Library Love & GINORMOUS Dinner Bowl

Wednesday January 30^th, 2013

Begin the morning with a Skype with my sister to play her ‘Happy Birthday’ on my ocarina? Heck yes! Great start to the day! ^_^

For the afternoon I went to my club’s Rotary meeting for lunch and my monthly allowance. I did have to give a little speech in Chinese about my time in Taiwan. Can’t say it was any good but hey, I gave it my best shot.

Next up was taking the subway to a place called “Xinbeitou.” Here I met up with Akiko, Erin, Will, Ellie, Leo and Kelly at a public library. We spent several hours just sitting down and reading some lovely English novels. I chose one titled Pirates! by Celia Rees. A fourth of the way in I got hooked and wanted to finish it all but the time to leave was nearing. Therefore I signed up for a library card and checked it out. I was reluctant at first because Xinbeitou is super far away from my home and I didn’t want to travel all the way there just to return the book. That is why I became delighted when I found out I could return it to any public library. That means there’ll be one near by house, meaning I can continually check more books out, meaning…a foreseen future of decreased boredom at high school. Fluffin’ yes! >:D

For dinner we all went out for a traditional Taiwanese dinner. But not just any Taiwanese dinner. According to Leo, it’s what Taiwanese people ate in the 80’s.

See this bowl? It’s diameter is greater than the span of your forearm. It is ginormous! The real shocker is that it’s only the medium size! Good grief! Delicious but holy sha-moley that’s big!

Our cheerful group of friends! The man who took this photo had his own camera with him. A big camera…a really, really big camera. A.K.A. He was a cameraman. Guess what he was filming? The restaurant most likely for a news channel. (Taiwanese news frequently talks about car crashes or local food of some sort.) That’s fine and dandy but his camera was pointed right at our faces. Of course he would film only us and not the rest of the restaurant’s customers. XD He pointed his behemoth of a camera at each of our individual faces for a time as we all quietly ignored him. At one point his machine was two inches away from Erin’s head. Talk about interference of bubble space! XD

The entire meal was quite delectable! It’s contents were mainly noodles, broth, vegetables, shrimp and various other ingredients. Somehow we were able to drain the bowl almost empty. I can’t take much credit for that because I didn’t eat much. Just imagine if we would’ve gotten a large size bowl! I think that’ll feed an entire village!

After the meal we headed to a drink shop for dessert. Most people got bubble milk tea but my choice settled upon lemon green tea to soothe my throat. When I woke up today I felt a sickness threateningly present and that grew throughout the day. I had hoped some nice hot tea would help out but in the end I could barely sip an eighth down before throwing it away. It tasted more like hot, sour, unsweetened lemonade than tea. I wanted tea… Sad face… But heck at least I tried it even if it didn’t help.

Evil, wonderful plans were cooked up for a musical project that may occur between tonight’s company. Guess who was the mastermind? … *points to self* Ahaha! That’s right! Yours truly did! I don’t want to spoil anything in case it does happen but I’ll say this at least, it’ll be internationally themed…with dancing. Chew on that for a bit. ;D

Ok, it’s really late and I finally finished packing for tomorrow’s Rotary trip to Hualien. Part of me is screaming “GO TO BED ALREADY ANDREA!” while another part is beckoning “read the pirate book. You know you want to.” Gosh darn it! Oh well, good night one and all! Sweet dreams to ya! ^_^

Hiking, Sweets & PASTAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Tuesday January 29^th, 2013

Aaaaaaaand today was fantastic! …baby. Wow, fantastic baby! XD One day a couple weeks ago, I noticed a sign near my bus stop that said “Old Genliao” hiking trail was 710m away. That raised a little flag in my mind that exclaimed, “Check me out! I’m close to your house and provide exercise!” Therefore Kelly, Leo and I were going to check it out last week but they had to cancel. Thankfully we rescheduled for today and the plan was carried out successfully. From 9:00-12:30 that was what my time was occupied by.

