Night Markets, Eats, and Classes

'Twas rainy today.

I went to the Carrefour in Taipei, which for those who may not know, Carrefour is a very large French-based grocer. I bought a bunch of food, so that I would not have to continuously spend money on food out for every meal. This was tricky considering that the dorms do not have a refridgerator in them, so some of us opted for powdered milk. I know a few of you are thinking about the melamine issue in China, but Taiwan is a very different place and I think the Quaker brand will be okay. In a strange way, I consider Taiwan the ‘America of Asia’. Both are very market driven economies whose consumers prefer quality, variety and convenience (this does not always hold true in both countries, but there seem to similar expectations in both countries). I have not had any issues with the food, I think the general rule of thumb is to find the longest line at the night market and join the line. The food is usually quite good, and is fresh since they have to continuously keep making it to serve such a long line. The government here has become much more strict about food standards in the last decade (or so I am told, hopefully I will not discover otherwise).

Yesterday, I ventured to the Shilin night market (which is deceivingly not at the Shilin MRT stop off the Red Line, but the one before). The market is the largest of the night markets in Taipei and looked the cleanest to me. I ate what people call the “Taiwanese burger”. It is literally cooked pork and onions rolled inside of dough and sprinkled with seasame seeds, and then finally deep fried. It was spicy, hot and amazing! Afterwards we went for some sweets, in Taiwan this means shaved ice decked in fruits with a sweet condensed milk drizzled over the top.
The Shilin Night Market at the Jiantan MRT stop.

Shaved ice with tons of fruit.

I felt very short next to this basketball team.

The so-called "Taiwanese" burger.

Yay for classes! It feels like a lifetime since I took classes, because the last time I sat in a classroom for lecture was the first week of December right before my finals. I am excited for most of the classes here, in particular the language course. Also, I will be taking the Chinese course for less credits through the school of management, so that I can get extra practice in. I will be taking a course on Futures, Derivatives and Options, an accounting course (hopefully, waiting for the petition to go through), and another one as well. It is very difficult to find courses that work with each other, because most are actually scheduled at the same time. The classes are very hard to find, especially if they are on the other campus. I am learning the characters for the things around campus, as many are not in English.

I might be going to eastern Taiwan this weekend, I will keep you all posted with the updates.

Ciao!

World Economics

I saw this article (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/business/15global.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all) in the NYTimes. I noticed that the authors mentioned Taiwan and the economic impact on this small island. It is very scary to think about my generation having to overcome many of the hurdles we will face and that the crisis is really global. I am new to Taiwan, but will continue to look for the signs of change. For the past week, I have not noticed a time when the city slept. There are always people out and buying things. I do not have a whole lot of information about the place to be able to recognize a negative change.

Made it to Taiwan in One Piece.

Ciao a tutti!

This is the introduction to my blog documenting my travels through Taiwan and Asia. I am currently in a study abroad program at National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan. I love it already after a couple days. The campus is beautiful and people are very nice. Also, the city feels very safe. An old Taiwanese man was on the flight from Minneapolis with me. His son lives in Minneapolis and he ended up helping me tremendously. He helped me find the right bus into town and even gave directions to the taxi driver for me to the dormitory. I guess you could call this one of the many lessons of the hospitality of the Taiwanese people.

I have seem a little bit of this very large city so far. Although very large, campus is easy to navigate. Especially since the Royal Palm Boulevard intersects it, going west to east. The Japanese built the street during their occupation to add to the university. The sun rose over the Main Library and set on the most eastern gate. I have been told that during the summer the street is awfully hot--since the palm trees don't much shade. There are plenty of food places on campus, two 711s, and even a shop that sells agricultural goods from the things that university grows.

 

My dormitory is exactly what I paid for, nothing less, but as time passes starts to exceed my expectations. Between the communal squat toliets, dingy rooms, and a few insects, there are fun people from all over the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore, mainland China, Switzerland, Poland, Chile, etc (I think you get the picture) and of course high-speed internet. This is a really great place to get to know other exchange students. Also, I am right next to campus. [I will put pictures of my dorm room up next time].

I have already seen a couple night markets that Taipei is famous for. There are so many cute clothes, good eats, people and bright lights. I just wish I could read the traditional Chinese menus. I have learned a couple characters pretty quickly, like lizard. I don't think I am ready to try lizard yet. Also, I went to the annual latern festival that is held after the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations. Since this is the year of the ox, the laterns were focused on ox-based themes. The plaques were very sobering as many mentioned the global financial crisis and that the ox represents overcoming hardship. From the energy in Taipei, it's hard to tell that the country is struggling like the rest of the world financially.

I met one of my buddies from the exchange program. The university sets each exchange student up with a NTU regular student to help them adjust, find things and really make us feel like we are not alone. The buddy I met up with is name Andy. He came to my dormitory and gave me a ride on the back of his bicycle to Gongguan. It was quite the funny sight, as I am bigger than he is and he struggled as he peddled over a rather inclined bridge. We had a spectacular lunch that included soup, rice, chicken, shaved ice topped with mangoes and fruit tea. He even helped me find a SIM card for my Taiwanese cell-phone. I have been learning a little bit of survival Chinese here and there. I am pretty excited to take the Chinese course this semester. Andy is a big help as he says everything in Chinese first and then English :).

Today, I saw the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall off the red line. You can see the pictures below to see how pretty they are. For those who do know who Chiang Kai-Shek (or as he liked to be called the top of all generals, the "generalissimo") is, he was the leader of the revolutionary army in mainland China, a disciple of Dr. Sun Yet-Sun, and was eventually exiled to Taiwan upon the failure to eradicate the communists in China. He fought the warloads that precided over the many regions to unify China and create a much stronger country. He stared with 500 soldiers and quickly gained a large following--due to the oppressive rule of the warlords at the time.

Ok, I think that's enough for now. More updates soon. I hope everyone is well at home.

Ciao & bacissimi!!