Text Talk: QQ

With the semester quickly drawing to an end and everyone packing up and preparing to head home (or onto further travels) after a semester in Taiwan, you receive this text from your Taiwanese friend:

"I can't believe you have to go home already! I'm going to miss you! QQ"

QQ? You might be thinking to yourself, what's that? If you have been in Taiwan for a semester and still don't know, or if you're sitting somewhere not in Taiwan reading this and don't know, fret not for you have come to the right place!

Hi and welcome to a special segment of Street Talk! Today, I would like to introduce you to a commonly seen expression used in both texting and on food-related signs/packaging: QQ. And no I am not referring to that little penguin which you may associate with QQ Messenger.

Not this QQ

QQ actually has two usages: the first, which you will commonly see in reference to food (in particular, bubble tea or 珍珠奶茶) and the second, in text messaging as in the example at the beginning of this post.

The first meaning is often seen on food packaging or food stands, such as milk tea (奶茶):

Sweet potato balls (地瓜球):

Even candy:

But what does it mean exactly? In this case, it means soft and chewy (moreso chewy than soft) and I guess Taiwanese people must really like chewy food as many things are often advertised as "QQ" in giant letters. I'm not exactly sure why it means chewy but if you particularly like chewy foods then you can be sure to find an abundance of QQ drinks (or the 珍珠 in the drink rather), food, and sweets.

Now the second meaning of QQ, which you will see in texts (or sometimes spoken), is to cry, or more specifically, the QQ itself represents crying eyes, similar to T^T in English or ㅠㅠ in Korean. Again I am not sure where the origin of this meaning came from but it seems that it might have been from the popular online game World of Warcraft. To many people, the QQ really does resemble teary eyes, Also, similar to how people in the U.S. might casually throw in chatspeak such as "lol" or "omg" into a conversation, people in Taiwan will also casually throw QQ into a conversation, sometimes to mean chewy, but also to represent tears.

So if you ever want to express sadness when texting your Taiwanese friend, just use QQ and they will instantly understand. That's it for today's segment of Street Talk--I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time!

P.S. What are some commonly used chatspeak phrases in your country?

端午節快樂！

Happy Summer Solstice everybody!

So as you may know, this weekend is the Dragon Boat Festival--端午節 (Duānwǔ jié) also referred to in English as the Duanwu (from the Mandarin reading of the name) Festival or the Tuen Ng (from the Cantonese reading) Festival--and that means lots dragon boat racing, festivities, and of course, good food!

In honor of the Dragon Boat Festival, Google put up this lovely Doodle

So what exactly is the Dragon Boat Festival and what kind of festivities entail? Well the Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, hence it is also sometimes referred to as the Double Fifth Festival. This year, the actual day of the festival fell on June 20, although the festivities last for three days (as it is a national holiday and the 19th was a Friday, we got Friday off and today is the last day of festivities). The Dragon Boat Festival entails dragon boat racing, eating 粽子 (zòngzi), drinking 雄黃酒 (xióng​huáng​jiǔ), balancing eggs at 12:00 noon, and wearing fragrant satchels.

The most famous story of the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival dates back to the Zhou Dynasty and tells of poet and government official 屈原--Qu Yuan--who served as a member of the Royal Chu House in the ancient state of 楚--Chu--during the Warring States period (戰國時代). When the king decided to ally with the powerful 秦--Qin--state however, 屈原 opposed the alliance and for that, he was accused of treason and thrown into exile. Years later, the state of Qin captured 郢--Ying--the capital of the Chu state, and upon hearing the news, 屈原 in a fit of despair committed suicide by throwing himself in the 汨羅江--the Miluo River. The local people who admired him immediately rushed out onto the river in an effort to save him or at least recover his body. When his body could not be found however, they dropped balls of sticky rice into the river so that the fish would eat that instead of 屈原's body, which is said to be the origin of 粽子. Hence the dragon boat races symbolize the efforts of the people to save 屈原 while the festival commemorates his death.

The awesome part about studying in Asia--professors bring 粽子 for the students! Haha

Triangular or cone-like in shape, 粽子 can be sweet or savory

The ones we got were savory with pork filling

Self-made 粽子 from an event hosted by the International Student Information Services at NTU

Every year in Taipei, the 端午節 festivities are held at 大佳河濱公園--Dajia Riverside Park--by the Keelung River over in Zhonshan District. This year the events were from June 19 to June 21 and would include dragon boat racing, performances, and food. As this was an opportunity that I could not miss, on Friday, I went with one of my friends. Getting there however, was a bit of a challenge as we had to take a bus instead of the subway and do a bit of walking and it didn't help that the both of us are directionally-challenged (thank goodness for the navigation function on Google Maps). When we finally got there however, we were dismayed to find that the races seemed to be over; we didn't even see any boats in the river, but we saw the different teams (we later learned that the race didn't quite happen as one boat just ended up veering off-course or made a u-turn or something). There was however stands of foods, drinks, snacks, and little gift items to be sold. As we had just come from lunch and dessert, we were too full to get anything else, although I did get a Chia seed drink to quench my thirst. It was quite hot and humid that day.

