Bill-Nosed Wobbly

2010-12-01T13:53:00.002+11:00

A talk on Using mobile technology on Fieldwork and Expeditions that might be useful when I get my iphone for Christmas (hint for Santa).

If you need a prepaid sim card for a short trip to Taiwan, you can buy one at Taoyuan airport. Taiwan uses the GSM system, and the airport is the easiest place to get a prepaid sim card, because elsewhere you may need to show lots of ID or have a local friend put the sim card in their name. Chunghwa telecom is a big company.

Article about how and why researchers use blogging

2010-08-09T22:07:00.007+10:00

The writer interviewed 11 academic researchers to find out why they blog.

I am a blogging researcher: Motivations for blogging in a scholarly context by Sara Kjellberg

"The results show that their blogging is motivated by the possibility to share knowledge, that the blog aids creativity, and that it provides a feeling of being connected in their work as researchers. In particular, the blog serves as a creative catalyst in the work of the researchers, where writing forms a large part, which is not as prominent as a motivation in other professional blogs."

We are back

2009-07-16T16:02:00.005+10:00

We are back in Melbourne after a nice day and night in Hong Kong and then a grueling flight from Hong Kong to Melbourne (22 hours from check-in to home). I'm back at work and Ben will return to school tomorrow. Goodbye blog for now...

Hsimending, Taipei Main Station

2009-07-12T14:48:00.005+10:00

Postal Museum, KGB, Cloudgate

2009-07-11T14:45:00.002+10:00

Women's Museum, Wisteria Teahouse

2009-07-10T14:42:00.004+10:00

Presidential Building Exhibition, Taipei 101, Tangshan bookshop

2009-07-09T14:39:00.003+10:00

Blog hiatus

2009-07-08T00:17:00.001+10:00

The blog may be quiet for a little while, because we are moving from the free wireless high speed internet access at Academia Sinica back to the real world, sigh...

Hakka Day Trip

2009-07-07T00:16:00.008+10:00

Shangfangliao Liu's Residence, Sinpu

Youzi

Rice

Hukou Laojie

Lunch

Typical street scenes

I have a cold--but at least my tummy is okay now. I mention this just in case you think it's all banquets and sunshine.

Presidential Building

2009-07-06T23:45:00.012+10:00

Today we went to the Presidential Office Open House in the afternoon. It was pouring with rain when we left the Activity Centre, but we were soon dry, and it was really wonderful to splash and slosh our way through such a generous quantity of water.
The Presidential Building was forbidding from the outside.

Sun Yat-sen's bust has been returned to the niche at the top of the stairs. The previous president had the bust removed and replaced with a pot plant.

Cardboard figures of the president and Vice-President stand in the reception hall ready to pose with visitors. Today there were not many visitors--perhaps because of the rain.

There are some splendid rooms on the third floor.

Because of the rain, a performance by Mucha High School that was supposed to be in the courtyard was held in the auditorium. The auditorium is where presidential inauguration ceremonies are held (the last one was in May 2008). I imagine that this portrait of the founding father is not often treated to such a spectacle.
We watched the students perform to the end of the show. The teacher repeated her introductions in English, and came over to chat with us afterwards. I guess she could see how much we enjoyed it.

This man was also in the audience. I can think of no single explanation for his eyecatching shirt.

The exhibition on the first floor.

This is President Ma's bicycle.

The shop.

The White Terror Memorial on Kategalan Boulevard near the Presidential Office.

CKS Memorial

Academia Sinica and Danshui

2009-07-05T01:04:00.008+10:00

Ben with Ju Ming sculpture 'Tai Qi' outside the Activity Centre where we are staying.

Red Fort at Danshui

Inside the old British Consulate, there was an exhibition about the French and the Fort. Emphasis on Danshui's connections with the rest of the world.

The High School.

Academia Sinica

2009-07-03T09:33:00.011+10:00

We are staying at the Activity Center

A leafy corridor at the Institute of Ethnology.

Chiang's benevolent smile.

Last few days

2009-07-02T09:09:00.005+10:00

The last few days have been good. The weather is very hot. I'm not sure how hot, but yesterday evening at around 7pm it was still 31 degrees.

We enjoyed the Water Park yesterday. It was a lot more crowded than it was in June last year, because the school holidays have started, but we had great fun on the inflatables and giant slides anyway. Due to the absence of friends for Ben to play with, I had to step in and overcome my usual desire for inertia.

The day before, we went to the postal museum in the morning. I did an interview, then we sped off to go to the Water Park, but before we got there I realised I hadn't packed half my bathers, so we frittered away the afternoon at Yong Kang Park. At 1.30pm there was an air-raid drill, which apart from the interview, was the most exciting thing that happened all day.

On Monday we hung out with Page at Chiang Kai-Shek memorial. Beautiful, clear day.

Sunday we went to Grandma Nitti's with Page and Sarah, then to Fembooks and the Postal Museum.

That completes my summary of recent events. Now we are at the Academica Sinica Activity Centre and soon we will go down to breakfast and register for the conference. It was dark when we got here, but AS seems a peaceful place, and the room is clean and bright. Only complaint is that it's very cold and the toilet is surrounded by a shallow puddle of cold, cold water; I guess it is leaking.

The internet access here is great, so expect more distracted blogging as I attempt to write with Ben lurking in the background asking when it's going to be his turn.

Taiwan Storyland

2009-06-28T10:17:00.001+10:00

Taiwan Storyland--where even the bicycles pose coyly.

Taoyuan Taiwan

2009-06-26T12:55:00.001+10:00

Back in the 'tropics'. Slow train through the centre of Taoyuan.

Breakfast.

Map for next trip

2009-05-18T14:49:00.003+10:00

View Pip n Ben Taiwan 2009 in a larger map

I'm working on an itinerary for our upcoming trip to Taiwan.

Biking in Taiwan

2009-05-18T13:07:00.004+10:00

I would like to do a bike ride on our next trip, IF IT IS NOT TOO HOT in June/July. The biking in Taiwan blog has some terrific descriptions of rides in northern Taiwan, and the author was kind enough to answer my question about renting a bike and riding to Danshui with B.

Research Report March 2009

2009-04-27T14:22:00.001+10:00

My research explores the relationship between the urban landscape and the national imagination in Taipei over the last decade. How have particular concepts of the nation been produced, received or resisted in Taipei through the giving of names to streets and other places, the structure of the urban environment, and the way that people live in and move about the city? These questions are explored in part through the stories of Taipei people. I have conducted a small number of unstructured interviews in Taipei. Initial interview data suggests that museums, memorials, landmarks, temples, markets and the metro are key public sites. The research also draws upon data from observation and documents. It is hoped that the research will contribute new ideas and insights to a growing body of literature that explores the everyday aspects of national identity and symbolic power in cities. Taipei is an apposite location for a study of these processes because of Taipei’s cultural and ethnic heterogeneity, the persistent uncertainty of Taiwan’s status, and the rapid political and socio-economic changes that have taken place over the last fifty years.

My study will provide a record of the way that some Taipei residents think about their national identity in relation to public spaces in their city. As Ann Gray notes, “if what you are after is data of subjective accounts of what people are doing, how they account for their lives, their passions, their sense of self, then the most valid research method is that which will enable the researcher to listen to those accounts, those narratives, those stories of the everyday” (2003: 71). Qualitative, ethnographically informed research strategies yield a “thick description” (Geertz 1973) of the subject and context of the study.

Recording what is important to the participants will, it is hoped, be of benefit to the community from which they are drawn, as well as to the international community of scholars. The research study will be situated within literature from area studies, cultural geography, history and anthropology that addresses the role of everyday spatial practices in the imaginative construction of national identity.

Since 2001, I have been conducting fieldwork in Taipei. Collectively, these fieldtrips amount to five months of contact. My fieldwork access has been facilitated by background knowledge and friendships developed between 1992 and 1998, when I lived and worked in Taipei continuously. The 2001 fieldwork contributed to my honours thesis, and subsequent trips (2006, 2007, 2008) have yielded additional material for my PhD research.

As mentioned above, the study will draw upon interview transcripts, participant observation and the analysis of artefacts and documents. To date, I have conducted seven unstructured interviews in Taipei with adult Taipei residents. Participants were recruited through social networking and everyday interactions with people in Taipei. Participants spoke with me in Mandarin about their experience of public places in Taipei. Interviews were audio-recorded, providing consent was given. During fieldwork, I wrote field notes daily. Those related to the interviews consist of records of conversations and their setting. I also visited public spaces in Taipei and took notes that included observations about how people used the space. I took every opportunity to speak informally with a range of people, and collected documents, such as media reports and tourist literature, to enrich the data captured by other methods. I am immensely grateful to all the people in Taiwan who have assisted me in my research. I will make another trip in 2009 to conduct more interviews and observations and to think through my work in situ.

Wombat State Forest

2009-03-31T23:34:00.005+11:00

Yes, I did take this photograph.

Class Camp in Daylesford

2009-03-31T23:01:00.004+11:00

Conference in Taipei

2009-03-02T14:41:00.000+11:00

I just found out about this conference! I'm so excited!

Worst fires in Victoria since European settlement

2009-02-08T20:25:00.014+11:00

Courageous firefighters somewhere in Victoria yesterday.

