Michael decided that he didn't want to see Daddy off at the airport after all, so we said our goodbyes at 9:30 last night at the apartment amidst Jeremy's screams. He thought Robert was leaving without him. Robert was just taking the luggage to the elevator... Try explaining that to a 20 month old.
As Michael didn't fall asleep until after 10:30, we were both a little tired and very glad that it was a half day of work. I wanted to pick up a few things from the supermarket on the way home and discovered that it was closed for renovations! As it's the only supermarket that's on my daily route, I was a little disappointed as I am in sore need of toilet srubbing pads and mosquito repellant wall plug-ins. I guess it will just have to wait.
Michael and I both had a nap. Having Robert and Jeremy here was wonderful, but very tiring, and very messy. After my nap, I started tidying up the apartment so that it was liveable again. A more thorough cleaning will have to wait until I get to a supermarket!
Thursday, 8 May 2008
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
Bye-bye, Taiwan
Jeremy and I are leaving today.
Yesterday we went downtown, all four of us, just to give the boys a change of scenery and a chance to move around. It was raining, so we walked around the computer market, Nova, and then the underground mall around Taipei Main Station. The boys had some fun and Trina found a store that sells traditional Chinese clothing. In the end, she bought a couple things for her and a matching outfit for each of the boys. But she was looking and trying things on for about half an hour, which is much too long for Jeremy and Michael. The owner of the store was very kind and gave Michael a snack of seaweed, which he really liked. I'm sure he didn't know what it was. Fortunately, she also had a broom and dustpan, which kept Jeremy occupied. It also entertained all the passersby, to see him hard at work. I joked with the owner that she would have to charge us a little more for the seaweed, then take a little off for Jeremy's work. After that, we went out to dim sum with Joseph and May and their family.
This morning, I thought it best to prepare Michael for our departure. I told him, "You have a long day at school today, so you'll be eating lunch with your friends." That was fine with him. Then I said, "Daddy and Jeremy are leaving to go back to Canada today." "Then Mommy will pick me up from school," he said. Trina reassured me that she'll miss me. Jeremy and I spent the day packing and resting for the long trip. When I picked Michael up from school for dinner, he made up for his previous stoicism. He burst into tears and said, "I'm gonna miss you, Daddy." I'm going to miss Michael and Trina, too. Our flight isn't until 11:00pm, so we'll fly all night, then get in to Calgary just after midnight. Trina and Michael will be home in another month.
Yesterday we went downtown, all four of us, just to give the boys a change of scenery and a chance to move around. It was raining, so we walked around the computer market, Nova, and then the underground mall around Taipei Main Station. The boys had some fun and Trina found a store that sells traditional Chinese clothing. In the end, she bought a couple things for her and a matching outfit for each of the boys. But she was looking and trying things on for about half an hour, which is much too long for Jeremy and Michael. The owner of the store was very kind and gave Michael a snack of seaweed, which he really liked. I'm sure he didn't know what it was. Fortunately, she also had a broom and dustpan, which kept Jeremy occupied. It also entertained all the passersby, to see him hard at work. I joked with the owner that she would have to charge us a little more for the seaweed, then take a little off for Jeremy's work. After that, we went out to dim sum with Joseph and May and their family.
This morning, I thought it best to prepare Michael for our departure. I told him, "You have a long day at school today, so you'll be eating lunch with your friends." That was fine with him. Then I said, "Daddy and Jeremy are leaving to go back to Canada today." "Then Mommy will pick me up from school," he said. Trina reassured me that she'll miss me. Jeremy and I spent the day packing and resting for the long trip. When I picked Michael up from school for dinner, he made up for his previous stoicism. He burst into tears and said, "I'm gonna miss you, Daddy." I'm going to miss Michael and Trina, too. Our flight isn't until 11:00pm, so we'll fly all night, then get in to Calgary just after midnight. Trina and Michael will be home in another month.
Monday, 5 May 2008
Computer Market
After Jeremy and I picked up Michael at school, we ate lunch and played in the recess room. The boys had fun, and I guess Trina was feeling good because she offered to take the boys and I could go to the computer market. She took the boys on the bus and I headed downtown.