One of the teams marching off in the distance

A dessert/drink car--that mango ice looked really good but unfortunately I was too full

 We decided to head further into the park to check out the stage. It was pretty cool actually; they were speaking in Chinese as well as English and there was a pretty good turnout of teams from other countries including the Philippines, Israel, Australia, and Mainland China. Each team went on stage to perform and dance which was pretty cool, but I have to say, the team from the Philippines killed it with Filipino street dancing.

Dragon boat decoration

Stone dragon head 

The team from the Philippines doing their dance

There was even a play area for kids

After watching for a little while longer, we decided to head back--we were feeling grimy and weary, and we had another event to head to but it was definitely a worthwhile event to check out and, as I was telling my friend, if the park weren't so difficult to get to, I would go back more often.

Well that is all, I hope that you all get the chance to experience a dragon boat race and eat lots of delicious 粽子. Happy 端午節 weekend everybody!

For more information on the Dragon Boat Festival, check out this website: http://go2taiwan.net/monthly_selection.php?sqno=13

Baby, It's Hot Outside

So this is the weather forecast in Taipei for the upcoming days:

As you can see, we're hitting the low to mid-90s in Fahrenheit here (around mid-30s in Celsius), which is standard mid-summer (think July, August) temperature for New York City. Meanwhile the temperature here in Taipei has already been in the high 80s, low 90s since at least mid-May. However, we're only in early June and from what I understand, the worst is yet to come. Moreover, it is not only hot, but humid as well. If you're from the Northeastern United States like me, you can understand hot and humid summers, but as Taiwan is a located in a subtropical area, the humidity here is a lot higher, so much so that you can practically feel the air smothering you at times or feel your skin getting moist and sticky the moment you step foot out the door. Furthermore the sunlight can get pretty intense and you will often find both guys and girls alike going outside armed with a sun umbrella, and no I'm not talking about those pretty lace parasols, I'm talking waterproof UV sun umbrellas (which can probably double as a rain umbrella as well).

No not these delicate parasols

An umbrella for all seasons--pretty isn't it?

In fact, what with all the rain and sun Taiwan gets, umbrella shops are pretty prominent around Taipei (and probably around other parts of Taiwan as well). In addition to protecting against the heat of the sun and health concerns, I think a lot of it also has to do with the fact that the Taiwanese (girls especially) do not want to get darker. In Taiwan (and many parts of East Asia actually), whiter skin is considered to be more beautiful and the idea of tanning, of wanting to get darker skin, is considered kind of strange. It does seem however, that down south or in the countryside, girls are not as concerned about being dark. In context it makes sense, as back in the day it was not uncommon to see children helping their parents out in the fields; all that time spent in the sun turned their skin dark hence dark skin was a normal thing. In the city however, I think if you were not dark it meant that you spent your time indoors, either in some office job, or at home because you didn't even have to work, thus whiter skin was associated with prosperity and a life of luxury. 

Anyways, with the rising temperature, another thing to worry about are these little buggers:

It's amazing how much the images differ if you type "mosquito" in Chinese as opposed to in English on Google

MOSQUITOES. Taiwan is teeming with mosquitoes buzzing around in the hot humid weather waiting to get a taste of your blood, those nasty little buggers. If you don't often get bitten (like my roommate), consider yourself lucky. If however, you are like me (T^T) and are constantly getting bitten left and right (I once got bitten 20+ times in the time span of 50 minutes while in class) then this is for you. New York City has its fair share of mosquitoes, but never have I been bitten so many times back home as I have been here (the mosquitoes here will also get you through your jeggings and leggings too so beware!).

I had previously been using this Japanese-brand ointment for my mosquito bites:

which is pretty easy enough to find in Chinatown, New York and serves as an effective anti-itch, anti-swelling ointment. With all the bites I have been getting however, I was quickly running low. Unfortunately I couldn't seem to find it here in Taiwan, so I had to go hunting for something different to treat my bites.

Found at any Watsons for NT$264 for both of them

Now in the past I have gotten by alright with not using any insect repellent, plus I don't really like the idea of spraying myself with chemicals, or just having to spray myself anytime I leave the house. However seeing as how frequently I have been getting bitten I figured I might as well invest in some bug spray as well. So I decided to head over to Watsons to see what I could find.

