Showing posts with label Taipei Living. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taipei Living. Show all posts

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Taipei 101 ( 10 of 31)






This is Taipei 101...The world's tallest Building as it stands today.

I had thought of writing something else...when I received a comment on my blog...I changed my mind...and its always better to have a few thoughts under your belt when the weekend is round the corner...

Some basic facts about Taipei 101..

The building has 101 stories.
It is supposed to have the world's fastest elevators!(63km/hour)
It has an indoor observation deck on the 89th floor.

I feel privileged to have been there!

Current 5 tallest buildings in the world

Building, City, Country Floors Height Year
1. Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan 101 509 m 2004
2. Petronas Tower, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 88 452 m 1998
3. Sears Tower, Chicago, USA 110 442 m 1974
4. Jin Mao Building, Shanghai, China 88 421 m 1999
5. Two International Finance Centre, Hong Kong 88 415 m 2003

Friday, May 15, 2009

De-cluttering ( 9 of 31)


I have been spending hours and days putting away things in my 3 month old home!...It seems to never end...and may be because I like to see every paper before it is thrown..

I found this photo....in my decluttering process....
I an sure you all can guess this building in the back drop!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Tanya Turns 9


Tanya is 9 today....

What happended in 2008....

She is still the same little girl....new skills learnt at 8 were cycling and playing tennis. She also began to swim 100mt races in swimming.

She is confident and can sing comfortably .

Her first solo recital..both vocal and piano.

We visited New Zealand ,Singapore and India.

Summer too was hectic as she revised her writing and reading skills in Hindi and Malayalam.

She did all the activities she could in a given week...

Her weeks Schedule was so hectic that it kept me on the run all the time.

Sundays began with Children's Choir as early as 8:30 followed by other Church activites till noon.

Sunday afternoons was catch up time for her Kumon sheets and sometimes even mandarin classes.Cycling around the compound was another highlight!

Monday after school began with swimming followed by piano lessons at home.

Tuesday was even more hectic Chanterelles , voice training classes and Jazz.

Wednesday..we took a breather for an hour after school practising typing at school library and then actors workshop followed by tennis lessons at ACC.

Thursday: We had swimming and mandarin lessons( can read and write about 800 characters). It was also catch up time for home work for the week.

Friday: We had 2 hour art lessons where she tried chinese painting, pencil sketching and all..

Saturday : was Girl Scouts as a brownie and then a Junior...

Its going to be the last year with so many activities as we have to begin picking and choosing to keep up the academic standards...

She is growing up....

Her first camping trips.. attended 2 separate camps at Camp Taiwan.

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Swimming






This was the biggest event she has taken part so far. and will be Under 8 years old category.

When we signed her up we had hopes of her winning a few medals...however seing the number of participants ..there was no way....

She still did her best had got one 4th place and 6th place.

She enjoyed herself and made new friends.

In total there were 443 participants taking part in 2234 lanes divided by 7 gives you an approximate of 320 heats.

There were participants from all over Asia ranging from 6 year old to 18 years old.

The category Tanya was competing had 51 participants Under 8.
Her results are as follows:
John, Tanya (8) G (S1) Postion Points
1:03.53S F # 12A Girls 8 & Under 50 Free 19 ---
2:34.86S F # 14A Girls 8 & Under 100 Breast 8 11
1:14.16S F # 16A Girls 8 & Under 50 Back 18 ---
1:09.67S F # 32A Girls 8 & Under 50 Breast 10 7
2:23.77S F # 34A Girls 8 & Under 100 Back 4 15
2:36.38S F # 45A Girls 8 & Under 100 IM 11 6
1:37.65S DQ # 47A Girls 8 & Under 50 Fly ---
2:32.13S F # 49A Girls 8 & Under 100 Free 5 14
53

They are really noteworthy for a child who does less than 2 hours of swimming a week..Also her willingness to complete after knowing she is not going to achieve any medals.She contributed 53 points to her school team.

Well Done Tanya

Lighting up the Tree

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Lighting up the Tree in TES...Riona was the part of 25 girls who sang for the X'mas tree lighting.

She did a fantastic job.

Children's Choir at TIC




Tanya sang well and Riona did well too...

Girls love singing...such little events take a huge step in their confidence levels.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Art



I found this information very useful!

International Food Fair



This years food fair.Tanyas performance on the stage.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Swimming

What a difference an year has made:

The girls did extremely well in ACC Annual Swimming Championships!

The first day it was Tanya's turn .
She took part in 5 events that is permitted.

Her Results were as follows:

50 mts Breast Stroke - 1st Place
25 mts Breast Stroke - 2nd Place
25 mts Back Stroke - 2nd Place
50 mts Free Style - 4th Place
25 mts Butterfly - 5th Place.

