Day 22: May Our Tainan Adventures Begin!

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It was a rushed morning for me and many of last night’s KTV’ers as we all had to pack our bags and check out of our hotel in preparation for our departure to Tainan this afternoon. On my way to class, I ran into some friends and we started singing Last Christmas by George Michael. It was very clear that the KTV spirit was still running strong! Chinese class was normal today with the exception of a quiz that concluded our 2nd chapter, 我住院了 (staying overnight in the hospital). 

After Chinese class, I exited the language building and speed-walked through the light rain to grab a quick bite. At 2:30, we gathered in front of our old dorms, loaded up into different vans, and headed over to Hsinchu’s high-speed train station for the last weekend trip of our program. 



The train ride to Tainan was short and sweet. It is always exciting riding a high-speed train, especially in Taiwan where there is no shortage of lush scenery. I spent the first half of the train ride gathering research for my final research project but then succumbed to some much-needed shut-eye. 



When we hopped off the train, we made our way towards the bus, but not before gearing up for a poncho war to face the typhoon rain! After the bus ride and a quick walk, we arrived at 艸祭 (Cao Ji), our home for the next two days. The hostel is book-themed and very cozy, plus the owner who greeted us and checked us in was incredibly sweet.



For dinner, some of us stumbled upon a mom-and-pop restaurant that served fresh 小笼包 (xiao long bao) and delicious 牛肉面 (niu rou mian)! We had to eat quickly to get back in time for our evening dialogue with author Jheng-kai Wang. He prepared a wonderful presentation for us, which focused on the research and books he has written about 今日戲院 (Chuan Mei Theater), which was established around the 1950s. Since then, Chuan Mei Theater has stood the test of time and has become one of Tainan’s historic landmarks. It was extremely interesting to learn about the history of Tainan using the theater as a cultural lens. One of my favorite parts of the dialogue was learning about Yan Jhen-fa, a master poster artist who hand paints a unique poster for every movie that the theater shows. Isn’t that awesome?! Here are photographs of posters painted for Frozen 2 and one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies in Jheng-kai Wang's book about Mr. Yan.



It’s currently 11:03, and the excitement of the day has faded. Most of us have settled into our little capsule beds for the night hoping for a good night of rest before our first full day in Tainan. 


Peace out 2023 Taiwan dialogue blog, 

Derrick

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