Street Talk: 真假的？

Hi and welcome to our first segment of Street Talk, where we will be discussing common phrases and expressions heard off the streets of Taiwan! Coming to you live from Taipei, this is Lillian N. from The ABC Guide to Studying Abroad in Taiwan. I will be your host today, so let's get started shall we?

Today's phrase is 真假的 (Zhēn jiǎ de)?

Now this is a phrase I've heard used a lot: on the streets, in a phone conversation, mostly used by the youths, though adults use this phrase too. It is usually said in a tone of shock, surprise, or disbelief, the way one might exclaim in English, "Really?!?" or "No way!"

But what does this phrase mean exactly? Let us start by deconstructing it, character by character.

1. 真 (Zhēn) - By itself, this character means "real" or "truth" as in, "This is real jade" (這是真玉), or "It's the truth!" (是真的!) It can also be used to mean really, as in very: "He's really (very) impressive" (他真厲害), or as an exclamation: "Really?" (真的嗎?).
2. 假 (Jiǎ) - When said in fourth tone, this character is being used as a noun and means "vacation" or "day off," but when said in third tone, as is the case here, it is a stative verb meaning, "fake" or "artificial;" for example, "She was wearing fake eyelashes" (她戴著假睫毛).
3.  的 (de) - A possessive particle; when used with 真的 or 假的, it means "real" or "fake," respectively.

Altogether, these three characters mean, "Really?" or "Is this for real?" carrying with it a connotation of shock and disbelief. For example, if your friend were to tell you how her boyfriend couldn't make it to her important event because his brother had crashed his car, the public transportation he needed was down for repairs, and he got stuck in traffic taking the taxi, you might respond with a dubious, "真假的?"

Likewise, if you heard the story of an overly dramatic proposal complete with song, dance, stallions, and birds, you might shriek an unbelieving, "真假的?!?"

However, this phrase can also be used to mean, "Is this real or fake?" (這是真假的?), for example if someone asks for your number, which you give after much hemming and hawing, he might ask, a bit suspiciously, "這是真假的?" or just "是真假的?" meaning, "Is this really your number?"

That concludes our lesson on "真假的?" and I hope you have enjoyed our first segment of Street Talk. Join us next time for another lesson on commonly used idioms and phrases!

Third Time's a Charm: Opening a Bank Account

So after much research and hesitation I finally got around to opening a bank account. It was actually a pretty spur-of-the-moment thing, since I happened to be in the area, had some free time, and thought, well, why not?

So the bank I decided to open an account with is 華南銀行--Hua Nan Bank, because it was one of the two banks on campus (the other being Chunghwa Post which doubles as both a post office and a bank), because it seemed to be widespread throughout Taiwan, and because it's one of the few banks that has branches in both the 台大 (NTU) and the 中國醫藥大學 (CMU), the latter being down in Taichung where I will be working as a summer intern at one of their museums after my semester at 台大 ends (apparently there's a branch in New York City too!).

Since my Tuesdays are pretty free (with one class in the morning from 8:10 am to 10:00 am and one class at 6:30 pm to 9:15 pm,) I had plenty of time in between to spare. And although there is a break between periods, when I have an eight o'clock class I prefer to wait until after class to eat breakfast (as I usually have food in my room).

On Tuesday, I decided to go to 小小福--the commissary behind my classroom building--for breakfast instead of eating 饅頭--mantous--in my room all the time. So after a hearty breakfast (of 花生土司--peanut toast--and 鐵觀音奶茶--Tie Guanyin milk tea) I decided to stroll around for a bit seeing as the weather was quite nice. And then I thought, wait a sec, the bank is around here, I should try to find it and proceeded to do just that. I found it with relative ease and curiosity satiated I fully intended on going back to my dorm, then thought, well why don't I check it out? So, feeling a bit adventurous I decided to go in (mind you, to open a bank account, you need your ARC and your passport, the latter of which was back in my dorm room).

I went in, not with the purpose of opening a bank account, but to see if there was anyone in there who spoke English or if I would have to come back with someone who spoke Mandarin. Luckily, there was someone in there who spoke English and she confirmed what I already knew: that I needed my passport and ARC to open a bank account. Oh yes, and you also need to make an initial NT$1000 deposit, which seems to be the case with most banks, from what I've read.

Image courtesy of life.ntu.edu.tw/

Although I was pretty much free for the next four, five hours that the bank would be open, I figured that I would just go back a different day. A mere two-and-a-half hours later however found me making my way back to campus, passport and ARC in bag to open a bank account.

