EASTER! EASTER! EASTER!

Sunday March 31^st, 2013

HAPPY EASTER! HE HAS RISEN! :D Not only is today a merry holiday but alsooooooo CHURCH! Wow, it’s been over a month since I’ve last gone to church thanks to so many other activities interfering. Actually I had the second day of the promote-fun-market-thingie today, which would’ve prevented me yet again from attending church. In the end, I ditched it both for Easter reasons and I would’ve wasted over four hours total on transportation just to attend something lasting less than half an hour. So not worth it.

Everything about church was indeed worth it and more! To start off, a small group of church friends gathered together in front of ‘Oma’s German Bakery’ for a breakfast picnic. I’ve been to Oma’s before and quite enjoyed their treats but it relocated around the corner to a much nicer and bigger facility. The old shop was very small and compact but this new one is open, has new baskets/trays for customers and even has a glass wall for their bakery room so people can walk by on the street and see the pastries being created. It was quite impressive!

When I arrived at 9:00, only Akiko was sitting outside the bakery on a bench with everyone else running either a tad late or really late. With my tum-tum rumbling and being courteous to buy something if using their facilities, I ducked inside to buy a small appetizer before the main meal. Also because I was curious to try something new from their new building! ;D

For $35NT (a little over a US buck) I purchased a coconut bull’s-eye with raspberry jam. My main incentive for this particular pastry was to try something with coconut. Remember how I’ve mentioned there are so many foods I hated as a kid but now love? Ex. Pineapple, tea, coffee, salad, fish and more. Well coconut was among my dislikes as a child. So I was curious whether coconut was still an enemy or wanting to be friends with my matured taste buds. What is y’alls prediction?

The treat is just a small circular pastry, almost like a tart. The jam is situated in a little crevice on top with coconut speckled around the border. I think it must have been melted or baked into the surface of the bread because I don’t think it was actually part of the bread. As for the main body, I can’t quite recall its characteristics but I believe it to be lightly sweetened and fluffy.

So did I like this coconut bull’s-eye? As a matter of fact, I thought it was DELICIOUS! The coconut aspect was very delicate instead of boasting its flavor brashly. Therefore I can’t confirm that I’m a fan of coconut yet but it indeed has redeemed itself splendidly. I wouldn’t mind another. XD

Our little Easter breakfast picnic church group! This was such a delightful meal! Everyone brought something tasty to share, Nature Valley Fruit & Nut Bars by me. There was nummy fruit of apples and bananas (*briefly sings the ‘Apples & Bananas’ song* XD), boiled eggs, small Taiwanese breakfast items, bread, spreadable cheese and Nutella. It was all so wonderful! We all went to town with the selection! I enjoyed the healthy bits while also indulging in the Nutella and bread. Twas the biggest breakfast/brunch I’ve had in awhile but also the loveliest for food and friend reasons. ^_^

Will had some Dutch Easter egg stickers sent to her and Akiko provided the boiled eggs! Commence Easter egg decorating! :D

My wittle egg! Simple but cute, no? The chickie’s name is Gilbird! (Hetalia Prussia reference ;P) His eggshell didn’t stay in tact for long though. XD This was actually my first time to eat an Easter egg. As a kid, I only decorated them and left the consuming to my parents. My stubborn mind only accepted scrambled eggs, not boiled. Thanks to Taiwan for making me realize how much I love eggs, no matter their form, I went and tried an Easter egg. Loved it! Actually I’ve eaten and loved many a boiled egg in Taiwan before but none of them were Easter eggs *eyebrow wiggle* ;P. Now I know something I’ll be eating in America for sure come next Easter! ;D

This was an interesting addition to the breakfast. These are either German or Dutch chocolate sprinkles meant to be dumped on top of bread. Seriously, just take a slice of bread and unload it generously right on top. I only tried it on a small section of bread but thought it was pretty good. The sprinkles themselves are what make the combo special, being more chocolaty rather than that confectioner sugar tasting sprinkles. Also Nutella and bananas go well with these European sprinkles too.

