Wow, 好久不見!
I've missed you guys and sorry that I haven't posted in a while. I've am usually so busy and this week and weekend have been no exception.
So first things first, I had the opportunity to go to the National Palace Museum, but unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures within, but I will you a few bits and pieces about some of the things that I saw. There were many pieces of different pieces of artwork, works written by Chinese emperors, and so much more. From these famous pieces of calligraphy to even more breathtaking paintings of mountains. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but Chinese paintings of mountains are a particular favorite. The museum is massive and I spent a few hours there making sure that I got a good look at just about everything that I could. There inside the museum is this famous piece called the Jadeite Cabbage. It is a very famous excellent piece of jade work that had been on tour in Japan, but had returned a few days earlier, so I was fortunate enough to be able to see this wonderful piece of work.I would just like to give a thank you to my friend Larry answering a ridiculous amount of questions regarding much of what I saw.
Now for this weekend, my flat mates and I went to Wushi beach, which is a black sand beach. It was my first time going to such a beach and it was really nice. Unfortunately we went during the weekend do there were tons of people. You are probably wondering what was so special about a trip to the beach, well for me it was my first time attempting to surf. According to sources this is a great beach for beginning surfers and there were a ton of them out there including us. I am not sure if the purpose was learning how to surf or how to avoid other people. There was a lot of people falling off boards to avoid people, people running into people and over them as well. However the entire experience was extremely fun and worth the trip. I will certainly try to get back to catch a few more waves.
The food that I got to try while at the beach was awesome as well. I got to taste quite a few delicious dishes that I have no idea what exactly many of them were but they tatsted delicious and there were many things to choose from. The first seafood restaurant that we ate at served about 12 dishes, but in reverse order from usual, so dessert and main courses were served early and then sides and appetizers later. The second restaurant that we went to before leaving though got the order right, so more food was eaten.
Well today I have a typhoon day so that is why I have the time to be able to check back in with all of you. It s my first typhoon here in Taiwan and it thankfully doesn't seem to be too bad, but since classes are cancelled I can get a little rest today. Anyway I will put more of the pictures that I have taken up as well. Until next time be well everyone.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Guandu and Week Two
Okay everyone I know that it has been awhile and you all probably know how much I miss you all. Anyway, I have definitely slowed my happy whirlwind roller coaster adventure time down quite a bit now that classes have started and I find myself poring over books, flashcards and listening to recordings for hours leaves me with very little time for fun. However, I forgot to post this last event. My friend here Larry, invited me to go last Sunday to Guandu Temple. We were there for an entire day, so when I got back I didn't have the energy to do a post about it.
Anyway, the temple is amazing. Not only is it a very large, old and prestigious temple. It is very unique in that it houses many different deities, many of which I found very interesting. I mean there were people who came to pray to the deity of examinations and I can tell you that that one was very popular. The main deity was locate din the center of the temple and was a protector of fisherman and the seas. It made sense given that historically the area was a very important fishing area. Other deities that I encountered was the one for medicine, which I could very much understand given the many ailments that are about nowadays.
The most astounding thing to me about this temple was the architecture and design. I uploaded some pictures of the place, but I don't think that they will do justice. Everywhere throughout the temple were exquisite and complex handcrafted designs. When I say everywhere I mean everywhere. Every single wall, frame and pillar seemed to be adorned with master craftsmanship. i cannot even begin to imagine what it was like to handle that work or even how long it probably took. All I can say is that if you are coming to Taipei I highly recommend seeing this temple. It is a little out of the way and there wasn't much in the area besides the temple, but I can most assuredly say the place had quite a bit of character.
I also got the chance to do some real bike riding as well. Though I can't say that it was a good thing. For those of you that know me I am old and fat so it was tough. But my friend and I had the chance to ride along the river and admire the scenery.
My second week of classes went a lot better than the first week, but I can feel my Chinese skills improving. The first week I did feel confident enough to have full conversations in Chinese for fear of quickly getting out of me vocabulary depth, but now if its something I don't know then I ask and keep going. It has been a lot of fun here and it hardly feels like I have been here a month already. Time flies and I am just hoping that I can do a little bit more exploring while I am here.
Anyway, the temple is amazing. Not only is it a very large, old and prestigious temple. It is very unique in that it houses many different deities, many of which I found very interesting. I mean there were people who came to pray to the deity of examinations and I can tell you that that one was very popular. The main deity was locate din the center of the temple and was a protector of fisherman and the seas. It made sense given that historically the area was a very important fishing area. Other deities that I encountered was the one for medicine, which I could very much understand given the many ailments that are about nowadays.
The most astounding thing to me about this temple was the architecture and design. I uploaded some pictures of the place, but I don't think that they will do justice. Everywhere throughout the temple were exquisite and complex handcrafted designs. When I say everywhere I mean everywhere. Every single wall, frame and pillar seemed to be adorned with master craftsmanship. i cannot even begin to imagine what it was like to handle that work or even how long it probably took. All I can say is that if you are coming to Taipei I highly recommend seeing this temple. It is a little out of the way and there wasn't much in the area besides the temple, but I can most assuredly say the place had quite a bit of character.
I also got the chance to do some real bike riding as well. Though I can't say that it was a good thing. For those of you that know me I am old and fat so it was tough. But my friend and I had the chance to ride along the river and admire the scenery.
My second week of classes went a lot better than the first week, but I can feel my Chinese skills improving. The first week I did feel confident enough to have full conversations in Chinese for fear of quickly getting out of me vocabulary depth, but now if its something I don't know then I ask and keep going. It has been a lot of fun here and it hardly feels like I have been here a month already. Time flies and I am just hoping that I can do a little bit more exploring while I am here.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Latest Escapades and Classes Start
It's been awhile hasn't it. Well I have been a little busy actually doing real school work. You all should be proud of me. Well before I get to that there are a few more trips to talk about before we get into classes.
The trip to Dadaocheng was one of the toughest trips for me. I wasn't sure whether it was progressive fatigue or four hours of walking, but this was tough. It was a walking tour and I should have read that part of the description more carefully because walking isn't my specialty. Anyway through this tour we got to see many different kinds of architecture from European to Japanese in this area. Of course the area was littered with tons of little shops with odds and ends, but the the function of a main trade center had shifted away from this area. It could be clearly seen that it wasn't the busiest of areas, but the historical significance could not be understated with many styles and cultures being represented along a single street. We ended the tour at a famous temple known for creating creating many couples. All you had to do was go in and ask, being as specific as possible about what kind of partner that you wanted. Its safe to say I went into this temple.
After this long walking tour I had a chance to go back to the underground mall. It was a lot larger than I thought it was and spans three stations. An entire section was dedicated to books, books and more books. I thought I was in heaven. Of course you are probably thinking that he goes all the way to Taiwan to admire books. Well yes that's true. Just kidding. Anyway it was nice to see, but a lot more walking to make it to the food section of the mall.
The last ICLP trip was to the Shifen waterfall. The waterfall was very nice and very refreshing as the spray feel very cool against the Taiwan heat and humidity. There were paths leading up to a picnic area, but before then I ran into 18 immortal.s I am not familiar with them, but I do have a picture of each immortal for you to see. After visiting the waterfall we headed to the next part of the trip: sky lanterns. This was one of my favorite parts of all the trips. We were able to write all our wishes and so much more on the lantern before sending off into the night sky and watching them disappear among the clouds. Hopefully I can at least get one of my wishes on the lantern to come true. And if you are thinking that I put world peace on the lantern then you are sadly mistaken: 1st because I can't write that in Chinese and 2nd because I am extremely selfish. I mean why would I ask for world peace when I can ask for Yoon Eun-Hye as my girlfriend. I mean really, so its safe to say I let someone else wish for that. Maybe that will be one of their wishes that comes true.
Sorry that this post is so long, but I haven't been able to post in a while because I have been out making sure that I am busy all the time. Anyway I made a Taiwanese friend and this past weekend he took myself and another friend of his to the Lin Family Garden. Of course since my Chinese is so bad and his English is so good I didn't get to use my Chinese that much but it was a lot of fun. The Lin Family Garden was the playground of the rich and affluent and the display of the creative and imaginative.
So, yeah I have finally started classes and I have realised the drawbacks of appearing smarter than I actually am. Yeah, I can speak a little Chinese, but so often I speak the introductions of Chinese so well I feel like I get mistaken for an advanced speaker. Insomuch I am currently working like crazy to keep myself seeming smarter than I actually am. LOL. I still plan to have fun though I will only propably be posting on weekends from now on.
As always thank you guys for reading!
I haven't got any questions, but don't think that if you have something you want to ask that I will be too busy pretending to be smart to answer it. I will definitely pretend to know the answer to your question or actually find someone who does LOL :P
The trip to Dadaocheng was one of the toughest trips for me. I wasn't sure whether it was progressive fatigue or four hours of walking, but this was tough. It was a walking tour and I should have read that part of the description more carefully because walking isn't my specialty. Anyway through this tour we got to see many different kinds of architecture from European to Japanese in this area. Of course the area was littered with tons of little shops with odds and ends, but the the function of a main trade center had shifted away from this area. It could be clearly seen that it wasn't the busiest of areas, but the historical significance could not be understated with many styles and cultures being represented along a single street. We ended the tour at a famous temple known for creating creating many couples. All you had to do was go in and ask, being as specific as possible about what kind of partner that you wanted. Its safe to say I went into this temple.
After this long walking tour I had a chance to go back to the underground mall. It was a lot larger than I thought it was and spans three stations. An entire section was dedicated to books, books and more books. I thought I was in heaven. Of course you are probably thinking that he goes all the way to Taiwan to admire books. Well yes that's true. Just kidding. Anyway it was nice to see, but a lot more walking to make it to the food section of the mall.
The last ICLP trip was to the Shifen waterfall. The waterfall was very nice and very refreshing as the spray feel very cool against the Taiwan heat and humidity. There were paths leading up to a picnic area, but before then I ran into 18 immortal.s I am not familiar with them, but I do have a picture of each immortal for you to see. After visiting the waterfall we headed to the next part of the trip: sky lanterns. This was one of my favorite parts of all the trips. We were able to write all our wishes and so much more on the lantern before sending off into the night sky and watching them disappear among the clouds. Hopefully I can at least get one of my wishes on the lantern to come true. And if you are thinking that I put world peace on the lantern then you are sadly mistaken: 1st because I can't write that in Chinese and 2nd because I am extremely selfish. I mean why would I ask for world peace when I can ask for Yoon Eun-Hye as my girlfriend. I mean really, so its safe to say I let someone else wish for that. Maybe that will be one of their wishes that comes true.
Sorry that this post is so long, but I haven't been able to post in a while because I have been out making sure that I am busy all the time. Anyway I made a Taiwanese friend and this past weekend he took myself and another friend of his to the Lin Family Garden. Of course since my Chinese is so bad and his English is so good I didn't get to use my Chinese that much but it was a lot of fun. The Lin Family Garden was the playground of the rich and affluent and the display of the creative and imaginative.
So, yeah I have finally started classes and I have realised the drawbacks of appearing smarter than I actually am. Yeah, I can speak a little Chinese, but so often I speak the introductions of Chinese so well I feel like I get mistaken for an advanced speaker. Insomuch I am currently working like crazy to keep myself seeming smarter than I actually am. LOL. I still plan to have fun though I will only propably be posting on weekends from now on.
As always thank you guys for reading!
I haven't got any questions, but don't think that if you have something you want to ask that I will be too busy pretending to be smart to answer it. I will definitely pretend to know the answer to your question or actually find someone who does LOL :P
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Jiufen and Dansui
I'm Back! Did you guys miss me. Well I can say for sure that I haven't any of you for even a moment. I am so joking! Of course I miss all of my faithful readers.
Anyway I have two great experiences to share with all of you. The first is I had the opportunity to head up into some more mountains. I don't know if many of you know this, but there are mountain everywhere here so if you hear a lot about them, that is why. Anyway, up near the coast there is an old gold town and you know about the fates of those towns. Well this town has been made immortal by the Miyazaki Spirited Away. I took pictures from one of the main places in the movie and I wonder if any of my readers will recognize it.
