"Look Ma! I'm on TV!"
Ok, maybe a bit of false advertising in the title, cuz this month hasn't really been THAT crazy. haha, but yeah, since the last English post, a few things have happened. The only one really worth mentioning is the fact that I am no longer competing in Super Idol 5 (wah wah wah). I made it to TOP 8 which is really cool and I'm happy with the results. I've learned so much along the way and have become a stronger and better performer! Being part of the show was one of the best experiences of my life and I am so thankful for having the opportunity to perform on an international stage.
Anyways, let's move on to non-gushy stuff. I would like to mention that my taste buds have become SO Taiwan-a-fied after living here for a year. I used to not like Taiwan desserts cuz I'm so used to the REALLY sweet stuff we have back in the states such as brownie sundaes, pie, and other heart-stopping numbers. I now like to eat the really mellow desserts such as red bean soup, sweet corn soup, and sweet tofu soup.
This sweet tofu restaurant, located down the street from Breeze Center on Civic Blvd, has got some amazing tofu soup.
You can add stuff to it. Here, I'm ready to engulf sweet tofu with tapioca pearls, taro, grass jelly, and something unknown. That's something else I've gotten used to, some things, you just don't ask. Just eat and don't ask questions and you'll be happier.
So, after my mom returned to the States, it was around Chinese New Year. My grandmother invited me over to eat dumplings (my favorite). Eating dumplings is a staple in Chinese New Year culture because making it together is supposedly a tradition and it is believed to signify family unity. Also since dumplings are in the shape of old-ancient Chinese currency, eating them also signifies the arrival of more money! Let's hope that works....
My grandmother, a very traditional Northern Chinese woman, also believes that adding certain objects into dumplings would bring luck and prosperity to the eater as well. For example, eating a dumpling with a coin means you are going to be rich in the upcoming year, eating one with a jujube means you will have fortune, eating one with sticky rice means you be close to family and happiness, and eating one with milk candy (ew, we all avoided these dumplings and accidentally biting into one was pure absurdity for the taste buds) was supposed to represent being sweet.
Pictured here was a dumpling with a jujube
Cousin Melody and new-born baby , Olivia. Adorable! She's got a red envelope which adults have to give out during Chinese New Year to children. Each envelope contains money so we try to stay young as long as possible so we can still gather these during New Years. In Taiwan, you get them until you start working (so I'm never getting a real job, ...jk). In Hong Kong, you get them until you're married (I'm staying single....jk again)
So for New Years, I headed down to visit the city of Kaoshiung, located in Southern Taiwan. There is a high speed train that travels down to Kaoshiung from Taipei costing roughly $35USD and takes about 2 hours. Here is me, cheesing it on the High Speed Train.
So of course, upon arrival, my friends Nicole and Chester took me to eat lunch because eating is what I do best. We went to eat duck noodle soup. On the right is innards of the duck, such as intestines and heart. This might seem weird for many Americans, but trust me, that sh*t is GOOOOD (told you I've been here too long)
Nom Nom Nom* The store owners recognized me and took a picture with me. I should have asked for a free meal hahaha jk.
Even though Taiwan is small and you naturally would think that the weather would be consistent throughout the country, it's actually a lot warmer in the south (due to it being closer to the equator) I was doing fine with short sleeves. Here is me, acting cool in the South Taiwan sunny weather.
We went to a cafe, near the Kaoshiung airport. It was very interesting and had a few exotic animals around, such as parrots and toucans. Here is a friendly parrot that I started to have a conversation with. About 2 minutes into my conversation, I suddenly stopped cuz I realized all my friends had stopped and stared at me and asked in bewilderment: "Are you...having a full fledge conversation with the parrot?"
and I just answered nonchalantly "why yes, yes, we are"
Farewell, my good friend, I will return to visit again one day
Caca and Chester at the cafe
Pond with Coy. What if coy fish were actually coy. That would be ironically appropriate
So after the cafe, we migrated to a board game restaurant which was a lot more fun than I expected. Sadly, they didn't have an board games I recognized from American culture, but instead of lot of ones from other countries, which was cool to see. Here we are playing a German game (I believe it was German) where you get cards with pictures and each person takes turns saying a word and you have to throw down your card that best represents the word. Does that make sense? If not, whatever, it's not important.
