Beitou Hot Springs. $8 a person gets you this..... (dancers not included)
2 whole hours of blissful hot spring baths. Exactly what our tired and achy muscles needed!
Coming out of the Hot Springs, Amy and I could scarcely walk we were so hungry. (Mitch assured us he'd had a big lunch and wouldn't eat much) So we quickly found what I thought was a Japanese restaurant. Of course as we walk in we were greeted by the blank stares of waiters who speak no English and the inevitable scramble as they quickly go and fetch the only staff member who can. *should have learnt chinese*
NB: I would like to say a big congratulations to Amy on how far she has come this trip. Not only is she now drinking the water from the water fountain, but she definitely would not have agreed to this 'cook it yourself' meal at the start of our trip. Baby steps Amy :)
We were ushered to a table which already had a pan laid out in the middle of it with a selection of vegetables. Some water and broth was thrown into the pan before we had the chance to even park our bums on the seats and our meal had started cooking.
Next thing we knew, 6 trays of impossibly thing cuts of meat are brought out and laid on the table as well as some fresh eggs. (At this point I look over at Amy who is about ready to faint or flee.)
After a great deal of confusion and desperate sign language we worked out that the meal was $398 (TND) and that the menu we were to choose from was all included and limitless (as long as you ate it in under 90 minutes). Everything was cooked on your table, in the pan with the broth.
So we ticked a few things on the list which included things like, Loofah, Lily pad, Konjac jelly and Jew's ear. (Pics or it never happened? Please see attached proof)
What arrived at our table was nothing less than a field of mushrooms, a synagog of Jew's ears, a cabbage patch and an abattoir of meat. All for about $15 each.
<Mitch had about 6 trays of meat and 2 bowls of rice along with all the veggies>
An assortment of mushrooms, and yes, Jew's ears.
RANDOM:
They make the mosquitoes big in Taiwan. My legs are covered in bites! Those bitches will find me
anywhere.
Just trying out the Panoramic... #earlydays #needsmorepractice #checkoutamysface
Sexual Harassment will not be tolerated on the trains. The police will come at you with a sheild!
Went on a trip to the Confuscius Temple today. We were promised a specially organised English tour, but that turned out to be a bit of false advertising. The tour guides english was broken at best. But the Temple itself was very pretty :)
The ceilings where beautifully decorated! I have so many photos but I will put them up on facebook eventually. There were little squirrels in the trees! This really excited all of us from Australia, but the Americans were not impressed. Apparently they're a menace? How ridiculous. They're way too cute.
The tiniest Asian Squater I've ever seen! When standing, this little thing barely reached my knee caps. She just snuck up behind us and squatted down to say hello! (I saw she snuck up, but her shoes actually made an audible squeak every time she took a step. Gwyn thinks they might have been a way of encouraging her to walk when she is first learning. CUTE!
Babes. I thought it was about time I started to get photos of Us on exchange and not just the places we see.
Ash, Amy, Gwyn, Marian, Eve.
After a hard afternoon of taking trains and walking through temples we crossed the road to Milkhouse bakery for some refreshments. The Taiwanese are surprisingly good at their breads, buns, cakes and pastries! And the bakery smelt heavenly.
All the bread and buns are quite sweet though, even the sandwich ones. (so i've been told, I didnt actually try any)
So it's almost the end of our first week in Taiwan. We have done a full week of classes and made it through. I am still trying to figure out my timetable. As you can see from this picture, I'm a little undecided.
This year we have all been lucky enough to get invited to audition for the winter season at TNUA. Mitch and Amy are working with Graeme Connie on a remount of a Natalie Weir piece called "His Weeping". Thom and Gwyn from Purchase are with me in the rehearsals for Hsaio Mei's work called "Paper" (I think, but I am not entirely sure on the Chinese translation so don't quote me) this is also a remounted work, but she is adapting it for a cast of 10 instead of the original 5. There is a lot of improvising involved to come up with new material that she either changes or edits and then puts into the piece. So even if I don't get on stage some of my material might just make it :)
This little guy is our rehearsal buddy. He belongs to one of the students, Maggi and is always seen around the place. He is very good at giving "high five"!
On Thursday night we all went to go see Cloud Gate perform at the National Theatre of Taiwan. (for a mere $20 thanks very much).
Because I had a little skype date with a certain someone for our 3 year anniversary :) I headed to the theatre by myself. I got dressed, did my hair and make-up, put on some nice jewellery and headed out the door feeling pretty good about myself! This self confidence started to wane a bit however when I started noticing some weird glances from some people and flat out staring from others... was there something on my face? Was I just the token white girl on the train?
NOPE! I had just walked out the door in the closest thing I had to finery in Taiwan, and THESE....
.... the scummiest, oldest, "wear only around the house" pair of thongs. Solid Effort Marian!
As you can imagine, I panicked and got the hell off the train at the next station. By the grace of God I found myself at the Shilin night markets! WINNER! So I hot footed it down the road, found the first shop that sold shoes, and bought myself a wikid pair of heels that my tiny little baby llama ankles could walk in. I made it to the theatre just as they were seating the last patrons. PHEW!
The show was a very traditional one. The Nine Songs were based on nine poems written by Qu Yuang about 2,300 years ago. It was interesting to see some of the Chinese Opera movements that we had only just started to learn this week.
A highlight for me was when one dancer did a 'solo' supported on the shoulders of another two dancers. He didn't touch the ground once! And it was flawless. The strength of these dancers is amazing!
Sneaky Sneaky, Illegal, Not allowed to be taken photos of the inside of the theatre. On the apron of the stage was a makeshift lilly pond which was full of water.
The entrance hall to the National Theatre. Not a great picture but it gives you an idea.
A group shot of us after the show. (You can see my desperate impulse shoe purchase as well). The wall behind us was a gorgeous living, breathing masterpiece.
The outside of the National Theatre. I wish I'd had time to take more shots of this building because it was absolutely massive and beautiful!
The trailer for Cloud Gate - Nine Songs.
The second show we saw this week was a project put on by Meimage, which is actually Hsaio-Mei's company. (Hsaio-Mei is the choreographer I was talking about earlier) This is the second year that it has run and it is a way for up and coming Taiwanese choreographers to showcase their work for a home audience. And what a show it was!
This girl was FIERCE! I couldn't have even stood still in the heels she was wearing!
This piece was by far the best one in the show! The male dancer is Yen. He is a TNUA graduate and went to WAAPA on exchange back in 2008. He also composed most of the music for this piece which was just as good as the dancing. I want to see the show again just for this piece. If I ever find footage of it I will be doing it for rep!
What would a weekend in Taiwan be without some well earned Retail Therapy??
After the show today Gwyn took us to look at a Japanese retail store called Uni Qlo. (Look it up Ciara)
I entered the store, which was having a sale, and remember little else until I found myself at the checkout 20minutes later with 6 items in a basket. SO GOOD!
A wall of socks. I know more than a few people who would get pretty bloody excited by this! 4 for $400. (Just over $3 AUD a pair)
I won't tell you how long I was standing there picking colours.
RANDOM STUFF.
'Walking the dog'
Amy - looking less than pleased with the idea of going off on her own in Taiwan to find pointe shoes at a store that "may or may not" be opening at 3pm on a saturday. (She's probably going to kill me for posting this)
On Thursday night as we came home from Cloud Gate Amy, our token asian, was complimented on how good her English was by a lady on the train.
Marni do you remember this?! You bought me a shirt that said the same thing when you were in Korea. I have no idea what happened to my shirt but I had to smile when I saw this.
An assortment of mushrooms, and yes, Jew's ears. 
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