At the moment we know about 80 deaths, 700 homes lost. The lovely old town of Marysville, where we once spent a happy camping holiday, has been completely destroyed. Marysville is about 90 kilometers from Melbourne; an hour and a half by car. A lot of people in St Andrews were caught by the fire; St Andrews community market is 38 kilometers from Melbourne. Healesville's much loved zoo (60 kms from Melbourne) has been evacuated. Victoria is a bit bigger than the UK.

We are not directly affected. We live about 9 kilometers west of the the Melbourne GPO, very much in the suburbs, under no threat. If you zoom in 5 clicks on the map below, you'll find our suburb to the west of the city near Ballarat Road. We've hardly even noticed any smoke.

The army has joined the firefighters and other emergency service people from all around Australia fighting the blazes. The weather has cooled. We hope the fires will be brought under control soon and the people taken care of.

See Google Map of the fires

View Larger Map

Our 'Lawn'

2009-02-08T14:00:00.002+11:00

This is our lawn in the back garden...and my foot, sorry this blog is getting rather banal.

Happy Niú Year!

2009-01-26T17:54:00.002+11:00

Our neighbor the Phat Quang Temple

Footscray

2009-01-12T22:33:00.003+11:00

Shoppers near the the 'Little Saigon' market in our neighborhood.

lovely weather innit

2009-01-07T11:02:00.009+11:00

Ben is on holidays and I am just working two days a week in January. On Tuesday we walked through the city. It looks empty! The department store was busy, and there were a lot of people enjoying the sunshine outside the state library. Otherwise, it was quiet. I don't have many photos of myself. This was taken in a lane next to David Jones. The other shows Burke St Mall.

Happy New Year

2009-01-03T12:48:00.002+11:00

Taiwanese / Chinese names

2008-03-16T19:55:00.005+11:00

I have yet to assign pseudonyms to my interview participants. I want the names to sound real, and ideally relate in some way to the person I interviewed. It's important that the names respect the people who so generously offered me their time and carefully answered my questions.
Some people used English names with me, others Taiwanese names, yet others their Mandarin names.
Found these websites useful and interesting: Richy Li on common surnames in Taiwan and popular names and name generator. Also this on Taiwanese names; the wikipedia entry, and last but not least, a table of common family names in Taiwan at the Tailingua site, which has useful resources and engaging reflections about the Taiwanese language.

Reflexive Ethnography

2008-03-11T22:25:00.003+11:00

by Charlotte Aull Davies is very good.

Guanyin

2008-02-26T12:42:00.003+11:00

Here is Guanyin, the Goddess of Compassion, watching over our neighbourhood. She is at the Mahayana Vietnamese Buddhist Phat Quang Temple.

Fieldwork data storage

2008-02-25T11:10:00.004+11:00

Before I returned my borrowed laptop to the University after I finished my trip to Taiwan I was careful to remove all my data. I spent a lot of time copying my photos onto CD-R disks, and have ended up with about 15 disks. Each disk only holds around 700MB. Because I did not tag my photos, working through them will be an unpleasant task. It's a pity that I didn't research storage options before I embarked on my storage session. At the moment the photos are only on the CDs.
I'm still not sure what the best way to store the photos is. My Mac at home does not have a DVD burner, and neither does my Mac at uni.
Here is some advice from Monash IT, and from SGS at the University of Melbourne, backing-up files. The DataExchange thing sounds alright; or I could put all the photos onto a Mac with a DVD burner and then burn them onto a DVD disk. Then I'd have fewer disks to store and information would be easier to locate.
First I need to get the photos from the CDs onto my home computer.
Then I need to sort and label them in iPhoto.
Then back them up, somehow.
I have one 2GB USB disk on which I could probably store some of the sorted photos. I don't know how many GB of photos I have.
Could I use an iPod, eg the 80GB Classic, to store some of the sorted photos, and ultimately back them up on a DVD? Oh, I see the 4GB nano can store up to 3,500 photos (i-Pod viewable photos, transferred from iTunes). And a DVD will hold about 4GB of data.
Some more notes here on backing up generally.
Actually, I think I should look into buying a mobile external hard disk/drive. Then when I get a new computer with Leopard OS someday, I'll be ready to backup using that.

What is Asia?

2008-02-18T22:26:00.002+11:00

In Singapore there is an Asian Civilisations Museumwhich aims to present the 'pan-Asian cultures and civilisations' of Singapore. Wonder why it is not then framed as a multicultural museum of Singapore, or an Immigration Museum like ours? I note that the history culture and civilisation of non-Asian Singaporeans is not present in this museum. The building looks as if it hails from the colonial period. Hmmm. I think its interesting...

Filing, un/packing, downloading

2008-02-10T19:18:00.001+11:00

My PhD leave of absence is over. That means I have to get back to work on the thesis.

I am still unpacking from the trip.

I have been unpacking in layers, and I'm reaching the compressed procrastination layer. This is the one that will be most satisfying to get through. But it's so hard to approach that it requires a blog entry. Blogging to procrastinate...or to reflect on procrastination; to procrastinate in full consciousness of one's procrastination...well, it's all just navel-gazing really.

What's in the procrastination layer? The digital files of my interviews, the transcripts (I've only done 3 so far although I have handwritten notes on all of them), and lots of other things including a book review that is very overdue.

Found the Universal Packing List as I filed. It's huge--everything you could possibly think of. I make a packing list on the computer for each of my trips. I print a copy and then after the trip I write some notes on the printed list, and I refer to the notes the next time I make a packing list.

Downloaded wma files of my fieldwork interviews from the Olympus Digital Voice Recorder ws-100 to my computer today. Used Flip4Mac instead of Windows Media Player. Flip4Mac is new. It seems to work alright. I even managed to lock the files on the DVR and then unlock them on the computer so that they could be renamed. What a wizz.

English names in Chinese

2008-01-30T21:39:00.000+11:00

Andrea
安德烈亞
"Andeleiya"
peace + moral character + ardent

Check your own name here.

Happy New Year

2008-01-02T23:05:00.000+11:00

If anyone is still checking in, we have had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year break.

A & I both went back to work today.

A works in the same suburb as our nation's leader "Australia is being run today from a modest brick veneer home in Altona..."

At uni today there was no coffee--all the cafes, bar one, were shut, and the one that was open had run out of milk. How are the chattering classes supposed to chatter without our morning latte, I ask you?

Hey, and also, the email has been down since Christmas day.

Questions Children Ask

2007-12-12T21:39:00.000+11:00

B and I are reading a wonderful book at the moment called 'Questions Children Ask.' Just a hint of how good it is—in the index, this is the entry that excited B this evening:

Mermaid, 179
Migration of birds, 68
Minerals
Kinds of minerals, 113
Diamonds in ground, 113
Mirage, defined, 182
Kinds of mirages, 182

It was published in 1976, and I bought it at the op-shop for two dollars.

The reason that he was so excited about mirages is that we saw one, shimmering on the tarmac in front of our house, as we cycled up our street at the end of our long ride home from school in the summer heat. There wasn't an oasis—just, water...

Introduction to the paper, at the moment...

2007-12-10T17:43:00.000+11:00

Taipei's cityscape is marked by construction projects laid down by successive regimes. The Qing built the city walls and gates, and the Japanese removed the walls and constructed grand buildings, including parks and a museum, for their model colony. During the martial-law era, the KMT named streets around the island after places in China, Confucian virtues and Sunnist principles, and built large memorials in Taipei to the party's great leaders. In post-martial law Taiwan, the city has sprouted the world's tallest building, Taipei 101, and been reshaped by the MRT system and the development of a new city centre in east Taipei’s Xinyi district.

Each of these sites, or networks, is rich in meaning for those who encounter them. Although the places are designed perhaps to convey one meaning, over time other meanings accrue.

This paper will reflect on the meanings that have been built into three government-owned spaces in Taipei and the meanings that have accrued around them. I draw upon my own readings of the spaces, and the opinions of Taipei residents ascertained through interviews that I conducted recently in Taipei.

The three sites are the Postal Museum, the Presidential Office, and the Democracy Memorial. For now.

Apart from giving the background of each place, my reading of the space, and including the interview material, I want to come to some kind of conclusion or offer a kind of argument, which will be...at the moment, something like, you can't fix one meaning on a space...what then is the nation I wonder when everyone has so many different things going on in their heads? Is there an 'imagined community' at the level of the nation, rather than just at the state level?

Include the idea that when I meaning becomes fixed in a memorial it is on its way to being forgotten.

Regarding the storage of the characters that used to hang over the pailou at the memorial, why store them if the meaning is now fixed? So it's not fixed then.

Back in a room of my own

2007-12-09T17:59:00.000+11:00

I'm hiding away to write my paper, which I will put on the blog in some form this week. The weather is still fine and we are adjusting well to being back. Except that I've lost my train timetable, and am still used to Taipei time (3 hours behind), so several factors are conspiring against me getting anywhere on time.

Taipei Landmarks on MRT billboard (update)

2007-12-09T00:49:00.000+11:00

Billboard outside Taipei Main Station mrt exit (exit 5 or 6 I think). I have updated this post—previously I requested help to identify some of the landmarks.

Left to right, the first two landmarks are Taipei 101 (2004) and the Democracy Memorial (1980), followed by Taipei’s tallest hotel building the Far Eastern Plaza Hotel (1994), then the Qing East gate (Jingfu Gate 京福門 1884), the Grand Hotel (1961), the Miramar Ferris Wheel (2002) and the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall (1972).