The town is very quaint, I think that is the appropriate word. It has a very heavy Japanese influence with small winding streets and very neat style buildings. The setup is much like a night market, but mainly centered around one street. There are lots of interesting things though to be found off of the main street as well so it is has been a great idea to get off the main path here in Taiwan for discovery. The sight of the the shore from the area is really nice as well along with more mountain views. This combined for a wonderful experience.
The next place to visit was Danshui. This is a very historical place that experienced a decline as a port city after it silted up. However tourism and the determination by the local population has saved much of the history and tradition. We started off at the bottom of this area and took in some sights from the river. Next we moved on through the market to view old movie theaters and even a temple. I got lost will waiting for some squid to cook. They march us around like shoulders and I have to eat constantly if they are going to have me moving all the time. We visited a little white house which served as the customs house during the Qing reign over Taiwan. We capped off that part of the trip to the former British consulate on the island and the Fort of Santo Domingo established by the Spanish.
After that we were able to descend down to the river mouth where the Love bridge is located. It is a bridge that man couples supposedly cross over, but it has turned into a major tourist attraction full of families, tourists and stampeded of children. Dangerous to say the least. We had a short moment to take on the bridge and pier, but couldn't enjoy the sunset because of CLOUDS. It was sunny for most of the day too.
Don't forget that there are always new pictures being added. I will upload two albums for these trips so that you can enjoy all the images that I have gathered. I am still not sure what is going on with trying to upload videos, but it is still a struggle. But as always I am always working to figure it out for you!
Anyway I have two great experiences to share with all of you. The first is I had the opportunity to head up into some more mountains. I don't know if many of you know this, but there are mountain everywhere here so if you hear a lot about them, that is why. Anyway, up near the coast there is an old gold town and you know about the fates of those towns. Well this town has been made immortal by the Miyazaki Spirited Away. I took pictures from one of the main places in the movie and I wonder if any of my readers will recognize it.
The town is very quaint, I think that is the appropriate word. It has a very heavy Japanese influence with small winding streets and very neat style buildings. The setup is much like a night market, but mainly centered around one street. There are lots of interesting things though to be found off of the main street as well so it is has been a great idea to get off the main path here in Taiwan for discovery. The sight of the the shore from the area is really nice as well along with more mountain views. This combined for a wonderful experience.
The next place to visit was Danshui. This is a very historical place that experienced a decline as a port city after it silted up. However tourism and the determination by the local population has saved much of the history and tradition. We started off at the bottom of this area and took in some sights from the river. Next we moved on through the market to view old movie theaters and even a temple. I got lost will waiting for some squid to cook. They march us around like shoulders and I have to eat constantly if they are going to have me moving all the time. We visited a little white house which served as the customs house during the Qing reign over Taiwan. We capped off that part of the trip to the former British consulate on the island and the Fort of Santo Domingo established by the Spanish.
After that we were able to descend down to the river mouth where the Love bridge is located. It is a bridge that man couples supposedly cross over, but it has turned into a major tourist attraction full of families, tourists and stampeded of children. Dangerous to say the least. We had a short moment to take on the bridge and pier, but couldn't enjoy the sunset because of CLOUDS. It was sunny for most of the day too.
Don't forget that there are always new pictures being added. I will upload two albums for these trips so that you can enjoy all the images that I have gathered. I am still not sure what is going on with trying to upload videos, but it is still a struggle. But as always I am always working to figure it out for you!
Monday, June 16, 2014
So A Trip to the Zoo...FAIL
Hey there again,
I know many of you are wondering how I have time for all of this traveling around and having a good time when I am supposed to be studying hard in a language intensive program. Well the answer is that classes don't start until next week. I arrived here a week early thinking I would have a week break before going into classes, but now it seems like I will have a three week break before classes. AWESOME!
So yesterday a group of my new ICLP friends went to the zoo, but we only made it through a part of the zoo before it started raining and all the animals and people went scurrying for shelter. It was a nice zoo, but it would have been nice if we could have avoided the downpour and got to see more of the animals. I only was able to take a few pictures of some of the creatures before the torrents, so I didn't create a new album for them and instead put them in the main Taipei album.
We did however head to the underground mall which was pretty cool. It was completely underground and right next to the metro station. It is so convenient here to find places to spend money. It was pretty cool, not really a great mall for doing I guess real shopping, but more of a trinket and souvenir mall. It was nice though and of course I bought a few things to take back home with me. I am not very good at haggling, but I simply use a smile and somehow prices seem to go down. I was told I look like a movie star, and so I probably bought something I didn't need. These people are too much sometimes trying to make my head swell. I know they really don't mean it but still in the back of my mind...
Anyway, I know I mentioned trying to get a little bit of footage up, but unfortunately there is an issue with uploading video directly from my computer so I will have to circumnavigate the issue in order to get the videos up.
Until next time! Thanks for reading!
I know many of you are wondering how I have time for all of this traveling around and having a good time when I am supposed to be studying hard in a language intensive program. Well the answer is that classes don't start until next week. I arrived here a week early thinking I would have a week break before going into classes, but now it seems like I will have a three week break before classes. AWESOME!
So yesterday a group of my new ICLP friends went to the zoo, but we only made it through a part of the zoo before it started raining and all the animals and people went scurrying for shelter. It was a nice zoo, but it would have been nice if we could have avoided the downpour and got to see more of the animals. I only was able to take a few pictures of some of the creatures before the torrents, so I didn't create a new album for them and instead put them in the main Taipei album.
We did however head to the underground mall which was pretty cool. It was completely underground and right next to the metro station. It is so convenient here to find places to spend money. It was pretty cool, not really a great mall for doing I guess real shopping, but more of a trinket and souvenir mall. It was nice though and of course I bought a few things to take back home with me. I am not very good at haggling, but I simply use a smile and somehow prices seem to go down. I was told I look like a movie star, and so I probably bought something I didn't need. These people are too much sometimes trying to make my head swell. I know they really don't mean it but still in the back of my mind...
Anyway, I know I mentioned trying to get a little bit of footage up, but unfortunately there is an issue with uploading video directly from my computer so I will have to circumnavigate the issue in order to get the videos up.
Until next time! Thanks for reading!
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Lin Yutang House, Yangming Mountain Tour and Shilin Night Market
Hey guys,
Yesterday I had the first opportunity to get out with some fellow ICLP classmates and go on an adventure. Hmmm I guess adventure might be a bit of an exaggeration and more of a get to know people might be better. We did a lot of standing around during parts of the trip so it was good to get to know a lot of people by name.
Anyway the first place that we visited was the house of Lin Yutang. I mentioned him in the previous post as a famous character because one label doesn't quite fit him. He was a translator of Western works to Chinese, an ambassador to the Western world on educating in matters of Chinese culture, he was an inventor author and so much more. His house contained so much diversity from classical Chinese texts to the Caesar's Commentaries on the Gaul Campaign. Housed were pictures of his Chinese type writer, which is too complicated for me to explain. His house was small by most standards but still very nice. Lunch here consisted of a delicious curry chicken and rice.
Next we headed to the Yangming Mountain. This is a beautiful and very popular spot to come out and have picnics for many native Taiwanese people. A group of us hiked to the highest point on one of the mountains. I have video and pictures of this spot. Then we were headed to see the waterfall, but only made it about halfway. If you know me making it to the top of the mountain was a feat for me! Anyway I got a few pictures there as well. This was a really tough journey in which my group braved perils such as wild cattle, aggressive worms and sound wave attacks from cicadas or something, so I hope you appreciate the pictures.
Next I had the chance to visit another night market, the Shilin Night Market. This night market was much larger than the one that I had previously visited so that mean a lot more opportunities to spend money and eat. I got to try shaved ice for my first time here and I have to say it was extremely delicious. Needless to say there are also some very weird things here and I did see the stall for a procreative organ served as ice cream. Weird! Also in the middle of the market was a temple that I wasn't sure if it was a part of the market as decor or actually real. I found out soon enough that a temple is a temple no matter where it is located. So please enjoy the pictures and I plan to have so much more this coming week as well.
Yesterday I had the first opportunity to get out with some fellow ICLP classmates and go on an adventure. Hmmm I guess adventure might be a bit of an exaggeration and more of a get to know people might be better. We did a lot of standing around during parts of the trip so it was good to get to know a lot of people by name.
Anyway the first place that we visited was the house of Lin Yutang. I mentioned him in the previous post as a famous character because one label doesn't quite fit him. He was a translator of Western works to Chinese, an ambassador to the Western world on educating in matters of Chinese culture, he was an inventor author and so much more. His house contained so much diversity from classical Chinese texts to the Caesar's Commentaries on the Gaul Campaign. Housed were pictures of his Chinese type writer, which is too complicated for me to explain. His house was small by most standards but still very nice. Lunch here consisted of a delicious curry chicken and rice.
Next we headed to the Yangming Mountain. This is a beautiful and very popular spot to come out and have picnics for many native Taiwanese people. A group of us hiked to the highest point on one of the mountains. I have video and pictures of this spot. Then we were headed to see the waterfall, but only made it about halfway. If you know me making it to the top of the mountain was a feat for me! Anyway I got a few pictures there as well. This was a really tough journey in which my group braved perils such as wild cattle, aggressive worms and sound wave attacks from cicadas or something, so I hope you appreciate the pictures.
Next I had the chance to visit another night market, the Shilin Night Market. This night market was much larger than the one that I had previously visited so that mean a lot more opportunities to spend money and eat. I got to try shaved ice for my first time here and I have to say it was extremely delicious. Needless to say there are also some very weird things here and I did see the stall for a procreative organ served as ice cream. Weird! Also in the middle of the market was a temple that I wasn't sure if it was a part of the market as decor or actually real. I found out soon enough that a temple is a temple no matter where it is located. So please enjoy the pictures and I plan to have so much more this coming week as well.
Friday, June 13, 2014
Finally Hit by.... BAD FOOD!
Yeah everyone I'm not sure what did it but I think it was the spicy beef dish that I had the other day, but yesterday I was completely knocked out by whatever it was. I closed the blinds, put blankets under the door and a cool water by my bed and slept for most of the day. I guess I should have known that it was going to happen sooner or later, but it something that you really don't think about. However, I carry civilization around with me and after a day of taking some meds for my stomach I am alright.
Today was orientation and a campus tour. I got to meet many people that I will not likely see again according to the program instructor. As soon as classes start I will be going to class and then preparing for class with little time for anything else. Anyway I have a week before that happens and I will be going out to enjoy myself next week before dooms day.
Tomorrow I will be heading out to the mountains for some great scenery shots as well as a visit to the house of a famous multi-talented Chinese character. I will let you know all about it as well as provide you with pictures.
Until tomorrow my friends!
Today was orientation and a campus tour. I got to meet many people that I will not likely see again according to the program instructor. As soon as classes start I will be going to class and then preparing for class with little time for anything else. Anyway I have a week before that happens and I will be going out to enjoy myself next week before dooms day.
Tomorrow I will be heading out to the mountains for some great scenery shots as well as a visit to the house of a famous multi-talented Chinese character. I will let you know all about it as well as provide you with pictures.
Until tomorrow my friends!
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
A Few More Cultural Places
Hi everyone,
Have you missed me. I haven't gotten you a new blog in a while since the last time was probably a bit overwhelming. Anyway I have a few more experiences to share with you such as a few more chinese dishes, some Thai dishes and some more cultural places.
First up, a few days ago I had the opportunity to hang out with one of my flat mates, Cindy. She invited me out to have a specialty of Taiwan, beef noodle soup. I ordered the spicy kind because as you all know everyone needs a little spice in their life. This was one of the mot delicious things that I have ever tasted. I should have know since we had to wait to get in this place, but I was so glad that we waited. The meat was succulent and so savory. This is a must try dish should anyone ever go to Taiwan. I loved this dish so much that it even ended up on my shirt. You are probably wondering like what is he a two year old, but it wasn't my fault because when you get the spicy kind then make sure your napkin covers your shirt so it doesn't splash all over you.
