Funny Things About Taiwan

Yesterday we worked in the nursery. We have one wall painted, and David finished puttying the other spots on the other walls. Hopefully he can sand that today and we can finish painting. I am sure Mary Joy would rejoice if we finished today and got her house back in order. She probably thinks we bring chaos with us...lol.
When we left the house we weren't sure where we were going. We were headed to a nearby village to visit a paper umbrella gallery. The scenery was beautiful. I bought the girls an umbrella that matches their room that already has a tropical Asian theme. I will post pictures of it soon. It turned out really cute. I also found some neat jewelry that was made from clay. I bought we a set and the girls both a bracelet. My only other find was a wood spatula; I love wooden utensils.
We then asked Holly and Trena to take us to the train station. It is like a subway; sometimes it is underground, when you are in town, and then it is outside sometimes. We took the train into Kaohsiung on our own. Funny uhh? We made it around okay, but we didn't really know what anything was or what direction to go really. We didn't know if we went down this street, is it going to be banks, a grocery store, or a neat little store with cheap finds. Who knew, because we sure didn't. We found a McDonalds as soon as we exited from the underground train station. We headed straight there. When we left the umbrella gallery we stopped at a 711 to grab a bite to eat. Just like our convenience stores, except not really any American food, and the 711 here is the center of life. People buy their daily food here and they also pay every bill here. So, we were hungry when we saw the beautiful Golden Arch. From there we strolled to a nearby park where young teenagers were mingling after school and others just enjoying their leisurely chat. We rode the train 3 different times trying to get to the Love River. After miles of walking we finally made it. From there we yaled a Taxi and attempted to tell him where to go...ROFL. That wasn't going to happen. Thank goodness my husband has an internal compass, even in a foreign country, and just pointed every time we needed to turn. We miraculously made it to the train station. By this time I have sweat so much you would have thought I had lost 10lbs except, no, I am so swollen from all the humidity that my loose rings will not even turn on my finger. And what did we see when we exited the train station...Yes, another bright yellow Golden Arch. The air conditioning was amazing in there. I had my first encounter of what I do believe was a bidet (not sure of the spelling). Not really sure. I described it to David, and that is what he says it is. I would have really wondered why they had those here, except after walking outside all day and sweating gallons from every pore on your body, that is probably refreshing. No, I did not try it. I was hot, so these other people must be a the brink of a heat stroke. They dress from top of head all the way to their teeny tiny toes. There are a few who don't. They want to be white ghostly people, and I want their beautiful bronzed skin. Go figure. They should all move to the Arctic because they all dress like it is 32 degrees. They not only have long sleeves on, but they have jackets, hats, gloves, leg coverings if they have a skirt on. I have concluded that is how they stay so skinny because they burn a 1,000 cals when they walk outside.
We saw a city official driving her scooter and a trash can attached to the back of it to gather trash. I thought it was so funny. They are a very clean people. Amazingly they don't stink; I wonder how they accomplish that when they are sweating more than gallons.
When you pay for something you use 2 hands to give them your money. It is a sign of respect.
Everyone is amazed by babies here. We cannot go anywhere without be flocked with people encircling us. They always ask if it is a girl or boy. Really??? She is dressed in a floral dress, very feminine, a headband and a pink flower that David says takes over her head. I just smile at all the conversing they are saying, because I have no idea what they are saying. All I can say in Mandarin is Thank you.
I am running out of time this morning, so I will post all the pictures from our adventures yesterday later tonight.