I have quite a selection of photos of billboards from the MRT, with a focus on depictions of places in Taipei, that I will post at some point. It mirrors the street names taken from places in China. On the MRT people are encouraged to 'know Taiwan' (or at least Taipei).

Home again, home again

2007-12-07T10:01:00.000+11:00

Home at last. Knew we were on our way when on the plane I heard a woman seated somewhere in front of us say, "I seem to have accumulated so much stuff!"--it was my voice, a familiar, middle class Aussie woman's voice. And of course, my packing situation too! Then when we got back to the house and opened the fridge and saw all the organic milk and cottage cheese, it almost brought a tear to my eye. Meeting A at the airport was great too, except that Ben was sure he'd be over to the left somewhere so set off to look for him that way, and I just knew he'd be lurking at the back of the crowd dressed in black, and had too much luggage on the trolley to follow Ben anyway, so we all lost each other for a little while.

Right I am supposed to be writing an abstract for my presentation next Friday. Have been musing talking about museum narratives, contrasting the exhibitions at the Presidential Building exhibitions with the Postal Museum, but I think in the end it will have to be the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial again, because I have fresh interview data and a previous paper that I can use as a base.

So the abstract is:

"Space and Memory in Taipei"

Taipei's cityscape is marked by spatial symbols of state power laid down by successive regimes. Since 2000, have official representations of the past changed substantially? This paper will consider struggles over meaning and memory around Taipei's National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall, previously called the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall.

Chunghsiao East Road

2007-12-01T02:27:00.000+11:00

Taken from an overpass at the corner of Chunghsiao East Road and Chungshan North Road, that is, not far from Taipei Main Station and looking towards Linsen North Road...the yellow building is on the corner of Linsen, so it's right near the Taipei Hostel...a place that some reader will remember well, anyway, see Taipei 101? See the mountains? Couldn't see that back in 1992, eh?

Friday dinner

2007-11-30T23:50:00.000+11:00

Great cucumber and garlic and chilli.

Why bother?

2007-11-29T03:54:00.000+11:00

What so interesting about all this name changing, rewriting of history, and spatial symbolism, anyway?

My interest springs from an incident that happened not long after I arrived in Taipei, eager to teach English and learn what I could from the people I met. It was spring 1992 and I had a conversation class at a language school on Nanjing West Road (Global Village). The material for the class was simply an article from one of the English language dailies (was there only the China Post then? I can't remember). Conversation classes were very informal, the teacher and students just collected the article from the secretaries on the way into the class, and we were supposed to read and discuss it together. That day the article was about 228, so I asked what 228 was, and before long an elderly woman in the class became upset. She explained that she could remember 228, could remember the shooting, as a child in southern Taiwan, perhaps it was Tainan. Her story and her tears disturbed the class. Three years later, then President Lee Teng-hui offered an official apology on behalf of the KMT for the massacre. Again, I remember the news reports and discussion of the issue among friends and co-workers. The Taipei New Park was renamed 228 Peace Memorial Park and a monument was built there. This incident made a deep impression on me. How could the younger members of the class not know what had happened, and how could it be that the the older woman held her painful memories for so long, and then had them spill out at our conversation class?

As the years in Taipei rolled by, and I became more familiar with the place and its people, I had experiences that made me question my own early assumptions about Taiwan and China. At first, everyone (else) was simply Chinese. Then the picture became more complicated. There was the missile crisis, and Chen's election as mayor of Taipei. I went to China. In the meantime, the city changed--new parks, new mayor, new knowledge. I developed my own memories of place. Finally in 1998 I left, went to university, became a mother. My memories of Taipei became somewhat nostalgic, but I continued to watch it change from afar, and to visit from time to time.

I suppose that I developed an implicit understanding of the way that spaces and selves are layered, not as simple accreditations, but in complex ways. Temporal shifts rip through the layers as the past intrudes or is recreated for our present.

Moving from the personal to the political, the memorial as a place of healing, or justice, as a place where time is stopped and knowledge of the past is recreated, interested me. Space and identity are reinscribed at such places. And, as one story is recognised, perhaps another is pushed aside. I wrote my honours thesis on the 228 memorial movement and memorials.

In Australia we are just beginning to work through 'our' memories of place (I don't think we are there yet--see Midnight Oil's beds are burning on Youtube from 1987--BTW the lead singer, Peter Garret is our new minister for the environment) and reconcile, or at least recognise, aboriginal and settler memories of place.

The feeling of people who are not originally from the land in question is also very much of interest to me. The despair of exile. In Hou Hsiao-hsien' s 'A time to live and a time to die' the parents speak endlessly of the mainland, and the grandmother wanders off from time to time to locate herself in her past, to map her Chinese home village, which she cannot return to, onto the Taiwanese countryside.

The naming of the streets in Taipei after places in China is not just about legitimacy, I suppose. Perhaps it is also about connection and then loss.

Some background: What is 228? Oh whoops I've lost a whole chunk of this post...sorry...it happened in 1947--lots of people were killed...

I coudn't resist...

2007-11-29T01:08:00.000+11:00

...posting this picture of my dinner. Stinky tofu, in all its horrible glory, pickled cabbage, chilli sauce and all. I can't believe that I used to eat this for dinner at work, when I was a teacher here. It really stinks. But it still tastes good, and this one was rather well presented I think, and crispy on the outside yet soft and flavoursome within. I had it at the nightmarket near Nanshijiao station.

You won't be surprised to hear that B didn't eat the stinky tofu. Instead, he tried this interesting creation, at a cafe at the CKS Memorial Park. It was called, in English, a strawberry burger croissant. Or perhaps it was a strawberry croissant burger. Anyway, it was seriously confused. Or in the end we were.

Apart from eating unhealthy food, today we also went to the 228 Memorial Museum and the CKS Memorial Park. Again. I had an interesting discussion with a fellow at the museum about my research, it was very useful. We got to CKS in time to observe the flag lowering at 5.10pm, which is now conducted by two police officers with very little ceremony. The national banner song gúoqí gē (國旗歌) was played. One of the policemen told me that the main gate (Gate of Great Centrality and Perfect Uprightness, 大中至正) would probably not be renamed (to 更名) until next month.

Taipei 101, shopping

2007-11-28T02:43:00.000+11:00

Today after class we headed for Taipei 101 to buy some gifts. We also went to the Page One bookshop cafe on the fourth floor, where Ben helped me do some Observation. He thinks that I should buy him a present when I finish the book, because after all, all the good ideas come from him.

On the way home he bought some mantou (steamed buns) by himself in Chinese, and yesterday he expressed a desire to master chopsticks, so I think perhaps he is inspired by Kev, if not by me, at last, to grasp the opportunity to learn something new...

Now on to the transcribing...the book review languishes...I have a slight headache all the time now, I must schedule some time for a massage or hair wash or something nice. Seriously, a hair wash at the hairdressers here is something I find very pleasant. Except that I always come out of my current hairdressers looking about 10 years older, I think. She seems to think I'm better without the curls.

Not to mention...Julia Gillard

2007-11-27T02:55:00.000+11:00

Our first female deputy PM! She was born in the UK but moved to Australia when she was about 5, and she lives in the not far from us in the western suburbs. Attended the University of Melbourne.Ah the similarities are so great...

陸克文 Kevin 07

2007-11-27T02:37:00.001+11:00

Kev really can speak Chinese well, click on the link to see 陆克文总理中央台访问 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Chinese State TV on Youtube.

Fat Fat Seafood Boat Restaurant

2007-11-27T00:47:00.000+11:00

On Sunday night we went to the Fat Fat Seafood Boat Restaurant in, well, I think it was probably in Banchiao. Our friends J & L organized it as a get together in our honour, and it was so nice of them to do that. The place was fun, really noisy and full of people, it certainly had a local flavour.There was a live band, and part of the restaurant is shaped like a huge boat. Lots of people were there celebrating birthdays. Here is a photo of some of the seafood.

What's in my bag? For list lovers.

2007-11-25T02:36:00.000+11:00

Tissues, wet wipes, lipstick, chewing gum, phone, pens, purse, keys, B's purse, two stored value travel passes on a lanyard, two cameras, voice recorder, spare batteries, moleskein notebooks, umbrella, drawing book and coloured pencils (for B), book (for B), two dictionaries, small set of flashcards with new and useful Chinese words, postcards to write, small notebook for lists, peanut butter, knife, metal chopsticks and spoon in a drawstring bag. Water, receipts. Namecards, student card and photocopies of our passports. Mobile phone. Hat, suncream. Sunglasses.

Beitou

2007-11-24T15:35:00.000+11:00

On Friday after class we took the MRT to Xinbeitou to see the green library and the park. We met P there. Here are P & B's toes in the warm water from hot springs.

Catch Up Post

2007-11-21T00:48:00.001+11:00

This post is a round-about response to a recent email question about the way in which my fieldwork is being done. How does it get done, really? Before I left I spent hours wondering, and I searched for on other blogs that might speak of how parent do fieldwork. There seems to be a 'gap in the literature' here! This topic deserves its own blog post sometime. For now, let's just say that it's complicated. It's impossible really to give all your attention to anything else when you have your child with you. However, it's probably less lonely this way. And children are very grounding. I think having your family with you helps to create links with the people.

Anyway, the catch up...

I sort of did an interview on the weekend, and met a helpful person who lent me some books, so that was great.

