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six

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Currently on the plane back from taiwan. I spent the last 3 weeks traveling all across taiwan, from taipei to taichung to tainan. Each city had its own charm. Taipei was a hustle bustle city and was always raining. The streets reminded me of tokyo, the way all the shops were so tiny and packed together. We worked with National Taiwan University in a design project and worked with Helen and Kristin to design a little umbrella holder with a bike. That week in taipei I was still getting used to the country, and I got sick towards the end, so I don’t think I had as much fun in taipei as I could have. I’m sure the city is very charming if I explore it correctly and live in the right places. We also went on tours walking around the city, we visited pinlin the tea town and ying ge the pottery town. I think that I am a very rushed person, so traveling with the group really wasn’t much my speed. Often on these tours I felt drowsy as a combination of this and the heat and humidity of taiwan. Wor...
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five

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The past few days in Tainan has been great! I really like the city, it doesn’t rain as much as it did in Taipei, which makes me super happy. The food is still just as good, I have been going around to cafes, restaurants, and dessert shops all over the city. Just yesterday I went back to the beef soup place that I loved so much, and I got very delicious mango shaved ice with Kristin and Erin the day before that. Ive been going fabric shopping a lot more, I made a list of fabric that I needed for almost all my future project within the next half a year and got everything. I’m getting good at haggling prices down. I got some polkadot fabric for a coat, black cotton twill for some shorts than my sister and her boyfriend want me to make, and some other knick knacks like zippers and lace.  The thing that has been occupying most of my mental energy has been my group project. We are making a clothing donation system for Tainan, then turning the clothes that are donated into a new product. ...
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four

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I have made it to Tainan! Over the past few days I have been exploring Tainan and its offerings. Overall, I can confidently say that I prefer Tainan over the other cities I have visited in Taiwan. I think that there are a few contributors to this. For one, I have gotten used to Taiwan and its weather, so I can comfortably walk around and not feel annoyed by the heat or the rain. Though, the weather here is a little better than Taipei year round, having much more sun. The vibe here is also much more slow and relaxed. I think there is an indescribably energy that feels more relaxed than Taipei that gives me a “vacation” feeling. I think there is an also a friend accept to it, as I am also connecting more with the NCKU students than the NTU students. Being able to find that cross cultural connection because of mutual interest in design fashion and/or art has made me feel more comfortable in this city. The food that they have been showing us has also been the best food I have eaten so far....
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three

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Yesterday we moved from Taipei to Taichung. I slept for almost the entire busride over, and when we got to Taichung we met up with students from NCKU.   The hostel we are staying in is very nice. They prioritize sustainability in their design, but they don’t skimp out on beauty. The entire space is so beautiful, especially the lounge. Floor to ceiling views of taichung, repurposed Japanese room doors as room dividers, native Taiwanese plants surrounding the entire window and low moody lighting.   Last night, I didn’t sleep well. The room was insanely humid, so I had to leave the insanely loud dehumidifier on throughout the entire night. Not only this, but my room has a window facing an inner area of the building that constantly has lights on. Since the curtains aren’t blackout it felt like it was bright outside the entire night. None the less I got up to face the day. Today, we went to the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute (NTCRI), a national level insti...
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two

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This week, we went to the Pinglin district, a rural mountain town in southeastern Taipei known for its Wenshan Pouchung tea. Before going, we were notified that the trip would include a muddy hike and I realized that my poor decision making had caught up to me. I only brought one pair of shoes, leather designer shoes, that would absolutely get ruined in mud. So, in preparation, I packed my bag well. I brought plastic bags for my feet, a change of clothes, a towel, and I was ready to face the rainy muddy hike ahead of me. To my absolute relief, however, the hike was cancelled. Maybe that town brought me good luck because that day the sun came out for the first time on this trip and a breeze flowing through the mountains cooled me down. And thus the trip turned out to be very fun. We rode a bus up to a mountain to got sight seeings, and we visited the tea museum. I learned about all the types of tea, and there was this very cool interactive element where you could take a block with the n...
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one

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I hopped off my Delta flight at Taoyuan International Airport late in the evening. I was wearing my long sweatpants and sweatshirt to fight the air con of the plane; which I would later learn would be very inappropriate clothing as, when I walked out of the airport, I was hit with a wave of warm humid air that made my sweat glans start running and my breathing stuffy. The climate in Taipei has been the main thing I have noticed since Ive arrived. The never ending rain, the hot and humid air and the sticky sensation on my skin. I can never determine what is different from moisture or sweat. Though, this is my only complaint. The rest of Taiwan has been an amazing combination of cute street shops, clothing stores, and amazing food. When I first got out of my uber and into a hotel, the first thing I did was get changed and go to a night market. I got bubble tea and 煎饼 (fried flat dough), and had the most amazing first meal. So far, I have been to two beef noodle soup restaurants, two trad...
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