On Wednesday (after writing this), I went to Jhongli [中壢] with my flame dame and we met some of her friends there. They were all really friendly and we ate at a hot pot place that was quite tasty. Overall I had quite an enjoyable time. Plus, I bought a white belt!
Taipei Train Station, waiting for the train to Jhongli.
Holding our train tickets. Not that you can read them from the picture.
On Thursday, we had our language class (including a Chinese test) followed by CIEE class. A guest lecturer came in and spoke to us about 228 (remember that? If not, go back to my 228 entry and look now :-P) as well as the status quo between Taiwan and China. Interesting stuff, and he had an interesting teaching style. Plus, many of the relevant events occurred at Jinmen Island [金門島] (also known as Quemoy), which is a highly disputed area due to its extreme proximity to mainland China, specifically the city of Xiamen [厦门]. For those of you who don't know, Xiamen is the city where I spent my last semester. Thus, if Taipei is my "Taiwanese hometown", then Xiamen is most definitely my "mainland Chinese hometown". It is somewhat surreal to think of my two study abroad destinations as at war, as little as 60 years ago.
After CIEE class I headed down to meet a couple of my Taiwanese friends, and we went to eat at a place which had some form of mixed soup and thick noodles. It was pretty good, but not my favorite thing ever. After that we went to Gongguan [公管], a part of Taipei City which contains National Taiwan University (Taida [台大] for short) as well as a side-street with several gay cafes and shops. We went to a gay cafe, ordered caffeinated drinks, and talked for a while. After that we walked around Taida, which has a really beautiful campus and lots of the flowers were in bloom. The two friends I was with eventually got into an extremely heated argument about Taiwan's independence, so the remainder of the night was somewhat less comfortable.
Today (Saturday) was fun as well. My flame dame and I went to a buffet place which, considering it was a buffet, had really decent food, and then headed to the Jianguo Flower Market [建國花市]. This market is similar to a farmer's market in the United States, except that virtually everything sold is related to flowers or plants. It was really beautiful and we drank some tea. Next to the flower market is a jade market, which operates on a similar idea; virtually everything sold is related to stone, whether it be carvings, bracelets and necklaces, or teapots. I bought a cool necklace that is made of glass shaped into a snake, inside the glass are gold and black patterns (I was born in the Year of the Snake), and a square red stone calligraphy seal (I think it is carnelian but I'm not sure). I really enjoyed haggling over the price! I got the $700 seal for only $600! (Yes, I know I was probably still ripped off, but bargaining can be a lot of fun).
After that we found our way to a barbecue place [燒烤], which was all-you-can-eat, and devoured just about everything on our table. Finally, we headed back to the dorms after a long (and rewarding?) day.
Also, there's a karaoke competition for the Chinese Language department. Me and one of the other guys in the CIEE program hope to participate, but we were looking for a girl to join our singing team. My Chinese teacher has repeatedly suggested that I should dress in drag and sing the female part (and I haven't even come out to the class yet). Apparently she thinks I'd make a very pretty girl. O_o. I found it really amusing and I thought readers might as well. Also, I'm sort of contemplating the idea, after all it could be fun!
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