Blog #5

Here is an update on the last couple of days in Tainan! 

9/13 

The day following our trip in Nantou was our first presentation of our concepts. My group and I polished our concepts to present to the class. It was super great getting feedback and suggestions from our professors as well as from our peers after class. I think this portion was super useful in progressing our concept and transitioned well into work time to apply the critiques. After our work session, it was time for a brain break where a few of us went out to get BBQ and sing at a karaoke bar! It was such a fun time being able to explore the hidden gems of the city and end up at a casual place to be with company and share a song. 

9/14 The next day, we had an extensive field trip day where we ventured out to the wetlands of Tainan by boat, explored the Anping street, and the Anping treehouse. 

During the boat tour, it started heavily pouring and it was very relaxing to be under the roof of the boat while the rain came down onto our roof and fell into the water around us. We got to see so many different species of birds and sea critters like oysters and fish. I really enjoyed how interactive the boat tour was as we were able to fish like the fishermen there and harvest the oysters. It was fun taking pictures of each person holding a little fish. 

Next up was lunch at the Anping street. The old street was brimming with different restaurants and food and trinket stalls. We moved on to the Anping Treehouse where the tour guide took us around the calligraphy room and explained the history of the treehouse. We were then turned loose and allowed to walk around the grounds to view the beautiful treehouse on our own. 

9/15 

This day was our last free day in Tainan so I opted to have a maintenance day where I got my nails done and hair cut and dyed. It was exciting to travel around the city by myself. After my solo trip, I joined back up with a few friends and we went to a fantastic Japanese restaurant where we each ordered a mountain of raw fish. On the way home from dinner, we were stopped by a local Mid Autumn Festival celebration in a small street. We got to witness local games, karaoke, a lottery, and families barbecuing together on the street. We were so lucky to be able to observe local celebrations of the festival. 

9/16

Yesterday, we had another field trip where we visited a few different local craft shops. We first visited an embroidery shop where we got to shadow an artist and try it out on our own. It was such a great experience being able to work alongside the artists and get hands on experience with the hard work they do every day. The next stop was an incense craft shop. We learned about the process of making incense sticks as well as debunked a few misunderstandings about the use of incense sticks. I always believed that incense sticks were used purely for religious purposes, but I was happy to find out that people can use them for all kinds of reasons including aroma therapy/stress relief, and air freshener. 

The rest of the day was a free day where a group of us hit a few different spots around the city. We explored snail alley with a few small boutiques,

Hayashi department store, and even the mall. We got to the Hayashi department store at sunset so we were able to view the sunset from the beautiful rooftop on the building. 

I’m so happy to have had so much time to explore the city in the last couple of days. Along with the fascinating workshop tours, it was fun to take our time walking around the city and hitting a few stores.