Saturday, September 29, 2012
Ta daaaaaaaaah! Andrea is slowly warping into a local! Not
really…but I would like to think so :P Before a scheduled event at 1:45, I
chose to get there early in order to explore. The particular station was called
“Liuzhangli,” one I’ve never been to before. So it was totally new for me and I
had no idea what was around the area. Arriving there at roughly 9:30, off I
went into the unknown, searching for a café.
Walking about five minutes left of the MTR station I didn’t
find any café, much less the prominent ones I’ve seen but haven’t tried like
“Mr. Brown Coffee,” “Dante Coffee” and “Ikari Coffee.” But soon I hit a highway
that prevented me from walking any further. I then decided to cross the street,
walk back to the station on the opposite side and try the other direction of
the station. BAM! Right as I crossed the street, my eyes fell upon a small but
quaint looking food place. Some people who crossed the street with me headed
directly there so I took that as a good sign.
This place crowned the title “My Warm Day” with a brunch
menu and to my great pleasure, free Wi-Fi. Score! Roughly from 9:45-1:35 I
enjoyed the coziness of the restaurant which did indeed make me feel like it
was ‘my warm day.’ At first I couldn’t figure out how to access the internet
because it was password protected. Even with the language barrier, I
successfully worked with a nice employee to solve out that the password for “My
Warm Day’s” server was ‘mywarmday.’ Bwahahahaha! Go figure! Who knew it would
be so simple? :P
For my breakfast/brunch, I ordered a combo of a beef cheese
burger, fries and iced tea. Mmmmmm, the burger reminded me of America. Not only
was the beef and cheese similar but it also had the traditional American,
lettuce, tomatoes, sauce, etc. It even had sesame seeds on the bun! AMERICA!
>:D The fries…not so much American tasting, but still good nonetheless. I
have to laugh at the fact that not too long ago (a year or two) I didn’t like
iced tea at all. Now look at me, drinking like a pro! I think it’s because I’ve
had iced tea many times in Taiwan since it’s so common and therefore have
developed a liking to its taste. Tis a good thing indeed! What I’m working on
now is developing taste buds for iced coffee. I really enjoyed last Sunday’s
iced coffee as “Is Coffee” but I think that had more cream and sugar in it than
others I’ve had. When I had iced coffee today at the “My Warm Day” at first I
didn’t really like it. But after setting it down for awhile and coming back to
it, I was increasingly liking it bit by bit. If I make going to cafes a common
occurrence then I’m sure I’ll get the taste buds for iced coffee as well.
Though it would be better not to have too much coffee exposure…only until I can
read Chinese menus better! ;D
SO! After spending a lengthy amount of time at “My Warm
Day,” I continued merrily on to the previously scheduled event. This event was
through Roteract (different but similar to Interact and Rotary) as we went to
see a free movie with free snacks! Ahem, snacks are equal to sweets. One thing
different with this movie theater and theaters back in America was that we were
able to bring in food and drink. So I waltzed right in with a bottle of water
and two bags of sweets that were given to me. Actually a man wanted to give me
four of them but I had to decline since it was way too much. Good thing I did
because I felt a bit sick after just two! XD Both vanilla flavor, one contained
wafer-rolls and the other cream puffs. Yummy! YUMMY! Wo xi huan (I like!)
A good number of people showed up to view the movie. The
theater had very comfortable seats (the bright pinkness made me smile). The
first bottom three rows (and one more unseen row below) in the picture were
students and teachers from Tatung High School that were in the Roteract club.
Think you can guess who the three foreigners are? Go on, I dare ya. :P
The exchange students were warned ahead of time that the
movie would be in Chinese, which presented an interesting challenge for us. I
was prepared to attempt my best effort to guess the plot of the movie from the
images on screen and limited vocabulary I have. Once the movie started, all the
exchange students (three of us) let out a relieved sigh because the movie had
both Chinese and English subtitles on the bottom. So luckily we didn’t have to
work through the movie but could actually sit back and enjoyed the production.
Oh my gosh, guys. If you want to see this movie…prepare to
cry. I held myself back from doing so but still a few teardrops escaped my control.
Right after the movie ended, the
exchange student from Ecuador and I had a small hug-fest of sadness as we
sobbingly clutched onto each other. Some people had bright red eyes after the
film. Some had trouble speaking. The story was just so sad but somewhat had a
happy ending…but it didn’t…but it did. Confusing! But so good! I even got to
observe some southern Taiwanese culture in the process! Bonus!
In this picture we have the chica from Ecuador (Stephanie),
the director of the film, the director’s wife (I think but am not sure) and
muah. What they are holding in their hands are all the signatures of the people
who attended the film viewing. I think mine is on the blue sheet…but it doesn’t
really matter does it? :P
I got quite a surprise when all of a sudden I turn around
and there, side by side, are standing the two kung-fu assistant teachers. Woah!
Hi there guys! XD I was not expecting to see them! Not only are they in
Roteract but their father helped a bit in making the film. Heck, even their mother
was there and I was able to meet her as well. Yes, they are brothers. The two
gentlemen I am referring to are the ones standing by each other, one in a red
shirt and the other in a black shirt with red accents. Both are very friendly
and helpful during martial arts club, allowing my foreigner self to actively
participate in the activities. Another fun fact: the lady in the peach shirt to
the far left is my civics teacher. Say “Ni hao” everyone! :D
Leaving the movie theater, peeps from Tatung went to “Shida”
Night Market. The bus ride there nearly gave me a heart attack, as it was by
far the roughest bus ride I’ve ever had…EVER! It went from ACCERLATE to BREAK
so quickly and so jerkily! Boy was I glad to get off! Our little group was
composed of dear Redy, two exchange students and four Taiwanese girls and one
nan hai zi (boy).
