pictures!

i narrowed the ~1000 pictures i took down to a more manageable 300.  enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lizfehrenbach/SweetPotato

home, safe and sound

it's a rainy friday morning here in seattle, like taipei's drizzle only much cooler.  these last couple hours, i've been organizing the pictures from my travels, which has given me some time to contemplate the trip from beginning to end.

the last night i was in taiwan, i took the MRT all the way to danshui, a northern "suburb" of taipei.  it was a long subway ride, from one end of the line to the other, giving me ample time to people-watch as the car went into and then back out of the city.  as we pulled into the danshui station, the river came into view, and then a beautiful, serene mountain--which i later learned was named guanyin, after the goddess of compassion.  finally, i could see where the river met the sea; it was the late afternoon, so the sun was sitting low in the sky over the ocean horizon.  even through the thick plexiglass of the subway car window, the scene was quite breathtaking.

once outside the station, i visited a couple old temples on the surrounding streets, both of which felt very ancient and holy in the fading light.  back along the waterfront, i managed to catch the sun finally slipping beneath the water, and the boardwalk was soon bustling with young couples and tourists and kids on bikes.  i walked along the "old street" and as usual, marveled at the food selection of danshui's version of a night market: stinky tofu, fruit coated in hard sugar, preserved eggs, dried plums, fried everything.  i erred on the lighter, less unusual side with corn-on-the-cob, fresh squeezed melon juice, and some fried rice.

and for a few bucks, i got my feet massaged by a blind man at one of the ubiquitous massage centers in the city.

i mention this all because the trip to danshui seemed to encapsulate everything i loved about taiwan: the lovely and sometimes wacky differences in our cultures, the energy of the people, the natural surroundings, the urban bustle.  the food and the temples.  that intersection of old and new, quiet and noisy, simple and complicated, natural and man-made.  it was an amazing trip, and i hope you enjoyed reading along as i explored how magically all of those contrasts exist on one little, sweet-potato shaped island.

i'll return to portland this weekend, with candy and tea for everyone!  thank you for reading!

ani's pictures on picasa

here is the link to pictures ani took during the three weeks we were in taiwan together: 

http://picasaweb.google.com/ani.nelson/Taiwan

i'm happy to note that her album includes photos from our night of karaoke madness.

picasa is in the process of uploading the pictures i took during the trip, so as soon as it's finished i'll post the link here!

my last posting!?! already?

time flies.

i'm at the airport now, enjoying the use of a free computer set up near a gift shop. upon arriving at the airport, i also got to enjoy putting all my baggage on a free cart--no spare change needed to free it from its siblings. i'm going to miss taiwan!

somehow six weeks has passed, and i find myself wishing i had blogged more. especially since i have just a few minutes before i need to go through security and customs. but i look forward to sharing many stories in person.

today we went to the top of taipei 101, currently the world's tallest building. it was a beautiful, sunny, blue sky day, and the city looked incredible from up there. a farewell dinner after finishing my packing--where i realized that i've bumped into quite a lovely bunch of people while here--rounded out my last day. and of course, that one additional trip to the grocery store to get a few more things to bring home.

all day long i kept thinking, "i don't want to go!" i will have to return as there is much to see and do still in this beautiful and intriguing place.

i look forward to greeting the US with fresh eyes--always a trip! when i return home i will definitely post some pictures, long overdue. until then!

giant mouse lantern?

in an earlier post i mentioned visiting the national lantern festival, "solar city," held this year just outside of tainan. every hour, a giant mouse lantern (honoring the year of the rat) in the center of the fairgrounds would light up and start to spin on its pedestal, wildly dramatic music blasting--so loud you couldn't hear people around you talking--and lasers flying everywhere. it was incredibly over-the-top, and in the course of spending an evening at the festival, i was privileged to witness it three or four times. so silly!

i found a youtube clip capturing the spectacle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UrsFtsHIy0

the action starts about a minute into the clip.

new york times in taipei

lovely annie bergelin sent me the link to an article in the new york times travel section, exploring taipei in 36 hours. everyone's doing it!

http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/travel/02hours.html?ex=1204952400&en=f5ab42b5b59cad1d&ei=5070&emc=eta1

up a hill, down a mountain

on friday i woke up early and made my way, via multiple subway lines and eventually (no joke) a gondola, to the little town of maokong, nestled in the foothills at the edge of southeastern taipei. according to my trusty lonely planet guide, maokong was once famous for the varieties of tea grown on its hillsides--but eventually, as the city border pushed farther and farther towards the hills, maokong's reputation for the place to go to drink tea surpassed its reputation as a place to grow it. now there is an abundance of teahouses nestled into the forest, and just a few remaining tea farms. i arrived in maokong, not to drink tea, however, but to summit its tallest peak... ergeshan!

before i dive into my hiking adventures, i have to mention the gondola ride. the gondola is operated by the metro transit authority, the same people who manage the subway, buses, etc. in taipei--so, despite the fact that it consists of tiny little cabins strung high up on steel cables floating over the forest, it is just another form of public transportation. which meant that i used my metro pass to get on, and thus getting to glimpse the most stunning view of taipei city and the surrounding environs set me back just over $1. riding up, i was a little scared, partly because we were swinging way, way above the trees, and every time we went over one of the cable exchanges there was the predictable, yet still unnerving clunk-clunk-clunk of the gears. but partly because, right before i was supposed to climb into one of the gondolas, the young attendant manning the line spun around, yelled what i assumed to be a chinese swear word meaning "oh no!" and ran over to the gondola just ahead, fiddling with something near the doors just as the gondola swung out over the platform. he look relieved as he came back over to where i stood, then pointed at the empty gondola in front of me with a look on his face like, "why haven't you gotten in yet?"

