Weekend Getaway to 香港 Asia's World City (Part II)

As promised, here's Part II!

Art in the MTR

Day 2: Cable Cars, Big Buddha, and A Symphony of Lights

Saturday, we decided to head out bright and early so that we would be able to make the most of our day. Plus, we planned on heading over to take the cable car to see the Big Buddha and, at the advice of my roommate's Hong Kong friend, it was an all day thing, so best to go in the morning. But first things first--breakfast!

I'm not sure what animal this towel creature was, but Pooh and Oswald seemed to like him

We decided it would be best to get breakfast nearby in the interest of saving time, but since we were not really familiar with the area, we decided to ask the reception desk for recommendations. We were staying at the Y-Loft, which was an inexpensive, nice little hostel. The people working there are also super nice and super friendly and can also speak Mandarin and English. The receptionist working there ended up suggesting this 茶餐廳 close by and even wrote the directions and name of the restaurant down for us. A 茶餐廳, which literally means, "tea restaurant" and can be found all throughout Hong Kong, is basically an affordable restaurant whose menus feature Hong Kong cuisines and Hong Kong-style Western dishes. I think they are open all day and you can go there for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

We found the place with relative ease but then we got a little confused when it came time to order. The menu was entirely in Chinese and while three of us could all read Chinese (although my Chinese reading skills are quite lacking in comparison--but to be fair my two roommates are Taiwanese so their Mandarin speaking, reading, and comprehension are a lot lot better than mine), we didn't really know what exactly the dishes were.

My roommates ended up getting noodle soup, while I decided to go for a more Western style breakfast (which I admit I kind of chose at random) and each set (or 餐) came with a beverage of your choice--we all chose 茶. We were confused when they brought out 奶茶 for us though, but apparently the tea that they served us when we sat down was not the tea that came with our meal--it was in fact the milk tea, which we learned from the kind patron sitting in the booth next to ours. In any case the breakfast was pretty good, although I was wishing I had gone for the more traditional Hong Kong style breakfast. The 奶茶 on the other hand was not quite what I was expecting--it smelled very much like the 港式奶茶 that we have back in Chinese bakeries in New York but it didn't quite taste the same. Granted, you were supposed to add the sugar in yourself but as I didn't want to load too much sugar into my cup, my 奶茶 didn't quite taste as I was hoping.

Afterwards it was on to the 昂坪 cable cars to see the 天壇大佛. From 柴灣站 we took the MTR to 中環站 where we transferred over to the orange 東涌 line and rode the train to 東涌站  to buy tickets for the 昂坪 cable car. We realized then why my roommate's friend told us that it was an all day thing--the lines were long and stretched across several ramps. We were on line for about an hour before we made it to the ticket counter and there were at least six counters as well.

The view of Lantau Island was nice though

We decided to get round-tip tickets for the standard cable cars opposed to the Crystal Cabin cable cars just because it was cheaper and the wait for that line a lot shorter, plus we all felt like being in a glass bottomed cable car going over the mountains would be a little too much in terms of stimulation. Fans of heights we are not it seems.

The line on the right was for the Crystal Cabin cable car--it had a lot more people and was going a lot slower

Each cable car can seat eight people I think; since there were just three of us, and the next group just had two, they put us all in the same cable car. Despite the long line though, the view was so worth it.

I couldn't not get a picture of these two in the cabin car! 

Enjoying the view

That view! I think that's Hong Kong International Airport off in the distance

The view down below--you can see a trail (probably not leading up to the top) that people were actually walking

Almost there! Can you see the Buddha?

I think all in all the cable car took about roughly 20 minutes to get to from 東涌 to the 昂坪 highlands. From there we walked around the 昂坪市集 (Ngong Ping Village) area which, in addition to the 天壇大佛, also consisted of the 寶蓮禪寺 (Po Lin Monastery), a few souvenir shops, some restaurants, convenience stores, and smaller food stalls.

McDull again, haha

Giant lucky kitty outside one of the souvenir shops featuring...yep you guessed it, lucky kitties

Since I wanted 豆腐花, we decided to recharge and rest for a bit before making our way up to 天壇大佛. I don't know if I ever mentioned this in any of my previous posts, but Taiwan 豆花 (as it is called in Mandarin) is just not the same as the 豆腐花 I grew up eating in Chinatown. For one thing, in addition to being served warm, Taiwan's 豆花 can also be served cold (which admittedly can be pretty nice during the hotter weathers) with a variety of toppings from fruit (which I quite like--I had a delicious mango and watermelon one once) to 珍珠 (which took me completely off guard the first time I had it--in fact it was also the first time I had 豆花 in Taiwan), red beans (which isn't too bad either), peanuts (which I liked better than I thought I would), to taro, to a mix of the previously mentioned ones. The ones that I am accustomed to were the warm ones in Cantonese style, which is with a slightly sweet ginger syrup, which I had not had in a long time, so needless to say, I was quite excited when I saw the little stands selling 豆腐花, sold both hot and cold.

With the ginger syrup in a little spoon

The syrup had a more gingery taste than I was accustomed to, but it was delicious nonetheless and refreshing too

Then it was on our way to the Buddha!

A little hot, but the weather was otherwise perfect

Those stairs!

就嚟到啦!

The Offering of the Six Devas; three of the six Devas

The view was amazing!

Look at those clouds!

