What's Been Going on in Taiwan...

Finally an update!!

First, let's start with Jenn's visit from Canada. We had a week in Taiwan together, then her sister Christie came to meet us and the three girls and Geoff travelled through Singapore, Malaysia and Southern Thailand together. It was great, after 6 years of living in Taiwan, to have Jenn here to see what it's all about. **One thing I'm going to miss about Taichung is the fresh flower market. Cheap and beautiful flowers!!

Next, we had a great visit with Geoff's parents, Hart and Janet. They even got to see Militant Hippi play! It was fun to have them here, and I think they really enjoyed themselves.


Now...let Festival Season begin! First there was the Taichung International Food and Music Festival. An afternoon of great food and music. As you can see, The Baker (aka Geoff) rocked out hard. Some of our students came to watch him play, too. It's always nice to see them outside of school, wearing their street clothes (not uniforms).

The second festival was Basic Aid. This is the one we held last year for the orphans in India. The weather kept many people away, but those who braved the rain and mud had a great time. We did manage to get some money for the two charities (Basic Human Needs in India and the Bunun Aborigional Tribe in Central Taiwan) despite the low numbers. This year it was held on top of a mountain overlooking the city of Puli. The first picture is a view from the mountain, which is absolutly gorgeous on a clear day. The second picture is of the latest band Geoff is playing in, Noise Pollution. Do yourself a favour and check out Oliver Benjamin Thayer, he's the lead singer.



Finally, there was PeaceFest. An awesome festival held in the north of Taiwan. We thought it was muddy at Basic Aid...until we arrived at PeaceFest. I can't figure out why Festival Season is held during the Rainy Season! Again, despite the rain and mud, we had a great time. Militant Hippi played, of course. The picture below is of MH's front man, Boston Paul, who had just dove off stage into the mud. A group shot of us and some good friends, and some mud dancers. It really was an amazing weekend! One of the many that we'll miss.




Two random things that I'll miss about Taiwan:
1) It looks like blood doesn't it? It's what is spit out after chewing beetle nut, or bin lang. It's the equivalent of our chewing tobacco, but much more disgusting.
2) Having our laundry done and folded for us. We drop it off on Friday night and it's ready Saturday afternoon. I've mastered the art of taking loads of stuff on the scooter!