Small Blizzard, Christmas In February, Stuffed Pizza, and Earthquakes (?) In Chicago

It seems fitting that when I visit Chicago it snows for two days. Since my parents left the Christmas tree up it's like Christmas in February. It's also interesting that I was woken up by an earthquake last night. It was relatively small (4.0) but enough to wake me and make me think, in my half-sleeping state, that I was in Taiwan. Earthquakes are common in Taiwan, but uncommon in Chicago so this was quite a surprise.





The Christmas tree in my parents house. They left it up for me so I wouldn't 'miss out' on Christmas.
Giordano's stuffed pizza is some of the best in town. I had some pizza my first night in Chicago. I washed it down with a Fat Tire mircobrew from Colorado.

Chicago In The Winter

I went home to visit my family over the winter break. Although this blog is about living in Taiwan I have included pictures of my trip to Chicago. I have some viewers in Taiwan that may be interested in seeing Chicago.

Millenium Park: http://www.millenniumpark.org/

This is the Frank Gehry designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millenium Park. Frank Gehry also designed the modern art museum in Denver, Colorado. The botanical gardens are in the foreground.

This is the pavilion up close. I have seen orchestras at the pavilion and the sound is excellent.
The famous Cloud Gate sculpture by Anish Kapoor. This is at Millenium Park as well.
Ice skating near Michigan Avenue in the park.
The Cloud Gate sculpture from a distance.
This is the Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa. The following comes from the Millenium Park website: "The fountain consists of two 50-foot glass block towers at each end of a shallow reflecting pool. The towers project video images from a broad social spectrum of Chicago citizens, a reference to the traditional use of gargoyles in fountains, where faces of mythological beings were sculpted with open mouths to allow water, a symbol of life, to flow out. Plensa adapted this practice by having faces of Chicago citizens projected on LED screens and having water flow through a water outlet in the screen to give the illusion of water spouting from their mouths. The collection of faces, Plensa's tribute to Chicagoans, was taken from a cross-section of 1,000 residents."

These are some Chinese sculptures on temporary display.
A Chicago policeman on horseback.
I try to visit the Art Institute of Chicago every time I make a visit home. The art museum houses over 300,000 works of art from all over the world.
Stairs to the elevated train on Wabash street. Chicago has an excellent network of public transportation.

This is the Sears Tower (I refuse to call it the Willis Tower) from Union Station. It is the tallest building in the United States and the fifth tallest building in the world.
This is a view of the city down the Chicago River from Union Station.

Winter Ascent Of Mount Syue

So, this is most of the group near the visitor center of Shei-Pa National Park. Teacher Chen's family is on my left, our guide 'Bear' is in the orange, and Teacher Chen's friend Michael is on my right. These flowering trees were next to the Cijawan Creek which is famous for Taiwan salmon. There is a salmon eco center nearby. From here we drove a few kilometers to our trailhead and a short hike 2 km hike to the first mountain lodge.

This the morning from our first lodge. The day started off nicely, but the clouds rolled in and as we climbed higher the trail became enshrouded in mist and clouds. At least it didn't rain, but not a very good day for views.

The Crying Slope was steep but by this time we had already hiked a kilometer and switched-backed several hundred meters so it didn't seem too bad to me. The trail was cloudy by this time so this trail marker is a better picture than I could have taken.
After the 'crying slope' there's a short detour to the summit of the East Peak of Syue Mountain (elevation 3201 meters or 10,501 feet). As you can see the views are not very good.
After the East Peak of Syue Mountain is up and down along the ridge line to the next lodge. By this time we've hiked about 2 kilometers and climbed about 1000 meters from the first lodge. We still have about 3 kilometers to go, but at least the trail is going up and down along the ridge line. The clouds obscure our views, but they really give the mountains a mystical feeling.
This is teacher Chen's son excited by the first sighting of snow on the trail. I'm excited too.
Another trail marker talking about alpine bamboo. It's quite a resilient plant. From a distance the bamboo looks like grass, but when you can see a cross section of the plant and soil you realize it's really like a very thick blanket on the mountains.
This is the second lodge. From here we will make our ascent to Syue Mountain and then come back to the lodge to sleep before heading down on day four. This way we can leave some gear behind and make a lighter ascent.
A view from the lodge that I sketched below. We got to the second lodge at 2 PM so we had lots of time to play cards and goof off until bedtime.