天壇大佛--it was truly an awe-inspiring and humbling experience to stand before this Big Buddha

Stairs again. Luckily going down the stairs was a lot easier than going up

Afterwards, we decided to head over to the 寶蓮禪寺 and as they had food there (vegetarian only because of the Buddhists), we decided to take a snack break there.

寶蓮禪寺

菠蘿包, 春捲, and a refreshing bottle of cold 豆漿

It was about three in the afternoon by the time we left 昂坪市集 and took the cable car back down to 東涌 so we decided to hang around for a bit in the area before heading to dinner and then back to Victoria Harbour for A Symphony of Lights show.

But first...ducks!

For the 10th anniversary of the iSquare mall in 尖沙咀 in 九龍

They even had ducks inside the mall!

Victoria Harbour at night, with many tourists awaiting the famed A Symphony of Lights show

At around a quarter to 8, we headed back to Victoria Harbour to catch A Symphony of Lights, which was basically a daily light show involving music and...well, lights. I wish I could have caught it on camera but alas, my phone camera and actual camera aren't the best when it comes to nighttime shots. For anyone planning a trip to Hong Kong, A Symphony of Lights is deemed a must-see and I wouldn't disagree--but it wasn't quite what I was expecting. I wouldn't say that I was disappointed per se, but again, it wasn't what I was expecting. I think it was definitely worth experiencing but from all the pictures and all the reviews, the lights were not as bright and flashy as I expected. It was cool though how the whole show was coordinated and how the lasers and the building lights flashed on in time with the music. So while it was a worthwhile experience, it wasn't quite the amazing fantastic light show that I thought it would be. Still though, you should go for the experience if nothing else. Who knows, maybe the weather wasn't right for it that day and you'll have better sights when you go.

Afterwards, we decided to head on over to 銅鑼灣 Causeway Bay because I had been raving about this famous Japanese matcha ice cream place I wanted to try, Via Tokyo. When we got out of the MTR station however, we were a little unsure about which way to go and decided to ask an elderly man who was standing there advertising a new restaurant that opened up. However, as I didn't know the name of the street in Cantonese and he didn't know it in English, there was a bit of confusion until we thought to show him the location on the map. Luckily another local who was passing by had overheard us and offered to take us there since he was also going in that direction. It wasn't too far from where we were actually and the guy, I believe his name was Sam, was a little on the quieter side but quite sweet and helpful. We finally made it to Via Tokyo to find a line queuing out the door which we were not excited about (we had been on our feet practically all day after all), but we soon learned that the line was for if you wanted to eat inside the (rather tiny little) store, but we decided to 拎走 (have it to-go) so we were able to go right in and order. We decided to go with the 生果抹茶雪糕白玉餡密 (Fruit Matcha Soft Cream Shiratama Anmitsu), which, in addition to the matcha soft serve, also had a ton of fruit (bananas, kiwis, strawberries, and mandarin oranges) and some mochi as well. Granted for its tiny size, it was a little expensive at HK $52 (about US $6.71), but it was good and definitely worth a visit. Though a quick note--if you 拎走 it will melt pretty quickly considering how hot and humid it was outside.

All in all, it was a full and tiring, but fun second day in Hong Kong. The weather was perfect if a little hot and we got to see such beautiful views of Hong Kong. It was hard to believe that our trip was more than half over and that we would be returning to Taiwan the next day. I know that I for one did not want to leave Hong Kong and that I would be making the most of my last day in Hong Kong.

Stay tuned for Part III!

Weekend Getaway to 香港 Asia's World City (Part I)

As I mentioned in my previous post, I went to Hong Kong over the weekend to avoid getting kicked out of Taiwan so that I could be in Taiwan for another 90 days visa-exempt. Unfortunately the weekend passed by way too quickly and I can't believe that I'm back in Taichung already. I had a blast in Hong Kong though and as promised, I am doing a post on my time in Hong Kong. First things first however, I shall be updating you on the status of my (now ex-)alien residency.

As I have said, my ARC expired on July 31st, which was the very day that we were flying out of Taiwan. When I checked in at the airport, the check-in agent asked for my ARC along with my passport and asked me if I was coming back, to which I told him that I would be in Taiwan for another two weeks after Hong Kong (it's actually three--oops). I think it was just customary for them to ask and make sure but it was funny because my roommate thought that I would not be allowed to return to Taiwan, which the check-in agent assured her was not the case. Likewise when I was checking in at Hong Kong International Airport to return to Taiwan, the check-in agents asked if I'd be returning. I was confused because I thought they meant returning to Hong Kong, which I (sadly) would not be. Turns out they meant to the States and they even asked how long I would be staying in Taiwan and whether I had bought my return ticket home yet. I'm not sure why they in Hong Kong would have to make sure I wasn't overstaying my visit in Taiwan but I guess they were just obligated to make sure I knew the laws. Again it was no issue as I assured them I'd only be in Taiwan for another two weeks (three) and that I had already bought my ticket back home. Getting through immigration at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport was no issue either and I got my Visa-exempt stamp allowing me to stay for another 90 days. Also I got to keep my ARC which I didn't get to keep when I left South Korea, so I'm pretty pleased by that. Hopefully it wasn't a mistake and they won't be asking for it back when I leave Taiwan for real. Anyways, onto my weekend in Hong Kong!

