It Happened!

Just when I think it’s time to head back to Michigan… Chloe starts speaking in full sentences in Chinese!

So we are a little over the half way point in our 6 month stay in Taiwan. The hardest part of our time in Taiwan has been when Michael goes back to the States for a few weeks. So, I decided maybe his next trip back in April, we should all go back together. Why endure another three or so weeks as a single parent. It is mid-March, the weather in Michigan is starting to warm up. And, the weather in Taiwan is starting to heat up. We’ve already had to turn the AC on a few times this month. Summers in Taiwan are very bad – high, high humidity combined with high heat. During the winter months, the thing that kept me going as a single parent was thinking I was dodging the cold winter in Michigan. Now that the snow has melted and the day light savings has sprung in, I was ready for the luxury of having daddy around.

Today, Michael comes home from picking Chloe up from school and tells me that she spoke to her friends in Chinese using full sentences. We saw it coming. The last few days, she had been using more and more Chinese words to express herself. Then all of a sudden – full on sentences. I guess there is no turning back now!

Every so often, we ask the girls how they are enjoying Taiwan and our usual reply is “Taiwan is beautiful… I want to move here when I grow up.” So, the adjustment has been quite okay. They have been going to school and interacting well with their classmates. The children speak to the girls in Chinese and our girls speak to them in English. Play is a universal language and somehow, the children are able to completely understand each other. The girls have played pretend doctor and patient, built toy glasses and played dress up together each speaking their own languages. It’s been pretty neat to see the girls enjoy their overseas adventure as much as they do and now to see them pick the language so quickly and effortlessly is amazing.

Unexpected Vistors

We've been in Taiwan for about two weeks now and have been adjusting well to the time difference, climate difference, population density difference (lots of people) and certain cultural differences - i.e., stores do not open until 10:30am earliest and stay open until 10pm. The time difference took a few days of not so good sleep and now, we are on routine to all together daily insufficient rest.

The climate difference... that's a blessings, we left a snow storm in Michigan followed with a week of freezing temperatures! We landed in the sub-tropics where the normal day is 85 Degrees with an occasional cold front blowing through with mid 50s at night and 70s during the day. Not so bad right. No so bad until you experience all that goes along with the warm year long weather - mosquitoes! There is a reason why the prints ads for the beautiful five-star resorts in Bali include those beautiful white nets around their lush beds centered in the middle of an even more enticing open air villa. They are not just part of the design appeal, there is a real NEED for mosquito nets in the sub-tropics! During Mei Mei's (little sister) shower tonight I found seven mosquito bites.

The night before I heard a buzzing in my ear and alerted Michael to a fly in our room. He assured me it was no fly. Sure enough, the next morning, I found a mosquito bite on Mei Mei's wrist. The next night, I hear the buzzing again, this time my fear of swatting with my hands was quickly won over by my laziness to get out bed and my motherly protection of our little ones. I don't know that I killed it, but it stopped buzzing and I wanted sleep, so slumber I did. In my shower the next morning, there it was a again, not sure if it was the same one, but in daylight, I got it alright.


Tonight the girls came home from a special Christmas performance at their school where they performed in costumes. Somehow between the changing, Mei Mei got seven mosquito bites - three big ones on her back. I am alarmed by this because the girls go to an open air school. I doubt I will be able to dress the girls completely in long sleeves and pants throughout the year in this mild climate. And, the option of switching to a different school would pose the same problem. Most businesses and residences in Taiwan naturally have plenty of open air living spaces.

I am tempted to sleep in the same room with the girls tonight to listen out for those pesky bugs, but exhaustion from a hectic day and just recovering from an illness keeps me in my room. And, I really think that most of the bites came from school. We live on the ninth floor of a new high rise, but the mosquitoes have not been deterred by this fact. They somehow ride up the elevator with us and have a nice party at night. But, I'm hoping that the ones that made it up are satisfied and will leave us alone tonight. The mosquitoes in the house, I can probably handle, as for the ones at school, I may have to have Mei Mei wear as much covered clothing as she can hold out for and start spraying bug spray sooner than planned.

