Why it takes 8 hours to drink coffee

It doesn't. It shouldn't. But it did, yesterday.

Because Joe, my second cousin once removed (or something), did not just want to drink coffee. He wanted to drink it at the very best coffee shop in Taipei. This shop is not actually in Taipei, though, it's on top of a mountain that stands north of the city and takes nearly an hour to drive to. It's near YangMingShan National Park (well, its on Yang Ming Shan), which is covered in thick jungle and scattered with the odd waterfall. The coffeeshop is actually just next to a small waterfall, and is less a store than perhaps a small huddle of tiny one-room houses. And the bathroom is perched on a cliff over the waterfall, with a long glass wall and roof, so that the effect is like using the toilet outside (in the jungle).

So it took 2 hours to travel to the coffeeshop and back. And probably, yes, we sat talking and drinking coffee (which was generously refilled by very sweet waitresses), and eating tiny sandwiches and assorted cookies for at least five hours. But on the way home, we stopped on the edge of a cliff, next to Taiwan's National Culture University, and joined a throng of young people with the city at their feet. It was beautiful, lit in reds and yellows, and from the side of the mountain the sky was large and bats swung over the trees.

The weekend overall was quite remarkable, as Saturday I took a long trek around the city to various shopping malls looking for a guidebook to replace the Lonely Planet I carelessly misplaced (sorry mama). I did not, however, purchase the Lonely Planet at Page One, because it was oustandingly expensive. On the way to the 101 building, where the bookstore is, I took a minute in the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, which is a public park, to catch some drumming. It also happens to be a popular place to practice all kinds of sports, the strangest of which was a group of middle school girls dancing slowly and in perfect coordination to the Pussycat Dolls (Dontcha). I also enjoyed the best bao-zi in Shi-Da night market, waiting in line for 20 minutes for my bag of dumplings (about 80 US cents for 5). And trundled around Tai Da (National Taiwan University), which has a lovely, large campus with a duck pond. I thought that three hours of class a day would leave me with an uncomfortable amount of free time, but I'm managing to fill it with days like these.

Food for Belly

Taiwan is famous for its fruit, some varieties impossible to find in the US, and others that just taste better here. Everyone has a favorite, and my friend Margo's is the Buddha Head Fruit, a lumpy soft-ball-sized fruit with smooth, bright green skin that eats like a canteloupe (and kind of tastes like one). My personal favorite is the ever-popular Dragon Fire Fruit, with skin that fades from bright magenta to pale green, and fruit scattered with small seeds and comes in white or a darker shade of magenta. But all the fruit is good, and cheap, and even things like starfruit, which we enjoy in Michigan, has a fragrance and sweetness here that I never knew it should.

Last night I went out to dinner with some friends, and we all got some variation of seafood noodles (fried, in soup, etc.) and the surprise on top was sea cucumber! I recognize that this is supposed to be a very special delicacy, and is my grandmother's favorite dish, but I can't quite get over the texture of it. Have to add it to that slowly-growing list of Taiwanese foods I simply cannot enjoy, next to Stinky Tofu (obstacle to enjoyment: it smells like a truck-stop toilet), and pig tendon (o.t.e.: a texture issue).

But I did enjoy a Bubble Tea last night that was blissful, over a great conversation with my Japanese friend who is, incidentally, an International Relations major in Japan studying America, while I concurrently studied International Relations with an East Asian Studies Specialization. The bubble tea avoided all the nasty Michigan pitfalls - the tea was not too sweet, the bubbles were not to soggy, and it was only $1. The more I get used to Taipei, the better I eat, and isn't that really what I'm here for after all?

Monsoon Season

In the middle of the monsoon season, it rains here everyday, sometimes for hours or days without pause. My classes are sufficient (3-hours a day), and though they're quite easy, they give me a lot of much needed speaking and listening practice. My family tells me I sound like an American, even in the way I say "American".

I live in a three bedroom apartment with a retired teacher, who I call Wang-Laoshi. It's fairly large, and just her and me, and in any case she spends much of her time with her daughter's family who live just above us. My room is large and getting more comfortable every day, and though I can't cook as there is no gas for the stove, I have a hot pot and some instant oatmeal for those times I don't feel like braving the rain. The food however is brilliant, delicious and cheap (20 cents at the bakery!). There are vegan organic restaurants where you can get a giant bowl of noodle soup or chao-fun for 2.50. Everyday I spend less than $5 on food, and I'm always full.

Adam Wu's family has already taken me to yi-ling-yi (101, the tallest building in the world), the zoo (in the rain), and various homes and restaurants. Wu-ling's family took us (me and grandma) to Dan-Shui, the seaside, were we ate non-stop, including such delicacies as oyster dumplings, squid on a stick, Turkish ice cream and local extra-tall mango soft-serve, iced coffee, cakes, and tofu ball soup. All delicious. Yesterday they also took me to a steakhouse with a buffet, which was delicious (I had the steak. There was only steak). At this particular restaurant, two elderly Taiwanese women complimented my large eyes and lovely eyebrows for an uncomfortable length of time.

But I've been making friends, one of the only pasttimes allowed me here that doesn't cost money. I'm not permitted to work, or even volunteer, but I am allowed to participate in language exchanges with the locals. My classmates are lovely, as in need of some friends as I, and we're getting along quite well. All in all, though its not the busy schedule I've grown used to, my baba says its a good chance to get my life right, and figure out my future. Or I could go meet some friends for bubble tea, instead...