Even I Can Play Mahjong!

Over the years people have tried to entice me into joining them at some game that they’re playing, but I have to admit that I hate playing those games.  I get bored with board games, discard card games, and can’t picture myself playing video games.  I grew up at a time when we could go outside and run around, ride bikes, play army or whatever until it got dark.  Those days are long gone for most kids.  They have slipped past me also, as my nap is now of the utmost importance. 

Recently though, I moved to Taiwan and my children are playing Mahjong.  They have this cool electronic table that, shuffles the tiles, arranges them in rows, and sets them up on playing surface.  It even rolls the dice for you.  It has cup holders, and a place for snacks.  These are necessities, if I'm going to be playing. It’s manufactured by LQT (Le Que Tai).

Surprising them and even myself I decided to join in the game.  I even enjoyed playing.  There’s no arguing over the rules.  They are what they are.  Here’s a bit of insight about the game:

You are “dealt” sixteen tiles, four at a time.  You can either gamble (very popular in Taiwan) or not. 

The Object:  The object of the game is to get five suits and a pair.  A suit is either three tiles in numerical order, or a triplet (three matching tiles). 

Game Play:  Dealing: After the tiles are shuffled, and stacked in stacks of two tiles, the dice are rolled.  Beginning with the dealer, rows of tiles are counted by the total of the three dice.  This is the chosen row.  The tiles are then counted by the same dice total. Tiles are dealt four at a time to each player, beginning with the dealer.  Each player receives sixteen tiles.  They are kept from view from the other players.

Each player in turn, draws a tile and discards a tile.  This continues until a player has the winning hand.

Chi:  When a player discards a tile that the following player can use to make a numerical suit.  The following player says “chi” and takes that tile.  This suit must then be exposed to all the players.

Pung:  If a tile is discarded by any player that a player needs to complete a triplet suit, that player says “pung” and takes the tile.  The suit must be exposed to all the players.

Hu:  If a tile is discarded by any player that any other player needs to win the game, that player says “hu”, and exposes all his tiles showing the winning hand. 

In order to really understand mahjong, you need to understand the one hundred forty-four tiles.  Here is an excellent post on this.  The game is fast-paced and fun.  I am surprised at how much I enjoy playing.

A "Triplet" Suit

A Winning Hand!

Oh Ho!  I Win! (Finally)

Photos by Eric Liu

Traditional Markets

There are traditional markets all over Taiwan.  They are very popular places for people to shop.  Early in the morning, it is almost impossible to get through there.  You have to be alert, people are dodging in and out, stopping without warning, riding scooters through it.  It can get pretty crazy, especially in a wheelchair, because you travel below their line of sight. 

Taoyuan City has a great traditional market.  The one near our home is called Da Nan Market.  They sell pretty much everything, from live fish, which they will clean and fillet for you, to clothes, shoes and hats.  If you want it, they probably sell it, as long as its legal.  

This is one of my favorite places to go.  I can sit in the shade and watch people for hours.  If I get hungry there’s lots of small restaurants and street food available. 

We went over there this morning about 9:00 am to get baozi (steamed buns filled with pork and cabbage), and were greeted with a sea of humanity.  People were everywhere.  I used to go there after morning prayer all the time before we moved, but today was the biggest crowd I remember. 

It’s a fun noisy place:  People trying to attract you to their stall, yelling about prices and products, lots of colorful signs, people talking and laughing, and other general mayhem.  If you want a sense of Taiwanese culture, you don’t want to miss the traditional market.

The Sea of Humanity

Doing what I do best!

Photos by Crisel Joy Bringula

Is That the Ice Cream Truck?

I worked in the trash business in United States for about twenty-five years.  I started in a high school recycling center.  After that, I drove a residential collection route and operated all kinds of equipment in a recycling processing yard, hey, I just did it all…trash wise.  When I left to do something else, I was working in the executive offices.  Garbage was my life.

I watched the industry change from hand loading the truck to automated collection.  When I was driving, I had to stop the truck, get out, pick up the can and dump it myself, rain or shine.  The drivers these days push a couple of buttons, and the truck loads itself. 

