SANDWICH OF PURE BLISS!

Thursday November 1^st, 2012

Let’s get some Taffy on! :D

Our day begins with traveling to University. The MTR was normal as always and so was the bus. But the extraordinary thing was a lovely sight (and feel) on the bus. A digital thermometer boasted in bright red font: 20°C. YESSSSSSSS! THE WEATHER WAS SO WONDERFUL! I thought it would get ridiculously humid from all the rain from the past two days like it normally would in Texas but nope! It was actually chilly! Did it call for a jacket? Yeaaaaaah but persistent me went “Heck no! I’m going out in short sleeves!” I mean, come on! It’s 20 degrees! I’ve been craving this for so long! Lemme get my goosebumps in and then I’ll maybe think about wearing a jacket. ;P In my room I can actually close the window and shut out all those loud street noises. This is so cool! Let’s hope the cold weather continues or intensifies!

The morning breakfast time was pretty momentous today in comparison to past days. Usually I go inside the hot, dense cafeteria and buy breakfast at 7-Eleven. Then I sit at the provided tables, which aren’t the cleanest in the world, and eat in a fairly noisy, muggy environment. It’s okay but it’s not the most preferable thing ever. Last Monday some exchange students discovered a hidden café behind the cafeteria called “Café 8.” It is a small little place with a fair selection of drinks but not much food available. What was the most appealing about this place is that they had outdoor seating on the patio with greenery surrounding you. A pleasant environment indeed. Desiring to experience this setting, as well as further enjoying the chilly weather, I bought breakfast in the cafeteria but went outside to eat.

On the subject of what breakfast consisted of, well I can tell you about that! ;) First was a quick trip to 7-Eleven to purchase some papaya slices. Then I went to the breakfast/sandwich shop in the same vicinity (I’ve been there several times before) I ventured out to try a new sandwich. The past times I’ve bought a sandwich from the shop I always got the same thing that was cheapest combo menu item offered. Finally getting out of the mindset of always crunching my money, which prevented me from making more discoveries when it comes to food, I selected something that looked quite appetizing. Since it was a combo item I was able to use my “一個八” (One of #8) method. Nice and simple with a sense of adventure as I didn’t know what #8 was. It strangely took a lot longer than usual to receive the sandwich but I patiently waited anticipating a delicious creation.

Once the order was produced to me, I took the combo of the #8 sandwich and milk tea and headed outside to the patio. I had planned on buying a drink at Café 8 in order to not seem like I was freeloading off the seats. I’m way too courteous when it comes to things like that. In my opinion, if I’m going to be on their property, I should show patronage and support them even if it’s just a little bit. Unfortunately when I went outside the café was not yet open so I couldn’t by a drink even if I wanted to. So I just humbly sat down on the patio and began consuming my meal. There’s my stuff on the nearest table with Café 8 being closed in the back. Isn’t it a cozy setting?

Beginning with the 7-Eleven papaya, the first slice was yummy as normal. But once I munched the third piece it suddenly had a terrible taste. Thinking it was simply just one bad piece, I continued on. That’s when I found out it wasn’t just that one piece. Instead it was every single other piece remaining. I don’t understand! How did the usually delicious papaya go to being so revolting?! In one piece I spotted a random black dot, which I avoided but I have no idea if that means it was rotting or not. The papaya looked normal but it sure didn’t taste at all yummy. Not the greatest experience.

Looking for something more taste bud friendly, I moved on to the #8 sandwich and milk tea. The milk tea was fine as always, nothing overly special but still tasty. I unwrapped the sandwich, took a bit and then…ohhhhhhhhh. Oh holy crud where has this been all my life?! I was absolutely amazed with how amazing one sandwich could be. In the past I have mentioned the triangle breakfast sandwich that were so yummy. Well the #8 crushes every other sandwich with ten times the scrumptiousness!!! Peering into the sandwich’s contents I discovered the reason why I adored it so much. It had:

-Corn

-Lettuce

-Tomato

-Cheese

-Three thin slices of white bread

-Raisins

-Savory Sauce

-Pineapple

I FOUND THE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE SANDWICH! HELLO MY LOVE! I have heard of you and tried ordering you at Tatung high school but was unsuccessful. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! Allow me to point out the key concepts. Firstly, this sandwich is super healthy in comparison to others. Containing both fruit AND vegetables, it becomes a double whammy! The bread part of the sandwich was also lovely because it was a fantastic balance between bread and contents. Some breakfast sandwiches will have four slices of thick bread that completely overpower the rest of the sandwich. The #8 had a perfect agreement between the two sides. Next, RAISINS! Good lord I missed y’all! For many years I always had a box of raisins included in every school lunch. These things are just so tasty and nutritious. Now when you place raisins in a bagel or sandwich, a party takes place in my mouth. But what really blew my mind was reaching the middle of today’s breakfast when an explosion of sweetness flooded my taste buds. What in the world was this strange flavor amongst vegetables? To my great surprise it was pineapple! WHAT?! What a strange place to find pineapple! But as I found out, it is a brilliant location! I already know what I want to order again next University day! ;D

During my breakfast I heard a sound behind me. Looking back, I saw a lady staring right at me. She just arrived and was obviously an employee working at Café 8. I bet she found it really strange that a person was already sitting on the patio but even more strange that it was a foreigner in a high school uniform at University sitting on the patio. XD At one point I was afraid that she was going to ask me to leave but thankfully nothing of the sort happened. She just let me be and began preparing to open up shop. Whew, thank goodness!

AMAZING NEWS! Well, amazing to me at least. ^_^ I have been struggling to gain registration to a prominent Wi-Fi network throughout Taipei known was “TPE Free.” Only with “iTaiwan” have I been successfully in gaining access but that is only available at the library so far. Checking my phone to see if Café 8 had free Wi-Fi, I spotted the “TPE Free” network with an average signal. Desiring to get an account, I tried yet again to register. This time I chose the country of Taiwan other than U.S.A. when asked. Aaaaaaand BAM! IT WORKED! YESSSSSSSSSS! You have no idea how happy it makes me! I can now gain Wi-Fi access so many more places than I previously could. Though I still prefer going to the library in order to sit down with my laptop, I can at least check my e-mails on my phone more regularly because lately there’s many important e-mails coming in as well as being sent out. So YAY! HAPPINESS! :D

University class went normally so there’s nothing overly new. Therefore I shall move straight on to lunch.

Though I was tempted to order the #8 sandwich again, I was determined to try yet another new menu item at the same sandwich shop. The #7 sandwich had a quite enticing appearance as well as advertising four sandwiches rather than just two for the same price. So I was reeled in and asked for “一個七” (One #7). Once given the order, I went with Brittany to go eat outside at the same place as I did only hours beforehand. I just loved the place too much not to go there again as well as wanting to show Brittany the patio and enjoy the cold weather a bit more.

So here was my sandwich and milk tea. Brittany had a Taiwanese lunchbox brought from her host house and a hot chocolate she bought from Café 8. Want to know how our individual lunches tasted? I can sum it up in two words: “hai hao.” That’s Chinese for alright/mediocre. But really we didn’t like our food too much. Brittany’s meal was a bit flavorless and her hot chocolate was pretty water down. My milk tea was average but the sandwich didn’t really sit too well with my tastes. Everything was normal (vegetables, eggs, etc.) except for a layer of a different ingredient. This something-something is a kind of dried pork thingie-ma-whats-it that has the disagreeable consistency of thick hair. The taste is fine but the stuff is meant to be soaked with a more liquidity food. For example, you put the hairy stuff in rice porridge where it gets softer. In a sandwich, it remains the texture of dense hair and just doesn’t sit well with me. I don’t plan on ordering that anytime soon.

When done with the lunch I needed something to offset the hairy texture with something more appetizing. Looking towards a place not too far from our seats, Brittany and I both fled to Café 8 to purchase some sweet cake. We each selected a different kind and the employees boxed them up for us. The little box each cake came in was so adorable! Look how cute it is! I was happy that I bought something because my conscious was cleared of freeloading off the café’s tables. So there! I did it! ;D

Was the cake satisfying at all? Yes. Yes it was. It brought a delightful sweetness to both Brittany and me. The cake Brittany got ended up being a delicious coffee flavor and mine being more chocolate oriented. Each had half a cherry on top. Brittany, who didn’t want hers, gave it to me. My cherry ended being extremely sour and hers a mix of sour and sweet. Wow! I just didn’t have any luck with fruit today, huh? But both of us enjoyed our cake and were refreshed to continue facing our day!

