...and finally freedom

哈囉～ sorry for missing last week's post! i've been really busy and honestly a bit overwhelmed😅. it has been go, go, go ever since i got to school. this weekend i'm hoping to catch up on zzz's and reset a bit.

where we left off was my last couple of nights in the self-health management hotel. for the last weekend, i explored the rose garden in 士林 (shilin) and 士林夜市 (shi lin night market) with some classmates and then prepped to move.

the next day, we took or first MRT ride to carrefour to buy dorm essentials, including mattresses, which by western standards would only be toppers. and after our first meal in a restaurant, we were off to the dorms. when we arrived, my roommate wasn't here and their belongings we strewn about the room, so i was a bit worried, but i had to go out with everyone to do a quick tour and pay some fees and by the time i was back, it was all cleaned up. my roommate and i are all good, but i don't think we'll necessarily be friends. she's 23, a dental student and always busy. i've only ever seen her at night (1:00-2:00ish) and occasionally in the morning.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/f148f6_a56359160eea4c1aa520e7738f03038c/720p/mp4/file.mp4

the next two days were full of orientation activities and presentations as well as some housekeeping stuff like getting a taiwan ID, new SIM cards and such.

教育文化之旅 (educational culture trip)

early the following day, we all took the MRT to the 高鐵 (high speed train) which we took to 台南 (tainan). i was so paranoid i would miss the 7:00 call time so i woke up unreasonably early. on the way, i saw a lot of the country's scenery and it is so, so green. our first stop was 安平古堡, a fort which for a long time was surrounded by water. here we learned a lot about the origins of 台南，the old capital of taiwan.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/f148f6_8f30a09ab1b24ffc875970a5b72440cb/480p/mp4/file.mp4

then we had lunch of local snacks like 蝦捲 (shrimp rolls) and some kind of fishball noodle soup (sorry, i forgot the name). after that, off we went to 台江四草 for a boat ride. we got to to see cute, tiny crabs on the shoreline and little birds. it was really fun, mostly because other than pointing out nature, about half of the things the boat announcer said was 「——小心」like 左邊小心、中間小心 and 右邊小心. just telling different parts of the boat to be careful because all throughout this, there were really low-hanging tree branches, so low that if you didn't duck, you'd get hit. 「——小心」has become an inside joke with us now 😂

by this time, we were all exhausted because of the long day and so we were so happy to get to the hotel + hostel. it's so artsy. i adored the interior design and vibes. they have a lounge and bar on the third floor with a huge, spacious balcony as well as what is essentially a library on the first. it is so aesthetic. actually the whole city seems so artsy. i saw a lot more art just painted on the streets and alleys.

later, we had dinner with all of us and explored the city. since 台南 is so old, you see a lot more traditional architecture throughout the city.

the next morning was also an early wake up call so we could eat before heading out to 七股鹽山 (qi gu salt mountain). it's a salt "hill" at best, but the surrounding area was so pretty as well. i'm not sure why but the park also had a bunch of statues for photo ops.

after that, our tainan local guides walked us through a more rural village and pointed out some specific characteristics. we also had a delicious lunch of tainan specialty foods.

our last stop was the 故宮南院 (the southern branch of the national palace museum). i personally thought we didn't have nearly enough time here, but i am kind of in love with museums. this one in particular had amazing exhibit design and graphics in addition to the fascinating artifacts.

last but not least, pit stop for chiayi's famous turkey fried rice before we caught the high speed train back to taibei.

of course, the vacation has to end and we had one day to prep for our first week of classes. class has been hard and time consuming but i'm definitely learning. hopefully, i'll adjust to the schedule and then i can be more efficient.

it's a lot and it will take some it some to get used to, but i did fine this first week without too much time to prep. also, over time, i'll get more and more used to campus. they really aren't kidding that campus is on a mountain. i hike up the mountain every day to class with all my stuff so i don't have to be going back and forth. campus so beautiful with the nature all integrated and the views of the city, but i'm essentially hiking every day. (好難哦～ so difficult) the dorms are decent – a bit dirty, but there is on-floor laundry and a kitchen (i use this term loosely). what i'm really glad about is the student cafeteria and 7-11. even though they are both up the mountain from me, they are great places to grab snacks before class. the cafeteria is buffet style for lunch and dinner and you pay by weight + NTD10/bowl of rice. as for 7-11, or 小七 as we say here, i usually get pork 飯糰 (rice balls) and pineapple. arguably better than any american 7-11. not to mention, everything here is a steal. by comparison, all my meals, full meals, have been under USD10 – even the ones i order to the dorm with fees. generally ranging from NTD80 to NTD200 (or USD2.80 to USD7.31)

some interesting things:

-public transit is so quiet. if not for the sounds of the MRT or train actually moving, you'd probably be able to hear a pin drop (it's really rude to be loud)

-the garbage truck plays music

-our first rain was this week and even though it was mostly just mist, people had their umbrellas out (literally nothing to me, a pnw girl) and then the dorm hall was lined with them out to dry

if you got this far, thanks for reading

拜拜～

♡蘇晨