Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Saturday, November 17, 2012
On The Move: Changing Places in Taiwan
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| Da Nang Traditional Market |
A while back I was
writing about finding a new home in Taiwan.
Well, we finally decided to actually do it. So we have moved into a new home in Bade, City. Bade is right next to Taoyuan City, in fact,
unless you know where to look, you can’t tell where Taoyuan ends and Bade
begins.
We actually only moved
about two kilometers from where we were before, but the atmosphere is
completely different. We are living
half a block from the famous Da Nang market.
It’s not actually a famous place except in my little world. The traditional market is sort of like an
American swap meet and bazaar at the same time. People are yelling out what they’re selling. It’s colorful and
interesting…and absolutely wall-to-wall with people. They sell everything there, from meat, to vegetables, to clothing
to sundries, to prepared food. I can
just hang out there and watch people.
The nice thing about the traditional market is that is an eight square block
area with vendors on curbs and in buildings and is the most handicapped
accessible place I’ve been in Bade.
Everything takes place right on the street, no curbs and steps to worry
about.
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| 10th floor view |
The apartment we
moved into is a brand new modern building.
We live on the tenth floor.
Every two apartments on each floor has it’s own elevator. Say for example, apartment 2 and 4 next to
each other. Only those two apartments
on each floor have access to that elevator, all the way up, (twenty-six apartments
per elevator). The ground floor has a garden,
gym and an entertainment room with pool and air hockey tables. Each apartment has three levels of security,
the guarded entrance, security elevators, and door locks, so its all safe and
secure. There’s not a lot of violent
crime in Taiwan, it’s one of the ten safest nations to live in, but I get the
feeling there’s a lot of theft.
The easiest way to
find an apartment is through a real estate agent. Typically, real estate firms charge half of the first month’s
rent to help you to find a place. We
had some friends who went on websites that list apartments and found this one
for us. There are many listings in just
about any place you want to live. Most
apartments are for sale, but some individual owners are willing to rent. Apartments in places like Taipei are fairly
expensive, but outlying areas like Taoyuan or Bade City are less expensive and
it’s only a thirty-minute train ride from Taoyaun City to Taipei.
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| Part of the moving Crew |
When we moved here
from the US we used a company called Lucky Moving to transport our stuff to
Taiwan. I thought they were reasonably
priced for that move. They came to our
home, packed up all of our furniture, moved it to their warehouse, loaded it
into the container, sailed it across the Pacific Ocean, stored it until we had
a place to live, then delivered and unpacked it and set it up in our new
home. They really worked with us on
making sure that all of our needs were met.
So when we wanted to pack it up and move we remembered them. Again for a reasonable fee they took all of
the stress and pressure out of the move.
They hauled our furniture to two different locations (one location for
storage the other was our home) and gave us the same high level of service we
had as an international customer. They
made sure that their on the job supervisor was fluent in English and even
agreed to come another day for some other things.
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| Lucky Moving's Phone Number in Taoyuan City |
We've had bad
experiences with moving companies in the US.
One company refused to unload some of our furniture until we paid them
with a credit card and the payment was secured. The price was higher than quoted and the crew was unhelpful, even
insulting. But this move was carried
out professionally, for exactly what was quoted. The crew was young, energetic and positive, what a difference. We were lucky to find Lucky Moving!
Lucky Moving is located
in Taiwan and three cities in the US:
Lucky Moving,
Irwindale, CA 626-333-1306
Lucky Moving,
Sugarland, Texas 281-265-6233
Lucky Moving, East Brunswick,
NJ 732-432-4299
I received no goods, services or money for this post.
Other posts you may be interested in:
On the Move: Finding a Home in Taiwan
Taiwan Travelogue: The Traditional Market
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Struggling through the Murk!
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| This is for all those looking for Taiwan flag pictures |
I have been writing the Taiwan Adventure Blog (TWA) for about three
years now. I began in August of
2009. For much of that time it’s been a
pleasure to write it and document what I’ve seen and done in Taiwan. The photos and writings will make wonderful
memories at the end of this journey.
Who knows when it will all end?
I have grown to love Taiwan and its people. I think it is a beautiful place once you leave the city,
although, many of the cities are spectacular.