My two little stowaways enjoying the view on the High Speed Rail from Taichung to Taipei

Like I said, I was a little nervous about going to Hong Kong on account of my lack of Cantonese fluency, but I need not have had worried--Hong Kong is after all, deemed Asia's World City, and for good reason. We took Hong Kong Airlines and the flight attendants all spoke Cantonese, Mandarin, and English, no problem. Still though I tried to use as much Cantonese as possible--I stumbled and stuttered a bit here and there but I think I did alright, or was comprehensible at the very least. 

Hong Kong International Airport--some sort of miniature art exhibit

Another little exhibit at the airport on Cantonese opera I believe it was

Hong Kong International Airport was pretty easy to navigate and while I was there I managed to pick up a lot of free Hong Kong guides, brochures, and maps. There were also people standing in the immigration area wearing these Hong Kong Summer Fun t-shirts handing out envelopes for free gifts, which you can collect out in the arrival area and I managed to pick up one of those too.

Turns out Hong Kong Summer Fun is an initiative by the Hong Kong Tourism Board to attract more tourists to Hong Kong. You can check out their English website here for more information. But basically we received coupons and maps for various shops and different tourist attractions as well as a VIP card that you could present to participating stores for special discounts and deals, and most importantly, a card for a free 7-day wifi! We couldn't seem to get connected however so we went to the 1010 store in the airport and since we were only going to be there for the weekend, a store employee ended up giving us a card for a 3-day version. Unfortunately I couldn't seem to get it to work  on my android phone but it worked perfectly fine for my roommate who had an iPhone.

Mine also came with a coupon for a glasses store, while my roommate got a coupon for the city tour bus. We also got rubber ducks!

Free guides and brochures! And more coupons they were giving out for the famous Ngong Ping360 attraction.

I'll admit now to a little fear I had of going to Hong Kong (besides the whole language bit)--I was afraid of being disappointed. It might seem like a strange thing to fear, but I had wanted to go to Hong Kong for as long as I could remember and thinking about it, I wasn't even sure why I wanted to go so badly. I think the biggest thing was the language factor, but also for Hong Kong's culture and history, and of course, the food--especially the dim sum! It wasn't that I had any specific ideas on what to expect in Hong Kong, but I couldn't help but wonder, what if I end up not liking Hong Kong? What if, after all those years of wanting to go, I'm disappointed by what I find? Turns out, I needn't have worried--I got my first glimpse of Hong Kong beyond the airport--and I fell in love.

Getting excited and trying to capture the scenery while inside the moving train

This shot turned out a lot better--we're in Hong Kong!

A very nice thing about Hong Kong International Airport is that it is very easy to get from the airport to any of the other islands via the MTR (the Hong Kong subway) as you can simply take the airport express train and transfer to any other train. Granted it was a little pricier than we expected at HK $100 (~US $12.90) to get from the airport to Hong Kong Island but in retrospect, considering how fast and convenient the Airport Express was, it was worth the price. However, as the Octopus Card (the Hong Kong metro card) costs HK $150 (HK $50 for the card with a value of HK $100 for riding) we had to refill it after that one use.

Actually I think I started to fall in love when I first laid eyes on the Airport Express train

This nifty little board indicates how far along you are between stations too

The Hong Kong MTR system is actually quite simple and easy to navigate (especially if you're coming from New York City's MTA) and as in Taipei and Seoul was very clean. All the announcements on the trains were in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English (with a British(?) accent) for all the tourists.

Inside of the train

Day 1: First Impressions, Avenue of Stars, Central District

Hong Kong, people say, is a very fast-paced city where everyone is rushing around all the time all over the place. While I wouldn't say it's untrue, it wasn't really something I noticed until my friends pointed it out. Actually being in Hong Kong didn't even feel like I was in a different country--not that it felt like I was still in Taiwan, because it definitely did not, but while I was in a new place, it didn't feel like I was in an unfamiliar place in terms of the overall atmosphere. In a lot of ways, Hong Kong is reminiscent of New York City with its fast pace, busy streets, dense population, and an unexpected (for me anyways) amount of diversity. Despite the similarities though, you could never mistake it for being in New York. For one thing, Hong Kong was definitely cleaner (Asia just seems to be cleaner in general), indoors and out. Hong Kong also felt more modern and fast-paced--some of the MTR stations had computers with internet access for people to use at their disposal and there were moving walkways all over the place--indoors, outdoors, at MTR stations, in the malls (unfortunately I didn't get any good pictures).

Shamelessly fangirling in the MTR station

One thing I did notice was the weather--it was hot. Actually Hong Kong weather was a lot like Taichung weather--bright and sunny and somewhat humid (but not as much so as Taipei); I can't be sure of this but I think Taiwan is hotter than Hong Kong--we were walking around all day with our luggage (which wasn't very much or very heavy, but to carry that around in the sun all day) and while I was definitely sweating it was not to the extent that I felt drenched (or perhaps because it was late afternoon?). Still though it was hot and as such, the air conditioner was on full blast in practically every facility we were in from the MTR to the mall to restaurants--to the point that we felt cold, which of course only made it feel hotter when we were back outside.

As our hostel was all the way in 柴灣 (Chai Wan--the last stop on the Island Line of the MTR) and we were meeting a friend of my roommate's for dinner at 中環 (Central), we decided not to stray too far from that area in the interest of saving time so, as per my suggestion, we decided to hit the famous 星光大道 Avenue of Stars along Victoria Harbour.

