叶素慧在台湾

大家好！我是叶素慧。我英文名字是Glenda <3

[glendabong]

Reverse Culture Shock (Taiwan ✈️ United States)

When I came back to the United States, there were definitely a few things I had to get used to again. Mainly about safety and people are way more open causing a scene...

My first culture shock was on the plane ride from Taipei to Seattle. We didn't even take off yet, but there was an American flight attendant yelling at four other flight attendants on the plane. Crazy. Usually people on transportation in Taiwan are quiet, so seeing people get yelled at was like a shocking reminder of home 🇺🇸 When I was going through security in the Atlanta airport, there was a woman arguing with security guards about how she wanted to keep the liquids she brought on her carry on even though they were too big. They were going back and forth and holding up the line. Then everyone was piling into the security area and complaining. The TSA was also screaming at us things like "TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF! HAVE YOUR ID AND BOARDING PASS OUT!" The airport security in Taiwan was way nicer. They just nicely told me things like “推进去” in a soft voice. I guess I just have to get used to getting yelled at again??? Well... I got used to it right after my mom picked me up from the airport because she always yells 😔 🤚

Right after I got off the plane, I was walking with Emily behind a little boy and his father. This tiny Taiwanese boy said “美国人会拿枪”。Emily and I just turned to each other like this 🫢 I mean... he's not wrong??? It's really sad that he's not wrong. Guns are really common in the U.S., and so is gun violence. When I was flying to Taiwan at the end of June, the line to check bags in the U.S. was backed up because someone tried to pack their gun in their luggage improperly. Then police came out and an announcement was made about the importance of disassembling your firearm before checking it in a bag. On my last flight in ATL airport last week though, I met a woman who told me the last time she was in Atlanta, she got stuck in the airport train station while there was a shooter??? She told me she survived because the shooter was in the parking lot, not inside the airport, but wow. She is actually from the same city as me, so when we were talking about where we went to school, I remembered my high school was next to one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in my city, and gun violence is a huge problem. That was probably the biggest reverse culture shock to me. In Taiwan, most people aren't even allowed to own firearms, so gun violence isn't really something people worry about there. Very big difference compared to the United States where we have the second amendment. In Taiwan, whenever i heard a loud noise, I'd look and that's it. People usually just ignored loud noises there. Now I have to get used to hearing a loud noise and watching if people start running again... or think to myself "was that a firework or a gunshot?"

Well. Gotta readjust! Sorry this is kinda sad to read about, but it's my experience for the reverse culture shock extra credit assignment💀

[glendabong]

Taiwanese Impact Final Project

Hello!! I am back in the United States, and I made this video about how my study abroad in Taiwan impacted me for my final project. I posted this video to YouTube because the file was too large to upload on Tumblr. The video is unlisted, so you can only watch it with this link:

[glendabong]

Twenty Ninth Day in Taiwan

July 30–Last Day in Taiwan

Today was my last day in Taiwan. I am a little sad about it. I love Taiwan! Everyone is Asian, so I fit right in. I am very happy I came to Taiwan. I will be coming back for my cousin’s wedding! My aunt also told me to come back to live with her in Douliu for a few weeks.

Today we had a late start, so I slept in. We left the hotel at 11:30am to go to our farewell lunch. The food was really really good. There was a lot of seafood, though. Thankfully, I already messaged 叶老师 how I realized my allergies are from oysters. That was a very unfortunate realization. Whenever I eat oysters in the United States, I do not have any bad reaction, so breaking out into hives in Taiwan was unexpected! My favorite food was the pork belly dish. It was so flavorful. 

Afterwards, I went to the spa with Lauren. It was called Eliza Lady Plaza, and my friend from Taiwan recommended it to me. It was sooo good. I got a facial there! I was recommended to do a facial with a mask and extraction because the lady said she saw my face had a few pimples. Then she pointed at each one… she also said the treatment would reduce the redness of my pimples and my skin. She also recommended the same treatment to Lauren. They did so many face masks on me. They also extracted my entire face, which was kind of painful. My foot was twitching from the pain. The esthetician kept telling me “you have a lotttttt of blackheads…” Uh oh… That was kind of crazy. She actually said that multiple times, and then she showed me the towel with all the blackheads. Oh my gosh… she was not joking… Then the woman gave me a lot of advice on how to take care of my skin. She told me I have oily skin, so I need to make sure I wash my face very thoroughly and double cleanse clearly. She also told me that my face will be red because it will be irritated from the pore extraction. She told me not to touch my face, and we should not go into the sauna. She also told us that we do not have to wash our hair, but if our face gets wet when we wash our hair, it is not a big deal. However, she told me that when I get my full body massage, I cannot get any oil on my face or else it would make my acne worse.

After our facials, I got a 75 minute massage. The lady was a yapper. She kept asking me so many questions about me and Lauren. She also asked me about my family. She thought I was Taiwanese, but I told her my parents were both 印尼华侨。She thought that meant I was mixed, so she said my eyes were very pretty because I have Indonesian blood in me… then I told her I did not and she was very surprised. Then she said Lauren also has very pretty eyes. She was very nice. She took good care of me and told me to always tell her if she was massaging too hard or if the towel was too hot. I asked her to focus more on my feet and my calves, and she said okay! Then she started slapping my calves and my feet. I was not expecting that! It was still very good. I feel so relaxed now. Throughout my massage, she kept saying “How are you not fat if you are American?” Then at the end of my massage, she asked me if I have seen the giant steaks, potatoes, and french fries that Americans eat. She also asked me if I could finish all that by myself. I said no. She said “See! That is why you do not look like them.” Crazy statement. But to be honest, the statistics prove her point. Although it is a stereotype that all Americans are obese, the 42% statistic of obese Americans does not help us debunk that stereotype at all… 

After our facials, we soaked in the pools. We soaked in the hot spring (42 degrees Celsius), the cold spring, and the water jet room temperature pool. It was sooo good. It was like a small size of the spa resort we stayed in at Yilan. Then we got dinner. I got beef noodle soup, and Lauren got stir fried noodles. It was really good! We had a great time.

Academic Reflection

I went to the spa with Lauren today. Bath house culture in Taiwan is very important, which I already experienced somewhat when we went to Xinbeitou. Bath house culture was introduced to Taiwan by the Japanese. Japan controlled Taiwan from 1895 to 1945. Xinbeitou has a thermal valley, which produces a lot of hot spring sulfur water. Therefore, the district has a lot of bath houses and is known for its hot springs. Since this spa was not near Xinbeitou, I was a little shocked that they had spring water. It is in the middle of the city near Nanjing Fuxing. They had a cold bath, hot bath, and massage jets. I wonder if the water is heated and/or cooled, or if it is truly spring water.

