Christmas celebrations

One Christmas Eve tradition from the US held true in Taiwan: steak! I was sad to hear that our usual Christmas Eve dinner restaurant has closed it doors - forcing my family to move it to a new location this year. But I was with them in spirit, as we had a nice dinner at the famous American/Australian steakhouse:
It is located on the "Love River" so we had to dress up a little bit!

We came home and watched "It's a Wonderful Life," which kept us up until after midnight. [Actually that was better than the night before, when the family was up until 2am wrapping presents. These people are crazy! Most everyone we know in Chengdu is in bed by 10 or 11.] Then Christmas morning, we opened gifts - not at the usual Miller time (5am or something ridiculous like that) but at the reasonable 7:30 or 8. I was the last one up, no surprise there. But even with the sleep, Rachel looks like she could use a couple more hours...

The highlight of the morning was Sarah's gift to Becca - a real, genuine Coach bag and wallet. Pretty swanky! Becca obviously enjoyed.
And of course, there was good southern cookin'. We had turkey and all the fixins, and 3 kinds of pie to wash it all down.
Merry Christmas!

-alan

Earthquake!

I figured that when we left Chengdu, we would be out of the earthquake zone. But apparently I forgot that Taiwan, as a volcanic island, is even MORE earthquake prone than our home in China. So it was a bit of a surprise when we awoke a couple days ago to a shaking bed around 8am. Here's the map from USGS:
It was a 5.3 earthquake, about 50 km northeast of where we are in Kaohsiung. Fun fun!

-alan

Taiwan: the first 2 days in pictures

It is wonderful to be here! We have been shopping and playing games for two days now, and it is a real blessing to be back with the whole Miller gang. On another, more superficial level, it feels great to wear short sleeves and shop in places like Costco. So here's some highlights:

Kaohsiung is changing! The new subway has opened in town, which is great news for us, since the Millers are a block away from the central hub of the system. The surprising feature of the system is the inclusion of tons of elaborate public art. The crown jewel is this circular room of stained glass, designed by an Italian-Mexican named Narcissus. Beautiful!

Here's the shopping crew - on the way from Costco and over to Ikea. We've been shopping a lot - no one in the family had any shopping done before we arrived (including her parents) so the time is now. Here's how it works:
Mom: Rachel, what do you want for Christmas?
Rachel: I need shhhhhhhhhhhhhoes!!!!
Mom: Alright then, show me what kind you like.
[Rachel picks out a pair she likes, and tries them on. And then another pair. And another. And another. Alan wanders off in boredom.]
Rachel: Okay, I like these.
Mom: Okay, leave the store!
[Mom buys the exact pair of shoes and all head to the next store to repeat the process again for a new child.]
Lost children return...Rachel is not the only Miller to return to Taiwan. Sister Sarah, fresh from Chicago, is the only child this time to suffer from jetlag. (tonight she passed out in the recliner at 9pm) It is fun to spend time with our former flatmate again! Here you can see the sisters on the roof of a local department store.
Rachel digs into some pizza at Costco - I never thought I would look forward to going to Costco to eat a meal, but today I loved it! The bulgogi sticks are amazing!

And finally, just to remind us that we are definitely still in the Chinese world, we snapped this shot of a pig tied out front of a nearby restaurant. Notice the leash - I'm not quite sure of this guy is a pet, or next months dinner....or both?

-alan

Mornings in China vs Taiwan...

The biggest difference in life here in Taiwan comes first thing in the morning: the shower. In Chengdu, it is 40-50 degrees in our bathroom (no central heat). When the alarm goes off, I turn on the remote-controlled heating unit while we snooze a few more minutes. That heats our bedroom up to bearable levels. Rachel and I then non-verbally debate about who has to get up first...the loser goes to the bathroom, turns the shower on to let it heat, and runs back into bed before the cold sets in. Once the water is steamy, the first victim jumps in and enjoys a few moments of warmth - the water is hot, but the air streaming in from the cold window tempers the experience. Once the shower is done, cold air and a damp towel are all that awaits you until I can make it back to the bedroom where my long underwear has been warming on the electric radiator.

In Taiwan, I leisurely get out of bed - extra clothes are unnecessary because the room has not fallen to such frigid temps. I can go get some breakfast, or sit on the couch for a bit - without giving a thought to being too cold or warm. When I'm ready, the bathroom is inviting and just right! Ahhhhh I will enjoy it while it lasts!

-alan

Merry Christmas!

There's been more holiday festivities to report on:

We went to the Christmas service of the International Fellowship this morning. It was really encouraging to see the American, English, Canadian, Indian, Chinese, and Korean influences all shaping the music and the service! It is definitely the benefit of having that kind of mix of people.

Also this morning, we opened our Christmas package from Michigan. I'm amazed at how well my parents packed so many things into that little bitty box! Even though it was a rush (we were late to leave for the bus downtown!) it was really fun to have a little early Christmas reward. [note: the reward was ACTUALLY undeserved. When we got the package a week or so ago, I clearly laid out the rules: no opening the box until all grades were done. Now while Rachel worked hard to finish her work, she still had a small stack of papers to grade. I guess I'm too much of a softie...]

Friday night we celebrated Christmas with the English corner gang. Rachel led some games, which most everybody loved, of course. I enjoyed talking American politics and economics with the college students. I still think that Chinese students know a lot more about what's going on in America than most Americans! The internet is quite a tool.

Finally, I'll close with a report on the great Christmas candy sale - and all you need to know is that Rachel cleaned up! The middle school ran a candy sale (over 1100 RMB was sold!) and Rachel got at least 6 bags...and I only got 1 :( I'll be visiting Rachel's room to get some Snickers an awful lot come January!

Now that's we're here in Taiwan, we'll get to continue the Christmas celebrations! Yay!

-alan

We're here!

After a hop, skip, and a jump across the Strait, we're here in Kaohsiung, Taiwan with Rachel's parents. We took the new subway to their new apartment right in the heart of the city - very exciting!

Rachel is now feeling "right at home" as she looks at her childhood Christmas decorations and jokes around with her little brother.

Give it a couple minutes, and I'm sure a Canasta game will begin...

-alan

So much of Illinois in the news!

First Obama is elected president...

Now the corruption (which has long been known of in Chicago) in the political system is reaching national headlines with the soon-to-be-former Gov. Blago in trouble. (Side note: I'm glad I voted Green Party in 2006!)

And finally, I see today that my former boss, Arne Duncan, will be the new Education Secretary in Obama's cabinet. I'm not sure now I feel about that... For a large urban school district, Chicago Public Schools were fairly reform-minded; however, things in that system were far from being run efficiently or equitable for students. Hmmm. I'll have to chew on this.

-alan