Apparently, when a U.S. citizen opens a bank account in Taiwan (or perhaps just at Hua Nan bank?), the Taiwanese bank is required to let the U.S. government know, which meant that I also had to fill out one of those U.S. tax forms. Since I wasn't filling it out for employment purposes, I only had to fill out the portions asking for my name, home address (in the U.S.), and my social security number. Unfortunately, I never memorized my whole social security number, and told them as much, to which I was told that perhaps I should come back when I had it. Disheartened, I had no choice but to trudge back to my dorm, trying to remember the darn number all the while. Three different number combinations later, I finally hit what I thought might be the correct one, but I wasn't sure.

Hence my third trip back to the bank. By this point, I was pretty frustrated, and tired of all the trekking back and forth. Granted it was only about a 15-20 minute walk from my dorm to the bank, but when you have to make that trip three times--it's not fun.

Luckily, I had everything I needed that time, and all I had to do was fill out some forms while the bank workers processed the forms and made copies of my ARC and passport. They asked me if I wanted a bank card or a debit card, the difference being that a bank card only allows you to withdraw money from an ATM, while a debit card allows for online purchases. I went for the debit card.

Then asked me if I wanted certain features of the card such as a pin (yes), whether I wanted to use my card internationally to withdraw money (I said no, though in retrospect I should have said yes) (I can still use my card internationally though), whether I wanted to use it at other branches throughout Taiwan and not just the one on campus (definitely), and whether I wanted to use their online banking site (yes). Then they had me fill out a questionnaire about safe online banking, choose a pin, and whatnot.

Afterwards, I was given my card and balance book, and another bank employee took me out to the ATM to show me how to use the card for the first time, which required changing the default pin, and to set up my online banking account. It seemed he didn't know much English because he asked (in Chinese) if I could speak Chinese and when I told him, “一點點 (a little bit)” he proceeded to speak to me mainly in Chinese. Surprisingly I understood a good amount of what he was telling me (he was probably using simplistic language so that I'd understand).

Because I'm too lazy to take a picture of my card, I found this picture courtesy of Google Images

All this took quite a good while and by the time I was done, the bank had closed. I admit, it was a bit of a nerve-wracking process just because I was nervous about going by myself, plus the limited English of most of the staff (the one who could speak English had other business to tend to at times so wasn't standing there translating all the time), but they were still helpful and didn't treat me rudely just because I couldn't speak Chinese (although I had a feeling they were surprised and maybe skeptical when the last employee was speaking to me in Chinese). It was a relief to get it all done and over with and while it was not a very complex process and while there was someone there who spoke English, if you plan on opening a bank account in Taiwan, I would recommend going with someone who's fluent in Mandarin, just to make things easier for yourself.

Black circle - dorms; red circle - main entrance; yellow circle - bank
Making that trek from black to red to yellow and back thrice? Not fun

Everyday Chinese 

• 銀行 (Yínháng) - Bank
• 帳戶 (Zhànghù) - Account
• 開戶 (Kāihù) - Open an account
• 金融卡 (Jīnróng kǎ) - Debit card
• 信用卡 (Xìnyòng kǎ) - Credit card
• 我想開(銀行帳)戶 (Wǒ xiǎng kāi (yínháng zhàng) hù) - I would like to open a bank account

Official Alien Resident Status

Tada! I am officially a certified alien resident of the Republic of China, otherwise known as Taiwan! Haha, just wanted to share my ARC with you all; swanky ain't it? Hopefully I get to actually keep it this time, though the officials will probably take it back when I leave Taiwan, which is what happened to my South Korean ARC when I left South Korea.

With this, I can now open a bank account, provide proof of my residency here should I need to, and stay for a year (although I don't know why it expires before the year is up, so I'm going to have to get that renewed...) 

And because it's late (darn photo editing process!), I'm going off to bed now.

Good night!

Warm in New York is Cold in Taipei

So I hear it's been pretty warm in New York City this past week. Or warmer rather. And by that I mean temperature in the 50s and even 60s (we're talking Fahrenheit here by the way--I have yet to become adept at converting between Celsius and Fahrenheit). Coincidentally enough, the temperature here in Taipei has been in the 50s and 60s this past week as well (although we're back in the 70s now).

Now in New York, this 50-60 degree weather must feel nice and warm, especially coming from 20, 30 degree weather (and snow, lots of snow). In Taipei however, this 50-60 degree weather is cold. It amused me that while my friends and I in Taiwan considered this 60 degree weather "so cold," my dear New Yorkers back home considered their 60 degree weather, "so nice." Hence, warm in New York is cold in Taipei.

