Cornell Asianfest 2011

So I noticed that there are a great number (4+) of Taiwanese kids going to Cornell. Some of us decided to meet up this weekend. And it wasn't too bad. I'm certainly not used to being around a great number of other asians that are my age. Hailing from Mesa, Arizona means I only know Kenneth and Kathie(asians), a great number of mormons, and other non-mormon but nonetheless very cool non-asian kids. I'm not a huge fan of asian culture; I guess I just missed out on the Chinese school group and have never really learned how to get along with the kind of kids that are all pep and k-drama.  

Saturday, I met up with Angela and Jerry for afternoon tea and cake at the Agnes B. Cafe. Their confections are quite intricate; more than I could ever manage on a regular basis. I had the  strawberry rose tea and the chestnut mousse cake, which consisted of a: pie crust-esque base, layer of chiffon cake, chocolate ganache, chestnut mousse, and marshmallow center. Quite a lot of work. 

Not quite up my alley, but still very enjoyable. 

Afterwards we went shopping around the area, and I think we all know I just can't resist cute bake-ware. Now I can bake super cute cupcakes in heart and star shapes. 

Tuesday, I had dinner with my future roommate (!!!) Stephanie, who, wouldn't you know it, is also Taiwanese and was just in the area. After some Shanghai cuisine, we shopped the underground Metro Mall. And like always, the shopping is so good. Things are crazy cheap in Taiwan, and with so many shops so close together, it's really easy to shop around for the perfect thing. Purchased a pair of pale seafoam green shorts and a creme and vintage maroon striped shirt with a keyhole collar to the back, it even came with a matching tulle slip. 


All in all, two very productive and interesting days. Still not so sure about all the asians I will end up meeting, but I will deal, and maybe it won't be so bad.

Sunday

This Sunday, I went for a bikeride along the banks of the Keelung River. The views are breathtaking and the feeling of wind through your hair is just wonderful. In fact, it was so enjoyable that I forgot to take pictures... 

But not to worry, I think I'll be going back again soon.

Later that night, I went out with some of my aunt's friends for korean bbq. Pretty sure that out of all the kinds of barbecue out there, the korean version is my favorite. Cooking food with other people is very enjoyable, especially when the restaurant decides to blast Lady Gaga and Super Junior in the background. 

I imagine this is what my friend Schmeric dreams of daily.

I'm pretty sure we were the noisiest table around. And who would've thought that nine girls could eat so much [at least four times the amount pictured above(!!!)] Super full right now, but I would definitely do it again [only with alcohol next time (and boys)]. 

Home Sweet Home.

As some of you may already know, I'm working as a research intern this summer. Thus far, I haven't exactly done much since we're still waiting for the plants to grow big enough. But anyway, I thought I'd share some photos of the lab room with all of you.

Oh, and by the way, I finally figured out why my camera wanted to tint all my photos blue. It's all about lighting settings. So I changed them to tint everything hipster. 

We are a messy lab.

Electrophoresis station.

So glad everything is already premixed; forgot all my chem.

My sample of plants.

This is my baby, CWF2-407

These plants grow super fast; can't wait until next week when they're finally big enough to extract a good amount of DNA! 


Still wearing my pale pink oxfords.

Ximen

One thing that seems to be gaining popularity here is themed restaurants. On my way to lunch with my friend Alice, I must have passed half a dozen other themed restaurants, ranging from maid cafes to cute little jungle restaurants with swinging seats. 

Well, one of the craziest ones I've heard of and actually had the chance to eat at today was Modern Toilet. Which, as its name suggests, is a toilet-themed restaurant with showerheads, urinals, and toilet seats as wall decorations. 

All the meals come in little bathtubs and toilets. The food was okay. Nothing absolutely spectacular. But then again, when you're busy chatting and catching up, you don't really notice all that much. I ordered a pasta gratin, but they also have hotpots, ramen, and other dishes. They also have ice cream and other frozen deserts in absolutely gigantic portions, I swear you need at least 5 people to finish. 

It's a bath tub for a table!

Afterwards, we just went shopping in the super crowded Ximenting area that just has shops upon shops all lined up. I purchased super cute pale pink oxfords. They have a very small heel and they're way comfy; and I think I will end up wearing them everywhere!

Look! It's a bird, it's a plane.....

Actually, it's just incredibly cute merchandise from the Japanese dollar store Daiso. Everywhere you look these stores keep popping up. And I absolutely love them! All their products are so cute and well designed. 

I purchased the teddy bear set! Way cute.

Small utensils!

Cute cookie cutters? Couldn't resist.

Outside, Hello Kitty is absolutely everywhere!

It's so cute!

And the title isn't entirely nonsense; there was a bird at Taipei National University. They have gardens and ponds there and it's quite lovely. I don't exactly know what kind of bird that is, but I thought it looked special. This plant here was also nice; it's like a rainbow.

New Beginnings

So after two years, I'm finally back in Taiwan and ready for some action. The first few days were mostly filled with family and jetlag; what a great experience. And as everyone keeps telling me to do, I'm eating lots of yummy food for them, haha. Something that's pretty common around here is the SushiExpress chain of restaurants. It's kind of cute the way the sushi floats by on the rotating track. The restaurants are always friendly, fast, and fresh. 

Even their fruit is cute and individually wrapped!

If your name is Connor, I haven't forgotten about your love of wasabi paste. Here, all the condiments and utensils are placed on the side for your convenience. They even have tea bags and boiling water. 

And thus begins my journey through Taiwan. 

Another thing I've started is listening to The Novembers. Just as I'm attempting to rekindle this blogging thing, I've started to look for more Japanese rock bands. I already love many Japanese artists, but I feel as though my ipod has been lacking in this genre for some months now. I think The Novembers are just what I've been looking for. Now, I'm no music major (ask Ken for that) but I think their sense of rhythm and the way they layer all their sounds is just wonderful. 

One last thing! While I was leaving the SushiExpress, I caught one of my old classmates all the way back from sixth grade. And here I was thinking that I'd officially lost all contact with my one and only Taiwanese class, when they were right here all along. I think it's been about 6 years now, but this girl hasn't changed a bit. I was really surprised to find her working there. And since she looked rather busy, I decided to just leave her my number and email with a message telling her to keep in touch using my broken Mandarin (I sure I hope I wrote it down correctly). I hope this is a new start to a stronger friendship. 

All in all, today has been great! I definitely feel refreshed as I finish up this first post. 

Here's to more good mornings.