Room Tour

So, when I first found out that the dorm rooms would be very cheap, I also thought that they would be old, smelly, and uncomfortable. I was so pleased to find out that they were opened in 2009, so the facilities are very nice and nearly unused. In addition, I previously assumed that several girls would share one bathroom, but each room has it's own bathroom. This includes a sink, mirror, toilet, and shower. Wooo weee!

The view out of my window is of the other buildings, Building B and C. 

My very, very firm bed. I bought the mattress from 7-11, and it helps for the most part. The mattress is very thin though. I would have to compare it to a Japanese mattress in that it's probably 1/4 the size of any mattress I've seen in America. I generally like having a harder surface to sleep on, so it hasn't been rough. I keep all of my luggage underneath.

By the door, I have a closet with a shelf for storage and a rack on which I hang some of my more important clothes.

I have a very large desk that I keep a lot of my schoolwork on, and the bookshelf is really handy because I have a lot of miscellaneous items from home. And since the fan in my bathroom isn't as strong, I keep most of my toiletries on the bookshelf so they won't get wet with each shower I take.

My beautiful and open shower. I have an electricity card that I have to use in order to get hot water and electricity. My first night here, I used 20NT worth of hot water to take my shower. Even now, it costs about 8NT to take a hot shower each night. It's funny to see my electricity costs being deducted each day.

The bathroom is very clean, but the only downside would be that the air doesn't circulate as well. The ground stays wet until morning, so I don't have the opportunity to get ready in the bathroom at night. So instead of risking falling in the bathroom, I wash my face and brush my teeth while I'm still in the shower.

Just A Few

One of my favorite things to drink here is something I've actually never tried. What it is, is fresh milk with a dollop of molasses/coffee/brown stuff and your choice of green beans, tapioca pearls, or grass jelly. I'm not a big fan of tapioca pearls (or I should say, I don't prefer it) and so I always get green beans and grass jelly. You also can have it served to you warm, with ice, or with little ice. I get it with little ice. By the time I'm ready to drink, the ice has melted and it's simply cold.

Ta da! 

I also purchased new shoes while I was at the Uni-President Department Store.

Aren't they beautiful?? The only problem was...

They had the Italian flag on them.

All over them.

But for 50% off (750NT total) and only three sizes left (one being in my exact size), I couldn't really pass up a good pair of walking shoes. Not to mention brand name and in a good/decent color. So all I had to perform was a little surgery...

And once again. Ta da! Almost like they never existed. And as for the front flags, they can be easily removed or simply hidden. And I was so proud of myself for being thrifty :)

Where Nicole Roams

Since my Saturday was completely free, I took the liberty of making the day fabulous by starting it off right. I slept over 10 hours and woke up at 12:30pm. Unfortunately, the sun was too shy to come out, so he sent his friend the raincloud out to make the weather absolutely miserable. I had previously made plans to go to a famous breakfast stand (open 24 hours...thank you!) and UNIQLO at the Uni-President Department Store. Since I was without umbrella, I decided to just take the subway to my destination.

Yong He Dou Jiang Da Wang! I still can't believe it's open 24 hours a day...

My entire breakfast cost 90NT...I had to pretend to take the rice roll to go so they wouldn't think I was eating it all at once :( Besides dessert, I wasn't able to eat anything else for the entire day.

Egg pancake (20NT): Delicious. Delicious. Not nearly as oily as others, and their pancake was thinner than a tortilla, but still really chewy and flavorful. My favorite part of the meal.

Soy milk (20NT): It was probably really authentic, but too thick for my taste.

Rice roll (35NT): The man literally made the rice roll in front of me. I think that was the first time I'd ever seen one made just for me. So yummy! Lots of dried pork and pickles.

Oil stick (15NT): Since I didn't get to there until 2pm, these weren't made fresh. So instead of being hot and crunchy, it was more warm and doughy. But still worth it.

Subway exit to the department store :D

I'm not usually drawn to restaurants or stores with long lines and lots of hype, but when I saw people waiting for this particular stand, I couldn't help but get one for myself too.

