8th to 14th December

8^th to 14^th December

Monday

Weather this morning on the cool side – 17C and slightly overcast.

When your Monday morning class finishes on a high note that carries through for the remainder of the week.  I truly enjoy my Monday class, as they are attentive and enthusiastic about their class.  These students are in Paul’s program and their first practical class in baking and pastry.

After arriving back at the apartment in the early afternoon, Lee and I ventured over to the library and had lunch.  He had already been to his sister’s café and she prepared a delicious salad and sandwich for us along with a latte.  We had some fruits in the fridge so Lee cut them up and brought along.  Temperature was perfect and we simply people watched as we were enjoying lunch.

Wednesday

Tomorrow is Lee’s birthday so tonight I will join him and his family for a Korean dinner at a nearby restaurant that Lee’s sister knows well.

Today is my non-contact day at school so spent it once again relaxing and doing more vigorous exercising of my leg to try and get the muscle built back to where it should be.

I’ve never experienced this feel before whereby the muscle has been reduced due to the regular use of it and how important it is for physio during the healing.

When I try walking, I always thought the uncomforting of what I was experiencing was due to the injury of the bone but it’s not.  The pain from lack of muscle is what I’m feeling and it’s very uncomfortable to say the least.  I can tell that it’s going to take time to be back to normal.  The use of a walking support is absolutely necessary at this point in time because I simply cannot free stand on my leg.

Just returned from a great dinner at the Korean restaurant. (see photos of food)

There were 6 of us and yes we had reservations.  It was a good thing because it was full plus people waiting for a table.

Not sure of what much of the dishes were but one thing I did know was the tofu and kimchi.  Lee’s sister knows how much I enjoy tofu so she specifically ordered a special tofu dish just for me….it was like a curried tofu – very good.

After dinner we went back to Café Bird to have cake and drinks.  It was strange being in the café with on one except us.  Lee’s sister and husband close the café around 5pm.

We had tiramisu cake and it was quite tasty but I only had one small piece just to taste since I’m not much of a cake/dessert eater. 

All of us were full by this time so it was a good ending to the night.  Just one more food item I needed before retiring for the night and for those who probably can already guess…yes, a latte!  Good Night.

Thursday

Today is Lee’s birthday and he said he wanted ‘tzai bau’ – which is a type of bread dumpling the size of an apple and can be filled with cabbage or meat.  They are usually steamed.  We had the ones filled with cabbage.  They are very tasty and filling. 

He went to get some and also some apples and dragon fruit and of course lattes.  That was our breakfast this morning before I left for school.

Peter was to pick me up around 11 but of course he’s always early and so am I so we left around 10:50.

As we were getting close to the school there was a small truck with a man selling something that caught my attention.  There were 2 somewhat large plastic containers with water inside so I asked Peter to pull over so we could see what was being sold.

He was selling fresh scampi at $100NTD ($3CDN) per kilo.  Now I’m not up to date on the price of fresh scampi but is that not quite inexpensive?

Just next to him was another person selling shoes.  Everything from running shoes to casual dress looking shoes lined the sidewalk. The magic price was - $100NTD ($3CDN) per pair.  Hmmmm perhaps these two sellers were working together but a $3 pair of shoes would be good enough just for someone needing a fast pair simply because they needed some shoes..hahaha

Peter said oh they’re no good, they’re from China..hahahaha

Friday

Just came back from dinner and I’m freezing…it’s around 17C but there’s a wind and making it feel colder than it is.  I heard it’s to go to a low of 10C tonight; hummmm I will believe it when I feel it.

Well I found out today that there’s a 4 day government holiday (including schools) at the beginning of January.  From 1^st January to 4^th January, which means that my Thursday and Friday classes will not take place.

My teaching assistant at the beginning of class this morning approached me and she said that the Director of baking and pastry mentioned that we could make up the class on Saturday 27^th December.  She also pointed out that the Director said that most teachers just tell the students to have a free day and they won’t come in. 