I walked up and down the computer street, then into the new GuangHua marketplace. It's all different from before, when they had it under the overpass. For safety reasons, the city tore down the old location and is building a new IT building. It was supposed to be ready last month, but I think the sellers are in a temporary location still. I didn't need anything, but Trina suggested a USB hub and a multi card reader. If you want to have a computer build or need a knock-off of an iPod or blank CDs or DVDs, it's definitely the place to go. I did see an ACER desktop that was really small and just around $530 (without keyboard, mouse or monitor) and the first thing the guy said was: I can reduce the price! I also played for a moment with the new EeePC 900. My current one works fine, so I was not tempted to buy it. I also visited the underground computer market. It's great for spare parts and repairing systems. The most interesting thing I saw was a Chinese book (published in Taiwan in March) called something like "How to get the most out of your EeePC" which made specific reference to a package I put together to enable the advanced desktop that Asus left out. I felt a moment of pride, then moved on.
The computer market was the last on my list of things to do, other than the textile market (clothing), which we won't visit because it's too rainy. So now that I'm done, I can spend the next two days cleaning and packing and resting, hopefully reducing the severity of our jetlag.
I got back home at 4:15, and as I took out the keys to get into the house, I realised that if I had the keys, Trina wouldn't have been able to get inside. And the boys wouldn't have napped. I called the school, where Trina had just left, but they ran after her and, without going into further details, everyone had an early bedtime. Except Jeremy, who doesn't know how to go to sleep and just played in bed for hours. I fell asleep before he did, and woke up at 11:30 to find him with his arms above his head, his back on the matress, but his bum and legs on the floor.
I walked up and down the computer street, then into the new GuangHua marketplace. It's all different from before, when they had it under the overpass. For safety reasons, the city tore down the old location and is building a new IT building. It was supposed to be ready last month, but I think the sellers are in a temporary location still. I didn't need anything, but Trina suggested a USB hub and a multi card reader. If you want to have a computer build or need a knock-off of an iPod or blank CDs or DVDs, it's definitely the place to go. I did see an ACER desktop that was really small and just around $530 (without keyboard, mouse or monitor) and the first thing the guy said was: I can reduce the price! I also played for a moment with the new EeePC 900. My current one works fine, so I was not tempted to buy it. I also visited the underground computer market. It's great for spare parts and repairing systems. The most interesting thing I saw was a Chinese book (published in Taiwan in March) called something like "How to get the most out of your EeePC" which made specific reference to a package I put together to enable the advanced desktop that Asus left out. I felt a moment of pride, then moved on.
The computer market was the last on my list of things to do, other than the textile market (clothing), which we won't visit because it's too rainy. So now that I'm done, I can spend the next two days cleaning and packing and resting, hopefully reducing the severity of our jetlag.
I got back home at 4:15, and as I took out the keys to get into the house, I realised that if I had the keys, Trina wouldn't have been able to get inside. And the boys wouldn't have napped. I called the school, where Trina had just left, but they ran after her and, without going into further details, everyone had an early bedtime. Except Jeremy, who doesn't know how to go to sleep and just played in bed for hours. I fell asleep before he did, and woke up at 11:30 to find him with his arms above his head, his back on the matress, but his bum and legs on the floor.
Sunday, 4 May 2008
Our First Date
Trina mentioned to me how tired she's feeling. It's really nice to have a vacation, but I've been trying to pack a lot into under three weeks. I understand what she means.
With the boys, we walked down to buy breakfast, then played on the playground for a little while. The weather was turning very hot, so we walked up to the community pool to see what the hours and rules are. Speedos only (fortunately, they sell some that come down to the knees), no swimming shorts, swim caps required, goggles optional. Open from 5:30am to 9:00pm, and only about $1 CDN per person. We planned to come back in the afternoon.
We walked down to the train station, then took the train to the Holiday Flower Market. When Michael saw where we were, he was not very impressed. He doesn't really enjoy shopping, and it's hard to blame him. He and Jeremy amused themselves playing in the fountains, Robert looked at bonsais, the most impressive of which are the flowering ones, and Trina bought carnations for her class to put in food colouring. Jumping ahead, when she brought them to school on Monday, her teaching assistant asked apprehensively if they were for Mother's Day. White is the colour of death, so it would have been very poor taste. Trina's not so clueless, though. The flowers were just for the kids to enjoy.