Anyway, lunch was delicious. After that we went to the National Revolutionary Martyrs Shrine because the other Fine Arts Museum was closed on a Monday. Who has ever heard of something being closed on a Monday, anyway we should have checked first before hiking on over in one of the rare very sunny days. The shrine was just that a shrine, but it was very elaborate and ornate. The bright colors and highly decorative architecture contradicts the many drab and dreary looking buildings that many people live in. I'm not saying that everyone should live in brightly colored and very decorative houses, but a little color would be nice. The shrine also features many important figures during the war between the communists and KMT. I don't really know that much about the history, but here they gave very detailed descriptions of the many encounters that took place.
Later that evening with a few more flatmates we made our way to a Thai restaurant. Here you will find restaurants from all across east and south Asia. The food was quite good. I was able to taste a spicy chicken in coconut sauce, a beef dish and octopus. The best thing to me was the octopus dish, which is surprising because I would say that it is as meaty as chicken or beef, but I did really like it. The chicken dish was only a little spicy, but the coconut sauce was a good complement. Even if the food here isn't always in the peak of freshness the seasoning and flavor is unquestionably good.
Today I had the opportunity to visit the Taipei Hakka Cultural Park. I cannot say that I learned a great deal becasue much of what I saw today didn't have the English translation but enough did so I could get a general idea. The Hakka culture is from mainland China and centers around a group of people that have been continually displaced by war and natural disasters. The culture is rich in its own with having there own deities and special holidays. They form mainly an agrarian society with also a focus in exquisite woodwork. I wish I could give you an even better idea, but that is about what I garnered from the park that was in English. I have pictures of the park and the area so be sure to check those out as well. I just had my language placement test today and I can surely say that I know almost no Chinese. But don't be dismayed because that is what I am here to learn!
Friday I will be given a comprehensive tour of National Taiwan University where I will be studying and then Saturday I will be headed to the mountains for an adventure so be sure to stay tuned!
Have you missed me. I haven't gotten you a new blog in a while since the last time was probably a bit overwhelming. Anyway I have a few more experiences to share with you such as a few more chinese dishes, some Thai dishes and some more cultural places.
First up, a few days ago I had the opportunity to hang out with one of my flat mates, Cindy. She invited me out to have a specialty of Taiwan, beef noodle soup. I ordered the spicy kind because as you all know everyone needs a little spice in their life. This was one of the mot delicious things that I have ever tasted. I should have know since we had to wait to get in this place, but I was so glad that we waited. The meat was succulent and so savory. This is a must try dish should anyone ever go to Taiwan. I loved this dish so much that it even ended up on my shirt. You are probably wondering like what is he a two year old, but it wasn't my fault because when you get the spicy kind then make sure your napkin covers your shirt so it doesn't splash all over you.
Anyway, lunch was delicious. After that we went to the National Revolutionary Martyrs Shrine because the other Fine Arts Museum was closed on a Monday. Who has ever heard of something being closed on a Monday, anyway we should have checked first before hiking on over in one of the rare very sunny days. The shrine was just that a shrine, but it was very elaborate and ornate. The bright colors and highly decorative architecture contradicts the many drab and dreary looking buildings that many people live in. I'm not saying that everyone should live in brightly colored and very decorative houses, but a little color would be nice. The shrine also features many important figures during the war between the communists and KMT. I don't really know that much about the history, but here they gave very detailed descriptions of the many encounters that took place.
Later that evening with a few more flatmates we made our way to a Thai restaurant. Here you will find restaurants from all across east and south Asia. The food was quite good. I was able to taste a spicy chicken in coconut sauce, a beef dish and octopus. The best thing to me was the octopus dish, which is surprising because I would say that it is as meaty as chicken or beef, but I did really like it. The chicken dish was only a little spicy, but the coconut sauce was a good complement. Even if the food here isn't always in the peak of freshness the seasoning and flavor is unquestionably good.
Today I had the opportunity to visit the Taipei Hakka Cultural Park. I cannot say that I learned a great deal becasue much of what I saw today didn't have the English translation but enough did so I could get a general idea. The Hakka culture is from mainland China and centers around a group of people that have been continually displaced by war and natural disasters. The culture is rich in its own with having there own deities and special holidays. They form mainly an agrarian society with also a focus in exquisite woodwork. I wish I could give you an even better idea, but that is about what I garnered from the park that was in English. I have pictures of the park and the area so be sure to check those out as well. I just had my language placement test today and I can surely say that I know almost no Chinese. But don't be dismayed because that is what I am here to learn!
Friday I will be given a comprehensive tour of National Taiwan University where I will be studying and then Saturday I will be headed to the mountains for an adventure so be sure to stay tuned!
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Miniatures Museum of Taiwan
Hello Again,
So I said that is might have multiple posts today so here comes another your way. This is what I actually did today, while the other should have been posted quite some time ago. My apologies there. Today I visited the IKEA store here in Taipei. I know some of my readers are huge fans of this place.The place wasn't quite the same for me but i have only been there once before, but what I noticed was different was the lack of awesome showrooms. The really expensively put together showrooms that graced the one that I had gone to before was one of my highlights. Just a heads up for many people I have not really been into IKEA for the the actual shopping but more for sightseeing. So don't laugh at me. Other than that it seemed to be pretty standard IKEA albeit a mite smaller than the one I visited, but Taipei has limited space.
The main event of of today was the Miniatures Museum of Taiwan, which completely surprised me today. I really had no idea what to expect because the only thing I knew about the museum before I went was that it was near IKEA so I was going to go check it out. I have uploaded a separate slideshow for these photos so you can check out how awesome they are.
I won't go too into detail because I feel that the pictures are worth way more words than I can put down so I will give you a brief summary and then let you see them for yourself. I took photos of just about everything in the museum so you can experience it for yourself. The main theme that I saw was a massive playground for my niece. Everything was just here size to play with. She would have passed out if she had walked into this place. To a child it would seem like there were toys everywhere, but to the more practiced eye it was a masterpiece. Crafting such tiny items with such precision and accuracy. Many of the items are from famous scenes, movies and characters. I hope that you will be able to name some of them. In my fascination I forgot to get the names of the exhibit so it would be great if you could comment to help me out on this.
I spent about an hour and a half in this museum that was very small, but just so fascinating. I would sit in front of once of the crafted rooms and just marvel at how real it looked as if I could just walk right in and sit down. Since I already posted today I am not going to go any further, so go ahead and take a look for yourself.
There has been a request to put up some video footage, so I just want to let everyone know that I will be working on that as well. I did some trial and error today, and I will be sorting out what worked and how I can improve going forward to give you all something that you don't have to read but rather get a look firsthand at how I live here in Taipei.
Check in with you all later.
So I said that is might have multiple posts today so here comes another your way. This is what I actually did today, while the other should have been posted quite some time ago. My apologies there. Today I visited the IKEA store here in Taipei. I know some of my readers are huge fans of this place.The place wasn't quite the same for me but i have only been there once before, but what I noticed was different was the lack of awesome showrooms. The really expensively put together showrooms that graced the one that I had gone to before was one of my highlights. Just a heads up for many people I have not really been into IKEA for the the actual shopping but more for sightseeing. So don't laugh at me. Other than that it seemed to be pretty standard IKEA albeit a mite smaller than the one I visited, but Taipei has limited space.
The main event of of today was the Miniatures Museum of Taiwan, which completely surprised me today. I really had no idea what to expect because the only thing I knew about the museum before I went was that it was near IKEA so I was going to go check it out. I have uploaded a separate slideshow for these photos so you can check out how awesome they are.
I won't go too into detail because I feel that the pictures are worth way more words than I can put down so I will give you a brief summary and then let you see them for yourself. I took photos of just about everything in the museum so you can experience it for yourself. The main theme that I saw was a massive playground for my niece. Everything was just here size to play with. She would have passed out if she had walked into this place. To a child it would seem like there were toys everywhere, but to the more practiced eye it was a masterpiece. Crafting such tiny items with such precision and accuracy. Many of the items are from famous scenes, movies and characters. I hope that you will be able to name some of them. In my fascination I forgot to get the names of the exhibit so it would be great if you could comment to help me out on this.
I spent about an hour and a half in this museum that was very small, but just so fascinating. I would sit in front of once of the crafted rooms and just marvel at how real it looked as if I could just walk right in and sit down. Since I already posted today I am not going to go any further, so go ahead and take a look for yourself.
There has been a request to put up some video footage, so I just want to let everyone know that I will be working on that as well. I did some trial and error today, and I will be sorting out what worked and how I can improve going forward to give you all something that you don't have to read but rather get a look firsthand at how I live here in Taipei.
Check in with you all later.
Finally Chiang Kai-Shek
Hey There Everyone,
First I would like to thank Josh and Dee for letting me use their camera to get all these awesome pictures and then a special thanks to Josh for helping figure out that instead of trying to find a super exclusive Sony usb cable for the camera to focus on the memory card. I found a usb hookup that has let me access the pictures within the memory card so the I have added about 79 pictures to the Chiang Kai-Shek Slideshow for everyone to see. If you cannot access or see the pictures let me know.
Alright I have been waiting to post about this awesome experience for some time now so here it goes. The place is only a short walk away from where I stay so if push came to shove I would have marched right back there. Anyway, the area is surrounded by a white wall that is remarkably clean much like the rest of the city. Inside the wall is a nice sort of like park. It has nice paths and benches surrounded by all manner of flora and fauna. It was extremely peaceful in the side area where I entered. There were only a few elderly people who were either taking walks or simply sitting and enjoying the weather which was nice that day.
Once I stepped out of this serene area I was immediately confronted by this giant white hall. It was immense, much like something I would expect to see in Washington D.C. However the inside was far more elegant. Inside might be described as the ultimate gilding job. Everything seemed so golden and regal that it felt as if you had stepped into a royal court. I managed to get there just in time for the guard change which was startling at first because it was so quiet and then you hear this loud marching, but it was cool the see.
The first area that I went into didn't allow pictures unfortunately and the volunteer who was in charge of the area kept watching me as if he dared me to take a picture or something. This is a description of what I saw within the Zhong Zheng Art Gallery. The main thing that stood out was the vast amounts of calligraphy on grand sheets of paper. (It reminded me of this scene) Well not quite like that, but you get the point. It was a huge part of the culture to be able to write in such a manner and having such large amounts on display shows the amount of respect that it still garners.
Other paintings includes landscapes with the mountains being my favorite. I am not sure why, but within every room this is similar to what caught my eye. I think I might be drawn to the secluded and tranquil feel that seems to be calling to me. Or I might just be some depressed person drawn to some of the more dreary and dark paintings within the room
It is true that these were some of the least colorful paintings especially in contrast to many of the animal featured such as the horses and pheasants. There were a significant amount of brightly colored pheasant paintings that really seemed to bring the bird to life in every image. Whether it was in flight or merely resting among the underbrush.
The final main theme that stuck out to me was the female characters that were portrayed in many paintings. The were all strikingly beautiful, but very fragile and soft looking from the way they were painting. Maybe soft and fragile isn't a good description, I think fluid would be better. The way they were shaped suggested an almost flow to them much like a river.
The next area that I visited was dedicated to the life of Chiang Kai-Shek, from his birth to his death. This was by far the most detailed account of a person's life that I have ever experienced in a memorial or museum of any kind. Everything had been meticulously chronicled or copied down to the very items that he wore. It is very clear how respected he was to have someone go to such great lengths in order to make sure to have a very comprehensive view of his life. After reading through much of the information myself, I could understand as why. I can say without a doubt that the life he lived was an adventure from start to finish. If you haven't heard of him or really don't know much about him I highly suggest reading about him.
