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As the old year ends and a new year begins, people in

Taiwan rush to find a prime spot near 101 to view the

New Year Eve firework show. Fortunately, I was able to

find a good spot in spite of the crazy traffic, both foot

and vehicular. The cold temperatures were freezing

our mind and body but we hung in there until

midnight. The countdown began.10, 9,

8,1.annddd.THE FINAL SHOW begins! Suddenly

the fireworks transformed Taipei 101 into a silver

waterfall, a glowing pagoda and a ferocious dragon. I

can see and hear people screaming and yelling in

excitement. The fireworks show was really special as it

was designed by Cai Guo-Qiang who served as the

Director of the Beijing Olympics and Shanghai World

Expo fireworks displays. The show was a little longer

this year, 288 seconds instead of the standard 188

seconds, than previous years because it is the 100th

anniversary of the Republic of China.

Raise a toast to celebrate 100 Years of the ROC and

welcome year 2011. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

G. Jaiswal, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS OFFICEASICC will be host a Chinese New Year

gathering on February 4th at 6:00 pm

at the Evens residence. Please

email (EvansInTaiwan@gmail.com )

to confirm your attendance. Happy

year of the Rabbit!

On the back of the $5 Canadian bank note there is a

poem by Roch Carrier written within a winter backdrop

of children playing hockey, sledding and skating. It

reads, The winters of my childhood were long, long

seasons. We lived in three places - the school, the

church and the skating rink - but our real life was on

the skating rink. Most Canadians and people who

live , lived or visited high latitude countries during the

winter months understand what a long, long season

winter can be. And so it was the real life of

a group of Sinicans on January 22nd,

2011. Approximately 30 people braved the

wintery temperatures at Ice Land within

Taipei Arena. Ice Land, not to be confused

with the Nordic country, is a facility on the

second floor of Taipei Arena which is open

to the public for recreational ice skating

The rink is just the right size for beginners

and experts to enjoy and for $290 NTD

(includes admission, skates and helmet) itis a fun, affordable activity for all.

As expected there were numerous falls,

spills and laughs as this was the first time

many participants had been on skates. Not

only did people have fun and a good work-out but, to

my surprise, they did not mind falling down on the

cold, hard ice. A good time was had by all and chants

of More! More! More! were heard on Nanjing East

Road.

If you are interested in skating you can find more

information at the website of Taipei Arena

(www.taipeiarena.com.tw).

J.G. Shellnutt, INSTITUTE OF EARTH SCIENCES

Winter Wonderland

UpcomingEvents:

Chinese New Year

gathering, 6:00pm

February 4th, 2011.Contact:

EvansInTaiwan@gmail.com

Fashion Show.

March 2011.

Baseball Game, Tien

Mu, Spring 2011

Overseas Trip, TBA.

Sparkling New Years Eve at Taipei 101

Academia Sinica

International

Community Club

ASICC TIMES

January, 2011 Volume 2, Issue 1

The brave Sinicans who ventured into the ICE LAND.

In this issue:

Winter

Wonderland

1

New Year at 101 1

Movie Talk 2

Academic Profile

Steve Roffler

2

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people, great transportation system so I dont ne

to buy a car, convenient shopping, smart students.

What foods do you miss most from your homcountry? Not much since Costco arrived. About tonly things I buy to bring back from the US are F

Scone Mix, horseradish sauce and barbeque sauce

What do you miss most about your home coun(other than food)? Getting together with my parenand siblings, especially during holidays, having roofor a vegetable garden, inconvenient to have a d

(no yard).

Please tell us about your family. I met my wife Mon my first job about a year after I arrived. We habeen married for 16 years now. Mae is originafrom a Hakka town called Shanlin in southeTaiwan near Chishan and Meinong. Mae and I wo

together at IBMS. We have three great daughteAnne, Meggie and Becky. Anne is in 9th grade

TAS, Meggie is in 8th grade at Grace ChristiAcademy and Becky is in 5th grade in the Nan KaElementary School Bilingual program. Besides doifine in school, they take after their mother by doi

well at sports (basketball, volleyball and softball).

Any tips for life in Taiwan? Learn as much Chineas you can. It will make your life easier and moenjoyable. Spoken Chinese is not that tough compared to most European languages because tgrammar is simple. Buy a camera and take lots

pictures.

Steve is a highly accomplished research fell

who has been at the Institute of Biomedic

Sciences since 1988.

What have been some highlights for you in yourresearch? 1. Seeing previous students andtechnicians succeed in their further studies and

careers. 2. Developing antibodies usedworldwide by pharmaceutical companies toaccelerate the development of new medicines.3. Finding that the T cell receptor can respond tophysical forces, which may increase ourunderstanding of how white blood cells in our

body function.

What are some of your favorite places to visit inTaiwan? We love to visit Kenting right beforeChinese New Year because we can goswimming, visit the night market and eat somegood food. Hualien is very beautiful. Great place

to go bike riding. We like to take the train there.

The Southern Cross Island Highway is a greatplace to see the sunrise. Xitou in central Taiwanhas quiet bamboo forests to walk through when

you need to get away from it all.

What are some of your favorite Taiwan foods?Kung Pao Chicken, beef noodles, shuijiao(dumplings), hujiao bing (pepper beef buns),Shaobing Youtao for breakfast, passion fruitshaved ice, bell fruit, guavas, anything my wife

cooks.

What do you find challenging about living inTaipei/Taiwan? Language, need to be moredependent on others, inconsiderate drivers,expensive private schools for my kids, culturaldifferences, government discrimination against

non-Chinese foreigners.

Tell us something you like about Taipei/Taiwan?Relatively safe place to raise a family, nice

128 Academia Road

Section 2

Nankang, 11529Taipei, Taiwan

Tel: 886-2-2789-1406

Fax: 886--2-2785-8944

E-mail: asicc2010@gmail.com

Academia Sinica

International Community

Club

Interview with Steve Roffler (IBMS) by Wendy Evans

The Rofflers: (Left to Right) Anne, Mae, Steve,

Becky and Meggie

Were on the Web!

www.ifs.sinica.edu.tw/asicc/index.php

suspicious behavior. To clear his name KHANgoes on a long journey to meet the US president

Going over to a bit lighter topics, the Gree

Hornet brings us a crime fighting team of a

playboy, who just inherits his fathers larg

company and his car driver. How will this tw

fight crime as the masked Green Hornet? I

Morning Glory we get to see how Beckey a har

working TV show producer trying to bring the

rating up for a struggling show Daybreak. A

one can imagine, she has troubles finding a good

host and at the same time she falls in love, wi

she be able to keep her job and love running a

both time? Well, lets hope we can all find sompeaceful time to go to the movies and relax

Cheers!!

K. Takahashi, INSTITUTE OF ATOMIC & MOLECULARSCIENCES

Year 2011 has come, how is the year going tobe? On the other hand, the Chinese New Year

is not here yet, so I guess I should start to think

how I will end this year. As many may know this

year is the 100th anniversary for Taiwan, what

new things will this bring? At the cinemas, we

start off the year with a heavy topic movie

directed by Clint Eastwood, Hereafter. This

brings together three total strangers who have

questions in life about death and what must

exist in the afterlife, hereafter. Will your view of

life change after the movie? Staying with a

slightly heavy topic, how would you feel if you

were detained on charges you did not knowanything about just because you act a bit

strange? In My Name Is KHAN, a Muslim from

Mumbai with Aspergerss syndrome, Rizwan

Khan is detained by authorities after the 9/11

event because his disability is seen to be a

Movie Talk

ASICC Newsletter

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