Breaktime's over!

Sorry to those who check this journal regularly, i haven't written lately.

Many excuses, but the primary one being i just haven't had access to a computer for the past week because Matt and I have been in Taiwan camping and hiking and exploring the island's many twisty and turny roads.

One of the beauties of living in HK is the accessibility of other nearby countries, cheap(er) flights and all within a few hours' journey (to Taiwan it is just an hour and a half!)

We decided that after a month-long moving-in process, not just buying everything from a bed frame to a rice cooker, but also (for Matt) starting a new job with no real parameters and (for me) looking for employment and researching school courses, that we 'deserved' a break.

Timing couldn't have been better as I would not have to start work/school until late Jan .. more to come later.

To back up, we entered 2006 with a beach and bonfire fiesta on Lantau Island with our friends YK and Tomoe. We chilled champagne in the stream beside our campsite, roasted delicious sausage-kebabs on our open fire, had miso soup, pasta salad, hummus, and a special 2006 cake.

We set up our tents right on the beach but not until a few hours later did we realize that the tide was actually RISING.

Visions of a wet miserable night came into mind so, hailing from an island where hi/lo tides are published in the daily paper, Matt volunteered to dig a trench around the fire so if, and when, the water came up it would hopefully not engulf the fire.

Lucky for us, the tide came about 3 feet from the flames. We left for Taiwan on Jan.2nd, eager to use all the new camping gear we had just purchased the previous day.

Armed with our Lonely Planet guidebook, several maps and a rental car (a Toyota Vios... no Beijing jeep was available unfortunately), we headed out to explore and discover the island's fascinating culture and people.

What an interesting place it is - land of scooters, a bit of the China'isms exist but with a lot more of the temples and historic relics still intact. The scenery is stunning; you can be thousands of meters above sea level in the thick fog of the mountains and then an hour later be down in the deep valley where roadside shantytowns are scattered in what seems to be no particular order.

Dogs were a familiar sighting, but don't be fooled, these aren't like the domestic animals we're used to. To sum up their character, they are pathetically lazy. An example: while driving down a really narrow street, i turned the corner and gasped in horror as i saw a dog sprawled out in the open road. I would have bet anyone he was a classic textbook case of a hit-and-run.

I slamed on the brakes and as I veered left to go around it, it slowly lifts his head to see what in the world was bothering its sleep. Greatly relieved, we just laughted and zoomed off, but this is just one of the many examples of how dogs are in Taiwan. They own the streets and YOU had better watch out.

First we headed down the exhilerating Suao-Hualien highway on the east coast, where LP states it's "a white-knuckle ride with stunning views" and as beautiful as the fine-sand beaches and deep-cut gorges that blended into rice paddies were for me, the only "white-knuckle" shots of adrenalin came from the idiots that were sharing the road with us, or rather, make that the idiots who considered the road to be all to themselves and therefore gave no heed to other vehicles behind, in front, or beside them.

In any case, we made our way to Tarako National Park, a wild and pristine area of Taiwan that all tourists should really make the effort in visiting. A multitude of mountain tunnels and passes, deep gorges, twisting ravines, lucious waterfalls - it was like driving through a forest wonderland where i half expected little elves to jump out from behind the trees.

We decided we wanted to hike around and camp for the night and so we stopped at the visitor's centre to get some more info. It took a while but after talking to a few people whose best advice was either to camp in the parking lot or to stay in the youth hostels, we managed to speak to a staff member who had impeccable English and most importantly, understood our definition of 'camping'.

This man was so accommodating that he even gave us two gas canisters for free when we asked where we could buy them (can't bring them on the plane). This was obviously against Park policy and he made a motion with his finger to his lips to the other staffers so that this would be kept off the record. What a pleasant surprise of random kindness.

Besides visiting a weird unnatural sight of a fire-water cave and Moon World where the mountains are barren, bleak and dry (a little bit of Xinjiang in the heart of Taiwan, who would've thought?), we had a good variety of Taiwanese food too: freshly grown veggies, lots of different tofus, ginseng soup, and they seem to be very fond of putting little dried fish into most of their dishes which actually makes it quite tasty.

Taiwanese beer is delicious and even their 'baijiu' (Chinese liquor) is drinkable, no kidding. One of the best meals we had was when we were staying at one of the hot spring resorts in Chienshih after a night of camping in wet, foggy Dongyanshan Forest Recreation Area.

We ventured out to get supper at the outdoor bar/restaurant but forgot, yet again, that most places stop serving food around 7pm, especially in the rural areas where the day is dictated more by the sun.

We asked the lady at the counter about something on the menu but she just said she couldn't understand us, and then proceeded to continue with her apparently tedious task of washing the dishes.

We tried to ask her a few more questions regarding food for supper, but was met with even more glares and an obvious dislike for foreigners who tried to speak her language. I refused to eat there at that point even if meant resorting to eating our energy bars that we had brought from HK by the boxfull.

