THE FOOD'S ALIVE!

Wednesday December 5^th, 2012

Ho hum. Just like every morning I sit down on the bus, plug in my earphones and flip to a song. La de da, on the bus, la la laaaa. Oh look, another foreigner got on. Hmm, he looks either Australian or from the UK. He…wait a minute…could that be? No it’s just my imagination. Or is it? I gotta check this out! Standing up and approaching the target my original assumption was correct. I did know this guy because we go to the same church. I have a Christian neighbor from Scotland! Who knew? He, David that is, lives pretty darn close to my second host family’s house. This morning he awoke earlier than usual to take a Taiwanese driving test (they didn’t accept his license from the UK), which allowed us to run across each other. Iiiiiit’s a small world after alllll! How lovely surprises like that are! The charge of pace from iPod to conversation was quite appreciated. The Scottish accent was the cherry on top. XD

Lookie lookie! A Mr. Brown Coffee can of a flavor I haven't had yet! The colorful, energetic design makes me happy just looking at it. The liquid contents increased the pleasure with yummy caffeine stuff! Me gusta! Gosh I really like Mr. Brown! I don't know why, but this can kinda reminds me of KC TAP (Klein Collins Tiger After Prom). XD

Very unusual was P.E. being rescheduled to today (instead of normally Monday) when it was still raining. Unsure of what was to come, I merely followed my classmates to a different location. Twas a small, sheltered room with a few ping-pong ball tables and badminton nets. Today…we used them. YES! I GOT THIS! Basically P.E. is either basketball or volleyball, which neither I am good at. But give me a badminton racket and I’m not half bad. Not good but better at this particular sport. It makes it a bit more fun to play something you’re not terrible at. ;) So thank you P.E. teacher for charging up the class activities! 謝謝！

Housing the spirit of exploration, a new menu item at school was tried, a ‘ham hamburger.’ That just feels weird to say. But yeah, two buns, egg, sauce, onions and a single slice of ham comprised this meal. I’d expected maybe 2-3 slices of ham since one seems too thin for a hamburger but apparently whatever ham item you order, it’s code for one slice. Note taken, stick to chicken or beef for a hamburger. It wasn’t bad in taste, don’t got me wrong, just lacking more meat.

Afterschool I met up with my host father at a MRT station to bring my laptop in for repairs, attempt #2. Aaaaaaaand success! They took it! The downside, it’ll be a week or so before I get it back and they didn’t exactly say what they would do to my dear. I believe the problem originates from the video card. What ‘Studio A,’ an authorized reseller and not actually Apple, believes is beyond me. We’ll find out eventually I guess.

The two of us went out for dinner at a restaurant underground just outside the MRT gates. Boasting Japanese cuisine, it was a new experience for sure. The table in front of you is basically a hot plate. Whatever you order is crafted in the kitchen and then brought out to be placed on the large hot plate. This keeps the food warm, not meant to cook or fry it anymore than it already is. You are given a mini shovel to scoop away a portion of the food, spill it out on your plate and then use chopsticks to FINISH THE FOOD IN AN EPIC THROWDOWN! XD

Sharing two dishes, the first was octopus fried balls topped with an egg and fish shavings. The balls had a small bit of octopus with more creamy flour something-something and air. The fish shavings were the most interesting and slightly disturbing to watch. They were moving. Not lying, they MOVED! Crinkling and swaying every which way, it surely seemed alive. I mean come on, IT MOVED!  The reason is, something from the heat emitting from the hot plate made the shavings dance around. If you take it off and put it on your plate it becomes inanimate again. Thank goodness for that! An extremely different dish for sure but delicious as heck!

The second half of dinner was a creation with noodles, egg, beef and fantastic sauce. Duuuuude, this stuff was amazing! And no, it didn’t move. :P The food’s name is unknown but boy did I enjoy it. Not the type of food you eat everyday *cough* pricey *cough* but a wonderful treat to have now and then. I definitely wouldn’t mind coming back. Such different food selection and presentation style triggers the curiosity to try other things there. Good job Japan!

With the conclusion of dinner, we just walked around and even in Taipei 101 observing the new Christmas decorations put on display. Cue pictures!

Taipei 101 at night

Christmas tree outside of Taipei 101

Inanimate Merry-Go-Round inside Taipei 101

Random thingie-ma-whats-it blaring Christmas music yet hiding behind a bunch of buildings.

Nothing says a Christmas in Taiwan like a Christmas photo in my Asian school uniform with my school bag peeking out from the bottom right corner. XD

Even with all of that, it doesn’t feel like Christmas. Strange. I guess just lights don’t cut it. I’ll make my own little ways to create a mini Christmas. ;)

Well wishes to y’all! Byes!