I believe that Taipei rivals San Francisco in its beauty, personality
and quirkiness. That’s one of the
things I like about Shu Flies and Vagabond in Taiwan, the detail about little
places you find in back street neighborhoods, throughout Taipei.
Taiwan has many more exciting things to see and places to go and for me,
most importantly, foods to eat. I’m not
through with the idea of continuing to explore Taiwan. I’m still excited about Taiwan and its possibilities
for my calling and me. I don’t mention
my calling much in TWA, it never seems to come up, really. I came to Taiwan for a specific reason, and
that is to win souls to Christ. I’m a
missionary. The Door Christian
Fellowship in Colton, CA launched me into this nation. I’m part of a fellowship that has more than
1500 churches in more 100 nations.
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| And for those looking for M13 Pictures |
I’m not ashamed of that, in fact, I’m proud of my mission and purpose in
this place. I have a website for the
church, www.pottershousetaoyuan.blogspot.com. The church is located in Taoyuan City and
all the details are listed on that website.
I have been writing TWA for a number of reasons. Mostly, as a way of
relaxing. It’s like an occasional game
of golf or racquetball; a way to allow my thoughts a fallow season. It’s interesting but when you’re faced with
a job of some sort, sometimes by thinking of other things you can free your
mind to engage the details of a situation.
I can be more creative on the job if I’m creative off the job. At least that’s been the case.
But now I’m feeling a certain ambivalence toward this blog. Last year at this time I was looking forward
to writing, and engaging people around the world each week. This year, not so much, I’m really
struggling to write. It’s not a writer’s
block, it’s a motivation block.
The reason I say that is that I have several ideas for other writing
projects. I have a couple of
non-fiction Biblically oriented books that I’d like to write. One I’ve started but have left off on working
on, the other is in the germination mode.
I would also like to write a novel.
It’s a historical, science fiction, political thriller. Well, it will be if I can pull it off. That, by the way, is the big question
because in reading other blogs, I’ve discovered that I’m not really all that
good a writer. It may take a lot more
time than I’m willing to invest to write anything, we’ll have to see how that
goes.
So, looking at this and thinking about my readers, you’re probably
wondering why I’m sharing all this.
Believe it or not I have a reason.
This year, I have been enduring a struggle unlike any others I've faced
in life, and I've had a few to be sure.
So, in struggling through this I have begun to prioritize my life. In arranging priorities some hierarchies
become obvious. At the top of the
priorities are my family and my calling.
These are the two most important things in my life. I love my family above all earthly
things. I also am committed and still
excited about my calling, I want to serve God and people. Those are the easy ones. Other things are a bit murky. I don’t know anymore where TWA fits into my
priorities.
On the one hand it’s enjoyable to write just for me. I usually enjoy the time I spend on it. There is value in doing something just for
yourself. I get that. I’ve met people and done things I never
thought I’d meet or do. But I’m geared
toward making an impact and I really wonder if that’s happening with this blog.
So
I’m wondering if this is even worth continuing. I think I will put the Taiwan Adventure Blog on hiatus for a
while. If I can’t come up with a
compelling reason to start writing it again then the hiatus will more than
likely be permanent. I've actually been
thinking about this for some time. If you have an opinion you want to share
feel free.
PS The Tea Blog and Taiwan Gongfu Tea are on permanent hiatus already. The Church website and the Standing Stones Sermon Blog will continue.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Local Color: Ju Ming Museum in Taipei
Recently we took a
trip to the Ju Ming Museum in New Taipei City.
The museum is nestled among the hills above the North Coast of
Taiwan. The interesting thing about
this museum is that it is an outdoor museum.
You walk through a park-like setting that is filled with Ju Ming’s
sculptures.
Ju Ming is a
Taiwanese Sculptor famous in both Taiwan and new York. His art is exhibited throughout the
world. He began his early training as a
woodcarver but began to apply those skills to a number of mediums including,
rock and stainless steel. The Ju Ming
Museum was built at his own expense, and showcases a number of sculptures from his Tai Chi, Military and Living World series.
In addition to the
art exhibits, there is a small water park and arts and crafts centers for the
children. In other areas, children are
encouraged to do chalk art on paths, with frames painted onto the sidewalk.