I also learned about the history of the spa itself. I talked about the origins of the spa with Lauren, and we learned a lot together. Eliza Lady Plaza only serves women, and the spa only has female workers. I learned that the spa was established because noble women in Taipei wanted a private place to bathe away from commoners and men. I also learned from the masseuse that the spa was established solely for women to have a safe space to relax and enjoy themselves. Learning about bath house culture was very interesting. In the previous bath houses and hot spring resorts, I only saw the bathing aspect of the culture. In the spa, I experienced the bonuses. I previously heard about how the bath houses in Asia were not only for bathing, but also beauty treatments, massages, and food. I finally experienced that! The workers prioritized the comfort of their guests so much. There were even areas for people to sleep in and watch movies. I heard from one of my Chinese teachers that you could spend a whole day in the bath house, and I realize why now. I spent about seven hours there with Lauren! Totally worth it! However, I could not take any pictures because it was not a swimsuit bath house. All confidence. I only took a picture of my beef noodle soup to show my experience!

[glendabong]

Twenty Eighth Day in Taiwan

July 29-- Hsinchu

Hello! This blog is also late because July 29th was my second allergic reaction in a row!!! I hope that is a reasonable excuse... I am sorry...

Today we got on the bus at 10:30am! I slept in a little bit! Yay! Then we took a long drive to Hsinchu County. During the rest stop, there was a large building full of food shops and some merchandise shops. The sign on the outside said "Nice to see you Hakka." My people!!! There was a Hakka restaurant on the second floor, but we only had thirty minutes, so I did not go there. I got a parsley bread and a bread with cheese. They were sooooo yummy.

At 12:45pm, we got to the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) Museum of Innovation. We had a tour guide to explain everything! I really liked the exhibit where we could see how each technological device developed throughout the years. We could see how a fridge developed from an ice box to a smart fridge! To be honest, I do not see the appeal of a smart fridge. It can keep track of expiration dates and how much stuff you have in your fridge, but can't you do that with your own eyes? Am I old for saying that? Oh well. I also did a VR trial of a water world university. Very interesting... We also got a

For lunch, I ate seafood pasta at Beppin Pasta. It was soooo yummy!!! It had salmon, clams, and oysters. Uh oh... oysters...

Right after lunch, I went to Poya to stock up on gifts and products to bring back to the United States. I bought so much stuff that I felt bad for the cashier. I saw the register at the end, and it said I bought 52 items. Sorry...

When I got back to my hotel room, I started feeling very hot and itchy. My ear was so itchy! Eventually, I looked in the bathroom and saw that I broke out into hives AGAIN! It was so bad! My ear was so swollen. Uh oh! My neck and chest had a lot of hives... arms... back... legs... uh oh! I took a lot of Benadryl and slept until the morning.

Academic Reflection

The reading was about the TSMC Museum of Innovation. I learned a lot from the reading and the museum visit. I learned that TSMC makes up 9% of Taiwan's GDP, which is a lot!!! I also learned about how each technological device developed over the years. For example, I got to see how watches evolved from pocket watches, wristwatches, fitness wristbands, to smart watches. I also saw how cars evolved. However, something I noticed was that the advanced cars presented were not very common in the United States. There were electric cars and self-driving cars. There are not a lot of those cars in the United States besides Teslas and hybrids.

Another thing I learned from the museum is that TSMC produces most of the microchips included in devices, such as smartphones and Apple Watches. I also learned that a specific microchip produced by TSMC allows people to use Google Pay and Apple Pay. I also saw the development of chips and their sizes. I saw the smallest chip produced, and it was very hard to even see.

[glendabong]

Twenty Seventh Day in Taiwan

July 28-- Taipei

Hello... this blog is late because I had allergic reactions two days in a row... please forgive me 叶老师。

July 28th was our free day! Emily and I knew we had to do our independent excursion, so we went to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. Going there was a bit of a long trip. We took the MRT, and we switched from the green line, the blue line, to the red line. It was long! But fun. Emily played a lot of Block Blast. When we got to the memorial hall... it was closed for renovations. HOWEVER! There were still statues and surrounding signs for us to read, so it was not a wasted trip. I found something else for my independent excursion because it was closed, though...

Fortunately for me and Emily, the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall is really close to Taipei 101 and Xinyi Shopping District! We went to a lot of stores including GU, NET, Pull&Bear, UNIQLO, MUJI, H&M, and the Pokemon Center (for Emily). I bought a cute tank top from Pull&Bear, and I bought a cat T-shirt from UNIQLO. We also went to 7-eleven for lunch and yapped!

Afterwards, we took the MRT to go back to our hotel. I rested until our dinner with Peter and 叶老师！The dinner was reallyyyy good. I ate a lot of tasty food! Unfortunately, that included oysters. I found out I am allergic to oysters (on July 29th tho... this is my future self talking from July 30th)!!!! Uh oh! Okay so I drank a tiny glass or two of beer, and I already knew I am slightly allergic because I get Asian glow, so I thought my allergic reaction was from alcohol that day. When I got back to the hotel room, I was sitting on the couch and suddenly my neck and the sides of my torso were so itchy. I thought it was because I got rained on, so I went to the bathroom to shower. When I took off my shirt, I saw I had HIVES everywhere! I had hives on my neck, chest, sides, stomach, arms, back, and even on my hips!!!!! OMG????? I thought it was because of alcohol because all the other food I ate that day was stuff I have already eaten before either on the trip or in the United States. I asked the group chat (we have one without Peter and 叶老师...... sorry!!!) if anyone had Benadryl. BLESS KADENCE! She had Benadryl!! I went to her hotel room and got some. I asked her to look at my hives to see if they were REALLY THAT BAD... and she gasped when she looked. She was on the phone with her mom, and her mom started telling me to take Benadryl right away. I took it! Then I went back to my hotel room and showered to try to get the hives to be less itchy... Then I slept through the night and hoped my immune system wouldn't kill me. I survived!

[glendabong]

Twenty Sixth Day in Taiwan

July 27-- Alishan to Taipei

I got up at 12:30am today!!! So early... Peter and 叶老师 told us we needed to check out of our hotel and get on the bus by 2am so we could make it to the Alishan train station by 4am. I took a hot shower, packed up my stuff, and got on the bus. So tiring! I tried sleeping on the bus, but it was not a great sleep. I felt a little motion sick because of how jerky and bumpy the ride was, and I barely get motion sick.

