347 is a special number, Buddha knows why, so Tainan decided 347 years for Koxinga’s conquest of Taiwan is a good occasion for a grand event to celebrate freeing the island from the Dutch. Koxinga, otherwise known as Cheng Kung (/Gong) is an extremely important figure in Tainan, almost if not already at the position of a local God. The festival was taking place in his big and beautiful Koxinga shrine.    A new statue of Koxinga was unveiled in front of the shrine.  …

This was one surreal afternoon I wasn’t excepting. Turns out the small Holocaust museum in Tainan County’s Bao An is doing a ceremony to celebrate 60 years for Israel’s independence and so they invited me to help them out. I didn’t really imagine I’d turn into a Hebrew teacher anywhere in Taiwan, teaching Taiwanese how to sing the Israeli national anthem, but that’s what they wanted me to help them with.   What does it look like? I’m glad you asked, since I need to have another look myself to make sure it was for real. Let’s …

Last weekend, while I was driving down Nan Men road I noticed there’s a market there that I haven’t paid attention to before. Turns out it’s the Tainan flower market, where one can find a great variety of flowers and plants for dirt cheap. I parked my scooter, walked around a little and took some photos.   …

Today, while attending a lecture about IP in Taiwan (”Taiwan under siege”) I came across one of the older Banyan Research magazines that NCKU publishes. Strangely enough, I saw a familiar Israeli face staring at me with a commentary about the education system. Here are some highlights from the “Education revolution needed - Education system needs sweeping change to become top national priority by Aaron Ciechanover”. […] In a country torn between ethnic groups, religions and worst of all between sectors with vastly …

Over a month ago, my father alerted me that Reshet Bet’s Israeli Connection midnight radio show that broadcasts interviews with Israelis all over the world had an interview with an Israeli Chinese language student - Shani Weinstein - who’s living in Taipei to learn more about her life in Taiwan. I visited their website that holds a 24 hours archive and ripped down the interview. I still have difficulties figuring out how to post it here, but I will post a quick translation of the conversation …

Hey, this kind’o seems familiar …   Me : Hi, do you speak English? Taiwanese : <embarrassed look, seeking someone else in the area> Eh, eh, hmm… eh, English, no… sorry. Me : It’s just that I’m a bit lost. Taiwanese : Lost, oh, I see, that’s too bad. Me : So how to get to X from here? Taiwanese : I don’t understand. Me : You know what, it’s okay, I think I’ll keep on looking. Another Taiwanese joins : (in Chinese) I think he’s looking for X . Me, realizing that I can actually say this in Chinese : (in Chinese) Yeah, I just want to know how to …