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Sorry it's been so long since the last post. Time keeps getting away from me.

It's been three long but good weeks. A few weekends ago we found a little bar called Bushiban which means "cram school" in Chinese. Children in Taiwan usually go to school from 8am-4pm and then go to cram schools to learn English, math, or you name it, until 10pm at night. No wonder people think children in the US are coddled.

We picked Bushiban since we read about cheap beer prices online. We were disappointed with the place when we arrived. It was bare bones and a complete dive with 90's rock playing. After a few beers Hector took over the music with his iPod and saved the night. By the end of the evening everyone was dancing and the owner was asking Hector to DJ on a regular basis.

I had my Chinese midterm exams. Studying was time consuming and painful... A week of doing nothing but going to the library and when I wasn't studying I was tormented by feeling I wasn't studying enough. I did well and will be keeping my scholarship.

Celebrating the end of midterms

The Mexicans and my Honduran friend Beto (right)

Sergio, Alice and I decided to go to Sun Moon Lake and Taichung on Saturday following midterms. Sun Moon Lake is the largest body of fresh water in Taiwan; that's not saying a lot since the island (Taiwan) is relatively small, but the lake is beautiful, particularly the aqua water, and is surrounded by mountains. We walked a few miles along the lake and visited a temple in the mountains.

Taichung is the third largest city in Taiwan; at first it seemed industrial and I was disappointed when our bus pulled in. We met up with an Indonesian student who went to the language school last year at NCCU. She showed us around, took us to a night market, the museum, the university she's attending now, and the Taichung Jazz Festival. When it was time to leave I wasn't ready to go...

Taichung Night Market

National Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung

Quaint side street, Taichung

Grassy building, Taichung

Taichung Jazz Festival

As our bus was pulling out of Taichung there was a major celebration going on with floats, fireworks, lights, costumes, music....

Sergio on our frilly bus... very Taiwanese

I spent most of last week trying to get caught up from being out of commission with midterm studying and traveling. We've also been spending a fair amount of time apartment hunting since Bo and I have to be out of the dorms by the end of November. We're hoping to find a place within walking distance to school.

On Friday, a group of us went to Taiwan Beer Garden, the factory/brewery where Taiwan Beer is made. Again, we picked the place based on cheap beer prices. It was neat -- a humongous beer production site in the middle of the city. The "garden" was a warehouse with picnic tables; there weren't many other waiguorens (foreigners). We had beer with fried tofu and sweet potatoes.

The beer garden closed early since it's mostly a restaurant. We followed the Lonely Planet guide book and headed to "Indian Beer House;" the book let us down a little. Turns out the place, which is listed under the Bars and Clubs section in the guidebook is really called "Jurassic Restaurant." It was the most bizarre place: three stories of empty tables set for nonexistent diners, Native American art and dinosaur skeletons everywhere... It was a unique experience and we had fun imagining who created the place and what the person was thinking.

Another weekend flew by...

It's scary how time is flying. When I first arrived, each day felt endless. Now the weeks and weekends are flying... My Chinese midterms are just one week away.

This weekend was the Moon Festival, an autumn harvest festival. Most Taiwanese get together with their families, barbecue, eat moon cakes and polmelos (grapefruit-like citrus fruits), and light fireworks. There's also a folk tale behind the holiday but it's really obscure. Click here if you're interested in reading further -- I don't want to butcher the story and it looks like there are multiple versions.

In class on Friday we had a little moon festival celebration and our teacher surprised us with Domino's pizza. I know people from the states might not consider Domino's delivery a great surprise, but believe me, it's one of the nicest things that's happened yet. The whole class was ecstatic. The pizza toppings were mozzarella, jalapenos, pepperoni, onion and chorizo -- a delicious combination.

Me with my Chinese teacher, Mei Nu. She's incredible; she really pushes each student and wants us all to succeed.

Me and my classmates - we have a great time

The progression of my Chinese writing. There have been some major improvements; I no longer write like a first-grader.

After class on Friday Sergio, Hector, Emilio and I made a trip to Costco. Due to poor planning and bad directions, we left campus around 5pm and didn't return until 10pm... Costco was a madhouse with pre-festival shoppers.

I picked up sharp cheddar cheese, crackers, wine, mixed nuts, peanut butter, Dentyne Ice... All things hard to come by at local Taiwanese supermarkets.

We finally made it to Underworld on Friday, a little bar that we've been meaning to go to. It's fun going to the clubs in Taipei, but it can be tiring. We've been craving a neighborhood place that's comfortable and laid back. Underworld fit the bill, I definitely want to go back.
Bo, my roommate, was out of town this weekend celebrating the festival with a Taiwanese family. I missed her a lot. It was just me and the guys on Friday -- we had a lot of fun and good conversations. It was nice to be in a place where you could hear each other over the music.

Sergio's idea of mimicking a goddess scene... ha ha. I have to say that all the Mexican men I've met here are true gentlemen. I think our standards and manners have slipped a little in the states, possibly due to everything being so PC with female/male equality.

