School will be officially starting next Thursday, and Wednesday is a school-wide prep day (even students have to come). I went into my school to meet my principal and director for the first time on Thursday, as well as look at one of my classrooms. They seemed very nice, and one teacher even gave me and my co-teacher a bunch of lesson examples and videos to follow. However, I still haven't received my teaching schedule yet; they do things at a pretty different pace here. I have learned that the best way to approach things here is just take it one step at a time, and "go with the flow".
Anyway, after touring the school on Thursday, my co-teacher took me to lunch with several of her best friends in the neighboring city, Miaoli City. We ate at an extremely nice steak house, so delicious! I think I will definitely go back. We also did some shopping before heading back to our town.
My very delicious sirloin steak w/ mushroom sauce
I love the decor!
Later that night, I was invited to a guitar lesson by my friend Beta, who takes weekly lessons at a local instrument store in our town. I'm very glad I went, because I had a great time enjoying the music and meeting new friends. Made me miss my guitar though :( The store owner was even nice enough to cook us dinner because all the shops were closed by the time we finished the lesson. I just couldn't believe she would do that for someone she hardly knows. Only in small towns do you find that kind of hospitality.
On Friday, my colleague Shannon and I were taken by our landlady Miranda to Miaoli City again to do some more shopping. I got to see the day market here in Taiwan for the first time. It was very similar to the ones I have been to in Vietnam, so there was a bit of reminiscence for me. We found out that Miaoli City actually hosts a night market every Friday and Saturday night, so I ended up spending the night at the night market with my co-teacher Custa, her boyfriend Jason, and Beta. This one is much bigger than the one in my town Tongluo (though definitely not as big as the ones in Taipei). There was so much to see, do, and eat! Food stalls and vendors filled the place and it was packed with people. It was pretty much a carnival that happens every week here. I really love the atmosphere, the food, and the affordability of everything there!
Day market in Miaoli City
Good Froggie drink I tried out today. They had little chewy tapioca balls that resemble frog eggs, I guess.
I tried stinky tofu! I like it!
Cute waffle cakes in the shape of cartoon characters
Some kind of buns that were cooked along the edge of a brick oven. I wonder how they got them to stick there.
Traditional Taiwanese dessert: egg-shaped shaved ice
My landlord's 13-year-old daughter Fanny is actually very talented in sculpting, and takes weekly clay lesson at a crafts store in Miaoli City. We have been to the shop a couple of times, and I absolutely love all the stuff in there! Therefore, I decided to tag along with her today and treat my myself to some art-making by making something for my wall. We took the bus there, and I learned how to ride the bus here, which may come in pretty handy. I spent the majority of the day in the shop with Fanny, working on my Totoro welcome sign (since Totoro is my all time favorite cartoon character). Our teacher was very nice and helped me out a lot, then even drove us home afterward. She also offered to take me places whenever she goes somewhere interesting. Then for dinner, I was invited by my landlord's family to a nice Hakka restaurant in Gongguan town to try some traditional Hakka dishes. They treated me of course. It just never fails to amaze me how hospitable and nice everyone is here! There has not been a day that I wasn't invited somewhere by someone, and everyone is just so caring! I am very grateful for all the good care I have been receiving from everybody.
Learning to ride the bus
Cute stuff from the shop, all made by our teacher
My finished product
A beautiful bridge we passed by on our way to dinner in Gongguan
Well, it's the weekend before school officially starts, so I really want to have as much fun as I can. So tomorrow, Shannon and I will meet up with Beta in Taichung city and we will be doing more exploring, and will also be catching a movie at a theater there. My first movie experience in Taiwan!
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