Disaster Averted

Last night I broke one end of my size 5 Knit Picks circular knitting needle.

Fortunately, there is a yarn shop in Daxue Village.  I went over there this morning and managed to make my needs known to the shop keeper who knows slightly more English than I know Mandarin.
After measuring my needle she showed me two options for a size 5 circular.  I made my choice and then browsed around in the small, cramped, humid shop.

In spite of the heat, the resident dog wore a sporty sweater.

I thought I was going to get out of the shop with just the needle, and then I spied sale bin.

Who knows if I got a deal, but the yarn is 70% cotton, 30% mystery and quite pretty. I spent 800 twd which is about $25.

What I find amazing about this entire experience is that when I first came to Taiwan in 2011, I was too timid to go out on the street by myself.  Now, I'm out on the street and I'm shopping all by myself.

Religion in Daxue Village

One of the aspects of Taiwan I enjoy most is the prevalence of temples.  There are 30,000 temples in Taiwan.  Apparently that is more than any other country in Asia. The temples have been built by Buddhists, Taoists or practitioners of Chinese folk religion.  Pretty much every where you go you run into temples, large and extravagant, small and informal, or modest but distinctive.

A pint size temple in the Hakka Cultural Park which is within walking distance of our neighborhood.

This temple is on a table in a corner of the Gongguan Traditional Market which is across one of the main roads from Daxue Village.

One of the disappointments I've experienced living in our current neighborhood is the lack of temples.  2.6% of the population in Taiwan is Protestant, and they all seem to live in our community.  We've got a large Baptist Church, a larger Presbyterian Church and the Lutherans are here too. I'm not going to include photos, because you know what they look like.

We had a big surprise yesterday morning while taking our morning walk.  We strolled past Daxue Park which we had visited before.  This time, we approached the park from a different angle, and lo and behold - here is our local temple!!!

Now I feel that all is right with my world.  I've got at least one temple in my immediate neighborhood.  There are probably more, I just haven't figured out where to look yet.

Everything We Need

Here we are, living in Daxue Village in Taipei, Taiwan. Daxue means university, so we're in University Village.  We are right near Taipei National University.

Our apartment is at the blue dot.  Daxue Village is a triangular area bordered by three busy roads: Xin Hai Road at the top going SW to NE; Xin Sheng South Road to the east; and Roosevelt is the connection running from northwest to southeast that forms the third side of the triangle.

In Taipei, addresses tell you the closest main street, the smaller lane that comes off the main street, the alley that juts off the lane, and finally the building. The system of going from large to small is very logical, once you understand it.

 To come visit us, you have to find our nearest main street which is WenZhou St.  It runs somewhat parallel to Xin Sheng S. Rd.  If you enter WehZhou from Roosevelt walk along WenZhou until you come to Lane 74. Turn left onto Lane 74, and left again at Alley 3.

This bookshop is closed right now.  When it's open the map disappears, but when it's closed it's a good marker telling us that we have arrived at Alley 3.

The number 2 tells you that you have arrived at our building - No. 2.  We're on the 3rd floor.

All of this is complicated if you are driving because the lanes and alleys are one way.  Another challenge if you've never been to this area before is that WenZhou is not the major thoroughfare that most addresses have.  Daxue Village is a small enclave, quiet most of the time.  I think the residents are older people, students and families with young children.  The buildings tend to be up to 7 stories tall, with shops and restaurants on the first floor.  Few cars come through.  Most people walk, use motorcycles or bikes.

If you look closely at the map you will see two green triangles.  Those are lovely little parks.

Daxue Park is small, but charming.

WenZhou Park is closest to our apartment.  We walk by it every
time we go to Wellcome to get groceries.

We sometimes buy a cup of coffee at Family Mart, and then sit on a bench near this quiet corner of WenZhou Park.

Everything we need is in this little village.  Even a yarn store.