Taiwan, Buzzer Beat, Meteor Shower, and What Happened in Bali!
Eh, so much to say! I'm splitting it up!
Anyway, I have a few more pictures! We've been laying pretty low for the past few days. We're still trying to get used to everything, and the heat is pretty oppressive (or as the airport sign said, "sultry"). The other day we made a trip into a large commercial district of Taipei. We were pretty close, so we just walked the whole way. We went to the Breeze Center (which is a GIANT mall, it's 12 floors, with each floor having different stuff on it, like one floor was cosmetics, one floor was food, etc), a bookstore (also huge! At least 5 floors I think, but again, different stuff on each floor), and another mall (the SOGO mall is actually in three or more parts. We went to only one of them. It had 11 floors if I remember correctly, and we took the escalator up to the top! The last two floors were restaurants). We walked past a lot of interesting stores, and sidewalk sellers. I was totally looking for Big Bang cds! I found one, but it's one of the ones I already have.
We changed to our hostel the other day, and we're in another part of Taipei that is older, and slightly dirtier. We had some issues getting in the building at first (the buzzer wasn't working, and while there was a phone number posted, we weren't sure how to call it). Finally an elderly Taiwanese man came to help. He didn't speak much english, but he called the number for us, and the hostel people came down to let us in. It was VERY sweet. The hostel guy carried our huge bags up to the second floor, and into our room. It's basic, but nice. We have two beds, two desks, a tv, a dresser, and working AC. The beds are SUPER hard though. It's like sleeping on concrete! We have a window, but it looks out on this horribly little alley that Lisa dubbed "Rape Alley" (it's not that it's dangerous by any means, since no one goes there at all, it's just dingy and gross looking).
Our hostel is right near Longshan Temple, which is a big famous temple here. It's funny, because it's right smack dab in the middle of the city. Across from it is a big park where the subway station is. In the subway station there are tons of shops where people sell random stuff (from temple related goods, to clothes, to shoes, to food). We went and bought our subway card, and came back.
The day before yesterday we went out later in the day (it's super hot during the midday and morning here, so we, along with most people, go out primarily in the later afternoon). We decided to take our first subway trip, and go to our school. The subway is pretty easy to figure out, and we successfully not only got there, but we even had to change trains. We got out at the station where our school is, and walked to it. The area the school is in is REALLY nice as compared to everywhere else we've been so far. We saw a lot of foreigners there too, so we didn't feel as out of place as we have been normally (sometimes people stare at us).
We found the school (it's a fair distance from the station, but nothing bad, probably a 10 minute walk), and came back. On the way home we bought some drinks in the 7-11 (I can get a 20 oz bottle of juice or soda for around 75 cents! I can get a 20 oz bottle of water for around 55 cents!!), and sat down at the temple park for a few minutes. I saw a kitty sleeping there, and went over to pet him. I'm not sure if he was a stray or not, since while he was small, he wasn't super thin, and he looked to be in pretty good health (and was neutered). He was super sweet, and climbed on my lap to be petted! After awhile I had to leave though, so I said goodbye to him! (I've dubbed him "Bilbo"). On the way to the station earlier we saw a small crowd of people outside near our hostel. They had a big light they use for filming. We couldn't see anything, so we left. On the way back to the hostel they were still there. We couldn't see anything, but we're pretty sure they were definitely filming something. What we're not exactly sure.
Yesterday we've stayed in the hostel all day. I think we're still jetlagged. I fell asleep last night at 1am, and woke up at 6am. I went back to sleep, and woke up at 12pm. We're working on emailing people about apartments. We did find one that's REALLY nice, and we can rent short term, but it's expensive (it would be about $600 a month each) and pretty far away. Still, it's nice to know there's at least one option available.
OH! We've been watching Taiwanese MTV, which is funny, since for the most part we recognize bands and stuff. They're doing a BIG BANG WEEK STARTING TODAY! It's extremely exciting. I've already videotaped the commercials. Their new Japanese CD gets released here today! I hope GD's album shows up eventually, but I don't have much hope. The only Kpop they seem to have is SS501 and Super Junior. They don't seem to have any of the BB Korean releases.