What's a day in Kaoshiung without going to the crazy Japanese-sticker machine? Haha
These booths are so much fun, and they make you look nicer cuz of all the lighting. You take almost pro-like pictures and add little cutesy stuff on it to make it explode with cuteness. I'm only really explaining this to non-Asian people, because trust me, if you're Asian, you've done this at least ten times in your life. We go in the booths and we pose away with no shame what-so-ever. My white friend, Kathy, that came to visit me in Hong Kong last year. We did this together and she was like a deer trapped in headlights when the flashes starting going off. You gotta werk!
My friend's son, Xiao Qiao, is very cute. He really liked to hang out with me cuz I was the "Uncle from TV" ahhaha. Here he is chowing on an egg pastry. The only time he got to come seem me perform was the time I got eliminated, and my friends told me he looked devastated and felt guilty and asked "is it because I came to see Uncle Stephen?" as to why I got eliminated. haha, so cute.
Xiao Qiao's parents are actually very very young and good-looking. Caca and Horace. It's def not easy being young parents and having to work while trying to hang out with your friends, but they seem to balance it all out really well. Plus Xiao Qiao is really well-behaved.
While at the night market, Nicole's car got tolled because she totally parked it on a non-parking zone (stripes and everything). This picture was taken as a momento of that amazing experience. wah wah wah. We totally parked there for like 4 hours hahaha
So the last event of my Kaoshiung trip was a trip to the sea-side cafe. Kaoshiung is actually not too far from the southern coast of Taiwan. This cafe was very soothing and had a tranquil atmosphere to chat with friends and a lover.....which I don't have...wah wah wah...
The specialty coffee BOWL at the cafe. It was HUGE. It says New Year HAPPY. hahah FoB
So, lately, I've been trying to lose weight because after the competition, I let loose for a week or two. But then one of the judges from the show saw me and said "you need to go on a diet.".... so here I am. Eating my infamous diet meals again. Steamed chicken breast, tomatoes, and broccoli. No sauce. Just el natural. It's actually not as bad as you'd think. It tastes good. At least I tell myself that...
Also, I bought a pad for my laptop that has Zhuyin (the Taiwanese phonetic alphabet) to help me get my Mandarin a bit less-Americanized. My accent is hard to get rid of, but I gotta start trying to speak more accurately. It's frustrating, but I know I can do it!
I bumped into Will Pan, a famous singer in Taiwan. A lot of people say we look alike.
Obviously these pics are a BIT out of order, but this was taken with my dancers before my last two performances for Super Idol. Because I didn't pass the first round, I actually didn't get a chance to perform my second song. I had 2 days to learn both routines, and both days I practiced for like 6 hours each. It kinda sucks I didn't get to perform song 2, but hey, that's how life is sometimes! I had a great choreographer and back-up dancers though. They actually were willing to practice with me until 3AM and such. Never will forget the experience of learning an actual routine for my performances. Totally awesome!
This is the rehearsal video for the song I didn't get to perform, in case you were interested, an oldie songs OREA (always made me think of Oreos, yum)
Couldn't take a picture of the actual performance, but got to see Janet Jackson in Taipei! Free tickets, yo! Show Luo and Jolin sat a few rows behind me! (inner fan girl squeal)
Did you know Gucci made chocolate? I didn't, but it was amazing, filled with raspberry goodness
Got to see Macy Gray in concert at Legacy, a performing venue at Hua Shan for FREE (thanks Max for the tickets!) She was really good, a lot of energy, and even though I only know that ONE song from her (I try to sayyy gooddbye and I choke) it was still a very entertaining and fun show.
