Jan II, Weeks 25 + 26: Conference & Kin(men)

Hello everyone, and thank you for being patient! This blog post is the first of several forthcoming winter break and post-winter break posts.

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The end of the semester was a whirlwind that brought midyear conference, brief illness, and a visit from some family. As tiring as it was, I had fun hanging out with friends and family, and I liked meeting other Fulbrighters I hadn't been able to talk to before.

Photo credits to Brittany Chen, 2024.

Monday, January 15th, meant going back to school at Budai. I didn't have any classes on Monday, so I just spent the day lesson planning. Then, I ran errands and did chores after school.

On Tuesday, I taught a Chinese folk dance workshop to my seventh graders. They learned different techniques, like cloud step and the windmill turn, and even part of a dance. Although some of the moves were a bit challenging, the kids seemed to have fun!

Wednesday was the first day of midyear conference. This year, we were at the same hot spring hotel that one of last year's regional conferences was at: The Great Roots Forestry Spa Resort. It was a lovely resort in the mountains of New Taipei with hot springs, an arcade, and a variety of walking trails. When we arrived, we could stroll about, take in the fresh air, and admire the way the sunlight filtered through the trees to strike the sauropod skeleton by the fountain. Yes, the resort was inexplicably dinosaur-themed.

The first day went smoothly enough. My favorite part of it was seeing everyone I don't normally get to see! I caught up with the other Yilan ETAs-turned-various-ETFs, chatted with other ETF friends, and got to know some ETAs, too. After dinner, my roommate and I went to the conference's main attraction: the hot springs. Everyone was in there, but it was nice to relax in the hot water and hang out with people. I kinda wish we'd had the hot springs at last year's midyear conference too, but alas.

I spent an hour or two at the hot springs, then went to a friend's room to have a classic conference room hang. I hung out with the New Taipei cohort, the other former Yilan ETAs, some new friends, etc., and we played games (mainly mahjong and bananagrams). It felt good to just spend some time with people I haven't seen in a while.

Photo credits (left) to Adenike Hickson, 2024.

During the second day, we had some keynote speakers in the morning. Pretty routine. Then, the entire afternoon was dedicated to this year's site presentations. Unlike last year's performances and videos (shoutout to Kinmen's "Fly Me to the Moon" and Chiayi's "Replay" covers), this year's presentations were tri-fold posters. They also incorporated a variety of sustainable development goals (SDGs), which are eco-friendly goals set by the United Nations to protect the environment. We also all received stamp cards to incentivize us to visit the other booths and presentations held by our fellow Fulbrighters.

Initially, the event gave college activity fair/science fair, but it was actually much more lively than expected. It was fun to visit different friends, and I liked presenting at the Chiayi booth more than I thought I would. We not only had a colorful trifold poster (that we finished the night before (oops)), but also cookies and a custom-made version of the game Spot It! with pictures of different Chiayi landmarks and famous elements.

After my booth shift was over, I visited all the other booths, including Penghu's (which had a fishing minigame), New Taipei's (which had a dart game with all the ETAs/ETFs' faces), and Southern Hualien's (which had Indigenous hairpiece making). Some booths had different snacks, stickers, postcards, and keychains from their sites too. One booth even let us have one-on-one chats with Dr. Nadeau himself, who surprisingly remembered me from last year.

Photo credits (top left) to Savannah Ealy, 2024.

Throughout the afternoon, I also went to two of the ETA/ETF presentations, one of which was given by one of our very own cohort's ETAs. She did a great job! Then, we had a raffle with the collected stamp cards later, and one person from our site won one of the prizes. Afterwards, we went immediately to a buffet-style dinner, where I was quickly whisked away to the New Taipei table with some other ETF friends. The dinner was ok, but the desserts were wonderful—there was a whole section of various chocolates, mousses, jellos, pastries, and even little dinosaur chocolates.

I hung out at the arcade afterwards to play ping pong, then went to the hot springs with some other cohort members and chatted with other friends for a couple of hours. I liked relaxing with people, but I think I got a little too used to having free, wonderful hot springs available every night.

