Finally, being tourists.

Sorry I haven't been writing much lately. A lot of things have become common place, and important things like getting our alien residence cards would be just like pictures of us sitting in a DMV office. But I finally remembered to take the camera on a couple of trips. So we have the proverbial several thousand words to discuss.

Now, this's not to make fun of Taiwanese people or any group, because comparing English to Chinese is like comparing bananas and volcanos. So, when I bring you some of the mistakes (dubbed Chinglish by one of the teachers here) it's just a wonderful sense of the confusion that keeps the two languages and cultures apart. And we could do this for days if I could show you the shirts people wear here. But taking that many pictures of people's chests and tummies would get pretty weird.



















For instance, Marie and I have no idea what an omnifarious concert would sound like, but I admit, it's made me a little curious.















This one's pushed me the other way, tho'. I can't bring myself to try Pro Sweat. Maybe at some point, but not yet.

On the food front, we just keep finding more things that entertain us without actually feeding us.















These guys are staples in the local sushi places and a couple other restaurants. The redder thing at the bottom is a tail, the tentacle things above it are legs and that black thing is an eye. This's a dish of about three shrimp. They're cooked, but legs on, head on. I'm just not ready to try one. I hope I'll be able to before I leave, 'cause they're all over. There must be some redeeming value, but I'm not there yet. We saw something like this in Spain, but somehow, here, it's weirder.

And these photos aren't to scare people with how bad the food is. There's lots and lots that is really good, tho' some of it's really bad for you. But we're having no trouble feeding ourselves. (I talked with my grandmother recently, and she'd just seen one of her first travel channel episodes, of course all about the weird and scary food of Taiwan.)














I don't remember what this is, but it looks like a sea sponge or something.















I think the meat on the left is tounge, I'm not sure, but I've seen that in Nebraska. And I think the eggs on the right are tea eggs. I haven't figured those out yet, but it's odd because you can buy them everywhere, almost literally. They have them in crock pots in 7-11s. I don't know how you use them but they're very popular.















I do not know what these are. They are also very popular. I think they're a fruit, 'cause I see them sold with other fruit, and I think I saw them on a nature program so I wonder if they're figs. But I can't quite make myself buy a bunch and experiment. I swear I will, if only because it's asinine of me to be buying plums and peaches from freaking California (I'm not kidding, they have the stickers on them), or apples from Chile. I will eat the local fruit soon, if only kiwis from New Zealand, which's almost local now. But those plums were so cheap when we got here, and they were really good, so now I'm kinda hooked.















And I just loved this. Who wouldn't want almond fish? It's like nuts and gum! Together at last! Another thing I might buy just to find out what it's like, at some point, but not quite yet.

Oh, I did get chicken Cheetoes. Seriously. There was a picture of a chicken nugget on the outside of the bag. It was kind of an accident. I wanted Cheetoes, as a kinda friendly food, and they tasted... like chicken. No, not exactly, I really wouldn't have guessed chicken until I looked at the bag to see what it was supposed to be. But it was funny, and I'm getting a lot more careful about what I'm buying.

But the real point of this entry is today's trip. We were visiting the historical neighborhood of the Beitou hotsprings, in the northern edge of Taipei. It takes a while to get there by metro, but it's a really nice ride 'cause the train comes out of the ground and becomes an elevated train half way through the city.















Marie and I passed a small park while we were up there. We saw this kid all tied up in this wheel like a boat steering wheel, and then his friend would come over and spin him around a couple times, but he was laughing like it was high entertainment. It was pretty entertaining for us, too.

I won't bore you with the details of the historic bathhouse. It was a fun little touristy thing to do. And we looked through the Taiwanese Aboriginal cultural center as well. The most interesting thing I noticed about the two places were the lack of English titles. The bathhouse had quite a few translations, but a lot weren't. It was almost pleasant to think that they were more interested in educating the locals, instead of the few real outta-towners. And there was enough to occupy us for a little while and give us an idea of the history. I'd like to go back when our Chinese is better, but I doubt it'll ever be good enough.















And here we are at lunch. There's a chain called I heart Sushi or Sushi Express (I can't tell) here that has the conveyor belt system (that's it behind Marie). We love the one in Seattle called Blue C Sushi. But this one has a little more authentic sushi. And yes, sushi is Japanese, but there's a very long tradition of Japanese living here, and the locals seem to enjoy it as well. And it works for me 'cause Marie's always happier around food, and sushi is a favorite of hers. So despite being a hot, humid day of walking around outside, it was a good day 'cause we had sushi for lunch.















And here's the proof that we're here and actually in Taiwan. I've been looking for quintessentially Taiwanese things, and this's what I came up with. A street so narrow that I can touch both sides at the same time, but it actually has an address. This's XiYuan Rd. Lane, 220, Alley 48. Roads are the big arteries, then the lanes branch off and are smaller, and the alleys smaller still. Technically, I think we live on an alley, but it's no where near this tight. And of course, there are scooters parked in this little bit of space.



















Finally, I don't know where else to stick this photo. I held off on it 'cause Marie thinks I'm spending too much time on the scooter thing, but it was just ridiculous how cute this little girl looked in her little helmet on her big scooter.

Kids ride with mom or dad all the time. I've seen two kids and a parent on a scooter several times. They even have these weird bikes with a small seat in front of the rider's with footpegs, so kids who are too big to ride behind mom or dad can ride in front of them. It makes sense in a scooter-focused system, but it sure was unexpected.

I hope these entries are of some interest. If they're too few, it's only because so many things about our lives are becoming common. Riding the subway, going shopping, getting dinner is all old hat by now.

I have finally taught a couple of classes, tho' Marie's taught probably more than a dozen. I don't have a lot of experience, and I dunno what Marie thinks, but it feels like teaching is less a part of the experience, maybe, than if we were working for the Peace Corps. Teaching here is a job, we're employees and treated as such. So it feels like teaching is what we do to fund the rest of our time here. Maybe that'll change as I get some more experience and work more with the other teachers, but for the moment, there's work, and the stuff we do that's more touristy, so that's the stuff I like talking about.