Taichung

We are no longer in Taipei! We will be staying at Asia University (亞洲大學) in the city of Taichung (台中) for the next week or so as we take our Mandarin classes.


The beds here are INCREDIBLY high off the ground, about 6-7ft. It was pretty intimidating at first but after two nights here it seems completely normal. While there is wireless internet here, it is not very reliable. Also, something I did not expect of Taiwan: there is not air conditioning everywhere all the time. For example, the dorms here only have AC from 6pm-7am. You don't want to hang out here during the day, and when you wake up in the morning it's pretty uncomfortable.


The whitemen are the guardian of tooth!


Asia University is 40 minutes away from the downtown city. Here is a shot of the wide array of shops (through the bus window).


The department store here is famous for it's size (it spans three buildings, with 19 floors each). However, it also is known for each floor having a different style of bathroom. Fireplace! We didn't look at all of them, but this was our favorite style. (As you can imagine, the clothes in this store were expensive.)


We love Engrish! Everything is really cheap here in Taiwan. To give you an idea, I bought a pair of earrings, pants, and a headband for roughly 10 US dollars total. I LOVE IT. A meal can often cost under $3. It's just wonderful.


I love the World Series Poker! Wait...


Perhaps the highlight of our day was eating at the famous restaurant, Modern Toilet. Perhaps you can pick up on the theme...


You sit on toilet seats! The table is glass over ceramic sinks.


Priscilla got a hot pot, shaped like a toilet. Madz got gratin, shaped like a bathtub. Kelly got pasta, shaped like a sink.


The ice cream! Actually looks like poo in a bowl the shape of a squat-toilet. (I hope no one has had to experience using one of those in real life.)


Even the sinks in the bathroom were toilets.


Most people travel by scooter. That mountain of trash was somehow attached to one. We were extremely impressed by the endeavor. (The man was able to move forward, albeit somewhat slowly.)


Apple milk! Looks delicious, was delicious.


An attempt at a panoramic shot of the view from Asia University. Not sure why the edge is black. Click the picture for a better view (that works with all the pictures by the way).





I never knew this before, but apparently Taiwan's trash pickup system works like so: basically, the truck plays the song, and you can hear it a couple neighborhoods over, so you have to get your trash ready. Then, as it passes, you have to run after it and throw your trash in. It's hilarious and cute, and incredibly Asian. Here is a short clip to show you the song.




This is our counselor, Ma Que (麻雀), and she is the most hilarious person I've ever met. This is her doing our "cheer" for our group (Group 4). Group 4 consists of kids form Texas Canada and Washington D.C., so the cheer that she is saying goes, "Texas," "Canada," "DC," some random noise we don't understand, and then "What do you want to add?" The thing she does during the random noise is the dance for boys. So, Priscilla asks, "What do the girls do?" And Ma Que demonstrates at the very end. She's so adorable and I'm pretty sure everyone in our group is in love with her.


Caucasian Sightings: 26