Though Kelly’s birthday was last week, today we gave her present from all the exchange students at the church to her. First we sang an international compilation of the birthday song to her. We had English, Chinese, German, Danish, Spanish and French. Will strangely couldn’t remember the Dutch version and the Danish song (sung by Clara whose the blond German on the back right) was COMPLETELY different. Afterwards Kelly unwrapped a gorgeous newspaper wrapping to reveal a big book over Chinese history. :P She quite liked the book and even though protested on singing so many versions of the song (twice each version because Leo forgot to press the camera record button the first time) secretly must have enjoyed it too. Yay for our good friend Kelly! :D

Btw, here’s a link if you want to hear the Danish birthday song. It’s quite interesting so check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xzWA1X21SM

Once we cleaned up the table with our bellies full and happy, twas time for the church service. It was wonderful as always but seemed extra special just because it was Easter as well as being a long due visit on my part. Hopefully my attendance will be much less spaced apart, fingers crossed! ;D

Though nearly 1:30PM, hunger wasn’t bothering me in the slightest thanks to such a big breakfast but I don’t like skipping meals for nutritional reasons. Therefore I stopped by 7-Eleven and picked up a small onigiri to take home for lunch. Something not heavy and was also on my list of things to eat before leaving Taiwan. I recall having 7-Eleven’s type (the only kind I’ve have) once before but that was in my wee beginning days in this country and remember little to nothing about it. So it got another shot today!

A photo reference of a main course food section at 7-Eleven. There’s sandwiches, onigiri, rice sandwich, hamburgers, sushi rolls, bananas and bian dan.

One difference from my previous 7-Eleven onigiri experience is that I could understand the Chinese characters on the package to know what I was eating ahead of time. Yay! The previous time was a blind stab in the dark. With my knowledge, I chose a pork onigiri. Yes, I know onigiri is the Japanese name and not the Chinese but it’s nice and simple to use. So bear with me. :P

This style of onigiri is a triangle of rice with pork filling stuffed inside wrapped in a rectangular seaweed sheet. See how the folds are a little askew? That’s because of covering triangle with a rectangle. Tastes all the same though. XD

The inside. It was mostly rice with a little filling but still was good. The saltiness of the seaweed complimented the rice really well. I don’t really like plain white rice but with the added saltiness, it became tasty. You can even see the white salt against the green seaweed. Overall yummy and a once-in-a-while food.

Following the onigiri at home, it was time for a shower and nap. Host grandmother woke me up for dinner to which I emerged out of my room into a room filled with people. Funny how I never know when we’re having guests over. XD I think they were relatives of some sort, numbering around six or so people compacted together in the front room. Dinner was the Asian version of a tortilla. You need two really thin, soft tortillas and place them on top of one other being slightly askew. Then you place a spoonful of sugar peanut dust on the tortillas followed by the various other ingredients from vegetables to tofu to meat. It’s a good, tasty food.

Easter Skype with my family and staying up until the wee hours of my morning doing stuff. That’ll be my day! Hope yours is a blessing and filled with nummy chocolate Easter bunnies and scrumptious chocolate Easter eggs! ^_^

TOCFL Test, Raohe St. Night Market, Num-Nums and Chinese Dress!

Saturday March 30^th, 2013

Let’s start this successful, eventful day shall we? ;D

Right after eating lunch at the house, I headed out to my University’s campus for a practice Chinese test called the “Pilot TOCFL” (Test Of Chinese as a Foreign Language). It’s a test that Rotary required us to take to see whether or not we would want to sign up for the real thing. The real test can provide Chinese credit in college, that is if you make a high enough score.

Arriving nearly forty minutes early, I stopped by the General Merchandise store to (finally) buy good quality earbuds. The JVC’s marshmallow kind in fact. I’ve had them before, I know they’re comfortable, I know they have a good sound and most importantly, will last me a good long while. Actually, I came to Taiwan with the same type of earbuds, which I had for a year or so. If these break on me before arriving in America…I might just cry from defeat. XD

Next was quenching my thirst with a drink from 7-Eleven I’ve had my eye on for a bit. An appetizing sounding ‘Almond Milk.’ Its delicious name matched its delicious taste. Mmm so good! ^_^

Beginning at 1:30, the Listening TOCFL test commenced. It was entirely computer based with individual headphones and computers for each test-taker. Though all of my Rotary district was there, many other foreigners were present as well, some from other Rotary districts, some not related to Rotary at all and some greatly varying in age. Twas a mosh pit of 外國人 (foreigners)! Everyone finished at pretty much the same time because the test entirely controlled the period length spent on each question. It read out each question and answer twice, provided a five-second pause for you to choose your answer and then automatically moved on to the next test item, not allowing you to manually go back and forth, replay, etc.

