Babies

Taiwan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. The last time I was in Taiwan the lack of babies and pregnant women was actually noticeable. Apparently Taiwan's birth rates have been increasing since the last time I was there. On my first day back, I think I saw more infants than I did the entire time I was here before. I recently stumbled across an article on BBC that looks into a Taiwanese tradition to help women conceive. It's short and an interesting read.

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-23284590

Zoo

Last weekend I visited the Taipei Zoo. Generally speaking zoos are not my cup of tea. I was pleasantly surprised by the Taipei Zoo. The zoo was organized by continent. I thought the layout was interesting, and it wasn't too spread out like some zoos. Thankfully the weather was fairly cool, so we didn't roast. After the zoo my host sister and I planned to ride the Maokong Gondola which overlooks the mountainous terrain near Taiwan. Unfortunately there was a lighting storm and the Gondola was shut down. This was an exciting time for the zoo because one of the pandas at the Taipei Zoo recently gave birth. I enjoyed seeing some animals and really had a blast learning animal's names in Chinese.

My lifelong dream is to become a panda 

Typhoon Day, 颱風

Typhoon Soulik is coming and I believe I've taken all the necessary precautions. I've made a trip to the supermarket to buy a few days worth of food and water. I've locked all my windows and I'm pretty sure there's a flashlight someplace in my room. At college when classes are cancelled drinking ensues although I'd like to personally recommend building a fort. Today at the supermarket when I was stocking up with tea and frozen dumplings I spotted a man with a basket filled with nothing but beer. Apparently people of all ages and in all places spend their time waiting out storms by consuming large amounts of alcohol.

The last time I was in Taiwan I only experience one typhoon and it didn't involve much besides some rain. Unfortunately the typhoon landed on a Saturday so I didn't even get a day off of school. Typhoon Soulik happened to start on Friday evening so I didn't need to go to class this afternoon. The weather this morning was quite pleasant. I even went a run in an attempt to prevent cabin fever later in the day. This morning I feared being cooped up all day in my apartment. I was saved by a phone call by my old host sister. She was kind enough to invite me to go to Din Tai Fung and meet the short-term exchange student staying at her house.  (http://returntotheroc.blogspot.tw/2013/07/din-tai-fung.html) After lunch we proceeded to walk to Sun Yet Sen Memorial Hall, 孫中山. After some mango-ice (http://returntotheroc.blogspot.tw/2013/07/mango-ice.html) at the famous Ice-Monster we traveled to a temple.

Xing Tian Temple (That's not a sorority squat) 

At the temple we all wished for safety, peace, and better test grades. I returned to my old host family's house for dinner and some tea. I was asked if my parents would be worrying about me. I'm pretty sure my parents are unaware of the typhoon, so I don't think my folks are worrying about me.

My feelings on typhoons are mixed. A day off is nice, but being cooped up inside really isn't my thing. All of the phone calls from old host parents old host cousin I received today were truly appreciated.  I've learned a few things from the typhoon including that there are plenty of people in Taipei who are concerned for my well being. I've received plenty of phone calls from old host parents and even a host cousin today. Also the simplified characters for typhoon, (台风) look nothing like the traditional characters (颱風).

Turtle Island

Within a week of arriving in Taipei, I had plenty of old host families willing to take care of me. I also had the opportunity to live with a new family. They were kind enough to take me to Yilan, which is a smaller city that is about an hour drive from Taipei. So one morning I climbed into their car, and headed to Yilan to whale watch. Unfortunately there were no whales but we did see plenty of dolphins and the weather was beautiful. After our boat chased around dolphins for twenty minutes we sailed around Turtle Island. It was truly beautiful. 

