Taiwan!

Street stands
Market near my grandmother's house
Favorite bakery in the world!

I haven't been back to Taiwan for 7 years. While I had been expecting everything to be very different, I wasn't surprised to find that much was still exactly the same. When the garbage truck comes along, it blares the fur elise so that everyone knows to come downstairs to throw out their garbage. At my grandmother's place, the local market is still stocked by the same stores, same bosses, in pretty much the same order. The streets are still extremely narrow, many of them will only allow one car at a time. Every turn has to be made slowly, as motorcyclists dart around the larger cars and skid through the alleys, brushing by old people tottering on canes and little children. Nobody seems to blink an eye, while I'm slightly horrified at how reckless Taiwanese people drive. I suppose living in America, and driving in the spacious Bay Area suburbs, has made me spoiled and weak in the face of real urban traffic. The streets of Taipei make Manhattan look civilized and orderly.

I will not be doing a lot of touristy things in Taipei, since I am mostly visiting family, shopping, and gaining the usual 5 pounds I gain every time I go to Taipei. Law school has basically sucked the life out of me, and though I'm not emaciated, I am noticeably thinner, especially since I lost all my baby fat. My appalled grandmother has been force feeding me everything, and taking great offense or looking extremely hurt if I refuse to eat, or eat less than what she deems appropriate.

Here is a list of what I plan to eat over the next few weeks:

Oyster Pancake

Bubble tea (they have this in the states now, and it's pretty much the same, but still)

Beef noodle soup

Taiwanese sausages

Chicken butt (or tail)

Candied strawberries

Chive fried dumplings

I'm sure I'm forgetting some stuff.

On a positive note, I found out that my favorite Taiwanese bakery, Hong Yeh, has a store in New York, Flushing!! They make amazing chocolate cake with fresh whipped cream.