Museum of Fine Arts

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Adventures from the Weekend

Hello All! Just wanted to update you on this past weekend. On Friday afternoon, I went to Taipei 101 area with Amy which was a lot of fun. We went to this famous English book store called Page One and ended up staying in there for a while because we got so caught up in all of the amazing books. I have to say it was one of the best book stores that I have been to in Taiwan so far.... I will definitely making a trip back there soon! I think the area around Taipei 101 is so much fun to explore and definitely feels like you're in a big city with all of the tall buildings surrounding you. We were going to go to a movie on Friday night, but the girl we were planning on going with didn't end up calling us, so we ended up just walking around; I was pretty exhausted after a long week as well. On Saturday Amy and I went to Danshui... we ended up walking along the boardwalk and ate some small little snacks for our lunch. We eventually found a Starbucks that had a great view of Danshui, so we ended up sitting on the balcony at Starbucks, which was very relaxing. After Danshui, we took the MRT to Guandu Temple, which was one of the most beautiful temples that I have seen so far while I have been here. It was so expansive and had so many beautiful statues. I ended up having to rush back because I was meeting up with Susan, a new friend from Taiwan and her husband for dinner at 5:30. I ended up making it back in perfect time. We went to a really famous restaurant that actually serves a lot of Shanghainese Cuisine; it was so delicious. We had dumplings, egg fried rice, chicken soup, spicy sesame peanut noodles, and for dessert a taro steamed bun! It ended up raining on Saturday night, of course, so I ended up going home after dinner. I was pretty exhausted after my long day of traveling to Danshui, so I was happy to get home. Mei and I ended up watching the world cup soccer game. She really gets into the game and loves FIFA; I wish I shared the same interest. It was still fun to get to watch the game with her and just relax.

Sunday morning I went to church at the usual mass that I have been going to. It was a nice service as usual. After church, I met up with Mei and Amy and we all went out to lunch. The lunch place we went to was pretty popular, although I can't say I enjoyed the food as much as I did the night before. We had drunken chicken, which is a very popular dish here that I just could not get used to the taste of.

After lunch, Mei and I ended up going to explore another part of Taipei. We went to the Ambassador's house that has been beautifully restored and looks very colonial. Inside the Ambassador's house there was a beautiful cafe; we ended up sitting down and relaxing for a bit, since it was raining again outside. I had a delicious caramel machiatto drink and really enjoyed the atmosphere. The Ambassador's house also has a movie theater that shows independent movies at. I really want to go watch a movie there while I'm here for the summer.

After the tour of the Ambassador's house we went to the fine arts museum, which had just opened an exhibit called "From Monet to Picasso"; it featured a large collection of impressionist artists from the Philadelphia Museum of Arts. I really enjoyed seeing the exhibit, as I love the paintings of Monet, Picasso, and Degas.

After the museum, we were both pretty hungry so we ended up going to a food court near the museum. Food courts are a big thing here and usually have a large selection of different cuisine. I ended up having Indian food, which was not like Indian food in the US, but it was pretty tasty.

Well that pretty much sums up my weekend adventures... this week I have the same routine of school every day! It's good that I have class every day though, because it structures my week days, and also forces me to keep studying Chinese and practicing everyday.

TGIF

All I can say is thank God it's Friday! I'm really needing a weekend right about now... this is my first time going to school in the summer and so I still very much appreciate the weekends when I'm off and can sleep in and explore Taiwan a bit more! This week has gone by both fast and slow; I can't really explain it. Tonight I'm planning on going to see a movie near Taipei 101 with Amy, so that should be fun! Tomorrow, I'm not sure what the plans are( I want to sleep in past 8 a.m.) since I have been waking up everyday to go to school at around that time... luckily school is not too stressful and I can go on the internet here which is great. Sunday is Mei- Wen's day off so I'm planning on exploring Taiwan a bit more with her, and also planning on going out to dinner with her. It is hard to find time to do things with her because she works everyday of the week and doesn't end up getting home until pretty late, so Sunday's are the days when I get to see her.

I hope everyone back home has a good weekend!

Italian food for Lunch? Yummmm Yum!

