Killing time in Taipei

So I'm at the Taipei airport on my way to Singapore, where I will spend the next three days eating, I mean, attending the International Baccalaureate Asia-Pacific Annual Teacher Convention. And eating. I am very excited about this. I've watched Anthony Bourdain and read the Lonely Planet and I am ready for chicken rice and chili crab and banana-leaf curry. I am not sure I can eat blood-red bone marrow soup, as Anthony Bourdain did, but everything else sounds good.

Speaking of strange foods, let me describe my dinner last night in Fukuoka. There is a very popular fish restaurant near my house that I'd been wanting to try but had been intimidated by the crowds until now. Lori and I managed to get a seat at the bar, and were immediately served little bowls of teeny, wiggly, live fish! I ordered a beer to give me courage, poured soy sauce on the little buggers, watched Lori eat them first, then gave mine a go. They were quite difficult to pick up with chopsticks, and continued squirming all the way to my mouth. Delish. I'm proud to say I ate them all (about 6). Next we ordered, among other things, lobster sashimi. We saw the live lobsters on display, and the only difference between the ones in the bin and the one on the plate was that the one being served had the back half of it's shell removed and its pearly fresh meat exposed. The tentacles were still moving, and continued moving as we ate the lobster out of its shell. Pretty wild. And delicious, of course. Seriously.

Some observations about air travel between Japan and Taiwan. As the plane pulled away from the gate in Fukuoka, I looked out to see the ground crew lined up and waving until we were out of sight. I wonder if anyone on the plane waved back, and if they do this for every flight. Hmm. I watched Slumdog Millionnaire on the plane and was loving it until the big climax scene, when we landed, and the screen switched over to a health announcement from the Taiwanese government, featuring a cartoon man singing karaoke and meeting other cartoon men with various ailments, including coughing, barfing (nice animation), and diarrhea (featuring man on toilet and a little talk bubble coming from the seat that said "poo"). I guess if I had any of these problems I should see a doctor at the airport. Hmm.

I will spend the next three nights at the "Hangout @ Mt. Emily" hostel, between Little India and Chinatown. My conference is at the Furama Hotel on the riverfront. Saturday night I will fly to Phuket, Thailand, where I will spend a week lounging on the beach, kayaking in the bay, climbing on the limestone, and trekking in the jungle. I'll be meeting my old friend Masha, from the Pomona College Women's Blue and White acappella singing group. She's teaching in Bangkok and needs a vacation, too.

Coming soon: photos and video of crazy live fish/lobster dinner, plus tales/photos/video of my adventures in Singapore and Thailand. Here is a map of my plans for Thailand:

檢視較大的地圖

Skiing in Hiroshima

I finally got some photos from the ski trip I took a month ago to Hiroshima with a group of people from a cafe I like to go to, so here they are!  It was a long, expensive day, but fun and lovely.  I hadn't been downhill skiing in ten years, and I would have snowboarded if I'd realized that's what everyone else was doing.  I was kinda out of the loop, not speaking Japanese and all...  Only a few people in the group spoke English, but they were still too shy to use it much.  Maru-san, who runs the cafe I mentioned, went out of his way to include me and I so appreciated it!  At the end of the day we got back on the bus he hired and went to an onsen (hot spring) down the mountain.  After soaking naked with the ladies, and especially after they had a few drinks on the bus, people really opened up to talking to me, but by then I was way pooped from the long day.  It was a five hour drive to the slopes, so I doubt if I'll be doing much skiing next year.  Still, it was quite fun and I'm grateful to Maru for inviting me and sharing his photos with me.  And for the excellent peanut sauce on my chicken at the cafe tonight!

Sake!

This weekend I was lucky to go sake tasting... twice!  Yesterday our friend Atsuko took Lori and I to a sake brewery in nearby Maebaru (followed by a lovely lunch at Futamigaura Beach).  Then today we were pleasantly surprised to find a tasting tent set up at the Dazaifu Tenjin Shrine.  At the brewery we tried sparkling sake, sweet plum sake, whiskey-strong sake, and a thick liquid that is left over at the end of the sake-making process. We had milky sake and clear sake. I bought a bottle of the new 2009 sweet sake, and finally learned the kanji character for sake, or nihonshu. I've been having trouble in stores distinguishing sake (rice wine) from the local specialty: shochu, which is distilled from sweet potatoes and is not my favorite.In Dazaifu we tried many strong sakes. I prefer sweet sake!
I tried a taste of this gold-flake sake...And bought a little bottle to take home!There's gold in that sake!

Plum Blossoms!

Spring is here! The first blossoms of spring have inspired many painters, like this one by 19th century Japanese woodblock print artist Ando Hiroshige:And this famous copy painted by Vincent Van Gogh:

Today Lori and I went to Dazaifu, which according to Japan.com has over 6000 plum trees and is the only spot highlighted for plum blossom viewing outside of Tokyo or Kyoto. Just half an hour on the train, and we were surrounded by hundreds of plum blossom seekers on their way to the shrine and the famous pink and white flowers.  Below are my favorite images of a beautiful day:

Long Winter...

