Joke of the year

Last week, Evan's class took a field trip to the fire station. They have a museum there with all kinds of pictures, including this one of the Grand Hotel on fire back in 1995. Well, I just couldn't resist! I took a picture of the picture, and went home and showed it to Nate, and told him that I took the picture out of the bus window, and that the Grand Hotel had really been on fire. At first, I didn't really expect him to believe me, since you can clearly see fluorescent lighting glare on the picture, not to mention the label on the bottom of the picture. But I must say in his defense that he was only looking at the tiny screen on the camera. I was also afraid that he would put 2 and 2 together, with the field trip being to the FIRE STATION, and all. But no, for 2 days he went around asking everyone if they had heard about the fire, and since no one had heard about it, and he couldn't find anything about it on the news or online, he started thinking maybe it was all a big 'cover-up' or something. He finally figured it out when we had the missionaries over for dinner. He told them about it, and when he showed them the picture, they pointed out all the flaws I mentioned above....He was pretty embarrassed, and who can blame him?.....But he is speaking to me again finally.

Beach Day in November!

We took a trip North to the beach with our friends the Robinsons. It rained a little, and we didn't see the sun all day, but the weather was really warm. It was the most fun we've had since we got to Taiwan, and the kids slept great that night! Too bad the Robinson's will never invite us again after Ashton threw up in their car on the way home (sorry guys!)

On the way home, we stopped at a Texas Bar-B-Q restaurant. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the sign. I thought it's too good to be true! We went in and met the owner, who is a genuine Texican; hat, boots, wranglers, the whole 9 yards. I thought for sure we had hit the jackpot. Then we tried the food. I should have known there's no way Chinese people would ever eat real Texas Barbecue! If you want to try it, all you have to do is mix a bucket of chili powder with a small serving of pork and slap it on a bun.

Happy Halloween!!

We had a busy night; first we trick-or-treated in our apartment complex, then we went to a ward Halloween party, then we came back and went to a party at our neighbors house. Whew! Since Taiwan doesn't celebrate Halloween, everyone kinda stared at us walking down the street in our costumes. It was a regular 'Grimley family parade' with everyone honking and yelling, and we even had some people take our picture. I think some of them actually thought Nate was the pope. He walked around with his arms up 'blessing' people all night. I know some of the non-members that came to the ward party thought Nate was our church leader. (Yes, we know he is going to HE*@!)

pumpkin carving!!

Our traditional Halloween night dinner...meal in a pumpkin, mmmm...

The cockroach

We had our first cockroach sighting in the apartment. Luckily, it was on Columbus Day, so Nate was home from work. I walked into the kitchen to re-fill Ashton's sippy cup, and the thing was just strolling across the kitchen floor. I dropped everything and ran screaming for Nate to kill it. I didn't think about the emotional trauma this would have on Ashton, who was right behind me, and followed my example of running and screaming. But Nate saved the day with a shoe while Ashton and I hugged each other on the kitchen table. It all happened so fast, I didn't think to take a picture for the blog, so I know no one will even believe me when I say how huge it was.

Oh, and while we are on the subject of things that freak me out, tonight on the bus I saw a lady who had six fingers on each hand. Once again, I was without my camera, so I have no proof, but I counted several times, and I am POSITIVE!

family update

We moved into our new apartment in September, and we really like our new place. it's a smaller building with only 8 floors, and all of the families work for the state department in some capacity. There are lots of other kids around Evan's age, so he has lots of friends to play with. We live in Tianmu now, which is right at the bottom of Yang Ming Shan, the huge mountain that Nate rides his bike up every morning to get to work. He's really enjoying his job, as well as the biking. Just to give you an idea of how steep the hill is, it takes him an hour and a half to get up and 15 minutes to get down. My friend says her car has to stop and rest halfway up. He gets to see all kinds of Taiwan wildlife of the way; snakes that have been squished by cars, spiders the size of his head, and sometimes the monkeys throw tree branches at him. All in a day's work for Nate. Did I mention before that we ran into his old mission companion here on the first day of church? His name is Josh Lee, and he is married to a chinese girl names chiu-yi (who is my only counsellor in young womens), and they live in Danshuei.

Also, Nate had the opportunity to translate for our stake conference this weekend. He did this with a few other chinese speakers in our ward. This was an interesting meeting. The chinese people talk about things that people don't normally bring up to other people, ever. One lady started by saying she had a story about a toilet. So she went on about how the toilet was really clogged, which was odd to hear in church, but then she went on about how she was sitting there on the toilet, and how she was really sick, and she had to brush her teeth on the floor, and all the english people were laughing so hard, but then Nate said afterwards, that the person translating was very tactful to leave out the details of her bowel movements that she was sharing with everyone. And none of the chinese people even cracked a smile! For some reason, I didn't really get a spiritual message out of her talk.

