May II, Weeks 42, 43, + 44: 東西南北 (North, East, South, and West)

Over these past few weeks, I visited Taitung, Taipei, Tainan, and Taichung (oh my!). Despite the heat and typhoon, I had fun exploring the different regions of Taiwan, especially the south and east coast. I also met another ETF's family, dyed my hair for the first time ever, and had some friends from the US visit me in Taiwan.

On Monday, May 13th, I kicked off the week with a teaching observation. Teachers from local elementary schools (plus one of my LETs from Guogou (for reasons unknown)) came to watch me teach about Asian Americans for AANHPI Heritage Month. We taught three stations, which included a storybook about a girl cooking with her grandmother and a worksheet that the kids used to guess if different famous people were American or not. Surprisingly, they all thought that Jeremy Lin was only Taiwanese (and not Taiwanese-American).

The next day, I slept pretty poorly. School was okay. I also had ballet with the other county cohort members that evening, but my knee injury from Changhua kept getting worse, so I couldn't do as much as I wanted. It seems like I might need to go to a doctor to get it checked out soon—yikes!

On Wednesday, I administered some oral exams and taught the Kinmen lesson to eighth grade at Guogou. Some of the kids were surprisingly good at drawing, and I think they liked the lesson (especially the Kaoliang). I went to pottery in the afternoon and finally finished my two myna birds on a log! I also had some extra time to make a ladybug on a leaf and a little tile for myself.

After school, I went to PX Mart for some groceries with my roommate, then we made Chinese sausage with buttered pasta and veggies for dinner. Our gas had been out for over a month, but we could finally cook again! After a delicious dinner, I also had another bimonthly Kinmen reunion call. It sounds like everyone's thriving, and I can't wait to see everyone again. I still miss them, perhaps a little too much, and it's been a tough year.

I did more oral exams on Thursday, then spent the rest of the school day chilling. The most major event was finally dyeing my hair! I scooted to Chiayi City and spend two and a half (almost three) hours and over $5000 NTD ($155 USD) in a salon. It was my first time coloring my hair, so I was a little nervous, but it went pretty well. The stylists used a cold-ening spray, then bleached and heated my hair before washing it. They also did a bunch of different protective washes, sprays, etc., then washed my hair again and cut it. The end result? My hair is now slightly brown instead of black! I might've honestly gone a bit too subtle on the color, but I think it's a good first color to try out.

On Friday, I gave more oral exams, plus I taught a lesson on Chiayi to my ninth graders. They seemed to really like the content, especially the phrase "speak Taiwanese", and decided that the High Heel Church in Budai is boring (I'd agree). I wished all my ninth graders luck on their huikao over the weekend, then headed to Taitung after school. It was a slow two and a half hours on the train, but after dyeing my hair, it didn't feel too long. I mostly spent the time reading more of Beloved on my phone or playing different games.

My partner and I spent the next day scootering around Taitung following a Penghu ETF's suggested itinerary. We started with lunch at an excellent elementary school-themed Hakka bento restaurant called 合眾國小 (Hezhong Elementary), then had dessert at a rice-based soufflé pancake place appropriately called Rice House. The pancakes were tasty, but the texture was a bit unexpected (they were a bit soft and lumpy).

Once we finished dessert, the two of us crossed into southern Hualien to see the straw sculptures at the Fuli Sea of Flowers Scenic Area (which were inexplicably gorilla-centric). Some of the sculptures were a bit nightmare-inducing, but others were pretty cute. After we'd wandered for a little while, we scootered north, then through the Yuchang Tunnel to cross back into Taitung.

Our final sightseeing stop of the day was the famous Sanxiantai Bridge, which is an arched bridge that crosses from Taitung to a small island nearby. Even though the sky was a bit overcast, the nature preserve was beautiful. The front of the preserve was a pebble beach, which was full of smooth, colorful rocks flecked with white minerals, and crystal-clear waves.

While we crossed the bridge to Sanxiantai Island, my partner and I took lots of photos and marveled at the views of the east coast and the island from the bridge. We could see the ocean crashing against the rocks, and the mountains of Taiwan stretching long and blue in the distance. The island was rocky but lush, with lots of volcanic rock and leafy, pineapple-esque plants flanking the main walking trail. We saw lots of little crabs and other creatures as we walked along the island, and I think exploring the nature preserve and the island was my favorite part of the day.

We spent two hours or so wandering the preserve, then we eventually headed back down the coast to Taitung City. Along the way, we got some yum Vietnamese food (recommended to us by another ETA last year) and watched the sun set. Then for dessert, we got Oreo rolled ice cream from Taitung Night Market. Although the day was tiring, I had a good time—I'll definitely miss how beautiful Taiwan's east coast is.

