We share the morning. We share the milk tea.

Tonight we went to National Yilan University to see Lu Guang Zhong, a Taiwanese singer whom Adam is in love with. We sang this song, "Dui-a Dui-a," for our host family performance and it was definitely the highlight of tonight's concert!

After an ridiculous amount of talking and four warm-up bands, Lu Guang Zhong played this as his third song. The crowd went as nuts as a Taiwanese crowd apparently goes -- people actually moved a little (but I still wouldn't quite call it dancing) and the whole gym floor started to bounce with the chorus. It was a little scary, but still pretty cool. Plus, there is nothing like seeing Adam's face when he is really excited! So here: enjoy the Breakfast Song!

I was kidnapped by turtles and woke up at a Lil Jon concert.

What the weekend. It started bright and early Saturday morning as we set off for Turtle Island, which is a nature reserve off the coast of Yilan County. We have seen the island from a number of different vantage points on shore and were excited for the trip. It turned out to be one of the most long and arduous trips of which you could possibly conceive.

After a half hour boat ride to the island, we arrived and set off to climb the mountain. 1706 steps. The combination of dehydration, a lack of sleep, a choppy boat ride over, greasy breakfast and tequila from the night before all combined to create a perfect storm in my stomach such that every 50 to 75 steps I made Nell stop to make sure I didn't throw up. Still, we kept pushing and finally made it to the top! Views were incredible -- crystal blue water punctuated in the distance by a dark, mountainous horizon.

After our trek up the mountain we wandered around the island's lake and climbed back on board a boat for what we hoped would take us back to shore. Eight of us had made arrangements to take a bus to Taipei in the evening, and as time wore on our hopes of making the bus grew thinner and thinner. Little did we know that we were boarding the boat of doom.

Things started to go wrong when, about ten minutes in, the first passenger fell. A girl started vom-ing and we all got a chill of what the future held for us. As the boat bobbed up and down on huge ocean waves, we tried to find comfortable places, but still, five of sixteen of us ended up throwing up. Most of the rest of us also had some degree of sea sickness, as the boat trekked further and further out into the ocean, looking for the seemingly non-existent dolphins. By the time we expected to head back to shore, we pulled into a harbor, only to discover that it was the harbor at Turtle Island and that we had to pick up even more passengers before making the half hour journey to shore. By that point it was 430...the time our bus departed Yilan. When we finally arrived on shore, there was a definite sigh of relief, but we still had to get our acts together to make it to the concert in Taipei.

Saturday Part II: We took taxis back to Yilan, showered and dressed, and made it on an 830 bus. It takes about an hour and a half to make it to Taipei, so we were pressed for time as we wanted to be at this club, Luxy, by 1020 but no later than 1100 (there was supposed to be free admission before 1100). With some serious mobilizing, we were able to find the hostel, check in, put on our dresses, hail cabs and make it to the club by 1045.

Last weekend we had found a poster advertising Luxy's 5th anniversary party, which featured the American rapper, Lil Jon. None of us expected much of the concert, but it actually turned out to be a great concert and awesome night. After some pregaming at 7-11 (drinks in the club are very expensive, so a lot of people get beer or liquor there and drink outside before heading to the club), we went back to the club. By the time Lil Jon came on stage, we managed to elbow our way to the third row of the club -- close enough for his hype man to pour vodka and crunk juice all over my dress and to catch a sweaty towel that Lil Jon threw into the crowd. This might sound like a mundane account, but it was actually a great concert night!

The next morning we checked out of the hostel and headed to find some Mexican food at Amigos. The food was not bad for Taiwan, but we are realizing that our standards for Mexican food have fallen drastically since our arrival. Basically, any refried beans are good refried beans! After lunch, Britt, Paige and Mary went shopping in Ximen and Brett and I tried to go to the Museum of Contemporary Art, but ran out of time. Instead, we ran into this street artist who painted "Taiwanese stories." His pictures were actually quite beautiful, and at only 100NT a piece, quite a deal. He was also a great old man to talk to, sharing story after story, and despite professing to have poor English, we were able to touch on everything from American politics to the Chinese zodiac. And now I have two lovely paintings of flowers and mice for the living room!