The temperature seems to be warming back up however as the forecast for next week is all in the high 70s and sunny (in fact, it was pretty warm today as well). Actually, when my Chinese class came to Taiwan around this time (March 8th to March 18th) last year, the weather was on the chillier and rainier end initially as well. It was only about a day or two before we were to leave that the weather started to warm up and the sun started to shine relentlessly. Frankly I'm a little disappointed as I have always preferred cooler weather to warmer weather--granted it was a little chilly, but I definitely wasn't expecting such a significant weather shift.

On a different weather-related note, anyone who has ever experienced the harsh New England winter (or any harsh winter) has probably experienced harsh winter symptoms as well: chapped lips, dry face, cracked hands. Of course, if you're diligent about putting lotion on your face and hands you were probably fine, but I was pretty lazy (or forgetful) sometimes so you could see (and feel) the dryness on my hands and cheeks. The humidity in Taiwan, as I was telling my sister the other day, did wonders for that. About a week after I arrived in Taiwan, I realized that my skin was no longer sporting patches of dryness; in fact (and I was feeling just now), my hands and face are completely smooth--and it hasn't even felt that humid for the past week!

Seeing that Taiwan is a tropical island, I'm not looking forward to when the temperature shoots way up and the humidity gets unbearable, but if you're looking to get away from some harsh winter winds and cold then Taiwan n February/March is the place to go, especially if you need some treatment for that dry skin of yours. Nothing like some tropical humid air to take care of that!

Everyday Chinese

• 天氣 (Tiānqì) - Weather
• 度 (Dù) - Degrees
  As in 40 degrees
• 冬天 (Dōngtiān) - Winter
• 下雪 (Xià xuě) - To snow
• 颳風 (Guā fēng) - Windy
• 有寒流 (Yǒu hánliú) - Cold current
  According to one of my Chinese professors, the cold in Taiwan was due to a cold current from mainland China
• 晴朗 (Qínglǎng) - Sunny
• 濕氣 (Shī qì) - Humidity

Welcome to 台大!

So I realized that despite weeks of posts about preparations for and actually living in Taiwan, I never actually mentioned which university I study at here in Taiwan. Oops.

So for those of you that don't know, I am currently a visiting student at National Taiwan University (often abbreviated as NTU) or 國立臺灣大學 in Chinese (referred to as 台大 for short).

The logo featuring an azalea (the school flower), a palm tree, and the Fu Bell

 The main campus of 台大 is located in 大安區--the Da'an district of Taipei--and the school itself is a national research university consisting of the Colleges of Liberal Arts, Science, Social Sciences, Medicine, Engineering, Bio-resource and Agriculture, Management, Public Health, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Law, Life Science, Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Veterinary Medicine. The famous International Chinese Language Program (ICLP) is also located on the main campus of 台大.

You can get to campus via the MRT on line 3, the 松山新店 (Songshan-Xindian) line and the stop you'll want to be looking out for is 公館 (Gongguan).

First Impressions?

I guess it wouldn't really be accurate to call these my first impressions, since my class was lucky enough to have had the opportunity to visit when we came to Taiwan last spring. So I guess these are my first impressions as an actual student here.

This photo, of the main entrance with the Taiwanese flag fluttering proudly atop, was actually from my first visit here

Another picture from last spring of the campus's main entrance

Coming from a small college campus 台大 was, to me, huge. Vast in fact, and being directionally challenged, I admit that I got lost quite a few times. Even with a map. And I live off-campus, so I got lost a few times going to and coming from campus too (it's actually a pretty simple, straightforward walk).

See the golden-tan section at the bottom left? That's where my dorm is.

The campus is so vast in fact that many students get around campus on bikes. There are even bike repair shops on campus should you need it! To be honest, it can get pretty scary when you're just trying to get to class and there's a whole swarm of bikes all around you. I myself cannot ride a bike, but I am perfectly happy to walk 10 or 15 minutes to get to class.

The campus is actually a nice place for taking a walk and there are lots of small eateries and Family Marts (a convenience store) all over campus and the surrounding area is filled with lots of cool places too. It's lovely this time of year what with all the flowers blooming and all. Actually the garden campus is rather reminiscent of Connecticut College's arboretum campus with all the plants and labelled trees (mostly palm trees and in Chinese of course, but what a great way to learn botanical terms in Chinese no?).

There could stand to be a few more signs and maps around campus and clearer indications of which building you're in, but other than that, it really is a nice campus. And it is kind of nice to be in a large university setting sometimes. Also because we're a research institute there are greenhouses and gardens and farms and labs on campus (we also have the largest academic library in Taiwan!) which is pretty cool. I'm in the College of Life Science and an (aspiring) botanist so these were the things that called out to me--I'm sure there are tons of resources for the other fields too.

