Settling in

Things have been getting even better after getting acquainted more to NCCU. Classes have still yet to start. But after one more day I will get the chance to begin my courses in Taiwan. I have choose to take the following courses:

• Society and Culture in Modern Taiwan on Tuesday
• Elections and Democratization in Taiwan on Wednesday 
• Land Use and Urban Development on Thursday
• Part-time Mandarin course on Monday and Wednesday

I am really excited to start because the break has been very long, but very fun. I made the right decision to come to Taiwan early to travel and experience all I could in the month before courses began. 

In the past few days I have done a bit more traveling around the north and to places that I have been before (but this time with people from the I-House.) 

Tea fields

A few of us took our first trip up to Maokong which is located right behind my university. Maokong is the largest tea growing area in all of Taipei. We took a bus up because the gondola that normally takes people up was closed on Monday. This was a really amazing place to go because it was a warmer day and we had a perfect view of Taipei from the tea house at the top of the mountain. When we got off the bus I smelled a beautiful scent of tea and herbs growing, it was like I was in a giant tea bag. We had our little tea party before we took the nauseating ride back down to the campus for dinner. 

Tea party!

The food on campus is very good. Since most of us do not know the names of restaurants we just call them by the way they look, for example 'Blue Chairs' (named due to the chairs being blue...) has great food for very cheap. There is also a map that was given to us that has restaurants named 'Cheaper drinks' or 'Red bean cake!'

A couple days later we had our orientation for the I-House where we were able to meet with the staff and have all the students together for a meet and greet. This was a great thing to do because we all sat around for hours talking to one-another about where we are from and the question that is asked far too often, 'Why Taiwan?'

After that we had our schools orientation which was very long. It was nice to get acquainted to the area from them but I am more of a physical learner than a mental learner, so experiencing the campus would have been more beneficial for me. Either way, the day went by fast and we are all now officially NCCU students!

Lin Family Mansion Garden

Another trip we took was to the Lin Family Mansion. This mansion is a hidden treasure in Taipei. A historical place in Taipei city is normally hard to find but this place is amazing. It is located right in the heart of Taipei and you would never know it existed unless you were looking for it. The size doesn't seem to be as big as it really is. This mansion was built in the late 1700's and has a beautiful garden and really is a 'typical' home that one would think about when they think of Asia. The home is very open and has a beautiful pond. The thing that was most amazing to me was that I noticed towards the middle of our time inside that you cannot hear the city at all. I noticed how quiet and beautiful it really is to have a home like this in the middle of a loud city. 

One of the parts of the mansion

The sign said 'No Entry':
Me: 'I want to go in there'
Lawrence: 'Americans always want to go
where they are not allowed'

Cobra meat... for the low price of 300NT
There was more meat on the leaves than the snake

The same day we all took a stop to snake alley, this is a tourist trap just for the shock value of eating a snake. Historically, it used to have many snake shops to eat from but now it only has about three left. Many tourists come to drink snake blood or eat snake. We tried eating cobra, which was kind of a disappointment but still very fun. When people ask 'what does snake taste like?' my only reply is, I don't know because there is very little meat on a snake. The meat was very little and the price was very high (300 NT or about $10 USD), which doesn't seem like a ton of money, but here it really is a lot since a big meal can be purchased for about 120 NT. Either way, this spot is great to go to just due to the shock value of the situation. 

Top of Jiufen

The other day a French girl I met at the I-House, Sophie, and myself traveled to Jiufen. It is located in the far north east and was an old Japanese gold mining town. The town was the inspiration for the location for the film Spirited Away. This was a favorite movie of mine when I was a bit younger so I wanted to see exactly what the town looks like in real life. It was very rainy when we went, but Jiufen is normally very rainy and cold, as it is near the coast. There wasn't much similarity between the movie and the town but I did notice a few buildings that might be used in the movie that were in the town. This is a must see for anyone in Taiwan as it is very historical and beautiful, also very much a tourist destination (which is very rare, even in Taipei) due to the making of the movie.

Very famous road in Jiufen

Back to Senfoni Wine House
My buddy Atilla (the owner)
didn't show until later

Yesterday evening I met up with the old Homey Hostel friends to head back to our favorite (and probably only) wine bar in Taipei: Senfoni Wine House. This was such a fun time to reconnect with everyone and have some fun. The owner now knows me by name and thinks I am a local (but I have only been there two times total). I was just very observant and noticed that he changed his menu, got new business cards and got a new couch. Dana jokes with me that I am a strange man that I keep the Turkish man's business card; but why would he give me one if he didn't want me to keep it (haha).

