Jurassic Adventure

While we were on our visit to the States Venus had sent me a photograph of a dinosaur exhibition going on in Taichung.  I hoped that it would still be here when we returned.  After a few days of being stuck inside and trying to recover from our jet lag the Tiny American and I made a plan to visit the exhibit.  The day of our scheduled visit we woke up to rain.  Since we walk almost everywhere we go, this was a problem.   We waited it out for awhile, with only about a thousand questions about when we were going to see the dinosaurs.  Note to self....do not inform the Tiny American of the plan until we are actually walking out the door!

The rain finally stopped and the sun tried to peak through so we headed out.  In Taiwan we are in what is technically their winter. It is a tropical island so that means it isn't really THAT cold.  It was cooler than normal this day so I did dress Z accordingly, he had on a light sweatshirt and jeans and I packed his jacket in the stroller.  Our destination was about a mile maybe a mile and a half from our front door.  We made it almost all the way there before the sky opened up once again.  I have learned from my time here to never leave the house without an umbrella so I pulled it out and we walked quickly to the nearest building which happened to house a Toys R Us.

After wandering the aisles of the toy store and trying out all the cars and scooters we decided to see if the rain had passed.  It had indeed blown over and so we walked the last little bit of our journey and arrived at the Taichung Jurassic Exhibition.  He could see the largest dinosaur over the fence and could hear the rest, needless to say his excitement was evident when he ROARED back at them!  Taiwanese kids are as a rule pretty quiet....the Tiny American is not!

We paid our $250 nt ( about $8 US) and went in.  Im not sure what I expected but I was pleasantly surprised. There was lots of space for Z to wander around.  Some of the dinosaurs you could go up and touch others you could not, but the paths were clearly marked and he had a great time exploring.  The dinosaurs were animated as well as making sounds.  The news had suggested that small children might be afraid, some of the exhibits were of one dino eating a smaller one.  And there were a couple of fight scenes, but it didn't seem to phase him.

I convinced him to climb inside the Dinosaur mouth for a photo op!  He even gave me the surprised look!!  The Taiwanese love a good photo op, most of the people participating in this activity were adults, not the kids.  It's funny how things like that are just a cultural thing.

So we hung out for awhile  before it started sprinkling again and then I started to load Z up to start our walk home.  A lady that had been watching us fairly closely while we were there shuffled over to me and gave me a disposable rain poncho for Z.  I guess I failed yet again as a parent in the eyes of the locals....oh well!  I just said thank you and we headed out.

It's funny because in the States we might talk about what another mother is doing or not doing and most likely not do anything about it unless a child is being harmed.  Here they have no reservations about pointing out that I should have him dressed differently, warmer, cooler, or that he should wear a raincoat.  I just nod and go on...he doesn't even own a puffy coat.

The Dinosaurs were a big hit!  Jetlag is finally gone and we are back in a normal routine.  Life is good.

Notice everyone but the Tiny American is wearing a puffy coat!

Dragons

 In the US we like to go for drives and just see what we see....since we moved here that has not really been an option, we walk a lot and see things that way, but we have not been able to just get in the car and go for a drive.  I have been mostly ok with that, but John LOVES to drive around and has really missed it.  Finally all the right things fell into place and he is now legal to drive here. It has given us some new freedom and has increased our area of exploration.  For our first outing on our own we decided to drive to a place that I had read about and had been wanting to visit. It was an easy drive and we easily found our way.  It is an old fountain that has 2 big dragons in it.  The fountain no longer has water, but the dragons still hang around.  There is also a very pretty park and paths with theses dragons but they were spraying the weeds or the trees with something the day we were there.  With the Tiny American running around and an unknown chemical being sprayed we decided to just visit the dragons.

You can see that they were HUGE!

Just keeping an eye on this one to make sure he isn't sneaking up on us!

No cooperation from the Tiny American.

Zane is roaring like a dragon.

This will defiantly be added to our list of places to take visitors!

Lantern Festival take 2

I was actually worried we wouldn't get to make a visit to the largest location of the 2015 Taiwan Lantern Festival.  Between the Chicken Pox and work visitors from the States, it seemed like it might not happen.  We DID make it and I am so happy that we did...it was AMAZING!  The weather cooperated, we took one of the visitors with us and we saw the most beautiful lanterns.  For those of you who might not have seen a lantern like this, they are basically structures built out of fabric and then illuminated with LED lights.  They are huge, full of detail and awesome.  