On Sunday, my partner and I went to a stylish restaurant tucked in one of Taitung City's back alleys called CARAVAN, which served a blend of Western and Mediterranean food. We ordered pulled pork tacos, mac and cheese with beef, and a blue spirulina smoothie bowl, and they were all wonderful. Honestly, I can't remember how long it's been since I've had a smoothie bowl (maybe two-ish years? Some time in college?).

My partner stayed behind at a café to do some work after breakfast, so I explored the east coast by myself. I didn't go very far, just up some mountains and down to a beach. I loved the beach, especially the cool, clear water and colorful rocks. Taitung was beautiful and serene, and it reminded me a lot of Hawaii: lots of black sand beaches, long blue mountains, and palm trees.

I spent Monday, May 20th, teaching a lesson about Chiayi to the Budai kids. They enjoyed guessing which other school I taught at this year, and especially liked telling me that the High-Heeled Church in Budai is boring (actually, it really is). Some of them also had fun drawing iconic elements of Chiayi, like the Alishan train and turkey rice.

After school, I hit up the Dalin Night Market for some of their famed stinky tofu (臭豆腐). Driving northeast through Chiayi was fun (despite the nearly hour-long way there), and I liked passing through the different little towns. I met up with an ETA once I arrived, but the stinky tofu stall was nowhere to be seen, so we had to settle for other foods.

We had tasty skewers, delicious pineapple tea, and some of the best fried chicken I've had in Taiwan. We also played a golf ball bingo game that I did kind of terribly at, but at least the ETA and I could pool our game tickets together to get some toys, like a pack of knockoff Pokémon cards. Even though I didn't get any 臭豆腐, I liked walking around and catching up with someone I don't get to see often.

Tuesday was pretty uneventful. I spent the day doing productive things and other work at Budai, then went home and did more productive things. The next day, I taught at Guogou, then had pottery. Since the semester's ending soon, the pottery teacher helped us carve different designs into stone blocks so we could make clay medallions. I decided to carve a calligraphic version of 福, or "luck", which is a character in my name, and I think it turned out pretty ok.

After school, I went to a Puzi café called Tinco with some other cohort members. The café's known for its ringmaking workshop, but it also had pretty good desserts and very... interesting cats. One kitten was particularly chaotic, and she spent most of our time there biting the other Fulbrighters' ears, climbing into our laps, or meowing loudly at us. Or biting our jackets. Or trying to eat our backpacks. Or harrassing the other cats. She was certainly a bundle of energy. In between trying to fend off kitten attacks, we also tried some flan, little drinks, and dango. Very yum.

Then for dinner, one of the ETFs hung out at the Puzi apartment and we made Korean pork belly lettuce wraps with my roommate. In addition to the lettuce and pork belly, we had a bunch of veggies, kimchi, and rice, and it was pretty good.

Thursday was pretty chill. I actually ran into one of my seventh graders at my fantuan breakfast place, which was fun, then spent the day lesson planning and teaching 702. I also went to rollerblading club and finally learned how to skate backwards! It was a little tricky at first, but I learned how to do that, plus a move called the hulu (葫蘆), named after tanghulu (糖葫蘆, the candied fruit on a stick), both forwards and backwards. I've had fun learning how to rollerblade with one of my LETs this semester; maybe I'll take it up in the US once I get back.

I spent the rest of my evening near Budai Harbor. I met my roommate at a taiyaki café in Budai after some Mandarin tutoring, and it wasn't bad; the taiyaki weren't my favorite, but the drinks were yummy. We also went to a seafood BBQ restaurant for dinner for salt-roasted fish, seasonal veggies, and rice. Yum.

Friday went as expected: teaching 701 and lesson planning. I also rewatched Life of Pi while I worked on prepping the materials for my slang lesson, which including resizing and trying paper clothes on a worksheet. Once school was over, I headed to Taipei for one last time (this grant period). I went to Taipei 101 and got Din Tai Fung with my partner, and it was delicious as always: pork xiaolongbao, eggplant, chaoshou (抄手) in hot chili oil, zhajiangmian, etc.

The next morning, I woke up, said goodbye to my partner's roommates, and got brunch with some of my partner's Mandarin program friends at The Diner. It was a sad goodbye, but it was made a little less sad by the delicious onion rings, pancakes, and smoothies we shared. It's hard to think about how quickly things are ending (especially since I'm writing this at the end of June!) and how little time is left in Taiwan for me. Two years is almost up, and I'm still not ready yet.

My train ride to Tainan was quite pensive. The views of the different counties as I moved from north to south Taiwan were beautiful, and I'll miss being able to see the same scenery in the states. Also the existence of a high-speed rail. I didn't have much time to process once I got into Tainan, because then I met up with two of my visiting college friends. I've missed them! It almost felt like a hallucination having them here with me in Taiwan.

We had dinner with another Chiayi ETF and their family at 老厝1933, which is the same barbecue restaurant that we went to after March service camp. The food was just as delicious as last time (even if we definitely over-ordered enoki mushrooms), and I loved getting to know the other ETF's family as well as introducing some of my home friends to a Fulbright friend.

