I'm fairly confident they are the largest eggplant I've ever seen. Heather fried these bad boys up into an amazing eggplant parmesan. It was seriously delicious. The deliciousness increased exponentially as we have not had eggplant parmesan since arriving in Taiwan. That's four months without the crispy, savory goodness! It was amazing!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Massive Eggplant
We picked these up at the produce market the other day.
I'm fairly confident they are the largest eggplant I've ever seen. Heather fried these bad boys up into an amazing eggplant parmesan. It was seriously delicious. The deliciousness increased exponentially as we have not had eggplant parmesan since arriving in Taiwan. That's four months without the crispy, savory goodness! It was amazing!
I'm fairly confident they are the largest eggplant I've ever seen. Heather fried these bad boys up into an amazing eggplant parmesan. It was seriously delicious. The deliciousness increased exponentially as we have not had eggplant parmesan since arriving in Taiwan. That's four months without the crispy, savory goodness! It was amazing!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
It is currently 12:00 am and we wanted to wish everyone who is reading this a Merry Christmas and also a Happy New Year. You are in our prayers (as always)! May you have a glorious time during this part of the year. We miss you!
Enjoy the picture. It shows one of our favorite cities and also one activity that I believe ALL Taiwanese love to do. Again, enjoy!
- Heather and Phil
Enjoy the picture. It shows one of our favorite cities and also one activity that I believe ALL Taiwanese love to do. Again, enjoy!
- Heather and Phil
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Christmas Party
Monday evening we had a Christmas party. It included a talent show, large quantities of sugary deserts, a secret santa gift swap and a surprise appearance by none other than Santa Claus. It was pretty awesome.
I had an awesome secret santa. Some of the gifts I received over the last week include:
I had an awesome secret santa. Some of the gifts I received over the last week include:
- X-Max Dancing Palace - Traditional Christmas songs put to techno beats.
- Dried mangos
- A bag of toy dinosaurs. They are now guarding my office.
- Nunchakus
Friday, December 19, 2008
Phil's Birthday
Besides making apple pies for Phil for his birthday, I also got our students to surprise him at his photo club meeting which took place the night before his birthday. Through a lot of work, we pulled off one of the best surprises in a long time. Something that you need to know: The students make fun of Phil for a certain statement that he always uses. You will know what that statement is in a moment. The following is the slide show the students prepared. Phil had asked them to find a portrait photographer that they liked and as opposed to actually finding one, they surprised him instead. Here is the result. Enjoy!
(I am not really adept at putting a slide show on this site. These are just the pictures. The slide show started out with 2 slides, one that read "Portraits" and another that read "Breath of Life Photography" These 2 slides were there to make Phil think that this was an actual slide show. The rest of the pictures are what came after these 2 slides which are not shown. Also, read the slides using the question and exclamation marks. It makes more sense.)
(I am not really adept at putting a slide show on this site. These are just the pictures. The slide show started out with 2 slides, one that read "Portraits" and another that read "Breath of Life Photography" These 2 slides were there to make Phil think that this was an actual slide show. The rest of the pictures are what came after these 2 slides which are not shown. Also, read the slides using the question and exclamation marks. It makes more sense.)
Festival in Puli
Several weeks ago there was a huge festival in Puli. I believe it was a religious celebration (but I'm unsure of any details). There were 4 gates each with an alter set up at it. Lots of people, lots of lights, lots of vendors.
It was here that I experienced my first Taiwan Hamburger. It was rather unlike an American hamburger in pretty much all aspects. Its construction included the following:
I must say that although this may sound strange and rather unappetizing, it was delicious! The only problem: The festival is now over, and I have no idea where to get another one!
It was here that I experienced my first Taiwan Hamburger. It was rather unlike an American hamburger in pretty much all aspects. Its construction included the following:
- Steamed bread (which has no crust of any kind)
- Crushed peanuts
- Sweet pickle-like stuff. But long and stringy with a slightly different taste
- A fried egg
- The meat of your choice. Hamburger was NOT an option. I selected from pork, lamb, chicken, beef, and several other unidentified meats. (rule #1 when selecting meat in Taiwan: If you don't know what it is, DON'T eat it. It's probably not something you really want to eat. More on this later). I went with the chicken.
- Some sort of sweet barbecue-like sauce.
