Jasmine and Peony Tea

We haven't had a lot of access this week, so we apologize for the lack of new posts. I did, however, have a nice friend in the States who edited a video for me. Thanks, Brian.

Bike Riding

Even though we are now home I wanted to post some stories to the blog that I had started and did not have time to finish.

On our itenerary the other day was for us to bike ride through Danshui along the river. This was a glorious experience. There was a little bit of cloud cover to keep it from being too hot but the weather was delightful with a small breeze and a cool temperature. We were able to stop at a temple and explore and view spectular scenery. It was not very clear but still magnificent.

Green Island, Wait...

During every Rotary GSE the team gets a mid tour break in order to rest and prepare for the second half of their trip. Our break was a little later starting at the end of our third week and was designated to be spent on a small island off of the south-eastern cost called Green Island. We learned the day before our trip that we would not actually be staying on Green Island but would be staying in Taiwan and be boated over to the island Saturday and boated back Saturday night to stay in a nicer hotel in TaiTung. After some small protest about needing to sleep and do some computer work it was settled that we would go to the island on Saturday and rest lazily by the pool and what not on Sunday. So, we boarded a plane early on Saturday (we had to be at the airport by 7:30, sleep in? I dont think so) and by the time we arrived at or hotel and checked in it was already getting late. The next boat to Green Island was to leave at 11:10 which put us on the island about noon. Our guide decided that this would be too late as we would have to return after only half a day. Instead, he decided that we would take a driving tour of the cost of Taiwan on Saturday and get up early on Sunday to go to the island. What about sleep you may ask, well who needs to sleep on our weekend of rest anyway, ha ha. I have to admit that I may have put up the biggest stink about this as I wanted to finally get some time to blog and check my email because I promised my work that I would, even though they dont really need me. I know that our hosts only wanted to do something special for us and show us a good time but I just wanted to sleep. After some belly aching our guide agreed to let us sleep until 9:30 on Sunday then meet for breakfast. Later that day we were able to KTV (karaoke) and get massages which was wonderful. When we returned our host families all asked us how the beautiful island of Green Island was and we had to admit that we never quite made it there. oops.

Fame and glory?

[Kim] - Hey, guys! I just wanted to let you know that you are all officially famous back home now... Well, at least in the Tri-City area.

Jeff was generous enough to write a column for The Pacer this week which we published with a few photos he has sent me over the last couple of weeks. The page is included here. 

We are also featuring the Lion Dance video on the home page of our Web site: www.newcastlepacer.com

So have fun, and keep posting! You guys are doing us proud!

National Palace Museum

I was greatly looking forward to visiting the National Palace Museum on our trip but didnt know that the day we would get to go and visit was also the day that the entire population of main land China also was visiting. I haven't been that crowded in my life, and I'm from LA. I was most excited to see the famous white cabbage but when we viewed it I was not impressed. Now, What I was impressed with was the ivory that they have on display. We were not allowed to take photos but you can see some of the pieces at: http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/collection/selections_02.htm?docno=896&catno=12&pageno=2

Also, We have noticed that all of the girls here pose certain ways for pictures. One way is with one finger pointed at your cheek and this is to be cute. Two is to hold up a V either close to your face or just in general and I am told that this stands for victory (over what I do not know). And the third is to hold your chin in your hands with your fingers pointing out as if they are leaves and your face is the flower. No Joke. enjoy.

Breaking News

In looking back at our pictures and trying to decide what to share today in our blog I ran across several photos that were post worthy but decided upon this picture which is Elizabeth at the CTI television station reporting on current events. She looks so professional that they should hire her today to replace their current news reporters. Taking pictures on the sets of their talk shows was too much fun for us. We tend to be silly already but this just set us over the edge. We are convinced that the Taiwanese people thing that we are completely insane. This picture was before the face threading and doesn't really have anything to do with the culture here, I just thought it was fun.

Threading

So my host, Vivian, and I were walking to the night market and passed a woman who was threading a lady's face right there on the sidewalk. For the uneducated, threading is where someone uses a twisted thread to remove your facial hair; it's available in the States but is more expensive than waxing and it's hard to find a good, experienced person to do it unless you're in a very large city with a very nice spa. Vivian told me it's something old ladies in Taiwan have done so their makeup stays on better. I wanted to try it, so Vivian was kind enough to wait and take some pics for me:BEFORE. I am a hairy beast of a woman and it's a wonder anyone can gaze upon me.
The long shot, where you can clearly see the exorbitant price this 73-year-old A-ma charges for her service: NT$250, or about $8 US. Did I mention? She's been doing this for about 60 years.

The powder apparently helps the thread slide over the skin. I was not being Edward Scissorhands at the time.



Aaaand, AFTER. My face, it is naked. And my brows, they are lovely.

(l-r: My host, Vivian; the Pro; and my pretty skin.)

To answer your next question, YES. It hurt. Hurt like heartbreak. But this nice woman cooled my face off with baby wipes and applied a delightful lotion ensuring that less than 5 minutes later I had no redness anywhere, unlike when you see someone who just got their brows waxed and they look all flamey and painful. Happy A-ma up there is older than my dad and her skin is just gorgeous, even after spending the past 60 years working outside on the streets of Taipei.

Oh, and she told me when I sat down that I was already "So beautiful." Why, yes. Yes, I am.