The sunset at the second lodge with the moon rising. The clouds are starting to lift and the forecast is promising for our ascent tomorrow.
It's about 5 degrees Celsius (41 F) so the down coat I'm wearing feels very nice. The humidity makes the temperatures feels much colder than the temps I'm used to in Colorado.
This is the sunrise from the second lodge on 'summit day'. It was -3 degrees Celsius this morning so we were all anxious to eat breakfast and get on the trail to the summit. I was glad to see clear skies over head and couldn't wait for the sun to clear the horizon and shine down on us. What a beautiful appreciation for the sun one has in a situation like this.

The trail is getting snowy and icy as we traverse the forest toward the bowl of Syue Mountain. This is where we put on our crampons.
Getting groovy before our push to the summit. I borrowed the afro from some hikers we met on the trail. The summit is directly over me head. We hiked up a trail that traverses the bowl on my right and then came down from the saddle above my left hand.
Here is the entire group. Teacher Chen's daughter and wife did not make the summit but stayed behind to enjoy the sunshine and make snowmen.
The final push to the summit.

Our guide blazing a trail down to the saddle and down to the bowl.
This is good view of the trail we took up to the summit.
Michael, teacher Chen, and his son coming down from the summit. The mountain is steeper than it looks and the exposure makes it quite exciting. You certainly have to stay focused on what you're doing.
I may not show it...but I'm loving it. It's been awhile since I've done a winter ascent in the mountains. The crampons feel great. I'm 'jumping' down the mountain like a goat. The teachers tell me I was born to climb mountains.

Frosty The Snowman was made from the frost on the railing at lodge #2. This was the morning of the fourth day and we had a long 7 kilometer hike back down to the car.
This is the view we missed on our way up. The second lodge is on the clear slope in the distance in the center of the picture. Syue Mountain is the large peak on the left side of the picture.
Another view we missed on the way up.
We're talking about doing that ridge line in the future. No trails...just blazing it. That's the way I like it.

Life Is Good At A Taiwanese 'Imu' Party

I'm a bit behind on my blogs, but I was invited to a Taiwanese 'imu' party a few weeks ago. 'Imu' is the Hawaiian word for a steam pit oven. Many cultures across the world have a similar method or tradition of cooking food. The concept is simple. Dig a hole in the ground and line it hot stones from a fire. Cover the stones with grasses and plants. Wrap your food in paper or cloth and place in the hole. Cover the food with more grass and plants and then bury for several hours. The food comes out incredibly tender, moist, and delicious.

So, a teacher's father owned some land across from his house in the middle of Wuci. Several teachers from Wuci and surrounding towns met there on a Sunday to have the 'imu' party. They met around 9 AM, but I didn't get there until noon due to my rather late Saturday of dancing. It was like a picnic you might see in the U.S. The kids played baseball or games, the men gathered in a circle and drank and talked about work or politics, and the women gathered in a circle and talked about the kids and the men. I can't understand much of what is being said around me, but I've realized how much of our communication is non-verbal. I have always been observant of these non-verbal ques, but I have really honed my skills since moving to Taiwan. I've also come to realize that ignorance is bliss when it comes to politics. I'm not saying that I don't have an opinion, but it's very different when it's not 'your' politics. I think this kind of distance from politics is a healthy perspective that I hope to bring back with me. In any case, I found myself playing the referee a few times during the day. Throwing myself between teachers and saying simple things like, "Don't argue...food, drink, sunshine, playing kids...life is good." I don't think it helped much, but you do what you think you can.