Papa's Visit

Papa with the Puppies came in on a Friday left on a Thursday was sick for a few days in between and all and all was a trooper n a half. We had a great time. We really did.- Walks around Taipei, an enlightening train ride (*note never ride aforementioned crap train again) to the beach where we saw ginormous sandcastles, played in the sand, followed by Taipei 101(0) the following day (the last 0's for Wyatt which he likes to add in for good measure),dyed Easter eggs and of course the zoo. Papa even trucked over to Wyatt's school to check it out before the plague settled in. Anyway..the week went by far to fast and really, there's no need to tell him that I cried like a toddler after he left...right?   

Yup-Still here.

So if this blog thing were my job, I'd totally be fired right? Yeah well, I feel like it's been a crazy long time since I've written...and that is, because it has been a crazy long time since I've written. WEEKS. Don't be alarmed- it doesn't all of a sudden mean I have a life or anything, though we've been crazy inundated with play dates (gag...I never thought I'd say play dates). ANYWAY. No. Here's the thing. When people are visiting, I really don't write a whole lot...if at all. So here's my thought...once they're gone, perhaps I harbor the illusion that if I don't write they never left?
Who knows but when my dad left, I was not what you would call fully emotionally ...um stable? No it wasn't that bad, but I was of course not on cloud 9. I definitely dropped to cloud 7 or 8.
So yeah, my dad came - let's start there shall we???

Cooking Craze

In an effort to acclimate with more ease, eat as the people eat, I decided I needed to learn how to cook with a bit more, shall we say, Taiwanese flair? This of course does not include Chilis. We don't need no stinkin' Chilis. (This is actually a lie. We do need Chilis. Weekly in fact). However in an attempt to embrace the culture, local markets and the food, I was incredibly excited to be the recipient of cooking lessons. Two in fact. One from my incredibly accommodating language teacher and the other from my friend who is from Japan. The first evening(last night) we made a savory 牛肉麵, niu rou mian, also known as beef noodle (soup). YUM. So good. Amanda, chef and Mandarin language teacher extraordinaire was incredibly patient, brought over key ingredients and "supped" with us as well. Fine dining indeed. I do however wish that I had brought my crock pot. It would make cooking meat a lot easier here. Why did I not bring anything here?!?!? Seriously though. How many times did I use that crock pot at home??? ah well. Funny side note? Apparently crock pots are called fast cookers here? hahah.Today at my friends house I (watched) her make dumplings. Most importantly, now I know where in the market place to buy the meat and the dumpling dough. Awesome. The dumplings came out quite good, though I think I may do some tweaking with flavors etc. All in all I am feeling mucho Taiwanese. 

Dumplings!!

How one may feel after a big meal.

Credible? Creepy? Incredibly Creepy?

SO let me get a weigh in from you all. I know I'm Wyatt's mom, so there's no question in my mind that he's cute. Adorable. PERFECT even. A child model though? I mean, the thought hasn't escaped me, and if he can earn his own college fund.......well, that's an attractive proposition. However, when said proposition approaches potential client's parental units at the sand park- is this kosher?
Will and Wyatt were building the Thundercats lair in the sand when I was approached by a man and woman who proceeded to shove a business card within my line of vision and ask for my phone number. Let me be clear- the people, or the nature of the culture here is one of persistence- taking no for an answer or diverging from the plan or the path that one has begun to take is rarely an option. So, this being said, upon being asked for my phone number, I said..no. I continued to say no, as they were literally not taking no for an answer. As I looked at the man and woman some more, I realized that the man looked familiar- he's approached me before when I was crossing the street with Wyatt. Huh. AND...still the answer is no. NO. I don't give out my phone number to people I don't know. I will research your web address and call you if we're interested. Response from random woman? Calling her "boss" who conveniently speaks English. SHE asked for my number. NO.  Finally they relented and let me be...continuing their scouting for future child stars amongst the sand pit. Which leads me to question- it's pretty creepy for this couple to wander around the park looking for cute kids right?

