April 29th, 2017

Yep, that's what you get in this space.  A fresh and aged Italian. 

Drive by this billboard every day taking Betty to/from work (that's her building behind it) and made that comment to her the other day.  She snorted.  

Not sure you can be both fresh and aged, but if anyone can be, it is us I-talians.  Of what there can be no question is that I am truly Funky Fresh

We also drive by the below sign daily, which is a block away from our apartment, that Betty comments on at almost every passing.

It is an ad for breast enhancement.  We had it translated and the procedure enhances them by injecting fat cells from other parts of your body.  Can not figure out why she is fascinated by this one as she is more than covered in that area.  My guess is that people with something that is a burden cannot understand why people would want to voluntarily maim their bodies to join them.  I feel the same way when I see the local old ladies (and men) getting their hair permed like mine. 

It feels like I am long overdue for an (almost) all Taiwan edition, so that is today's intention.  Let's see how it goes.

Yesterday was one of those glorious Taipei days.  I groused a couple weeks back that it had turned to nasty hot season already, but was a tad premature as I forgot about the Plum Rains that roll through this time of year.  They are named that as the rain mixed with heat make my Plums moist.  Sometimes we get a day like yesterday where the wind has blown out all the dirt and the rain has cleaned the air so that the sky turns from its usual grey haze to a bright blue and the temp hits that sweet spot between 75 and 82 degrees.   Have determined the over/under on days like that per year in town is 10 and decided to chart it.  This was day # 4 of 2017

I seized the day in heroic fashion by gluing myself to a chair to watch the first round of the NFL draft.  I love all the story lines and don't regret my decision, but my teams were both decent last season so were drafting late and had to stick around to the end to see their picks.  The Seahawks traded down twice and out of the first round completely, and the Raiders at 24 picked the highly touted DB whose stock dropped as it was announced last week that he is under investigation for sexual assault.  Ah football...  At least I could tune into the weekend recap show of my other favorite sport, Aussie Rules Football.  This week on the Bounce, the hosts were talking about some cheap hits from Round 4 and the host turns to his partner, whose nickname is Spud, and shows him a particularly brutal clip from his playing career where he delivers a ruthless  head shot on a defenseless player.  I've seen a lot of gruesome hits, and this ranks up there as one of the cheapest.  They talk about it for a second and the host says to Spud,  'How many games (of suspension) did you get for that?"  Make sure you read these quotes to yourself in an Australian accent by the way.  Spud goes, "I didn't get any.  Got off on a technicality."  Host then asks what kind of technicality and Spud says, "They couldn't find his head."  Uproarious laughter (including from me sitting at home).  You haven't been able get to away with that kind of dark concussion humor about the NFL since the '70's, or at least on ESPN since the Olbermann/Patrick Sporstcenter days, but is still de rigueur in Australia.  Football is still better than a movie...

Almost.  Not that it is a Taiwanese movie, but Betty, the Boy and I caught the Fate and the Furious last Sunday night here in Taiwan.  Great of course.  Betty had seen many of the Fast movies on TV but this was her first time catching it on the big screen with me. She is more of a Lake House/Pride and Prejudice kinda girl, but the cartoon violence seemed to win her over, although she is not amused when I quote lines from it in the car.  My current one is 'It's not the car, it's the driver."

In local news, Taiwan was rated to have the most press freedom in Asia in 2016 coming in at #45 globally.  Fake News America came in two slots ahead at #43 but think they'll drop this year.  Unsurprisingly, North Korea came in last at #180 and notably, China was at #176.  Also, Taiwan was voted as being the third safest city in the world behind only Abu Dhabi and Munich.  Well deserved.   Finally, Tawian is also safer today for our pets as the government this week  banned cat and dog meat in the country. 

Here is a little experiment...not in the news recently has been earthquakes.  Haven't felt even a small roller in months.  By me writing this down, will the Butterfly Effect or karma now trigger a major temblor in the near future and if so, how many days will it take?  It is currently 6:07AM on April 29th, 2017.

What is new with  regards to food in Taiwan?  Scientists have finally found the equation that proves the tastiness of a cookie is inversely proportional to the amount of packaging that it comes in.  The math is over my head, but anecdotally, Betty brought home some cookies she got as a gift and it took me 15 minutes and three different devices to unseal the wrapping on the tin, burrow through three different layers of paper and plastic to get to a "cookie" that had the taste of...well nothing really. It was this piece of filament that appeared to have some sugar crystals on it.  I guess I should marvel at how they can take the taste of sugar out of sugar, but an unsalted rice cake would have satisfied me more than this thing.  Betty on the other had went at it like it was baked by the love child of Paula Deen and Guy Fieri. 