This trail wasn’t very scenic because the peak was surrounded by tall trees that blocked the view overlooking Taipei city. But it had its fair share of stairs. Not quite death stairs but enough to take the wind out of you. Spider webs were also things to be cautious of, which is why I learned it’s always a good idea to take an umbrella with you to swat them away. Thank goodness I did! As a whole, the trail was nice and the workout made me feel thrice as better than yesterday. If another eventless day pops up in my schedule and the weather is good, I know where I want to go! ;D

Once down the mountain (late because Leo wanted to take a side trail before heading back down) Kelly and Leo went to their house to freshen up. I also went home for a quick lunch and shower. Right after I headed straight out for Yuanshan MRT station. This led me to a place called “The Story House” where I was to meet Akiko, Erin and Will.

The Taipei Story House is the only English Tudor style heritage building in Taiwan. Its architecture, European style garden and exhibitions are the distinguishing characteristics. Though the museum area is small, the current one showcasing is “The Taiwan Story of Sweets Exhibition.” This gives information over Taiwanese sweets from history, ingredients, types, etc.

These are cake molds, or kashigata as the Japanese call it. They do just as their name implies. Usually they are made out of wood but the exhibition also had other materials like tin, but I believe wood is the traditional method. I am actually really interested in the molds and maaaaaaaybe might find one or two to bring back to America. I say maybe because they are kind of heavy. We’ll see. The idea of baking/molding Chinese cakes back in Texas is really appealing. Remember, I’m a baking lover. ;)

This little area was fun! Each bottle held a liquid in it. Despite being held in beakers you ignore the science lab rules of wafting fumes to your nose. Nope, you just stick your nose right on top and inhale deeply. Why? Every bottle had a different scent of a flavor used in sweet creations. Anywhere from taro to passion fruit to banana to vanilla to other lovely scents you could inhale all day! It was fun! Or should I say, it was sweet (smelling :P)!

On the opposite side of scent-a-topia was what I thought was a fortune telling station. It seemed you pulled one stick from among many and whatever number it had on it, you pulled a paper out from the corresponding box. It was a small piece of pink paper with some type of food picture on it and Chinese characters. No English to be found and not comprehendible for my limited Chinese. I thought nothing of it and decided to show it to a Taiwanese person later for translation. (to be continued ;P)

Other cool stuff like “the artistry of the motifs and the cultural meaning behind them are both reflected in the molds used for sweets” from animals to fruits to gods were displayed in the exhibit. For example, a tortoise motif means longevity and a round shape means reunion. Those types of things are always interesting to learn about!

It didn’t take long to go through the short showcase so afterwards the four of us went to the “Story Tea House” next door. Here Kelly and Leo met up with us and we all had a drink over chitchat. This lovely cup c’here is a hot hazelnut latte. Dude it was good! I was totally bummed when they said they ran out of my original desire, a black berry yogurt drink, but this latte 100% made up for it! Then it was Andrea to the rescue when I noticed the bill was $500NT ($17US) overcharged. Whoo, good catch huh?!

Just before we left the area, I gave the mysterious pink paper to Leo for interpretation. According to him it was a recipe to make the sweet depicted in the printed picture. Upon hearing of this, I went straight back into the exhibition (inconspicuously snuck in through the back :P) and grabbed one of every pink paper available, over thirty of them! I now understand why I saw several Asian girls taking one of each. Their thoughts were the same as mine: ‘It’s free and it would be awesome to make these at home!’ What?! There’s no harm in taking them! Maybe I’ll learn the Chinese characters and will be able to make them in Texas. That’s the goal anyway! ;D

Quickly we ducked into a nearby aboriginal shop upon my request. I was told good things about it but never went due to the distance from my house. So yes, I finally got to check it out! And I came out with these two treasures! The right object’s pattern means promise and the middle one means peace. The left thingie (the leaf wrapped pyramid rice) was bought earlier at the Story House gift shop. Both aboriginal patterns caught my eye and their meanings triggered an interest in them. Yay I have at least something of Taiwanese aboriginal significance! ^_^

With our group narrowed down to Akiko, Kelly, Leo and I, we headed out for dinner at a favorite pasta place of the lovebirds (remember, that’s what I call Leo and Kelly). The pictures provided on the menu all looked yummy. Once my ordered “Gratin – Baked Pumpkin Sauce With Vegetable” was set on the table, yummy turned into scrumptious. Oh goodness me oh my THIS STUFF WAS SHA-MAZING! BEST PASTA IN TAIWAN BY FAR! Some of the BEST I’ve ever had even in America! I LOVED THIS SOOOOOO MUCH! It had two types of pasta, broccoli, cabbage, a little meat, pumpkin sauce and finally covered in a layer of cheese. Dude…someone please give me the recipe for this because I LOVE IT! Every bite was an explosion of mouthwatering happiness! So…fluffin’…good! ^_^ *drool* My apologies but I couldn’t resist revealing my true feelings. ;P

