Monday, May 21, 2012

Sunrise Solar Eclipse Hike

Today is my 100th day since leaving home!

Also, if I may take a moment - This was how my hair looked around this time last year:

That's also how tan and freckly I was this time last year!



Anyway, now to the good stuff:

Grace and I have been talking about planning an adventure for a while now.  Originally we were thinking of going bungee jumping or paragliding.  Unfortunately, when we sat down to plan a paragliding trip, and finally tracked down someone to call, they informed us that not only will they only fly in perfectly warm and clear weather (which, according to the forecast, was all but impossible), but they actually need two full days of warm and clear weather preceding the day of flight.  Given the predictions of heavy rain all weekend for all of Taiwan, we sadly crossed paragliding off our list and moved onto other options.  Fortunately for us, we happen to be living in one of the few cities in the world that lay in the path of the solar eclipse last night/this morning!  We had also discussed the possibility of doing a sunrise hike.  Since the eclipse was supposed to last between around 5 and 7 am, the logical solution to our adventure-void was to combine the two into a sunrise solar eclipse hike!  And really, how many times in your life can you do one of those?

The hike we chose was Elephant Mountain, located remarkably near Taipei 101 and (according to trip advisor) providing one of the best views of Taipei you can get.  The one issue that provided a problem was how to get to that part of town so early in the morning.  Since the buses don't run between midnight and 5:30, and we wanted to be up the mountain by the start of the eclipse, we had no choice but to take a bus just before midnight and hang around for a few hours - staying up alllll night!  Now for those who may not know - I don't stay up all night.  I have done so only a couple of times but it's not usually an activity I seek out.  And although I have been awake for sunrises before, I have never before actually stayed awake to watch the sunrise.  So, I was excited!  Plus - solar eclipse!  Although, as previously mentioned, the weather forecast was pretty bad - we prepared ourselves to probably not be able to see the eclipse through the clouds, but figured a sunrise hike was pretty nice too.  And Grace and I vowed to hike even through the rain if need be.

Grace, Becca, Kohan and I met up at a 7-11 right near Taipei 101 as soon as our bus got in around 12:30.  We spent a couple of hours there chatting, killing time, and (in my case) drinking coffee.  Kohan headed home (uninterested in the prospect of staying up all night and seeing rare and spectacular celestial events).  Just before 3, Grace, Becca, and I began the next item on our agenda: singing on a street corner.  We broke out a number of classics, ranging from the Backstreet Boys and Avril Lavigne to Disney and Pat Benetar - and of course, how could the night be complete without a few rounds of "Total Eclipse of the Heart"?  There were very few passersby so we didn't make the vast sums of money we were hoping, but it was still fun.

Next, we set out on the hike.  We were surprised to find that we weren't alone - setting out at just the same time as we was an old man carrying a huge backpack.  He must have been in his 70s.  Old people are so active here!  And why was he doing this at 3 in the morning!?  And why were we??

We weren't sure exactly how long the hike would take us, but the website seemed to indicate that we should expect around 45 minutes of straight stairs.  Well, all those sprint workouts must have worked, because it only took us around 15 minutes to get to these big rocks that apparently provided the best view you can get - and man, was it a view.  We climbed (somewhat perilously) onto one of the rocks and made it our home for the next three hours.  The city at night was spectacular, and as the sky started getting lighter around 4:15 or so, it only got better.  Some highlights of the night include:
-  A bat flying into Grace's head!  She was totally unfazed.
-  Discovering a dead cockroach that had apparently died a messy death on my shorts and then remained there for who-knows-how-long until I discovered his empty corpse and a nasty stain
-  The flow of old people hiking through the area at all hours, all definitely way more fit than we are.
-  Screaming at the top of our lungs at the top of a mountain
-  Hearing others doing the same from far away throughout the early morning hours

There were clouds throughout the night but they were moving around a lot and parts of the sky were definitely clear at times.  There was a lot of suspense about whether it would be clear enough to see the eclipse - it seemed like the clouds were clearing up and then suddenly more would appear from nowhere.  Or a big dark mass would suddenly part in the middle and reveal the sky behind it.  As the sky grew lighter and lighter we only got more curious whether or not we would be able to see this thing...