Our hostel beds. Mine is on the right.
Rape Alley. I don't know why our views suck so badly...
On the way to the Breeze center we saw this fancy building. It has trees on the top!
Somewhere in Zhongxiao...
It was nighttime and I only had my phone, but here's a crappy picture of them filming something.
A picture of our first breakfast I shamelessly stole from Lisa. Mmmm food.
I HAVE been watching things while here. I watched the most recent Buzzer Beat (ep 6), and I finally started Meteor Shower (OMG I LOVE IT, but it's so weird). I ALSO randomly started What Happened in Bali.
Buzzer Beat
I really liked this episode. I like how Naoki and Riko are acknowledging their attraction to each other, but they can't do anything because of extenal factors. I like coach Tomoya, but I thought what he said to Naoki ("I trust you" while being slightly threatening) was low. Riko TOLD HIM that she likes someone else, and wanted to break up, but he refused to take no for an answer. *sigh* This episode was also weirdly without fanservice. What happened to the random shirtlessness and shower scenes Buzzer Beat?!
I like how Riko PUSHED HIM DOWN in order to kiss him! She's so awesome.
And coach Tomoya finally puts the pieces together. Riko and Naoki are so cute, obviously longing for each other.
Mai's hair is pretty damn impressive.
I liked this part, because Shuji is all into Mai, and she's oblivious.
This part kinda grossed me out! Picking off the scab! EWWWWWW. But at the same time it was sweet.
I squealed with glee! I'm not exactly sure what the hell was with Riko's reaction (maybe I'm just confused). When Riko ran away I was yelling at Naoki to GO AFTER HER. *sigh*
Meteor Shower
I'm actually three episodes in, and I quite like it. It's strange, and all the product placement makes me LOL, but it's still pretty good. I like Yu Xun, she's quite adorable. The F4 (they never actually call them the F4) are hilarious, and very spoiled brat-ish. One of the weirdest parts of the show is that they seem to have taken the background music from Ying Ye 3+1. They play the instrumental versions of 5566's "Yes Sir" and Chen Qiao En's "其实你懂我". They use them a lot too.
I love how the mailman is scared of Yu Xun.
Yunhai's HAIR!
Yu Xun kinda annoyed me here, I wanted to yell "GET OUT OF THE ROAD" to her, but I'm pretty sure that's residual from trying to drive in a city, and dealing with the kamikaze bicyclists.
Mama-Murong is PREEEEETY.
I love how kickass Yu Xun is. She grabbed the shoe out of the freaking air!
The F3! I love Rui Qian's outfit!
Yunhai's sister is super pretty too. I can't wait for the Ye Shou romance!
I was so excited when I saw Ah Wei (Jerry Huang)! He's a Taiwanese actor. But they dubbed his voice, because I'm pretty certain that's not him speaking.
I love how Rui Qian is admiring his shoes, and Yunhai just STOMPS ON THEM. Awesome.
Ah, it just screams OTP doesn't it?
What Happened in Bali
I'm three episodes into this one too, and I love it so far. I know how it ends, I know it's not happy. But at the same time the first episode seemed slightly comedic. I'd love to see how it goes though. I already hate Young Joo, and ship Soo Jung and Jae Min. To be truthful I started this drama because of Jo In Sung, but I'm staying because of Ha Ji Won. Her character is so sweet, tough, and just awesome.
From the opening shot I knew I was going to like it.
Young Joo is so pretty, but ridiculously icy. I didn't like her on sight.
I didn't much like In Wook in the first episode either. I like him now, but he was an asshole. A pretty one, but an asshole none-the-less.
She just walks into his house, and he's all like half naked and sweaty...
Jae Min is an asshole too. Checking up on Young Joo even though they obviously don't care about each other. I assume he's just being chauvinistic.
They might be horrible people, but DAMN they're pretty.
And then Soo Jung shows up, and the world gets a little brighter. She's awesome.
I love her reaction when she finds out the guy (In Wook) she was insulting in Korean actually WAS Korean!
Mmmmhmmm. Nice.
I got angry at In Wook for not helping Soo Jung! Ah, this makes me want to go to Bali.
