An example of my amazing powers of observation. Nearly seven years I have lived in Fēngyuán 豐原, and until last night I had no idea there was a huge covered market in the downtown area. Consider yourselves lucky that I never went into the field of law enforcement.
There exists in Taiwan a shadow world, an underground economy, if you will, an unholy alliance between tour buses, private kindergartens and small "leisure farms" secreted in the mountains or hidden among the farms in the countryside. At least that's what it seems like each time my school decides to take the young ones out on an excursion. Large buses are chartered from private companies to bring the kiddies to the above-mentioned establishments, which seem to feed on a steady diet of school trips for their continued survival. As always when we embark on these outings, I bring my daughter along for the ride, even though she attends a Chinese-language kindergarten.
Starting them out young - just like their parents, the kids sang karaoke songs on the bus. Amber got into the spirit of things by belting out a Chinese kiddy favorite. The visuals that went along with the songs were a different matter, however. One child's tune featuring adults drinking and smoking in an obvious hostess bar didn't seem to raise an eyebrow with anyone on board, not even when one of the men stuffed some money down a woman's blouse. I guess with some of the kids, it's what Dad does after work sometimes. Jingle Bells (yes, the Christmas favorite, and with English lyrics) was accompanied by scenes from a Taoist temple festival, complete with lion dances, fireworks and young gangsters painted up to look like the soldiers of the gods.
Can anyone spot my little one in the obligatory group photo? The "farm" we visited today was located in the foothills of T'aip'ing (Tàipíng) 太平. For some odd reason, no one seemed the know the name of the place, so all I can tell you is that it was in Taiping. The children were led around the grounds of the establishment in two groups, where they were shown such wildlife as tadpoles and bees, and engaged in activities such as tire rolling. At one point, the kids were given leaves to feed to a family of goats, and Amber was one of the lucky few to be allowed to hold one of the kids:
A required component of these field trips is the arts and crafts activity, which is Taiwan is often referred to a "DIY". Our DIY today was making candles utilizing real beeswax:
Later, a giant friendly bee showed up to congratulate the children on a job well-done:
Lush vegetation does not photograph well on dreary overcast days:
One neat activity arranged by the Taiping farm staff involved outfitting the kids in helmets and ropes, and having them climb a tree. Here's Amber gingerly making her way up:
This rather disturbing photo does not show a child attempting to hang herself while a staff member tries to talk her down. Amber slowly made her up a stack of seven cartons. Upon reaching the top, the cartons were taken away and she was gradually lowered to the ground with the rope affixed around her waist and back:
It was a long day, but all the kids seemed to enjoy themselves, mine included. Today was also the last opportunity for both Amber and myself to go on one of these excursions, as our time in Taiwan starts to wind down.
Enthusiastic Western bloggers keen on all things Taiwanese like to
complain about fellow Westerners complaining about ugly local
architecture (whining about whiners? Irony, thy taste is sweet). I wish I
knew where they bought the blinders that allow them to ignore sights
like the one above. Had I known earlier, these last few years would've been much more enjoyable.
