Warren and Sandra in Taiwan

Hello friends and family,

 March came and went so quickly.  It's so hot and humid already and it's only going to get hotter! The flowers are beautiful now but still we haven't planted any veggies yet.  In fact today our plan is to go to B&Q (just like Home Depot) and see what we find.  We also want to look at lounge chairs or something to replace our wobbly wooden chairs that won't hold us up much longer.  All the rain must have damaged the wood and we are too heavy.  Warren already broke one while sitting on it. 

We played Mah-jong with some friends last night until 3 am.  The weather was so nice we sat outside on the roof with some wine, candles and music.  What a beautiful night.  We are teaching our South African friends to play.  Wa are learning as we play too.  I used to play with my family as a kid but it's been so long I needed to review rules on the internet to refresh my memory. It's a really fun game and I can see why Taiwanese people love it.  When we become a little more confident, I'd like to try playing with our Taiwanese friends to see if their rules are much different (there are many variations of the game all over the world!)

Uncle Laurie has asked us a few questions about Taiwan life and ways of doing things. These are not easy questions to answer so for today I'll start with the recycling/garbage collection question.  Well Taiwan indeed is doing an excellent job with garbge collection.  This process began about 8 years ago.  5 days a week, at around 7 pm and again at 8pm on a nearby street in case we miss the first opportunity,we hear the Beethoven tune and that is how we know it's around the corner.  It's just like the ice cream truck in Canada, you know exactly what is is... Everyone heads down to the two trucks.  One is for recycling items and the other is garbage.  But you have different days for different items.  Bottles and cans, styrofoam, household appliances, tin/metal cans, paper/cardboard.  THe man checks the bag to make sure it is the correct item.  We used to get scolded when we didn't know the correct items for that day.  They also have a composting bin. which is awesome. As for everything else that's garbage, you must dispose of it in these specific blue bags that you have to pay for at 7-11 or other convenience stores.  Since you pay for these bags, you really watch what you put in so you don't waste your money.  The recycling can go in regular grocery bags....

Anyhow, it's nice to see such accountability.  At home I used to get lazy sometimes and just throw away stuff I could have been recycling but sometimes just being in a hurry or whatever. But here you have no excuse... you must do your bit to help the environment... it's great.  ok I hope this helps answer your question somewhat!