Our orientation care package: a campus map folder, brochures for NTU, the 2014-2015 exchange/visiting student handbook, a card with campus safety's numbers, a button from counselling services, a "Study at National Taiwan University" room décor T-shirt, and a little pouch containing a spoon, a pair of chopsticks, and a chopstick rest

We were also provided with a dinner box containing half a sandwich, some chicken thing, a pastry, and a little piece of cake; NTU really knows how to do orientation!

Why NTU?

Initially, I was looking to apply to China Medical University (CMU) or 中國醫藥大學 in Taichung (not to be confused with China Medical University in mainland China whose Chinese name is 中國醫科大學), because of my interest in taking classes on Traditional Chinese medicine, but really that would not have been plausible if I also wanted to take Chinese courses and botany-related courses (and Taiwan-related courses).

So why NTU? Actually since I didn't know much about schools in Taiwan, I decided to ask my Chinese professor at Connecticut College who recommended 台大 to me (this was before our class trip to Taiwan). In doing research on the school, I found that it seemed like a good choice--a variety of courses taught in English, plenty of botany-related courses I could take (courtesy of the horticulture department), a handful of classes on Traditional Chinese medicine (sadly none were being offered in English this semester), lots of research resources (greenhouses, farms, largest academic library), a lovely campus (all the plants!), and a strong Chinese language program. It also helped that when I emailed the Office of International Affairs for more information, they were very prompt and helpful in their reply (the other program in Taiwan I emailed never got back to me) (I also contacted the Chinese University of Hong Kong, who were super helpful but since I'm studying Mandarin, I figured it'd be more fitting to go to Taiwan).

When I found out that my Chinese class would be going to Taiwan I was beyond excited and when my professor (who recommended NTU to me) told me that we would have a chance to visit 台大, I was even more excited. I think it was around midterm period when we came so the campus wasn't super busy, but that first campus visit further enforced my notion that this was the place for me.

Taiwan vs. Korea

Quite a few times I was asked where I liked studying better. Taiwan or South Korea? And I myself couldn't help but compare as well. Since I've only been here for about two-and-a-half weeks, it's a little difficult to compare but also it's hard to say that one is better than the other because both had their awesome qualities and not-as-awesome qualities.

In terms of communication, because my Chinese is a lot better than my Korean, it was a lot easier for me to get by in Taiwan, to talk to people, to ask for directions, to communicate. However, at a restaurant or anyplace that required reading, Korea was a lot easier because learning to read Korean is easier while learning to read Chinese requires learning a lot of characters. Granted, you may not always know what you've just read, but if you can pick out key words (닭 (dak) is chicken, 겨란 (gyeoran) is egg, 소고기 (sogogi) is beef, for example) or Konglish words (치즈 (chijeu) is cheese, 주스 (juseu) is juice, sometimes they'll even use 치킨 (chikin) for chicken) you can usually get a generally idea of what you're ordering.

In terms of fashion, I would have to say Korea is definitely a lot more appearance-conscious. That's not to say that Taiwan isn't but from what I've seen, Taiwan is definitely more casual about their dress. Girls and guys in Korea will dress very nicely, sometimes formally even, for class, donning dresses, skirts, heels, make-up for the girls (I once saw a girl wearing heels in the snow), and dress shirt and pants, blazers, sometimes suitcases too for the guys (though the girls definitely dress up more than the guys). In Taiwan however, students are definitely more casual in their clothes, with comfy shirts, sneakers, and jeans. These are just general observations; I am in no way saying that all Korean students dress up or that all Taiwanese students dress lax, I'm just saying that a lot do.

In terms of public transportation (and by that I mostly mean the subway), both Korea and Taiwan's public transportation systems are very efficient and clean (the MTA could learn a thing or two) and there are little screens in the subway stations letting you know when the next train is coming. In Korea, a jingle even played each time the train was about to arrive. 

Just some basic observations; maybe I'll do a more in-depth post about my experiences in Korea versus in Taiwan, but for now I'll just leave you all with this.

Obtaining Alien Resident Status

First off, I would like to apologize for a minor error on my part in terms of information I have been relaying to you all. ARC, I previously said, stood for Alien Registration Certificate--it actually stands for Alien Resident Certificate and I was getting it confused with the ARC in South Korea which does stand for Alien Registration Card. I have fixed it on my old posts, so all mentions of ARC should now refer to it as Alien Resident Certificate.

As I mentioned previously, if you have a resident visa (whether from arrival or from changing your visitor visa) you will need to apply for an ARC at the National Immigration Agency within 15 days (from your arrival or from your change of a visitor to resident visa).

