Noisy gods 騒々しい神

With some free time on my hands today, I finally got around to watching my DVD of the original full-length version of Akira Kurosawa's 黒澤明 "The Seven Samurai" 七人の侍. What can I say? It's a fantastic film, definitely one of the best of all-time, and well worth the 3 1/2 hours it takes to watch it.

The only excitement we had was when a small Taoist 道教 procession stopped in front of our apartment building:

 

Despite there being only one truckload of musicians and one god palanquin, the noise was loud. All the drums, bells and firecrackers made it difficult to hear what my parents were saying on the phone. Religion is rarely a quiet, contemplative affair in Taiwan...

Hiking in Takeng 大坑のハイキング

Pamela, along with Amber, went to visit her relatives today in her hometown of Hsiluo (Siluo), so taking advantage of the solitude and the nice weather, I went for a hike in the Takeng (Dakeng) area. The good thing about living in Taichung County is that, despite the noise, overcrowding and pollution of the urban areas, the mountains are never far away. There are 9 walking trails in the Takeng area. Trails 1-4 make their way up the Touke Mountain system, with Trail 5 going along the ridge top. Here's a map of the system:

 今日PamelaはAmberといっしょに西螺（せいら）の彼女の故郷に行って親戚の人を尋ねたから、ぼくはひまな時間といい天気を有効に利用して大坑とういう山地方でハイキングに行った。台中郡に住んでいるよい事は、都会の騒音、混雑と公害にもかかわらず山が遠くない。大坑地方には山道が９つある。山道１－４番はTouke山の上に登り、山道の５番は尾根に沿って走っている。これに山道の地図がある：

For today's course, I started by climbing up the No. 1 Trail, then walking along the No. 5 to the No. 2, before going down the second trail to the bottom, where I then walked along a mountain road back to the first trail and my scooter. It took less than two hours, and according to the pedometer I was wearing, over 4000 steps. The air quality in Taichung wasn't too good today, so the views from Takeng weren't spectacular, but the mountain itself was blessed with blue skies, with only a few clouds. Butterflies and dragonflies were flying about, and due to the fact that I didn't start the hike until about 1 o'clock, there weren't many people on the trails. The only complaint I had was the sound of karaoke coming up from somewhere below, but these days KTV's are unavoidable in the mountains of Taiwan. Here's a view of a nearby town:

今日のコースは、ぼくは第１の山道に登って始まって、それから第5に弟2に沿って走っていた。次に山道2番の底に下がって、そうして山の道に沿って走って山道の1番とオートバイに戻った。それは2時間以下かかり、していた歩数計によってぼくは4000歩を歩いた。台中の空気は今日あまりよくなかったから大坑からの眺めは晴れなかった。でも山の上には青空があった。チョウとトンボは山の周りで飛んでいた。1時ごろハイキングを始めたから山道には多くの人々がなかった。ぼくの唯一のある不平はどこかに下から聞こえたカラオケの音が、このごろ台湾の山の中にはＫＴＶを避けられないでしまった。これは近くの町：

Some local flora　地方の植物相:

The temperature at the top was 29 degrees Celsius, or 84 degress Fahrenheit. The humidity was a little high, though　上の温度は２９℃だ。しかし、湿気はちょっと高かった:

Two views taken on the way down the No. 2 Trail. The first view is looking back towards the top of the mountain, while the other shows how steep the wooden staircase can get in some places:

Back to the parking lot for the No. 1 Trail:

A last look back at the Touke Mountains on the road leaving the Takeng area:

Y'all come back now!:

It's a start

The editorial in today's Daily Yomiuri was about the submitting of a report in Tokyo concerning something that is long overdue. Namely, the transfer from above to below ground of the section of the Shuto Expressway that shrouds the Nihombashi bridge. Though the plan is still some ways from fruition, it's an encouraging step. For too long in this part of the world, places of cultural or historic importance that were able to survive the wrecking ball still often ended up having to share space with modern-day development projects. It's hard to imagine a freeway being built over the Old North Bridge in Concord, MA, but that's exactly what happened in Nihombashi. Another example is the ugly power station to be found in the otherwise scenic Matsushima Bay. Taiwan certainly isn't immune from this either, as the nuclear power station located in Kenting shows.

Hopefully, the Nihombashi project will be the first step in a long-overdue effort to correct some of the mistakes from the post-war period. Now, if the Japanese and Taiwanese governments can finally get around to start burying all those unsightly power and phone lines...