This rude lady was the exact opposite of what customer service should be and the thought "Oh God, it's like being back in China!" crossed my mind. Little did we know, when we went up to the front desk and told them of the bad-tempered lady at the bar, they kind of laughed and brushed it off by saying she was from the Mainland, as if it were the most natural reason.

If anything can be deduced and explained in one exasperated remark, that was it. They then helped us draw a map of where we could go into town and find some food stalls that were probably still open this late at night, although it was only about 8pm.

So off we went in search for food, and about 10 minutes later, we saw a little roadside restaurant made of bamboo walls with a bright neon side lit outside: Mama's Restaurant. The food was delicious (rice noodle soup, home-grown veggies, rice with a special meat-based sauce and tofu, and then later complimentary goose neck) but the hospitality was something else!

Run by a local family, the place had just opened this past week and they were just the most charming people we had come across. Stuffed from food and drink, our spirits were restored and we were grateful for not having let that sour lady at the resort ruin our evening.

It was a good road trip altogether, covering a lot of ground, a variety of scenery and a big range in terms of weather and altitude, oh and customer service! I learned a lot by just seeing Taiwan through the car window, a unique place that is building-up quickly in the city with some rural villages still scrambling to develop and keep up.

Usually in China I am asked/assumed I am Chinese from China. In Taiwan, everyone asked/assumed I was Taiwanese from Taiwan. Although when i did explain to them that i was a Chinese-born Canadian, most people understood that concept whereas in China, I was either met with blank stares or disputed with stubborn remarks that no matter what, because i looked Chinese and have 100% Chinese blood in me, it was obvious i was Chinese.

I also learned about checking things twice in hotel rooms before leaving. I had hung up my brand new red waterproof jacket in the hotel closet and forgot about it the next morning, when in Taipei already just about to drop off the rental car, i freak out and realize the jacket was still back at the hotel.

Matt scolded me for being so scatter-brained and i definitely vow to work on the philosophy that "an item is only lost when you put it somewhere where you'll forget about it later, not when the moment you begin searching for it."

The trip also allowed me to read some, write a bit and just collect my thoughts of the past few months and the busy ones to come. I realize more and more that as much as i enjoy socializing, meeting people and seeing new places, i do require personal time to 'recharge my batteries', a sort of private time where i can be as inward-focused as i want to be.

It's strange how we all deal with this in different ways, i guess i'm just allowing myself to grow and be selfish in this matter, knowing that in order to be of full use to others, i must first take care of myself.

o yesterday morning we flew back to HK, our first time to come back together to what we now proudly call 'our home', and that is such a glorious feeling. Everything that surrounds me here has been placed, organized and i'll admit, randomly thrown, into what has become HOME SWEET HOME.

I can actually claim that i now own my own couch, my own dining room set, even my own toothbrush holder! Bizzare, but it's that transition from being a temporary resident in a school dorm, in a rented apartment with roomates, or chez Ma and Pa's where food is cooked for you, laundry is free and access to vehicle is the norm, to a so-called grown up adult life where a blocked toilet can't just sit there forever and where the unwashed dishes at night are still there in the morning.

But at least when i throw things around and don't tidy up after myself, it's only one person who can bark at me now, and usually he'll do the same anyways ;)

Well, now on the job front it seems that i've got a few options to work with which is always a plus. Basically i'm now trying to arrange schedules, work visas (what a red-tape nuissance!!!!!!!!!!) so that everything and everybody is happy and that i'm left with enough time to still have a proper weekend and some down time.

One of them is with a local English Centre on HK Island where i'll be starting a new reading program with the wee ones, mainly doing interactive reading a couple times a week. The plan is to have it as a drop in session where anybody who is interested in the Centre can attend and see what it means to be engaged in an interactive reading class. I have images of me talking in strange voices with hand puppets, wearing wizard costumes and big clown shoes - but of course i'm loving it.

The other one is with an ESF (English School Foundation) school in Kowloon where i'll be working with special needs children in a regular classroom, helping them with the lessons while ensuring a safe and healthy classroom environment with the other students.

Both jobs are with two sets of students that i've never worked with before: really young kids (youngest being 2) and special needs children. I'm excited, anxious and eager.

My main hurdle is HK immigration where obtaining a work visa is a bureaucratic nightmare but i've just gotta breathe and be patient. Because a lot of things are kind of up in the air in HK during the weeks leading up to Chinese New Year (Jan.29), things are moving even more slowly.

I'll be the first to admit I am not for patience when i know there is a need for me to do something and all that is stopping me is a few signatures.

I have another interview tomorrow with a social/community group, Hans Anderson, on Lamma Island to work as a full-time social worker helping to integrate migrant families and their children into the community. It sounds like an interesting position but i'm thinking i'll prob stick with the other two.

Although, my dad always told me to "never burn my bridges" so i'll go to the interview and see what happens.... Phew, i've written enough today. Time to practice some Ben Harper on the guitar, and get some supper going.

* Here are some pics of the Taiwan trip.