A replica of the Hong Kong Film Awards statuette at the Salisbury Garden entrance of the Avenue of Stars

The Aqua Luna or 張保仔 in the Victoria Harbour

It was cool going to the Avenue of Stars and seeing names that I recognized especially names of Hong Kong actor-actresses, singers, and celebrities. There were a lot of statues along the way as well--some of celebrities and some movie-related ones like a cameraman in the middle of filming with a director's chair nearby and everything.

Statue of Cantopop Diva 梅艷芳 Anita Mui

Rolling!
(I have no clue who the woman is, but I just wanted a shot of the statues)

邊個唔知劉德華?

You can't not have Bruce Lee on the Avenue of Stars! 

張栢芝 Cecilia Cheung whose movies and music I grew up watching and listening to--it was like being transported back to my childhood!

The two little stowaways on the Avenue of Stars

The view was amazing too

But the main reason I wanted to go to the Avenue of Stars...

I just wanted a picture with 麥兜 alone, but with all the people, it was either get in the shot or get a shot with random strangers in it

McDull! The famous piggy of Hong Kong. If you don't know who he is, I suggest you look him up. Right now. And while you're at it, go watch some of his shorts on YouTube. I recommend the goldfish one. In fact I don't know if I would have been so interested in the Avenue of Stars had it not been for McDull, haha.

Anyways, as the time was nearing for us to be meeting my roommate's Hong Kong friend, we decided to head over to 中環站 Central Station. She was super nice and took us to the famous 蓮香樓 Lin Heung Tea House for dinner, which is known for its history and traditional style meals and dim sum (with the carts and everything!) in the mornings, which apparently can get quite fierce and competitive. As we were going for dinner however, it was a relatively calm affair.

Afterwards, she took us around Central District, showing us the night life there. There was actually a lot of foreigners there, mostly Caucasians, most of them in business attire or clubbing attire and they were all concentrated in these classy restaurants and bars. It was a little strange to me and I admit, they kind of had that stereotypical rich white vibe about them. Of course there were a fair share of Asians there all dressed up too, but it seemed like the majority of them were white. It was like the flipped version of Chinatown back in New York City--except instead of a community of Chinese people in New York, you had a community of Caucasians in Hong Kong. Is that bad to say?

The area we were in had rather steep slopes--hence a rather extensive moving walkway system

In any case, afterwards we went to the rooftop garden of ifc Mall to relax a little and enjoy Hong Kong's night scenery. Of course there were posh restaurants and classy bars there too, but you were hardly obligated to buy anything. In fact, despite all the rich restaurant patrons, there was actually a good handful of people there just to unwind and take in the view and weather like us--by that time, it was a lot cooler and there was even a nice breeze blowing.

Art atop the roof

We hung around for a little bit before my roommates and I decided to head to our hostel as we were all super tired from waking up early and traveling about all day. It was quite an exciting first day though and my first impressions of Hong Kong were definitely all positive!

Stay tuned for Part II...

I'm Going to Hong Kong!

So a while back (a very long while back) I did two posts about the Alien Resident Certificate--one long one about where to go to apply for it and a much shorter one when I got the actual card. Now if you recall, the ARC was supposed to be valid for a year but for some reason mine was only valid for about six months, which meant that I had to get it renewed since the duration of my internship extends past when my ARC expires. And if I recall correctly, you are supposed to get your ARC renewed about 30 days before it expires. However, since I didn't know what documents would be required to renew my ARC (also since my purpose of stay was no longer to study), I decided to call the Immigration office to ask.

I soon found out however, that since my period of study was over that I would not be able to extend my ARC, not even for purpose of internship, unless I got the necessary paperwork and governmental permission--which was not only complicated,  but could take awhile. However, the woman who spoke to me on the phone was super nice and super helpful and told me that one thing I could do was to leave Taiwan before my ARC expires and return after it expires, in which I would be able to be in Taiwan for an additional 90-days, visa-exempt (as a U.S. passport holder). While I was put out about the fact that I would have to spend money to leave the country on account of my ARC, it also meant a chance for me to either go back to South Korea or to visit Hong Kong for the first time. Now both options were appealing to me as I did want to go back to Seoul for a visit, but I've always wanted to go to Hong Kong as well. The upside to going to Korea would be that I have friends interning there who would perhaps be able to take me in, plus the fact that I'm more familiar with Korea than Hong Kong, but the upside to going to Hong Kong is that it's cheaper. About half the price actually. So Hong Kong it is!

I was initially a little worried about going by myself since my Cantonese is only at a very basic level at best, plus the whole traveling to a new place by myself bit, but I figured it would be okay. However when one of my roommates found out that I was going, she was immediately on board to go too and then my other roommate later also decided to join in, so now it will be the three of us on a roommate bonding trip to Hong Kong. Haha.

So we're going to be heading out this Friday and coming back on Sunday--it's only a weekend, but I'm sure it will be a fun one with so much to see, so much to do, and of course, so much to eat. I'm super excited and can't wait, so stay tuned!

We're going to Hong Kong!

