Strawberry picking and Lantern Festival

I blogged how yesterday Drew and I made everyone miss the train to go on our Miaoli trip but today luckily everything went smoothly for the most part. We left Taipei around 10:30am and arrived in Miaoli at about 12:15pm. We met our taxi driver there and he first took us to places to get lunch then we went straight to the strawberry fields to go strawberry picking. It was pretty sweet (yep, a nice pun lol) because basically we were given a basket and scissors and we could start picking our strawberries. There were rows and rows of strawberry plants and we didn't know how much we wanted to get since we were charged by weight. I bought about $250NT worth which is about 7 USD dollars. It wasn't really that bad considering I got a lot and they were fresh. First picture above is me picking the strawberries.

Then we went to a strawberry factory where they had everything made and designed of strawberry. Miaoli is known for their strawberries so Drew tried the strawberry sausage that we couldn't taste anything but we think the meat was marinated in strawberry sauce and the strawberry wine was pretty good. Then we tried fried strawberries that were drenched with condensed milk, drizzled in chocolate syrup, and topped off with sprinkles. It was okay..but I really liked was my mega strawberry creation. The second picture above is the insane strawberry dessert. It had a cookie eggroll, one marshmallow, several strawberries, three sugar frosted vanilla wafers, strawberry ice cream, malt (tasted like sugar ice cream), and to finish it off on the bottom was strawberry smoothie/juice. It was insane and before that I just had the fried strawberries, some strawberries I picked at the strawberry fields, strawberry wine, and strawberry bread. I'm definitely done eating strawberries for awhile lol I had a strawberry overload!

Then while we were walking around, we saw people doing a bungee jumping type thing on a trampoline lol Basically you had a harness and you could do flips and jumps since you were jumping on the trampoline. Drew and I did it but we had to wait for a long time since there were people in front of us that took forever. I'm proud that I did 2 flips but I definitely did not know how to do it lol Drew did awesome! He did 2 flips in a row. He was putting on a show lol Third picture is of me in the middle of doing a flip.

We had problems when we left the strawberry factory since the taxi driver wanted to charge us an extra $15USD because we were going to another city although we told them we were going there. We finally got things straightened out but our taxi driver was going to take us to another place to go sightseeing but we just skipped that and went straight to Zhunan that held the lantern festival. We got there and there was a huge night market so we got lots of snacks for our dinner and we saw the lantern festival. It was enormous and amazing! I've never seen anything like it. There were so many lantern displays, plus lights, decorations, fireworks, and shows/concerts.

Lantern Festival marks the last days of Chinese New Year and today was the last day of the festival itself. The festival was 3 weeks long and yet, there were a ton of people today. I think a lot of people showed up today too because we had a three day weekend. Today marks the day that many years ago Taiwanese people died and most people call it Peace Day. That's why I didn't have to work today and there were no classes. The last picture is of one of my favorite lantern displays I saw tonight.

Unfortunately since it was so busy, we didn't have any seats on the train and we had to stand for 1 1/2 hours on a packed train. It was tiring but definitely worth it. Then I went to Family Mart (a convenience store) to get my lego toys from last month's convenience store sticker promotion. I collected enough stickers from the last promotion to get 2 toys and during that month they were giving away legos that represented Taiwan's landmarks. Since they were running out, I was put on the ordering list and today was the day I could pick up my toys. I'm so happy I ordered it because I got the one that I really wanted! I got the Queen's Head landmark that I went to the past summer with my relatives. It's in Yehliu park and it's just a rock that is designed like a girl's head but everyone calls it the queen's head. It's exciting because they made a lego toy out of it and that's the one I wanted and I got it! Yay..so today was an awesome day to say the least!

