Sunday, November 30, 2008

Dome of Light



Sunday 30 November 2008

Kaohsiung has a new subway system, and this is the very center of it, where the two lines come together. They call it the "Dome of Light," which seems a bit dramatic to me.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Lotus Lake


Saturday 29 November 2008

Ryan's parents arrived last night, yeah! So today we took them over to Lotus Lake, a pretty little spot in town. It was crazy busy, being one of the last warm Saturdays in the year, but they enjoyed seeing the beautiful temples, people-watching, and trying out some new strange foods.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Water robot



Friday 28 November 2008

Tap water here is unlikely to contain parasites or bacteria, but it is very high in metals and is widely considered unsafe to drink. Well, I'm sure it wouldn't kill you, but no one here drinks it and that's probably a good idea. Instead, people either install filtration systems on their taps (which we are lucky enough to have for the first time!) or they have to go buy water from water stations. You take a great big 20-liter jug, fill it up from a pump that looks just like a gas pump, and haul it home. It used to be one of my least favorite chores, so I am so happy we don't have to do that this time around.

Here is a water pump that looks like a robot!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Allen's eye



Thursday 27 November 2008

I love Thursdays - it's art day!

This is Allen, my youngest student, peeking through his wreath. I know today is Thanksgiving, but we don't really do Thanksgiving at this kindergarten, so we're starting to get ready for Christmas!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Dancers



Wednesday 26 November 2008

I love watching the dancers at the art museum as I head to kong fu.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

New helmet


Tuesday 25 November 2008

A reflection in my new helmet.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Night gate


Monday 24 November 2008

A great big old temple on the edge of town.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Soapy face



Sunday 23 November 2008

I was washing dishes, lifted up a bowl, and saw this little happy face on the counter. It made me smile.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Why not indeed?


Saturday 22 November 2008

A list that's been hanging up in our elevator for some time now. Unfortunately, my Chinese has gotten so bad that I have no idea what kind of list it is, but I am always amused by this particular bit of English stuck in.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Myself again



Friday 21 November 2008

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Yuppie Ladies



Thursday 20 November 2008

Well, I'm just not sure if I'm yuppie enough to shop there.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Kong fu class


Wednesday 19 November 2008

One of our classmates (Angela, the blond in the back row) is leaving Taiwan, so we took a group shot of our kong fu class. Here we are in our uniforms, looking tough!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Tuesday fireworks



Tuesday 18 November 2008

I love the random fireworks you get here. Any day of the week, any time of the day, there's a possibility that it's a lucky day for something, a store is opening up, it's some god's birthday, who knows.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Back to the city


Monday 17 November 2008

Ugh. I miss the forest already.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Foggy forest


Sunday 16 November 2008

I decided not to try and make the summit of BeiDaWu this morning - this hike has proved a little too difficult for me with this cough. But I really enjoyed having a foggy morning in the forest in a basically empty camp.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

BeiDaWu



Saturday 15 November 2008

We went hiking this weekend! It's nice to get out of the city and get some fresh air, but unfortunately I seem to have a bit of a cough and all the cold humid air hasn't been too good for it.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Mattress



Friday 14 November 2008

I stopped by a stack of old mattresses on my way home from work today.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Nun at the 7-11


Thursday 13 November 2008

Buddhist monks and nuns are required to go out and beg for money or food. The begging bowl is an important symbol of the nonattachment to the trappings of daily life. We see monks and nuns out begging fairly often around town.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

White Men Toothpaste


Wednesday 12 November 2008

Are your teeth as clean as a white man's????

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Harbor



Tuesday 11 November 2008

We took a rather ill-planned field trip to the harbor today. As it turns out, there is absolutely nothing for children to do at the harbor - there is no museum, no aquarium, nothing in fact, but great big rusty boats, smelly fish, a bunch of dangerous zooming forklifts, and some old sailors. And from Brian's face you can see just how much the kids enjoyed themselves.

You would think that this would have been a fairly obvious outcome of such a field trip, and had they asked any of the teachers we could have told them that a busy port is not a good place for large groups of three-year-olds. But you know.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Untitled



Monday 10 November 2008

A corner near our apartment.

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Mask


Sunday 9 November 2008

A traditional Taiwanese mask.

Saturday, November 08, 2008

Food show



Saturday 8 November 2008

Ryan and I went to the first annual Kaohsiung food show today, and tried just about everything that was offered to us. (Well, after one or two dried fish snacks we'd had enough of that.) There was some awfully strange food, but most of it was excellent. We also picked up some spicy ginger tea stuff, and some excellent hot cocoa for really cheap.

Here's Ryan with a big stack of our sample cups.

Friday, November 07, 2008

Ghost money



Friday 7 November 2008

A guy burning a great big bunch of ghost money. It is more traditional to separate the sheets and burn each bill individually, but this guy has a lot and must figure his ancestors can peel them apart themselves.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Self Portrait



Thursday 6 November 2008

There was a bunch of old furniture in front of our place today, waiting for the guys in the blue truck to take it away, including an old mirror.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Nina and her pinwheel


Wednesday 5 November 2008

My student Nina, who is definitely in the running for cutest girl ever. And I got to name her!

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Our street



Tuesday 4 November 2008

This is our street, right near our apartment. Looking south on JhengJhong at DaFeng.

Monday, November 03, 2008

Sunset at the beach


Monday 3 November 2008

This shot is actually from yesterday, at the beach, but I just couldn't decide between these two shots, and decided to put them both up.

Sunday, November 02, 2008

A popular spot


Sunday 2 November 2008

We went to the beach today to help a local environmental group pick up trash. It ended up being quite the popular spot for wedding photos, though - as the sun started to set, a couple dozen couples showed up to take pictures. (It is most common here to take a day, get all dressed up, go to different picturesque places, and take your wedding photos before you actually get married.) It was really funny, seeing so many people all lined up taking pictures.

Saturday, November 01, 2008

Who is on that scooter?


Saturday 1 November 2008

Look closely - it's Ryan and me!