NSLI-Y 2024 Taiwan – Week 5
Hey everyone, this week’s blog is brought to you by Juan and Sam.
Welcome to our fifth week in Taiwan! (and we really made the most of it!) This week included everything from KTV, going to the movies, an incredible dance class, and even an overnight trip to Taichung!
Owen, Elim, and Haben, enjoying active language activities during Speaking class.
On Monday after class we went on a group excursion to KTV (karaoke). Having frequently used our bus as a KTV, it was great for us (and the bus driver) to have a location where we could enjoy singing our favorite Chinese songs in a designated place for loudness and tone accuracy.
Pan and Nan Laoshi: iconic duo.
Elissa, Haben, Emilie, Kallianne, David, Calvin.
Our Group at KTV.
Gabriel, Jennifer, and Lucy at the KTV.
On Wednesday, the group took a team trip to the Taiwanese Movies, to watch Despicable Me 4,（AKA Xiao Xiao Bing 小小兵 4)！We went to the nearby Miramar shopping area, featuring a beautiful ferris wheel, many shops, and the movie theater. We thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and got a chance to practice our Chinese in real life contexts.
The group watching Xiao Xiao Bing!
Scott, Shivani, Owen, Chloe, Katherine, David, and Juan, outside the Movie theater after 小小兵 next to Miramar Ferris Wheel.
With last week’s taifeng 颱風 (typhoon) spoiling the prior weeks’ dance class, we were excited for our make up dance class this friday. We were all super excited and had an incredible time, but despite the dance moves we learned the 3 hour marathon had us stretching and dancing in ways many of us had not before, except Amelia and Raffaella who, with their previous dance experience, cruised through. Guiding us through the whole thing was an incredible teacher. This experience gave us a chance to engage with the culture in a personal and unique way and build a deeper appreciation for it, especially since our dance teacher was the most fun teacher (even being able to speak a little Spanish!).
Our dance class.
Raffaela and our amazing dance teacher.
Saturday we set off on our long-awaited overnight trip to Taichung, exploring the foods, drinks, smells, and sights, the largest city Taiwan’s west coast has to offer. After a 2-hour bus ride in the karaoke bus, in the morning we went to National Taichung Theater to see some of Taiwan’s most famous modern art and beautiful architecture.
Gabriel, Mary and Lucy, at the rest stop on the way to Taichung.
Sanrio statues at the rest stop.
Haben impressing aunties and uncles at a public piano at the Taichung theater.
Elissa, Sam, and Gabriel S. find Garfield at Fengchia Night Market in Taichung!
In the afternoon we went to Fengchia Night Market for Three hours and explored some of Taiwan’s night markets, eating delicious foods, from mango shaved ice, to stinky tofu, and fried chicken, drinking delicious drinks, and playing (and mostly losing) at the night markets games. Fun fact: the city of Taichung is where the international famous bubble tea 珍珠奶茶 (Zhēnzhū nǎichá) originated!
Outside a temple in Taichung (the color matching!)
Group Photo outside a store in the Fengchia Nightmarket.
On Sunday Morning we went to Tonglou Tea Factory to see how our favorite teas (red tea and green tea 紅茶和綠茶) are made and give it a go ourselves, from picking leaves straight off the tea tree to packaging our roasted and dried-out leaves to take home.
Kalliane and Katherine at the tea house.
Listening to tea-picking instructions in the very hot and humid climate of Taiwan.
The race to do the best in condensing the tea leaves.
On Sunday afternoon we went to Taiwan’s National Hakka Museum, as a tour guide showed us through insightful and intricate exhibits that told the story of one of Taiwan’s biggest minority groups.
Entrance to the Museum included interesting looking architecture like this.
The group watching our guide explain the dialects of the Hakka language.
Walking through the entrance.