-Chihchat

Missed train

My coworker planned a trip for me and a bunch of my other coworkers to go to Miaoli and go strawberry picking and see the lantern festival. Drew and I got the time and place mixed up to meet today and we missed the train! Our coworkers were really nice and they waited for us and they didn't go. I thought we were leaving the house at 10:30 but we were supposed to meet them by that time. Then we thought we were supposed to meet at the bus station but it was actually the train station...ugh

I felt horrible! I called them but we didn't have enough time to make it and we got lost since Taipei Main Station is huge. Since the train left at 11am, we didn't have time since we got there around 10:35am. Luckily we got the ticket times switched so we are going tomorrow since we have a 3 day weekend due to 2/28 (Taiwan holiday). It's just unfortunate because we planned to go today so Mon. we could rest. Anyway, after that fiasco we had lunch then we went to see the movie "Unknown." It was a pretty good movie. Drew and I bought the tickets for everyone since we felt bad. Then we shopped for a bit and went back to my coworker's apartment, ate dinner there, and watched TV.

I'm definitely going to get up early to make sure we won't miss the train again. Drew and I are going to meet my coworker early at the MRT station and then go together to Taipei Main Station. On the bright side, it was a nice day today and we walked around Ximending. Pictures above are the soup I got at this cafe area and graffiti around Ximending. They look cool and I haven't really seen a whole lot of graffiti here in Taiwan.

-Chihchat

Birthday desserts

My coworker has started a new hobby and started to bake new cakes. It was my coworker's birthday today and the cakes were amazing! She made a cheesecake and chocolate cake. The cheesecake was topped with different fruit such as strawberries, blueberries, and kiwi. The inside of the chocolate cake had peanut butter and it was topped with poweder sugar and melted white chocolate! It was amazing! The chocolate cake was really heavy to lift since it was really moist and dense.

Pictures above are the cakes. They were so filling and she definitely has a talent!

-Chihchat

Class Debate

My A11 students had to do a debate today in class tonight. They did a good job for speaking English and listening to each other's arguments. It was hard not to laugh and smile of what they said and some of the things they said were funny but it also makes sense.

The weather is getting warmer but it also means I'm starting to eat more of this cold dessert I love! It's basically shaved ice and you can add lots of toppings but I love it. I ate it a lot when it was warm, and blogged about it numerous times since it's a cold dessert but I'm definitley not looking forward when it's the summer and it's hot again!

-Chihchat

So what!

Going to my kickboxing class every Thurs. night is seriously one of the major highlights of my week. The instructor always talk to me but I think he wonders where my friends are since lately I've been going alone and my coworkers haven't had time to go. My coworker joined me today but she was a little late. He knows where I work since he told me and I hate to make things awkward but I still do ahhh!! lol His class was crowded so I'm sure he's happy about it lol

Today was super hilarious because he was playing a song called "So What" and he was getting really into it, trying to be all cool and tough. He acted like he was trying to get into fights with everyone and himself lol The funniest part was he would look at people with an evil eye and yell "so what" haha He would make everything intense and yeah, definitely made the song fun to exercise to!

-Chihchat

Midwest Asian

I was having dinner with my coworker from Hawaii. She's Asian American, (American born Japanese). We were talking about Hawaii and about the people and culture and she told me how Asian Americans living in Hawaii are different than people who live in California or New York. There's not something obvious but there's just something where you know that they live in a certain area. She said that when she first met me, she knew I wasn't from California or Hawaii but I had to be either from the Midwest or East Coast. I thought that was pretty funny but it's true. I never thought about it but a California Asian American is different than a Hawaii Asian American lol She also told me that she would have never guessed that I was from Iowa haha

-Chihchat

Oh Rocky

I was eating at my uncle's/aunt's place tonight and usually they cook such delicious food for dinner that their dog, Rocky, will whine and beg for food. Don't get me wrong. I love Rocky but he can get so annoying since I'm the last one eating (I usually take forever to eat since I eat a lot haha). My relatives actually don't eat a whole lot but also because they are used to eating this food every day. I, on the other hand, am not used to this great food since it's home-cooked Taiwanese food.