Eh, that took forever...
Anyway, I have a few more pictures! We've been laying pretty low for the past few days. We're still trying to get used to everything, and the heat is pretty oppressive (or as the airport sign said, "sultry"). The other day we made a trip into a large commercial district of Taipei. We were pretty close, so we just walked the whole way. We went to the Breeze Center (which is a GIANT mall, it's 12 floors, with each floor having different stuff on it, like one floor was cosmetics, one floor was food, etc), a bookstore (also huge! At least 5 floors I think, but again, different stuff on each floor), and another mall (the SOGO mall is actually in three or more parts. We went to only one of them. It had 11 floors if I remember correctly, and we took the escalator up to the top! The last two floors were restaurants). We walked past a lot of interesting stores, and sidewalk sellers. I was totally looking for Big Bang cds! I found one, but it's one of the ones I already have.
We changed to our hostel the other day, and we're in another part of Taipei that is older, and slightly dirtier. We had some issues getting in the building at first (the buzzer wasn't working, and while there was a phone number posted, we weren't sure how to call it). Finally an elderly Taiwanese man came to help. He didn't speak much english, but he called the number for us, and the hostel people came down to let us in. It was VERY sweet. The hostel guy carried our huge bags up to the second floor, and into our room. It's basic, but nice. We have two beds, two desks, a tv, a dresser, and working AC. The beds are SUPER hard though. It's like sleeping on concrete! We have a window, but it looks out on this horribly little alley that Lisa dubbed "Rape Alley" (it's not that it's dangerous by any means, since no one goes there at all, it's just dingy and gross looking).
Our hostel is right near Longshan Temple, which is a big famous temple here. It's funny, because it's right smack dab in the middle of the city. Across from it is a big park where the subway station is. In the subway station there are tons of shops where people sell random stuff (from temple related goods, to clothes, to shoes, to food). We went and bought our subway card, and came back.
The day before yesterday we went out later in the day (it's super hot during the midday and morning here, so we, along with most people, go out primarily in the later afternoon). We decided to take our first subway trip, and go to our school. The subway is pretty easy to figure out, and we successfully not only got there, but we even had to change trains. We got out at the station where our school is, and walked to it. The area the school is in is REALLY nice as compared to everywhere else we've been so far. We saw a lot of foreigners there too, so we didn't feel as out of place as we have been normally (sometimes people stare at us).
We found the school (it's a fair distance from the station, but nothing bad, probably a 10 minute walk), and came back. On the way home we bought some drinks in the 7-11 (I can get a 20 oz bottle of juice or soda for around 75 cents! I can get a 20 oz bottle of water for around 55 cents!!), and sat down at the temple park for a few minutes. I saw a kitty sleeping there, and went over to pet him. I'm not sure if he was a stray or not, since while he was small, he wasn't super thin, and he looked to be in pretty good health (and was neutered). He was super sweet, and climbed on my lap to be petted! After awhile I had to leave though, so I said goodbye to him! (I've dubbed him "Bilbo"). On the way to the station earlier we saw a small crowd of people outside near our hostel. They had a big light they use for filming. We couldn't see anything, so we left. On the way back to the hostel they were still there. We couldn't see anything, but we're pretty sure they were definitely filming something. What we're not exactly sure.
Yesterday we've stayed in the hostel all day. I think we're still jetlagged. I fell asleep last night at 1am, and woke up at 6am. I went back to sleep, and woke up at 12pm. We're working on emailing people about apartments. We did find one that's REALLY nice, and we can rent short term, but it's expensive (it would be about $600 a month each) and pretty far away. Still, it's nice to know there's at least one option available.
OH! We've been watching Taiwanese MTV, which is funny, since for the most part we recognize bands and stuff. They're doing a BIG BANG WEEK STARTING TODAY! It's extremely exciting. I've already videotaped the commercials. Their new Japanese CD gets released here today! I hope GD's album shows up eventually, but I don't have much hope. The only Kpop they seem to have is SS501 and Super Junior. They don't seem to have any of the BB Korean releases.
Our hostel beds. Mine is on the right.
