Sakura Sakura, O Where Art Thou?

It won't be long before winter is officially over, and already things have started to warm up here in central Tái​wān​ 台湾. In tandem with the rising temperatures, the cherry flowers are starting to bloom, so we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and check out the cherry blossoms (Japanese: sakura サクラ; Chinese: yīng​huā​ 櫻花).

Big mistake. In Japan, the 桜 can be seen everywhere, but in T'ái​wān​, the best concentrations of blossoms are in the mountains. Take that fact into account, add in the sunshine and warmth, the middle day of a three-day weekend (Monday, Feb. 28, is a national holiday - 228 Peace Memorial Day 228和平紀念日), narrow mountain roads and the reality that there is only a finite number of things to see and do on this small island, and you've got the recipe for one, long frustrating traffic jam. Which is what we encountered this morning (and stretching into the beginning of the afternoon) in Túng​shì​h 東勢, as we attempted to see the blooming trees (British expletive pun intended). Sure, the cherry blossom season in Japan can result in mass concentrations of people, too. Ueno Park 上の恩賜公園 in Tōkyō 東京 turns into a circus when the flowers are at their park, while noted 花見 spots such as Yoshino 吉野 are swamped with visitors, but it is also quite possible to see beautiful pinks and whites without venturing far from your home - in Yokkaichi 四日市, for example, there was a winding river lined with cherry trees along both sides just a short bicycle ride from our apartment building, and it was never crowded. Unfortunately, we don't have that luxury where we live in Greater Tái​chúng​ 大臺中​. After an interminable length of time creeping along a narrow, winding lane, we made the decision to give up and turn around when we started seeing cars parking along the side of the road, and people getting out to walk to the leisure farm where all the cherry trees were (and with the park entrance still being some distance away). It just wouldn't have been worth the hassle (not the mention the prospect of the return traffic jam on the trip home later in the day), so we made our way back to central Túng​shì​h.

Amber eats lunch at a restaurant in downtown Túng​shì​h. At that point we would probably have still been stuck in traffic up on the mountain, and with rumbling stomachs further adding to our collective misery. With plenty of time left in the day following lunch, I suggested driving out to Tà​hú​ 大湖.

Central Chó​lán​ 卓蘭, where we stopped to buy some tea. A typical town involved in a typical daydream. All a friend can say is ain't it a shame...

Pamela suggested driving up to a Buddhist temple dating from the Japanese era 台灣日治時期 that offered a beautiful view of the plains below, but on the way there we encountered another long traffic jam. No problem, however. A quick U-turn, and in no time we were at a strawberry farm, filling up a basket with fresh strawberries. This was heaven for Amber, for 草莓 are her favorite fruit in the world, if not her favorite food.

Smiles aside, picking the right berries was serious business for my daughter.

Amber poses with the fruit of her labor. She's also holding a small carton of ice cream...strawberry, as if there was any doubt.

The view from outside the strawberry farm. It's hard to see in the photo, but if you look under the green and brown traffic signs, you can make out the tops of the long line of cars heading toward Dahu.

With one contented child in the backseat, we headed back to Fēng​yuán​ 豐原, stopping off along the way at a viewpoint overlooking the Lǐ​yú​ Reservoir 鯉魚潭水庫. It was crowded, of course.

The water level in the reservoir looked low. Are we in for a dry year this year?

Leaving the scenic viewpoint, we encountered...get ready for it...yet another traffic jam. As it was nearing 4 in the afternoon, a lot of folks were no doubt on their way home. Fortunately, when we turned off and headed in the direction of Sān​yì​ 三義, most of the other cars continued on in the other direction, and we made it back to Fēng​yuán​ without much fuss or bother. Despite the clogged arteries, we managed to enjoy ourselves. Amber got her strawberries, and I was pleased to discover that 7-Eleven has Samuel Adams Boston Lager in stock again! All in all, I shouldn't complain - those who drove up to Wǔ​líng​ Farm 武陵農場 today (Sunday) to see the cherry blossoms spent 7½ hours stuck in traffic! Perspective - what a concept.

The writing on the seal of Amber's orange juice cup says "Handmade pork cutlet sandwiches". Which is a rather odd thing to see in a hot pot/spaghetti restaurant.