As best as I can remember, from left to right, the English
names of everyone are: Gaga, Stephanie, Anson, Andrea, Meggie, Kitty and Baby
Face.
Our first stop was at a stand (look below) famous for “Bing Huo.” This
treat is sweet bread with butter slapped inside. Yeah, I know I let myself go a
bit but it was all for a good cause mind you. ;D Andrea got to taste some
different culture’s food of the night market which doesn’t happen daily mind
you. ;P One thing about night markets is that you are walking around getting
exercise and burning calories. Yay for exercise! Makes me happy especially when
having a great night out! :D
The main dinner was at something I guess is pronounced “lu
wei.” There’s no word for it in English so that’s as best as I’ve got. The
stand we visited is apparently very famous in this particular night market and
therefore was a must for the exchange students to experience. What happens is you
grab a pink basket and tongs, picking up anything that appeases you. This can
vary from tofu, to vegetables, to noodles to pig ears to duck blood. The last
two options didn’t sound very good did they? :P
In my basket, I picked up tofu, some kind of meat ball, a
skewer of what I think was some sort of fish, a beloved type of clustered
mushroom I’ve come to love and a type of mocha. Really, I didn’t know what I
picked up except for the tofu and mushrooms. That’s the fun part. Discovering
with your taste buds. So then the employees will boil your food and afterwards
add flavoring to the plate. For my dish, I chose a low level of spice. To my
surprise, they seemed to have doubled the contents I originally put in the
basket. Twas a little too big for me but I appreciated the chance to try the
chosen foods twice.
All the finished ingredients were quite tasty and intriguing
to the taste buds. Redy had me try some mystery foods from her plate. As I
chewed the food, I noticed all the students looking at me in anticipation. You
can guess what that meant. I was unknowingly eating a food that could be
considered nasty. It indeed ended up being a bit of pig’s ear and duck’s blood.
The pig’s ear was not something I was fond of, having a weird crunchy but soft
texture all in one. The duck’s blood just downright reminded me of a slimy
texture of liver. Neither tasted bad, but not something I would go crazy for
just yet. If I had to choose one over the other, I would go for duck’s blood.
The stand where we got our food didn’t have any tables or
chairs to sit down. As a result, the customers go into the shop nearby to sit
and eat but must order a drink since it was a different shop and wouldn’t allow
me in unless they ordered something from them. Makes sense, but seems like a
sneaky coordination from both places to get money. Regardless, it worked! I got
a small bubble tea while some others got tea that I swear looked like beer!
I learned something today…Taiwanese teenagers like to learn
foreign bad words…a lot. XD The people we were with kept asking Stephanie for
curse words or bad names in Spanish and French.
Not particularly fond of some words, I tried to ease the conversation
with the not bad word (but not polite one) of “Ba-donk-a-donk.” Now Andrea
doesn’t use this phrase but it was better to hear it rather than “a**hole” from
the students. This is all in good humor, mind you. The Taiwanese students are
just curious.
The next stop was a Japanese candy store with an authentic
Japanese owner who spoke some Japanese intermingled with Chinese. I didn’t
understand most of the candy but anyone who knows some Japanese candy will at
least recognize Pocky, which there was indeed some. One little package of candy
included three small balls, one being super SUPER sour. The fun in that is, you
have no idea which one will be the sour and which one will be sweet. So
commenced the game! Stephanie, Redy and Gaga each took one ball and waited for
the results. After several seconds of chewing, it was revealed that Gaga was
the victim as her face began to pucker up intensely. XD I think the Japanese
shop owner took great pleasure when I asked Gaga jokingly “Genki des ka?” (“How
you ok?” in Japanese). Let it be known that that was my first time talking
Japanese in front of an authentic Japanese person in Asia. Yay! It makes me
happy for some strange reason. :P
In search of some rings, I ducked into a jewelry shop. The
only rings I find so far are the really cheap, adjustable ones that will
probably turn my finger green from the fake metal. I prefer the stainless steel
solid rings but haven’t found such ones in Taiwan yet. Instead, my eyes feel
upon a necklace that I found myself continually returning to throughout my
browsing of the shop. After the third or fourth time, I decided to just purchase
it for a mere $100NT ($3.33US). The pendant is of two dangling silver stars,
each half studded with shining gems. They just captured my heart and I thought
it good to have a second casual necklace to wear on nicer occasions that goes
with most any clothing.
The other stores we visited were several clothing stores,
and to my delight, found some clothing that could have potentially fitted a
non-stick-figure-American that I liked. Booya! One other store that I bounced
into reeked of America. Literally…it smelled of America. The shop was dedicated
to perfumes, lotions, hand sanitizers, body gel, etc. Guess from which
companies. Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret. Hey there guys! :D I
was so happy because I knew the lotion and perfume I brought wasn’t going to be
enough to last me a year and I could restock. Much to my dismay, they had all
sorts of scents…except for the ones I like most. NOOOOOO! They even had Candy
Apple! CANDY APPLE PEOPLE! The winter seasonal amazingness from Bath & Body
Works but only in body gel! Noooo! Wo yao (I want) candy apple lotion or
perfume! * sigh * Oh well. It was fun just seeing a probably illegal store with
American products. :P (That’s why there are no pictures because they probably
wouldn’t want me taking any)
And so ended a wonderful, fun day that made me feel
rejuvenated. It was all thanks to Redy for inviting me to the Roteract movie
event and the trip to the night market. Wo ai ta! (I love her!) Seriously guys,
she’s fantastic and I appreciate her immensely. She is so getting a huge
thank-you gift for all her efforts! ;D
That’s it for this Taffy! Peace out!
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