Orientation Highlight II

Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village

We spent an entire afternoon here. Although it's called the "Nine Tribe" Culture Village, there are now 14 government-recognized tribes in Taiwan. There is even a movie (actually two movies) coming out in a couple of months detailing the Seediq tribe's fight against the Japanese colonial rule. The film(s) is called "Seediq Bale." I'm actually pretty ashamed to say that I wasn't aware of this part of Taiwanese history. It made me realize how little I knew about the world we live in.

Walking through the village, I came across these. Hmmm... do I detect a possible theme? What I wouldn't give to get a ride in that owl-mobile.

Bobblehead keychains. So cute. Not so useful tho, since the necks seem too easily snap-able (Not that I tried, in case some of you were wondering.)

Some of the aboriginal tribal housings.

A tribal competition. A woven ball is thrown up into the air and whichever man manages to catch it first will have good luck the rest of the season.

It took them almost half an hour to get the fire started. I almost thought he was going to cheat and bring out matches towards the end. Kudos to him for sticking it through!

Rabbits! 

What a rabbit farm is doing in the middle of the aboriginal culture village I haven't a clue, but I seriously hope it has nothing to do with the barbecue stand right next door...

Handcrafted glass beads. Lovely!

Each bead has its own meaning. My favourite pattern is that of the top left - peacock feathers. It looks to be one of the most difficult to craft since it involves more colours than the other patterns.

While the others went to the amusement park, I decided to backtrack and check out the show.
My favourite moment is when the warriors showed their "worth" by swinging across the schism. They all did it with flourish and style. Very cool.

Afterwards, we visited a brewery (ironic, since alcohol was strictly prohibited during orientation.)

Wall of Taiwanese beer bottles.

Taichung Nightmarket Adventure
Sausage wrapped in glutenous rice. Yum! The inside of my mouth is starting to salivate just thinking about it.

Deep-fried sweet potato dough.
Crunchy and chewy. Delicious!

Takoyakis!!! Hahahahahahaha.
As delicious as ever.

Herb jelly. Perfect dessert to cool off with in the summer.

First time trying this. Brown sugar sticky cake (?)
Really sweet and really sticky. But altogether delicious.

Duck Painting DIY
At first glance, the duckies freaked me out with their giant heads. I was hoping for a cat but all they had available were duckies, ducks, and swans. In retrospect, getting a ducky saved me a lot of space in my luggage. I've grown fond of its big head.

First coat.
My ducky is getting a nice warm drying session. Reminds me of that Friends episode where Chandler and Joey got a chick and a duck and were trying to figure out whether or not their chick swam.
The trick is to apply as many coat of paint as possible. The colours look richer.

A collection of duckies, ducks, and swans waiting on the drying rack. Some of the figurines were really well done. And others were just plain weird (and that's putting it mildly.)

They DID have cats! Oh well, I've grown attached to my ducky now.

Last Night
The accommodation on the last night of orientation was by far the best. An actual hotel.
The last night is also when we had our talent show, the events of which are never ever to be repeated.
We also got lost in the woods for a good twenty minutes getting back from the banquet hall. Very eerie especially with the giant plastic dinosaurs standing guard along the path.

Lecha (Hakka "Pound" Tea)
You start off by adding sesame, peanuts, and assorted seeds to a specially-made bowl. The grooves in the bowl help with the "pounding." You grind the mixture until the seeds release their natural oils, producing a very fragrant aroma. Add green tea powder and boiling hot water.
And voila! Tea time!