[10] Black hair... why?

Anybody know why people in such a hot sunny climate would have sun absorbing colored hair? The weather has been scalp cooking of late. Perhaps I should give into the umbrella on sunny days practice... would feel strange doing so.

Also, playboy bunny? I see so many people wearing playboy apparel and accessories. My grandmother has nice grandmothery playboy pillowcases and towels. I can see how it could just be a cute bunny, but it still strikes me as odd. Do people know what it represents or does it just not matter? I'd actually like an answer to this question... but have not wanted to ask.

Beware those long skirts! They were made to kill! Humorous chinglish doesn't usually stand out to me unless I'm looking for it. I saw this sign multiple times before realizing the english didn't actually make sense. My brain has transitioned to chinese mode:

I always thought spoken chinglish was just something chinese immigrants to the US did, but I'm discovering more and more that english words are part of the language here.

7/10/2010

11am

After a rather strenuous morning getting my visa for Shanghai figured out, and realizing that FedEx isn't quite the same around these parts, I went to a buffet with my aunt's family and a bunch of cousins once removed that I'd never met before:
One of the waiters accidentally dropped a glass and me and my aunt got sprayed with glass. After breaking a wine bottle and having glass get stuck in my foot last year, I'm a bit terrified of glass shards. No blood this time around.

7/14/2010

This day was a wow. I haven't been too busy at the office so far, but busy in the architecture field is inevitable. After going out to buy lunch, I came back and halfway through my lunch I was whisked away to take some site photos. We went to a site in the Danshui District overlooking the ocean. I'm always amazed by the diversity of places within Taipei:

The large roads running through empty properties gave the site a rather abandoned feel even though it was obvious that the area had not been inhabited except for the few random ramshakle houses that could only be discovered by following not so obvious trails. I can't help wondering if these are legally owned properties or merely claimed land.:

Another site was in the Neihu District. Taipei 101 looks much taller from farther away.:

7/17/2010

8am

I decided to go explore the more historic side of Taipei this weekend. First stop was Treasure Hill. I'm sure the name is much less pirate-like in Chinese. This was a basketball court I saw on the way up the hill. Not sure why, but I really liked this view with the lines of the bridge, court, and power at various depths:

Treasure Hill was deemed as a must visit place by the New York Times. It was an illegal settlement and has the character of a favela. After seeing this photo, I was pretty interested in seeing the area. Unfortunately the area is closed for renovation and the only thing open to the public is this temple at the entrance to the community:

On the way disappointed back down the hill. What is this space supposed to be?:

9am

Next stop, the Lin Family Garden, built by the richest family in Taiwan some time ago.

Market on the way. I used to think outdoor produce markets were a thing of the Taiwan countryside, but it is most definitely also a thing of the city.

The garden was so much better than a backyard. It reminded me a bit of the Engineered Picturesque in the Parc des Buttes Chaumont. It took me almost an hour to realize most of the rockscape was artificially made of concrete. Can you believe that this cliff in the Parc des Buttes Chaumont is concrete?:

Those bricks are typical brick sized... This space was small. My head could touch the ceiling. Life was so much more interesting before code:

Concrete and steel cage engulfed in tree:

12pm Longshan Temple

The devotion of the people who came to worship the deities here was impressive. It made me think of the time a Chinese friend came to church with me in the US and was impressed by Christian worship. Being at this temple made me wonder how he could find Christian worship so impressive. When I think about it though, good Christian worship is filled with joy, gratitude, and celebration. It is so different from the solemn, respectful and sometimes desperate pleading of worshipers towards these deities:

It's a new experience for me to be in such a superstitious culture. It's normal for people to talk about their trips to talk to fortune tellers and the directions received, fear of ghosts, contacts with dead relatives. I've gotten so used to being with people who belittle any sort of belief in the supernatural, it's actually hard for me to understand how people could so easily believe in a spiritual realm. This despite the fact that I believe in one myself.

After going to look at traditional chinese buildings, I kind of wonder what happened? Traditional chinese architecture is so distinct and so elegant. The buildings going up in Taipei now are so typical, so square, and often tacky. Sometimes I wonder what the world would be like if different countries had never met each other. How would architecture have developed in different countries? Or what would transportation look like?

I don't mean to say that Taiwanese buildings no longer have their own character. At the end of my trip I'll try to write a post on how I feel Taiwanese architecture differs from the US.