Pre-Birthday Celebrations for everyone

On Sunday a few of my students got together in the mountains on the edge of Taibei City to celebrate two birthdays; one of the boys has his birthday today and one of the girls has her birthday this coming Friday. I was invited to share in the festivities and spend the day with those students of mine who were free to attend, along with various siblings and parents. I accepted. I was given a lift to the place by the birthday girl's family. I met them near the school, we all had breakfast together and then headed north. It seems the ordeal of waking up and consuming breakfast was a bit much for the children because my student and her elder brother promptly fell asleep in the car on the trip north.

   

We arrived in the mountain in good time as the rest of the group trickled in bit by bit. The place we went to is a kind of activity centre that hosts gathering for children. A staff member for the centre led us to a sitting area, where we would later have lunch,  to explain the plan for the day. En route we encountered our first surprise.

 

In the sitting area the children rapidly returned to the natural state of children - clowning around, being silly and generally endeavouring to be amused.

 

After everyone had arrived we were rounded up and marched to a hill. Slipping beneath the trees we ascended a slipperly slope with rope railings for support. Once upon the hill the children were split into two groups - boys and girls - with various parents following each group. A number of activities were available for the children. Here are some highlights.

 

The swing rope was a favourite.

 

Boys waiting in line for a turn.

Even some parents took a turn.

 

There were a few rope bridges.

 

Many learnt that ropes can be tough on city hands.

After having fun on the hill the party wound its way back down to the sitting area. There was some lovely scenery and I stole away for a few shots.

 

 

I may be wrong, but I think this plant that's nonchalantly hanging out beside the path is traditionally illegal.

 

 

I don't know what this plant is (the one with the little write flowers) but I hope to track it down so I can add one to my little balcony garden.

 

The centre grows a lot of its own food. Our lunch came from these fields.

 

The birthday boy inspecting insects.

 

Flowers I remember from my catering days.

 

Once everyone was back and hands had been washed, the children were given cabbage. They had to shred it and then bring it to these taps to wash it, afterwards it was taken to a large, low, open stove and the children were given turns to stir the vegetables. It was an introduction lesson to cooking. It was easy to tell which students had experience cooking.

Sadly I don't have any pictures of them cooking. I only took a few (which didn't come out well) and gave up soon after as many of the parents were taking pictures.

 

One of my students decided to blink rapidly when I was trying to take his picture, so he looks sleepy and a little demented next to his perfectly normal sister.

 

After lunch, while some children began kicking a ball around, playing on the jungle gym or engaging in exploration, others were shown how to weave grass into grasshoppers. Mine were a failure, but some of the children got the knack for it and were soon churning out the little green jumpers.

After the singing of birthday songs and cake everyone departed. The same family gave me a lift home and I was barely home two minutes before heading out to join another family for supper - this time the family of the boy whose birthday it was. We went to a traditional Korean restaurant that is owned by his aunt and run by his uncle who is Korean. The food was great.

Word Selection

After teaching a lesson to one of my classes, I returned to my homeroom to find this awaiting me. I have been informed that it's a type of sports/energy drink. I am sceptical.

In the spirit of this delightful little treat I'd like to share with you some of my favourite "Chinglish" moments. All of these pictures are ones I've seen and photographed personally in Taiwan.

 

The Foreign Exchange

Expats who have been in Taiwan for a long time tend to form a network, even if only by association. For those living in Taipei, getting out of the city for a while is always a good idea. The east coast is especially sought after as a weekend/holiday spot. On the east coast is a small place called Fulong, which I have visited on occasion. It's perfect for those who love the beach and swimming. Personally I go for the clean air, the peace and quiet, and the opportunity to lose myself in a book all day.
Fulong is famous for the sand-sculpture competition that is held there every year. The sculptures get judged and then are left for a few months during which anyone may come and view them.

Here are two examples of the kind of thing one can expect to see:

Enter The Fu Bar.

Situated just off the beach, The Fu Bar is a South African themed restaurant run by (you guessed it) expats from South Africa. They have run it for a number of years, though it seems them have grown tired of it and are wanting to relocate to the city, possibly to reconnect with people there.

Rather than relocate the restaurant, there are instead selling it and going into business with the Speakeasy Irish Bar. The bar was, until recently, situated very close to the Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT Station at the junction of the blue and brown lines. It has moved (due to noise pollution problems, or so I am told) closer to 101, to no.554 Guangfu South Road in the Da'an area. It's new location is disheartening to say the least, and a bloody pain to be honest. The bar is barely a metre wide. Essentially it's a long corridor, flanked on both sides by a long shelf to perch drinks upon. This means people sit on the sides of the corridor, reducing the already limited space which people have to navigate the bar. A single alcove at the back of the bar contains the only table the place offers.
I don't understand why the owners chose the new location. Perhaps there was an urgency to have the business operational, for that is the only reason I can see that they would have compromised so.