After a quiet, but hot, afternoon, we went back to the pool to swim. It was 32C out and humid, but the water was cold. Jeremy was unimpressed and stayed on Trina's lap the whole time, but Michael and I really enjoyed splashing around. A little girl was kind enough to lend Michael a flutter board, but even after she wanted it back, he was perfectly happy in the water without toys. Of course, playing jumping and spinning games with Daddy was pretty exciting.
We got back home just in time for May to babysit the boys, then we were off on our first (and only) date in Taiwan. It was such a strange feeling, not have either of the boys with us. We didn't have to worry about keeping them safe on the bus, keeping them close in the crowd or walking slow enough for Michael to keep up. In fact, Trina was walking fast enough that I had to hurry to keep up. We had dinner at a steak place called St. Paul's that seemed to be pretending to be an American buffet. But when there are tea eggs and dried tofu and hot tea, it's just very Chinese. That's not to say we didn't enjoy it, and it gave us the energy we needed for some serious shopping. We bought some souvenirs, but my favourite stop was a clothing store called Giordano. I don't shop for clothes at home, but I still have a pair of pants I bought at Giordano over four years ago in Hong Kong that I really like. In fact, their clothes fit my style fairly well, which is unusual in Taiwan, where the preference seems to be for large patterns, bright colours and unique designs. The sales people got really excited when I bought three pairs of pants and four t-shirts, plus a top for Trina. We were excited that it only cost around $100 CDN.
We had a fun time out and enjoyed being together. We came back to find the boys both asleep in their clothes, sprawled across our bed in different directions. I guess they had fun, too.
With the boys, we walked down to buy breakfast, then played on the playground for a little while. The weather was turning very hot, so we walked up to the community pool to see what the hours and rules are. Speedos only (fortunately, they sell some that come down to the knees), no swimming shorts, swim caps required, goggles optional. Open from 5:30am to 9:00pm, and only about $1 CDN per person. We planned to come back in the afternoon.
We walked down to the train station, then took the train to the Holiday Flower Market. When Michael saw where we were, he was not very impressed. He doesn't really enjoy shopping, and it's hard to blame him. He and Jeremy amused themselves playing in the fountains, Robert looked at bonsais, the most impressive of which are the flowering ones, and Trina bought carnations for her class to put in food colouring. Jumping ahead, when she brought them to school on Monday, her teaching assistant asked apprehensively if they were for Mother's Day. White is the colour of death, so it would have been very poor taste. Trina's not so clueless, though. The flowers were just for the kids to enjoy.
After a quiet, but hot, afternoon, we went back to the pool to swim. It was 32C out and humid, but the water was cold. Jeremy was unimpressed and stayed on Trina's lap the whole time, but Michael and I really enjoyed splashing around. A little girl was kind enough to lend Michael a flutter board, but even after she wanted it back, he was perfectly happy in the water without toys. Of course, playing jumping and spinning games with Daddy was pretty exciting.
We got back home just in time for May to babysit the boys, then we were off on our first (and only) date in Taiwan. It was such a strange feeling, not have either of the boys with us. We didn't have to worry about keeping them safe on the bus, keeping them close in the crowd or walking slow enough for Michael to keep up. In fact, Trina was walking fast enough that I had to hurry to keep up. We had dinner at a steak place called St. Paul's that seemed to be pretending to be an American buffet. But when there are tea eggs and dried tofu and hot tea, it's just very Chinese. That's not to say we didn't enjoy it, and it gave us the energy we needed for some serious shopping. We bought some souvenirs, but my favourite stop was a clothing store called Giordano. I don't shop for clothes at home, but I still have a pair of pants I bought at Giordano over four years ago in Hong Kong that I really like. In fact, their clothes fit my style fairly well, which is unusual in Taiwan, where the preference seems to be for large patterns, bright colours and unique designs. The sales people got really excited when I bought three pairs of pants and four t-shirts, plus a top for Trina. We were excited that it only cost around $100 CDN.
We had a fun time out and enjoyed being together. We came back to find the boys both asleep in their clothes, sprawled across our bed in different directions. I guess they had fun, too.
Saturday, 3 May 2008
The World's Longest Tunnel
I woke up early this morning. Bleary eyed, I looked at my watch on the table, thought it said 7:00 and woke everyone up so that we would be ready to leave by 8:00. We all got up, got all ready to go and went to ring May's doorbell. Joseph came out and said "We're not leaving until 8:00." It turns out it was only 7:10 and Trina pointed out that I must have read the time wrong when I woke her up an hour earlier. Since that was the case, we went and bought some breakfast, and when we got back, May was ringing our doorbell, wondering where we were.