The next morning, I woke up and had breakfast with my roommate and some other ETAs, then we had some more ETA/ETF-led discussions. Heading to the buses was the end of the year's final conference, and likely, my final Fulbright conference ever. Even though the end of conference meant the beginning of a long and wonderful break, it was bittersweet to think about.

Our bus dropped us off at Taipei Main, and our cohort took one last group selfie before heading to our separate winter break plans. I met up with my partner, and we went to hike Elephant Mountain with a Chiayi ETA and one of his friends. Although it wasn't early enough for us to see most of sunset, we did get to watch the Taipei skyline glitter with lights. I also liked chatting with the other ETAs and my partner, and it was nice hanging out and getting dinner with them.

The next day, I woke up a little sick. Unfortunate, but it seems like a natural consequence of bringing together hundreds of people that work with kids. I mostly spent the weekend being unwell, but I had a little bit of time to go to some cafés and get dinner at Mama Inca with friends in between resting.

On Monday, January 22nd, I was starting to feel a little better. I ran some errands, then went to lunch with my partner and some of his Chinese program friends. Then, I went to About H Coffee with a Chiayi ETF and her mom. It was a cute café, and I liked meeting her mom! I also liked seeing the cats—my favorite was named 二號 (Number Two). The other ETA and I wandered around Huashan 1914 Creative Park afterwards, then had Korean food for dinner.

The most exciting part of the day was heading to Taoyuan Airport to meet up with my mom and sister! I hadn't seen them since August. It was a bit tiring to shepherd them and their luggage from the airport to Taipei Main to their hotel, but we made it there pretty smoothly.

The next day, we spent most of our time at the National Palace Museum. My family was still super jetlagged, and I was still kinda sick, but it was nice to wander around the museum's galleries. Sadly, neither the meat stone nor the jade cabbage were present. Everyone still liked the museum, though. We had hotpot for lunch afterwards, then walked around until the Shilin Night Market opened.

My mom and sister checked out the different food and clothing stalls at the market, and they tried fried quail eggs, tanghulu (糖葫蘆), pork belly skewers, and a potato chip tower. Despite their exhaustion, they seemed to have a good time seeing and trying new things. My mom was particularly impressed by the cleanliness and efficiency of the Taipei Metro system. If only the US had such lovely public transportation.

On Wednesday, we went to Jiufen. I hadn't been back to Jiufen since I went at the beginning of last grant period, so it reminded me of last year a little bit. My family and I wandered the different shops and whatnot, then I took them to A-Mei Teahouse. Despite the cloudy weather outside, I liked overlooking the rest of Jiufen and the coast from the teahouse. The tea was pretty good, too.

My family had some Alishan tea and chrysanthemum tea with goji berries, plus some tea cakes and pastries, then we spent a couple of hours chatting. It was a little colder than we expected, but the tea kept us nice and warm. We also walked around and checked out some other shops and teahouses, including Jiufen Teahouse. As nice as the views from A-Mei Teahouse were, I also liked the indoor koi pond and little cat statues at Jiufen Teahouse.

The three of us headed back to Taipei later in the afternoon for some rest, then I showed them some different stores nearby. My mom and sister had already experienced the joy of Taiwanese Sevens the day before, so I showed them Poya, Daiso, and NET instead. I think Poya was my sister's favorite.

For dinner, we went to Kura Revolving Sushi Bar, which I've actually never been to before. I don't think my family's been to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant before, not even in the US, so they were pretty excited to go. The sushi was also pretty good; my favorite was probably the fresh salmon nigiri. I didn't realize that they had gachapon machines above each table, but they were pretty cool. My sister even won a little Cinnamoroll keychain from the Sanrio x Kura Sushi collab.