You can't make mac and cheese without dairy.

So it turns out that lactose intolerance is common in Asian populations and, as a result, dairy products are not very common in places like Taiwan. We discovered almost immediately that cheese is essentially a luxury, and when buying milk at random you have about a fifty percent chance of picking up a container of non-dairy (soy, rice, etc.) milk.

Well, I made it about two and a half months before I finally broke down today and went for the ultimate: macaroni and cheese. My parents will describe this as perhaps my all-time favorite meal since my childhood, and honestly I'm surprised I didn't try making it sooner.

So, I headed to Wellcome, the grocery store that carries the widest array of western products and at the cheapest prices. Though it took some locating, I was able to find all of the necessary ingredients (basically an arm full of dairy and a few bags of pasta). The one exception, though, is cheddar cheese which seems to be a delicacy. The (comparatively) well stocked cheese section at Wellcome has everything from five types of shredded mozarella to brie to crumbly blue. What this recipe could benefit most from, though -- cheddar -- seems to be virtually non-existent, at least in Luodong. Still, borrowing some ideas from Alton Brown and using what I could find, I was able to improvise a delicious Taiwanese-style Mac and Cheese. Enjoy!

Taiwanese-style Mac and Cheese
500 g. elbow macaroni
3 tbsp. butter
2 eggs
1/3 c. milk
salt and pepper
mustard (a few squirts of the yellow stuff)
1 package shredded cheese
ground chili pepper to taste

Boil water and cook pasta according to directions on package. Drain and return macaroni to the pot. Melt in the butter. In a separate bownl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and mustard. Add to the pasta. Mix in the cheese. Stir over low heat for about 3 minutes or until cheese is creamy. Make sure to not let egg mixture sit on the bottom of the pot. Sprinkle ground chili pepper on to taste.

Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous

What a weekend! All of the Fulbright grantees convened in Taipei along with many other people to celebrate Double 10 Day or 10-10 Day, a national holiday that commemorates the end of the last of the Chinese dynasties. While for many Taiwanese this holiday is appreciated as more of a day off from school/work, all 51 of us Fulbrighters were invited to attend the official Double 10 ceremony on Friday morning, as well as a formal reception in the evening. So we hit up Taipei with style and class, red-carpet style (Left: Fulbright arriving on the red carpet at the formal evening reception.)

We arrived at the morning ceremonies not knowing quite what to expect, other than "marching" and "something like the Fourth of July." It turned out to be speeches by President Ma and some other important Taiwanese people, as well as a large parade highlighting prominent high schools, athletes and dance troupes in Taiwan. Security was tight, so as we proceeded through several checks looking for our seats, we kept moving closer and closer to the stage. We ended up sitting in the minor league VIP section next to the stage. Everyone received silly-looking Taiwanese safari hats which were completely necessary as we ended up sitting in the beating sun for several hours. (And developing some impressive tan/burn lines in the process! Click here for pictures from the event.)

After a lunch of Thai food we went back to the hotel to nap and prep for the reception. The entire hotel was pretty much entirely Fulbright, so as we got dressed, people shuffled between rooms, or at least into mine for make up, hair and other styling tips. The result: classy ladies and gentlemen! (Left: Mary and me posing with the Buddha in the lobby of the hotel. Note the great back on my dress!)

We arrived at the President just as an entourage of cars pulled up with, we assume, President Ma. We frolicked for a while on the red carpet, overwhelmed by the magnificence of the building, the incredible welcome and the fact that our badges identified us as VIPs. There was a slew of picture taking to highlight our celebrity status (Pictures: Brittany strikes a pose while Faith and I smile in the crowd) and ooh-ing and ahh-ing as we were escorted to the front of the line. For a bunch of recent college graduates, it can't get much better! And actually, our treatment emphasized the role of Fulbright in Taiwan. Though not officially recognized diplomatically by the U.S., relations are still viewed as important between the two. The Foundation for Scholarly Exchange, which administers the Taiwan Fulbright programs, is definitely valued for that cross-cultural sharing.

