Jamie's Favorites: Night Markets

Something about being up at all hours of the night shopping for bargains is just so appealing to me. What's amazing is, I'm not the only one that feels that way - Taiwan night markets are bustling all through the night.

Let me paint you a picture...

Small street or alleyway, so crowded you're getting to know the people you're squeezing by a little too well, noisy, cheap goods, hawkers shouting out deals and trying to get your attention, loud dance music blairing on giant speakers, the smell of all kinds of fried delights is overwhelming...and it's 3 a.m.

Imagine being in the middle of a purchase and in a blink of an eye, your vendor is packed up and outta there - all that's left is the wheel marks from their little cart. The cause of this fun part of night markets? Rumor of cops roaming around. Don't worry, they come back and unpack within a couple minutes and you can continue your bartering. This applies only to the little illegal "booths" in the middle of the night market strips.

Imagine getting full on some delicious Taiwanese treats - spending MAYBE about $3 (U.S.)! (I've posted pictures of food options below - this is just a taste of what's available.)

Yep...I love every bit of it.

I vividly remember multiple times growing up when our aunts would be gabbing through the night, laughing, shouting over each other, the usual - all wanting to be heard. My cousins and I would be woken up by their chatter (that's a nice way of putting it) and we'd want to be up too - so we'd hit the night markets. What a blast!

You can get some cheap clothes, cds, blankets, sneakers, jewelry (lots of jewelry), souvenirs, whatever your heart desires!

Here are some pictures I've found that help me to flash back to the fun - though I'm sure you'll be seeing my first-hand pictures not long after I arrive in Taiwan hehe.

One of my favorites - delish fried chicken (usually it's cut up into little chunks).

You can get almost anything on a stick - read the signs.

Another favorite of mine - candied fruit (on a stick of course) - YUM!

Fresh fruit galore - heck yeah!

Stinky tofu - it's on our bucket list this year haha.

ANOTHER favorite - mango shaved ice! There are a TON of topping options for this yummy late night dessert.

Beautiful Taiwan

Taiwan is completely under-rated. Trust me (i'm not biased at all haha).

Here are some images of my beautiful home land -

You want to visit right??

Colton - 17 days. Jamie - 51 days.

Let the countdown continue!

I can't believe my hubby is going to be in Taiwan in 17-ish days!! Wow! I'm bummed I can't go with him, but I have a previously booked wedding to photograph that I'm excited for in September, so duty calls :o).

I've already told him that he needs to keep his "firsts" to a minimum until I get there - we'll see how that goes haha. His month there without me will be busy looking for work, learning the transportation system, practicing his Chinese, and getting settled.

Lots of people have been asking how long we plan on staying. There is no set date. The only for sure is that it'll be a minimum of 12 months (teaching contracts are a year long, and they usually start in August, that's why Colt has to leave before me). After that, we'll see where the road takes us. We are excited for new opportunities, and I really think we'll have some fun ones to try, but who knows, we might be so home-sick for WA that a year is all we can do :o).

Colton is convinced that once I'm there, I'm not going to want to leave after only a year...and I'm convinced he's going to melt away after his first month and be moaning for WA rain haha. So we'll see - I think there's a compromise in there somewhere.

My next post I think is going to be about the trip we took there in 2005, Colton's first time there...actually, first time ANYWHERE outside the U.S. What were we thinking? lol Check back for that, and don't forget to read Colt's blog! www.coltonstaiwanadventure.blogspot.com

Until next time...

The beginning of an adventure...

Let the countdown begin (yowza!)...

Colton is flying out on August 11th, and I'm looking to book my flight for the second week in September. I can't believe it's happening! We have wanted to move to Taiwan for years and years. This has always been a dream - and now we are just a month or so away! Pinch me.

Let's review how we got to this point:
1. Wanted to since forever
2. Colton had a sudden urge, and once he gets something into his head, it's impossible to argue
3. We were making offers on houses but nothing was going through, and we realized this could be our last chance to take the leap before we were committed to something that tied us down
4. We were ready for a change
5. God had His hand on this decision - everything fell into place
6. We've always played it safe - and in this economy, the safe thing would not be to give up on a great job, decide not to buy a house in this buyers market, and spending savings to move overseas. But I know that money can be made and a house will come along - more than regretting any of those, I know that I'd look back and regret that we didn't take the opportunity while we had it. No house, no kids...this is the time. (And let's be honest - not playing it "safe" doesn't mean I can't plan almost every detail...right? haha I'm sorry! I have a problem!)

So here we are, packing up our things, making to-do lists (ok, that's just me), learning Chinese (that's just Mr. Colton) and taking a chance.

The hardest part is saying our goodbyes. (Going away party is on July 30th at our house in Bothell - so get your booties here!) Not only are we leaving our sweet family and amazing friends, but we have made the tough decision to leave Finnigan boy here. There were a lot of complications that led us to this conclusion, but his quality of life will be a million times better staying here - and he gets to live with his favorite uncle Evie and bff Koda girl at the Park! So although it's sad and I'll probably miss him every day, Finny will be happily chasing/protecting chickens and tackling Koda.

So let's see, what else? Oh, plans - Colton will be teaching English (more details to come on his blog I'm sure) and I will be focusing on photography and spending time with my sweet family over there. We don't know where we will be living quite yet - depends on the job that Coltie lands. We are looking at Taipei or Hsin Chu.

We will be getting an apartment once a job is lined up - and you all better start saving money and vacation days because we'll have a super comfy air mattress all ready for our guests! (Seriously, when else are you going to get to visit Taiwan?) In case visiting your favorite people isn't enough - check out this article/slideshow here.

Some of the things I'm most looking forward to:
- spending time with my relatives who i'm very close with and love dearly
- meeting my first ever "second cousins" on my mom's side (cutest little chinese babies ever)
- going to the night market
- exploring the parts of Taiwan I haven't seen
- documenting everything with my camera
- learning to read and write Chinese
- eating as much lychee as I want
- learning to cook different meals from my sweet Amma (grandma)
- traveling to other parts of Asia
- watching Colton try to blend with the locals (hehe)
...and tons more, but I'm sure there will be plenty of posts to come that document it all.

My goal is to keep this blog completely up-to-date, and I also plan on doing "a picture a day". I'm going to try to post one picture per day for 365 days straight - images that capture our time in Taiwan, or a small detail, or something/someone special.

I hope you will all follow my blog (and Colton's, I will share it when his is all set up). We have very different ways of looking at things sometimes, and we both definitely have our own voice and opinion - so my hope is you'll get an interesting glimpse of our lives in Taiwan.

We will be on Facebook and Skype while over there, so plenty of options to stay in touch, but with the time difference, it can sometimes be difficult. (Add 15 hours to our time here in Seattle, and voila, you've got Taiwan time.) So hopefully our blogs will keep us all connected, and ideally, it'll intrique you enough to come experience a culture completely different.

Love you all, thank you for your support and friendship!

More to come...
jamie