Monday I devoted the afternoon to the book review, which is now in draft form. I worked at the uni library, and Ben managed to occupy himself somehow. Tuesday I voted, bought books at Eslite, and went to the Taipei city library. In the mornings we still have Chinese class. I am in a small group class and Ben has 1-1 tuition at the same uni.

Suddenly our time is nearly up, which makes me feel both nervous and excited. I'm looking forward to being back home of course, but also feel worried that I haven't captured enough data on this trip.

Ben has enjoyed himself I think, and I hope that he has learned a lot. He has met new people from all over the world, mastered some basic Chinese, and heard me talking about all sorts of things with people. We have also talked to each other constantly! It's a bit early to tell what the long term effects of the trip will be on him. At the moment I'm just happy that he has got through it (so far) without any injury or illness. I hope that when he gets back to school he won't have missed too much.

He likes his Chinese teacher and has enjoyed the lessons. For about a month he had a friend in the class with him, but now he is back to 1-1 lessons and says he prefers that. He's doing calligraphy on Fridays.

At the moment Ben is not a reader like I was at school, but he can read. I wish I'd organized recorder lessons for him in the first month. Taiquando class didn't work out for us unfortunately, as Ben was daunted by the stares and couldn't understand the instructors.

It would have been good to have spent more time at the local park getting to know the neighbors. I should perhaps have established a routine a bit earlier so that we could have got to know people that way.

Three months seemed like a long time at the beginning, but there are so many places we have not managed to visit, it's quite astonishing. I have been to the places that I identified as important for my research, but I would have liked to do more sightseeing!

Noise

2007-11-20T02:04:00.000+11:00

Today in the library working on my book review I noticed that even in the LIBRARY there is background music. The CCU's lifelong learning center's library is located in B4 of a 12 floor building. There is a cafe in the library, and you can eat and drink while working on a computer.

I took this photo last week because I thought it interesting that there were two drink shops almost next to each other, and the shops both had loud music blaring out into the street. It's a good place to catch passing traffic because the shops are near a busy bus stop. I know you can't photograph noise, but I think it captures something. It's a snapshot I took to bookmark the observation.

Why am I so concerned about this noise? Because I need to conduct my interviews in fairly quiet places, so that later on I can transcribe the recordings...

Hi Folks

2007-11-16T19:36:00.000+11:00

Hi Mum! Hi Dad! Hi Nada and Andrea! Anyone else? Hi!

Presidential Building, Yixian Park and Huashan Arts Area

2007-11-15T01:43:00.000+11:00

Presidential Building

In the morning we had a tour of the Presidential Office Building. There is an interesting section on Taiwan's five Presidents. We didn't get there in time to have enough time inside the building with the guide. I think I'll need to go back so that I can ask some questions. Unfortunately you can't take photos inside.

Yixian Park

Sun Yat Sen Memorial House

Next stop, after some lunch, was Yixian Park (逸仙公園), a tiny walled park next to an overpass right near Taiwan Main Station. Inside the park, which is planted with plums, bamboo, and conifers, is a Japanese wooden house. Sun Yat-sen stayed here once when it was a hotel in Japanese Taihoku (Taipei). Now it is a memorial to Sun (國父史蹟紀念館). See zh.wikipedia entry here. It was very peaceful compared to the surrounding area. This photo shows building inside. There was no-one else there--just the bees and I. B spent most of the time in the garden feeding the carp.

Huashan

We went back to Huashan in the afternoon. It's a wild place out the back. B was inspired to do some drawing while I wandered about the ruins. I like the atmosphere at Huashan. There is nothing to buy, you don't have to participate or be educated, but you can sit and read a book, or draw, as B did, or loll on the lawns for as long as you like, it seems.

Huashan
The roots of the tree line the doorway below.

Taipei 101 臺北101 or 台北101 Observatory

2007-11-14T01:39:00.000+11:00

Again, this time an evening visit with S and B. S had never been up 101 because, she explained to B, she lives here. This reminds me of my feeling about the Fairy Penguins at Phillip Island. Must go someday.

Taipei 101, at 509.2 meters, is currently the world's tallest building. the Observatory is on the 89th floor.

B was awful when I didn't buy him anything at the gift shop. He was carrying on about it until about 10pm. Anyway, I will try to salvage some impressions from the visit.

To get up to the viewing area you have to buy tickets from this area on the fifth floor. Tickets are NT $320 for children and NT $350 for adults. There are no family tickets or concessions. At the moment, NT $300 is about Aus $10, so it's not really expensive by Australian standards. For adults, it is cheaper than Melbourne's Rialto Tower. But it would be expensive for an ordinary worker here. About six times the cost of a lunchbox.

After purchasing tickets and having them checked, we joined a queue, passed through some kind of detector (we didn't have to remove our bags or metal items and it didn't go off so we are not sure what it detects), and flowed into one of the two elevators. The elevators are the FASTEST in the world. They ascend at 1010 meters a minute. Up we went, with rushed commentary from a female attendant in Mandarin, English, and Japanese. The lift only takes 37 seconds. On our last visit, the attendant was male.

When we got out of the lift I noticed that there were a lot more people there than there were last time, probably because it was later. Many of the visitors were dressed in suits and seemed to be business people, perhaps filling in the interval between work and dinner.

Nearly everyone had a free audio guide glued to their ear. Looks like a clunky old mobile telephone. The recording of a female voice introduces sites of historical and contemporary interest.

S gave B NT $10 so that he could use the binoculars, but they were too high for him (and he's around 130-140cm tall) and there was no platform to help him reach. Clearly it is not a place designed for children.

When it got dark the view was good.

We checked out the tuned mass damper, I mean, Damper Baby, again. It is about 5 meters high and sits at the centre of the tower just below the viewing area, so visitors look down at it. It is designed to minimize movement from earthquakes and typhoons. There are three dampers in the building. This one is the largest. It is ochre-coloured, and hangs from metal ropes that are painted gold.

The Damper Baby display is notable for its CUTENESS. According to the website, it was co-developed by Observatory and the Japanese Sanrio Far East company; the company that is responsible for Hello Kitty merchandise. There is a 15 minute AV presentation about how the damper was constructed, very dry and technical, but all around the damper on the walls is CUTE information such as the Damper Baby's horoscope (birth sign): Libra, Blood Type, etc. There are separate panels of damper Baby information in English, Japanese and Mandarin. Given that the price and facilities are not very child-friendly, the cuteness cannot be read as an appeal to children, but to adults.

You can also see the Damper Baby on the Observatory website.

The shop is a beacon in contrast to the viewing areas.

Of course, the viewing areas have to be dark, or all we would see is our reflections.

At the end of it all we queued up again to descend in the lift. This lady directed us all to the lift, and on the way down the attendant delivered another parcel of information in three languages, exhorted us to swallow if we felt pressure in our ears, and thanked us for our glorious presence.

Taiwan Democracy Memorial

2007-11-13T02:52:00.000+11:00

That's where we went today. Last week it was declared a national historic monument. Here is the report from the Taipei Times. Took notes, photos. Think I'm too tired to write them up tonight though.

Hike

2007-11-12T02:29:00.000+11:00

I, I mean, B has posted about this already on his blog.

R & R (respite and recreation)

2007-11-11T01:58:00.000+11:00

Today B went to his friend S’s place in Taipei County for a play, so for the first time in this trip I had much of the day to spend as I pleased. My main aim for the day was to get started on a long overdue book review for an Australian journal. After dropping B off and taking an unintended but interesting scenic ride on the 648 bus through parts of Taipei that I had never been to before, I ended up in Gongguan, where I sat in Starbucks (I know, I know, but it's not Lygon Street, ok?) for a while reading the book and taking notes. I also managed to buy a jumper (the weather has really cooled down) and some chopsticks (so I don’t have to use the disposable wooden ones).

It was good to be uninterrupted for hours. Anyone who stumbles upon this blog might wonder what is worth recording about a cafe visit and trivial shopping, but for me it was a special experience!

Imagine if I’d had more days like this. I have been here for nearly 3 months and this is the first time I’ve had 6 hours during the day when I could make doing what I came here to do my top priority.

At least on this trip I don’t have to work and study and look after Ben. Well, alright, I do...

I think that B has enjoyed our time in Taiwan. He is generally cheerful. He's certainly had plenty of new experiences here. I've enjoyed sharing this time with him. As research-related deadlines approach however I feel the familiar uncomfortable and not easily resolved tension between my (our) work and his (my) needs.

One thing we haven't managed to do much of is his schoolwork. He is in Chinese class for two hours a day, and he has homework from that, but otherwise, well... I read to him every day for about half an hour. He sometimes reads to me, or reads by himself. I'm trying to encourage thoughtfulness and responsibility in our daily actions.

Bad news this morning; our house in Melbourne was thoroughly pillaged on my birthday. Even the phone was stolen, so that explains why I didn’t get a birthday call from home. This is actually the second piece of bad news; in October an elderly member of my family, who was close to my mother, passed away in the UK.

In the evening after B came back from his friend's house we went with S to a Thai restaurant near Shi Da for dinner. We met P there. The food was really delicious. Afterwards we went for a nostalgic stroll through the neighbourhood where we at one time shared an apartment. Here are two photos I took of a Japanese house in the area that capture the nostalgic mood:

Reading the street and betel nut

2007-11-09T02:26:00.001+11:00

Just visible in the top photo are several sets of radial lines of florescent green. I noticed them on a rainy day recently and it dawned on me that they must mean something to everybody around me...but what? And I hadn't really noticed them before.