Rape Alley. I don't know why our views suck so badly...
On the way to the Breeze center we saw this fancy building. It has trees on the top!
Somewhere in Zhongxiao...
It was nighttime and I only had my phone, but here's a crappy picture of them filming something.
A picture of our first breakfast I shamelessly stole from Lisa. Mmmm food.
I HAVE been watching things while here. I watched the most recent Buzzer Beat (ep 6), and I finally started Meteor Shower (OMG I LOVE IT, but it's so weird). I ALSO randomly started What Happened in Bali.
Buzzer Beat
I really liked this episode. I like how Naoki and Riko are acknowledging their attraction to each other, but they can't do anything because of extenal factors. I like coach Tomoya, but I thought what he said to Naoki ("I trust you" while being slightly threatening) was low. Riko TOLD HIM that she likes someone else, and wanted to break up, but he refused to take no for an answer. *sigh* This episode was also weirdly without fanservice. What happened to the random shirtlessness and shower scenes Buzzer Beat?!
I like how Riko PUSHED HIM DOWN in order to kiss him! She's so awesome.
And coach Tomoya finally puts the pieces together. Riko and Naoki are so cute, obviously longing for each other.
Mai's hair is pretty damn impressive.
I liked this part, because Shuji is all into Mai, and she's oblivious.
This part kinda grossed me out! Picking off the scab! EWWWWWW. But at the same time it was sweet.
I squealed with glee! I'm not exactly sure what the hell was with Riko's reaction (maybe I'm just confused). When Riko ran away I was yelling at Naoki to GO AFTER HER. *sigh*
Meteor Shower
I'm actually three episodes in, and I quite like it. It's strange, and all the product placement makes me LOL, but it's still pretty good. I like Yu Xun, she's quite adorable. The F4 (they never actually call them the F4) are hilarious, and very spoiled brat-ish. One of the weirdest parts of the show is that they seem to have taken the background music from Ying Ye 3+1. They play the instrumental versions of 5566's "Yes Sir" and Chen Qiao En's "其实你懂我". They use them a lot too.
I love how the mailman is scared of Yu Xun.
Yunhai's HAIR!
Yu Xun kinda annoyed me here, I wanted to yell "GET OUT OF THE ROAD" to her, but I'm pretty sure that's residual from trying to drive in a city, and dealing with the kamikaze bicyclists.
Mama-Murong is PREEEEETY.
I love how kickass Yu Xun is. She grabbed the shoe out of the freaking air!
The F3! I love Rui Qian's outfit!
Yunhai's sister is super pretty too. I can't wait for the Ye Shou romance!
I was so excited when I saw Ah Wei (Jerry Huang)! He's a Taiwanese actor. But they dubbed his voice, because I'm pretty certain that's not him speaking.
I love how Rui Qian is admiring his shoes, and Yunhai just STOMPS ON THEM. Awesome.
Ah, it just screams OTP doesn't it?
What Happened in Bali
I'm three episodes into this one too, and I love it so far. I know how it ends, I know it's not happy. But at the same time the first episode seemed slightly comedic. I'd love to see how it goes though. I already hate Young Joo, and ship Soo Jung and Jae Min. To be truthful I started this drama because of Jo In Sung, but I'm staying because of Ha Ji Won. Her character is so sweet, tough, and just awesome.
From the opening shot I knew I was going to like it.
Young Joo is so pretty, but ridiculously icy. I didn't like her on sight.
I didn't much like In Wook in the first episode either. I like him now, but he was an asshole. A pretty one, but an asshole none-the-less.
She just walks into his house, and he's all like half naked and sweaty...
Jae Min is an asshole too. Checking up on Young Joo even though they obviously don't care about each other. I assume he's just being chauvinistic.
They might be horrible people, but DAMN they're pretty.
And then Soo Jung shows up, and the world gets a little brighter. She's awesome.
I love her reaction when she finds out the guy (In Wook) she was insulting in Korean actually WAS Korean!
Mmmmhmmm. Nice.
I got angry at In Wook for not helping Soo Jung! Ah, this makes me want to go to Bali.
Eh, that took forever...