The Players

I'm already starting to miss my new family, and I haven't even left yet. The grad students at Tainan National University of the Arts are a tight group. They work ALL day together (usually from morning to 2AM or later), eat together, play together, and look out for each other. It is an amazing dynamic that I feel lucky to be a part of. So here are a few of the players...

Huimin, Lian-Ting, Yu-Ja, Pei-ei

Yoshi and Osamu (both resident artists), Chun-Chi, Pei-ei, Yao-Chung, Shi-Wa, Huimin

Huimin and Thomas

In this picture, everyone is snacking on food from the night market. They tricked me into eating chicken-butt. This did not freak me out as much as trying pig ear. That was too much. They waste nothing in Taiwan.

Huimin and Thomas are from Singapore. They are always translating everything for me, Osamu and Yoshi. They are wonderful!!!

Yu-Ja, Max and Holly (another resident artist)

On the way back from Taipei, Max was in charge of getting us all to the proper train and helping us to get dinner. He was so nervous about it, and I thought this was sweet. Max also has the best laugh, I smile every time I hear it.

 

Lung-Chieh (aka Long-J) rescues us from the cafeteria on weekends and takes us to the night market for food. He is so patient and has a great sense of humor. He also helped me bargain for a watch. In this picture he's making a plaster mold.

Chun-Chi and Osamu tried eating beetle-nut, which is a common nut in Taiwan that is known to give you a blast of energy, like 3 cups of coffee. Truck drivers eat these a lot, and their teeth turn red and get pretty messed up. You could compare it to tobacco "chew". They tried to get me to try one, but when I saw Yoshi almost throw up, I decided against it. I'll stick with coffee.
OK, more pictures of the grad students to come later, as well as pics of their work.

Pink Moon

This song "Pink Moon" by Nick Drake was playing in my head while my friend Mei Yueh and I were riding on her scooter through the country side. We drove by rice fields, mango groves, citrus trees, bamboo, pineapples, and bananas. I tried to take pictures while on the back of her scooter, without actually looking through the camera, and with one hand. So, well, here are the results! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXnfhnCoOyo&feature=artist

rice

bananas

pig barn

citrus

 

I asked Mei Yueh about this shirt she was wearing. She had no idea what kind of plant this was. So when I explained, she was really surprised and said that Taiwanese people would have no idea what it was either. Funny.

Wood Village

I'm constantly amazed by the beauty here and the changing landscape. Ching Yuan, Yoshi and I took a drive up to Wood Village, which is located in a beautiful mountain area. The village is known for amazing wood carving, but also has antique shops and other really lovely stores and restaurants. I might compare it to Biltmore Village in Asheville, but way more authentic.

view from the new gallery in Wood Village

Ching Yuan getting information on the layout

one of the architects

 We went there for the purpose of checking out a new gallery space that is being built by Mr. Lin, the owner of 2 other galleries and a restaurant in Taipei. Ching Yuan will be like an art consultant, and he is creating a tile installation for the new gallery as well. I think Ching Yuan is the busiest man on the planet. He works like 25 hours a day!
The new gallery space is ambitious and located in the most beautiful spot, with gorgeous views of the foggy mountains. You will have to walk through and around a bamboo garden and ponds just to enter the gallery. There will also be a small restaurant with views of the gardens. I will have to come back to see it completed! Oh well!

Some of the engineers on the project

We had lunch at a fantastic little restaurant that looked like a cafe, and you don't actually order your own food. They cook you whatever they have that day, so it's a surprise. It was delicious as always. Since I was the only girl, Mr. Lin always made sure I was served first. Taiwanese are really polite like this all the time.

After lunch we stopped at a great antique shop that had wonderful treasures from all over Asia. I loved the iron teapots that nest inside "stoves" that burn charcoal or wood to heat water for tea. Really I loved everything, and I wanted to move into this place permanently. Another favorite was this ceramic pig, which is my chinese birth year.

Later that evening, we went over to Po Ching and Shin Yu's house for dinner. Po Ching's mom made these incredible bamboo leaf-wrapped rice packets that are stuffed with pork bits, nuts, fruit bits and a bunch of other deliciousness. They are a very common Taiwanese food, and each family makes them a little different. I dream about these. They were so good! Thanks Po Ching's mom!

Earthquake!

Last night I was laying in bed half asleep, and the bed started shaking as if a dog had jumped in bed with me. Then I realized I have no dog, and I wondered if I was experiencing an earthquake. Turns out I was right, a small earthquake hit. Most people I asked about it didn't even wake up or notice. I guess this is super common in Taiwan, and this one was just a baby. Yikes!

Chi Chih and Yoshi at grocery store

Chi Chih

 On another note, I had a really great dinner and grocery store excursion with my friends Chi Chih and Yoshi, both posing like nuts. We went to a place that serves only goose (plus veggies and rice), and it is fresh...all cut up right there at a table off to the side. In Taiwan, you eat all parts of the animal. This is a good theory I suppose, but difficult to get used to, and a bit chewy at times.

 And on a final note, here are a few more pictures of some more pieces that are half done. Time is ticking, I'm feeling the pressure!

Fish Sing for the Camera

 Fish sing for the camera. That is what this fisherman said to me (via translation from my friend Huimin) after catching many fish while I took pictures. This lake is actually located right behind our campus, who knew! It is quite beautiful, and you can also swim in it, but most Taiwanese people do not. Many think there are spirits in the water. Taiwanese also avoid the sun as much as possible.

 The fisherman reeled in small silver fish after fish, carefully took them off the hook and tried to get them in the basket before they flopped off the dock. A couple lucky ones actually got away. Watching this whole event was really quiet and majestic. I imagine this is one of the reason why people enjoy fishing so much, there is a real peace to it. We talked very little. It seemed better just to absorb the beauty of the lake and the sound of water and crickets.

basket for the fish

Thomas and Huimin talking to fisherman. They are grad students in ceramics, both here from Singapore.

 The next morning on my way to the studio, I discovered some creatures in the stream behind my house. Why are turtles so cool? They were sunning themselves on the huge lilypads, or perhaps waiting patiently for bugs. The lilypads are so big, they hardly look real to me. There are also a ton of carp (huge goldfish) that swim near the surface to catch bugs. The sound of it is lovely, like tiny splashes as they break the surface. This is especially appealing at night, when all is dark and quiet, except for their "blurp" sounds. If I wasn't so nervous about possible snakes lurking by (I saw a striped one in the street the other night, but was too slow on the camera), I would sit out there all night to listen to them.

plant?

enormous lilypad