Today after class, I was going to go to my favorite dumpling place for lunch or the cafe next to my school, however I was invited by some of my classmates to go out to lunch with them. It was one of my classmates birthday, so we ended up going to an Italian restaurant right near school called "Dr. Pasta"( I love the English names of restaurants over here!) I have been to one other Italian restaurant while I have been here, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much food I got for spending only $3 US dollars. I ordered the pesto with chicken and it was absolutely delicious; they even had parmesan cheese on the table!! This lunch was a very comforting lunch as the food was so good and it made me feel at home. My classmates that I went to lunch with are really sweet, and we all try to converse in Chinese the best we can... so it always makes our lunches interesting.... now I know where to go if I ever want a delicious Italian meal.... however I'm also feeling like I want a nap right now as a result of all the food so I'm not sure if it's a good idea to go there all the time ;) Sending my love to my friends and family back at home!

Photos from the National Palace Museum

As I mentioned I went to the National Palace Museum in Taiwan over the weekend. It was really amazing to see all of the history in the different dynasties. It is definitely a must see tourist place to hit up when coming to Taiwan.I'm hoping that when I'm in Shanghai, I can go to Beijing to see the National Palace Museum there because I would really like to compare the two museums.

Playboy in Taiwan....

When I was shopping over the weekend... I saw all of these stores filled with playboy accessories which I got a kick out of... it's like buying something that is from Prada. I think it's interesting how popular it is.

Also Claire(my sister) I saw all of these Marc Jacobs stores which made me think of you and our fashion shoot we did in December.

I also saw these street dogs that were kind of performance dogs right outside of Taipei 101... they made me miss our two dogs Hailey and Zeus.

Photos of Taipei 101/Weekend

Update!

Believe it or not... it's Wednesday today which means I'm half-way through the school week! Yesterday I met up with Mei- Wen and went with Amy to see a Chinese doctor. I think that Chinese medicine is really fascinating and something I'd really like to learn more about and maybe even find some Chinese medicine doctors while I'm in Shanghai! The Chinese medicine believes in the concept that all of our organs our interconnected, and so if there is something wrong with one part of the body it is usually connected to somewhere else in the body!( a bit complicated to explain, but very interesting nonetheless). I feel very fortunate that my overall health is good and that I really don't need to see a doctor for anything, but I think it would be awesome for my dad to go and see one when they come and visit me in China. It was really interesting to see Amy get the acupuncture but it did look like it hurt a bit when they were putting in the needles. Today I'm going to Janet's house again to practice English with her daughter; I'm so grateful of all of the opportunities that I'm getting to partake in while I'm here... time is really flying by. The weather here has actually been not too hot so I'm so happy about that... it still feels hot at night, but I usually slather bug screen all over my body so that I don't get bitten by mosquitoes.

Last night for dinner we went to this bakery called Pozzo, which had the most delicious sandwiches and desserts. I was still hungry after I ate the sandwich, so I decided to do some grocery shopping when I got home! It was fun getting to explore a Chinese grocery store, and I love how there is one literally two minutes from my house... it makes it so convenient.

This morning for breakfast, I was so happy to actually have a healthy delicious breakfast which consisted of of cereal and bananas and milk... it was so nice to have such a wholesome breakfast other than just bread!

Well I don't have too many other updates at the moment, but hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the summer!

The Wonderland of Taipei 101

Hello All! Just wanted to update everyone on my life here in Taiwan. I had a fun filled weekend with many different adventures to different parts of the city. On Saturday morning I slept in which felt amazing since I've been waking up at about 8 every morning to get to school so that I use skype and the internet before my classes begin. I also wanted to go to a cool and air conditioned place after I woke up because the weather was so hot... so I decided to go to Burger King and had ice cream for breakfast( maybe not the breakfast of champions) but I enjoyed it and I figured how to use the free Wifi internet which was a plus since the apartment I'm living in doesn't have wifi or internet access. After eating my ice cream breakfast I met up with Amy near school and we went for lunch at my favorite dumpling place. I decided to sit outside of my school for a bit and just relax, but that was not the best idea since I got eaten alive by mosquitos. Later in the afternoon, I met up with another student who went to St.Johnsbury Academy. We went to the area of Ximending which is a big shopping district! It was fun to just walk around the area as it was so big and had lots of young people just walking around. We went to this posh little restaurant and I had a red mango tea; the restaurant was air conditioned and it felt so nice, in fact it almost got to be a little too cold. After walking around Ximending we went to Taipei 101. When I got out of the MRT and just started walking around it was then that I realized how much I absolutely love being in a big city and being surrounded by tall buldings! We ended up waiting in a long line to go to the top of Taipei 101, but it was so worth it; the views of the city were absolutely amazing. It was also great because it was a clear night so I could see everything! I really did feel like I was on top of the world in Taipei 101. It was so amazing to see the entire city, because I've felt that as I walk around the city it doesn't really feel all that big, however when I got to see the entire city in one of the tallest buildings of the world, it was absolutely amazing. I got to learn a lot about the actual architecture of the building and how it is one of the best wind proof buildings in the world, due to the wind bawl that was built inside; I've never seen anything like it. It also has the fastest elevator that reaches 89 floors in 30 seconds! I definitely am so glad that I got to see such an amazing view of the city. After touring Taipei 101 we went to a delicious Japanese restaurant in the area; I was so hungry at this point! We then decided to make a night of being in Taipei 101 and went to this great bar that was very chic looking, and where all of the young 20 something year olds hang out. I got to experiment with some drinks that I have never tried before; I started out with a drink called Around the world, which was lit on fire! I then ended with a drink called Wonderland which had a kiwi flavor to it! The one thing I was surprised to find out about the city is that although it is the city that never sleeps, all of the public transit such as the busses and subways stop at 12p.m., so you have to take a taxi home which I think is kind of annoying but I guess I understand that they don't want a bunch of drunkards getting on the public transit. I ended up getting back home at about 2 a.m. and was exhausted; although I felt that it was really hot in my room and I had a headache so I didn't end up sleeping as well as I would have like to.