5 o'clock, the official start time of the eclipse, arrived.  We eagerly watched the sky, but there were too many clouds in the way.  We waited as the clouds shifted, dishing out false hopes of clear skies only to become grey again.  The minutes ticked by... we tried to imagine what stage the eclipse must be at behind the clouds.  As we waited, a number of other visitors came to the same spot to check out the eclipse: a couple of serious-looking photographers, a little boy and his dad, and a few other casual viewers.  6 o'clock came - the peak of the eclipse.  Now, here's the path it was apparently following : http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/taiwan/taipei - and that's the sight we were supposed to see.  Looks pretty neat.  Unfortunately, the clouds stayed put and we weren't able to get that dramatic view that we had hoped for.  Still, we all agreed that the sunrise and the experience were well worth the lack of sleep, and it was definitely one of my favorite memories of my time so far.

Around 6:20, after the peak of the eclipse had passed and the clouds showed no signs of backing down, we headed back down the steps to street level.  As we were walking, I became convinced that now maybe we could see it because it was so much sunnier that the clouds must have gone away.  It only occurred to me later that the sudden brightness might have had something to do with a certain moon getting out of the way of the sun's rays.  Anyway, as we walked to find somewhere to get breakfast, I turned, and saw - the sun!  Eclipsed!  It wasn't as dramatic as I imagined, because at this time the moon was only partially covering the sun.  Of course we didn't have "proper equipment" as they say, but after taking a quick glimpse at the sun, the impression left on the inside of my eyelids had a distinct section of the sun missing.  Anyway, it wasn't exactly what we expected, but we got to see it!  I think we all felt a little more closure after that point.

It turned into a beautiful day with blue skies and bright sun, and Becca and I got breakfast before crashing into our beds for a few hours of rest.

I think I can safely say that this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and that many years from now, in my old age, I will remember this night as a perfect, crystallized embodiment of the young and adventurous spirit that I tried to live by throughout my time in Taiwan.











Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Birthday and Videos!

Well! Hello!

Sunday was my birthday!  I am now allowed to legally drink in the United States!  Of course, I am also allowed to legally drink in Taiwan, which has been true the whole time I've been here.  It makes the whole experience rather anticlimactic, but it was still a very good birthday.  I got Mexican food for lunch (including an early-afternoon birthday margarita) with a few good people.  Because Mexican restaurants are a little hard to find in this city, it took over an hour to get there, and with our slow eating, lounging around, and, of course, dessert, I didn't get back from this 1 o'clock lunch until after 5!  Soon after I had a delicious birthday dinner with a group of friends, and we went to a cozy cafe/bar for tasty cocktails and good conversation afterwards.  Many thanks to my generous family and friends for making my birthday great!  And actually, one of the things that made the day special wasn't given from any of them... there were blue skies all day!  Not a drop of rain!  But the really memorable part - I think for the first time since arriving, I saw stars at night!  I have been trying and wanting to see the stars but it's always so darn cloudy, and even when it doesn't rain, there is a mist that prevents any long-distance visibility.  But that night it was clear, and I finally got to see the stars.  It was a very special birthday gift.

Also, some exciting news: as a birthday gift to myself, last night I bought a very cheap, last-minute ticket to the Philippines for next week!  I'm going alone, and will be there from Wednesday night until Saturday morning.  I am so nervous! I have never traveled anywhere alone before.  I had this idea earlier in the semester - traveling alone - and I got all excited just because it's so scary that I feel like it's a challenge I want to conquer.  Will I talk to people and make new friends?  I have no idea!  Will I look within and discover deep truths about myself?  Maybe!  Most likely I'll just be a little lonely and a little bored.  But I don't know!  I feel like it's really pushing my comfort zone, in a good way.  I feel like, by doing this, I'm taking a step toward leading the kind of life I always thought I'd be too chicken to lead.  What a feeling!  But also... I have a lot of planning to do!

On Monday I went to wufenpu - a labyrinth of inexpensive clothing vendors - with Emily.  We wandered endlessly.  It really is a pretty remarkable place - I think it must be about the size of a small city, but with only extremely narrow paths, that scooters, for some reason, think they have a right to ride on.  Once we got back that night (because it really is an all-day trip), I did something also outside of my "comfort" zone... Worked out!  Yeah!  I even did sprints!  And then - did it again last night!  Grace has proven herself to be a reliable and demanding workout buddy, a trait I truly admire.  My legs are sore but my heart is proud.

Tonight I had dinner with an NCCU professor who happens to know my Aunt Virginia (and, apparently, half of CIEE!).  It was really great!  She was extremely nice and we had good vegetarian food followed by a thick, rich cup of orange hot chocolate!  Plus, we visited an antique store owned by a friend of hers, and I saw some 5000 year old oracle bones and - here's the best part - even got to touch them.  SO one-upped all my museum visits!

