Friday, August 22, 2008
Our apartment
Today we moved into our new apartment!! Its pretty sweet, Erin took some pictures so you guys can check it out. It came fully furnished (we’re still waiting on our TV and refrigerator though) and its only $330/month ($10,000 in TWD). We settled on this one after spending yesterday with our cute but cut throat bi-lingual negotiator, Patty. We looked a few others but all were loft-style, which we thought we wanted at first. After seeing this one and its two-level set up, we knew his one would better serve our needs. During the apartment hunt we stopped for a bite to eat with Patty, we figured we would treat because she’s been working so hard to help us. Little did we know what was in store…
Stinky Tofu is a Chinese delicacy that is pretty much self-descriptive. At first whiff I thought I stepped in a horse turd, but I didn’t. This stuff smells, bad. But, in all truthfulness, it didn’t taste that bad. After all, it is just soy. But the big surprise came later on as I was biting into a piece of meat. I’ll admit, I didn’t know what kind of meat this was, just that it was meat. But thanks the perfect timing of my curious, sweet and innocent little girlfriend the mystery meat was soon to be revealed. As I was chewing and swallowing the tender, but chewy piece of meat Erin so eagerly asked Patty “what is this?” To which patty responded “ eet ees pig…not the stomach, but after the stomach…” After listening to her try and explain while at the same time gesturing with her hands, I swallowed my mouthful and came to the realization that I had just eaten some pig intestine. Awesome. I guess I it could’ve been worse, but there was a reason I didn’t ask what we were eating. There’s a reason this tofu stinks, and its not because its mixed with meat that we would normally eat. So upon further inquiry, Erin found out that not only is this delectable little dish made with pig intestine, but a healthy hunk of frozen pig blood as well. At that point Erin was pretty much over experimenting with foods and ordered a bowl of rice, which I happily helped her finish.
After a long day of apartment hunting and food tasting we called it a day and headed back to our hotel.
Today we ventured off on our own after we signed our lease. No Patty, just the two of us out getting some stuff for the new digs. Nothing too exciting happened while were shopping. We picked up some polka-dotted sheets and a mattress pad. The next bit didn’t come until later on when we decided to grab a bite to eat again. We went into a little restaurant, there’s pretty much one in every couple hundred feet. This one seemed to specialize in seafood and last time I checked, pigs don’t swim. The woman who worked there was kind enough to come out and show us how much each of the items in the pictures cost. She didn’t speak English but she pointed to the pictures and wrote down the price. After I pointed to one of the items we decided to get, thinking it was chicken, she walked in and began pointing to the different meats behind the counter. When she got to our meat she began speaking and hopping in place. After a minute I figured out that she was telling us we just ordered frog. Erin quickly canceled that order and we decided to take another glimpse at the pictures. Finally after passing up the frog, crawfish, squid, crab claws and other seafood delights we decided to order a shrimp dinner. It was delicious. Then we went to a McDonalds, which was also delicious.
Monday we don’t have anything we have to do so were going to take the day and do a little sight seeing. We’re thinking Taipei 101, but were not sure yet.
Stinky Tofu is a Chinese delicacy that is pretty much self-descriptive. At first whiff I thought I stepped in a horse turd, but I didn’t. This stuff smells, bad. But, in all truthfulness, it didn’t taste that bad. After all, it is just soy. But the big surprise came later on as I was biting into a piece of meat. I’ll admit, I didn’t know what kind of meat this was, just that it was meat. But thanks the perfect timing of my curious, sweet and innocent little girlfriend the mystery meat was soon to be revealed. As I was chewing and swallowing the tender, but chewy piece of meat Erin so eagerly asked Patty “what is this?” To which patty responded “ eet ees pig…not the stomach, but after the stomach…” After listening to her try and explain while at the same time gesturing with her hands, I swallowed my mouthful and came to the realization that I had just eaten some pig intestine. Awesome. I guess I it could’ve been worse, but there was a reason I didn’t ask what we were eating. There’s a reason this tofu stinks, and its not because its mixed with meat that we would normally eat. So upon further inquiry, Erin found out that not only is this delectable little dish made with pig intestine, but a healthy hunk of frozen pig blood as well. At that point Erin was pretty much over experimenting with foods and ordered a bowl of rice, which I happily helped her finish.
After a long day of apartment hunting and food tasting we called it a day and headed back to our hotel.
Today we ventured off on our own after we signed our lease. No Patty, just the two of us out getting some stuff for the new digs. Nothing too exciting happened while were shopping. We picked up some polka-dotted sheets and a mattress pad. The next bit didn’t come until later on when we decided to grab a bite to eat again. We went into a little restaurant, there’s pretty much one in every couple hundred feet. This one seemed to specialize in seafood and last time I checked, pigs don’t swim. The woman who worked there was kind enough to come out and show us how much each of the items in the pictures cost. She didn’t speak English but she pointed to the pictures and wrote down the price. After I pointed to one of the items we decided to get, thinking it was chicken, she walked in and began pointing to the different meats behind the counter. When she got to our meat she began speaking and hopping in place. After a minute I figured out that she was telling us we just ordered frog. Erin quickly canceled that order and we decided to take another glimpse at the pictures. Finally after passing up the frog, crawfish, squid, crab claws and other seafood delights we decided to order a shrimp dinner. It was delicious. Then we went to a McDonalds, which was also delicious.
