My last few days in Taiwan were a blast. Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to do anything besides eat and sleep. On Wednesday some of the CIEE students and ambassadors went to KTV together and we sang a large selection of songs in both Chinese and English. I’ve mentioned this before in a post, but it’s really rewarding to finally understand the words on the screen and being able to read it fast enough to sing it. Though I do admit sometimes I just make up my own Chinese syllables according to what the character most resembles and hope to the good Jesus that it’s correct.
The day afterwards I went to KTV again with my NCCU self-study English group and then we had a little gathering.
Then on Friday I met up with Cindy again and we had dinner with a couple friends and that’s when I met Adrianna (a very good looking and smart Taiwanese girl). I also invited my Russian friend whom I met during my last speech competition. His Chinese is very good, but he didn’t make it into the finals. One day while walking up the mountain I saw him and his girlfriend eating at the café in our little courtyard, so I stopped for a chat and we became friends. So the four of us and the Russian guy’s girlfriend had some tea afterwards, though I think we were very obnoxious because everyone pretty much looked at us while imagining they’re shooting lasers at us with their pupils.
That night we rushed to a different KTV place where they had an amazing selection of English songs. We drank a little and sang dozens of songs until the time was up, and we were begging the owner to let us stay for another hour. He pretty much hated us also because he was just like, “no,” and he looked at us like he was about to call the police. Haha. KTV is intense!
Yesterday, Cindy, I, and another friend went to Fu’long beach in northeastern Taiwan. It took us an hour to get there by train from Taipei, and the weather was absolutely beautiful. We were dying as we were walking there from the station, but it was great when we were laying there to tan. There was a sand castle festival at a beach right across from ours, and there was a “river” separating the two. We tried swimming over to the other side, but then the border control came over and told us to go back to where we came from. It was a total migration fail, lol.
Tonight, I and a couple friends went to have lunch together, grab some grass jelly milk tea drinks, and then Afore and I went to a tea shop in Mao’kong. We first ate some pizza and then took a bus up the mountain. When we were almost there, I saw a couple foreigners enter the bus—and one of them was my Chinese class classmate in Minnesota! This is such a small world. I’ve met so many random people all around the world that connects back to me back home. The tea shop we went to has this amazing architecture. To get to our little tea table we had to walk on top of stones in a koi pond! I can’t believe I didn’t find out about all of this earlier.
Oh God, I totally forgot to buy presents for my friends and family back home! Well, I didn’t buy tea yet. I got some baked goods that you can only find in Taiwan, so at least that’s good. I’m not sure how much my friends and family would like it. It’s all I bought so they kind of have no choice but to like it anyways.
At night we all went to a little shot bar and played some drinking games and chatted up the night. Jamie and the rest of the group wanted to meet me before I left, so we went to a 24 hour dim sum (a Cantonese style meal where you eat a variety of steamed items in bamboo baskets) place.
Cindy and I chatted at the Hi-Life in our dorm when we got back while eating guava. I can’t believe this is the last time I’m going to be here, and probably the last time I eat guava for a very long time. At first I was dying to go back home, but then now when the time is almost here, I don’t want to leave anymore!
The day afterwards I went to KTV again with my NCCU self-study English group and then we had a little gathering.
Then on Friday I met up with Cindy again and we had dinner with a couple friends and that’s when I met Adrianna (a very good looking and smart Taiwanese girl). I also invited my Russian friend whom I met during my last speech competition. His Chinese is very good, but he didn’t make it into the finals. One day while walking up the mountain I saw him and his girlfriend eating at the café in our little courtyard, so I stopped for a chat and we became friends. So the four of us and the Russian guy’s girlfriend had some tea afterwards, though I think we were very obnoxious because everyone pretty much looked at us while imagining they’re shooting lasers at us with their pupils.
That night we rushed to a different KTV place where they had an amazing selection of English songs. We drank a little and sang dozens of songs until the time was up, and we were begging the owner to let us stay for another hour. He pretty much hated us also because he was just like, “no,” and he looked at us like he was about to call the police. Haha. KTV is intense!
Yesterday, Cindy, I, and another friend went to Fu’long beach in northeastern Taiwan. It took us an hour to get there by train from Taipei, and the weather was absolutely beautiful. We were dying as we were walking there from the station, but it was great when we were laying there to tan. There was a sand castle festival at a beach right across from ours, and there was a “river” separating the two. We tried swimming over to the other side, but then the border control came over and told us to go back to where we came from. It was a total migration fail, lol.
Tonight, I and a couple friends went to have lunch together, grab some grass jelly milk tea drinks, and then Afore and I went to a tea shop in Mao’kong. We first ate some pizza and then took a bus up the mountain. When we were almost there, I saw a couple foreigners enter the bus—and one of them was my Chinese class classmate in Minnesota! This is such a small world. I’ve met so many random people all around the world that connects back to me back home. The tea shop we went to has this amazing architecture. To get to our little tea table we had to walk on top of stones in a koi pond! I can’t believe I didn’t find out about all of this earlier.
Oh God, I totally forgot to buy presents for my friends and family back home! Well, I didn’t buy tea yet. I got some baked goods that you can only find in Taiwan, so at least that’s good. I’m not sure how much my friends and family would like it. It’s all I bought so they kind of have no choice but to like it anyways.
At night we all went to a little shot bar and played some drinking games and chatted up the night. Jamie and the rest of the group wanted to meet me before I left, so we went to a 24 hour dim sum (a Cantonese style meal where you eat a variety of steamed items in bamboo baskets) place.
Cindy and I chatted at the Hi-Life in our dorm when we got back while eating guava. I can’t believe this is the last time I’m going to be here, and probably the last time I eat guava for a very long time. At first I was dying to go back home, but then now when the time is almost here, I don’t want to leave anymore!