Leaving the fine patio of Café 8 two girls headed out with a skip in their step. I smile at the fact that you could compare us to horses. When it gets colder, we get more frisky and energetic. Ah, it reminds me of horseback riding and the challenge of steering horses when it gets cold. Good times, good times. But on our way to leave the University’s campus, I suggested going a different path for a refreshing feeling, which Brittany eagerly agreed to. It lead us to spot a sign that was extremely peculiar. “Happy Rotter: The Cave Gallery” WHAT?! First of all, that is so obviously a rip-off of the font and name from ‘Harry Potter.’ Two, what the heck is a ‘happy rotter?’ Initially Brittany wanted to go check it out but I was very hesitant and she found out that the door leading to somewhere underground was locked. Why was I hesitant? Well I’ll use Brittany’s description to show my discomfort. The door looked “like the opening to a murder facility.” Not somewhere I would feel safe exploring especially when the rip-off sign looks like it has blood dripping from “Happy Rotter.” NO THANKS!

Instead I continued on to high school and did my usual walk to the back building in order to sign in upon arrival. While crossing the campus, I pass by a volleyball court. Today it was being used by University students in an actual game, not just for practice. But as I was approaching the court, a player hit the volleyball backwards really high up. It went so high that it scaled the tall net meant to prevent such a thing from happening. But the ball went over and bounced in front of me, speedily rolling away from the court. I didn’t do anything but just watched it run away. PSYCH! Of course I willingly assisted the people by dropping my heavy schoolbag on the ground and sprinted after it.

Oh gosh I just thought of something a little degrading. Getting the volleyball was almost like playing fetch with a dog. I was born in the year of the dog. XD Well I am living in Chinese/Taiwanese culture am I not? :P

Anyway, when I returned to the net with the ball I faced the difficulty of giving the volleyball back to the players with the tall net barrier. Not saying no to a challenge, I gave my limited volleyball skills a shot and served the ball up into the air. OH MY GOSH IT WAS PERFECT! The toss up was just right, the hit was flawlessly timed with a spot-on amount of force needed for the ball to glide gracefully over the net. It was funny yet rewarding to hear the court players all simultaneously voice, “Whoooooooooa!” Made me happy to show the Taiwanese some foreigner power as well as a good deed! Let world peace spread over the world, one good deed at a time! ^_^

During Math class, the class where people don’t pay too much attention in (poor teacher!), two classmates engaged a conversation with me. The boy closest to me gestured to the other boy and said “He wants to know, how old are you?” That last part was in Chinese but I only know how to say it and not the characters for typing yet.  ;) So I replied “十八” (18). The boys all gave a small gasp and stirred between the two of them. Soon after the boy closest to me explained their reaction. The other guy apparently thought I was thirteen years old when he first saw me. WHAT?!  I don’t believe that! In a country where everyone looks so much younger than their age, they thought a foreigner like me was five years younger than my actual age?! …should I be flattered or concerned? I’m not too sure yet. XD But it started a nice talk between us. That’s something I really enjoyed since I can’t always talk to my classmates, as they are tired or actually listening to the teacher. XD

Today, though Thursday, was not a club day but instead a session for the exchange students to write a report to the principle about their life in Taiwan since the last edition. Goodness me I’m writing so much lately! Between Taffy blogs, Rotary reports, frequent e-mails to Rotary, the reports to the principal and the culture reports for school, my fingers are developing pain as well I’m feeling selfish when I constantly talk about myself. I want to hear about someone else! It’s not that I’m purposely being self-absorbed but rather the things I’m required to do are making me feel egotistical when I don’t mean or want to be. XD

After the report I went to the usual teahouse on campus to wait out some time until 5:00PM came around. My martial arts club last week told me we had practice on Thursdays at 5:00. Since the exchange students get out one class earlier than normal students, I just decided to wait at the teahouse. This was great because I wanted to get some tastier fruit in for the day other than the nasty papaya this morning. It led me to order “一杯蘋果牛奶” (One cup of apple milk). The beverage was as tasty as ever but what was exciting was this!

Each orange sticker was given upon a purchase of a beverage at the teahouse. From filling up all ten slots on the card, I can now get a free beverage that costs 25NT! Whoo-hoo! I’m not sure which one to get yet since the ones I’ve had before and know how to say in Chinese are all 35-50NT. Regardless, I’m happy because to me a full card shows my backing and support of this teahouse. That is something special to me. ^_^

Anywho, bed time now because it’s late and I have a school hiking field trip tomorrow! Coffee might be needed in the morning as a precaution. XD But its this weekend that will be really busy because something new and exciting is happening. I’ll write more on that later, which hopefully I’ll have time for. I really need to learn how to speed up my writing. Any writers out there have any tips on accomplishing that? :)

And this Taffy has come to a conclusion! See y’all next time! Peace out! :D