success!!

So, all the clothes sold here for girls are made in one size (free size/one size fits all), with the exception of clothes sold at department and "western clothing" chain stores. I have never been able to fit into their bottoms because Taiwanese girls are sticks. Even I remember last summer when I was trying on shorts at a chain store, I could barely button a size large pair [I swear their size small equals an xxs in the US) of shorts! But today, I bought a pair of shorts, made in one size, and I can fit them comfortably!! Well, only because they have an elastic banding in the back :p Heehee, just had to share my excitement! 


I'm anticipating to go to the BEACH ~ beautiful Kenting! And, then I am already counting down the days til BERMUDA...even though that means this semester will come to an end, but ah Bermuda!!

that's where we wanna go, way down to kenting

On April 5, first day of my spring break (only 3 days off), I will be traveling to the most southern tip of Taiwan to Kenting 墾丁and relax on this beautiful beach. Kenting is the destination for spring and summer. There will be thousands of travelers going to Kenting around the same time as us because there is a huge music festival on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th. I, however, will not be going to the festival because I don't want to deal with massive crowds/Pingxi experience, and most importantly, I need a quiet break!

Soooo excited! It will be nice to get away from the city and breathe fresh air.

these past few days

I ate:

 okonomiyaki. It is Japanese pizza, or pancake, that is very, very delicious. Made from cabbage, flour, water, and eggs - and whatever stuffings you chose. In this case, I shared  shrimp and fish eggs okonomiyaki's with two friends. It is topped with okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise. Those flakey things is katsuobushi, which are dried bonito flakes. Those things were flaying when the chef handed over our plate because the flakes are so thin that it waves in heat. I even thought they were alive or something. Freaky experience, but the okonomiyaki was yum yum in my tum tum nonetheless :)

 鳳梨酥 fenglisu pineapple cake - made with love by my aunt. She made a huge batch of these, and gave me half (~80!). So, of course I shared them with friends...or else I would get fat =)

I visited:

Taipei Fine Art Museum. They house modern art and mostly host Asian artists, but there are also special exhibitions, such as Richard Rogers - an amazing British architect. He has designed many cool buildings worldwide.

Almost all the models had little people figures. They were so detailed...each had a distinct facial expression, clothes, accessories (some had canes, hats, briefcases, etc)!

This is the Leadenhall Building in London. 

 This is somewhere in Madrid, I believe. I can't remember what it was...maybe airport?

 Can you imagine living in a building like this? It is in Seoul, Korea.

 This is where the Olympics will be held in 2012 - the Millennium Dome in London.

 That's what it looks like in reality.

I rode a bike for the first time in ten years (more or less) today: Yeah, no photos from that because I cannot bike and photograph at once, especially since I was basically struggling to balance on the bike! It was a nice journey though. Wind was blowing, it wasn't too hot, and the sun was out. We rode out from near our dorm, along a river, up to Danshui - but of course not all the way, otherwise that would take awhile. I think we biked maybe 20-something miles roundtrip. Afterward we headed to Shida to eat a satisfying carb-filled meal: bibimbap and fruit jumble shaved ice (same as in picture in a previous post).

i don't like...

my unfavorite things about Taipei:

_stinky tofu (chou dofu) - yuck yuck yuck. People claim that stinky tofu is so delicious. I can't see how. It reeks and makes me gag every time I'm near it. Down a few streets from my dorm/on my way back from campus is a corner where there is a stinky tofu vendor. I always take the longer route to avoid this corner (that is, when I'm not absent-minded and remember to).
_the smell of sewage. I joked with a friend earlier that Taipei has two unfortunate smells that our noses breathe in on a daily basis: stinky tofu and sewage. There are sooo many sewage pots on the streets here. I don't know why, and wouldn't really want to know anyway.
_mosquitoes. They apparently like 'foreign blood' because our blood is sweet. Now that it's getting more humid than ever, I have a higher chance of looking like I was struck by the chicken pox. And whenever I open my window, mosquitoes always somehow find their way into the tiny air holes in my window screen :(
 _bipolar weather. Yesterday was blazing in the 90s + nearly 80% humidity. Then around 5pm, the temp dropped to the 50s + wind chill. The weather predicters report that Monday will be up in the 80s/90s again. Great.
_the lack of trashcans. So Taiwan's government set up this environmental protection/waste less plan. No trashcans in the city is part of the plan. Yeah. That is why I frequently carry my trash all the way home. There is not even a trashcan in sight in the park! No trashcans in classrooms, no trashcans around the campus, no trashcans in some restaurants in the public seating area... So convenient, Taiwan!
_smog. By the end of the day, I feel like my pores are clogged with copious amounts of dirt and pollution. And Taipei rarely ever sees a clear sunny, blue sky. Of course, the pollution is not as bad as China's, but it is still pretty bad. Though, plenty of people still do use public transportation instead of riding a motorcycle and driving a car.


