Weekend in Taiwan

This weekend was one to remember.. Friday night was relaxed, played board games with friends at Beer and Cheese.  (The serve local beers and cheese).  When it was time to go we all decided to rent bikes to get to the MRT station faster.  All over the city they have stations where you can rent bikes, and the first thirty minutes are free!  Not a bad way to get around.  

Saturday I woke up early and rushed to make the 9AM train to leave the city.  I was invited to go sailing in the city of Tainan.  We took the high speed rail, and made it there in about 2 hours.  After stopping for some famous shrimp rolls, we made it to the marina.  We were extremely lucky with amazing weather, and to my surprise there weren't really any other boats out.  I was told that sailing, and boating in general isn't a big recreational activity in Taiwan.   At first the water was a murky dark brown green, and suddenly we passed into deep royal blue water.  The water was extremely clear, and the blue water looked unreal.  After a slight warning of the abundance of jelly fish, we all jumped in.  I thought I had escaped a jelly fish sting, but then I felt a pain the second swimming session.  My luck ran out. I guess the jellyfish don't actually sting, they just cause more of an stinging sensation, but of course I had a nice mark for a couple of hours.  After that it was time to get closer to land before the sunset.  It was beautiful!

Getting back to the dock, we expected to just unload the boat and head out to dinner.  To our surprise, we walked into a "dock party".  A guy who owned a yacht in the marina decided to hire a DJ and have a bar-b-q.  We were welcomed with open arms.  They made sure we were well fed and always had a drink in hand.  I even got a tour of the yacht.  

Sunday was a day of exploring that included an art market and live music.  Walking off the MRT we immediately saw a stage and a lot of girls screaming.  Getting closer, we realized we stumbled upon a boy band concert.  The audience was loving them.. I guess they are famous in Taiwan.  We were about to leave when two of the guys walked by and quickly said hi.  I then saw a group of girls running after them.. I guess we had a brief encounter with local celebs :).  Continuing to walk, it felt like we were in a little Times Square.  There were street performers, dancers, and people everywhere. I saw some familiar restaurants like Fridays and Chilis, and even checked out Modern Toilet.   The chairs are toilets, and the food is served in toilets.  I'm sure I will eventually make it there to eat!

I am still shocked with how great the people here have been.  My friends called it Taiwan Hospitality.  So far I am having an amazing experience. .. 

Beer and Cheese

The Yo Yo

Group Pic

Sunset 

Grilling out.. DJ in the background

... Did I mention there was also fireworks we could see?

Sailaway

Love

Just some popstars

One of these days.. 

Food, Food, and More Food

Before beginning my journey, one of the aspects that excited me most was the food.  I've always loved international food, and couldn't wait to see what awaited me.  Well my first three weeks have not disappointed.  From night markets, to walk up stands, delicious food is always around.  At first I was a little limited on where I was eating, picking places that had an English menu or pictures I could point to.  However, I have met some great people that are helping me experience food like the locals! Last weekend I had all you can eat hot pot.  Similar to fondue, you have raw food that you cook in a broth.   There was seafood, meat, vegetables, and a lot of weird looking things I avoided.  They also had all you can drink beer and Hagen Dazs :).  It's shocking I was able to walk out of there!  

My friend Meilee has been here for 10 years, and has been an awesome tour guide!  Going to eat with her is awesome because she knows Chinese, and has no problem just ordering the must haves for the table.  We waited in line for an hour and a half for a famous breakfast place (just a counter you order at.. not even waiting for a table), and tried food I never would have thought to order.  

Overall, I am loving the food!  Here's some pictures to help visualize what I have been enjoying!  

World Famous Dumpling Place

Matt Damon is a fan

Night Market

That's butter in the middle

Hot Pot

Pig Blood Cake (Not a fan)

Breakfast Place-- Sandwiches in that clay pot

Pork Belly

Taipei

For those of you who don't know, I have been in Taipei for two weeks now!  It has been pretty non stop, and I still feel like a tourist.