Intern Life and Student Life: Taipei vs. Taichung

So as I mentioned in the previous post, I have moved down from Taipei to Taichung for a summer internship. People are always impressed when I tell them about my internship, but actually the real credit goes to my home university of Connecticut College. You see Conn has what we call "Academic Centers" which are basically, according to the website, "centers for interdisciplinary scholarship, each with a different focus: international studies, the environment, arts and technology, public policy and community action, and the study of race and ethnicity." Basically, being a scholar of one of these centers consists of a senior integrative project (SIP) and a funded summer internship. The senior integrative project is basically an idea you come up with that ties together your major and your center and the summer internship is supposed to be related to your project idea. You apply to be part of a center first semester of your sophomore year and, if you get in, take center-specific classes second semester of your sophomore year. Senior year (after everybody has come back from their internship) is when you either do a senior thesis or complete an independent study.

For the internship, of course you have to find it yourself, but what the centers do is helps you with writing a resumé, personal statement, and cover letter if necessary after which they help you send it to your internship contacts.

As you can probably guess, I am a scholar of the center for international studies, aptly named the Toor Cummings Center for International Studies and the Liberal Arts, or CISLA.

As it is a center for international studies, CISLA requires that its scholars study a foreign language and complete their funded internship abroad in a country that speaks their studied language.  Since my major is ethnobotany and my language Mandarin, my project has to do with Traditional Chinese medicine and its usage and evolution under different East Asian cultures (namely that of Taiwan's and South Korea's) and alongside western medicine and new technology. As such, my internship is at 立夫中醫藥展示館 (the Lifu Museum of Chinese Medicine) at 中國醫藥大學 (China Medical University) in Taichung City, Taichung 台中 (not to be confused with the China Medical University in Mainland China), where I hope to learn more about Chinese medicine, its history, usage, and evolution.

Because the museum is part of a university, I actually get to live in a student dorm, which is pretty nice in terms of commute and cost. Of course I still have to pay for the room, but it is significantly cheaper than living in a hotel. Thus far, most of my duties consist of administrative duties: welcoming in visitors to the museum, picking up the phone, opening and closing the museum; I also have some translation duties when there are documents or events and I just recently finished helping with a multilingual audio guide for the museum. Also, the museum is trying to undergo a renewal process to be more visitor-friendly, more interactive with audiences, and more multi-lingual, which I have a rather big part in, in terms of brainstorming. Actually this past Thursday and Friday I was part of a bilingual museum tour to four museums in Taipei to help get ideas for how to better Lifu.

台中 Taichung versus 台北 Taipei

So after having lived in 台中市 Taichung City for about three weeks now, of course I'm bound to have noticed some differences compared to 台北市 Taipei City. First off, I would like to say that the life of an intern is a little different from that of a student's. For one thing, I work Mondays to Fridays from 9 am to 5 pm with a two-hour lunch break from 12 pm to 2 pm, meaning that I actually eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner as opposed to just breakfast/brunch and dinner, which I did back at NTU. Also as I don't really have assignments, projects, and studies to keep up on (although I really should continue to study Chinese), I now have free time in the evenings and on weekends. It's almost kind of a strange feeling, to still have to go to work but not have any assignments to do afterwards. Of course, there are some internship-related things that I still have to take care of sometimes after work (either for CISLA or for Lifu) but it's hardly the same as having to complete homework assignments or having to study for tests.

Now in terms of life in the two cities:

• Weather
  Maybe because I am indoors for most of the day but I feel that the weather down here in Taichung is definitely not as hot and humid as it was in Taipei. Yes it is still bright, sunny, hot, and humid, but I don't think to the extent that Taipei was. Moreover, even at night Taipei still feels humid, while in Taichung it actually feels cooler at night. Also it doesn't feel as hot in the dorms here in Taichung--I don't even have to turn on the air conditioning sometimes whereas back in my NTU dorm I would turn on the A/C every day (in the summer).
• Food
  I had friends who told me that food in Taichung is cheaper than in Taipei, which I found a little hard to believe because food is already pretty cheap in Taipei (I pay NT$60 to NT$90 per meal--that is about US$2 to US$3), but it's actually true. I find that I spend about NT$30 to NT$70 per meal--that's about US$1 to US$2.33 per meal. Of course there are some expensive places too, especially for Western, Japanese, Korean food, some of which are comparable to the prices back in Taipei, but for the most part, meals are cheaper.
• Public Transportation
  I have yet to post about the joy that is the Taipei Mass Rail Transit (MRT), but trust me, the subway system is a wonderful, convenient, comfortable mode of transportation in Taipei--on time, clean, smooth, and efficient. Of course there are buses too, but I only took that once or twice when it was absolutely necessary. Here in Taichung, I find myself taking the bus often because well the bus system is a lot more extensive than the metro system. Actually taking the bus isn't too bad (although I still prefer subway any day) and you can still use the EasyCard that is used in Taipei, but best of all, if you travel a distance of less than eight kilometers, the ride is free! In fact I don't think I have had to pay for a single bus ride since I have been in Taichung.
• Mopeds
  I have never seen as much mopeds in my life as I have seen in Taiwan. Everywhere you go, you are bound to encounter a bunch of bikes and motorbikes alongside the cars on the streets. However, I have noticed a lot more mopeds here in Taichung than in Taipei. Furthermore many people just park their motorbikes on the (sometimes) already-narrow sidewalks, meaning that there is no walking room leaving people to walk out on the streets. Hence it is also not uncommon to see people riding their motorbikes on the sidewalks as well.
• Dormitory
  I guess I can't really judge the dorms on the basis of only two dorms, but I will say that the CMU dorm here is quite different from that of Shui Yuan's back at NTU. For one, the rooms here are a quad--in other words, four people to a room--and second, are very compact at that: the beds are high up, with the desk area beneath. Apparently, from what I have heard, this seems to be the norm for college dorms in Taiwan.
  