Evenings in the I-House lately have been a lot of fun. There is never a dull night. Everyone is doing their own thing and there is always something to do. Some nights we head out to a club and have some drinks and socialize with other international students and the locals; some nights we will all gather and watch a movie in our common room; other nights we just all go down by the river and have some drinks and just talk. 

It is hard to put into words how happy I am in this place. My personality is one that I get very anxious to stay in one place too long. This getaway was perfect for my health and my need for travel. The people here are always welcoming and always willing to help in any situation. For example last night my cab driver was teaching me some Mandarin, despite his inability to speak English. This really didn't hold him back to explain different things to me. You learn the 'international language' fast if you cannot communicate using words. Either way, me and the driver did some language exchange, he would point to something and tell me the word in Mandarin and I would say it in English and then I would repeat it in Mandarin and him in English. It turned into that he taught me the words: left, right, straight, stop, red light, green light. I had to use them to direct him back to the I-House, it really was so nice of him to help me and it taught me to learn fast because if there was a red light I would have to tell him to stop. 

The Great Move

A couple days ago I had to say goodbye to the best hostel in the world and move to my school. As much as I am going to love my school here I will miss Homey Hostel. Up until this point my life in Taiwan has been much like a vacation, and who can complain with that. Honestly, I never want this vacation to end. When I got to the dorm I was first lost but after finding someone who could direct me to the International House (I-House) I came into a quiet place.

The dorm I am in (pictures will be posted soon), is a great size. There are two beds, a refrigerator, three closets, a bathroom with a shower, and a balcony. The first day was a very quiet one, I registered for classes and went to dinner with Hsien after he showed me around campus. I came back to my room to find a little infestation, ants (which isn't too surprising living near a mountain and out of the city)!

This made the first night interesting. I began just by killing the ants and then more and more cam. I had no clue where they were coming from. Eventually I get fed up and found there were too many so I went out and got bug spray. I sprayed my whole room and have not seen any since. Besides this, the dorm is very clean and so is the common area that has chairs, a sink, microwave, and a refrigerator.

The only problem right now is it is very quiet! There are about four people on my floor and I have yet to see them. The reason for this is that school does not start until the 20th of February.

The next day I got way too bored here, because there is still no one, so I went back to the city and went to what might be my last lantern festival of the Dragon Year.

Float at the Taipei Lantern Festival

This was so cool. Words can barely describe how cool this was. There were a ton of floats that were created and lite up Sun Yet-sen Memorial Park near Taipei 101. The lights just looked amazing. While walking along, JoJo and myself heard that there was a show that was going to happen. We headed up the memorial stairs and waited to see what it was. In the middle of a fountain was a huge dragon that looked like a float, but then it's lights turned off. All of the sudden fire sprang from the fountain and water shot in the air. The water sprayed about and created something like a screen. On this screen of water there was a light show that was projected onto it. The lights flashed about and a story was told about the dragon. This was something I don't think I will ever see again in my lifetime.

The dragon coming alive on the screen of water

That is an understatement

[Side note: Taiwan manufactures a lot of LED lights so there are lights everywhere. I have yet to go to Tokyo but for a small country there sure are a lot of LEDs, get ready for some cool light festivals]

The Year of the Dragon is Upon Us

The other day we had our fourth sunny day in the three weeks I have been here. It really sounds a lot worse than it really is, after a couple days of rain you barely notice it. This country truly is amazing and I couldn't be happier here, even with all the rain. 

The infamous, visible, damper that
'holds' the building up

On our second sunny day I woke up late, due to the long nights in Homey Hostel talking to people from around the world, and decided to travel to the second tallest building in the world, Taipei 101. This building is very unique (or I think so because I am a nerd). The building is the tallest green structure on the planet; everything is recycled, the lights are always on low until late in the evening, and they recycle everything. The building also has the only view-able 'damper.' A damper is a big ball that is held up by a lot of steel cords and pistons that make sure the building does not fall over if there is a strong wind or an earthquake.

When I got there it was in the mid-afternoon and I got my ticket and cued up. The wait was very short, about an hour. I got on the elevator and they began speaking in Mandarin for about twenty seconds, then started speaking in English; I didn't even hear the English because by the time they were done with the Chinese, we were at the top; I later found out that was the worlds fastest elevator I just went up. The top was absolutely beautiful. The city is not a big one, about half of Chicago, but very dense; it was amazing to see the density from above. After walking around a bit more I found that there is an outdoor viewing area. This was something I could not miss out on. After climbing up a stair cases I was able to look out from a roof; for being that high it was not too cold or windy. From here I began to see the sunset. I couldn't have picked a better time to go, I was able to watch the sunset behind the mountains of Taiwan; such a beautiful thing to see.

