Happy New Year! The Year of the Rabbit

There is no better way to bring in the New Year than with a Chinese Dragon Dance Troupe. And of course, it can't get much better than this private viewing. We were fortunate enough to catch this early morning show (dress rehearsal) that made it feel like it was just for us. Amelia loved the drumming and lively dancing. Those dragons sure know how to wag their tails in such a spunky way.




Check out that tail wag in the picture above. Very nice!

And here they are up close with Amelia. She is loving it, they are looking right at her!!


And we weren't the only ones taking pictures of the exciting event. Here is Amelia getting her daily dose of love from strangers:

Home again, Home again, jiggity jig!

Well, we had a super marvelous trip. But now we are home. There are a ton of great adventures that we still want to share here. The traditional Chinese New Year Celebration, the ceramics village Yingge, more fabulous pictures of night markets including the last one that we went to that was absolutely crazy jam-packed with people elbow to elbow that Amelia seemed to like since we shopped for some shoes for her! She is easy to please and adapted well to the crowds and chaos.

We flew through Tokyo again. We had lots of flight delays but still made it here in relatively good order. There are some great play spaces at the airports in Asia that made it easier and Amelia can make any space fun. Including making impromptu blocks by stacking boxes at the airport gift shop.


(This shot was arranged by Amelia. She has become very opinionated and demanding about What She Wants. And now she can communicate it to us. Very fun!)

Also have to say that Taipei was incredible for thier breastfeeding rooms. They are everywhere and really nice. The metro provides spacious rooms that are completely equipped. And the airport room was so nice that people kept coming by to take pictures of the Hello Kitty themed room. They even had diapers, creams, and wipes in case you needed them. We had considered coming to Taipei during my maternity leave when Ameila was very little but I was a bit concerned about the potential cultural differences and availability of space for baby needs, but apparently I did not need to be concerned.

And yes, that is a crib in the room too!

A good approach to getting sweets and making friends

Amelia was given sweets, fruits, and toys by so many friendly people it was impressive. Kids on the subway gave her their toys. Women on the train gave her little sparkly teddy bears (many people have little stuffed animals as decorations- adults included). Candy and sweets were just about everywhere. My favorite of her strategies captured on film.

Step 1: Find two old men studying intently. Sit nearby- quietly and wait.


Step 2: Smile.

Step 3: Graciously accept sweets that are offered. Watch other children gather.


Step 4: Play with other kids- chasing pigeons.

Kaohsiung - a fairy tale of temples and street food

A beautiful princess named Amelia was going to visit a dragon. When she knocked, the dragon said, "Go Away, I will eat you tomorrow".


She went in anyway, so the dragon tried to eat her...

****

Amelia loves temples. So colorful, so vibrant, so many people and statues to wave to... In Kaohsiung, we went around Lotus Lake, where many temples are scattered around this little lake.



One of the best aspects of Taiwan is the presence of street food around every corner. You can find pretty much any kind of meat or vegetable, ready to eat, generally on a stick.


Interestingly, before coming to Taiwan Amelia didn't really like meat. There must be something about putting it on a stick...




Corn is still a favorite!


She even likes stinky tofu - a very traditional Taiwanese food with a very intense smell and flavor - as long as it's on a stick!

Weekend in Kaohsiung - making friends

At the end of our third week in Taiwan we escaped the cold and rainy weather of Taipei for a weekend in Kaohsiung. We took the high-speed rail and suddenly it was sunny and warm. Luc gave a talk at NSYSU and met with collaborators, while Amelia and Melissa continued their playground tour of Taiwan.

Amelia continues to be a wonderful traveler. She makes friends everywhere she goes! Here she is, playing with new friends in the Kaohsiung Metro:


YuHuai Wang and I-Huan Lee graciously hosted Luc at the University and took us out for dinner at a wonderful vegetarian restaurant. The variety of food was amazing, and Amelia spent more than half of the dinner exploring the buffet with I-Huan, YuHuai, or other members of our party (students, assistants). We all had a great time!




Back at the hotel (Grand Hi-Lai), Amelia never walked by her giant fluffy friend without saying hello:

And we thought we might avoid the Hello Kitty fascination! Silly us!

We also discovered several wonderful playgrounds. This one is very close to the hotel, in Central Park (near the metro station).


The best one - so far - is on the northern end of Lotus Lake (we'll talk more about the lake in the next post), a 5-min walk from the High-Speed Rail station. The playground had wonderful slides, tunnels, wooden structures, and even a bridge. Amelia seemed to really like it, and quickly made friend with some of the bigger kids...



This little boy really liked Amelia and shepherded her around the playground. We returned the next day, and another group of little girls rapidly adopted Amelia.