Xinnian Kuai Luh
Trip Start
Aug 12, 2009
1
51
55
Trip End
Ongoing
Zhubei, Taiwan, Taiwan
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Unquestionably, Taiwan has been a terrific experience that has far exceeded our expectations in numerous ways. But just what would Christmas and New Year have in store?
Firstly we should point out that while Taiwan fully recognises that it is now 2012 on the international calendar, here we remain in the year 100 and will do so until Chinese New Year later in January. If that may seem confusing, Christmas was just utterly baffling. It was all going so well until 1st December.
Suddenly, the big department stores and supermarkets had their staff looking unamused in Santa hats. Bear in mind it was still 30 degrees Celsius at that point and officially Christmas is not celebrated here so it was all for the expats and therefore we were to blame. Service with a smile became grunts with a grimace as clearly this policy was our fault. And then came the dreaded Christmas tunes. Carrefour had a poor cover version of Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas on constant repeat, perhaps in case anyone didn't know. The local department store went one better courtesy of some Korean K-Pop band who have turned Wham's Last Christmas into an ever so jolly little number where it appears to be celebrating "the woman who gave my heart away....". It is the happiest tune you have ever heard unless you understand the lyrics.
Christmas trees started appearing everywhere, our schools all got into the festive spirit and we had a Christmas trip to "an authentic Hakka farm", where they still farm the traditional way. Mike's Farm as it is known (seriously) has a couple of goats, one cow and some chickens. The day starts with a traditional Hakka barbecue, curiously they used blow torches to light them in the old days it seems..... We got to pound our own nut tea paste for a traditional farmers drink and just as we had completed our paste, the farm boss decided we wouldn't have enough for everyone so she added a few sachets of the powdered version to bulk it out. The lady in question, probably called Doris, was hooked up to a Britney Spiers style microphone headset and would regularly bark orders should anyone stray from the more than clear footpath. She was quite frankly the scariest character since Hannibal Lecter. We also got to make scarecrows and enjoy the barbecue lunch which to our surprise consisted of steamed chicken and potatoes. We have had many bizarre experiences during our travels, but this was at a new level. At least we had the Karaoke bus to look forward to for the journey home.
However, a friend of ours who is also a teacher had a school Christmas trip to a noodle factory, where the kids were literally put to work for a couple of hours making noodles which will be in a supermarket near you any day now. They didn't even get to take any home.... An inspired business idea!
So there we were in school teaching the kids all about the wonders of Christmas, how Santa Claus visits all of the good children on Christmas Eve and leaves lovely presents for them. Three-year-olds are hyper-excited by the whole experience and by 23rd December there wasn't a child in Taiwan who couldn't recite every word of Jingle Bells and We Wish You A Merry Christmas. So we return to work on Boxing Day to discover what? Just about every child we teach was depressed because good old Santa didn't pay them a visit! It seems someone forgot to tell the parents that their kids now had expectations.
As for us, Steve got to play Santa and frighten as many children as possible, Tania managed to create a cheeseboard and between 12 of us we managed to re-create a full Christmas lunch with all the trimmings, minus the turkey, stuffing, parsnips, sprouts....
As for New Year's Eve, everyone was on the streets and we shall let the link to Taipei 101 demonstrate it better than we can http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mP39wS_FxQ. Of course we spent ours in our local bar, Titty Tea, and made do with some impromptu fireworks set of in the middle of the neighbouring dual carriageway, who's driving at the turn of the New Year anyway?
Wishing everyone a wonderful 2012, who knows what it will bring or where we'll be this time next year!
