Week 2

Hi, and welcome to week 2.

This week, I went to 旗津Island, 美濃, as well as the Buddha Museum. But before we get to that, here are some differences that I have

  1. Air conditioning: Whereas in the US, most modern/up to date homes and buildings are equipped with a central heating and colling system, many buildings in Taiwan rely exclusively on window or mini split systems. (mini split meaning they run independently of one another) Why do I bring this up ask? (Because I’m a nerd and find this kind of stuff fascinating). But also, because this fact means drastically greater temperature variability. Take for instance one building that has two rooms and two mini splits (one for each room). The moment you step foot into the second room (where the mini split has yet to run or just started running), you are instantly reminded of just how hot and humid it is outside. :( For another example, we will look at my university 中山大學（or NSYSU.） From my knowledge, the International building has both a central HVAC system as well as mini split systems in all the classrooms and offices. Though the mini splits were running (when there people using the spaces) the central HVAC wasn’t, creating noticeable experience at best and a drenching one at worst!
  2. The snacks and the food are a sensible level of sweet: From my experience, because the vast majority of snacks and drinks in American convince stores are too sweet, it is nice to see (and enjoy) snacks and food that don’t feel like they’ll give you a sugar crash the moment you’re finished eating them.
    3. 粽子 rice ball, mango slices, and my Owala bottle on a table.
    (Rice ball, Onigiri, or) 粽子 (rice balls with pork on the inside wrapped in seaweed). Mango, and of course my Owala.>
    粽子 rice ball, and a cheses pastery.
    My first trip to 7-Eleven. 一個(1) 粽子, and a cheese pastry.>
  3. Toilet paper:Apparently, it seems customary that people carry toilet paper with them since over half the restrooms I have visited did not have toilet paper. (Yay!)
  4. Scooters/Mopeds: They’re everywhere! They are more affordable and flexible than cars. They’re even fashionable, just look at how happy the woman is in the billboard.
    5. A pleased woman posing for a picutre next to a nice moped.

旗津

Me posing for a photo on top of a fort with the city of the island in the background.

By far, one of my most favorite places that I have yet to visit in 台灣. Here is a map:

Map of 旗津 Island located on the south west of 台灣.

It in fact was at one point and time connected by a bridge, but now it is truly an island, only connected by a tunnel seen in the photo.

The Dutch engineered fort was built by Chinese workers in 1875 during the era of the Qing Dynasty. Its design was (and still is) beautiful but impractical for serving any kind of protection as the weaponry was outdated even for the time. I’m not an expert though, so here are some pictures instead in no particular order. (if you want to read more about 旗津 Island, you can here .)

Close-up of the 旗津 lighthouse.
A close-up of the 旗津 lighthouse.
Old water locks on west side of island.
What appears to be water locks on the west side of the island.
Photo taken just past the fort entrance.
Just past the fort entrance.
Mountain view from the top of the fort.
A beautiful view of the mountains atop the fort.
View of 中山大學 from the fort.
A beautiful view of 中山大學.
Road overlooking the rest of the island from the fort.
Road overlooking the rest of the island from the fort.
A ginger colored cat sleeping on a guard rail.
一個貓睡覺 — sleeping on top of the guard rail on the way to the fort.

美濃

View of the garden. There are overturned pots set along a walking path with trees in the background.

美濃 is a community of Hakka Chinese people. We visited a farm there and made some good food.

I am using a giant mallet to make mochi by beating sticky rice into a big pot.
Me using a giant mallet to make Mochi.
Me enjoying mochi with peers.
Me enjoying the Mochi with some of my peers.

We also baked corn, chicken, and hardboiled eggs in these natural ovens. Here are the general steps:

Stones on top of the oven heating.
1. Place stones on top of the oven, making sure they won’t fall in. Light a fire to heat the oven and the stones.
Inserting pot and food into the stone oven and covering with paper and sand.
2. Once the fire has burned considerably, place a piece of metal in front of the opening and cover it with the stones you placed on top. Then, insert a pot and your food wrapped in paper or foil. Finally, cover the top with paper then sand and any cracks with sand.
Removing sand and paper after baking.
3. After an hour or so, remove the sand and papers. Retrieve the food, unwrap and enjoy!
The farmer handing me the food from the oven as I hold a plate.

The Buddha Museum

Enjoy these beautiful photos of its architecture!

A photo of its magnificent entrance.
A photo of a building with deep eaves set against a tall hill with beautiful gardens.
Another photo of said building, this time further away with trees in the lower half and two tall buildings with many stacked deep eaves.

Function Words I Learned This Week

Adapted from Hong, 2025.

WordEnglish Equivalents Glossed Example 1Glossed Example 2
跟 from, with, to, follow 他跟爸爸去在圖書館。
He went with his father to the library.		 她的朋友跟她旅行。
Her friend went traveling with her.
給 for (benefit of), to, to give 他給我一個貓。
He gave me a cat.		 我想買車，你可以給我建議嗎？
I want to buy a new car…
A dog. Bro just decided that he was done walkin' so he layed down belly up on the street and all these people are lookin' at him like what is he doing?

That’s all for now, see you next week :)