Day 60: The Last Hour

My 60th day in Taiwan is not really a day but a mere 85 minutes, and I'm spending it alone in the boarding area of the CKS International Airport. The boarding area already feels like Manila and I still can't believe my 60-day adventure has come to an end. When I was about to go home from a 9-month stay in Korea, my mood was "I've done a lot here so I have no regrets! I'm ready to *fix* my life! I'm definitely coming back!". But going home from a 2-month stay here, I feel like a part of me will always be with Cloud and Sea Leisure Farm. It's an attachment to the family and the farm that I was a part of, rather than the country and its culture.

I'm really glad I chose this TN. I came here for the experience - mostly tea making and living in the countryside, and I got that plus a lot of memories with a family in Taiwan. Auntie always says that there must be a reason why fate has brought us together. I think it's to learn from each other so we could live our lives better, and be rays of sunshine in one another's lives during the past two months.

When I think about it, I became interested in Taiwan because of my fangirling back then. I was able to find this TN in AIESEC's website when I filtered by school - National Tsing Hua University, because it's where my friend studies. If those things didn't happen, I might not have been interested in going to Taiwan for an exchange, I wouldn't be able to meet Auntie and the family, and this blog wouldn't have existed. Things do happen for a reason, don't they?

I'm sure we'll get the chance to meet again someday, so everything doesn't end at 60 days. In Chinese, "goodbye" actually means "see you again or till we meet again". 再見了,台灣!

Everyone's off to their next adventure~

I'm also sharing the music that little brother plays in the car. Listening to these will always remind me of the time I spent here. Click here to download!

1. 愛不單行 - 羅志祥
2. 我愛他 - 丁當
3. 雨後天空 - 袁詠琳
4. 背對背擁抱 - 林俊傑
5. 地球上最浪漫的一首歌 - 黃鴻昇
6. 匿名的好友 - 楊丞琳
7. 雨愛 - 楊丞琳
8. 很久很久以後 - 梁文音
9. 最最 - 梁文音
10. 滿滿 - 王錚亮 & 梁文音

Day 59: Of Firsts and Lasts

Q: 三分熟牛排和五分熟牛排為何見面不大招呼 A: 因為他們還不熟ㄚ

It's my last day at the farm! I could still remember the moment I first stepped into this house. During the first few days, I was even thinking: "What did I get myself into?". Back then, Uncle and the little brother were so awkward when I'm around that they would only eat a little. The language barrier was a problem too since I couldn't understand what they wanted me to do and I couldn't express myself well either. I experienced a lot of firsts, learned about their culture and got used to living in a quiet farm. And suddenly two months have passed and I'm about to leave! 我好捨不得離開~ I will definitely miss them! T.T

The first motorcycle I ever rode

I spent the entire morning teaching Auntie how to add posts to the blog I set up for them and send emails. She asked if I was interested in managing the farm if her two sons decided not to. I didn't know how to answer that, so I just said "Let's see, 10 years from now." She always jokes that when I come back 10 years from now, I might bring with me a 小碧芳 (a mini Tasha = a child) I told her that's not gonna happen, but she insisted that "you never know what fate will bring you". Dear 33-year-old-Tasha, I wonder what you'll be saying when you read this! Will you realize that you did eat your words back then and that Auntie was right? :p

Left: still in the farm | Right: planted in Manila

Uncle also gave me two little tree grape seedlings to plant at home. He taught me how to take care of them, and even asked me to update little brother if it lives or dies. Talk about pressure! It will take at least 5 years for the tree to grow big enough to bear fruits. Where will I be and what will I be doing then?

Passionfruit is yummy!

While I was walking in the backyard, I also saw that some of the 百香果 passion fruit were already ripe. When I took pictures last time, they were still green and I thought I would never be able to eat them before I left. But it seems as if the farm decided to give me a farewell present, so I was able to try fresh passion fruit for the first time on my last day here.

Last lunch: Oriental Beauty Tea Chicken Soup

The dog loves rolling on the mat after taking a bath!

來福 and 莊先生 aka 胖叔叔

Last picture with my home in Taiwan!

Last dinner in a fancy restaurant in 龍潭

Family picture! (Everyone's smiling, yey!)

After dinner, we headed to 中壢 to buy fruits and hang out in Auntie's mom's house until it was time to meet up with AIESEC member Sharon. I got to meet Auntie's niece and chatted with her for a bit. She was so energetic and talkative that we became Facebook friends in 10 minutes. She told me that she wants to go to 長攤島 Boracay, so I said we can go there together!