For more information on the Ju Ming Museum, follow this link: http://www.juming.org.tw/opencms/juming_en/main_en.jsp
Other posts you may be interested in:
Taiwan Travelogue: The National Palace Museum.
Day Tripping: Jiu Fen
Taiwan Travelogue: The North Coast
Photo Credits: Elizabeth Banducci
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Taiwanese Weather: Typhoon Tembin
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| Typhoon Tembin in the Philippines and bearing down on Taiwan |
A week ago Typhoon Tembin blew through Taiwan. This was an interesting typhoon because it was what is called a recurved Typhoon. That simply means that it turned back on itself.
The Typhoon came up from the Philippines, crossed the southern tip of Taiwan, spun into the ocean south of Taiwan and then curved and ran up the east coast. It finally moved up between Japan and the mainland and crossed into South Korea before burning itself out.
The typhoon made an impact on Southern Taiwan resulting in six people killed and $200 Million NTD ($ US 6.6 Million) in damage to the agricultural industry. Because of the devastation caused by Typhoon Morakot in August 2009 the Government put some effort into preparation and emergency relief.
Typhoons are hurricanes that happen on the Pacific Ocean. In the post, Tyhoon Conson: Here it Comes, I write about how typhoons are formed. In the post, Taiwanese Weather: Monsoons and Typhoons, I show the paths of all the typhoons in 2011. Take a look at those links if you are interested in typhoons.
In Taoyuan City we’re pretty well protected and sine we are on the west side of the island the typhoons lose a lot of their power crossing the mountains. Typhoon Saola came through a few weeks ago dumped lots of rain on us, but we felt very little wind. Typhoon Tembin affected mostly the south of the island, we had little rain and no wind.
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| Taoyuan City is in the upper left hand corner of the island |
I remember one typhoon when we first came, Emily and I decided to be storm chasers and went off to find it. It was the day the typhoon was crossing our area. We never really did find it. But we came upon a place, a bridge in Daxi that was filled with tourists. I couldn’t believe it.
I guess because growing up in America, we really, kind of fear hurricanes. When one comes in to the coast there’s extensive evacuation, a run on the stores to stock up food, the news is full of it every day. Here, life just seems to go on.
I was thinking that maybe hurricanes are more powerful than typhoons, but a comparison of Tembin to Isaac showed the same wind speeds and rainfall. The answer might be found in the fact that Taiwan averages about 14 typhoons a year and the US has fewer. At any rate, things slowed down for a few days and then got right back to normal.
Other posts you may be interested in:
Storm Chasers: Driving into the Belly of the Beast
Taiwanese Weather: Monsoons and Typhoons
Typhoon Saola; How's That Ark Coming Along
Photo Credit: http://www.businessinsider.com/typhoon-tembin-headed-straight-for-taiwan-2012-8
Map: www.maps.com
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Taiwan Blog Review: Shu Flies
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| The header of Catherine Shu's Shu Flies |
There are many “expat blogs” in Taiwan.
These are blogs written by people from other countries, usually in the
language of their home nation. This
blog is one of them. They come in a
variety of flavors, if you will. Some
are about individual lives in Taiwan; someone who’s left home and wants to
update loved ones about their lives here.
Others have different purposes, like political commentary, or cool
places to visit, or food. Occasionally,
I will highlight one my favorites. This
is as much about Taiwan as it is about the perspective of the "expat
experience."
I have certain interests that I am interested in. So there you go a classic banduccism. If I’m interested in something that must be
my interest, right? English is supposed
to be my first language but sometimes, I’m not sure that it is. Maybe one day I’ll take the time to learn
how to write. Those of you that are
asking me to proofread and edit your dissertations be forewarned. I always thought of myself as a good writer,
until I read blogs by people who really are good writers then I’m forced to
acknowledge the sad truth that without Microsoft Word’s grammar check, I’d be
in deep trouble, even with it I'm in pretty deep trouble.