I thought about that for a while thinking oh it would be nice to have some extra days off but then I began thinking about the classes my students missed due to my injury and other reasons.  In total, the students lost 4 classes.  Now for a practical course that is a total of 16 hours of lab time and that’s a hell of a lot of missed time.

I made the decision during class and told the students we would have a class on Saturday morning of the 27^th.  To my astounding amazement, they cheered and said they’re happy.  Was I dreaming?  Was this reaction normal from students?  Were they simply acting nice to my decision and giving me the impression they wanted to come to school on a Saturday?  Whatever reason, it still astounded me.

This afternoon Kevin (Yaletown Bistro owner) and I were to meet up for some brainstorming of items he could possibly put on his menu.  He prepared a nice pumpkin spice latte and it went down great since the weather was already cooler.

I was there for maybe 1 ½ hours at which time I met Lee at the Mega21 department store nearby and we went for dinner up on the 11^th floor. (Food court area)

There are many choices and sometimes its difficult to choose but we decided on Korean.  Food was tasty and spicy.  Lee brought me a drink and said to try it, it was something new and only made during this time of year.  After having a couple sips and I was thinking that it tasted very similar to hot chai tea.  He said it was a hot ginger milk tea and boy it was good.  A strong ginger flavour and it certainly went down quite easily.  I will be ordering one of those again in the near future.

After dinner, took a few photo shots of some outdoor Christmas set-ups and then ventured back to the apartment.  By this time I can say I was very cold and I’m sure the locals were laughing me at simply because I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts while 99.9% of the people around me had winter clothing on, including Lee. 

Oh well, just another day walking about and yes, I’m trying to walk more and put pressure on my leg.  Ten weeks tomorrow since the accident.

Saturday

Well it’s 10 weeks today that the accident occurred and I’m feeling much better than 10 weeks ago at this time.

I made a decision today to ride the scooter to the nearby department/grocery store (Carrefour) and was hesitant at first but I felt good and my leg wasn’t hurting so thought what the hell.  Now, I’m not sure if I’ll tell the Doctor about this but anyway, I did it and nothing happened but most of all I feel mobile now.  This is what is driving me crazy, not being mobile as everyone around me.

We took my scooter against Lee’s suggestion as he thought it was a bit too big for me to try and get onto.  I drove, as it seemed easier getting on from the front than trying to hop myself up onto the back seat area.

Lee was on the back with his leg brace on and holding my crutches, yes it was quite the sight.

We got there and back with no issues and we have food in the apartment that I can cook breakfast tomorrow.

I think a sign that I’m improving steadily. (at least I think it’s a sign)

Cut up some fruit and we walked over to the library and sat outside eating it and enjoying people watching.  OH yeah…first went to the 7-11 for our 2 for 1-latte specials.  For the month of December, the 7-11 stores are offering 2 lattes at a $28 discount. 

I changed my eating habits about a week ago since my physical exercise is almost non-existent due to my injury but my eating habits have not changed since the accident.  If you can read between the lines you will see what I’m getting to.  Weight gain!!  Not good.

One more thing…today is the 13^th December.  Twelve days before Christmas.  Doesn’t the song go ‘on the 12^th day of Christmas my true love gave to me – ‘12 drummers drumming’?