Now I intended on going last Saturday since classes had just started and so I had plenty of free time. However, as the nifty little guidebook I got at orientation told me, the agency was only open from Mondays to Fridays, which meant that I had figure out the best time to go during the week, since my classes are all over the place. Now I didn't know how long it would take at the agency or how busy it would be, so I decided it would probably be best to go earlier in the day. Luckily for me, the National Immigration Agency was only about half an hour away by subway and my sole Friday class didn't start until 2:20 pm, so I had some six hours, hence I decided to go yesterday.

Before you go, you need to fill out an application which you can download from the National Immigration Agency website.

It's a pretty self-explanatory application: you just check what you want to apply for, fill out all the required information, and sign, so I won't go into too much detail about how to fill it out. I will say though, that in addition to applying for an ARC, you'll also want to to apply for a Re-entry permit so you should check that box (number 3) as well. Also note that for any other businesses such as extending your ARC or visitor visa, changing your information, and such, you can also use this application.

Also, you're going to need the name, number, and ID number of a relative or friend residing in Taiwan. I asked my student volunteer, who asked that I delete her information (we had been conversing via text) after I was done. I guess the ID number is akin to the Social Security number we have in the States, so please don't go around giving out or carrying your or anyone else's ID number.

This can be found on the second page of the application pdf file

Supplementary Documents

Remember when I said to make copies of your passport, visa, Taiwan acceptance letter, and basically any official documents? This is where that'll come in handy. In addition to the application form, you will also need a recent (within the last year) passport photo (in color with a white background, 4.5cm x 3.5cm, from the top of the head to the chin, no head-gear/anything covering the eyes/any part of your face), your passport and resident visa (copy and original of both), and for purpose of study, proof of registration (copy and original). For me, I used my acceptance letter and my student ID card which they accepted. And of course, because nothing is ever free, you will also need to pay a fee (NT$1000 for a 1-year term, NT$2000 for a 2-year term, NT$3000 for a 3-year term, NT$500 for overseas Chinese students (this requires some sort of official validation), and NT$500 for damaging or losing your ARC).

Getting to the National Immigration Agency

The address of the National Immigration is

内政部入出國及移民署

臺北市廣州街15號

(National Immigration Agency

No. 15, GuangZhou Street, Taipei)

Their office hours are: Monday - Friday, 8am - 5pm

I've circled and drawn an arrow to the stop in black, which you can sort of see if you look

To get to there, you can either take the subway (called MRT here) or the bus--I think the bus will drop you off a little closer, but it's not really that far from the subway station, plus I've always preferred subways to buses.

The stop you want to be looking for is on line 3, the 松山新店 (Songshan-Xindian) line in dark green. The stop is called 小南門 (Xiaonanmen in English), which hopefully you can see circled on the map up there.

From the station, you'll want to exit through Exit 2 and go straight until you reach the end of the street, where you should find a sign pointing to 愛國西路 (AiGuo W. Rd)

Follow that sign and turn left. From there, go down to the end of the (very short) street and go right this time. You should come across a pair of signs: one saying 廣州街8巷 (GuangZhou St. Ln. 8) pointing to the left and the other saying 廣州街 10 | 15 (GuangZhou St. 10 | 15) pointing straight ahead.

Sorry about the dim lighting in this picture

Now, as the immigration agency is No. 15 GuangZhou Street, you'll want to follow the sign that says 廣州街 10 | 15 (GuangZhou St. 10 | 15) and go straight; the building is just a little beyond the sign. And if you look at the photo above, I've drawn a red arrow pointing at the building.

This is what the front of the building will look like

Once You're There

Once you get to the immigration agency, it's a very simple affair. Out by the door, there's a diagram of the layout of the building, which is actually pretty straightforward. When you go in, there will be a little ticket machine to the right, just grab a number, go in to where the seats are and wait for your number to be called. I was number 311 and when I looked up to the counters, the latest was 310, so I didn't have much of a wait. Perhaps about 10 or 15 minutes at most (and there was iTaiwan wi-fi there by the way). Maybe it was because I went early but there wasn't really that much people in there. 

Once my number was called, I went up to the designated counter and told the woman that I was there to apply for my ARC and gave her my documents. It was a very simple procedure actually, with the woman checking over my documents and all I had to do was wait. I would say that overall, the whole process took no more than half an hour.

At the end of it, the woman asked me if I planned on opening a bank account before my ARC was ready to which I told her I was and she printed out a paper for me to use as a pseudo-ARC to present to the bank tellers.

So there you have it, the quite simple process of obtaining your Alien Resident Card. She told me that I could pick it up on the 20th of March, so two-weeks after applying for it.