The next room that I visited was the Jie Shi Exhibition Hall. This place was a little bit surprising. In it I found Japanese artists and works. I know when people think China and Japan, then you immediately begin to think of the animosity between them. Here in Taiwan I am not sure that it is the same. Taiwan was occupied by Japan for about 50 years and so has contributed a lot to its culture. The oldest university, NTU, used to be the Imperial University built by the Japanses. The art displayed, had a different look to it. I am not sure about others, but when I saw it could tell that it wasn't Chinese. I think it was the flowers, There were not many flowers showcased in the other room, but for some reason they made me think of Japan. Anyway, there were also other things such as the Japanese calligraphy as well as figures dressed in Japanese dress.
There was a media area with some sort of movie going on, but since I couldn't take pictures I skipped it. I may check it out next time I go. The stores with the hall are very nice and very cheap compared to US souvenir stores. I mean they are probably more expensive than other things, but they seemed reasonably priced by my standards.
The memorial hall was a extremely fulfilling trip. I have always loved places with so much rich history and art. I highly recommend going because its free ad located right next to the metro. This concludes this blog. I may be putting more than one today which is a great possibility because was an awesome day that I will tell you all about. Anyway be sure to always check out all the pictures because I am uploading new ones just about every day.
Don't forget to comment. Your suggestions and or questions are always welcome. Even if you think something is outlandish at least let me know and then I will get back to you on it. Also there are links within many of my posts about things that may be interesting or things that I think you might not know about so don't forget to check them out.
Thanks for reading!
First I would like to thank Josh and Dee for letting me use their camera to get all these awesome pictures and then a special thanks to Josh for helping figure out that instead of trying to find a super exclusive Sony usb cable for the camera to focus on the memory card. I found a usb hookup that has let me access the pictures within the memory card so the I have added about 79 pictures to the Chiang Kai-Shek Slideshow for everyone to see. If you cannot access or see the pictures let me know.
Alright I have been waiting to post about this awesome experience for some time now so here it goes. The place is only a short walk away from where I stay so if push came to shove I would have marched right back there. Anyway, the area is surrounded by a white wall that is remarkably clean much like the rest of the city. Inside the wall is a nice sort of like park. It has nice paths and benches surrounded by all manner of flora and fauna. It was extremely peaceful in the side area where I entered. There were only a few elderly people who were either taking walks or simply sitting and enjoying the weather which was nice that day.
Once I stepped out of this serene area I was immediately confronted by this giant white hall. It was immense, much like something I would expect to see in Washington D.C. However the inside was far more elegant. Inside might be described as the ultimate gilding job. Everything seemed so golden and regal that it felt as if you had stepped into a royal court. I managed to get there just in time for the guard change which was startling at first because it was so quiet and then you hear this loud marching, but it was cool the see.
The first area that I went into didn't allow pictures unfortunately and the volunteer who was in charge of the area kept watching me as if he dared me to take a picture or something. This is a description of what I saw within the Zhong Zheng Art Gallery. The main thing that stood out was the vast amounts of calligraphy on grand sheets of paper. (It reminded me of this scene) Well not quite like that, but you get the point. It was a huge part of the culture to be able to write in such a manner and having such large amounts on display shows the amount of respect that it still garners.
Other paintings includes landscapes with the mountains being my favorite. I am not sure why, but within every room this is similar to what caught my eye. I think I might be drawn to the secluded and tranquil feel that seems to be calling to me. Or I might just be some depressed person drawn to some of the more dreary and dark paintings within the room
It is true that these were some of the least colorful paintings especially in contrast to many of the animal featured such as the horses and pheasants. There were a significant amount of brightly colored pheasant paintings that really seemed to bring the bird to life in every image. Whether it was in flight or merely resting among the underbrush.
The final main theme that stuck out to me was the female characters that were portrayed in many paintings. The were all strikingly beautiful, but very fragile and soft looking from the way they were painting. Maybe soft and fragile isn't a good description, I think fluid would be better. The way they were shaped suggested an almost flow to them much like a river.
The next area that I visited was dedicated to the life of Chiang Kai-Shek, from his birth to his death. This was by far the most detailed account of a person's life that I have ever experienced in a memorial or museum of any kind. Everything had been meticulously chronicled or copied down to the very items that he wore. It is very clear how respected he was to have someone go to such great lengths in order to make sure to have a very comprehensive view of his life. After reading through much of the information myself, I could understand as why. I can say without a doubt that the life he lived was an adventure from start to finish. If you haven't heard of him or really don't know much about him I highly suggest reading about him.
The next room that I visited was the Jie Shi Exhibition Hall. This place was a little bit surprising. In it I found Japanese artists and works. I know when people think China and Japan, then you immediately begin to think of the animosity between them. Here in Taiwan I am not sure that it is the same. Taiwan was occupied by Japan for about 50 years and so has contributed a lot to its culture. The oldest university, NTU, used to be the Imperial University built by the Japanses. The art displayed, had a different look to it. I am not sure about others, but when I saw it could tell that it wasn't Chinese. I think it was the flowers, There were not many flowers showcased in the other room, but for some reason they made me think of Japan. Anyway, there were also other things such as the Japanese calligraphy as well as figures dressed in Japanese dress.
There was a media area with some sort of movie going on, but since I couldn't take pictures I skipped it. I may check it out next time I go. The stores with the hall are very nice and very cheap compared to US souvenir stores. I mean they are probably more expensive than other things, but they seemed reasonably priced by my standards.
The memorial hall was a extremely fulfilling trip. I have always loved places with so much rich history and art. I highly recommend going because its free ad located right next to the metro. This concludes this blog. I may be putting more than one today which is a great possibility because was an awesome day that I will tell you all about. Anyway be sure to always check out all the pictures because I am uploading new ones just about every day.
Don't forget to comment. Your suggestions and or questions are always welcome. Even if you think something is outlandish at least let me know and then I will get back to you on it. Also there are links within many of my posts about things that may be interesting or things that I think you might not know about so don't forget to check them out.
Thanks for reading!
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Stayed in for a Day
Greetings from Atlantis,
That sums up about how I feel today. It seems like it has been raining for eternity here, and it has really dampened my mood. I woke up to rain this morning and now I am chilling for the evening. The common denominator is rain. I don't mind a good little rain every here and there, but when it seems to always be raining then everything is down right depressing. It might just be all the energy that I have burned during the week combined with the rain, but I didn't have the motivation to go out today. On the other hand I did get in a lot of Chinese practice today, especially in polishing my vocab and grammar skills. Yeah I know I am most certainly a nerd. I forgot about breakfast and just recently had I guess a lunch/dinner in order to study for most of the day. I got in some quality work and I thought that you might want to take a break from all the long posts since it is the weekend. Anyway, I had a request to answer so I will go ahead and get it over with.
Today I had the chance to visit the McDonald's here which conveniently is located almost right next to me. You are probably thinking that I eat there all the time, but I don't. I really don't like fast food all that much, so it never really occurred to me to even eat there becasue so many eating places here are very cheap (actually cheaper than McDonald's) and pretty good. But since I didn't feel like going far I decided to run in for a bite to eat. The first thing that struck me was the simplicity of the menu. Now when I think fast food I think of a really long menu with a thousand different choices now, but here there was a single list of options that ran across the menu. Something like 6 different meal combinations and then kids meals. So I ordered a double quarter pounder (with cheese) meal or rather I asked if I could have the number 3 meal option. I have no idea how to say that first thing in Chinese! I got through the order pretty easily because thankfully it was vocab that I knew pretty well. My order came out pretty quickly and I headed up to the dining area.
I will need to make sure that I explain this part well. The fast food restaurant here is not like in the US at all. In the US you have a few people that dine in, but mostly you have the few people the grab and go. Here it is more like a cafe, a place where you can socialize, relax and study. You see students with laptops and computers, a group of like elementary school kids playing with there toys from the happy meal or an older couple drinking in the atmosphere. You really don't get the feeling that this is in any way shape or form a fast food restaurant. It was such a warm and friendly atmosphere I forgot all about the time I spent studying Chinese today and simply relaxed and contented myself with people watching.
The best thing about this place though was easily the food. One reason that I have not really liked fast food was simply that the quality had gone down, while prices had gone up. Fast food is no longer cheap and convenient. It's just convenient when there isn't time to cook. The fried that came with the meal were so crispy. The first crunch surprised me. It was so audible I had to look around to see if anyone else had heard it. Then I tried another. It was the same as the first, with a delicious crunch that could be heard 'round the world. Without even thinking I grabbed my cola and took a sip when I realized that I forgot to ask for no ice (and yes I know how to say that in Chinese as well!). However, it didn't matter as I realized that there was only a few ice chips in it anyway so I really had so much more cola than I expected. And then it came time for the final piece. I had to try the burger. I slowly sank my teeth into it and realized that it was probably the most disappointing thing on my tray. It wasn't bad don't get me wrong, but when you get used to having well seasoned grilled burgers anything less simply taste a little bland. It definitely tasted better than the McDonald's burger that I tried in the US before leaving so I guess it was a plus too. But I continued on in my paradise devouring and watching.
A nice gentleman came over and asked in Chinese if I was using the chair opposite me and if he could borrow it. I didn't understand all of what he was saying, but from his gestures I figured it out and responded that he could take the chair. He was slightly surprised that I could speak Chinese and unfortunately blasted me with a phrase that I could only make out was that I was the subject. Thankfully I have the phrase: I didn't understand what was said and that I only speak a little Chinese. These two phrases I have found are extremely important. First it impresses whoever you are talking to that you can speak there language and second it lets them know that you are very limited so that they will either a. slow down for you or b. start speaking English. He spoke English and actually thought that I spoke Chinese pretty well.
Taiwan actually has quite a few English speakers here so it hasn't been as bad when I have gotten lost and needed directions and couldn't understand some of the roads that were being mentioned or when a person was simply speaking too fast for me to keep up with. So I highly recommend learning a little Chinese before coming to Taiwan because a little will take you a long way and I think it makes many of the locals like you more because you seem less foreign.
Anyway that's all I have for you today. Not much really, but you are probably getting tired of reading anyway. Until next time my friends.
That sums up about how I feel today. It seems like it has been raining for eternity here, and it has really dampened my mood. I woke up to rain this morning and now I am chilling for the evening. The common denominator is rain. I don't mind a good little rain every here and there, but when it seems to always be raining then everything is down right depressing. It might just be all the energy that I have burned during the week combined with the rain, but I didn't have the motivation to go out today. On the other hand I did get in a lot of Chinese practice today, especially in polishing my vocab and grammar skills. Yeah I know I am most certainly a nerd. I forgot about breakfast and just recently had I guess a lunch/dinner in order to study for most of the day. I got in some quality work and I thought that you might want to take a break from all the long posts since it is the weekend. Anyway, I had a request to answer so I will go ahead and get it over with.
Today I had the chance to visit the McDonald's here which conveniently is located almost right next to me. You are probably thinking that I eat there all the time, but I don't. I really don't like fast food all that much, so it never really occurred to me to even eat there becasue so many eating places here are very cheap (actually cheaper than McDonald's) and pretty good. But since I didn't feel like going far I decided to run in for a bite to eat. The first thing that struck me was the simplicity of the menu. Now when I think fast food I think of a really long menu with a thousand different choices now, but here there was a single list of options that ran across the menu. Something like 6 different meal combinations and then kids meals. So I ordered a double quarter pounder (with cheese) meal or rather I asked if I could have the number 3 meal option. I have no idea how to say that first thing in Chinese! I got through the order pretty easily because thankfully it was vocab that I knew pretty well. My order came out pretty quickly and I headed up to the dining area.
I will need to make sure that I explain this part well. The fast food restaurant here is not like in the US at all. In the US you have a few people that dine in, but mostly you have the few people the grab and go. Here it is more like a cafe, a place where you can socialize, relax and study. You see students with laptops and computers, a group of like elementary school kids playing with there toys from the happy meal or an older couple drinking in the atmosphere. You really don't get the feeling that this is in any way shape or form a fast food restaurant. It was such a warm and friendly atmosphere I forgot all about the time I spent studying Chinese today and simply relaxed and contented myself with people watching.