the six other passengers i shared the gondola ride seemed to spend the first half of the journey (which lasted 30 minutes) talking about what had been the problem with that other gondola, judging by their hand gestures. it was one of those moments i really wished i could speak mandarin, especially because the guy across from me was methodically, yet somewhat anxiously, moving his fingers across a string of prayer beads as the others pointed at the door, and the window, and the big hook holding us onto the cable. eventually, everyone seemed to settle down; the guy with the beads relaxed his grip on them a bit, and i think in an attempt to distract himself, asked me, "where you from?" i said seattle--it's the easiest answer-- and he replied, with an earnest grin, "ah, seattle! you get no rest!" which i nodded yes to, and smiled, without understanding what he was saying. only a few minutes later did i realize that he must have been referring to "sleepless in seattle." it was a classic, thoroughly enjoyable, lost in translation moment. made me forget all about those gondola problems, and at any rate, we made it safely to the top. and taipei looked mighty fine against the clear blue sky!

anyways, the hiking: like many of the trails i've explored this week, the climb to ergeshan began with an epic staircase cut into the hillside. earlier in the week, for example, i hiked the tienmu trail at the northern edge of taipei, which follows a path cut by the japanese during their occupation--and began with at least 1000 stone steps which quickly took me high above the city. leaving maokong, the staircase was much shorter, but it still got me pretty winded, more winded than i wanted to be considering i had hours of hiking ahead of me. but i appreciated the efficiency of the trailblazers: why waste all that space with switchbacks when you can just cut to the chase and take a set of stairs straight up?

the stairs deposited me on a narrow ridge, which i followed for about an hour, before coming to an intersection with many assorted signs in chinese--and while i could see many of the signs had the character for mountain (which looks kind of like the top of a fork) on them, i didn't recognize much else. and there was not a soul around (nor would there be for much of the rest of the hike!) to ask. the guidebook had said, "continue taking rights for the first part of the hike, and then follow the signs to continue on the correct trail." so i took a right, and hiking for another hour or so i soon found myself at the summit of a different mountain, this one 460 meters high. great view, a couple of small tea farms alongside the trail, and a few tiny temples-- but not ergeshan. so i turned around, hiked back down, and returning to the same intersection, noticed the chinese characters for "erge" on a small sign on one of the trees.

one of the confusing things was that, all along the trail, there were plastic ribbons tied to the trees, found at predictable intervals, with writing on them and what looked like the insignia of some trail organization. i assumed that they were there to indicate, "you're on the right trail!" because i imagined the trail to ergeshan to be the most popular. standing at the top of the anonymous 460m mountain, i realized that those ribbons--of different colors, some looking older, some newer--were left by people hiking the trail as markers that they were there. they say, "i was here! i hiked this trail in 2001/2004/2007!" not "you're on the way to ergeshan"! feeling a little foolish, i decided that if i ever come back to taiwan, i must learn chinese beyond "thank you" and "noodles" and "mountain" if i want to keep myself out of trouble.

all of this induced me to dig out my compass, which i should have done earlier. the funny thing is, the guidebook mentions that the hike to ergeshan is somewhat grueling--the trail is well maintained but still very rugged, and is steep and rocky almost all of the way--but it does not mention that, even on the correct route, you first climb another peak, then descend, then climb to the top of ergeshan. so another hour or so later, i stood at the top of another unnamed mountain, 550m high, enjoying another beautiful view.

finally, sweaty, very dirty (i was often on all fours, clambering up rocks and logs and muddy trail) and a little dizzy from what you could call "summit fever" (i was going to get to ergeshan, or else!)--i arrived at the top of ergeshan, 678m. and it was well worth it--the narrow trail opened up to a wide wooden platform, from which i could see for miles in every direction. there was taipei, sprawling and shimmery, with the world's tallest building appearing not-so-tall (it's a "measly" 509m--been there! done that!) and then green, lush forest everywhere else. wow.

i pranced on down to the trailhead (and back up to the top of the 550m peak in the process) then emerged onto the main street in maokong feeling a little bit like i was the boy raised by wolves--all around me, women in high heels draped on the arms of men wearing aviator sunglasses, families in clean, starched outfits taking photographs in front of the city skyline. riding the gondola, homeward-bound, i considered that i hadn't really climbed to any extraordinary height that day--i just looked up the height of mt. si, outside of seattle, which as ani and sadie and all of my high school cross-country teammates know, i have attempted to RUN up and it checks in at 1200m-- so why was i so exhausted and bedragled? was it the terrain? the additional 460 and 550m climbs? the furious pace i adopted as summit fever took over? who knows. but i was ready for a big meal, a warm shower, and a good night's rest.

today i returned to the forest--this time in the neidong recreation area, just south of doug's apartment, home of a beautiful three-tiered waterfall and lots of stark rock formations. as for the hike, let's just say it began with yet another staircase.

on foot in taipei city

i arrive back in taipei on sunday evening, and after a light meal of steamed buns and sweet potato greens (my stomach needing a little rest after a week full of culinary adventures) i hit the hay.

monday morning i was up and out of the apartment early--ready to begin my weeklong exploration of taipei's outer edges. i borrowed doug's scooter to ride down to the subway station, instead of taking the bus, and enjoyed the thrilling and breezy ride amongst the chaos that is taipei traffic. i have to report that his scooter goes much faster than the little one i used to drive back in the states.

