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jenyacooley · 5 years

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🇺🇸❤️🇹🇼

July 2nd, 2019

As I spend more time in Taiwan, I’ve noticed some differences in simple ways of life Taiwan is used to yet I’ve never experienced in Phoenix. (I also interspersed some fun pictures of my stay!)

On the first day, I arrived late at night to a platter of multiple cut up fruits. It seems every morning and evening, the family will enjoy the fresh in-season fruits from their markets.

On the topic of grocery stores, there was one a Breeze Mall which was very fancy and somewhat similar to American supermarkets (except for it being in a 9-story building). When Shari took me to a street market, opened daily with multiple vendors selling anything from meat and vegetables to underwear and umbrellas. Each vendor was shouting out what great deals they had, trying hard to attract customers. I was later informed that the sellers would lessen the price as the day went on.

Business owners are the same way. All the time, there are employees or the owner themselves on the street or in front of their store, enticing more people inside. Twice, I have gotten free drinks and food just for ordering from a certain restaurant.

In America, most prices are set with no room for negotiation. Even if the owner was willing to haggle a little, Phoenix doesn’t see people walking up to passerby to tell them what they have on their menu (though you gotta respect the grind). Only at mall kiosks have I seen salespeople leaving their stand to tell people what they have.

On the topic of restaurants, eating out is much cheaper in Taiwan. Most places sell items at $2-3 per person, and they usually give you a lot of food. To eat out even at a fast food restaurant is a strain on one’s pocket in America.

At my home in Taiwan, I discovered that laundry is done every day or every other day. I also learned that each room had a separate air conditioner unit, alongside an oscillating fan. And though I saw a couple of people walking their dogs, I found most people are unable to keep animals due to the small spaces of apartments. Furthermore, it’s a custom to wear indoor shoes inside and leave your other shoes outside the house.

I learned that there is less of a paranoia of theft in Taiwan (though some store vendors will follow you around to ensure you aren’t stealing). On the train/subway/bus systems they were much cleaner than what I have encountered in other US cities with public transportation. (Phoenix decided not to build one.) This cleanliness stems from the no eating policy the Taiwan transport enforces. Shari also told me that unlike other cities, Taiwan actually gains a profit from this, because the city is so dense and many people do not own cars.

I’ve gone swimming twice so far on my journey. Once at a hotel pool and the other at Leofoo Water Park (the only water park in Taiwan). Both places required the use of a swimming cap to enclose your hair. I have never seen these garments worn anywhere except competitive swim before this point in time.

Taiwan is also known as a very rainy city, meaning everyone living there owns an umbrella. Nearly every store sells umbrellas in case a poor person forgot theirs. On my trip, it has rained at least once every day. The day may start off without a cloud in the sky, but quickly descend into a stormy skyline, rain clouds showering the country with rain. In Phoenix, the city with the most hours of sunlight a year compared with the rest of the US, the little rain that comes is seen as a blessing.

Umbrellas are also used for another purpose I’ve only seen a handful of times in America. That is using the umbrella to guard against the sun. More than half the passerby I encounter when the sun shines are holding umbrellas, very much unlike Phoenix citizens who bake in the sun all day. Every place has an umbrella rack outside their door, and others have plastic covers so the umbrellas will not drip.

Obviously a city with so much rain has to be very humid. While my hair is resistant to becoming frizzy, (as shown in the many times I’ve curled my hair only for it to return to stick straight only a few hours later) Sonia’s and Talia’s hair has become much thicker, as if it’s trying to escape. On the other hand, your skin develops a glow I have never seen in the dry heat of Arizona. The only downside was a smattering if acne that flared up due to excess oil.

The heat of Taiwan also was something I had to adjust to. If Phoenix is an oven, baking everyone, Taiwan is a sauna, causing so much sweat. Furthermore if your clothing or shoes get wet in the rain, good luck on them drying anytime soon. In Arizona, the sweat will disappear quickly, as if you never felt heat in the first place. (Though the smell won’t leave!)

This humidity coming from being on an island constantly living with rain brings a much more pesky problem. Mosquitoes suck (Literally and figuratively). I have accumulated at least 30 bug bites from my time here, ranging from on my hands to my face, to my legs and any other place blood-sucking insects decide is yummy. In face due to this influx of bites, my skin had an allergic reaction and the bug bite grew a giant red ring around the bite. When visiting Taiwan, be sure to bring bug repellent. They can bite you through your clothes, and they live everywhere. The trains have them. Restaurants have them. They will follow you into where you sleep.