Anyway, this Thursday and Friday are actually university holidays to celebrate the university's birthday.  That's apparently what all the students have been preparing and practicing for.

Here are some things:

I love these flowers that grow on campus

... they also come in orange-red and pink-white!

Overuse of umbrellas: Exhibit A.  It was not even raining.

This looks weird

Now do you believe me that it rains? 
Not the beautiful view as usual, eh?

Orange hot chocolate!  Definitely coming back here to order everything they have to offer.


And some videos:

While jogging around the track, I took this video of the NCCU performers I mentioned... always practicing so hard!  Sorry that it's so jostled... don't watch if you get motion sickness easily.

Also, here is a video from the Tainan festival!  I like this one better than the following one, each of just different performance groups.  For some reason, the following video is the only one that would successfully upload.  So, enjoy that, too!




More adventures to come - you'd better believe it!

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Tainan, adventures, and infinite photos!


Before I forget: I have updated my photo album and actually had so many darn photos that it spilled into an entirely new album.  They can be found here and here.  For that reason, I probably won't post any photos in this entry, so just refer to the albums.

So! Last weekend was the trip to Tainan!  We departed Taipei by bus on Saturday morning.  After about four and a half hours, we got to Tainan (台南).  We spent the day in and around Anping (安平) fort.  There was lots of good food, drinks, and trinkets on the street around there, so we spent a long time strolling and snacking and spending money.  We saw Anping fort (which is apparently held together with a mushed-up mixture of oyster shells and rice instead of cement), explored this area called something like "happy paradise," and went to a shop that had 366 different colors of salt, for each day of the year, and the one corresponding to your birthday carries significance about your personality and strengths and weaknesses and whatnot.  They also sold these salt-encrusted eggs that you have to open using a mallet!  After that we got some 豆花 (which was phenomenal!) and headed over to Tainan's big night market!  Even before getting there, I was pretty full from eating nonstop all day... but of course, I ate tons there and it was all delicious (particularly the eel).  Plus we got some amazing deals on jewelry and other trinkets.  I made a list of all the foods I ate over the course of the day, although I may have left some out... it is as follows: milk cake, foods in restaurant (soups, glutinous meat ball, shrimp roll, taro pork thing), ice cream wrap, sausage, fried wanton, potato/mochi peanut thing, dou hua, pork rice, eel, honey mochi, tea, and shared portions of dumplings and fried cuttlefish.  Whew!

We were awoken at 5:45 the next morning to be up for the start of the festival!  This is a festival that is held every three years for three days and I guess it is basically supposed to provide entertainment for the farmers.  Something like 96 different temples from different villages got involved, and, as I understand it, each one organizes some kind of performance or routine and they parade through the towns showing off their stuff.  Luckily for us, the temple was located literally right next door to April's grandfather's house, so we could easily go back and fourth between the two.  The sun had just barely risen by the time I got up and outside and the performances started.  The crowd here was in a totally different league than that of the Mazu pilgrimage and festival - at peak hours there might have been 30 or 40 spectators and maybe 15 performers.  The highlight of the thing was this "centipede" of children all dressed in traditional clothes... they were adorable and some of them were just sleeping on their little thrones.  Poor things must have been exhausted... we all certainly were!  Throughout the morning and early afternoon, just about everyone in our group took a nap or two.  It was a weird feeling to be tired and wanting a nap by 10 am.  We then enjoyed an exquisite banquet that was so nicely provided by April's family, met a bunch of amazingly friendly locals, and then headed back home to Taipei.  It was a great trip -- thanks so much to April and her family for making it happen!

On Monday I visited Sun Yat-Sen memorial hall with Gene.  I recently acquired an MRT guide that lists 16 attractions in Taipei and I decided to hit each of them at least once before going home.  I'm over halfway through already!  Anyway, SYS Memorial hall was on that list, but, as it turns out, it's a pretty boring place.  Gene and I still had lots of fun goofing around, people watching, making random videos and the like.  And it's one more place to check off on my list!

