新年快樂！
新年快樂！Happy Chinese New Year! The past two weeks have been packed with activity!
Firstly, my host sister and I tried out a new cafe by Wenzao. It was a bit more expensive than the one we normally go to but totally worth it. It was super peaceful and the drinks were amazing. I’m planning to go again soon.
Red Barn Cafe
For a class activity, we went to a traditional market in downtown Kaohsiung. They were selling lots of food and decorations for New Years. We competed in a scavenger hunt and I had the chance to try lots of new foods!
New Years Market
Two weekends ago, I traveled to 臺中, Taichung, to volunteer at an FRC scrimmage. This was the first FRC event ever held in Taiwan! I was one of two emcees and a translator! I’ll have more pictures from this event in a few days so I’m planning to write a post about the experience then. For now, here's a few pictures.
FRC Scrimmage
Last Tuesday, Katie came over to celebrate Mardi Gras at my house. We made mac and cheese (my Christmas gift from my family!) and ate pineapple cakes, chocolate, and fruit. We also played board games. This was the first time my host family had even heard of Mardi Gras before so it was really neat to introduce them to the concept and celebrate with them.
Mardi Gras Celebration
On Ash Wednesday, I called my robotics team back home. It was special to have the chance to talk to my teammates again and see their progress this season. I can’t wait to see their final robot! That evening, I went to Mass at Our Lady of Fatima.
On Thursday, my winter break finally started. It’s hard to believe that this is my first break from school (minus one or two days off here and there) since I came here in August. Thursday was 除夕, or New Year’s Eve. My host mom, Melissa, Jim, and I went to 屏東 to visit my host dad’s brother and his wife. We played some board games, read and drank tea.
I also got to help put up 春聯, Spring Couplets which are written vertically on red pieces of paper and hung on door posts at New Year time.
春聯
My host family also went to 拜拜. This verb is a little hard to translate. It’s a religious term used in Taoism for praying to spirits. On New Year’s Eve, my host family traditionally prays to the spirits of their ancestors. On the second floor of the house, they had a small shrine set up with pictures of their family members who had passed away. They laid out food for them and also burned small yellow sheets of paper representing money to give to them. I’m grateful I had this opportunity to learn more about traditional religion in Taiwan.
We also drove to see the local Catholic church in 屏東. On the wall surrounding the church, 天主是愛，耶穌是主 was written in red paint. This translates to God is love, Jesus is Lord.
屏東 Church
Then, we went over to a family friend’s house for dinner. There we watched the New Year Gala show and played more board games. We drove home late that evening.
On 初一 (New Years Day), family friends from Taipei came to visit us. We went to the Bo’er Art District and went to see an art exhibit about miniatures. The exhibit was super clever!
Bo’er Art Exhibit
They also had a section at the end were you could dress up and mimic different pictures from the exhibit.
Interactive Exhibit
Next, we went to 夢時代, the largest mall in Southeast Asia, for lunch. We ate at a Japanese restaurant. I had super good fried salmon. I also found two t-shirts that I thought were pretty funny. I have yet to find good pizza in Taiwan so the first one was humorous. Although the math side of my brain is pretty much on vacation here in Tawain, I still know enough math to say that Hello Kitty is definitely only four apples tall.
Shirts at the Mall
Then, we took the train back home. In the evening, we played some more board games and then went out for dinner.
On Saturday, we drove back to 屏東 to see more family. The first stop was my host mom’s mother’s house for lunch. Then we went to the beach. It was super windy and the weather was beautiful!
The Beach
Next, we went to see more of my host mother’s relatives. Her mom was one of twelve so her extended family is huge! I met the mayor of 屏東 who is one of my host mom’s cousins. We went to the temple near his house so my host family could 拜拜, or pray.
The Temple
That evening, we ate dinner with many members of my host mom’s extended family and played more board games. It’s also traditional to buy lottery scratch tickets on New Years. I won 8 dollars, my host sister won about 20 and my host brother won over 40!
Playing the Lottery
My host sister and I also went to try the food at an Indian food stand by the temple. It was delicious! We stayed in a hotel next to the temple. In the morning, after saying goodbye to everyone, we met up with the family friends who had visited earlier in the week. After eating lunch (and playing more board games), we drove back to Kaohsiung. I went to Mass at Our Lady of Fatima. After (you guessed it) playing more board games, we went out for dinner.
That evening I decorated my closet with the 春聯, or Spring Couplets, Sister Fidelis had given me. I also added different cards I have been give this year as well as some train tickets and pictures!
My Closet Door
On Monday, we met up with the family friends again. After playing some more board games, we went out for turkey fried rice. They then left to go back to Taipei. In the afternoon, my host sister and I went to Donutes to study.
In the evening, we went to the lantern festival by 愛河, the Love River. We watched a lights show and then looked at the different lanterns. On one side of the river, all the lanterns had to do with famous dogs in literature and history as this is the year of the dog. On the other side, all the lanterns were made by different groups to enter into the annual competition.
Lantern Festival
On Wednesday, I went to a tropical agricultural festival in 屏東 with my host family. I had to wear sunscreen and the weather was super hot! I saw a lot of cool plants (and fish)!
Tropical Agricultural Festival
That evening, my host sister and I went to 巨蛋, a mall near my house, to shop. We met up with Katie and Tina, one of my friends from Wenzao. After shopping, we came home to work on homework.
Celebrating Chinese New Year in Taiwan was an incredible experience! I am so grateful for the last two weeks! We start classes again tomorrow so I’ve got quite a bit of homework to get caught up on. Second semester, here I come!