I detest mosquitoes so much that I was ready to start packing when I discovered their presence. This blog has not only been a nice way to journal my time here, but also a nice way to think through my dilemmas. For now, the mosquitoes have not won, and the Chens will continue their time in Taiwan as planned.

A New Experience to an Everyday Task

The way of life in a sub-tropical climate is to hang dry your clothes. This is very common in Taiwan. Even many Taiwanese who have spent time overseas and have assimilated to a more western way of drying their clothes - using a dryer, prefer to line dry their clothes when they return to Taiwan. The warm climate naturally lends itself to this method of drying. Line drying is advantageous for many reasons, better for your clothes, saves energy, better for the environment and the list probably goes on. Well, here goes my experience...

A new dryer was on its way to our place, but we had been in Taipei for a few days before settling into our temporary home in Kaohsiung. And, with two little ones, we go through clean clothes like there is no tomorrow. Out of necessity and curiosity, I decided I would give this whole line drying a try. I found it to be quite relaxing. It was a cool December evening in the city, there was a nice breeze flowing through the patio and the constant traffic noise below was calming. The process was a little tedious and a little more time consuming then using a dryer, but all in all a nice experience, similar to the monotonous chore of washing the dishes. The comforting lull of this repetitive task was surprisingly enjoyable.

My measure of laundry success is the fresh whiff of soft fabric rubbing against the tip of my nose. The clothes were still a little damp when I checked the next morning. I learned that my clothes were a little too close together. From the first touch of the damp stiff fabric, I could tell that my expectations had to adjusted. After a little re-arranging, I was excited to sniff my efforts. the best part of doing laundry for me is the lovely smell of clean soft warm clothes right out of the dryer. Without the dryer, I knew my clothes would not come out warm or as soft and fluffy. But, I was raised in the 1980's, so I have seen enough fabric softener commercials with clean white sheets swaying back and forth in the clean beautiful country air to still have the anticipation of expecting something wonderful. Fabric softener was used in the wash...

A day later, the clothes were ready! The result - dry clothes that were a little stiff. And, somehow our clean wet clothes swaying in the air filled with the congestion and all the aromas of a bustling city lost its fresh smell. With each piece of clothing that came down, my excitement for the line drying method came down with it. Ultimately, our goal was to have clean dry clothes. That goal was achieved, but the joy for me of doing laundry was lost a little in the urban translation. We have since received our dryer and my first load was washing the girls' new school sleeping bags. Oh, the delight in knowing that the girls will lay on something soft and fresh smelling is priceless! And if using a dryer is wrong in Taiwan, I'm okay with not being right!

First Haircut in Taiwan

Being out of your comfort zone provides you with a sense of adventure, the willingness to try things you would not normally try at home. Example in point - haircut... I know I don't wear bangs well. I have tried them a few times in my life, once as a child and maybe once as an experimenting twenty something. Each time resulting in not the best results. So, I should know better! Well, put me in a new country where I don't speak the language and am adjusting to a new culture with two toddlers and you're bound to have a few bumps along the way.

So, the haircut saga continues. Before leaving the States eight days ago, I knew I needed a haircut. But, with all the packing and de-cluttering of the house and the allure of cheap labor overseas, I decided to put off the much needed chore. Once in Taiwan, the discomfort of the high humidity levels (77%) in a subtropical country left me very ready for a haircut. So, without delay, I went with Mom to her salon and just desired to have inches off. What started out as a simple layered bob turned into the dreaded bangs with a two hour straightening process to go along with it. My 300NT ($10) haircut turned out to be a 2000NT ($60) haircut. It was not so much the sticker shock as the bang shock. I am not sure what happened. It started with yi dian dian (a little) here, then yi dian dian there and before I knew it, I was in full on bangs territory! So, I came out of the salon with bangs and limp hair from the straightening process. The limp hair will hopefully be remedied in a few days when I can shampoo and the bangs... well thankfully, hair does grow!