Mkay, that's it for now. Other than those aspects (and a few others), I am absolutely enjoying my semester abroad :)

all i do is eat

..in Taiwan. Fact. I seriously do wake up thinking about food! Taipei is, no doubt, absolute food heaven. Here are pictures of some of my favorite foods/meals that I have devoured...

smoked octopus topped with vinegar jelly @A-plus Sake Bar

crispy rice stuffed with salmon + topped with masago, also @A-plus

smoked salmon with melon - tasted interesting, but delicious! @A-plus

salmon + masago rice in a stone bowl

 

 yes, good thin-crust pizza exists in Taiwan [Greek pizza @Mary Jane - becoming one of my fav places for lunch]! although, they don't use marinara sauce.

roasted corn - many food vendors nearby sell corn on a stick for 25NT

 Takoyaki - a Japanese dumping stuffed with octopus and topped with fish flakes...this is certainly a guilty pleasure!

 

 red bean puff - made fresh to order.

 steamed fish with healthy 5-grain rice 五穀飯 on the side

 湯圓 tangyuan (sweet rice flour balls) rolled in peanut powder at my cousin's wedding reception at 圓山飯店/Grand Hotel

green tea + red bean 剉冰 shaved ice

Mmm, sorry if I made you hungry!

we laugh, we sing, we dance

I am slightly overwhelmed with the amount of things to do here in Taipei. I can't think of one moment of boredom... In short, I am having too much fun, and thus results in sleep deprivation. Though, I must admit that it has been pretty tough trying to balance my academic and social/fun life. My schedule goes like this: Tuesday class from 2:20-5:10 then 6:30-9:10pm; Wednesday class 9:10-12:20pm; and Thursday 9:10-12:20 then 6:30-9:10pm. And I don't have my internship anymore--which honestly is a relief because I can now play (okay, okay I mean study) harder.

One of the fun activities that is a must in Taipei is KTV, aka karaoke. It's like a weekly pastime for people here. On Sunday afternoon, my cousins Huang-shiuan and Huang-bing and May brought Allan and I to Cash Box - the largest KTV chain in Asia (and a few in SoCal). This franchise runs daily, 24/7! You cannot imagine how KTV here compares to what it is like in the States. The one we went to had 12-floors, each with at least five different private KTV rooms. Each room has a bathroom, LCD flatscreen, advanced computer systems....a luxurious, yet inexpensive few hours of fun. There is also a full menu of food, desserts, and drinks! We belt it out for a good two hours, singing along to MJ songs, oldies, and a few Chinese songs (which I mostly mouthed the non-chorus parts). I am going to KTV again this Saturday with friends, so cheers to a night of laughing, singing, dancing, and of course eating!

 

May ~ [hopefully] future cousin-in-law

yes, I'm aware my eyes are closed =)

bright lights, big city

Last night I hung out with my cousins. They're a hilarious, crazy bunch :) It was Allan (flew from Houston for the wedding), Aunt Shan-zhen's sons (edit: Huang-bing and Huang-shiuan), and on of their girlfriends, May. I'm really bad with names, and Allan goes by their Chinese names which I can't even remember. Yeah, anyway. It was pouring rain last night (plus thunder and lightening) and definitely not the best time to be going on a large ferris wheel. But...we're Taiwanese. We can wade it out. We drove out to Neihu district, which is almost outside of Taipei city. There is a big mall out there called Miramar. This plaza has an 8-floor movie theater, American brand shops, and a ferris wheel on the 5th floor. From the ferris wheel, you get an awesome view of Taipei. Though it was raining and all the windows were foggy, I still captured a few successful photos.

 look out below!

through the screen

Taipei 101

Afterward we went to feast on sashimi and sushi. Ah heaven! However, I have had a weak stomach for the past week, but I am a bad sick person and couldn't resist. So. Much. Good. Food...

 don't worry, I only ate the masago (on the left) handroll!

weekend spent surrounded by nature

Last weekend (March 6-7) I traveled to Sitou and Sun Moon Lake, which are located in centralish Taiwan in Nantou County. I went with other exchange students, most of whom are also in the College of Management. We rode in a coach bus, which essentially was a party bus--equipped with KTV (karaoke), surround sound, microphones...and best of all, the seats were extremely cushy, plenty of leg space, and I could lean the chairs back :) After a windy road up the mountains, we arrived in Sitou 溪头. NTU owns part of the mountain, which is pretty cool. Thus, it was free for us to enter the park/hiking trail. Here are some photos from the (painful--too many stairs, and it was icky humid!) nature walk on Saturday:

those are trashcans! thought they looked funny

On Sunday, we visited a temple that was devastated by a powerful 7.6 earthquake 10 years ago. The temple is located in the epicenter of the 9/21/99 earthquake. It's scary to see damages by such a massive earthquake. I've never seen anything quite like this. I even got a peek of the rubbles of the interior of the temple. 

 武昌宮 Wu Chang Temple

Later we headed to Sun Moon Lake 日月潭 area. We first stopped at a beautiful temple that overlooked the lake.

that's all made of paper!

look at the ceiling! it is amazingly detailed and colorful.

you write your wishes and/or blessings on these things.

this guy was quite an attraction. he even posed for me haha.

Then, we had a delicious traditional/aboriginal Taiwanese lunch by the lake. The food was pretty interesting. They really like to cook with bamboo! Afterward, we rode a speed boat in the lake, which was a bit nausea-inducing, but after one dramamine, I felt much better. Sun Moon Lake is most beautiful during sunrise and sunset. Unfortunately we wouldn't have made it to either, but the lake is beautiful nonetheless. I hope to go again to see the sun set.