Bust A Move

In a previous post I exposed you all to the glory that is Nobody by the Wonder Girls. There is another Korean jam that the Taiwanese are obsessed with called Sorry Sorry by Super Junior. Wikipedia has just informed me that with 15 members Super Junior is officially the worlds largest boy band, so eat your heart out backstreet boys. Here is a little youtube for your viewing pleasure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6QA3m58DQw&feature=fvst

This also has an easy distinct dance that little boys are crazy about. Last night I was teaching one of my favorite classes full of rambunctious and incredibly adorable kids when one of my students busted out the Sorry Sorry dance. At my request after class I was treated to an extended version. Luckily I happened to have my camera on hand, so here you go: William and Wayne, future dance superstars.

In the video you may notice that the boys don't start until I say 'go'. This is an amazing tool ingrained in these kids' heads from their very first few classes. The kids will wait for the command and then on cue either start playing a game or repeat the phrase you just said. For example I can say "My favorite color is red. Go!" And they will repeat it.

Sometimes I wish this would work in life outside of Gloria school. Hey mom, I would like some mac and cheese. Go!

Da Vinci and Dinos

I returned to Taipei today with my friend Helen, and we decided to check out the DaVinci exhibit that is currently at the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall (http://www.davincithegenius.com/). It was a pretty amazing exhibit. They had copies of a lot of different DaVinci drawings, and then had models of the different inventions and designs. At the end of the exhibit was a Mona Lisa cut out to pose in. There was also place where you could become a virtual virturivan man.

After the Da Vinci exhibit we made our way to the dinosaur exhibit. There was very little English, but there were dinos that actually moved and spoke Chinese, so I was happy.

Leaving my footprint in Taiwan.

DaVinci and the dinos made us hungry, so after the exhibits we went to go find the Thai restaurant I went to with my mom over Chinese New Year. I was super bummed when the place looked closed, but an old man sitting out front with a beer called us over. He knocked on the window through the metal grate and told us to sit down and wait. After a few minutes there was movement inside, and the restaurant opened just to feed us. You can see that they only half opened the place, but the food was amazing.

Our Thai feast. This picture isn't great but I was too hungry to take a second shot.

Did you know that dinosaurs spoke Chinese?

Tea Country

Today I went to Pinglin, a tea growing mountain town outside of Taipei with some of the Gloria teachers from the north. I met them at the train station, and we made our way to Pinglin.

Outside the metro station on the way to the bus, we saw a big group of people gathered. Half the people were sitting down, and the other people were standing there beating them repeatedly in one spot with little sticks. Some people were working on a shoulder, others the back, and some the foot. And this wasn't just a light tap on the skin, these people had big red welts and looked like they were in some serious pain. There was even a man walking circles around the group banging his elbows together. Everyone else was walking by like this was completely normal.

As tempting as it was to join this party, we made our way around to the bus and headed to Pinglin. When we first arrived in Pinglin we wandered around for a bit and explored this cool little temple on the top of a hill. There was a thick fog, which I'm starting to learn is common in Taiwan. It was surrounded by gorgeous mountains covered in tea fields.

Here you can see a close up of some of the tea bushes that were terraced into the hillsides.

It was a very scenic town with a river flowing through the mountains.

After we explored the temple we walked through the old town which was a little market road. Surprisingly it was pretty empty and we had the town to ourselves.

All of the street lights were in the shape of tea kettles!

Some woman was selling these treats on the side of the road. I still have no idea what it was, but she somehow convinced us all to buy one and try them. It was an impressive sale as she spoke no English and we collectively spoke very little Chinese. It looked like a big wet booger, and didn't taste much better.

At one of the shops they had this old grandma version of the Asian farmer hat. Could be a good style for me.

We also went into the tea museum, and I learned everything there is to know about tea: how it is grown, picked, processed, the correct way to serve and drink it, and I even learned where tea originally came from...
My favorite sign of the day...

Fashion Police

In a land full of bedazzled cell phones, metallic leggings, and fake eye lashes, it is not often I am shocked by the outfits I see on the streets. The fashion is Taiwan is a special thing, and often my Taiwanese co-teachers look more like they are ready to hit the clubs than teach young children. Basically if it is pink, animal print, metallic, or has rhinestones or fake fur they love it here. The most common outfit is as follows: SUPER short skirt, shorts, or t-shirt parading as a dress matched with leggings and boots. The boots come in many forms, from fake uggs lined with fake fur to motorcycle boots. The shoes also often have crazy heels, which I find pretty impressive especially when driving a scooter. On the other extreme is the outfit that looks meant for a 10 year old: frilly and pink with pictures of Hello Kitty or a teddy bear. Often the clothes are covered in broken English. Sometimes the sentences don't make sense, sometimes the words are out of order, and sometimes it is just a jumble of random letters arranged across the fabric. Really I have seen almost everything here, even stone washed jeans.

The guys also have a distinct look, and it is definitely more feminine than what is popular back home. A lot of the guys have a similar haircut, where most of the hair is directed forward with a bang in front and spike in the back. Here is a good example:

http://music.yule.tom.com/uimg/2007/12/20/caiyingzhe/1198113069809_48175.jpg

Yet today somehow, I was shocked. If Elvis had an asian sister, I saw her on the bus in Taoyuan. This woman walked on the bus decked out in a bright red pants suits matched with bright red stilettos. She also had a frilly red skirt to go over top of the pants. The skirt was lined with silver studs, and the pant legs and jacket sleeves were lined with silver sequins. She had giant shades, and looked like she meant business.

Over Chinese New Years I bought myself a pair of boots, but I think that is about as much as I will adapt to the fashion here. As I am larger than the average asian, shopping is also difficult. The boots I bought were over 50% off because they were the only pair left in the style...and in a size that almost no one in this country will fit in!

Shirt I saw at the night market. Example of the funny English. I also got Rosie a shirt that said "Raw Like Sushi", and one for Judy that I couldn't decipher.

Health Insurance!

I got my ARC (Taiwanese ID) the week before Chinese New Year, and was told that as soon as they submitted some forms I would have health insurance. Today when I went to get paid after my class (because I get paid in cash everyday...AMAZING!), they took out 400NT, about $13US to cover my health insurance for February AND March. Meaning I am now insured, and should be getting my insurance card any day. Once I get that, I can go to any doctor and pay only 150NT ($5US) for the entire visit. If i need a prescription I just shell out another 150NT, and it's mine! I plan on hitting up the dentist and the eye doctor promptly when I get my card.

As a side note, something I hear repeatedly in Taiwan is that drinking cold beverages is bad for you. Women claim if you don't drink cold water you won't get cramps, and at restaurants you have to specifically ask for ice in your drink. So maybe if I avoid cold drinks I won't have to use my insurance too much.