i began the day hiking up zhishan, or zhi mountain, which lies within the northeastern edge of the city. climbing up the stairs right off the sidewalk--honking cars, speeding scooters, restaurants and apartment buildings just behind me--i was soon in an oasis of trees, the roar of the city below seeming very far away. the top of the mountain offered incredible views, with taipei stretched out as far as the eye could see. i continued to hike around the top for another hour or so, discovering a number of little shrines just off the path, small engraved stone tablets set upright in the earth, nestled in the vines and flowers. happening upon a small plaza also near the top, i watched silently as a crew of very elderly gentlemen and ladies went through their daily exercises and stretches. a few sat quietly, meditating.

intending to head back down the mountain, i started to walk down the path on the side opposite the staircase i had taken up, and soon the path opened up onto another larger plaza, and turning the corner around a stand of trees, a large temple stood before me. after marvelling that such a structure could be hidden on this mountain--which, with all due respect, is really more of a hill--i consulted my lonely planet guide and found that the temple was built to honor Chen Yuan Kwang, a "revered sage and general" who lived 1500 years ago. the first hall of the temple contained what i guessed to be General Chen's likeness, and for a temple tucked away from the urban environment below, there was a lot of bustle surrounding him: a few men were meditating silently beneath Chen's statue, families were arranging sacrificial foods just inside the entrance, and the office nearby was emitting all the sounds of a typical workplace (typing, phone ringing, the shuffle of papers).

the room behind the main hall was actually an open-air courtyard, which is one of my favorite features seen in the many temples visited so far. the inside rooms of temples are usually very dark, except for the lighting on the statues, so there is always something magnificent about walking into the next room and being blinded by the daylight; when your eyes finally adjust, you are greeted with ornate sculptures, flowing water (usually), and all the intensely bright colors used to decorate the temple architecture. it all seems to sparkle in the light.

just past the courtyard was another shrine, this one filled with absolutely the most beautiful buddha statue i have seen in my travels. perhaps it was my eyes, still adjusting to being back in the darkness of the temple, but the sitting buddha seemed almost alive, the gold of the statue seeming closer to skin, the eyes seeming to take notice of me as i stood there, transfixed. stopped in my tourist tracks, i suddenly noticed two things that had somehow escaped me before: the whole room smelled like jasmine flowers, and somewhere nearby, there was a monk chanting the sutra. how had i not noticed the ringing of the bells or the monk's voice? or the sweet scent in the air? and further, where did this magical temple come from? where was i?

back outside, i took a seat under a big shady tree, still stunned. eventually, i wandered back down the mountain, encountering along the way another beautiful statue, this one of guanyin, the goddess of compassion. she is always pictured with a water vessel in hand, tilted downwards, the contents presumably pouring out--which i have imagined to represent her endless ability to give, to nurture.

i walked along the shuangxi river--the banks and wetlands set aside as a riverside park--and then took the MRT to the grand hotel, one of the most visible landmarks in the city. it is a massive, chinese-style high rise, complete with red pillars, swallowtail roof, and ornate detailing. i made sure to peek into the lobby, which is as luxurious as the exterior would make you expect: huge pillars, red velvet everywhere, and one of those wide staircases that is meant for grand entrances.

my intended destination was the martyr's shrine, a 10-minute walk away from the hotel. at this plaza and sanctuary, the taiwanese government honors those who have died in past wars, and the front gate and inner hall are guarded by silent, unmoving guards. every hour, these young men change positions, twirling their bayonets and moving deliberately through an elaborate series of steps and exchanges. unlike in the states, where we would watch something like this from behind a railing, we were allowed to march along with the soldiers as they went through their routine, only having to move slightly away from them during the segments where their bayonets went flying. participating along with them made it feel much more like i, too, was honoring those who died instead of just witnessing their ritual, my steps expressing solidarity with the respectful precision offered by the guards. i wondered what this meant for taiwanese that visited the site--are they ultimately more aware of the toll of war? what would happen, for instance, if americans visiting d.c. participated alongside soldiers as they changed guards at the tomb of the unknown, for example, or other markers of american sacrifice and loss? i was reminded of a documentary i saw on the artist maya lin, who designed the vietnam veterans memorial. she intended for the memorial, which grows larger as you descend into it, to invoke a similar feeling of participation and solidarity, so that it would not be a monument glorifying battle, but one that grieves its toll. i felt something similar yesterday.

oh, kaohsiung!

with the generous hospitality of sharon and her family, i've managed to stay in tainan for a whole week now, instead of the two or three days i'd been planning on. what a lovely week it's been!

yesterday was a holiday, so the two sisters had off from work and wanted to make a mini-vacation of it. an early rising and quick breakfast, and we found ourselves in the southern town of kaohsiung by ten AM. stepping out of the car into the bright sunlight and pleasantly warm breeze, i soon had given my sunglasses more face-time than they've seen this entire trip; my pale legs, meanwhile, were enjoying only their second day in shorts since i arrived six weeks ago.

we began our kaohsiung vacation with a walk around lotus pond, a man-made lake in the past notable for the way it perfectly reflects the beautiful temples that dot its shores. within the past year, however, with the city chosen as the host for the 2009 world games, the pond has been drained in order to make "improvements", so we were confronted with a lunar-like landscape--mounds of gray silt--with the disturbing addition of dead fish and garbage. still intoxicated by the summer weather, and a little off-put by the surreal manifestation of city planning, we quickly moved on to exploring those many temples around the "pond." with each, i grew more and more astonished at the craftsmanship, the artistry, and the strength of people's beliefs. buddhist, confucian, taoist; i was struck by how much reverence is embodied in the attention to detail, in the attempt to make everything perfect and right. a temple's holiness, the closeness of its connection to the higher spirits, is evidenced by how well-worn it is, the ceiling and pillars darkened by incense smoke over the centuries, the floor worn and the kneelers creased from person after person coming to worship. temples are the center of a neighborhood's civic life, public commons that are practical and familiar but at the same time feel incredibly sacred and special, and i find myself so intrigued and pleased that a single space can embody all of that.

