Wicked Wednesday...Don't make me look!

Z was NOT happy that we wanted him to just look and not touch!

Newest member of the pack...

Meet Oogway our new little tortoise!  I want a dog....I love dogs but living in an apartment with  a toddler is challenging enough, the thought of potty training a puppy from the 8th floor did not appeal to me.  So a tortoise is a good fit for us. Z isn't too sure about him yet, mostly he just asks about him and then screams if I suggest he touch him.  Hopefully we can get it all figured out and Oogway will be happy in his new home.

Venus....Grateful Heart

Where do I begin...this girl is such a blessing to us.  Living in a foreign country, thousands of miles from everyone you know and love is tough.  It would be tough if we only had ourselves to consider, but we have the Tiny American to think about as well.  When we first moved here the company kept telling us we needed to find a nanny so that we had someone to help with Z. I thought this was silly, I was a SAHM back in Texas and did just fine.  And then the reality of our life kind of set in, I would need some help.

When we first arrived we had someone who worked in John's office with him that also worked as our driver and translator.  I really liked him and what's more Zane liked him.  He wasn't babysitter material but he helped with so many other things, namely getting me places that I couldn't walk to and helping me communicate with locals.  He was a great help.  When Eric would come to the apartment or had to take us somewhere Z got so excited.  I told Eric I needed a nanny that would get the same reaction from Z.  He knew someone.  He planned an introduction and immediately we knew she was perfect for us.  Z crawled in her lap within the first 5 minutes of her being in our apartment.

Venus started coming twice a week just to hang out with Z and give me a chance to do a few things without his help. Shortly after she started Eric quit leaving me feeling very lost.  In our current life routine and familiarity, even more than normal, is so important to me.  John and I talked about our options and really only one seemed good to me.  We asked Venus if she would be interested in working a little more for us.  I feel really silly saying that I have a personal assistant, I am a SAHM, but that is really what she is.  She helps me make appointments, answers questions when I am not sure of things, she drives me where I need to go.  She still comes over to play with Z twice a week, she babysits at night if we have a dinner that we need to go to.  Honestly she takes care of all of us.

In the last month or so we have had family visiting and they have all fallen in love with Venus. We consider her part of our family.  She fits right in!  She is learning the meaning of sarcasm and able to give it as well as take it from the leader of our pack. When my nephew fell in love with dumplings while he was here, Venus is the one who taught him how to make them so he could have them at home. It was my niece and nephew that introduced her to brownies which she now loves and wants to learn how to bake.

I would be lost without her.  I don't say that lightly, she really was a gift. I am so grateful to Eric for his brief stop in our life because without that we would have never found her.  We are blessed by her sweet, funny, kind spirit. I am grateful for the love she shows the Tiny American. I am blessed to call her my friend. She will forever be a part of us....whether she likes it or not!

Unexpected Challenges

Having grown up in Taiwan and travelled here as an adult, I think Laura and I were fairly well prepared for what it might be like to live here, and for the most part that is true.  What I'd like to talk about here are the things we didn't expect or see coming that have turned out to be somewhat challenging for us.  Taiwan has one of the friendliest and most helpful cultures you could ever want to be around.  That being said, here are a few things that completely blindsided us.  I'm certainly not implying that the Taiwanese are wrong and we are right, just that these instances demonstrate some of the vast differences between our US culture and their Taiwanese culture.

The Concept of Time and it's Value
We often use the phrase "time is money", primarily because we put a lot of value on it.  We want to do things quickly and efficiently, usually so we have time to do something else.  Personally, I'm a big fan of this.  I think you should do things right, but you should also get them done NOW (or completely procrastinate and don't even start).  Not the case here, the national past time seems to be waiting in line.  People happily wait in line for just about anything and everything.  Throw in something free (and I mean any cheap, worthless thing) or an opportunity for a discount and the lines get amazing.  Generally this isn't a problem for us as we just don't get in the lines for those things.  Occasionally we have to wait in line for something we need or want to do, but it's not a regular problem.  Where we (particularly I) struggle is in restaurants and retail stores where VIP cards or special sign up offers can get you a discount.  The concept that I am not willing to spend 5-10 minutes signing up for a club that will net me a 5% discount at a place I frequent twice a year is just baffling to the people offering the discount.  I still haven't discovered the right way to work through this without seeming rude, but I'll keep trying.

Rain or Shine, Lines are the Rule

Family Meals with Western Kids
This probably goes back to time; and again is my issue to adapt to the culture here, but took me several outings to understand that this is just how it is.  Eating out here is a regular thing and quite often becomes and event in and of itself.  There are really 3 types of meals that are popular here, two of which we will discuss.  I'll leave out the night market dining as that deserves it's own space in this blog.  Let's discuss Set Meals and Individual Meals.  Set meals tend to involve multiple courses brought out one at a time over several hours and be family style or course by course.  For those who have spent their lives eating this way, it doesn't seem to be a problem, but for us....let's just say it doesn't work too well with a toddler.  A two hour meal just isn't in his wheel house and we got locked into a couple of these without knowing they were coming before we realized we needed to look into how the meal would be served before committing to his highly desired presence.  Individual meals offer a different challenge and that is timing.  Individual meals here are brought to the table when they are ready without  much of an attempt to get everyone's meal done at the same time.  If the place isn't too busy, we can usually get through this without too much issue (the boy likes his food).  The ideal order for us is Zane, Laura, Me (evidently this is a good excuse for me to eat fast).  If there is a large gap and he needs to wait a long time after he is done or his food comes last and ours isn't really appropriate for him....well let's just say it can be interesting.

Typical Multiple Course Family Style Meal

The Catalyst
Now you might ask what got me thinking about writing this article, surprisingly it was The Minions movie.  Seems innocuous enough, which is what I thought.  Evidently not.  Last weekend, we decided that it would be fun to take Zane, whose attention span is increasing to see the movie.  And what better show than the family friendly Minions who he really likes.  We planned it out and told him we would go see the Minions and he talked about it pretty much all morning.  First snag came when we went to get tickets and the line (see the first challenge above) was gigantic.  I'm talking 300 people in a single file snaking line.  We decided a quick change of course to another theater where we could get lunch and tickets for a later showing after Z could have a nap was in order.  Amazingly, almost no line this time.  Zane and I got to the front and told them I wanted to buy tickets for the show, they asked how old Zane was and I told them not quite 2 (thinking he might be free).  They informed me that he could not see the movie until he was SIX!  Surely I must not have understood them even after we discussed it for a bit.  Unfortunately I had this confirmed, because the movie is rated P (similar to PG) kids under 6 are not even allowed to see it with parents.  I wasn't trying to get him into Planet of the Apes or 2001 A Space Odyssey (both of which he COULD go see as they are rated G) this is The Minions....completely blindsided again.  Thankfully Zane didn't know the difference between seeing it at the movies or watching Despicable Me at home.

At least they don't market The Minions to kids here ;-)

Granted this might not get a G rating today, but if it was here, Zane could go

I am sure this is easier to explain to Zane than the violence in Minions

Fewer and fewer things surprise us here, but it still happens.

My View

We live in a city of 2.7 million people...I choose not to drive so that means that most places The Tiny American and I go we walk.  Honestly with the traffic here it is faster and easier to just walk to most of the places that I go. During the cooler months we walked ALOT, right now with the heat we aren't out as much but when we are this is my view.