Once in the reception we were immediately greeted with a large table of Haagen-Daaz ice cream and toppings for make-your-own sundaes. Brittany and I were so excited to see ice cream (many Asians are lactose intolerant, so good ice cream is kind of rare and rather expensive) that we immediately got slid into line. As I was contemplating toppings for my sundae, though, all of a sudden there was a swarm of photographers snapping shots as an important looking man walked towards me, shaking hands with people as he went. The two men right in front of me shook hands with him, so I stepped forward also, feeling kind of sassy for asserting myself when I didn't really know who he was. Brittany also shook hands with him, and as he passed it occurred to us that we had just shaken hands with President Ma. We quickly shuffled to take his picture, and I captured this beauty on her camera (I'm taller). Even though President Ma doesn't have great approval ratings, he was still very well received in his rounds about the room and we were thrilled to shake his hand and take his picture, especially since last year the Yilan ETAs said they might have seen him, but the encounter was brief and from a distance. How exciting!

The party as a whole was loaded with other celebrities and foreign dignitaries, as well as random old men. I met a former Taiwanese ambassador to some small island, a Friar who runs a dance group right near my apartment building in Luodong, some African princes and princesses and, my personal favorite, Van Fan or Fan Yi Chen, the star of Cape No. 7. Paige and Brittany's new friend Apollo helped us literally chase him down, but after we were introduced as American fans, he stood and spoke with us for a while. He was with his manager, Jason, who was also very cool and we exchanged business cards before leaving. Even if we don't get to meet up with Van Fan again, we all agreed that it would be great to connect with Jason another time when we visit Taipei.

After the reception, a bunch of us hit up some karaoke at this huge KTV palace. We had birthday cake to celebrate Ann's birthday (the day before) and Brittany's upcoming birthday. The funniest part of the room was the stripper pole that was right next to the screen.

We left KTV around midnight and went to a club for some dancing. At one point the DJ started calling people up on stage, presumably to dance, so I volunteered because I was having such a great time dancing. When we got up there, though, and the music started going, the other Taiwanese girls started taking their bras off and dropping their shirt straps. I was a little confused, but kept my clothes on. After about 30 seconds, the music went quiet again and the DJ came out to get the audience to "judge" us. I got voted off the stage because I still had my shirt on, but it was a good thing because for the next round the girls all had to dance topless in front of this crowd of about 80% men. Yikes! It turns out that volunteering for things when you don't really understanding Mandarin might not be the best idea in the world...

The next day we woke up late and went to Danshui, a small city on the outside of Taipei. It is on the river and has these incredible views, as well as a bustling "board walk" area right next to the river. (Left: Adam, Brittany and Alana looking at the lights come on over the river.) We strolled around for a bit, ducking in and out of shops, before heading to find the Mexican restaurant in Danshui. I had randomly stumbled upon the website for Eddy's Cantina and was excited to check it out, but after all of the work that we put into finding it (Mexican food isn't very popular here, so most of the locals didn't even know the restaurant existed, let alone where it was...), the food turned out to not be so good. We did, however, make friends with the proprietor who told us where to get nacho chips and actually sold us a bag, as well.

On Sunday we checked out of the hostel and walked around Ximen for a little bit before heading back to Luodong. And there, at the end of our star-studded weekend, we stumbled upon a huge crowd surrounding a stage. It took a while to figure out what was going on, but then with my hip sense of Taiwanese pop culture, I realized that Jay Chou, a popular singer/actor, was having an autograph signing on a stage in the market area. It literally took us fifteen minutes to cross from one side of the crowded street to the other because there were just swarms of people everywhere. I tried taking a picture of Jay as people quickly shuffled by, but instead got this shot of a girl having her poster signed. Still, imagine that on the other side is another huge Taiwanese celebrity, brining this weekend's total to three major encounters, plus a bunch of smaller ones. What a holiday!