5 years in and am still having a hard time understanding how the Taiwanese palate works.  The kids seem to be getting broken down as they can always find a local tasteless snack they like at the 7-11 (bubble tea I will never understand).  Am driving in the car the other day (why do all great ideas come to me in the car?) and am thinking about how much I love Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  They don't sell them here probably because peanut butter grosses them out.  On Facebook the other day, a person I know (female, of Chinese origin) posts out of blue, "Mayonnaise and peanut butter together.  So good!!!"  Whatevs.  So, am in the car thinking about Reese's and like a bolt of lighting, an idea for a Taiwanese version hits me.  A piece of Tofu wrapped inside a chicken's anus.  I know...they love both of those things so much that how is this not a thing already?  The ads write themselves.  "Who put tofu in my chicken anus?" "Ber-caw".  I would totally be down for starting up a cottage industry to make this happen if it weren't for the last part of today's all-Taiwan post.  Racism on social media.

Mentioned the new Italian restaurant that opened in the neighborhood that we loved a few posts back.  It has gotten so busy that it is booked solid a month out, and it would be further but they don't go any more than that.  As Yogi Berra (might have) said, 'that place is so popular, no one goes there anymore'  This week, an article is posted in an English language on-line paper  about the restaurant being accused of discriminating against a Taiwanese customer.  Briefly, a local person ordered a bottle of wine, but were brought a different one being told by the server that they were sold out of the one they ordered.  The server then tracked down this customer outside the restaurant after their meal and told them that they had the wine they ordered but the Western manager told her that the bottle they wanted was too good for them.

This totally blew up as you can imagine.  Dozens of 1 star reviews then appeared on Yelp (in Chinese) about how awful the place was, for the owners to 'go home', and worse.  The establishment is also now reported to be under threat of being closed due to illegal construction.  On the other side of the comments are charges that the locals are nice to foreigners until they feel threatened by them economically, and then their disdain for the foreigner surfaces with a vengeance.  I've always felt that when local people are looking at me that about 10% are happy to see a foreign face and the other 90% want me dead.  I don't eat at many local restaurants accordingly in fear of getting some tainted tofu in my chicken anus...or that the  anus isn't even a chickens.  I walk by this Italian  place nearly every day and looking in the window, the people sitting at the tables are nearly all Chinese, so having that attitude towards the vast majority of their customers seems hard to believe...but not impossible.  These people are Italian after all and their feeling of superiority towards the creators of their beloved pasta runs deep.  Anyway, the local expat community rose in support...on Facebook anyway.  There is a group on FB that is for expats in TW that has almost 1,500 members and there was all kinds of support and rumor being spread liberally.  At this point, gonna be impossible to know if this was idiotic and awful racism by the Italians, or mass overreaction to a disgruntled employee's axe to grind, but tend to lean towards the former.  I have reservations there in a couple weeks and am kinda in an ethical quandary about whether to go.  Will let you know what my brain and belly decide.

This kerfuffle paled in reaction of that FB group to the amount of comments and subsequent chatter around town about this post.

Hi all,
I was talking to one of my expat friends about meeting people in Taiwan and she told me that the newer expats here in town seemed cold, and not as friendly when you met or passed them on the street. I have talked with other expats who have been here a while and they also have noticed that many expats tend to ignore other expats when they pass them on the streets. This concerns me a bit, as as expats we represent our country in a strange land and the best way to reac...h out and make connections is to make eye contact and smile at other people, and even talk with them. Remember they may be feeling as strange as you did when you first arrived here and in need of a friend. As a person who tries to smile at people when walking and make at least a visual connection, I would like to challenge all of us to make that effort, to smile at every one, expat and Taiwanese, that you see and even say hello, and if the opportunity arises strike up a conversation. Studies have shown that being smiled at lifts the mood of the recipient and the smiler, as everyone needs to have some human connection, however briefly. Who knows, you may even end up with a new friend. Consider this the Smile Challenge, so many people are willing to do the ice bucket and other types of challenges, try challenging yourself to reach out as an unofficial ambassador of friendship

