on Thursday 30 April 2009
The good thing about having a blog is that when I feel the need to rant, I just type away and pretend that Cookie of the Fortnight isn’t happening this week.
It is happening, just not right now as I’m in Taiwan and so far I’ve only met one family with an oven in their kitchen – a toaster oven. So CotF is on hold until next week when I’m in Vancouver…and I promise it’ll be good.
Back to my rant. Topic of the day is about saying what you really mean. If you think something’s extraordinary, you say, “that’s extraordinary”. If you think something else is good, but not as extraordinary as what you’ve seen, you say, “that’s nice/good” or something general like “good for you”. If you think something’s shit, you change the subject and don’t talk about it. I absolutely cannot respect people who always use the same line and tell everyone they know that everything they’ve seen is “amazing” and “perfect”. The reality is, I would sound like an idiot if I told an amateur photographer their photos are mind blowing, and then I turned around and told Annie Leibovitz the same thing. With both people in the room. I’d obviously disappoint the amateur photographer because he/she would know that I didn’t mean what I just said, and I just insulted Annie Leibovitz.
I understand the need to be nice to people and the desire to be accepted and loved by all. But that really doesn’t mean we need to exaggerate and say things like compliments carelessly – at the end of the day, we want our words to carry weight and truly impact people, non?
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My mom and I have been constantly surprised and inspired by our market strolls daily. The array of leafy greens, fruits, and pre-cooked deli-like foods are exciting and we’d love to be able to try and eat them all. The other day while eating at my godmother’s house, I thought, I could really get used to eating Chinese home-cooked fare everyday. Almost immediately after, I panicked a little and thought, but where would I find prosiutto if I lived here?? Ha, so for now, I’m enjoying myself but totally unwilling to surrender my prosiutto supply by moving here! I will likely check and see if it’s available in the big supermarkets in the city, though, just for kicks.
More pictures –
My lobster getting weighed – it was about 1 kilo
The cooked lobster (steamed)…you can see how I could singe my hair…
A giant rock pretending to be wood. You can see the “wood grains” if the photo was enlarged.
I had no idea there were surfers out on the North Coast!
A coffee house by the sea
Up at the top of Yangming Mountain on a foggy night
You could watch the baseball game from there if you tried!
Steamed pork buns for breakfast
In front of National Palace Museum
Architectural detail outside the museum
Since China-Taiwan tourism began, this place sees 8,000-10,000 people come through per day.
Orchid outside the museum. I love my 50mm lens.
My mom picking out bamboo shoots for dinner
A typical meat stand in a traditional market
Lots of people in front of a fruit stand
My favourite – local mangos!
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Too tired to blog, here are some pictures with captions. I will catch up later – it’s actually quite hard to find time to type away without feeling like a social recluse or an obvious avoider of my parents.
I’d never noticed how many different types of flowers there are on a flower truck
Love the multi-colored plastic bags – a staple at any traditional market
My fish said hi
So did my chicken feet
Chopsticks for sale – $1.85 for 10 pairs
This is the size of watermelons out here…
Chinese donuts chilling on the sidewalk
Picking out papayas for a quick snack
No idea what this is called. It smells kinda like Secret Wish by Anna Sui though
Pig kidneys, anyone?
Someone’s dinner artfully arranged over a manhole in plant trays…
Adzuki bean cakes being made
Traditional egg crepe for breakfast
Another traditional breakfast staple – the flat one on the fork is the unbaked version, and you can see one baking next to the fire that’s all puffed up. Yum!
Hot soy and rice milks – the cups with which you scoop them look mighty mingy
That’s what green onions look like out here – and they’re much more flavourful
We’re adapting the Parisian bike thing – but you can use your MetroCard with it here!
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