During the week I spent most of my time studying for (or procrastinating for) my International Finance midterm that was on Thursday (and went fine).  Then on Friday, I went to the history museum and botanical garden with Grace, Chris, and Gene.  The history museum was another thing to check off the list!  Also, entry?  Just $15 - only 50 US cents!  Oh, what a deal!  It had four floors with dramatically different vibes to them - ranging from metal work and pottery that is literally thousands of years old, to photos of 20th century Taiwan to modern paintings from Guatamala, of all places.  Anyway.  It's great to get out of the dorm!  And the weather became beautiful and the gardens were great, and it was a very nice way to spend the day.  Chris, Grace, and I got dinner and relaxed for a couple of hours in a cozy coffee shop, listening to good music, poking through Chinese picture books, and pooling our efforts into creating a communal drawing.

And today, yet another adventure!  We had another CIEE-endorsed trip to just about one hour outside Taipei.  First, we went to a Hakka restaurant for some tasty and traditional noodles.  Next stop was a cosmetics factory, where we got to each make a cute little doll out of a cut-up sock, stuffing, some string, and googly eyes.  They are adorable and were sprayed with perfume!  After that we headed to the part everyone was really excited for - a famous cake company!  We all got to participate in a cake-decorating activity where we created angry birds cake toppers from fondant and each got a little teeny cake of our own to put them on.  This activity was a real hit with the dessert-loving friends I've made here, and the following tour of the bake shop and museum area only strengthened our appetites!  Plus, as part of the activity, the instructor woman was asking questions with prizes, and Becca won an entire real-sized cake to take home!  We had some of it tonight, and, as expected, it was yummy.

Anyway.  Tomorrow is my birthday!  I never thought I'd be turning 21 so anticlimactically outside the US :)  But, thanks to outstanding family and friends, I do have a small pile of gifts and dinner plans to make the day special.

Just a couple of last notes:

For one thing, as much as I may stand out here, there is one way in which I fit in far better than I ever have in the US: technologically.  As opposed to the Macbook-ridden Rice campus, everyone here has (just as I do!) an Asus.  It's a Taiwanese company, so maybe it shouldn't be surprising.  But anyway, it's a great feeling to look around the classroom and see smiling back at me a sea of Asus logos other than that nasty apple.

Also, it has been really interesting living in this dorm because it was so new when I moved in.  On the first day when Afore was giving me a tour, she pointed out all these empty spaces on the ground floor and explained that those are SUPPOSED to be for shops and restaurants but they haven't found anyone to fill them yet.  I thought to myself, "ah!  Too bad I'll miss it!"  It turns out, in Taiwan, shit gets done.  Fast.  Within two weeks of moving in they suddenly opened a Hi-Life convenience store in one of those spaces (a spot which I frequent).  Then suddenly one day I noticed a little cafe and drink shop had appeared.  A couple of weeks ago there were a few days of construction preceding the opening of another cafe (which turned out to be great!)  And now in just the span of a couple of days, a fourth spot went from empty to mystery shelves to a fully stocked little shop!  I haven't been in yet so I'm not sure exactly what they sell, but it's pretty crazy how fast this stuff happens, and it's kind of funny having them pop up in my dorm without any warning.

Another thing: this campus is full of such active students!  I went to the track area after dinner one day last week and it was completely swamped with groups practicing different types of performances.  There is also a mirror wall that 24 hours a day is full of different dance groups practicing together -it's great!  There are times when I'm outside and I can hear or see three or more different groups of students practicing musical or dance performances.  I took a video or two for evidence but I'm not going to post them right now.  Just wanted to comment on how much I like that about this campus.  Also, I feel like Asians in general are less inhibited and embarrassed about things like dancing and singing.  I love how many boys I see in dance groups without them looking awkward or embarrassed.  And karaoke - everyone does it!  People who are great singers, or average, or worse, and they do it with heart and without inhibitions, and I really admire that about this culture.

Anyway.  More to come. (Though not so much more...)

Friday, May 4, 2012

Observations

Here are some observations and notes about Taiwan that I have been collecting:

- For one thing.  There's one thing I haven't mentioned that I think is so... egotistical? about Taiwan.  Finding out about this when I first got here was just like when I first found out that Texas has its own state pledge that kids have to say in school...  But Taiwan actually uses its own year system!  As in, today's date is May 4, year 101. What happened 101 years ago, you ask?  Taiwan was founded.  I guess it makes more sense to use that start point than the birth of Jesus (for a predominantly non-Christian country), but it really surprised me.  So anti-globalization.  Anyway, both are used here... it's not like people don't know what the year 2012 is.  But something still feels very weird about it to me.