All in all she did a fantastic job in all her events.
For three of her events she had to do heats and then a final...so it was a good day...with a lot of swimming to do...


The next day - Sunday was Riona's Category:

We had convinced her to give it a good try. She has had about 20 hours of swimming lessons in all so there is only so much you can expect.

She took part in

25 mts Breast Stroke - 4th Place
25 mts Free Style - 4th Place. ( By the way she swam breast stroke since she doesnt know any other stroke)

She had to do a heat and a final for each event, something that was hard to explain.She kept reminding me that "you said only two times" .By the time she swam 4 times she was enjoying it...That was the hard part a heat and a final for every event...She was really tired and just didnt want to do the finals...but she did without much noise eventually...she is growing up finally....

It was a great weekend to remember for the girls...they had fun and was exhausted that they were in bed at 7 pm....

Here are a few photos of the session!

Thursday, October 09, 2008

What is IVY League?

What is Ivy League?


I am often a part of conversation where parents of teenagers comfortably talk of how her cousin is in an IVY League College and how students from a particular school had very high percentage going to IVY League Colleges. Other than it meant some colleges which were reputed I never knew what it meant…and decided to lend a listening year and not contribute hoping I will be as informed by the time it is time for my daughter to graduate.(She is eight years old now)

I wondered whether the others in the room really knew what it meant but everyone was presenting a well informed and knowledgeable look. I decided before I blurt out something very dumb I better do my research and hence ended up writing this post.

What is Ivy League?
• A small group eight private universities.
• They enjoy an excellent reputation
• They attract top students.
• “Ivy League” originally referred to sports and not academics.
• They all are located in North Eastern US
• All are long established private institutions.

Which are the Universities

1. Brown - http://www.brown.edu/
Admission related Information : http://www.brown.edu/web/about/facts/admission
Where is Brown?
http://www.brown.edu/web/about/providence

Test scores
There is no preference between the SAT and the ACT.
SAT scores must be submitted along with 2 SAT Subject Test scores.
ACT scores must include the Writing Test.
Tests should be taken by January of the applicant's final year of secondary school.
SAT score (25/75 percentile) 2010-2290
ACT score (25/75 percentile) 27-33
I don’t understand these scores yet but will soon and not sure how authentic they are. So please do your own research.

2. Columbia
http://www.columbia.edu/
Admission Related Information
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/isso/admit/

Where is Columbia?
http://www.columbia.edu/about_columbia/tour/

Applicants must submit SAT or ACT (with Writing) scores, plus 2 SAT Subject Test scores. For engineering applicants, one Subject Test must be in mathematics and the other in physics or chemistry. Home-schooled applicants must submit scores from 4 SAT Subject Tests.
SAT/ACT and SAT II scores must be received by January 1.
SAT score (25/75 percentile): 1980-2220
ACT score (25/75 percentile): 28-33
I don’t understand these scores yet but will soon and not sure how authentic they are. So please do your own research

3. Cornell http://www.cornell.edu/
Where is Cornell?
Cornell University
410 Thurston Avenue
Ithaca, NY 14850
Test Scores
There is no preference between the SAT and the ACT.
Applicants must submit a SAT or ACT with Writing score plus 2 SAT Subject Test scores.
The Common Application is used with a Cornell supplement.




4. Dartmouth http://www.dartmouth.edu/
6016 McNutt Hall
Hanover, NH 03755
Test scores
There is no preference between the SAT and ACT.
SAT /ACT and two SAT Subject Test scores must be received by January 1.

More Admission Information
http://www.dartmouth.edu/apply/admissions/




5. Harvard http://www.harvard.edu/

Undergraduate Admission Office
Byerly Hall
Eight Garden Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Test scores
Harvard requires scores from the SAT or the ACT (with Writing) plus 3 SAT Subject Tests.
There is no preference between the SAT I and ACT.
Applicants should take the ACT by mid-February and/or the SAT I and II by mid January.
The Common Application is used together with supplemental forms.
http://www.college.harvard.edu/academics/courses

6. Penn http://www.upenn.edu/
University of Pennsylvania
3541 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
http://www.upenn.edu/admissions/
The SAT is preferred over the ACT. However, both are accepted.
SAT scores must be submitted along with 2 SAT Subject Test scores.

The Common Application is accepted with a U Penn supplement.




