blog 3

statue I saw in Taipei

me, chandaline, woonzen

 8.30

Free day!! Me and Chandaline met up with our friend and NTU student Woonzen, who showed us around Zhongshan. We went to so many stores and I did a lot of window shopping, but ended up only buying jeans. We then met up with others for a final din tai fung dinner with some other NTU students and UW students. So yum!

8.31

Woke up so early to pack and drive to taichung. We stopped at Chen’s wood to learn about woodcarving and meet the NCKU students. Immediately they were so friendly and happy to meet us, and we had fun trying out the different wood carving tools. After trying the tool that rounds corners I was even more impressed with all the wood carvings around the shop- it was harder than it looks! We also got to keep some wood shavings, which reminded me of Home Depot smell. We got lunch with everyone at the first boba place ever, but unfortunately I didn’t know when ordering so I got passion fruit tea (still soo good). 

woodworking demo

We then visited Home Work, which impressed me with the sustainability of it. I liked the bottom floor with the huge area for sitting, and the little pikmin vases were so cute. I tried to buy a mokeke plush keychain that they had hiding around the store, but unfortunately it wasn't for sale. I was also fascinated by the Star Hostel we were staying in. The design is so gorgeous and I also love the sitting area and the beds being super low. I also appreciate how everyone gets matching slippers when we come in- it reminds me of visiting a house rather than a hostel. 

me and katelyn

We went to get dinner with some students and did some shopping. I finally got to try biking through the streets of Taiwan on a YouBike, and was reminded of the NTU students biking through campus. Lots of fun, though I was surprised that everyone waits for the crosswalks here instead of just crossing on red. Even when there's no cars people wait!!

9.1

We went to the National Taiwan Craft Research Institute. I liked seeing the bamboo chairs- the forms were so creative and inspiring and I really liked the soft lighting from the bamboo lamps. We also met a corgi outside which was so cute. After, we went to the bamboo weaving workshop. It really made me appreciate the difficulty and skill of the people weaving the chairs from the museum, because it was so hard to do. I didn’t expect it to take so long and be so difficult to understand, and although I was starting to get it at the end I was tired and bug bitten and losing motivation. However, I’m excited to see how my cover looks on the book.

small scale bamboo designs

corgi