On Saturday there was a wai guo ren (foreigner) BBQ on campus. We had a good time drinking by the river and watching fireworks.

This is the dog I wish I could adopt. I see him everywhere... The other night when I got home he was sleeping on the doorsteps to my dorm. There's a huge stray dog problem in Taiwan. I have been told that people here like to have puppies but not full grown dogs. There are at least a dozen strays living on campus, all clearly abandoned since they have collars. The dogs do look healthy and are friendly. I think someone must be feeding them because oftentimes they won't eat food when I try to give it to them.

We are now bracing ourselves for Typhoon Parma which is supposed to hit anytime now. I think it will just be a lot of rain for me and not anything too scary since Taipei is north and not on the water.

Rainy Sunday on campus...

Got up early this morning to join the school photo club on a field trip but the outing was cancelled due to rain. Bummer... I even stayed in last night since I wanted to be awake and hangover-free for picture taking.

I now plan to spend the day at the library doing homework and then maybe going for a run in the rain. There's a river that runs directly through campus with bike paths on both sides. I've been running on the river recently and it's becoming one of my favorite things to do. The scenery is beautiful and no matter what time you run, 7am or 10pm, there are people walking and exercising everywhere. In the early morning there are lots of elderly Taiwanese doing Tai chi. Apparently the Taoists believe trees exhale the purest energy in the early morning so it's best to get up early and workout under the oldest and biggest tree possible.

Funny I still dislike Sundays even though I'm no longer in the workforce. It's been a good weekend though. After class on Friday my friend Hector and I went to the Taipei 101 food court seeking something different to eat. Around campus we can only pretty much eat noodle or rice dishes. Taipei 101 is the tallest building in the world (I believe), although Dubai is building a taller one. The food court at 101 has a wide variety of options from all over the world: Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese, Indian, Mediterranean, you name it. You can't imagine how good the mozzarella tomato basil sandwich I had tasted. Just having cheese, tomatoes and bread felt like a mini-miracle. It makes me a little sick because I know the garden back home in Chicago must be full of ripe tomatoes. I would do anything for a tomato salad or homemade salsa.

Friday night a group of us went out for the usual free drinks at Roxy 99, then to 7-Eleven and on to The Other Side and Roxy Roots. I was dragging a little all night since I had run hard in the morning. I made it back to the dorms early without too much damage or "dehydration."

Me with one of my best Taiwan buddies, Sergio

We headed to the National Palace Museum yesterday since admission is free if you go between 5p - 8:30p on Saturdays. The museum has such a large collection of Chinese art (all pieces that Chiang Kai-shek took from mainland China when he retreated) that they rotate the works every three months. We saw lots of ceramics, jade pieces, bronzes, calligraphy scrolls, buddhas... We agreed we'll have to go back since it's too much to take in in a single visit.

National Palace Museum

I also bought a new phone this weekend. I couldn't handle having a phone without a full keyboard. Too many years of crackberry use I suppose...

Hope all is well at home. Miss you all!

Happy Birthday Bo & Bro!!

Life has been very busy the last several days. Lot's of school work, sight-seeing and socializing. This past weekend was my roommate Bo's birthday and also my brother Rob's. Happy Birthday to you both! We had a great time celebrating here in Taipei with Bo. Luckily Rob was out of town celebrating and not in Chicago. The hardest part of living far from home is hearing about family get-togethers. Selfishly I'm glad not to endure hearing about a birthday dinner at the parent's house with the family and Mom's cooking...

Here are pictures from this past weekend...

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. It was my third visit there, but we found out a lot more about Chaing Kai-shek this time around. Turns out he was pretty ruthless and was responsible for killing thousands of "suspected" communists. There is apparently talk of renaming the memorial and removing Chaing Kai-shek's statue.

Kate at the changing of the guards at CKS Memorial Hall

Memorial Hall

Memorial Hall

Taipei 2-28 Memorial Museum. It's funny the museum is across the street from CKS Memorial Hall; you get two very different pictures of who Chaing Kai-Shek was. In 1947 there was a government crackdown on black market items such as tobacco and alcohol. There was an incident on 2-28 where a woman selling black market cigarettes was beaten by a government official. A man trying to protect her was then shot. The incident triggered protests all over Taiwan. The government responded to the protests by torturing and killing thousands of Taiwanese, some estimate 30,000 were killed. The victims were mostly intellectuals and political activists.

Sergio in front of the noodle place where we had lunch. A Taiwanese guy saw us floundering in the park and took us to lunch. Probably the best meal I've had so far in Taiwan.

Noodles with pork, soup and pork dumplings.

Yummers...

The "massage" walkway in Peace Park.

Celebrating Bo's birthday at Roxy Rocker

Bo and Me. We had the best night...

After a few beers... We really liked this bar. There's a room in back that's filled with records. You pick through the albums and listen to whatever you want.

On Sunday we went to Fulong Beach. Beautiful...

Kate and Mario