anecdotes of my adventures in Taiwan: here comes the sun

Today, Sunday, was a gorgeous day. The sun even came out, the first time I saw it since being here. I spent my morning at the gym, attempting to burn off some of what I gorged on. The treadmills are sorta weird here. First, they have German words on them. And then, it skids when you run faster or slower than what the track is going. Oh, and the mileage is set in kilometers. Eeek! For lunch, mom's friends from college (friends for almost 40 years!) treated us to a feast at a nice Chinese restaurant on NTU campus. The food is very, very delicious and relatively healthy. The food was not greasy, and I mostly ate veggies and fish. Afterward I headed back to my dorm to rest. I didn't sleep too well last night. First off, fireworks were going off at 3am...then it was freeeeeezing in my room. There is no heater. I had two blankets and was wearing a sweater and was yet cold. Later I met up with Jasmine. We hung out in my room for a bit, browsing online to find a place to eat around here. I mean, we could easily go out and pick a place to eat, but I wanted to check my 'list' [a compilation of places I desperately want try out!]. None of the restaurants on that list are in walking distance. So, we went to a chain Japanese place that Jasmine is familiar with. It was pretty good, especially with hot sake mmmm perfect for a chilly day. After stuffing our faces we walked around Gongguan (the district of NTU) and then walked [aka exercise] all the way to ShiDa Night Market. It was way crowded, as always. We ended the day at KFC, downing danta, which is a Portuguese/Macau egg tart. Delicious!

display of visual menu - it's all fake! many restaurants here do that, and they replicate the food exactly.

fake sashimi - looks tasty, huh?

appetizer - this comes with every meal: cold tofu, small side salad, steamed egg with shrimp & mushrooms, miso soup, and a shot of plum vinegar (to drink!)