Arriving into the city, I was greeted by my school director.  Driving into the city was gorgeous, I had no idea Taipei is surrounded by mountains.  Having traveled in different parts of SE Asia, it was shocking seeing real highways, and people observing traffic signals.  Quite a change from what I had grown used to in Cambodia.  My school put me up in a little temporary "apartment"(bed, desk, and a bathroom), and told me I would be starting work the next day.  So much for taking a week to explore!

My first week of working went well, luckily it was half days.  The summer program is much more laid back than the school year, with each class focusing on a writing project.  My class ranged from 6-10 year olds, and they were all extremely sweet.

I spent the afternoons with my friend Chelsie (we met in Cambodia during Languagecorps), checking out the city and hunting for an apartment.  We took the time to check out a few night markets, and I tried some amazing food, such as fried squid with Thai Chili sauce and a fried mashed potato ball with cheese and corn.  Of course I have had my fair share of potstickers and dumplings!

The people here have been amazing, going out of their way to be helpful.  Almost every time I pull out a map someone approaches wanting to help.  I've only been given horrible directions a few times now... People are also excited to talk to us because we clearly are foreigners.  I have been approached by many people wanting to be friends so they can practice their english.  I haven't followed up with anyone yet, but it could be a great way to learn some Chinese!

I will try to get better about posting, but for now here are some pictures!  Enjoy :)

Fried Squid

Botanical Gardens

Did I mention I bought a selfie stick... 

Taipei Zoo

Hello Kitty Gondola

Teaching

I think being a teacher in the states does provide me with some advantage over the others, but I still wasn't sure what to expect when we were given our teaching assignments.  The first placement I received on Monday was teaching at a orphanage, ages 10-16.  Quite a range I know.. The second group I would be teaching is the restaurant staff at our hotel.  (This was scary.. I've never taught above 2nd grade)  Besides an age range and rough language level we weren't really provided with very much guidance.  We were all overwhelmed, and a little freaked out!  After spending hours trying to lesson plan, I came up with something, crossed my fingers, and figured I'd make it work.

Well I survived the first day teaching, and was surprisingly pleased with how it went.  My class at the orphanage has five students.  I love the small class size!  They are on different levels, but all very sweet.  My biggest struggle was trying to figure out how to pronounce their names (except for Tim).  The classroom setting was also shocking, just an open room, some desks, and a whiteboard that was hard for me to reach.  Now I understand why they said we need to bring our own materials...At least my students weren't making fun of me for sweating too much (this happened to one of the other girls).  

The restaurant staff was an interesting class to teach.  I enjoyed working with them simply because I interact with them daily but never on a personal level.   This class was at our hotel so I was thankful to have air con again.  It was interesting working with adults, but I definitely miss working with kids!

  

I also had my second day of Chinese class... Don't expect to hear me speaking it anytime soon.  Our class is extremely fast paced.  Maybe one day I will remember more than just hello!  

Pictures from the Orphanage

 

Sihanoukville

The Sihanoukville trip marked our last weekend together as a whole group.  Our group of ten was becoming a group of five.  We left the hotel Friday morning, and the ride was much more pleasant, minus the bathroom situation.  We were told we would be stopping about halfway, and the bathroom were nice and clean.  Well we were highly misguided.  "Clean bathrooms" meant dark enclosed rooms with "squatters".  The floor was wet and muddy, and behind our hole was a huge tank of water you scoop from to "flush" the toilet... not my favorite experience!

We finally made it to the guest house, and were greeted with bugs, "coach" curtains, and a barbed wire fence.. All I kept thinking was at least we were walking distance to the beach.  Unfortunately the beach was so dirty with trash none of us even put our feet in the water.  We quickly learned that our location was not ideal, and decided to venture into town.