The best thing about this place though was easily the food. One reason that I have not really liked fast food was simply that the quality had gone down, while prices had gone up. Fast food is no longer cheap and convenient. It's just convenient when there isn't time to cook. The fried that came with the meal were so crispy. The first crunch surprised me. It was so audible I had to look around to see if anyone else had heard it. Then I tried another. It was the same as the first, with a delicious crunch that could be heard 'round the world. Without even thinking I grabbed my cola and took a sip when I realized that I forgot to ask for no ice (and yes I know how to say that in Chinese as well!). However, it didn't matter as I realized that there was only a few ice chips in it anyway so I really had so much more cola than I expected. And then it came time for the final piece. I had to try the burger. I slowly sank my teeth into it and realized that it was probably the most disappointing thing on my tray. It wasn't bad don't get me wrong, but when you get used to having well seasoned grilled burgers anything less simply taste a little bland. It definitely tasted better than the McDonald's burger that I tried in the US before leaving so I guess it was a plus too. But I continued on in my paradise devouring and watching.
A nice gentleman came over and asked in Chinese if I was using the chair opposite me and if he could borrow it. I didn't understand all of what he was saying, but from his gestures I figured it out and responded that he could take the chair. He was slightly surprised that I could speak Chinese and unfortunately blasted me with a phrase that I could only make out was that I was the subject. Thankfully I have the phrase: I didn't understand what was said and that I only speak a little Chinese. These two phrases I have found are extremely important. First it impresses whoever you are talking to that you can speak there language and second it lets them know that you are very limited so that they will either a. slow down for you or b. start speaking English. He spoke English and actually thought that I spoke Chinese pretty well.
Taiwan actually has quite a few English speakers here so it hasn't been as bad when I have gotten lost and needed directions and couldn't understand some of the roads that were being mentioned or when a person was simply speaking too fast for me to keep up with. So I highly recommend learning a little Chinese before coming to Taiwan because a little will take you a long way and I think it makes many of the locals like you more because you seem less foreign.
Anyway that's all I have for you today. Not much really, but you are probably getting tired of reading anyway. Until next time my friends.
Friday, June 6, 2014
Language Exchange and NTU
Hi there everyone,
Today I had the opportunity to sit down with a native Taiwanese person for some language exchange. Now don't get your hopes too high because yours truly skills at Chinese are seriously lacking. Anyway we met up this morning and if this older Chinese guy was surprised to see a six foot African American show up, then he didn't show it. We met up through a language exchange website that uses minimal information to match up people wanting to practice their language skills. Of course I am extremely wary of any online sort of thing where there are no pictures and stuff so I can't to a thorough check on the person. The reason that I decided on this one was because we had decided to meet at a very public place. NTU. Yes the school that I will be attending for this summer program.
So we met at the metro stop and proceeded to walk to the cafe where we would have our little language exchange. First off, his English language skills are very good, and my Chinese skills are really basic. So English was the main form of communication. After ordering our tea, we sat down and he asked me what my plans were for this language exchange. My being the novice that I was simply stated that I wanted practice speaking with what little language skills that I had. Instead, he gave me a full and complete Chinese beginner lesson on things that I had never learned before nor even thought about. This guy was extremely knowleagable about the language so much so that I thought of him probably as some professor at the university or something. (After recently having a chat with some contacts back home I realized that I needed to ask him his profession to find out what exactly he does besides travel. He gave me a written language skills before we even began to talk about speaking Chinese and then when we did he was the perfect prompter.
So you know how it is in interviews where the interviewer asks the question, "so tell me a little about yourself," well in English I have no problem telling anyone about myself, but in Chinese it was a struggle. I got through the basics of name, age, where I came from, what my current profession was, where I went to school and then what I was studying in school as well, but then beyond that I was like what else did I know in Chinese. Thankfully he rescued me with some prompts such as sports, which thankfully I knew so we talked about the 法国网球公开赛 or the French Open. Next we talked about why I had come to Taiwan and where I would be studying as well. I sort of impressed myself with how I was able to remember all of the tones for many of the characters. Anyway this went on for about 30 minutes because by then I had exhausted my Chinese vocabulary, so I asked him what he wanted to get out of this language exchange.
He pulls out a book on what I can only surmise as common English phrases or new colloquial words. I should have known for the very beginning that this was going to be a very strange book. I mean once he started mentioning things from this book and I literally had no idea what they meant that this was not going to go well. Okay so all of you reading this out there comment please for me. Out of these let me know if you have heard about any of these:
JIT: Just in time- someone who is always busy
POS: Parent over Shoulder
Granny Nanny: A grandparent who is actually the parent
Hmmmmm, darn many of the real good ones are escaping me right now, but it may just be that I am old so I don't know all the new lingo and whatnot so let me know.
His reason though for learning this is the best reason, which is to watch American TV shows and understand these phrases and terms. I can totally relate to that. I mean isn't the reason that I am learning Chinese is so that I can watch Chinese movies and shows without the subtitles and avoid some dreaded DUBBED plague. Wait, you are probably hoping that I have a much better reason than that for learning Chinese right? Well sorry to disappoint you I mean have you seen... JK, JK. I would never sign up for summer language program priced at somewhere in the neighborhood of $8500 USD so that I can simply watch Chinese movies without subtitles or would I?
Moving on, after our language exchange program he invited me out to lunch. This is the first step in any Chinese relationship. He was going to be treating me to lunch so he already had an honor advantage over me. In case you don't know every encounter here is a manner of face and honor. Every single move and interaction between two people either raises your honor or lowers it. He started this and it was on. He scored in a major way by inviting my out to lunch, so I quickly followed up with a " well I'm not sure if I should." That is what I should have said, but my stomach has a direct line to my mouth sometimes and before I knew I was saying I would gladly go. There it was I had already lost a battle, betrayed by my own side. I may have lost that battle, but I wasn't going to lose the war. As we were making our way to the restaurant I began subtly showering him with praises which he politely refused of course. This was going to be tough as I tell this man was an experienced campaigner in this Art of War.When we arrived at the restaurant I finally made a bonafide score. He is older then me so I made sure that he had his seat first before sitting down myself. You should have seen me. I probably looked like some fat tom cat preening himself after devouring some poor helpless creature. Well folks this is abut all I can remember here because I am quite sure that my brain and everything else was commandeered by stomach which simply capitulated in return for food. Traitorous dog!
Okay, after that spiel time to talk about something far more interesting, FOOD! Now I have told you that I usually cannot read about 90-100% of many menus here so I usually go to restaurants that have pictures so I can make sure that what I am about to order is what I think I am reading. Since I have a handy Chinese person to translate the world seemed to be opened up to me. Most of the stuff does not translate into English and the other stuff that does sounds quite weird. I repeat no English translation. So I went with the next best thing. What would a Taiwanese person recommend. So I did not take any pictures today of the food, because I will say it. I didn't want to seem like some tourist that was invited out to lunch so he could snap pictures of food, but I will give you full accounts of what the food was that I ate.
The first thing that I had was a sort of sandwich or panini looking thing, sorry the names of some of these things are very difficult to pronounce and all stomach react to was taste. It was filled with leeks and onions and some other various vegetables. It was extremely good. I was a little skeptical at first never really having tried leeks before, but the taste was delicious and unfortunately gone before I knew it. Next I had a ball of dough on the outside and then a ball of beef on the inside. It was really hot and juicy and so delicious. As I bit into it the succulent juices starting pouring forth from it . I will try to get the names of these late for you but the taste was just so good. After that I tried the steamed shrimp dumplings. There can never be any meal without dumplings, which of course are very delicious. My dipping sauce consisted of vinegar and soy sauce which I have come to acquire quite a taste for. Last but not least was a dish that I actually learned about it school and instantly recognized on the menu. In Chinese 酸辣汤 and in English sour and hot soup, Inside this soup was pork and a mixture of different vegetables, but what made it unique was the texture. It was a drippy or as much as of a liquid as many other soups, but it had a slight gelatinous texture to it. It even tasted sweet. I was more intrigued by simply recognizing the food than I was by the taste. It tasted okay, I may or may not have it again in the future.
We concluded the meal talking more about him since I had done most of the talking about me earlier and I learned that my partner had done quite a bit of traveling to Europe, South America, the US and Canada. He is extremely well versed in general history as well as culture. It was very delightful speaking with him long after we had finished eating. Unfortunately, I lost another battle. He picked up the bill and the fight that I made was only meager which I also think was his doing because he ordered me a ton of food and only a little for himself so that I would be complacent and slow in reflexes from grabbing the check. Its okay though, he can have round one, because round two starts next week and I will be treating him.
After I departed from my new found friend I decided that I wanted to head to the Ximen shopping area which is very famous. The clouds were rolling in once again, but I decided to risk it. Well I shouldn't have because I was only there for a seemingly short time before I realized how late it was and how tired I had gotten. Yes, I am not a robot for many of you that were wondering, and I am running mostly off of adrenaline as I get about four hours of sleep. Why, because I am a nerd and spend lots of time studying early in the morning usually around four. So, anyway that will be for another day, but I will tell you from my brief shopping trip that this place is shopping heaven with stores for everything and the word sale permanently stamped on every store.
That's all for now folks. In case you haven't noticed I am having a great time over here and I can't wait to go out on more adventures for all of you experience.
Don't forget to comment and share. I know that many of you really want pictures of this or that or maybe you want me to try out some random thing you heard or saw on YouTube so let me know!
Today I had the opportunity to sit down with a native Taiwanese person for some language exchange. Now don't get your hopes too high because yours truly skills at Chinese are seriously lacking. Anyway we met up this morning and if this older Chinese guy was surprised to see a six foot African American show up, then he didn't show it. We met up through a language exchange website that uses minimal information to match up people wanting to practice their language skills. Of course I am extremely wary of any online sort of thing where there are no pictures and stuff so I can't to a thorough check on the person. The reason that I decided on this one was because we had decided to meet at a very public place. NTU. Yes the school that I will be attending for this summer program.
So we met at the metro stop and proceeded to walk to the cafe where we would have our little language exchange. First off, his English language skills are very good, and my Chinese skills are really basic. So English was the main form of communication. After ordering our tea, we sat down and he asked me what my plans were for this language exchange. My being the novice that I was simply stated that I wanted practice speaking with what little language skills that I had. Instead, he gave me a full and complete Chinese beginner lesson on things that I had never learned before nor even thought about. This guy was extremely knowleagable about the language so much so that I thought of him probably as some professor at the university or something. (After recently having a chat with some contacts back home I realized that I needed to ask him his profession to find out what exactly he does besides travel. He gave me a written language skills before we even began to talk about speaking Chinese and then when we did he was the perfect prompter.
So you know how it is in interviews where the interviewer asks the question, "so tell me a little about yourself," well in English I have no problem telling anyone about myself, but in Chinese it was a struggle. I got through the basics of name, age, where I came from, what my current profession was, where I went to school and then what I was studying in school as well, but then beyond that I was like what else did I know in Chinese. Thankfully he rescued me with some prompts such as sports, which thankfully I knew so we talked about the 法国网球公开赛 or the French Open. Next we talked about why I had come to Taiwan and where I would be studying as well. I sort of impressed myself with how I was able to remember all of the tones for many of the characters. Anyway this went on for about 30 minutes because by then I had exhausted my Chinese vocabulary, so I asked him what he wanted to get out of this language exchange.
He pulls out a book on what I can only surmise as common English phrases or new colloquial words. I should have known for the very beginning that this was going to be a very strange book. I mean once he started mentioning things from this book and I literally had no idea what they meant that this was not going to go well. Okay so all of you reading this out there comment please for me. Out of these let me know if you have heard about any of these:
JIT: Just in time- someone who is always busy
POS: Parent over Shoulder
Granny Nanny: A grandparent who is actually the parent
Hmmmmm, darn many of the real good ones are escaping me right now, but it may just be that I am old so I don't know all the new lingo and whatnot so let me know.
