A Frog and a Pot...

…And they put the frog in a pot of water on the stove and lit the burner under the pot. The water grew warmer and warmer, but the frog didn’t jump out of the pot. The water grew warmer yet and the frog remained unhindered in the pot. The water eventually came to the point of boiling. The frog was now floating belly up in the boiling water having been cooked to death…

 Everyone has heard some version of this morally compelling story. Lately, I have sympathized with this poor creature. The frog didn’t save itself from death because it grew acclimated to the surroundings. The above does cause one to pause and inquire. How did this research even come to light? Was there some sadistic individual who thought it would be scientifically sound to kill a living creature in the name of proving a point? By whatever barbaric means the above was discovered there is a lesson to be learned. The longer I stay in Keelung (pronounced g-lung) I find myself growing accustomed to the things which used to shock and appall. I also find myself speaking a form of broken English in order to communicate effectively with the natives. I have noticed I not only speak this way to the natives, but to everyone with whom I speak. The term for this broken English is Cheng-Lish. This is a mix of Chinese, which I am beginning to speak and understand, and English. To be perfectly honest Cheng-Lish sounds like ignorant hillbilly speak from The States with a little Chinese thrown in and an accent change. However, it is most defiantly not hillbilly speak. The Cheng-Lish is literal translation from Chinese into English.

Why the frog? Why point out that it died because it became acclimated? We went to what is called the night market. This is a huge outdoor swap meet type activity. They have night markets in every city all over Taiwan. The largest of these so called markets being located in the cities of Taipei and Geelung and not even rain puts a damper on the activities. The night market has a little something for everyone. They even have carnival type games for the kids. Whatever the oddity a person is looking for, one will be able to find it for a reasonable price at the night market. Designer knockoffs, no problem… I am sure by now brand name makers such as Tommy Hilfiger and Polo are aware people are selling fake look alikes of their clothing. The only difference being they sell Tummy Hilfinger and Pulo, but one has to look carefully to even notice the small changes in the logo.

This is one of the games the children play. It is a type of fishing game. There are live fish in the orange tub. They have little fish of every color, crabs, and crawfish. They use the net you see and scoop the animals and put them into a holding container floating in the water. When the container is full they dump the contents and begin fishing again. This game does seem a little inhumane, but the children are very careful not to hurt the creatures in the tub. The orange tubs also have a constant flow of water in and out to ensure they live long enough to caught and terrorized by as many children as possible. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upon first arriving in this dirty lived in city of Geelung I suffered from a great deal of culture shock and my first visit to the night market was no different. There are booths everywhere you look. Some sell food and others sell, well, everything and anything else you can imagine. I am sure I looked like the village idiot walking around with my mouth hanging open as absorbed my surroundings. The night market used to intimidate me. There are so many booths, people, sights, and smells. However, I now find myself in a similar situation to the frog in the pot. It seems as if I hardly notice the really appalling and shocking sights that encompass the night market. I hardly notice when I get bumped by the 50^th person in the last 15 minutes. I guess I have become acclimated. I anticipate jumping out of the pot before it comes to a rolling boil…     

Upon first glance you're not sure what these really are. But when you inspect them closly you realize they are duck heads and necks. People eat these horrible looking items wih rice or noodles. They clean the meat off the bones and save the most delicious parts for last, the eyes.

 

These are, for lack of a better way to describe them, rotten eggs. They are not really rotten, but it is hard to explain how they prepare these for human consumption. They are some how aged and fit for humans to eat. However, those reading this know I would never let one of these vile looking items any where near my mouth, let alone actually take a taste. 

These are plates of dired sea creatures, mostly shrimp in variying sizes. They are covered in plastic to keep the bugs out of the product. These are used in cooking and they add them to soups. I did see some people walking around eating these items out of a paper cup. The smell of the seafood is enough to gag a maggot and we all know what they eat...  

This was the most shocking thing I witnessed at the night market. This is what we call in America a homeless man. Bum... This man was dragging himself along on the ground. He is pulling his wagon loaded with all of his worldly belongings behind him tethered to his ankle. Our guide wouldn't allow us to give him any money. He told us that most of these guys are perfectly healthy. They choose to live that way. I guess con men are in ever country. However, this guy is defiantly the most dedicated. The ground at these markets is not somewhere I would choose to stand with sandals on, let alone lie down.