Everyday Chinese

• 内政部入出國及移民署 (Nèizhèng bù rù chūguó jí yímín shǔ) - National Immigration Agency
• 居留證 (Jūliú zhèng) - Alien Resident Certificate
• 重入國 (Zhòng rù guó) - Re-entry permit
• 證號 (Zhèng hào) - ID Number

iTaiwan

I've been putting this off because for some reason I was under the impression that I needed an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) in order to register for iTaiwan (the free wi-fi service here if you don't remember). Actually it's a very simple two-step registration process and all you need is a local phone number, but don't worry if you don't have that, you can still apply too.

Step 1
When you go to the iTaiwan website and click on "Registration," you should get brought to a page that looks like this:

From here, all you have to do is enter your Taiwanese cell phone number, the 5-digit code you're shown, and agree to the terms of service before clicking the gray button at the bottom for the authentication code.

Step 2

Once you receive your 4-digit authentication code via text (you should get it in less than a minute), enter where stated, and create a 6-16 character (letters and numbers only) password that you'll remember. You'll need this to sign in (your account number is simply the cell phone number you registered). If you forget your password, they'll email you but still, best to remember your password so you don't have to go through the hassle of retrieving lost passwords.

Step 3

Voila! You're finished; now wasn't that simple? I probably didn't even need to write this post! Haha. So now when you're in any wi-fi hotspot location (mostly indoor touristy attraction type places) you can sign in to iTaiwan and use the wi-fi.

Now if you're not going to be in Taiwan for the long-term or if you just don't have a Taiwanese cell phone number, you can still use the wi-fi. All you have to do is present your passport at any Travel Service Centers (located at major airports, train stations, or mass rapid transit (MRT) stations) throughout Taiwan, where the service personnel will apply for an account number for you allowing you to access the internet for free using that account number. Simple no?

So although it was a very simple process I hope you have found this blog post useful! Happy wi-fi-ing (but don't forget to get off your technology and enjoy the sights too!)

Baby Steps

Welcome to my confession booth and thanks for listening, hehe.

Now, I believe that people should practice what they preach but I'm gonna have to be honest with you all: I haven't really been getting out there and making friends. I have met a few people whom I would consider to be friends, but I don't really have a group of close friends (or even one close friend) who I hang out with. I told myself that I would try harder to be more outgoing but striking up small talk and conversations is difficult. I think part of it has to do with the fact that everyone seems to have come with someone or have been studying here since last semester so already have their own group of friends. Having a close group of friends is like being part of a club and it's not easy to join once that initial meet-and-greet, get-to-know-each-other phase is over, if that makes any sense.

I know I've been going on and on about how you should get out there and meet people but the truth is, I don't really know how to. But I'll try. Promise!

That is all for now--just thought you guys should know ^^

千百願望的燈

千百願望的燈

飄逸地上夜空

看起來好像

星光一樣

為了希望，為了幸福

為了健康，為了平安

今晚每個人的夢想是天燈

好亮麗地照亮夜空

好亮麗地照亮我們的心裡

--

The light of a thousand wishes

Float gently up to the night sky

Shining like the light of a thousand stars

For hope, for happiness

For health, for peace

Tonight everyone's dream is a sky lantern

Brightly illuminating the night sky

Brightly illuminating our hearts

--

Haha just trying my hand at some Chinese poetry--I doubt that it makes sense (or that it even sounds poetic)--I will gladly accept any help and advice from any Chinese poets out there. The English, while originally was supposed to be a translation, is more its own version since it was kind of hard to fully convey the meaning behind some of the words.

Anyways, as you probably guessed, I recently had the chance to go to the famed 平溪天燈節--the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival. Although the Lantern Festival traditionally falls on the last day of the Lunar New Year celebrations (so the 15th day of the first lunar month which falls on March 05 this year), Pingxi has held the festival a few times since New Year's (I'm not sure if they've been holding it every night, but I would imagine not) but I think the actual day of the Lantern Festival is when they'll have the grand celebrations.

Although Pingxi District is famous for its Sky Lantern Festival, there are many other types of celebrations that occur throughout Taiwan during the Lantern Festival. For example, in 鹽水區--the Yanshui District--in Tainan, there is the famed 鹽水蜂炮--Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival, so named because the thousands of firecrackers simultaneously going off is thought to be reminiscent of the sound of thousands of bees coming out of their hives. Then of course there is the main Taiwan Lantern Festival which, originally was held at 中正紀念堂--the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall--in Taipei, but has, since 2001, changed location every year. Last year for example, the festival was held in 南投縣--Nantou County, while this year the festival is scheduled to be held in 臺中市--Taichung City.

