Friday March 22nd, 2013
No high school today but rather a Rotary trip lasting
throughout the morning to the afternoon. Our first destination was “The Legislative Yuan of Republic of
China” where we were exposed to Taiwanese government. We saw some kind of
meeting what-not just for a bit only to get an idea how one is held. I don’t
know what branch of government it was but it didn’t include the president.
This would
be the building that held the meeting.
Next we
went to another room, a committee room I think. As you can tell, I don’t know
the exact details but just went along for the ride. :P
At first
people told us to sit wherever we wanted to. Therefore I grabbed the main chair
of honor for fun. :P I’m powerful! I have two strange buttons to press! Listen
to Andrea and her authority! >:D
Five
minutes later they corrected their previous statement with asking us to sit in
the normal chairs. So we switched and no harm was done. Perhaps another five
minutes later and a politician came and spoke to us in English about Taiwanese
government, answering any questions exchange students had.
Following
that we viewed a short video that bombarded you with an incredibly fast paced
missile of Taiwanese government information. Too fast to process!
And that’s
about it. Yes, I know my recollection over it is not very beefy but it wasn’t
exactly eventful nor was Andrea really alert. I battled sleep big time. When
tiredness won me over a couple times, Mariko described my unconscious defeat as
if slowly, respectfully nodding my head in agreement to what the politician
said. Sounds as if I was unconsciously acting like a politician myself. XD It
could’ve been worse though, like times when I jolt my head up instead of ‘nod.’
XD
Lunch was
a choice between McDonald’s or eating ‘bian dan’ (Chinese lunchbox). I’m not a
fan of McDonald’s therefore you can guess where I went. My selection landed on
chicken and it came with various veggies and half an egg. Not even a whole egg,
but half an egg. What?! Then the
chicken you see here, only half of it was edible because a majority was just
bone and no meat. So no, I didn’t care too much for this lunch but it was
preferred over the other option.
To quench
a fruity thirst, I tried a strawberry something-something drink. It’s not juice
nor milk nor yogurt. I don’t know how to describe it but it basically tasted
like a thin strawberry milk. So yes, yummy. Then Maxime went and bought Kinder
country for each of our lunch group: him, Mariko and I. To me this version of
Kinder seemed like a hybrid between a Hershey’s Cookies & Cream bar with
rice krispie. Interesting concept but I think Kinder Bueno remains my favorite
version. Seriously, when is America going to have Kinder easily and cheaply
available? Step on it! :P
For the
second half of the Rotary trip, they took us to an insect museum that was
within a school campus. I can’t figure out why we went there since it doesn’t
have much to do with Taiwanese culture but it was still enjoyable. An over
energetic tour guide took us through a winding display of bugs from butterflies
to beetles. Thankfully it didn’t include spiders because I would not have had
an easy time with that! They did have walking stick insects available to take out
and put on visitor’s hands. I braved one and turns out they’re not creepy nor
crawly but rather tickly! You have to bite your lip in order not to laugh from
the tickling. XD
Random fun
with a bug net. Poor Akiko. XD
It wasn’t
exactly part of the museum, considering it’s not an insect, but they had a
small foot-long snake that you could tenderly touch. You could also hold him if
you squirted your hands with cold water so your hand temperature wouldn’t be
too warm for the wittle snake. I partook in holding it and found out…I really
liked it. The soft muscles gliding across your skin as the snake slowly swivels
around your hand. Its movement felt very comforting for some reason and briefly
flashed the idea of owning a pet snake in my mind. Briefly is the key word.
Afterward I remembered what my parents would say about that. They’re not
fans…to say the least. XD Nah I wouldn’t actually get a snake but I wouldn’t
mind playing with a small one again. ;D
Once it all ended, Mariko and I went together to Taipei City
all to kill time before a previous engagement later on. We browsed through
eslite bookstore (the Barnes & Nobles version of Taiwan) and found some
interesting books. One thing I particularly wanted to find was a Taiwanese
cookbook in English for favorite foods of mine. But when I headed to the
cuisine section, a show was going on that had the room packed full. They were
cooking in the bookstore. Lemme say that again, cooking in the bookstore. …When did bookstores start doing that?!
