Surviving and Thriving in Taipei, Day One

Learning that the kids' classmates would be all testing this last Wednesday and Thursday, we decided that rather than sending them to school with English reading books, we would instead hit the road for a few days and explore Taipei. Considering the circumstances with five young kids, we covered an insane amount of ground in just three days. As a result, here's the report for just day one:  

After four hours of mad packing and preparation starting early Wednesday morning, we finally left the house after 11:00 a.m. and headed for Taiwan's awesome high speed rail. Travelling at up to 186 mph, the kids thought this was pretty cool:

After finally finding our hotel, we were greeted by Sassy's beloved first grade Chinese teacher (she was also Bitts' teacher before), who had recently moved back to Taipei. Surprising us with tickets to Taipei's Baby Boss, we joined Li Laoshi for an afternoon of uniquely Asian fun.

To give you a better idea of what Baby Boss is, it is an indoor park where children are allowed to try a taste of different professions, and earn their own "baby bucks" for doing each job. Then, at the end they can purchase something with their money. I had read many parents comments online about this place, but really didn't know what to expect. Here is our first view/introduction:

Here the local baby bosses try out the life of a soldier.

As we walked in they handed us a map of the facility, and an accompanying schedule of when the kids could participate in all sorts of different job training. Here's a slight glimpse, but please note that this is nowhere close to comprehensive. 

Cleaning/Domestic Help

Sound recording studio. Notice the Cartoon Network endorsement.

Hotel/Hospitality Services

Firefighting

Sushi Bar/Seaweed Wrapping. So cute! Then again, who can do seaweed better than Asians?

This picture is totally my favorite, and any of my Asian friends ought to get a kick out of it. This is the section dedicated to exposing the kids to surgery. I laughed so hard as all these Chinese parents insisted that their kids to sit in on this, as well as the courtroom across the way. While most of the little girls wanted to play in the beauty salon next girl, this child's parents insisted she try out surgery! As you can see, she finally got a reluctant one-on-one tutorial. I should have taken a photo of the satisfied look on her parents' faces as they looked on. Classic!

Finally, after receiving a quick introduction to the offerings, the kids got to try their hand at being their own baby boss. We started with the T.V. studio, where the kids were taken into a room to rehearse a routine for their own show. Watch the result here. It cracks me up b/c it is so Taiwanese. (FYI:  Look especially at Mr. Bitts, who totally gets into it.)

After that the kids split up and pursued more specific interests, such as:

Construction

Hairdressing. (Actually, I thought this one was kind of lame, since they were really only playing with Barbies' hair. But, since the infamous doll is typically banned from our house due to her anorexic appearance, the girls were still elated at the chance to play with her. :))

Law enforcement.

Working at a pizzeria. 

Aviation

This was my personal favorite -- Aromatherapy Massage! (I got to be Sassy's client). 

Honestly, I thought this place was adorable. Though the Big-O was definitely above the typical target age, he was a great sport about the whole thing. And honestly, with it all being in Chinese, it made the experience more interesting than it normally would be. In fact, it could be considered the best Chinese-learning day ever. I learned a lot of vocabulary by watching them, and so did they--especially since they were having so much fun.

After finishing off this experience, everyone was so tired, but we felt determined to conquer the new iconic symbol of the city before the night was through:  Taipei 101

Known as the tallest building until 2010, this building has 101 floors above ground and 5 below. It is considered to be the largest and greenest building in the world, and was built to withstand typhoons and earthquakes. In order to accomplish this, it must maintain both stability and flexibility. As a result, on the 89th floor Taipei 101 utilizes a 660 ton steel damper--the largest one in the world and the only one open to public viewing. 

Anyone want to play ball?

The thing is seriously amazing, and the Taiwanese are quite proud of it. . .  so proud that they've actually created their own mascots named Damper Babies to represent their fantastic landmark. 

Blown away behind the science behind the building, Big-O appreciated the Damper Babies, and insisted we return a couple days later to buy one for him. 

Buggas congratulates the Damper Baby on his choice of haircut. 

Thanks to that amazing damper, Taipei 101 safely provides views like this:

And this:

They were quite something, and all the kids oohed and ahhed over the experience. Buggas response, however, was the very best. After traveling up 89 floors in less than 30 seconds, Li-ling and Jamin took the baby over to the large enclosed windowsill to look downward and get a better look at the view. As they sat him down there, he paused nervously for a moment and then let out a long, blood-curdling scream! The entire crowd turned to look at what happened, and then slowly, one by one they laughed out loud at the realization that this little guy actually understood that he was somewhere high up above where he ought to be. Strangely enough, the baby in the room provided the most universal communication for everyone there. Regardless of each person's nationality there, we each felt a bit of fear and a bit of awe, all at the same time. 

In fact, I loved hearing how much this building had inspired the Big-O, when he exclaimed,  "Mom, Taipei 101 is so awesome! It makes me want to be an engineer when I grow up." What could I do other than smile?