On Sunday, we started the day with some tasty brunch, then walked around Tainan. It was humid and rainy all day, but I liked showing the other two around Snail Alley and welcoming them to Taiwan. Most of the day, however, was spent at a hair salon when my friends had a spontaneous hair dyeing session. I sort of spent five hours just sitting around, but with the constant back and forth travel (and lack of sleep), it was probably much needed. Then, we finished off the evening with dinner at a seafood restaurant and visiting Shennong Street.

We did a bit more sightseeing on Monday. I showed them some traditional Taiwanese foods for breakfast, like roasted sweet potatoes and 豆漿 (soy milk), then we headed to Anping Old Fort. In spite of the intense heat, I liked learning about the fort's history and staring out from the top of the iconic tower (even if it was shorter and smaller than expected). After wandering Anping Old Street and getting some watermelon juice, we also went to Sicao Green Tunnel. The mangrove tour was just as lovely as it was the last time I was there, plus some of the trees were flowering bright red and orange.

Tuesday was a weird weather day. In the morning, it was pouring so hard the streets were flooding. The weather cleared up a little later, so the three of us got to explore a little more of Tainan before we left. We took some photos together in a photobooth, then got hotpot lunch and visited a capybara café. The café had cute fruit tarts, but the capybara enclosure was extremely cramped, so I felt bad for the them.

I brought my friends to Puzi, then went back to Guogou on Wednesday to teach my kids American slang. They had fun with some of the vocab, especially "What's up?", and I think a lot of them really liked the outfit-making portion of the lesson (which included a shark costume). I spent pottery club glazing my myna birds and chatting with the ninth graders. I still can't believe how little time is left before they graduate! I'll miss them and our pottery club chats a lot.

After school, my home friends, my roommate, and I went into Chiayi City. We went to SMARTFISH for dinner, which is a famous restaurant known for its fish head stew. They were also featured on the Taiwan episode of Street Food: Asia on Netflix, and rightfully so, because the stew was amazing. We also had some turkey rice and Alishan cold-steeped tea, all delicious, then I showed my friends the Wenhua Night Market. It still felt a little unreal having my friends visit Chiayi, but I'm glad they came.

Thursday was another day of teaching. The classes went well, especially my 902 class. We played Trading Places (which is a modified version of Where the Wind Blows), and one of the game's most memorable moments was when one of my kids slid out of his chair backwards, kicking his legs in the air and somersaulting gently onto the floor. He was perfectly fine, it was just... a bit unexpected. At the end of class, another student also gave my LET and I some shrinkydinks he made, and mine was a character from a gacha game called Honkai Star Rail.

The next day was pretty unremarkable. I taught slang to my other two classes, then lesson planned. It was a good day to relax, and my roommate and I even cooked dinner together: tofu, fried egg, veggies, and vermicelli. Yum.

I headed to Taichung on Saturday to meet up with my friends and partner. My partner and I had burgers for lunch, then went to a Bugcat Capoo-themed café called Foam Cat Café. Everything was adorable, especially the little decorations and desserts of the different cartoon characters. We got a tiramisu and a mousse, and although they weren't the tastiest, they were almost too cute to eat.

After a little rest at the hotel, the two of us had dinner with my home friends at a snail rice noodle restaurant. I think introducing everyone went well! We chatted, then walked around for some watermelon juice for a bit.

On Sunday, the four of us went to a delicious sushi restaurant for lunch. We also walked around Painted Animation Lane (which has murals of different cartoon and anime characters), the Risograph Museum, Chun Shui Tang (the alleged original bubble tea place), and Shenji New Village. In spite of the occasional rain, we had a good time wandering the city together, and the bubble tea was excellent. It was hard to say goodbye to my friends at the end of the day, but at least I felt better knowing I'd see them soon again in the US.

The trip back to Chiayi was a damp one; the typhoon that'd been approaching Taiwan finally hit, so the train platforms were slick with rainwater, and the sky was purple with storm clouds. As my partner and I left the station, the rain was coming down in heavy, silvery sheets. Roads? Flooded. Visibility? Nonexistent. Somehow, I managed to scoot back to Puzi in one piece, though.

As May winds to a close, I can feel the end of grant panic creeping closer and closer. I've been counting how few weekends are left in the year, and as excited as I am to see everyone at home, I'm equally terrified to return to living in the US. It almost feels like living in a dream, living somewhere so beautiful and having adventures every weekend.

Even so, part of me is ready to go home. As nice as it was to have my home friends visit, I could definitely feel the two years of distance between us, and it was pretty tough. I wouldn't trade the past couple of years for anything, but I've been missing people and places back home.

Here's to the end of an era and one last month in Taiwan.

Writer's Note: This blog post was originally written on Tuesday, June 25th, 2024.