Tuesday's Taiwan-ism {Fruits Galore}

I love fruit, I always have. I've also thought that I get a little more adventurous with my fruits than the typical apple and banana (sometimes I grab an orange or some grapes! lol). But really! I've tried tons of different fruits in my life and I love them all!

But holy cow Taiwan, you're throwing me a curve  ball here! Not only am I finding fruits here that I have heard of but never tried, I'm being handed fruits that I just stare blankly at the giver and ask "what's this?" or "is this a fruit" & my personal favorite "how do I eat this?"

You may remember earlier in my year I talked a lot about pomelos & persimmons. At that time I thought wow, 2 new fruits for me! Haha was I wrong...it just keeps going!

Most recent introductions have included jujube fruit & another they called a wax apple or bell fruit.

Let's take a stab at some descriptions!

The Jujube Fruit was small (kiwi sized) and looked like a hard granny smith apple, bright green and shiny. It tasted like a cross between an apple & a guava and was decently juicy. It also had a pit inside, like a small peach pit, that I wasn't quite expecting. I've been told this fruit can grow bigger, like apple sized, but apparently all I've seen is baby sized!

The Wax Apple I really liked. It was a dusty red almost purple-ish color and looked just like a small upside-down Christmas bell. The skin was waxy looking (imagine that!) and super shiny! The fruit was super juicy & instead of having a seed or pit in the middle, the middle was like a more bitter cotton ball stuck inside the fruit...I'm not really sure where that came from!

Tuesday's Taiwan-ism {Shower Room}

When I first moved to Taiwan and walked into my new apartment I thought I might have a mental breakdown right then and there {here it is in all it's glory!} as saying my emotions were running high was an understatement. But, when I glanced in the bathroom and had to actually ask "where's my shower?" I knew I might actually be going insane.

They simply pointed at the wall and showed me "my shower" or the shower head that happens to be attached to the wall of my bathroom, or as I've lovingly dubbed it...my shower-room!

Now trust me, it took some getting used to and some slight rearranging at first. Like obviously the toilet paper needs to be far away from the water stream & you can't really store your blow drying or bobby  pins in the bathroom {hello rusty pins!} but as time has gone on I've seen some real benefits to these goofy set up's as well!

"Benefits" of a Shower Room

1. My bathroom is always cleaned!
2. I can wash dishes while waiting for the shower to warm up
3. I can wash clothes while waiting for the shower to warm up
4. I can wash the sink while waiting for the shower to warm up :)
5. can wash the bathroom mirror daily if I wish
6. Mopping the tile floor in there has never been easier
7. Shaving is a breeze with the toilet and sink within arms reach!
8. Its ok if you splash everywhere!
9. You can never make too much of a mess in the bathroom
10. If the urge strikes, you don't have to dry off before using the toilet
11. Everything in there is always wet...ok so maybe this one isn't quite as beneficial!

What Year Is It?

Happy New Year my friends!

I hope you rung in the new year with your friends and family and that your year is off to a good start! Let's see about this resolution deal...this year I resolve to travel more (I'm living in Taiwan...check!), eat more (check, check & check), and live each day to it's fullest (always...check!)  Well looks like those are all taken care of! ;)

Ok, but really, on a more serious note (or as serious as I can be) new year's eve this year was a blast! You might have read my previous post about the funky feeling some of these holidays have here in Taiwan {if not you can read it here} but you get enough crazies together and  you can't help but to have fun!

I had to work New Year's Eve day, but my director let me out of work early (score!) and so I ran home, finished packing, and jumped on the next train to Taipei. To my dismay though, that was the last time I was able to move for the next hour and a half...holy crammed buses! I made it to Taipei and headed to Tina's grandparents place to get ready and wait for the other girls. We had dinner reservations for 7 at a "hardcore Taiwanese restaurant" but man was it delicious!

After dinner we began combing the streets for THE perfect spot to watch the fireworks; no building, correct wind direction, places to sit...this was serious! We finally found a spot and settled in amongt the crowds of locals....and then the countdown began!