When it was time to leave, they brought me to the bus station to meet up with Sharon. I only met this girl twice: She fetched me from the airport on my first day and now she's sending me off! We talked about what happened during my two months here and her plans of going on an exchange program herself. I was happy to hear that "my Chinese has improved."

Ride to the airport with Sharon!

Sharon left after I checked in my luggage, and from that moment on, I was alone on my journey home. It seems the airport wanted to give me a farewell gift too, when I saw that the departure area was decorated with 方文山 Vincent Fang's lyrics. He's a well-known lyricist in the world of Chinese pop music, and he's written A LOT of lyrics for Jay Chou.

Huling hirit at fangirling!

Day 58: Bittersweet

Super abundant breakfast which we ate until lunch!

I keep hearing the term 回甘 whenever people describe the taste of tea. I'm not sure how to translate it, so I'll describe it in the way I understand it. It's a combination of the bitter taste that brings a sweet aftertaste, and the taste you get in your throat when you swallow it. When I first came here, I couldn't understand what they were talking about. For me, it just tasted bitter.

But as days passed by and I got to drink more tea, I started to realize that there really is that sweet aftertaste. I drink tea from time to time back home, but I only noticed that taste while I'm in this farm. I guess you'll know it's good quality tea if it gives you that 回甘.

Hakka Tea

Grind the ingredients then add water!

I also decided to make 擂茶 or Hakka Tea since I felt it was a must-try, having lived with a Hakka family for 2 months. It was fun to make and the drink had an interesting taste - a combination of jasmine green tea, peanuts and sesame seeds. (I ended up not adding the pink natto beans) Good thing I decided to try it! Auntie said it's good for digestion and that it used to be served only to important people.

I also told Auntie that I was going to buy stuff from them to bring home - tea leaves, pumpkin seeds and juice. I was surprised when Auntie asked me to get NT$3600 (~P5300) since I didn't want to bring home that much! When I came with my wallet, she suddenly gave me a red envelope and told me there's no need to pay for anything. She was going to put the money in the envelope and give it to me. She even gave me a bunch of other things such as preserves and more tea leaves! I was so moved I thought I was going to cry. How can she be so nice? T.T

Farm products to take home (picture taken in Manila)

After that, I suddenly felt depressed about leaving. I know there's no way I could stay longer this time, and it would take some time before we meet again. Living in the farm is sometimes tiring, sometimes boring and sometimes stressful, but I'm sure it wouldn't be as memorable if it was just filled with happy moments. Just like the tea's 回甘, it's sweeter after some bitterness.

Special Guest: Calpis Sour

That night, Auntie and I had our last beer session. We kept talking for about 3 hours, I don't know how my Chinese was able to handle it. Or maybe the alcohol helped a bit? We talked about so many things: "our fate", our memories together, her younger years, the family, my dreams, our views on certain things, and this whole exchange program. We also talked about things we normally don't talk about with our families. At that moment, I realized how special our relationship was since she was like a mother and a friend at the same time. We're just enjoying each other's company at present so it's comfortable to share secrets.

I am really amazed at how Auntie views things. She said she used to live her life "in one direction", no matter what life throws at her. But now she's learned to "change directions" to make things easier. She would do certain things to avoid conflicts with Uncle, and I realized that recently they haven't been shouting as often anymore. Maybe I was meant to meet Auntie so I can learn things about life from her, and help me figure out what to do with my life.

Auntie treats me like a daughter, rather than a "worker" in the farm, which I used to think was sometimes good and sometimes bad. But now, I'm really happy that she thought of me that way, since it allowed us to be closer and have more precious memories. She even asked me to come back in the farm when I get the chance, and if we could travel together in the future. I said "Sure, why not?"

Hair accessories from Auntie (picture taken in Manila)

Day 57: Meeting Rhyan

I decided to do an experiment. I wanted to find out how accurate and updated Google Maps Taiwan is in giving directions for public transportation, even in the countryside. The route that came out from my search looked like this:

Here's a comparison of the online search and my actual experience:

The result of the experiment? Yes, Google Maps Taiwan is reliable! But you still need common sense and a sense of direction to get to your destination. Some suggestions to make the application more helpful: include bus time schedule and add pictures of the surrounding areas. I think the job of updating information in Google Maps seems interesting! (But only in a country with a decent transportation system)

A local also asked me for directions while I myself was looking for the bus stop of my second bus. We even said "請問一下..." (Can I ask...) at the same time! =)

Mister Donut Breakfast

I missed those chewy donuts! The Oriental Beauty milk tea wasn't as fragrant as the one we have in the farm, but it wasn't bad either. I also noted that their tagline here is "Japan's No. 1 Donut Store".