We had the same driver and the same van as the previous week. When Jeremy tried to play with the interior lights (which were off), Trina noticed that the fingerprints were still there from the week before. May told us that it used to take two hours to drive through the mountains from Taipei to YiLan, but they've built a new tunnel so it only takes 45 minutes. I think we were all glad for that. It is actually a series of three tunnels, with the longest section measuring 12.9 km. Our hosts told us that it is the world's longest tunnel, but a quick search on wikipedia shows that it is the fifth longest road tunnel in the world, second longest in East Asia. Either way, Michael sure thought it was neat.
After stopping briefly at the historic village, we decided to spend the morning in the park and the afternoon at the village. The park was beautiful, with wide open spaces, grass, trees and water. The temperature was very warm, around 30C, and the sky was clear. We played with bubbles, rode a bike, flew a kite, played ball, and ate tropical fruit. It was very relaxing and we enjoyed spending time with our friends.
Click above to view the album.
At lunch time, May and Joseph wanted to take us to a restaurant they really like. May grew up in YiLan, but she said it has changed a lot, so we had to get directions. Then they ordered way too much food, from tripe & blood pudding through mountain vegetable, mapo dofu, spicy chicken, pork belly, popcorn shrimp with sweet mayonnaise and sprinkles, betel nut tree soup, bitter melon and salty duck eggs. And for the kids, dried tofu, clams and a few other dishes. It was a veritable feast and we greatly enjoyed what we ate. I won't claim that we tried everything, though.
In the afternoon, we visited the Traditional Arts Village. Jeremy and Michael both fell asleep in the car, and we didn't have the heart to wake them. They had a big morning and a big lunch, and I could have napped myself. Joseph carried Jeremy and I carried Michael and the ladies went shopping.
You can see that I had gotten a sunburn during the morning. I tried to stay out of the sun the rest of the day, and it didn't get too serious. When the boys woke up, they were happy to just play in the grass with Annie and her cousins. Joseph took me to visit a historic residence, which I enjoyed. I told Trina that she should write what about what she did, but she said they shopped the whole time. Apparently, she found some really nice things, but since they're fragile and wrapped, I won't see them until we get home.
Apologies in advance for another diaper story. We had planned to meet at the entrance at a certain time, so Joseph and I, the boys, Annie and the cousins were all waiting inside. Jeremy dirtied his diaper, so I grabbed a clean one and went into the men's room. On the way past the ladie's room, I noticed they had a change table, which got my hopes up. I guess Taiwanese men don't change diapers, because our washroom was not equipped. I briefly considered just using the women's, since it was mostly separate from the rest of the washroom, but I told Joseph about the situation and he said Annie would help. She and her cousin attempted to change the diaper, using many wipes in the process. When I walked back past the ladie's room with Michael, I distinctly heard Annie's voice (in Chinese) saying "so stinky, so stinky!" It turns out that they got a stranger woman to help them.
On the way back to Taipei, we stopped at some hot springs and dangled our feet in for a while. It was nice and relaxing and the two boys love playing in water. Michael kicked his toes around and Jeremy amused himself by splashing a stranger. It's lucky he's so cute... but we moved him to the other side so he could splash without getting anyone else wet.
May and Joseph invited us for dim sum, but we didn't get back to Taipei until around 8:00, so decided to postpone it until Tuesday. We're looking forward to it!
We had the same driver and the same van as the previous week. When Jeremy tried to play with the interior lights (which were off), Trina noticed that the fingerprints were still there from the week before. May told us that it used to take two hours to drive through the mountains from Taipei to YiLan, but they've built a new tunnel so it only takes 45 minutes. I think we were all glad for that. It is actually a series of three tunnels, with the longest section measuring 12.9 km. Our hosts told us that it is the world's longest tunnel, but a quick search on wikipedia shows that it is the fifth longest road tunnel in the world, second longest in East Asia. Either way, Michael sure thought it was neat.