During the Taiwan Lantern Festival, you can expect to see firecrackers and fireworks alongside lanterns and not just traditional paper lanterns but large-scale ones fashioned after beloved characters, famed historical figures, well-known monuments, landmarks, and buildings, as well as a variety of other lantern art. The main lantern however, is usually based on the zodiac animal of the year.

Lantern from 2014's Lantern Festival in celebration of the Year of the Horse; image courtesy of the Taiwan Tourism Events website

Teemo of the famed League of Legends video game from Taiwan's 2013 Lantern Festival; image courtesy of Wikipedia

Events aren't just limited to firecrackers and lanterns however, as there are usually concerts and shows from both Taiwanese and foreign performers. At the Pingxi Lantern Festival there had been a concert going on all day with lots of different groups performing in both English and Chinese. We didn't get there until after 3 pm but by that point a lot of people were already there setting up their cameras.

Main stage area where they were performing live music and lanterns were released every half an hour

The stage after the event had ended at around 9 pm

Because Pingxi is actually in New Taipei City just outside of Taipei, we had to take public transportation to get to the Zoo, from where we took yet another bus (round-trip for just NT$50--that's less than 2 USD) to get there. Actually these were buses that were specifically for going to Pingxi for the Lantern Festival and the lines were long--there were actually two lines: a sitting line and a standing line. Of course, we went on the standing line which moved a lot quicker and although the bus ride got pretty bumpy at times, standing on the bus wasn't too bad. I'm not sure how long it took us to get to Pingxi, but it had to have been at least an hour and a half.

Because some of us were hungry, we decided to leave the main stage area in search of food--there were vendors all over the place and food was pretty cheap (and delicious!). Even at around three, when it was still bright out we could already see people releasing lanterns into the sky. The mass release of sky lanterns from the main stage wasn't scheduled to occur until six, so we had some time on our hands. The area was huge though and there were lots of people waiting in line for food as well. They were selling sausages, fruits, juice, tea (traditional, bubble, and iced), ice cream, and all types of traditional Chinese foods--most of the places were stands instead of actual sit-down-and-eat types so we were wandering around with our food. There were also souvenir shops selling miniature lanterns and shops were you could buy a lantern to send up to the sky. Everywhere we looked we could see people writing out their wishes or decorating their lanterns on the ground. 

They looked like little sparks up in the sky

Unfortunately, when the first wave of lanterns were sent up at six we were still in the lower area so we could only see them from afar which admittedly looked cool but our view was from so far away it wasn't as amazing. And when we reached the steps to go up to the stage area, well you could imagine how packed it was with the mass of people trying to go up--there was barely any moving space, let alone walking space. Luckily for us, we got up there soon enough and as the lanterns were being released every half and hour, we managed to catch the last few showings up close and it was amazing, breathtaking, and like nothing I had ever seen. The video I took (from my phone) did not do it justice and even thinking about it now still brings a chill down my spine.

So let us backtrack a bit to the origins of the Sky Lantern Festival. According to the Taiwan Tourism Events website, sky lanterns were purportedly invented between AD 220-265, also known as the Three Kingdoms Period, by Zhuge Liang (諸葛亮). Originally they were used to transmit military information, not unlike beacon towers, and are considered the predecessor to hot air balloons.

The Lantern Festival arrived to Taiwan during the early 19th Century, where sky lanterns were released at the beginning of the spring planting season as a prayer for a bountiful year. Some even state that the sky lanterns were originally released in Pingxi to show that the town was safe. As with now, prayers and vows were written on the lanterns before being released on the wind where lanterns, prayers, and wishes were thought to reach the ancestors. 

These lanterns are pretty big, more than half the size of a person

We stayed until the very last lantern showing and it did not get any less amazing each new time I saw it. If anything, each new wave of lanterns was more magnificent than the last, I almost wanted the night to last forever. Of course, that wasn't possible and soon we had to take the bus back to Taipei. Unfortunately there was a super long line to the bus moving super slowly. We got on the line at around 9:30 pm, give or take, and we didn't get back to our dorms until about midnight. It had been a long day but worth every minute of it. 

There were some fireworks too, but of course the main attraction was the sky lanterns

If you ever get the chance, don't miss out on the Sky Lantern Festival, whether it be in Pingxi or anywhere else. 

The lanterns are lit, hopes slowly rise, and the flames of prayer dance in the air as the lanterns magically transform into wings of hope and desire, turning the night sky of this mountain town into an expanse of unimaginable beauty.