3 countries, 4 languages, 5 times

A little background on my tour guide for the day: Rhyan is the only friend I've met in 3 countries and can talk to in 4 languages. We've only met 5 times... ever.

National Tsing Hua University

He told me about the school's history while he was showing me around. I asked him a lot of questions about Taiwanese culture, and it was interesting to hear insights and experiences from a foreigner who's been living here for more than 4 years. He would even explain to me why there were a lot of snakes in this country. (It's because in the past, the Japanese used the island as experimental ground for biological weapons, and threw all sorts of species here.)

We had Japanese food for lunch, in a country that absolutely adores that country. I found out from Rhyan that Taiwanese people looked up to them because they "did a lot of good things" for their country. It's basically their version of colonial mentality. (Philippines : US :: Taiwan : Japan)

The bus ride from his university to the city center took about 20 minutes, and it was like a lecture for me. (I can't remember why we ended up talking about economics!) I learned that 20% of our GDP comes from OFWs - enough to affect the exchange rate, and that our country will never progress as long as political clans exist and the Church keeps meddling with everything.

"Dongdaemun", Hsinchu Train Station, "Cheonggyecheon"

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around, shopping and sitting by a park. Maybe it's because he has a sister who's my age and they've always been together since they were young, so he would also look around, check out clothes and suggest things to buy (e.g. hair color!) while shopping. We went to a Filipino goods store to buy ingredients for graham float, searched for any object that had Auntie's favorite character on it, and saw a store that was trying hard to be H&M. (The tags had D&H in the exact same font!) We also talked about Korea since we both spent a year there as exchange students. I found out that he's watched 49 days and Greatest Love! (Talo pa niya ko~)

We also discovered this pretty restaurant while walking around. It's mainly a tea place, but they also serve food so we decided to have dinner there.

We also had a little bet. He insisted that "dingding" is ceiling, while I said it meant "wall". I won, so this friend owes me a drink on the 6th time we meet!

P.S. I wasn't able to catch the last bus that goes to the theme park near the farm, so little brother picked me up from the city. It was a really quiet, really awkward drive home. We would both ask questions to start a conversation but it just wouldn't work! Thank God it rained that night, or it would've been an even more awkward motorcycle ride instead. >.<

Day 56: Live Fish

When I noticed some new flowers and fruits in the farm, I realized that two months is not so short after all. I chose this farm and came here for experience, and I did get that, and a family that has taught me so much.

This morning, the family's ex-neighbor came to visit again. We've gone on two food trips with him, and Auntie calls him the fat uncle. ㅋㅋ But even if he looks intimidating, he's actually very nice. He talks gently, is funny, and is quite an insightful person. On top of that, his English isn't bad! Auntie was (for the nth time) complaining about her husband to him, and told him about my "having no plans to get married within the next 10 years" so we ended up talking about love. The fat uncle asked me to define what love is. Early morning bangag-ness + language barrier = me spacing out. I just answered... trust? understanding? He said what about "giving without expecting anything in return"? (Sige na, ikaw na.) I felt like I was listening to a lecture! He even talked about how it's difficult to be completely sincere when treating others and even more difficult to be honest with ourselves. He also asked another trick question: "When are you unhappy?" He said we're unhappy because we're lonely. We're lonely when we expect too much from people and try to get them to do what we want. Thinking about it, it does make sense. I consider myself a lonely person and if you know me, I like being independent and doing things my way.

Longtan Temple and Lake

Today I also finally got to go to the lake I usually just see from inside the car (or on the motorcycle). There's a temple and a bridge in the middle of it, so we walked around for a bit before heading off to dinner.

And tonight's dinner is *drumroll please* 活魚 which translates to... live fish? It's basically their version of Dampa, where you get to choose live seafood and have it cooked on the spot. Their version has only two kinds of (REALLY HUGE) fishes, and the restaurant looks fancier. The smallest fish they had weighed 10.5 斤, which when converted, is more than 6 kilograms!

A live fish restaurant in 石門 Shimen

It was such a fancy meal, with that one huge fish divided and cooked into 5 different dishes, which were all really, really good. I was hungry when we got to the restaurant, but I got super full even with a half cup of rice, which means I ate a huge amount of fish! Uncle even joked that I might not want to eat fish for at least a month when I get home.