From the Japan Today website:

ELPIDA RAISES $145 MILLION IN TAIWAN LISTING 

"Elpida Memory Inc エルピーダメモリ has raised 4.2 billion New Taiwan dollars ($145 million/¥11.5 billion) in a secondary listing on the Tái​wān Stock Exchange 臺灣證券交易所 as the Japanese memory chip maker seeks alliances amid fierce competition. The money will be used in Elpida’s development and production of cutting-edge 20- and 30-nanometer chips, said company president and CEO Yukio Sakamoto at a Tái​pěi​ 臺北 news conference. Elpida’s listing in the form of T'ái​wān Depositary Receipts comes amid closer ties with Taiwanese firms who are also facing tough competition from South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor. The market for DRAM, or dynamic random access memory, is expected to recover from a long slump in the April-June quarter, with demand for mobile chips expected to surge with the growing sales of tablet PCs and smartphones, Sakamoto said. Rexchip Electronics, a Taiwanese maker in which Elpida has a majority stake, will add mobile chips to its production lines in the second half this year, he said. He said Elpida’s output will also gain from its alliance with Tái​wān’s Powerchip Technology 力晶科技股份有限公司 , which has suspended its own marketing efforts to become a subcontractor for the Japanese maker. Elpida is seeking additional cooperation with other Taiwanese DRAM makers, Sakamoto said, but refused to give details. Amid a glut of DRAM supply following the 2008 global financial crisis, the Taiwanese government sought to consolidate its six DRAM makers into a new company working with either Elpida or U.S.-based Micron Technology. But the project fell apart."

Then there was this article in the Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ ("ELEMENTARY ENGLISH: Asian, European peers have big head start but success unquestioned"), comparing the state of elementary school English education in Japan with those in several other questions, including Tái​wān​. The relevant sections are listed below:

"While all elementary schools in Japan are scheduled to start teaching English this April, other parts of Asia and Europe have been doing it for years. They are teaching English earlier, longer and with more advanced content. Some even have teachers who are specialists in teaching the language. According to the education ministry 文部科学省, South Korea began teaching English in elementary schools in 1997. China and Tái​wān​ started in 2001, and Germany and France followed suit in 2004 and 2005, respectively. What's more, students in those countries are learning it at a younger age — from third grade in China, South Korea, Tái​wān​ and Germany, and from first grade in France. Japan's English-language schedule will consist of a lesson a week, or 35 per year. According to the ministry, however, Tái​wān​ and Germany give two lessons a week, France gives 54 hours of lessons a year, South Korea gives two lessons a week for third- and fourth-graders, and three a week for fifth- and sixth-graders...The lessons in Japan will be 45 minutes long, compared with 40 minutes in Tái​wān...The curricula differ as well. In Japan, students will learn to listen and speak English through songs, games and self-introductions, among other activities. They will also engage in cultural exchange activities by meeting foreigners and attending cultural events, as well as do their ABCs...In Tái​wān, pupils are required to write down around 180 vocabulary words and to speak about 300...The ministry also said teachers in charge of English in China and some urban parts of Tái​wān are specialists, unlike in Japan. Japan does not require teachers to have a qualification in English proficiency, but one city in T'ái​wān requires its teachers to have scored at least 213 on the TOEFL, or Test of English as a Foreign Language."

Washington, Part 13: the 12th and 13th of February

As the saying goes, all good things must...and so, with much regret, we bade goodbye to family and country, and returned to T'ái​wān​ 台灣. Thanks to the International Date Line, we left Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on a Saturday afternoon sometime after 1pm, and arrived at Tái​wān Táo​yuán​ International Airport 臺灣桃園國際機場 late on Sunday night (around 10:30 or so). It was a long flight (though thankfully a smooth one), with delays at both ends - at Sea-Tac, we had to wait on the runway while the Delta crew tried to deal with a "weight imbalance", while our first landing attempt at Táo​yuán 桃園 had to be aborted due to "foreign objects" on the runway there (we touched down on our second try, and on a different runway). By the time we had cleared Immigration, claimed our bags, picked up our car from a nearby long-term parking garage and made the drive to Fēng​yuán​ 豐原 on the freeway, it was already 1:30 on a Monday morning (and I didn't actually get into bed until around 3:30 after showering and unpacking). I should be forgiven, then, for electing go into work in the afternoon rather than in the morning.

