Greek Birthday Street Party in Danshui, Zhuwei

It's another sunny morning today as I sit here on the 18 th floor of my new place (will talk more about the apartment later). For breakfast I'm eating some type of fruit related to the mandarin orange that I got from Ali's mom on Children's Day. I digress because the real reason for this blog is to account for the great Greek street BBQ I went to on Sunday!

My old colleague from university, Elias, moved to Taiwan to teach English a few years ago and has become engaged to one of the lovely locals of Taiwan. He himself is Greek-Canadian and for this reason, it was a Greek themed party.

Elias and his fiancé live in northern Taipei in an area called Zhuwei which is close to Danshui (spelling?). It's about a 45 min ride from my house on the MRT (subway/sky train). Luckily I don't have to make any transfers and the public transit cost is only $1.50.

On the walk to his house from the MRT I stopped in at the Family Mart to pick up a pack of Kirin Beer as a gift. God bless Google Maps, GPS, and 3G Internet because it made finding the house really easy. Also the huge Canadian and Greek flags hanging out front of the house helped.

When I arrived there was a spread of tasty Greek stuff on the table. I quickly put on a name tag and started snacking. There were plenty of people who spoke English and I knew almost none of them so this was a great opportunity to meet some new people. Most were either students or English teachers. Many of them have been here for years. Noel, one of the Aussi guys I met, has been in Taiwan for 12 years!

After a few more people arrived Elias set up 2 small BBQs out on the street. He lives on a back alley with a dead end so there was nearly no traffic. Pork souvlaki was thrown down onto the charcoal grills along with Asian egg plant (the long skinny type) and these really fat mushrooms (really thick stalk with small head).

Once cooked, everything was served with fresh home made tzatziki (spicy with garlic) and lime wedges. It was delicious and a nice european alternative to all the ramen and fried rice I've been eating.

After eating there was fireworks in the alley, drinks, and chatting. I met a lot of really cool expats and hopefully I can keep in touch.

On the way home as I sat on the floor of the MRT with a few of the guys i met At the party (seats were full and the ride is long) I found out two of them only live a few minutes walk from my place!

Thanks Elias for the fantastic time and for introducing me to some fellow expats!

Ps - I want to give a shout out to my fellow blogster Shannon for always commenting on my posts! Shannon you rock. I hope more people comment like you!

PPs - Dad, I don't know the temperature but must be low 20's. Was sweating a lot at work yesterday and I had to have the AC on when I got home to cool the apartment.