Immediately stepping out of our tuk tuk we were approached by Nicki (a ginger who got his name from Nicki Minaj), a local selling bracelets and hair wraps.  We probably were his biggest spenders of the evening.  Finally able to escape the begging, we walked along the beach and were stopped along the way to shotgun a beer with some Australians.  They worked at the bar, but instead of getting paid they were given accommodations and free food and drinks.. not a bad deal to live on the beach for free.  I learned a new game "lazy pong", which is basically just beer pong sitting in chairs on a shorter table.. I was surprisingly good.

The next day we woke up bright and early, crossed our fingers the rain would stop, and loaded onto a party boat.  After a rocky ride out to sea, we stopped near an island.  It was quite a struggle to get a snorkel, I've never been pushed out of the way by so many people.  Luckily I was able to hold my own, push back, and make it to the top of the deck ready to jump.  It felt like I was walking the plank, but I took the plunge and it was great!  The next stop was an island called Koh Rong.  We were finally in the paradise we had been waiting for!  A beach to ourselves, clear water and sunshine.  it was a relaxing time, until the downpour happened.  Luckily we still had about 2 hours on the beach!

We ended the day on a much more remote beach.  It was so nice to walk the beach with no beggars approaching us, and we had an awesome grilled BBQ dinner.  I even tried barracuda.

The day after getting back from the trip I received an email from the Embassy warning US citizens to be cautious of Sihanoukville... At least I didn't have any intentions of going back.

 

Siem Reap

After a busy first week of class (9-5:30 everyday)... we had our first weekend trip!  I was extremely excited to get out of Phnom Penh.. but didn't realize how terrible the drive would be.  We left the hotel around 1 after class, and after hours of bumpy roads and little villages, we made it around 10pm... Next time I would ask if I can fly!  I suppose it was good group bonding?  The best part of the drive was stopping at spider village.  As soon as we walked out of our van we were swarmed by children selling fruit and women carrying buckets of live tarantulas and bags of fried ones. I was hesitant, especially when she tried to put a live one on me, but figured I needed to try one.  Surprisingly not bad!  They were crispy and covered in garlic... I only tasted the legs though.. we were all too nervous to see what squirted out if you bit into the body!

Our "hotel" (I use that term was loosely now)... was ok..  but it was Fourth of July so we didn't stick around long before going out to celebrate.  Luckily my amazing 2nd grade team made sure I had some vital American gear.  We ventured out onto Pub Street, and had a blast.  It was the most "westerners" (white people) I'd seen since being in Cambodia.  It was a great time, and really cool meeting people from all over the world.  

The next morning was a little rough getting up, but it began our temple tour.  I was a little hesitant about going back.. (I did the same temples last summer), but it was still a great time besides the heat. While we were in Angkor Wat, a monk was motioning for us to come over to another temple, so we decided to check it out.  We all ended up getting blessed by the monk, and received different beads.  The awkward part was when he started asking for money.. Maybe we were being cheap but aren't monks supposed to be living the minimalistic life?  He was not impressed with our dollar donations.. maybe next time we will be better prepared!

That night we ventured to the night market and back out to pub street.  Attempted to try another bar.. the worst service ever.  I don't think Ive ever seen someone walk so slow to get a drink!  My friend ended up leaving before getting her change because it took that long.. Ended back at the same bar.. "Angkor What" and ended the night dancing in the street with the girl selling bracelets.

After a long weekend.. we assumed we could just sleep on the way back.  After about 3 hours of complaining about how hot we were the driver finally told us the AC needed coolant... Why he made us suffer for three hours.. wish I could tell you.

Pictures from the weekend :)

                                                  Angkor Wat and Angkor WHAT

I didn't buy fruit.. but I did pay them for this pic :) 

Party in the USA .. in Cambodia

Did I mention our room locked us out.. they latch closed from the inside.. These guys used a hanger and a rubber band to get us in.. 

Spiders.. and other creatures

Making the ride a bit more tolerable