Dear Reader,
I hope this letter finds you well. This week has been off to a good start. We left Taipei on Saturday and took the HSRT to Tainan. The train ride was quite long, but I enjoyed looking out the window at the scenery passing by. After checking into the hotel, we went to meet the NCKU students and take a tour of their campus. I didn't realize how big their university was. The banyan grove was beautiful, but they looked different than the ones that we have in Hawaii. The ones that we have at home have bigger leaves than the ones here, which made me think about how even though we have similar climates there's still a uniqueness to each place that make it especially its own. Also on another note, I can't believe they have an entire building dedicated to their industrial design program. There were so many different student posters and prototypes in the hallways. I found the prototype especially impressive. They were so realistic and precise looking that they seemed like they should be for sale! After the tour and class was over, we hung out with some of the NCKU students and went out to get food. It was nice to just have some time to relax and get to know them.
Sunday was our free day; I went to a Capybara Cafe and then thrifting on Shen Nong Street with Austin, Dani, Pfiefer, Sydney, Carolyn, and Phoenix. We took an uber to both places. I called the first uber, it was the first time I've done that before. At the cafe, we ate fruit tarts and also got to pet the capybaras. They were super cute, but a lot bigger than I expected. After that we walked around in Shen Nong Street and went to a few cute thrift stores. I didn't end up buying anything from the thrift stores, but I saw some pretty cool embroidery designs. Oh, and I also got a new keychain for my purse—it squeaks! After shopping around for a little while, it started to pour! The rain was coming down hard, so we decided that it was time to finds some dinner and go back to the hotel. Our group split up to go eat since we couldn't agree on what to eat. I went with Phoenix and Carolyn to eat at a beef soup place. Well, we thought it was a beef soup place. I guess things get lost in translation. It turns out that the place we went to be a pork soup place, which served all the different parts of the pig in soup. The menu was a little surprising. I admit that I was a little taken aback at first by the options as they weren't ones that I'd ever had before. However, I decided that I would push myself out of my comfort zone. I tried pig heart soup, which was recommended to us by one of the NCKU students named Evelyn. It was good, it had a bit of a chewy, spongy texture but nonetheless I'm glad that I tried it. After we finished eating dinner, it was still pouring rain, so we decided to call a taxi. However, the service was bad and the uber app wasn't working correctly, so we asked a girl working at a pastry store for help. She helped us to call another taxi service and showed us how to flag down a taxi. I am grateful for all the kindness that people have shown us on this trip and have been shown that I need to be less reliant on my technology. It makes me want to learn more Chinese or other languages of places that I want to visit so that I can be more independent.
On Monday, we had our first lecture at NCKU. We learned about circular and sustainable design methods. We talked about cradle-to-cradle design and also use-to-use. I liked learning about how we can design parts for standardization and set them up for repair, while at the same time we can use biodegradable or other natural materials to make things that can be disposed of and yet still care for the earth. We also did an indigo dying workshop at Jonathan bookstore. I've done indigo dying before, but I've never gotten to learn about the natural processes of how they make the dye, so I really enjoyed getting to learn about that part, and how the oxidization of the substance makes the clothing turn blue from green. During the workshop we also went to go visit a temple, where we were able to ask the temple god a question by praying to throwing blocks to find out their answer. I got one block facing up and the other facing down. The tour guide told me that that meant the answer to my question was yes. I won't divulge the question I asked here, but I will say that I'm happy with the answer that I got.
Today is Tuesday. We spent most of the day that NCKU with the students, brainstorming ideas for our project. We've decided to experiment with pomelo skins. We're hoping to dry them and turn them into a powder to make paper or some other kind of fiber material. Stay tuned to see if our experiment works out.
I would say that this week has so far been a week for first. It was my first time calling an uber, eating pig heart soup, duck blood, and also visiting a temple here in Taiwan. I can't wait to see what the rest of the week has in store. I'm so grateful to be able to have all these new experiences, and for being able to make memories with my friends. Here's some of my favorite pictures from this week:
Well, that's all for now. I'll see you soon.
All my love,
Kayla
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