After stopping briefly at the historic village, we decided to spend the morning in the park and the afternoon at the village. The park was beautiful, with wide open spaces, grass, trees and water. The temperature was very warm, around 30C, and the sky was clear. We played with bubbles, rode a bike, flew a kite, played ball, and ate tropical fruit. It was very relaxing and we enjoyed spending time with our friends.
 |
| YiLan, Taiwan |
At lunch time, May and Joseph wanted to take us to a restaurant they really like. May grew up in YiLan, but she said it has changed a lot, so we had to get directions. Then they ordered way too much food, from tripe & blood pudding through mountain vegetable, mapo dofu, spicy chicken, pork belly, popcorn shrimp with sweet mayonnaise and sprinkles, betel nut tree soup, bitter melon and salty duck eggs. And for the kids, dried tofu, clams and a few other dishes. It was a veritable feast and we greatly enjoyed what we ate. I won't claim that we tried everything, though.
In the afternoon, we visited the Traditional Arts Village. Jeremy and Michael both fell asleep in the car, and we didn't have the heart to wake them. They had a big morning and a big lunch, and I could have napped myself. Joseph carried Jeremy and I carried Michael and the ladies went shopping.
You can see that I had gotten a sunburn during the morning. I tried to stay out of the sun the rest of the day, and it didn't get too serious. When the boys woke up, they were happy to just play in the grass with Annie and her cousins. Joseph took me to visit a historic residence, which I enjoyed. I told Trina that she should write what about what she did, but she said they shopped the whole time. Apparently, she found some really nice things, but since they're fragile and wrapped, I won't see them until we get home.
Apologies in advance for another diaper story. We had planned to meet at the entrance at a certain time, so Joseph and I, the boys, Annie and the cousins were all waiting inside. Jeremy dirtied his diaper, so I grabbed a clean one and went into the men's room. On the way past the ladie's room, I noticed they had a change table, which got my hopes up. I guess Taiwanese men don't change diapers, because our washroom was not equipped. I briefly considered just using the women's, since it was mostly separate from the rest of the washroom, but I told Joseph about the situation and he said Annie would help. She and her cousin attempted to change the diaper, using many wipes in the process. When I walked back past the ladie's room with Michael, I distinctly heard Annie's voice (in Chinese) saying "so stinky, so stinky!" It turns out that they got a stranger woman to help them.
On the way back to Taipei, we stopped at some hot springs and dangled our feet in for a while. It was nice and relaxing and the two boys love playing in water. Michael kicked his toes around and Jeremy amused himself by splashing a stranger. It's lucky he's so cute... but we moved him to the other side so he could splash without getting anyone else wet.
May and Joseph invited us for dim sum, but we didn't get back to Taipei until around 8:00, so decided to postpone it until Tuesday. We're looking forward to it!
The Hillside Town of JiuFen
Jeremy and I took Michael to school again today. That avoids some of the craziness in trying to get him and Trina both out the door by 7:30. However, I forgot Michael's backpack... again. This time it had his lunch in it and so Jeremy and I had a taxi drive back up to our apartment, then back to the school. I hope Michael really enjoyed that lunch!
After that, Jeremy and I walked to ZhongXiao FuXing intersection to take the bus to JiuFen. Trina didn't seem really interested in coming and taking both boys is not easy. Taking Jeremy wouldn't be easy, but I wanted to visit. JiuFen is like the Banff of Taipei in that it's scenic and it's a tourist destination, even for the locals. We found the bus stop on the north east side of the intersection (after walking half-way around), then waited about 15 minutes for the bus. It's just like a city bus and it runs every 20 minutes. It's only 90 NT (less than $3) for a 90 minute bus ride. The bus was totally full and we got the very last seat. Fortunately, Jeremy fell asleep fairly early into the ride, because otherwise he doesn't stay still. While on the bus, I realised that just about everyone else is from Hong Kong. They look a little different from Taiwanese people, they almost all wear blue jeans and they speak Cantonese. And a little English, so I spoke for a couple minutes with the girl Jeremy had been playing with.
The ride was quite scenic, but the view of the Pacific Ocean, when we arrived, was spectacular. Then we started down the street with the attractions. There were shops with toys and nick knacks and art and food and snacks. Some of the time Jeremy walked, but much of the time I needed to hold him, because a lot of the stuff was breakable. Even if it's not very expensive, I didn't want to pay for broken stuff. Jeremy found a massager that he thought was a hammer (and which tickled his back), so I bought that for him.