In addition to Taiwanese bug sprays, they also had some American companies such as Burt's Bees and Off! as well, so if those are your go-to companies for bug spray you are in luck. Of course, being that they are foreign companies, they were pricier than the local brands and as I did not have any preference, I decided to go with the cheaper 綠油精叮寧 bug spray.

There was a wide variety of sprays from this one company and as I couldn't exactly read all the Chinese to be able to differentiate between them I decided to go with the one which had characters I recognized--namely 綠茶 (green tea) and 長效 (long-lasting) because I figured a long-lasting green tea scented bug spray was a pretty safe bet. Also if you are one of those people who are concerned about spraying chemicals on your skin, these bug sprays are DEET-free so you can be rest assured.

If you are one of those people are picky about brands or sensitive to certain scents I would suggest packing a lot of insect repellent before you come to Taiwan, otherwise you can find a variety of bug sprays (and insect repellent patches) at any local drugstore such as Watsons for anywhere between NT$60 to NT$350. In my opinion it works pretty well as I haven't gotten bitten since I've started using it (except for that one time I was lazy about applying it and as a result am currently sporting ten bites; to be fair though, three of them were through my legging-clad legs and two were on the back of my hands which I am constantly washing throughout the course of a day).

The next thing I want to talk about is my Mopiko-S ointment replacement.

Also from the same company as my big spray, this 綠油精 serves as a multi-purpose oil which, in addition to treating mosquito bites, can also be used to treat headaches, nose complaints, seasickness, stomachache, abrasions, burns, cuts, and muscular pain and comes in two scents--verbena and geranium. Normally Watsons would have samples for customers to sniff, but for some reason the samples were missing the day I went so, as I tend to be wary of floral scents, I decided to go with verbena which smells kind of like a milder version of the Salonpas patch my mother uses for her headaches.

What I like about this is that the scent is not too strong and it's also really light, so even in this hot weather you can apply it without feeling like you're adding extra layers on your skin. Plus the fact that it's a rollerball means that it is a lot cleaner to apply. Also because it contains eucalyptus oil and camphor oil (both of which are supposed to be unappealing to mosquitoes), this Green Oil can double as both a mosquito repellent and a treatment for mosquito bites. In terms of effectiveness, I think that this works pretty well, both to alleviate the itch and reduce swelling and redness. I would definitely recommend this as well. And the Hsin Wan Jen company that produces both of these products seems to be a good, reliable brand.

Everyday Chinese

• 溼 (Shī) - Humid
• 傘 (Sǎn) - Umbrella/Parasol
• 雨傘 (Yǔsǎn) - (Rain) umbrella
• 陽傘 (Yángsǎn) - (Sun) Umbrella/Parasol
• 蚊子 (Wénzi) - Mosquito
• 防蚊液 (Fáng wén yè) - Insect repellent
• 長效 (Cháng xiào) - Long-lasting
• 風油精 (Fēng yóu jīng) - Essential oil containing menthol and eucalyptus oil used to repel insects
• 桉葉油 (Ān yè yóu) - Eucalyptus oil
• 樟 (Zhāng) - Camphor

My Neighbor Taichung

So a while back, my cousin sent me this article:

In case you didn't click on the link, the article is basically about a three-meter Totoro statue that popped up in Taichung not too long ago. The statue is not, as you can tell from the headline, an official Studio Ghibli-made statue, but fan-made by Taiwanese artist Lin, who completed the statue in just two months for about NT$6000 (about US$182). Since there is some potential copyright issues with the making of this Totoro statue, there is some curiosity about whether it will be taken down. However, since Lin is not making any money off of the statue, Studio Ghibli will hopefully allow it.

While I shared the article with my friend and fellow Miyazaki fan, seeing as I plan on going to Taichung this summer, I could only hope that the statue would still be up by then. A week or two ago, however, my friend told me that she and another friend planned on taking the 臺灣高鐡 (Taiwan High Speed Rail or HSR) down to Taichung to see the statue and spend the day there to explore and she graciously invited me along. And so on Saturday, the four of us (my friend, two of her friends, and I) left Taipei at around 10:18 in the morning and arrived back at around 10:36 at night.

Front and back of train tickets

The tickets were a little expensive at NT$915 two-way, but tickets for the HSR tend to be a little pricier and seeing as how fast it got us there, I would say that it was well worth the price. The train itself was pretty comfortable as well and plenty spacious with more than enough leg room and nice air conditioning (it wasn't too cold either!).

The HSR took us to 新烏日車站--the Xinwuri Station in 烏日區--the Wuri district--of Taichung City. The station itself was pretty amazing--it had a lot of sights to see and a few stores as well. From there we purchased train tickets to the Central District of Taichung--台中車站--which only cost a mere NT$15.