The results were quite surprisingly because everyone I asked got within the same grade range. My outcome was 73, which I found to be the majority result. Some got 75 or 78 while the highest I heard was 80. In my opinion, 73 is actually very good considering two things. First, you needed to get a 60 or higher to get the highest rank. The only possible ranks were Level 1: 41 and Level 2: 60. So technically I did get the highest score. :P Second, this test covered the material in both Book 1 and Book 2 of our Chinese textbook series. My class hasn’t even finished the first book yet. XD So I’d say that’s pretty good to get a 73! Just goes to show how much I learn from outside of University class. ;)

When 3:30 rolled around, the Reading TOCFL was next. (There are Listening, Reading, Writing & Speaking test types but only Listening and Reading of Band(/level) A (lowest) was available today.) The Reading one was free range in that you could navigate the test as you wish but had the time limit of an hour.

All the people I knew in my district came out with the same reaction, a heavy sign with bulging eyes huffing an ‘oh my god.’ See the Listening was ok for us because we learn speaking and listening from interacting with Taiwanese. Reading on the other hand…not learned as easily. Oh my goodness there were so many characters we haven’t learned yet and some that we did were used in a different way, which can give it a totally different meaning. For example, if you use “方” in “方便” it means ‘to be convenient.’ If you use it in “方子” it means ‘house.’ The same thing can apply to a chain of three or even four characters. One unknown character can make the meaning completely different from what you think it is. Confusing, eh?

Same with the first test, everyone I asked got around the same score. I scraped by with a grade of 55. I knew others who got between 49 and 59. This test’s ranks were Level 1: 42 and Level 2: 60. At least I achieved the first level, huh? XD I still think that’s pretty good since, as I mentioned before, the test covered both the first and second textbooks. That’s a whole book plus one lesson that I haven’t covered yet. Considering that, a 55 is perfectly fine. ;)

Afterwards Akiko and I, later to be joined by Maxime, went to ‘Louisa Coffee’ for a beverage while waiting for dear friends to meet up with, Kelly and Leo (remember those love birds?).

Akiko selected a caramel macchiato, which she didn’t find all that great.

A hazelnut latte for myself. I love me my hazelnut/nutty coffee flavors! :D The heart is adorable, no?

Once the lovebirds arrived, Kelly ordered a hot chocolate and had a nice chat amongst ourselves for a bit. Then we split at the bus stop, going our separate ways. Kelly and Leo were joining me to visit Houshanpi’s night market (called ‘wufenpu’ I think) with my host parents to continue the search for a traditional Chinese dress. Originally they told me we would visit Ximending (a totally different place) to see the selection there but suddenly changed the plans and went back to the same place as last time. No biggie because Kelly saw a picture of me wearing the black and red dress on Facebook and wanted to see the shop to buy a dress for her sister as a wedding gift. That clothing market can be super confusing so it was good that I could navigate her towards it.

We ended up only visiting one of the three stores containing Chinese dresses because Kelly found a beautiful short pink sleeveless dress for her sister at a good price. Just as I was about to try on the same styled long dress that y’all saw but in the light blue color to be fitted, my eyes locked onto one stunning garb. It had the same flower pattern as the other dress but was short and had colors that captured my heart, primarily black with magnificent blue accents. I absolutely love that outgoing color combo, evidence of my tennis shoes containing the same blend (though with faded colors thanks to wearing them nearly every day in Taiwan. XD And the dress was cheap too boot, only 30 bucks! There was no escaping!

At the store, I first had to pay the lady for the gorgeous dress. Then, with the dress still on, walked to a small hole of a shop about thirty seconds away. In this narrow and shallow area, I could get the dress adjusted for $5, only taking about thirty minutes. Kelly also got the dress for her sister adjusted too, making it roughly an hour for both to be completed. Though my dress fit nearly perfectly (on the first try too!) Kelly suggested tightening it slightly in the back to show off my curves more as well as battling a loose bag in the back. I’m very grateful for her help and her feminine, foreign eye to discern changes that can compliment curves. Btw, outside foreigners usually have more curves than Asians.

To pass the waiting period of an hour by easily, we walked to “Raohe St. Night Market.” This was a totally new area for Kelly, Leo and I so my host parents led the way.

First we stopped by a small shop for dinner. Our little party of five!

This is rice noodle soup. Its name describes everything you need to know about the dish. The noodles are made out of rice…and it’s in soup. No meat, no veggies, just rice noodles…and soup. XD It was ok but not memorable for me.

