Taiwan or Bust!

Hello, Friends!

I have had quite an adventure since last week. I got over part 1 of midterms well enough. Friday night, I left for Shanghai. Saturday morning, I flew to Taipei, Taiwan (where I am now spending spring break!) It's been a fun adventure so far...I am very very exhausted.

It's actually a wonder how sitting in hot springs for 60 mins can just suck the life out of you. I have no energy right now! I must buck up, though, because I have a big night ahead of me~ We are going to explore the night markets and find some yummy things to eat.

A few nights ago, I had my first experience with 臭豆腐 （pinyin: chou4dou4fu3 ::: English Speakers: Cho-doe-foo). That is directly translated as "Stinky Tofu". Wow. That's all I have to say...it smelled about as good as walking behind elephants on a hot day in Africa...woof! -- I've heard tell that stinky tofu smells bad but that it tastes good. In times past, I have avoided this food because I just couldn't deal with a food that has so much aromatic personality but this time I was convinced to try it. I must say: since smell is 80% of taste, my suppositions are confirmed: this stuff also tastes like dragon. yuck.

Taiwan weather is rather rainy. I went hiking up Elephant Mountain yesterday. It was a short hike and I got to see a great view of Taipei 101 (the tallest building in Taipei, 101 floors). It was a great, short hike and left me sufficiently out of breath. At the top, there are Taiwan's 'homeless dogs', which are coincidentally homeless. Yet, the native Taiwanese hikers seem to notice them and bring them food all the time. This was sweet, although you won't catch me petting any of them.

That is all for now, Happy Passover, Easter and Spring Break!

Love to all,

Natalie xoxo 桑嘉雯