Thursday February 14th, 2013
*sniff*…*sniff sniff*…I had to bid farewell to Taizhong but
more importantly my family. I didn’t want to say goodbye. I love them! It was
very quick like ripping off a band-aid. Only Cang Jie and his mother came to
see us off. Qi Han was still snoozing away. XD A speedy “zai jian” (good bye)
and soon the car was off to Taipei.
The trip back was a lot shorter than I expected mostly
because I tried to sleep it all the way through and substituted with the iPod
when I couldn’t. Before I knew it we had already arrived in Taipei in about 3-4
hours. We hauled our luggage upstairs, greeted host grandmother and prepared to
head out again. Host father and mother decided to take me to see ‘Life of Pi’
today. Michael didn’t come because he already watched it. So the three of us
who had yet to view this renowned movie drove to a theater called “Showtime
Cinema.” It hadn’t been here yet but it followed the same design as the one in
Neihu, inside a shopping mall on the top floor.
We hadn’t yet consumed lunch and the movie was about to
start so we ran over to a Burger King and ordered three burgers. This was my
first time to a Burger King in Taiwan. How was it? Eh, not bad but nothing to
rave about. The iced tea and both salty and sweet types of popcorn concessions
were a bit more enjoyable.
But yes, ‘Life of Pi.’ It was a good movie and I appreciated
it but didn’t strike me as fantastic. What I mean by that is I don’t feel as if
it’s a movie you would like to rewatch over and over until your eyes bleed out.
XD I am curious to how the book compares with the actual movie though. Any
classmates read ‘Life of Pi’ in senior year English class?
Exiting the movie theater it hit me…today was Valentine’s
Day. Oh snap, I forgot! XD It’s very easy to forget in Taiwan because the
holiday is virtually nonexistent. You may see only a handful of V-day
advertisements in all of Taipei but you have to look fairly hard. Therefore
there is no exchanging of Valentine’s Day cards nor chocolate with your
sweetheart. I’ve heard that Taiwan has several holidays a year that’s the
equivalent of V-day but I haven’t noticed it. Perhaps those holidays are not
widely popular compared to V-day back in America. My point is, Taiwan had a lot
less white, pink and red hearts and chocolate than America today.
On our way to the subway, we passed a store called ‘Daiso.’
My host father pointed it out and explained to me this store that was new to
me. It’s a Japanese store, selling imported Japanese products all only costing
39NT ($1.3US) except for food being 49NT ($1.6US). So basically it’s a Japanese
equivalent of a dollar store. XD We ducked in and shortly browsed its wares.
This particular Daiso branch had two stories, the first
being check-out and food with the second floor having everything else. The
selection of food whirled around snacks, sweets and drinks some of which I
recognized at Chinatown back in Texas. Non-consumable Daiso merchandise spread
over a wide variety of things anywhere from hygiene to dishware to school
supplies to cooking tools. There was so much! I could’ve spent hours there
taking time observing each item but you feel really rushed in its perimeter.
Narrow aisle ways, employees restocking shelves and so very many customers
create a tense crowded atmosphere. This store must be popular with its cheap
prices so numerous people come here, none of whom are leisurely shopping. Also
security cameras patrol every corner of the shop like a flock of hawks
determined to protect the store from shoplifters.
I became a kid in a candy shop when I stumbled upon the
bento making/baking section. Wonderful things filled up the aisle such as bento
boxes, onigiri molds, egg molds and more. There were cutters and baking molds
in cute bunny and bear shapes too. It was all so adorable and lovely that I
already knew I would come back another day to buy bento tools that probably
would be a lot more expensive or nonexistent in Texas. For today I settled on a
precious bunny rice cutter (most likely compatible with cookie batter too) and
a heart topped lid that keeps your hot beverage warm (I’ve heard good things
about this Asian product and wanted to get one). First impressions of Daiso
overall are quite positive and has been flagged in my mind as a beloved place.
^_^
A subway ride and walk later, the three of us visited my
host mother’s aunt. It was a time of chatting and getting offered amples of
food. Though I wasn’t hungry and tried to save room for dinner, I ate a bowl of
red bean soup and several candy snacks out of courtesy (as you need to in
Taiwanese culture). Later I was told it’s actually the goal of the host to
stuff their guests full because in olden days people often didn’t get enough to
eat. Well that goal was reached and I left full. This lady was interesting
because she used to teach string instruments passionately, spoke a bit of
English and French as well as having a son and daughter whom she said are
fantastic musicians. She was very sweet and welcoming, a kind soul indeed.
The time came around to head to our next planned
destination, dinner with Michael, his girlfriend and her family. As we left the
subway station I noticed a constant flow of people with large anime-pictured
bags entering. This immediately captured my interest thinking there was a
convention going on close by. Inquiring to my host father, he quickly searched
the Internet on an Apple store’s Mac and found the answer. Indeed there was an
anime festival going on and would continue for several more days. He predicted
it would mostly be manga and video game buying but also have cosplay. …An anime
convention in Asia? Heck YES I want to go! Quickly texting an exchange student,
a date to this ‘festival’ was set and daydreaming took off like a bullet!
Bittersweet excited anticipation will fill my mind until the fateful day. XD
Going back to dinner, guess where we ate? Somewhere with the
name of a vegetable and containing food that caused a Texas to reminiscence.
…It’s Chili’s y’all! :D Hellooooooooo my lovely Tex-Mex! I haven’t consumed you
in over seven months! The reunification was nice like sugar and spice! Reading
Chili’s history on the back of the menu I even learned it originated from
Texas. How did I not know that before? XD Shall we see the food that caused me
to whimper from a mouth-watering reunion? ;P
Gosh this sauce on the chicken was brilliant! The corn also
lovely with its American-style taste.
First off, this chicken steak and sauce combo, superb! But
the mashed potatoes…I’m surprised I didn’t shed tears from how wonderful it
was. ;)
Baby back ribs…come on, they’re baby back ribs. Enough said.
;P
Sizzling meat ready to be formed into a fajita! Hearing the crackle
as this iconic plating landed on the table, it felt as if dining back in Texas.
QUESADILLAS! OH MY LORDIE, QUESADILLAS! I LOVE QUESADILLAS!
LOVE LOVE LOVE! :D
Mmm, molten chocolate cake. Every woman’s friend. XD
A chocolate chip, walnut and coconut bar with ice cream,
fudge and caramel on top? Duuuuuuuuuude. Righteous! :D
The dinner group! On the left we have Michael, his
girlfriend and her parents and on the right, Michael’s girlfriend’s sister, my
host parents and muah. It was such a fantastic meal and thoroughly stuffed me
to the max! I definitely ate too much but it was worth it to indulge in a bit
of Texas. ;)
Now you might be thinking, ‘she ate all of those dishes?’ O.O Even in a Tex-Mex restaurant the
Taiwanese don’t eat like we do. The Western style is to order your own dish and
usually eat it all by yourself but perhaps also share bits with friends. The
Taiwanese style is to completely share all of the dishes with the iconic
rotating table. So that’s what they did here, order a bunch of dishes and
equally share them. Therefore, no I didn’t eat all the food shown by myself. XD
It was divided among us.
To finish the night host father, mother, Michael and I drove
down a long road to view lights dedicated to the upcoming Lantern festival.
They can be compared to Christmas lights with more colors and Chinese New Year
themed pictures/objects. The lights ran down the road for quite an extensive
length, all bright and shining in the night. Indeed they were a pretty sight.
Twas a good note to end on.
Hope your day was dandy! Byes. ^_^
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