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.