Rocky really starts to freak out when my aunt makes pork soup or anything that has bones in it. Tonight she made this really good marinated pork which had bones in it. I was alone in the kitchen since now I arrive late to their house since I get off work until 7pm and they are nice and want me to have peace and quiet in the kitchen. While I was eating the pork, I left the bones on the table in a pile. I was getting soup so I stood up when all of a sudden Rocky balanced his two paws on the table and snatched the pile of food. I was afraid he got a bone but he actually got the pork fat. He's not supposed to eat that food since he has a bad bladder but all he cares about is the smell. He's so bad! lol

He usually doesn't like me since I always yell at him and don't give him any food. Rocky is my cousin's dog and she doesn't want us to feed him human food. It was weird though because after dinner I was sitting in the living room and he was lying next to me and grabbed one of his toys and sat it next to me. I was really surprised since I yelled at him and I barely play with him lol

The pictures above are of Rocky in the summer time.

-Chihchat

Acting like a boy lol

Work has been annoying and irritating since I started half-day class again and I have a new class. The class which I now teach on Mons. and my awful Mon. class is now on Thurs. is just as bad as my Thurs. class. They don't listen and it's just stressful because although it's only 2 hours, I feel like we get nothing done. After work while I'm eating dinner, I like to watch sports. I mentioned this before but lately I've been into watching golf. It's pretty ironic actually since the number one ladies golf player is from Taiwan. Anyway it's nice to watch sports, eat dinner, and relax lol Yep, I can see why guys want to watch sports after a long day's work haha

-Chihchat

Leo's new movie role

My friend posted this on my facebook wall and I'm so happy she did. Leonardo DiCaprio, (who I absolutely love, yes LOVE) is going to star as Jay Gatsby in "The Great Gatsby"! I'm so excited! Carey Mulligan is going to be Daisy Buchanan, Tobey Maguire is going to be Nick Carraway, and Baz Luhrman is going to be the director. Luhrman has a weird, strange vision as he directed "Romeo and Juliet" which Leo starred in and also "Moulin Rouge" but I have faith that the movie will be good. The filming is going to take place this August in Australia. I'm actually debating if I want to go down there to visit this summer since I'm sort of close LOL Anyway this news totally made my day!

-Chihchat

Language confusion but more so frustration

My coworker and I were talking inside the subway station near the exits loudly in English when an old Taiwanese lady came up to us and asked which exit is to get to Minquan West Road. I was really surprised since we were speaking English and she asked us where to go in Chinese. I told her in Chinese and she understood and left. My coworker who can't speak any Chinese told me that she gets it a lot where people would ask her where to go. I never get that lol When someone asks me and I try to help them, they actually are annoyed that my Chinese isn't that great and they can't understand me lol My coworker is Japanese American but she gets mistaken for being Chinese all the time.

It was ironic when later I went to this small restaurant to order just white rice (yeah, I know..I love rice lol) and the older lady worker couldn't understand me. This lady who was ordering food standing next to me helped me and she even told her a couple of times what I wanted but she didn't really get it until we kept repeating it. The worker can speak Taiwanese but I'm surprised that she couldn't even understand the native person speaking to her although she was speaking in Chinese.

I will admit though, the language barrier is getting to me. When I had to call GRE about my scores a couple of weeks ago, it was great to speak English quickly and feel relieved and assured that they could understand me. I didn't have to worry about anything and I got everything that I needed to be done. It's hard sometimes when you just want to do something but you are being misunderstood. I know I put it on myself since I speak Chinese first instead of English but lately these past couple of weeks it's been frustrating me a bit. I guess it just gives me more motivation to practice my Chinese!

-Chihchat

Sat. vacay

Usually I have to work Sats. all day starting from 10-7pm. This weekend the half-day classes had to make up their classes and so for Sat. I don't have to work at 10am but I still have to work just for 2 hours from 4:30-6:20. It's annoying because I have to come in just for 2 hours and I'm going to work so late but the good thing is that at least I don't have to teach 4 classes today and not have to get up early.