The kids seem to be adjusting well. Evan loves school; he has a mandarin class, so he is learning a little bit of chinese. He can count really well (he sometimes has to help me remember the numbers when we are shopping, and the shopkeepers are telling us the prices) and he can write a few characters. He spends lots of time with his friends that live in our building. He also loves going to night markets and playing the kid's games, especially the game where he shoots balloons with a b.b. gun. because when he misses, the game guy reaches over and pops the balloon for him, so he wins a prize every time. Who wouldn't love a game like that?

Ashton is in full '2 year old' mode. His most recent hobbies include seeing how long he can hold a bite of food in his mouth (he once held a piece of sacrament bread in his mouth until after the closing prayer. I think that's the record-except the chocolate chip cookies we had for dessert tonight. He finally swallowed that one when I went to brush his teeth before bed), pulling the chairs around and using them to climb on everything, copying everything Evan does, copying everything I say, and sneaking out of bed at night.

I am enjoying my calling as young womens president. It is a very different calling here than in the states, that's for sure. I'm going to start a 'survival chinese' class next week, which I am very excited for. Nate says my chinese cooking is improving. I volunteered to be the room mom for Evan's first grade class, and Ashton keeps me busy during the day. We go to play group every week, and I've gone shopping a lot with my friends. There's a lot to do here, and I'm really lucky to have good friends who know their way around, and speak chinese. I also let my friend Chiu-yi talk me into going to get acupuncture with her a few times. yes, it hurts. I don't care how little those needles are, some of those babies really hurt! And I'm still running at 5am every morning, except I've slept in a lot the last few weeks because Evan has had some days off of school. I was going to run the Toroco Gorge half marathon, and I was halfway through my training schedule when my friend and I went to register for it, only to find out it had filled up the day before, so we didn't get in. Oh well, now we are talking about going to China to run a race on the Great Wall.

Danshui on double-ten day

Oct. 10th (or double-ten day) is Taiwan's national independence day, so we took a trip with some friends to Danshui, which is the northern port city of Taiwan. Since it was a national holiday, everyone else had the day off as well, and it seemed they also decided to go to Danshui. It was very crowded, and poured rain most of the day, but we had all kinds of fun with our friends, and even found a fabulous mexican restaraunt (a dream come true!)

Evan got to ride on a scooter with Josh Lee, Nathan's old mission companion, who now lives in Danshui. Riding a scooter in Taiwan is taking your life into your hands (or in this case, putting your son's life into Josh's hands) and it's a good thing they only went a few blocks. I now have a few more gray hairs!

We went with our friends James and Lydia and thier son Mason. We took a ferry ride and the kids loved it.

The Grand Hotel

This is The Grand Hotel of Taiwan. It was designed by Chiang Kai-Shek's wife for visiting dignitaries.

This is the front lobby

There are dragons everywhere throughout the hotel, all of them symbolize different things. This is the famous golden dragon that has been saved since the Japanese occupation of Taiwan.

This is a part of The Grand Hotel that not many people have seen. This is a secret underground tunnel that was Chiang Kai-Shek's emergency escape route.

We took a tour of the hotel with some of Nate's co-workers and they showed us the tunnel, not realizing that we would all jump on it and ride down. Later, they told us that only about 30-35 people have ever seen the tunnel, and only 3 or 4 people have ever actually gone on the slide.

The Martyrs Shrine

Hey look, we ran into Lex at his part-time job as a securty guard for the Republic of China.

Omigosh, there's Lex again. He was on duty, so he couldn't really talk...

Actually, this is the changing of the guards at the Martyrs Shrine. It's a tribute to Taiwan military men killed in action. They have 2 guards at the entryway and 2 more at the shrine. They can't move a muscle for an hour, then they march around and twirl their guns and change guards. We decided they walk like this to get the feeling back into their legs after standing for so long.

Longshan Temple

We visited the Longshan Temple, which is the oldest and biggest Buddhist temple in Taiwan.

People burn incense, and give other offerings, such as food, flowers, and money to the Gods within the temple and pray to the statues.

You would think the temple was on fire, but no, don't be alarmed, the people hold sticks of incense while they pray, thinking that the smoke carries their prayers up to the Gods. When they are done praying, they stick the incense into one of those huge pots that is filled with sand. Very smoky.

This is inside the courtyard of the temple. A very busy place!

stinking cab rides!!!

Bad cab experience #1:

