Sunday, December 25, 2011

聖誕快樂!

In case you haven't already figured it out from the date of this post, the Chinese characters in the title above translate as "Merry Christmas" (Shèng​dàn​kuài​lè​). Here is my daughter showing off the goodies she received this morning:


This was the first "girly" Xmas for Amber in terms of the gifts she was given - her first Barbie doll ("Computer Engineer Barbie"); a Hello Kitty ハローキティ kitchen set, courtesy of Old St. Nick (last year he brought her a Hello Kitty bicycle); and a Pretty Fashion Shop featuring a doll named Mimi. The sharper-eyed among you, however, might notice a dinosaur and a toy train ("Salty" from Thomas & Friends, as a matter of fact) - proof that my little girl hasn't gone completely over to the pink side just yet.

This day has been a relatively quiet one for the family. After the ritual of opening the presents in the morning and talking with my parents over the phone, we had lunch in a Chinese-style teahouse, took a walk in the afternoon along one of the bicycle trails here in Fengyuan 豐原 and ended the day with a visit to my in-laws' home. Though white Christmases are pretty much out of the question in this country, it was good that the holiday (well, not in Taiwan) fell on a Sunday this year.

Here's hoping that you and your family also had a nice Christmas, wherever you are in this world.

Merry Christmas, メリークリスマス, 聖誕快樂 and Happy Holidays to you all!

5 comments:

  1. Happy Holidays to you too. It's been great reading your blog.

    And keep the rants coming. The "old tea type"! Hee hee hee haa haa haa. Mighty intellectual jabs.

    Your daughter is cute for sure, but it is your wife who deserves the title for "mirror mirror on the wall, who's the ..."

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  2. Hi, I used to live in Feng Yuan. In fact, I worked at TLC -- that disaster of a school owned by Maggie and Kevin. I actually need the address or contact for TLC. if you could help me out, i would be grateful. thanks, Ray

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  3. @Herman: Thanks for the comment! Happy Holidays to you too!

    @Mas Ray: I had the unfortunate pleasure of working for Maggie and Kevin as well (their motto was "All teachers are equal, but some are more equal than others"). TLC is still in business - their address is No. 122, Zhongzheng Road, Fengyuan District, Taichung City 420-56. Telephone (04)2520-1812. I found all this at this website: http://www.archpage.com.tw/Company/41868.html. Hope it helps!

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  4. Thanks man, I worked for them for about 6 months in 2001 before getting fed up and bolting. It's been a long time since I've thought about my teaching experiences in Taichung and Feng Yuan: i never realized how many good memories I had in those days only 10 years ago.

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  5. You must have been employed by maggie and kevin after they got me deported!
    keithieparker@hotmail.com

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