13th December: On the Twelfth Day of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me - Twelve Drummers Drumming

Birthday Dinner for Lee and his Sister @ Korean Restaurant

L to R
Lee, Suzie, Me, Lee's Mom, Lee's Sister (Nana), Nana's Husband

Back at Cafe Bird (after hours) for Cake

Sweet Potato Pie

Spicy Tofu Soup with Rice

Food Photos

Noodle Soup

Tofu Soup with Kimchi 

Tofu Soup with Octopus

Lunch - Bean Sprouts, Shredded Beef, Egg, Vegetables

Same as Above

Tofu and Kimchi Soup (different type as previous)

Odds and Ends

Heading off to School - Moon still visible 

Reflection of buildings through Glass of Library

Woman and her Cockatiel

Morning Latte from my Student

Christmas is Coming

Shopping isn't complete without Ice Cream

Two young children waiting for their Parents @ Costco

Take Out At It's Best

Burdock Salad, Beef Noodle Soup, Sticky Rice with Shaved Pork

Squid, Corn on Cob, Cabbage Dumpling, Sweet Potato, Korean Kimchi

Deep Fried Squid, Coconut Bun, Pork Dumplings, Sweet Potato & Chicken

Sticky Rice with Dried Pork and Pickle

Vegetable/Wasabi Spring Roll

Taro Dumpling with Taro Powder

1st to 7th December

1^st to 7^th December

(Monday) As I was standing on the sidewalk at school waiting for Peter to come pick me up, a non-Asian female student was nearing to where I was standing.  As she approached closer I said ‘hi’ (in English) to her and she responded back. 

We began a short conversation until Peter arrived only moments later.  What I did learn is that she is an International student from Guatemala studying International Tourism Management and this is her first year.  She told me that she would spend four years here at NKUHT.

I smiled when she told me she thought her command of the Mandarin language was sufficient but has now come to realize it’s not. 

As I was leaving the building, some students had a table set up in the lobby and were selling something so I had to go over to see what it was all about.

The 2^nd year baking and pastry students were taking Christmas orders for their baked items.  They do this every year at this time and it’s very popular.

I order 4 sweet potato cake and 1 mocha Swiss roll.  All the money earned from the sale goes to the baking and pastry students who will then pay out their expenses and use the remainder for a class event (i.e. trip).  The students are graded on this sale from the marketing aspect, to the brochure they use to promote plus of course the quality of the baked goods and the quantity of how many they sell. 

They began the sale on Monday (1^st) and will continue until a few days prior to the delivery time (19^th)  I will give my orders to various people that go up and beyond to help me especially during these past 2 months since the accident.

(Tuesday) I sat in on the last hour of Paul’s hospitality 3-hour class today.  I have never sat in on any class of an NKUHT professor and wanted to observe their teaching practices.  I arranged this with Paul last week.

His class size was similar to mine with around 20 to 25 students.  I was observing the students at the same time I’m listening to Paul.  One thing in common is that it’s not only my class where some of the students seem to doze off and it’s time to answer a question – good luck in getting a reply.

I’m realizing that I’m speaking way to quickly and covering way too much content during my class time.  I would say that Paul covered maybe ½ of the content of what I would have covered in the same time frame.

Tonight after class I’m standing on the sidewalk again waiting for Peter and once again, the student from Guatemala was walking near to me so we exchanged greetings.  She was off to one of the labs to prepare Taiwanese treats.  She was saying that she joined some club and tonight they were being shown how to prepare these eats.

I was also invited by one of the students to come and watch some type of dancing that is being held near the residence tomorrow evening.  I would go if it were not for the crutches but these slow me down a lot and it’s not easy moving around for any prolonged periods of time.

Peter arrived at 6:30 as planned and off to home I went.

Once I arrived in the apartment Lee asked me if I was hungry and I was actually since I didn’t have lunch.  He had gone to one of the markets to purchase a variety of treats and wow they were tasty.  He then surprised me with dessert (we almost never eat dessert) and low and behold, it was shaved ice – my favourite.  This was the first time having this since the accident.  Oh how I love Taiwan J  Just check out the photos.

(Wednesday)

Lee and I made a hair appointment with Lee’s friend who is a hairdresser and just recently opened her own hair salon.  We arrived there shortly after 10am and she was ready for us.

As you can see by the photo, it’s a very quaint little place and she has chairs for 5 customers at one time.  Her husband is also part owner and hairdresser. 

