We are back home again, although home is more of a relative thing now that our time in Taiwan is ticking down. It was good to be back in Massachusetts with family during this time of grief and sadness and celebration of Dad's life, but it's not really home. We were at Dad's home, which used to be mine, oh so many years ago, but it will be on the market in the next few months and will soon not be home to any of the family. This home in Taiwan will not be home in a few short months, although it certainly feels like home right now.

Walking through the door last night was such a relief. Done with the round-the-world travel, ready for routine, happy to be where I hang my hat, so to speak. But there's a sense of melancholy too. Or maybe that's just me, still waking up, facing a quick week of teaching (and not prepared for it at the moment), poised to pack up again for yet another trip. I think a bike ride to buy some fruit, gather some correcting from school and pay some bills at the 7-11 will get me started on that longed-for routine. Plus hopefully clear my head of the travel cobwebs. The downside of getting out will be the pollution. There was none of that back in New England. Trade-offs - fresh fruit and filthy air.

When we started talking about moving halfway around the world we thought about worse-case scenarios and what it would mean to be so far from family. When I got the phone call on Saturday with the news that my father had died it was as hard as I imagined it to be. But during all those conversations two years ago Dad was always my biggest supporter. Go, he said, have adventures and share them with me, he said. I miss him terribly.

Tomorrow is Taiwan's presidential election. Here's your little history lesson. The first national election was held only 20 years ago, but in that time the KMT has always won. The KMT is the political party that supported Chiang Kai-Shek as he set up the Republic of China, otherwise known as Taiwan, in 1945. Martial law was imposed at that time to keep dissension down and wasn't lifted until 1996. A lot has changed in the past 20 years, including Taiwan's relationship with China.

That relationship seems to be the main, or possibly the only, issue concerning the presidential election. For the first time the main opposition party looks like it may win the presidency. The candidate is a woman named Tsai Ing-Wen and she is wildly popular down here in Kaohsiung. There is a campaign headquarters building next to our neighborhood park that has been the hub of lots of activity. Every evening this week they've had the loud speakers blaring and music playing.

I've been told by a couple of people not to make plans out of the house on Saturday evening. (I would compare these people to the ones in New England who remind you to buy milk and bread and check the firewood pile any time the weather reports call for snow.) Could it be that there will be excessive celebrations? Out of control fireworks (that wouldn't be unusual)? A general sense of unease about what may be next in Taiwan's history? This election may turn out to be a little more interesting than the one currently bubbling along back in the States.

This is a foodie pictures post. The meal was lunch at a Japanese fusion restaurant outside of Taipei last week.

The space inside was beautiful, just like their sign. I don't know the name of the restaurant but I think the first two characters mean "big mountain" - "da shan."

Everything about the presentation was beautiful. There were a dozen or so different courses with each one served on a platter decorated with flowers or other things from nature. Here is a sampling of the food that was served.

This course included, on the right, tofu and pine nuts and, on the left, a spoonful of sticky rice with ginger and fish roe.

The sashimi was served on a bed of salad. I'm not a big fan of shrimp sashimi, but the salmon and tuna were fabulous. The salad included flower bulbs that tasted a bit like delicate coconut.

To cleanse the palette after the fish we were served small glasses of sweet plum vinegar. 

There were three of us eating this meal together, which explains why there are three filleted shrimp (that look like creepy over-sized cockroaches), three green beans, three slices of sweet potato, and just out of the view on the right, three pieces of squash.

This is clam chowder, served in delicate little bowls with a tasty clam perched on top. There was more broth in the iron tea kettle.

Another soup dish was this green concoction. It tasted a bit like celery with a deep fried rice ball on top. The stone bowl had been preheated so the soup stayed nice and hot.

The last course was another soup but by the time it arrived we were too full to eat any of it. But the best part about that dish was that after the waitress put the serving bowl on the table she placed a dried flower on top of the soup and the flower slowly unfurled in the bowl. It was an amazing meal.

Happy day. We went to our nearby 24-hour fruit stand and, for US $20, bought pineapple, papaya, guava, apples, wax apples, kiwi, bananas and jujubes. Here's a site with pics and descriptions of some of my favorite new fruits: http://www.butterfingers.co.za/exotic-fruits-of-the-east

Another nice part of the day: Watching football on a Sunday afternoon. We're watching the NFL playoffs and since two of the games were on Saturday we've spent our Sunday watching the replay of the games. Seeing the Sunday games is more of a problem since we have to go to work on Monday. Oh yeah, we have to go to work tomorrow. Way to put a damper on my Sunday...

Here is a reprise of Day Two in Taipei:

Mrs. Hsu took us into the mountains again but this time we took a taxi from the city instead of a bus first. The taxi driver we spent the day with probably never imagined that he would spend his day driving up and down mountain roads with the formidable Mrs. Hsu. His first move was to agree to drive the hour or so into the hills, then she coaxed him to keep the meter running and go for hikes along the back roads, visiting tea plantations and her old friends.

