Day 3: Saturday June 13th

I had a fun day in Taipei today! When Yu-Ting informed me last night that we would be heading to Taiwan’s beautiful capital today I couldn’t wait for it to be morning. I was expecting it to be just me and Yu-Ting, but I was happily surprised when I found out Tiffany, Amanda, Robert, and their host students would be coming along with us. As fun as yesterday’s activities were, it was nice to be indoors for most of the day today.
After the hour and a half long bus ride from Hsinchu to Taipei, Vicky and Jesse (two of the host students) said we were headed to Taiwan Storyland. If one wanted to see and experience Taiwanese culture that is the place to go. There are things from old traditional markets to places where you can take fake mug shots. There was even a replica of a barber shop. When we came across some old fashioned motorcycles, Amanda tried to hop on one for a picture. Little did she know it was extremely unstable. She was able to save herself from falling over, but not the bike. It took some time before we finally got it to stand up right again. After playing a few games, looking at some more cool sites, and eating lunch we were off.
Our next destination was too far to walk to, so we took the subway, or MTR. It wasn’t really different from the subway in New York or even the metro in France. Our plan was to go to the zoo but then the rain changed our plans. We went shopping for a little bit, but I ended up not buying anything. It was interesting to see how the discounts and sales work here in Taiwan.
A little while later we were in an arcade. I saw the competitive sides of some of the students when we played 4-player air hockey. After playing some basketball and shooting games, Amanda, Tiffany, and I were looking for a place to sit down. We found a game that you go inside a dark enclosed area to play, so we decided we might as well give it a try. It wasn’t long before we were all screaming because giant spiders were coming towards us on the screen. When Amanda and Tiffany had killed all the spiders I thought the game was over, but then enormous flying green insects came from behind some rocks. By the end of the game our hearts were racing.
Everytime I walked by the Dance Dance Revolution game I would stop and watch in awe. Each person who would get up to play would choose the hardest level and complete it perfectly. I'm beginning to think that parents in Taiwan are required to train their kids at a young age so they will be Dance Dance Revolution masters. Either that, or they all have a extremely good eye-foot coordination.
Our last stop for the day was a curry shop for dinner. I didn't think I would like the meal, but ended up finishing my plate. Part of the reason I liked it is because it reminds me of home. Curry may be an Indian dish, but it tasted similar to the Persian meals my mom cooks at home. Especially since it was served with chicken and rice. After dinner we took the subway back to the bus station and then took the bus back home. I don't know how long the bus ride was on the way back because as soon as I sat down I fell asleep. Now that I'm home, it's time to head upstairs to an actual bed and get some quality sleep.

Favorite food/drink of the day: Egg cake with sweet corn
Interesting thing learned about Taiwan:For some students summer break is only two weeks long!