Tuesday morning I caught a cab to the discovery center of Taipei to meet some friends. Nathan had coached me on the address, and the driver even spoke a little bit of english. But he didn't seem to know where it was, so he took the notebook where I had the address written: "DISCOVERY CENTER OF TAIPEI: #1 Shur Fu Rd. (West gate, City Hall 1-4F)" He was still confused and kept saying "Shur Fu Road, Shur Fu Road?" like he was trying to recall it from memory. So he went into my apartment to ask the front desk girl, who came out and asked me where I was going. I told her and she also drew a blank. So I said "The address says west gate, city hall. Isn't city hall over near the Taipei 101 area?" I guess the only thing they heard was 'Taipei 101' because they started talking excitedly in chinese, and the driver got in and took me to.....Taipei 101. I said "I'm not going to Taipei 101. I need Shur Fu Road. Is this Shur Fu Road?" He was so confused, and kept repeating 'Shur Fu Road. Shur Fu Road." like he had never heard it before. I had decided to get out and get a different cab, but he said "Please, just wait minute." He pulled out a cell phone and had me talk to a lady who asked me if I was going to the world trade tower. I said no, I'm going to #1 Shur Fu Road. She asked if I was going somewhere near Taipei 101. Then she asked me which section I was going to (what's a section, anyways?) I said "I am from America. I don't know my way around Taipai. I have an address. I am going to #1 Shur Fu Road. I don't know where it is, all I have is the address." She said "Okay, I will tell the driver to take you to #1 Shur Fu Road." Great. So the driver got back on the phone, and listens for a minute, and then I saw a big light bulb pop up over his head. "OOOHHHH! Shur Fu Road!!!!! OOOOHHH, yes, yes, Shur Fu Road!!!" I need to point out that there was NOTHING in the tone or the way he said it that was ANY different than the way he had said it before, OR the way that I had said it!!! So he finally took me to Shur Fu road before I strangled him. It cost me 210 NT to get there, and only 90 NT to get home. Maybe he did it on purpose???

Bad Cab Experience #2:

This one happened the night of bad cab experience #1. I was on my way to young womens, and this time Nate had written the address down in chinese for the driver. So I showed it to him, and he started blabbering on in Chinese, making all kinds of hand gestures. I later figured out that he was telling me that he doesn't go that far, and I needed to get out of his cab. But not understanding a word of it, I just sat there, thinking why is he talking, and not driving? Finally, he leaned back and opened the door. This is when I realized he was kicking me out.

Bad Cab Experience #3: GRAND PRIZE WINNER

So last night we had the first grade open house at Evan's school. It started at 7pm, so I got a cab and went to pick up the babysitter, who lives not too far from our house, but her parents don't let her take public transportation alone. I was elated that my cab driver spoke pretty good english, and we talked the whole way there. I told him we were were going to pick up my babysitter to take her back to Dunhua, so that my husband and I could go to TAS for an appointment with my son's teacher. He started asking me where TAS was. I said, "it's in Tianmu, but don't worry about that, you are not taking us there. You are just taking me to pick up my babysitter. And then we are taking her back to Dunhua." He said, "Yes, yes, yes," as if he understood. I was very clear on this because, I thought to myself, wouldn't it be bad if he started driving us to Tianmu? (foreshadowing) So we pick up the babysitter, no problem, and her and I are in the backseat talking. Suddenly I look up and realize with horror that we are on the freeway! I said "Wait! Where are you going?!?!?" and he said "To pick up your son at TAS." So I explained that we needed to go back to Dunhua, because this is my BABYSITTER in the car with me, and my HUSBAND is going with me to TAS. Right at that moment, we came to a dead stop in traffic on the freeway. It was 20 minutes until 7pm, and we were halfway to Tianmu. So I called Nate from the babysitter's cell phone, (I don't even have a cell phone!) and long story short, I took the babysitter with me to Evan's first grade open house.

My two front teeth...

Evan finally lost his other front tooth...He pulled this one out during recess at school. The tooth fairy found him sleeping in the box we make him sleep in...actually, it is a box we kept after the move here. He HAS a bed, he just likes to sleep in the box. We don't make him....really!

Ashton being Ashton

We went to a place called Tom Dragon, an inside (out of the heat) playground for kids, and at first Ashton was freaked out by the ball pit, but as you can see from the video, he warmed up to it in no time. The tilty bridge, however, was another story.

This is Ashton laying on top of the glass-covered cofee table in our apartment

Evan's first day of school

This is Evan's bus to school. If you look closely, Evan is smiling out from the top window.

Evan and Ms. Hobbs, his first grade teacher

The first day of school was an orientation with the kids and the parents. Ms. Hobbs showed us around the school and, no, I wasn't the only one taking picures!

The kids got to practice going through the lunch line and carrying their trays in the lunchroom

squatters

This is a squatter. Most public places like malls and department stores have regular toilets, but a lot of places just have this. This one is in one of the night markets...and it is bring your own t.p.

And this is the alleyway you go down to get to the squatter. It might look dark and dangerous by American standards, and it is definitely gross by any standards, but it is just another alleyway in Taiwan.

The Taipei Temple

This is the Taipei temple. As you can see, it is very small. We go to church in a building right next to it, just to the right of where we are standing. There is one english speaking ward on the island, and it is really really small. We don't even fill half of the chapel on Sunday, but the members are all really great. We love it!

home sweet home...for now

This is the living room in our temporary apartment in Taipei. As you can see, it is quite empty since we haven't gotten our shipment of household stuff yet. But it has a nice view.

This is looking back the other way, into the entry and the dining room. The door on the right leads into the kitchen.

The kitchen

The master bedroom

Evan and Ashton's room