  Another difference between the dorms (and this one kind of bothers me) is that here, I have to take the trash out to the trash area on the first floor, whereas back at Shui Yuan there were trash rooms on every floor. Now this wouldn't bother me so much were it not for the mosquitoes and giant rats that I have seen down there--I even went back to my room with my trash once because I saw the rats on the stairwell. I also can't look out the windows because the windows are frosted, so not much natural light coming in, not that it will reach my desk under the bed, but still. Other than that, the dorm here isn't too bad. 

L: Shui Yuan Dormitory R: CMU dormitory

• Culture
  The last thing I want to talk about is the culture. Taichung in a way, still retains a bit of that more traditional culture, I guess from not having as much Western influence as Taipei. For one thing, there is a lot more people speaking Taiwanese here than there were in Taipei, especially a lot more kids speaking Taiwanese too and you can also hear a bit of that in the way they speak Mandarin. Also a lot of store owners and people in the street will just speak to students in Taiwanese as well and they will understand (even if they answer in Mandarin). Another thing is that there is much less English speaking here. Don't get me wrong, there are still people who speak fantastic English, but a lot of students and shop owners of smaller places might not be so fluent in English as you would find in Taipei. Also as Taichung is a little more steeped in tradition, you'll also find a lot more squatter toilets (even in department stores) in most places.

I really recommend coming to Taichung if you ever get the chance, just to experience a different side of Taiwan. I like being in Taichung and am glad for the different experience although I have to admit, sometimes I miss being in Taipei. Taichung feels smaller sometimes and to be honest, sometimes I'm not sure what there is to do around here (nor do locals of Taichung, it seems) and although I'm one for taking spontaneous trips on the bus to random stops (which I used to do with the metro back in Taipei) it's not as convenient or easy to find my way back as if I were taking the metro. Still it's nice to see this side of Taiwan. And being in Taichung means shorter commutes to other regions down south, which hopefully I have the chance to visit!

Reflections

I couldn't resist putting in a video for this song

Surprise! So I'm in Taichung--台中!

Taichung--which I kindly circled in red for you--is just about a two-hour bus ride away from Taipei 

Actually, I have been in Taichung for about a two weeks now, on account of an internship (more on that another time), and meant to do this post a lot earlier (ie. when I was still in Taipei or at least on the bus to Taichung), but did not exactly have free time (I still had a paper to finish!) or internet access for that matter.

Anyways, with my semester at NTU over, I thought I would do a little post reflecting (again, I meant to write this a lot earlier) on my time in Taipei, at NTU, and just abroad in general.

So back when I was still a wee sophomore attending all these study abroad fairs to prepare myself for a semester (or two) abroad, one thing that I heard often, from both students and teachers alike, is that your study abroad experience will change you. After my semester in South Korea, I have to admit, I didn't feel any different, nor did I think I really changed that much. I did realize however, that I am terribly lacking in social skills and that I am a lot more introverted than I realized. Although these realizations came a bit too late, it helped me prepare better for my time here in Taiwan. Now I admit, at the end of it all, I'm still the shy, quiet, introvert that I was before coming here, but I will say that I at least made a lot more of an effort to try to get out of my comfort zone, to work on my social skills, and to get out there and meet people. Did I always succeed? No, but for each of my failures I'd like to think that I learned a little something, either about myself, or about how to interact with others.

So have I changed? Like I said, I'm still shy and introverted, but I would say that I've gotten a little better at not shying away from any and all social situations all the time. Moreover, and this may have to do with being in Asia for a whole year or the fact that I follow a lot of Asian Americans on YouTube, but I've become more aware of the issues surrounding media representation/portrayal of different ethnicities in the U.S. I am in no way an expert on these issues, but I think I just now am starting to realize how big the disparity is between the way media portrays different groups of people or even who you see on TV. Anyways, on to less heavy material.


Things I Have Learned

1. Sometimes You Just Have to Be Bold
   That is not to say of course that you should be someone you're not, but if you want to make friends, you can't always expect others to come up to you. Sometimes you have to make the first move. And/or the second. Maybe even the third. Friendship cannot be maintained by one side alone after all. That means striking up conversation, inviting others to eat with you, planning a hang out and following through with it, etc... And of course, being open to trying new things, foods, experiences. Don't write something off just because you're afraid (unless it's life-threatening or against your morals) or because you find it strange; go out there and try new things, broaden your horizons, your viewpoints!
2. Things Aren't Always Going to Go the Way You Want and That's Okay
   Sometimes people make plans and don't follow through with it. Sometimes you hit it off with someone but then you don't really hear from them again. Sometimes you find you have absolutely nothing in common with someone and so have nothing to converse about. And sometimes you're just absolutely confused and frustrated maybe because of a cultural difference or language barrier. The most important thing is to not let it get to you. Coming to a new country by yourself for the very first time (or maybe not even for the first time) can be scary and lonely and I admit, I got quite homesick the first month or so that I was in Taiwan. I missed my home, family, and friends terribly and wanted to wallow away in my room. But of course, if I had really done that, I would not have made so many good friends, gone on so many adventures, and seen so many sights. Things are not always going to go smoothly, but you should be patient, persevere, and stay positive. After all, you're in a new country, a new environment--you should make the best of your time abroad because it really can be a truly wonderful and unique experience if you let it.
3. Sometimes Being Alone is Okay Too
   Sometimes it's nice to go out with others, either in a small group or a larger group of people. But sometimes it's nice to just go out and have a meal by yourself, to explore on your own, or just take some time to yourself. Some people will get too lonely being by themselves. Some people get worn out from being around so many people; regardless you just have to find a nice balance that suits you.