On Wednesday, I took my mom and sister to Kinmen! We had an early morning flight, then headed across the Kinmen Bridge to Shuangkou Beach. The weather was beautiful, so my family got to walk along the beach and look out at Xiamen. We collected some seashells and seaglass, then went to see Bada Tower and the outside of Jhuo Huan Elementary (my beloved!). It felt a little surreal having my family see the island and the school where I spent so much time last year. I've missed it.

We had lunch at the soda shop/beef noodle soup restaurant, then we went to Donglin Seashore Park. My sister and I spent half an hour running around the playground and the beach, and my mom sat and watched the waves. It felt good to be back at the park; I hadn't felt as happy and carefree for a long time. It almost felt like I was a kid again just playing with my sister. Our shoes got a little soaked when we were playing by the waves, but I think it was worth it.

The three of us walked to the Honey Shop afterwards, which I've missed dearly. We saw the shop's beehive, had some tea and pastries, then chatted with the honey shop owners. I've also missed seeing them! One of the owners had the postcard that the other Little K ETAs and I gave her hanging on her fridge, which was sweet.

After heading back to Jinning, my family and I went to dinner at Isola Pizza Napoletana (formerly Mike's Quiches). It was nice to see the owners again, and the food was delicious, as always. I liked being back in Kinmen, but sadly, our time there was too short.

The next morning, my mom, sister and I had to fly back to Taipei. At the very least, we had breakfast at the scallion pancake place, where they tried the juanbing (卷餅) and the Guangdong congee, then walked around Mofan Street.

Back in Taipei, we went to Capybara Knight, which is a capybara café in New Taipei. According to my sister, it was her favorite part of the whole trip. We sat down and had some capybara-themed refreshments, like egg cakes, and I bought my sister a stuffed capybara. Then, we got to pet and feed the capybaras for a little while. They were adorable, and unlike last year, I didn't get bitten (hooray!).

Since we woke up early, the three of us didn't do much afterwards. I showed them an eslite mall, then we went to my partner's apartment. It was his first time meeting them in person! Was I nervous? Perhaps. But possibly not as nervous as my partner probably was. Either way, after a hearty ramen dinner together, I think everyone's gotten to know each other a little bit better.

Saturday, January 27th, was my family's last full day in Taiwan. I brought them to Seven to try one of their tea eggs, then headed to Taipei 101. The top of the tower was covered with clouds, but my family still liked seeing it! Since we couldn't go up the observation tower, we went to Din Tai Fung for lunch instead. Everything was delicious, and my mom loved the xiaolongbao and the wontons in hot chili oil. Looking back, I think at least 60% of my family's trip to Taiwan was just trying different foods.

After exploring the nearby area, including Shinkong Mitsukoshi, I showed my family a stationery store and got my sister some bubble tea. Even though we didn't do anything crazy, it was a nice day walking around and showing my family things they still hadn't seen. Later, we had one last sushi dinner with my partner, then accompanied my sister to get a massage. I've missed having my family around, so I was reluctant for them to leave the next morning.

On Sunday, we woke up early, then went to Taoyuan Airport. Saying goodbye to my family was hard, but I'll see them again in several months, at least. After they left, I spent several hours being exhausted and wandering the airport. I flew to Hong Kong around 4:30pm, then met up with some friends. After being in the calm of Taipei for so long, Hong Kong was much more lively and bustling than I was ready for. It felt like a Chinese version of Manhattan, actually.

I caught up with two other ETFs and one of the ETFs' home friends, then we had dinner and walked to Victoria Harbor. At one point, we got stranded on the traffic island in the middle of the street, so it felt a bit like we were playing Crossy Road IRL. We didn't die though!

I've had a wonderful start to break so far! I've had fun hanging out with friends, enjoying hot springs, and spending time with my partner, and I've been especially happy to show my family around some of Taiwan. My family wasn't able to visit last year, and my dad still couldn't visit this year, but my mom and sister seem happy that they came.

I'm especially thankful that I could share parts of my life from this year and last with them. Hopefully, we can all come back to Taiwan again someday so that they can see more. Until next time!

Writer's Note: This post was originally written on February 6th, 2024.