Tea Time

After lunch, we went to a tea factory. It was an absolutely awesome experience. We actually got to make tea (which is called chá in Chinese)!

Tea plants 

Tea field

The steps for how to make tea

We were taught and shown the steps of making the leaves into drinkable tea. It was really cool because they showed us how tea was made 100 years ago, and then the modern way of making it. In the old way, you have to burn the leaves in this big pan that looks like a wok, and you have to keep mixing the leaves. This lets the smell of the tea out. I actually got to participate in that part! After that they grind up the leaves using this machine you have to crank. This allows the leaf juices to start to come out.

First, the tea sits outside on these mats

Big wok-like tea leaf burner

Gotta mix up those leaves!

Look at me go!

Maybe I should just become a tea maker

Hand crank grinder

In the modern way, you just throw the leaves in this machine that looks like a big clothes dryer. It’s really hot in there. After that, they put the leaves in a grinding machine that is new and doesn’t use a crank. After all that you put the dried, smushed leaves in this other machine that I think just grinds it up even finer.

Modern leaf burner/dryer

Tea leaf dryer, grinder (hidden behind the dryer), and other grinder

The tea comes out much crispier and finer

Final product!

When we were done we actually got to take home a container of the tea we made! It is oolong tea. We also got to sample a bunch of different types of tea they make there. They had a bunch of dried tea from all around the world for something called Global Tea Tourism. It was to show the different types of tea leaves that come from all over.

Our tea!

Global Tea Tourism

At this factory, they also have a tea shop, and something like a little hotel where people can rent a room and stay the night. There was lots of cool things at this tea place.

Tea shop

A pheasant I think? I don't know

Tea flower (chá hua in chinese)

Squirrel house

Foggy tea fields

After the factory, we drove to a tea shop owned by the man who has the factory. We got to drink special tea that costs $6,000 NT ($200 US) a container. It was very interesting. It kind of smelled and tasted like buttered potatoes. But I feel fortunate to have been able to try it!

Beautiful arch near the tea shop

$6,000 NT tea experience

Good Blessings From The Sky Temple

After drinking tons and tons of tea, we went to a temple. It is a Taoist temple called Shoutian Temple, which means “good blessing from the sky”. The temple was so beautiful and colorful.

Shoutian Temple

The temple name in Chinese

The ceiling, created to keep in good luck

Beautiful carved stone pillar

Dragon

While we were there, I witnessed something that I am still not really sure what it was. One minute everything was calm, and the next firecrackers were exploding, a drum was being hit, and there was a crew of people dressed in red in the parking lot. They started stretching, and then became this intense walking/kicking/yelling mob heading to the temple. I don’t know what it’s called, but I know that it is something they do to honor the gods of the temple. Here is a video of it:

The temple is at Songboling. It is very high up on this mountain and had an incredible view. Since it was super foggy, it gave it a really creepy vibe but it was so cool still. Usually, you can see more but the fog was really thick.

Overall, it was a long, absolutely amazing day. It was so much fun experiencing these parts of Taiwanese culture. I definitely want to plan more trips outside my city soon!

The Things I'm Thankful For

I’ve officially been in Taiwan for four months now. I can’t believe one third of my year long adventure has already flown by. I’ve never thought that time went by so fast until I moved far away and experienced completely new things. I have learned a lot in the past four months. I’m missing my first big holiday today and I've been a little sad about it, so in honor of Thanksgiving, this post is what I have learned and what I am thankful for. 

I am thankful for what I have learned. I have learned that I am stronger than I ever thought I was, and that I am truly capable of doing anything I could ever want to do. I’ve learned that I can move away from all my family and friends and still survive, and I’ve also learned that that is something I do not want to do again anytime soon. I’ve also learned that I can be a teacher. It’s so amazing to me that I can shape children and arm them with information. I was also surprised to learn that I work well with young children! They are my favorite to teach, and they are the most fun little human beings. 

There are a lot of people I’m thankful for as well. I am most thankful for my family. They are the greatest people I have ever met, and I love that I get to talk to them everyday. They support me no matter what, and I miss them more than anything. I also miss my cat, Rat, but I know he is in good hands while I'm gone. 

The person I am most thankful for, though, is my little sister, Elle. She is my favorite human being. She is so loving and honest and grown up. I still sometimes think of her as some dweeby little child, but she’s not! I am so proud of the person she is becoming. She keeps me sane and she is one of my best friends. 

I am also thankful for my boyfriend, Bobby. I love him endlessly and even though being apart from each other is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, I had to go on this journey for myself and I so appreciate that he let me do this.

I am also thankful for my friends. Especially Ali. She is by far my best friend and I miss her immensely. 

And I am thankful for the opportunity I had to come teach in Taiwan. It has been so eye opening and so educational for me on so many levels.

Anyway, I have had a wonderful four months so far, and I have a lot to be thankful for! I hope everyone in the states has a wonderful Thanksgiving with their family and friends. Eat lots of mashed potatoes for me!

Saisiat Festival

Today there was a festival going on called the Saisiat Festival. As far as I can gather, the Saisiat people are Taiwanese aboriginals. Biking around I saw a lot of people burning paper money, blowing off little fireworks, beating drums, and dancing. It all seemed very nice and wholesome until I found the strippers. This road was shut down and in the middle of it was this gigantic stage with strippers dancing on it. I am still so confused as to why this is part of the celebration of these aboriginals. There were also strippers on top of cars. And then I got mobbed by a bunch of Taiwanese people who all wanted their picture taken with me. Overall, it was a pretty cool/pretty weird day. Here are some photos from today:

Funny English Clothes, Part 2

Not all of these are misspellings, some of them are just really weird shirts with English on them. Enjoy!

this one is my favorite

"Around little pigs are around big cow"

Wisdom Teeth Are Stupid

I got my wisdom tooth taken out on Saturday. I thought it was going to be the most horrible experience of my life, but it really wasn't that bad. I got four numbing shots and the procedure only took about 40 minutes. I'm on day two of recovery and I feel moderately okay. I haven't eaten in like, 36 hours which is really rough. Here are some pictures of my face and my tooth. I had no idea teeth were really that big.

day one

day two