假期 pt.1

唷～ 假期愉快 yo ~ happy break

that's right, i already have a long weekend (five days). we have this monday-wednesday off for 兒童節 (children's day) and 清明節 (tomb sweeping day).

as much as i love a break, i was trying to get used to the schedule and only having two weeks on campus before break is not particularly helpful. these last weeks, the hardest part is figuring out the work-play balance. as many know, i can't not be prepared for class and as a student that it my first responsibility anyway. it's looking like for this term, it's going to be a work week and play weekend.

and play we do. my first weekend, i had my first bar experience ever out with 秋季班 (fall cohort) and some 春季班 (spring cohort). we took the mrt over and it was great for bonding. they are all so helpful and insightful. i can only hope to be the same for the cohort after me.

then this weekend, an amazing friend of mine came to visit from 台中 and took me to a live jazz bar. i was so blown away by the talent of the performers. this bar's vibe was much more high-end and classy.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/f148f6_b33c1b5c9e074f03a097fdf1ac4e0b2d/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

of course this weekend, taipei decides to rain, so the next day we head out on the number one rainy day activity – museum. but first a café stop in 北投區 (beitou district) where i found my first taiwan chai and crispy greens. you have no idea how much i have been missing crispy salads....

then off to 臺北市立美術館 (taipei fine arts museum – TFAM). entry was free thanks to the holiday weekend. my plan of attack with museums is start from the top floor and work your way down. it helps to ensure you don't miss anything. for some reason, i was under the impression this was a relatively small museum, but it took us about four hours to get through. it didn't help that in the last gallery, we kept getting blown away and audibly gasping in awe. we actually had to pause for a bit because it was so much to take in. the upper floors were also amazing and informative, but i have never seen art quite like the last exhibition. it is the style that emphasizes the natural world and the humans are all really small, if they are there at all. another interesting pattern we saw in a few pieces was people gathered along a river with teacups. sounds normal enough, but if you look closely, there are women making drinks at the top of the painting and float the cups downstream to the people. there is actually a term for this: 留觴曲水 (floating cup on a winding brook–a literary game where participants pick up floating cups as they pass, drink and then recite poems).

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/f148f6_9e8cc9d3d49d44859656cf2d6fd5c1f8/480p/mp4/file.mp4

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/f148f6_1b53bb44bf694446ace917cdc724a431/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

(photo grouping by piece: full and then the details) try to find them in the original!

see the floating cups?

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/f148f6_9eef3445ceaa436e9a7e3a707d901117/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

other amazing works:

then, off to another café to pass time before a birthday celebration later. this one is closer to campus and has high probability of becoming a new study spot.

we had korean food and then i had my first club experience. who knew i had the guts to dance until 2am?it's actually insane that here i don't feel an ounce of worry about covid in crowded places whereas in the states, i would definitely not be doing these things.

as for today, i had my first taiwanese 火鍋 (hot pot), explored a market and an underground bookstore street and researched for our longer day trip tomorrow.

if you're actually wondering about school, nothing new in the last week. just class, homework, etc. though i will say that i have applied to two internships and have not heard back from either yet. 😞

~~~

interesting things:

~the mrt closes around midnight, so if you're any later, taxi!

~a local told me my chinese makes me sound like i'm from malaysia

♡蘇晨