14.07.2006 or "Less Youtube more Patter"
Im becoming a little too reliant on Youtube nowadays, so instead of constantly bomarding you the reader with TV screens in these posts, Ive just decided to put a link to my favourites at the top of the page.
I noticed on the news today that the Typhoon has all but past Taiwan and is currently making its merry way over to the south of China. The effects it had on the south of Taiwan look pretty bad but here in Taichung I didnt even notice anything happening. It got a bit windy but because I was mostly indoors I still dont have any real sence of what a Typhoon is or does. After the massive rant about breakfasts I had the other day, I was happy to find a certain Japanese supermarket (Yumaowu Market and Bakery) which had some awesome bread. I found myself an actual loaf of bread, which wasnt sweet and also the most amazing thin bagette which enclosed a spicy german sausage. It is the most perfect beer snack I have ever encountered and I shall return to buy another. I also tried my first super spicy curry bread (god bless the japanese) which I had for breakfast this morning. Its kind of a crunchy oval pan pumped full of curry which you eat cold. My whole breakfast routine has been solved! I also found weetabix and have found my morning drink because of yet another Japanese invention "Blendy", a kind of packet instant coffee.
I hate to keep imparting Japanese pop culture to you guys when I am actually in Taiwan but thats just because of the extent to which this country is influenced by it. If you look on the map, Japan is but a 3 hour flight away and it doesnt help that they are one of the most economically successful countries around. You turn on the TV and one in three of the shows are Japanese, all of them if you only look at the anime channels. Products, games, music, they are all Japanese. It is hard to extract the true essence of Taiwan underneath all this imported neon fluff, but I guess if its to be found anywhere, it is in the culture. I only wish I were clever enough to competantly explain it to you, the history, the art, the society but alas I am not. I am but an amusing oddity to the Taiwanese and even more shut out because I didnt study chinese, only Japanese. Luckily this skill allows me to speak to Japanese speaking Taiwanese and any Japanese people I may come across living and working out here. So I press on, doing my best with this blog, but forgive me if I paint a fragmented and inacurate portrait of this country, its only because I am yet to figure it out myself.
Besides, after reading many other blogs, I can see that attempts to blog a topic with any type of authority results in you sounding like a completely self centred and dillusional ass. And we dont want MMI to go in that direction do we?
Tonight I will be on my own until quite late, I havent figured out quite what I am going to do yet. I will keep you posted.
I noticed on the news today that the Typhoon has all but past Taiwan and is currently making its merry way over to the south of China. The effects it had on the south of Taiwan look pretty bad but here in Taichung I didnt even notice anything happening. It got a bit windy but because I was mostly indoors I still dont have any real sence of what a Typhoon is or does. After the massive rant about breakfasts I had the other day, I was happy to find a certain Japanese supermarket (Yumaowu Market and Bakery) which had some awesome bread. I found myself an actual loaf of bread, which wasnt sweet and also the most amazing thin bagette which enclosed a spicy german sausage. It is the most perfect beer snack I have ever encountered and I shall return to buy another. I also tried my first super spicy curry bread (god bless the japanese) which I had for breakfast this morning. Its kind of a crunchy oval pan pumped full of curry which you eat cold. My whole breakfast routine has been solved! I also found weetabix and have found my morning drink because of yet another Japanese invention "Blendy", a kind of packet instant coffee.
I hate to keep imparting Japanese pop culture to you guys when I am actually in Taiwan but thats just because of the extent to which this country is influenced by it. If you look on the map, Japan is but a 3 hour flight away and it doesnt help that they are one of the most economically successful countries around. You turn on the TV and one in three of the shows are Japanese, all of them if you only look at the anime channels. Products, games, music, they are all Japanese. It is hard to extract the true essence of Taiwan underneath all this imported neon fluff, but I guess if its to be found anywhere, it is in the culture. I only wish I were clever enough to competantly explain it to you, the history, the art, the society but alas I am not. I am but an amusing oddity to the Taiwanese and even more shut out because I didnt study chinese, only Japanese. Luckily this skill allows me to speak to Japanese speaking Taiwanese and any Japanese people I may come across living and working out here. So I press on, doing my best with this blog, but forgive me if I paint a fragmented and inacurate portrait of this country, its only because I am yet to figure it out myself.
Besides, after reading many other blogs, I can see that attempts to blog a topic with any type of authority results in you sounding like a completely self centred and dillusional ass. And we dont want MMI to go in that direction do we?
Tonight I will be on my own until quite late, I havent figured out quite what I am going to do yet. I will keep you posted.
posted by Aaron | 12:17 AM
1 Comments:
Nice to hear you got the breakfast problem sorted out. Leave it to the Japanese to provide, they are pleantiful and willing to share. I can imagine the cultural state is quite hard to fully understand but my stunted view from way over here is just 'East Asia' and its all kind of the same but if it turns out thats kind of true I don't feel so ignorant. :)
Peace and cheese bud
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