Strawberry Banana Crepe with Chocolate&Fresh Cream ♥

Even though the main reason I came was for UNIQLO, I ended up not purchasing anything. They ran out of my size on one item, didn't have the jacket I wanted on sale, and had an endless line (which didn't make it worth it for the last item).

By this time, it was already past 6:30, so I made my way home on the subway. Three lines. Two transfers. Two missed stops. It's going to take some time to get used to this...

Taipei Vacation

My mom and aunt came with me to Taipei. There were just so many benefits: I got a little help moving in, my aunt was able to get a consultation from a doctor, they were able to visit an old friend, and best of all, we each got a trip out of it!

Day 1 (Monday): While my aunt went to get an appointment for her consultation, my mom and I dropped off my stuff in the dorm room and began walking around.

This was oyster and tripe noodles. And since I'm clearly not a fan of oyster and tripe noodles, I gave all the "goodies" to my mom and just had...noodles.

We waited for my aunt to get back from the hospital and then made our way to Din Tai Fung for dinner. They must make thousands of dumplings every day.

My absolute favorite 小菜 (appetizer): pickled cucumbers with garlic&peppers

I didn't eat this, but I'm assuming it's dried tofu skin something

The super cute steamer man! They used these as the table number holders

Fried pork chop

My aunt and me. 

Their famous dumplings

When you take a bite, a little pool of soup comes into your spoon :)

So on Day 2 (Tuesday), I had my Chinese placement test as National Taiwan University (NTU) in the International Chinese Language Program (ICLP) building. Since I overestimated the size of the campus, and have a major lack of directional ability, I was the only one late to the 9:30 start time. And so I was forced to stay later to make up what I missed. I did find out later that while I was the only one late, there were at least 10 people who missed it completely (due to various reasons). So the saying "better late than never" was certainly true in this case.

After that, I only had 3 hours until my oral appointment with the teachers, so I tried to meet up with my mom and aunt, but with a dead cell phone, I ended up eating in ShiDa night market. This ended in tragedy when all of the baozi juice spilled all over my jacket and scarf. Following my interview, I was able to meet up with my mom and aunt, and we went to the Taipei Main Station for dinner. Since my aunt had forgotten something back in the hotel room, my mom and I ate beef noodles without her.

So delicious! The broth wasn't at all oily.

Days 3 and 4 have no pictures at all. On Day 3 (Wednesday), we took a subway and a bus ride to go visit my mom's old neighbor who lives in Nangang. She was waitressing at a restaurant, so we ate while visiting with her at the same time. She later took us to a place called Diet 365, which had healthy juices with various benefits. I drank the Beauty one: strawberries, apples, tomatoes, and yogurt. Not the best tasting drink, but I did notice that I looked fantastic afterward ;) My aunt went to her consultation after, and so my mom took me shopping at Sogo, the Breeze Center, and other shops near the Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT station. I stocked up on heat pouches at Cosmed, and we left early to get foot massages near her rental. For dinner, we stayed nearby and had porridge. Fermented eggs and tripe in theirs, and chicken, egg, and mushroom in mine. My aunt and I also went to get crepes for dessert in the ShiDa night market.

Day 4 (Thursday) was my first orientation. It was the EAP UC student orientation. This, of course, wasn't that exciting, but I did get a chance to meet up with some of the students, especially during the 10 course buffet we had for lunch. We had hamburgers, pizza, quesadillas, salad, soup, spaghetti, and the usual type of things Taiwanese people think we like. My mom and aunt were waiting my dorm lobby when I got back, and we went to Wu Fen Pu, a shopping alley that's known for their cheap clothes. My aunt got several tops and I found a jacket for 500NT. We ate a place known for their minced meat rice, and my mom and aunt got a variety of animal innards at a local stand. Then they packed up and went on the high speed train.

