Dear Reader,

    As one of my friends said, I'm on baby watch. Actually, I'm
    watching the baby's mother to be more exact. For some of you who
    are mothers, you might remember some of the "inconveniences" of
    pregnancy. My wife has all the symptoms: aches and pains, lots of
    vomiting, having to eat every 2-3 hours, having to eat something
    different every 2-3 hours ^_^ It must be difficult because my
    wife asked me many times, "Why can't men be pregnant?" ^_^

    Being a first time father and mother, we are understandably very
    nervous. I stay at home whenever I don't absolutely need to go
    anywhere. The only places I go anymore seems to be places to
    pickup food for my wife ^_^ I feel like a father watching the
    nest. I was going to say penguin, but penguin fathers sit on the
    eggs while the mothers go eating for themselves ^_^

    My wife used to like to cook, but now with her hypersensitive
    nose, she doesn't enjoy it anymore. We eat out all the time.
    This experience has made us very knowledgeable about nearby
    restaurants. After all, Angel has constantly changing preferences
    (another inconvenience of pregnancy) so we can't eat at the same
    place twice. There is an upside to this. We found a few great
    restaurants in Taichung (near my school) that have beautiful
    surroundings, excellent food, and most importantly, reasonable
    prices. I thought I share with you about these restaurants
    because not every one of these restaurants seem to be well known.
    It is unlikely that you have ate there before, unless you have a
    pregnant wife like me ^_^

    My wife helped type these Chinese addresses.

     桃花元素 Italian Restaurant
     台中市五權西四街107號　(near Art Museum)
    (04) 23718880
      JacksonFive Comments: To be honest, I was actually going to
      "Little Italy Restaurant" which is right next to this place.
      Little Italy had a long line up so we ended up going to this
      place. I'm happy this little accident happened. We were very
      happy with this place. The ingredients used were very fresh
      and food there had an excellent flavor rarely found in Taiwan
      (trust me, I like Italian food). Their service was also
      outstanding! Their waiter/waitress were well trained and polite.

      A few days afterwards, we decided to go to "Little Italy" again
      to compare (my first visit there). Though there were more
      customers there than 桃花元素, we were very disappointed with
      the food and service at "Little Italy". We have been going to
       桃花元素 exclusively for our Italian food ever since.

      I'm giving this place "two thumbs up!" If you go there, please
      tell them "JacksonFive" sent you. It would be really cool if
      they told me a member also ate there after reading this issue.

    Walnut Restaurant
     台中市五權西四街61號　(near Art Museum)
    (04) 23781768
      JacksonFive Comments: To be honest, this isn't a new place that
      I found. However, I've been going to this place for a while and
      even have their VIP card. I brought many of my foreign friends
      here in the past and every one has been very happy with this
      unique restaurant. I like the "Walnut" even more than the
      "Pumpkin House" (another restaurant owned by the same owners).

      I give this place "a thumb and a half!" ^_^

    樂味 Japanese Restaurant
    台中市永春東路132號 (西屯)
    (04) 24759985
      JacksonFive Comments: This is a great place to go if you love
      Japanese food. It is only one block from my school. I like
      Japanese food and have ate at much more expensive places. After
      eating here, I don't go to those places anymore.

      They are not a big place so if you are going, please make a
      reservation in advance or you might not have seating. Also, don't
      be surprised by their "unusual" style of service. It is a family
      run restaurant.

      Another "two thumbs up!"

    Tree House Restaurant
    北屯區東山路一段380-2號
    (04) 22395663
      JacksonFive Comments: A good place to go if you like nature.
      This restaurant is up in the trees and very close to nature. The
      food is also very unusual and I've been told from the mountainous
      parts of central Taiwan. Again, this is a place this you should
      make a reservation in advance because there are few seats.

      "Thumb and a half!"

      Have fun! These restaurants have made this new father's life much
      easier ^_^ I'm sure you will enjoy the food. Bon Appetit!

    On to another issue, many of you with Kimo email accounts will
    have your emails changed. When you have time, please email me
    your new and old Kimo/Yahoo addresses so I can update our
    database.  Otherwise, you might miss an issue (like issue 49 which
    was bounced). Important: Always remember to give me your
    old/existing email address when you need to change or remove your
    information.

    Some of you have expressed great interest in improving your writing
    skills. Well, you can join our JacksonFive Writing Club. We have
    two memberships left. So if you are interested in improving your
    writing, please visit this page for further information,
    http://www.path2english.com/Writing_Program/InfoCard.htm Please
    email me the assignment you see there.

                                               Cheers!
                                               JacksonFive, "on the watch"

THIS ISSUE's FEATURED TOPIC:

  Many of you have sent me your viewpoints about the "Purpose of
  Education". I will need more time to "stitch it" into an issue.
  Also, this issue is getting too long, so I'll keep "Purpose of
  Education" for the next issue. I am surprised I haven't gotten
  anything on this topic from educators in our readership. I know
  there are many educators in our readership. I would like to hear
  your viewpoints on this topic.

NEXT ISSUE's FEATURED TOPIC:

    "Purpose of Education"