CONVOY!

Cornel convoy to a Moon Festival BBQ hosted by our principal. Everyone you can see was part of our (very foreign) pack. It must have been quite a site for the locals... It's not everyday that you get a group of 25 white people stopped at a light!

Yes. It's true. This pizza is green.  

One man's garbage quickly became my treasure.

I spotted this gem when we were on Mark's scooter. We didn't have a table at our place and I was determined to take it as soon as I saw the chinese chess board on the top can flip to be chinese checkers. So we did. Picture Mark on the front of his scooter and me on the back, backwards with the top of the table against my stomach and the bottom sticking out the back... we got a few looks and giggles on the way home. It paid off an hour of cleaning later with all the dirt gone and bugs evicted. 

Mark and Jay at the end of the night

Honey, Allison and Adrienne.....a few bevies deep at "The Dive"

Mark, Jay and Adam in the elevator

This was WILD!

So, we went out to a night market for dinner. Pretty much consists of a whole bunch of street vendors selling a variety of Taiwanese cuisine. We ate dinner and then went for a walk. This was during ghost month where the Taiwanese are always celebrating and doing crazy stuff. So down the street, we heard music and saw lights. As we approached we saw a fold-out, transport truck. There were tons of lights, smoke machines, wild music, a floor that went up and down and about three very scantily clad Taiwanese women dancing up a storm. Keep in mind that is directly, right in the middle of the street. It must have been some kind of celebration as there were a few more of these positioned throughout the nearby streets and we almost got nailed on our scooter by the firecrackers they were lighting off in the middle of the road. Wild!

The front view of the same truck. Tough to see but it's all there. The lights, the smoke, the raising platforms, and yes, the scantily clad women.

A fold out transport truck (side view). One minute an ordinary truck......the next minute, a full out stage complete with lights, smoke, music, rising floors and scantily clad Taiwanese women.

In a rainstorm, on our scooter, waiting to fill up with gas! Check out our wicked panchos! (All the cool kids have them!) 

Kindergarten teachers almost getting their primary colors right. (Honey, Adrienne, and Megan)

Taiwanese Restaurant Decor

High class Taiwanese restaurant decor. (Coconut Grove - Thai food)

The decor in some of Taiwans restaurants and bars is unique. They enjoy displaying big posters of old Hollywood blockbusters... the ones in the picture are of "Silence of the Lambs" and "What Dreams May Come". This restaurant also featured Demi Moore's 'Striptease' which loomed over a local family's table while they enjoyed their cashew chili chicken stir-fry... my favorie dish. These are often all over the walls, as the only decorations that are up. I mean this is okay at a bar but imagine walking into the Keg to see a 'Field of Dreams' poster.... only in Taiwan. haha

The Grand Palace Tour

The main floor of our apartment - kitchen, "office" view.

The living room and balcony (a.k.a. "The Cage") view!

The penthouse suite complete with ensuite bathroom and accompanying walk-through closet.

In the elevator of our building: "Please refrain from copulating in the elevator". There is another one that says: "WARNING: Staring at the elevator numbers may cause flatulence" We're confident that this is just some foreigner's joke but still it was worth taking a picture.

New Apartment Cleaning

This bathroom was DISGUSTING.

Scrubbin the mirror.......

Cleanin our filthy house. Check out the way too small pink rubber gloves.