O.o No worries though because I briefly got to scan through some cookbooks
after coming back from dinner.
Speaking of which, we had dinner in the same building but in
an underground level. Looking around for something healthy, heaven shined upon
one beacon of paradise never seen before by either Mariko or I. Someplace I
guess is called “Juice Bar.” Not only do they sell juice, as their name
suggests, but also sandwiches that immediately got the both of us craving one.
So Mariko ordered a Salmon french bread sandwich and I a fruit multigrain bread
one, which we spilt together.
These works of art were fascinating! Beginning with the
salmon sandwich on the right, it includes, lettuce, tomato, cheese, salmon, egg
and mustard. The addition of egg blew me again as well as the salmon and
MUSTARD! I think this was my first time having mustard in Taiwan! It is not a
common condiment at all and I’ve only had honey
mustard in Subways. This thing was delicious! I can’t say I’ve ever eaten a
salmon sandwich before especially with the egg adornment. It was SO DELICIOUS!
And don’t get me even started on the fruit sandwich! Lettuce, tomato, cheese,
kiwi, apple, cantelope and pineapple created pure bliss! Mariko discovered she
really enjoys combing kiwi and pineapple in a bite while I quite liked
pineapple, cheese and bread. And then when moisture from the fruit softened up
the bread to a nice spongy texture that just made me fall head over heels.
THESE SANDWICHES WERE SO AMAZING! I LOVE THEM! <3
Wanting a fruity drink, the two of us went back to the Juice
Bar. I just loved the meal so much that I wanted to try a drink as well as
support this spectacularly healthy, yummy place.
Mariko got a kiwi sorbet…
…and I an orange & pineapple juice.
Duuuu-hu-hu-hu-ude! SO SCRUMPTIOUS! No joke, I think this
Juice Bar is my number one favorite food shop in Taiwan next to that delicious
Taiwanese wrap place. Love the taste, love the nutrition, love that it shows
calories on every item, love everything! I wish I could go back often and
relish in its goodness! 我要！我要！ Yo quiero, yo quiero! ;D
The mentioned “previous engagement” happened to be a
classical music concert by middle school students. I believe their teacher is
related to my host mother (cousin perhaps?), which is how we got to know about
the event. Meeting up with host father and mother, our new group of four people
went into a fair sized theater, smaller than what I’m used to in Texas. The
shirt I chose today was my Carnegie Hall orchestra trip T-Shirt for the pure
reason that it was just too appropriate to wear. I get to visit the classical
music world again! Yay! It’s been too long my friend! :D
This concert was primarily ensembles of various arrangements
anywhere from a piano duet to quartets of various instruments both string and
wind. Then right at the end of the 3.5 hours, the had two orchestra pieces. All
of the kids were like the stereotype we have back in America, musical
prodigies. I’m pretty sure every single one of those students could play the
piano along with one or two other instruments, and they played them remarkably.
Granted they weren’t perfect but they sure were impressive!
Upon the appearance
of a cello, I melted a bit. Just from seeing and hearing one, I could feel the
touch of strings, the smooth wood surface, the weight resting upon my shoulder
and beyond. Then I wondered if I have retained my cello abilities fairly well
despite being parted from my beloved instrument for over seven months. I loved
hearing a cello tonight but it did make me a bit sad, as if being teased with
bait I can’t have. XD
Overall the concert
was lovely and had incredible music. A bus ride back home late at night landed
us back home. And I shall plop on the bed now because I’m exhausted and won’t
get much rest at all for Saturday. Here’s to peaceful sleep! Peace y’all! :)
P.S. I heard the
stinky tofu truck at 12:30AM and couldn’t help but smile. :P
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