The Art of the Cold Shower

It seems at my aunt's apartment, that the shower does not oblige its user with hot, or even warm water after 12 AM, resulting in a cold shower no matter how far to the left the knob is turned.

but on the flip-side, this is really probably for the best. i think you dry more quickly with a cold shower, and it makes you feel less miserable (humid) after the shower if its too hot. The downside is that it doesn't make it much easier to shave. The momentary discomfort of cold water, which you adjust to quickly, isn't hard to put up with in exchange for its other benefits.

The last two years of school have been good for me. I am more patient and capable of dealing with adults (however patronizing!) than my behavior with my friends at school would probably suggest.

My mandarin is better than I expected, and I'm learning characters at a decent clip by simply taking a stroll everyday and testing myself on the placards outside. I can't seem to communicate this to my relatives though, some who insist on repeating their mandarin over and over again, despite my acknowledgement of understanding. Worse of all is my youngest aunt (nearing 50 years old) who is unmarried, and seems to desperately want to baby me. Everytime she sees me she takes me out to get some grub, which is typically nice, if it wasn't for the fact that she wants to teach me (almost a 20-something) that it is unsafe to cross the street when the traffic light is red...

Or when despite the fact that I have already responded in mandarin, they try to use english to rephrase the question... To be fair, sometimes I do simply just use the 'polite refusal' as a conversation fill-all, since typically my relatives want to give me something or help me with something, but still...

2 Years ago when I came back these situations killed me with irritation. Today, it is mildy annoying still, but I have an easier time appreciating the kindness and love in their gestures than I would have in the past. Perhaps this appreciation is sharpened by the fact that they age, while I am in the prime of my life. My grandmother has memory loss issues. My conversations with her spin repeated around the topic we discussed 5 minutes ago.

I love those conversations though, despite the fact that they are rehashed. They are all I have of my family in Taiwan.

Family can bring you discomfort - you know that they are more like you than you wish to acknowledge at times, but if you can stand it, their company can bring a contented pleasure.

CKS Memorial Hall

The place can be unfriendly... the pomp and circumstance surrounding China's first president is fairly weighty, and I was surprised so much of the propaganda about CKS still existed in the Memorial Hall in spite of the rise of the DPP in Taiwan. I happened to be wearing shorts and leather sandals that day, and I felt pretty guilty tramping around at the presidents memorial. Gauche like wearing flip-flops to a meeting w/ the president...

The absolute amount of real estate devoted to a man largely shunted out of public consciousness is astounding. The plaza in which the memorial is located could house a cool half million people.

Keelung Mtns.

My dad's family is from Keelung. The citys origins are as a port, sometime during the Qing dynasty, nestled on the eastern side of the island-country. Although it is often cloudy, it doesn't rain that much, I think largely in part due to the fact that its on the eastern side of the mountains. This shot was taken from the mountains outside of the city.

Also, Taipei 101 from Keelung's mountains. Still quite prominent, as you can see.

Mosquito Feast

For some reason or another, the mosquitos just can't get enough of me. Must be a rare foreign delicacy, with especially fragrant (xian) or sweet (tien) blood. I've been in Keelung for a few days (my father's family is from here) and in about 48 hours, I am the proud owner of 11 mosquito bites, some becoming increasingly inflammed. I will probably have more by the time I leave for Yong He tonight. Will post photos as they become available