Ahh, finally I realised that the lines pointed to betel nut stands; three of them in this short stretch of road where we get off the bus every day. Of course I have noticed the stands before, but not the signs, wordlessly pointing the way to a quick fix on this rainy day. The sign is designed to be read by a tired man on a scooter, yet it was until now invisible to me.
Dear reader, the betel nut is the fruit of the betel palm. A lot of betel is grown in central and southern Taiwan. At the roadside stands the small nuts are washed, cut in two, smeared with paste, topped with a slice of some other part of the plant, and then wrapped in a leaf for sale in a box of about 20 to passing motorists. Apparently the consumer chews the betel nut and is rewarded by a warm feeling and a surge of energy. The little stores are open 24/7.
I have tried betel nut, but much prefer coffee.

And now for something completely different, today it was someone's birthday. Here is the 'Puki pig' cake provided by kind people. Is it not '可愛'?

Martyrs Shrine, Taipei

2007-11-07T21:38:00.000+11:00

Here are some photos of the Martyr's Shrine (忠烈祠)in Taipei. It's not far from the Grand Hotel. All around the shrine are forested hills, and it faces the Keelung River (although you can't see the river for the flood walls). The shrine was completed in 1969. The architecture is of Ming style, similar in form but not colours to the Chiang Kai-shek/Taiwan Democracy Memorial in central Taipei. Apparently it is modelled on the Taihe Dian Imperial Palace in Beijing. In the walled inner shrine courtyard area behind solid red gates the guarded shrine has a yellow glazed tile roof over red columns and multicoloured panels. The shrine, which is not open to the public, sits on a terrace above the courtyard, which is itself elevated above the main courtyard and garden. The building is low and the roof is large. The buildings inside the shrine courtyard are symmetrical. At the front of the shrine area there is an imposing gate with three arches.

Every hour between 9-5, the guards are changed in an elaborate ceremony. We stayed for about an hour, which is probably the usual length for a visit. Most of the people there had come on tour buses. It's a good place to take photos, but mine are all rather too dark.

Many of the Martyrs Shrines in Taiwan were built on the site of Japanese Shinto Shrines, but I think this one was not. The Taiwan Grand Shrine was nearby, on a site now occupied by the Grand Hotel.

Earlier we walked past the Presidential Building and the Taiwan Bank. Here is a photo of the bank. You can see that the painted panels attached to the building resemble the colourful panels at the Martyrs Shrine. The panel says, celebrate Taiwan Retrocession Day (光復節). Retrocession Day is on October 25th and marks the official end of Japanese rule of Taiwan. It used to be a public holiday, but not any more. On this year's Retrocession Day the UN for Taiwan torch relay began.

In the morning today we extended B's visa, and after the Martyrs Shrine visit we went to the Miramar Department Store and rode on the ferris wheel. The view from the ferris wheel was a bit ho-hum. The piped music was execrable: 'Killing me Softly,' followed by,'I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden.'

I've posted a photo of the floor guide because it so brazenly illustrates the leisure time ideal for young women and men here: consumer-women, hapless male, bound by heterosexual norms...

A free bus took us from the Miramar back to the MRT station so it was easy to get back home.

Taiouan Shop

2007-11-06T23:52:00.001+11:00

Today we went to the Taiouan shop (台灣ㄟ店),to pick up a book about the history of the Presidential Building. The shop, which opened in 1993, has a lot of books about Taiwan history, politics and geography,also books about the indigenous people and about languages spoken on Taiwan. There are also postcards, T-shirts, hats, puppets, and other locally made objects with a Taiwan flavour (台灣本土化). We had a quick chat with the owner, Goo Seng-sam. He studied computer science in the US in the 1970s, saw the Vietnam war protests, read George Kerr's book, "Formosa Betrayed," and "I woke up," he said. A new Chinese translation of Formosa Betrayed has just been published《被出賣的台灣》. I bought his CD on the 2004 Hand-in Hand across Taiwan 228 activity. He edited it himself, and has also printed a lot of posters of the event. The action was election-related, he said, although it was also about protecting Taiwan. He said that plans were being made for another Hand in Hand activity next year.
An article about the bookshop and its owner can be found here. The shop is online here, the shop's blog is here and the shop is in a lane running off Xinsheng South Road, across from Taida. On the corner of the lane there is a shop that sells ice desserts.

Presidential Building Open Day

2007-11-05T02:32:00.001+11:00

MBR and Huashan Culture Park, Cirque Lili

2007-11-04T12:08:00.000+11:00

Last night we saw Dave Chen's band the Muddy Basin Ramblers play at the Huashan Culture Park. It was the band's long awaited CD release party and there was a really great atmosphere. Excellent photos here. There was free and yummy food from Sababa, and Alley Cats pizza too. A few families, lots of wai guo ren including several TW bloggers, and lots of faces last seen at the Daniel Pearl Day in October.

Ben was invited to play with a child of similar age and they had a great time running around outside on the grass. They found two frogs somehow; I hope the frogs survived. I enjoyed talking with the child's mother. She told me about her experience of having children in a local school (good). Anyway, the band and everybody seemed to be having a great time. We left around 9.20 before the party finished in order to make the trip back to Xindian before B turned into a pumpkin.

The party was held at the Huashan Culture Park, an area which during the Japanese period housed a winery (est. 1916) and a freight yard. After the Japanese left, it continued to produce alcoholic beverages. The winery closed in 1987 and the area was abandoned for some years. In 1997 a movement began to open the space for art and performances. It seems to have been open on and off since the early naughties.

Earlier in the day we saw Cirque Lili at the Taiwan Democracy Memorial Park with a family from Europe who are doing research in central Taiwan. Inside the red tent Jerome Thomas and Circus Boy performed, accompanied by two skilled accordianists. We sat on the top tier of four and were still very close to the wooden circular stage. The show was very good, although B took a while to warm to it. It began with a feather descending from the circus top. The feather slowly worked its way around Jerome Thomas's rough coat in a magical and mysterious way. Later there were giant glowing balloons tamed by Thomas's whip and much skipping in dresses. It was quite otherworldly, and without a single technological 'special effect'. Photo from the internet.

After the circus we saw an outdoor performance from this dance group. You can see the memorial in the background of this photo.

In the early evening before we left the Memorial Park for Huashan, we walked with our friends through the large crowd waiting for the arrival of the 'UN for Taiwan' torch. For eleven days a torch relay carried the message across Taiwan. The idea of a torch relay comes I think from the controversy over Taiwan's participation in the Olympic torch relay. Also the relay traces the national body of Taiwan; the body that seeks to enter the UN under the name Taiwan. It was dark, but people were carrying glow tubes (the children collected a few) and the area is always well lit. There was a stage in place along Ketagalan Boulevard behind the Jinfumen (East Gate) prepared to welcome the torch which was expected to arrive at 7pm with President Chen and Vice-President Annette Lu. Supporters bearing banners were arriving in cheerful groups from the MRT station and buses. Some of the supporters remind me of the people who are involved in temple activities, processions and such-like.

Weekend Plans

2007-11-03T01:54:00.000+11:00

We are going to see French New Circus, Cirque Lili, at the 2007 Open Air International Arts Festival on Saturday afternoon. The National Theatre and National Concert Hall at the National Chiang Kai Shek Cultural Center ROC are celebrating their 20th birthday with this festival. The website says:

Following the successful Open Air Arts Festival, Taipei in 2006, the NTCH is to celebrate its twentieth anniversary with another wonderful and joyful Festival in 2007. At the first weekend, three outdoor performances are held, featuring the outstanding music,dance and theatre companies of Taiwan . At the second weekend, the stunning New Circus Flash and romatic French new circus Lili will catch the attention of everyone. During the Festival, the NTCH will also present various outdoor events, such as acrobatics, music, new circus, dance, arts market and food court.

About Cirque Lili:

...an astonishing piece of theater set in the realm of the circus. One of France's pre-eminent artists, Jerome Thomas'tour-de-force juggling and seemingly telekinetic manipulation of objects is at the core of Cirque Lili. In this show, Thomas' witty and whimsical character performs his amazing sequence of events with the entertaining antics of his sidekick, Circus Boy. Jerome Thomas' supple movements create elegant and astounding illusions of gravity being defied. Two virtuoso jazz accordionists provide live musical accompaniment and create a magical atmosphere throughout the performance. Part theater and part cabaret-- but mostly awe-inspiring feats of imagination and skill-- Cirque Lili evokes the circus' red-cloth, wood-frame glory days by taking place in a (air-conditioned) tent designed by French scenographer Gilles Audejean. The tent seats only 250 persons on four risers surrounding a revolving stage, thus giving each audience member an intimate experience that conjures up the charm of a bygone era.

In the evening, energy and weather permitting, I hope we will go to the launch party for the David Chen and the Muddy Basin Ramblers CD. The party will be held at the Huashan Culture Park. The Ramblers are a jug band, led by Dave Chen.

On Sunday we will go to the Presidential Office Building's open day to look beyond the facade...

