Fun with New Friends

Today was the second day I hung out with Jessi, Angie, and Kinki. On Friday night Jessi and Angie took me to Rui Feng night market, which I have been told is the largest in Kaohsiung. The market was lined with rows upon rows of stinky tofu (aptly named), all sorts of fried food, meats, milk tea, and other things much more difficult to identify. Our first stop was at a stand with a large iron pot filled divided into three sections: half was filled with an orange-red soup, and one quarter each was filled with two types of large black chunks. I recognized one of them as the coagulated pig's blood that I had already discovered I didn't like, and I thought the other was kidney, which I had also tried and didn't really like, so I felt alright about politely declining to eat both. I got excited when Jessi said she didn't like the pig's blood and asked the woman not to include it in the soup, but my heart sank a little when she asked if I liked duck's blood. I told her I was a little unsure but I promised to try it. Luckily it's one of those things that absorbs the flavor of whatever it's cooked in, and the spicy Korean soup masked any other flavor, but the consistency was a bit weird. I stuck to eating the glutinous rice spears and the Kimchi out of the soup. I also tried the stinky tofu and liked it for the most part, although the smell began emerging in the taste. I think it's definitely a taste I could aquire and even come to miss after I leave Taiwan. I tried a few pieces of fried milk, very much the consistency of fried soft tofu and with a much sweeter taste.

After we ate all of our...treats, we moved on to drinks. Jessi and I ordered milk tea from a stand that used an exceptionally cool method for making the tea. The man poured some milk and flavoring into one large collander and tea into another. He then held them about three feet apart vertically, and poured the contents from one collander to another while moving from left to right. It was by far one of the coolest things I've ever seen. Usually such drinks come in a soft plastic cup that is placed into a machine that seels a plastic cover on top. A sharp straw is then used to quickly pierce the top, creating a hole just the right size--a great method to prevent leaking. After the mixing, however, our tea was poured into bright yellow bags that were then sealed by tightly looping a strong plastic band around the top. The handles of the bag made it easy to carry, and the unique experience made drinking this sort of milk tea a form of entertainment!

With our milk tea bags in hand we strolled around, stopping to try on oversized sunglasses or take a look at fun toys. I have been very pleased to find that Lilo & Stitch is a big hit here--I see backpacks, purses, phone charms, and everything else in the shape of Stitch or with pictures of Stitch on it. We played a game using a large, plastic Stitch that sat with his mouth wide open, and each person took a turn pressing down one of his teeth. We all shrieked and giggled as we waited for his mouth to clamp down on our fingers each time we pushed one more down. After playing with Stitch we stopped to look at the oh-so-adorable puppies that were for sale and adoption. I was doing great until we came across another stand that had a bunch of teeny tiny puppies, and as I turned the corner, one large 3-month old Bulldog. I pretty much screamed and declared that I had to have her at once. After answering rounds of questions that I fired at him, the friendly stand owner said he would take her out so that I could play with her. He put her on a leash, which she immediately started knawing on, and she was the cutest thing ever! Her pudge moved as I scratched her back, and she put her unbelievable cute face complete with underbite and squishy nose into my cupped hand--she was, in short, the perfect Bulldog! I came home and showed pictures of her to Shana in hopes that she would fall in love too and tell me to get her, but I knew it would be a hard sell. After saying goodbye and taking down the owner's number just to keep my options open, we browsed a bit more. It was a great night, and I was most happy to come home and flop onto my bed after a long long week of orientation.

Today I slept in and started the day with a delicious lunch with Jessi, Angie, Kinki, and their friend Su who also came along. One of the great things about spending time with them is they show me all these great restaurants. For lunch we ate at a small, cozy restaurant that served Italian influenced dishes. The restaurant had a selection magazines to choose from, so we each grabbed one and they filled me in on the Chinese stars they love and the ones they can't stand as we waited for our meals. After lunch we took the bus to the beach near Sun Yat-Sen University. The water was unbelievable warm, a great change from the cold waters of the Atlantic no matter what time of the year, and felt wonderful on such a hot day. We took tons of photos of each other and then turned to shoot the cutest little girl in the world. She was wearing a blue and yellow hamster print once-piece that had a little skirt, and was clearly very happy to be standing in the sand with the approaching waves barely touching her feet. Angie asked her dad if we could take a picture with her, and when she kept smiling even after I approached her, I was relieved. She took Angie's hand and walked closer to the water, giggling like crazy when the waves came, and having so much fun that she asked her dad if she could sit. A few of the waves got a bit too high, and when Angie couldn't pick her up in time she'd look a little startled and wipe her face, but she always wanted more. She was so cute to watch. After we played for a little while, we found Su and Kinki and headed for some shaved ice.

On the way there, Kinki insisted on holding my monkey and banana umbrella over me even though I insisted she take it for herself. Since I'm pretty white by their standards (and let's face it, everyone's), they worry about my skin becoming darker. I try to explain that I don't mind being a bit darker and that hardly anyone carries around umbrellas or parasols to protect them from the sun in America. I also really wanted to have her take it for herself since I am quite a bit taller than she is, and as best as she tried, the tips kept catching in my hair. As Shana later pointed out, she must like me a lot if she's willing to share umbrella space with me! Here, women go to great lengths to shield their skin. It is not uncommon to see tights worn under shorts and a sweat jacket combined with a face mask (think of a doctor) and sunglasses and a hat in the middle of a blistering afternoon. I would die. I therefore welcome tanned skin.

When we arrived at the shop I found that it was much different than what I had envisioned. People crowded the streets and climbed up and down flights of steep stairs, checking all three floors for a spot to sit. The walls were covered with writing and graffiti from years of customers. Groups of people circled around tables, waiting for someone to leave and swooping in at the first empty seat, while one person went down to put in the order. Large bowls of shaved ice covered with ice cream and all sorts of fruits appeared from a dumwaite run by a tiny, elderly woman who also bustled about gathering empty bowls and wiping down tables. Hot and thirsty from the beach, the ice was delicous. The five of us quickly finished our bowl, and then headed toward the bus stop to catch the bus back home.

For dinner we ate a quaint little restaurant located next to Pasadena, a famous Italian bakery. The menu was filled with many different options, but after an Italian lunch, I decided on hot pot, a traditional Chinese meal, for dinner. The waitress brought me a pot filled with spicy and sour Korean soup atop a burner, and a plate of vegetables and meat to cook once it began boiling. It was the most delicious hot pot I've had so far, and it was so much fun to laugh and chat with them. They asked if spending time with them was like being with my friends from home except the part about speaking only Chinese, and when I thought about it, it sort of was. They are the type of girls who are so close to one another that they pool their money together for things, share food even when one of them is sick, and can joke about anything. Kinki saw my ID with my birthday on it today when I opened my wallet, and when Jessi asked me when my birthday was, Kinki proudly announced it. I was touched that she could remember from such a quick glance, and even more so when they asked if I would want to celebrate with them or if I wanted to just be with my American friends.

I'm even more excited than usual for my birthday this year...and that's saying a lot.