This is going to be short and sweet. I don't know why I have had such a block to writing my blog recently. I can't find the energy to describe my day, and that makes me kind of sad. I hope I can remember all the good things that have happened.
As ICLP draws to a close, I find myself freaking out much more about this good bye than the many other good byes I have had to say in the past. I feel like I have made some solid friends, and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself while I have been here. I have totally connected to Taibei, and I feel like it is really a city I could live in for a long time. And the friends I have here are amazing. It is such an awesome dynamic, and I am terrified, and so sad to let it go. I have one full day left ehre, and honestly, I don't know what to do with myself. How should I spend my last day in Taiwan? If you have any tips, feel free to share with the class.
Well, I had been planning on going to the beach with Claire again today after class. Both of us brought our beach stuff to school, in preparation. And then we got to class, looked at each other, had a quick conversation, and very quickly came to the conclusion that the beach just wasn't going to happen. In hindsight, this may have been a very bad idea. What are you going to do? I had thought that the beach was just far enough away that leaving at noon, and wanting to be back before 9, was just not possible. Silly me.
But we still wanted to spend some time together. So we finished class (which was rather difficult actually. It was one of those days where it was all I could do to keep my eyes open. I ended up answering most of the questions because in my mind, if we could just get through the questions faster, then class would be over faster. Don't ask) and then headed off to get some lunch. I finally got dumplings! I have had a massive craving for those for a long time. The lady forgot that I ordered them, and I ended up having to wait an obscenely long time before she finally decided to actually LISTEN to the fact that I had indeed ordered dumplings, before finally getting her act together. If I was going to be here longer, the fact that I am declaring I will never go there again would have more of an effect.
After that, Claire and I walked around the streets for an hour, before it became glaringly obvious that we were about to be furiously rained on, and we raced back to ICLP just in time. It was then that she had the brilliant idea of going to see Transformers 3: a great way to spend the afternoon. It's fun, it's easy to understand, and it makes you laugh every time. At the movie of course, not with it.
The subway was not quite as fast as I thought it was going to be, so it took me a while to get there, because I had actually left ICLP by the time we decided to see the movie. We arrived at the theater halfway through the previews, switched seats (seats are assigned in movie theaters in Taiwan, but I didn't like the seats they assigned us) and then spent the next two and a half hours having the time of our lives. We were cackling like two people on crack for the whole movie. It was completely over the top, with explosions, cheesy lines, and of course, the quite obvious "This is America, hear me roar!" Yikes. It was fantastic.
I have a confession to make. I was defeated by a money adding machine this afternoon. On our way back home, we decided to take the subway, and I was completely out of money on my card so I went up to one of the fast add machines. I put my card in (I think it was the right way) but nothing came up on the screen. I pressed all the buttons, turned my card upside down and backwards, and even tried physically forcing the money into the machine, but it all didn't work. So I just gave up, and walked over to one of the people that works there, and had him help me add money. I had to add twice as much (which is still only about 4 dollars US) but I felt like quite the idiot.
And that was my night. What I can't describe is the sight of all the buildings around me as I went about my day, and the feel of the city. It is undescribable. But. Taibei is one of the best cities in the world, in my opinion. I absolutely cannot wait to come back. This is "Good bye for now", not "Good bye forever."
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Fu Long Beach
I had the most amazing weekend. Normally I would try to be modest about it, but in this case, it is not even worth it. Be jealous.
It didn't start out so hot. Saturday morning, I woke up early, and I was exhausted. I still hadn't heard back from my friend Jan after sending him a couple of texts inviting him to the beach the night before. I assumed he was dead. I had to meet my friend Claire at the main train station (which is essentially a zoo) at 10, meaning that I had to get my ass into gear rather early so that I could be a functioning human by the time I had to interact with other people.