Things I Wish I Knew

1. Food Vocabulary
   This is really important. Especially when you don't have a meal plan and have to go out and buy all your meals. Two years of language study will certainly leave you with a considerable wealth of vocabulary; however, one thing that I wish I knew more of were food words. A lot of times, I was just staring at a menu frustrated because I couldn't understand the menu or could only read bits and pieces of it. My solution for that I guess would be to pick up some Chinese menus (from actual Chinese restaurants--none of that Panda Buffet business--with both English and Chinese) and familiarize yourself with different types of food so that you can go prepared to eat at any restaurant.
2. Language Study
   I don't know about other languages, but I feel that for Chinese, two years of Chinese class alone is not enough to get you around. I was lucky in that, being a heritage learner, I already had a foundation from which to build upon when I started formally learning Chinese, but if you're serious about going abroad to improve your language skills, you have to do some learning and practicing outside of class too. Watch a lot of dramas, variety programs, television programs, and practice often with your native Chinese speaking friends. And when you're abroad, make the most of your time abroad. Being in Taiwan will force you to continue practicing your reading, listening, and talking skills beyond the classroom, but it doesn't count as immersion if you're only going to speak English all the time or going to places where you know they'll speak English. Of course, if you're a complete beginner, you obviously can't expect to be able to make a lot of conversation, but I've met some people who didn't start studying Chinese until they came to Taiwan and because they were always practicing their Chinese with natives, their language skill improved greatly.

Other Important Notes

1. Toilets
   A lot of the buildings and facilities in Taiwan are quite old and, as such, rather traditional, which means that in many public places, especially outside of Taipei, the bathrooms are going to have squatter toilets. Of course in fancier restaurants, or department stores, there will be seated toilets, but in many places you will find that the toilets are mostly (or all) squatter toilets with only one or two seated (usually there will be a sign on each stall indicating what kind of toilet it has).
   
   Actually quite a few places in Korea had squatters too and the first time I used one was actually in Korea, because I figured I should try it before writing it off. I admit, the first time was a little strange as I wasn't used to it, but after coming to Taiwan (especially here in Taichung), I kind of had to get used to it. While a little strange initially I don't find that it's anything to get freaked out by--I mean sure sometimes the stalls are a little dirty, but hey the same can be said for any toilet stall, sitting or squatting. And from the point of view of the Taiwanese it's cleaner than a seated toilet because you are not placing your bare bum on a seat that a bunch of other bare bums have been on and so who knows how many germs are on that toilet seat?
2. Paper
   Always have tissues/napkin paper on hand. Always. When you go out to eat. When you go to the bathroom. When you go out at all. Just have paper on hand. I actually learned this from one of my friends the first time we met (which happened to be at the Lantern Festival outing), and I thought, that's no problem, I usually have a pack of tissues with me anyways. But I soon learned what she meant. In New York, when you go out to eat, whether it's at a fancy restaurant, casual restaurant, or take-out, you will usually be  supplied with napkins, either at the table or atop your take-out container. In Taiwan you do not get tissues with your take-out and when you go out to eat, sometimes there will be a package of tissues on every table, every other table, or in tissue dispensers at the back/front of the restaurant or by the counter. Sometimes they run out of tissues. Therefore, always have tissues on hand when you go out to eat.
   
   Also when you go to the bathroom. Sometimes there will be paper in the bathroom, but not in the stalls so you have to get it before you go into the stall. Sometimes there's just no toilet paper in the bathrooms at all. Or again, they're outside the stall, but they've run out. Bathrooms in outdoor locations, such as parks, tend to be of the paperless variety so bring paper with you to the bathroom. Always, always.

Asian-American Experience

Cantonese version sung by the lovely 陳慧琳 (Kelly Chen), which is one of the three different versions featuring more traditional Chinese instrumentals--I actually really like the Cantonese versions, and no it's not due to a Canto-bias (okay maybe just a little)

This is the ABC Guide after all, and what would this reflection be without a word on the experiences of an Asian-American in Taiwan? As I have mentioned, the experiences of an Asian-American (or Asian-Canadian, or English or what have you) in Asia can be quite different from the experiences of someone who is not of Asian heritage. The biggest thing is that many people will not think twice about where you're from--they will automatically just assume you are Taiwanese. Thus, as with in Korea, when you go out, you will get treated just like any other Taiwanese (or Korean) and if they realize that you're not actually a local, they will be totally surprised. I don't know how many times people have said to me, "誒，你不是台灣人嗎?" Of course when I mention that I am in fact from the U.S. that surprises them even more. And just as in Korea, when you go out with your non-Asian friends, expect to be viewed as the interpreter. Of course other foreign students will also assume that you're a local too and will probably speak to you in Chinese. Just the other day, I ran into a pair of international students at my dorm and they greeted me in Chinese, which I admit kind of amused me and when I held the elevator for this other international student, he thanked me in Chinese.

