Foods and Hiatus

One of the best things about living abroad is that every meal is an adventure.  I was in Taipei over the weekend with some friends, and we got a dessert called Yu4 Yuan2, which are sticky Taro balls. The problem with Asian desserts is that it's hard to convey how delicious everything is.  Everything comes in sticky ball form, and somehow the name Taro balls just doesn't come out right.

Since my college friend Matt was only in town briefly, we had to get the house specialty.  Unfortunately, the house specialty involves Yuyuan on black sugar ice and cold grass jelly (yes, I know that sounds putrid, but give it a shot!), and Matt happened to come on the coldest day of the year.  Being the wasteful young lady I am, I could only get through a little of the icy stuff before giving up and ordering the hot grass jelly version.  Here I am fishing taro balls out of the ice.

I'll be on hiatus for a while--I'm heading to Japan and Thailand for winter break.  Happy Chinese New Year to All, and to all a good night!

Taiwan: Touch Your....

Today an old woman walked up to me as I was waiting for the bus to work.  She said something to me in Taiwanese, and I looked at her quizically.  Then she reached out and touched my chest, one breast at a time.

Then she laughed, got on the next bus, and rode away.

Ouch is Right

My dog, my dog, why have you forsaken me?!

Maybe this year will be better than the last....

The list of people I love but cannot be with for emotional (not proximity) reasons continues to grow. What an awful trend.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from the Chateau Hotel in Kenting, Taiwan!