His reason though for learning this is the best reason, which is to watch American TV shows and understand these phrases and terms. I can totally relate to that. I mean isn't the reason that I am learning Chinese is so that I can watch Chinese movies and shows without the subtitles and avoid some dreaded DUBBED plague. Wait, you are probably hoping that I have a much better reason than that for learning Chinese right? Well sorry to disappoint you I mean have you seen... JK, JK. I would never sign up for summer language program priced at somewhere in the neighborhood of $8500 USD so that I can simply watch Chinese movies without subtitles or would I?
Moving on, after our language exchange program he invited me out to lunch. This is the first step in any Chinese relationship. He was going to be treating me to lunch so he already had an honor advantage over me. In case you don't know every encounter here is a manner of face and honor. Every single move and interaction between two people either raises your honor or lowers it. He started this and it was on. He scored in a major way by inviting my out to lunch, so I quickly followed up with a " well I'm not sure if I should." That is what I should have said, but my stomach has a direct line to my mouth sometimes and before I knew I was saying I would gladly go. There it was I had already lost a battle, betrayed by my own side. I may have lost that battle, but I wasn't going to lose the war. As we were making our way to the restaurant I began subtly showering him with praises which he politely refused of course. This was going to be tough as I tell this man was an experienced campaigner in this Art of War.When we arrived at the restaurant I finally made a bonafide score. He is older then me so I made sure that he had his seat first before sitting down myself. You should have seen me. I probably looked like some fat tom cat preening himself after devouring some poor helpless creature. Well folks this is abut all I can remember here because I am quite sure that my brain and everything else was commandeered by stomach which simply capitulated in return for food. Traitorous dog!
Okay, after that spiel time to talk about something far more interesting, FOOD! Now I have told you that I usually cannot read about 90-100% of many menus here so I usually go to restaurants that have pictures so I can make sure that what I am about to order is what I think I am reading. Since I have a handy Chinese person to translate the world seemed to be opened up to me. Most of the stuff does not translate into English and the other stuff that does sounds quite weird. I repeat no English translation. So I went with the next best thing. What would a Taiwanese person recommend. So I did not take any pictures today of the food, because I will say it. I didn't want to seem like some tourist that was invited out to lunch so he could snap pictures of food, but I will give you full accounts of what the food was that I ate.
The first thing that I had was a sort of sandwich or panini looking thing, sorry the names of some of these things are very difficult to pronounce and all stomach react to was taste. It was filled with leeks and onions and some other various vegetables. It was extremely good. I was a little skeptical at first never really having tried leeks before, but the taste was delicious and unfortunately gone before I knew it. Next I had a ball of dough on the outside and then a ball of beef on the inside. It was really hot and juicy and so delicious. As I bit into it the succulent juices starting pouring forth from it . I will try to get the names of these late for you but the taste was just so good. After that I tried the steamed shrimp dumplings. There can never be any meal without dumplings, which of course are very delicious. My dipping sauce consisted of vinegar and soy sauce which I have come to acquire quite a taste for. Last but not least was a dish that I actually learned about it school and instantly recognized on the menu. In Chinese 酸辣汤 and in English sour and hot soup, Inside this soup was pork and a mixture of different vegetables, but what made it unique was the texture. It was a drippy or as much as of a liquid as many other soups, but it had a slight gelatinous texture to it. It even tasted sweet. I was more intrigued by simply recognizing the food than I was by the taste. It tasted okay, I may or may not have it again in the future.
We concluded the meal talking more about him since I had done most of the talking about me earlier and I learned that my partner had done quite a bit of traveling to Europe, South America, the US and Canada. He is extremely well versed in general history as well as culture. It was very delightful speaking with him long after we had finished eating. Unfortunately, I lost another battle. He picked up the bill and the fight that I made was only meager which I also think was his doing because he ordered me a ton of food and only a little for himself so that I would be complacent and slow in reflexes from grabbing the check. Its okay though, he can have round one, because round two starts next week and I will be treating him.
After I departed from my new found friend I decided that I wanted to head to the Ximen shopping area which is very famous. The clouds were rolling in once again, but I decided to risk it. Well I shouldn't have because I was only there for a seemingly short time before I realized how late it was and how tired I had gotten. Yes, I am not a robot for many of you that were wondering, and I am running mostly off of adrenaline as I get about four hours of sleep. Why, because I am a nerd and spend lots of time studying early in the morning usually around four. So, anyway that will be for another day, but I will tell you from my brief shopping trip that this place is shopping heaven with stores for everything and the word sale permanently stamped on every store.
That's all for now folks. In case you haven't noticed I am having a great time over here and I can't wait to go out on more adventures for all of you experience.
Don't forget to comment and share. I know that many of you really want pictures of this or that or maybe you want me to try out some random thing you heard or saw on YouTube so let me know!
Thursday, June 5, 2014
First School Visit
Hi Everyone,
Sorry that I missed you guys yesterday. I hope none of you got too anxious. I was out just about all day tramping around trying to get things done before school starts and no I have not been procrastinating. Everything is being done in a very timely manner.
I would like to apologize about the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall photos. The camera uses a special only Sony type of usb cord and I have been trying to hunt one down, but to no avail. I finally got some intel about a store that might have one. It is a little ways away, but for the sake of all my readers out there I will march out there to try and get it.
On the other hand I will be uploading a few more photos of places that I have been so far and yes there will be selfies as evidence of my existence. Today I dropped by the school and program office that I will be attending, which is the International Chinese Language Program at the National Taiwan University. (I tried walking to my school today and it took me 40 minutes. I'll take the metro next time.) I would just like to say that the school is really beautiful, but the problem is there are literally trees everywhere. When they say that it is a green campus they mean it literally. Trying to get any type of picture was virtually impossible, but I did take some so don't worry. If you manage to wade through all the greenery you just might be able to see some really nice buildings.
For this program I will be in eight weeks of intensive Chinese language study, for fifteen hours a week of classes. The pace of this class will be very rigorous and I hope that I will be able to keep up. I registered today to take my placement test. According the sign up sheet I am about in the 11th person to sign up, but I don't know how many people there are total in the program nor the levels. On June 11th I will be taking the speaking, reading and writing portion of the placement test, so wish me good luck!
I know that I haven't posted any foods pictures yet, nor have I talked about it. I know don't bash me too hard. I have most certainly struggled with trying the order food here with a very limited vocabulary, but don't worry I have made more friends that I can use in order to try more foods. I have tried some of the local foods such as the zongzi, which are regular dumplings, guotie, which are fried dumplings and a few other things that I can't remember the names of. I have been tirelessly composing a list of all the Chinese food that I can find as well as the pronunciation, but it is very difficult because of my lack of familiarity with traditional characters. And that is why I have enlisted the help of natives and will soon be on my way to trying many new exotic meals.
Breaking News! I almost forgot to tell you this, but when I registered for my program today I received an offer for a week of tours and adventures during the first week of school in the afternoon. The school is hosting it, so I don't have to worry about getting lost! Hooray! The unfortunate downside is that at least fifteen people have to sign up or the excursions are cancelled. It was really cheap though for all of the events which came to a grand total of about $1150. I mean who doesn't have that much money simply lying around. Okay, okay put the eyes back in your head, $1150 New Taiwan Dollars is about $39 US Dollars. This is for an entire week of excursions to very popular places in Taiwan, which I will not reveal to you at the time. I do have another camera that I can hook up to my laptop so don't worry I will definitely have pictures for you.
On another note I rode the metro for the first time today. I know that I mentioned it awhile back, but I realized how unfeasible it was to try to move all of civilization of a crowded metro. Silly me, I should know tricks are for kids. Anyway, after I visited the school today I needed to head to the immigration agency in order get a foreign ID number in order to open a bank account in order to receive a scholarship. I know that was quite a bit. Anyway, I could have walked to the place had I been located at my flat, but for NTU the hike was farther than I wanted to go. (I mean it had taken me 40 minutes to walk to the school, not taking the most optimal route of course.) So I decided to hop on the metro.
Okay so I just want to put this in perspective. The metro ride cost $20 NTU which is about $.67 USD! Crazy right! I mean you can get meals here as well for like $2.00- $3.00 USD, with good amounts of meat too! Anyway, enough with the outrageous affordability of this place. But I can't help it, I feel so rich! I just want to BUY, BUY, BUY! Wait, sorry getting off again topic again even though those shoes cost what?! I know, I know, but they don't want to hear about that. The metro ride was short and pleasant and it really got me thinking. I have seen a LOT of masked individuals about and I wonder if I should be at all worried. I know that they are wearing those masks for the safety of the egenral populace, but why does it seem like SO many people are wearing them. I mean could that many people be sick or having sick-like symptoms. I don't know for sure, but that's what these handy hand wipes and hand sanitizer are for.
Okay here is a good question. Is it okay to use a compass in the city? I know some of you are probably thinking that I am crazy, but whenever I seem to thinking I am going in one direction it turns out usually the be the wrong one, so lately I have been using a compass in order to find my way around. Archaic, I know, but it works. Well it can't help you if Google gives you the wrong directions or you exit the wrong subway terminal.
As I was marching confidently in the wrong direction I came across the prosecutor's office. I was shocked at what I saw. There is a parking lot next to this building and I just happen to see a car exiting this side lot. I sigh and wait for it to pass when I look more closely. It is a Bentley. I close my eyes and shake my head and sure enough it is definitely a Bentley. I turn and look down the alleyway and I see nothing, but luxury cars. Mercedes, BMW, Audi, etc. I am definitely confused, but it clearly pays well to be a lawyer in this country. (I am not making any veiled attempts to sway individuals that may or may not be reading this blog and that may or may not be in law school.) I am totally selling it. MUHAHAHAHAH! I mean all you have to do is learn a few different laws and some Chinese on the side. It can't be too hard! This however brings me back another point that I mentioned I believe in my first blog about cars in Taipei. Clearly it is go big or go home and what I mean by go home is get a scooter.
Anyway I have blabbed on long enough for this blog. Stay tuned for more from Taipei and a silly lost American! Don't forget to comment and share!
AND WE OUT!
Sorry that I missed you guys yesterday. I hope none of you got too anxious. I was out just about all day tramping around trying to get things done before school starts and no I have not been procrastinating. Everything is being done in a very timely manner.
I would like to apologize about the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall photos. The camera uses a special only Sony type of usb cord and I have been trying to hunt one down, but to no avail. I finally got some intel about a store that might have one. It is a little ways away, but for the sake of all my readers out there I will march out there to try and get it.
On the other hand I will be uploading a few more photos of places that I have been so far and yes there will be selfies as evidence of my existence. Today I dropped by the school and program office that I will be attending, which is the International Chinese Language Program at the National Taiwan University. (I tried walking to my school today and it took me 40 minutes. I'll take the metro next time.) I would just like to say that the school is really beautiful, but the problem is there are literally trees everywhere. When they say that it is a green campus they mean it literally. Trying to get any type of picture was virtually impossible, but I did take some so don't worry. If you manage to wade through all the greenery you just might be able to see some really nice buildings.
For this program I will be in eight weeks of intensive Chinese language study, for fifteen hours a week of classes. The pace of this class will be very rigorous and I hope that I will be able to keep up. I registered today to take my placement test. According the sign up sheet I am about in the 11th person to sign up, but I don't know how many people there are total in the program nor the levels. On June 11th I will be taking the speaking, reading and writing portion of the placement test, so wish me good luck!
I know that I haven't posted any foods pictures yet, nor have I talked about it. I know don't bash me too hard. I have most certainly struggled with trying the order food here with a very limited vocabulary, but don't worry I have made more friends that I can use in order to try more foods. I have tried some of the local foods such as the zongzi, which are regular dumplings, guotie, which are fried dumplings and a few other things that I can't remember the names of. I have been tirelessly composing a list of all the Chinese food that I can find as well as the pronunciation, but it is very difficult because of my lack of familiarity with traditional characters. And that is why I have enlisted the help of natives and will soon be on my way to trying many new exotic meals.
