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.

2 CELLOS

So I was recently treated to a concert at Legacy. The concert in question was by the acclaimed "youtube sensation" 2 Cellos, as in Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser, two young Croatian men.

You will have to forgive me for not providing my own photographs. Though I tried, Legacy has a no photograph policy. Of course that didn't stop a number of people from snapping away, but I was one of the ones pounced on by security and promptly told to put my camera away.

The concert was a single sitting, but I'm going to break it into two halves in this blog, simply due to the style and mood change that happens about half way through.

First half

This was phenomenal. They incorporated various different music styles, but most of their music was covers of classic songs and lesser known contemporary bands. Their cover of The Book of Love by Magnetic Fields was almost haunting.

This half ended with an amazing cover of Welcome to the Jungle. They truly did it justice in their interpretation.

Second half

In this half they were accompanied by a friend and became 2 Cellos and 1 drummer. I don't want to be mean, but the drummer looks like a monkey when he plays. It's as though engaging with the drums takes so much concentration that he is unable to maintain facial control.

The second half was basically a dedication to rock music. I separated the Guns N' Roses song because it was amazingly done and belongs with the A grade of the first half.

Whilst this half was still well done, their focus drifted from quality to crowd pleasing, and they became obsessed with the flourishes at the end of songs.

Overall I was entertained, and I believe that's the main idea. I played my own little game during the night of watching to see how frayed their bow strings would get by the end of the performance. Their style of play isn't very gentle on the bows or cellos. If they weren't using electric cellos I'd have called it sacrilege to treat a cello in that manner.

Mice & Mystics - The Characters

First up is Collin, the son of the king and the hero of the story. It is his duty to wrestle control of the kingdom away from the evil queen and restore his power.

Next up is Maginos, adviser to the king's family for three generations.

Following them comes Tilda, personal healer to the king and the denizens of the castle.

Accompanying them is Nez, the loyal blacksmith and tinkerer.

Tagging along is a scoundrel whom they met in the dungeons and who agreed to travel with them to better his fortune. It was actually his idea that they turn into mice.

Finally we have Lily, an archer and late arrival to the group.

Mice & Mystics

A new year (Chinese New Year is on Saturday, 9th February) heralds a new approach. I have ideas of things I wish to observe, record and share beginning with public works of art across Taipei (and possibly further afield, given some free time to travel) as well as graffiti. There are a few names/images I've seen in multiple locations and I wish to investigate them further.
Then, of course, there's always games. They've always been close to my heart, but I feel it's time I laid down my two cents worth, beginning today.

Mice & Mystics is the game I wish to discuss. It's brand new, having only been published last year (2012) and is a beautiful hybrid of board game and RPG.

As I'm no stranger to gaming (computer games, card games, board games, RPGs, dice games, etc) I hope I'll be able to give this a decent review.

 Traditionally board games are very clear cut with little to no immersion in the world in which you are playing. Thinking of games like Cluedo, Automobile and Monopoly, board games usually revolve around the idea of mathematical possibility and luck.  RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, World of Darkness and Paranoia, on the other hand, are all focussed on the story and helping you imagine a different world.

Some board games go further than others in creating a world for you to experience. Games like Outrage! and Dune went a long way to connect you to the game.

Mice & Mystics goes one step beyond, whilst still offering very smooth game-play. Playing this game I felt like I was in my very own Redwall novel.

[It is at this point that I must point out that if you have never read a Redwall novel, then your childhood was sorely lacking. Read the first one, Redwall, and if you like it go on to these: Salamandastron, Outcast of Redwall and The Bellmaker.]

The Rulebook and Storybook

The reason why this game draws you in is because there's a story which is being followed. Along with the game there is a story book, literally telling you what happens. The prologue sets up the story:

King Andon's wife died many years ago, and he has raised his son Collin by himself (Collin's name is actually spelt wrong on the back of the box). Andon is a good man, but lonely. Then one day a queen from another land arrives to visit the king. Her name is Vanestra (not the most original, but hey). Yadda yadda yadda, the king falls in love with her, proclaims his love and then falls ill. In his weakened state he gives Vanestra authority to rule in his place. She replaces the guards with her own men and chases many people out of the castle.

