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Taipei summers are humid and hot, and notorious for simulating the effect of stepping into a city sized convection oven. The heat finds a way to activate every sweat gland in your body.
Da Yi and I felt as energy-sapped as these two dogs.
So we self medicated with the antidote to Taiwanese heat exhaustion, bao bing.
My default combination consists of black jelly/jello like stuff (edit: grass jelly!), green bean, something called white mushroom ( i don't think it's really a mushroom), sometimes tapioca balls, refreshingly cold shaved ice, topped with a splash of creamy milk. It may look questionable, but is really delicious.
But my respite was brief. Da Yi soon began to read off the characters written on these paper lanterns at the bao-bing restaurant. I had no choice but to take out my notebook and copy down each word to memorize it. I am to take every opportunity to learn as much as I can this summer. As I was trying to remember characters with the Chinese alphabet-of-sorts, I realized how much I had forgotten from my years of Chinese school classes which had always been attended with a now regretted half-serious attitude.
A young boy, probably just out of school, sat at the next table with his father. His backpack without a doubt contained books that I could not read. Between my continuous questions about word meanings and my aunt's exaggerated gestures towards those exploited red lanterns, our impromptu lesson drew many confused looks. Being only able to speak the language makes me feel akin to an dumb, ignorant country bumpkin who was never taught his/her "letters". It can't get much more embarrassing than having your cousin loudly read off the menu at restaurants for you when you are an adult and already look and talk like a Chinese person.
Classes start July 1st. This will be a very humbling two months.
From June 18 to August 26, I am living with my aunt (Er Yi) and uncle (Er Yi Zhang) along with my cousins Grace and Celestine, who have all graciously welcomed me into their home, in the Neihu district of Taipei. I also frequently see my other aunt (Da Yi), a Neihu resident as well, and have spent my first few days catching up with family, eating, and running errands.
We have all these errands because the day before I left I realized I forgot to apply for a Taiwan visa. Tourists with U.S. passports may stay only 30 days, with no extensions. After days of back-and-forth calls to a family friend in the government, it's clear that the only way to apply for a visa is to leave the country and come back. Fortunately, my dad's friend has a contact at the Taiwan embassy in Macau who will be able to expedite the process.
My mother is still fuming at my neglect of responsibility, but what is (not) done is (not) done and Er Yi, Da Yi, Grace and I will leave for Macau to spend three days and two nights this coming Wednesday. I believe the most infuriating part for my mother though is that a trip to a prime gambling destination will be wasted on us when, as she puts it, "it would really be worth it" if her lucky fingers went in my place of my perfectly normal, blase ones. Anyways, this visit is for business, not pleasure.
;)
I was shocked by this mess of octopus limbs at one stand.
Later that same night, Da Yi and I go for sushi. It's still delicious.
