A lot has been going on in my life recently. I am home from Taiwan and am now starting graduate school. My degree will be in Social Work with an emphasis in Child Welfare.
I have only just begun a long and difficult journey but I do not fear. I am rather excited beyond measure.
More later when I have come up with a good topic to write about.
Today was the day. The annual World MOINK ball day was today! And it was celebrated with much success from here in Taiwan.
MOINK balls are the creation of my very own father, Larry Gaian. His creative juices were running when a few years ago he took bacon wrapped meatballs and combined them with his favorite glaze or sauce and threw them on the smoker. Brilliant! But most importantly, delicious. Today on World MOINK Ball Day we used a special Taiwanese BBQ sauce for the glaze and as a side of course…rice! So good!
Beef and bacon together with glaze and a smoker…not much could go wrong. For more information on MOINK balls visit thebbqgrail.com. Here are the pictures of today’s World MOINK ball extravaganza!
We made the MOINK balls and had a wonderful picnic on top of our roof. It was one of the most beautiful days I have seen in Taiwan. As we watched the sunset and enjoyed one anothers company, MOINK balls topped our evening off with the most delicious touch.
I have now made it a weekly tradition to go to the morning market on Tuesdays. I look forward to it each week, I even save my money for it.
As I got on my bike this morning and began my cruise to the market, I was paying attention to the smells around me. I have gotten so used to what things and places smell like. It is funny how the smells don’t repulse me as they once did. Once this morning I even thought, “Hmmm, that smells good.”
As I approached the market, my spirit was rejuvinated as I starred into a long street of people’s every day life. I have been to quite a few night markets around here, but nothing is exactly like the morning market. There is something about the morning that is so fresh and so new. It makes me feel as if anything is possible that day. It motivates me to get things done.
Today I bought a whole pineapple, a whole watermelon, a cantaloupe, two heads of fresh lettuce, and breakfast for $10 American dollars. Nothing is better than that! The hard part is getting the fruit home in my mini bike basket. But I always do. Today I only almost fell over once, besides the time I took one hand off my bike and almost rode into a parked car. But whose keeping track!
It is all about the morning market on Tuesdays.
I went to a Mexican restaurant here in Taiwan. Yumm!
Although there was no guacamole in the whole joint, the food was surprisingly good. My two friends and I walk in and are quickly taken to a seat. I guess very few people see Mexican food as a need-to-eat restaurant here. However, my friend and I definitely do.
Once our menu’s had been given to us and the hustle and bustle of us getting situated, I slowly begin to process the music that I hear. This can’t be! If this is a Mexican restaurant, why am I hearing bag pipes? Why does this music sound Scottish? Why? These are the thoughts running through my mind. I quickly look around for verification that this truly is a Mexican restaurant and low and behold I see a pinata in the far corner. Phew. I felt much better.
As I sifted through the menu looking for guacamole, looking for any sign that an avocado existed in Taiwan, I came across the funniest page I have ever seen in a Mexican dining menu: a whole page on waffles. Proof with a picture is below. Some waffles had black bean on it, some had whipped cream with strawberries, and some had pineapple. A whole page of “Mexican” waffles. Who knew!
Although my taco salad came with raisins on it and I had to ask for them to be removed and the salsa had zero taste to it, the food was adequate. I would go back but probably only for the laughs that are impossible not to come away with.
If you want a real Mexican experience, don’t go to Mexico…too dangerous. Come to Taiwan!
