Impressed

i'm quite impressed with the politeness of taipei people.

wherever you go, you hear people saying, "excuse me, may i pass?", "thank you", "you're welcome", "please..." all-the-time! at first i felt awkward receiving this kind of extra kindness, being a rude north american, i'm used to people pushing me in the subway escalator when i block their way, i'm used to people brush my arms accidentally on the street without looking back and say, "i'm sorry, are you ok?"

another thing i'm quite impressed is the shopping and food in the shopping malls that linked by sky bridges to the theater and taipei 101 tower. thousands of high end stores will make u shop until you can't walk anymore.

YAA! TAIPEI ROCKS!!

Yet Another Big Meal

just came back from yet another big meal - this time with my dad's relatives. i give up trying to watch my weight.

dad's relatives seems to multiply exponentially since the last time i saw them. not only all the cousins brought their significant others, one pair are expecting a baby, and another pair already popped 2 kids out!

i'm soo overwhelmed with so many new relatives and relatives-to-be. remembering so many names at once is really quite a challenge!

Arrived In Taiwan

just when my parents and i arrived back to my parents' home this morning after a grueling 16+ hours of plane ride, grandma called, "come and have lunch with me, i have invited your aunts and cousins to come and join us!"

so here i am, in my small aunt's place after having one of the most interesting lunch i've had for a long time. i noticed my female relatives are very opinionated - especially my big aunt. where do i begin? i guess being a prof. she seems to think that she knows pretty much everything. i had to try hard to put on a big smile and nod at every sentence she said - ah, the wonderful asian culture, respect your elders.

at least i found my free internet source! i can't imaging my life without internet. i'm planning to visit my small aunt quite often! :)