And with that, another week gone! I started off the week doing some sightseeing around Taipei, visiting the Confucius temple and the Dalongdong Baoan Temple, Huashan 1914 Creative Park, and the National Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall. This week, the lessons we covered in class spanned such diverse and interesting topics as animal rights, environmental protection, and counterfeit products, culminating in the midterm on Friday… I can’t believe we’ve already covered a whole semester’s worth of Chinese in just 3 weeks! I have a feeling the next few weeks will really fly by. After the midterm, I went north to Tamsui, which sits at the mouth of the Tamsui River. I checked out Tamsui old street and Fort San Domingo, which was established by the Spanish in 1629 but was later used by the Dutch, the British, and others before Taiwan assumed ownership. The next day, I went on the Saturday excursion to the National Palace Museum, where I admired Ru ware (Song Dynasty, late 11th – early 12th century), the Meat-shaped Stone (made from jasper), and many other significant ceramics, paintings, calligraphy, and more. Finally I attended a Peking opera demonstration, and I even got to paint my own mask! Looking ahead, I’m excited for my Social Study trip to Tainan and Pintung, which I’m sure I’ll have a lot to share about. Until next time!
-Jonathan