On a lighter note, let’s talk about 7-Elevens. They are everywhere, and are much more jumbo sized compared to America. I would compare them more to a Walgreens if it had a sitting area and tables to hang out at. Also, most stores require a customer to pay if they need a plastic bag. Some states in the United States have implemented similar laws, but Arizona has not put it into action. (It is coming close though.)

Watching movies is not as popular of a pastime as in America I first learned when I looked on Taiwanese Netflix and found a huge number of more popular shows on it. The cheaper ticket prices were to entice people to attending movie theaters. Even the marketing campaigns are much larger in Taiwan. The Spider-Man: Far from Home advertisements in America were mainly videos online, but Taiwan had the titular character plastered all over buses, and at the mall near Taipei 101 I discovered a life-sized interactive model of Spider-Man slinging a web.

珍娜

Jenna

P.S. More pictures of my stay!

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jenyacooley · 5 years

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High School in June?

June 28th, 2019

Today, Shari took me to her school Zhong Shan Girls High School. It was a great way to look further into how the differences between countries can start with something as simple yet also as complicated as a schooling system. Walking in, I was greeted with this beautiful wide-open space of the field and track. Surrounding this were the big and very tall buildings. Shari’s class was on the fourth floor (out of seven!!), much different from my 2 story high school. Because of how little space there was in Taipei, developers learned to build up instead. Despite this, her school enrolled about 2500 students from grades 10-12—all of which are girls.

Zhong Shan Girls High School was named after Dr. Yat-sen (known in mandarin as Sun Zhongshan). Known as the “Father of the Nation,” he was the first president of Taiwan following his instrumental role in the Xinhai Revolution to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and establish the Republic of China. The high school has had many notable people enrolled, including some of Taiwan’s first ladies and the first female president Tsai Ing-Wen, currently residing in office. The school motto is: “Sincerity, Integrity, Curiosity and Wisdom” and the five core values they reach are: “Respect, Honesty, Responsibility, Gratitude and Discipline.”

I had learned previously that each high school in Taiwan had a minimum requirement for who could join that school. Each student’s qualifications were displayed through a five-subject test called the Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students taken at the end of junior high school (9th grade) where each single subject score would be added together to present a final number to prospective schools. This means that individual scores don’t matter as much. (If you fail the math test but ace the Chinese one, you’ll have the same score as someone who did okay in both. Most schools don’t ask for particular scores so they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two students.) Zhong Shan’s students had to have scored in the top 5%, so Shari and her classmates are pretty smart! At Shari’s school, one thing I learned was that unlike years past, they have gotten rid of the system where students are separated based on their aptitude. Instead, students’ classes are randomly assigned.

Though school was still in session today, the schedule would be much different because it was after finals, so there were no classes and school ended at 10 o’clock. Shari’s classmates were very fun and exuberant, but they mainly spoke in mandarin to each other. (Shari told me later they were afraid of messing up their English in front of me.) The morning was spent cleaning up the campus while I looked at what their English and math tests looked like. The English exams were similar to ones I took when learning French at my school (though this was harder than any French I had taken), with a listening section, a grammar section and a comprehension section. The math exam’s instructions were in another language, so the context of what was being learned was harder to glean. The overall description of the math class had me leaning toward categorizing it as trigonometry. In my school, most sophomore students are learning geometry, which is two years before they’ll learn trig.

After taking a bunch of class photos, the entire school headed towards the auditorium. The only bunch that wouldn’t be there were the seniors, because they had to take a college entrance exam (similar to the high school entrance exam). This exam is the “second chance” to students who didn’t get the score they wanted in the January college entrance exam. Because this test would account for half of what colleges take into consideration, the other half being the grades the students got during high school, seniors had two chances (though the June test is harder than the January one). Their school will end in June and start up again in September. During school, there will be three exam seasons.

