Birthday in Taiwan

So this is my very first birthday spent in Taiwan, and oh my, what an amazing day it has been! I really can't emphasize enough how nice and compassionate everyone here has been. Even though I never announced my birthday, words got out, and as a result, all my counselors and my colleagues celebrated my birthday in class this morning with a Chinese Happy Birthday song and a nice little surprise gift. Coincidentally, we only had half a day of class today, since we were scheduled to go on a cultural excursion this afternoon. After our vegetarian lunch (since it's Vegetarian Tuesday here on campus), we were told to meet up and were transported by a tour bus (fully equipped with a karaoke system, of course) to the New Taipei City Yingge Ceramics Museum. The museum was very nice, craftily designed, and I had a great time checking out all the artworks. They have a rather large collection of contemporary ceramic sculptures and installations, each unique and reflective in its own way. I just couldn't stop taking pictures of everything!

After our museum exploration, the real fun began! We were driven to a small shop in the Old Town, which specialized in indigo dyeing and offered a workshop for us to experiment with the dyeing process. Each of us was given a white handkerchief and we followed along as the instructor taught us how to tie our handkerchiefs to produce various designs and patterns. The process is very similar to tie-dyeing T-shirts. Once we have our handkerchiefs tied up the way we wanted, we proceeded to soak them in water, then dipped them into the indigo dye for several minutes until it turned a dark blue. Indigo dyeing is considered a traditional craft here in the Sanxia district. The blue colored dye actually came from the local goldfussia formosanus plants, which were soaked through the traditional sedimentation methods to acquire the deep blue hue. We got to create our own designs and all had wonderful results. It was a lot of fun and a truly unique experience.

We actually had tonight free, so a group of my colleagues and I decided to explore the bustling streets around our campus. Our first stop: a nearby cafe/pastry shop that we had passed by yesterday which had taunted us since with its delicious cakes galore. They got a nice little birthday cake for me and my birthday was once again celebrated. After our fill of cake and milk tea, we headed onward to discover the lively night scene on the streets of Taiwan and even came across several traditional temples and a historic district. Of course, more photos were taken before we all headed back to campus, exhausted from the long day.

This birthday has really turned out so much greater than I have imagined. I feel so blessed to be here right now. It really is a blessing to have had this opportunity to come to Taiwan and to meet all these wonderful people and see so many new things. I can't wait to see what other delights await.

The wind is howling outside my window right now. I really hope there won't be another typhoon coming in, for more exciting events are still ahead in the next couple of days.

 2012 FET's

 Street food