My friend posing with one of the many trains around the station

And me

There was a honey museum in there too!

 And then we came across this little gem of a store: 紙箱王 (Carton King)

Everything in there was designed to look like paper and I think actually was  made of paper, or else wood, which was pretty amazing--they had bags and hats (which were washable!), phone stands, and best of all (in my opinion), lights and music boxes!

These lamps were so pretty--I wanted to get some for my sister, but I didn't have much money on me and I didn't want to spend it all before we had even left the station!

If anyone knows how I can rotate this video, that would be lovely

On our way back to Taipei, we decided to visit this store again to make some purchases--I didn't but I was completely enamored with the music boxes they had. It's a little hard to make out the melody playing what with the background noise and music playing in the store, but it was really soothing and hopefully I get to come back and buy one--I really liked the 兔子跳舞 music box (which was sold out). The store personnel was super nice--she saw us looking at them and gave us a demonstration of the different ones showed us how they worked.

More train station attractions

A reading bar with a bench and a bookshelf shaped like a lightbulb--how awesome is that??

When we finally arrived in Taichung, it was hot--I think the temperature was in the low 90s--humid, and sunny. The weather was a little overbearing and we couldn't help but sigh in relief every time we passed a place with air conditioning. The area actually reminded me a little of Flushing, back home in Queens, just because of the layout of the buildings and bus stops, the amount of people, and just the whole atmosphere in general. 

After a quick lunch, we hopped on the bus (which cost NT$20, exact change only--for some reason they didn't accept EasyCards) and were on our way to see Totoro!

He was actually in this sort of not very busy, seemingly random street and would have been easy to miss if you were facing the wrong way or not looking out for him. According to the article, there are huge lines of people waiting to take a picture with Totoro, especially on weekends, but actually when we went there were only a few groups of people there and we didn't have to wait long to take our snapshots.

There was even a red umbrella there for visitors to use in their picture!

The artist even included the soot spirits!

Can't forget these little guys!

No-Face from Spirited Away was there too! Although people were mostly there to see Totoro of course.

Poor No-Face from didn't even get a mention in the news article

Across the street from the statues--this fella is from Kiki's Delivery Service I believe

Afterwards, we went to the famous 宮原 (Miyahara) for ice cream and waffle--they actually had two stores nearby--one was the original Miyahara which, because of that, had long lines of people waiting. We decided to go to the other one just so that we didn't have to wait so long and also, seating!

Their milk tea shop right next to the original store--it had an antique feel to it

The back store where you can buy pineapple cakes, which they also seem to be famous for

The other store bigger and more spacious with three floors and was just as elegant.

You can see them making waffles here

Chocolate- and cream-covered fruit

Mille crepe cake! It looked so good

Pricey bear-shaped desserts on the top shelf

We got a large platter with a total of eleven different ice cream scoops--pineapple, coffee, grape, mango, kiwi, two kinds of chocolate, black tea, yogurt, green tea, and some other flavor that had grapes in it. The grape ice cream was pretty good, but I think my favorite scoop had to be the kiwi one--I've always preferred fruitier flavors to dessert flavors and the kiwi was quite light and refreshing!

 As you can tell, there was safari theme to the platter, with a giraffe, wildcat, rhino, and meerkat graham crackers all artfully arranged on the ice cream scoops and chocolate logs and trees

Afterwards, we headed on over to 台中公園--Taichung Park--to enjoy the scenery and relax a little. There were an awful lot of mosquitoes though and my poor friend who seems to be even more of a mosquito magnet than me got bitten quite a few times.

Sorry about the quality of this picture--I didn't realize it wasn't clear when I took it, darn camera

There were horse statues all over the park--maybe it's because I'm short, but it was not easy getting onto the back of the horse, although one of my other friends didn't seem to have any trouble...

Happy Year of the Goat! This might have been for the Lantern Festival which had been held in Taichung this year

Front view

The sun was quickly setting as we were making our way out of the park

越南華僑! Saw this little restaurant across the street from the park. Haha, kudos if you can guess why I was so amused by it (Hint: It's related to the "Identity Talk" post from a while back...)

After we left the park, we decided to head to the night market for dinner before making our way back to the train station to return to Taipei. Unfortunately I did not get any pictures of the street market, but it was a pretty large, lively, and bustling place with many food stands, clothes stores, and accessory shops.

Although some parts of Taichung seemed just as lively and crowded as Taipei (probably less so), there was definitely a different vibe and a different atmosphere. It's hard to place, but I guess it was less of a metropolitan feel in Taichung even though both are busy cities. I would definitely recommend going down to Taichung for a visit just to experience it, or you know, to see Totoro.