...in the palm of my hands

It is technically my fifth day in Taiwan this morning. I have done a lot of fun stuff in a short amount of time. Let’s do a picture update.

Fri- Went out to Primo.

Outside Club 7

Needless to say, it was very fun. I met a bunch of cool people. A lot of people were from UC’s and USC on study abroad. I also met the band members of CoolSilly (http://www.coolsilly.com) who were Sarah’s friends.  One of the band members Tony grew up in the san jose bay area so we had a lot in common and a lot of mutual friends. It is pretty cool when you are so far away and meet people so close to home. The picture above is with Ray, one of the singers in the band. I’ve only heard one of their songs, but it’s catchy.

Next day we went to this Firework Festival. SO many people came out. I didn’t even know what the event was for exactly.. except for the fact that there was a concert with singers and then there were fireworks at the end. There were SO MANY people that I felt like the entire city literally congregated in that one area. CoolSilly performed at this event which is why we went. Here it is live:

It was cool meeting and partying with Ray, Tony, and Leeway the night before and then seeing them on stage performing. I had a chat with Tony and we both feel the same way doing our respective arts – seeking to inspire and  follow our passions. I love the feeling of being on stage performing. That’s when you know it is a calling.

Straight after this performance everyone went home and just knocked out. Everyone was pretty drained and needed to recharge. The next day Sarah and I went bike riding with her Aunt Francis.

Xindian Bike Ride So Fun

We rode from Xindian back to Xingsheng nan lu. The view at Xindian was quite beautiful and the ride itself was pretty fun though there were so many people that it was hard to really ride long without having to stop or evade other bicyclists.

I’m going to try NOT to post too many pictures of food after today because then I could just have a blog dedicated to eating after this trip. There has been so much good food this trip that I must make a short picture post on it. Here are some of the foods/drinks I have eaten so far.

Dan Bing

Cool Coffee Shop

Coffee with Hennessy

Din Tai Fung Dumplings

Dan Dan Mian

Zha Jiang Mian

Organic Food Shabu Shabu

Mouthwatering oysters and clams

Smoothie and Porridge Breakfast

The dumplings above were from Din Tai Fung which we have in LA, but they are so delicious I had to post about them still. The last picture is what I’ve been having for breakfast at Sarah’s place. It’s very healthy and she makes it for her dad. At first I had to get used to the smoothies because it’s not like a Jamba Juice smoothie, but yeah its super good for you and pretty tasty.. and with all the other junk food I’ll probably be eating its a good balance.

Here is a funny picture of me with Sarah’s fam.

Dum di dum elavator time

Haha, It’s pretty funny because her parents have been so cool to house and show around this random wushu friend of Sarahs and I really appreciate it. Her fam has been super cool.  In any case, its like her fam.. and then.. me just chillen which is what I feel this picture captures.

Now to the progress of my goals.
1) Having fun? Check

2) Entertainment – Met band members of CoolSilly which is related to entertainment. Hopefully we will all be able to collaborate together in some way. Also another friend who was a former TV show host submitted me to be on a TV show where I would perform wushu. My mom (love this woman) also reached out to some contacts and a TV person called me this morning to get me on a TV interview for Channel 10 possibly. I’ve only been here for 3-4 days so nothing is confirmed but I do feel I am making progress on this.

3) Living information – Did some research on hotel, hostel, and apartment costs. Found hotel rooms from 1,000-7,000 NT. Found apartments for 7,500NT a month but of course it all depends on the area. I like the Zhongxiao Dunhua area, but nearby areas are cool too and it would depend on my location if I had a job or not. Job wise – I emailed and called a few tutoring places. One of them responded to me this morning telling me that I would need to submit a resume and citizenship information. I will get back to them today.

4) My Chinese – I have been consciously trying to read signs while I’ve been here. Usually I will just glaze over signs, but this time I have been trying to recognize words and remember them. Also, I will look into signing up for some Chinese class at Shi Da University (National Taiwan Normal University) but since I am here for only 2 months, I may not be able to enroll on their scheduled enrollment periods. Also, depending on my schedule I am looking for some acting classes here.

5) Business – I haven’t gotten much on teas yet, though I did meet Tony’s friend Annie who is a fashion designer and has contacts to manufacturing clothing. This has been something I have been looking for for my martial arts clothing design. I already have the pattern made but need a source for fabrics and a place to mass produce.

6) Martial Arts – Went to the Taipei wushu place once, but they had to practice for an upcoming performance so I didn’t get to practice. I have decided I definitely want to improve my Tai Chi while I am here. The 5 hour bike ride I went on was my exercise for the trip so far.