- Hot sauce (with a vinegar base)
The Taiwan Hamburger
I must say that although this may sound strange and rather unappetizing, it was delicious! The only problem: The festival is now over, and I have no idea where to get another one!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Baking an apple pie in Taiwan
I wanted to do something special for Phil's birthday last month and I tried to think of something really neat that he would like. Unfortunately, there are not that many places we can go in our area to get a really good gift. (We have begun calling certain stores in Puli names common in the US, such as Walmart, Whole Foods and Best Buy, but they are not the same as the US counterparts)
Because of that, I decided to bake Phil an apple pie. Not just any apple pie, but his mother's apple pie. I got the recipe from her and began to think of how I would organize the actual baking of the pies. I had to get ingredients without him knowing and actually make the pie without him knowing. We do a lot of things together here, so the evenings were definitely out. Also, I actually have to teach, so most of the day was out as well. I have 2 hours right after my bio class and I exercise with a friend while Phil has study hall, so I decided those were the best time. I went to Puli on Monday to get a few items. On Tuesday morning, I bought the apples and I put the apple pie together during my "exercise" time. (You will notice that I am wearing exercise clothes so that Phil thinks that I am actually exercising. I made the mistake of saying that I drove to Moriah's house, but luckily he didn't question me too much about why I would drive to her house to exercise when she lives so close.) Wednesday morning, I baked the pies. The following are some pictures. I think he was happy. By the way, a chinese teacher, Joy, lives in the house that I used to make the pies. She had never seen an actual pie being home made. It was really neat showing her how they are made.
Because of that, I decided to bake Phil an apple pie. Not just any apple pie, but his mother's apple pie. I got the recipe from her and began to think of how I would organize the actual baking of the pies. I had to get ingredients without him knowing and actually make the pie without him knowing. We do a lot of things together here, so the evenings were definitely out. Also, I actually have to teach, so most of the day was out as well. I have 2 hours right after my bio class and I exercise with a friend while Phil has study hall, so I decided those were the best time. I went to Puli on Monday to get a few items. On Tuesday morning, I bought the apples and I put the apple pie together during my "exercise" time. (You will notice that I am wearing exercise clothes so that Phil thinks that I am actually exercising. I made the mistake of saying that I drove to Moriah's house, but luckily he didn't question me too much about why I would drive to her house to exercise when she lives so close.) Wednesday morning, I baked the pies. The following are some pictures. I think he was happy. By the way, a chinese teacher, Joy, lives in the house that I used to make the pies. She had never seen an actual pie being home made. It was really neat showing her how they are made.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Ebola vs. the Flu
I may have Ebola. Or maybe it's just the flu.
I am experiencing headache and generalized aching which are known symptoms of Ebola. Next thing I know, I'll be bleeding from my eyes.
Now before you start to worry about me, I should probably inform you of three relevant facts:
I am experiencing headache and generalized aching which are known symptoms of Ebola. Next thing I know, I'll be bleeding from my eyes.
Now before you start to worry about me, I should probably inform you of three relevant facts:
- I am currently reading The Hot Zone by Richard Preston. It's a very interesting collection of true stories about deadly viruses like Ebola and Marburg and situations where they have gotten out of hand.
- I am a moderate hypochondriac.
- Heather got the flu several days before I came down with my Ebola-like symptoms.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Smellin' Pretty in Yuchih City
I smell like a spring flower today. At least according to my new bottle of deodorant.
It all started the day before we left for Taiwan. Knowing myself and the fact that I am rather picky about my deodorant, I bought a bunch of it to bring along. As we packed our suit cases, we of course crammed as much stuff into them as they could possibly hold. Then came the fateful weight check. We were, of course, restricted to the standard 50 pound maximum per checked bag. Unfortunately all of our three big suitcases were quite a bit over the limit. We had to start making tough decisions. Hmmmmm... what will I not need for the next year? Eventually I ended up removing many of my auxiliary sticks of Old Spice. It was a sad and difficult decision, but one that had to be made.
We have been in Taiwan for three months now, and I still have not felt the pain of separation from my favorite Old Spice scent. (High Endurance Classic for those of you who are wondering.) My supply has held out, but it was beginning to dwindle. Last week I saw a horrific sight - the plastic base beginning to appear on my last stick! Nooooooooo! I ignored the problem for days, hoping that it would somehow go away. The situation became desperate. I had to do something. Heather and I took the 10 minute trek to Puli and headed into a pharmacy/CVS type store. I scoured the aisles for Old Spice. There was none to be found. In fact I couldn't find anything that looked remotely like any kind of deodorant. Finally with some help from the clerk, I looked over my options. There were about 5 choices. Two for women, two for men, and one semi-androgenous looking option. I read the ingredients (they were all in English!) and only the sort-of-androgonous one lacked aluminum (my missing element of choice). I selected this one with high hopes.
Outside the store I quickly opened my prize. As you can see, the bottle claims that I will smell like a "Spring Flower", which is pretty much exactly what I want to smell like, so my expectations were high. I lifted the bottle to my nose and my hopes were dashed. "It smells disgusting!" I told Heather. We laughed.
