dì zhèn...aah, earthquake!

sorry if i worried all of you by not uttering a single peep since my pre-xmas post, but i've been traveling around taiwan and their wi-fi access is not nearly as good as in japan. anyway, i have finally returned to taiwan after 15 years! i may not remember too much of taiwan when i was last here, but it still feels familiar and certain memories have started to waft back like the smell of stinky tofu that ebbs and flows on the streets of taipei. a bit of a change from japan, where tokyo is the sleek and elegant older sister to taipei’s rough and tumble younger brother who never seems able to stay clean. but tokyo cannot compare when it comes to the myriad and delicious street food vendors and deli/café-type eateries that open out onto the sidewalk but aren’t sidewalk cafés per se. there are more high-rises and a lot more motorcycles who don’t seem to follow any rules of the road (as a former mass-hole, i would have to grow a new set of balls to even begin to think of trying to drive around taiwan). don’t even think pedestrians have the right-of-way! and they are quite clever and resourceful...who says you need hazards when you can drag an orange cone behind you!

christmas was spent on the road as i embarked on a bus tour that circled the island in 4 days. it was a fun-filled trip with the parents of the 8 families (friends from new england) in the front and the kids in the back. it had been about a year since i last got together with these friends, so it was great to be able to spend time reconnecting and reminiscing with them. there were many laughs to be had as well as heated arguments over scrabble words (note: “aa” is a term for cindery lava, “ok” doesn’t count, and “fatly” and “drifty” are actual words). since the island of taiwan was born from a volcano, the eastern coastline is one dramatic cliff after another, the western coastline is replete with sandy beaches, and mountains fill up the middle section. but we didn’t just take in the coastline, there was also taroko gorge filled with marble stones, taitung aboriginal village, sansiantai island with the 8-arches bridge, chihpen hot springs, bashian caves that each had a small temple, hsitou forest, and sun moon lake.

the climate is very tropical so there are plenty of exotic fruit that i h
ave never seen before but are quite tasty. and yes, i did see some grapevines interspersed with the pineapples, beetlenuts, taros, leafy vegetables, and shrimp ponds! but i believe taiwan mainly grows raisin and table grapes, especially since i visited a supposed winery that made a lot more rice wine and sorghum liquor than grape wine (yes, you have to specify grape wine in asia). the wine i was allowed to taste was a blend of syrah and merlot grapes that were shipped over from france, but was definitely not worth the price of about $20. funny thing is that when i asked what grapes were used for the native grape wine, i was told that red grapes were used for the red wine and white grapes were used for the white wine...oh really...

i also experienced my 1^st earthquake while on land. i had just arrived at my hotel room when the room started to shake. my first thought was that this was going to be a long night if my upstairs neighbors are already making this much commotion doing who knows what. once the room started swaying, it dawned on me that maybe this was an earthquake! not too terrible, so i kept about my business readying myself for a dip in the hot springs. half hour later, i was in the hallway waiting to go down when another earthquake started. this one was a tad scarier since it was stronger and lasted longer. little did i know that i had only felt maybe 3.0 to 3.5 since i was a bit north from the 6.7 epicenter! i must admit, standing in a doorway is cold comfort when you’re on the 8^th floor of a 15-story hotel.

i hope everyone is doing well after the holidays and gearing up for new year’s celebrations as the year of the dog closes out and the year of the pig begins! so, i’ll leave you with one (of possibly many more to come) hilarious sign that is further proof that google translations should not be taken at face value. so please, don’t beat your children!

Merry Christmas!

Joyeux Noël! ¡Feliz Navidad! Buon Natale! Fröhliche Weihnachten! Mele Kalikimaka! Kurisumasu omedeto! Ye Dan Kuai Le! Een Plesierige Kerfees! Zorionak eta Urte Berri On! Sretan Bozic! Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom!

Konnichiwa!

so i made it out of Davis intact after rushing to finish my thesis followed by 2 madcap days of packing and moving! but alas, i have now been spoiled by United Business Class, which i had the luck of upgrading to on my 10-hour flight to Tokyo. entrance into the Red Carpet Club was the 1st benefit beginning with the offer of a cocktail at 9:30am and followed by a chance to catch up on espn sportscenter (did not know about the brawl in madison square garden or that the deal with Matsuzaka went through for $52 million) while having breakfast. this was followed by the in-flight perks of free champagne, an obento box lunch, free champagne, free wine, full-reclining seat, free champagne, 3x as many movie options, free champagne, a toiletry kit with slippers, toothpaste, toothbrush, tissues, and socks, free champagne, constant refills of water in an actual glass, and did i mention the free champagne? what will i do when i return to Economy Class?!?

well, i am in Tokyo now, which is in full xmas regalia. beautiful city with an interesting mix of new technology and old world architecture. the women are always dressed to the nines with their louis vuitton bags...i thought i was overdressed in Davis...and the men are always dressed in black. everyone is always so courteous, not seeming to mind that i respond to their "o-genkidesu ka (how are you)?" or "ohayō gozaimasu (good morning)!" with "hi!" which also sounds like "hai (yes)!". and the food is incredible, but not just their sushi/sashimi! the soba noodles and the ice cream mochi and these delicious things that resemble belgium waffle batter surrounding sweet red bean paste that have been shaped into birds, pagodas, and lanterns. besides, how can you go wrong in a country that has a techno-dancing painter with his own beatbox (i wish i could post the video) and tells you to...

fingers in the nose!

i'd like to welcome everyone to my new blog! (you'll have to bear with me as this is my 1st blog so my wit may not be all there) anywhoo, i will be taking off soon to circle the pacific as i make my way to hawke's bay in new zealand to work harvest at craggy range winery. my stops enroute to the land of hobbits will be japan, taiwan, china, and australia.

first off, i'll explain the meaning behind my blog name. "les doigts dans le nez" is a french phrase that literally translates to "fingers in the nose" and is used to describe anything that is wicked easy to do (because your fingers slip so easily into your nose...sometimes without you realizing it). i learned this phrase from dimitri bazas, the winemaker at maison champy in burgundy, as he used it to describe winemaking when you start off with the highest quality grapes. kind of silly and not too funny, huh? well the phrase was sealed in my head when my friend simon steele (such a cool name) kept repeating this phrase with his oz accent and we couldn't stop laughing. so, i thought of this phrase again when i realized how simple it was to start a blog and that any joe schmo can do it. but i also think that this philosophy should extend into everyone's lives. so next time you come across a tough problem, think "fingers in the nose, baby!" and you may just come up with an easy solution that you hadn't even thought of!