Here's a little background of the area. In the 1970's the city of Taipei found it needed more water than they had so the government decided to make another reservoir in the mountains southeast of the city. The country was ruled under martial law so the rulers just told the village that was in the way to move up the slopes. The reservoir essentially cut the town of Shiding in half, with the tea plantations on one side and the former mining community of the other. The mining part is where we visited Tuesday. It's more of a tourist town of sorts than anything else now.

Prior to the flooding of the town Mrs. Hsu had taught at the village elementary school and since then she's kept up a close relationship with her former students' families. Teachers are held in high esteem around here so she's always treated like royalty when she comes to visit. There are strict regulations about visiting the area since it's one of the main water sources for Taipei so the mountain village part of Shiding doesn't get many visitors. There are people who come from the city to walk the roads above the reservoir and visit the high mountain tea houses though. In addition to this pristine, emerald colored lake, the area is well known for the quality of its teas.

We spent some time with a family that owns a tea plantation near the edge of the reservoir. The wife of the couple showed us the equipment they use to dry and roll the tea leaves. She poured us tea and gave us gifts of tea, tea candy, dried pomelo skins (which are used to ward off insects, wash pots and pans and possibly cure all known ailments) and fresh greens from the garden. When I admired the pots of Christmas cactus lining the walkway she uprooted one and put it in a plastic bag for us to take home to Kaohsiung. I was afraid if we stayed any longer we might end up taking home one of her kids!

The leaf roller

I now have this lovely cactus sitting on my kitchen table.

These are awards for being chosen as Model Mother of the village, quite an honor.

The hospitality and kindness of the people we've met here has been incredible. This family stands out among many.

That's Mrs. Hsu on the right.

It's been a whirlwind of exploring the mountains outside Taipei for the past two days with Mrs. Hsu. I'm still working on downloading the photos so I'll continue adding those as I get them on the computer, but here's a quick recap before we head out to the train bound for Kaohsiung. (Addendum: photos have been added.)

On Wednesday we took a bus west out of the city to the village of Shiding. It takes about a half hour to go from the middle of the city of millions of people to this little town in the rugged, undeveloped mountains. As you can imagine, during the weekends it's packed with city dwellers out for some fresh air and a natural setting to stretch their legs. There's a river that cuts through the center of town that has a walking path along the edge that stretches for many kilometers. The hiking paths in the woods are pretty extensive as well. Lots of hearty bikers make the arduous trek up into the mountains too.

We limited ourselves to a stroll through town, with a stop at an art gallery, and a short walk along the river, in between raindrops.

Then we hopped into a taxi to take us further into the mountains to a vegetarian restaurant run by some artist friends of Mrs. Hsu. The food was incredible and the setting spectacular.

Mr. Wen is a calligrapher and he painted us a poem.

It says (I'm paraphrasing) ,"On a cold winter's night I had no wine to serve my guests so I gave them hot tea instead." Mrs. Hsu brought Zach and Cierra here when they visited in November and Mr. Wen painted them a poem. He remembered that and and wanted us to have the same poem as theirs.

After lunch Mrs. Hsu brought us back to the city to do some shopping and then met up with Simona and Mr. Hsu for dinner. That makes for a very long day when you're adjusting to a 13 hour jet lag but we mustered through it. Fortunately, traveling back to Taiwan is much easier that traveling to the U.S..

I'll add Thursdays activities when I get back home this afternoon.

After two weeks in Massachusetts we've headed back to Taiwan. We didn't take our trip to Japan but we're thinking about reprising it in June. We'll see.

Our flights from Boston to San Francisco to Taipei were fine but not ones I'd like to repeat. The next tickets we book will be based on carrier first, price second. All of this international traveling has changed my expectations for basic travel so that when I end up on an American based carrier I'm disappointed.

We took Japan Airlines from Taiwan to the United States and had comfortable seats, good food, and an excellent entertainment system. Because we changed our return plans we didn't take JAL back, but instead ended up on United. The seats were smaller and none of the amenities like a foot rest for my short legs. The food was awful, the flight attendants a bit surly. For the first flight to San Francisco we had to pay to see a movie. On a six hour flight they gave us only water, fed us nothing and expected $5 to see a movie. Outrageous.

On the other hand, our luggage wasn't lost, the flights left on time and we arrived in Taipei early. But being happy with those kinds of basic expectations is like rewarding a child for not hitting the baby. I paid the airline to get me and my luggage to a final destination, right? I shouldn't feel like I have to praise them for doing that. Anyway...

We're staying at our friend Simona's apartment for a few days before taking the train back to Kaohsiung. We had a lovely dinner at a neighborhood dumpling place last night and slept for ten hours. It's pouring rain this morning, something that happens frequently in Taipei in the winter and rarely in Kaohsiung, but we'll make due. Simona's mom is planning on taking us around the city and into the mountains for the next couple of days and she's not intimidated by the rain. Tea plantations, here we come.