Arguing against smiling at people is like trying to argue that puppies aren't cute, babies heads don't smell good and the Beatles sucked (two of those are true by the way).  I wanted to reply to this post that it was bat shit crazy but know the perpetrator and suspect they've been huffing the guano for years, and it would just be seen as being sour grapes.   To use a phrase that I hear a lot and can't stand, need to unpack this a bit.  Every town I've ever been in gets accused of being cold to strangers.  Duh...they're strange.  This town is no exception but  would say that an expat community in general is typically more outgoing and accepting cause we are all the exchange student.  Kinda like going to college for adults.  And like college, there are tons of places and events to go to meet up with new folks.  People are different...introverts/extroverts/aggressive anti-socials.  Some of us like to have tons of friends and some like a close knit group.  Trying to meet people on the street is for psychopaths.  If someone comes up with a smile and starts talking to me, will think they are crazy.  Or Mormon.  And if a dude was to suggest that a woman smile more, we'd be considered a letch.  'Hey baby, why don't you curve those purdy little lips into a smile for me, you'd look way hotter.'

My only official "comment" was to link this YouTube clip from Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Then there is a bit of the racist element here.  Suggesting that we smile at the Westerners to me sounds like white people.  What do you do when you're back in the States?  Smile at everyone/the Asians/brown folks? 

Why do I need to smile on the street all the time.  Perhaps I'm in a hurry, or busy, or have something on my mind or am in my own world.  And to be totally honest, if I see someone up ahead and don't want to have a 'stop and chat', will dive into a store or cross the street.  And to beat you to the punch, am fully self aware to know that people will do the same thing if they see me coming, and have zero issue when they do.

While this post was insane and I could almost let it go, it is the people that pile on with the comments that always get my goat.

Side note, that expression comes from horse racing.  "This expression comes from a tradition in horse racing. Thought to have a calming effect on high-strung thoroughbreds, a goat was placed in the horse's stall on the night before the race. Unscrupulous opponents would then steal the goat in an effort to upset the horse and cause it to lose the race."

To be fair, there were a handful of comments that called the poster out on it.  An introvert who had to 'apologize' that she is uncomfortable in public settings, the lady that said that common courtesy of holding doors and being civil in general is all we really need, or the person that pointed out that some cultures think that fake smiling is considered disingenuous and suspicious.  One guy says when he sees another westerner, he challenges them to a dance off and another true hero even said that she was 'gobsmacked' the post was 'written by an adult'.  But that was more the exception, with the majority being takes on 'What A Wonderful World' and word salad nuttiness like...

Well said. We live in a world today were too many people stay inside their bubble. We have our phones, our tablets, ear phones on. I do as you suggest, and smile at everyone...I even go as far (which embarrasses my husband) to strike up a conversation with folks, just to find out the are new. I have many friends here that laugh because we met at Carrefour when I walked up to them. I am actually shocked that some suggested you change your post. Perhaps you suggested some specific folks, but so many of us do live in a foreign country..and as such need to be there for each other. I smile at everyone, however those of us living away from home need friends that understand. I think your suggestion is beautiful. Nothing you said should be taken as offensive. Splitting hairs if you ask me... smiling is a gift you can and should give to all strangers.

Although this was one was chilling. 

I do try to make an effort, especially towards other women and especially mothers but as someone who has lived in Taipei for 12 years I understand why this happens. There are a lot of bad seeds who end up over here and since Taipei is the "easiest" place to live in Taiwan for new expats we get the bulk of them and the most turn over. There are just a lot of not nice foreigners who end up over here running away from their problems in their home countries and so once you've met/worked with enough of them you start to put your guard up a little bit.

The good news is that folks that I've talked to since feel the same as I  don't feel like a complete asshole anymore.  What is the takeaway here?  If I'm not a complete asshole, what percent asshole am I?

How was that...Taiwan-centric enough?   

Looks like today could be glorious day # 5 of the year, but round 2 and 3 of the Draft is  on.  What to do?

April 22nd, 2017

Hey there.  Have started sleeping with the fan on as the air has stopped moving around and it is getting hot.  Not turn the AC on hot, but close.  A result of doing so is waking up with a snoot full of goo and spending the first 20 minutes of the morning evacuating the sinuses.  No payoff here, just have to tell someone. 