When we got to the train station entrance, we had to show our student IDs. When I got off the bus, it was SO COLD??? I was shocked. 叶老师 already told us that Alishan would be colder than all the other places we went, and she said it was about 20 degrees Celsius the other day. However, it was 12 degrees Celsius!!! The other mountains I had been to in Taiwan were still HOT, so this was certainly a surprise. Fortunately for me, I prefer cold weather over hot weather. You can always add more layers for the cold, but with heat, it can still be unbearable. While walking into the train station, I sped walk to try to keep myself warm. We were trying to catch the 4:30am train, but we missed it! We caught another train at 4:40am, though. The train ride was about 25 to 30 minutes. Luckily, we all got a seat in the train on the way up! I spent the ride just talking to my classmates and joking around.

When we got up to Zhushan, the iconic sunrise viewing spot, it was so FOGGY. Oh my. Peter told us because it was so foggy, we might not see the sunrise. Then he told us to push some people aside to get a good spot to see the sunrise. I asserted myself next to a grandma with Ryan. There was a grandpa trying to push me aside, but I am stronger and younger! I kept my spot! The sunrise was at 5:25am, so when it was past 5:25am and all we could see was fog, we were disappointed. Woke up so early to see... fog?? I did not mind too much, though, because now it is a funny story for me to tell. When we went down the mountain, there were only two seats on the train left. 叶老师 and I grabbed them! Woo! The ride down was worse than the ride up, to be honest. It was so jerky, and my sleep deprivation was not helping. I took a nap on the train, though.

After we returned to the Alishan train station, we took a 5 minute shuttle bus to a veryyy nice hotel for breakfast at like 7am. The breakfast was good. I got a desperately needed coffee. Everyone at our table was like this place is so nice, why didn't we stay here? Then I looked up the price and found out the hotel is 19,000 NTD (645 USD) per night... oh! That is a LOT of money!

After breakfast, we started walking around in the forest and mountains. It was sooo beautiful and green! The air was so clean, too. I miss breathing it already. The weather was cold and rainy, but I liked it because at least I was not sweaty. There were a lot of monkeys, too!!! They were so cute and silly. I took many pictures. We also walked past an elementary school, which I honestly found to be a bit shocking. It was a little far from any nearby road, so you would have had to hiked up the mountain to get to it. It reminded me of the times my father said "You don't know how good you have it! I had to cross mountains and walk on a dangerous bridge across a river to get to school each day!" At first I thought he was exaggerating, but then he actually showed me the broken bridge he used to cross to get to school... and I guess seeing a school in the middle of the mountain made me realize this really is how far some people have to go to get an education.

We also saw the sacred trees and the elephant tree. So beautiful! The trees were HUGE! We walked down the mountain until we got to the train station to go back up. However, we got there way too early. It was 8:30am, the ticket booth didn't open until 9:30am, and the first train wouldn't leave until 10am! Luckily, there was a waterfall nearby to entertain myself with. It was a little hard to see everything because it was so foggy, but it was still beautiful. After a while, Peter found a nearby shuttle station to take us back to the Alishan train station. We had to walk up quite a few steps... I felt so out of shape! Back in the United States, I went to the gym 4-5 times a week! But there is not a gym available for me in Taiwan because we travel so often, so I am out of shape, and those stairs definitely proved it! But i survived! I took a nap while waiting for Terry 叔叔 to come with the bus. So grateful for him! Then we took a five hour drive to Taipei...

Our five hour drive had two rest stops. The first place had a lot of wooden carvings, but nothing I wanted to eat. We already drove for two hours, so I was thinking we must be closer to Taipei, right?? Nah. Turns out the two hours was solely getting down the mountain. The second rest stop was huge. There were so many restaurants and stands. It even spanned over a highway! I got corn and sausage bread. Tastes just like the bread I used to eat as a kid! So yummy. I got back on the bus to go to Taipei. I played a lot of Polytopia on the way back, but my phone was on 19%, so I just closed my eyes and slept the rest of the way there.

When we got back to Taipei, all I did was sleep. I slept until 9:30pm! I was so tired, especially because we were up so early. I went to 7-eleven for dinner, but that is about it. I will go exploring and shopping tomorrow, though!

[glendabong]

Twenty Fifth Day in Taiwan

July 26-- Tainan to Alishan

I woke up, quickly packed, and got on the bus to go to Alishan. But there was a surprise! Instead of going straight from Tainan to Alishan, we went the other direction back to Kaohsiung to see Mikan, the MRT station master! Mikan is a cat, who only works once a month. She is soooo cute! She was mostly sleeping when we saw her, but that is alright. She makes up for it with her adorable presence. I learned that she was a stray cat adopted by the staff. I am so glad she has a home now! After we saw Mikan, we walked over to a nearby steamed bun shop. I got a 黑糖葱肉包，which was very tasty!

After our stop in Kaohsiung, we drove to Alishan. I slept the whole way there! Our hotel was nice. The lobby was very pretty. However, I heard that each double room had different sized beds. Unfortunately, Emily and I both got twin beds. I heard from our other classmates they got full sized beds! So lucky for them... Anyways, Peter and 叶老师 planned for us to check out of our hotel at 2am... so we were not going to stay there too long, anyways. The room was nice, though. We got very nice slippers, and there were snacks and drinks provided for us in the room. The bathroom was also very nice. There was a bidet, and the floors were heated! We also had a balcony, but our view was the building under construction in front of us </3

At 5pm, our class went to go eat hot pot! It was so yummy. We had a budget of 500 NTD, and we only had to pay for the meat! Vegetables, noodles, tofu, etc. were all free! Yummy! I got pork, and then the waitress came around saying she would give us another free plate of meat if we showed her our student ID, so I got a free plate of beef! It was sooo yummy and fatty. I also tried some fried noodles for the first time, and they were very tasty. Yay! I tried almost every flavor of ice cream, too. My favorite was the chocolate ice cream because it was sooo rich. Yummy!

When we got back to the hotel, there was a beautiful view of the city from the balcony of the lobby. We were up in the mountains, so it was gorgeous. Then, I just rested in my bed while waiting for the food in my stomach to digest. The wifi in the hotel was sooo bad. It was turning on and off! I could not even do my blog </3 I took a nap from about 9:45pm to 12:30am, then I took a hot shower. I guess the rest of this blog will have to continue onto the July 27th blog?? The past two days were weird because of how little of a break we actually had between the excursions.

Academic Reflection

The reading today was on the Alishan National Scenic Area; however, we did not actually go to the Alishan National Scenic Area until July 27th, but that's alright because I am from the future!! I learned that the indigenous Tsou tribe first settled in Alishan. Alishan is also known for its tea plantations and wasabi. Personally, I did not see any tea plantations or wasabi up there.

There are also a few sacred trees. The first sacred tree was named by the Japanese. It was a huge tree aged over 3,000 years old! However, it withered away due to heavy rainfall and lightning. Later on, more sacred trees were selected, becoming the second and third generations of sacred trees. All of the sacred trees are very old and large.