Here I am pictures with Sasha, second place winner of Super Idol 4. We were
selected as a small group from the Super Idol bunch to audition for small roles in an upcoming TV drama series. The part that I got to audition for was a foreign guy working at a coffee shop and I have trouble understanding the order and I'm all clumsy and stumbly over it.... so basically, I'm not really acting. hahaha. But they took us in a room to have a conversation with the director, who said to me right off the bat that his mother really liked me. So hopefully that helps get me the part... hahahaha Then we were taken to a room where they recorded us doing our parts. It was a cool experience and I really hope I get the chance to be in a TV series! Start out small (as a coffee barista) and hopefully one day end BIG (a coffee owner?)!
Lisa (fellow past contestant) and her hubby Thomas, treated me to a dinner at Forkers, an amazing burger restaurant near Zhongxiao Dunhua Station down the street from Tea Street. There are like 50 different types of burgers, which are all amazing. Look at those fries! Sure, they are like 11354 calories, but who's counting??!?!
Pictured are Thomas, newly preggers Lisa (Congrats!!), Me, and opera singer Anderson. Thanks for dinner!!! I know you guys said you wanna eat somewhere more expensive when it's my turn to treat you guys next time, so I'm not picking up my phone when you call. :P
Random art piece that is located in Main Central Station. I swear, they have such weird random art piece there. This doesn't seem...very appropriate either.
I Bier is geen Bier!
Really? No way!
Vandalism on buses
Waffles! No reason for posting, just thought they were delicious
Met a friend at Sogo in Zhongxiao Fuxing and he mentioned he read somewhere there happened to be a flashmob event going on, so we stayed and watched to see what was going to happen. Turns out, at 11:00AM sharp, random couples would just start making out for 5 minutes straight. It was funny, cuz at first everyone was hesitant, but then they starting mooching out. I thought flashmobs would be more interesting, like doing a dance or something.
So, as you all should know, the earthquake that recently hit Japan has really put the country in a heap of trouble with the destruction, lack of goods, and radiation. I really wish there was more we could do to help the situation, and I hope every one of you gives a helping hand in some way, whether through prayers or donations to Japan. Well, a cool thing about Taiwan and the entertainment industry is that a lot of artists got together to make a song in order to bring awareness to the "Help Japan" cause. "I Believe" a song written by F.I.R., a pop/rock band in Taiwan, was the song chosen for the event and the top 10 contestants of Super Idol 5 were invited to partake in the singing. This has got to be the coolest thing ever! I've always wanted to be able to be in one of these music videos where a lot of famous singers get together and sing a song, and although I don't get much screen time, it doesn't really matter because we are doing it for a great cause, and I get the chance to be in a video with singers I've always listened to. Go Japan! We are praying for your fast recovery and I hope you can hear our song!
Check out the Music Video. There are two versions, try and see if you can spot me!
The Top 10 of Super Idol 5. We are really honored to have this opportunity
and be part of this project! :)
The next day, Super Idol was also invited to be part of the donation process where we are part of a live broadcasting. During the broadcast, we all sit in rows with telephones, picking up phones and getting peoples names and asking how much of a donation they'd like to give. Sounds simple enough right? Well, if it was in English, I would have been fast, but thing is my Mandarin writing isn't that strong. A lot of names I don't recognize so it took me a long time just to get people's names right. Luckily most everyone spoke loud enough and were patient. I had to write their names in Pin Yin first and had my ipod Chinese-English dictionary handy to quickly find how to write their names in Chinese. It was a tricky process, but a great experience nonetheless!
The next day, we were invited to be part of another live donation event. This time I was ready! I wrote down the top 100 Chinese last names so I wouldn't have to spend time guessing and looking up how to write them when talking to the donators. This time, the event was bigger and had a lot of big names. It was such a cool experience to be in the same room with big stars like A-mei.
Shot of me at the live event. We just stood there and smiled hahaha. Hopefully I did that ok...
Alright, well that's that for this time's post. Thanks for reading, and actually, there is something in store for me in the near future, but it's TOP SECRET! Actually, just ask me and I'll tell you. I'm just not allowed to say....
you're curious now, aren't you?
