Dancin' on the Ceiling: February 2009

I've been to the theater twice in the last couple of weeks - to see Chicago and Wicked - and BOTH times I was seated by people who were in serious need of a lesson in Theater Etiquette!...

Lesson #1: DO NOT talk during the show! I always thought this was a given (I mean come on - common sense people!), but apparently some people are lacking in that mental capacity. During the Chicago show, there were 2 older women seated behind us and they talked during the entire show! Despite attempts to shush them, they just kept right on gabbing - and we're not talking at whisper level, oh no, it was full volume! I finally couldn't take it any more and turned around during the second act and said, "Do you mind? It's hard to understand when you're talking!"

Lesson #2: If you must eat candy during the show, kindly remove it from its wrapper BEFORE the show starts. I can understand needing a mint during a performance especially if you have a cold and sucking on a mint will help prevent you from coughing during the entire show. But what I can't understand is someone continually rustling their LOUD candy wrapper during a show.

Lesson #3: Get that child a booster seat. If you're child is too short to see over the adult ahead of her, kindly procure a booster seat for her. Do not continue to pass said child back and forth between parents during the show, and the parents definitely should not be switching seats during the show too. I paid $75 (well $50 really b/c it was subsidized, but that's beside the point) for my seat and I expect to be able to see the show, so pick a seat and stick to it!

This next gripe isn't really about theater etiquette but it drives me nuts all the same. Why, oh why, do theaters not stagger their seats? Again this is just common sense... It's kind of hard to see if someone's head is taking up the entire center stage!

I was sitting on a plane ready to embark on my first Asian adventure. One of my really good friends from college was doing an international med school rotation in Taiwan (where she's from originally) and asked me if I wanted to come for a visit. My response??..."Hell yeah!" Five months later I was leaving on a jet plane bound for Taipei and my first authentic Chinese New Year.

During the next 10 days I learned how to eat proficiently (although not correctly) with chopsticks, drink barley tea without (outwardly) grimacing AND without sugar (that's a big one for a girl from the South!), navigate the subway system (not too hard since every stop was also written in English), and say "thank you" relatively well in Mandarin. I also learned that authentic Chinese food is probably not for me (although the fish was awesome 100% of the time).

I had an awesome time and it was really cool meeting my friend's family (they were so kind and so generous), experiencing a new culture, seeing the sites - including tallest building in the world (Taipei 101), and chuckling over how Western culture has pervaded EVERYWHERE. (I'm not kidding! We saw Outback, Macaroni Grill, and even a small replica of the Statue of Liberty!).

Here are some interesting things I noticed...

1. A lot of people wear masks that cover their nose/mouths. My friend says that this is not always because they're in respiratory distress. Hmmm, definitely makes for interesting people watching, especially when most of the masks have cute designs on them and are definitely not the disposable kind.

2. Food is a major thing here. Check out some of these yummy (in the mouth of the beholder) snacks...

Here's my friend eating (congealed) pigs blood. I tried it - not such a fan.

Squid on the barbie, anyone?

Snails for sale!

And my personal "favorite" - stinky tofu with a side of liver!

3. Squat toilets. I had never seen these before in my life! It was my first full day in Taipei and my friend and I were on our way to explore a popular area by the river. Before departing she insisted that we stop at Starbucks (see..Western invasion! and we coming from lunch out with the fam) to use the restroom because she couldn't guarantee that the bathrooms by the river would have toilets. Umm, excuse me? A restroom with no toilets??

?! I soon found out what she meant and boy was I glad that I used the facilities at Starbucks!

I even saw heavily pregnant women coming out of these stalls! That must have been some balancing act!

4. It rains A LOT in February (everyday but one afternoon I was there).

5. Chinese New Year is not the best time to visit Taiwan. Everything shuts down for the holiday and Taipei becomes deserted b/c everyone goes back to their home town. (But, this makes for shorter lines for the things that are open=)

Okay, I'm running out of steam, so I'll just post some of my favorite pics and let them do most of the talking. Enjoy!