Tonight my roommate, my other coworker, and I went out. We never really get the chance to go out on a Fri. night since we work all day Sat. It was fun and it's nice to be able to sleep in tomorrow morning :)

-Chihchat

Return of kickboxing

I haven't been going to my kickboxing class lately because I was sick and of Chinese New Year. My coworkers didn't go with me today so I went by myself and again the instructor came and talked to me for a bit. He doesn't think I can understand Chinese but it was cute because he asked me where my friends were at and I said they were sick (in Chinese) and he said "sick" in English and tried to learn how to say it lol

Then in class, he would speak English and in Chinese. I don't know why though..he really likes English though since he was playing all English songs. I know I'm thinking way too much into it but it was cute that he would try to sing the songs in English and say the kickboxing moves in English too.

I'm super awkward though because he will try to talk to me and I would freeze up and be really tense. I know he's just trying to be nice and talk to people so they will continue to be his in class but I just get really nervous especially since my Chinese is bad. It was a great workout today though and I wish he taught the class more than 1x a week so I can get a good workout..and seeing him more than 1x wouldn't be bad either lol

-Chihchat

Delicious drink

I've been blogging about food but I haven't really talked about the drinks. There are so many tea/drink shops all over Taipei. I haven't really ordered a lot of drinks from these places since I just buy tea from 7-11. When I do buy drinks, I try to buy drinks that I haven't had but usually I don't know most of the drinks. I started to keep menus from restaurants and drink shops that are around my work and apartment so I can try to translate in Chinese and see what they have.

This morning before I went to work I went to the drink shop and I got milk tea and inside was taro balls. I really like taro balls, actually obsessed, and it was just extremely delicious! It's similar to tapioca balls but they are made out of taro instead of tapioca. I'm definitely getting it again tomorrow :)

-Chihchat

Return of the jack hammering

Winter classes are over which means I can sleep in. It's been nice for the past couple of days since I could sleep until 10am or so but today I heard drilling going on below my apartment. AGAIN they are remodeling the apartment down below. UGH! I don't know if it just started or how long it will be but I really hope it will end soon. It wasn't as loud as it was before but I can still hear it and it's noisy. I shouldn't be complaining as much since I woke up around 10:30am this morning but I just want to have some peace and quiet for once in the morning and have a good sleep. Also, Kenny is meowing louder than ever since Drew has been gone for 2 weeks and at night I shut him in Drew's room. Drew comes back tomorrow though and hopefully the drilling will stop so I can sleep soundly!

-Chihchat

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

Not only is it Valentine's Day but today is also my 8th month mark here in Taipei. People do celebrate Valentine's Day here but there's another day in July that is similar to this holiday. Valentine's Day isn't a huge deal like it is in America but people still recognize this day.

I will actually have to stay until Aug. 1 because I have to work a certain amount of days to get lower taxes so I will at least be here for another 6 months. It's crazy because I can't believe that I only have 6 months left. It's so weird because I don't really have any concept of the time. Everything is going by so quickly and I know I keep saying it but it's true lol I have applied to grad schools so I don't really know what my plans are for next year for sure since I'm still waiting for their response but as of now I will stay until Aug. 1. Then after that, I just have to wait and see!

-Chihchat

Exercising again

I haven't been exercising recently because I've been super busy with work, got sick last week, and I didn't have time to go to the kickboxing class. I used to run 3x a week by running on a school track near my place. The only problem is that it closes at night and I work at nights so I don't have time to run. I don't really like running on the treadmill because sometimes it makes me dizzy and I get bored easily.

Today I have more free time to relax since winter classes are over and so I went to the gym and ran on the treadmill. I ran for almost 30 mins and it felt good to run again! I haven't really ran for awhile since I started to take exercise classes. Also, running made me tired since I would run a lot during the week and I ran too much so I decided to change up my exercise routine.

I played DDR again tonight too lol It felt so great to run again! (Knock on wood) I hope I don't get sick anymore!!

-Chihchat

A Nurber

My Sat. classes can be pretty crazy and exhausting, depending on the lesson and day. For one of my beginner K level classes, they were learning countable and uncountable (soup, apple(s)). It was funny since they learned the new word "number" and I had three teams since it was a big class of 24 students. They had to write either "a, an, or some" with the correct voc.

