On Friday night, Deborah, Kim, Anjie, Monica, Carmen, and I went to Magic Power’s first mini concert ever! It was also our first concert in Taiwan. Deborah and Kim discovered the music group from watching a Taiwanese drama called “P.S. Man” since they play the theme song for the show. When we later checked out the groups’ songs, we got really excited when we found out they were having a concert in Taipei a week later.
Before taking the HSR (High Speed Rail) to Kenting for the Fulbright Mid-Year Conference, FSE had us stay in Taipei for one night. Since we were close to Ximending, we decided to go there for dinner and to meet up with our friend Kat. We at dinner at the famous Chang Zi Mian Xian restaurant where you eat noodles in a bowl standing up. There are no tables or chairs, instead there’s just a bunch of people crowded around this shop holding their bowl of soup.
As we slurped down our noodles, Eric realized there was something white and chewy in his bowl. He asked, “What’s this? Squid?” The Taiwanese lady standing nearby replied, “No,” paused to think and then continued, “it’s intestines”. After discovering the true identity of the mysterious meat, Eric refused to eat any of his intestines, leaving them all to gather at the bottom of his bowl.
When he finished, Eric turned to me and Deborah and asked, “Do you want my intestines?” Charming, isn’t he?
Meeting up with our friend Kat one last time before she headed back to the States
HAPPY NEW YEAR! I’m really not one for crowds, so when I first found out that people would wait for hours to watch the fireworks for New Year’s at Taipei 101 (now the world’s second tallest building; although, at the time was the world’s tallest building), I was not really planning on going so close to see it. Taipei 101 is kind of like Taiwan’s Times Square event. And somehow, in the end, Deborah convinced me to go. So, from Shi Da, we slowly walked towards Taipei 101. We made it in time to hear a good portion of the concert at Taipei City Hall, including S.H.E. and a bunch of other groups that we weren’t familiar with.
When the time came, there was an awesome count-down. It was really cool to hear the countdown in Mandarin instead of English. And when the last “yi” was said, the fireworks began! It was definitely crazy to see fireworks being shot off at every angle and level of the tallest building in the world. Three minutes later, it was over and then after a while, Wang Lee-Hong’s concert began. Yes, you heard me right. Wang Lee-Hong!
So I have to admit that being a Fulbrighter does come with its perks. Like being invited to the fanciest Thanksgiving dinner I’ve ever eaten in my life, hosted by the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and its director William A. Stanton. We had everything from brie & crackers to smoked salmon to gourmet mashed potatoes, soup, crispy sourdough bread rolls (which are like impossible to find here in Taiwan), pumpkin pie, and a real Caesar salad.
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