- From the Taiwan Tourism Events website

Everyday Chinese

• 元宵節/上元節 (Yuánxiāo jié/Shàng yuán jié) - Lantern Festival
• 臺灣燈會 (Táiwān dēnghuì) - Taiwan Lantern Festival
• 鹽水蜂炮 (Yánshuǐ fēng pào) - Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival
• 平溪天燈節 (Píngxī tiān dēngjié) - Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival
• 天燈 (Tiān dēng) - Sky Lantern

For the Ladies

So I went on a Watsons haul today; okay I guess it wasn't really a haul since I didn't buy that much but that is besides the point. Anyways, Watsons, for those of you that may not know, is sort of the Duane-Reade or CVS (Walgreens?) of Asia--think health care, body care, cosmetics, health foods, and snacks. So if you are in need of soap, body wash, shampoo, lotion, face wash, or any sort of toiletry, Watsons is your best bet. They carry international brands in addition to local brands (I've seen Head & Shoulders, Vaseline, Nivea, and Missha, to name a few) and they are all over South Korea and all over Taiwan (though to be honest, while I was in Korea, I usually found emart to be a lot more convenient for toiletry shopping than Watsons). Admittedly some of the international brands can get a little pricey, but isn't that pretty much true everywhere?

Some of the bigger stores will even carry things like laundry detergent and fabric softener. Also Watsons is organized very nicely with both English and Chinese labels for each section so if you can't read the Chinese, the English will be there. And the cashier was very nice--she seemed to be the only one working there this morning or something, but she was helping a customer when I went to pay so I had to wait a bit; when she was finally able to ring my stuff up she kept apologizing, quite sincerely might I add, for making me wait so long even though it couldn't have been more than five minutes.

With its distinct coloring, it's pretty hard to miss any Watsons' sign

emart is basically the Target or Walmart of South Korea

Anyways, as the title suggests, this is a post for the ladies, but guys (if any) are welcome to keep reading if they so desire--just know that the remainder of this post is going to be related to that time of the month.

When you're used to buying a certain brand of anything--shampoo, detergent, pads--it can be frustrating when you're in a new place and they don't carry your brand, even more so when the brands are all in another language. For us girls, when it's that time of the month, we want to be comfortable; we don't want to worry about...well, any of the discomforts that come with our periods. Luckily, in terms of buying pads (or sanitary napkins), it's not too difficult; if you prefer tampons however, you'd be a little more hard-pressed to find them (in both South Korea and Taiwan). That's not to say that you can't find them, they're just hard to find. I'm not even sure if I saw any at Watsons today, though it is on the website, so perhaps they sell them in stores as well. However, Asia in general (or East Asia at the very least), is not very tampon-friendly, so pack a bunch if you need to.

Now in America, pads are categorized by sizes like panty-liners, regular, long, or overnight. In South Korea and Taiwan however, they sell them by length, so 24 cm, 28 cm, 33 cm, 40 cm, 42 cm. Coming from sizes such as regular or overnight and from a country that uses inches, this system of measuring by centimeters can be a little confusing (especially when there are so many choices) so bring a measuring tape. Haha I'm just kidding. I wish I had gotten a picture of the shelves of pads, but I was afraid of looking like a weirdo. Sorry gals.

Luckily you can tell which ones are the overnight ones by the pictures of a crescent moon and stars or a sleeping woman on the packaging (also anything 40 cm and up tends to be overnight), but for the others you would have to guesstimate. Even after a semester of this system in South Korea, I still had trouble equating 28 or 33 cm to American standards in my head. Actually Asian overnight pads tend to be longer than American overnight pads and are wider in the back as well. 24 cm I would say is between the size of a panty-liner and a regular and 33 cm I guess is about the size of a long.

Another interesting thing is that in America, while you can buy pads in packs of 16, 32, 48 (sometimes more or less), in Asia they don't have as much per pack. In South Korea, I found that a pack of overnight pads can contain as much as 20 and as little as 6, while a pack of 24 cm can contain as much as 32 or as little as 10 or 8. Likewise here in Taiwan, pads are sold in pretty small packs, less than in South Korea I would venture to say. However, in Taiwan pads are sometimes sold in multi-packs, so two packs of six (for a total of 12) or three packs of 13 (for a total of 39), for example. Prices can range from about NT$89 to NT$169 (give or take), which I was going to say is cheaper than in America, but you have to take into account that you get less too, so it would probably come out to be about the same.

There you have it ladies. I hope that this basic guide to pad buying in Taiwan has been useful or at least interesting for you. If I ever make another Watsons pad trip, maybe I'll snap a picture or two for this post. Until then I hope my descriptions will suffice!

Everyday Chinese

• (月)經期 ((Yuè) Jīngqí) - Menstrual period
• 衛生棉 (Wèishēng mián) - Pad (referred to as a sanitary napkin in Watsons)
• 衛生棉條 (Wèishēng mián tiáo) - Tampon
• 夜用 (Yè yòng) - Overnight