The Tiny American was in a trance the whole time we were there!

Something I find very interesting and obviously different from the States, this was free to attend.  There is NO charge at all. They want everyone that can attend to do so, and they DO!  We got there just a few minutes after they opened and anticipated it being very crowded.  We had plenty of room to walk around for the first hour we were there and then it really started to get crowded, elbow to elbow people with no personal space boundaries.  Fortunately I was really into the lanterns and it didn't bother me too much. By not too much, I mean, my throat only sort of closed up and I was only slightly sweaty....but it was totally worth it!

Zane loves Bee's right now.  He laughs every time anyone says the word.

The year of the Goat

There isn't a lot to say.  I just wanted you all to be able to see them.  The Lantern festival happens right after the Lunar New Year, make your plans now to join us next year!  We will even treat you to some stinky tofu, or chicken feet or any of the other  delicacies available from the food vendors.

Reality of the situation....

I post on Facebook and instagram daily about the fun stuff we are doing and life in the city.  I talk about how we are adjusting and enjoying our adventure, and all of that is true.  The expressions on our faces are real, we ARE having a good time. But normal life does go on and living in a country where you do not speak the language and few people speak yours is challenging, actually it's hard. John goes to work everyday and Z and I are on our own.  Simple things like ordering meat at the deli counter cause me to sweat. If i want to have them slice me lunch meat first i have to convert the pounds or ounces to grams( thank goodness for google) and then have to try and convey that number to them.  I just learned this week that if my produce needs to be weighed at certain stores I have to take that to a separate cart before going to the register to get a label to checkout....I'm sure its posted somewhere but I can't read Mandarin, or maybe it's an understood rule, there are lots of those.  I've talked about before the multiple stores we have to shop to put a meal together which would be no big deal if the same store always stocked the same stuff.  It's not like walking into Walmart and knowing exactly where the beans are every time at ANY Walmart.

Then there are simple housekeeping and comfort issues that you might not think about that come with renting a furnished apartment in a country that values different things than we do.  We like Cozy.  We like to snuggle on the couch and read books or watch something on TV.  Our furniture is more of sit straight up comfortable.  Im not sure what the style is exactly, I mean who wouldn't love faux  alligator skin in gold with crystal buttons?  We bought a shaggy rug for the floor and that is now the softest place in the living room. We are waiting from some comfy chairs from home and plan to have this furniture moved out and purchase a more cozy couch.    And while I am talking floors....ours are white marble.  If you ever wonder how much hair you shed everyday, install white marble, you can do an accurate inventory daily!  And I will just add, white marble floors and a toddler, not a good mix! I have heard that come summertime I will appreciate the cold floors. Nearly every surface is shiny in our apartment, the doors, the walls, the cabinets....needless to say we have lots of tiny fingerprints  to clean up everyday. I'm not complaining, just sharing that it isn't all days at the park and awesome adventure, but there is real life happening here as well.

The social aspect isn't something that I thought would be a big deal to me. I am fairly solitary anyways.  I thought this would be much harder for John, leaving his work friends and just the social aspect of his job.  I have been able to connect with some people here and am making some friends, Zane makes that easy and necessary.  I have found a little network of expat moms.  I have come to realize that friendships will make this much easier, having a connection with someone else that totally understands what I am feeling.  Days when you don't hear another person speak that you understand can be very long.  John spends his day in an office where he is the only American.  He has a translator that does speak English, and some of the others speak some, but he doesn't have that social connection that he did in Texas.  He doesn't go out to lunch with his colleagues and download.  He misses that, and we have got to figure out some social outlet for him. Zane and I are awesome, but I think he probably needs a little something else from time to time.

