So, after a mere 4 weeks here in Taipei, I've experienced my second natural disaster--a typhoon! (don't worry--it's just an exotic name for a hurricane, which is just a lot of rain and wind) What's important is that school and work were called off today, which was pretty fun, and a good deal since we've got a four-day weekend coming up this weekend (the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival). It's a pretty big deal, and from what I understand, it's the first four-day weekend in Taiwan history!
For the holiday, I'm heading to Hualien, Taiwan with Diana and Dave (see picture above), as well as Diana's friend Alex, who I haven't met yet. We'll be staying at a youth hostel there, visiting the beach, and hiking at Taroko National Park, a welcome change to the copious clouds of dust and soot in the city.
As for what I'm learning in class, we're on my favorite topic (well, technically, we finished my favorite topic Monday...shopping! Er, guanjie in Chinese.)...my second favorite topic: fooooood! Here's to finally being able to read something on the menu when I go out to eat. And for those of you who are int
erested in what I'm eating here in Taipei, my last week has been all about xiaolongbao, a.k.a. "little dragon buns" a.k.a. pork soup dumplings--pictured here for your viewing pleasure.Oh, and I also made friends with a lucky radish (below) in Danshui, a sea-side town outside of Taipei, over the weekend. I'm sure it would have tasted delicious, but things would have gotten awkward.
All in all, I'm pretty into my routine now in Taipei, and I'm finding it really satisfying. I'm also playing around with the idea of staying on for another term at ShiDa (NTNU), which would keep me here till around March 2008. Then again, I miss New York a lot, so we'll have to see. At the very least, I'm extending my stay into the first couple weeks of December (instead of the original plan to s
tay till the end of November) to visit Japan, South Korea, and possibly China. Woot! Hope everyone is doing well--miss you all like crazy. Check back soon for pics from Hualien! Till then, I've updated my Flickr album...enjoy! *mwah
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