Andrea Bocelli Concert

Last Saturday, we had an awesome weekend. My favorite part was throwing a frisbee around in the park with Jess, Steve, and Joe. The weather has been gorgeous...just gotta' soak it up before it gets really hot here.

That night, Tammy, Whitney, Laura, Jessica, Gloria (one of our Taiwanese secretaries) and I went out to eat at a little Italian restaurant that actually has some pretty good food. It's hard to find anything close to American/Italian in Taiwan but Amici's is probably as close as we're going to find around here.

After that, we headed to an Andrea Bocelli concert in Taichung. It was his first concert ever in Taiwan and it was amazing.

I'm not sure why I feel the need to put this video on here except to show what it's like getting around on our scooters. And to show off Jessica'smad driving skills.

The concert was at an outdoor baseball stadium.

Later this week, the girls and I decided to go shopping since I'm told some people are sick of seeing the same clothes on certain people all the time. I won't mention names. Anyhoo...Taiwanese fashion is a sight to behold. Mary decided to educate the public on Taiwanese fashion and I feel the need to do the same...

For the record...I think these pants should be classified as child-abuse.

One of my students came to class wearing these pants...poor kid. And now I'm making it worse by sharing this with the world.

Oh- another blog-worthy note is that Jessica and I splurged and bought this crazy durian fruit from a fruit market. We assembled some major hardware to get the thing open.

Inside was this slimy white stuff that I thought tasted okay but everybody else thought was disgusting. Then it stunk up our fridge and I got grossed out and had to throw it out.

The end.

The "Man-ship"

There is never a dull moment around Steve and Joseph. Friday night, I accepted an invitation to take an inside peek into the obscure lives of the only two male teachers at our school and find out how they're coping with all the attention and adoration showered on them everyday while living and working with 11 girls and several Taiwanese secretaries.

Unfortunately, my efforts to blend in and fully be accepted into their exclusive club failed when I accidentally dumped a cup of ice water into Joseph's lap at KFC. Oops.

Despite my faux pas...I was allowed to continue observing the subjects in an attempt to better understand a phenomena recently named the "man-ship". My findings were both educational and surprising.

After dinner, subject A (hereafter referred to as "Steve") wanted to look for T-shirts at a nearby clothing retail facility known as The Net.

Both subjects were not only willing to wear the same shirts in public, but also purchased matching shirts and then proceeded to shop for shoes. I'm pretty sure these two guys wouldn't be caught dead exhibiting this type of behavior in their natural American habitat, but the effects of living in Taiwan with a colony of women is clearly evident. Although my findings are inconclusive, it is safe to say that the "man-ship" phenomenon is a means of survival here and that more observation and research will not be necessary unless I really have nothing else to blog about.

To read more about this strange occurrence click here.

Taipei

Friday was Tombsweeping Day and we had the day off. They let the cemetaries here get overgrown with weeds and vines and then once a year in April, they sweep and clean the tombs of their ancestors.





Anyway, because we got the day off, we planned a trip to Taipei. We stayed in the temple housing for people who come from out of town to go to the temple. After doing a session on Friday, we headed out for dinner in Taipei.





We found out there was a Macaroni grill near the Taipei 101 Tower so we rode the MRT down-town and walked around until we found it. It was the best meal ever!!!




After that, we had so much fun walking around and shopping. There were a lot of street performers and fun things to see. The weather was perfect!



I don't think we can go to Taipei without getting icecream at Cold Stone Creamery....sooo good!




Later, we hit one of the best night markets I have been to since being in Taiwan...can't wait to go back. I bought this fun watch for just $200NT ($6). Jessica approved my purchase since I can't make decisions on my own and Mary has declared it universally awesome since both she and Jessica like it.

The next day we decided to hike Elephant Mountain. Here's Laura and a view of Taipei 101.





Joseph & Jessica boldly forging new frontiers.

We walked all the way from up here to the 101 Tower where we met up with Steve for lunch.







On the way, we found this fun little park with a rock climbing wall where Jessica and Joseph showed their climbing prowess.

Sun Yat San Memorial

You know you wish you had a picture doing this...

While waiting for the train on our way home, a guy walked up and asked us if we were Mormon. He waved to his friend to come over and she introduced herself to us. We talked to them for a few minutes and they asked if they could get a picture with us. This is Esther on the left...she was really sweet. I swear, there are Mormons everywhere here. I am loving Taiwan way too much and am kind of dreading the day I have to come home and go back to the "real world". Only 3 more months left...

Freedom!

There's a park nearby that has stairs up the side of this mountain where I like to go hiking. One day, I'm minding my own business, walking up the stairs, when I look up and see someone's bare hiney. Up ahead is some guy standing there swinging his arms back and forth with his pants around his knees. Is this normal? Do Taiwanese people like to do Tai Chi in the mountains in the nude? I spun around and bolted back down the stairs. This is a public park with lots of people and children around so...anyway...I haven't been back to that park since.

In other news, I'm done with riding the bus!!!! Jessica and I became the proud new owners of a Fuzzy 150cc scooter. Last week we went to Taichung and met up with this sketchy Canadian (I figured he's Canadian because he says aboot instead of about). We test drove a couple of his scooters. He handed me this crazy helmet and I couldn't resist the Power Ranger photo-op.

Go Go Power Rangers!

Luckily, Jessica and I decided not to pay the $18,000 he wanted for his scooter. Instead, we bought this scooter from Destiny for $11,000. Saturday was our first day of freedom! We christened our new mode of transportation with a fun-filled day of shopping in Taichung!

On our way around town, we saw this guy making a brave fashion statement by wearing a dog purse. I had to take the picture on the sly. Oh- and the dog was wearing a SARS mask.

Had to take a picture of these yummy fruit drinks - they were to die for! I love having a scooter and being able to go eat and shop anywhere I want!


I also love living on the top floor and having access to the roof. Especially when it's raining.