紅燒魚   |   蒜泥魚片   |   豆瓣魚   |   砂鍋魚頭

The best and prettiest 糖醋魚 (sweet and sour fish) I ever had!

This is not a food blog, and I am no expert on food, so I won't go into the details of each dish, except for the best sweet and sour fish I ever had. It's not too sweet nor too sour, and definitely not orange. It was really flavorful, and perfectly fried (at least for me). Do you know that taste in fast food fries that makes you keep on eating it? There's a hint of that in the fish! (That's the best way I could describe it, sorry >.<) I asked Auntie (the good cook) if she could identify what was in it, and she said there's definitely sugar, black vinegar, soy sauce and minced garlic. Time for another experiment? We'll see! ^^

We were only able to finish about half of the dishes!

It was such a good dinner, and our waitress was also very lively and talkative. When she saw me, she asked if we were the same age. I asked her how old she was, and I was surprised to find out that she was still in middle school! She's eight years younger than me! Should I be happy that I was mistaken for a 15 year old? :)

Day 54-55: The Last Weekend

Auntie never ceases to amaze me with her cooking skills. Today, she made all of those dishes above (times 3, because there were 3 tables), plus dishes for two more tables ! Little brother and I helped a bit, but it was still Auntie who did 99% of the work. When I go back home, I swear, I shall practice cooking!

Preparing the pumpkin balls the previous night

These days there are lots of beetles in the backyard! I can't believe people actually PAY to see them. When Auntie made me go there and take pictures, I kept panicking whenever they started flying!

Lots and lots of beetle in the backyard >.<

Auntie also catches these bee like insects and drowns them in rice wine (alive!). The wine is supposed to be good for the body. This family is really into a lot of businesses! LOL

Making wine out of those insects!

We also finally get to taste Auntie's version of the mango and banana float. She's been curious about it after I made the graham mango float around two weeks ago, and decided to make her own versions when older little brother brought home canned whipped cream. The crackers she used were thicker and saltier than graham crackers, but they actually taste great.

Mango and Banana Float made by Auntie

There was also this ice cream truck that passed by the farm. When little brother and I went out, the ice cream lady gave each of us a popsicle as samples. Turns out she was selling in bulk! NT$600 for a box, buy 2 boxes and get 1 free! I found it funny because there's just 4 of us here, and there will only be 3 of them here when I leave. Who's gonna eat all of those ice cream?! Uncle ended up buying half a box since the lady already gave all of us samples and it felt 不好意思 not buy anything.

Earlier this evening, a strange guy came into the house out of nowhere. I thought he was a customer and I was ready to call Uncle, but he suddenly started talking in English, saying hello and asking where I was from. I was like "Who the hell is this person and why does he know I speak English?". But I answered all of his questions anyway and chatted with him for a while. It's rare that I get to speak in English in the farm! Turns out he's Uncle's nephew, the guy that Auntie wanted to "introduce" to me! When I finally realized what was going on, I started to feel awkward. Thank goodness Uncle decided to finish packing the tea leaves tonight, which made his nephew go home (because I guess he didn't want to help~). When Auntie arrived, I was able to confirm that the guy really did come because of her! She asked what I thought of him, and since I didn't know how to say "he's not my type" politely, I just said "I'm leaving next week, what are you talking about?"

Oh 月老神君, I know you allowed me to get a red string, but isn't this a bit too fast? And I'm leaving in 4 days!

*Erratum*
The next day, Auntie clarified that the guy she wanted to introduce to me was not the one who came the night before. She said she was just joking and that she wouldn't introduce me to someone like him. It seems she can read my mind after living together for 2 months. :p

Day 53: 老街 Old Streets

Time for another road trip!

We first went to the police station to pay Uncle's (overdue) fine for beating the red light. What is it with this family and their traffic violations?

We then went to 峨眉鄉 Emei to pick up three more boxes of tea cans for the competition. Uncle also decided to have a side trip to two old streets in 北埔 Beipu and 內灣 Neiwan.

北埔老街 Beipu Old Street

內灣老街 Neiwan Old Street

I wonder if these old streets are really old, or if they're just marketing ploys. But they're still interesting to me because even if I've been to four of these "old streets", there's always something new to see, such as interesting structures or some specialty food.

Hopia baboy, Ube hopia, Kamote hopia!

Today's lunch!

Just for the record, the weather was extremely hot today. Little brother said it reached high 30's while we were out! >.< Summer here is just like Manila!

It's really almost time to go home! It's my last Friday and this weekend's my last here in Taiwan! :(