smoggy jog, and a twist of fate?!

Sunday morning we took a run in Da-An Park, not so far from my grandma's house where we were staying. Before heading to the park, we had to jog through a few narrow city streets and pass through some heavy morning traffic. All the cars and motorcycles spewed out plenty of fumes...I felt like the exhaust was blackening my lungs by the moment, ha ha. Anyhoo the humidity factor, despite being only May, was treacherous...making even simple jogging not so simple after all. The unique thing: many people were exercising, doing TaiChi and きこ, ChiGoing as well as jogging or stretching. I was impressed by how active many middle-aged to seniors are in Taipei.

Sunday brunch was huge - KFC (including the ever-so famous KFC egg tarts, only available in Taiwanese KFC franchises...the greasy suckers are pictured above - ha, so much for jogging!) brought home by grandma and mom, on the way back home from church. Soon after brunch was lunch, can you believe it?! Grandma prepared many dishes including her ever-famous sweet and sour fish...fried crispy fish topped with pineapple fruit, tomatoes, and a mountain of veggies. (okay, already feeling the pounds pack on) We had raw bamboo shoots, a species unique to Taiwan and especially tender...unlike any kind I've ever had in Japan! Yummy...it is often eaten with bamboo but I ate it plain to savor the original taste.

Sunday night we went in for a dress and suit fitting, in preparation for the next day's photo shoot. I tried on various dresses before deciding on four. Hiro only had to try on a cream tuxedo - lucky guy! At the photo studio we met a Taiwanese woman who was, coincidentally, also engaged to a Japanese man. To make things even more interesting, her fiance lives right here in Tsukuba! What a shock it was...a small world indeed.