As with any challenge, this can make a relationship stronger or it can tear it apart.  Luckily for us it is making us closer.  We depend a lot on each other and have learned to just listen when the other needs to vent or cry or be mad and not always try and fix it.  Not every situation can be fixed.  sometimes we just need to whine....like about why NO store stocks Dr Pepper on a regular basis!  I mean come on, I gave up Judge Judy and Diet Dr Pepper for this adventure, the least Taiwan could do is be consistent  and always have the same groceries at the same stores! Sorry, that was just an example....but seriously, WHY?  I've had a cold for several days now, that my loving, supportive husband gave to me, and when I called him at work today to complain that the one store that always has above mentioned product and that is within walking distance did not have a  single can today, he just listened. And when I was done complaining and assured him that I would most likely live the day, he said well I will call a couple of the other stores that carry it and see if anyone has a can and bring it home tonight.....and then added if you live that long. Support, along with sarcasm, make this work.

SO when you see our smiling faces on Facebook and Instagram know that we are very happy and enjoying this adventure.  But also remember us in your thoughts and prayers because  not everyday is toes in the sand.  Some days it takes a lot of energy to get up and put a smile on our faces and convince  ourselves that we made the right decision. But I know that God has a plan for us and for Mister Z and that part of that plan includes us being here.  We have each other and we are SO very lucky and blessed.  And if you find yourself with nothing to do some afternoon at 4:00, pour yourself a Diet Dr Pepper and watch Judge Judy because not everyone gets those luxuries!

Happy Chinese New Year

Happy Lunar New Year

We have enjoyed getting to see all of the decorations and customs unfold the past few days.  Yesterday, New Year's Eve, was the quietest we have ever seen the city since we arrived.  By late afternoon most shops were closed and the streets were mostly empty of cars and scooters.  We took advantage of this and walked some of the narrower and less accessible areas.  We walked through some of the alleyways where the locals live above the business that they run....but the shops were closed and the people were hanging around outside.  What we saw a lot of was little firepots and people were burning "fake" money.  It is believed that by burning this money it will be passed on to their ancestors to be used in the afterlife.    Another tradition is the huge family reunion meal.  A huge meal is prepared, often packed up and taken to the temple where it is offered as an offering to their ancestors.  They lay the food out, pray to their ancestors and when the dead are done with the food they pack it back up and head home for their meal.  The red lanterns and firecrackers are our favorite part.

A few weeks ago we saw a sign at a local mall that we decided meant there would be a lion dance today.  We can never be totally sure that we understand what is being advertised, but we both felt pretty good about this one.  We have been excited all week waiting for this morning.  We planned to get there early, we were not sure who else knew about this.  I suppose it could have been widely advertised and we would never know.  Trucks drive down the street everyday and play things over a loud speaker, they could have been talking about this!  We left the apartment, walked to Starbucks for coffee and a muffin and then walked over to the mall.  We were the only ones around for a little bit. Shortly a small group started to form a line at the door into the mall. Evidently they do Lunar New Year's promotions sort of like our Black Friday deals.  We had secured a good seat for the show and then the dancers showed up.  Zane and I were very intrigued by them.  The first ones to arrive were a van full of young men dressed in red with flames on their pants.  Most  of them had interestingly colored hair.  They were very high energy and they approached us, curious about Zane.  After they took some pictures of the tiny American we asked if we could take some pictures of them with Zane. They got very excited and started pointing to a big truck that was just arriving....the lions!  They wanted us to get a picture of Zane with the lion dancers. They quickly unloaded one of the costumes and put it on and posed with us.  We were the only ones who got to do this...hanging with the tiny American has its perks.

Z and the big lion

The Lion Dancer

Once the dancing and drumming began Z was excited.  We all enjoyed it.  They were pretty amazing. The costumes reacted to tiny gestures that the acrobats made.  Their eyes would blink and their ears flapped.  It was very cool!  The front guy does a lot of jumping and controlling the head, but the guy in the back has the harder job as far as I could tell.  The position he has to been in to make the lions backs hard and he is also the guy that lifts the guy in front to make the lion stand tall.  The yellow more skilled lion was a couple of older men but the red lion was younger men.  At the end of the show the youngest of the group dressed as two red lions and threw candy to the crowd, the kids loved this part rushing the lions!  The drummers were amazing.  I could not get over how loud the drums were.  It was a performance all its own.  One of the things I liked most about the whole group was that it was clear the older generation was grooming the younger and then there was the littlest ones that arrived with them, probably boys about 7 or 8 years old, waiting their turn. And it was clear they
lived what they were doing and wanted that to come across to the audience.  It did!