Waste collection in Taiwan is done very differently from how it is done in the US.  Collection in America is usually weekly.  They give you this big giant can and you load your trash in there, then once a week they show up and dump it!  Recycling is collected either weekly or every two weeks.  The items accepted are very limited.  In Tucson, they wouldn’t collect glass bottles.  If you wanted to wash them, separate them by color, and haul them out to a collection center they would grudgingly accept them.  Taiwan recycling collection vehicles take everything from glass bottles to wooden goods.  The trash trucks are even equipped with barrels for the collection of food waste.  They use it to feed the pigs…This does not happen in America, except possibly in some rural areas where there are a lot of pig farmers. 

Another difference is in the vehicle and collection method.  In Taiwan, the trucks are rear loader vehicles.  These trucks collect in each neighborhood daily.  As they travel down the street they play music, to notify residents to bring out the trash and throw it into the truck.  The customers load the trucks, themselves.  The truck barely stops.  It is followed closely by the recycling collection truck.  The recyclables are handed to an attendant who rides on the vehicle.

Collection in the US is weekly.  Recycling (at least in Tucson) is every other week.  The driver stops in front of the house and the truck loads itself.  They start at 7:00 am, and if your can isn’t out there, it doesn’t get picked up.

Finally, the biggest difference is the music.  The only trucks in residential areas that play music in America sell ice cream.  Americans are conditioned to want ice cream when they hear that music!  Personally, I think it’s nice to have music play when the trash man comes.  It is a nice marriage of beauty and function.  Taiwanese people think of everything!

Tucson Trash Truck and my Granddaughter Elle

Some Photos and video by Crisel Joy Bringula

Here We Go, Again!

As you may or may not know, I have been living in Tucson, Arizona for the last four years.  I like Arizona.  The only problem with Tucson is that it’s right in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. It’s really hot in the summer and so dry that my skin kept cracking and falling off.  You have to buy moisturizer in 55-gallon drums, or settle for clouds of skins cells surrounding you every time you move around. 

Taoyuan is nice and humid.  A hot day is like walking around in a sauna.  Tucson is dry, a hot day there is like being slowly roasted in an oven.  I don’t know, it seems like people complain about the weather either way. 

Desert Cottontail

The desert is beautiful, though, especially the Sonoran Desert.  There’s Saguaro cactuses, (they only grow in Arizona) and a variety of wildlife. Birds, rabbits, lizards, snakes, coyotes, bobcats and javelinas.  Javelinas look like pigs, but they’re actually peccaries.

"Peccary

A peccary is a medium-sized animal, with a strong resemblance to a pig. Like a pig, it has a snout ending in a cartilaginous disc and eyes that are small relative to its head. Also like a pig."  -Wikipedia

A pig by any other name is a…Peccary, I guess. 

 They eat plants but have razor sharp tusks, so you probably don’t want to fight one.

Anyway, for what it’s worth I have returned to Taiwan. I’m glad to be back, I missed it while I was in Arizona. I’ve eaten all the Mexican Food I needed to last a while. Now, I’m looking forward to classic Taiwanese fare. I’m especially looking forward to street food, which I’m sure I will consume with great gusto, along with the other things that make Taiwan great.

I want to talk a bit about this version of the Taiwan Adventure. It’s going to be the same only different. Hopefully, I’ll still be able to bring a bit of humor to my observations, but I want to focus a bit more on photos and a bit more on wildlife, (okay, I really mean birds, unless something really cool happens to wander up and get in front of my camera.) and tea. By the way, I will add some video blogs with Shabai/Elizabeth. I might even make some of my own, (We’ll see!)

I will try to add something every week starting today. Please feel free to comment, in fact I hope you will, and subscribe! Here We Go!

Photos:  The Sonoran Desert:

Prickly Pear Cactus with fruit!

Sandhill Cranes at Whitewater Draw - Sonoran Desert

Greater Roadrunner

Gambell's Quail

Fragile Desert