[glendabong]

Twenty Fourth Day in Taiwan

July 25-- Tainan

Today was a very packed schedule. We started at 10am, so I got up at 9am. At 9:40am, I ate breakfast with Emily, Layla, and Lauren. The breakfast was still sad with not many options, but it was better than yesterday. I ate radishes, tofu, braised pork, porridge, and shumai. The braised pork had no seasoning... so sad.

Our first stop was the Ten Drum Cultural Village. We started off with the drum performance. It was sooo good. They were all so talented. Many of them also switched between instruments (drums and flutes) as well. I really liked the drum performance. After the performance, I explored the village with Landon and Lauren. We walked up the sky walk. It was soo breezy up there. I liked it a lot. I also took a few pictures. Then we found a restaurant where a bunch of our other classmates were, along with 叶老师 and Peter. After we ate, we rode a train for three minutes to get to the other side of the village. We got a little lost going back to the bus, but we eventually found our way.

Our second stop was the Tainan Sicao Green Tunnel. We only showed up for the boat ride. We got life vests and straw hats. The boat ride was SOOOO HOT. Oh my goodness. I felt like I was dying. I was glad I had the hat because it helped block some of the sun, but it was still so hot. I took a few pictures while I was there. It was cool, but we have mangroves in Florida as well, so I did not take too much interest in it.

Our third stop was the Anping Tree House. The tree house was basically a warehouse overtaken by nature. I liked it there because we could climb up onto balconies, which had a lot of breeze. Eventually, I found a bench up there, and I sat with Rebekka. We talked for a while until we had to go back.

Our fourth stop was the Tainan Anping Fort. Honestly, by the time we got to this fort, I was so ready to just go back to the hotel. The weather was too hot to even give me energy. We barely stayed there. We only saw the Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) statue, which I found interesting because I translated an article about him for my Chinese translation class in spring semester.

When we got back to our hotel, I met up with my Indonesian friends from earlier in the week. They got to Tainan in the early afternoon and explored while I was in class. I saw them and said "apa kabar?!" Then we went on a walk to get dessert from a French pastry shop. Marcie and I both got chocolate cake, and Aurelia got lemon cake. The chocolate cake was sooo good. The flavor was very rich. I loved it!

Academic Reflection

The first reading today was about the Ten Drum Cultural Village. I learned that it is a cultural landmark designed to preserve Taiwanese culture. It is also 7.5 hectares, which is much larger than I expected. The village also consists of old warehouses and a sugar factory, which explained why they repurposed many metal bins into furniture. They also had a lot of remnants of the sugar factory, even providing explanations on how sugar is processed. Overall, it was very educational. My favorite part of the village had to be the drum performance, though.

The second reading today was about the Tainan Anping Fort, which is also known as Fort Zeelandia. I learned that the fort came from the Dutch colonial era of Taiwan. The bricks were shipped from Java. I was slightly surprised to hear Indonesia mentioned, but then I realized Indonesia was a Dutch colony for centuries, so it makes sense. I also learned that the bricks on the outer layer of the fort were harvested for another fort, which would explain why there were so many gaps in the walls.

The third reading today was about the Anping Tree House. I learned that the treehouse used to be a salt warehouse, and the type of tree covering the place is called banyan tree. At first, the building was used to store sugar and camphor, then later salt. I really liked seeing the treehouse because it was completely overtaken by nature. So green in a world of pollution.

The fourth reading was about the Tainan Sicao Green Tunnel. I learned that the tunnel is actually man made... artificial!!! Not real nature! Oh well, the boat ride was still fun. I also learned that the nearby temple is centuries of years old, which I thought was interesting. The actual boat ride was fun, but I could definitely sense that it was a little artificial because of how straight and narrow the waterway was. I have been in a real mangrove forest in Tampa Bay, and it was not a smooth boat ride because of the natural twists and curves. Either way, the boat ride was still fun. I really like the hats they gave us. I wish I could keep them!

[glendabong]

Twenty Third Day in Taiwan

July 24-- Tainan

Today we had a later start as well. We started at 9:30am! Emily and I got breakfast together, but it was sad and restricted. The options were so limited... I ate a croissant, tofu, edamame, and bean sprouts. I think Emily gave her germs to a lot of other people, too. Many of our classmates started saying their throats felt strange. Uh oh! My roommate is patient zero D: So scary! I have to sleep in the same room as her!!! Germs everywhere!

Our first stop was the Confucius Temple. It was very clean, and there were not a lot of people there. The back of the temple had a few exhibits where they explained what items were important to Confucian ceremonies. It was interesting to look at all the different objects. I also wrote my wishes on a talisman. While writing, I realized my Chinese handwriting is SOOO BAD </3 I haven't written a lot of Chinese in over a year. it is mostly just typing with my pinyin keyboard. I should practice more!

Our next stop was the National Museum of Taiwan Literature. I liked this museum, especially the part where they went over films. The exhibits were very pretty, and the environment was relaxing. I also liked how recently updated the museum was since it had a few exhibits about literature in 2025. So current!

Our last stop was the National Museum of Taiwan History. It was probably my favorite museum, but I went through it so fast. I really liked learning about the indigenous people and what Taiwan was like under Japanese rule. I feel like those two topics are not as frequently elaborated on as much, so it was interesting to learn about them.

When I got back to the hotel, I ate a nearby cafe and got pasta for lunch. Then I went to 7-eleven for dessert. I got chocolate ice cream. So yummy! Then Emily and I took a really long nap until 6pm. We did not go out until almost 8pm. We went out to explore Tainan with Layla. We went into the nearby shopping center, and we found a clothing store in the basement. But it was soooo expensive. We found another similar clothing store down the street. The sign in the front said 4折, which made me so excited! However, the clothes were like 5,000 NTD... even with 4折 that would be crazy expensive. We left and walked around some more. We saw a shady alleyway, then we got 7-eleven for dinner. The cashier told me to press any button on the screen for a reward, but the screen was not loading and it was gray. I was SOOOO confused. I never had to do anything like that. When the screen finally loaded, there were 4 buttons that said "START!" I clicked on one of them, and it gave me 69折 on my dinner. YAY!

Academic Reflection

The only reading for today was on the National Museum of Taiwan History. The other two links were broken... uh oh! I learned that the museum's library is called the Salusat Library. When I first read the name, I thought it sounded very Indonesian. However, I found out the name is from the indigenous Siraya people, and the indigenous people of Taiwan speak Austronesian languages. Indonesian is also an Austronesian language, which would explain why they sound a little similar in intonation.