It's been a long winter this year. I haven't had much to report because, well, I haven't been up to much. February is traditionally a low point in the school year, and this year it seemed especially so. But the plum blossoms are here, and if I can survive one more cold, wet month, I'm promised a glorious spring. I did go skiing about a month ago and am waiting for a friend to send me pictures of the day. Tomorrow I hope to go sake tasting, so stay tuned for a new cultural update. Until then, here are some random pictures from the past month. Enjoy.
A typical scene on the Fukuoka subway.
Mayonnaise. Food for ages 0-100. The Japanese love their mayonnaise, yes they do.
A beautiful snowy day, which I didn't really get to enjoy as I was home sick all day. Still, I went for a short walk, and snapped this shot on the bridge I cross to get to school everyday, looking back at my neighborhood.

Winter in Fukuoka

Today is a lazy Saturday in snowy Fukuoka.  I have a million (okay, 29) papers to grade but so far I've passed the day playing backgammon, reading about China, and chatting with far-away friends on facebook, all in the comfort of my kotatsu, or heated-table-contraption.  I've known about these things, and knew I had one, but only just set it up today, as I wasn't finding any better way to stay warm.  I plugged in my table, put a big soft blanket under the table top to keep the warmth in, turned on the heat, and put my legs under the blanket.  Now I can't get up, because it is toasty warm under the table and friggin' cold in the rest of my apartment.  The only other place that is this warm is the heated toilet seat...

We've just begun the second semester at Fukuoka International School, which means I am halfway through my first year.  In some ways it has flown by (I've done so much, and yet feel like I'm still just learning how to survive here) and in others it seems like I've been here forever (my beloved Portland seems so far away!).  I've learned a lot so far, and am slowly making friends and always discovering new cool things about Fukuoka.  

Last weekend I went on a coffee quest, and found a cool coffee shop that I'm sure I would spend all my time at if only it were a tad closer to my apartment.  I walked in, heard Belle & Sebastian on the stereo, ordered a latte, and felt totally at home.  I met another American living in Fukuoka, who invited me out to a new club that night.  I was hoping to meet new ex-pats there but was somewhat disappointed to find I already knew several people there!  Disappointed, I say, because I'm hoping to widen my circles here.  I'm still working on it...  Between the coffee and the club I had a fun time at karaoke with some of my girl friends, then had a late-night dinner at an izakaya (pub) with my Japanese friend and all her "dads" (her real dad, plus all his drinking buddies).  I skipped the whale sashimi but enjoyed the rest of the meal.  

Tuesday night I stayed up late late late to watch the inauguration.  I especially enjoyed watching the growing crowds on the Mall, knowing that my parents were somewhere in that joyful mob!  It was an amazing moment in history, but I was terribly disappointed in the overly Christian tone the whole affair took on.  I appreciated Obama's acknowledgment of Muslims, Jews, and even "non-believers" like little old me, but I was shocked when Rick Warren led my country in a recitation of the Lord's Prayer.  Really?  Did we really need two ministers and a big fat bible to usher in the new President?  How many times did the news cameras need to follow him in to church over the long weekend?  I was almost glad that Roberts messed up the inaugural oath and had to redo it the next day, sans Bible.  

Anyhow, I was dead tired the next day and have felt somewhat ill ever since, but this may be due to the oil heater I tried (unsuccessfully) to heat my apartment with this week.  Lori was here last night and developed a cough herself, from me or from the oil fumes we may never know...  I've been trying to take it easy but I can't afford to pass on the chance to make friends so I went out a couple times this week with potential new pals.  Last night (Friday) I went with Lori and Kumi (my original fantastic friends!) to a wonderful dinner at this great upscale chain that specializes in all things tofu.  I'd been to one once before and again loved the delicious little dishes.  Afterwords, we went to a spa to relax in the hot tubs and shiatsu treatments.  The guy getting a massage next to me was a little too relaxed, and snored like a monstrous beast the whole time, but I still enjoyed my massage and will definitely return, especially as the spa is not far from my apartment!  It was more like a Korean spa (although the prices were more Japanese) and I could become a regular...

I wonder if I will ever crawl out from under this heated blanket/table.  I can see the snow piling up on the ledge outside my window, and think I may have to brave the cold tomorrow to visit the lovely zen garden in Dazaifu or something.  I am content for today, however, to sit here and peruse travel books, planning my spring break in Malaysia, second spring break in Shanghai, and summer in western China...  I will attend a conference in Singapore in March and then spend a week on the Malay peninsula, splitting my time between beach and rainforest.  I'm looking for travel buddies for any of my upcoming journeys... is anybody interested?  

Weekend in Nagoya

I had my last three-day weekend for awhile so I jumped on the Shinkansen to visit some friends in central Honshu. It took about 3.5 hours on the train (don't ask how much it cost!) and before I knew it I was having dinner with my friend Justin from Portland! Here are some pictures from the weekend, in no particular order: This is the view out of Justin's friends' apartment, overlooking the fabulous Osu Kannon temple.  Wow!
Best sunset view!
We spent one day playing games at the "fun center" where I particularly liked this Taiko game.
At the game center we saw girls dressed up for their coming-of-age ceremonies (the reason for the three-day weekend).  
It was freezing cold so the girls all had mink stoles to keep warm!  
A few loners rejected the kimono fashion.
Apparently everyone wearing a kimono is turning 20 this year.
I'm a bit blurry here, as I head through the torii gates in Inuyama.
Inuyama Castle is the oldest surviving castle in Japan.  It looks pretty much like all the other castles.  The day was freezing cold, hence my new earmuffs.  I think my friend Jarrad was embarrassed to be seen with me...
The first blossoms of the year!