Numero uno!!!

Yes, #1!Amazing but true. We got the results of Frankie's exam, and we would have been happy if she came within top ten of her class. But she came in first. 100% in most subjects, and 98% in Chinese. A little while ago, she could not even write her own name in Chinese, now she scored an almost perfect test. I wish I could take credit for that, but fact is, she does it all by herself.We are proud, and we are happy that the relocation to Taiwan has brought out the best in Frankie. Her teachers are tough and demanding and that seems to work nicely.

Made in Korea

Frankie finished her exam yesterday, so we took her out of school a week earlier so that we could travel to Korea before the lunar new year begins when much of Asia is under seige with traffic congestions on land and in the air.....

Cold & dry with humidity around 25%, otherwise it is quite pleasant. Following video was taken at the famous fish market. Koreans eat a lot of fish and seafood and they are abundant.

We also watched the fish auction taking place right at the dock....

Modernization is taking place in every facet of the Korean society, and there is now also an indoor fish market right next to the outdoor market. Obviously rent is higher and facility much better with heat and water inside, while the cheaper renters outside freeze in the zero degree weather.

Next day we had a seafood lunch, and it was incredible. We had fresh oysters, crab sashimi, steamed mussels, steamed shrimps, rock cod soup, blanched octopus, and BBQ eels.

After all that food, we needed to burn some off, how about skiing?

We took the subway and then a taxi ride up the mountains, altogether about 1.5 hour to the closest ski hill just outside of the city of Busan. There was no snow anywhere, but on the downhill slopes carved between the mountains. Surface temperature was about 3C, and sub zero overnite, therefore, snow machines worked all night to make sure the slopes are well covered with fresh powder everyday. We planned to return the next day because it was already late afternoon when we arrived, but it rained the next day and we settled for some ice skating...

Frankie has not skated for about 3 years and its been many moons for me, but we did ok. It was fun.

Busan has a famous beach and it reminds me of Waikiki. It was obviously man made, with beautiful white sand right smack in the middle of the city, and the setting was nice because they have built it into a western style tourist attraction with upscale hotels, American style pubs & fast food outlets, and also some bistros mixed with local ethnic eateries. It was quiet during this winter day, but Rebecca said that this place is packed with people in the summer, I believe it.

We also visited a 60 year old restaurant, and the only thing they serve is soup. A special kind of soup. Soups are made from pork bones, simmered for hours, and then served with rice, meats and kimchee. It was perfect for a cold day. The owner spoke perfect English as he was trained by the US army and served in the Korean military until recently.

The flight from Taipei took 2 hours and costed only $200US round trip for each person. I would go again but only when its warmer. The cold & dry climate is no longer my cup of tea, unless you enjoy runny noses, constant sneezing, constant scratching, and wearing lots of clothes......guess we've been spoiled living mostly in shorts and T shirts in Hualien.

Happy new year!!!

There was a free outdoor concert downtown on 12/31, featuring mostly local talents.

fireworks to follow at midnight was special, similar to the fireworks during the summer concert..

Here are some of our friends attending the concert.....

Frankie came down with the flu and we took her to the Menonite hospital, one of the two large hospitals in Hualien. The other is Tzuchi. During the holidays, they even have staff musicians to entertain patients while waiting for treatment, cool eh?

Taiwan has a great universal medical plan, which costs about $20us a person a month, which also includes dental, TCM, and prescriptions. Just to make sure Frankie is not infected with a serious virus, we took her to the hospital where she was tested with xray and swap. In less than two hours, we got the result (negative) and went home with her medication. In Canada, we would wait for many hours at the hospital, and the tests would take a few days, what a difference!

With the Taiwan election just a few days away, the campaign is heating up with both KMT and DP pulling all stops all over Taiwan. I was invited to a local KMT rally and dinner, my first such experience here.

I have no voting rights here because I am only a resident and not a citizen. But being an observer, I find the Taiwanese people are very passionate and quite active in the process, and people are split between the blues (KMT) and the greens (DP).

The entertainment was good with some celebs from Taipei singing a few songs at dinner.