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| "Hey Madge, get a shot of this temple, eh? ...Perfect" |
The same with photography: I
never thought I’d be intimidated by a teenager’s photo skills, but once again I’m
forced to face facts. Adrienne from Vagabond in Taiwan is a much better photographer than I am. My photo’s usually look like some tourist snapshot. They look like, “Hey Madge, I’ll stand in
front of the LaLa Shan sign so everyone can see how beautiful this place is,”
when all you can really see is my white pasty skin, Bermuda shorts, and the
pink zinc sun protection on my nose and one sorry little tree protruding from
behind my ponderous bulk. It’s sort of
like looking at Jabba the Hut in a hipster fedora. Once again I’ve wandered off the subject and into the deep
recesses of my psyche, which is probably not a good place to go, so let’s get
back to the subject at hand. I wanted
to review some expat blogs that I enjoy. I probably won't do this every week, but occasionally.
The first is Shu Flies, by Catherine Shu. I check this blog every couple of days looking for something new,
which is interesting because it’s not a manly blog; there’s no mention of guns
or kung fu, or fast cars or anything like that, but it’s very interesting. Catherine, is an American-born Taiwanese
woman who is experiencing life in the place of her heritage. She is inspirational for me because she’s
straight-forward about overcoming her battle with depression and her fears of living
here, and she writes honestly about those things.
She is the one who really inspired me to begin to write about living in
Taiwan and how I deal with my own disabilities here. The important thing here is that she doesn’t come from the point
of view of the victim, she always speaks in the terms of this is what I face,
and I can overcome it. I really admire
and look up to her, even though she’s young she has a powerful personal testimony.
I don’t want you to get the idea that she’s just sitting around and
contemplating these things, though. She’s
learned Mandarin well enough to be a staff writer for the Taipei Times, a
large, English language newspaper. It’s
written in English, but you have to speak mandarin to interview folks. Because of her job she gets to go to a lot
of different, sometimes quirky, but cool businesses. She sees parts of Taipei that people like me never get to. I wouldn’t even know those places existed
without her blog.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Typhoon Saola: How's That Ark Coming Along?
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| Typhoon Saola hovering over Taiwan |
All things considered, Taoyuan City is a good place to weather a typhoon. We seem to be fairly well protected from the wind. The infrastructure is pretty good. We don’t see a lot of flooding in the streets. The place stays in pretty good shape through it all. As a result we have been a bit cocky when it comes to typhoons, we laugh and joke and say things like, “Typhoons are boring!”
Emily and I even took the car and went looking for one, one time. We went with great bravado. We acted as if we were fearless and intrepid adventurers; defying death to peer into the belly of the dragon…well you get the idea. There wasn’t much to see that time, though.
But that was then, this is now. Things are a little different this time. Typhoon Saola is cranking through, even as I write this post. Once again, the natural protection around Taoyuan City has protected us from the wind. It gusts up a little bit but not the 38m/s (85 mph) that the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) told us to expect. But my, oh my look at it rain.
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| Taoyuan City Rainfall: 140mm (5.5 in) Then it really started to rain! |
The average monthly rainfall for July is 269 mm (10.6 in), for August it’s 266 mm (10.5 in). Three-day rainfall from Typhoon Saola 1348 mm (53.07 in) that’s more than twice as much rainfall as the average for July and August combined.
Generally, I don’t really worry about the rain, especially if I don’t have to go out in it. After all, this is the rainy season. We are nearing the end of the Plum Rains (summer monsoons), so it is expected that there’d be a bit of rain. This time, though, things got personal. Water came in through the roof and flowed down the stairs and flooded the first floor, destroying a bunch of furniture and stuff on the way down. No peaked roofs in Taiwan, so you’ve got to keep drains and things flowing clear, otherwise you’re in trouble in a typhoon like this.
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| Typhoon Saola just before sweeping across the Northern tip of Taiwan! |
We wanted to see what a real typhoon felt like. I guess we found out. It ain’t over ‘til it’s over, still a day or two of rain to go! Whee!
This storm is from a typhoon in 2011. Multiply this rainfall by a factor of 10 for Saola.
Other Posts you May be interested in:
Here it Comes: Typhoon Conson
Taiwanese Weather: Monsoons and Typhoons
All weather information, charts and tracking: Taiwan Central Weather Bureau
www.cwb.gov.tw
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