Yes, I am back! And with more stories than ever!
This week was especially jam packed. My cousin came to stay with me, tests were starting to pile on, and more. I picked up my cousin from the airport, and then we over the next day played a bunch of arcade games in Taipei City Mall. The next day the heat got to me, and I was really dizzy, so I stayed home. Don’t forget to drink water!!
On Tuesday, we were informed that the typhoon was coming. I had experienced typhoons in Hong Kong, but not in Taiwan so I was curious to see what the government would do during this time. My mom also arrived in Taiwan that Tuesday, and we stocked up on food before it really got bad. In my mom’s hotel room, we all huddled around the TV, listening to the local Taiwanese news talk about the strength of the typhoon – even watching one of the reporters fall from how windy it was. Thank god we were inside!
I ended up having no class for 2 days because of the typhoon, which was a throwback. However, I ended up resting with family, so that was nice. I went to Jiufen with my friends after the typhoon ended, and it was gorgeous. It took quite a journey to get there, but I highly recommend! It was absolutely beautiful, and the food there was also good. It was very touristy (I don’t think I had heard that much Korean or Japanese anywhere else), but I felt like it was still very authentic.
Also, I began to take my mom to places I had been going to often. We also stopped by a tea shop and we had some Tieguanyin, my mom’s favorite. I think this was the most memorable part of the week. We were all chatting with one of the workers about Taiwan people, our lives, and tea. We even taught him the word “sarcastic”. However, when talking about tea, there was something that the man said that I still can’t forget.
He said that for Taiwanese people, drinking tea is not just about drinking it because it is good, or drinking it because it is yummy. Drinking tea allows one to directly come into contact with culture – how they prepare the tea, history – how they came to prepare the tea in a certain way, location – how does different locations affect the tea, and taking things slowly, fully embracing each brew of tea.
With those words, I will end this blog. Sorry for finally updating now! Hope everyone is good!
~ Heidi F