Washington, Part 6: the 5th of February

The other night, while being driven to my sister's apartment in the rain, we passed by a drive-thru espresso stand. Not an uncommon sight in this part of country, but there was something unusual about the woman working inside. I couldn't make out what it was through the rain-covered car window, but as I learned from Karen, the employee was clad only in a bikini. It seems the Pacific Northwest has it own version of Tái​wān​'s 台灣 betel nut girls 檳榔西施​ in the form of these bikini coffee babes! Alas, it proved impossible to get a photo. On the other hand, pictures were possible the next day (Saturday, the 5th) at a shopping mall (see below) of another Taiwanese-influenced phenomenon, but I decided not to take any. I'm referring to those women you often see on the streets of Tái​wān using what looks like long pieces of thread to clean the pores on the skin of customers' (usually female) faces. In a booth at the Alderwood Mall were women providing the same kind of service, and business looked to be doing well. Later on during our trip we would buy a drink from a bubble tea 珍珠奶茶​ stand, while I was surprised to read a review of Tái​pěi​'s 臺北 well-known dumpling restaurant, Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐​, which has a branch in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue. If I ever return to the States to live, I have a feeling this blog will be dedicated to the search of all things Taiwanese that I may observe in American daily life.

Meanwhile, at the Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood, Amber was enjoying being spoiled by her aunt. Karen took her to Build A Bear, where my daughter proceeded to, well, build a teddy bear. She did so by choosing a bear, having it stuffed, fluffing it up with a hair (fur?) dryer, selecting an outfit and accessories, and, finally, naming the bear and receiving an official "birth certificate", all courtesy of my sister's credit card. Amber chose "Danielle" as the bear's moniker, not surprising considering it's one of her two middle names (the other being "Nami" 波). She likes the whole concept so much she's already picked out another design for our next visit!

It may have been in the high 30's/low 40's Fahrenheit outside, with rain falling on-and-off throughout the day, but back at Karen's apartment complex, the heated indoor swimming pool awaited Amber and her second cousins, Kloe and Kyver. The evening ended with a home-cooked Thanksgiving-style turkey dinner courtesy of Amber's auntie, and some obligatory group photos before everyone called it a night. It certainly felt great to be back in the States.

Washington, Part 5: the 4th of February

Our first weekend back in the U.S. was spent hanging out with my sister Karen, who lives in Mukilteo. For the first time since we had arrived the previous Sunday, the weather was miserable - cold, overcast and drizzly. A typical day in the Pacific Northwest, in other words. My dad drove the three of us to Kingston, where we boarded the ferry for the short trip across the Puget Sound to Edmonds:

Karen met us at the other end, and after a lunch of burgers and beer, took us into Everett, where she works for the YWCA. Amber will always remember the city for its Imagine Children's Museum - several floors of hands-on activities and play areas, where kids can pretend to work in a restaurant, fly a plane, drive a bus or perform on a stage, among other things. My daughter most enjoyed being a veterinarian, but she also displayed an affinity for what could be done in the construction zone:

I certainly don't recall ever having cool places like this one to play in when I was Amber's age (then again, I had orange groves nearby to run around in). We would discover several "kid-friendly" spots during the two weeks we were back in the States.

After a dinner of Thai takeout at my sister's apartment, we checked in to a hotel just up the road, where I topped off the evening with a bottle of the locally-brewed Hale's Ales Red Menace Big Amber Ale...:

...which brought a smile to the face of this old Political Science major (Professor Zinner and his Soviet Foreign Policy classes). Amber got a kick out of seeing her name on the bottle, and from that point on, any time we walked down the beer aisle at a supermarket, would ask me to "find" her on the shelves.

Washington, Part 4: the 3rd of February

Two milestones for Amber on this day - her first time to see a feature-length film in a movie theater, and her first taste of salted popcorn (here in Tái​wān 台灣​, it's usually sweetened). Seeing as my wife wanted a couple of hours to herself in the Silverdale Mall (and who can blame her, as her husband can be a very impatient shopping companion), a father-daughter movie date seemed an ideal way to kill the time, which is how we came to watch Tangled, Disney's musical take on the Rapunzel story. Amber had a great time, enjoying both the movie and the snacks. Surprisingly, we were the only two customers in the theater! I guess Thursday afternoons in early February are a quiet time for cinemas.

