Zhong Kui - Demon Killer and Ghost Eater

Here's a follow up on the Ghost Month theme.  Shortly after our arrival in Taipei we had the great opportunity to visit the National Taiwan Museum which features amazing artistic achievements such as...

1. A boat carved out of an olive pit.  Including movable doors and 7 people seated in and around the boat.  (Actual size: less than 2 inches in length)

2. A head of bok choi carved in white and green jade.  "Glasshopper, you must look closely."

3. And a room fully dedicated to my favorite Chinese character - Zhong Kui, the demon killer.  Check out this simple painting of him hiding devils in his cloak as he crosses the river in his boat to dispose of them properly.

Or maybe you'd prefer this flashier representation of ZK busting a move on the dance floor before devouring a demon or two.  Can't touch this, Indiana Jones!

Free Bunnies

The Free Citizen's Bus!

There are so many bus companies here in Zhubei and so far I haven't seen a bus map that would help us decide which would take us where we want to go. But here is something great about living in Zhubei; there are at least 6 bus lines that I know of that are free of charge. Some of these are provided by the county government in order to reduce traffic on the roads.  Two of the free buses come within a few blocks of our apartment.  One of them goes within a 15 minute walk of the university I'll be attending. To ride the free buses you have to wait between 20 minutes and one hour, depending on the route and time of day. When they arrive Soleil and I are glad to get on because they are air-conditioned and it has been hot and humid here.

A few weeks ago in Taipei I taught Soleil to read the characters 免費, meaning no charge or literally, exempt from fees.  It's pronounced miǎnfèi. Here in Zhubei she recognized 免费 when we saw it on bus 61, which runs from Carrefour department store to our neighborhood. She said 免miǎn looks like 兔tù, which means rabbit.  It does. But do you see the difference? 

兔rabbit

免without, avoid, excused from

兔 tù has a little rabbit dropping at the bottom of it. But 免 miǎn, the no of no charge, has no turd.

Pavlov got your tongue?...This time it's not ice cream

Garbology Lesson 2

Lets say hypothetically, you work the city sanitation department and your brainstorming ideas to lift your image out of the gutter, so to speak.  Do you consider painting your trucks fanciful colors?  Or maybe the collectors dress in Rodeo Clown outfits and do slapstick tricks as they pick up your trash? Kids would flock to the curb if you throw parade candy as you pass by, but if parents catch on they might question the safety of such treats. Well how about a little cheery music to lighten you step and invite people out to the curb as you roll by?  As it turns out, Taiwan is one step ahead of us. See if you can spot the music before it arrives and then watch for the lady dumping her compost slops as well!

Jenny was impressed by the truck that followed this one!  

Read This Carefully thenToss it in the Correct Barrel

Garbology:  Lesson 1

Who knew?  Taiwan is #1 in the world in two ways!  No not the tallest building - Dubai has already built higher.  No not the most Chinese speakers in the world, that's the other China.  OK, you twist my arm, I'll tell....

First in the world for lowest birthrate!  Some young women and men are vowing to never bear children because it's too expensive, it's hard to hold a full time job and spend time with kids, you have to give up a successful career.  I guess they just can bear it.  (Tee hee, punny!)

Also, first in the world for socialized recycling! (No, not the most garbage, No.)  Here's what critics are saying:  "The socialists are at it again!"  "Get big government OUT OF MY GARBAGE CAN!"  "What are they going to ask for next?!  Compost your pets when they die?!" But wait!  Maybe with earnest effort they actually can slow the flow of the waste stream.  That would be a good idea.  Some things just seem more logical on an island where the natural resources can run out quickly and the trash pile is spilling over into your back yard.

  

So three cheers (and at least 3 buckets) for recycling efforts, from the world leader in public waste stream awareness and reduction.  Hip hip, Hooray!

Money Goes Up in Smoke

It's Ghost Month in Taiwan.  Whenever someone mentions this their eyes twinkle as they watch for some reaction from us.  But we're not afraid.  We've been through Halloween so many times we aren't fazed.  Arriving at our new apartment however has felt a bit ghostlike.  It's a 14 story high-rise in a new part of town called "Six Families" 六家 in northern Hsinchu county 竹北.  There are definitely more than 6 families in our building but we don't see them much due to high security and busy work schedules.  I hope we have a chance to meet and get to know some of them during the year, otherwise the old nickname for foreigners, "white ghosts" 白鬼, might come true.

As it turns out, Ghost Month in Taiwan is a public celebration of neighborhoods just as Halloween is in American, and just like in the US, the ghosts are hungry!  The first Saturday after our arrival several tables were set up outside our apartment building to accommodate the food being served to the ghosts.  Many residents of our building were outside the front entrance setting up elaborate displays for the festival just as we were returning from a day out shopping for household items.

The table is set with favorite foods for the ancestral "ghosts" to enjoy.