I woke up the next morning at 9 a.m. and went to the Catholic church service which was nice to attend. I really appreciate that it only takes me about 15 minutes to get to church, and that the mass is performed in English. I'm actually surprised how many foreigners I end up seeing at the church service.

After church I ended up meeting Amy, which was another adventure finding the MRT station. I somehow thought there was one right near the church where I attended but I ended up having to take a bus to get there so it wasn't as convenient as I hoped. Finally I got to the MRT station and ended up finding Amy. We took the MRT to Shilin to go to the National Palace Museum. Unfortunately Amy wasn't feeling well, and I was exhausted so it was a lot of work getting through the museum, but well worth it. I got to learn a lot more about the history of China and all of the dynasties. It was also wonderful because the museum was air conditioned! I thought about how much my dad would love to see this museum... maybe I'll bring my family to the National Palace Museum in Beijing when they come to visit.

Overall I had a wonderful weekend, it went by in the blink of an eye, but it was so much fun to get to visit all of the great places in Taipei. I'm beginning to really love living in a city!

Danshui Photos

The Dragon Boat Festival

So today is going to be my day of updating a little more about my week! This past Wednesday was a national holiday in Taiwan called the Dragon Boat festival; it was wonderful because I had a day off from school! I made plans with my Chinese high school teacher's family, the Huang's to meet up with them and go to lunch and the Botanical gardens. After lunch I went with Richard, my former Chinese teacher's brother, to Danshui which is a beautiful part of Taiwan that is on the water. It was about an hour train ride, but well worth it. The weather was very humid that day so I felt like I was melting a bit... I got to try a lot of different traditional Taiwanese snacks and got to see some of the beautiful buildings in Danshui... I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't know a lot of the history of Taiwan before coming here, but I'm certainly learning a lot of it now! I feel so lucky to have local Taiwanese people to show me around; it makes my time here more exciting and I just think I'm learning so much from everyone I'm getting to meet. I'm so glad today is Friday; I am in need of a weekend and some rest and relaxation.

Another Exhibition at the Museum

I thought that this exhibition was really fascinating. An artist used these manikins to and took some really interesting photographs with them in it.

A Visit to the MOCA

Yesterday I had a wonderful day which included going to lunch at a surprisingly delicious Italian restaurant with Mei's older sister and some of her colleague's who were about my age. I was not sure of what to expect of an Italian restaurant run by Taiwanese, but it was actually quite yummy. After the restaurant, Ethan took me to the the Modern Museum of Contemporary art. I'm a big fan of modern art so I really enjoyed seeing all of the exhibits. I especially enjoyed the one outside the museum called "Back to Love" which is an exhibit on children from Swaziland. I unfortunately didn't bring my camera with me, but I plan to go back to the museum before I leave. I also realize that I completely forgot to post on my day with the Huang family and the dragon boat festival. Right now, I'm going to class so I will post more on my holiday later.

Jules the exhibit on the children in Swaziland made me reminisce about all of the beautiful children we got to meet in Uganda!

A Taiwanese Apartment....

Photo of the Elementary School

Photos from My Host Families House

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