Q&A Friday - Week 2

Well it is time for the weekly Q&A session.  I am just finally getting my feet back on the ground from such a busy week.  Let's make this a good one!


1) What do you miss most about home? (From Wayne)

This has been on my mind lately.  My dearest mother is sending me a package and she asked what I want to be included in it.  The problem is that I can't have her package up herself and the rest of my family and friends into a box and ship it over here without causing grave financial strain.   I hate feeling like I'm missing things at home.  Sometimes it is tough to hear about how things are moving right along with out me - even the simple things like typical family cookouts!  My brother and sister-in-law have moved into their first house.  My sister has found the perfect dress for her wedding.  My cousin is getting married and friends are having babies.  Sometimes it is hard not to be there for those big moments.  So Wayne, if you don't mind packing up every person that was part of my old life and sending them here, that would be great!  ;-) 

2) Do they have places for massages? Spas? (From Linda)  AGAIN!

I have more experience in this one so I will address it again.  From our sweet neighbor Becky we learned that there is a small salon in town owned and operated by a couple.  For 150 NT (USD$5) we three girls went and had a neck, shoulder, and head massage for 30 minutes along with a very thorough washing followed by some styling.  It was a really great way to relax this week and so cheap!  I think I will partake at least once a week.  The woman was very excited to work with my blond hair and when I had Ruth translate to her that she could style it anyway she wanted her husband told her it was the opportunity of a lifetime!  Here I am with the woman as she is drying my hair.  She did it pin straight in the Taiwanese style.  

She was so sweet!  I couldn't communicate with her verbally at all so I smiled a lot and gave her a thumbs up a lot!

When she was done drying it she asked if she could put braids in.  I was all for that.  This was the final result.  

Yeah I know it is kind of hard to see.  The most important part is how happy I am.  It was so very nice!

 I might have more information on this topic after this weekend.  We are having a Girls Weekend in Taipei and some pampering is in order.  I'll get back to you on that. 

3) Do the Taiwanese have anything similar to the American Cookout?  Corn on the cob, hamburgers, potato chips, watermelon, etc?  (From Janet)

No.  Kind of yes.  Maybe?  They don't cook out.  There isn't this idea of a collective gathering around a grill.  At least not that I have seen.  They do cook food outside.  In fact, most food is cooked outside.  Restaurants are a little backwards compared to home.  Often the food is prepared outside and then you sit inside and eat.  I think it mostly has to do with the need to be in air conditioning.  Much of their food is "grilled" in nature.  Meat is usually cooked on racks over open coal basins.  Alternatively, meat can be fried, cooked on a flat top grill, or boiled.  Additionally, the Taiwanese LOVE THEIR CORN!  They go nuts for corn.  Corn chowder, corn on pizza, corn pancakes, corn corn corn.  You can pick up ready to go corn on the cob from any 7/11 on any street corner.  I think I am going to write a whole post on the novelty of 7/11s so just wait on that for a bit.  In terms of hamburgers (my favorite), there is no such thing here.  Beef is not widely available and the cuts and quality of beef are not the greatest.  What beef they do have has been imported from Australia.  Watermelon though.  That they have in the bag!  The watermelon here is delicious!  The only problem is that they don't really do seedless.  However, the fruit is so sweet that it is easy to get over the pain of picking out seeds.  

4) What kind of animals and insects do you encounter there?  Anything different than the US?  (From Ellen P. )

I have had a few run ins with critters lately.  It seems that if you live on the first or second floor of a building or in an older structure that you are bound to get a few cockroaches, an occasional spider, some geckos, and probably some mice.  I think because it never gets cold enough to freeze here insects thrive.  I don't mind the geckos.  They eat mosquitoes (of which there are a lot!) and so I can tolerate them.  Mostly, they are quite skiddish and do not come near people.  However, they do screech.  It sounds like a bird call almost.  It caught me off guard the first couple times I heard it.  The cockroaches and spiders are my least favorite.  Earlier this week we had a simultaneous run-in with a massive (3 inch) cockroach upstairs and a HUGE black spider (5 inches across) downstairs.  I felt like Germany in WWII and fighting our best on both fronts.  The spider met a gruesome end by decapitation and amputation.  The cockroach got away but we will fight again another day.  The mice don't come out often, the only sign of them come in the form of droppings.  They are the least of my worries.  

5) Do you see a lot of trains? (Linda)

Yes ma'am.  Train travel is really big here.  The HSR (High Speed Rail) is AWESOME!  It can go up to 300 kilometers an hour (186 mph).  You can traverse almost the entirety of Taiwan (Taipei to Kaohsiung) in 90 minutes.  Andrew says the most impressive thing about the trains here is that they are always ALWAYS on time.  It reminds me of Germany and how efficient the public transportation is.  I am taking the HSR to Taipei from Taichung tomorrow so I will give you a first hand account next week.  For right now I have just been going off of what Andrew has told me.  I have taken regional trains and they match right up with European trains.  I've always liked train travel and I hope to take advantage of the system in place here in Taiwan.  

Remember to submit questions for the next Q&A Friday!  I always want to hear from you guys.  I will post on Sunday or Monday about my weekend and hopefully I will have a lot of photos for you guys!