I am alive, I promise! This weekend was my trip to Taipei, and for luggage sake, I chose to not bring my computer, or anything that weighed me down.
We started out the morning by getting breakfast from the same place we usually do, but this time I got an eggroll and a chocolate piece of toast. The latter was so so so good! Then, we headed off to Zouying Station to get on a train to Taipei! For a brief moment, I thought i'd left my wallet, but it was soon found when I got to Taipei!
We got right off the train and onto to the MRT, which is the Taipei subway and went to the hostel we were staying at for the night. It was in the Beitou District, and was a little farther out from main Taipei. That was alright though! It was close to the Taipei National University for the Arts!
The rest of the day was spent there at the University. I spent several hours at a coffee shop while my friends took an entrance exam. It was really nice, actually. Spending time alone gave me an opportunity to write a lot about what was going on around me, and about the trip in general. It was really refreshing, and all over a good cup of coffee. For dinner, we stopped at a gas station type place, and I got some sweet potatoes and some sort of sweet bun that was super incredibly sweet and gooey. I wish I knew the name!
Then, we went to see a Harold Pinter play at the University. Of course it was in all Chinese, which was fine. The only problem, was my brain couldn't handle all the Mandarin. I could tell what was going on because of body language, but my brain was working extra hard to put the words and movements together. It actually gave me a massive headache. I ended up going back to the hostel and falling right to sleep.
THE NEXT DAY...
We slept in an extra hour, and then got up to get some breakfast. We found a sandwich place down the street that had some milk tea and vegetarian sandwiches. The word for vegetarian is Su. I know that by heart now! We went back briefly to grab my bag and get on the MRT again to go to main Taipei!
We met the head of the performing arts program, Shih Hue Do at this amazing American style vegetarian restaurant! My stomach was really looking forward to eating some food that was familiar! I remember around this time during Shin I's visit to America last year, she was craving her home food too! We sat down and chatted about the school, my visit and experience, and keeping the legacy of exchange here. She and I both agreed that we'd like to see the program grow. Someone had to be the first to come for a new exchange program to blossom! The food was amazing, and we took a great picture!
We spend the next couple of hours at a craft market, where I picked up quite a few of the little gifts and presents for friends and family, as well as something for myself! The scenery was beautiful! The craftsmanship was amazing as well. It was actually quite beautiful! I even took a picture with a vendor I bought something from! They don't see red headed curly haired americans walking around often, I think.
We went to our friend Hank's house for dinner and his mom, dad, and sister made some excellent food. We had hot pot again, and it was amazing! Then, his mom who is an expert cook, made some fried food that normally we'd see at a night market right in her kitchen! It was actually quite remarkable and it tasted so good!! They kept putting food in front of me, and I physically could not eat anymore. It was so so so good!!!
After dinner, the two friends I spent yesterday with went back to the hostel for another test at the University. Hank, Neon and I hiked to the top of Elephant Mountain to see a beautiful view of Taipei 101. I REALLY wish I could go back and tell my middle school self that I saw it, because I used to be so fascinated by how a building could be that tall. It's the tallest building in Asia. It was nothing short of spectacular and beautiful. It was such a special sight to see.
Pretty soon after, we needed to catch a bus back to Kaohsiung, and arrived back there at 5am this morning. I went right to bed... and now here we are!
I'll post pictures! <3
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