228 Memorial Museum

2007-11-03T00:15:00.000+11:00

In the afternoon we went to the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum.
The museum is set in the 228 Memorial Park. The park was originally designed and built by the Japanese colonial administrators in the first decade of the last century (1906?). Before the park was built there was a Matsu temple there.
The museum building was originally a broadcasting station. It was built in the 1930s.
The 228 Memorial Museum has been open since 1997 and we have visited several times over the years. The exhibits are unchanged, but this time what really struck me was that some of the signage is now multilingual. Only Mandarin, Japanese and English, but still, for international visitors it's a great improvement. There is also an upgraded audio tour in English (and other languages, obviously, but I forgot to ask which ones). The audio guide is free, but you have to leave photo ID at the information desk to borrow it. It is interactive--to activate the audio you hold the device against a marked audio tour station.

Postal Museum again

2007-11-02T02:58:00.000+11:00

The Republic of China according to the postal museum. Note that on this map the PRC (People's Republic of China, established in 1949) does not exist.
We went to the postal museum again with Ben's friend S. They had a good time practicing their Chinese with everyone.

Taipei Storyland

2007-11-01T02:26:00.000+11:00

In the afternoon we stumbled across this basement theme restaurant / private museum located in the basement of K-Mall across from the Taipei main train station and next to the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store. 'Taiwan Storyland' is an imaginative reconstruction of streets in small-town Taiwan circa 1965. The streets and buildings are furnished with the founder's personal collection of everyday objects from the era. We spent some time there taking photos, playing old-style games (like darts), and drinking BUBBLE TEA.
More on this place later...

National Taiwan Museum

2007-11-01T00:39:00.000+11:00

We visited the National Taiwan Museum and enjoyed the ecosystems exhibits (especially the mangroves) and the aboriginal cultures exhibition area (really only because it had fantastic cushions and sofas, which I really appreciated, although B didn't let me sink into them for long enough). The building itself is the main attraction.

Last week we went to the National Museum of History on Nanhai Rd with Stacy. Lovely teashop, and we enjoyed the display of Taiwanese puppets. The calligraphy and traditional paintings were also good, but B was in a hurry in that section so it was a bit of a blur.

More on these places later...

Consent forms

2007-10-29T02:47:00.000+11:00

Ah, I am struggling with my consent forms. They make a conversation so formal. I'm uncertain that I'll be able to proceed with a conversation if I whip out the form and ask for a signature. So far I have said, there will be some paperwork, and outlined the right of the person to privacy and to withdraw unprocessed data. I have collected some consent forms on this basis, but only from people who I think I have established some kind of relationship with, or been introduced to by someone that they trust. Twice on this trip I tried a kind of 'cold call', introducing myself and then asking to speak to someone. I explained what I was interested in and who I am. The conversations were productive, but I didn't get written consent. Which is a pity. I just judged that it wouldn't work. Of course the informant must be respected, and I cannot gather interview material for research unless I have the consent of the informant. Here is a post with a discussion about it, and also here, and here and here. See, especially, this from the last link:

My ethnographic fieldwork will involve conversational participant-observation. This method is driven by the interests of the respondents and relies on the development of an open-ended, informal relationship between researcher and respondent. The aim of this research method is to understand issues and relationships as a respondent understands them.

In order for this approach to be effective, researchers need to treat their consultants as experts from whom they are learning. Introducing a consent form inhibits this process by giving the researcher a false appearance of authority and expertise, and by giving the research a false appearance of narrow precision. In this kind of research, consent forms have a tendency to undermine respondents’ ability to direct conversation by positioning them as subjects to be studied rather than experts who are contributing to scholarship.

The author suggests that this is what is presented to the board for review and ethics approval. I wish I'd read this before I set off...because it is the way that I feel about my interviews. My informants really are experts from whom I am learning.

It's something that I think I will need to think more about and discuss with other researchers.
fieldwork 现场调查 interview 访谈 Participant Observation by James Spradley

Ben has a friend

2007-10-28T01:52:00.001+10:00

and classmate. Every morning he has been having a Chinese lesson with Teacher Chen at the university where I am studying Chinese. Ben's new classmate is 9 and she is from the US. She joined his class last week. Here they are reading in the library after class.
Ben is quite ready to go home now. Although he keeps busy here, he often talks about school and home. I'm glad that he has found a friend to play and talk with. When they are together, he worries less about being stared at, and he has more fun.

More on where we used to live

2007-10-26T05:47:00.000+10:00

The second photo shows where the Japanese house was. I think. It's hard to tell. The park is at the end of the street now because the houses that were blocking access when we lived there have gone. There is a small pasta restaurant on the corner.
And the other photo is of the park in Yong Kang Street. Since our last trip (March 2006) this exercise equipment has been installed in place of children's rocking animals, which were much more popular.

Another blast

2007-10-25T22:56:00.000+10:00

from the past. By popular request.

Nostalgia

2007-10-20T16:08:00.000+10:00

Photos from Taipei, 1992, taken, saved and scanned by S.

Laundry Folk and Daan

2007-10-20T13:54:00.000+10:00

This couple run a laundry behind Shi Da near where we used to live. We usually drop by to say hello to them when we visit Taipei. I am happy to see that they are still there.

When we first moved to the area fifteen years ago we lived in a Japanese house owned by the university. It was a single-story wooden house with a tiled roof surrounded by a concrete wall. It had a red gate. Although it was rat and termite infested, we liked it. After a while the police found out that the house had been let to us and was not being lived in by our landlady's family, so we had to go and that was the end of the house. The landlady was a Chinese refugee who had been a teacher at Shi Da; she must have been allocated the house in the post-war period. After we left it was demolished to make way for cafes and upmarket apartments.

I still like the area although it has changed a lot. Yong Kang St has some great food. Although the parkside street vendors disappeared a long time ago, A's san bai fan shop and the Vietnamese eatery are still there. The park is a pleasant place for B to play in.

Earthquake

2007-10-18T01:32:00.000+10:00

Oh, there was an earthquake about an hour ago. Just a few seconds of jolting. S & I met in the hallway (safest place to be) but it was over by then. There was another one last week on Thursday morning. We are all fine (don't worry GM).

Postal Museum

2007-10-18T00:23:00.000+10:00

We visited the Postal Museum (郵政博物館) after Chinese class. Another interesting museum, this one partly because some of the exhibits are so odd. The museum actually freezes time; it preserves the Republic of China view of the world. The museum was established by the Directorate General of Posts in 1965 in Xindian, and opened in 1966, but it moved to its current location near the botanic gardens in 1984.
The fourth floor displays aspects of the modern postal system around the world. It includes a post box from West Germany and dummies wearing uniforms of postal workers from many countries. The US postal worker is given the most space.
On the fifth floor of the museum there is a large collection of stamps from all over the world. The stamps are stored vertically in display drawers that slide out. The map of the ROC showed the island of Taiwan hanging off the large territory claimed by the ROC-China-territory that has not been under ROC control since 1949l. The ROC collection began with the Large Dragon stamps of 1878; China's first stamps. The Qing postal service was developed by a British customs official, Robert Hart.
The Australian section has a map that includes Papua New Guinea as Australian territory (PNG has been independent since 1975.)
We also saw a Penny Black (1840) and some African stamps made of gold.
Another part of the fifth floor is devoted to Taiwan stamps. I expect this part of the museum is the newest.
In February 2007 the name of the postal service was changed from Chunghua Post Co to Taiwan Post Co. Stamps are now printed with the name 'Taiwan' instead of 'Republic of China' on them. Apparently Ma Ying-jiou, the KMT's 2008 presidential candidate, has announced that if he wins the election he will change the name back.
Helpful staff at this museum too.
Ben was thrilled to find and later purchase (cheaply, from a nearby stamp dealer) two sets of Harry Potter stamps for his collection. Are there any other stamp collectors among our readers? What do you like to collect?

Su Ho Paper Museum last week

2007-10-18T00:15:00.000+10:00

I really like this little museum because the staff are friendly and making paper is fun.

Hiking last Sunday

2007-10-17T23:54:00.000+10:00

On Sunday we met old friends in Mucha and went hiking with them in Maokong. Because of the recent rain the trail was muddy, but it was an easy and enjoyable walk with great views of Taipei. We went past tea fields, bamboo and butterflies. We ate our snacks at this waterfall under these tree ferns before we turned back. B loved the scooter ride that took us to the trail head. We finished with a late lunch at the Sushi Train near P's place.

Mood, Today, Wednesday

2007-10-17T23:41:00.000+10:00

Whoa, hey, here we are back again! It's been a week and a half since the typhoon, which was the last time I could easily post on the blog. The weather is much cooler. Sarah is back from the US and the hot water is back on, the phone recharger available and the internet reconnected, simple joys!
Some of the time recently I have frankly felt the whole endeavour is selfish and doomed. Horrible feeling of being the '3 legged cat'--not able to do what I said I could do.
However it seemed to me today as I watched B skip lightly along the sidewalk around scooters, up and down steps, past surprised locals, ahead of me on the way back to the apartment, that we had achieved some kind of settled in feeling. And it might be possible to just get things done. Even if the path is not smooth and direct, maybe I can skip more lightly around obstacles and make a game of it.
The photo is of the night market that is between the MRT (underground station) and our apartment.

Phone, internet woes

2007-10-11T16:00:00.000+10:00

We've had trouble with the internet and mobile phone from time to time since we came to Taiwan. At the moment we have a phone recharger but no internet access at home. When S. returns to Taipei from the States next week we should be able to fix that, but until then we may be slow to respond to emails or comments on the blog (even slower than usual, that is!).

Singing in the Rain

2007-10-08T00:54:00.001+10:00

This makes me happy.