I learned a lot about Taiwanese indigenous people and Taiwan under Japanese rule in the museum. It was very interesting. I also learned about the Takasago Volunteers. The Japanese thought that Taiwanese indigenous people were skilled in fighting in the mountains, so they sent groups of them to fight in the Philippines. I had no idea about this piece of history, so I found it very intriguing. I also learned that Taiwan's first encounter with a national language was Japanese. I thought the first national language would be Hokkien, but then I remembered Peter said that Hakka and Taiwanese Hokkien people were unable to communicate with each other because of the language barrier. Furthermore, there was not a national language enforced on the indigenous people prior to Japanese rule.

[glendabong]

Twenty Second Day in Taiwan

July 23-- Tainan

Today we started at 9:45am! I got extra sleep... yay! Emily is still sick </3 I think she gave me some of her germs... but I am still ok! We went to the National University of Tainan for a calligraphy class! I did some calligraphy in the past, but not a lot. My handwriting has never been good until I switched to cursive writing in English. My handwriting in Chinese is okay... I only started learning how to read and write in high school, so my handwriting is not the prettiest. I had lots of fun learning about the history of fans and calligraphy. I also liked practicing lots of calligraphy, including cursive and ancient scripts. It was really funny because Emily and I were struggling. I kept laughing at her because the professor kept telling her "you chose the hardest one!" Then another guy did not know I could speak Mandarin, so he started telling Peter to tell me that I was holding the brush too tight, and I should not be too nervous. I just stared at him like this :o and tried to fix my hold on the brush while Emily was laughing at me </3 For lunch, we got bento boxes from the university! I got a pork cutlet, white rice, mushrooms, 空心菜 (I have no idea what the English name is), and tofu mixed with seaweed. Very delicious :D I also had tea, which was slightly sweetened. It was reallyyyy good.

Afterwards, we went back to our hotel. Emily said she would take a nap from 2pm to 4pm. I told her I will take a nap, too, but we will probably sleep until 6pm because we always sleep through our alarms. We took a nap, and I woke up at 5:15pm, while Emily woke up past 5:30pm. I went to the nearby stationary store, and I thought many of the items were cute, but I did not buy anything. I will probably go back and buy stuff another day because I just found out they have a second floor that I did not see yet. Then I went to Cosmed and bought a few creams, sunscreens, and mascaras. There were a lot of 买一送一！What a great deal! Some of them will be taken home to give as gifts to my friends :D I also got Emily a nasal relief stick because she has been so congested lately. She keeps telling me "I can't breathe!" She tried it and said it was VERY GOOD!

I was originally going to eat Korean BBQ with Tian and Anqi, but Emily gave me her germs. My throat was a little dry and irritated, so I decided to back out and get soup. I walked around National Cheng Kung University with Emily. We took a few pictures of the statues, and we visited both Banyan Garden and Cheng Kung Lake. They were both so pretty! There were also a lot of bats out. They were so tiny and cute! Then we walked to Tainan Park. We had to go under a bridge to get there, and it was so suspicious... But the park was very pretty! There were lots of trees. There was also a pavilion in the middle of the water with classical Chinese architecture. So beautiful!

After the park, I got beef noodle soup while Emily ate 7-eleven food. We ate together, though, because the restaurant I got my soup from was full. The food was super tasty! I heard from Peter that Tainan is famous for their beef noodle soup, so I had to try it.

Academic Reflection

There was no reading today, but we had a guest lecture from 叶老师 at the National University of Tainan. This 叶老师 is not the same as our 叶老师。We had a lecture about fans. I learned a lot from this lecture! I learned that fans were a symbol of social class in ancient China. Fans were very important because air conditioning did not exist, so they were used to cool our bodies. People who had fans were usually higher class. People who had maids fan them were veryyy high up the social ladder. People who held large fans were usually of lower class, since they were typically the servants who had to fan nobles. There are also two different types of fans: 折扇 (folding fan) and 团扇 (round fan). We worked with round fans today.

Our workshop was about calligraphy, which was also taught by 叶老师。He taught us that it is important to be able to draw circles and zig zags as part of calligraphy. We got lots of practice! He then gave us a few phrases we could copy onto our fans while also explaining their meaning. I learned how to write in both cursive script and ancient script during the workshop. Yay! I found it interesting how 樂 in cursive looks just like the simplified version (乐). I was very happy with how much I learned today.

[glendabong]

Twenty First Day in Taiwan

July 22-- Tainan

I woke up early today for an interview, which went very well!!! After my interview, I went to eat breakfast with my roommate, Emily. We talked for a while in the restaurant, then we went back to our room to pack. She is sick right now. Our hotel room in Kaohsiung has been very cold, and she got rained on quite a few times.

We got on the bus to go to Tainan. We stopped for lunch at the biggest 7/11 in Kaohsiung. It was HUGE! The store even sold raw meat, fish, and whole heads of cabbages. I have never seen that before! I got two onigiris and a Coke Zero with extra fiber. When we got back on the bus, I slept the whole way to Tainan.

We got to Tainan, and our first stop was the Chihkan Tower. There was a shrine where you could request special pens to take exams with. One of my classmates got a pen on the first try, then another kept getting laughed at by the gods. When I requested for a pen, Peter said I should ask for everyone to get a pen. So I did (kinda)! My wish was for each 同学 to receive a pen, and I got a yes on the first try!! I was so happy. But then Peter said, "Oh I should get one too then!" and I realized I only wished for my classmates... I forgot to ask for pens for Peter and 叶老师 as well... I AM SO SORRY </3

Our next stop was Old Lin's Department Store. It was reallyyyyy old. The elevator was super small, too. Peter made a joke about how only 5 Taiwanese people can fit on it, so then only 2 Americans can get on it. I actually saw a sign like that in our hotel in Yilan. In Chinese, it said the max load was 12 people. In English, it said the max load was 10 people. I guess the stereotype that Americans are obese is prevalent in Taiwan??? Anyways, this department store had bullet holes from WW2, which I thought was interesting. The rest of the shop was not very interesting to me because it was so overpriced... I walked over to a nearby blind box shop with Emily. There were Labubus there!! I swear it is so hard to find the big Labubus here. The rest of the are Lafufus (I lowkey like Lafufus better tho). I went back to the department store to let some of our classmates know that I found Labubus because I knew some of them really wanted to buy them.

Afterwards, we checked into our hotel. I am so glad there is good wifi here!!! Our hotel in Kaohsiung was really nice, but the wifi was so bad. I couldn't even call my mom <//3. Emily and I got 7-eleven for dinner because we are too tired to go out. I am so happy there is a Cosmed right next to our hotel. I went there and got two lip glosses and a moisturizer!! YAY! Afterwards, Emily was feeling unwell, so we played footsies to cheer her up. Roommates 🔛🔝

Academic Reflection

The first reading today was about Chikan Tower. I learned that the tower was established by the Dutch. Taiwanese people called it Red Hair Tower because red hair was used to refer to white people. I remember Fort Santo Domingo also had a lot of Dutch people, so many people called them red hair as well. Another name for the tower is also Fort Provintia, which I was unaware of. I also learned that Formosa was the former name for Taiwan given by Europeans. There was a god you could pray to for education and test scores as well, and I learned about him from Peter.