Collin meets  select loyal people to plot removing the queen. They are subsequently caught and imprisoned. They use magic to turn themselves into animals to escape, but the spell is permanent. They turn into mice and slip their shackles.

From there onwards each chapter in the story is a different scenario which can be played out and playing them in order, over a series of days/weeks, can feel like playing in a campaign. These scenarios range from escaping the castle, finding allies, learning of Vanestra's secret weakness, getting back into the castle and battling everything from rats (Vanestra's minions transformed), cockroaches, spiders and the like. The game is played on double-sided tiles, each scenario using set tiles. Each scenario also has its own varying rules for different sides of various tiles, giving the game a sense of change.

The other thing I like about this game is that each level requires four characters to be played. This limits the game to a max of four players, but it also means that any number of players below that can play, with one or two people playing two characters. You can even have a one player game, with one person controlling all four mice. This means the game is flexible for the number of players, and the designers didn't have to try and create a balancing system of difficulty that changed with the number of players, as those are always difficult and tend to be imperfect.

NCIS SUSHI

For the benefit of a hungry girl in Taipei

This is actually a story that happened almost two months ago. A few of my work colleague decided they were going to have a ladies' night out. Being the optimist, I asked if I could join then. They said only if I wore a dress.

I think I do alright as a lady. Some of my new work colleagues hadn't known me longer than a few months before I gave them this fright.

The waiter was very nice and he speaks English very well. He even set out sushi on fire for us. Here is a Halloween-designed sushi we tried out.

Despite his wonderful attitude, I feel I made our waiter uncomfortable with our staged "date".

He did let us play with his wheel, however. We didn't get to play the game where one spins for a prize, discount or free plate of sushi, but we did get to spin it.

After our delightful meal we decided to go out for a drink. My friend and colleague drove whilst I rode sidesaddle and waved like the queen at passing strangers. Most found it highly amusing, though I do recall getting a scowl from a group of Taiwanese guys who I can only describe in the 1970's term "tough guys". I'm guessing they assumed my silliness was lowering the tone of the whole street and their tough look with it.

Winter Solstice

I hope everyone is having a lovely festive season. Being in Asia means that I'm still working, but we'll be having our break soon enough. On the 18th January our holidays begin and we'll be off for about a month. I'm looking forward to it.

My students (or at least their parents) have decided to make this a happy month for me. I have been receiving gifts all month, the latest being a big box of mini satsumas that range between two and five centimetres in diameter. They are very sweet. I've also got a mug emblazoned with the immortal presence of Xmas trees. Seem odd using it on 364 days of the year, but I may get used to it.

Here are a few things I was gifted with before Xmas, though with the festive season in mind:

A selection of wrapped chocolates complete with bells and a model Rudolf glued onto a clothes peg, a box of dark and really rich chocolate squares, a packet of imported tea (you know, because I'm a foreigner) and the jacket hanging over the chair. That last one was actually a gift from a friend, not a student.

This chocolate is handmade by "locals" (and by that I mean the aboriginal people of Taiwan). They probably add that line to increase its sales, but to be honest it's one of the best chocolates I've ever eaten. It's almost too rich.

Being a foreigner who speaks English of course the parents decided to buy me imported English tea. At least I'm guessing that's the reason. No complaints from me, I love tea; though if they wanted to tickle my English side they could just have got me Earl Grey. There's really nothing better.

This needs a special mention. Some of the teachers at my school took part in a Secret Santa. It was a delightful event and I got to learn a lot more about my colleagues. One of the gifts that someone got was two boxes of plasters (or band aids). Only they weren't. They were wrapped up to look that way, but were actually small individually wrapped chocolates. There's a novelty I would have completely missed on the shelf at the shops. I think the strangest part about them is their name. I'm wondering if there was a foreign influence in it.

This was my gift - a delightful bottle of instant coffee which now sits in my cupboard at school, behind the aforementioned Xmas tree mug. What I really enjoy about it is the blurb on the front:

Mocca Great Coffee is like a fascinating

book-you will appreciate its long

lasting meaning; and is just a like

wonderful melody-the pleasure will

stay with you forever.

great.

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.