As a side dish, we shared a plate of oil tofu. Again, not bad but not mind blowing.

Following this we briefly toured a five-story temple nearby. According to my host parents it is usually jam-packed, which is why we didn’t bother to visit yet. We managed to catch it at a calm time with few people allowing us to leisurely view the artwork within.

The place where you place your burning incense sticks in after praying to the Chinese gods.

These lanterns were entertaining because they were LED designed that displayed moving Chinese characters. The new concept amazed Leo. XD

A beautifully dimensioned wall including scenic aspects like mountains, trees, temples and elegant paths.

A close up with a bit of everything.

Group pic

Many of such carvings were presented throughout the temple with various designs from tigers to lions and beyond! I loved the numerous birdie ones! ^_^

This little guy is adorable! He’s either cutely scratching his chin or wisely pondering deep and profound thoughts. XD

Another group picture

Exiting the temple, we headed back into the night market for the second part of dinner. I wanted the lovely ice-cream-with-peanut-shaving-wrapped-in-a-thin-tortilla thing but wasn't sure whether or not it could be found here. It’s not a very common treat so not all places offer it. If it couldn’t be found, I would instead select a nummy stinky tofu.

This night market was PACKED! Many people were condensed together, shuffling along the thin road stretching through the market. It was a challenge to scan every stand in order to see whether or not they had my desired sweet. Some interesting sights were seen along the way so without further ado, here were a few.

…mm…memories of watching the process at a pig slaughter house in Animal Science class are coming back… Worst part was when they sickly flopped the pig through a rotating tube to remove the hair to look like this…ick.

Now this is enticing! A pretty line of paired stinky tofu on sticks! Yummy!

Too cute not to take a picture of! The ones one the left end are most common, strawberries and cherry tomatoes dipped in a sugary sauce then hardening to a crisp. The right, marshmallowy looking ones were a new sight for me and so cute in appearance!

The treat Kelly got. Some kind of ice cream with bits of fruit and tapioca balls. Apparently pretty good.

Losing hope that this night market would have my desired treat, my host father suddenly spotted a stand solely devoted to it. Yes! WHOO-HOO! Upon arrival, a man hauling a huge camera was filming two people ordering the sweet. According to my host parents, the man being filmed was famous some how. Didn’t matter much to me, as long as I got the sweet in the end. ;P

Recap! With the wooden tool, you grind it against the hefty block of sweet, sugared peanuts to produce peanut shavings on top. These shavings are then dumped onto an extremely thin yet soft tortilla.

Scoops of ice cream and, if desired, an herb of some sort are assembled on as well.

Wrap them up like a burrito and you got yourself a delightful Asian dessert!

This stand had two types of ice cream, taro and pineapple. I must say the taro was underwhelming because I had to actively search for the taste while pineapple was delectable because the flavor was more distinguishable. Next time I would avoid getting taro kind just to stick with a more flavorful option.

Tonight I learned that this treat’s name is translated as “snow that burns.” Inquiring as to why, they told me that the thin pancake wrap thing is traditionally supposed to be hot (though mine wasn’t) which would then melt the ice cream, hence ‘snow that burns.’ Intriguing, huh? I also discussed with Kelly the differences between this ice cream and ice cream commonly consumed in America. First off, this particular type of Taiwanese ice cream (the kind used in ‘snow that burns’ treat) isn’t made with cream but rather milk, most likely fake milk at that. Secondly, it’s not as dense as American ice cream but not as light as Italian ice. The ice cream is good but probably better in ‘snow that burns’ rather than alone.

A cultural aspect I learned from speaking with Kelly as well as experiencing first-hand tonight was Taiwanese insisting. You can think of it like this, there’s a rule of 3+. Taiwanese insist on something at least three times before the possibility of accepting the other person doesn't want it. What do we do in America? If we ask the person, ‘do you want this?’ and they firmly reply ‘no’, we usually accept it on the first time and leave it at that. Taiwanese people can find this rude of Americans because they expect a certain level of insisting from the other person. For me being raised in America, if a person insists so much to a point where they get forceful, it almost becomes my duty to accept otherwise I could offend or be rude to them. In Taiwan that’s not the case and I haven’t adjusted to that culture aspect yet, hence why I’ve become rounder. :P But as they say, it’s not right, it’s not wrong, it’s just different. :)

Afterwards we headed back to the miniature cove in the wall to pick up our dresses. Just to give an idea on this shop’s size, its width can barely fit two people side by side and its length is approximately 15-20 feet. Very small but nonetheless efficient and effective in its trade. ;) Got the adjusted dresses and headed home, ending the night.

