Taroko Gorge!

Yesterday Cres, Max, Jer and I went to Taroko Gorge. It was an absolutely beautiful and amazing experience. We took a train to Hualien an rented scooters. I have never driven a scooter before. It was totally scary at first, but it was SO amazing once I got the hang of it. We drove for about an hour from Hualien to Taroko on this highway. I ran a bunch of red lights because Jer/Max were going so fast. I made the boys let me ride in the middle so that I wouldn't get left in the dust. Once we got to Taroko it was the most beautiful ride ever. We were on the coast, riding around swervy roads, it was SO beautiful. One of those things that you feel so fortunate to be able to do in life. Ugh I can't even describe how amazing it felt. We stopped a bunch along the way to look at he beautiful scenery and take pictures. I had a really hard time turning my bike sometimes, so that was a bit scary. There were a ton of tour busses rushing past us that made it a bit scarier.

After taking in the beautiful sights and sounds we headed back to Hualien. We got a little lost on our way and had to turn around a bunch while riding in the city. One time when I was turning around I almost fell off, it was a bit scary, but I was going slow and I picked my bike up fast enough that I didn't get hurt. I can't believe how many distractions there were driving in the city; dogs running across the street, some lady got hit by a car and was sprawled out in the middle of the road, weird left turn rules, I really got to ride in all sorts of places on my first day of scootering. I think I might have hit 80mph at some points. Very scary but very liberating. Usually I rode at 60, which is the speed limit in most places (not around the cliffs). After we made it back to Hualien, we stopped at 711 and I burned my leg on my bike. So many people I know have a scar from that, but luckily I only grazed the burning metal briefly so that I won't have a scar. Wow. What an amazing and exhilirating day! I really don't want to go home :(.

Pirate Shrimping!

Last night we went shrimping dressed as pirates. I really wish shrimping was a leisure activity on LI, like bowling or something. It was actually really fun. When we first got there we all sat down and two minutes later I had caught the first shrimp! Those little creatures are so bratty. About a half hour into our shrimping adventure, some really nice man who had probably been shrimping for hours, handed me a huge bag of shrimp that he had caught. That was really nice. After catching, and de-hooking the shrimps we have to wash them and skewer them, cover them in salt and put them on the grill. They were absolutely delicious.

First Date?

Anja called me and we met in the park. We smoked a cigg and talked and then went back to her house. We listened to music and talked a lot. It is really great talking to her. She studied sociology and mass media like me, and makes art and has a really beautiful accent. She is from South Africa. She is one of the burlesque girls in that show I went to on Friday night. We talked about our artistic needs, the peaceful mindset in Taiwan, traveling, music..you know..things like that. She is a really beautiful person. We started getting hungry later on and decided to go for a walk and grab some grub. We went to this famous dumpling place with a billion floors and a line to get in. I must say they were the best dumplings I have ever had in my life. They were like, soupy in the middle and had the freshest ingredients. UGh SO good. After filling up on yummy dumplings, we walked around the area and stepped into a few second hand shops, jewelry shops and places with aromatic incense. We then stopped into this place for these shaved ice/ice cream/syrup/fruit things that they have here. I got bannana and she got mango. They were SO good and since its nearly only shaved ice it doesn't fill you up. I totally want to make them at home. So good and So refreshing. After that we parted ways and I met up with Jeremy and Max in Shilin to pick up some souvenirs. I caught the last train home and went to bed.

Pixar.

Monday morning Amanda, Max, Cres and I met up for brunch at this really great burger place called Forkers. Afterward, Max, Cres and I went to the Pixar exhibit. It was really interesting to see the processes of animation and how characters and storylines come to life. There was this one part that had a zoetrope which spun really fast with strobe lights to give the optical illusion that the characters were moving, when in fact they were just being spun at rapid speeds. After the exhibit, the three of us were pretty tired and Cres and I went home to watch Coraline. It was an interesting movie, but I don't think it was very cohesive. It was like a stop-animation version of Pan's Labyrinth. I understood what they were trying to do, but I guess I just didn't appreciate it as much as I thought I would. After watching Coraline, we met up with Esteban for Indian food in ShiDa. Esteban is one of those people you just meet and feel an instant love for. We got to talking and I found SO many different ways in which our lives have crossed paths. He used to go to my beach, he grew up off the road I live off now, AND he used to live off the same stop I lived off of in Brooklyn. After some delicious Indian food, Jeremy met up and the 4 of us got some drinks and hung out in the park. Sway and Max met up and we all chilled and talked for a bit. I really, really like all my friends here. It will be hard to leave them. I know I have really wonderful friends back home, and that if I lived here maybe I would see the people here differently, I just have to express that I am really happy and have been really benefiting emotionally from this trip.

Burlesque!

Friday night we went to a burlesque show. Cres, Max and I wore out our best wigs, extensions or moustaches and watched some girlies and one guy dance in pantyhose around a stage. Great times! I got a little too silly though and felt like poop the day after. My extensions are a hit! I really want to get real ones now.