The firework show was fantastic, we popped our party poppers, sang Auld Lang Syne in the middle of the street, gave the best new year's hugs to each other, and partied our hineys off until 4am....I'd call it a successful night to remember! I'm still confused though...is it 2016 or 105 now?!

The next morning we didn't have school (hallelujah! only our 4th day off since August!) so a group of  us headed out in search of food & adventure. We found both, in the form of a Pizza Hut buffet & climbing Elephant Mountain. Oh the food {and the views!!}

By Sunday we were down from 5 girls to 2 (and then there were none!?!) so Tina and I, having covered most of the super touristy things IN Tapei, rode the metro to the end & boarded  a bus to the very northern tip of Taiwan with not much of a plan to speak of. Only in Taiwan though can you have "not much of a plan" and still see the ocean, walk through a rock bridge, accept a ride from a strange man in a van, & visit a 10 story tall dog  in a single afternoon!

Ok, I'll elaborate a bit! We decided to venture outside of Taipei and see what the northern countryside had to offer when we discovered a natural "rock bridge" on a map and decided to check it out. The bridge was really pretty and unique, but let's face it, you can only spend so much time looking at a rock bridge! We checked our maps again and found a temple boasting a 10 story dog statue about a mile up the road; we walked it. Upon getting to the spot on the map we can't see the dog anywhere (this is when we start thinking we are crazy! How does one lose a 10 story dog?!) We stopped at an electric plant and asked a guard who told us it was about another mile...up the mountain...ugh. We asked if he'd call a taxi and he insisted it would only take us 8 minutes (a mile up a mountain...I think not!) we decided to give it a shot  though. We made it about 6 feet from the guard when he called us back and told us to wait. Next thing we know, another worker pulls up in a company van and chauffeurs us to the front door of the temple, wishes us happiness, and leaves....only in Taiwan!

Breathtaking views walking down the mountain from dog temple

Quick stop && Kung Fu time in front of Chaing Kai-shek Memorial

Josh, meet monkey...monkey, meet Josh!

You know that fuzzy warm feeling you get inside when you introduce friends from 2 different instances in your life and the 3 of you have a great time together and all in life seems well...yeah, that's kind of what it felt like to introduce Josh to my monkey friends in Kaohsiung!

I was supposed to work Christmas day {perks of teaching in Asia right!} but rearranged my schedule so I taught all my classes in the morning and asked for the afternoon off (you've got to take what you can get!) But the afternoon off meant that Josh and I could partake in the ever classy & traditional 7-11 Christmas luncheon as well as get an early head start on the almost 2 hour trip to Kaohsiung (sidenote here: kudos to me, this was the first time I drove my scooter to the High Speed Rail station...yay me!)

7-11 Christmas lunch! Seaweed chips, coffee, pork sticky bun, Japanese rice cake, sweet potato, tea eggs, & yogurt drink...HELLO Taiwan!

Tuesday's Taiwan-ism {western holidays}

Western holidays {or even just non-Taiwanese holidays!} such as Christmas and New Year are funny things here in Taiwan.

Outwardly they celebrate these holidays. There are Christmas trees, people dressing like Santa Clauses, Christmas carols in the stores, and fireworks shot off on the 31st of December. But, past the commercial aspect of these holidays, there is nothing.

I actually had a co-worker tell me that other than  "happy happy time" they had no idea why we celebrate Christmas {this co-worker had Christmas themed lessons in their classroom!}

Likewise, when midnight hit on New Year's Eve, people sat there with their phones filming the fireworks without a single hug given, kiss received, or Happy New Year shouted...it was silent...they don't celebrate it.

I don't understand why there is such a commercialist view on these holidays that they don't celebrate, but it certainly sparks many questions as they continue to pass by, stumping me more and more with each passing holiday.

Now, for your viewing pleasure, my students at Hsinfong Elementary School at their first annual Christmas carol competition!  {I may be biased, but I think they did great fantastic!}