later in the morning, we took a quick ferry ride across the kaohsiung harbor to cijin island, a narrow stretch of land protecting the world's fourth or fifth largest port. we first walked down "seafood street" ogling the fresh, fresh seafood on display, and soon found ourselves enjoying an incredibly delicious lunch of noodles and sauteed greens with shrimp and clams, capped off with a couple of glasses of guava juice and orange slices. next we wandered along the shore--a long, sandy beach, with rocky outcroppings that reminded me of the oregon coast--and climbed up to an old lighthouse perched on one of the cliffs above. quite a view from up there! after taking the ferry back and hiking up a bluff back on the main island, we wound down the afternoon with tea and cake at an old british consulate building constructed during the dutch settlement, way back when. facing the vast pacific ocean, i tried to grasp that it was only water between us and my pacific northwest home, and as soon as the sun set in that direction, we hopped back in the car for the drive home.

last night, sharon and i explored the local night market, and like past night market visits, i found my stomach soon full of the most random assortment of foods. it's like going to a party and sampling from the buffet table, only with an abundance of items that you've never tasted or even heard of before (squid dumplings? smoked plum candy? apple juice tea?). my tastebuds were soon overwhelmed by the excitement (and the MSG). i loaded up on local candies to bring back to the states and called it an evening.

today, i accompanied sharon to the school she works at, and after catching breakfast with her (another new taste: an omelette rolled in a dumpling wrapper) i wandered the city alone for a while. a little window shopping, a few more gifts to bring home, and a delightful half-hour passed browsing the chinese and japanese fashion magazines at the college bookstore. and... my first successful solo experience ordering a meal from one of the small, family-owned sidewalk restaurants. while i've navigated other food venues successfully on my own these past couple weeks, these little restaurants pose more of a challenge: no menu or english, no pictures to point at or items to select from, just me and my minuscule catalogue of mandarin words and phrases. but--voila! sweet potato greens sauteed with garlic, dry noodles with tangy bean curd sauce, and the owner treated me to soup to finish it off. i felt brave and exhilarated.

more road running and a day with the girls

after finishing my last blog posting on friday evening, i packed up my bags to take a quick trip down to tainan for the "ancient capital city marathon" held on sunday. while registration for all of the big races was closed, there was a free 3K open to anyone held towards the end of the morning that i intended to run in.

arriving in tainan on saturday, i made my way to ani's uncle's apartment to make myself at home, only to discover that i was missing one of the two keys necessary to get into the apartment. a phone call to one of my taipei "aunties" and i soon found myself crashing at the lovely home of twinky and santiago (who were mentioned in a previous posting) and enjoying their generous hospitality. the next morning, santiago gave me a lift to the start of the race, and walking into the quiet yet bustling registration area i immediately had that familiar race-morning feeling: there's something about being in my running shoes, with the dark grey early morning skies above me and trampled sidewalk grass beneath my feet that makes me feel right at home. and typically, a little nervous for the race ahead--but not so much, of course, for this race.

waiting in line to get my free number and safety pins, an elderly gentleman approached me, all smiles, and asked me in broken english if i would be running the 3K. i said yes, which made his smile grow wider, and he even clapped a bit. it turned out, from what i could gather, that he was one of the "old guard" members of the taiwanese road running club which had organized the race (as well as the one i ran with ani and matt earlier in the trip). he was so happy that a foreigner was in tainan to run that he wanted to get a picture with me, and then presented me with a gift of a beautiful silk scarf with a drawing of the main building of tainan's public university on it. a very sweet gift, which he insisted on immediately tying around my neck. ultimately, when the race started a little while later, then, i found myself running in what i consider to be a more typical taiwanese running outfit than my usual garb: t-shirt and shorts, but with the addition of a scarf around my neck and a backpack (carrying warmer clothes, water, camera, sunscreen, map of tainan, borrowed cellphone, etc. etc.) strapped securely to my back. my first race with a backpack. and a scarf, for that matter.

the outfit ended up not being too important because, unless i missed a turn somewhere, the race was definitely not 3K in length. and no one really seemed to care. i was only confused because we had been running for just ten minutes when we turned the corner, and lo-and-behold, there was the starting line. when we crossed it, everyone started walking off the course. this is one of those moments when i really felt like a foreigner. where was everyone going? we were just getting started! i briefly considered that somehow during my travels, without running more than a few times and even spending a whole week sitting on my butt, i had managed to become so fit that without even feeling it i had been on track to pace a 17 minute 5K. ha!

after thoroughly stretching from such rigorous exertion, i waited patiently at the finish line to see the first marathoners come through. at just about 2 hours, 18 minutes (incredible) a kenyan runner named bernard mutai--defending champion of last year's race--finished the 26.2 mile course and he was the picture of strength and grace as he cruised past the line. the win netted him the first place prize of $500,000 NT, or about 15,000 US dollars (pretty good hourly wage!). about 45 minutes later, the first female came through, a very petite asian woman--but i wasn't able to catch her name. she also took home $500,000 NT.

later that day, twinky and i explored a few local wonders in taiwan: the confucius temple (beautiful), the 60-year-old lily fruit shop (perfect slices of lantern fruit and fresh squeezed OJ), and a famous fujianese meatball shop. we ended up at one of twinky's personal favorites in the city, the shih kong mitsukoshi department store, where we perused the shoe section with such diligence that i felt i was in the presence of a master shopper. i ended the day with the purchase, unexpectedly, of a pair of yellow high heels-- trust me, they're cute!

