Never Again

As the title suggests, today I did something that I would never ever like to do again. But I will keep you all in suspense and tell that story later. First let me talk about what we did yesterday.
Since yesterday was Sunday, I had to go with Jenny's family to church. We went to the English service so that I would be able to understand. I am not very religious so it didn't make a difference to me, but it was a very kind gesture on her family's part. I met Jenny's grandparents who were very friendly and were very enthusiastic about taking a photograph with me. I felt very out of place at the church but that was expected since I am not Chinese or Presbyterian. After church, we grabbed lunch at Subway and bought some cute notebooks at a stationary shop nearby. Then Jenny drove her mom, her sister, and I to Taichung so we could drop her sister off at school. The drive took nearly two hours and I passed the time buried in my book. We walked around Taichung for a while but it was really crowded as it was Sunday evening. Then we took Kathy to her school, Morrison Academy. The school was reallllly nice, especially for a high school. It seemed almost like a home. After leaving her there, we started back to Taipei, stopping along the way to grab a bite to eat at a rest stop. I got some mini waffles with honey and chocolate on them (yum~) Unfortunately I forgot to get my memory card out of my computer so I don't have any pictures from Sunday.

Today we touristed our way around Taipei. First we went to Martyr's Shrine, which is dedicated to those who fought and died for the end of the Qing Dynasty as well as in the Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War. Although it was being renovated and we couldn't go inside, the outside was very beautiful.

Martyr's Shrine

Next we drove up to the Grand Hotel - a huge hotel built in the traditional-Chinese style by Chiang Kai-shek in order to treat foreign guests. It was absolutely gorgeous both inside and out. There are only two in Taiwan - one in Taipei and the other in Kaohsiung (southern Taiwan).

Orchids and Ceiling Inside the Grand Hotel

In Front of the Grand Hotel

After driving by the home of Taiwan's government where the President Ma conducts his business, Jenny's mom dropped us off at Chiang Kai-shek's Memorial Hall. Located in the same area are the National Theater and the National Concert Hall (the two opera houses as Jenny called them). They were both very elaborate, though we couldn't go inside.

Chiang Kai-shek's Memorial Hall

Two Opera Houses and Entrance Gate

Theater

We saw the changing of the guard in Chiang Kai-shek's Memorial Hall. The movements were all so precise and their expressions so stony that I wondered if the soldiers were actually robots. They reminded me of the London Guard.

Changing of the Guard

Chiang Kai-shek

Dying from the heat, we took the elevator down to the exhibition hall to read about Chiang Kai-shek. When we were more than halfway done walking through, a young volunteer came up to ask me if I wanted a tour in English. She looked so eager to practice her English that I couldn't help but say yes. Kelly (her English name) gave a pretty good tour and liked to make little jokes.


We decided it was lunchtime and headed to an area where there were lots of little shops and places to eat. After eating and looking around a bit, we wanted to continue on to our next destination but the skies opened and rained cats and dogs. I ended up stopping to buy a pair of flip flops because my shoes were filling with water.

Taipei Railway Station in the Rain

We took the metro to our next stop and by the time we emerged from underground the rain had ceased. We went to see Longshan temple. It was very crowded for two reasons. It is the seventh month on the lunar calendar and apparently, as Jenny explained to me, that is the month during which the ghosts of ancestors roam so people were at the temple bringing offerings of food, burning incense, and singing/chanting to honor their ancestors. Today was also Chinese Valentine's Day according to the lunar calendar so there were a lot of young people making offerings and prayers to the matchmaker god. The day is important because it is the only day during which two famous lovers can meet. (For those who are interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qixi_Festival)

Longshan Temple

Who has heard of facial hair threading? Because I hadn't before today. Jenny told me that her friend recommended some facial cleansing thing and she wanted to go try it. I said sure, not expecting an afternoon full of pain. It literally involves someone using cotton strings to pull out all your facial hair (except your eyelashes and eyebrows). Oh my god. It hurt soooo much. It was one of the most painful things I've ever done in my life. Because I am Caucasian, I have more hair everywhere. The women working there were all staring at me and so were some other customers. I had three different women work on me and I told them I didn't want them to do all of my face. It was the weirdest and one of the most unpleasant experiences of my life. I finished before Jenny and I got to sit there and watch her. She looked like she was in as much pain as I had been. Afterward she told me that apparently she had a lot of hair too so it hurt and took a long time. We came to an agreement that it was a pointless act for beauty that was not worth it. It hurt way too much and we never want to do it again. Ever.

To reward ourselves for surviving, we went to eat dinner. We were wandering around looking for someplace to eat and stumbled upon a little Italian restaurant. We decided to check it out and it turned out to be really really delicious. It was called La Vie Cafe.

Tomorrow is my last day in Taiwan and we are going to the mountains. I'm excited to get away from the city.

Taipei 101