The voc. word was "number" and since they just learned it, they had no idea how to really spell it. It was funny since 3 of them misspelled it, mostly spelling it as "nurber." I read aloud the answers and yelled "a nurber" and everyone started laughing aloud really hard lol It was nice to just have fun, laugh, and relax since they just got done taking a unit quiz.

-Chihchat

Finally! Last day of winter classes!

Finally today was the last day of winter classes! It was really hard teaching them since there were only 8 of them but they were pretty naughty and extremely young. I gave them a word search though and they really liked it. Then I was going to have a couple of hours to just take a break and work on Chinese but I ended up subbing for my other coworker. So I'm definitely being a busy worker bee this week! I can't wait until tomorrow night since tomorrow is a full day of teaching then I can just have a nice break and now be done with winter classes! :)

-Chihchat

A punch in the stomach

As I said numerous times, today was my last day for winter-phonics class. I was WRONG! During my ten minute break of this class this morning, my boss comes up to me and says, so did I tell you that you will be teaching this class tomorrow morning for 3 hours? I was in shock! I was like uhh what? I then said no, and she said oh yeah, you will be teaching for 3 hours tomorrow morning. I asked her what I should do for 3 hours tomorrow and luckily the Chinese teacher will be teaching for 1 hour in the morning so I just have to teach my regular class time from 10-12. I was just so bummed that I found out that today was not my last day for this class. It literally was like a punch to the stomach. I was so surprised and it really just came out of nowhere.

My coworkers said at least I will earn money but I don't even know if it is worth it. Oh well, I can't really do anything about it so I will just be playing lots of games since it's the last day and I will do review. The good thing at least is that I will have a smaller class since only the half-day students will stay. Another thing is that at least tomorrow I know FOR SURE that tomorrow is my last day of my winter class lol

-Chihchat

Just one more day

I started this winter class 9 days ago and it's been a pain. Mostly because the class is huge with 24 students with different levels ranging from students who can't even write an English letter to students who can write full sentences. I'm teaching phonics which I don't feel I'm good at and it's hard when I only teach them for a mere 10 days. I have disliked teaching this class and I can't wait because tomorrow is the LAST DAY! That means I don't have to get up early in the morning anymore and I won't have to teach them anymore. Let's just say it's been an exhausting experience.

It's one thing if they were good students but they aren't. They continuously speak Chinese, they fight with one another, and they misbehave, treating me with disrespect. It's a horrible learning environment and I'm sure I don't make it better by yelling at them. I'm just glad that they aren't a regular class and I will be over with them tomorrow. It's crazy how I was so happy to not have my half-day class but my half-day class is so much better than this winter class. I'm so excited for tomorrow morning to be over with! :)

-Chihchat

Almost home...

Since today is the first day back to work from the Chinese New Year break, I was teaching an early winter class and evening class. I did errands during the day and I was going to go to my uncle's but my aunt and I got mixed up on the times so I ended up not going for the night. Earlier, Drew called me from Cambodia and he wanted to get a computer but his credit card wasn't working so he wanted me to stop by our coworker's place since he was with her traveling and I had a spare key to her apartment and he wanted me to go to her place to get her credit card so he can use it since his credit card wasn't working.

But that also meant I wouldn't have time to go to my uncle's and at the time I thought I was going to their place. It turned out that his credit card worked in the end and he got the computer and that I wasn't going to my uncle's. I was going home and I even got dinner when I was close to my apartment to grab my keys out of my purse but I couldn't find them! I quickly called my coworker to see if I left them at work. Luckily she found them and so I had to go back to work again. I was relieved though and I didn't mind going back to work since I rather leave them at work then somewhere else. I'm so tired though and I'm definitely ready to go to sleep! I'm glad I'm not sick anymore (knock on wood!)

-Chihchat

I'm a sixth grader

I finally got the chance/time to go to the library. I tried to get a library card at this famous library near Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall but I needed my passport and it's pretty far from my house. I wanted to start reading Chinese books to improve my Chinese and to see what my "level" is but I never had the chance to get a library card and figure out which library was good to go to. Today I went to the Taipei Public Library near my house so it's nice so I don't have to travel too far away. I officially got a library card and checked out a book.

