This One.

I'm sitting in the club room of the condo building Wendy and I are staying in in Taiwan.  There are 7 or 8 people here including two kids eating their dinner while watching an episode of Speed Racer overdubbed in Mandarin.  There is much being said, but my Mandarin is such that I only rarely hear a word I understand.  However, in those rare moments of comprehension - the pride, oh the pride I feel.  

It's weird - I mean, I'm hearing isolated words and assigning them meaning without a clue as to the nature of the conversation.  Yet, I'm bursting with pride because I understood that the excitable man in the striped track suit was talking about ZHE GE - THIS ONE.  I have no idea what the THIS ONE in question was, but he said it emphatically and would have no doubt been heartened to know that I heard him - and I understood.  Not the point he was trying to make about THIS ONE, but merely that he had referenced THIS ONE.  And in that brief moment of cross cultural comprehension I was inclined to agree with his point of view - whatever it was.

I like what I've seen of Taiwan.  The people are very friendly and are easily impressed with my feeble attempts at speaking their language.  I find that I smile often here - probably because it is the one form of communication that requires no translation.  I'm told I frown a lot at home.  I wonder if it's for the same reason.  

We had a great lunch of dim sum and Peking duck with Wendy's parents, Aunt Connie, and her aunt's boyfriend.  Then we did some shopping on the way back.  Christmas shopping in Taiwan with Wham's "Last Christmas" only partially translated into Mandarin.  I am now officially in the Christmas Spirit.

While at the mall I stopped to take a picture of the menu board at McDonald's.  It featured a photo of what looked to be the McRib.  The manager yelled at me and tried to prevent me from taking the photo.  I'm not sure what sort of shenanigans the Taiwan McDonald's are trying to conceal, but I like the way the photo turned out.

Please,  No Photos!

I also took a quick shot of the latest in Taiwanese respiratory fashion.  I see a lot of people wearing surgical masks.  Air quality here is a bit questionable. 

 

Aunt Connie, Wendy & Mama

Tomorrow we get a tour of Taipei courtesy of one of Wendy's uncles.  Then more Chinese food (although I'm determined to get to the bottom of the McDonald's mystery sandwich).   

Sunday we fly to Harbin.  

Monday we find out who is the cutest kid in China.  My guess is it's ZHE GE.