yesterday i enjoyed the surreal experience of watching the oscars, live, over breakfast. it was quite enjoyable to curl up on the couch and witness that whole hollywood-world from across the ocean. and when twinky returned from her morning grocery shopping, we got to debate the best outfits of the evening, and identify our shared taste in men ("very handsome" she would say... "yes, yes, very handsome!" i would agree). we spent the afternoon in the harbor town of anping, enjoying more local cuisine favorites and walking the narrow pedestrian streets. we met the owners of a 100-year-old preserved fruit store, still in its original occupation-era building, and took home dried and pickled plums, and some sort of pickled red root vegetable that i wasn't able to catch the name of... but the taste had me sold.

at this shop, looking at a picture of the family back in the early 1900's, i couldn't help but overlay my newly acquired knowledge of taiwanese history over the history of the business. back when the shop opened, the japanese occupation had just begun. amidst that uncertainty, they opened the shop and it has remained in the same location, and under the same family ownership, to this day. they even use some of the same large preserving containers. it's amazing, in the swirl of so many different forms of taiwan, to see something so constant. this thought also crossed my mind the day before, at the fruit shop twinky took me to: it was opened in 1947, the same year as the 2.28 massacre. amidst all of the fear gripping the country as its own government executed civilians, a family opened a fruit shop on a busy corner in tainan; there i was, over 60 years later, enjoying their famed products on a sunny sunday afternoon.

today, i spent the day with sharon and viola, nieces of twinky and santiago, ages 29 and 27. we had a nice girls' day out: lunch and a movie ("enchanted", the disney fairy tale, of course) and then a walk through the small town they live in outside of tainan. last night, their parents took all of us to the "solar city" lantern festival, which was absolutely amazing, a taiwanese tradition of paper lanterns in all shapes and sizes and colors. quite the visual experience, witnessed with corn-on-the-cob in one hand and a "taiwan beer" purchased for me by sharon and viola's dad in the other. i felt like one of the crowd, and it was perfect.

quiet and noisy

it's been about a week since we returned from the meditation retreat. since arriving back in taipei last thursday evening, i've been ticking off the well-known sights of the city, and recovering--if that is the appropriate word--from our week at the mountain.

what can i say about the retreat? wow. or whoa. it was comparable in many ways to the week-long bicycle ride that i did with my dad, mei-yen, and fran a couple of years ago: long, solemn stretches trying to "pay no attention" to the discomfort in my body and mind, interspersed with eating and sleeping. but in many other ways, the week was incomparable to anything i've experienced before, and i found it most of the time to be an incredibly difficult week. but for all the reasons it was difficult, i am incredibly glad to have participated.

in order to maximize the effectiveness of the meditation practice, the retreat limited our sensory input and output: no speaking, very few things to listen to, simple food and water, a beautiful but austere setting in the mountains. within the first few sessions of meditating, my mind had run out of the data it needed to fuel its typical pattern of hashing out my surroundings, reviewing recent interactions, etc. it was like silt settling in still water, and it uncovered a second layer of thoughts that only sporadically make their way to the surface: very old memories, songs and phrases, lingering feelings, faces and scenes. more sitting, and my mind began to loosen its grasp on those thoughts, too. for brief moments, my mind was still and it was incredibly peaceful.

without the energy spent on talking and overthinking things like i usually do, all that energy was pent up inside me and, towards the middle of the week, i felt more and more like a cauldron, ready to overflow. sitting with correct posture, that energy started to move quickly through my body, and sometimes my teeth would chatter or i would suddenly realize that i was swaying. but the heat created felt good--it kept me warm and made it so much easier to sit with my legs tightly crossed for hours on end. in fact, the times when i wasn't sitting well-- too distracted or something similar-- my legs never warmed up and attempting to stand up would remind me of this fully. when i sat still, and relaxed, i really enjoyed my time sitting and looked forward to getting back on the cushion. when i was tense, or having trouble, the sitting was like an endless hillclimb.

because of the unique characteristics of my body--very hot, in chinese medicine terms--i was restricted to a diet of steamed veggies and rice during the week. not used to this new arrangement, my body protested via a wicked, but quickly passing, head cold and general feelings of weakness and discomfort on and off throughout the week. i spent the fourth day sleeping, after the most magical meal of cold medicine, hot soup and toast. waking up, it was a new world: my head was clear and i felt stronger than i had all week. the women at my dinner table, watching these various states unfold before their eyes, were incredibly kind and never let me do a dish all week. even though we were silent, and the language barrier prevented them from fully understanding my whispered commentary to my translator (i did get to speak a little bit!), i felt their compassion and it was much appreciated. at the end of the retreat, after we were able to speak again, many of them approached me, and in very broken english told me they had daughters my age. and could i give my email address so their daughters can write me to practice english?

i could write more about the retreat (maybe i will in upcoming posts) but i want to mention a bit about my adventures this week, here in taipei. lonely planet guide in hand, i've been making my way to the some of the most interesting and well-known parts of the city, and it's been incredibly enjoyable. i love riding the crowded, yet orderly, subway; getting food from street vendors when i can figure out what they're selling and how to order it; and ultimately seeing how taiwan became the place it is today.

a few sites of note, all relating to taiwanese political history.

