Buffet Redemption

Tuesday May 7^th, 2013

Oh, today was LOADS better than yesterday. Why, I’m not sure but I don’t mind in the slightest. With less naptime came less back pain came a happier Andrea. I actually found myself voluntarily willing my body into a short naptime instead of the not abnormal facedown passing out. Some good studying was accomplished and feeling fairly good. The wall of IcyHot Pain Reliving Cream I lathered on beforehand played a factor in bringing better spirits. Though it may have a prominent scent that bothers people neighboring me, to me it's the aroma of sweet, minty pain relief. ;)

Between the two buffets at my school, the underground delicious one has become too expensive for my liking from the random price spike. The last time I tried the ground level buffet its food was average but not very tasty though reasonably priced. Deciding to give it a second chance, onward to the ground level buffet it was! And man was it packed! For such a small selection area, students sure know how to pile up! Regardless I squiggled my way through trying to get a balanced meal and found a pleasant turnout of 40NT cost. That’s 20 less than what the other buffet would charge. Definitely better! But how does the food’s taste measure up?

Ok, new top favorite place to eat at! Everything was good, even better than my last experience there. Veggies are always good and the tofu was ok. A slab of chicken on the bone hiding underneath was nummy and so was the egg substance on top. What do I call such an egg food? It’s basically soft jello-like egg but can have some other ingredients sprinkled in to compliment the flavor. Egg custard? Egg jello? Egg pudding? Take your pick but it’s tasty in the end either way. The green block is what I believe to be a Dim Sum meatball. Though the green coating was strangely tough, the insides were delectable! I love this thing! But what took the crowning glory was the top left chicken. Good shiz-nic-its twas scrumptious! Just two pieces of chicken topped with a sweet and sour sauce immediately whooshed me back to America. It brought reminiscence of American styled Chinese food, which of course is delicious in its own unique way. Though true Chinese/Taiwanese food is quite delightful, American has its own pleasantness. This chicken was just a little remainder of that. ;P

Full Chinese class again with no absences from anyone. Ah nuts, I was devilishly hoping for another solo session with teacher. Should I put forth some evil plans to do so? ;P Haha, I’m not that bad…or am I ? XD Seriously, Chinese class was great again. Even the test that I didn’t know we had today I felt good about, which is the polar opposite of yesterday. Major yay!

 Afterschool I went by the Konica store to print out a second round of photos for my current host family’s photo album. Funny enough, the store is actually linked with the Taiwanese lottery so it feels like I’m stepping inside to gamble. XD Once you’ve passed people hunched over tables scratching paper hoping they have a winning card, you dawn upon a little area for photo magic. To the left there’s a blue and white machine where you insert your storage device and select your pictures. Once all done, it’ll spit out a receipt that you give to the storeowner (man sitting in the back). Your order should be ready to pick up in an hour but I opted to just return tomorrow, just like last time. Wonderfully, printing out photos is a lot cheaper in Taiwan than in Texas. For 77 4x6 pictures, it only cost $13US. That’s like half of what to expect in Texas. Total score! I think these photo albums will turn out great and be a good surprise, memory-filled gift for my host families. ^_^

Loose ends were tied with the relationship between the library and I. The last book I borrowed was returned with no intention inkling of checking out another. My hands have been cleaned of any possible library problems and it’s one less thing to worry about before I take my leave of Taiwan. Good to know!

Frankly I’m ready to return to America. Not because of homesickness but because I don’t want to spend three more weeks thinking about leaving. I just want to get it over with and done, sweet and simple with no pain. But no, that’s not how it works. The upside of course is spending more time with friends so whoop whoop!

See y’all later! Bye-bye!