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.