The night outing wrapped up with dessert nearby. My choice was a hot tofu pudding with taro. It’s basically tofu submerged in sugary water with chunks of taro floating around. Can’t say it’s my favorite, especially when it felt like a rock hit my stomach before even coming close to finishing the bowl. It was just too much and didn’t make the best of friends with my tum-tum. A nice little walk helped calm it down but not cure it. Regardless, I’m glad I tried a Taiwanese dessert and enjoyed it to some degree. Exploring aspects of the culture, that’s what a Rotary exchange is all about. :)

Ok friends, I bid y’all good night! ^_^

Nooooothing

Monday January 28^th, 2013

Wow. Nooooooothing happened today. No plans except for doing homework. Actually the plan was to finish all my homework for the winter break but that did not happen. Why? I did not feel good. Talk about having a hard time concentrating! I took two naps, which took up several hours. That is so not good! When awake I felt dead and had a heck of a time doing homework. What…joy… -_-

Michael (my host family’s older son) came back from his trip to Japan early eeeeeearly morning, midnight between Sunday and Monday. He slept in late, understandably, and woke up for lunch. It was the first time in a while since a meal was eaten as a family with four people, host grandmother, host father, Michael and I (host mother was at work). We had a dumpling vegetable soup, the dumplings being very dense and rich. Tasty but really filling!

Dinner was Asian burritos again. I found out that they are called “run4 bing3” and are only eaten twice a year during January and April. I think it is related to Chinese New Years. Delicious nonetheless.

And that’s it. Like I said, nothing happened. I didn’t even leave the house. Andrea just doesn’t feel good. With hopes that tomorrow will be better, peace out guys.

AMERICAN FOOD & Asian tortillas!

Sunday January 27^th, 2013

It was exciting this morning because I got to choose my entire breakfast. See, how it goes in the house for breakfast is I’m served something and I eat it. Well no one was awake when I got up so I had fun picking out the composition of the meal. A Nature Valley bar, some mixed nuts, a bit of raisin brand cereal and liquid yogurt made Andrea’s stomach happy. ^_^

 Wow! Twas an umbrella day for sure! The morning was pouring down buckets! Church was normal as usual followed by beta groups. We discussed religion and whatnot but the meal was absolutely intriguing! It was eaten at ‘Apple Diner,’ which had brunch, omelet and pasta options. My selection was “Roasted Apple Pancake Brunch.”

Duuuuuuuuude. Just…duuuuuuuude. And dude again! This wonderful, oh so wonderful meal screamed “AMERICA!” First, the little cup of salad was tasty but not exactly labeled as American. Everything else though, yes. AMERICA! Two smooth scoops of mashed potatoes with creamy gravy on top made me visit my western roots. A pile of eggs, bacon and sausage definitely boasts an American flare of deliciousness but the kicker was it actually tasted American. It wasn’t Taiwanese eggs and meat. Nope, it legitly tasted like good old eggs, bacon and sausage from Texas. Hot dang it was FANTASTIC! The final section of the dish was the pancake portion. I laugh at this because for the past several days I’ve been thinking about the pancakes my dad used to make from delectable banana pancakes to good experimental mint chocolate ones. It gave me a craving for them. And lookie here, today ended up with pancakes that were quite scrumptious. I felt like I was back in my kitchen on a Sunday morning, getting served hot pancakes freshly made by my dad. Mmm, good stuff! The cherry on top was actually roasted apple slices sprinkled with cinnamon. Now these felt like I took a little visit to Cracker Barrel and indulged in the same wonderful food. Gosh darn it this meal was the bomb! It was magical transportational food that teleported you from Taiwan to Texas. Absolutely marvelous stuff! :D

With that being said, it was a full meal and a half. Extremely filling! Numerous jumping jacks, squats and various exercises later, my stomach barely started to empty. XD Dinner didn’t help too much. Yummy stuff but nothing light. We (host grandmother, me and four people I didn’t know) had Asian version of burritos. You begin with two thin pieces of Asian tortillas (they’re not actually tortillas but that’s the closest relation) offset on top of each other. Then sprinkle a bit of what I think is peanut dust in the middle. Afterwards you can put whatever you want in. Such choices were among meat, tofu, eggs, and vegetables. Wrap it all together and viola! You got yourself a tasty meal!

