MEETING XIAOCHOU
xiaochou is the name of my friend who is a tour guide for a living. his name is pronounced "chow-show".
i met with him yesterday and learned quite a few things.
we first went to get soy milk. i thought, ok, i'll bite. we're going to get milk, but he knows what he's talking about so it could be really good. turns out, we go to the oldest soy milk place in the city. but it's not milk. it's a creamy soy milk soup that you can either order sweet or savory. i ordered the savory and it comes with an egg mixed in with scallions. it's really pretty good! the sweet one was only slightly sweet and creamy--without eggs. they came with these fried puffy sticks that resemble churros without the ridges, and they have no flavor, just air to absorb the milk in each soup. we also ordered these light fluffy light buns pronounced "pow" but they came with an omelet inside. everyone has probably seen these buns that are usually filled with pork or some kind of "surprise". needless to say, i'm saving snake alley for a different day.
he then took me to a really remote mountain area that has natural hot springs. the little town has a huge wooden eco-friendly library thatt has a sloped roof with plant growth on top to monitor the teperature innside the building. it is a stunning example of how the taiwanese culture is very progressive. he then footed the bill on a luxurous hotel and we had a huge marble bath that we could fill with either hot spring water or regular water.
he also taught me some rules about taiwan, which explains also why the city is impeccably clean.
1. no smoking indoors, and no smoking in public. you can't smoke if there are more than three people present....meaning ?? how close in proximity do they have to be?
2. you can only smoke if you can see the full sky. if you step half way under a roof, you can be fined by the police.
3. no.chewing gum, eating or drinking on the metro. you wil be fined up to $1500 if they catch you chewing gum.
4. and this one is good: you are allowed to sit on other peoples' sccoters while they are away, then you leave when they return.
5. you can drink anywhere on the street.
i also learned about the chinese characters and how they came to look like they do. it has to do with a description of the object you're spelling. for the word "bright", for example, the character is a drawing
of the sun and the moon. the sun gives light and even at night, it lights the moon. that is described as "never dark", hence the word "briight". it's really surprisingly poetic, being that cantonese is not a romance language.
tonight, he's taking me out for a surprise for new year's eve.
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