It took me awhile since I was looking at normal, regular books but they were way too difficult. I finally went to the children's section and saw some books that I could actually read lol They were for middle schoolers and I was picky since I wanted to read a book that interested me so it took me a couple of hours to finally decide what book to get. Most of the children's books were about themes like animals or categories like math.

Later, I showed the book to Cala's friend and she said that it was about a 6th grade level book lol Yay! I can't read all the characters in the book but I can definitely get the gist of it. I'm happy I'm around 6th grade level for Chinese hehe I liked the book also because it had pictures and I think it's a love story..I think lol

-Chihchat

Chinese New Year weekend

For the past couple of days I celebrated Chinese New Year and I ate a lot! First on Fri. I went to my uncle's in Taipei and I just had lunch/dinner while my aunts and uncles played mahjong. My cousins and I just played some games and saw youtube videos etc. for about 7 hours or so! lol Then that night I stayed at my aunt's house in Xinzhu. We went to the hot springs (including my two cousins) the next day and we ate a good restaurant which she ordered a ton of food. Then today we left Xinzhu and had lunch with my mother's sister's husband's younger brother (did you follow that?) and then we met up with my other cousin in Taipei and all 4 of us went shopping at this area which sells really cheap clothes. Then we had dinner around Daan Park. I'm exhausted! I just got home and Kenny has been freaking out since Drew and Cala have also been gone so he's been home alone for a couple of days. But I really liked Chinese New Year because it was nice to spend time with family although I do wish my mom and sister could have came. I'm so happy though that I have one more day left of the break. Definitely going to enjoy sleeping in! :) Pictures above are from the hot springs and Xinzhu.

-Chihchat

Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year!

This year is the year of the rabbit which is my year (people born in 1987 and the other years which I'm not sure about) lol I'm really excited for this year (2011) since it's the year of the rabbit, Taiwan's 100th birthday, and a new year of change and hopefully good news. Today was nice because I just had a chance to sleep in and do nothing. I slept in which was glorious and it was nice not to work or teach. I just did my laundry, cleaned the apartment, and worked on Chinese. I even took a nap today lol

I'm still recovering from my sore throat last week so I can't do a lot without still being fatigued. I wanted to play DDR today but I don't think I have the energy. I should definitely just take a break since tomorrow I'm going to spend the holidays with my aunts/uncle and I'm going to my aunt's house in Xinzhu tomorrow night, outside of Taipei. I don't have to teach until Tues. so I'm going to enjoy my break while it lasts!

-Chihchat

Chinese New Year Eve.

Today was the first day of my break and it was nice to just relax and not to work. Drew left for his 2 week vacation and I started to give Kenny his medicine. I went to my uncle's tonight and I had dinner there. Then afterwards we played mahjong. I definitely wasn't as lucky as I could be since I lost money and had to pay my cousin lol It's weird to be in Taipei around Chinese New Year because there wasn't actually a lot of people on the streets and everything was closed for the holidays. When I was walking home from the MRT, there were fireworks going off. I'm so happy tomorrow is Chinese New Year so I can sleep in and just relax!

-Chihchat

Good food and Kinect

For lunch, my Taiwanese coworker took my American coworker and I to this really good restaurant. The food was fairly cheap and we ordered a ton of food. The picture above is of our meal. It was delicious and it was definitely filling. Today was a good day since it was the last day of work before the Chinese New Year break. We get 6 days off so it's nice to get a break away from teaching. Tonight after work, my coworker bought a scooter so he was nice and took me to my house so I can throw out the garbage haha Then he had people over at his place to play the Xbox 360 Kinect game. We also had dinner at Shida night market where we ate a Korean style restaurant so yes, two good meals in one day lol We played some sport games and they were so much fun! We also played Dance Central. It's definitely a workout for sure and I can see how people can lose weight by playing the game.

-Chihchat