A stroll(er) in the rain

Actually, it was more like drizzle. We didn't even need to open the umbrella. And it soon stopped, the sun came out and the rest of the afternoon turned into a nice day. Thus was our excursion today with Amber into Taichung.

Beginning at the Taichung Municipal Cultural Center 台中市文化中心, we walked along the parkway to People's Park, and then further on to the entrance of the science museum. Between the cultural center and People's Park, there are a number of objets d'art:

The one on the right is obviously about filial piety, but it looks more like a father and son trying to push granddad over a ledge

But of course it can't all be about art. Here's a sign for a "special" business that we passed along the way. Even in the nicest of neighborhoods in Taiwan, you can find certain...ahem...entertainment establishments:

Amber enjoyed the stroll, despite the drizzle:

Not of all of the artwork on display was officially approved:

Taoist temples are numerous in Taiwan:

Upon reaching People's Park, we stopped off at a chicken-and-rice joint for lunch. Chijoufan (Jiroufan) is one of my favorite dishes in Taiwan. Check out the following spread - two bowls of chicken on top of rice, with side orders of turkey, green vegetable, tofu, egg and miso soup みそ汁:

 

and all for only 160 NT for two, or $4.85 or 570円.

Amber had her own lunch:

Afterwards, we continued with our walk to the end of the park, at the entrance to the science museum. By this time, the weather had cleared up. On the way, we passed more art:

To celebrate reaching the end of the pathway, we treated ourselves to chocolate ice cream. Daddy enjoyed teasing his daughter, tempting her with something indescribably delicious that she is too young to enjoy:

After the ice cream break, it was time to head back. But first we stopped off at SOGO to shop for some winter clothes for Amber. The SOGO building is an oppressive structure that looms over Chunggang (Jhonggang 中港) Road:

 

but as can be seen from the banner on the outside of the building, MUJI is coming at the end of this month. For those who are not familiar with MUJI, here are links to its Wikipedia writeup and to its English website. This brings back memories as there was a MUJI store in the basement of the Kintetsu Department Store 近鉄デパート in Yokkaichi 四日市.

When we were finished at SOGO, it was time to leave. After first taking a tea break near SOGO, then briefly meeting up with Steve at People's Park (thanks again for the toys Steve!), we made it back to the cultural center and the car. On the way back to Fengyuan, we stopped at a Sushi Express on Chungte (Chongde) Road. Sushi Express is a chain of kaitenzushi 回転寿司 restaurants, and the sushi is pretty good for the price - 13 plates of sushi for two came to 390 NT, or a little bit less than $12, or about 1390円. Amber looked on longingly the whole time:

It isn't easy being almost eight months old, but at least she got to play with the menu.

The section of Chungte Road where the Sushi Express is located is in an upscale area, home to my favorite Japanese supermarket in Taichung, Capitan's, as well as Uncle Jimmy's, a great place for American foods. Even the local KTV (karaoke カラオケ box) is a legitimate establishment:

All in all, it was a pretty good weekend. Hope yours was good too.

When you're alone and life is making you lonely, you can alwaysgo...downtown

I had planned on going hiking today in Takeng (Dakeng), but the wind and rain this morning (brought on by the trailing edge of a typhoon that turned away from Taiwan and is headed towards Japan) put a stop to that idea. Naturally, after I had resigned myself to lying around the apartment in my underwear all afternoon while watching cable TV, the sun came out. It was too late, however, to ride into Taichung 台中 to go hiking. So instead I walked from our apartment to downtown Fengyuan. It took about 45 minutes to reach Fengyuan Station 豊原駅 from our place in Shenkang (Shengang 神岡). Most Taiwanese cities are not well-suited for walking around, and Fengyuan is no exception. The sidewalks are cluttered with parked cars and motorbikes, and many shops spill out into the footpaths, so a lot of time is spent walking on the road, with the traffic brushing by uncomfortably close. Still, I enjoyed the experience, and it sure beat staying home by myself while Pamela, with Amber in tow, was at work. So, here are some pictures I took while I was out this afternoon:

 

This picture was taken on a footbridge that crosses over the train tracks near Fengyuan Station. The locks secured to the fence were, according to Pamela, left by teenage couples a symbol of their love. She also says that foreign laborers (mainy Thais) leave the locks here for good luck.

 

I Hope We all can Happy!

 

A northbound express train pulling into Fengyuan Station.

 

Fengyuan Station.

 

Some students have told me that the small police station next to the train station dates from the Japanese colonial period.

 

Matsu (Mazu) Temple. This temple is the center of activity in downtown Fengyuan. Next to it is Miaotung (Miaodong 廟東), a small street crammed with food stalls that is well-known throughout Taiwan. In fact, it's the only thing Fengyuan is known for.