When I got to the train station, I figured out that it was just me and Claire going, so we bought some tickets on the next train, and headed out. It was only two dollars for an hour and a half train ride: not too shabby, if I do say so myself. We had to stand the whole way, because there weren't actually enough seats for everyone, and the air conditioning definitely could have been better, I am not going to lie. I don't know if you have smelled a bunch of Chinese people with no air conditioning, but it is not a beautiful thing, let me tell you.
Once we got there, it was only a five minute walk to the beach, but it was hot, and absolutely perfect beach weather. Bring on the awesome day. We got some food at a local restaurant for lunch, before deciding to hit the beach.
We saw the beach, and naturally, walked in that direction, before we figured out that we would have to go a different way. But it was beautiful once we got there. The sand was perfect, the water was clear. We had to walk through a small river to get to the beach, because I think that we went a wrong way. Not the main road, anyway. But we got to the right place eventually. And we rented a tent for 7 dollars for the whole day, and jumped straight into the water. That is the life right there, let me tell you.
We stayed in the water for about an hour, just talking, and enjoying the eaves and the sand and the salt. It was beautiful. 20 minutes on the beach, and then back into the water for 20. I am never living in a cold place again.
In the end, we hadn't quite timed our departure very well. We were very close to not making the right train, because Claire had to be back at a certain time, and she wanted to get her deposit back from the guy who rented them (who was the meanest man ever. He took our money, and then told us to get the F*** out.) She ran to get back her deposit, and with 10 minutes to spare, I raced back to the station to get us some tickets on the train. I am happy to report that we made it, with two minutes to spare. And unbeknownst to us, we had gotten a ticket on the faster train, with airconditioning. And no seats. But this time, it only took an hour to get back to Taibei. Not too shabby!
We grabbed some dinner at the main station, and some awesome mochi dessert, and I headed back to my room to crash. What can I say, a long day in the salt and the sun takes it out of you.
It didn't start out so hot. Saturday morning, I woke up early, and I was exhausted. I still hadn't heard back from my friend Jan after sending him a couple of texts inviting him to the beach the night before. I assumed he was dead. I had to meet my friend Claire at the main train station (which is essentially a zoo) at 10, meaning that I had to get my ass into gear rather early so that I could be a functioning human by the time I had to interact with other people.
When I got to the train station, I figured out that it was just me and Claire going, so we bought some tickets on the next train, and headed out. It was only two dollars for an hour and a half train ride: not too shabby, if I do say so myself. We had to stand the whole way, because there weren't actually enough seats for everyone, and the air conditioning definitely could have been better, I am not going to lie. I don't know if you have smelled a bunch of Chinese people with no air conditioning, but it is not a beautiful thing, let me tell you.
Once we got there, it was only a five minute walk to the beach, but it was hot, and absolutely perfect beach weather. Bring on the awesome day. We got some food at a local restaurant for lunch, before deciding to hit the beach.
We saw the beach, and naturally, walked in that direction, before we figured out that we would have to go a different way. But it was beautiful once we got there. The sand was perfect, the water was clear. We had to walk through a small river to get to the beach, because I think that we went a wrong way. Not the main road, anyway. But we got to the right place eventually. And we rented a tent for 7 dollars for the whole day, and jumped straight into the water. That is the life right there, let me tell you.
We stayed in the water for about an hour, just talking, and enjoying the eaves and the sand and the salt. It was beautiful. 20 minutes on the beach, and then back into the water for 20. I am never living in a cold place again.
In the end, we hadn't quite timed our departure very well. We were very close to not making the right train, because Claire had to be back at a certain time, and she wanted to get her deposit back from the guy who rented them (who was the meanest man ever. He took our money, and then told us to get the F*** out.) She ran to get back her deposit, and with 10 minutes to spare, I raced back to the station to get us some tickets on the train. I am happy to report that we made it, with two minutes to spare. And unbeknownst to us, we had gotten a ticket on the faster train, with airconditioning. And no seats. But this time, it only took an hour to get back to Taibei. Not too shabby!
We grabbed some dinner at the main station, and some awesome mochi dessert, and I headed back to my room to crash. What can I say, a long day in the salt and the sun takes it out of you.
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