Lunch again at the place where we can ask for more rice. The fish is so good here. I'm trying to enjoy as much as I can before heading back to the Arkansas.
The negative effects of smoking. Should really translate some of these, I bet they're pretty brutal.
I'm pretty much in love with fried noodle soups here. This one was really good too. On the right is mango shaved ice. Shaved ice dishes are super popular desserts.
I also had to try mung beans and tofu in a light syrup. Something about beans in sweet dishes has been rocking my world lately.
Really should study some of these characters so I can order for myself.
Told myself I was going to stay away from talking about politics, but then again I told myself a lot of things before coming over here. I had a fascinating conversation with Felix and Jason about Taiwanese and American identities. I explained (to the best of my ability) why Americans fear the government and love guns so much and how unfortunate it is that the whole country is being strangled by Christan radicalism. I played Devils Advocate a little bit and commented on the fact that Taiwan cities have so many cameras, and we were most likely being watched while having the conversation, and that I could be potentially flagged as a radical now by multiple governments. I also explained how this is a bit of an issue in the U.S. because literally everything we do is recorded and saved in databanks under the guise of protecting American citizens. Not that mass recording of all communications in a country is necessarily a bad thing, it was truly inevitable based on how the world works now, but it is quite an interesting time we live in.
They explained to me a little bit about Taiwan trying to find its identity after the Japanese occupation, which is an idea I'm just now starting to be able to understand a little bit. Still have a lot of research to do before I can truly appreciate the Taiwanese struggle. This is an absolutely beautiful land with amazing people and I sincerely wish the best for Taiwan in whatever path its people end up taking. I just recently attended a lecture on the theme of Taiwanese identity in art forms such as theater, music, and movies that are exploring the conglomeration of Chinese, Dutch, Japanese, American, and Taiwanese aboriginal culture and the search for what it means to be Taiwanese. As light-hearted and fun the tourist lifestyle has been, I want to dig deeper and discover what crawls just beneath the surface of Taiwan, especially with elections coming up next year. Once I stop to take in the atmosphere for a minute, the tension in the air becomes tangible.
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