Breaking News! I almost forgot to tell you this, but when I registered for my program today I received an offer for a week of tours and adventures during the first week of school in the afternoon. The school is hosting it, so I don't have to worry about getting lost! Hooray! The unfortunate downside is that at least fifteen people have to sign up or the excursions are cancelled. It was really cheap though for all of the events which came to a grand total of about $1150. I mean who doesn't have that much money simply lying around. Okay, okay put the eyes back in your head, $1150 New Taiwan Dollars is about $39 US Dollars. This is for an entire week of excursions to very popular places in Taiwan, which I will not reveal to you at the time. I do have another camera that I can hook up to my laptop so don't worry I will definitely have pictures for you.
On another note I rode the metro for the first time today. I know that I mentioned it awhile back, but I realized how unfeasible it was to try to move all of civilization of a crowded metro. Silly me, I should know tricks are for kids. Anyway, after I visited the school today I needed to head to the immigration agency in order get a foreign ID number in order to open a bank account in order to receive a scholarship. I know that was quite a bit. Anyway, I could have walked to the place had I been located at my flat, but for NTU the hike was farther than I wanted to go. (I mean it had taken me 40 minutes to walk to the school, not taking the most optimal route of course.) So I decided to hop on the metro.
Okay so I just want to put this in perspective. The metro ride cost $20 NTU which is about $.67 USD! Crazy right! I mean you can get meals here as well for like $2.00- $3.00 USD, with good amounts of meat too! Anyway, enough with the outrageous affordability of this place. But I can't help it, I feel so rich! I just want to BUY, BUY, BUY! Wait, sorry getting off again topic again even though those shoes cost what?! I know, I know, but they don't want to hear about that. The metro ride was short and pleasant and it really got me thinking. I have seen a LOT of masked individuals about and I wonder if I should be at all worried. I know that they are wearing those masks for the safety of the egenral populace, but why does it seem like SO many people are wearing them. I mean could that many people be sick or having sick-like symptoms. I don't know for sure, but that's what these handy hand wipes and hand sanitizer are for.
Okay here is a good question. Is it okay to use a compass in the city? I know some of you are probably thinking that I am crazy, but whenever I seem to thinking I am going in one direction it turns out usually the be the wrong one, so lately I have been using a compass in order to find my way around. Archaic, I know, but it works. Well it can't help you if Google gives you the wrong directions or you exit the wrong subway terminal.
As I was marching confidently in the wrong direction I came across the prosecutor's office. I was shocked at what I saw. There is a parking lot next to this building and I just happen to see a car exiting this side lot. I sigh and wait for it to pass when I look more closely. It is a Bentley. I close my eyes and shake my head and sure enough it is definitely a Bentley. I turn and look down the alleyway and I see nothing, but luxury cars. Mercedes, BMW, Audi, etc. I am definitely confused, but it clearly pays well to be a lawyer in this country. (I am not making any veiled attempts to sway individuals that may or may not be reading this blog and that may or may not be in law school.) I am totally selling it. MUHAHAHAHAH! I mean all you have to do is learn a few different laws and some Chinese on the side. It can't be too hard! This however brings me back another point that I mentioned I believe in my first blog about cars in Taipei. Clearly it is go big or go home and what I mean by go home is get a scooter.
Anyway I have blabbed on long enough for this blog. Stay tuned for more from Taipei and a silly lost American! Don't forget to comment and share!
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Finally the Real Move In
Hey there everyone,
You have no idea how excited I was about 2.5 seconds ago before I realized that I did NOT bring the proper cord to hook my camera up to my laptop. It was like falling off cloud nine and landing in the middle of a very busy intersection. I put in extra work for you all today and to have it all swept away in a matter of moments is indeed rather disheartening. Do not fret however, as I do have the photos and I will have the proper cord by tomorrow thanks to the abundance of shops that sell them. I will hold off on explaining all the trip in detail until then but I do have a few other photos from today for you to enjoy. As I said earlier I really put in a lot of work. I have been walking about since 9 this morning through rain and shine to get you all the best views and shots of Taiwan.
I finally moved into my official residence this morning at nine in the morning. When I pack, I pack as though where I am going may not have civilization, so I therefore bring it with me. Unfortunately, when you pack this way you are really limited in mobility. I thought about taking the metro, but I got down the stairs of my temporary flat huffing and puffing when a taxi driver read my mind and pulled over for me. The burden of civilization is a very heavy burden indeed. So I added a few pictures of the flat that I will be staying in. You can find those on the right hand side and they have simply been added to the Taipei 2014 pictures because they aren't all that special to look at. It is a pretty snazzy looking place and thanks to all the amenities that I brought with me, it is a very livable place. I met a few of my flat mates today: Cindy from California, Hugh, Midori, Carlos and Ahmet. Unfortunately, this was Midori's and Carlos' last day so I had to say goodbye as soon as I said hi. The others all seem like really great people. I am the youngest here which many people have remarked upon already. If they only knew how old I really am (Many of you will understand what I am talking about when I say this LOL). Anyway Cindy and Hugh are here in Taiwan to teach English, but both are just about fluent in Chinese. Now that could prove useful, for me anyways with Chinese.
After I arrived here and unpacked civilization from my two over sized bags of course this is when the realization hits that some of civilization got lost in transition. I raced out to the edge of Shida Market which is a shopping area for just about all your needs. I would have stayed longer, and taken more pictures, but I already had my mind set on going to today's main attraction which unfortunately will be featured tomorrow. So at least tomorrow will be a double feature.
I will though tell you about today's failures in Chinese. It began today with the taxi driver at 8:30 this morning. We went through the standard procedure of packing in my bags and then to the part where he asks me where I needed to go. Me being clever say in my best Chinese Guting-zhan which is a metro stop where I was to meet my landlord who would direct me to my new flat. He gives me a look and asks me to repeat what I said. We went back and forth for a while before I gave him the printed address for my flat. It took me all the way until this evening to figure out that even though I was saying it correctly my tones were way off. It just goes to show how important tones are so much so that the taxi driver could not understand what I was even saying. Next example hooray!
So I really don't know how to correctly pronounce a lot of food in Chinese and I know even less about reading traditional. I go up to order at a lunch bar and I instantly recognize chicken and beef. I'm not sure what it was but I immediately go up and say niu-rou which is beef in Chinese and then sandwich because the picture looked like a sandwich. Go Singlish which is the term for the combination of Chinese and English. The cashier lady smiles and then says in Chinese sanmingzhi. I look back at the menu and I recognize all three characters, but my brain didn't put them together so that I could pronounce it correctly. The cashier even goes further to say that my Chinese is pretty good in perfect English. I take my receipt and go sit in a corner in shame.
The last, but certainly not least is my attempt to get a sim card for my phone, so that I will have a local number while I am here. I was so busy thinking about how to make sure that my living quarters was completely civilized that I did not look up the vocabulary for dealing with cell phones. I head into the store say ni hao and the stop when the clerk asks what I needed. I didn't know how to say it in Chinese and then glancing around the shop I realize that nothing is in English which is a good indicator that it is not spoken within the store so I quickly make something up. I asks if they have a cell phone card. These are the only words in relation to cell phone that I know: shouji for cell phone and then ka for general cards. What I really needed was a prepaid sim card but me and the clerk spend five minutes trying to make it past the language barrier to finally realize what I neede was not in the store. It was tough. I would speak in my slow elementary Chinese and then he would followup in a rapid fire Chinese in which I could only make out a few words here and there. To think we spent five minutes with neither of us knowing what the other was talking about or referring to. Thankfully on my next try I just used a picture of what I needed along with cell phone.
Traditional Chinese is very difficult because many of the characters are very complex and the parts of the character are more difficult to decipher such as the parts for pronunciation and then for the other part that gives an indication for what the character to relates to. I have tried to translate and find the pinyin for just about everything there is, but there still seems to be so much more. Anyway it seems that life is not going to be too easy here until I get a better hold on the traditional system of Mandarin Chinese and then the local language as well.
Many of the residents of Taiwan speak Hokkien or Haka which are Taiwanese native dialects which I have a difficult time understanding, but hopefully I will be able to catch on in no time. Don't forget to check out the new photos under Taipei 2014!
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more daily updates.
Also don't forget to add comments. Questions? I have answers. Requests. No problem.
You have no idea how excited I was about 2.5 seconds ago before I realized that I did NOT bring the proper cord to hook my camera up to my laptop. It was like falling off cloud nine and landing in the middle of a very busy intersection. I put in extra work for you all today and to have it all swept away in a matter of moments is indeed rather disheartening. Do not fret however, as I do have the photos and I will have the proper cord by tomorrow thanks to the abundance of shops that sell them. I will hold off on explaining all the trip in detail until then but I do have a few other photos from today for you to enjoy. As I said earlier I really put in a lot of work. I have been walking about since 9 this morning through rain and shine to get you all the best views and shots of Taiwan.
I finally moved into my official residence this morning at nine in the morning. When I pack, I pack as though where I am going may not have civilization, so I therefore bring it with me. Unfortunately, when you pack this way you are really limited in mobility. I thought about taking the metro, but I got down the stairs of my temporary flat huffing and puffing when a taxi driver read my mind and pulled over for me. The burden of civilization is a very heavy burden indeed. So I added a few pictures of the flat that I will be staying in. You can find those on the right hand side and they have simply been added to the Taipei 2014 pictures because they aren't all that special to look at. It is a pretty snazzy looking place and thanks to all the amenities that I brought with me, it is a very livable place. I met a few of my flat mates today: Cindy from California, Hugh, Midori, Carlos and Ahmet. Unfortunately, this was Midori's and Carlos' last day so I had to say goodbye as soon as I said hi. The others all seem like really great people. I am the youngest here which many people have remarked upon already. If they only knew how old I really am (Many of you will understand what I am talking about when I say this LOL). Anyway Cindy and Hugh are here in Taiwan to teach English, but both are just about fluent in Chinese. Now that could prove useful, for me anyways with Chinese.
After I arrived here and unpacked civilization from my two over sized bags of course this is when the realization hits that some of civilization got lost in transition. I raced out to the edge of Shida Market which is a shopping area for just about all your needs. I would have stayed longer, and taken more pictures, but I already had my mind set on going to today's main attraction which unfortunately will be featured tomorrow. So at least tomorrow will be a double feature.
I will though tell you about today's failures in Chinese. It began today with the taxi driver at 8:30 this morning. We went through the standard procedure of packing in my bags and then to the part where he asks me where I needed to go. Me being clever say in my best Chinese Guting-zhan which is a metro stop where I was to meet my landlord who would direct me to my new flat. He gives me a look and asks me to repeat what I said. We went back and forth for a while before I gave him the printed address for my flat. It took me all the way until this evening to figure out that even though I was saying it correctly my tones were way off. It just goes to show how important tones are so much so that the taxi driver could not understand what I was even saying. Next example hooray!
So I really don't know how to correctly pronounce a lot of food in Chinese and I know even less about reading traditional. I go up to order at a lunch bar and I instantly recognize chicken and beef. I'm not sure what it was but I immediately go up and say niu-rou which is beef in Chinese and then sandwich because the picture looked like a sandwich. Go Singlish which is the term for the combination of Chinese and English. The cashier lady smiles and then says in Chinese sanmingzhi. I look back at the menu and I recognize all three characters, but my brain didn't put them together so that I could pronounce it correctly. The cashier even goes further to say that my Chinese is pretty good in perfect English. I take my receipt and go sit in a corner in shame.
The last, but certainly not least is my attempt to get a sim card for my phone, so that I will have a local number while I am here. I was so busy thinking about how to make sure that my living quarters was completely civilized that I did not look up the vocabulary for dealing with cell phones. I head into the store say ni hao and the stop when the clerk asks what I needed. I didn't know how to say it in Chinese and then glancing around the shop I realize that nothing is in English which is a good indicator that it is not spoken within the store so I quickly make something up. I asks if they have a cell phone card. These are the only words in relation to cell phone that I know: shouji for cell phone and then ka for general cards. What I really needed was a prepaid sim card but me and the clerk spend five minutes trying to make it past the language barrier to finally realize what I neede was not in the store. It was tough. I would speak in my slow elementary Chinese and then he would followup in a rapid fire Chinese in which I could only make out a few words here and there. To think we spent five minutes with neither of us knowing what the other was talking about or referring to. Thankfully on my next try I just used a picture of what I needed along with cell phone.
