Shangrira Paradise Miao-li

... wondering if I had just imagined the whole thing. As as I was having breakfast...I asked Meghan if her bed had moved earlier in the day and she said that she had felt something weird like that as well. Other people also confirmed their bed-swaying experiences and we all deduced that it was indeed some kind of mini-tremor or very minor earthquake we had just experienced. Weird. I can't express to you how weird it was to just start swaying back and forth on my bed ...

Here are some random pictures that I have been taking. Some are humorous. Some are just daily life. I do see peculiar things all the time. I would whip out my camera and take a picture, BUT I would rather not offend the locals. I am sure they think I am weird, too.

We woke up early in the morning to go see the Tsukiji Fish Market, the largest fish market in the world. This place opens at 4:30AM everyday to sell the largest collection of fish, meat, poultry, and produce. It was pretty amazing seeing all the action. They do love Hideki here. We ...

... where there are some nice restaurants and lounges. We had a nice view of Taipei 101 behind us while we had a nice meal at Carnegie's. Holger and I took a quick trip to the electronics district where he purchased a Sony Playstation for a very nice ...

... from recurring again. The Taipei 101 building is currently the tallest building in the world. I don't remember the specifics to height. It is about 90 floors. There are 2 elevators to the top that share the world's record for being the fastest. We went up to the top in about 37 seconds; it barely felt like it. When walking to ...

We found a good hang out spot in Linkou. One of the procedures we see a lot of here in Taiwan is free flap reconstruction for oral cancer. The leading cause of this cancer is from people chewing the betel nut. It supposedly gives a buzz but unfortunately, is carcinogenic and leads to squamous cell carcinoma in the tongue and oral ...

... the day time. The main goal of this trip was to visit the night market. The Night Market: Vendors are selling all sorts of items: clothing, bags, housewares, massages, books, toys, pornography, and food. We visited on a Wednesday evening, so this is considered not very busy. Holger bought this starfruit for us to tryout. I thought it tasted kind of like a mix between ...

... the younger ones). In that sense, it makes me not really "at home." While in US and Canada, there are only my aunt and cousins. One cousin has even devestated my life in 2005 (we haven't talked to each other since). And some good friends here and there, all over the North American continent. It is lonely living there. So wherever I choose to live, I may all feel uncomfortable. Now I am rootless. Just two days before the Chinese New Year, I got the bad news: KMU ...

... family planning started in China, the ratio of births has skewed to 120 boys to every 100 girls. This is already affecting their social balance. Taiwan doesn't have that policy, but there is still a prejudice in general. After yoga the other day, a lovely older woman was chatting with a younger student, who said that she had two girls and a boy. The older woman tisked in a 'too bad' sort of way, probably out of a social norm. For a while, I picked up an arrogant ...

... dance for each group. I have the little kids pretend to be tigers, elephants, and such. Hybrid animals are fun, like a donkey-fish (put your hands on your head for ears, say heee-aww, frown big, and move your bottom lip in and out). For the big kids, I make fun of their favorite pop songs with boy band dance moves and mixed up lyrics. All ages seem to enjoy when I do 'kung fu eraser' across the white board. I don't think I have the patience or discipline ...