Click above for the album.
Even though it was packed, we only saw four or five other white people. There were a few tour groups from Hong Kong, though. Part of the reason may have been that it was a weekday. We stayed for two and a half hours, which was how much I enjoyed it.
We went to grab the bus home... along with a whole crowd of people. They just crammed us all in the bus, but fortunately someone gave up his seat for us. That was great, because Jeremy went to sleep almost immediately. It was a Taiwanese boy, who had been sitting with his girlfriend, and I've found that Taiwanese people are very helpful. I wonder if Hong Kong people are not helpful, since none of them even looked tempted to give up their seats. The first stop was pretty close and enough people got off that a seat opened up for the boyfriend. A few minutes later, he used his cell phone to phone his girlfriend (beside me) and tell her to ask me to switch spots with him. Jeremy was fast asleep, so it was tricky, but he had given up his seat for me, so I made the effort.
Jeremy woke up as we pulled into the bus stop and we walked back to Michael's school. We bumped into our friend Linda, who invited us out for dinner. Jeremy, Michael and I played at a nearby playground until Trina was done work, then we went to a fancy Thai restaurant at the top of Sogo. Linda used her VIP membership (with the mall?) to get the next available table, and we enjoyed great service and delicious food. Trina says the boys were better behaved, but I think we were just more calm with them, because of the atmosphere in the restaurant. Imagine eating out like that all the time... but in Calgary that would be not only expensive, but inconvenient because everything is spread so far apart and the food takes so long to arrive.
After that, Jeremy and I walked to ZhongXiao FuXing intersection to take the bus to JiuFen. Trina didn't seem really interested in coming and taking both boys is not easy. Taking Jeremy wouldn't be easy, but I wanted to visit. JiuFen is like the Banff of Taipei in that it's scenic and it's a tourist destination, even for the locals. We found the bus stop on the north east side of the intersection (after walking half-way around), then waited about 15 minutes for the bus. It's just like a city bus and it runs every 20 minutes. It's only 90 NT (less than $3) for a 90 minute bus ride. The bus was totally full and we got the very last seat. Fortunately, Jeremy fell asleep fairly early into the ride, because otherwise he doesn't stay still. While on the bus, I realised that just about everyone else is from Hong Kong. They look a little different from Taiwanese people, they almost all wear blue jeans and they speak Cantonese. And a little English, so I spoke for a couple minutes with the girl Jeremy had been playing with.
The ride was quite scenic, but the view of the Pacific Ocean, when we arrived, was spectacular. Then we started down the street with the attractions. There were shops with toys and nick knacks and art and food and snacks. Some of the time Jeremy walked, but much of the time I needed to hold him, because a lot of the stuff was breakable. Even if it's not very expensive, I didn't want to pay for broken stuff. Jeremy found a massager that he thought was a hammer (and which tickled his back), so I bought that for him.
 |
| JiuFen |
Click above for the album.
Even though it was packed, we only saw four or five other white people. There were a few tour groups from Hong Kong, though. Part of the reason may have been that it was a weekday. We stayed for two and a half hours, which was how much I enjoyed it.
We went to grab the bus home... along with a whole crowd of people. They just crammed us all in the bus, but fortunately someone gave up his seat for us. That was great, because Jeremy went to sleep almost immediately. It was a Taiwanese boy, who had been sitting with his girlfriend, and I've found that Taiwanese people are very helpful. I wonder if Hong Kong people are not helpful, since none of them even looked tempted to give up their seats. The first stop was pretty close and enough people got off that a seat opened up for the boyfriend. A few minutes later, he used his cell phone to phone his girlfriend (beside me) and tell her to ask me to switch spots with him. Jeremy was fast asleep, so it was tricky, but he had given up his seat for me, so I made the effort.
Jeremy woke up as we pulled into the bus stop and we walked back to Michael's school. We bumped into our friend Linda, who invited us out for dinner. Jeremy, Michael and I played at a nearby playground until Trina was done work, then we went to a fancy Thai restaurant at the top of Sogo. Linda used her VIP membership (with the mall?) to get the next available table, and we enjoyed great service and delicious food. Trina says the boys were better behaved, but I think we were just more calm with them, because of the atmosphere in the restaurant. Imagine eating out like that all the time... but in Calgary that would be not only expensive, but inconvenient because everything is spread so far apart and the food takes so long to arrive.