I nearly had a heart attack when I learned I would be speaking to the entire school. I hadn’t known until I had gotten to the school, leaving it up to me to construct an impromptu speech. While the end-of-year ceremony commenced, I was nervously running through my head what I would say. The assembly was much more formal than the loud and bright ones at my school, but interesting nonetheless with Shari as my translator. It started with the student body president introduced the principal before the school began to sing the national song of Taiwan. After that, the principal gave a short and sweet speech congratulating the students and wishing them a fun summer. Then a guest speaker came up to talk about how she was able to overcome adversity and reach success. A lot of sub-vice principals spoke after that. When my name was I introduced I had prepared a little speech that was not perfect, but no glaringly obvious mistakes were made. (Like accidentally offending an entire country!!) When I was finished the students sang the school anthem and then the military instructor reminded everyone to stay safe.

珍娜

Jenna

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jenyacooley · 5 years

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Jenna in Taiwan

June 30th, 2019

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jenyacooley · 5 years

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Will hike for food

June 26, 2019

Many Americans may have been familiarized to soup dumplings in the form of the Disney short Bao. Even though this animation was a feast for your eyes, eating the real thing was truly a treat. Also called baozi, this bun is speculated to originate close to 2 thousand years ago. The first accounts of such food can be dated to the Three Kingdoms period. Originally a form of mantou, I discovered two origin stories for this esteemed dish. Both begin with military strategist Zhuge Liang leading the Shu Army. (During this period, China was full of disunity following the Han Dynasty’s end. Liang was a northerner most likely leading his army to invade south China.) Accounts differ at this point. Some believe that Liang created a food shaped as a human head and filled with pork as an offering to cure his army of a plague. Others believe that he encountered a river too swift to cross and instead of following past tales of sacrificing the heads of 50 men to please the river gods, he tricked them by shaping heads out of flour and filling them with animal meat. Today, there are both meat and vegetable fillings for this popular dish.

When I visited Din Tai Fung with my cohorts and counterpart, all I knew was that they were known for their soup dumplings. After a steep hike up Xiangshan Trail, all four of us were ready to eat a ton. Everything was so delicious! The Taiwan committee in Phoenix had made us spicy cucumbers before, so we started our meal with spicy pickled cucumbers. Both places had a different yet delicious cucumber. Next, we decided on the local favorite, pork xaiolongbao. We switched it up by also ordering the chicken bao and some vegetable wontons, which were served in a delicious broth! The waitresses were super attentive, and were always there to fill my cup with tea. I could have just the broth all day...and I did ;) All of the dishes were delicious, but we were ready for dessert. The taro bun had a light flavor, which contrasted wonderfully with the rich taste of the chocolate bun. (All of us agreed it was like eating a lava cake!)

Everything here was spectacular, and I wanted to know more about this popular restaurant that always seemed to have a line of people just waiting to be seated. I learned that Din Tai Fung was founded by Yang Bingyi and his wife Lai Penmei to sell cooking oil. As demand decreased, the business turned to selling steamed buns. As you can probably guess, these were so popular the two quit the cooking oil industry all together and focused entirely on the restaurant side of things. Instead of focusing on heavily seasoning the dish, the kitchen ensures fresh and high-quality ingredients while the chefs make all of the food by hand in bamboo steamers. They also provide a ginger, vinegar and soy sauce mixture that gave an extra dimension when used with the dumplings. The website describes their food as “a classic taste of Taiwan.” The first store was on Xinyi Road, Taipei but has since expanded to the United States, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, and Thailand. If you ever find yourself near a location, I highly recommend trying this restaurant.

珍娜

Jenna

P.S. Here are some pictures from today!

P.P.S. Din Tai Fung even gives directions on how they suggest you should eat their xiaolongbao!

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jenyacooley · 5 years

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Ju Ming and the Queen

June 22, 2019

The spectacular views of Taiwan seem as if they grow more lovely by the minute. Shari’s family took me out today so I could visit two views showcasing the beauty of Taiwan

The amazing sculptures from the Juming Museum display various forms of art by the namesake artist Ju Ming and others’ works who inspired him or were inspired by him.

Visit Yeliou Geopark and you’ll see the extremely popular Queen’s Head, one of many sandstone formations dotting the Northern coast of Taiwan. This unique scenery of mushroom-headed rocks is brought about by erosion due to wind and sea.

Unfortunately for this iconic queen, she may be beheaded soon. Because of the same weathering that has brought such an unusual landscape, the neck of the rock is becoming too thin to support the head. In response, a necklace of rocks was placed around it to protect the ancient rock from tourists. Furthermore, another substitute rock called the Princess’ Head (or Cute Princess) was announced, in homes to move attention to the new rock.