At the Costco yesterday, saw an albino Chinese for the first time ever.  Was jarring.  Again, no payoff, just sharing.

Last Saturday was the bi-annual (October/April) Fair at the kids school and was the 5th time that I've led the hot dog booth.  With a generous donation from Costco, whose involvement started 16 years ago, we had 800 dogs to sell this time.  We had the same amount last October when  the weather was crappy and we ended up selling a majority at a huge discount and gave away a hundred or two to the staff.  The staff were happy, but waste is one of the things a Virgo hates most.  This time, we had great (for Taiwan) weather and were on fire from the opening bell.  Sold out without any discount at 1:53pm, an hour plus before the end of the Fair.  

In the booth next to us were these Turkish guys selling something.  I don't even know what they were offering as there was this sign on their table and immediately turned and walked away in disgust. 

I get that the locals are spice averse, but damn...  One of the Dads came around questioning the hygiene of our booth's workers as if he were the health inspector.  I told him to grab my meat thermometer.  We then got into a discussion as to what is wrong with me and as he is well versed in behaviorism, he said I exhibited aggressive anti-social behavior.  Whatever.  As soon as he says this, a lady we are familiar with walks up.  This lady and her husband wear New England Patriot and Boston Red Sox gear all the time and by all the time, I have seen them on dozens of occasions and they have strapped on the Pats/Sox wear, many times tops and bottoms, every single time.  What is wrong with people?  Like you have anything to do with their success.   Anyway, on Fair day, she wasn't wearing any New England gear and I say "I didn't recognize you without any Patriot crap on", and the Health Inspector Dad says 'classic'.

Last we left off, our time in north Queensland was coming to a close and we had two nights left in country.  We were headed to Brisbane and saw on the TV that morning that their airport bathrooms were voted the cleanest in Australia.   The newscaster adds that no other contestants need "two ply".  Clever.  Appreciate some good potty talk and we were all delighted by the casual swearing and innuendos we encountered on our whole time trip.

In the van from the rental car place to the airport, we struck up a conversation with the driver and learned about the foreigner visa programs they have.  For some countries (other commonwealth nations for sure and we think some other European ones) you can get a 1 year visitor visa and then get a second year with the caveat that you have to work at least three months in certain industries.  This guy was a Brit that had just come off of 3 months doing hard work on a farm, but said that his real hope was to emigrate to America.  We joked that he had an OK chance as long as he wasn't Muslim or Mexican and he laughs and says his dad is Iranian and his last name was very Persian.  Sorry dude, you're outta luck.  Was then sitting with a guy at the airport waiting for his flight and he is obviously a country boy.  Tells me he is flying to Brisbane to get his other car as he rolled his pickup a few days before.  He wasn't drunk when he crashed it, but says he was pretty hung over from the night before.  Asked if the cuts and bruises he had were from the accident and he laughs and says they were from falling down at the pub.  Reason I mention him was that he works in a strip mine and he was telling me about all the foreign workers he meets on the same visa program, like Brits and Germans.  I ask if there are any Filipinos or Indonesians..."none of those" he says.  'How about Americans' I ask and he tells me I am the second one of those he has ever met.  Apparently, Australia is having some of the same issues with immigration as we are feeling in the States

When I was in Australia in '83, lived in Melbourne and that was a city Betty kinda wanted to see, so was asked a bunch why we didn't go there and chose Brisbane instead.  First, I have never been able to find any of my old friends or family and I'd just want to drive around my old haunts, which would be boring for the family.  Second, Betty sent me a link to a Koala preserve that she was interested in that is in Brisbane.  But the real reason we went there was Australian Rules Football.

As soon as we decided to go during Spring break, I looked at the Footy schedule.  Their football season starts late March so knew I wanted to catch a game as I fell in love with it way back when and still contend it is the greatest sport to watch.  Back when ESPN was just starting and they didn't have Baseball/Football/Basketball to broadcast, they showed crazy sports from around the world and Aussie Rules was on a lot, so knew a bit about it when I went.  I decided to go all in when I arrived and set out to find a team that fit my personality.  The family I was living with were Carlton Blues fans, and my best buddy was a Geelong Cats supporter, but I wanted to know what was the team that was mean and dirty and everyone hated.  Unanimously, the Essendon Bombers was their reply and followed them throughout the season.  They went to the Grand Final that year (getting pummeled in that last game) but I had a ton of fun being "that" fan. 