All three of us had a great time in Washington. For my wife, it was a much-needed break from her job, and she enjoyed just taking it easy at my parents house. For me, it was a much-needed (though too-brief) respite from T'ái​wān, as well as a treasured time to see my Mom and Dad again, and to spend time with my sister and her family. As for my daughter, it was a much-needed opportunity to reconnect with her other culture, and I'm pleased to report that she did so swimmingly! Amber had no trouble at all dealing with the different environment - in fact, she plunged right in from Day One. I was especially relieved to see her play with other kids using only English.

One day I hope our flight to the USA will be on a one-way ticket, instead of a round-trip from T'ái​wān. Until that day comes, all of us are looking forward to our next opportunity to visit my family in the Pacific Northwest.

The silhouette of Mount Fuji 富士山 was visible from the terminal at Narita International Airport 成田国際空港 as were changing flights. In all the many times I've been to, from and through Narita, I'd never seen Fuji-san from there before.

A tired-looking Amber shows off the "red envelope" 紅包 she received upon arriving at Táo​yuán​. Inside was a NT1 (3¢/¥3) coin. I thought it was a nice gesture to welcome the kids back to Tái​wān​ during the Lunar New Year 春節 holiday.

Washington, Part 12: the 11th of February

Our last full day in the United States was another occasion where Mom relaxed at the house, while Dad and daughter went out and did something. In this case, it was our first visit to the Kids Discovery Museum, located on nearby Bainbridge Island. KiDiMu was smaller than the Imagine Children's Museum in Everett that my sister had taken us to the previous week, but for Amber it was just as much fun. There were rooms where she could pretend to be a doctor, work in a bank or do some construction work, among other things (the bank room had an interactive ATM simulator that my 波ちゃん especially enjoyed playing with), while the upstairs area had some neat displays involving ping-pong balls and demonstrations of some basic physics principles.

Amber demonstrates the importance of good oral hygiene.

My daughter works the cash register at the supermarket.

Between the aforementioned kids museums, the puppet museum in Bremerton, the free play areas at the shopping malls in Silverdale and Lynnwood, and the excellent TV programs being aired on PBS Kids and Sprout (not to mention our snow excursion to Snoqualmie), Amber didn't lack for things to keep her busy and entertained during the time we were in the States.

Following a lunch of teriyaki chicken in Bainbridge (teriyaki 照り焼き seems to be much more popular in the Pacific Northwest than it is in Japan), and some last-minute shopping for children's books at Barnes & Noble in Silverdale (where we picked up The Cat in the Hat), Amber and I returned to my parents' home. There, we relaxed until dinner time, when the five of us had our final meal together at the Hale's Alehouse in the Kitsap Mall. Dinner was a bacon cheeseburger, washed down with a Hale's Pale American Ale and a Mongoose IPA - no wonder it gets harder each year to work up the effort to return to T'ái​wān 台灣​.

Washington, Part 11: the 10th of February

The place: Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park, on the shores of Lake Washington in Renton, a 90-minute drive from my parents' place. The reason why: Somewhere new to stretch our legs and enjoy another sunny (if cold) day. How I found about it: From an article in the "NW Weekend" section of the Seattle Times. The verdict: Father and daughter had a good time (Mother elected to stay home and relax - for her, "walk" is a four-letter word).

Amber tries on my cap at the park.

Gene Coulon Park had a branch of the seafood restaurant Ivar's, noted for its clams and chowder. A definite plus!

Amber checks out the bronze sculpture "Interface", by Phillip Levine.

Mount Rainier - so easy to see, so difficult to photograph.