While we were there, he came in and brought one of their two twin boys (around 1 year).  The other boy stays with Grandma, as the shop is not big enough to handle two 1 year olds running around.  It was funny watching him getting into everything but at the same time he was well behaved.

They also have an employee who was there helping with washing and other duties as she was assigned.

After leaving there I had Peter drop me off at a pastry equipment store as I needed to pick up something for next Monday’s class and the school does not have any of what I need.  Yes a little odd that a culinary school would not have these basic items but that’s just how it is and since I need them, I picked them up myself and will hang on to these small wares for future use with students.

This is now the second day this week (yesterday being first) that I have not turned on the A/C.  Yesterday’s temperature was around +18C and today is around +20.  I have windows open and a couple fans circulating the air and it’s very cool inside.  I love it!

(Friday)

Day 5 and still no need to turn on the A/C J

The morning temperature yesterday is the coldest to date with a low of 17C. and a slight drizzle.

Yesterday and today the M.O.E. (Ministry of Education) officials were at the school for evaluation.  Yesterday Sophie’s program (International Tourism Management) was being evaluated and today is the Paul’s program (International Bachelor of Chinese Culinary).

Paul had previously asked me to stick around after my morning class in case the committee members wanted to talk with me.

After my morning class (advanced baking and pastry) I went back to the office and was presented with a gourmet lunchbox, which was very good. (see photo)

Around 1:30 I asked Paul if he wanted me to stay longer so he went to the committee members and asked them if they wanted to talk with me and their response was no, not necessary so this was the end of my week and the weekend was only hours away, but no immediate plans.  I don’t really plan too much since the accident due to the fact it’s cumbersome and tiring moving about with the crutches.  I notice if I do too much, my arms ache and my leg begins to pain.  After all it has only been 9 weeks since the accident so the injury is relatively still young.

(Saturday / Sunday)

Didn’t do too much of anything this weekend (as usual since accident) but did get out and about both days for a good walk.  I will say that taking for granted what a leisurely walk comprises of will not allow me to think like that again.  After maybe 10 minutes of walking with the crutches I need to stop for a minute or two just to relax my arms and basically my body.

Lee and I went to the rooftop of the new library again since it was a nice cool sunny and breezy day.  While most people had on their hats and winter style coats, I’m walking around in shorts and a t-shirt.  +18C is still a warm temperature for me to be dressed the way I am.

Watched another couple of new movies (at least new to me) and that was sufficient.  As I probably mentioned in an earlier post, I have seen more movies since my accident (10 weeks ago) than I have seen during most of my life.  I’m not a TV / movie person as I cannot simply sit there and watch but now I have a legitimate excuse…hahaha

Lee went out and purchased some items for dinner (see photo) and watched a movie.

On Sunday I took Lee (or should I say we walked) to Yaletown Bistro.  Not far from the apartment (just on other side of new library – somewhat) and the day had again perfect weather conditions.

Kevin (owner) and his wife run this amazing eatery and I like to patronize it once and awhile simply because they are my friends and it’s good food. (Western not Asian)

We arrived around 12 noon and there were a few customers inside but half hour later it was crazy busy.  His business levels have picked up and one reason is because it’s the winter season here now and the cooler temperatures always bring the people inside.

Lee had never been there so I ordered a few different dishes for him to try (see photos) but of course we couldn’t finish it all so dinner is almost ready.

Anita was home with their children while Kevin was working today along with 4 new staff he recently hired.  Again, another good sign that business levels are up.

The bistro is very close to a large department store (Mega 21) so we walked over there and I sat outside on one of the benches soaking up some sun rays while Lee wanted to go up to the top floor where one of the largest bookstores in Taiwan is located.  Boy it felt good by simply sitting in the sun and listening to some music.  I try to get some outside time as much as possible and of course the exercise doesn’t hurt either.

A new week is just around the corner so will get everything ready for tomorrow’s practical baking and pastry class.