In looking at our schedule and comparing it to the fixture, saw that the Bombers were playing at the famous Gabba that weekend in Brisbane.  It was a tight fit as we had an hour and a half between our flight arrival and first bounce, but we were efficient and made it to our seats 1 minute before game time.

We sat behind a couple of couples that were Essendon supporters but had a nephew that was on the local team (Harris Andrews of the Brisbane Lions)

They were really nice and we had a dialogue with them throughout the game.  They advised Betty and the kids not to "root" for teams in Australia as that term is a crude word for intercourse.  I guess we shouldn't 'root root root' for the home team.

We also had meat pies at the game.  These weren't the gourmet ones we had eaten previously, but were the industrial Four 'nTwenty brand.  For my money, still the best.

We talked with our new friends about the Four 'n Twenty's and I said they are the best at 2am from the 7-11's, when the insides are still frozen.  They nodded knowingly.

After a first half dominated by the Bombers, during the half time show at all Footy games they bring out a bunch of kids from local little league teams to have a game  on the field.  The kids couldn't have been more than 7 or 8 years old and is just a charming tradition.  Really, the whole spectacle at these games is great in that you aren't assaulted by constant music or calls to 'get loud'.  The fans (felt like 60/40 Brisbane/Essendon) were loud on their own in a well versed way, crude and good natured throughout.  I didn't get a picture, but there was an Essendon fan guy in a wheelchair that went around the concourse the whole game screaming obscenities at Brisbane fans and they just laughed jeered back at him.  No fisticuffs or physical aggression anywhere to be seen.

In the 3rd quarter, Brisbane made their run and even took the lead early in the 4th, but the good guys rallied and got a closer than it sounds 27 point victory.  I can't say for sure, but it felt like the family had an enjoyable time watching the game...not to the point of obsession that I have, but I did hear them say how fun it was. 

Then after the game, we got a surprise.  They let anyone who wants to go onto the field and play around with their footballs.  We had bought one at halftime as a souvenir so were ready to go.  So great to kick it around a bit...people getting hit in the head...just a great scene and you know that would never happen  in the States cause the field would be torn up and lawsuits would abound. 

We all kicked a few goals and that cemented the sport as being the greatest (at least for me).  I had an app for years that would let me listed to radio broadcasts of games, but came home and invested in the AFL (Australian Football League) Global Pass and can watch all the games and shows on demand.  They have one show called "Bounce" where old players just rip on each other and show the awkward moments from that weekends games.  They had a bit last week where they went to a water park and one of the guys named Mooney was walking around in a tight swimsuit (that had the term "Budgie Smuggler" on the ass) and another commentator looks at him and says "Nice package Moonie".  Must see TV.   Weekends here are now so great...take Saturday for instance.  In the morning, can turn on the MLB and watch games starting at 7am till about Noonish, then the AFL starts soon thereafter and goes till 8-9PM.  Rinse and repeat on Sunday.  And they have a game on Friday night.  Just perfect.  If you see me this summer, I'll dial one up and try to get you hooked.

Our tickets (which cost AU$20 each, or about US$15) allowed us to take public transit home for free.  All the people and drivers were so helpful in getting us to the right stops/transfers and we got home in about 20 minutes.  On a trip with a ton of great stuff, by far the highlight for me.

The next day was the highlight for everyone else though as we decided to go to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary .  I have not been a zoo fan for a long time...not morally opposed to them per se, just feel bad for the animals and they make me sad.  Was sorta angling to maybe do something different this day, like check out a beach on the Gold Coast, but the family had never seen any of the animals native to Australia as they don't have them in many zoos around the world, so it seemed like the right thing to do.  Located 17 miles outside of town, we found out there was a ferry that takes you to and fro as part of the admission, and we were overjoyed to learn that it docks for the night  right outside of our hotel and they have an agreement with the tour operator to get on early and  before anyone else.

The boat goes leisurely up the cleverly named Brisbane River and was just perfect.

On the way out, about an hour and twenty minutes, there is a commentary being broadcast that tells you about Brisbane history and the sights along the way.  And in true Australian fashion, is freaking hilariously corny with a dusting of light racism.  Like the famous Castlemaine XXXX brewery, which is now owned by New Zealanders.  Why is the logo XXXX?  The narrative explained that is how New Zealanders spell beer.  And as we passed the Toowong area of town, the commentary said it was founded by two Chinese brothers named Wong.  Oh yeah, they have a snack shack on the boat with homemade sausage rolls, which we wisely packed up and took in for lunch.

