are arriving very early Friday morning, and we're starting to get excited. I worked a full day today because I wouldn't be in on Friday. I ended up going to the park with the Kindergarten class which is always fun. I spent the whole time pushing them on swings. It's funny how some outgoing kids are really scared of heights and just want tiny pushes, while these quiet, shy kids want to go high enough to touch the branches of the tree closeby.

General Conference

Here's Michael at the bus stop. He loves wearing his sunglasses, even on days so overcast that we need an umbrella as well! We live in the second white apartment building in the background. Notice the jungle in this second picture. Only those little concrete barriers keep all that wild vegetation at bay. The variety is astounding.

We had General Conference this weekend instead of last weekend as we are 14 hours ahead of Utah. They just tape it and "rebroadcast" it here the following weekend. Michael and I only made it to the last session, which started at 11:30am. I had forgotten Michael's church bag, even though I had repacked it that morning, so I didn't have his usual activities. Luckily, I had packed snacks in my purse, and I always keep at least one toy and a pen in there for emergencies. He was pretty good. He kept himself entertained by taking four potty breaks. As the bathroom was right out the doors, I let him go by himself after the first time. He was good and never stayed too long.

English sessions in foreign countries are always full of missionaries, so I got to see their reaction to Elder Bednar's talk. You should have seen how happy they all were when he talked about how missionaries are full time teachers and that it is our job to provide them with people to teach. He was pretty direct when he told us it is wrong for us to pray for missionaries to find people to teach, as it is praying for someone else to do our job. The missionaries were glancing all around them to make sure everyone was listening, clapping each other on the back and elbowing each other and grinning. It was pretty funny.

Of course, it was Elder Ballard's talk to young mothers that I enjoyed the most. When he mentioned that we shouldn't turn to substance abuse out of frustration, I found myself wondering if oatmeal cookies count... I can stay away from them as long as I haven't baked them, but once they're out of the oven...

On Friday, I had bought Michael his own little umbrella with a firefighting dalmation on it. It also had a small whistle attached to it, which was Michael's favourite part. I explained to him that he should only blow it if he's lost. He got lost a lot during the past two days. Well, I don't have to worry about him blowing it anymore as he lost his umbrella somewhere while I was talking to some other ward members afterwards. We looked everywhere for it, but no luck. Michael didn't seem too bothered by its loss. Good thing, because I wasn't about to go buy another one.

Michael's First (Professional) Haircut

Robert usually cuts Michael's hair, and he does a great job, too. However, since Robert is not here, I asked around for a good children's hair cutting place, because Michael was in desperate need of a trim.

I found one in an upscale department store near where Robert and I used to live. They had little cars for the kids to sit in while their hair is being cut and cartoons playing on a TV in front of them. I felt pretty lucky as I walked in and saw that there wasn't a line-up. There also weren't any hairstylists. They must all take break at the same time, because there were only two receptionists that told me (well, more like showed me as they couldn't find anyone to translate), that there wasn't an available slot for another three hours. Forget that. Cheap side alley barber shop, here we come!

First Michael had to play on the firetruck. He took turns nicely with about five other little kids there. When it wasn't his turn, he climbed up the front or the back of the truck. I tried to avoid shopkeepers trying to sell me outrageously priced children's outfits.


Michael had been looking forward to getting his hair cut "in a car" (I have to prepare him long in advance as he hates getting his hair cut), so to placate him, I took him to his favourite store. It's called "The Good Toys" and they have a lot of high quality toys, including a Thomas wooden train set that kids can play on while their parents get given the sales pitch for every toy in the store. And that is what happened during the hour that Michael played (he has an amazing attention span when it comes to Thomas). Even though the saleslady didn't speak any English, she insisted on following me around and demonstrating anything that I glanced at. Since I was just using them for their train set, I figured I should be polite and let her, but it did get annoying after awhile. I ended up buying some cool bath toys for Jeremy and one of his cousins, as well as some nice supports for the sloping wooden train track pieces with a small straight piece of track on the top for the sloping pieces to connect to. They're so much better than the regular wooden block supports he has at home.

I figured the back alleys by where I live would be cheaper than the ones downtown, so we took a bus and found this barber shop with two ladies cutting men's hair and giving them a shave, so I knew that they could handle Michael. We had to wait awhile, but Michael was tired and didn't mind too much. They even went a got him a snack. When his turn came, they put a beam across the armrests for him to sit on. As the woman was cutting his hair, I was glad that we didn't get into the fancy place as Michael was squirming way too much to watch TV, even if one had been there. I had to help her hold his hands down and turn his head so she could get at it. She did a really good job despite Michael protesting as much as possible. At least he didn't scream. Although, there was a lot of whining involved.


Then we went to a nearby park where Michael had a blast with two other little kids, running around everywhere and going down the slides all together in a group. It's great how well he can get along with other kids even when he can't understand a word they're saying. I'm surprised no one got hurt the way they were all hurtling up and down the slides, but we managed to get out of there in one piece.


Since I had saved so much on the haircut (it ended up costing me a little over $5 Cdn, as opposed to the $20 that the "kids" place wanted), I decided to splurge on dinner. We went into a restaurant that turned out to be a steakhouse, although I ordered the fish and the chicken. Normally, I don't eat fish, but Michael had been asking for some, and so I decided to let him try. Of course, I ended up having to eat the whole thing.

What I didn't realize when I went in was that all meals come with the "salad bar" which had garlic toast, a variety of veggies, fountain drinks, fresh fruit, soup, small pieces of cake and four different kinds of ice cream with cones. Our dinners only cost $7 Cdn each, and there's no tipping here, so it turned out to be a really good deal. The steak dinners started at $10 each. The manager kept on encouraging me to go get more food since I had paid for two full meals.

When we ordered, they asked if we wanted black pepper or mushroom sauce on our meat. I said mushroom, even though I wanted black pepper, as I knew Michael wouldn't touch it if it was "too spicy." The mushroom sauce turned out to be BBQ sauce. Whatever. As I rarely eat fish anyways, it wasn't too odd for me to be eating it with BBQ sauce! The meat came out on a sizzling hot plate with some pasta, mixed veggies and a fried egg. Everything here comes with a fried egg.

Michael ate some of his chicken and spent the rest of his meal playing around with his egg. He doesn't like to eat eggs, but he liked "popping" the yolk and making more "sauce" with it. Egg yolk BBQ sauce. When they asked if I wanted it wrapped up to take home, I declined.


I was too full by the end to eat any dessert, but Michael is never too full for ice cream, so we got him a chocolate cone. He's decided that he really likes that restaurant.