7. Princeton http://www.princeton.edu/main/
Princeton University
P.O. Box 430
Princeton, NJ 08544

The SAT is strongly preferred, but ACT (with Writing) scores are accepted.
3 SAT Subject Test scores are required in addition to the SAT or ACT (with Writing).
Engineering applicants should take one SAT Subject Test in mathematics and one in physics or chemistry.
Applicants should take these tests no later than January.
http://www.princeton.edu/main/admission-aid/

8. Yale http://www.yale.edu/
Yale University
P.O. Box 208234
New Haven, CT 06520
There is no preference between the SAT and ACT. Applicants may submit scores from the SAT plus 2 SAT Subject Tests, or from the ACT with Writing.

Hope the post was useful. I learned a lot in the process of writing it.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Piano Recital

I can't imagineeven the month of September is coming to an end....
It seems endless catching up week after week..


Tanya and Riona had their first Piano Recital.

They did well for their first attempt.








Other Highlight of September Riona managed to swim one lap...and jump into the pool from the deep side.
Tanya started her tennis classes at the club and loves it.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Onam

Onam Sadya in Taipei

I was excited when we received an invite for an Onam Sadya. I promptly offered to make Palada Payasam lest,I will have to display my true culinary skills. Its been at least 6 years since I have spent Onam week in Kerala….the last being in 2002.




My first attempt at Palada Payasam for over 25 guests.



But in 2002 my daughter due to be born any day other than eating good food I could not participate any activities. Having said that my last Onam celebrations would have been at least 16 years ago….the last years in College…

We had a gathering of all the Keralites who could brave the impending Typhoon Sinlaku come and take part in the Onam Sadya…It was a great evening to meet and greet Malayalis a majority I am meeting for the first time.

The girls had a feel of Onam Sadya at least how the different items are laid out although being late at night they were too sleepy to comprehend anything more.

Here are the photos of the evening.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Art Galleries Taiwan

I was researching on some art galleries to visit to choose some good paintings to collect from Taiwan.I am not a collector of very expensive Art but can appreciate good things.

I am listing them in Alphabetical order as I find them.
However I will give a few specific comments if I did manage to go there and found something really unique.

Lee Gallery


KK Wave Art
The gallery displays Art Works by Colourful Stone.

Chen Ling Hui Contemporary Space

Some of the artists displayed include Chang Chihcheng,Miao Xiaochun

-His speciality being 3D computer image photography

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Riona is six years old!

Riona turns 6 today.....

And she enters Grade 1 (Year 2 on Sep 1 st)....Its convenient to remember her milestones as her birthday usually falls in the first week of the academic year.

What could Riona do when Riona was 6.




Literacy - She could read over 300 words...yet she lacks fluency and hesitates to decode.Numeracy - She can comfortably add and subtract upto 100 using her fingers.

She has been to Kumon over 10 months...


Extra Curricular Activities

She did a great Jazz performance although she was not too happy attending classes..
She disliked Chinese Yoyo -- though seems to show some inclination for music...

She is yet to lose a single tooth...

What does Riona want to achieve before she turns 7.rather what is her Mom hopes and dreams for her!

I hope to see her swim well, skate and cycle.

Hope she is well versed with her class room expectations. and become a fluent reader...

Friday, July 11, 2008

Year 1

Riona finished her school on 27th June....and I was all set to do the last minute things before we head to Kerala for our longest vacation to my home town....

Riona has come a long way this year at TES.

Things she did at school.
She had reached Level - Green at her school Reading Scheme.
She can confidently read familiar words...though we still need to work on her decoding skills.
Her Maths skills are limited to basic addition and subtraction.


Her Year 2 teacher was leaving the school for good and Riona really grew a lot with her guidance.

Here are a few photos!




Some of Riona's Year 1 highlights are

Girl Scouts

JAzz Performance


Granny in year 1 show

Art Classes at Home

Singing at Church

Some photos of work she brought home.


Monday, June 30, 2008

Daisies

Riona and Tanya had a wonderful scouting year.
Most of the photographs are on the Daisy Troop and Riona truly transformed and grew in the group.





Saturday, June 14, 2008

Third Grade

As promised , this is one piece of writing I found on Tanya's perspective at the end of third grade.

In her own words written on 5th June 2008;


I used to be quiet,
But now I am wild.

I used to be shy when I am in the spotlight.
But now I am beginning to shine.

I used to believe in Santa Claus,
But now I know that my parents are the one's who are sneaky.

I used to be a cute fish who swims,
But now I am a shark.

I used to only have myself as a friend at home,
But now I have my cute but embarassing sister.

I used to sleep with a teddy bear,
But now I have my blanket and comfy pillow
.

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Jazz

Girls Dance Show....

Riona's dance comes in the beginning and last 2 minutes is Tanya's Jazz
So have patience and enjoy!