Gosh we have been busy (again)

2007-10-04T00:21:00.000+10:00

Well, what else would we be?

We went to the Daniel Pearl Day of Harmony and Music on Sunday. Saw David Chen's band (they were great, and have a CD coming out soon) and met friends old and new.

On Tuesday we had mango ice at Ice Monster in Yong Kang St. Yummy.

Today we went to Bitan and rented a swan-shaped paddle boat for an hour's clammy paddling in the water. I kept thinking of the Goon Show's 'he's fallen in the water', but he didn't. Despite repeatedly leaning across my body to try to steer the 'boat'--and not paddling.

Grand Final Day

2007-09-30T00:05:00.000+10:00

We caught the last two quarters of the game at The Tavern, a sports bar up by Taipei 101 in the upmarket Hsinyi district. It was all over by then of course, Geelong won by a mile. There were a few kids in the bar with their Aussie parents. Ben and I sat on bar stools and sipped our lemonade (me) and juice (Ben) very sedately. It was good to see the game, although it made me feel a bit homesick.
Well done Cats. We were thinking of all you Cats fans while we watched the game.
After that we wandered into a trade show of Taiwan inventions. The Ministry of Education section had an activity that we participated in to get some toys. I had to answer questions about the show in Chinese, which was fun. A Taiwan Ministry of Education scholarship permitted us to come here, so the exercise seemed appropriate. Here is a picture of the toys. We also saw some interesting robots. Everyone was very friendly.
Then we went to Taipei 101 and Ben played in the fountain. We wandered about the new shopping areas and in and out of some other department stores (New York, New York, Shingon Mitsokoshi) for a little while. I tried to get a cheese toastie for Ben in the Mitsokoshi food court but it was filled with sweet mung bean paste and we both found it inedible. Much nicer was a fish shaped waffle filled with banana we tried next.
There is a Marks and Spencers in New York, New York. We looked at the food section but it was very limited. Mostly tea and sweet biscuits.
I see from our blog entries that I am obsessed with food. I guess interacting with people over food, and with the food itself, is one way of incorporating this place and its people.
Bus back to Xindian took ages and then we spent some time in the night market on the way home. Ben didn't go to sleep until nearly 10pm.
Sarah has gone to the States for two weeks so we are looking after her cats and plants. One of the cats is very scared of us and won't come out from under Sarah's bed while Ben is around.
This is a very boring post, my only excuse being that I'm rather tired. I just can't keep up with Ben during the day!

Swinging

2007-09-28T10:00:00.001+10:00

Here's me swinging from a tree on the hill behind the apartment.

More posts later...thanks for the comments...all is well.

Knit one, purl one

2007-09-24T01:14:00.000+10:00

Ben told me that Linda can knit while she reads for the children, so I thought I'd try to adopt a Linda-like ability to patiently multi-task. I have been knitting a beanie for Aaron while I read to Ben. We had a few long reading sessions today. Ben even said, before he went to sleep, "Well, I can't complain" [about the quantity of reading today]. We mostly spent today inside because yesterday was very busy and Ben is looking tired and coughing.

In the morning we walked up the hill behind the apartments and found it full of activity. There were several groups of people ballroom dancing, a bbq, a man playing the pipa (Chinese lute), and lots of people exercising. We strolled about the muddy trails, swung on the gym equipment and danced around to foil the mosquitoes. Found this seat along the way (photo). Nice to see someone reuse and recycle.

That was about it for the day, except for some embroidery (thanks for the hessian Nada) and a quick visit to the night market in the evening for dinner. I had a longer chat to the sisters at the fruit juice stand than usual, which was fun. Bought some pomelos (a kind of grapefruit) and two papaya milkshakes for Ben.

My parents are reading the blogs now, which is very exciting. Thanks Mum for making the effort to seek out the blogs at the library or internet cafe. And A. N. C. B. S. ML & A for the comments, and L for sharing the blog with Ben's class before the holidays.

Hey, if anyone is lurking out there and would like to say hi to us, please write a comment on one of the blogs, Ben especially loves and is encouraged by comments.

I called today's post 'knit one purl one' not only because I am knitting, but also because tomorrow is going to be busy again (zoo catchup with people and possibly more puppet theatre in the evening). It was good to have a quiet day in between the busy ones.

Busy Saturday

2007-09-24T00:16:00.000+10:00

On Saturday we set off on the 670 bus to explore East Taipei. This is the oldest part of the city. We started in Ximending, an area developed by the Japanese from a market outside the eastern gate of the Qing city walls. At first it was a market area, then it became an entertainment area; today it is both. When some teenagers with spiky hair got on the bus I thought to myself, I bet they are heading for Ximenting, and sure enough we just had to follow them to get there.

First we went to the Red Theatre in Ximenting, then by train to the Longshan Temple and Manka Park in Wanhua. From the temple we walked along Huaxi Street, which is famous for its seediness and snake blood drinking in the evening, but was quite tame at around 11.30am, luckily. Then we took a bus to Dihua Street, known for its old Straits Chinese style buildings (hard to discern the designs as not much is made of this) and dry goods shop houses. We bought some fruit tea and tried some preserved strawberries. We dropped in at the City God Temple and I drank some sweet, hot date tea, which is supposed to make women more attractive, not much chance of that in the Taipei drizzle. The temple was very busy with young women praying for good husbands.

Then we stopped for some stinky tofu and a banana shake (guess who had what?) and I had an interesting chat with a Taiwanese man about Taiwan independence and Taiwan identity. Luckily he knew where the puppet museum was and gave us directions, so we got there at around 3, just before a performance, which we enjoyed despite the fierce airconditioning. Afterwards we had a personal tour of the museum and Ben played with a local girl from the neighbourhood--they raced around together and he left in good spirits.

Then (are you tired yet?) we took a taxi back to Ximenting to look for capsule toys, but all the capsule toys seem to have been moved out of Ximenting so we just wandered among the crowds in an increasingly tired and on my part fractious way. We ended up back at the Red Theatre where we listened to an acoustic singer and checked out some local craft and design stalls. Ben drew a Taiwan da bien on the chalk graffiti wall.

Bnaw, bnaw, banaw, that's all folks. Back home by train for elbows (pasta) and cheese.

Catch up post

2007-09-21T08:40:00.000+10:00

Tuesday was a typhoon day, so public officials did not have to go to work and schools were closed. So my second day of Chinese classes was cancelled. We spent the day at home (Sarah’s apartment) and pottered about. Did laundry, ate cheese on toast (of course), hung out with Sarah, did some schoolwork with Ben. Waited for the wind to pick up, but didn’t. We were lashed by rain, bucketloads we could use in Victoria if only it would head that way.
My Chinese class is going quite well. I must have made quite a mess of the placement test and I have been put in a class where the ‘new words’ are not new for me at all. However, it’s okay to review the writing and reading. I wanted to change the class but there is no class at a higher level at that time. Have to make the most of it. Hardly any speaking and a lot of homework.
Ben’s class, which started on Wednesday, is traditional Chinese style teaching. So far there have been no games or songs, but writing and homework and lots of vocabulary. The teacher seems nice but I don’t think she read my ‘study plan’ for Ben. I don’t want him to be turned off the language learning experience; I do want him to have some fun, because when it’s all over, that might be all he remembers. I’ll keep monitoring that.
We have been to the Taiwan Democracy Memorial Park, ex Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Park, several times. It is now a very strange mishmash of a place, under renovation, looking tatty but still attracting tourists. The enormous doors are closed and covered with scaffolding. The fish food dispensers have been removed, so people are feeding the fish lumps of sweet white bread. The gardens still look good though. People still come to take posed photos. Ben enjoyed a rainforest garden on the south (Aiguo) side that features plants from Taiwan. Inside the limos have been moved to make way for temporary exhibitions; at the moment, it’s local design. Some of the back parts of the interior have also been opened up for exhibitions. We saw one on Taiwan technological development that began with and lauded the Japanese period.
Ben has had some trouble (warning, yuck ahead) with a wart on his foot so he’s had an unhappy visit to a doctor and we have spent time taking care of his feet and looking for more suitable shoes / sandals. I seem to be doing a lot of shopping. Luckily most things are cheap.
Chinese homework…well, better go do some.

Short Sunday Musings

2007-09-16T09:05:00.000+10:00

David on Formosa has a post on this short hike, I'd like to do it.
Yesterday we went to the 8/23 memorial park in Zhonghe. It's a short bus ride away. Had a good time there, although watching out on Ben's behalf for dangerous pavement scooters, holes, and steps every few metres is pretty tiring. There is still a lot to get used to.
Also B is conscious of the stares and whispers, or even shouts that follow him around. Last night in the nightmarket as he looked at tamagochis one mother was even pointing at him as she explained to her small children that there was a foreign child. It's hard not to be annoyed sometimes, and I must remember that I came here to gawk myself.

TGIF It's Friday

2007-09-14T10:45:00.000+10:00

already, so nearly the end of our first week away. My aim for the first week was to settle in, and I think we're getting there. B seems content. Although he's not looking forward to starting his Chinese class on Monday I think he accepts it's inevitable.

Yesterday we went to the grocery store in the basement of Taipei 101 to stock up on imported cheese and other familiar perishables. I couldn't resist buying brown-shelled eggs because the only kind I have seen sold here in regular stores is the white kind--B pointed this out. Is it true that only white chickens lay white eggs? Anyone?