The food served to ghosts includes a wide variety of items from cookies to pickles, instant noodles, Coke, fresh fruit and beer.  Ghosts apparently thrive on a balanced diet of junk.  The tables were piled high and topped with colorful flags and incense sticks.  Around the edge of the table were stacks of paper money printed with golden symbols of wealth and prosperity.  Our neighbors were busy arranging the items in a bountiful display and as I watched, my stomach started to grumble.  Then I noticed smoke starting to rise from the street curb.

Sending money to ancestors during Ghost Month.

People with stacks of yellow paper were carefully unwrapping the packages, separating the sheets and tossing them into a burning barrel.  The maintenance and security staff kept a close watch on the flames and the smoke carried the money to the ghosts above.  One sheet caught the rising air above the barrel before touching the flames and fluttered upward toward the towers around us then gently drifted down to the earth again where it lay unnoticed until cleanup time.  The neighborhood was buzzing with people and it offered a great opportunity for us to introduce ourselves to many folks who live nearby.  Our neighbors are mostly young families starting out their lives with a few grandparents around for childcare.  So as it turns out, we're not the only new kids on the block.

Thanks to the ghosts, we are now real people in our neighborhood.  As we rode the elevator up to the second floor a young guy got out with us and turned to the door across the hall.  We introduced ourselves and he replied, "My name is Bruce Lin, not exactly like the famous kung fu actor."  I chuckled and smiled.  If the ghost of kung fu films, 李小龍, is lingering around here somewhere, perhaps we should leave out something for him to eat.

VIP in Town

First Visitor              (by Jenny)

We had a great visit from David (Jenny’s cousin-in-law from Seattle) both in Taipei and a few days later, in Zhubei.  He came to Taiwan for a Pacific Rim technology conference. In Taipei he taught us juggling, went swimming with Soleil and Jenny, and went out to dinner a few times. In Zhubei he patiently accompanied us shopping to set up our new apartment and explored the city by bus with us.  David is a lot of fun and it was great to have a visitor from the US already. Here’s a photo of us at the Palace Museum in Taipei.

On Top of Taiwan

Soleil and Jenny visited the 89th floor of Taipei 101 on August 15. Soleil will show you around.

I went to Taipei 101. Taipei 101 is a building that is 101 stories high. The elevator went up 84 stories in 37 seconds. When we got to the top I saw a tunnel coming out of the mountain and cars could drive through it. We also saw a river. I had fun!

This photo appears on our new apartment wall.

This photo shows 101 in a design representing old Chinese coins with a hole in the middle which are a traditional symbol of wealth.

Swimming Pool 游泳館 by Soleil

We went to a swimming pool. In Chinese it's called yóuyǒngguǎn 游泳館. In the swimming pool you had to wear a swimming cap. There are lanes in the swimming pool. There were swimming classes in the lanes sometimes. If there was a class in a lane, the lane would have a cone on it. It was fun!

Taipei 101 - Intro to Taiwan

Remember that Intro to Whatever course you took in college?  Remember how you hardly paid attention to the lecture because what you really wanted to do was check out other students in the room?  Especially that cute guy or girl that sat just behind you on your left making it incredibly awkward to turn around and get a good look?  Learning about Taipei on our own for a couple days has been the perfect opportunity to take in the scenes and people without the requisite tour guide filling our heads with trivia and commerce.  We just sat on a bus as it crossed town and the river into New Taipei, and as we rode, we watched whatever caught our interest.

On our exploratory bus ride we rode past universities teaming with young people.  We rode past an urban park that looked more like a tree farm than forest evenly spaced with props holding them up. And not a single person in sight.  Turning a corner, Jenny pointed out the window and up.  Reaching high above all the other buildings was a glass skyscraper with tapered layers like a palm trunk or sugar cane stem.  At the top of the tower a long spire reached even further like a tendril stretching to the sun.  Taipei 101 has one more floor than the Sears Tower back in Chicago where we started our flight.

Near the end of the bus line we stepped out into the sweltering heat and walked down the street to the nearest soup shop.  We met a guy who wanted to sell us real estate, we ate noodles and soup and then walked back through thick humidity to the bus stop.  With nowhere better to go, we found a bus to take us to the Taipei 101 tower.  Crowds of shoppers and tourists filled the halls between boutiques selling Chanel, Rolex and McDonalds.  Once in the tower we could only go down a level!  There we found people queueing - a one and a half wait - to go up the elevators.  We decided not to wait and headed back to find a bus home.

In the hotel room Soleil and Jenny collapsed from jet lag exhaustion and sunk into the soft beds.  I had napped on the bus so I decided to go out again to look for adapters to charge up our gadgets.  I walked along the busy street, people were coming out as the burning sun set.  As I walked, I shamelessly looked people in the eye and began to recognize a great deal of uniqueness in each - tall, short, thin, round, youthful, wizened, calm and aggressive.  They all began to sparkle like gems in my sleep deprived eyes.  In that magical moment I was reminded that we are surrounded by family and friends wherever we go.  Taiwan seems to be just such a place.