Tonight (still Friday) was full of food….lots and lots of it. We decided to stay local for the night so we could all adjust and a lot of the girls were tired because of jet lag. We first went to a small night market just a couple of blocks away from our apartment. It was a blast! There were tons of people and there was a lot going on. It was amazing that they had so much food yet it’s considered a small night market! I’m excited for one of the big ones. We basically just walked around trying random things and talking to people. The vendor owners loved us. They would all try to get our attention and get us to come over to their vendor. Once we did we would order something and they’d make a show of preparing it just because we’re americans. Once it was done they would stare at us while we tried it waiting for our reaction. Almost every single time they ended up just giving it to us for free. We would order it and all of us would stand around taking bites then the owners would say it was their gift to us. Sophia bought a thing of noodles at one vendor and about ten minutes later the same man brought another one to the group for free because they were so entertained by us. They loved getting attention from us and they showed their gratitude by giving us more.
After the market we decided to get one of the infamous Taiwanese massages.The massage was the absolute best thing I have ever felt in my life…..but it was also extreeeeemely painful. It started out with us soaking our feet in a tub of warm water and the therapists rubbed some stuff on our necks. The massage began soft and smooth but all of a sudden the therapists were digging their elbows into our necks and backs and slapping us. It felt good but it hurt so much. Even when you would groan in pain they just kept going and sometimes went even harder because they thought it was funny. They then brought us tea and had us move to a different couch. At this point they started at our feet and proceeded to go up our legs. They dug their fingers into our ankles and grinded their elbows against our shins. Some of the girls were literally yelling out in pain trying to make them stop (you can see katelyn dying in the picture) but the therapists would just start laughing hysterically and keep going. It was definitely like no massage I’ve ever had before. It felt really good to me but the other girls didn’t like it at all ha ha ……but it was a 50 minute massage for $20….who would pass that up?
After the massage we went to a popular bakery where all of the kids our age hang out. The bakery was aaaamaaaazing. I never thought bread could be that good. It seems like such a simple thing but it’s soooo much better here in Taiwan. I can’t explain it. It’s just a different taste, texture, and even smell. The bakery goods are much more creative too. They had all different types of things…things you couldn’t even imagine.
At this point everyone was getting really tired and jet lag had set in so they decided to go back to our apartment. A couple of us had a lot of sleep on the plane so we decided to stay out. We just walked around touring the area around our apartment. We passed a school where kids were just getting out of class (in Taiwan the children learn English after regular school so they don’t finish up until about 9 or 10pm every night) and as soon as they saw us they all started jumping up and down and waving at us. We decided to go over there and let them practice their English with us but once we did none of them dared talk. We left and started walking down the street. About 5 minutes later these two boys on a bike began following us. They stayed about 10 feet behind and kind of stayed in the shadows. It was obvious that they were following us but we didn’t know what they wanted so we just let them be. We got to a temple that we wanted to see and walked up inside. The boys still followed. Finally one of them came up to me and asked where I was from. I told him and we ended up talking for a bit. They were so adorable and they were so excited to be talked to Americans who could speak English.
We left and Jim (my professor) wanted to get a BOBA drink (these are also really popular in Taiwan, they’re the equivalent to bubble tea in the U.S. but they’re only about 50 cents here) so we stopped at a small café. There I got a Wintermelon Tea Drink. This is a completely different flavor that they don’t have in the U.S. but it’s yummy!
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