Afterward, we met up with Pamela at the mall, her shopping mission having been successfully concluded. For Amber, the mall meant going to the play area located next to the food court, which she had been looking forward to almost from the moment we landed in the States. It was encouraging to see her not only play with some of the other kids there, but to do so speaking in English. Biculturalism rocks!

Washington, Part 3: the 2nd of February

Bremerton, WA (population 37,000) - despite being home to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, "the Pacific Northwest's largest naval shore facility and one of Washington state's largest industrial installations", the downtown area is a very quiet place. Thanks to a massive and ongoing construction project that has resulted in a hotel/conference complex and a government center, however, the central business district looks much better than it did when my parents moved up to Washington from California in the early 1990's.

The view of the city center area from the top floor of the garage where we parked our rented Aveo

Latte in hand (this is the Pacific Northwest, after all), Amber and I prepare to see the sights of downtown Bremerton

Amber takes a stroll through the Harborside Fountain Park. The cone-shaped (and dry on this winter day) copper fountains in the background are meant to resemble the conning towers on submarines

The Puget Sound Navy Museum is housed in a late-19th century commandant's house and administration building. Free of charge to enter, it has displays on local navy-related history, as well as an exhibit detailing what it is like to serve on the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier. Here, Amber is listening to examples of orders being given on the ship

Another free museum (though I did leave a donation) in downtown Bremerton is the Aurora Valentinetti Puppet Museum. There are displays of puppets from around the world, with my interest being directed towards the puppets from Kure 呉 in Hiroshima prefecture 広島県, one of Bremerton's sister cities:

There is also a small room where Amber could make her own puppets and put on a show. The museum was the first of several kid-centered attractions that we visited on this trip

Down the street from the puppet museum the 4th Pacific Arts Building, which displays the many works of the gallery's owner, Amy Burnett, as well as those of other artists who have rented space there. Ms. Burnett is especially proud of her collection of Pyrex glass cookware, and took this photo of us in the Pyrex Museum

Our last stop on our walking tour of central Bremerton was back at the waterfront, where the destroyer USS Turner Joy, one of the ships that got us into the Vietnam War (see the "Gulf of Tonkin incident") is permanently moored as a floating museum. The $31 admission charge (¥2600/NT910) for the three of us was on the hefty side, but we were allowed free reign over virtually the entire warship:

On the bridge of the Turner Joy was this chart, "Plans on the West Coast of Taiwan". Curiously, the place names were rendered in the Japanese pronunciations, though neither Pamela nor I could figure out in which part of Tái​wān​ 台灣 "Hotei Hakuchi" was located

Just like on this particular Wednesday, most of the days we were in Washington were gloriously sunny. And while the temperatures were chilly, sitting in the low 40's Fahrenheit (less than 10 C) most of the time, it felt warmer than back in Taiwan, probably as a result of the fresher air outside and the central heating inside.

Aces high

A lone Cerasus serrulata, or what the Taiwanese call a "Mountain Sakura" (Shān​yīng​huā​ 山櫻花), seen on Trail 7 in the Dà​kēng​ 大坑 area:

Fence railing with a bamboo shoot motif:

From today's Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ, an article on the success local PC maker Acer 宏碁​ is enjoying in the Japanese market ("Acer antes up in Japanese market"). Below are a few excerpts:

"Ever since it began seriously competing in Japan a few years ago, Tái​wān 台灣​-based computer maker Acer has been expanding its presence in a market long dominated by domestic brands...In 2008, the Japanese computer market saw the rise of such Taiwanese makers as Acer and AsusTek Computer Inc. 華碩​, which penetrated the market with a small portable PC called a netbook. While it has been somewhat difficult for overseas makers to win the hearts of Japanese customers, who tend to value top-performing products customized to their tastes, Acer is growing and wants to crack the top five in Japanese market share by the end of this year. It wasn't so long ago that Acer was practically invisible. According to Tōkyō 東京-based MM Research Institute, Acer only shipped 100,000 units in 2007, keeping it out of the top 10. Yet by the following year it was eighth, with 455,000 shipments, thanks in large part to the netbook. With 786,000 units shipped, the company kept its eight-place ranking in 2010, chasing the top five of NEC 日本電気, Fujitsū 富士通, Tōshiba 東芝, Dell and HP. In the segment for PCs for individuals, however, Acer managed to grab fifth place. But the company is still struggling to penetrate the corporate market, which accounts for about half of Japan's overall computer market. To crack the top five in overall market share, the company must strengthen its corporate presence...Acer's strategy is to provide global models at global standard prices to consumers who have become accustomed to the Japanese standard...the company recently released a 3-D-ready 15.6-inch notebook PC for under ¥100,000 ($1190/NT35,000) and a 11.6-inch model priced roughly ¥20,000 ($240/NT7000) less than similar notebooks offered by Tōshiba at some online stores...Japanese makers have been able to succeed by focusing only on the domestic market, but this is becoming increasingly difficult to do because the Japanese market is shrinking as other markets, like China, grow...Acer's Japan branch was established in 1988, and until 2000 was mainly manufacturing computer parts for other makers. The company shifted from a manufacturer to a brand company in 2000...the Japanese market was a low priority until around 2007 or 2008, as the company first went after the markets in the U.S., Europe and emerging countries."

Washington, Part 2: the 1st of February

Poulsbo (population 6800) is one of those typically American communities originally settled by immigrants (mainly Norwegians, in this case), which now relies on that ethnic background to promote itself as a tourist destination:

We enjoyed a sunny afternoon browsing through some of the shops on the main street. In the used bookstore, I bought "The Gingerbread Man" for Amber and Matsuo Bashō's 松尾芭蕉 "The Narrow Road to the Deep North" おくのほそ道 for myself, while Pamela purchased a pair of shoes at a shoe store. In between the two shops, we stopped off to eat at a bar that was offering craft beers for just a penny if you ordered a burger for lunch - bacon cheeseburgers and India Pale Ales make a great pair. God bless America (at least the blue parts of it!):

We finished off our visit to Poulsbo by taking a leisurely stroll along the waterfront. The reason the flag is flying at half-staff in the photo below was in honor of a female Washington state corrections officer who was murdered by an inmate the day before we arrived in Seattle):

The Pacific Northwest can be a gray, dismal place at times in the winter (or any other season, for that matter), but the sunsets to be seen from outside my parents' home are often a sight to behold:

Washington, Part 1: the 30th and 31st of January

We're back in Fēngyuán 豐原 after two weeks spent enjoying the Lunar New Year 春節break with my family in the beautiful state of Washington. All three of us had a wonderful time, but no one more so than my daughter, who was spoiled rotten by her grandparents and aunt. For myself, the annual visit back is a much-needed chance to reconnect with both kin and culture.

Having arrived in the morning of Sunday the 30th, our first day in the U.S. was spent trying to adjust to the new time zone, which both Amber and I were able to do relatively quickly (the same couldn't be said for my wife, who found herself waking up before dawn the first few days in Bremerton). The next day was also a quiet one, with our one trip out of the house being a visit to the Silverdale Mall, and in particular the Barnes & Noble bookstore there. Having several titles on pre-order with Amazon, I contented myself with just browsing this time around, but Amber, as usual, made off with a treasure haul of books and DVD's - the latter including Dora the Explorer, the Backyardigans, Clifford the Big Red Dog, the Wiggles and Curious George. These additions to her collection should be enough to keep my daughter content for the next year or so, while exposing her every morning to real spoken English before she heads off to her Mandarin kindergarten. During our stay with my mom and dad, Amber spent a lot of time in front of the TV, watching PBS Kids in the morning and Sprout in the evening, but I didn't mind - the shows were entertaining, but also instructive. Most importantly, these programs did not insult Amber's intelligence, unlike many of the offerings to be had on T'áiwān's 台灣 Momo and Yoyo TV channels.

As for my wife, she would on several occasions partake of the simple pleasures to be found on the shelves of the local Kohl's and J.C. Penny.

To be continued...

Amber at Táiwān T'áoyuán International Airport 臺灣桃園國際機場, with our Delta plane in the background. We flew from Táiwān to Narita International Airport 成田国際空港 outside of Tōkyō 東京, then connected to a flight going to Sea-Tac Airport

After arriving in Seattle and clearing immigration and customs, we rented this Chevrolet Aveo subcompact from National, and used it to get around during our stay. It goes without saying that it felt great to be back among courteous drivers who understood the rules of the road, but I said it anyway