Traditional Chinese is very difficult because many of the characters are very complex and the parts of the character are more difficult to decipher such as the parts for pronunciation and then for the other part that gives an indication for what the character to relates to. I have tried to translate and find the pinyin for just about everything there is, but there still seems to be so much more. Anyway it seems that life is not going to be too easy here until I get a better hold on the traditional system of Mandarin Chinese and then the local language as well.
Many of the residents of Taiwan speak Hokkien or Haka which are Taiwanese native dialects which I have a difficult time understanding, but hopefully I will be able to catch on in no time. Don't forget to check out the new photos under Taipei 2014!
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more daily updates.
Also don't forget to add comments. Questions? I have answers. Requests. No problem.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Not the Best Way to Start in Taipei
Okay everyone I am back!
I know that you are all going to be very disappointed in me. Today was the dragon boat festival which is a pretty large event in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. It is an event where many people have special boat races, food ceremonies and more. (Click here for more info) I really wanted to go to this celebration today, but I was unable to make it to the place. I thought that jet lag wasn't that big of a deal, but somehow I managed to get really sleepy and tired when I was trying to figure out exactly where I needed to go to see the boats and sample the zongzi and wine that is used the celebrate the holiday. However, it seems that I ended up... wait for it... LOST IN TAIPEI!
I am not sure how it exactly happened, but as I was trying to reach the area that had been described to me, I realized that I should stop by the ATM for a withdrawal. I didn't do it at airport because it was near highway robbery there, and everyone else that I spoke to and read about online did not recommend it. So as I was trying to find my way to the ATM I must have definitely taken a wrong turn somewhere. I tried to retrace my steps from where I had come from, but I was so excited about where I was going that I wasn't really paying attention. It has come to my attention that I do not know traditional Chinese as well as I thought I did. While it is more distinct in many aspects from simplified it is still very complicated and difficult to decipher for an amateur such as myself. After getting frustrated for a little while I finally managed to get directions back to the main road that I know, Luosifu or Roosevelt. I thankfully made it there and then decided to take pictures as I headed back to my flat to redo the directions and everything else that I had done. I have indeed uploaded the first pictures that I have taken from today which are some pretty general pictures of some of the sights that I saw. This is a warning, Taipei can be dangerous for tourists. If you are not careful you may be run over by bikes or mopeds. JK everyone, while it is true that they are just about everywhere from the sidewalks to the main roads, many of these riders and drivers are very skilled as they weave through the populace with ease.
The only food that I have tried so far are some dumplings, which I would have taken pictures of with two exceptions. These dumplings were very boring looking (even though they tasted okay) and two I ate them very quickly.
I have been definitely slacking though as after I returned from my failed excursion I sort of took a five hour nap. Yeah you read that right a FIVE HOUR NAP! First I hate naps and almost never take unless severe circumstances are involved. Anyway, I will make up for this tomorrow by visiting one of the places that I have already placed on my list of things to do. I will most assuredly be very rested tomorrow so get ready. Directions nor jet lag will be able to stop me tomorrow. First I have a map now. Haha, clever me and second I will bring along more snacks! Yes I went to one of the million convenience stores and bought large amounts of snacks. This way I shall have lots of energy for tomorrow.
My day isn't over yet. I might take the metro later or have to run out and get some late night food from the vendors. Ordering here is a little difficult, because my food vocabulary is very low, but I do recognize the important things such as soup, noodles, beef and chicken. If you know any others that I need to know then go ahead and comment!
Also the added pictures are on the right hand side of the page under Taipei 2014. If you want to see them up close you should be able to click the image for a better look.
I know that you are all going to be very disappointed in me. Today was the dragon boat festival which is a pretty large event in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. It is an event where many people have special boat races, food ceremonies and more. (Click here for more info) I really wanted to go to this celebration today, but I was unable to make it to the place. I thought that jet lag wasn't that big of a deal, but somehow I managed to get really sleepy and tired when I was trying to figure out exactly where I needed to go to see the boats and sample the zongzi and wine that is used the celebrate the holiday. However, it seems that I ended up... wait for it... LOST IN TAIPEI!
I am not sure how it exactly happened, but as I was trying to reach the area that had been described to me, I realized that I should stop by the ATM for a withdrawal. I didn't do it at airport because it was near highway robbery there, and everyone else that I spoke to and read about online did not recommend it. So as I was trying to find my way to the ATM I must have definitely taken a wrong turn somewhere. I tried to retrace my steps from where I had come from, but I was so excited about where I was going that I wasn't really paying attention. It has come to my attention that I do not know traditional Chinese as well as I thought I did. While it is more distinct in many aspects from simplified it is still very complicated and difficult to decipher for an amateur such as myself. After getting frustrated for a little while I finally managed to get directions back to the main road that I know, Luosifu or Roosevelt. I thankfully made it there and then decided to take pictures as I headed back to my flat to redo the directions and everything else that I had done. I have indeed uploaded the first pictures that I have taken from today which are some pretty general pictures of some of the sights that I saw. This is a warning, Taipei can be dangerous for tourists. If you are not careful you may be run over by bikes or mopeds. JK everyone, while it is true that they are just about everywhere from the sidewalks to the main roads, many of these riders and drivers are very skilled as they weave through the populace with ease.
The only food that I have tried so far are some dumplings, which I would have taken pictures of with two exceptions. These dumplings were very boring looking (even though they tasted okay) and two I ate them very quickly.
I have been definitely slacking though as after I returned from my failed excursion I sort of took a five hour nap. Yeah you read that right a FIVE HOUR NAP! First I hate naps and almost never take unless severe circumstances are involved. Anyway, I will make up for this tomorrow by visiting one of the places that I have already placed on my list of things to do. I will most assuredly be very rested tomorrow so get ready. Directions nor jet lag will be able to stop me tomorrow. First I have a map now. Haha, clever me and second I will bring along more snacks! Yes I went to one of the million convenience stores and bought large amounts of snacks. This way I shall have lots of energy for tomorrow.
My day isn't over yet. I might take the metro later or have to run out and get some late night food from the vendors. Ordering here is a little difficult, because my food vocabulary is very low, but I do recognize the important things such as soup, noodles, beef and chicken. If you know any others that I need to know then go ahead and comment!
Also the added pictures are on the right hand side of the page under Taipei 2014. If you want to see them up close you should be able to click the image for a better look.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Freshly Landed and Very Tired
Hi everyone,
I know that many of you are very anxious to hear about my trip to Taiwan and here is the first installment. I am safely landed and am currently in Taipei. Woohoo! I would be even more excited but that was the longest flight that I have ever been on and I am currently only mildly coherent. I arrived here at night so I don't have any great pictures yet to show you but I will give you a little bit about what I have experienced so far. When Taiwanese people saw that they are friendly then you should most certainly believe it. As I stated earlier I have only been mildly coherent, but thanks to so many helpful strangers I am now safely bunked into the room that I will be staying in for tonight. From help in the airport to directions from the cab driver and even a store owner I managed to stumble into my temporary room. I was going to get pictures of it, but since I will only be inhabiting this room until 10:00 tomorrow I didn't think it necessary. On another good note, my Chinese language skills have been a success. Even while feeling a little loopy I managed to find a cab, convey the directions to him and then convey the specific directions to the store owner to locate the flat. I am very much so proud of myself. I wonder what I will be able to do when I am rested and fed. Speaking of food, I was thinking about picking up some late night snacks from the store when those silly directions interrupted me. Oh well, I still have quite a few left over from the flight. If anyone wants to fly to Asia, then I can highly recommend China Airlines. All I did was sleep and eat and the more I slept the more food they kept giving me when I woke up. I don't know if many of you know this, but I love food, and you will get plenty of blogs about food in the next few days. That's a lie, it will probably be throughout my entire trip. Anyway, I just wanted to check in to let everyone know that I have made it safely. I would stay longer, but as I said I will be moving to my actual flat tomorrow morning at 10:00.
Also six hour layovers are terrible -.-
I know that many of you are very anxious to hear about my trip to Taiwan and here is the first installment. I am safely landed and am currently in Taipei. Woohoo! I would be even more excited but that was the longest flight that I have ever been on and I am currently only mildly coherent. I arrived here at night so I don't have any great pictures yet to show you but I will give you a little bit about what I have experienced so far. When Taiwanese people saw that they are friendly then you should most certainly believe it. As I stated earlier I have only been mildly coherent, but thanks to so many helpful strangers I am now safely bunked into the room that I will be staying in for tonight. From help in the airport to directions from the cab driver and even a store owner I managed to stumble into my temporary room. I was going to get pictures of it, but since I will only be inhabiting this room until 10:00 tomorrow I didn't think it necessary. On another good note, my Chinese language skills have been a success. Even while feeling a little loopy I managed to find a cab, convey the directions to him and then convey the specific directions to the store owner to locate the flat. I am very much so proud of myself. I wonder what I will be able to do when I am rested and fed. Speaking of food, I was thinking about picking up some late night snacks from the store when those silly directions interrupted me. Oh well, I still have quite a few left over from the flight. If anyone wants to fly to Asia, then I can highly recommend China Airlines. All I did was sleep and eat and the more I slept the more food they kept giving me when I woke up. I don't know if many of you know this, but I love food, and you will get plenty of blogs about food in the next few days. That's a lie, it will probably be throughout my entire trip. Anyway, I just wanted to check in to let everyone know that I have made it safely. I would stay longer, but as I said I will be moving to my actual flat tomorrow morning at 10:00.
Also six hour layovers are terrible -.-
Thursday, May 29, 2014
A Little Introduction
大家好 or Hi Everyone,
In case you are wondering, my name is Gabriel Harris and I will be traveling to Taiwan for two months to study Chinese. Also in case you were wondering even further why I chose Taiwan, then I will tell you. It was simply on a whim really. I had been thinking about studying abroad when I received an endorsement to try it after my first year of school when I wasn't expected to land an internship. So I searched around and this program happened to land in my email. It looked like a great opportunity until I realized that in Taiwan there is a Taiwanese dialect as well as the use of traditional character system (Traditional v. Simplified). However, I learned that the program was for simplified character classes and that the differences in speech would be common even in many places in mainland China. I ended up being convinced by friends and professors that I could survive for two months in Taiwan.
Through this blog, I will be introducing many different aspects of Taiwanese culture. I will be taking a plethora of pictures and given recounts of all my different experiences. I know the title is Lost in Taipei, but be sure that I will venture forth from the safe confines of the city to explore all this wonderful place has to offer. So I really hope that you will enjoy this experience as much as I will.
Please feel free to comment and make suggestions as well. I will be checking this about everyday, so if you want to see something or hear about something ask away!
In case you are wondering, my name is Gabriel Harris and I will be traveling to Taiwan for two months to study Chinese. Also in case you were wondering even further why I chose Taiwan, then I will tell you. It was simply on a whim really. I had been thinking about studying abroad when I received an endorsement to try it after my first year of school when I wasn't expected to land an internship. So I searched around and this program happened to land in my email. It looked like a great opportunity until I realized that in Taiwan there is a Taiwanese dialect as well as the use of traditional character system (Traditional v. Simplified). However, I learned that the program was for simplified character classes and that the differences in speech would be common even in many places in mainland China. I ended up being convinced by friends and professors that I could survive for two months in Taiwan.
Through this blog, I will be introducing many different aspects of Taiwanese culture. I will be taking a plethora of pictures and given recounts of all my different experiences. I know the title is Lost in Taipei, but be sure that I will venture forth from the safe confines of the city to explore all this wonderful place has to offer. So I really hope that you will enjoy this experience as much as I will.
Please feel free to comment and make suggestions as well. I will be checking this about everyday, so if you want to see something or hear about something ask away!
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