Taiwan Day 27-31

On Monday we found another really cool room to study in in the NTU library. I also discovered that going straight to the library to do work after class is the best way to go to sleep early. Weird how I haven't learned that after two years of college.

Sadly we may not be able to study there in the future because:

Sad face.

Looking guilty...

Matt also discovered the most stereotypically Asian book ever.

The English says "Good to Great" but the Chinese reads "From A to A+" HAHAHA. Of course this is the book that they display in the library of the top university in Taiwan. Maybe I should go back and read it though, hmmm :P

On the way to dinner, Audra let me ride on the back of her bike, which made me feel super Taiwanese because everyone here does it! So many people bike, and half the bikes have people riding or standing on the back, sometimes holding an umbrella over the person biking. 

It's only blurry because we're moving so fast

This is safe, right?

On Tuesday, we discovered these empty cicada shells which everyone thought were really cool. I admit they were cool, FROM A DISTANCE. But just because there's no bug inside does not make it any less gross. No one seemed to agree though, since everyone wanted to keep them as pets. On their bodies....

Only Audra can make a cicada exoskeleton look cute

Oh hey buddy.

Yum. Lots of protein?

Everything was all good and fun until Matt tried to make me hold one. But then I dropped my pen and he put the cicada right on top of it and walked away

If you don't look at it, it doesn't exist.

If only I knew what was in store for me at home..

Thursday morning, Charlotte trapped a cockroach in a cup right outside of our room. WAHHHH. The cockroaches here are huge too. We don't even cook in our apartment and we don't eat food in our rooms, but still....they find their ways in. No matter what anyone says about cockroaches not harming you, I don't trust anything that lays eggs upon being crushed, and can survive nuclear explosions. /end of argument

It's probably better that this picture is blurry.

Connor eventually threw it out of our 9th floor window, which is great, but you know it's probably going to come back for revenge eventually.... I'll be sleeping with one eye open.

This week, Charlotte and I also started tutoring English for a Taiwanese family! We were approached on the MRT about tutoring for the family last week, I guess because we were speaking English. So this week we went to meet the kids, and they are both so cute. We just help them with English and reading, and we also get to practice our Chinese, eat yummy Taiwanese fruit, and get to hang out with a super nice and fun family. Plus it's relaxing but we still get some nice pocket money ^__^ So lucky that this randomly worked out.

Now for obligatory section about food:

Family Mart (全家) has square ice cream cones. Squareeee!!

There is literally never a bad time for ice cream.

Also the convenience and proximity of 7-11 may be our downfall. Sometime around midnight is when the "I'm not hungry but I want food" feeling kind of happens, and then before you know it, you have just eaten everything in the store. Exhibit A:

How much food? Too much food.

Also I have been looking for good matcha tea since I've been here, and have only found normal green tea. But Famonn's green tea latte is actually a matcha latte, so I came back to do homework one day after school. Also, Famonn has a really nice almost pastel blue color scheme, which is cute. 

My one true love.

And then today, school got cancelled after 2PM because of Typhoon Soulik. It was originally supposed to be a "super typhoon" but has "weakened overnight and has been downgraded to a medium-force typhoon." I'm glad this typhoon which is probably twice the size of Taiwan is going to only hit us directly in the face with medium-force. What does that even mean. Good thing we're not on a tiny water-locked island. Oh wait.

My MS Paint masterpiece. I would like to point out the adroitly placed eye.

So we all stored some food and get to stay inside and do nothing all weekend :D all of our weekend plans are cancelled and we can't leave :(

 So heartbreaking.