I finally feel like I'm settling in to my life up here in our new apartment. We haven't got the most fantastic view from our third floor walk-up flat, but the view from the roof isn't half bad. One of the pictures is a view of the neighbour's rooftop apartment, laundry and all, and another pic is my view of the street below and the neighboring apartment blocks. The apartment itself is the best one we've lived in so far in our stay in Taiwan. It has all the amenities one could wish for, save for a gym and a swimming pool, and both of those are walking distance. We've discovered our local markets and eating areas and shopping areas, and the greatest thing about living where we do, Tienmu, is that there is a very high concentration of international residents. Not just big fat white monsters like the two of us, but Japanese, Korean, Indians, Europeans... It makes for a more full-bodied flavour to the area. 

Another side effect of having so many international people is that we have more import shops, and they are global. Of course, the dominance is really the Japanese import shops, and I could really care less because I'm not really into seaweed-flavoured everything, but I do enjoy being able to easily purchase just about anything I could think of (sometimes at quite a hefty price; a small box of Rice Krispies, for example, is about ten Candadian dollars!).

Forgive me for the really low-quality images; whoever shot them forgot to take the lenshood off, so we ended up with a shadow at the bottom. Whatever, in the picture of the dining room, I'm stuffing my face with biscuits and everyone else doesn't look particularly enthused. One would never know we were actually enjoying a great conversation about national identity and travel!

More pics to come when get off my lazy butt and fix some up to be presentable...

TYPHOON UPDATE

It's official, we've got an official warning from the municipal government not to go to work or school tomorrow. HOORAY!! Looks like I'll be catching up on some sleep, snacking and painting. 

Awesome!

I'm not sure how much coverage this typhoon is getting in the west, so just in case the international media are over-hyping this one, rest assured we are ok.

Leaving work tonight, my boss seemed sure that we were not going to be hit too hard, that the eye of the typhoon is going to veer northward as it draws closer inland, and that the worst of the storm would be on the sea. That means no day off. Fine for me. I am looking forward to a bit of storm action, though; a few flooded areas, a few broken trees, a few overturned scooters, debris.

If you'd like to track the storm, you can go to http://www.cwb.gov.tw/V5e/index.htm

or http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/wp200713.html

We didn't see as many drunken natives as we thought we were going to in Canada. Oops, I mean first nations. No, what's the pc term du jour? Actually, I was quite surprised going through some of the reserves to note that not all natives have 6.4 vehicles and 2.1 swingsets in their yards! We went to Ksan, which was a longer drive than I was expecting and made us an hour late for something, what I can't remember, so it couldn't have been that important! Anyway, as we were walking into the park there was a sign asking us to proceed to the gift shop to pay the admission fee. WHAT!! To see some freakin totem poles? Not a chance! So we snapped a quick pic and left. 

I still don't know what the big deal is about the carved tree things...

If you ever visit Calgary, go eat lunch at the Blackfoot truck stop. Or maybe it's called the Blackfoot diner? Calgarians, help me out on this one. Seriously, some of the best food I had while in Canada, and possibly the best gravy ever, lumps and all! 

I remember being promised a bag of magic mushrooms. Hmm, they must have been good, cause I don't remember taking them! I do remember finding these awesome mushrooms on the side of the road. I wasn't sure if they were harmful, so I only looked. 

Um, and that picture of Tara and Cody: quick, which one is pregnant?

OMYGOD! My sister's husband Johnny made us the best falafels I have ever tasted in my life! They were different than what I was used to; hard and crunchy, very much like dried ramen noodles, and by far one of my favorite things ever... I still crave them. Is the hard/crunchy version a Lebanese thing? I like.

I couldn't believe how fat people were in Canada. I started to believe it, though, after seeing advertising for things like the Baconator. Honestly, 8 pieces of bacon?? It's no wonder people are literally poisoning themselves with this crap. I shouldn't be one to talk about fat, though, as I gained nearly 20lbs in three weeks on that trip! I never did get a Baconator, though... :-(