The second reading today was about the Hayashi Department Store. I learned that the department store has the first elevator in Taiwan, but it definitely has been upgraded a few times since then. The elevator is super small. There were bullet holes in the store from WW2. I also learned that it was frequently bombed and had to be rebuilt. The actual store wasn't as interesting as I hoped it would be. There were a few exhibits which were fun to read about, but the rest of it was just overpriced vendors.

[glendabong]

Twentieth Day in Taiwan

July 21-- Kaohsiung

We went into many of the pavilions and temples along the Lotus Pond today. We also walked through the dragons and tigers. There were so many sculptures inside with stories about Confucian values and filial piety. I found it very interesting that one of the stories was about a child who ate their parents' feces every night to determine their health, which showed their loyalty to their parents. However, there was a father who got rewarded for choosing to kill his son over his own mother. What??? I know that filial piety is about loyalty to your parents, but I think it's crazy to have to choose between your own child and your own parents. I also find it crazy how they use the most jarring examples of filial piety. Another story was about how a woman breastfed her mother-in-law... how do people even come up with this???

When we went to the temple, there was a tour guide who was multilingual. He knows Mandarin, German, Spanish, and English. Wow! He is not better than our tour guide Peter, though. He taught us about how Taoism is different from Buddhism, and he explained how to pray with the moon blocks.

Afterwards, I took a longggg nap in my hotel room with Emily. We didn't wake up until past 5pm, which was just in time to meet our new friends. When we went out the other night, I met two girls who were 印尼华侨 just like my family! We all became friends. Lauren, Emily, and I all went out to eat sushi with them in Dream Mall. e competed with each other about who could eat the most plates. I won with 15 plates! Emily and Lauren were close with 14. After our meal, they came back to our hotel room, and we shared so many stories with each other. It was soooo fun! While we were talking, I realized my Indonesian accent when I speak English got stronger. Which is strange because I only know a little bit of Indonesian. Emily told me I usually have a little bit of an Indonesian/Chinese accent when I speak English anyways, which I was very surprised about. I mean... my English is the best out of all the languages I know, so I was shocked. However, I did learn English last, so maybe that is why??? Oh well. I guess I am just bad at every language I speak </3

Academic Reflection

The reading was about religious freedom in Taiwan. I learned that Taiwan has many people of combined faiths, which Peter mentioned as well. I also learned that Taiwan has laws protecting religious freedom. However, there were still many Buddhist monks from other countries who faced difficulties with obtaining visas, though officials claimed it was not due to religion, but rather foreigner status.

Visiting the temples in Taiwan opened my eyes to the religions in the country. Combined faiths are indeed popular, as many temples include both Taoist and Buddhist features. While walking around Kaohsiung, I also saw a church. I also saw some Confucianism as well, which my mother's family used to practice when she was younger. It is very interesting to see the various religions present in such a homogenous country.

[glendabong]

Nineteenth Day in Taiwan

July 20--Free Day in Kaohsiung!

I met my aunt, cousin, and my cousin's girlfriend. They are from Douliu. It's about 2 hours away from Kaohsiung by train. I have never met them before. My 姑姑 is only older than my father by one year, so they grew up very close; however, they haven't seen each other since 1999. I am here as a representative for my father!!!! 姑姑和爸爸 look so alike, and I look a lot like my father. We started joking that the three of us all look the same. My aunt gave me soooo much food to bring home. I was shocked. But then I gave my aunt and cousin some gifts from the United States. They were veryyyy happy. My aunt has two sons, but only the older son could come because the other one was too busy. My older cousin actually has to enlist 7/21, so he was wearing a cap the whole day because he already shaved his head. My other cousin lives in Tainan. He is getting married next year! So exciting!

My cousin took us to Haidilao 海底撈 to eat hot pot. I had never been there before. I heard it was super popular, but the only 海底撈 restaurants in the United States are on the west coast and maybe Texas. I don't live in those states 💔💔💔 We ordered a lotttt of food!! It was really yummy. 姑姑 is a lot like my 奶奶 in terms of making me eat a lot. She said I need to eat more, and she was very unhappy when I said I didn't want to eat any ice cream or white rice. So she got them for me and made me eat them... Thanks! 海底撈 is beyond just food, though. The service and entertainment is great! I got chili oil on my white skirt, and the waitress cleaned my skirt for me on the spot. I was so surprised. Like how nice is that?? In the United States the waitresses would NOT care at all. Suddenly, a waiter showed up and put a speaker on our table. I asked my cousin what was happening, and he said there was a show. The waiter started playing music and dancing with noodles like he was a rhythmic gymnast. Afterwards, my cousin took me to the main hall of the restaurant to see another show. There was someone dressed in a traditional opera costume. He was dancing with a fan. He also had a mask that changes very quickly. I was soooo surprised because I expected to just eat, not to watch so many performances. It was very entertaining, though!

After our meal, we went around several shops buying gold. My mother told me I need to buy gold jewelry from Taiwan to bring back to the United States. My mother said Taiwanese gold is very pretty, and it is cheaper to buy gold in Taiwan than in the United States. I got gifts for my family, and then I got myself flower earrings. They are sooo big and pretty :D

After our shopping, we went back to my hotel. It was raining heavily, and my cousin had to enlist the next day, so they left a little early. Also, they live about 2 hours away from Kaohsiung, so they couldn't stay too long. My aunt and I were both sad that we had to part ways so early. She said next time I come to Taiwan, I should stay with her in Douliu. I do not think she has seen her family since 1999, which is the year she moved from Indonesia to Taiwan with her husband. I definitely want to see her again! She told me to bring my entire family next time.