The entire time was fast-paced and tiring, so by the time I was done with my ICLP orientation on Friday (aka Day 5), I was exhausted. But I forced myself to stay awake until at least dinner time so my schedule wouldn't be entirely off. Unfortunately, I slept until 12:30pm, so I'll try again another night :)

Good Gracious

Life passes by much more quickly when there are things to do. I don't think I was off my feet for more than an hour today.

But before I start getting too caught up in "Welcome Week" or whatever they like to call it here, some pictures of the last two weeks! In no particular order of course...

I'm not at all a fan of airplane food. This concoction was supposedly pork.

My first meal in Taiwan: french toast, eggs, ham, hot dog, corn soup, and salad

Cost: 79 NT

In the Han Lai hotel lobby (with their always fresh flowers)

My youngest cousin loved to play with my sunglasses, mirror, brush, and nearly gave her dad a heart attack with her make believe

One of my favorite meals in the world

My mom's good friend gave the family a crab as big as two of my heads; needless to say, my mom's family was drooling 

Estimated cost of the crab was said to be 5,200 NT

My favorite breakfast in Kaohsiung, Taiwan! 

There's a "French" restaurant that my mom and I like to go to. About 13 dollars gets you a six-course meal. This was the dessert for the day: honeydew chilled soup with coconut jelly, red beans, and fresh mango sorbet

A sandwich that used to be a favorite of Kevin and mine

My uncle is the sweetest thing alive. He always manages to surprise me with my favorite foods without even asking me. And he's ridiculously humble about it too. This is chicken nuggets, sweet potato, and fish cake fried with onions and basil

I looooove you Sushi Express

View from Da Li Star Palace (a department store near my uncle's house)

Windy Dreams

Not having internet isn't as bad as I thought it would be. The reality is, I'll have internet once I get to Taipei. So in total, I was supposed to go 10 full days without it. But there's cafes and restaurants that have free wifi or pay-as-you-go computers (like the one I'm on now).

The weather is so nice here. I was actually hoping that it'd be a little more drizzly so I'd have the opportunity to wear the rain boots (the ones I so thought I'd use). But getting around is so much nicer when it's sunny and dry. And I love riding on the moped/motorcycle/scooter without having the poncho hood in my face.

And being Taiwan alone takes some getting used to. I keep expecting to see Kevin come through the door. Or see him come around the hallway corner. I can't remember the last time I was in Taiwan without him. And now I just look ridiculously stupid if I go to Tom's World because no 21-year-old goes, and if they do, they're definitely not solo. The only benefit is that I can buy all my favorite products without having a tattletale ready to tell my mom. Not that I'm buying anything ;)

I hope the days stretch and last forever. 5 days down, 5 days to go. I don't want to say goodbye to people when I feel as if I've just arrived. I haven't seen my family in two years. And the truth is that I love them to death. If I didn't know who they were, I don't think two years would matter at all. But all I want to do is sit and talk to my uncles all day, even if it's in broken Chinese and awkward facial expressions. I'm praying that I have a job with lots of leeway. So I can take weeks off and be able to visit often. Even if it's one week a year, I'd be happy.

I'll post pictures once I'm in Taipei (when I loaded them on my computer, I'd taken over 150 in 4 days). But until then, I'm soaking up every smell, sound, and sight before I'm forced to leave my beloved Kaohsiung.

Taoyuan and Restrooms

As I wait to get on my second flight, I can already tell that I'm in an Asian country. English cannot be heard at all. There's an interesting smell in the air...the kind that would make Becky open a window. And after going into the restroom, I can already foresee all the troubles I'll have with the ridiculous squatting toilets. It's definitely one of my least favorite parts about being Taiwan.

So far, I can't imagine being here for five months. It really just seems like any other trip I've taken in the last, oh, 15 years. You leave. You come back. No homesickness. No sadness. I'm supposedly going to miss home while I'm here, but dread being home once I get back. And to that, I always say: "You can't always get what you waaaaannnttt."

I'm getting very excited to see everyone. And hopefully I'll be able to eat something small before I finally get a chance to sleep.