It all started the day before we left for Taiwan. Knowing myself and the fact that I am rather picky about my deodorant, I bought a bunch of it to bring along. As we packed our suit cases, we of course crammed as much stuff into them as they could possibly hold. Then came the fateful weight check. We were, of course, restricted to the standard 50 pound maximum per checked bag. Unfortunately all of our three big suitcases were quite a bit over the limit. We had to start making tough decisions. Hmmmmm... what will I not need for the next year? Eventually I ended up removing many of my auxiliary sticks of Old Spice. It was a sad and difficult decision, but one that had to be made.
We have been in Taiwan for three months now, and I still have not felt the pain of separation from my favorite Old Spice scent. (High Endurance Classic for those of you who are wondering.) My supply has held out, but it was beginning to dwindle. Last week I saw a horrific sight - the plastic base beginning to appear on my last stick! Nooooooooo! I ignored the problem for days, hoping that it would somehow go away. The situation became desperate. I had to do something. Heather and I took the 10 minute trek to Puli and headed into a pharmacy/CVS type store. I scoured the aisles for Old Spice. There was none to be found. In fact I couldn't find anything that looked remotely like any kind of deodorant. Finally with some help from the clerk, I looked over my options. There were about 5 choices. Two for women, two for men, and one semi-androgenous looking option. I read the ingredients (they were all in English!) and only the sort-of-androgonous one lacked aluminum (my missing element of choice). I selected this one with high hopes.
Outside the store I quickly opened my prize. As you can see, the bottle claims that I will smell like a "Spring Flower", which is pretty much exactly what I want to smell like, so my expectations were high. I lifted the bottle to my nose and my hopes were dashed. "It smells disgusting!" I told Heather. We laughed.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Dream Mall
Phil and I recently went to Kaohsiung in the southern part of Taiwan. Kaohsiung is one of the largest shipping ports in this area. We decided Thursday afternoon that it had been too long from eating Mexican food, so we headed to Kaohsiung and ate Mexican food Friday. After that, we had no plans and because it took us 3 hours to drive there, we decided to stay for the weekend. (BTW the Mexican food was some of the worst I have eaten in my life, but it was the best we have eaten in a long time) Saturday evening, we went to the Dream Mall, the largest mall in Taiwan. (Phil will probably post about what we did Saturday afternoon, so I won't bore you)
Pretty much any mall in Taiwan is full of stores that sell products that cost more than I make in a month, so we just wandered around looking at everything. While there, we stumbled upon the Japanese style floor and there was a store there entitled Hankyu Department Store (I may be wrong on the name). It had a lot of stuff in it that was impressive. I started picking up stuff, like paper lanterns, picture frames and kitchen stuff because we would be moving soon. The problem was that there was no prices on anything. I looked all over the package because sometimes the package will have the price on it, but it wasn't there. It also wasn't above the stuff like some stores do. Because we had no idea what the price was and our numbers are a little iffy in Chinese, we mainly just wandered around looking at stuff but we didn't ask how much stuff cost. Finally we got the nerve up to ask and the guy looked at us strangely and said that the stuff was 39 NTD (about $1.25 or so). We then asked about everything in the store and he said that it was 39 NTD. We realized then that the big signs everywhere with 39 on them and the Taiwan dollar sign next to it meant that we had become that cartoon.
You know the cartoon with the guy holding something asking "How much does this cost?" when there are signs everywhere saying that "Everythings a dollar."
Yes, we are teaching the youth of tomorrow.
Pretty much any mall in Taiwan is full of stores that sell products that cost more than I make in a month, so we just wandered around looking at everything. While there, we stumbled upon the Japanese style floor and there was a store there entitled Hankyu Department Store (I may be wrong on the name). It had a lot of stuff in it that was impressive. I started picking up stuff, like paper lanterns, picture frames and kitchen stuff because we would be moving soon. The problem was that there was no prices on anything. I looked all over the package because sometimes the package will have the price on it, but it wasn't there. It also wasn't above the stuff like some stores do. Because we had no idea what the price was and our numbers are a little iffy in Chinese, we mainly just wandered around looking at stuff but we didn't ask how much stuff cost. Finally we got the nerve up to ask and the guy looked at us strangely and said that the stuff was 39 NTD (about $1.25 or so). We then asked about everything in the store and he said that it was 39 NTD. We realized then that the big signs everywhere with 39 on them and the Taiwan dollar sign next to it meant that we had become that cartoon.
You know the cartoon with the guy holding something asking "How much does this cost?" when there are signs everywhere saying that "Everythings a dollar."
Yes, we are teaching the youth of tomorrow.
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