- Also, there is this funny stereotype here about how Americans love ice.  Like, we LOVE it.  But I guess it's pretty valid - think about how much ice a typical American soft drink comes with.  Here, most drinks don't come with ice at all, and most water is served room temperature or even hot.  Some people have even expressed disbelief at why we would ever want to drink cold water!  How odd.  Cultural differences.

- I am not sure if I mentioned this already, but there are tons of stray dogs that live on campus and I get to pet all the time.  And all the strays here are really nice and sweet instead of mean and scary like they are in America!

Doggy friend!

- Almost every single Taiwanese person I have met says the exact same phrase when first meeting: "My English is a little poor."  And they all phrase it the same way.  Afore, who heard from Gene that native English speakers don't usually use the word "poor", made a joke that if people say that (as opposed to, "My English isn't very good," or, "My English is bad," then it's probably true).  But yeah.  There are a few phrases that Taiwanese people say way more than English people do, so even if they're not wrong in any way, they sound distinctly Taiwanese to me.  For example, when discussing food, Americans might say, "Oh, it's really good," or, "I really like it," or, "Mmm, delicious," or whatever.  Every time I ask a Taiwanese person about food, they say the same thing: "I think it's very delicious."  Every time. (Unless it's so-so.)  Another interesting little phrase issue is that somewhere, someone must have made a mistake in an English language textbook, so that every time someone is clearly meaning to say, "it's up to you," (like, what time should we meet? It's up to you.), they instead say, "Depends on you."  Of course I know exactly what they mean, and it's not wrong,.. it's just ... Taiwanese.

- I have already mentioned how my classes are full of exchange students from everywhere, and how impressed I am with how widespread the English language is.  Well, we did presentations in one of my classes last week and I realized, it's official: I am the only native English speaker in the class.  And come to think of it, I am pretty sure I am in one of my other classes, too.  I feel privileged and guilty at the same time - guilty that the language of instruction has to be one that everyone else there had to work to learn!

-  Sometimes people ask me what I don't like about Taiwanese people.  Well, honestly, everyone is really nice, friendly, eager to help, and all kinds of other good things.  But don't let them fool you.  They all share one truly despicable trait that I think reveals a source of evil at their core.  And I'm not attributing this to cultural differences: this is just when Taiwanese people show their dark sides.  There is a walkway on campus going from the bottom of the hill to the top, where my dorm is.  It may be about three people wide, but no more.  And I swear, every time a group of people is walking towards me, spread out along the walkway, I politely get to the side to avoid a collision... and they just don't.  They never move aside!!  They keep taking up however much space they please as a mass of people as I, one measly, innocent, individual try to squeeze by!!  I don't know if they expect me to flatten myself against the wall, spread eagled, or what, but nothing makes me madder.  Because it's not cultural differences.  It's rude! and it's selfish!  I have come up with a few different ways of dealing with this since arriving.  For a while, as mentioned, I would step aside as far as I could until the point of it getting silly.  My next strategy was to stop, dead in my tracks, so that they would have no choice but to move aside or walk into me.  This was reasonably effective but disrupted my flow of walking and, frankly, made me feel like kind of an asshole.  My current strategy is to play along with their game.  I might move so that I'm on the correct half of the walkway, but I don't take extraordinary measures.  And then I look down, or off to the side, and we play chicken.  And somehow, they never bump me.  I guess they just like to live dangerously.

-  The mosquitoes here are making me miserable.  Enough said.

-  Taiwanese people have a stereotype that foreigners love to party... and it's completely true.  The only people I know who go out to clubs and bars are exchange students.

-  One interesting cultural difference: it's not considered rude here to make "suggestions" about someone's appearance.  I have heard (either about myself or stories from other people) suggestions to lose weight, gain weight, grow hair, straighten hair, lose the glasses, etc.  Can you imagine?  Ugh.  I'm glad we don't do that in America.

- Some notes on food:
I have come to accept that there is just no good coffee here.  What they call "regular" is Americano - :( .  And most places will serve it with lots of cream and sugar.  The best coffee I get is from a very sweet woman across from campus, and it's good, but it's still not very strong.  If you're looking for strong, drip coffee, just look in a different country.  I think I have given up on my search and will hang my head in defeat and caffeine deprivation.

