Sunday was by far one of my favorite days in Taipei! I told you all that I was going to Danshui with some friends of my family. It turned into this: WE WENT ALL OVER THE IMMENSE CITY THAT IS TAIPEI! Ali taught me how to use the bus here, which is surprisingly complicated. In Taiwan they have this thing called an easy card, which is kind of like a credit card in the way that it looks, but it has a sensor inside so you don't swipe it you just hold it against a sensor pad that every bus, MRT station, and 7-11 has. :-P Yes there are 7-11s here. They are on almost every corner, and are used very frequently because of their very cheap prices.
Anyway, so you get on the bus, and depending on where you need to go and where you currently are, there could be about 6 or 7 different busses to take just from your one stop. When you get on you have to look at the sign that hangs right above the driver, it tells you whether to pay when you get on, when you are about to get off, or both. Then most likely you get off at the MRT station. When we got to the MRT station, Ali introduced me to Jonathan (16) and his younger brother. Ali left and Jonathan, his brother, and I got on the MRT and headed to the C.K.S. Memorial Station which is where we met Jonathan's friend, Flora; who is probably Jonathan's age, and speaks English a lot better than him. Together we went to the Chaing Kai Shek Memorial and the National Concert Hall, both absolutely stunning. After about 3 hours and about 150 pictures, we left and went to get something to drink. We actually went to 7-11 and got slurpees :-P We then headed back to the MRT.
We rode the MRT to Taipei Main Station, and after turning a few short corners and playing chicken with public transit busses to cross the street we arrived at Taipei 101. The second largest building in the world. It is absolutely gigantic. We did not go up into 101 however, because it costs money to go all the way to the top. (Ali told me that she will take me to the top of it someday.) Instead we went into the extension of the building, which is actually like a mall :-P Flora brought me downstairs to show me one of her favorite drinks, a Taiwanese specialty with a new age twist. It was pearl milk tea (much more tea than milk) with tapioca and coconut jelly. It was SO good. After walking around the mall for about an hour, we decided to go meet up with some of Flora's friends for lunch.
I can't tell you exactly where we got off the MRT because honestly, I have no clue myself. We walked down crowded streets, sketchy alleys, and through markets galore. We went to a restaurant which literally translated means "Fat Boss", where we met three boys; Flora's friends. They liked me right from the get go, I could tell because they couldn't stop asking me questions all through lunch. Andy, one of the boys, even drew pictures to show me what the items were on the menu-- TOO funny. I can't remember the other boys' names, but I'm sure it will come to me. Flora asked me if I wanted something to drink (they do not usually sell drinks in Taiwanese restaurants) and I told her that I could really use some water; unaware that she would excuse herself from her seat, go down to the corner and buy me a bottle of water from the 7-11. She is such a sweetheart, she also bought me a package of instant beef noodle to bring home with me. She said it is one of her favorite things to eat. After a lunch of rice and beef, we went to a large department store. Here is where we had probably the most fun.
The boys and Flora thought it would be funny if I asked some of the staff who worked at the store questions in English, because they would not understand. Here is what we did: In almost every section, there are 2-3 employees to assist shoppers. I went up to them with a piece of clothing in hand saying "Do you think this will look good on me?" or "How much does this cost?", and each time; the person I asked looked so completely puzzled. I could hear my new group of friends laughing as they watched me through a clothes rack in the section next to the one I was in. We repeated this about 8 or maybe even 9 times before we decided to stop. :-P While we were in the store, between picking on its employees, we looked at stuffed animals (oddly popular with people of all ages and gender here) and we tested out the large array of musical instruments. I picked up a guitar and played "Good Riddance", and was shocked to find that one of the boys could recognize the song I was playing. He then played the same tune on a piano sitting right next to me. Not gonna lie, it was pretty awesome.
As we headed outside the store, large crowds were formed on the street (bigger than normal I should say.) Flora exclaimed and darted towards a large platform in the middle of the crowd. Andy explained to me that there was a surprise concert going on. I got to see a famous Taiwanese singer on only my second day in the country- SAWEET! When she was done performing, Flora and I rushed to the end of the stage where she was exiting and snapped a few quick pictures. We all got on the MRT and chatted all along the 40 minutes ride to Danshui. When we arrived, Andy explained to me that we would be going to old street, which is the Danshui equivalent of a night market. We went to a bunch of cute little shops, looking at stuffed animals, cell phone charms, and played that stupid game where you try to catch a fish in the stupid little fragile net- which honestly, I am terrible at. :-P Andy then made me try all of his favorite street foods. Soft black egg- which is famous from Danshui, it tastes sort of like a regular egg, but also some how different. It comes in a plastic package, and when you first look at it and hold it, it kind of feels like a leathery black or dark brown stress ball. Then he showed me something that does not translate but it is made of potatoes, but looks and has the consistency of a donut hole. Then there was the legendary tall ice cream, you can choose from 12cm to 32 cm high. He got the 32cm one, I got 12. :-P Ice cream here, doesn't taste like ice cream in America, but it is still very good. Danshui is a very small little town on the river, with a beautiful sunset- which we were able to see before we left.
One last MRT ride back to Shipai- where Andy and I both got off to go home. He told me that he does not live far from the MRT station. I gave hugs to Flora and Jonathan as I exited the train and Anthony before we parted ways at the station. I went to the bus stop, where Ali and Joy picked me up on their way to drop Joy off at cram-school (which is like a tutoring center type of deal-almost everyone here goes to one.)
Ali dropped me off at home before bringing Joy the rest of the way- where after about 20 minutes of not being able to open the door- home pa showed up, let me in, and gave me dinner- a hot dog. :-P Then I got in the shower. When I got out of the shower, I quickly got on my computer and uploaded my pictures to Facebook and hoped to be able to talk to some friends on Skype. Ali got home shortly after I got out of the shower. At about 8:30 almost the whole family poured in. My home pa has 7 other brothers and sisters, two of his sisters came to our apartment, followed by their four kids- Robert and Lydia, who are brother and sister, both speak english and Lydia's english is amazing- then there was Jeffrey, their cousin. He was too nervous to introduce himself - ohh and his sister Sophie, it looks like she may have downs but I am not totally sure- she is adorable. Jeffrey and his family live on the seventh floor of our apartment building. Later came another sister of home pa, who's family lives right next door. I do not remember her name- by this time I was so tired that I was falling asleep on the couch that I was sitting on. She has two kids- again names unknown- they are a boy of 12 and a little girl who is 8. She was very very nice. She told me that if I ever needed anything to let her know, that she could also be like another mom while I was here. She also offered that I could come over and play the wii with them whenever I wanted.
At around 10 my host mom finally let me go to bed, she could see me dozing off while I was sitting up.
And that was Sunday :-)
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