[glendabong]

Eighteenth Day in Taiwan

July 19-- Meinong Hakka Village and Sugar Cane Factory

Our first stop was Meinong Hakka Village. We were supposed to go to the Hakka museum as well, but it is under renovation until October. I really liked the Hakka village because I am also Hakka :D There are not many Hakka people in the United States, so it is nice to see so many of my people. Back in the United States, I only have one Hakka friend. Anyways, I looked around the shops and bought a lot of stuff. The first shop had lots of handmade umbrellas. They were so beautiful, yet so expensive. I wanted to buy one, but I was worried it would get damaged in my luggage when I take it home. I bought a purse, wallet, hair clips, and some cute pens. The village was mostly women, and they were so nice to me. In the first store, one of the workers asked me about why Rebekka and I came to Taiwan. When she found out I am Hakka, she was soooo happy. We also got a discount on the hair clips! Originally 60 NTD for 1, but they gave us a deal: 2 for 100 NTD. Yay! In the second store, one of the workers asked me if I knew Chinese. I said yes, and she asked me where my parents are from. She was so surprised when I said 他们都是印尼华侨。We talked to each other for a little bit, and she even slipped in a few things for free <3

Our second stop was a sugar cane factory and museum. Right before we went to the museum, 叶老师 bought us ice cream bars. 谢谢！In the museum, it was very hot and humid. It was also storming outside. There were some abandoned rooms that were basically disintegrating. Wooden planks on the ground in one and a single chair in another??? Somewhere in the middle of all this was a wedding planner's shop. TBH I wasn't too interested in this museum. Sorry </3

Afterwards, I went out to the Great Harbor Bridge. It was spinning! Very slowly! I learned that the bridge spins to let boats in and out of the port, but it only spins about once or twice a day. It was cool to watch, though. I ate lunch with Jess and Emily at a burger place. It was the same place I ate at a few days ago, but this time I got the combo! Yummy!

After lunch, I went out with Rebekka, Kyra, Layla, Mitchell, Kadence, and Landon to the Dream Mall. I love that mall so much. There are so many floors and shops. I went to GU and bought two shirts. I also bought a pair of sneakers from New Balance. They were expensive but if I got them in the United States then I would've spent about 30 USD more. Then we went on the ferris wheel at the top of the mall! It was so fun. I sat with Kyra and Rebekka. The view was sooooo pretty, but then it started raining, and there were heavy winds. The car we were in started shaking, which made it sooo fun. The wind was very loud, though. I couldn't take as many good pictures because the water droplets were blocking the view. Oh well! It's been raining a lot here because a typhoon is coming. I'm not complaining too much, though. The rain helps keep the weather cool.

Academic Reflection

The first reading today was about the Hakka people (my people). I had no idea Hakka people had such a rough history. I knew there was discrimination to some extent, but I had no idea how bad it really was. Reading about how some people viewed Hakka people as "barbaric" and "uneducated" was also jarring because it was about me... It really hits different when these prejudiced textbooks target you specifically. An interesting fact I learned is that Hakka women didn't typically practice foot binding. Peter explained it was because most Hakka women needed to work on the farms. I am just grateful that none of the women in my family had to suffer the pain of foot binding. When I visited the Hakka village, I was very happy because I was surrounded by my own people. The Hakkanese spoken in Taiwan is similar, yet slightly different, from the Hakkanese spoken in Indonesia. In Indonesia, Hakkanese spoken in different cities already have some differences, which I found to be interesting. I can understand a lot of the Hakkanese spoken here, which also makes it easier to understand some Hokkien as well because they sound similar.

The second reading today was about the sugar industry in Taiwan. I had no idea Taiwan was such a large producer of sugar. I learned a lot about the sugar harvesting process from the reading. A fun fact I learned from the article is that a skilled worker could prepare a single sugar cane in 8 seconds. Wow! I also learned a lot about how sugar cane was processed in factories while I was at the museum. Growing up, I have had some sugar cane drinks and seen how they would process it on a small scale, but seeing an entire sugar cane factory was so new and interesting.

[glendabong]

Seventeenth Day in Taiwan

July 18-- Kending

My blogs are late because my hotel's wifi is really bad </3 I remember 叶老师 said the blog for July 18th was optional tho :D I'm still doing it because 我好爱yap.

We went to the southernmost tip of Taiwan. Our rest stop halfway into the road trip was super cute. It was at a beach. The water was so blue, and the shores were very rocky. Every time there was a wave the sound was so crunchy like ASMR. There were also some turtles!

Our next stop was a beach. It was really pretty. White sand and blue water! However, the typhoon alarm already went off, so the locals said it was too dangerous to swim. They also kicked out anyone who was already in the water. Terry 叔叔 bought us coconuts to drink from to cheer us up, though!

Our next stop was the Eluanbi Lighthouse. The trek up there was crazy because of how rainy it was. There was a sculpture on the trail, and it looked like a mix of a kidney bean and a fetus. When we got to the lighthouse, we were all very wet. We only stayed for a little bit, then we left.

Our last stop was Eluanbi National Park. We went to the cliffs near the beach. During a typhoon... crazy work. The wind was so strong, and it almost blew me away (so skinny wowwww). The red dirt was blowing into our faces, and it felt like bullets. We took pictures, but they all look bad because the wind was making our hair fly everywhere.

The rest of the trip was just driving. I didn't go out even though it was a Friday night. All I did was eat dinner and sleep </3

[glendabong]

Sixteenth Day in Taiwan

July 17–Fo Guang Shan Monastery

Our day was extra early today. We left the hotel at 8:20am to go to Fo Guang Shan Monastery. We spent almost the entire day at the monastery. Although I am a Buddhist, I am not familiar with the Buddhist practices in Taiwan and Fo Guang Shan Monastery specifically. I am a Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist, which is a Buddhist religion from Japan. Therefore, many of the practices my temple has differs from the monastery. Last night, 叶老师 sent us a video teaching us meal etiquette in the temple. My temple has much less rules when it comes to meals, so I was completely unaware of all these customs. When we got to the dining hall, we had to be quiet. We had to pray together before the meal. When the food was distributed, I remembered all the rules shown in the video. Keep your plates on the outer edge of the table if you want them to take it away or add more food. You could only eat out of your rice bowl. The video instructed us to only lift our rice bowl, and any food on the big plate had to be put into the rice bowl before eating. The same went with the soup. You had to pour your soup into your rice bowl to eat it, which I was not expecting at all. If this wasn’t a rule, I would’ve just eaten my food straight out of the plates and bowls they were provided in. You also have specific places to put your rice bowl, soup bowl, and entree bowl. There was also a prayer at the end of the meal, but I wasn’t done with my food yet. Fortunately, I watched the monks on the other side of the room to see what I had to do. If they had not finished their food yet, they kept eating throughout the prayer. Some of the monks continued eating even when other people left as well. So I just finished my food. One of the people serving food whispered to Jess, who was sitting right next to me, “Take your time eating. Don’t worry.” Don’t have to tell me twice! I just kept eating my food. It was sooo tasty, and the portions were decent. I would’ve gotten more if I had room in my stomach. The experience was very interesting because it is so different from how I dine in my temple. Whenever I dined with the monks in my temple, we prayed before and after eating. However, there were way less rules about eating. All we had to do was make sure we pray together, and the head priest eats first. We also talk a lot during our meals. We socialize a lotttt. The priests/monks also talk with each other and the congregation during meals. So this was basically a 180 from what I am used to. After our meal, we went to the Buddhist Museum. This entire monastery is HUGE! I can’t believe there’s a monastery, college, and museum all in the same area. The museum was very fun. I got to look at Buddha’s tooth, and I liked looking at all the statues. There are sooo many Buddha statues. It really is a great place for pictures. We also did a tea ceremony with the monks. I’ve never done a tea ceremony before, so learning about it was very fun. It was a little funny when the monk asked if there were any Buddhists in the room, and 叶老师 and I were the only ones to raise our hands. However, I felt a little like a fraud because my Buddhism is a little different from the monastery’s Buddhism. Either way, I still had lots of fun!

