adjusting & learning...

哈囉～ it's the end of week 4 of in-person classes and a lot has happened recently. let's catch up shall we?

on the last day of break, i went to 台北101 (taipei 101) (the tallest building in taiwan, 6th in the world) with some classmates. i told myself even though it is totally a tourist trap, i have to go once. the outside observatory was sadly closed that day due to weather, but we were able to go up to the 89th floor with full 360° windows. the space was full of photos op sets – definitely a bit cheesy, but worth one trip. we headed to the area around lunch time to explore and the surrounding shopping malls are so high-end, full of luxury brands like gucci, dior, rolex, yves saint laurent, hermes, louis vuitton, etc. it seemed like the higher we went, the more expensive things got. that also meant that the higher went, the less people we saw. i couldn't even afford a hat from the first floor. 😭 we grabbed a late lunch from 鼎泰豐 (din tai feng) and headed up a bit before sunset and stayed to see the city light up.

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https://video.wixstatic.com/video/f148f6_0a3094aae4984bdcb97f8e79318497be/720p/mp4/file.mp4

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/f148f6_50de0a19bc174da3bb6d3a16de4652f2/720p/mp4/file.mp4

the following weekend, i got invited out by my host family to go watch fireflies. unfortunately, firefly season hasn't really started so i only saw a handful. i took the mrt to 大安 (da'an) area about an hour away to meet up and go to 福州山公園 (fu zhou mountain park) which has three lookout spots over the city. we grabbed dinner in the nearby area before heading back into the park after dark in search of fireflies. i also saw bats and some kind of flying squirrel? we ended up just sitting under a pagoda in the dark and chatting.

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then it was back to class. i didn't realize, but i guess i've never explained all my classes here yet, so here you go for those who are interested. i have 合班課 (group class) M-W for 4 hours with three breaks. monday is 文化 (culture), tuesday is 獨立研究 (individual research) and wednesday is 媒體 (media). in each of those classes we do a 新聞報告 (news report) and 小考 (quiz). M, W, Th, i have 語言單班課 (language individual class) where i practice the 語法 (grammar) and 詞彙 (vocabulary) from 合班課 with a teacher. i have 專業單班課 (individual research class) on thursday where i discuss research articles with a teacher while working toward my final research essay and presentation. at the end of the semester, we have three presentations: one for media class, one for culture class and our individual research project. i also have a writing class on thursday to work on our weekly writing prompt and bi-weekly individual research project homework. friday is test day – writing tests on odd weeks and oral test on even weeks. afterwards, we have a 活動 (activity) that usually ends up being a crash course class. last week was on common mistakes and this week's was 成語 (idioms), so not exactly what i would expect from something called an "activity". then some fridays we have 中文桌子 (chinese table) where the program provides lunch and we chat with teachers, but recently because of the covid situation, it is currently suspended for now.

speaking of covid, cases are increasing but the government is not cracking down like last summer. everything is open and thriving. it amazes me how i feel safe going to really crowded places here. interesting thing: the covid tracking here is standardized and easy. each establishment has a number and a QR code on their door. before you enter, you scan the code and a text populates. send the text and then you have a text thread of all the places you’ve been and when. usually the staff of the place will ask to see that you've scanned the code. that this is also how they get your contact info if someone does test positive.

also, just this week, after class a teacher out of nowhere told me i had to do a 快篩 (rapid test). apparently, me and about half the program had been in a classroom that a person who tested positive had been in. so, off to the health center i went. they gave me the materials and sent me out to this tent full of mosquitos to do it. while i waited the 10 minutes for my results, these little black bugs bit me so much. they're the same ones who got me me at that park from my time at the 士林 (shilin) park, so i decided to do some research because with the weather getting hotter and more humid, i have to find a way to deal with them.

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  test tent

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  negative test result!

they're called 小黑蚊 (little black mosquitos or forcipomyia taiwana) that are native to taiwan. they like to bite the back of the hands, ankles, shins and elbows. currently, i have bites in all of the above mentioned places. 😭 it's funny – all the article titles that i found went something like "little black mosquitos are terrorizing taiwan" or "tiny black mosquitoes wreak havoc". i definitely agree with those sentiments.

anyway, i tested negative and was almost late to my class since the class is at the top of the mountain and the health center is at the bottom. thankfully, a bus was coming by the school gate stop just as i finished up. now, i'll probably use the bus a lot more – going up the mountain at least because its much quicker and i won't be out of breath when i get to class.

*notes*

- MRT thoughts: sometimes i feel like i could just ride forever. like how people just go for drives in the states – it’s calming and great for people watching. other times, like rush hour, it’s so chaotic and full that you’re worried about too many things like missing stops, accidentally hitting people with your stuff….i have this idea to put all the red line stations in a randomizer and spin it when i want an adventure. then i have to stop there and explore

- the "open door" and "close door" buttons actually work in elevators here

thanks for reading

拜拜～

♡蘇晨