Maybe it is from Hollywood influence, but I feel like a lot of people (in both Taiwan and Korea) think of your typical blonde-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian (or maybe just the Caucasian part) when they hear 美國人 and so there is this sort of surprised "But you don't look like an American" response when I tell them that I am from the United States. Almost always afterwards I then get asked whether I am a 華人/華僑 (of Chinese descent/overseas Chinese), whether I have lived in the U.S. my whole life, or where my parents are from. I am always a little unsure about how to answer that very last question as my family is from Vietnam but we are of Chinese descent, so do I say my parents are from Vietnam or do I say that they are 中國人? I admit I'm not always consistent with the answer I give--sometimes I give the whole from-Vietnam-but-we're-Chinese answer and sometimes I simply say 潮州人.

One of the most conflicting experiences I've had being an Asian-American in Asia is a bit of an identity crisis. As I mentioned once before in a previous post, in the U.S. I would identify as being Chinese or Asian, but in Asia I would identify as being American. At the same time though, I feel as though I don't completely fit either: I don't really keep up with American culture and so don't get American references that others make, but at the same time, despite being interested in Asian dramas, music, and culture, I can't completely 100% relate to Asians either, especially since I'm not even fluent in Chinese (or Korean). Sometimes I feel a bit like a broken Asian, made up of a bunch of different aspects and knowledge of various Asian and Chinese cultures but never quite complete, full knowledge.

One thing that I have learned from constantly being confused for Taiwanese is when to just go with it and when I should fess up. Now when I say to go with it, I don't mean to pretend that you are Taiwanese, but when they automatically assume you're Taiwanese it would be kind of silly to tell them each and every time that you aren't especially when it doesn't really matter. For example if you get asked for directions or you're out ordering food and you get asked a question about how you would like your dish. I admit that sometimes I don't understand the different options, but I just nod or go for the option that I did understand (or apologize and say I don't know in the case of the directions). Maybe winging it isn't quite the best way for learning Chinese but when you are at a busy breakfast place or restaurant it seems like it will just cause too much trouble to ask for a translation for each and every thing (like I said--my food-related vocabulary is a little lacking). When it's something important however--creating a bank account, inquiring about your A.R.C., working on a group project--you should never ever just try to wing it. I don't know about others, but I have always been self-conscious about using English when I was in Korea and Taiwan, but when it comes to important matters, such as the aforementioned ones, you should not try to pretend you understand if you don't and you should not be afraid to ask for someone who can speak English.

This doesn't quite fit in the Asian-American Experience, but I thought I would put it here anyways. One thing that I noticed, both after my semester in South Korea and in Taipei is that my English has gotten a little worse in terms of speaking and typing too. I find that I have a hard time just thinking up simple words or phrases and I think part of that has to do with the fact that while I was abroad, obviously I wasn't surrounded by English speakers nor was I reading any books or watching TV in English, whereas back in the U.S. I would be doing a lot more reading, either for class or for leisure, and of course getting a lot more exposure to English, but obviously in Taiwan and Korea there is much much less of that exposure. Even though I mix a fair amount of English into my Chinese, it's still a lot less than I'm used to. Thus I guess it's true what they say, that if you don't use it you lose it. I'm not saying that you're going to forget how to speak or write or understand English, but you might find that you have a slightly difficult time trying to think up the right word sometimes.

Final Thoughts
My semester in Taiwan has definitely been a lot more fruitful and fulfilling than my semester in Korea, for the reasons that I've been pushing myself more and coming here alone has forced me to be a little more independent, to be a little mature (I would like to think). That's not to say that I didn't enjoy my time in Korea of course--I would not trade that experience for the world--it's just that I didn't make as good use of my time there as I could have.

Being able to study in Taiwan, and in Taipei especially was a truly wonderful experience. If you ever get the chance to study in Taiwan, I really recommend studying at National Taiwan University, for its convenient location, lovely campus, diverse selection of classes (I especially recommend the Exploring Taiwan courses), and plethora of activities and festivities. I think the Gongguan area is a great place to be and just being in Taipei in general is very convenient in terms of food, shopping, entertainment, and transportation. Also the Taiwanese are so friendly and helpful and a lot of things here are actually pretty cheap (compared to New York anyways). Of course if you're ever in Taiwan, I hope you also get the chance to experience some festivals and holidays because they sure know how to celebrate (the Sky Lantern Festival in Pingxi is a must), and though my time in Taiwan is almost over (about a month and a half before I head home), I hope to be able to go out and explore more.

To close, this has been a fun semester and I am super thankful that I was able to have this opportunity to study in Taipei at NTU. I have met a lot of wonderful people here and made a fair share of friends both international and local and am so so thankful to all the people who have made this semester abroad so fun and memorable. I truly feel blessed to have met all of you. Thank you all so much! ^-^ <3 謝謝你們，我們這一輩子再遇到吧！

You didn't think I would have not included the Mandarin version of the song (sung by Coco Lee) did you?? (Although I have to admit, I don't think her voice really matches Mulan's character..)

Atop 象山 (photo courtesy of my wonderful roommate)

After calling this place home for a semester, it looks so forlorn with all my stuff packed away

Farewell, it's been a wonderful semester!