Part II

Our New Favorite Thing!!!

This is just a picture we found on Facebook. We will take a picture to post on here soon, but for now we just wanted to share the delicious dessert that we have found here in Taiwan. It is probably one of the best desserts that I have ever eaten!!!
Recipe: Shaved Ice, Condensed Milk, Fresh Mango, Strawberries, and some kind of secret syrup that they put on top

Just a few things...

In my last post I stated that I couldn't believe that we had been in Taiwan for one weeks...well I really can't believe that we have been here for three! Tomorrow is exactly one week, and it's pretty wild! So far, things have been great! We are still mostly subbing for teachers who are on vacation, but we will be getting regular classes soon. Jon and I also celebrated our one month anniversary of being married. I know this sounds silly (you're thinking...one month?) Yes...one month! Here's why: Too many people today take for granted their partners. It's easy to get too busy with work, life, friends, and other responsibilities, and in the mean time we find our marriages neglected. I know it's only been a month, but I want to celebrate every little milestone with Jon...I want to celebrate the fact that I found an amazing husband, and I want to celebrate the fact that I am sharing an amazing adventure with someone that I love more than anything! To mark this small milestone, we went to a place called Papa's Lover. It looks likes someone's house when you walk in, but go up the stairs and you will find an amazing little restaurant. They serve Haka style food. SOOOOO good!!!
Later on that week we went to Taipei! We visited Taipei 101, which is the second tallest building in the world! It was pretty impressive. We also visited Chang Kai Shek's memorial. He was a chinese military leader who led the Chinese Nationalist Party known as the KMT. In 1946, civil war broke out between the KMT and the Communists. In 1949, the Communists were victorious, establishing the People's Republic of China. Chiang and the remaining KMT forces fled to the island of Taiwan. There Chiang established a government in exile which he led for the next 25 years. This government continued to be recognised by many countries as the legitimate government of China, and Taiwan controlled China's seat in the United Nations until the end of Chiang's life. He died on 5 April 1975. Today Taiwan is known as the Republic of China and enjoys a democratic government unlike that of China.
Enough about that, as some of you know we had a small earthquake here the other night. Nothing major, but enough to let you know that you don't want another. It was a magnitude 6.3 and hit off the east coast of Taiwan. We only felt mild shaking, which was more than enough for me. Needless to say, we are perfectly fine. We are told these things happen every so often, and I guess you just deal with it. Anyways, Jon and I have found a new favorite dessert! It is so amazing. Here in Taiwan you wont really find a lot of ice cream places like we have in the States. They do however have their own version of ice cream where they grind up blocks of ice into tiny little pieces like they would for an icee or snow cone. You can choose from all types of fruits or other nasty things that people might find tasty here in Taiwan and put it on top of the ice. Then the good part...they pour condensed milk on top. This would be the milk that you would use when making home made ice cream...the kind that is thicker than milk but tastes really sweet. It's amazing and I could eat it everyday. Actually, I have eaten it everyday this week, and we are going again tonight!!!! I will post some pictures of it!! If your bold you can make and try at home!!! You will not be dissapointed I promise!!!
Oh in case you have any lingering questions about Taiwan here are a few more tid bits of interetsing information:
1. The garbage trucks play music as they go around to collect trash...people stand on the side of the road with their bags and just throw them in as the truck passes...this is not a lie!
2. People do not wear wedding rings in Taiwan. Anytime one of the kids I teach sees my ring they are like "OOOhhh so big!!!''
3. There are typhoons in Taiwan..supposidly there is one coming this weekend. I'm not sure what typhoons entail, when it happens I will let you know!

It's Already Been One Week???

Wow! I can't believe that Jon and I have already been in Taiwan for a week. In many ways the time has flown by and in other ways it feels like we've been here forever. We are definately beginning to adjust better to the culture and our life here. We have become regulars at this Chinese restaurant right across from the school in Ping-Jen called "Johnsons" in English. It's really good and pretty cheap. Everytime we walk in, the owner comes out to speak to us in the little bit of English that he knows. There is also this one waitress that we get everytime. The second time we went in, she asked us what our names were in broken English and had us write them down. Everytime we come in, she gets out her piece of paper to read our names. She has Jon's name down but mine is something like "Kris- Shina." I smile and of course say "Yes!" The good thing about Johnsons is that they have an English menu so we know what we are getting...most of the time. Which leads me to my next point. When in a foreign country like Taiwan where Chinese is the language of choice it is very difficult to order food when there is no English menu, and all bets are off if you want to deviate your order. Example: Jon and I were at Johnson's and he wanted white rice instead of fried rice. In the states, of course this is no problem because there is no language barrier. We obviously do not speak a lick of Chinese, and the poor waitress speaks very very little English (other than our names) and could not understand for the life of her what Jon was saying. We have encountered this at several other places. If you want to change anything...well just don't count on it. They wont understand and you sure wont know how to explain it. Trust me....there aren't enough gestures in the world to explain that you want white rice instead of fried rice. Jon and I have realized that sometimes you just have to go with the flow and take whatever you get. Another example of this occurs when we go to McDonalds. There is one right down the road from where we are staying and it somehow provides enough of home! We probably have been 6 times since we've gotten here, and every single time we order the same thing..... Spicy Chicken sandwhich combo and a Quarter Pounder combo with two large drinks. Again we have never odered anything else when we go, but somehow every single time we are charged a different price. Jon and I get a kick out of this because we can't understand how this happens. Usually there is someone who takes our order that speaks English, so they understand but we never pay the same thing! In case your wondering, McDonalds is pretty cheap here. Jon and I can get two combos with large drinks for $6 American dollars total.
Jon and I started teaching Thursday. So far things have been really great...with the exception of last night. I was subbing for a teacher in Hsein- Jeih and had been given the lesson plan before hand. The co-teacher decided to change things up on me, and I really had no time to prepare. As luck would have it...I walked into class to see 6 mothers sitting in the back. Here is the thing...Gloria has an open door policy with its parents and allows them to sit in on class if they like. Many parents take advantage of this because they can learn English as well. Even though this is the case, its really nerve wracking. Luckily my co-teacher told me she thought I did a great job...She even told me she hoped that she could teach with me again...I was shocked. Anyways, that summs up the last couple of days. I am leaving you with a few fun facts about Taiwan!

A Few Fun Facts About Taiwan:
You will never get a fork or knife to eat with...only chopsticks
You will never be asked for your drink order...its BYOD
You will never leave a tip at a restaurant.
There are no public trashcans in the city...I've looked and haven't seen the first one
There are no sidewalks...walk as close to the side of the road as possible
Scooters are the transportation of choice...I had my first experience last night and it was a blast!
The population of Taiwan is 22 million people and it is the second most densley populated country in the world second only to Bangladesh. This means that in the space the size of a football field in Taipei (the capital of Taiwan) would contain the homes of 44 people!