Ben in Taiwan

Ben, a friend of Daniel's (and mine, too!) came to visit Taiwan. Ben was one of our groomsmen in our wedding, so last time we saw him was in the winter wonderland of Ontario in February. He came to Taiwan ready for an adventure. He was the first guest on the Bastke rooftop, and seemed to fit right in on his futon couch guestroom (aka our living room). Our quaint little place does really well with guests ;) It's always fun to see Taiwan again through a visitor's eyes. Ben came to the studio with us, scootered to Yeliou, spent some sick days on the roof (poor Ben) and was sent off with a hair wash the night before he left. We did the group hair wash thing. Ben left Shine Salon sporting an 80s rocker do! The stylists always have a way of making curly hair "puffy". He and Daniel also had some adventures on their own like climbing the 2nd tallest building in the world. By climbing, I mean, taking the fastest elevators in the world to the top! I waved at them from the rooftop. We also got to meet and spend some time with Ben's girlfriend Laura.

A Fruity Treasure

After almost five years in Taiwan, and seven in Asia, I finally came to try the Buddha Fruit. In English it is also knows as Custard Apple. I'd seen this fruit for sale in several stands on the side of the road and in fruit markets, but it never really jumped out at me. Possibly because it's known as buddha fruit as its shape looks like a buddha's head. It was our friend Ben's visit to the island that brought the buddha fruit to a new life. He tried it and loved it and raved a bout it! I bought one at the market yesterday and we tried it this morning and it is heavenly! We even showed Daniel's family as we had a video skype with them this morning. Thank God for this fruit. It's HIS creation! I can understand why it is also called custard apple. The sweetness of the fruit melts like custard in your mouth and it is absolutely delicious. It is hard to describe, and simply must be tried. Trust me friends, it's worth the trip to Taiwan :0)

Two Husbands?

At a school rally on Friday a student, Timothy, asked me a question.

Timothy: Andrea, can I ask you a personal question?
Me: OK . . .
Timothy: Is "Felix" your boyfriend? NOTE: Felix is the name of a character Daniel played on Let's Talk in English
Me: (with a big smile) No, actually Felix is my husband. Daniel is my husband.
Timothy: (completely shocked) What! You have two husbands?!?!
Me: No, no, Daniel is Felix's real name. And Daniel is my husband.
Timothy: (still a little bewildered) Oh . . .

Sometimes we make things difficult for our students :) But they can truly make us smile. I'm thankful for my one and only husband! He makes me smile the most :)

Easter Monday

Happy Easter! New Life! Let us live daily in the power of the resurrection. Hope you had a wonderful weekend to savour the journey of the cross. A friend once told me that she believes waking up every morning is experiencing resurrection. I like that.

It was a big weekend in Taiwan as we had our national election. The new president is Mayor Ma. Well, I know him as "Mayor Ma". When I first came to this island, he was mayor of Taipei. I have actually met him two times. Once at the dragon boat festival. Once while running a race. I like to think that I ran past him, but I think it was a loop of the race that we passed each other on and he was well ahead of me. The colour blue now has a new meaning here. We are all thankful that the elections seemed to have happened very peacefully.

Our friend Ben is still visiting the island. We went on a trip to the northeast coast this weekend to the Yeliou Geo park. It's become the "Niagara" for our visitors to Taipei. Just like when visitors came to visit my family in Canada we always went to Niagara Falls. My parents have visited the falls close to 50 times! Though each time its wonder is displayed. It's also always fascinating to see the moon like rock shapes of Yeliou. Last time Daniel and I were there was the day we took our wedding photos. I'll have to get some pics of our trip from Daniel. For now I'll share a pic of our last visit :)

Purple Peppers

• A message from all the Brodersen's singing "Happy Easter to You" on our answering machine. Thank you family :)
• The joy of scootering the mountains on a 150 CC scooter! Thanks again, Sawatzky's! BroMo, don't worry. I'm still faithful to you. Never thought I'd be typing to my scooter on my blog :)
• Mei Mei's Breakfast place has the best veggie dan bing. Dan bings have been dubbed as the Chinese Breakfast Burrito. Goodness!
• We had a shower for the next ORTV bride-to-be tonight. Lisa was showered with a "Heavenly Maldives" theme.
• At lunch time today I scootered to Tienmu to by chickpeas to make hummus, went home to make the hummus and eat lunch. And made it back the office in time! Talk about a whirlwind hour!

a fun blog thing that i can do now since i have a blog :)

This little ditty has been found on blogs of dear friends, and so I give it a try. You answer the tags with a google image. Here are my picture discoveries.

favourite flower: lily of the valley














major in college: intercutural studies, TESOL













favourite place: georgian bay, ontario, canada

a nickname i've had: mausi

favourite colour: blue

first job: dishwasher at the china lantern chinese restaurant in new hamburg









name of a past pet: gertrude the hamster

city i live in: taipei

a place i'd like to travel to: palau

a favourite food: vegetable lasangna

and greek salad

favourite fruit: mango

mountains in the morning, mountains in the evening

I'm thankful for the mountains. A lovely hiking mountain is right here at our doorstep. My mountain hiking mate Rachel and I have a fond affection and understanding of this place. What a joy to find a challenge every time we hike it even though it's a regular feat.

Yesterday I went to visit a mountain school with the rally team. We met wonderful students on a campus with amazing mountain views. The school is nestled on a mountain, with mountains all around. The windows of the auditorium we were in gave glimpses of the splendor around is.

The mountains here are dear to my heart. On a clear day, we can even see them from our apartment. I love the blue hues of morning mountains. I love the mountains with their sun kissed colouring at night.

I lift my up to the mountains. Where does my help come from? My help comes from YOU maker of heaven, creator of the Earth.
Psalm 121

Thundershowers Signal Spring

Finding the purple peppers, the fun surprises and delights of life, is one my my missions. And there are so many to discover with the right perspective. I've been married now for just over five weeks, and there are great delights and surprises moment upon moment. For that I give thanks. I've been dreaming of purple peppers for a while and give a rooftop shout of thanks for this blog's first entry. I look forward to sharing more with you, dear readers, should there be any readers. It's a rainy night in Taipei tonight. A thundershower has just passed together with vibrant flashes of light. One of my colleagues shared that means that spring is here. Spring is in Taipei dear friends! New life ahead.



A few purple peppers from today

• A little note under a teacup can make a world of difference - thank you Sweet Daniel :)
• The understanding voice of a friend on the phone is a heart hug in itself.
• You can look at wedding pictures again and again and again and again.
• Words from my mom can always make me cry. A girl always needs her mom.
• The sound of rain is therapy.
• Grilled Cheese sandwiches take you right back to elementary school. And there is no ketchup like Heinz.