1) the former estate of the president/dictator chiang kai-shek. sprawling gardens and paths, and a huge home, at the edge of taipei, one of fifteen of his estates. for fifty years, taiwan was under martial law, and this was the man at the helm, holding fast to his vision of returning to the mainland and restoring china to its full glory. the gardens are now maintained as a park, and i enjoyed smelling the many varieties of roses on the beautiful grounds, but felt odd walking around a place with such troublesome history. a highlight was discovering a small path up the hillside behind the estate, where i happened upon a white cement sanctuary built to honor the president's mother. from the top of the sanctuary you could see much of taipei, with none of the noise of the bustling city below, and a little translated sign mentioned that this is where the president often came to contemplate and brainstorm.

2) another place irrevocably tied to the former president, the chiang kai-shek memorial plaza, now called the "democracy memorial." ani and i visited at night a couple weeks ago, but i wanted to come back during daylight to walk up the eighty-nine steps (one for every year of the president's life) to the enormous, gentle-giant statue of him in a cavernous hall. the monument was erected to the prez just a few years after his death (early 1990's i, think) and by now, his name and other mention of him have been removed from the building and displays. but he still sits, facing china, looking very benevolent and wise--which is not really the way anyone i have spoken to remembers him, of course. i enjoyed all of the displays they've added to the hall which document, in photographs, taiwan's realization of a democratic election and the end of martial law. the pictures of people marching boldly together, carrying signs with slogans of hope and justice, were quite inspiring and i had the feeling that taiwan still holds democracy as a very precious commodity. certainly nothing to be taken for granted.

3) the 2.28 memorial museum. soon after the japanese returned taiwan to china in the late 1940s (japan had occupied the country from the turn of the century) conflict erupted as china attempted to reexert its authority over the island. beginning on february 28, 1947 the government massacred tens of thousands of taiwanese civilians, mostly well-educated and politically active men, virtually eliminating the professional class of doctors, lawyers, businessmen, local politicians, etc. the massacres marked the beginning of what is referred to as the "white terror" --the suppression of any political opposition, martial law and oppressive government tactics carried out by the KMT (chiang kai-shek's party)--which lasted another half century. wikipedia cites that over 140,000 taiwanese were jailed or murdered all together during this time period. the museum chronicles the japanese occupation and the events of 2.28, and with the help of an elderly volunteer who graciously dug up an english audio guide for me to use, i wandered the museum for much longer than i expected to, captivated by this history.

the next day, having dinner with locals, i brought up my visit to the museum and was rewarded with an earful about the ensuing martial law and taiwan's current relationship with china. all were in favor of an independent taiwan, and had many tales to tell of the barriers that prevent taiwan from asserting its independence, and the many reasons that china continues to have interest in keeping the island under its control.

today my explorations did not touch on politics or history: a drive up to yang ming mountain to ogle at the flower blossoms and verdant surroundings, then a visit to a water lily farm (i got my boots all muddy searching for perfectly sculpted lilies, my idea of a lovely afternoon), dinner, and a long drive home through taipei traffic.

more soon, i swear!

happy chinese new year! xin nian kuai le!

we just returned from a festive evening ringing in the chinese new year. outside the apartment here in tainan, i can hear the sporadic booms of fireworks. next to the computer, little red envelopes collected throughout the evening, filled with gifts of cash from the "grown-ups" in attendance.

i'll have to write later about our mountain and taipei travels last week.... yesterday, ani and i took the high speed rail down to tainan from taipei. it was a little expensive (around 40 dollars) but what a nice ride! big, cozy seats, wide windows for watching the countryside zoom past; an enjoyable ride from one end of the country to the other in under two hours. upon arriving, we were greeted with blue skies and comfortably warm weather--a nice change of pace from the northwest-esque weather of taipei. dinner at the apartment, and then matt took us to his favorite local bar for karaoke and drinks.

we karaoke'd in much different style than i am used to. there were screens behind the bar, and big wireless microphones that got passed around from one patron to another. we handed song selections to the owner of the bar, ming li, and then sang our songs, sitting at the bar, facing the bartenders. it made for a bit more anonymity, freeing me up to sing such classics as WHAM's "wake me up before you go-go," the always-popular "sweet caroline," and, of course, "billie jean." ming li made us her infamous long island ice tea--and me, having not had a single drink in maybe a month or more, foolishly was entranced by the lemony goodness of said beverage... drank two, and found myself drunk. but luckily, not too drunk to forget the memories of taiwanese businessmen belting out love songs and singing back-up during my musical numbers ("the kid is not my son!" one guy sang loudly during "billie jean"). when i get back to taipei, i'll be sure to upload a picture giving evidence to the mayhem.

waking up late, with a headache, i took refuge on the couch before getting ready for the new year's festivities. we celebrated at the family home of one of uncle doug's associates, santiago, who--along with his dynamo wife, twinky--lavished us with generous hospitality. we started dinner with a plate of steamed spinach, kept whole (root and all). we each had to take one plant and put it in our mouths in one fell swoop, no chewing before we got the whole thing in. the chinese character for spinach is a homonym for life (or long, can't remember), so it's tradition to eat spinach this way to ensure a long, prosperous life and a good new year. the rest of the meal was amazing, noodles and fresh shrimp and sauteed vegetables.

afterwards we retired to the living room, where andrea was asked to serve ceremony-style, a 100-year old puer tea. valued at 200,000 taiwanese dollars for the whole brick (6000+ american dollars!!!), the tea was a beautiful amber color and had a smooth, roasted taste to it. andrea performed expertly, winning compliments from the group for her preparation of the tea and her knowledge of how to appropriately serve it. the red envelopes found their way into our pockets as we sat there, a very traditional new year's gift for unmarried young ones. we left the evening, then, with satisfied bellies and heavy pockets, the auspicious beginning of a prosperous and full new year.