The owner of the Speakeasy, in turn, has also decided to move on as well. He will be tackling the dead horse that is Carnegie's. Despite a few biased reviews, Carnegie's is a washed out old place with terrible management, though they hit upon the idea of charging ridiculously high fees for their food long before it was popular. The managers are clueless and rather nonchalant in their duties. One can only hope that with a new owner comes new managers and a revitalisation for the company.

SUN MOON LAKE (Part 3)

OF TEMPLES AND BANANAS

Traversing the northern edge of the lake, we came upon a fantastic sight - one massive stairway stretching from the lake to the top of a hill. This is the Steps of the Year Trail. The stairs are broken into sets with each set representing a different month and having a number of steps equal to that month's days. We met it roughly halfway, so we got this view:

Stretching down to the lake

Going up to the temple, after taking a small left turn near the top.

There are also small lantern-like ornaments attached along the railings. Each one represents prayers for a person on the temple's behalf (similar to the candles they have lit in temples) and they are placed next to the step that marks the person's birthday. Not only that, but they're organised into ages as well.

You can clearly see these lanterns are prayers for people who are quinquagenarians and sexagenarians.

The volume does alter in areas, but there are simply masses of these lanterns along the pathway.

The step for 2nd December, the date we were on the walk.

When you reach the top you'll encounter two wonderful things, but the temple can wait as you first take in the view. It's a wonderful present after a long climb beneath the tree canopy.

The second thing you'll notice is the temple itself. I am not religious, but I do appreciate the beauty and wonders of the world. Whilst I like to keep my thoughts planted in logic and reasoning, I admit I was taken aback by this place.

There is an idea of situational religion, where people feel drawn to religion in certain places. The old Catholic Church used this effectively. They made churches to be the grandest buildings in a city (save for maybe a palace) and had all their sermons in Latin, keeping an air of mystery locked with ritual. The Temple here does it differently. While there is no doubting the creativity and dedication in making the temple what it is (and I'll take a look at that in a bit), I cannot help but feel the place is what makes it great. The cool weather, the beautiful hilltop view, the lake stretching below, the greener-than-green trees surrounding the temple - they all speak of grandeur surpassing humanity. Nature makes this temple a marvel.

One of the pair of Stone Lions (Guardian Lions) that flanks the temple, giving it its mystical protection. Unlike a conventional pair (male resting his paw upon the world, female restraining a playful cub) this temple has two males.

Temples like this are often (if not always) built in various levels or tiers. This picture is taken from the first tier. In front are stairs ascending to the second tier and a room in which gods are housed. Behind me is a similar building with different gods in it.

At the top of the stairs, above the warring dragons and beneath the two rows of prayer lanterns is a flat wall. Upon its surface are intricate relief carvings done in stone.These must have taken ages, each one done on numerous blocks of stone. However rather than be held up as the great works of art that they are, they simply cover the walls all over the temple. None of them appear in the gods' houses. Then again, being stone, they would fare far better against the elements than cloth or wood.

Getting to the gods' houses, we find a lot more attention placed on decoration. It is here where we find the Asian influence in these temples. Just like with Hindu temples there is an emphasis on over decorating. Whether it is a dedication to the complexity of life or the gods, there are too many things to truly witness all of them. Carved wood and stone with many shades of paint shining gloriously, row upon row. That's simply the ceiling.

Guan Yu was one of the 5 great generals of the warlord Liu Bei. His life has become largely fictionalised over the course of time and he is now viewed as an epitome of loyalty and righteousness. He was deified after his death. This is the story of the weapon he carried with him, along with a representation.

Behind the final gods' house I came upon this fountain.

Multiple small dragon heads constantly pour water from their mouths. Accompanying them is a larger dragon head, spouting water out from the great carving above.

This feature is a wonderful illusion. Whilst the spouts keep the sound of running water (along with splashing) the five dragon heads on the right occasionally exhale a kind of mist, which then blows back past them to the viewer standing before the fountain (on the right). This gives them the feeling that they're standing beneath a waterfall with the hiss and mist of the crashing water blowing over them.

I apologise in advance, but I cannot get this picture to right itself. This is one of the  fountain jars which people use as a wishing well. The rim of the jar is a series of small containers. These containers are what westerners would call Golden Ingots and they are synonymous with increased wealth.

A corner at the back of the temple. The small stone fence indicated the temple's boundary where other tourists are wandering.

The roof offers some great views.

A picture of me overlooking Sun Moon Lake with all its boats scooting people between the three piers.

I promised you bananas in the sub heading, so here they are in all their glory and varying colours. The Nantou area to have its farming rooted in bananas and betel nuts.