The town is fantastically clean and modern and really, I fell in love with it.  The river looks dirty, but remember they just got past a cyclone and that it is a tidal river which causes a lot of turbidity (great new word).  

While I was originally down on it, Lone Pine had all of the animals we wanted to see.  Don't feel that the enclosures were any better or worse than any other good zoo, but seeing all of these unusual animals was a treat.  At dinner that night, we played a game where we went around naming them to see who could remember the most.  I came in last and the Boy ultimately won, but here is what I wrote down...

Koala, kangaroo, platypus, wombat, dingo, Tasmanian devil, cassowary, olive python, flying fox bat, crocodile, emu, princess parrot, cockatoo, water monitor, turkey, sheep dog, ducks, black headed python, turtles, barking owl, kookaburra.

Of course, the main attraction is being able to hold a Koala Bear, which isn't a bear, but sounds funny when you say it with an Australian accent.  Babydoll said it the best.

They weighed about as much as you'd think, were not as soft as I'd imagined and smelled surprisingly good. 

We were lucky to catch the kangaroos during the 'getting busy' season. 

Some interesting cassowary facts.  Males hatch the eggs and take care of the babies, and females are typically larger.  Should be the bird of the feminist movement.

Dingo

Kookaburra

Tasmanian Devil (they don't spin)

Platypus

A variety of nasty ass snakes

Look at the skulls on the cassowary.  Still can't get over how I'd never heard of these amazing creatures before.

Lace monitor lizard

Couldn't get a good shot of the wombats, but they turned out to be my new favorite as they look so damn lazy.

We had time to catch the snake handler show and touch a python, which is a gas at any age.

And not a great shot of the flying fox bats, but their faces really looked liked foxes.  They are huge and we learned that if they fall to the ground, they usually die as they can't get airborne at ground level and then get eaten by a crocodile.

There was no commentary on the way back to town, but Betty and I were sitting on the front of the boat and we started listening to this group that was sitting with us.  They were mainly foreigners but all living in Australia and working in the education industry.   Their job was to be student visa facilitators for non-Australian students.  Australian colleges cost 1/3 to 1/2 less than those in the States and we were sad that we learned this too late for the Boy, but immediately started working on Babydoll to go to Brisbane for school cause we would be more than happy to visit often.  In the hotel that morning  were two crews of Air Canada flights coming and going, and they said the non-stop round trip from Vancouver to Brisbane was US$620.  Wow. 

After the boat, we had time to take the 20 minute walk across town and take in some of the city sights, and we first ran into a plaza that was having a Spring rummage sale.  It was all of these college age looking kids selling off their old clothes and things.  Not as sleazy as it sounds...Babydoll bought a cute dress for a couple of bucks.  She was sorta interested in this jacket, but when I said she looked like a soldier in the North Korean military, she passed.

Betty said the cute college girls were horrified, but didn't think it was that off color and was perfectly appropriate to Australian sensibilities.

Great little town...modern but still charming.  We had time to dive into the Woolworth's, which is supermarket and is referred to as Woolies, to grab some treats to bring home.  Tim Tams are one of the best mass produced cookies I've ever had, and we bought a couple packages of Four 'n Twenty meat pies to bring home.  Good times.

There is a well maintained path along both sides of the river that is perfect for walking/running/biking and we walked 10 minutes from our hotel to dinner the last night. 

And the view from the breakfast room and our hotel room the last AM. 

Great ending to an almost perfect trip.  If you have read this far, you know we have been fortunate to travel a lot the last few years and that one of my main functions in life is to plan these excursions out.  For the first time in all of these trips, I received an 'atta boy' on how good this one was.   Betty, the Boy and Babydoll all said so independently and emphatically.  Why was Australia different I wonder?  It  doesn't offer much in terms of human history (35K years of Aboriginal life excluded), the natural wonders are wonderful, but not more so than other places, and the sea life was better in Palau.  Being able to understand the language intimately has something to do with it.  Maybe that the food, while rarely exceptional or exotic, was familiar.  Meat Pies and Footy for sure were big parts.  Will need to reflect on this more in hopes of making future excursions as satisfying. 

 "Who discovered we could get milk from cows, and what did he think he was doing at the time?"