Just a Lazy Weekend

After a busy week at school and staring down the throat of another busy week, Brittany and I spent a relaxing weekend in Yilan. We had originally planned to visit Taipei with Mary and Paige this weekend, but Mary got sick on Saturday morning so we changed our plans, and I am quite glad that we did!

I actually started Saturday with a normal week-day wake up time, as I have been asked to teach three classes in December for a gifted student program at one of the local junior high schools in Luodong, and I was asked to attend the orientation class this Saturday as well. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to sit in a meeting where people speak only in Chinese, but after a few minutes we actually moved with the students to another classroom and Jamie, the other ETA, and I led an icebreaker with the students. All have very good English, and though most were very shy, I am excited to be working with them in a few months!

In the afternoon after our Taipei plans were cancelled, Britt and I decided to explore the greater Yilan County area. We hopped on our scooters and set out to find the ocean. I can't really explain the peacefulness of riding through the countryside, passing rice paddies and temples, palm trees and fish farms. I had an idea of where to turn to reach the ocean, but as we turned up a tiny side road, little did I expect that it would literally put us on the other side of a sand dune right next to an incredible, practically empty beach.

We were two of maybe ten people total within our sight range, and though the day was chilly and a mist hung over the mountains to the south, it was beautiful. The sand here is made from volcanic rock, so it is a very dark gray/black. In the distance we could see Turtle Island and some fishing boats, but the beauty of this beach was more in its isolation. We walked along the edge of the water following two other sets of footprints (a man and a dog) and picked up shells. Britt and I also used the huge canvas of untouched sand to practice our Chinese characters and write messages to the world. (To the left is me with my Chinese name, 費杰蘭 or Fèi Jié Lán.)

We left the beach and stopped for a little bit along the Dongshan River to watch the fisherman. Fish were jumping out of the water, and one man, in particular, hauled up three fish in the fifteen minutes we sat and watched. Fishing is a large industry here, as Yilan County is particularly well known for its seafood, but these seemed to be recreational fisherman.

When we got back to Yilan, Britt and I went for dinner at Pasta Kitchen, before heading out to go dress shopping. All Fulbright Scholars in Taiwan have been invited to a reception with President Ma on Friday to celebrate Double Ten Day (a Taiwanese holiday). Britt definitely needed to find a dress and though the dress I brought was wearable for the event, I was also looking for something a little nicer.

Most of the shops that we looked in were very (surprisingly) expensive. There would be a nice dress or two in the bunch, but for the cost, it just wasn't worth it. (I saw a handbag in one store that I thought my mom would like, so I turned over the price tag and the bag, which was leather but nothing special, cost 17,800 NT or about 600 USD. That is nearly half of my monthly salary!)

Adam joined us after dinner with his host family and the three of us hit up the night market. Our goal of finding dresses gradually slipped further away (Britt had found a few that would work and were within her price range and I was set to just wear the dress I brought to Taiwan), though we did find other exciting purchases like cheap earrings (I got 3 pairs -- dangling red buttons, hand mirrors, and black and white girl's heads -- for $100 NT or about a dollar apiece).

As we were about to start heading back to our scooters, I suggested we duck into one last dress
store. It had some odd dresses on the mannequins, but as we started to look around inside, the selection was great! As I was picking out dresses for Brittany to try on, the store owner informed us that most dresses were on sale and calculated a few prices quickly for us. A 4000 NT dress which had previously been out of price range was less than 2000 NT. Even more impressive, though, was that there was a wide array of sizes. I normally have to be rather discerning here to find clothing that fits appropriately, because though I average a medium size in the US, in Taiwan clothing is so much smaller. I actually found a beautiful plum colored dress with rouching at the bust and an interesting, open back. Not only was it in a US medium that fit really well, but it was also one of the cheaper dresses in the store! Britt found a black dress with silver sequins -- we will definitely be two of the most stylish girls at this reception!

Now it is a beautiful Sunday at noon, so we are going to head to the park across the street to do some Chinese homework and studying. I stand by my message in the picture above: "I <3 Taiwan!"