Wow I realized this whole post is basically about food. Oh no I sound Taiwanese! XD They all were pleasurable experiences though, which is what counts. ;) Tomorrow doesn’t hold any plans for me so I’m thinking of tackling homework of a little exploration. Excitement! Good night guys! ^_^

Miner's Museum & Jioufen

Saturday January 26^th, 2013

Trip time! The outing was with my host parents and two fellow exchange students, Akiko and Erin. I was told beforehand that we would go to an art museum and somewhere else. Not sure what happened but we ended up going to a place called Jioufen.

On the way there we shortly stopped at a couple places. It was to see the work of pollution as a thing of beauty. I find that funny because my host mother is working in the environmental section of the government. But this little doo-hickey is referred to “Yellow Waterfall” because of the pollution’s color.

The location of our touring so happened to be the same place I briefly passed by when climbing Mt. Teapot last week. Two main attractions were a miner’s museum and the crown prince of Japan’s get away home in Taiwan.

The prince’s house was a quick visit because it wasn’t huge and visitors can only see the outside. Fun fact, the prince only came to the house once and never returned. It’s like, ‘let’s have a summer home but only make use of it once.’ XD

These random little pieces of art were gold beasts. Only gentle and kind people can see them and if you sit on them they might lead you to gold. That was the story behind them anyway. :P Well I could see them but they didn’t move when sat upon. No gold for me. XD

Speaking of gold, the museum was fine. The surrounding town was made into a mining settlement thanks to Japanese rule. That’s the main overview. ;)

 

Next was a short hike up the mountain to a temple. Well, it used to be a temple anyway. To me it looks like a roofless roman coliseum with two big chess pieces in the front. But that’s just my perspective. XD

All five of us visited gold miner land again with the midday meal. It was eaten at a café linked with the museum hence why I say miner land again. :P All three exchange students chose the ‘miner’s lunch’ option. This not only includes food but an Asian metal lunchbox container, cloth and chopsticks. That was my main motive for getting it because these metal lunchboxes are what students use to bring lunch to school. So it’s an object of modern culture. Plus ‘miner’s lunch’ sounds interesting. ;) Inside the box was half filled with rice, then some vegetables and a chunk of chicken. Top it off with hot tea and it was a good meal.

Afterward it was an exciting new exploration at a narrow day market street that winds up the mountain. It’s contents held many small shops primarily food based but various non-consumable items. Among the consumable items, there was a Taiwanese sweet burrito dessert. First you lay down a rice thin tortilla thing, dump a peanut sugar dust onto, then slap two scoops of ice cream in the middle and finish by wrapping it all up.

Erin is our model for this food. Smile girl!

Here’s one cool stand. At first it looked like a bunch of pretty, colorful marks but soon we realized, oh snap he’s painting Chinese characters awesomely! That is pretty darn sweet!

My favorite part of our day market visit was two ocarina shops. Ocarinas! I’ve heard of these wonderful little instruments but haven’t yet seen them up close until today. They captured my attention instantly. It was fun looking at all the types and designs. They stayed on my mind the whole time walking through Jioufen street that I determined I just had to buy one before we leave. They were cheap and who knows when I would see another ocarina shop. As I was selecting one, host mother inserted her generosity into the situation and said she would purchase an ocarina for Erin, Akiko and me all. It was so sweet of her.

This is my new baby! A 9-holed ocarina made in Taiwan. Ain’t she a beauty?! I absolutely love the idea of playing an instrument again and the fun part is learning a totally new type, a wind one! An easily portable wind one! Portable is such a lovely word. Too bad my cello isn’t so portable. T-T That is why I’m so thrilled for the ocarina. It’s pretty sounding, portable and I can play it while in Taiwan. Whoo! I can kinda toot out what sounds like a scale but it’s difficult to fully cover the back holes. It’ll get better in time with practice. Who knows, maybe I’ll become really involved and dedicated to the ocarina even when in America. The anticipation is exciting! :D

The night finished with a Skype to my American family with introducing my Taiwanese family to them. Good times! And I bid y’all farewell. Until next time! :)