On the way back from the park, Amber and I stopped off at the Kitsap Mall to do some early Valentine's Day shopping at See's Candies. While we were there, we checked out Bubble Island, a drink stand purporting to sell "Bubble milk tea" (chēn​chū​nǎi​ch'á​ 珍珠奶茶), those Taiwanese sweet tea drinks with the tapioca balls inside. Amber's Strawberry milkshake tasted like a Slurpee with "pearls" added, but the neat thing was the plastic cups and seals had been imported from T'ái​wān​ 台灣. In any event, it was too much drink for Amber to handle - she couldn't finish it:

One more Taiwanese-related note from this day: that morning's Seattle Times had a review on the Bellevue branch of Tái​pěi​'s 臺北 famous dumpling restaurant, Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐 (At Din Tai Fung, xiao long bao — wow! — and other dumpling delights). Bubble tea and steamed dumplings  小籠包 - a display of "soft power", or an example of the pernicious influences of globalization? You make the call.

Washington, Part 10: the 9th of February

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. The Kitsap Sun newspaper was forecasting snow today in Bremerton, and my sister was posting on Facebook on the size of the flakes coming down in Everett, but when we were there it hardly rained, let alone snowed. And yet the white stuff was never far away, and on this particular day we made the short 2-hour drive to Snoqualmie Pass, sitting at 3,022 feet (921 meters) for the kind of winter fun that you can't really get here in T'ái​wān 台灣.

There might not have been any snow in our area, but the windshields of our rented Chevy Aveo were covered in a thick frost that morning. An application of a pot of cold water quickly solved the problem.

Here in Tái​wān​, it takes a highly-trained workforce of college students and high school graduates to fill your car up with gas.

The hillsides were all brown and green on the drive up from Bremerton, until we went up and over Tiger Mountain. Once on the other side, the scenery suddenly changed.

Amber outside the Xanadu Grill & Bar at Snoqualmie, where we had lunch. Fortified with a French dip sandwich and coffee, it was time to have some fun in the snow.

Yet another gorgeous day in the Pacific Northwest.

Despite our appearances to the contrary, it wasn't as cold as the last time we came to Snoqualmie in the wintertime.

Amber makes her first snow angel. There were also snowball fights to be had.

At some point before we had gotten there, an animal with hooves had taken a walk through the area.

It would be nice to live somewhere with four distinct seasons.

And, finally, the obligatory snowman photos...:

On the back roads of Dakeng

This afternoon I took a ride on my scooter past the mountains of Dà​kēng​ 大坑 and into the hamlets of Chūng​hsīng​lǐng​ 中興嶺 and Hsīn​shè 新社​. While exploring, I found two back roads leading up to rear of the hiking trails - one that takes you right to the start of the 5-1 spur trail, and the other to the spot where the No. 3 joins the ridgetop No. 5 Trail. These new (to me) routes would certainly save a lot of hiking time, but as I relish the challenge of climbing up from the bottom (call me a traditionalist), I'll stay with the longer trails that I know best.

It's surprising how close the city of Tái​chūng 臺中​ is to the mountains. In less than 40 minutes of riding from Tūng​shān​ Road 東山路, I'd left the urban area far behind, and found myself facing the central mountains. On weekends, this area can be busy with Sunday drivers, but on this Tuesday afternoon I had the roads to myself most of time. It wasn't too difficult to figure out what the main cash crop (and tourist lure) was up there:

Despite being relatively far from the ocean, there was a surprising number of boats, and boat-related "objects", to be seen:

In addition to farms (leisure and otherwise), there were spas, restaurants and cafes, "homestays" (mín​sù​ 民宿), campgrounds, plum blossom viewing spots and military bases. I probably shouldn't have mentioned the last, but oh well...

The scenery was striking in several places, but unfortunately the haziness of this afternoon prevented the views from being as magnificent as they could (and should) have been:

My time was limited this afternoon, and there were plenty of interesting-looking side roads to explore, so no doubt I'll be back.

Speaking of being back, in central Tái​chūng (hey, it's all one big city now!), I took these photos of action Japanese:

A factory making miso 味噌, the traditional Japanese seasoning.

This odd poster on the wall of a gas station is from the city's Hsī​t'ún​​ District 西屯區 officials, urging the citizens to keep the area clean. For some strange reason, they give the Japanese pronunciations of several characters, presumably as part of a catchy slogan, though with a couple of errors: 清掃 should be "seisou" (""seisō"), while the reading of 教養 is "kyoyo" ("kyōyō").