珍娜

Jenna

P.S. sorry for such a short post! As a klutz with technology, I accidentally deleted the post twice and had to rewrite it

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jenyacooley · 5 years

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Jenna VS Seafood

June 23, 2019

As one may have gleaned from my introductory post, seafood and I do not seem to mesh. This was my mindset going into my first dinner in Taiwan, where the previous meals were successfully seafood-free. I felt secure in my thoughts: I wouldn’t seek out seafood, but if offered it, I would try. I hoped that this day would not be soon. Unfortunately for this line of reasoning, Shari was a very considerate host who wanted me to experience Taiwan at its best. (Re: try lots of fish.) That night, it started with a Korean seafood pancake. I smothered it in sauce in hopes it would mask the flavor. To my surprise, it was good. My second tasting was not such a happy ending, the full shrimp in my piece making me force the food down. I considered that the first bite was just a fluke. Even the freshest seafood would not be good.

Honestly, I wasn’t fully against seafood though the first paragraph may indicate otherwise. I felt that disliking such a popular and ubiquitous type of food made me seem strange or picky. Furthermore the health benefits from consuming fish were not lost on me. But I buried this behind the rationale that it could make me sick, or that it simply wasn’t for me.

But the second day into Taiwan, I was challenged again—unsurprising for an island known for its fish, I know. Lunch was on the docks at a restaurant known for its fresh fish, caught in the ocean less than 100 feet away. The first item on the menu was uncooked salmon. I had never experienced raw fish before. After my “fish failure” the day before, I was not so ready to throw my hat in the ring again. But eating it, I was pleasantly surprised. It tasted really good (I suggest it to be paired with soy sauce and wasabi!) and I even went for seconds. When moving onto other dishes, the other fish entrees were also good. One was a complete fish on a plate, head and all which I had never eaten off of before but after the initial strings of uncertainty, I found I liked it. The only hitch in this delightful lunch full of new flavors was the shrimp. This crustacean had been the enemy of my palate from day one. The first time I tried shrimp, I hated it so much I declared I would never trust my parents again. Later would unfold a complete campaign against any eating seafood. After removing the head and shell, another new experience, I tried the shrimp. It tasted...okay. No where near needing the over dramatic declaration of a picky 9-year-old. To me it wasn’t the best food on earth, but good enough for me to try another? Sure

While shrimp will never be a go-to food or even one I would actively seek out, learning that there is some hope for my deep-seated dreams of fish eating (perhaps I am still a tad bit dramatic) was something I never thought would become true. Eating the most fresh and beautiful seafood has allowed me to see how spectacular these dishes can taste and that I can appreciate what others enjoy in spades. I enjoy it too. Next time I’m offered fresh fish, I won’t turn it down. Being open to new experiences, or even trying something again is a great way to learn your own tastes. Especially as one grows up, what they categorize as “good” may shift. If you are so set in your opinions, you will be stuck I a time capsule, never able to change with the times. Even if you’re burned, (like I was with the shrimp) the old adage goes, you never know if you don’t try, but also be open to change in your opinions not only in food but in life.

珍娜

Jenna

P.S. More of the foods I’ve tried!

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jenyacooley · 5 years

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Only an ocean away

June 19, 2019

Boarding the flight to Taiwan, I feel apprehensive yet so very excited. This will be my first time away from my family for so long and in a foreign country to boot!

While I prepared for the 18 day travels into another culture, anxiety loomed over whether I brought the right clothes, or chose the perfect gifts. I knew Taipei was going to be amazing and I wanted to show my counterpart Shari just how extraordinary Arizona was as well.

The most pressing concern was my dislike for seafood. When visiting a country surrounded by water, there would be a lot of fish. Yet I was determined to at least try the delicacies of Taiwanese cuisine. I hoped that perhaps through being open-minded, I would find something new, enhanced by the unique spin another country can put on a dish.

Here’s a video of a fish Shari sent me!

These few worries were overshadowed by the growing anticipation over meeting Shari and being able to experience Taiwan not as a tourist but as a local. The ability to take the perspective of fellow students who were my age yet had lived a different life was something very special. Every time we chatted over Line, I realized that despite the different cultures, Shari and I were very similar—just teenagers with curiosity about life an ocean away.

As I ready myself for the 13 hour flight, I feel calm and ready to begin my journey ahead.

珍娜

Jenna

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