Turtle Island 

My host sister and I about to board the ship

Turtle Island 

Turtle Island 

Turtle Island 

Dolphins of the cost of Yilan 

Mango Ice

Today I visited the famous YongKang street (永康街). The street is filled with incredible restaurants. It's also the place of the original Din Tai Fung. There are plenty of other incredible restaurants on the street although the prices here are a bit higher than the rest of Taipei. The defining element of YongKang Street is the Mango Ice shops. Mango ice at it's simplest involves thinly shaved ice and diced mangoes. Variations include adding other fruits such as kiwis or strawberries, mango ice-cream, mango sorbet, pudding, or even red-beans. Although the idea of shaved ice sounds rather tasteless it is far from bland. The mango and mango juices flavor the finely shaved ice quite well, thus creating a delicious and refreshing treat. I've been told at one point there was a mango-ice restaurant on YongKang Street that was so famous other people opened restaurants nearby in order to draw the costumers that wanted to have a meal before their mango-ice dessert. Much to the dismay of the restaurant owners the couple who owned the famous mango-ice restaurant got divorced. My friend jokes that the government in Taipei hired the best marriage counselor to try and get the couple back together. Although they haven't been re-united there are still plenty of quality mango-ice shops along YongKang Street.

Mango-ice with mango, kiwi, and strawberries 

Yum 

Din Tai Fung

Last week I went to a world renowned restaurant called Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐). The restaurant was founded in Taiwan and has since opened shops around the world including one in Seattle and Los Angeles. They're world famous Xiao long bao or 小龍包. These Xiaolongbao are a type of dumpling that are usually associated with Shanghai. These dumplings are often filled with pork but the shrimp and winter-melon are particularly tasty in the summer. What makes the Xiaolongbao different from other dumplings is that there is soup in the filling. This makes them particularly tasty. The Xiaolongbao are served in the bamboo steamer that they were cooked in. The preferred eating method is to take the Xiaolongbao and place it in a spoon. While on the spoon the Xiaolongbao is opened to let the soup out. The next step is to add finely cut slices of ginger soaked in soy sauce and vineager to the spoon. They taste unbelievable, possibly one of my favorite dishes.  Ask any-one about the quality of Xiaolongbao at Din Tai Fung and there is a good chance they'll tell you they have the best. I went with my good friend Alex, who loves cooking so much he had to make his own dish at our table. I've visited Din Tai Fung before but this was my first trip to the original. It was all delicious and I'd recommend going if you ever have the chance.

Here is a link to they're website for those who are interested.
http://www.dintaifungusa.com/about_us.html

SEX

I've only been in Taiwan for one week and at least once every day someone has mentioned some sort of cultural clash between foreign males and Taiwanese girls. To boil the issue down it appears that some foreigners come to Taiwan and take advantage of their status. From what I've read and heard it's sexist, racist, and misogynistic.

The first example of blatant sexism occurred the first night I was in Taiwan. I stumbled across an article on Facebook where an American expat writes about all the shortcomings, failures, and problems of girls in Taiwan. He starts of his piece with a disclaimer. Despite his distaste for Taiwanese girls his Taiwanese girlfriend is great because she’s a “foxy freak”. The author goes on to write about how Taiwanese girls are shallow, greedy, unintelligent, spoiled, and think too highly of themselves. At the end of his article he goes onto suggest what should be done with Taiwanese girls. The link is below but be warned some of the content is extremely disturbing.

http://appnews.fanswong.com/show.php?id=363925&TORO

Within four days of my arrival there was news of a Turkish student in Taiwan who was being charged with attempted sexual assault. The police discovered 29 sex-tapes of the student and various women. It is suspected that the women video-taped had no knowledge of the filming. The student has not been proven guilty and claims to be innocent. Regardless the situation is extremely concerning.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2013/06/21/2003565321

There is a large difference between what we read in the news and what happens to people that we know first-hand. It may have been easier to dismiss these last two examples and forget about the issue but I know people who are personally affected. I have a Taiwanese friend who has never been out to a night-club. She fears that there is too much pressure to have sex with the foreigners that she would meet. Although she loves sharing culture and practicing her English with other foreigners the thought of going out to a night-club is intimidating. I never knew that going out to a club to dance with friends, could be so difficult for someone. I've always agreed with the Men Without Hats that “You can dance if you want to” but apparently it’s not that simple.

This post is more of an overview than a deep analysis. I plan on returning to the subject in more detail. I’d love to hear feedback on people’s thoughts or experiences. Please comment or send me an email at jpane@gwmail.gwu.edu