 

A final view of downtown before heading home. The hill in the distance is the area where I often go for walks on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

Panorama of Fengyuan 豊原のパノラマ

Here are a couple attempts at a panoramic view of Fengyuan. The pictures were taken by me on Thursday morning from a lookout point near the Fengyuan Country Club, and pieced together by Pamela, who obviously can follow the Chinese instructions for doing so on the camera much better than I can!

Swimming 泳いでいる

As part of an ongoing effort to get Amber used to the water, we took her swimming again today. Instead of the pool in Fengyuan we've taken her to previously, we visited one in the nearby town of Taya (Daya) which was recommended by a student of mine. But first, ignoring the old adage about waiting 30 mintues after eating before going into the water, we went to a stinky tofu restaurant around the corner from the pool to have lunch. Amber, as usual, lapped up the attention given her by the staff

Our lunch. Not being a fan of stinky tofu (the bowl in the far back), I ate the three dishes in front. Both Pamela and I had Tsingtao Beer. My mom never said anything about waiting 30 mintues after drinking before going swimming, so I figured it was OK.

The pool was inside a non-descript building in a nondescript neighborhood in Taya:

According to the business card I picked up at the counter, the name of the pool is "Ren Ren Itoman Swimming School". It's a mix of Chinese ("Ren Ren") and Japanese ("Itoman" 伊藤萬). Being a swimming school, there was only one big pool, with none of the children's play areas or spa baths for adults like some of the large swimming pools here have. However, being a swimming school, the water was very clean. And they offer swimming classes for infants on Saturdays, which is something worth looking into for Amber. 

The weather today was overcast and relatively cool, which meant there were only a handful of people at the pool today. No complaints from me about that. Amber was a little scared about going in the water, and cried a lot at first. But she started to relax, and soon was enjoying herself in the pool. Having her plastic crab toy along for the swim no doubt made her feel better:

I feel it's very important to get children accustomed to the water from as young an age as possible. To this end, I plan on taking Amber to the pool often. I'm also looking forward to when she's old enough to experience the beach, and to soak in hot springs. Taiwan may be an island, but there are a lot of kids here who don't know how to swim. I don't want Amber to be one of them.

 

Leaving Taya for home, with a storm approaching.

Fengyuan on a relatively clear day

Two pictures of Fengyuan (Fongyuan とよはら 豊原) taken this morning from a hill in the area around Chung-cheng (Jhong-jheng) Park.

Depression 憂つう

Summer is coming to an end, school is back in session, and I'm feeling blue. I just got my new schedule for the fall semester from the cram school where I work (my main source of income), and I have fewer hours compared to before the start of summer vacation. Pamela will be leaving her job at the end of September to take care of Amber full-time (thus saying goodbye to a quarter of our income), so our financial situation is going to get tight in the months ahead. 

What's really depressing is that I'm 43, and here I am teaching English part-time at several locations. Not much of a career to boast about, is it? I've been doing this for longer than I care to remember, and I still don't have much to show for it. Most of my friends from my teaching days in Japan have since moved on to bigger and better things, but I seem to be moving backwards.

Up until the spring of 1998, I had it pretty good. I was enjoying a good lifestyle in Tokyo, I was working at a job that was more challenging and had more responsibilities than the usual teaching gigs, and I had a healthy bank account. All of that disappeared very quickly, however, and the eight years since have been an endless series of disappointments, failures and setbacks. From Tokyo to Fengyuan, it's been a long, downhill slide.

Of course, during this period I have gotten (re)married, and have become a father for the first time, and I am truly, truly grateful for that. However, being responsible for the welfare of a family does serve to make an uncertain future even more so. What will I do? What can I do? Where will I end up? Twice I've tried to leave Taiwan to go back to Japan, and twice I've had to come back here. Taiwan isn't a bad place, and I've met a lot of great people here, but am I truly cut out for life on this island? Trying to be a good person who attempts to do what is right for all concerned does not bring any rewards in Taiwanese society. It's a dog-eat-dog world here, and I'm the mutt that's always getting a bite taken out of it.

I've been in Taiwan off and on since October 1999, and while I've had some very good experiences during this time, the bad days have outnumbered the good, and continue to do so. It just seems to be a never-ending series of embarrassments, humiliations and losses of face, with the only respites coming when I spend time with Amber, and make the occasional trip back to Japan or the USA. And now I'm not sure how often I can afford to do the latter.

Oh well, as long as Amber still believes in her daddy...