 

 

(Above) The English promises a world of ecstasy, but the Japanese merely welcomes you to come in and shop; (Below) It's strong! It's new! It's now selling!

It isn't just language that's employed to make a store or business appear cooler. Sometimes place names are utilized, as in the example above. Omotesandō 表参道 is an upscale shopping district in Tōkyō 東京.

Washington, Part 9: the 8th of February

Amber shows off her hula hoop skills inside the Silverdale Toys "R" Us.

My daughter searches for her name at the local Safeway. The craft beer aisle is my favorite part of any American supermarket - the selection of suds to be found there puts that of any Taiwanese ch'āo​chí​shìh​ch'ǎng​ example 超級市場 to shame. If I could, I'd try a different six pack each week. I might end up looking like a sumō wrestler 力士, but at least the taste of T'ái​wān​ Beer 台灣啤酒 would be completely eradicated from my memory.

Silver City is a microbrewery located in Silverdale.

Washington, Part 8: the 7th of February

Pamela wanted a day to just relax and take it easy at my parents' house, so on this Monday Amber and I rode as foot passengers on the ferry from Bremerton to Seattle. From the terminal, the two of us made our way uphill to the underground bus/light rail station, where we caught a bus for the short (and free ride) to the International District.

Amber in the International District. Behind her is the building housing the Uwajimaya Asian supermarket and Kinokuniya 紀伊国屋書店 bookstore.

Amber plays with some hand puppets in the children section at Kinokuniya. We spent virtually all of our time in the International District in the bookstore. Given unlimited funds and luggage capacity, I would have gladly spent a fortune there and carried the lot back with me to Taiwan. Reality intervened, however, and in the end I bought a book that teaches Japanese to small children. Amber has said on several occasions that she would like to learn 日本語 - she already knows the あいうえお order.

For lunch, we ate in the food court at Uwajimaya. Amber must have been pretty hungry, because she polished off a large bowl of bibimbap virtually all by herself.

Amber strikes a pose in Pioneer Square on the walk back to the ferry terminal

Having enjoyed sunny weather for much of the day, the sky suddenly darkened and it began to hail. Fortunately, we were already in line (and under cover) waiting to board the ferry back to Bremerton. The rain stopped soon after the ship had gotten underway, and Amber was quick to point out the rainbow you see above.

Arrogant Bastard Ale, from the Stone Brewing Company out of San Diego County, CA. A most excellent brew, and one that I wasn't worthy of (check the label). "Fizzy yellow beer is for wussies."

Washington, Part 7: the 6th of February

On our last day with my sister, Karen drove us around to visit a couple of the local sites. First up was Mukilteo Lighthouse Park. Amber at the beach, while in the background, a ferry from Clinton, on Whidbey Island, pulls into port:

The Mukilteo Light Station dates from 1906. The buildings were closed, but we were able to walk the grounds:

Next, Karen drove us around Boeing Field, where Boeing paints and tests its newly-built planes. Time precluded us from going inside the Museum of Flight, but Amber and I did get out to take some pictures. The Dreamlifter is a 747 large cargo freighter used by Boeing to bring aircraft parts from suppliers around the world. Karen said the plane was quite a sight to see flying overhead:

Amber poses in front of the airfield. In the background are planes awaiting delivery to various airlines around the world. Among the ones we saw that day were future additions to the fleets of Japan Airlines 日本空港 and All Nippon Airways 全日本空輸:

It was a short drive from the airfield to my sister's apartment complex, where it was time for one last picture with Amber's aunt and her cousin James:

Karen drove us to the ferry terminal at Edmonds, where we boarded the ship for the short ride to Kingston. Pamela, Amber and I had a great time with my sister, and we look forward to seeing Karen and her family again on our next visit to the USA.

The view of Edmonds as the ferry pulls away from the terminal

Back at my parents' house in Bremerton, much of the rest of the day was spent watching the Green Bay Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in Super Bowl XLV in prime time, the way god(s) intended it (and not at some god awful early morning hour as is the case in East Asia). An afternoon of football, pizza (all-meat from Papa Murphy's) and beer (Samuel Adams Boston Lager) - you can take the boy out of America, but you can't take America out of the boy.