Sunday, June 18, 2006
One short week.
This week was all about getting used to having a schedule. Yes, it is summer and we should be running free, but ooh, Mommy could use a couple hours in the morning! Jessi and Sam started school this week and seem to be enjoying it. It is all play, singing and art. At the same time... Sam has begun his Taipei modelling career!
He got makeup, and had the great opportunity of dressing in winter clothes during the beginning of the June heat. Oye! We were lucky enough to be up in the mountains surrounded by a peaceful french coffeehouse type setting. Jessi was pretty darn patient for a five year old girl watching her brother put on makeup and pose!
We did a couple of good markets this weekend. The kids and I went to Hsinchu (south about 1.5 hours), experienced a Taiwan rest stop, and saw a BIG temple with a BIG god.
Wow. The view was amazing as well. We also experienced the night market of a smaller town along side our tour guides, Mr and Mrs Wang. We tried some new foods. Chicken soup, rice noodels with loads of garlic and a lovely glutinous rice ball coverred in garlic. Ooh, and then there was the oyster omelette. Oh my, was that yummy too. THEN, the kids had jello drink. It was a bit like bubble tea and both guzzled it.
Paul was home this Sunday as well. We let him sleep in for the first time in months, and then built a house out of TV and microwave boxes. We topped it off with our first family trip to the Shilin night market. Mom and I should have gone while she was in town. The Shilin merchants would have been just that much wealthier! Jessi got a lovely dress, I spied my wardrobe for the year without purchasing a thing, and we all tried a special chicken sandwich; a chinese wrap of bean sprouts, beans, fried pork, and numerous items; crab and mushroom rice, and ice cream (yes, we've had that before).
The kids do the markets pretty well. The parents will need a date to the Shilin market soon. Mostly, one needs to remember when out with kids in a completely different setting than they are used to, they may run out of steam quickly. Their eyes get a bit glazed, and even Sam admits to "I tired Mommy". As we walk around the ex-pat haven of Tienmu, we see different letters and cars packed closely together, as well as hearing people speaking words we just don't understand. At the night market, it is such a feast for the senses. It was good that we went at 5:30 before the rush. When the masses come, it is hard to see the market beyond all the bodies! Again, it was great and we'll all go back.
This week was all about getting used to having a schedule. Yes, it is summer and we should be running free, but ooh, Mommy could use a couple hours in the morning! Jessi and Sam started school this week and seem to be enjoying it. It is all play, singing and art. At the same time... Sam has begun his Taipei modelling career!
He got makeup, and had the great opportunity of dressing in winter clothes during the beginning of the June heat. Oye! We were lucky enough to be up in the mountains surrounded by a peaceful french coffeehouse type setting. Jessi was pretty darn patient for a five year old girl watching her brother put on makeup and pose!
We did a couple of good markets this weekend. The kids and I went to Hsinchu (south about 1.5 hours), experienced a Taiwan rest stop, and saw a BIG temple with a BIG god.
Wow. The view was amazing as well. We also experienced the night market of a smaller town along side our tour guides, Mr and Mrs Wang. We tried some new foods. Chicken soup, rice noodels with loads of garlic and a lovely glutinous rice ball coverred in garlic. Ooh, and then there was the oyster omelette. Oh my, was that yummy too. THEN, the kids had jello drink. It was a bit like bubble tea and both guzzled it.Paul was home this Sunday as well. We let him sleep in for the first time in months, and then built a house out of TV and microwave boxes. We topped it off with our first family trip to the Shilin night market. Mom and I should have gone while she was in town. The Shilin merchants would have been just that much wealthier! Jessi got a lovely dress, I spied my wardrobe for the year without purchasing a thing, and we all tried a special chicken sandwich; a chinese wrap of bean sprouts, beans, fried pork, and numerous items; crab and mushroom rice, and ice cream (yes, we've had that before).
The kids do the markets pretty well. The parents will need a date to the Shilin market soon. Mostly, one needs to remember when out with kids in a completely different setting than they are used to, they may run out of steam quickly. Their eyes get a bit glazed, and even Sam admits to "I tired Mommy". As we walk around the ex-pat haven of Tienmu, we see different letters and cars packed closely together, as well as hearing people speaking words we just don't understand. At the night market, it is such a feast for the senses. It was good that we went at 5:30 before the rush. When the masses come, it is hard to see the market beyond all the bodies! Again, it was great and we'll all go back.# posted by 4intaipei @ 8:07 AM 