Both for the dress and adjustment shops, I navigated by memory the confusing streets of the night market with ease while my host parents tried to stare their way through a map. They commented on this and I told them I have a very good sense of direction, usually being the guide when with friends. Then my host father brought up a point that I’d never thought of but extraordinarily fits me perfectly. My zodiac! I’m born in the year of the dog! The dog is an animal of effortless navigation! I live up to my zodiac’s characteristics! Success? I think so! ;D

Ok, I’ve think I’ve indirectly tortured the back of your mind enough. XD Want to see my new and beloved Chinese dress? I know ya want to. :P

Tadaaaaaaaaaa! A short, sleeveless, brilliantly colored dress of splendor! I LOVE IT SO MUCH!

Thanks to the adjusting that eliminated a slightly baggy section, there’s a lovely curve in the back of the dress. Totally worth the five bucks!

A remarkable feature about the dress is the collar, which has two styles of wear. One is to have it straight up, best paired with an up-hair-do.

The other is folded down to go with normal hair. Both are so gorgeous and charming that this dress amounts to pure brilliance! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! :D Though I still want a long traditional Chinese dress (hopefully in a nice shiny forest green color), this lovely dress makes me so utterly happy to have found it! YAY! ^_^

Catch y’all later! Take care! :D

Telephone: Chinese Character Style!

Friday March 29^th, 2013

An unpleasant tickle in the back of my throat is still present and bothering me. Therefore I decided to stop by Tatung’s Hi-Life convenient store and pick up a refreshing can of kumquat tea. That was the plan anyway. Remember how yesterday’s 7-Eleven lacked that warm drink box hence not containing any kumquat tea? Well Hi-Life indeed had the warm drink box…but absolutely no kumquat tea… NOOOOOOOOO! WHY?!!!!!! That is positively the only warm drink with healing properties offered yet not one single can could be found…for the second day in a row! WHAT UP WITH THIS?!

In the same case to keep the different drink cans warm there also was coffee and some unknown soups. Neither fit my requirements but I considered getting a peanut soup can just to have something heated soothe my irritation. One look at the calories and it went straight back in the case. Geez, was that really made out of peanuts or mostly sugar? *sigh* Where’s kumquat tea when you need it? Here’s the thing. Though convenient stores are indeed convenient, they can unfortunately be poorly stocked. I’ve come across this problem many times with this same Hi-Life. Tis a shame. :(

Skipping forward to the end of Tatung Chinese class, we played a new game introduced to us by teacher. It’s the Chinese character version of telephone! Teacher started by showing the beginning person a Chinese character. The person then had to draw it on the back of the person standing in front of them. This chain reaction passed down the line until the final person wrote on the board what they thought the character was. Not as easy as it may seem. ;) There were some really interesting results that raised eyebrows thinking ‘how the heck did it turn up like that?’ XD It’s 20x harder than normal telephone! But that makes it 20x more fun and entertaining! ;D

Leaving school the sky was dark and leaking, making me grateful I brought an umbrella. With the rain came my planned exercise at the elementary school being snatched away. Even if it stopped coming down, the track would still be wet. Combining that with my worn down shoes non-grippy shoes, it would be more like a dangerous potential slip ‘n slide. Risking a twisted limb or broken bone is so not worth burning several calories for.

Today I finished reading ‘Pretties’ and eagerly went to the library to check out the final volume, ‘Specials.’ Man this is a good series, one that wracks the brain, gets you emotionally involved and has a distinct contemplative effect on the reader. Brilliant stuff! ;D Don’t worry, I won’t give out any spoilers. :P

At the dinner table, this dish was set out as a dessert. Yet another version of a previously consumed sweet that can go by the name of ‘hong gui,’ ‘an gu’ or even ‘mi gu.’ Lots of titles for the same thing. In a nutshell, it’s glutinous rice flour with red bean filling. Though in a different form (strange with a green leaf on the bottom) it tasted the same to me. I’m not too fond of the glutinous rice part since it doesn't taste like anything to me but I do enjoy the red bean part.

It’s Good Friday everyone! Hope your day was wonderful and if you’re a Christian, took a moment to remember our Lord’s sacrifice of ultimate love. Have a good night my peeps! ^_^