We went up Taipei 101 in the afternoon. It's a very regulated environment. There are immaculate guards at every turn directing you to stand in certain places and move around the observation floor in a clockwise direction.You are ushered to a desk where you are given a free audio tour. There are 11 or 12 stops on the tour and the recorded female tour guide points out interesting buildings, sketches the history of Taipei through discussion of particular buildings (eg the tobacco factory which was built by the Japanese in 1937), landscape features (mountains and rivers, story about the Qing official who named the Sishou-4 animals-mountain) and places of interest to tourists (shopping and dining). I don't remember any mention of the city's aboriginal history, but I didn't listen to it all. Next time I must take my recorder along and take more photos of the interior.I find it a very interesting space. Even the space itself--there is not much space anywhere else, so the contrast between the nightmarket, for example, and Taipei 101's shopping mall is stark. (Ben says that's because not many people get a day off work).

On the way up in the super fast lift (1010 metres a minute) the guide/lift attendant delivered a compressed talk in several languages: Mandarin, English and Japanese. One of the passengers said, you can speak so many languages, why not Taiwanese?
Since we last visited in March 2006 they have added a shop and a mailing facility.

On the way home I bought a spring roll for dinner. It's like a salad wrapped in a very thin rice roti. Inside there is preserved turnip, tofu, ground peanuts and sugar, bean spouts, um, not sure what else, anyway, it's yummy. Nothing like the Australian version. Here is a photo of the laoban, making 6 spring rolls at once.
Ben is enjoying papaya milk shakes.

We made it!

2007-09-12T12:14:00.001+10:00

Here we are in Taipei. Ben recovered just before the flight to Taipei, and ate mango and berry icecream and garlic pizza and a muffin and a hot chocolate, mmm. Only got a bit ill on the 1 hour and 20 minutes flight to Taipei, and we got to Sarah's at about 8pm. Phew!
It's taken all morning to do these blogs--time to hit the streets!

Hong Kong Fooey, posted in Taipei

2007-09-12T11:22:00.000+10:00

“Hong Kong, live it, love it!,” says the visitor’s kit. A “living culture of unrivalled shopping, superb dining and unique blend of Eastern and Western Heritage, matched by spectacular harbour vistas and the rural splendor of mountains, beaches and outlying islands”. Sounds great, and we are well-located to enjoy it at this nice hotel, the Novotel Citygate.
However, Ben is in no state to “live it, love it” as he has been sick since we arrived 20 hours ago. He’s asleep at the moment. The plane trip was okay and he just started to feel bad when we arrived. I’m not sure if that’s because the dramamine had worn off or if it was the contrast between moving and stopping that overwhelmed his sensitive system.
I made a quick foray out into the shopping centre attached to the hotel yesterday to buy bottled water, plain biscuits, and other essential supplies. Otherwise we’ve just been in the hotel room, which is very subtly decorated in colours of wood and bamboo, with a few refreshing prints of fresh green leaves on the walls, excellent lighting and a comfortable bath. It looks out over the airport expressway, a small but popular park, low forested islands, and the sea. Every 15 minutes or so a plane takes off from behind the nearest island, performing the impossible feat.
In a brief period of non-nauseous normality, Ben and I looked at the pictures on the Hong Kong paper money. We have now seen the main architectural sites of Hong Kong. Sort of.
I can hardly claim to have made the most of what the visitor’s kit describes as an opportunity to “find diversity and memorable contrasts at every turn”, but I offer the following observations:
There are several sprinklers on in the park, spraying water hither and yon. I haven’t seen sprinklers for a while.
About one fifth of the supermarket shelves were taken up with a dazzling array of instant noodles.

By this time tomorrow...

2007-09-09T10:29:00.000+10:00

we will be aloft. Today, however, we are still in our homely patch of Melbourne's western suburbs. Ever now and then, over the past few days, I have felt as if I'm on a plane that suddenly dips down and leaves my stomach behind. That's feeling nervous about the trip.

Here's a photo of spring blossom from A & M's backgarden yesterday afternoon. This was taken with the new camera, a Canon Powershot 560.

See how technologically adept I am becoming? I don't want to disappoint again those who had the experience of looking for our travel blog LAST TIME and found nothing there. I'm better prepared this time, because I have been practicing. It still might take a day or two for us to get back online after we get to Taipei, so thank you for your patience. In the meantime, check out our location on our google map. It looks great in satellite view--click on 'sat', and click on the blue blobs to see what they are, and you can grab the map and drag it to move around Taipei. I'm so excited by this map!

View Larger Map

Sunny Daze

2007-09-03T11:24:00.000+10:00

Photos we have missed because I haven't got the cameras yet...
...pink plum blossom against the blue sky at the noice end of our street
...B's new bright blue tiger stripe pajamas translucent on the washing line
...daffodills in a vase on the kitchen table

Support in Taipei

2007-08-29T10:01:00.000+10:00

I am filling in forms for research ethics approval. I didn't realise that this would take days of work! Anyway, the form asks me to identify what risks the participants and I may be exposed to, how the risks can be minimized, and support be provided if needed. Risks from being interviewed by me, hmmm?
Here is a list of the places I'd start with (aside from my friends) if B and I were to need local support or advice:
the Community Service Centre in Taipei.
the counselor (like a Student Advisor) at the Chinese Culture University.
and Forumosa.
Also some info on ethics from the University website with links to anthropologist and oral history professional asssociations.

Notes on Fieldnotes

2007-08-27T23:51:00.000+10:00

I'm going to throw some notes about fieldnotes together as I tardily compile my ethics application. I'd save it as a draft, but last time I did that I couldn't retrieve it, so bear with me, dear (non-existent?) readers, this will save me from having to carry one more page of notes with me.

Burns, Introduction to Research Methods 2000: 430 suggests 3 sections to the fieldnotes:

transcript file: record of interviews, comments in large right margin, numbers to locate place on recording on the left

personal file: describes the setting and gathers the reflections of the interviewer. Also record how the participant was recruited, how you maintained the relationship, how you left the field. Methodological issues that arise.

analytic file: basis for analysis. Emerging themes. Organised around topic areas.

Fieldnotes should focus on who/what/where/when/how/why questions

see also the radical anthropologist and this and the fieldnotes stub on Wikipedia. And finally, Number interviews chronologically, and footnote as
Interview 4, March 17, 2007. Interview 16 confirms this.

Got all that?

Fieldwork Kit

2007-08-26T06:51:00.000+10:00

Less than two weeks to go until we set off for Taipei. I'm not sleeping very well. I'm unsure that I'll be able to meet all the goals that I have for the trip. If the level of fatigue that I've felt over winter here in Melbourne continues in Taipei it will be a struggle to get B & I to and from class, to absorb the language lessons, to educate B, to get out and do observations, meet people, conduct interviews, write it all up, do housework, write a paper for the research day in December, and spend time with my Taipei lao pengyou. On the other hand, I may be able to do all these things to some extent. Perhaps I will be more effective for having fewer things than usual to concentrate on (can this be true?). Worrying about it all at the moment is energy sapping, that's a certainty. Overriding the goals I've listed above are the imperatives: keeping B and I healthy.
Topic of the morning, however, is fieldwork kit. Nice, masculine topic. Good posts in Savage Minds on what to take for fieldwork.
I intend to take:
mac laptop from uni
Canon digital compact point and shoot, camera wrap.
Olympus ws digital sound recorder (100 or 300)
iPod nano with music for B and I
USB thumb drive
Name cards, double sided, English and Chinese, with my uni contacts
Nokia mobile (cell) phone, unlocked (get local SIM for prepaid calls when I get there)
post-it notes
filofax
adaptor for laptop (I have one already somewhere)
spare batteries, chargers
notebook and pen
clear plastic folder to collect documents
crumpler bag

TEXT

Looking forward to Taiwan

2007-08-25T14:02:00.000+10:00

In two weeks, we will be in Taipei. It's a lovely day in Melbourne today, warm and sunny, so I feel some sadness that we will miss most of spring.
But we'll be able to catch the end of the mango season in Taiwan. I plan a visit to the tsobing Ice Monster shop in Yongkang St sometime in the first week. Last time we visited (February 2006) they only had strawberry shuang; this time the famouse mango version should be available.
I have started a new blog for B, click here to go to B's new blog.

Sleeping

2007-08-12T23:13:00.000+10:00

We've had lots of lovely visitors this weekend. Friday dear friends from the neighbourhood came around for pizza and the children enjoyed the trampoline. Saturday T popped over with his little boys bearing gifts to bring us up to date with advances in the technology of visual entertainment. The boys made free and easy with the fruit bowl and were quietly charming. Afternoon B zoomed to his good friend's house for his second ever sleepover. Had a great time, he said on his return today, then retreated to his room and was asleep before 6pm dressed in his clothes and without eating dinner.

I have been in a fog of fatigue and fuzzy procrastination lately. I hope it will lift soon so I can get on the plane in a month without beating myself up about things left undone in Melbourne.

Taipei 101

2007-08-07T13:20:00.000+10:00

Click on this link to go to the website of Taipei 101.

Links to interesting media articles

2007-08-05T12:33:00.000+10:00

Novelist, pet, translator and mother Eva Sallis reads from her chapter, 'Foster Mother tongue', (from Translating Lives, QUP, on bilingualism) on ABC radio national's lingua franca.

Article in the Age on naming state icons.