Beautiful sunset from Taipei 101

Me and my buddy Hsien

After this I had to rush over to meet with my 'buddy' from NCCU, Hsien, each student is given two buddies to help them get acquainted to the city and area. My suggestion would be (if possible) go early and get acquainted alone or with other travelers and use the buddy as a tool and a friend and you might get along a lot better. I met him across town at 台北國際藝術村 (The Taipei Artist Villiage). During this evening they had a lantern festival and live music. I was able to meet with his 'soul mate' who was really nice and we all had a really great time. Like I previously said, students are given two buddies, I have no clue who my other one is, neither does Hsien. That is how buddies can go, some are great some are not there. The area is a really great one and one to visit for sure. The town was abandoned a few years ago and was going to be torn down but some artists saw lots of history there so bought it and now have art studios all over it. Very cool place for music and art, quiet at night but great in the afternoon.

Have to wear the RedBird Shirt!

Following that day we had yet another day of sunshine! Such a change of pace. When we see sun here, we run outside. This day a group of us from the hostel decided to head to Chiang-kai Shek Memorial Hall. This was such a sight to see in the morning, as I had been there once at night. The memorial hall features a changing of the guard about every hour, very similar to the guard changing in Washington D.C. at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The main difference is this one is much longer and a lot more 'grandiose,' I use that lightly because it is a very famous ceremony and am not trying to belittle it at all. When the guards are all in place they must stand still. When I say still, I mean not move a muscle. Some people say that blinking is a natural thing, not for these soldiers. These soldiers cannot even blink or they will lose their jobs or get punished. After about ten minutes the soldiers begin to tear from not blinking. After this we just had a bit of fun before heading for a great Taiwanese meal, which they always are.

The guard beginning to cry from not blinking his eyes

Irene, Jo Jo, Kai, and myself having fun in the sun (Chiang-kai Shek Memorial behind us)

Travels in The Heart of Asia

Taiwan can be summed up in many ways. This culture is very diverse and the influence of Asia can be seen all around the country. 

A little blurry but I was on a plane about 18 hours
 (zero sleep in 24), give me a break!

Officially I have been in Taipei, Taiwan for a little less than three weeks and couldn't be happier with the decision I made. I decided to go to a country that I knew little-to-nothing about. My motive for coming here alone was to see if I could survive somewhere that I knew nothing about and still have fun. I have always loved traveling but was not sure if I could handle this step, but I think anyone can. 


When people ask me 'was there a culture shock?' or 'are you homesick?', the answer to both is yes but not very much on either question. The culture shock really has been the language, luckily I am staying at a great hostel (Homey Hostel) with some great owners who make my life so much more smooth and introduce me to many different people from Taiwan and all around the world. 


For anyone who is thinking about studying in a foreign country, they have to arrive at least a week before you can move near the school to get acquainted with the food, culture, and maybe pick up some language too. 

Calligraphy

Either way my last few weeks have been jam packed. We have just finished Chinese New Year last Monday, which was fun and a bit boring at times. One thing to know about Chinese New Year in Taiwan: everything is closed! Night markets are open but restaurants (minus Western fast food) are all closed most of the nine days. The good thing is that at the hostel we were able to have a hot pot on Chinese New Years Eve and celebrate our own international hot pot feast and learn how to do traditional Chinese Calligraphy. After our hot pot we got ready for the night, it is tradition that during Chinese New Years Eve you have to stay up all night to celebrate the defeat of the evil. We all went out to Spark 101, a very famous night club and just had a great time celebrating. Another night we were invited to one of the hostel owner's friends house to have another hot pot with a German family and some hostel go-ers. Here I had another Asian experience, dessert in Asia can be much different than in the West. We had some plum wine that the host had been making for almost a whole year.  

Happy New Year!

So windy at the top!

I was able to travel a little outside the city to a place called Yehliu (野柳) with a very nice Korean girl  which in the north coast of Taiwan and is a geo-park. Sandstone here has been eroding into amazing rock structures. Some of the rocks have been eroded into some really cool shapes, and the most famous looking like a queen (appropriately named 'The Queen's Head.' The one downside was the amount of rain that we were in during our trip there. Taiwan rains, rains a lot (maybe 3 days straight a weeks); normally just a light rain but sometimes it comes down pretty good.