Monday we don’t have anything we have to do so were going to take the day and do a little sight seeing. We’re thinking Taipei 101, but were not sure yet.
Our first day
After a tear flooded departure from Cleveland we boarded a plane headed to Los Angelas. The plane ride wasn't too bad except we made the mistake of staying up to watch Made of Honor because Mike has always wanted to see that movie. From L.A. to Taiwan really wasn't that bad. The seats were really comfy and we got to watch Iron Man and 21. When we got off the plane at 6 a.m. Friday, it was already so hot and humid out. There was a driver there to pick us up who didn't speak any English which was extremely uncomfortable. What made it more uncomfortable is that Mike hits the guys arm and asked him what his name was. The guy was probably so afraid that this 6 foot guy was touching him so he nervously replied with "yes", which was great.
The ride from the airport to our hotel was scary because there aren't any traffic laws and everyone drives like maniacs. There are hundreds of scooters that swerve in and out of cars and have no regard people walking, it's crazy!! So then we get dropped off at the hotel at 7:45 but it didn't open until 9:00 but of course we couldn't communicate with the driver so we had to sit outside for an hour and a half with no food or water because it was too early to exchange money at the bank for us to purchase any.
Finally we met Patty, our adorable tour guide. we walked around the neighborhood for a little bit before she treated us to our first official taiwanese meal, at Subber (Taiwan's version of Subway). Being the sloppy (and starving) Americans that we are, Erin and I scarrfed our food like it was the only meal we'd had all day...because it was. We ate so fast that she called us out on it and kind of made fun of us. Afterwards we got to try Bubble tea and Pearl tea, drinks that are massively consumed in Taiwan. they werent bad but the jelly balls that make their way up the straw are a little different and something that we are going to have to get used to.
After taking care of a few things we had to do upon arrival we finally got to check into our hotel room to shower and relax for the day. With both of us expecting a Hostel not far from the hollywood portrayal, we were pleasantly surprised to be at an upscale place tucked away from the main roads. Our room is really nice, coming fully equiped with a lip sofa and naked women on our walls (see picture above)....Mike's favorite part about Taiwan so far.
So around 4ish we went to get something to eat on our own this time and as we were walking aournd realized that everything seems to shut down after 4 so we had to go back to Subber again. This time we did not have Patty with us and Mike made an ass out of himself, first by TRYING to say hello in Chinese and then by pointing to what he wanted on the menu. The girl laughed at him like you American idiot and told him that they could speak English, it was great! It is very hard to walk around without our guide because there isn't a way to communicate with anyone for us yet and we can't read any of the signs because they are all written in Chinese but we both are looking forward to learning.
Then we went back to our hotel and I passed out around 5:30 p.m and now we are both wide awake at 6 a.m. Today we are going to look for our new apartment!!
The ride from the airport to our hotel was scary because there aren't any traffic laws and everyone drives like maniacs. There are hundreds of scooters that swerve in and out of cars and have no regard people walking, it's crazy!! So then we get dropped off at the hotel at 7:45 but it didn't open until 9:00 but of course we couldn't communicate with the driver so we had to sit outside for an hour and a half with no food or water because it was too early to exchange money at the bank for us to purchase any.
Finally we met Patty, our adorable tour guide. we walked around the neighborhood for a little bit before she treated us to our first official taiwanese meal, at Subber (Taiwan's version of Subway). Being the sloppy (and starving) Americans that we are, Erin and I scarrfed our food like it was the only meal we'd had all day...because it was. We ate so fast that she called us out on it and kind of made fun of us. Afterwards we got to try Bubble tea and Pearl tea, drinks that are massively consumed in Taiwan. they werent bad but the jelly balls that make their way up the straw are a little different and something that we are going to have to get used to.
After taking care of a few things we had to do upon arrival we finally got to check into our hotel room to shower and relax for the day. With both of us expecting a Hostel not far from the hollywood portrayal, we were pleasantly surprised to be at an upscale place tucked away from the main roads. Our room is really nice, coming fully equiped with a lip sofa and naked women on our walls (see picture above)....Mike's favorite part about Taiwan so far.
So around 4ish we went to get something to eat on our own this time and as we were walking aournd realized that everything seems to shut down after 4 so we had to go back to Subber again. This time we did not have Patty with us and Mike made an ass out of himself, first by TRYING to say hello in Chinese and then by pointing to what he wanted on the menu. The girl laughed at him like you American idiot and told him that they could speak English, it was great! It is very hard to walk around without our guide because there isn't a way to communicate with anyone for us yet and we can't read any of the signs because they are all written in Chinese but we both are looking forward to learning.
Then we went back to our hotel and I passed out around 5:30 p.m and now we are both wide awake at 6 a.m. Today we are going to look for our new apartment!!
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