Hello blog! It is currently around an hour past the due date of this blog (jet lag really got me this time), but at least I'm writing now rather than later! I really can't believe that this program is over :(, but I still have the memories to remember later. I actually just finished moving back into my apartment for my senior year and unpacking. I also found a little note from one of the SCU students we worked with that I didn't see before, definitely reading that after this blog. Let's get to it!
After the last blog, my group got together at our hotel again to work on our project. We were prototyping with tea bags provided by our hotel, and we used my hair straightener to heat-press the edges of the bags together to form our desired shaped. This was an outcome we didn't really expect to happen, we later discovered that tea bags have some plastic in them to give the bag structure, so that explained it.
After the last blog, my group got together at our hotel again to work on our project. We were prototyping with tea bags provided by our hotel, and we used my hair straightener to heat-press the edges of the bags together to form our desired shaped. This was an outcome we didn't really expect to happen, we later discovered that tea bags have some plastic in them to give the bag structure, so that explained it.
The next morning, we experienced a Japanese tea ceremony with matcha. The matcha was mildly bitter which I liked, so I ended up drinking most of it haha. I actually have a matcha set at home that I use daily like clockwork, so learning how to perform the ceremony was enriching. I'm thinking about incorporating it into my daily matcha routine.
We were split into two groups for this area, so half of the cohort explored the area while waiting for the other group to be done with their activity. While we waited, we walked into this other room that was a yukata rental, so we did the obvious thing and asked to try them on for a bit. They were so nice about it! They let us wear whatever yukata and accessories, and we even had a mini fashion show for the other group which was a little embarrassing but fun!
After the other group finished, my group took their place. The activity was pretty cool, we made these charms (?) out of this golden-copper looking foil, metal wire, and some glue. I'm not exactly sure what this is, but I remember the teacher telling us that it's a object of good fortune or luck that we can hang up somewhere in our room. It's actually hanging up above my desk that I'm typing this blog on haha.
After finishing the charm workshop, we had some free time before meeting up with our mentors about our projects, so a couple of my classmates and I went to this donburi place that our professor recommended to us. I thought I ordered sashimi, rice on the side, with some miso soup, but it ended up being sashimi donburi with EXTRA RICE, and a large (?) miso soup? I still finished it all (miraculously), but I did feel like I had to throw up after. Nonetheless, it was very tasty and fulfilling, so 11/10 would do it again.
The next day, we had our final presentations, and our group won the Trendy Craft Award! We stayed up pretty late finishing this, but it was worth it in the end. I enjoyed working with the talented NCKU students (Mei Zong (second from the left), junior in Creative Industrial Design, and Shika Huang (far right), second-year masters student in Creative Industrial Design), and the UW students as well! Even though the NCKU students started school the same time we started this project, they still set aside time to meet and work with us, so I'm extremely grateful for their hard work and dedicated because we could not have done this without them <3.
After the final presentation and goodbyes, some of my classmates and I went out to celebrate with some shaved ice. I actually didn't know the difference between shaved ice and snow ice (bingsu), so I ended up getting shaved ice expecting it to be snow ice. It was pretty good, but I think I prefer snow ice since it's sweeter and milky.
After dinner, some other classmates and I hung out at a nearby bar called Bar Whisper that has a cute little cat that looks like Garfield. Look at him! So cute!
The next morning we had our last breakfast at !'m Coffee, a coffee place next to the hotel. I got the Kyoto Matcha Smoothie, Oolong Pound Cake, and Chicken Bake, all were very good. I think the one thing I'll miss about the food here are the flavors because you don't see tea-flavored, especially oolong tea, pastries in Seattle. While eating breakfast our professors had us verbally reflect on the program, and the major consensus was that it was way more well-organized and thought-out compared to other programs. Although we were exhausted from the countless field trips, lectures, workshops, and projects, we were more grateful to have experienced so much of Taiwan within a short window, thanks to the hard work and consideration of our professors and mentors.
Quite literally before we got into our taxis to the train, there was a little caterpillar blocking our way out. We learned a lot about symbolism in Taiwan, so I wondered if this was a sign for all of us–caterpillars metamorphosize into beautiful butterflies.
At the airport, I really wanted to have a meal there as my last meal in Taiwan. Even with airport food, Taiwan really doesn't disappoint. I had this sour soup from a Thai restaurant which was very good, very delicious.
Thank you for reading this and sticking with me til the end! See you next time!
You look fantastic in a yukata! All the food photos look delicious. It’s been wonderful having you in the program, and your title of 'best teammate' is well earned!
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