大家好！Another week has gone by in 台北！I am starting to get used to things here, I think. The heat no longer feels quite so unbearable and I am starting to sleep through the nights.
Classes this week were good — hard, as they should be. One of our units this past week was about consumption and luxury goods. It was fun to learn all the Chinese names for famous brands; my goal is to casually drop them into conversation at some point this summer.
On Friday afternoon (following our three hours of exams), I wandered around Taipei with my host sister (a 台大 student). It was pouring rain, so there weren’t many fellow-wanderers roaming about, but that sort of made it more fun — felt like we had the city to ourselves. My host sister speaks very fast and uses lots of words I don’t know, but I try my best to pick up on what I can. I think being in Taiwan has really helped me abandon some of my need to feel in control; sometimes confusion is ok, I’ve been realizing these days.
On Saturday, we visited Yingge, a pottery town right outside Taipei. We visited a beautiful pottery museum (where many of us bought gifts for friends and family at home), and then we went to a pottery studio to learn about the pottery-making process and even make our own pottery. Mine did not turn out perfect, but I’m sure my grandmother will love it nonetheless.
On Sunday, we rested and wrote our weekly essays — I wrote mine (in a cat cafe with some friends) about Taipei residents’ opinions about the politics of art museums. I asked three different locals what they thought about art’s influence on society, and, specifically, what they thought about the controversy surrounding Taipei’s National Palace Museum. (The controversy being that some people in the mainland think the art in the museum should be returned to them.) The interviews were fascinating and the essay-writing process was surprisingly fun.
Another good and challenging week. I am excited for the next one to begin.