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.

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.

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!

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!

Dancers

Wednesday 26 November 2008

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

New helmet

Tuesday 25 November 2008

A reflection in my new helmet.

Night gate

Monday 24 November 2008

A great big old temple on the edge of town.

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.

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.

Myself again

Friday 21 November 2008

Yuppie Ladies

Thursday 20 November 2008

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

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 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.

Back to the city

Monday 17 November 2008

Ugh. I miss the forest already.

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.

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.

Mattress

Friday 14 November 2008

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

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.

White Men Toothpaste

Wednesday 12 November 2008

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

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.

Untitled

Monday 10 November 2008

A corner near our apartment.

Mask

Sunday 9 November 2008

A traditional Taiwanese mask.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Our street

Tuesday 4 November 2008

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

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.

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.

Who is on that scooter?

Saturday 1 November 2008

Look closely - it's Ryan and me!