I finally did something I have been wanting to do since arriving: ate McDonalds.  I was really curious if it would taste different or the same as from the US.  So, I got myself a big ol' McDonalds meal to do a taste test:

Looks the same

It was only after ordering a double cheeseburger that I realized... I don't eat McDonalds very often.  I don't honestly know what an American double cheeseburger tastes like!  So, I enjoyed my meal regardless.  I think the fries are better here (but too salty) - maybe they're still allowed to use trans fats.  A couple of notes on McDonalds, though - it (and other fast food) is actually more expensive than an average meal here.  While noodles or fried rice might be 50 or 60 NT, a McDonalds combo meal will run you about 120 or so.  In fact, Taiwanese people were surprised when I told them that fast food was cheap for us!  Also, when you talk about "American food", everyone here assumes you mean fast food and burgers.  I am pretty sure all Asians think that the only food Americans eat is served with a side of fries.

Also, this is a weird looking fruit!  I don't know what it's called and it didn't have much flavor, but the texture was a bit like kiwi.


Here are  few foods that I don't have any special notes on, but they are very common here, I eat them all the time and love them and don't want to forget them.  Most frequently purchased at 7-11 (source of many meals).

Steamed bun with meat filling

Seaweed-wrapped rice patty with various fillings
The delicious coconut milk dessert with taro balls and baby tapioca! Outstanding!

Sentimental - I went back to the Japanese place we went for our first lunch - my first meal here, that convinced me the food might not be so bad after all - and ordered it again... Thai fried fish.  Just as tasty the second time.
Tea eggs!  Really common here (at every 7-11) - just eggs hard-boiled in tea, but I think they're quite good.  Definitely creepy looking at first...


...not to be confused with the thousand-year-old egg, this treasure right here.  Could it possibly look more disgusting.  Photo courtesy of internet.
Quick story about the thousand year old eggs... I tried one for the first time recently and actually really liked it.  It was creamy and salty and had a nice flavor, but mostly tasted like regular egg.  The person I was with made a joke about how "you don't want to know why it looks that way... horse pee!! just kidding..." But I chuckled and assured him that no matter what he said, I would still eat it, because I had already tried it and it tasted really good.  Not even horse pee could stop me.  But he didn't know the actual way they were made. Well, today I asked Thomas (a CIEE ambassador) the same question, and he again assured me that I wouldn't want to know.  I told him that no, don't worry, I'll be fine.  He then proceeded to tell me that the reason they look the way they do is that instead of using unfertilized eggs, they actually use fertilized ones and kill the baby chick inside, which then turns into .. whatever.  My jaw dropped.  He did it.  He found the way to ensure that I never wanted to eat one of these little chicken abortions again.  "I hope you're wrong, Thomas," I said sadly.  "I hope I am too..." he replied.  Well, I googled it.  And lo and behold... he was wrong.  They just wrap regular old eggs in mud, clay, and some other good stuff until they turn all nasty like this.  Now THAT I can handle.  Unfortunately, the eggs he described really do exist... called Balut eggs , and I will be steering very clear of those.

Also, in food adventures, I ate intestine for the first time recently.  I have to say, I objectively though it tasted pretty good, but was psychologically unable to enjoy it because I was so grossed out to be eating intestine.  Maybe one day I will get over that and be able to enjoy another good food.


It was really beautiful and sunny a few days ago - and REALLY hot.  There have also been some phenomenal sunsets, at least four days in a row.  But anyway, I was so happy to see this nice weather that I took pictures of the same stuff you've already seen, but this time, with better lighting:


I get frustrated by cameras' shortcomings with regard to capturing sunsets.  Here, the sky looks dramatic and great, but you can't tell how green and bright the grass really looked, too!  Maybe I should learn to paint so you can see what I really want you to.


The fake, ideal world version of Taipei

Also, today I went to a museum that reportedly has the biggest modern art collection in all of Asia!  And student entry tickets are just 15 NT - that's 50 US cents!  It was great - partly because the art was nice, but mostly because it was so great to get out of the dorm and explore Taipei a little.  I then had some stinky tofu, lounged at a nice cozy coffee shop, and then met up with Becca and Emily at Taipei main station for dessert!  It was a nice day!  Pictures to come.  Now I have to be up in five and a half hours to catch the bus to Tainan - more adventures on their way...

Thursday, May 3, 2012

九份 and Yilan

Well apparently I have become one of those people who takes fancy, exotic trips every weekend, and then does little of note during the week.  (At least, this week.)  I have been meaning to do a big photo update, so that's on the way, too.