tomorrow morning we head to a buddhist temple in the central mountains where we'll be participating in a weeklong meditation retreat. i'm a little nervous to meditate for an entire week, to not speak for a week, but the anxiety is less than the excitement i feel about participating in such an intentional and reflective experience. upon coming down from the mountains i'll make sure to back up a bit and write about last week's travels.

on garbage collection

the garbage trucks here play a pretty little waltz, very close to sounding like an ice-cream truck soundtrack from the states, and drive slowly through the streets to pick up people's garbage. when the sound gets close, people run out of their homes, garbage bags in hand, and throw them in the truck. last week, we had the pleasure of witnessing the ensuing chaos as the garbage truck came around the corner of the street we were on while walking through tainan. kids were running down the street like the truck WAS selling ice cream, only they had big bags in hand and were presumably doing their chores.

the song played over the truck loudspeakers is so ever-present that you swear you can hear it playing faintly on some far-off street even when it really isn't. and it's so catchy that it can easily get stuck in your head, and there you are, humming the garbage theme song while riding the subway, or taking a shower.

back to the blog

busy travels and no internet have kept the blog quiet this past week, but ani and i arrived back in tainan this afternoon so i find myself now, feet up on the coffee table, computer on lap, ready to recount our adventures.

i've been keeping a little travel journal, making it possible to go all the way back to last monday and fill in the details... after posting my last blog entry, andrea and i took a walking tour of some of tainan's temples. there are so many temples here, confucian, taoist, buddhist, and most all of them are incredibly ornate and colorful. of all the temples we visited that day, we spent the most time at the large temple honoring the sea goddess matsu. we wandered the multiple chambers of the temple, filled with rich woods, gold statues, and ancient plaster reliefs left over from the temple's previous life as a king's palace. because of the proximity to the new year, the temple was bustling with neighborhood patrons, painting signs and hanging decorations. many people were also lighting incense, saying prayers for the year ahead; fortune-seekers tossed small crescent-shaped wood pieces on the ground (the clink-clank of the wood was the predominant noise inside), looking for answers in the patterns.

a highlight of the day was that we successfully ordered our own meal at one of the small menu-less restaurants on our path. the owner of the restaurant humored our pointing and poor pronunciation, and we were presented with a perfectly simple meal of sweet potato greens (we're addicted!), baked tofu, and baifan (white rice). especially exciting for me was the addition of a sliced tea egg, basically a hard-boiled egg stewed in tea and five-spice broth. mmm. better tasting than the description allows.

after lunch, we happened upon a wiry old man hand-making tatami mats and were mesmerized by his speed, the strength of his hands, and the precision of his work as he sliced and wove. his wife, noticing our interest, brought chairs out for us to sit on. we sat quietly in the city dusk, completly absorbed in the rhythm of his work. a few more temples after that, a big seafood dinner, and then the first of our introductory buddhism courses preparing us for the upcoming meditation retreat to close the day.

fun run and a twelve-course meal

saturday was spent wandering tainan and nearby anping. we walked the long path along the canal that divides tainan, enjoying a break from the bustling streets. as we neared the harbor, the riverside park got larger, with kites flying high in the strong breeze amid heavy gray clouds. there was an enormous statue of matsu, the goddess of the sea, calmly standing guard at the edge of the park, facing the turbulent water. she was beautiful--one of the few statues of that size that i've seen erected to a female. i'm used to big lincolns and jeffersons, making matsu a welcome change.

as we walked back towards tainan, the city lights came alive before us and soon enough we were hiking amongst the scooters, bright lights, and city noise. the scooters are quite a presence here, waiting in big groups at intersections, appearing to me as some sort of eclectic scooter gang, ready to pounce. there are women in stilletos piloting them, old men, families of four stacked closely with mom at the wheel. last night i saw a little boy asleep across the dash of one scooter as his dad drove and his mom hung on behind. and on every street, scooters are lined up by the score, filling every available space.

we finished the evening with a delicious indian meal, then made the drive back to taipei, arriving at 1AM....

only to wake up at 4:45AM yesterday morning to head out for the "pharmaceutical education 100th anniversary celebration" fun run! i had seen the event listed on the taiwanese road running association website before we left the states, and thought that, at 3.8K (just over 2.3 miles) it would be a great, low-key glimpse into the running scene here, and a great way to see the city. the event proved to be amazing on both accounts!

we arrived to the start area to find an incredibly easy registration process (hand stamp, race bib, no registration form or fee!) and in my case, the new experience of utilizing a taiwanese honey bucket, where in the small space of a porta-potty i had to figure out how to squat over a hole in the floor. i was at least comforted that no matter where in the world you are running a fun run, there will always be pre-race bathroom lines. back at the start, we were regaled with group warm-up exercises led by, to quote andrea, a "taiwanese jane fonda" in spandex, pink nike's, and one of those microphones that mounts on your head. we bopped to the brilliant lyrics of "i'm too sexy" and then we were off and running.

andrea, matt and i joined about 2,000 other runners on the course. these 2000 were a diverse lot--kids were running, really, really old men were running, and everyone in between could be found hoofing it in everything from old mizuno sneakers to crocs, to dress shoes and jeans, backpacks and sweatpants. working at a running shoe store, living in the states, it's easy to get lost in the idea that technical gear and an expensive pair of shoes are absolutely necessary to get out the door and go for a run... and while i definitely think that a new pair of shoes can serve as both an important symbolic commitment and an effective tool to prevent injury and wear-and-tear, as i jogged along with the mass of taiwanese men, women and children yesterday i couldn't help but be reminded that all it really takes is a desire to move, to put one foot in front of the other. my love of running is the only thing, ultimately, that gets me out the door, and to feel that inner instinct revived as we ran past temples and food stands was quite an awesome thing.

