Friday night I went to my first movie in Taiwan. Before the movie, we hung out in the nearby area (a pretty ritzy shopping district) and tried some fries that had corn on them (weird!). Me and May saw In the Valley of Elah. I enjoyed the movie, and it was nice that we could both enjoy it (it had Chinese subtitles). Afterwards we ran to catch the MRT but didn't get there in time and I took a cab home.
Saturday afternoon I had kickboxing class. We're starting with a fee so we could get equipment, and the equipment came in on Saturday. He got five kick bags (big bags that provide cushioning so you can kick/punch them), boxing gloves, "clappers" (targets used in kicking for accuracy) and some sparring gear. I think it's really going to bring the class to the next level. After class an amateur photographer came by and took some pictures. She said she'd send them to us. I saw a few and they looked pretty good. I'll show them as soon as I get them.
Also on Saturday my Australian roommate, Simone, moved out. She's leaving Taiwan at the end of November and she's going to spend the rest of the time staying at her friend's. It was a little sad, but we also got a new roommate. Her name is Chelsea, and she's Amanda's friend from Canada. We've met before, and since I already knew how cool she was, I was glad to hear she was moving in. Of course, if you get a new roommate, you've gotta go out and celebrate. And celebrate we did. We went to a club called Pasoul and met up with a few of Amanda and Chelsea's friends. After some dancing, a few drinks, and a late night convenience store trip, we cabbed it home.
In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have gone out Saturday night, because on Sunday I went and spent all day at Danshui with May. I wasn't too hung over but I definitely wasn't as energetic as a quiet night and a full sleep would have afforded me. After taking half an hour to find each other at an MRT station and eating lunch, we took the MRT up to Danshui!
After we got off the MRT we went down this street. It had all sorts of little Taiwanese snacks. I tried some egg snacks and some various candies that May said she'd eat all the time as a kid. She tried to trick me with an Atomic Warhead. Nice try!
We went to a Ripley's Believe it or Not! museum. Believe it or not, they're in Taiwan too. They had snakes, pickled animals with deformities, a mummy, and a bunch of weird animals. Would've been a good place to go on Halloween!
This is the 紅樓, or "red building". It was built in 1899 by Europeans when Danshui was controlled by the West as per the Treaty of Tianjin. We didn't hang out here long, since May said it looked cooler at night.
That's May, so you know who I'm talking about.
This parrot would say his name (something like "Baowei"), "Nin Hao", and "Hello". When we first came it seemed he was more interested in breaking his lock with his beak. After a minute he warmed up to us, though.
We took a ferry boat to two more of the tourist spots in Danshui: Fisherman's Wharf and Bali.
VROOOM! May didn't want to get splashed. We did.
Since May was cold (65 degrees F is cold? Whatever!), we stopped by a coffee shop and she got something warm to drink. While we sat there, there was a guy outside making balloon art. Here he is making Santa Claus (working on his hat). He also made Donald Duck and a swan. Not too shabby.
This bridge is called 情人橋, or "Lover's Bridge". According to legend, if two lovers cross the bridge they will break up. We crossed it. (May said she didn't believe the legend.)
Here's Bali. It wasn't quite as hoppin' as the other two places but there were a lot of people who'd walk their dogs. I didn't get a picture of any of them; May was too busy playing with them all.
At Bali a bunch of kids were riding these sorts of little toy animals. You had to pump them up and down to go. Wasn't a very effective mode of transportation.
We walked by a street artist who cut out silhouettes of people. He said I could get one for free if I posed so I could send his work overseas. He liked my nose.
Since it was getting dark, we returned to the Red Building in Danshui. On the third floor they have a cafe with an outdoor porch. We sat there, ate some french fries, drank some tea, and took pictures of the Danshui skyline. There were also some fireworks we could see in the distance. It was a nice way to end the day.
May took this of me. Turned out pretty well.
After fries we headed back to Taipei on the MRT. Quite the day! Luckily I didn't have any homework so I was able to have a relaxing evening. That was what I needed after such a full weekend. (Of course, it didn't end up to be very relaxing since my computer started acting up, which I didn't fix until this afternoon, but I got my rest in, don't worry!)
This week in class we're studying politics. It's not the most interesting subject in my opinion, but it'll be good to sound at least semi-informed. Other than that and kickboxing, I have another "normal" week coming up. There may be an update midway through the week to show you the fancy pictures that the girl at kickboxing took. Stay tuned, Tedketeers!
I'm out.
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