Last Friday after Chinese class I spent the day with Fannie, one of the vaguely CIEE-affiliated graduate tutors.  We met before the Dajia/Mazu trip and talked for a long time about different things to do around Taiwan and Taipei.  So, last week, we decided to put some of those plans into action!  She suggested we spend the day at 九份 (Jiufen), a "must-see" for all tourists.  The weather looked like it was going to give us some problems, but we decided to go ahead anyway, and luckily, by the time we got there it had stopped raining and was quite a nice (though cloudy) day.  Also, because we went on a Friday instead of a weekend, the whole place was apparently much less crowded/noisy/scary than usual, which was nice.  It's about an hour and a half bus ride from Taipei.  It was easy to tell when we were getting close - the bus started climbing the side of a mountain and the views were phenomenal!  I tried desperately to take photos from the moving vehicle, but they are all pretty crummy compared to the ones I got later.

The main attraction in 九份 is this long, windy, old street of touristy shops and snacks.  I am a huge sucker for that stuff, so it was great.  We looked at tons of trinkets and keychains and T-shirts, as well as adorable leather coin purses that looked like fat pigs, quilted owls sitting on branches, bobble heads with your face here, and so many more.  Also, the food - almost everyone was giving out free samples (which was devine).  I had another weird food milestone here - snails!  Well, one snail, to be exact.  I am not sure if this is exactly what people are talking about when they describe escargot, because I'm pretty sure it's a sea snail... but given the shape of the shell, I'm going to count it.  It was fine... the sauce was good.

Pikachu (and others) candy

Adorable mirror slipcovers

I participated in this special holiday/ceremony thing by pouring water over this guy's shoulder.  And then the storekeepers gave us free trinkets!  So nice!

Hot off the grill!


After meandering through the old street, we came out on a balcony and took photos of the stunning view - mountains, water, islands, green, blue, everything.  The most remarkable part was that the rain that we avoided earlier left a mysterious mist in the mountains far away (* full disclosure: I'm not a meteorologist and I have no idea if the rain caused the mist or not).  In any case, it was beautiful:




... and now here is the same view again, but this time, enhanced - by cats!




One thing that has struck me about being in Taiwan is that wherever I go, that place is always, without fail, known for one particular food item that they make extra special.  And there will always doubtless be one particular shop that is the most famous place to get whatever that special food item is.  Is it just me, or is this not true in the US??  I know there are regional dishes, like Philly cheesesteak, etc, but this is like every small town has its one or two celebrated dishes.  Anyway, for 九份, they are apparently very famous for their taro balls!  So Fannie and I indulged in a cold taro... thing.  This is one of those desserts that is very common here but pretty unheard of in the US.

Damn, check out that iPhone camera!
Anyway, we had a really nice time and I got to exercise a lot of self-control in not buying things, giving in only once or twice.

The next day we embarked on a CIEE-organized trip to Yilan!  Again, we took the bus, which was an hour and a half or so.  There was an adorable little boy sitting near me who thankfully managed to hold in his vomit until we were about 10 minutes from our destination.  (The poor thing was still cute!  His mother's quick plastic bag responses helped, too.) Yilan is another beautiful spot with farms and mountains everywhere.  On the first day, we dropped our stuff off at our fabulous ...hostel? hotel? condo? ... lodgings for the night and then grabbed a quick lunch before heading to this art and cultural center.  How did we get there, you ask?  By boat, of course!  I like boats.  So that was nice.  We spent a few hours at the center, strolling and looking at shops, buying food (local specialties, of course!) and trinkets as well as some actual art and culture.

The gang - Avalon, me, Wendy*, Rebecca, Jude*, Jessie*, Una*, Phuab, Alice*, Ashley, and Afore* (stars marking ambassadors)

Poseidon, look at me!


We took a bus to the night market with an extremely friendly bus driver, who made jokes the whole time through the PA system.  I didn't understand them, of course, but judging by the uproarious laughter of those around me, she was a real clown.  The night market was great - but you've heard the night market story before.  I did manage to replace my crumbling wallet, which desperately needed to be done.  I made a list of foods I ate that day, from breakfast through my night market feast: tea egg, gelatinous fruit, pork noodle soup, ice/dou hua thing (a local specailty, of course: scoops of ice in sweet soup with sweet tofu, condensed milk, honey, and steaming hot tapioca balls that you pour in), honey cookie thing, candied pears, spring roll, "Dragon Pheonix leg" (no one knows what this really was, but tasty), coconut butter pancake, stinky tofu, green onion bun (local specialty... of course).  Overall, an alimentarily pleasing day!  That night we all stayed up in our swanky ...lodgings... and played summer-camp style card games and personality tests.  I think I did better at the card game than the personality test, though...