our afternoon was spent returning the calories spent, at a factory year-end banquet back near tainan. i've never seen, nor heard, of anything like this: an abundant twelve-course meal organized by the owner of the factory for ALL of his employees, with over 600 people in attendance. a huge stage with entertainment and a bumpin' sound system flanked one end of the banquet hall, with karoake performed by everyone from administrators to factory line-workers. throughout the afternoon prizes were raffled off--flat screen TV, bicycles, rice cookers, scooters--with every single employee eventually receiving a prize. the owner also personally visited and toasted every table.

upon arriving and quickly switching from running gear to banquet-appropriate apparel, andrea and i made the most agonizing walk--all of those 600 heads turned towards us--from the back of the banquet hall to the front where we were seated with the owner's family at the vegetarian table. we soon realize, a couple courses in, that at a banquet like this, where money is spent generously to show gratitude, we vegetarians were going to be treated to expensive fake-meat instead of cheap vegetables. from one dish to another (mostly soups) we sampled fake ham, fake fish, etc. and some of these culinary experimentations were quite odd. and funny tasting. but with twelve courses over four hours, we inevitably got full and satisfied. and we were treated throughout so warmly by our table companions, some of whom slipped us tempura shrimp and other treats from the non-vegetarian table.

last evening, after settling back into the apartment in tainan, andrea and i wandered a little bit in the city, on a mission to pick up cooking oil. we snacked on taiwanese saltines, apple soda and milk tea as we lost ourselves in the weekend nightlife, before returning home for a simple dinner of noodles and veggies (expertly prepared by matt) and an early turning-in.

today, more exploring in tainan.

day one, whirlwind in taipei

andrea and i arrived safe and sound in taipei yesterday, passing quickly through customs, baggage, etc. to emerge into the early morning, portland-esque weather of taiwan's capital city. andrea's uncle, doug (here 20 years now), and her brother, matt (here just over 2 months), met us at the airport. it was gray and cool, maybe 60 degrees out.

matt had a chiropractor appointment in the city, so we went there first--with a quick stop beforehand to get scallion and taro root buns for breakfast. one of the reasons i was excited to visit taiwan was to see another health care system in action--and not just any healthcare system, but one that provides insurance coverage and care to over 90% of its population, and has a notable public health infrastructure that is community-based and very preventative in its efforts. and here i was, just a few hours on taiwanese soil, visiting a clinic! matt graciously allowed us to sit in with him, so andrea and i got to marvel as the young chiropractor used two wooden sticks to manually align matt's spine, all the way from the vertebrae beneath his skull down to his tailbone.

andrea wondered if the chiropractor could maybe do something for her jaw, which has been giving her pain for a couple months now. doug contacted another friend of his, whose young son is also a practitioner, so we stopped by his home to see if he could help andrea out. since the son is an apprentice to a well-established chiropractor in the city, he doesn't charge for his services. andrea actually got adjusted in the ground floor room, which was also a hair salon. after much prodding and pressing of ani's jaw, it was decided that she must have had some trauma to the right side of her face that caused her jawbone to shift to the left, causing a lot of pain in the right joint. he correctly aligned the joint and advised andrea on how to best reduce inflammation.

lunch at a vegeterian buffet near taipei normal university, and then off to dihua market. it's in an older part of taipei, which is visible in the architecture of the buildings surrounding the market, and during most of the year, it's a relatively bustling market. before the chinese new year, however, which is in early february, the market really comes alive: it is THE place to get gifts, chinese herbs and medicinals specific to new year celebrations, and decorations for the home, with people coming from all over the country to stock up. we wandered through and tried many samples (which reminded me of trips to the portland farmers' market, or pike place market in seattle--lots of small bites of food on toothpicks)... dried persimmon, kumquat juice, candies, preserved duck egg, lots of new tastes.

after the market, we stopped by a tea shop, which also had a tea factory in the back, complete with a room for roasting and fermenting, large trays for sorting the leaves from the stems, and the most incredible gizmo that bagged the tea. we ended up staying a while up front, tasting a number of different oolong teas in various stages of fermentation--all of us got a little tea happy, with rosy cheeks and giggles after a couple of flights were served. the woman went through the traditional serving ceremony, and supplied us with lots of information about the tea-making process, the subtle tastes of different teas, and proper tea-making procedures. it was really at this time that i marveled to myself: how did i get here? just a day ago, i was tooling around portland, and here i am, sitting in a shop in taipei participating in the quiet and deliberate ritual of tea-drinking. amazing.

the day continued with another visit to a clinic, this time the family practice of dr. hu for another look at andrea's jaw. i've been very interested lately in the concept of storefront, one-stop-shopping type clinics, and this one really fit the bill. it was one of many such clinics we had passed yesterday, with an open examination room and a small pharmacy. very different from family practice clinics in the states: no separate lobby, no private rooms, and the possibility of taking your medication home with you immediately after having a physician prescribe it to you. dr. hu's discussion of treatment moved easily between western and traditional chinese medicine. i loved it.

dinner at a ramen house, and then a three-hour drive to end the day in tainan, the ancient capital city of taiwan, where doug has a small apartment that we are going to be staying in. andrea and i fell fast asleep soon after hitting the highway, and arriving in tainan, a warm shower and cozy blankets on reed mats (tatami) greeted us.

today we're off on a walking tour of tainan, after a leisurely brunch of rice, sweet potato greens, and baked tofu. it's an understatment, but i think i am going to like it here!

in case you wonder about the cost of the health care received today... matt chiropractor: $7 US dollars. ani chiropractor: $0 US dollars. ani family doctor visit, with 4 prescriptions, $1.50.