Mahjong after dinner
(not with money this time)

I also got the opportunity to hang out a few times with my 'pen-pal' Jack. I met Jack through my dad who works with Jack's uncle. He is about my age so it is perfect. We first took a trip with his friend Michael to the most famous dumpling restaurants in Taipei. The next time I met his family for a traditional Chinese New Year dinner, normally consists of about five dishes. This meal was so good and I learned a ton from his father (who even gave me a red envelope!) and really made me feel at home. We finished our night by playing Mahjong, which is difficult to begin learning but when I got the hang of it I had a lot of fun. Then this evening we went out again with Michael to the National Palace Museum. This holds a ton of different art from China, particularly during the Qing dynasty but some that date extremely far back, some of the oldest artifacts I have ever seen in person. 

Our lantern inflating!

My other major trip was to Pingxi (平溪區) for the infamous Lantern Festival. Here we took a taxi up into one of the one hundred mountains in Taiwan to send off lanterns to the Gods for our new year's wishes. Unfortunately my wish was written in English and everyone was joking with those of us who wrote in English that the Gods cannot read English. Either way this trip was a lot of fun, a full day long and really shows the countryside of Taiwan. The town is built near an old mining town that you take bamboo and write a wish on it the stick and hang it somewhere around the town. There are hundreds of bamboo sticks all around this town, really makes the ambiance very cool. 


A Canadian friend and I did travel to Longshan Temple, which is near the hostel to see all those praying during the New Years. This was a great taste of the culture because the temple is very beautifully decorated and there were many people praying and leaving offerings for the Gods. This is not the first temple I have been into but by far the largest. I don't know much about the Buddhist religion/philosophy but Jack's family is Buddhist and said they would teach me about it. 

Near the wild dog area, very cool grave yard
though. The graves are build all over this
mountain. Christain, Tao, Buddhist, and
Muslim were the ones I saw.

The other day I did have my first frightening experience and it had to do with a four legged friend. There are many wild dogs outside of Taipei and in the countryside. While hiking one day I was on a path and came to a grave yard. The path led me through the grave yard, which was pretty cool to see except for one thing I saw a wild dog. The dog was asleep luckily, but as I was walking by the dog awoke, and under the one dog was another two dogs. I saw them smelling the trail I walked through. This scared me a lot because these dogs are known to be very vicious. Luckily I did the wrong thing and hopped up a hill and got away. Later on I was walking up another hill and came to a small town, maybe two or three homes on this hill. I saw a small dog on a roof that began barking at me, I didn't think anything of it until a huge dog came out from the side of the home and started to walk towards me. I did the stupid move again of attempting to turn around and walk away (this makes dogs think you are going to attack just have your guard down), so the dog began to run at me. Another stupid idea came into my head: run away. That is a problem when you are on a mountain, there are very few places to run to. Luckily I made it a couple hundred feet and jumped off a ledge that led into another grave yard. The dog was feet above me barking and going crazy. After a couple scooters driving by I waited and heard a man walking down the hill, that was my chance to get away, which I did and am alive to tell people: 1. Don't turn your back to a wild dog, stay still and even if it comes up to you it will only smell you and walk away, and 2. Don't run from a wild dog, you will lose, I almost did. But besides that, there was a 'squater's' home up there. Someone was living in the grave yard. I was told that some people decide to pack up and move away from the city because they don't want to be surrounded by people, others are just impoverished (but there are few of both). Either way I was scared a few times on the hike but it is all an adventure and a learning experience, nothing you could read in a book.

As far as the food goes: well coming here I thought I would lose a lot of weight, this food is too good. I have to watch what I eat here more than I do at home. The food is so cheap and it is way to easy to eat a lot. Everything is new when it comes to the food though. It never hurts to try something new, so I make an effort to do that every day; whether it be baby squid or all the variations of tofu that Taiwan has to offer (minus chòu dòufu [stinky tofu], I have not had the courage to try that yet). My favorite food so far is a type of cake that is molded into animal shapes. The cake batter is like a waffle or pancake batter, but they are too good and my guilty pleasure. So to end this long blog, I will leave you with some of the food I have been eating!

Homemade dumplings, made by
everyone at a dumpling making party!

Fresh Taiwanese seafood, right
from the ocean!

           

Beef noodle in Pingxi

Best chicken soup ever!

Green onion wrapped in dough (so good!)

The waffle pancake things!

A little taste of home, a great Turkish
 man who owns a wine bar treated us
 to pizza, cheese and crackers