The gang!  Home sweet home.
The itinerary for the next day started with breakfast at 9 am followed by a brisk hike.  Plans changed a little when people were still just waking up after 10:30, so the hike was cancelled and we headed straight to the next item on our agenda... the hot springs!

Now, my most loyal readers may be thinking, "haven't they already done the hot springs?"  And yes, we did.  Sort of.  But this time was way different, and WAY better.  Instead of being like a public swimming pool, or the beach, or a natural oasis, the place we went to this time was like going to the spa!  It cost $220 NT - now, I've never been to a spa in the US, but I am pretty sure what we got would have cost definitely over $100US, and we payed just eight!  This place had all types of hot springs, with different things added in and different colorings.  One of my favorites was the lavender, scented and colored.  So relaxing!  There was also a green one I went in that had some plant or herb, a blue one that was supposedly coal "flavored", a white churning one that had some traditional Chinese medicine... I didn't go in all of these.  There was even an extra hot hot spring, right next to a cold spring, and it's supposedly healthy to switch back and fourth between them every 10 minutes or so.  There was a hot spring water slide!  There were chairs with jets built in!  There was one part that had water falling from high up and you are supposed to lie down on your front and let it massage you!  I think my very favorite offering at this place, though, was in the sauna section... they had a lavender sauna, a mint sauna, and "the oven" - a .. dry sauna?  My favorite was the mint sauna.  It was cool and hot and made all my skin and eyes and lungs feel like they were opening up.  And I had never done a sauna before!  So this was very exciting.  I am now considering becoming a regular spa-goer.

The weirdest thing they had (which I had read about in a, "look how strange Asia is" news article years ago) was a pool for your feet that is full of little fish that eat all your dead skin!  I think I need to master a somewhat higher level of inner tranquility before I can play it cool in this place.  I was squirming and kicking the fish away for a while, and even when I relaxed enough to let them come to me, I was squeezing the hands of the people next to me and would spontaneously burst out laughing from the tickling.  Man, it felt weird!  You really could feel every bite.  It didn't exactly hurt, but it was more than a tickle.  To me, it sometimes felt like little mini electric shocks all over (I know, Madeleine, you must be loving this).  The fish definitely played favorites - Rebecca was a serious crowd pleaser, and at times she had as many as 30 or 40 fish on her feet!  Once I relaxed a little, I did get some visitors, but nowhere near as many as she did.  I guess I can console myself knowing how popular I am with mosquitoes.  Anyway, this was definitely a new experience, and one I won't soon forget!
Rebecca being eaten alive

Rebecca, Ashley and me in the lavender hot spring
After the hot spring we went to a famous bakery to try some of the local specialty cakes (see what I mean??), where I grabbed fistfuls of free samples and then escaped before buying anything.  Then we got back on the bus home, where I had a lovely chat with Una and we marveled at the mountains, flowers, blue sky, and eventual sunset.  One of the best parts of this nice weekend was that the budget was originally quoted as something like $2400NT (about $80US) but ended up being (including all the unnecessary snacks I bought at the night market) only about half the price, if that.  Nice surprise!

This weekend (of course!) I am headed to another adventure, this time in 台南 (Tainan).  Excited!  I've heard lots about the delicious food there, and we're going to performance/festival at a temple, which sounds pretty neat.  Plus, April is organizing it, so she is sure to have great activities plans, and I get to reunite with her amazing family!  Stay tuned for the recap next week.

These past two weeks have strangely been full of (of all things!) school work!  I had two presentations last week, two assignments and a presentation this week, midterm next week, plus the usual trying to learn Chinese thing (I also am trying to teach myself bopomofo, the Taiwanese phonetic system, in my spare time... why??).  So don't let the glossy photos fool you!!  It's not all fun and games here on ol'Formosa!  I also had a rigorous tutor session with Afore, where we started watching a Taiwanese cop drama while eating shaved ice.

I think I am going to save some of my mini-stories and observations for a separate entry (maybe tomorrow?), but before I forget, I have been meaning to post this for ages... Afore made a video for a class project... starring me!  Enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=h5YGIB1t4lY  I think Afore may have a serious career in film making ahead of her :)

Stay tuned!