Our next stop was Liuhe Night Market. I got skewers! I got bell peppers, mushrooms, pork intestines, blood rice cake, and scallions wrapped in bacon. So tasty! While eating, Peter asked me “你在台湾最喜欢吃什么？” I had to pause for a long time to think about it, and I said 不知道。But then I revisited and said 炒河粉。Maybe it’s because I grew up eating all the foods in Taiwan that made me so undecided. For some of my classmates, the dishes they are eating in Taiwan are adventurous for them, such as 皮蛋和臭豆腐 。Peter even asked one of my classmates if he was brave enough to try the pork intestines I got. However, I’ve eaten all of these foods a lot back in the United States. I even cook many of these dishes in my own apartment. I’ve cooked century egg, stinky tofu, chicken feet, pork trotters, beef heart, etc. in my own home. None of these things are new to me, so it was hard for me to pick one that I liked as a “new experience” in Taiwan.

Academic Reflection

The first reading was about the Fo Guang Shan Monastery. I learned a lot about the monastery and its founder, Hsing Yun. I found out that the monastery used to be very exclusive. Only members could enter the temple, which made it extra sacred. Cars were also restricted in the mountain. Even teachers had to park their cars at the bottom then walk their way up. I found it shocking that the rules were that strict. However, the exclusiveness of the temple made sense. After all, the monks told us that the reason why we got special treatment was because 叶老师的母亲 volunteered at the temple for many decades. Also, the temple is a place for worship, so I do understand why tourism was limited at one point, since it is not the same as pilgrimage. I learned about how Hsing Yun changed the monastery a lot, and he was even considered controversial by some critics. He opened up the monastery to tourists, and he was considered “too political” by some people. The German monk who gave us a tour had some opinions about what Hsing Yun has done, calling the “branding” of the Fo Guang Shan Monastery’s lotus hands to be “not real Buddhism.” Honestly, I was a little surprised to hear about this. I had no idea about the special branding, nor was I aware that some people disliked it.

The second reading was about Taiwan’s night market. I learned about how night markets have been a thing for centuries. In fact, during the Song dynasty, night markets were associated with brothels. I had no idea that was a thing! I usually associate night markets with food, and there are occasional trinkets, clothes, and bags to buy. Sometimes I do see suspicious massage parlors in the night markets, but it’s only one among a billion food stalls. I also learned that being Taiwanese is considered as “Hokkien and Hakka speakers whose ancestors migrated to Taiwan before 1895.” I had no idea there was a specific cutoff to be considered Taiwanese. Either way, I am glad the night markets survived, and I can enjoy the food from the stalls.

[glendabong]

Fifteenth Day in Taiwan

July 16– Kaohsiung 高雄

Our first stop was the National Science and Technology Museum. Our class went on the earthquake simulator. The magnitude of the simulation was over 7. It was honestly underwhelming. I thought it would feel stronger. But that was probably because I was holding onto the railing so tightly. It would be much scarier if it was a real earthquake in an uncontrolled environment. If there were buildings cracking and objects falling and shattering, I’d be much more scared. I just wish we had more time in the museum. There were so many floors, but I didn’t get to see all of them.

Our second stop was a buffet. The food was good. I liked the desserts more than the main meals. The hot chocolate was really tasty as well. I ate a few plates, then I clocked out. I put my head down and slept. We had to stay in the hotel buffet until after 2pm because there was a military drill from 1:30pm to 2pm. I slept through that, too.

Our third stop was the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts. The art was so beautiful. I wish more time to explore this museum as well. There was so much art that I wanted to look at carefully. I really liked the art on the top floor. It was abstract but still beautiful.

Our fourth stop was the Kaohsiung Public Library. The library was really beautiful. I’ve never seen a library that big before. There were also a lot of trees planted outside the library, which shows its eco-friendly design. The view from the library was beautiful as well.

Our fifth stop was the Dream Mall. This mall was HUGE. I think they have about 10 or more floors? There’s also a ferris wheel, but we didn’t get to ride that. I loved this mall so much. There is so much to do and spend your money on. I like how there’s a good range of cheaper goods to the more high-end goods. I much prefer this over many of the Taipei shopping areas, since most of them are on the higher end (especially Xinyi Shopping District). I bought clothes from Uniqlo and H&M. I want to buy some shoes as well… but I will do that another day.

Academic Reflection

The first reading was about the National Science and Technology Museum. The museum was designed to promote education and awareness. There are a multitude of exhibits such as health and healthy eating, cooking and food culture, industrial manufacturing, textiles, astronomy, etc. There were lots of children on field trips to learn in the museum. Something I noticed was that there is some propaganda and stereotypes in the museum. In the industry exhibit, there was a screen that compared Taiwan and China. Then, it depicted Taiwan as a winner while China was a crying loser. Whether you disagree or agree with what was displayed in the museum, it is clearly a propagandized exhibit. 

I also noticed stereotypes were present in the cooking and food exhibit of the museum. There was a section where different foods in each culture were displayed. When it came to the United States, only junk fast food was present. They only showed pizza, fried chicken, burgers, and other unhealthy food. Personally, I wasn’t offended because we indeed do eat those foods, but I thought to myself “wow, was there nothing else they could put in there?” The exhibit shows the stereotypes against other regions, and in this case it is the United States. I guess the stereotype is that all Americans are unhealthy (there is some truth to that if you look at the obesity rates)...

The second reading was about the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts. The museum was meant to integrate art, education, nature, and leisure. I really like this museum because it has a variety of works. I could look at works about Taiwan’s history and culture, including both the bad and the good. I could also look at works about life and death. There were also more abstract works from Read Lee, and there were films from Tasi Ming-Liang. My favorite piece from the museum shows the corruption and greed in the world:

The third reading was about the Kaohsiung Public Library. The library is designed to be eco-friendly, and it has a large collection of works. The library was bombed during World War II but was rebuilt. This library is unlike any other library I have visited. The library has so many floors. It is probably the largest library I have ever been in. The Beitou Library wasn’t even this big. The libraries at my university can’t compare either. I really like this library. I will probably go back to explore it at some point.