Thursday, 1 May 2008
TungHua Street Night Market
The boys surprised us today by sleeping in. Jeremy, who is usually wakes up around 6:30, slept until 8:00, and I decided to wake Michael up at 9:00. I guess we've had some really busy days. We took Michael to school (late, of course), and promised to come back and pick him up at 11:30. That would only give us about 1 hour 45 minutes, but it was a nice day, so I walked Jeremy the way I used to walk to work after dropping off Trina. As I walked past the Hess bookstore where we often used to go to read, I noticed it was closing down. All the shelves had been pulled out and there was a big sign about a clearance sale. I was and I wasn't surprised. Trina had just taken Michael to read there a few weeks ago, so it seemed really sudden. But it seems that stores open and close and move really frequently here. Like the Starbucks that used to be on the corner by our house is a Barrista Coffee now, but the Barrista Coffee that used to be across from the DaAn MRT stop is now a Starbucks.
I didn't find the first school I had worked for. They were just moving at the end of the year in which I worked there and I didn't find the new location. But I walked up to the old location (which is just empty) and through the massively busy morning market that's just two blocks away. That brought back memories.
Then I walked up to the second place I worked, Princeton School. I wasn't sure what I would find. I had worked there the first year they opened, along with two other teachers. And there were a total of about 10 kids. The school is still there, and I rang the bell and asked if I could have a tour of the school with my son. They brought us up and put Jeremy in the recess class to play. I think Jeremy really wishes he could have school, like Michael, because he's always sad when we drop off Michael and he was really sad when we had to leave this school.
I didn't find the first school I had worked for. They were just moving at the end of the year in which I worked there and I didn't find the new location. But I walked up to the old location (which is just empty) and through the massively busy morning market that's just two blocks away. That brought back memories.
Then I walked up to the second place I worked, Princeton School. I wasn't sure what I would find. I had worked there the first year they opened, along with two other teachers. And there were a total of about 10 kids. The school is still there, and I rang the bell and asked if I could have a tour of the school with my son. They brought us up and put Jeremy in the recess class to play. I think Jeremy really wishes he could have school, like Michael, because he's always sad when we drop off Michael and he was really sad when we had to leave this school.
Isabelle, the owner, didn't recognise me, but I told her I had taught there and she invited us to their Mother's Day picnic. She also told me that one of my two students moved back to Korea. And the school is now half Chinese, half English. I'm happy for her that there were four classes of about 8-10 kids who looked happy, so the school must be doing okay. They still use the same songbooks and resources, so everything still looks the same (except more kids now).
After we picked up Michael, we came home for an afternoon nap for Jeremy. Michael watched a new DVD, Wonder Pets, because he's a big boy and can choose whether or not to nap. Well, that and he slept until 9:00. We wanted the boys to be rested because we were going to brave a night market, so we could visit what had previously been one of our favourites.
We started with dinner at a knife-cut noodle restaurant, where we used to eat. I noticed during my morning walk it was still there. It's still run by the same people, and they still make a good mooshoo noodle and a good beef and tomato noodle soup. On the other hand, the boys didn't eat much and were a bit of a distraction. After dinner, we walked back to our favourite traditional ice desert place. It looked totally different. They have more space now, so I guess that means it's pretty popular. And their menu is way easier to order from. Before, you would order a la carte from: black jelly, yellow jelly, tang yuan balls, zheng zhu pearls, green beans, red beans, lemon juice and cream. But the lemon juice can only go with the yellow jelly and the cream only with the black jelly, so we were embarrassed a few times when we tried to make combinations that weren't "right". Now they have set combinations that are numbered, so you can just get a "number 4". They hand you a pager and page you when it's ready, even if you're just sitting right in the restaurant. It was really good and Jeremy really enjoyed it. Michael only had a little bit, because he was thinking of the ice cream next door.
Then we went through the night market. It was not quite as we remembered. It was jam-packed with people. Trina found a 10 NT store. We found the deep fried yam and taro balls. Michael only wanted to eat the purple ones. But the DVD/VCD store only sells posters now. It's harder with two small boys and it's less fun with multiple potty breaks (at a nasty outdoor bathroom). Still, at the end of the night market the boys enjoyed looking at all the puppies in the pet stores and then we called it a day.
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