*Note- upon coming home, I looked up the website and it read:

Directory Listing Denied

This Virtual Directory does not allow contents to be listed.

SOOOOOO I'm going with Incredibly Creepy.

'Twas A Blissful Day

Rice fields

Our fearless bike guide.
Scoping out the bathrooms
actually.

'Twas indeed.  Did I also mention that the sun was SHINING and it was in the 80's??? Glorious. Now, I want my parental units to brace themselves, because this may come as a bit of a shock. As a kid/teenager, let's just say I was never the first one in the car when it was announced we were embarking on a physical expedition of sorts....if I got in the car at all. But enough about me and my sedentary adolescence. The point is-we went on a family bike ride today and I liked it. A lot. Like 20 kilometers Will said (which I looked up and that's like 12 miles). Impressive for the nonathletic types that we are. Note* by nonathletic "types", I really am only speaking of myself. We went at a leisurely pace and as Will said- biking is the way to enjoy Taiwan. With the mountainous landscape beckoning us, we rode along this amazing bike path and took in the surrounding scenery. Taiwan is just beautiful. Even the rice fields are impressively attractive. Added bonus? There were these little coffee shops which came to be almost oasis' of sorts as we rode a long. I have to say this was quite nice since I enjoyed the extra motivation of a sweet stop to come to every now and again.

Sweet Stop. Called I'm here. Clever.

Butt break.Those bike seats are HARD.

Picture begrudgingly taken by The Wyatt

Good Old Fashioned family fun right there.

Scenes from the bike path

    

Going on 3 months in.....

A few days from now marks THREE months that The Wyatt and I have lived in Taiwan. Shall I enlighten those reading what I have learned in the past couple of months?
*Having lived my "prime" in the 80's I can say without hesitation that I am NOT a fan of Thundercats. Curses Will. Wyatt naturally LOVES Thundercats and requests daily doses of it to get through the day. I write this as a particularly painful episode is playing in the background.
*Living in Taiwan without a bell on your bike would be like signing your own death wish. Want the proverbial waves to part? Ring the bell. Annoyed that someone is in your way? Ring the bell. Car cuts you off in the middle of the road as you're going through the crosswalk? FURIOUSLY ring the bell. Language barrier because I haven't learned how to say excuse me yet? Yup- ring the bell.
* I've learned that, *gasp* I really need to wear "practical" shoes. There is however a fine balance between orthopedic and cute practical shoes however... I'm riding the line. I've tried the heels-it's just not working with my six speed -you know? Yeah, SIX speed.
*Speaking of bikes.....Do you know how much it sucks to ride against the wind on the stinking bike? It makes me feel ridiculously out of shape and well, just ridiculous. For as hard as I'm peddling with the rate of speed to which I'm moving......RIDICULOUS.
*One really can't hit the bread shop every day and not expect there to be a change in their waistline.
*Taiwan is a social worker's dream. A social worker who speaks Mandarin's dream. I'm working on it......leading into.........
*Languages. Learning a new language does not get easier to learn as you get older (just ask Will about the rule of the number 2..) and practice DOES make perfect.
*Wyatt is apparently a Taiwanese phenomenon. I get asked by random people (namely teenage girls) if they can have their pictures taken with Wyatt on a weekly basis. If they don't ask they obviously think I don't see them trying to discreetly hide their cameras as they point it in his direction. Hey, I'm just his agent. If he doesn't want his picture taken, that's his call. Sometimes he's just not in the mood.
* The weather here for the past couple of days has been exceptionally warm hot even. 80's. Please note the picture to your right. Winter coats. 80 degree weather. This does not bode well for me.
Follow up:
* We have branched out and are not going to the McDonald's play land nearly so much now that Wyatt has a burgeoning social life.
* I still REALLY need to work on lightening up.
* I've found a place that has plain cheese pizza.
It's all good.