Taipei Take 1: Just a Taste

It took a while to post this, once again. Recently I went to Taipei for 3 days with a few friends. Sadly my friend who I wanted to see was moving back to Boston earlier the day I arrived so I barely missed her. I still was quite excited to do some international travel which consisted of a 2-hour plane ride with food. I don't even get that in the states! I've had the itch to travel since I arrived in Macau so this was my chance to go before worked picked up. This post will be in parts because spare time has been quite scarce lately. We are on a 6-day work schedule and it's really busting my butt. I did not have much time in Taipei so we basically tried to cram as much as we could into each day. In addition, we had to take rests because it was ridiculously hot.

Here are some of the highlights, details to come.

1. 101

2. Chang Kai-Shek Memorial

3. The Palace Museum

4. Snake Alley Night Market

5. Friendly People

6. Peace Park

7. High Speed train

8. Japanese food

Est-ce que tu parle français?

Ok. I have a confession. I have not been taking photos. Most of the time I just don't bring my camera with me. My lack of new entries has nothing to do with Macau becoming boring. Most days I forget. Not to worry, new entries will be arriving in July. Here is little something to keep you hungry for more.

I have restarted something which has given me great joy. It's learning and speaking French. I am doing an exchange with our make-up designer. I am teaching her English and she is teaching me French. My plan is to speak French and gain confidence while returning favor. I explain an English word in French at times or we consult the translator. Carmen is a lovely woman who forgives my lack of teaching skills and my poor pronunciation of French. She happens to be Spanish, which makes me wonder... Should I finally be learning Spanish? No worries it's on the list. I ambitiously plan to learn French, Spanish, German, and Cantonese, of course.

The House of Dancing Water, the show I am working on, opens in September. We are all working hard to make this a reality, but not too hard because we still get two days a week off. Here is a video of a portion of our wardrobe dept. and some other new friends having a good time. We are quite eclectic!

Cheers!

Stranger in the Night

Wow! I did not realize how long it's been since I have posted a blog. This one is very personal because it's the juiciest story to tell.

Have you heard the Frank Sinatra song "Strangers in the Night?" If you haven't you should go hear the song, then read this story. Trust me. It will help lighten the mood. Here goes.

Two Thursdays ago I was peacefully sleeping , when I awoke to a buzz in my ear. I really hate these bugs because they wake me up, but is time I was thankful. I opened my eyes and saw this man. I thought I was hallucinating so it took a couple of glances before I realized I was not dreaming. My first response was to cover my head with my blanket and pretend to be asleep. But something inside caused me act boldly. I guess I watched the Bourne movies too many times!

I yelled and ran after him to get a better look. Of course, he bolted towards the door. All I could grab was my waterbottle. Don't ask me what water would do. I did not catch him or see him clearly. When I called the police and I told them the wrong floor so they woke my neighbor who was able to translate. My voice was trembling on the phone so it took a few tries before she got my address. The police questioned me, took some prints, and stayed a little too long. Police in Macau seem so young and inadequate. I don't even think their guns are real. Thankfully, I was planning on going to Hong Kong that next day with friends so I did not have to sleep at my apartment. While I was away my locks were changed by the agent in charge of the property.

In conversation with friends, it was assumed that this intruder had a key. Who knows how many keys to my apartment are floating around Macau. The door was opened when I ran after him so he must have left it open upon entering. The only pieces of proof to this attempted robbery was a displaced pair of shorts and a bag that was taken and then returned. It was empty because I never use it so the thief must have felt stupid for not getting anything of value. Since then I have been much more cautious. People would tell me how safe Macau is, but sadly there is not any place completely safe. I had some trouble sleeping for the next few days, but slowly I have been getting more sleep. The fact that my security was questioned makes me angry because I want to feel safe in my own home. I am thankful to be safe. I still enjoy my apartment, but it will take a while to feel safe again. I will continue to take walks at night knowing it is safer here. I guess "safe" anywhere is completely relative. I do have some handy devices next to my bed which do help me fall asleep at night.

(top photo: City of Dreams, the theatre is on the left side; bottom photo: my "kind-of-safe" neighborhood at night)

Two things

There are two things I love about Macau. I don't mean there are only two things I love, but these are two things worth mentioning in detail. I always find a favorite area or thing to do where I live. So I will share my top two favorites with you tonight.

There is a small lake by my apartment, or you could say a large pond. I find myself walking to it during the day or for a late night walk. It faces out towards the casino/hotels and also has some beautiful Macanese houses next to it. When it's warm, you can almost always feel a breeze. During the day you will see tourists coming to visit and also couples taking their wedding photos. I love to run around it which is about 2.5 meters so I go around twice. There is a kind of peace you receive from being near the water. It is hard to explain but once you're there, you can sense what I mean. No matter how many people happen to be present, there is always something to receive from being near the lake.

My other pleasure is Taipa Village at night. Usually during the day this area is full of people and cars going by. But at night it completely transforms into a quite, desolate place. As I walk down the street I feel like I am the only person on earth. The reality of me living in a foreign country hits and I realize how far from home I am. It doesn't make me sad only very aware. I will walk right in the middle of the street without restraint and just listen to the silence. There is such a peace from this one particular moment that is worth staying up late to experiencing it.

Hong Kong

I went to Hong Kong the weekend before I started work. It's only a 60 minute ferry ride from Macau, actually I left from Taipa because that is where I live. I arrived on a hot, sunny day with no particular plans except where to stay. The ferry arrives in Victoria Harbor, which is area between the 2 main islands of Hong Kong. If you look at a map it may explain better, I am only speaking from my observation.

I started to mostly wander thinking I would be able to find my "guest house". I sensed it was close to where I arrived only to discover it was on another island, though you shouldn't be confused since Hong Kong is multiple islands. I did a little shopping and ate some great food.

I got some good footage so I will let the videos speak for themselves. I will add more a bit later. Also I did not eat any Chinese food that weekend.

Video!

It's finally happened. I have discovered how to post videos. It's surprisingly not hard. Patience was the key so I must have only got some today. Here are some clips of my journeys in Macau. I will also be doing a video diary which will have narration @ niasvideos.blogspot.com. Enjoy!

An evening walk

Chinese worship (don't worry she made it out)

Crossing over

Lately I have been trying to practice on my language skills both oral and handwritten. I can write my address, but not from memory. Also I have no clue what people are saying when I eaves-drop on their conversations. Most of the time I am paranoid and think they are talking about me, they probably are when they stare. I feel progress will take some time.

I am already fustrated about not knowing what people are saying. I understand numbers so when I go to the market I can understand what things cost without the dreaded calculator. Although people are making it easier to understand, it still cripples any opportunity for language learning. When people say "thank you" to me, I throw their language right back and say "mm goi" instead, which is "thank you" in Cantonese.

When I hear english, it's like music to my ears. The familiarity of my own language seems so far from reach. Most days I am by myself and I am not around english speakers. I am always looking for "westerners." This term should only be take lightly considering that the term means not Asian. Yes, the rest of the world has been put into the huge clump. The irony is that we do the same thing at home. Asians are mushed together without identity or explaination, it's just easier. So the westerners are Europeans, Candians, South Americans, Austrailians, but not Africans because they don't come here. Being dark-skinned is a rarity people here are not used to. That is why on any given day, I will be photographed, constantly stared at, or just a walking enigma people have no idea what to do with. The fact is there are so many tourists flowing in and out, they will never get used to me. At least the old man on my street says hi to me. I count that as a victory.

I leave you with my friend the snail. We have a lot more in common than I used to believe. You can figure that one out yourself.